“Sant GabielQui portaba la ambasciadoDee nostro rey del cel,Estaran vos prenadaYa omitiadaTu o vais aqui surventaFia del Dieu contentaPara fe lo que el volDisciarem lu dolCantarem aub ’alagriaY n’arem a daLas pascuas a Maria,O Maria.”
“Sant GabielQui portaba la ambasciadoDee nostro rey del cel,Estaran vos prenadaYa omitiadaTu o vais aqui surventaFia del Dieu contentaPara fe lo que el volDisciarem lu dolCantarem aub ’alagriaY n’arem a daLas pascuas a Maria,O Maria.”
“Sant GabielQui portaba la ambasciadoDee nostro rey del cel,Estaran vos prenadaYa omitiadaTu o vais aqui surventaFia del Dieu contentaPara fe lo que el volDisciarem lu dolCantarem aub ’alagriaY n’arem a daLas pascuas a Maria,O Maria.”
I have no doubt but that this is somewhat incorrect, as I am informed that the ordinary language of the old natives is comparatively pure Spanish.
St. Augustine is built on a small Peninsula, between the St. Sebastian River, itself an arm of the sea, and the Bay. Its plan is that of an oblong parallelogram, traversed longitudinally by two principal streets, which are intersected at right angles by cross streets. The Isthmus connecting the Peninsula to the main is on the north, and is strengthened by a stone causeway. The ruins of a suburb, called the North City, are visible near it. Most of the streets are narrow, without sidewalks, and shaded by projecting balconies.
On the east is the harbor, a sheet of water about eight fathoms in depth, known as the Matanzas river. It is separated from the ocean by Anastasia, or Fish Island, a narrow tract of land about fourteen miles long. The inlet is variable in depth, but rarely averages over five feet.
The principal buildings are ofCoquinarock. This is a concretion of fragments of shells, of recent formation. It extends along the east coast for about a hundred and fifty miles, in some places rising above the surface level, at others covered with several feet of sand. In one spot, near St. Augustine, it rests upon apeat bog. The quarries are on Anastasia Island, and are worth visiting.
Near the center of the town is the *Plaza, or square. In its midst is an unpretending monument, square at the base, and eighteen feet high, on which is inscribed:
Plaza de la Constitucion.
This was erected in 1812, to commemorate the short-lived constitutional form of government then instituted in Spain.
The building on the west side of the square was the residence of the Spanish Governors. It has been rebuilt and much altered since the purchase of the territory, and is now used for the United States Court. On the opposite side, between the Square and the water, is the Market House.
The building on the north side is the Roman Catholic Church. Its quaint belfry has four bells which ring forth the Angelus thrice daily. One of these has the following inscription:
Sancte Joseph,Ora pro Nobis.A. D., 1682.
This church was commenced in 1793, and doubtless this bell was brought from the previous church, which was on St. George street. In the interior, the ceiling is painted, the floor of concrete, and there are a few pictures, none of note. Many of its attendants are descendants of Spanish and Minorcan families.
Opposite the Roman Catholic, is the Episcopal church, consecrated in 1833.
The oldest building in the city is supposed to be that at the corner of Green Lane and Bay street. A centuryago it was the residence of the English attorney general, and was probably built about 1750. It will be observed that the coquina rock does not wear very well.
At the north end of the town, where the causeway (of modern construction) connects with the main land, is the *City Gate, flanked by two square pillars, with Moorish tops. On either side a dry ditch, and the remains of a wall, mark the fortified limits of the city.
At the southern extremity of the peninsula are the Barracks, built on the foundations of the ancient Franciscan convent. From their top a fine view of the town can be obtained. In the rear of the main building is a Cemetery where the victims of “Dade’s Massacre,” during the 1st Seminole war, were buried, and other members of the U. S. forces.
Still further south are the United States Arsenal and the remains of an ancient breastwork.
The whole east front of the town for more than a mile is occupied by the *sea wall. It was built by the United States (1837-1843) to prevent the encroachment of the waves. The material is coquina stone topped by granite. It is wide enough for two persons to walk abreast upon it, and it is a favorite evening promenade. It encloses two handsome basins, with steps leading to the water.
Fort Marion, or, as it was formerly called, the castle of San Marco, occupies a commanding position on the north of the city. It is considered a fine specimen of military architecture, having been constructed on the principles laid down by the famous engineer Vauban. No fees are required for visitors. The walls are 21 feet high, with bastions at each corner, the wholestructure being in the form of a trapezium, and enclosing an area about sixty yds. square. The main entrance is by a drawbridge. Over this is sculptured on a block of stone the Spanish coat of arms, surmounted by the globe and cross, with a Maltese cross and lamb beneath. Immediately under the arms is this inscription:
Reynando en Espana el SenrDon Fernando Sexto y siendoGovor. y Capn. de esa. Cd. San. Augn. deLa Florida y sus Prova. el Mariscalde campos Don Alonzo Ferndo. HeredaAsi concluio este Castillo el anOD. 1756. Dirigiendo las obras elCap Ingnro. Dn. Pedro de Brozasy Garay.
“Don Ferdinand VI. being king of Spain, the field marshal, Don Alonzo Fernando Hereda, governor and captain of this city of San Augustin de la Florida and its provinces, finished this castle in the year 1756, the captain of engineers Don Pedro de Brozas y Garay superintending the work.”
From the space in the interior, doors lead to the casemates. Opposite the entrance, in the northern casemate, is the apartment which was formerly used as a chapel. The altar stone is still preserved. In another apartment, the small window is pointed out through which Coacoochee, a distinguished Seminole chieftain, made his escape in the first Seminole war. Under the north east bastion there are subterranean cells, probably used for confining prisoners, in one of which a human skeleton is said to have been found. The curtain on the east side of the fort, still shows the marks of Oglethorpe’s cannon balls.
The vicinity of St. Augustine is uninteresting. A pleasant drive can be taken through the town and along the east bank of the Sebastian river. A sail along Matanzas river has some attractions. Several good sail boats can be hired, some accommodating twenty or twenty-five persons, price $5.00 a day. A few miles south of the city an elevated spot marks the remains of General Moultrie’s (of revolutionary fame) residence. At the southern extremity of Anastasia island the ruins of a Spanish look-out are visible. Rock island, on the north shore of the inlet near this point, has a remarkable Indian mound.
Curlews and snipes afford some good sport along the strand, and in the winter, a brace or two of ducks can always be bagged on Anastasia island, but their flavor is not attractive.
The nearestorange groveis that of Dr. Anderson, on the west side of the town. In going thither, the path should be chosen leading through the pleasant orange walk on the grounds of Mr. Buckingham Smith.
The chief local industry at St. Augustine is the *palmetto work. Hats, baskets, and boxes are very tastefully plaited from the sun-dried leaves of the low variety of that plant. Specimens of this handwork make pleasant mementoes of a visit to this ancient city.
