The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-12-04
40, NUMBER @
i SUNNY AND BALMY FLORIDA
there RACES the Weird and Romantic
OcklaWaha
Tonnage and Passengers

cprings-one of their hadsome day
light yachts. 1t may be the City of
Ocala, or it may be the Silver
Springs. l do not now know which.
Anyway, on the day following, the sis.
ter yacht will clear the blue roads
for Palatka. And with the clearance
Of the two yachts, the Silver Springs
company .inaugurates the Ocklawaha
river route tourist season-the fourth
season-of 1915, via Silver Springs
Ocala-P alatka. The two yachts reg
lister 125 passengers and they will run
every day, and they shall be expected
to carry during the season over five
thousand passengers.
On the 10th of January, in 1915, the
Hart Line will send out of Palatka
their first steamer-either the Okee-i
humkee or the Hiawatha-and on the
18th, the sister ship follows, steam
ing for Silver Springs. And also on
the 10th the Hart Line inaugurates
their new daylight service by sending
out of Palatka a steam yacht bound
up stream for Silver Springs; on the
18th the sister yacht follows. So this
gives the Hart Line four steamers,
two steamers sailing daily each way,
via Palatka-Silver Springs-Ocala. And
these four vessels register in govern
ment regulations $50 passengers.
The G. A. Carmichael, the new
freighter for the Ocala Transporta-
ton company, clears this week for
Jacksonville. In the year 1915 the
G. A. Carmichael shall be expected to-
carry no less than (500,000) FIVE
hundred thousand short tons of
freight. She could carry more ton
mage on deep water
The steamer Sharp Shooter of the
Mills Steamboat Line in 1913 carried
nearly 100000 short tons. in 1914
her tonnage shall be up in the 400,-
900 ton weight. On the shallow
water fact" she lost almost 100000
tons.
The new steamer Helkat-not yet
constructed-of the Mills Steamboat
Line, after she is launched in the sum-
mer shall be expected to carry to
and from Jacksonville and on the
whole Ocklawaha river in the latter
half of the year, over 100000 tons.
On the little Ocklawaha another
steamer service has been checked in
Mr.. Lawrence Marsh. He is using
a shallow gas boat holding up some
twenty tons, and a barge of heavier
tonnage. If the purple waters" do
not become too shallow up there these
boats will cart down in 1915 over 200,-
900 tons of freight.
On rough estimate, the tonnage
to be hauled on the Ocklawaha river
in 1915 would reach over the two mil
lion mark; that is, mean with the
present number of vessels and low
water.
On account of low water in the mar
row and crooked and log strewn
stream, the Ocklawaha river, the ton
mage here estimated is small. With a
depth of six feet and sixty feet WIDE
from the mouth to Lake Dora, in the
first year, with the same vessels, the
tonnage could be doubled. And with
deep water other vessels would enter
the Oklawaha trade, and it would be-
safe to predict, in the first year over
three millions of tons would be NOV
ed
As the reader notices, tabulatedl
here not stick of timber. This val
ley of the Oklawaha is the richest in
standing timber in the state. This
timber if cut and acrried out would
have to float down the raging ockla-
waha.
And over on the other side of Ma
ZION county is another river as great
as this-the Withlacoochee Eventual
" the two rivers will be made one.
A A. G.
z. ST. forgot to tabulate the num-
per Of vessels on the Ocklawaha river
At this date. In boats of all classes
motor boats. freight steamers and
passenger yachts--the are over one
hundred. OF this number, some sixty
odd are engaged in the river indus
try.
And on the other hand-at present.
only one per cent. of the rich riverl
oorderland is plated with farms.
with deep water, in the second year
lne river folks will clear and plat inl
larms five per cent of the valley, and
u the ensuing years, they-the folks
viii srSead, like a slice of bread