In leaving Jacksonville for Cedar Keys, we first take the Florida
Central Road, which is thought by some to ride very rough, but the
controlling element which had it in charge treated it rougher than any
jolt which passengers receive in riding over it. Soon as the road can
recover from the raids upon its earnings, preparations will be made to
accommodate the traveling public so well that they will always prefer
riding on the Florida Central from choice. Baldwin is the first
noticeable station on the road, twenty miles from Jacksonville. We
arrive here in time for breakfast, which the vigorous ringing of bells
indicate--the Berger Family is nowhere in comparison to the noise they
make. As we had no free feeds, we are not obligated to puff the
eating-houses; but the moderate charges and fine fare constitute an
attractive feature to the hungry traveler. The depot and
telegraph-office windows are said to furnish amusement for the agent and
operator, where they can spend their leisure in fishing.
The attractive alligators and moccasins are hibernating now, as it is
February; occasionally a stray one comes out, like Noah's dove, to see
if winter has gone. The junction of roads is what makes the town--the A.
G. & W. I. T. Co. Road is taken here, in order that the Mexican Gulf,
one hundred and seven miles distant, may be reached. Northern passengers
complain of the snail-pace by which the trains are propelled, but no
accident ever occurs to endanger life or limb. The piney-woods scenery
predominates, which gives the country a very unpicturesque appearance;
and the land, that in some places appears poor enough to make squirrels
sad, changes as we advance toward the Gulf.
Trail Ridge is noticeable for its high location, being over two hundred
feet above sea-level, always celebrated for its healthfulness and pure
water. Lawtey, four miles from Trail Ridge, has recently received a
large accession of immigrants from Chicago. The lands are considered
among the best in the interior of the State. One great advantage in
living on the Transit Road is free transportation for self and family,
together with the superior facilities for sending produce to market.
Starke, seventy-three miles from Fernandina, is a place of some
importance, containing a lumber-mill, turpentine distillery, and several
stores, besides boarding-houses. What a multitude of disagreeable sounds
break upon our morning slumbers in these plank habitations! The cats,
which have been vigorous in their serenading during the night, now
prepare to quit the field by a final contest, which Dinah interrupts
with the broom. The pigs, that lay piled in the yard so quietly during
the night, are calling for their rations, while the chickens have been
cackling a chorus in advance of the supplies which they will furnish for
hungry visitors. Never, apparently, did dinner-pots require such a vast
amount of scraping. Then the old coffee-mill sounds like a
ten-horsepower flouring-mill. These little innovations upon our morning
nap are soon forgotten after we have eaten our breakfast, and witnessed
what a beautiful day is before us.
Waldo now appears to be settling more rapidly than Starke. A large
hotel, called the Waldo House, has been built here, which is well kept.
Croquet-grounds are laid out, shade-trees planted, in a tasteful manner,
presenting an inviting appearance to travelers as they approach the
town. This station is destined to be a place of prominence. A canal is
in process of construction to Lake Santa Fe, four miles distant, thus
connecting it with the main artery of communication in the State. This
region of country is attracting no small amount of attention at present,
the high ground it occupies being one of its most desirable
features--which fact is demonstrated by the waters, instead of settling,
flowing east and west, then emptying into the Atlantic and Gulf of
Mexico. This lake contains nearly thirty square miles of water, being
about nine miles in length, its greatest width four miles. The depth of
the water is from twenty to sixty feet, being pure freestone, palatable
all the year with a little ice. Superior inducements are offered to
those who wish to come as actual settlers, fine lake-sites being very
reasonable, and the present inhabitants the best of people.
We next come to Alachua county, the richest and now the most important
on the route, containing hummock-lands, covered with phosphates,
indicating a fertility of soil, where the long staple will flourish, and
silken cotton-bolls open their tributes of wealth to reward the
industrious planter. Tiny floating islands are visible on each side of
the track, while the lily rises from the dusky waters of the morass, as
though upheld by some invisible hand. Long-legged Florida cattle are
grazing upon the fresh grass, while the yearlings run races with the
cars, to the annoyance of all concerned. Visible signs of impatience are
manifested by the lady-passengers, when the following colloquy takes
place between a Bostonian and a very black train-hand:
_Lady_--"Say, sir! are there no refreshments coming in soon?"
_Negro_--"What is dem, Miss?"