I now return to Picolata on the St. John. About a mile north of the landing, on the bank of the river, lived Col. John Lee Williams, the author of “The Natural and Civil History of Florida,” and “View of West Florida,” and in many ways conspicuous in the early history of the State. He died in 1857, and was buried in his own garden. I had the melancholy satisfactionof visiting his grave the day after his burial, having reached Picolata without learning his death. I was told that the river here had materially altered its course within the memory of those now living. I am certainly unable to account in any other way for the total disappearance of the Spanish fort which, a century ago, existed here. The traveller Bartram describes it as built of coquina stone brought from Anastasia island. The main work, a square tower, thirty feet high, with battlements allowing two guns on each side, was surrounded by a high wall, pierced with loop-holes and a deep exterior ditch. Even at that time he speaks of it as “very ancient.”
On the opposite bank of the river was the fort of St. Francis de Poppa. Its earthworks are still visible, about one mile north of the landing. From St. Francis de Poppa the old Spanish road led across the province to St. Marks on the Gulf. Two small Sulphur Springs are found a short distance from the Picolata landing.
Fifteen miles above Picolata the steamer stops on the right (west) bank at
Hotels.—Putnam House, St. John’s House, charges, $3.50 per day. The Palatka hotels are tolerable, but not so good as those of Jacksonville. Several boarding houses. A large hotel is projected.
This was originally a military post in the Indian war of 1836-’40. The town is built on a sand bluff ten to fifteen feet above the river, a few inches of shells forming the surface soil. There are 800 or 1,000 inhabitants, principally engaged in orange culture and lumbering.Several beautiful orange groves are in the vicinity, and constitute the only attraction of the place. The streets are sandy, and walking is difficult. Steamboats run from here direct to Charleston and Savannah, and also to the lakes of Marion and Alachua counties and up the Oklawaha river to Lake Griffin. A mail stage runs to Tampa.
Above Palatka the river narrows, and the banks become as a rule lower and more swampy. At a point twelve miles above, on the left (east) bank, Buffalo bluff meets the river, a ridge of loose sandrock surmounted by a stratum of shells from six to ten feet in thickness. Five miles beyond, on the same side, is Horse Landing, where a shell and sand mound rises abruptly about eight feet from the water. This has been carefully examined by Prof. Jeffries Wyman, and pronounced to have been built by the ancient possessors of the land. About eighteen miles above Palatka, on the east bank, is the small town of
Large boarding houses were here before the war but were destroyed. A capacious hotel is in process of erection. Three large sulphur springs are in the immediate vicinity, which could doubtless be applied to sanitary purposes. The soil is good, and well adapted to oranges. Eight miles east of Welaka is *Dunn’s Lake, a beautiful sheet of water twelve miles long and three wide, abundantly stocked with fish. Its shores abound in game, and many rich plantations are on and near it. The soil is unsurpassed by any in Florida, and has always borne a high reputation.
Opposite Welaka, the Oklawaha empties into the St. John. The latter river at this point is about 500 yards wide. Half a mile above, it expands to a width of three miles. This is called Little Lake George. Fort Gates landing is at its southern extremity. Twelve miles above Welaka is Lake George proper, a sheet of water about eighteen miles in length, and ten in width. At its southern end a large and fertile island (about 1900 acres), shuts off the view. It is called Rembrandt’s, or Drayton’s Island. According to Bartram, there should be remarkable monuments of the aborigines, mounds, earthworks, and artificial lakes, on this island. The channel lies to its east, and is quite narrow. At the extremity of this entrance there is a landing on the eastern shore, known as Sam’s landing, or Lake George landing. A post office was located here.
Several remarkable mineral springs are around this lake, especially on the western shore. It is an unsafe sea for boats, being exposed to sudden and violent winds.
A mile or two from the western shore, the ground rises into high sand-hills, covered with a dense growth of spruce-pine and blackjack oak. This is the “Eteniah scrub,” which divides the St. John from the Oklawaha, and extends for many miles southwardly. It is a dry and hopeless barren. Sixty-five miles above Palatka, and four miles above the southern entrance of Lake George, on the left (east) bank of the river, is the old settlement of
Good boarding-house by Dr. Langren—price moderate. Little is now seen from the river but a fewruinous houses and the marks of a once extended cultivation in overgrown “old fields,” but the place has a history worth recording.
Soon after the cession of the county to the English crown in 1763, Mr. Denison Rolles, a gentleman of wealth, actuated, it would appear, by a spirit of philanthropy, proposed to transport large numbers of the unfortunate women of the London street to this new country, and there give them a chance to lead a better life. With this object he obtained a grant of 40,000 acres, and located it in this portion of Florida. The manor was called Charlottia, from the queen. Several hundred acres were cleared, a large mansion house erected, a handsome avenue laid out, which was to reach to St. Augustine, and colonists to the number of three hundred brought across. But, as so often happens, unexpected obstacles arose. Supplies failed to come in time, fevers carried off many, the proprietor was accused of parsimony, and finally the settlement broke up, and those who survived went to Carolina and Georgia.
At this point the river is quite narrow, and both banks are occupied by fresh-water shell-bluffs, of artificial origin. On that opposite Volusia standsFort Butler, a place of some note in the Indian wars. Four miles above Volusia, is Dexter’s Lake, (ten miles long.) It is a famous resort for wild fowls in the fall and winter. It is surrounded by extensive marshes, cypress groves, and hammocks.
A few miles above Lake Dexter the steamer stops at the small place now called Hawkinsville, but which formerly bore the much more euphonious name of thebrave Seminole warrior, Osceola, (corruption ofasse heholar, sun rising). On the left bank, six miles above, is the remarkable
This is a landing, with post office, but has no hotel. One is (of course) in contemplation. The *spring is a large and beautiful fountain of crystal clear water. It forms a basin one-fourth of a mile long, twenty-five to thirty yards wide, and ten to twenty feet deep. The water is slightly sulphurous and thermal, the temperature reaching, at times, 75 degrees Fahr. This spot was called by the English, Berrisford, and was the most southern settlement made by them while in possession of the country.
Hunting and fishing in this vicinity are remarkably fine. The back country is fertile, and some magnificent orange groves are under cultivation.
The river now narrows to a width of fifty or sixty yds. Meadows of tall grass and maiden-cane, interspersed with clumps of lofty and graceful palms diversify the scene. Through these the stream winds its tortuous channel for thirty miles. At length the steamboat reaches its destination at
On Lake Monroe. *Brock House, kept by Mr. J. Brock, the proprietor of the line of steamers—$3.50 per day. Several boarding-houses in the pine woods near *Watson’s.
Several high shell mounds rise on the east shore of the lake, on one of which the hotel stands. Half amile south of it is a large sulphur spring of unusual strength, with a basin twenty-five yards in diameter. About 150 yards beyond it is a second sulphur spring of less extent, and near by, also, a source of saline waters. (As yet no provisions are made for the application of their waters to medicinal purposes).
Beyond the springs, a hill of sand and shells rises some thirty or forty feet, surmounted by an old frame building. A luxuriant sweet orange grove extends along the shore, bearing the finest fruit I ever tasted in Florida.
The medicinal waters, the rich fruit, the charming lake, the near pine woods, and the attractive hunting and fishing at this spot, render it one of the most eligible for a large sanitary establishment. But its position should not be directly on the beach, where the dazzling sand tries the eyes, and the evening dampness is painfully felt.
