The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1915-07-15
The Elysiar Trail
Senator F. NJ. Cooper in Tampa Times.

~ oNAOli tlN NtiiLNl NiiSR III NOob VI bllN
J upkeep of expensive artificially
drained fiat woods and naturally
drained coastwise roads, / ven
ture to say that the coastwise
roads, the long bridges notwith-
standing, would cost less to build
and | am sure that there could not
possibly be any contention as to
the difference in the cost of up
keep.
Over this route we would be in
constant touch with nature, its
beauties, and products by land,
air and water and in one Of the
luxurious modern touring cars,
striking this trail at Tampa and
bowling down the eastern shores
of the grandest inland waterway
of the west coast of our state, we
rollick and revel in the delightful
view and landscape, inhaling the
balmy, salty breezes from the bay,
the scenic effect of passing
through gorgeous tropical growths
of pines, palms and hveoaks which
are festooned with long pendants
of the beautiful gray Spanish
moss, splendid grapefruit and
orange groves ON either hand in
various localities embellished
with modern homes as well kept
and furnished as you can find
anywhere, farms and vegetable
gardens from which are shipped
thousands of carloads Of early
vegetables annually to northern
and western markets, feasting
continuously on their products,
then all at once bursting through
this tropical grandeur to the
shore of the bay where in the far,
far distance over the sparkling
waters might be discerned the
Outlines of Point Pinellas, Mullet
Key, Egmont, Passage and Anna
Maria Key, and again from bay to
grove and, farm and forest to river
and ocean views and ever and al
ways a change and diversion, to
stop at well selected points and
broil fat mullet and roast clans
and oysters on glowing button
wood Goals, to while away an hour
with dog and gun, to camp out |
under the trees and around the
camp fire, for the night, and spin
yarns, telling the tender foot how
plentiful the game was in the long
ago and how the fish in the bays
and rivers used to keep us awake
with their roaring all through the
night while they plunged and
jumped out of the water to avoid
the sharks and porpoises, to come
to the Manatee river and note the
vast development on every hand,
to miss seeing people we used to
know and to refrain from making
of their names because
the heart and eyes overflow, to
grasp the hands of those old ones
who are left and laugh and try to
make believe we are still young
and happy, to arrive at Cortez
and have the first view Of the Gulf
through Long Boat inlet, to see
once more the white capped break
ers on the bar with their old time /
charm and enchantment, to bowl l
on down the shores of beautiful L
Sarasota bay by Tides Island, 4
which at low tide is not an island, Z
md where in the long ago youth !
'ul Nimrod in company with some It
,ther elder and more daring MIN y
'ods chased a pack Of five wolves II
rom the main land over the sand, q
he tide being low, to the bushes 8
On the island where only one of c
.he wolves was found and ended, 1C
% see the spot near the foot of It
Long Bar, where this same youth q
sul Nimrod, all alone this time. II
killed two full grown panthers /
rom the same wateroak tree. and L
With his hunting chum, who now