Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1932-01-14
Writes From Florida

My brother-in-law and sister, Mr..
and Mrs. Ziegler, and my sister
Jessie and | drove over to Mana
sofa beach on the Gulf TO Mexico,
Saturday afternoon We STOOD
awed at the majesty of the wide ex-
panse of water-as far as the eye
could reach, with the sky closing
in around, and the sun sinking in
a golden splendor and glory. With
the sublimity of it all, we had to
laugh at the antics of our little Bos-
ton bull dog who pranced wildly up
and down the beach, playing with
the big waves as they rolled in.
Sunday we drove up to the Myak-
ka river, out from Venice, TO the
place where Ann Harding, Adolph
Menjou and a bunch of other NOV
ing picture people had recently
been making some scenes for a new
picture, prestige" 1t is a wild
Jungle" spot the like of which We
would hardly suppose could have
been found this side of the jungles
of Africa,-and beautiful and pic
turesque to a high degree. The
Myakka river winds in an S shape
in that locality, so that you could
figuratiYely throw a stone" from
where it is flowing in one direction
over into it where it is flowing in
exactly the opposite direction The
river looks to be very deep and is
inky dark in color, and mirrors in
its depths the dense foliage of tall
pines and palms, and plants of var
ious kinds, that line it shores.
To enable the movie people to
stage their stuff, and to provide
them a tropical setting that could
| hardly be rivaled, the county Off
cials caused a road wide enough
for autos, to be cut from the high
way through the woods and to the
place chosen for the action of the
scene, and making wide open
space for the stockade with it's
high posts of bamboo, and quaint
grass covered "Iook outs for the
guards, etc. To add more realism
to the scene, we are told, when the
pictures were being taken, a herd
Of Ringling's elephants were roam
ing through the Jungle These
animals had been shipped for the
occasion, from their winter quar-
ters near Sarasota, about is miles
above Venice.
After we had wandered about
the place taking in the sights. and
were about TO make our way back
to the highway to get into our car.
a one-eyed man who designated
himself as the care-taker of the
outfit, held us up for ten cents
apiece for the privilege we had en-
joyed. In answer to Mr.. Zieglers
inquiry as to the "why of the
charge" he said he was doing it on
the authority of an agent of the B.
of L. E., meaning the Brotherhood
of Locomotive Engineers who own
the vast tract Of land, on which
are located the city of Venice, and
the movie set referred to
In the course of the conversation.
the one-eyed man showed us two
large diamond backed rattle snake
skins tackled up on a tree, mute evil
dence of former adjuncts of this
jungle spot
The man also said he had "seven
mouths to feed" and we wondered
how many of the mouths belonged
to the outfit we saw in the hut
nearby where they were frying
something, and where we saw some
young women sitting or running in
and out and around the place and
wearing wide pajamas Of most start
ling color combinations. One OF
them and young swain strolled
across the enclosure, and the last
view we had, the girl with the
young mans help was climbing
high and into one of the little grass
covered ''look-outs" we referred to.
1t was good enough for a moving
picture any time.
Monday, we motored up to Sara