Across Lake Monroe, is Fort Mellon, long used as a Government store-house, and the terminus of one of the military roads which connect with the interior of the country.
Fragments of bog iron ore, and oolitic limestone, are picked up on the shore.
A small steamboat runs about once a week from Enterprise to Lake Harney (thirty miles). The channel is narrow and crooked, running through broad, grassy savannahs and hammocks. The first bluff above Lake Monroe is called Leneer’s. It is on the left bank.
Occasional trips are made to Salt Lake, thirty miles above Lake Harney. Its waters are brackish, rather, I think, from its contiguity to the sea, than from any saltsprings. It is only seven miles from Indian river lagoon. Probably this is the only example in the world of a large river, at a distance of nearly 300 miles from its mouth, flowing within seven miles of the ocean into which it empties. When the water is high, small steamers and row-boats have passed beyond Salt Lake, sixty miles to Lake Washington. No settlements are on the river, however, higher up than Lake Harney.
The source of the St. John is unknown. Its head waters probably lose themselves in vast marshes, from which flow sluggish streams northward to it, southward into Lake Okeechobee, and westward into the Kissimmee river. The determination of this geographical point would be interesting, though perhaps of no great practical value. Yet, one cannot help feeling astonished that the sources of this river, on which the first colony north of Mexico was founded, which traverses the oldest settled State of our Union, and which has been alternately possessed by three powerful nations, are more completely unknown and unexplored than those of the Nile or the Niger.
This small settlement of half a dozen houses, is on Musquito lagoon, or Halifax river. It is reached by a rather rough-traveling weekly stage from Enterprise, for the immoderate sum of $8.00 a head. Board can be obtained of Mrs. Sheldon. New Symrna was laid out by Dr. Turnbull, during the English occupancy of Florida, and hither he brought his colony of Greeks, Minorcans, and Italians, as I have previously related. The marks of their faithful industry are stilldiscernible. Turtle Mound, on the west bank of the Lagoon, near the town, is one of the most remarkable shell-mounds, or “Kitchen-middens” in Florida. I have described it in my “Notes on the Floridian Peninsula,” page 178. There are a number of other equally curious remains of a similar character in the vicinity.
A hundred years ago nearly the whole of the bluff along the river, about half a mile wide, and nearly forty in length, was one vast orange grove.
A mail boat leaves here for Indian river every second week.
Persons wishing to visit Indian river for camp hunting, should hire an open boat, guide, and tent, (if the latter is deemed necessary), at Jacksonville, and bring them to Enterprise on the steamer. From that point they can row to Lake Harney in two days, where the boat and tent can be carried across to Sand Point, on Indian river, on an ox team. Col. H. F. Titus has a store and dwelling at Sand Point, and accommodates tourists either with his team or his table. The distance from the Point to Enterprise is forty miles; to Lake Harney twenty-two miles, and to Salt Lake seven miles. A hack sometimes runs to Lake Harney during the winter season (fare $4.00), which delivers the mail at the Point.
Indian river is properly a lagoon, or arm of the sea. Its waters contain about two-thirds as much salt as those of the ocean. In width it varies from one to four miles. Its western shore is marshy, with hammocks. About half a mile from the water runs a ridge, averaginghalf a mile across, covered with pines, oak, and palmettos. At places this ridge approaches to the water’s edge, and offers first-class camping grounds. It varies in height, one point having been determined at fifty-two feet above tide level by the United States coast survey. That portion known as the Indian Garden, is about forty feet high, and was formerly thoroughly cultivated by the natives and the Spaniards. All the ridge could readily be made extremely productive. The oranges of Indian river are equal to the best brought from Havana. A single orchard is said to return to its owner not less than $20,000 a year.
Here again the difficulty of access meets one. The Fort Pierce channel, the deepest of the outlets of Indian river, has but six or seven feet of water at high tide, and it is so filled with sand and oyster shells that navigation is difficult for vessels drawing over three feet.
One hundred miles below Sand Point, is near the outlet. The intervening shore is very thinly scattered with settlers, but abounds in unequalled hunting and fishing. Santa Lucie is the county seat of Brevard county. It boasts a post office, store, and two or three houses. Mr. Frank Smith is postmaster, and cheerfully gives information or furnishes accommodation to the few tourists who wander thus far from civilized life.
Commences twenty miles further south. It, too, is a salt water lagoon. Formerly a water connection existed between this and Indian river, but now it is closed.Santa Lucie river is principally famous for the numbers, size, and flavor of its turtles. Fort Capron is on its west side. At this point there is a post office, kept by Captain James Payne, who will give any information wished for about the locality.
The mail along this coast is carried from St. Augustine to Jupiter Inlet in boats, and thence ninety miles along the beach to Miami on Key Biscayne Bay by a man on foot. For the whole of this latter distance there is but one house, and no fresh water is to be had for a horse. The messenger is allowed four days for his journey. From Miami, which I shall speak of in a subsequent route, the letters are carried to Key West by schooner.
(Tallahassee, and Pensacola & Georgia, and Florida, Atlanta & Gulf Central railways. Time 14 hours, one train daily.)
The train leaves Jacksonville following the old military road, and soon enters open pine woods. The first station isWhite House(eleven miles). The next (eight miles) isBaldwin, (Florida House, M. Colding Proprietor). Here the Florida railway connects for Fernandina, Cedar Keys, Gainesville, and other points in East Florida.
Beyond Baldwin the train passes over a swampy country intersected by numerous creeks flowing northward into the St. Mary’s river, which near here makes its South Prong far to the south.Sanderson, (eighteen miles) is an insignificant station.Olustee(ten miles) is a rising village in the midst of a wide level tract, (no hotel; board at private houses $1.50 to $2.00 a day.) Ocean Pond, half a mile from the road (right hand side), is a handsome sheet of water, nearly circular, about four miles in diameter. It is deep, and offers excellent fishing.
(twelve miles; two tolerable hotels, $3.00 per day, $15. per week; newspaper,Lake City Press; telegraph office) is a promising place of several hundred inhabitants. Three miles south of the city is Alligator Lake, a bodyof water without any visible outlet. In the wet season it is three or four miles across, but in winter it retires into a deep sink hole, and the former bottom is transformed into a grassy meadow.
Is the next stopping place (twelve miles. The Griffin House, and several boarding houses; $1.50 per day, $6.00 per week). It is a prosperous village of 150 inhabitants. The water is good, and the neighborhood healthy. Its height above tide water is 200 feet.
Stages leave Welborn daily for the *White Sulphur Springs, on the Suwannee river, eight miles north of the station (fare $2.00). These springs are a favorite resort for persons suffering from rheumatism and skin diseases. They have been estimated to discharge about three hundred hogsheads a minute. The *hotel, ($3.00 per day, $12.00 per week, $40.00 per month,) accommodating seventy-five guests, stands within a few yards of the Suwannee river, there a pretty stream about fifty yards wide. There is also a private boarding house near by. Dr. A. W. Knight, of Maine, resides at the hotel, and will be found an intelligent physician. There is good fishing in the river, and as the county is but sparsely settled, small game is abundant. Horses can be had for $2.00. The basin of the spring is ten feet deep, and 30 feet in diameter; the stream runs about a hundred yards and then empties into the river.
