The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-02-22
.OMANAHA RIVER ITEMS
Notes Gathered ON the Banks Of Flor
the Stars Special Writer

On Board Oregonian, EuStis. Feb FL
The Stars correspondent Is at Eus-
It's today. When we were on our
Icruise up here a whirlwind blew down
and lifted my hat off and sent il skip
ping down the Oklawaha river, and I
have not found it yet.
The Oregonian, Captain Henry Ma
son, is racing with the race boats in
Eustis today This fast little dugout
skiff stood by the City of Oca1a dur
ing the christening Sunday, in Silver
tSprings. In the early afternoon the
little vessel pulled off grand piece of
river work. Friends took Commodore
w. r. Goodwin and his young son,
Mortimer, down to Connor with the
crowd aboard the wenona- Fearing
that the wenona's engine would not
land the commodore and his son into
tsilver Springs in time for the chris
tening at o'clock, the Oregonian put
out of Connor at 1910 with them and
Mr.. A J. Leavengood, and threw out
her painter on the docks of the dane
l ing pavilion at 1870 p. m. The skiff
was loaded and the commodore said
that the water looked close TO him.
| capt Mason and his son. Victor ran
| the boat.
| Wenona's Mirror
| Silver Springs is a mysterious stream
as well as a most beautiful one. In
| spots the ever changing scenery along
| the banks of this limpid stream the
Indian signs may in this late time be
/ seen. The large, long ridge thrown up
! just due east and within stones
throw of the Ocala Northern termi-
mails and the big boils Is an Indian
mound, and within its sands very like
lily there are Indian trinkets, and ske1e-
| tons. Some one surely will open it
and investigate what Is buried there
later.
The big boi1s in the Blue Grotto. the
Ladies' Parlor springs and the Thou
sand Boils around the bend are not the
Exclusive boiling springs in this blue
stream, for there are boiling springs
IAN along the crooked course Just
above the Ok1awaha river is the
strongest and highest boil of the
lstream. It's force sends water above
surface water some three inches, and
1.-THE current is SO strongs there that
lnaptha launches of small caliber can
mot navigate over on a bee-line
The mirror-"Wenonas Mirror
measures longer than the full length
of any other mirror in the world, for
lit is, approximately, five hundred feet
lin length. The run here is about one
hundred and fifty feet wide. On enter
ling the mirror the blue waters shoot
Through a narrow gate, and the pass
being narrow the stream leaps along
Ireal lively. At the exit for the stream
lanother very narrow gate commands
Ialmost still hault of the under cur
trent, and the surface water rushes
lover. The gate below lies some few
linches lower than the upper gate,
therefore the mirror proper is geo.
graphically "the dales." The dales rip
Iple and dance along down stream in a
lgreat hurry over the shallow and rug
tged bottom and the millions of little
wavelets g1immer up silk beams of
Hight. like the shimmering sheen that
lgleams from a woman's silken gown.
Wenonah-Bright Eyes-the Indian
maiden, rambled around the full length,
mine miles, of the stream Silver Springs
Ialmost daily. If she dressed as dainty
las the majority of the Ocala girls now
dress, the mirror then was her Mecca
iand she must have spent fully half of
her time there, for she loved Chuleou-
itah.
At the bottom of the water mirror
; clinging to the many little buttes
lsilken tresses of Wenona's hair can be
lseen. This mysterious water mirror on
iSilver Springs run reflects at an angle
of forty-f1ve degrees west, and Is view
ed to advantage on steamers going up
istream. / navigated through the mir
; ror one late afternoon. The swift lit
tile Oregonian, Capt. Henry Mason, was
conveying me to Silver Springs from
IConnor, Ocala's picnic resort one sum-
inner afternoon and the sun began to
! iset as We sped the swift water
Streaks of pink evening clouds hung
over old Sol, when we glided down
behind the western rampant Of pal
lmetto and cypress wilderness And the
pink evening clouds which so lavishly
decorated the Florida summer heavens
descended and kissed sweetly the mil
lions OF wavelets in the mirror and the
Icrlmson fire shot out of the silver wa
ter. By water the mirror is eight miles
!down stream from Silver Springs; just
teight miles up stream from Connor
and Arden, Mr.. and Mrs. S. T. Sis
trunks country home on the Oklawa-
ha. Is but a mile away to the south, as
. the crow flies.
Prairie land almost surrounds the
place. On the northwestern corner the
tcypress trees, festooned with Spanish
;. moss, stand guard. The old rive,
steamer Eureka went down years ag,
lon the north bank OF the mirror He
istern with rudder still in place pro
tjects out into the blue. A G.
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