The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1912-02-06
Says Bathing is Dangerous, Because
Of These Man Eating Animals
Gives Brief of Politics
HAS GOOD JOKE ON EBERHART
Residents of That County Believ Taft
Will Be Nominated But That
Wilson Will Win.

Because Of it's interesting nature,
the Pioneer is herewith publishing a
letter from Judge L. F. Pendergast of
this city. who is spending the winter
at Pensa cola, Florida. The letter was
written to P. j. Russell, Bemidji
attorney. and is as follows:
"PensacOla, Jan. q. 1912.
Hon. P. J. Russell,
"Bemidji Minnesota.
My Dear Russell:
Agreeable to my promise, I will
write you letter in regard to this
place. We arrived here the evening
of the 18th, and the Eext morning,
we were told, was the coolest of the
season.-twenty-fou degrees above
zero. Since that time we have had
good weather. from forty to fifty de-
grecs in the morning and during the
day reaching fifty-five to seventy-fve
which is warm enough for me at any
time of the year. There are very few
flowers now and no small fruit, the
although yesterday | saw one rose
bush with half dozen beautiful
white flowers.
This town is one of the oldest in
the state and has a population Of
about twenty-five thousand, over
half of whom are colored. Winter is
harvest time here as there are al
ways from fifteen hundred to two
thousand tourists here to spend the
winter. Perhaps no place in the
south is better than this as sum-
mer resort for the reason that the
weather is everything that could be
desired. The water is fine, cool and
soft, and I have been told that it is
the healthiest city in the United
States.
In natural resources, this country
is far behind the north The soil is
very sandy and poor and very little
can be raised without fertilizers.
Oranges and pineapples are shipped
in from other parts of the south and
most of the other fruit comes from
farther north. Although Florida is
one of the oldest settled of any of the
states, its population is only about
half that of Minnesota, and the
wealth is not one tenth as much. The
only thing here that can compare
with Minnesota is the climate, and it
is certainly the best I have ever seen.
Pensacola Bay is one of the best
harbors on our entire coast. It opens
through the narrows six or seven
miles south of the city into the Gulf
of Mexico, the entrance to which is
guarded by Fort Barancas on one side
and Fort Pickins on the other on the
point of Santa Rosa Island. This is
a long narrow island extending east
between the Gulf on one side and the
Bay and Sound on the other, forty,
two miles long and from ten rods tc
one mile wide, making land locked
harbor forty-two miles long and from
one mile to five miles wide, and deer
enough for all ocean going vessels.
: The people here are waiting impa
tiently for the opening Of the Pana
ma Canal, from which they eXpec1
immense trade.
This is rather a dangerous place
for bathing, the bay being full O.
sharks of the regular man-eating va
days ago fifteen feet long and but ;
short time ago some tourists wer'
out in boat and one of them fel
overheard and before he could b.
rescued a shark caught him and tina
was the last that has been seen o
him.
Last Wednesday we went on an ex
cursion up the Bay forty miles t.
the end of the Island to a place ,calle
Ladies' Walk We had goo
time, landed on the inside of the Is
land is the most dreary and desolat
place one could imagine. 1t is al
covered with white sand which, at
distance, looks like snow. No gree
of any kind on it except few scat
tering pien trees, and 40 living thin
upon it. The sand is different fro1
any / have ever seen. In walkin
upon it, one leaves tracks the sam
as when walking in snow, and
looks like granulated sugar. Til