Leaving Welborn, the train passesHouston, (five miles), and reachesLive Oak(six miles.) Here the morning train stops for dinner. A good table is set by Mr.Conner, who keeps the hotel ($3 per day, $12.50 per week, $30.00 per month. Boarding, Mrs. M. A. McCleran, $25.00 per month, Mrs. Goodbread, $1.00 per day, $20.00 per month; Newspaper,Live Oak Advertizer; Churches, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist.) At this point a connecting railway diverges north to Lawton, Ga., on the main line of the Atlantic and Gulf R. R. Live Oak to Savannah, $9.00. Live Oak has at present about 250 inhabitants, and is a growing place. The country in the vicinity is the usual limestone soil of Middle Florida, covered with pine. Peaches flourish very well, and the soil is reasonably productive.
TheLower Spring, on the banks of the Suwannee river, eight miles north of Live Oak, is reached by trains twice daily on the road to Lawton. Its waters are sulphurous, and it is a favorite resort for certain classes of invalids. The accommodations are passable.
Beyond Live Oak, isEllaville, (thirteen miles, formerly called Columbus), near the Suwannee. This river is comparatively narrow, and divides at this point into its east and west branches.
The next station (fifteen miles) isMadison, the county seat of Madison county (Madison hotel). The village is half a mile from the depot, located on a plain bordering on a small lake.
Beyond this areGoodmanstation, (fourteen miles),Aucilla, (seven miles), and theJunction(seven miles). At the latter a railway four miles in length diverges to
The county seat of Jefferson county.
Hotels.—Monticello house, kept by Mrs. Madden, accommodatesabout thirty guests, $2.00 a day, $30.00 to $40.00 a month; Godfrey House. The village has a population of about 700. It is pleasantly located and regularly laid out, the court house occupying a square in the center of the town. There are four churches, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist. There is an academy of nearly 150 pupils, part of the support of the institution being drawn from the Southern Educational Fund, provided by the banker, Mr. Peabody. A flourishing colored school is also in the vicinity. Lake Mickasukie, an extensive body of fresh water, is about three miles distant.
The climate of this part of Florida is dry and equable, and the soil the very best upland pine. Many invalids would find it a very pleasant and beneficial change from the sea coast or the river side, and immigrants would do well to visit it. Game and fish are abundant, and the sportsman need never be at a loss for occupation.
Leaving the Junction, the train stops atLloyd’s(nine miles),Chavies, (six miles), and finally at
Hotels.—City Hotel, Hagner house, about $3.00 a day.
Newspapers.—TheFloridian and Journal, Democrat, an old established and ably conducted paper; theTallahassee Sentinel, Republican, likewise well edited.
Churchesof most denominations.
The capital of Florida is a city of about 3000 inhabitants, situated on a commanding eminence in the midst of a rolling and productive country. The name is probably a compound of the Greektalofah, town, andhassee, sun. The site was chosen in 1823 by three commissioners,of whom Colonel John Lee Williams, the subsequent historian of Florida, was one. In the following year the first house was erected. A pleasant stream winds along the eastern part of the town, and tumbles over a limestone ledge in a little cataract. The capitol is a brick building, stuccoed, with a handsome center reached by a broad flight of steps, and with spacious wings. It was built by the United States during the territorial government. It stands in the center of the town surrounded by a large open square. The usual chambers for the legislative, judicial, and executive bodies are found here.
In one of the offices a curious piece of antiquity is preserved. It is the fragments of a complete suit of ancient steel armour ploughed up in a field near Monticello. From its appearance it is judged to date from the sixteenth century,
lies twenty-four miles west of Tallahassee, (fare $1.50), the present terminus of the railroad. (Pop. 1,000).
Hotels.—Willard’s, in the centre of the town, and Wood’s, at the railroad depot. Both $2.50 per day—$10.00 a week.
Boarding House.—*Mrs. Ann Innes; same prices.
Churches.—Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Methodist.
Newspaper.—TheQuincy Monitor, a well conducted Journal.
The vicinity is a rolling, pine country, with limestone sub-soil. Plenty of marl is found, suitable for fertilizing. Cotton, corn, tobacco, and vines are cultivated with success. There is an agricultural association, ofwhich Judge C. H. Dupont is president. Some caves and other natural curiosities are found in the vicinity.
Stages run from Quincy to Chatahoochee, tri-weekly; fare $5.00—twenty miles—an exhorbitant charge. The boarding house in Chatahoochee, $2.00 per day. The steamer from Columbus and Bainbridge, Ga., touch at Chatahoochee daily; fare to Apalachicola, $5.00.
By St. Marks Railroad—distance twenty-one miles; time, one hour and thirty minutes. There is no hotel at St. Marks, and but one boarding house, that of Mrs. Eliza Barber, $3.50 per day, $12.00 per week. There are excellent hunting and fishing in this vicinity, and boats can be hired at very reasonable prices, but horses are scarce. The town is an old Spanish settlement, and some remains of the ancient fortifications are still visible in the vicinity. It was first settled under the name of San Marcos de Apalache, in 1718, by Don Joseph Primo. At one time it was a port of some promise, but has now fallen into insignificance.
It is situated at the junction of the St. Marks and Wakulla rivers. The latter stream is ten miles in length, and takes its rise in the famous *Wakulla fountain. The name is the Creek wordwankulla, (n-nasal) South. It is a remarkable curiosity, and should be visited by those who have the time. The most pleasant—and most expensive—means is to hire a carriage at Tallahassee, from which the spring is seventeen miles distant.
The country in the vicinity is low and flat, covered with dense groves of cypress, liveoak, &c. The springis oval in shape, about thirty yards in diameter, and quite deep. On the eastern side is a rocky ledge, whence the stream issues. The water is cool, impregnated with lime, and of a marvellous clearness. Troops of fishes can be seen disporting themselves in the transparent depths.
Mr. Wise, of the Coast Survey, found bottom at eighty feet, the lead being plainly visible at that depth. In the same vicinity the Ocilla, Wacilla, and Spring Creek Springs are likewise subterranean streams, which boil up from great depths in fountains of perfect clearness.
A few miles from St. Marks, on the St. Marks river, was at one time a place of considerable summer resort, but is now but little visited. Near by is a natural bridge, over the river, which is esteemed sufficiently curious to attract occasional visitors.
Boats leave Jacksonville and Palatka every Thursday for Lake Griffin. Time from Palatka to Silver Spring, forty hours; fare, $5.00; distance, 100 miles. The boats are necessarily small, and the accommodations limited.
The Oklawaha, so called from one of the seven clans of the Seminoles, falls into the St. John opposite the town of Welaka. It is only within a few years that, at a considerable expenditure, it has been rendered navigable. Its mouth is hardly noticed in ascending the St. John.
