The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1912-01-03
It's Warm In Florida.

We give below an interesting letter from
Wallace Chadman. Since writing this let
ter, he and Mr.. and Mrs. F. f. Whittekin
have moved to Tampa, Florida, on account
of the warm weather:
PUNTA GoRDA, FLA, Dec. 10, 1911.
EDITOR REPUBLICAN:-lt is an easy thing
for me to write letters and stories because
always stick to facts. Fiction does not
appeal to me nor to it. Fiction may be
| all right in its way, but it is not reliable
and cannot be depended upon. And then
truth is stranger than fiction, and we all
ought to be satisfied with truth for that
| reason alone. There are no really and truly
liars, and no man should be called a liar;
we should confine ourselves to the state
ment that one man may possess more truth
than another and let it go at that | have
| always been a warm adherent of truth, and
| when, in my travels, certain great truths
strike me forcibly | am half crazy until |
publish them to the world.
am down here in De Soto county, a
county so big that it would make ten
Little Forests" and there would be
enough left over to make one of my famous
Tidioute townships. An arm of the Gulf
of Mexico extends inland at this place
about forty miles, making Punta Gorda
| Bay and Charlotte Harbor, and upon the
south side of the latter Punta Gorda city is
| located. A government pier runs out into
the harbor for half mile, and along this
pier are tied up an array of motor boats
| that would cause Glenn Wolcott forty con-
| niption fits; while dozens of fishermen
keep the planks Topping with sea trout,
mackerel, snooks mullet, and so FORTH the
| sight of which would start Angus Carson
| for his rod and line on a gallop. Tomorrow
| shall go out to try my luck and ] hope to
| hook Jew fish that will require a plat
| form scales to weigh him on. Bobby Has
let's grocery scales would be totally made
| quate here.
Last night two mosquitoes came into my
room and perched upon the bureau. They
were each as large and greatly resembled
the crane that John Bush shot along the
| Allegheny last October. Those two mos
| quitoes, when they imagined | was asleep,
left their perch and scared around the
room even as the hawks soar on Smoky
Hill. One settled on the bed by my side
and pecked for a vein on my left arm. |
smashed him in the face, grabbed a small
table standing near and drove both from
the room. A bell boy told me must keep
my window down to avoid further visits
from the hungry birds, but how could | do
that with the temperature at about So? |
have had some strange experiences, but
this is the first time in my life that mos
quitoeS hungered after my rich red blood
on the 18th day of December At Jackson
vile | saw cockroach fully as large as a
Back Channel swapping turtle.
In restaurant at that place the waiter
charged me two dollars for tenderloin
steak, and it brought back fond memories
of the hacyon days when used to dine at
the Bismark in Cleveland. But | would
have been just as well satisfied if those fond
memories had not been brought back-in
that manner.
The streets of Punta Gorda are cleaned in
most wonderful way. They go over them
with duSting brushes, like the French maid
in the parlor.
sit here writing with the balmy air of
July or August blowing through the open
window and scenting the room with the
perfume of the orange and jasmine, and
surrounded in and out by all the radiance
of tropical summer, and when go forth to
consign this letter to the mercies of Uncle
Sam, the scorching old haymaker whose
rays never cease to shine by day in this
country, will burn mouSe-colored freckles
on either side of my aquiline snout.
WALLACE CHADMAN.