The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-05-22
Albertus Vogt Takes Trip
And Gets Close to Nature
And a Few AlligatorS
Editor Telegram :

AS you know, often my business
and joy-riding trips take me into the
southeast corner of Polk county.
The other week in company with
Col. Henry Warren, that distinguish
ed prize-winning general agent of
the New York Life Insurance Com
pany and my faithful friend, c. F..
Baldwin, we made the trip. The
weather and roads were fine and ride
ozonic
On the A. c. l.. Railway, mid
way between Frostproof and Avon
Park, is one of the finest lakes in
Florida Because of its primeval
enyirons there are many bears, bob
cats, panthers. deer and other var
minis in the surrounding jungles.
You may remember it was in Lake
Livingston hammock, in October
last, that John O'Doniel in his rec
ord-breaking run with a bear be-
hind. met the bic panther? and
many stories of what O'Doniel did.
The wide, dark waters of Lake
Livingston are a fish heaven and
hundreds of big old messy backed
gators Is to 30 feet long. Bill Lee,
hunter and stock living three
miles west of the lake. since 1917,
says he can tell by the knots on their
backs that many of the gators in
the lake are 5000 years old
On a recent morning as our party
was motoring from Avon Park,
north, one of the gladdest surprises
of life came to me. At noon we
stopped at Livingston creek bridge
10 catch and fry fish and to lunch.
To our hearts gladdening who
should drive UP but our boyhood
friend, Col. Adrian p Fishfakir. You
know him; he is some kind of grub
toaster or smeller, or locker, and
lives on public pap" but withal is
a jolly good fellow.
With him in the auto run-a-bout
were two splendid girls and a big
lunch basket. We discovered direct
ly they were ballet dancers who were
making one night vaudeville stands
and stunts in the movie temples at
the stations on the Seabring divis-
ion of the A. C. l.. and prompted by
his most comprehensive and expert
enced version and gallantry, Col
Fishfakir was escOrting and as ii
were in the capacity of patron saint
taking them to the end of the line
and showing to them the beautiful
scenic lakes, landscapes and groves
enroute. Like ourselves they toe
had timed to lunch at the bridge in
one of the most tropic, and mag.
nolia, and bay blossomed hammocks
in the entire Southland.
We pooled lunch baskets and al
most Immediately Baldwin and I hat
shot several 16 to % pounds bass
Well, this is the best time to tel
YOU.
No man is a day older than he
feels. You just ought to have seer
Colonies Fishfaker and Morrell fl,
those auto cushions and robes fol
the comfy of the two girls and boi
coffee and scale and fry fish. Colone
Morrell had told me he was So.
was boy in my teens | heard him
know Colonel Fishfaker is rs. Wher
was boy in my teens | heard hin
make one of the finest picnic
speeches | ever listened to, or read
'Coochie," and then he compared /;
triumphant woman with Ion.
plume in her cap to a fast railroad
train and that was in 1865 at tn,
time he was editing newspaper il
Leesburg.
But, man, you ought to have seer
those two fellows: Spry, repartie
jokes, ask Baldwin. Those two girl
had only to laugh and eat fish
While those two widowers fried ant
flirted Baldwin and well, W,
were like the two men who fell OIL
of the Zeppelin. And then it wa
as if 100 centimeter gun wa
booming as dozens of those twent,
gators began to below.
Colonel Fishfakir and | got into al
ar2ument; he said the big oil
moss-backs We're fish. 3" But from
my own years of observation an
reading after Colonel Roosevelt,
who despises all nature takers.
maintain that they are chickens
and, in sex ARE hens and rooster.
for every Cracker. even DR.. Adair
knows lin other words" those Nj
old rooster gators crow at all timc
of the night, and the hens bull
nests in the palmetto brush and la
eggs and hatch their broods, just q
do hen rattlesnakes and moccasin
and turtles and ducks, and all othe
hens do For anybody knows jus
because barnyard chickens hay
hans j., NJ ., tl,, T..