At Welaka, leaving the broad, placid bosom of the former river, the little steamer enters a narrow, swift and tortuous stream, overhung by enormous cypresses. Its width is from twenty to forty yards, and its depth from fifteen to twenty feet. Natural, leafy curtains of vines and aquatic plants veil its banks.
Twelve miles from the mouth the boat passes
On the right bank, where there are a few houses. Above this point the “Narrows” commence and extend eight miles. The river is divided into numerous branches, separated by wet cypress islands. Dense, monotonous forests of cypress, curled maple, black and prickly ash, cabbage trees, and loblolly bays shut in the stream on both sides.
Seventeen miles above Davenport’s Bluff are the
These rise in the river itself about four feet from the right bank. They are warmer than the river water,and when seen in the sun’s rays have a dark blue tinge. They have never been analyzed.
Nine miles above these springs the pine woods abut on the river, and there is a settlement on the right hand bank called
This is within two miles of *Orange Spring, a sulphur spring, with strongly impregnated waters, but at present without accommodations for travelers. It is to be hoped that this will not continue, as it is one of the most admirable of the many medicinal springs of Florida.
Twelve miles above is
near where the waters of Orange Lake drain into the river.
One and a half miles beyond is a settlement with the pretty nameIola. A few miles further up “forty foot Bluff” commences, which skirts the river several miles, here and there separated from it by cypress groves.
As the steamer ascends, the banks become higher, pines more frequent along the shore, and cultivated fields more numerous.
At length, at a distance of 100 miles from the mouth of the river, the crystal current of *Silver Spring Run, here as large as the river itself above the junction, pours into the coffee-colored waters of the Oklawaha. The Run is ten miles in length, with extensive savannason either side, shut in by a distant wall of pines. In the spring months these savannas are covered with thousands of beautiful and fragrant flowers.[B]The stream is rapid, with an average width of 100 feet, and a depth of twenty feet. The water is perfectly clear, so that the bottom is distinctly visible. At places, it is clothed with dark green sedge, swaying to and fro in the current; at others, ridges of grey sand and white shells offer a pleasant contrast.
[B]A good description of Silver Spring is found in Gen. McCall’sLetters from the Frontier, p. 149, and a more scientific one in myNotes on the Floridian Peninsula. Appendix I.
[B]A good description of Silver Spring is found in Gen. McCall’sLetters from the Frontier, p. 149, and a more scientific one in myNotes on the Floridian Peninsula. Appendix I.
The Spring-head forms an oval basin, 150 yards long, 100 feet wide, and forty feet deep. The water gushes from a large opening about 5 feet high, and fifteen feet long, under a ledge of limestone at the north-eastern extremity. It is free from any unpleasant taste, has a temperature of 73 degrees Fah., and is so transparent that a small coin can be distinctly seen on the bottom of the deepest part of the basin. When the basin is seen with the sunbeams falling upon it at a certain angle their refraction gives the sides and bottom the appearance of being elevated and tinged with the hues of the rainbow.
Some observations I took about a mile below the basin, with a three inch log, at a time when the water was at an average height, show that this fountain throws out about three hundred million gallons every twenty-four hours, or more than twenty times the amount consumed daily by New York city.
At Silver Spring stages meet the boat for
The county seat of Marion co., nine miles distant. The intervening country is rolling, with pine woodsand hammocks. Ocala is a neat town, with about 300 inhabitants, two hotels, $1.50 per day, $25.00 per mo.; several boarding houses; two newspapers,East Florida Banner; livery stable; physician, Dr. T. P. Gary; several churches; mail three times a week by stage to Gainesville on the Florida R. R., fare for one passenger to Gainesville, $6.00; mail stage to Tampa.
This portion of the State impresses the visitor favorably, and is well adapted for sugar cane and fruit, but it is cursed with malarial fevers of severe type. A few miles south of the town are the remains of Fort King, a military post in the Seminole war, and six miles south, near the road to Tampa, there is a cave of some size in the limestone rock.
Returning now to the Oklawaha, and pursuing our journey up that river, no change in the monotony of the cypress swamp occurs for about sixteen miles above Silver Spring run. At this distance is the small settlement Cow Ford. Beyond it the cypress disappears, and a savanna covered with dense saw grass stretches on either side for one or two miles from the river. This portion of the river has been but recently cleared and it was not till early in 1868 that the first steamboats could make their trips through this part. The chief difficulty encountered was the floating islands which covered the river, sometimes so thickly that no sign of its course was visible. They were composed mainly of the curious aquatic plant thepistia spathulata. These had to be sawed in pieces and the fragments suffered to float down, or fastened to the shore.
After passing through these savannas some miles the boat enters Lake Griffin, a narrow lake about ninemiles long. Several thriving settlements are on its banks, which present a diversity of soil, swamp, hammock, and pine land.
Six miles beyond Lake Griffin is Lake Eustis, a smaller body of water, but more pleasing to the eye. The settlement of Fort Mason is upon its shores.
Beyond Lake Eustis a deep channel a mile and a half long called the Narrows leads to Lake Harris. It is fourteen miles in length and in some parts seven miles wide. Much of the land upon its banks is of the best quality. The Oklawaha enters it at its southwestern extremity.
A small village, passed between Lakes Griffin and Harris, is now the county seat of Sumter county. About five miles above Lake Harris is Lake Dunham, the head of navigation of the Oklawaha. A settlement on this lake bearing the name Oklawaha is the terminus.
All this country south of Silver Spring Run is laid down quite incorrectly on all maps but the last edition of Mr. Drew’s “Map of Florida.”
(Florida Railroad; distance 154 miles; time 11 hours, 30 min. Fare $11.00.)
The train, on leaving Fernandina, runs southward on Amelia Island, for about three miles, through a forest of pine and live oak with an undergrowth of myrtle and palmetto. The road then turns westward and crosses the salt marshes, and a narrow arm of the sea, the latter about twenty-five yards wide, which separate the island from the main. Beyond these, it enters the low pine lands of Nassau county. They are unproductive, thinly inhabited, and to the traveler extremely monotonous. The first station isCallahan(27 miles); the nextBaldwin(Florida House), where a connection is made with the Pensacola and Georgia Railway for Tallahassee, Jacksonville, etc.
The country gradually rises and improves in quality of soil beyond this point, but houses continue sparse. The station next beyond is Trail Ridge (15 miles). Here the mail is delivered for Middleburg on Black Creek, twelve miles east. (See Route up the St. John.)
Much of the land is swampy, and the road crosses a number of small water courses, tributaries of Black Creek. The traveller is now approaching the Lake country of Central Florida. The succeeding small station,Waldo, (22 miles) is in the midst of a group of ponds, lakes and extensive swamps.
They are known as the Ettini ponds. They are separated by sand hills and stretches of fertile low-lands.
Twelve miles beyond Waldo is
Hotels.—*Exchange hotel, by Messrs. Barnes & Shemwell; the Magnolia house; the Bevill house; charges, $2.50 per day.
Newspaper.—TheNew Era, (Democrat).
Two Livery Stables.
Churches.—Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian.
