The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1914-06-14
To Pensacola Bay, the Mecca Of
the South

Oh thou great refuge from the pertls
/ of the tempestuOUs sea.
| With thy reefIess entrance to land
| locked safety IN thy shoalless depths
| No majestic traveller whate'er its
| size fears to seek thy peaceful bosom.
| No ice or swirHng storm Of snow
obscures thy outstretChed protecting
arms.
Thy dancing waters with thisr
changing hues, now of the deep dark
blue that vtes in beauty with the
| CloudIess sunlit blue. that canopies thy
| bright eXpanse; again, green as the
emerald and along thy white sanded
/ shores borderings of Opalescent shaded
green defining great expenses of eduis-
tie tints Of fawn. that as one gazes
entranced seems like the casting from
thy bosom of some reSplendent Jewel
Then too thou hast thy repellant
moods when thy erstwhi1e smiling sur
face IS swept by the island obstructed
winds from q tempestuOus surgtng
gulf
Black angry clouds replace the blue,
and. rejecting from thy agitated
less white carped wavelet yachts rae
! ing to thy ipner folds for protection
from the onccuing storm
Deep laundering from the ordinances
| Of heaven and surcharged meeting
| clouds discharge their limits Of cleo
/ trio light
While storm pressed craft Of every
| size and cline come rushing DER the
| Iar and cast anchor within thy lines
! in safety.
Proud but unsatis1ed with thy grand
area Of two hundred plus, square miles.
up into the land, in Rayous Chico.
Grande and TeEar and coax the
streams there into flowing to add their
fresh waters to thy saline depths.
Then streamlet and wavelet IN daz-
cling sparkling light. dance &c the soft
rhythmic patter Of the waves on
snowy. shell-strewn sands.
Could I but glance with RETROSPECT
tive eve to that time, two hundred
year or more ago when thy shores
were e1compassed by prtmevaI forest
growth; when stately pines stood in
all the grandeur Of unnum bered years
and gigantic height.
No bleeding SCARED trunks yielding
up their life blood to the greed OF
men, ere long to fan before the wood
mans axe and dissected, further fill
their overlooking Golfers.
But towering caught the gentle
breeze and murmured pleasant
thoughts to countless netghbors or en-
coura ged treelets at their base to Wig
oroUs straIghter growth.
Or when wind-tossed or wr1thing IN
the grasp Of some titanic storm in
deep voiced roar they cried defiance
TO their enemy.
Or perhaps to shudder as some bolt
from higher heavens struck down
some hoary one who in its fall swift
death TO others carried.
Oh could ] have seen thy shores
when undOtted by the habitattons Of
CommerciaHZing man; their huge and
ugly factories belChing smoke or acrid
fumes; ungainIy wharves stretching
far out into thy blue and dancing
waters, supported by the sawn bodies
Of thy erstwhile towering guardians.
Thy ripping waves cut by the
prows Of craft of war and commerce
and little gnatlike boats whose inces-
SAINT noise disturbs thy calm repOse.
When along thy shores We're seen
only the tePees old blue curling smoke
from fires Of those staIwart Seminole
braves whose softly padded canoes
tossed on thy changing waters. in
search Of fish or water fowl. or .
some Ieafy covert whence came the
timid deer to lick the salty sands.
This JOY is not for me, we cannot 50