The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1915-03-02
ON THE oKLAwAHA


Johns rivers is doing a good business. +
The two live little boats are carry /
ing good crowds, and if it hadn't been
for the war they would probably be
overloaded. The disturbance to bust
ness caused by the war is keeping
thousands of tourists at home who
would otherwise at this time of year
seek the southern Fairgrounds of Am
erica.
Our own people should avail them
selves more of the Daylight Line
While the boats are running on their
regular trips, the management will
give special excursion rates to parties
of ten or more, who will go down the
run on the morning boat to meet the
vessel coming up from PaIatka and
return on it to Silver Springs. The
rate offered is exceptionally low, and
any party that goes and takes its own
lunch can have one of the most pleas
ant days imaginable at the most reas-
enable expense.
Such a party took the trip Monday
Miss Annie Atkinson, desiring to give
her guest, Miss Mary Wyatt Galbraith
view of the Oklawaha, invited a
number of friends to be of the party,
and they turned out dozen strong.
In the party were Mrs. Jake Brown,
Mrs. G. K. Williams, Mrs. S. T. Sis
trunk, Misses Atkinson and Gal
braith, Helen Brown, Adele Bittinger,
Edith Williams, Doris Murray and
Virginia Sistrunk. They took along,
useful but not ornamental, couple of
mere men, whose names needn't be
mentioned. They boarded the new
boat Silver Springs at the dock short
| ly before o'clock, and while the boat
was waiting for party of tourists,
they had good chance to see the
springs from her deck.
The ground around the springs has
been improved greatly of late. 1t has
been cleaned off and Ieveled, and
looks better than it ever has. This
good work has been carried on under
the direction of Mrs. Ed. Carmichael
4 If everybody will do as much in pro
portion, Silver Springs will come into
it's own and be main prop to Ocala
1t may surprise some Ocalans to be
told of tit is time they knew-but
Silver Springs is comparatively un.
known, and improved in proportion
In the last twelve months, twenty en-.
terprising Yankees have asked the
Star why in thunder there was not 3
big hotel there. If there was, and i
was properly advertised, it would bt
filed every season. Many a place Of
one tenth its attraction does a goot
business because it is properly adver
tised.
Ocala has not properly utilized Sill
yer Springs in other ways-in fact
has hardly utilized it properly in an.
way-but we will discourse on this a
some other time.
The Silver Springs left the dock a
$40, and was soon cutting the shining
waters of Silver river at 13-kno
gait. The Silver Springs is fine lit
tie boat. She is swift, roomy, com
Portable and convenient, and her de
signer and builder, Capt Frank Math
ews, is justly proud of her handsom
finish and beautiful lines. She is no
quite as fast as her older sister, tn
I City of Ocala, but that is because he
engines are not so strong and propel
5 Ter so large in proportion. She is yer.
steady, and as she raced along dow
stream the throb of her engines wa
not perceptible to passengers on tn
saloon deck.
Captain Mathews himself is i
command of the Silver Springs an
Francis Weber is engineer. M. Pas
suit, formerly steward at the Harring
ton, has the same position on thi
boat, and the table is as good as tina
at any hotel.
The weather was rather cool, bu
the party gathered behind the glas
screen that shields the pilot, and i
comparative comfort viewed the seen
cry. 1t is always beautiful to thos
who have seen it many times before
but Miss Galbraith, the appreciativ
III visitor from Tennessee, was enraptur
ed, both with the semitropical fores
along the banks and the flashing
cleaning tints of rock, shell, sand an
grass IN the pellucid mirror that rip
pied without breaking along the boat
side.
In forty minutes, the boat left tn
silver for the purple, as she heade
U into the Oklawaha, and continued t
unroll her moving picturesque rec
She was due to meet the City of Deal
at 1890, but it was ten minutes soon
vi er when that swift little boat stuc
her sharp nose around bend 55 mile
down stream from the springs. TIL
two boats rubbed sides for a coupl
of minutes, during which time the ex
cursionists easily stepped from on
vessel to the other, then the swanlik
Silver Springs slipped graceful
away toward Palatka, while tn
'sCity," with every timber vibrating
to the beat of her engines, swayin
gracefully to the ineessant curves
with bone in her teeth and swel
a quarter of mile long in her wake