Gainesville (pop. 1500) is situated in one of the most fertile regions of Florida. It is on a portion of the old “Arredondo Grant,” which embraced the larger part of the rich Alachua plains, and has been called, not without reason, the garden of the State. The soil is a sandy loam, resting on limestone. The latter is friable, and easily eroded by water. The rains frequently thus undermine the soil, which suddenly gives way, forming so-called “sinks” and “pot holes,” common throughout Alachua and the neighboring counties. One of the largest is the *Devil’s Wash Pot, 200 feet in depth, into which three small streams plunge by a series of leaps. Payne’s Prairie, a rich, level tract, twelve miles in length, enclosing a pretty lake, commences three miles south of Gainesville.
The famous *Orange Grovecommences about twelve miles south of Gainesville, and extends nearly around Orange Lake. It is probably the largest natural orange grove in the world, and in the spring when the trees are in blossom, perfumes the whole region.
The Natural Bridge over the Santa Fe river is most readily approached from Gainesville, from which it is about twenty-four miles distant, west of north. The road passes through Newnansville, (the Wilson House,widow Frier’s boarding house, both $2.25 per day,) a place of 200 inhabitants. Near this place is Warren’s Cave, a curiosity of local note. The Natural Bridge marks, in fact, the spot where the river enters an underground channel for three miles of its course. Close to the bridge are the Wellington Springs, a sulphurous source of considerable magnitude, but with no accommodations.
A mail stage with very limited provisions for passengers, leaves Gainesville for Micanopy, Ocala, and Tampa, three times a week. Travelers arriving at Gainesville, on their way to the upper St. John, will do well to hire a private conveyance and go by Payne’s prairie and the Orange Grove to Ocala (thirty-eight miles) and the Silver Spring whence they can take the boats on the Oklawaha. (See page 89.) This trip will show them the most fertile portion of central Florida.
Leaving Gainesville, the train passed over a high, rolling, limestone country, through open forests of pine, hickory, blackjack, and other hardwood trees. The first station, Archer, fifteen miles, (one hotel, $3.00 per day,) is in the midst of such scenery. About ten miles beyond it the surface descends, and cypress and hammock become more frequent.
The next station, Otter Creek, twenty-two miles, is on the western border of the dense Gulf hammock, the part of it which lies in this vicinity being styled the Devil’s hammock.
As it approaches the Gulf, the road crosses a number of small creeks and over several arms of the sea, passing from island to island until it reaches Cedar Key(nineteen miles), where is the terminus. (*Hotel kept by Mr. Willard, $3.00 per day.)
The population of the key is about 400, chiefly engaged in lumbering. Excellent hunting and fishing can be had in the vicinity, and many pretty shells and sea-mosses are found along the shore. A hard sand beach, half a mile in length, is a favorite promenade. There are no horses on the island, but boats, here the only means of transportation, can be hired from $3.00 to $5.00 a day. Remains of the former Indian occupants, such as shell mounds, stone axes, arrowheads, pottery, etc., are very abundant.
Steamers touch at Cedar Keys every day or two, providing ready communication with the principal points on the Gulf. The fares are about as follows: to Tampa, $10.00; Key West, $20.00; Havana, $30.00; St. Marks, $10.00; Apalachicola, $20.00; Pensacola, $30.00; New Orleans, $40.00; Mobile, $20.00.
Hotels.—*Russell House, George Phillips, proprietor, on Duval St.; Florida House, both $2.50 per day, $40.00 to $60.00 per month.
Boarding-Houses.—John Dixon, Whitehead Street; Mrs. E. Armbrister, Duval Street; Mrs. Clarke; from $8.00 to $15.00 per week.
Telegraphto Havana and the north; office in Naval depot building. Post Office opposite the Russell House.
Churches.—Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Baptist, and Methodist.
Bookseller.—R. P. Campbell, Duval Street, (northern weeklies, Brinton’sGuide-Book).
Newspaper.—Key WestDispatch, weekly, well edited. The Key West Literary Association has a reading-room.
Steamship Lines.—The Baltimore, Havana, and New Orleans line, semi-monthly, to Baltimore, $50.00, to Havana $10.00, to New Orleans $40.00. The C. H. Mallory & Co., line from New York to Galveston and New Orleans, semi-weekly; to New York $40.00, to Galveston $40.00. The Spofford and Tilson line from New York to Galveston and New Orleans, semi-weekly; to New York $40.00, to New Orleans $40.00. The Alliance, United States mail line, to Fort Jefferson, Tampa, Cedar Keys, St. Marks, Apalachicola, Pensacola, and Mobile, the line for the west coast of Florida.
The name Key West is a corruption of the SpanishCayo Hueso, Bone Key, the latter word being of Indian origin (Arawack,Kairi, island). Formerly it was called Thompson’s island by the English. It is about sixmiles long and one mile wide, and is formed of an oolitic coralline limestone. It is the highest point of the Florida Keys, yet of such insignificant altitude that the most elevated point is only fifteen feet above the sea level. The soil is thin, swampy and but little cultivated. It produces, however, a thick jungle-like growth of mangroves, cacti, tamarinds, mastics, gum elemi, and similar tropical bushes from twelve to fifteen feet in height. There is no fresh water except that furnished by the rains. Wells are dug in different parts, and reach water at the depth of a few feet, but brackish and unpalatable. So closely, indeed, are these wells in connection with the surrounding ocean, that the water rises and falls in them as the tides do on the shore, but following after an interval of about three hours.
The town is in latitude 24° 33´. It was incorporated in 1829. The present population is 4,800, of which 1500 are colored. It is situated on the northern part of the western end of the island, and has an excellent harbor. Duval is the principal street. Rows of cocoanut palms line some of the principal avenues, presenting a very picturesque appearance. A fine view of the harbor and town can be had from the cupola of Mr. Charles Tilt, agent of the Baltimore line of steamers.
Many of the residences are neat and attractive. The lower part of the town is known as Conch town. Its inhabitants are called Conches, and are principally engaged in “wrecking,” that is, relieving and rescuing the numerous vessels which are annually cast away or driven ashore on the treacherous Florida reef. The Conches are of English descent, their fathers having migrated from the Bahamas. In spite of the dubious reputationwhich they have acquired, they are a hard working and sufficiently honest set, and carry on their perilous occupation if not quite for the sake of humanity, yet content with a just salvage. Their favorite vessels are sloops of ten to forty tons, which they manage with extraordinary skill.
Quite a number of Spaniards are domesticated in Key West. The dark eyes, rich tresses, graceful forms, and delicate feet of the ladies frequently greet the eye. Havana is only eighty-four miles distant, with almost daily communication.
Fine oranges, coacoanuts, alligator pears, cigars and other good things for which the Pearl of the Antilles is famous can readily be obtained. The favorite social drink is champerou, a compound of curacoa, eggs, Jamaica spirits and other ingredients. Fish are abundant and finely flavored. A variety of sardine has been found in the waters near, and has been used commercially to a limited extent.
The principal industries are “sponging” and “turtling.” The sponges are collected along the reef and shores of the peninsula. From December, 1868, to March, 1869, 14,000 pounds were received by one merchant. They are all, however, of inferior quality.
