Mexico Missouri message., 1916-01-06
LETTER FROM FLORIDA.
George Kabrich and r. NJ. IOveIess
Cumming Together Way Down
South in Dixie-Ten Of The Mel
son Family.


came here q few days ago. Yester-
day we boarded a large boat and
went 60 miles up the st. Johns Riv-
er. At points the river is six miles
wide. The scenery and wild flowers
were beautiful. Once in while we
would see,a large alligator summing
himself. We stopped at Harriet
Beecher Stoves 10O-acre orange
grove. The orange, grape fruit and
tangerine trees were loaded with
sweet ripe fruit. Mrs. Stowe was
the author of Uncle Toms Cabin, as
all will recall. Next we stopped at
Green Cove Spring, This is great
resort. The spring is hole as large
as a barrel and 40 feet straight in
the ground. They have an electric
light at the bottom and you can see
the light burning down the 40 feet
very plainly at night. The spring
makes very large swimming pool.
Ladies were swimming and bathing
and diving, which appeared great
sport for them.
The great ostrich farm here is
about played out since the big
horse raisers left Jacksonville.
Thousands coming here now from
the North, as we have warm weather
and no frost here. All flowers and
garden truck all out here all winter.
Our orange crop is very large, and
the fruit is cheap; an orange for a
cent. This is because of high freight
on transit.
More people going further South
than usual. A great many million
aires coming after Christmas, going
along down the east coast to Palm
Beach and Miami, where they pay
from $500 to $1,000 per day for
board. Miami is putting in large lot
of Government works, such as docks
and dredging. to allow the largest
vessels to come in the harbor.
Some days ago Champ Clark lee
tured here. Thousands went to hear
him. The front seats were filled
with Missourians, and Clark men
toned in his speech some of our
names, especially Sam Nelson who
was gold bug while Champ was a
silverite, 16 to 1, and spoke against
eachother. The Nelson's, formerly of
Mexico, are are all we'll and doing
we'll.
Our parks and hotels are full of
northern men and women down here
for the winter.
MIR. Loveless and go to see the
boats come in to our wharf about
every other morning, to see the car
goes of fish, oysters and clans,
Some with oranges, tangerines and
grape fruit. egg plant, pine apple and
cocoanut, and others will have every
kind of garden truck aboard. Some
have strawberries. tomatoes, new po'
tatoes, lettuce, radishes and every
thing that grows in a Northern gar
den in summer time. They grow ant
ripen here in every month of the
year.
The best fish that is sold here is {
Spanish mackerel. It is caught IL
the ocean near Miami The fish hal
no scales. They are black skin, anC
resemble an eel. They are still catch
ing the sea bass. 30 to 80 pounds
1t is great sport TO haul them out o
the water with hook and line. The
have to drown them.
We will go further South in a feV
weeks to GAINESVILLE. then to orland
and on to Kissime. where are som
very large lakes which empty int
the great okachobee Lake. The LAT
ter is SO large that IL resembles tn
ocean rather than a lake. While a
Kissime we will get q small boat an
hsh few days. From there we ma
go to Tampa and st. Petersburgl
This is on the Gulf OF Mexico, and n
end to fish Of every variety.
AT Tampa you can see 1900 Dago
, making cigars. Each family has
T.