Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1921-01-13

mast for nagpoIe. This has been
splnfereu by lightning recently, add
ing a tragic note TO the already
weirdiy desolate atmosphere about
this villa which has always remind
ed me OF the blouse OF Usher"
Another estate that Is especially
fascinating is that OF Edward Stotes-
bury of Philadelphia. Can You Inn.
CINE stretch Of lace fringed
splashing purple and green waves, a
border Of orange sand, n white ROAD
overhung with silvery green tasseis
OF tall Australian pines, pink con-
crete wall breast high and beyond a
| formal lawn. a many-towered great
mink stucco house with huge twisted
cocoanut trees etched as sharply as
shadows upon Its wallsf Sounds q
little like a kaleidoscope. doesn't Ut
But In this atmosphere and sunshine
all these vivid c0lors blend and ef-
feet harmony as stately and bril-.
liant as Rochmaninoff' "Prelude."
I, This house is said to be an exact
copy of an old Spanish nunnery and
tn. style Of architecture Is so severe
and restrained that even the balloon
les do not seem to protrude from the
! walls and the square towers seem TO
be actually a part Of the sky. BUT
70 try to describe is to despair ana
besides meant to tell you OF some
: trips we have had.
Relics Of the Long Past
+ About forty miles north Of us Is
Hobe Sound where the Indian river
and the st. Lucie river flow Into the
ocean creating many gloriously beau
tiful yistas characterized by islands,
BAYS and peninsulas. On the shell
tered banks Of these rivers strange
mounds are found. These are In
variably shaped like horseshoes and
are composed Of oyster shells, many
human skeletons, layers OF ashes
and fragments of the implements
and pottery Of some very ancient
Indian tribes. It is supposed that
these mounds (they seem q little
higher than our sand hills) mark the
place of some unknown ceremoniais
and great oyster feasts held annually
by the Indians from Georgia and the
Carolinas. Here gathered the tribes
I'm horseshoe shaped groups and att
oysters and casting the shells which
created the mounds over their Shout
ders as they ate! I can't help beinf
skeptical about these great oyster
debauches. l feel that hundreds Of
generations Of frenzied oyster eaters
could not have built these mug
mounds through appetite alone
Though il they did the use OF then
as burial grounds explains itself
But when I ventured to express thes'
views TO our party all except on
kindred spirit were shocked at sucl
4 leyity. So we left them peckini
away with spades and picks ant
/. started to explore beautiful cocoa
nut and orange grove nearby. Thes
lead us unexpectedly upon the YER
porch of Mr.. Du Bois' home wher
we met the whole Du Bots famil
| and found that Mrs. Du Bots was
! Kansan and lived thirty years ag
at>Clay Center. I must add that tn
men that day did unearth two grea
human skulls and many fragment
e of pottery. So it was successtl
expedition for us all.
y Into the Everglades
= Another interesting trip was
q forty five mile ride into the Evel
glades to visit Indian City. Often
: each side the road were great lake
of water and little or no vegetauo
+ near. Again we would pass swami
/ concealed by luxuriant long stem
9 med grass dotted with orange an
n purple flowers quite like kansa
. hay field. From these arise man
a small domes which are covered, wit
Z PALMETTO hickory and hard map
2 trees. Below these elevations WEI
9 some times sandy plains sparely COY
cred with spruce and pine. The Ian
that is comparatively well drained
, called Florida flatwOod. Depression
. in it are filed with thick1ts
cypress and live oak trees often nun
with silvery moss. The real jungl
q is a tangle Of great ferns, dwai
I palms, mangroves and banyan trees
q We were not far enough inland fo
= the rich muck deposits where tn
q elderberry bush reigns supreme.
. There is the strangest hush owe
= the Everglades. not ripple In tn
, water nor a leaf stirring. nor tn
y call of bird nor glimpse of an
I living creature,
We ate lunch on the banks of tn
, little Laxahatchee river on carpe
of moss and delicate lacy ferns an