The turtles are of four varieties. The green turtle is the most highly prized as food. They are sometimes enormous in size, weighing many hundred pounds. The hawke-bill turtle is the variety from which “tortoise shell” for combs, etc., is obtained. The loggerhead and duck bill are less esteemed.
Extensive salt works have long been in operation here. They produce annually about 30,000 bushels ofsalt by solar evaporation. Corals and shells of unusual beauty are found among the keys, and can be bought for a trifling amount. Handsome canes made of the Florida crab-tree, are also to be purchased.
Key West is a U. S. naval station for supplying vessels with coal, provisions, etc. There is a Naval Hospital near the town, 100 feet in length, and several other extensive public buildings. As in a military point of view the point is deemed of great importance in protecting our gulf coast, the general government has gone to large expense in fortifying it. Fort Taylor, at the entrance of the harbor, is still in process of construction. When completed, it will mount 200 heavy guns. Besides it there are two large batteries, one on the extreme north part of the island, and one midway between it and Fort Taylor. The Barracks are usually occupied by a company of the 5th U. S. Artillery.
The climate of Key West is the warmest and the most equable in the United States. Even in winter the south winds are frequently oppressive and debilitating. From five to ten “northers” occur every winter, and though they are not agreeable on account of the violence of the wind, they do not reduce the temperature below 40 degrees Fahr.
Though the proximity of the Gulf Stream renders the air very moist, mists and fogs are extremely rare, owing to the equability of the temperature, and though the hygrometer shows that the air is constantly loaded with moisture, this same equability allows the moon and stars to shine with a rare and glorious brilliancy, such as we see elsewhere on dry and elevated plateaux.
Another effect of the Gulf Stream may also be noted.Every evening, shortly after sunset, a cloud-bank rises along the southern horizon in massive, irregular fleeces, dark below and silver gilt above by the rays of the departing sun. This is the cloud-bank over the Gulf Stream, whose vast current of heated waters is rushing silently along, some twelve miles off.
Two steamers of the Alliance line from Key West, touch monthly at the Tortugas. Also, two schooners ply between the two points.
The Dry Tortugas (Sp. Turtle islands), are a group of small coral islands, about a score in number, fifty miles west of Key West. Garden Key is the main island, upon which Fort Jefferson is situated. It is about one mile in circumference, comprising nine acres of ground. The fort is an irregular hexagonal structure, of double circular walls of brick and earth, with a foundation of coral rock. It was commenced in 1846. The entrance is through a handsome and massive *sallyport. Inside, on the right, are the lighthouse and keeper’s residence.
Between the walls the barracks and officers’ quarters are situated. A well-kept walk of cement leads from the sallyport to the latter. Within the inner wall is an open space of about fifteen acres, well set in Bermuda grass, and dotted here and there with cocoanut palms.
There is a good library in the fort. Service every Sunday by an army chaplain.
Nearly a thousand prisoners were confined here during the war. At one time the yellow fever carriedoff great numbers of them. Sand Key, a barren sand bank of twenty-five acres, is used as a cemetery. Loggerhead Key, some miles west, has a tall and symmetrical lighthouse. Bird Key is a favorite resort of turtles.
Mail Schooneron the 1st and 15th of every month from Key West. Accommodations poor and insufficient. No public house, and few settlers at Miami.
Undoubtedly the finest winter climate in the United States, both in point of temperature and health, is to be found on the south-eastern coast of Florida. It is earnestly to be hoped, for the sake of invalids, that accommodations along the shore at Key Biscayne and at the mouth of the Miami, will, before long, be provided, and that a weekly or semi-weekly steamer be run from Key West thither. In the concluding chapters of this book I shall give in detail my reasons for thinking so highly of that locality, and shall here describe it with some minuteness. One strong argument in its favor I insert here. While it is the verybest, it could also be made themost accessiblepart of the sea coast of Florida, as the whole journey from the north or north-west could be made by water; the only transhipment being at Key West.
On leaving the harbor the schooner takes a southerly course, passing on the left numbers of low keys covered with dense mangrove bushes, quite concealing their shores. Here and there are gleaming ridges of white rocks, over which the breakers tumble in glittering sheets of foam. This is a portion of the dreaded reef,on which unnumbered vessels have met their destruction. These naked islets, uninhabited and surrounded by the interminable moan of the ocean, impressed with an undefined sense of sadness the early Spanish mariners. They therefore called them Los Martires (the Martyrs); “and well they deserve the name,” says the old chronicler, “for many a man, since then, has met a painful death upon them.” (Herrera,Historia de las Indias. Dec. I, Lib. IX, cap. X.)
These are kept within sight until the Cape Florida light comes into view, (latitude 25 degrees, 39 minutes, 56 seconds,) on the extreme southern point of Key Biscayne. On rounding the light, Key Biscayne Bay is entered. This is a body of water about twenty-five miles long, and from two to six miles broad. The settlement of Miami is on the river of that name, a clear, beautiful stream, fringed with mangrove, and marked for some distance with a long line of coacoanut trees, laden with their large, green fruit. At its mouth it is about a hundred yards wide, with an average depth of six feet. There are about a dozen settlers on Key Biscayne Bay. Lieutenant Governor Gleason resides at Miami, and will entertain travelers to the extent that he can.
At this part of the coast, a ridge of loose coralline limestone about four miles in width, and from ten to twenty-five feet in height, extends along the shore between the bay and the Everglades. No ponds of stagnant water are near, and the soil, though not very rich, is a loose, sandy loam, exceedingly well adapted for garden vegetables and fruit. Arrow root (Maranta arundinacea) and the koonta, an allied plant, grow in greatabundance, and are highly prized by the Indians as food.
Arch creek empties into Key Biscayne bay ten miles north of the Miami river. It receives its name from a *natural arch of limestone rock, fifty feet wide, which spans the waters of the stream as they flow through a channel a number of feet below.
The *Punch bowlis the name given by the sailors to a curious natural well about one mile south of the mouth of the Miami and close to the shore. It is always filled with good sweet water and is greatly resorted to on that account.
Game, as deer, bear, turkeys, etc., is very abundant in the pine woods which extend along the coast, and fish swarm in countless numbers in the bay. Turtle of the finest kinds can be caught on the islets off shore. Oysters are plentiful, but smaller and not so well flavored as on the gulf coast.
When it is remembered that in addition to these desirable advantages, the temperature of this favored spot is so equable that it does not vary in some years more than 25°, its advantages as a resort for invalids will be evident.
The abundance of game on the shore ridge from Cape Sable to the Miami, led it to be chosen as a favorite spot of resort by the Indians, and it is still known distinctively as the “Hunting Grounds.” Its character is quite uniform. Near the shore is a breadth of rolling prairie land at points quite narrow, at others six miles in width, and elevated from three to eight or ten feet above high water. This is backed by a ridge aboutone quarter of a mile wide, covered with pines and black mangroves.
Most of the keys are cut by deep lagoons, and the whole of their surfaces are under water at high tide. Only a few have any soil fit for vegetables, and settlements upon them are very scarce. Old and New Matacumba have springs of fresh water, and were one of the last resorts of the ancient Caloosa Indians. Dove and Tea Table Keys are said to have the richest soil, “the best I have seen in Florida,” says Mr. Wainright, of the U. S. Coast Survey.