_Lady_--"Why, something to eat."
_Negro_--"I reckin dar'll be some groun'-peas gwine 'roun' 'fore bery
long, or some cane-stalks."
_Lady_ (very indignant)--"I wish you to comprehend I came from _Boston_;
we don't eat such things up there in our part of the country!"
During the year 1750 a Creek chief retired from his nation, named
Secoffe, and settled in Alachua, he being attracted by the game and
natural fertility of soil. He was a sworn enemy of the Spaniards, but a
friend to the English up to 1784. He visited St. Augustine on hearing
that Florida had been sold to the English, at which time, not thinking
himself treated with due deference to his rank in life, he returned,
swearing vengeance to all the whites. He died soon afterward, which
frustrated his projects of revenge. Before dying he called his two
sons, Payne and Bowlegs, to whom he intrusted the mission of killing
fourteen Spaniards, which, added to eighty-six--the number already
killed by himself--would make one hundred--the requisite amount which
the Great Spirit had revealed to him would insure happiness to his soul.
His sons, not being of a revengeful spirit, lived in peace with the
Spaniards, and died much respected. Another band came in 1808, under
Micco Hadjo, settling near Tallahassee--from this date the Florida
Indians were called Seminoles, or Runaways.
This county contains a great sink, called by some a lake, in which
congregate during the dry weather large quantities of alligators,
together with fish of all sizes, that cannot escape into the
subterranean rocky passage. This sink is situated in a savanna about
fifteen miles in length. The Indians formerly had a town near this
locality, which they moved on account of the stench from decayed fish in
summer, that had been driven there by the alligators. These Indian
settlers were busy during the war, like their companions. The following
are some of the fruits of their conduct: "The Rev. McRae, a Methodist
preacher, and two other persons, while riding from Waccahootee to
Micanopy, when at the Juggs, within three miles of the fort, were fired
upon by a party of fifteen or twenty Indians. Mr. McRae's horse was
wounded and fell, when he was overtaken and scalped by the Indians, but
his scalp was left on the ground. The others escaped with four balls in
their clothes. In five more days a citizen and soldier were murdered
within four miles of Fort Micanopy, their hearts taken out, and their
bodies horribly mangled." June 5, 1839, on the Newnansville road, Mr.
Ostein, Mr. Dell, and Miss Ostein, were killed. After this tragic event,
the following notice speaks in trumpet tones:
"The injuries of the citizens of Alachna and Columbia counties have been
of a nature that can never be forgotten or forgiven. The white man and
the Indian can no longer occupy the same territory in peace; one or the
other must be removed or annihilated, and the General Government will
justly decide the question.
FRANCIS R. SANCHEZ."
During this year all flags of truce and peace movements were lost sight
of, as Indian murders were every day occurring. At this time two
volunteers were killed near Micanopy, their bodies much mutilated, and
their tongues cut out. General Jackson at this time estimated a force
"of four hundred Indians, which could be whipped out by a battalion of
women armed with broomsticks."
The approach from the depot to Gainesville is very unattractive,
particularly in the winter season, having the appearance of being
inaccessible either by land or water. Black, marshy-looking places,
containing a muddy fluid, fail to give travelers a pleasant impression,
and for this reason draining should be commenced by building causeways
to the city and the frequented places in the vicinity. They have not put
the best side out here. Gainesville was named for General Edmund P.
Gaines, a Florida Indian-war veteran. Mrs. Myra Clark Gaines, who for
many years has been litigating for a portion of the ground on which New
Orleans stands, was his wife, who by a special act of Congress receives
a pension, whether married again or remaining his widow.
Many invalids have a preference for Gainesville, on account of its even
temperature, over localities on the bays, rivers, or lakes. It has fine
accommodations, containing two good hotels, besides comfortable
boarding-houses of various dimensions. The Arlington House is
first-class in every respect, being new, while Oak Hall, for good
eating, cannot be outdone. The dining-room serving-man has waited here
for twenty years, which is very remarkable in consideration of the
various vicissitudes through which that race has passed. The quiet of
country life is found in this locality; the sound of wheels is hushed in
the streets, the sand being so deep it has no echo when wheels pass over
it. Protestant Churches are well represented in numbers and houses of
worship. The Presbyterian pastor, the Rev. Mr. McCormick, has ministered
to his people for a quarter of a century. Through what numerous changes
has he passed! What sad memories linger around his ministrations, but
sometimes mingled with joy when a sinner for whom he had long been
solicitous has been born into the kingdom!
