Seward daily gateway., 1925-03-11
HIGH PRICES OFFERED FOR DRAINED LAND OF
 FLORIDA EVERGLADES
GOLD PCuRS INTO FLORIDA AS RESULT OF DRAINAGE OF
 SWAMP DISTRICT
CONSIDERED ONCE WORTHLESS
Seminole Indians were sole Inhabi- tants-Subsisting solely On
 Fish and Game.
(By Associated Press)


 TALLAHASSEE, Fla, Mar H. The state of Florida is reaping har- est of gold from the vast tract gen. orally designated as the Everglades, as a result of drainage operations begun there more than a decade ago and now half completed
 Land that formerly was covered with shallow water and supported a growth of saw-grass and other semi aquatic vegetation and considered practically worthless at one time, now is looked upon as a bargain at anywhere from $500 to $1,000 an acre w. J. Corners, Buffalo, N. r., newspaper tracts of the land, recent ly offered the stale s50,000 for 51 additional acres fronting on Lake Okeechobee, the second largest i"esh water lake in the United States, which lies at the heal of thn Ever glades territory.
 The Everglades cam2 t. Florida from the United SLa;"s under ihe provision of an act of Congress of 1850, known as the swamp and over flow land grant act, on condition that the land be drained by the state Prior to 1905 the territory, consisting of 5000 square miles, re- mained in it's primeval condition and little was known of the soil, flora or fauna. Seminole Indians were the sole inhabitants, having their home on the edge of this vast inundated prairie and subsisting on hunting and fishing in the interior.
 As the drainage operations pro- ceeded, however, and adventurous pioneers began to settle here and there over the land, it was discov- cred that almost any crop produced anywhere under the sun could be grown on the land that was being made tillable, and the scramble for possession of farm sites began and has never subsided. The soil con- sists principally of muck or peat.
 Reclamation of the land is auth orized by state law and is being ac complished by canals and other drainage works, the entire cost being borne by levy of drainage taxes up on the lands being reclaimed.
 The drainage operations are in charge of Fred c. Elliot, civil engi- neer of wide experience, who saw service in construction of the New York City subways, later in the min ing districts of the west and of Mex ico. He has been chief engineer of the Everglades drainage district since 1913 and knows every mile of the territory, which is located in the southern portion Of the Florida pen insula
 In undertaking to drain the land says Mir. Elliot, Florida has em- parked upon the greatest reclama- tion project ever begun by any state in the union "The turning of this expanse into land means adding more than 5000 square miles of territory to the domain of the state, which is equivalent to annexing a strip of land 60 miles wide and 100 miles long, or an area greater in size than the states of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined" he de- clares.
 Approximately 300 miles of canals have been constructed to date in carrying on the work, representing a total excavation of earth and rock of 62,231,122 cubic yards. Fourteen ma sorry locks and dams have been con- structed and other important work accomplished, at total cost to date of approximately $1O,50O,OOO. Locks and dams in the canals make nav igation possible for boats as long as 100 feet with proportional width and draft Boats may cross the state from Atlantic ocean to the Gulf of Mexico via the canals and Lake Ok eechobee
 The health of people living in the Everglades is said to be as good as anywhere else in the country.