Steamers from Key West touch at all the principal points on the western or Gulf coast of the peninsula.
This coast is very much the same in character throughout its whole extent. It is an almost continuous belt of marsh, cut by innumerable creeks and bayous, extending from five to fifteen miles into the interior. Thousands of small islands covered with stunted mangroves, and wholly or in part overflowed at high water, conceal the main land. The channels between them are usually shallow, with mud bottoms, and in parts, the slope of the shore is so gradual that low water exposes a mud flat one to two miles wide.
From Key West to St. Marks there are two tides daily, in the twenty-four (lunar) hours, one, the highest, rising from one foot to one foot six inches. From St. Marks to the Mississippi the smaller tide disappears, so there remains but one daily.
Immediately north of Cape Sable, which shows from the sea a sand-beach three feet high, are the Thousand Isles, some few of which were formerly cultivated by Spanish planters. Charlotte Harbor, between latitude 26 degrees 30 seconds and 27 degrees, is entered by the Boca Grande, which has fifteen feet of water at low tide. The bay itself has a depth of three or four fathoms. At its southern extremity it receives the waters of Caloosahatchee river. This stream has a depth of twelve feet for thirty-five or forty miles, and with a little expense could be rendered navigable for steamboats. The lower part of its course is through swamps, but about twenty-five miles up, it flows through high lands covered with palms, oak, pine, and palmetto.
Between Charlotte Harbor and Sarasota Bay the shore forms a straight line of white sand beach several feet in height, and covered with pine and cypress. Sarasota Bay is about twenty miles long, and one to four broad, dotted with numerous mangrove islets. Its depth is about eight feet.
North of Tampa bay are several small rivers, the Pithlo-chas-kotee, or boat-building river, the Chassahowitzka, the Crystal, the Homosassa, and the Wethlocco-chee or Withlacooche. Their banks are low and marshy, producing little of value except a fine variety of cedar. Much of this is exported to France and England for the manufacture of lead pencils.
In the coves where the mud is not too deep oyster banks are numerous, and on almost every little stream the traveler finds the shell heaps left by the aborigines of the country. One of these of unusual size and interest, on the Crystal River, I have described in the Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1866, p. 356.
Sponge reefs also occur at various parts of the coast and many small vessels are employed in collecting these animals and drying them for the market.
The low lands along the coast are often rich, but they are unhealthy. The United States Army Medical Reports pronounce them the most unhealthy parts of the peninsula. This, however, does not apply to the sandy pine tracts south of Tampa Bay, many of which still bear the imprint of an extended cultivation in some past time.
Hotels.—*Florida House, Orange Grove Hotel, both $2.00 per day, $35.00 to $40.00 per month.
Boarding Houses.—Several in number, from $5.00 to $10.00 per week.
Mails.—By steamer, twice weekly; to Brookville, weekly.
Churches.—Baptist, Methodist, Roman Catholic.
Newspapers.—The True Southerner, republican; theFlorida Peninsular, democratic, both weekly.
Sailboats and Horses, about $1.00 per day.
Tampa is a town of 600 inhabitants, on the left (east) bank of Hillsborough river, where it empties into Hillsborough bay. It is thirty miles from the light house at the entrance of the harbor. The soil is poor, covered chiefly with pine, red oak and palmettos.
For many years this has been an important military station. Fort Brooke, commenced 1823, stands on the reservation near the town, and additional barracks have recently been erected. Several companies of infantry are here most of the time.
Excellent hunting and fishing can be had in the vicinity of Tampa. The oysters in the bay are as large, abundant and finely flavored as anywhere on the Gulf coast. The orange groves are flourishing and many of the inhabitants raise garden vegetables. Old army officers have learned to regard it as one of the best stations in the United States for providing the mess.
The land in the vicinity is level. A large Indian mound, nearly twenty feet high, stands upon the reservation,close to the town. Last winter (1869) this was opened by a curiosity seeker, and the usual contents of Florida mounds—bones, pottery, ornaments, etc.—taken out. Beautiful specimens of chalcedony and fortification agate, well known in mineralogical cabinets, are found along the shore, washed out from the marl. Above Tampa, on the Hillsborough river, is a Sulphur Spring thirty feet in diameter and twelve feet deep. At the rapids of the Hillsborough river, near the spring, a dark bluish siliceous rock, supposed to be eocene, crops out.
is a small town six miles from the mouth of Manatee river, near the southern entrance of Tampa Bay. There is no hotel, but accommodations can be had with Judge Gates, or other residents. Fine orange groves and sugar plantations are near here. Manatee is a shallow, sluggish stream, two miles wide, with salt water. A weekly mail boat with Tampa is the only regular communication. Historically, Tampa, or Espiritu Santo Bay, as the Spaniards named it, is interesting as the landing place of Hernando de Soto in May, 1539. The precise spot where his soldiers disembarked cannot now be decided. Theodore Irving (Conquest of Florida, p. 58) places it immediately in the village of Tampa, at the extreme head of Hillsborough Bay. Buckingham Smith, whose studies of the old Spanish maps and records of Florida have been most profound, lays it down at the entrance of Tampa Bay, on the south bank, between Manatee river and the Gulf Shore. But he adds: “could I utterly disregard the authority of old maps,and an opinion sanctioned by a long succession of writers, I should judge the landing-place of Soto to be far southward of Tampa.”
After a short stay, the steamer leaves Tampa and heads for Cedar Keys, distant one hundred and sixty miles; fare $10.00; time twenty-four hours. This has already been described. The next point is St. Marks, the terminus of the Tallahassee railroad, which has already been spoken of in a previous route. (Distance 100 miles from Cedar Keys to St. Marks; fare $10.00.) The steamer next stops at
distant sixty miles from St. Marks. This town, once a place of considerable trade, exporting a hundred thousand bales of cotton a year, is now extremely dull. It has a good harbor, and being at the mouth of the Chattahoochee river, has capacities not yet developed. Steamers run from here to Bainbridge, Georgia, and all stations on the river.
After leaving Apalachicola the steamer heads southward, the long, low island, St. George’s, being visible on the left, and St. Vincent’s island and the main land on the right. Once into the Gulf, no more land is seen until the well-fortified entrance to Pensacola harbor comes in sight. The town of Warrenton, where the United States navy yard is situated, is first seen. It is a small place.
No hotel. Boarding houses by Mrs. Davis, on the beach, near the depot; Mrs. Knapp, on Intendenciastreet; Mrs. Williams, on Palafox, the principal street. Mr. Hoffman, at the depot, has good accommodations for a limited number. Gentlemen can obtain lodging-rooms above Giovanni’s confectionary store, on Palafox street, and meals at the City Restaurant, opposite the square. The charge at the boarding houses is $3.00 per day, $15.00 per week.
A daily mail and telegraph office are now there. Baths and livery stables convenient.
Newspapers.—The PensacolaObserver, tri-weekly; the West FloridaCommercial, weekly. Reading room for gentlemen at the “Gem” restaurant.