More of the _Tillandasia_, or hanging moss, which sometimes grows ten or
fifteen feet in length, is found here than in most other portions of the
State. Two moss-factories, preparing it for commerce, are doing a
thriving business. It closely resembles horse-hair when properly
cleaned and curled--is quite elastic and inodorous. It is used
extensively in upholstering, and is quite profitable to those engaged in
the enterprise.
Dry-goods stores, groceries, and drug-stores all do a lucrative business
with the people living in the back country. Lands lying in the vicinity
of Gainesville are very fine, one acre of ground being capable of
producing fifteen hundred pounds of sugar and three hundred gallons of
sirup.
By taking the stage at Gainesville, Orange Lake, "the natural home of
the orange," is easily reached. This lake is a vast lime-sink, draining
a large extent of country, having no visible outlet. The inducements and
facilities for orange-culture are probably unsurpassed in any other
locality. One man owns over a hundred thousand budded trees, and a
million more yet remain in a state of nature. The native orange-growth
has been a source of wonder to all modern explorers. Nothing can be
imagined more beautiful than one of these natural groves in March--the
golden orbs in a setting of green, while creamy blossoms, like clouds of
incense, rise in overpowering sweetness to welcome us with their
choicest oblation. The whole forest has a tropical luxuriance, the
abundant vegetation being well sustained by a rich soil of sandy loam,
with a layer of marl and decomposed shells. Besides the orange, we see
the live-oak, magnolia, hickory, bay-tree, and many other native woods,
interspersed with grape-vines measuring three feet in circumference,
climbing to the tops of the tallest trees, forming a dense shade, where
sunbeams can rarely or ever penetrate. As we walk between its stately
colonnades, our minds revert to the silence of "God's first temple." It
is in this vicinity lime-sinks abound, which are formed from
subterranean streams of water constantly flowing, thus washing away the
sand, which causes the coral formation supported by it to fall,
frequently exposing large lakes of immense depth, many of them
containing fish.
Malaria is said to prevail here sometimes, "although it is perfectly
healthy." Let settlers plant the _Eucalyptus_-tree, which is no
experiment, but a success, in other places, being a powerful absorbent
of miasm, converting sickly, malarious localities into healthful, happy
homes. A seedling orange-tree is considered the most hardy, and will
produce in five years, while a budded tree bears in two or three years.
It is well to have both kinds, in order to fully realize the golden
dreams of a successful investment. The manufacture of citric acid from
the wild orange has been attempted here several times, without any great
results as yet, but marmalade is a decided success. All information on
the subject of groves in this locality can be obtained by addressing
John F. Dunn, Ocala, Marion county, Florida. There are many homesteads
in all parts of the State. For particulars address United States Land
Agent, Gainesville, Florida.
After leaving Gainesville, before reaching the Gulf, several places are
passed, bearing important names, their locality and present appearance
of thrift now giving promise of future prosperity. Cities in the
prospective: Orange City, Arredondo, Battons, Archer, and Albion--all
stopping-points and new settlements. Albion has been settled mostly by
young Englishmen, who have come here to engage in grape-culture--these
being the first invoice of a large colony from Europe. Bronson appears
to have a larger population than any of the other towns, except
Gainesville. It is the county-seat of Levy, where can be found among the
actual settlers energetic Christian people. A diversity of crops can be
obtained from this soil, much of the land inclining to an undulating
surface.
Otter Creek, one hundred and thirty-four miles from Fernandina, is the
dinner-station, kept by a most worthy gentleman--Captain Mason, formerly
of the United States Army Indian war service. We are now entering the
great Gulf Hummock, the vegetation changing from a semi-tropical to an
entirely tropical character. Here the cabbage-palmetto and hard-wood
trees rear their tops high in the air--a characteristic of the rich
hummock soil. We see no trailing vines killed every winter by frost, but
giant climbers twining around tree-trunks so closely they appear like a
portion of them. This heavy growth converts the route here into an
interminable forest, where only occasional spots or fragments of
sunshine peep through slight openings, that appear to be at no greater
distance than the tree-tops over our heads. These fertile lands are
awaiting the muscular development which has been productive of such
marked results in almost every portion of the State.