The Pensacola journal., 1914-06-14
BY Frances McHale.


The moral condition of any com
Imunty is regulated and governed by
many factors. These various elements
are history. tradition. politics
churches. immigration. fertility Of soil.
and prosperity or the want Of II.
When a man goes about jackson
county he hears the delightful stories
of its early settlement. the con
quest Of its natural conditions its
part in the great conflict over the
slavery question, which the gifted Bob
Taylor Of Tennessee once said put
the South on Crutches and he North
on the pension roll" the general af-
IliatiOn to the politics Of jefferson.
and the stories of the men who came
here from all over the country. Then
when he adds to all this knowledge
.of the wonderful properties Of the soil
Of this county, and sees on all hands
the evidences Of prosperity, he is not
surprised when he hears that the
moral conditions existing are Of a high
order
It was not much over a hundred
years ago when this highly developed
county was a vast wilderness, covered
with dense forests, in which the wild
animals roamed. and were pursued 10
the death by wilder men. Down its
center flowed the beautiful stream Of
water named The Chipola" with its
high banks, with here and there a
cave opening its mouth, as II inviting
a hiding piace I'm its dark recesses.
Auigators beloved and warmed them
selves on slippery banks, mOCCasins
darted about seeking their living with
none Of the descendants Of Mother
Eve to disturb them. Rattle snakes
formed their coils and shook their
Castanets at passing foes. asking only
the privilege OF being allowed to en-
JOY their lives Of rest and tranquil
ease. Bears growled and wild deer
listened for sounds Of danger, Here
and there the painted face and fcath-
cred head dress of the Indian could
he seen as he craftIIy hunted his food
n these great forests. Who would
think then. that at this age this spIen-
did county would be filled by thirty
two thousand people engaged in farm
ing, manufacturing and merChaDdis-
ing.
Built Up Commonwealth.
But white men wandering along this
way saw the possibilities Of the future
and in few short years the forests
were leveled and the timber i'm their
trunks appeared in new forms. It
was made into boats. houses barns.
fences, and after a while in great piles
on railway cars going to all parts Of
the world to make the homes ships,
docks and furniture Of the world. The
early explorers sought fountains Of
eternal youth, mines Of gold and sill
Yer, and treasures Of savage people
but the new white men who came, set
tied here to make homes and build up
a commonwealth.
The climate and the year-rouud sea
son when men could work made tais
spot peculiarly attractive. Cabins
were erected, French and SpanSard
came and wars were held between
rival nations. The English came and
finally that brave old hero "Hickory
T. IL
mouth. and his swords at his side he
directed the opening up OF roads. the
OF forts and depots of sup
plies, and he finally took this country
for the United States from all Of the
foreigners who laid claim to It. For
some time he had his headquarters At
Mariana, and while he was there the
Masonic Lodge was installed, and
General Jackson was present at this
important ceremony. That same lodge
still exists, although its early records
were destroyed hv fire. and the story
of 1t is now only a tradition. But the
same grand old man gave the county
its name, and it would be the political
death of any man Who ever undertakes
to change It.
The great plantations were opened
up and cotton. cane. and various kinds
of citrus fruits were grown. The
rivers were utilized for transportation
and negro slavery was introduced. /
Soon men on horseback rode about the
country nd began to preach the sim
pie story Of Christianity Of course !
this preaching was crude God was
Judge. and people were here on trial.
and the man who got into heaven was
one out Of thousand. Most everyone
deserved hell and but for the saving
grace Of the Gospel they would get
their deserts. But on such a simple
prOgTam churches were formed. long
before much attention was paid to the
schools Of the young.
Few Natives of Florida.
Jackson county was settled up by
immigration from other states, and
even now, excepting among the
younger generations You can find very
few who are natives OF Florida. Ala