Cedar Keys is the terminus of the West India Transfer Railroad--that
comfortless, unlovely, much-abused sand and water place--where people
always heretofore have paid a big price for a small equivalent. There is
life in the old town yet. She supports a newspaper now, and has a good
hotel, kept by Dr. McIlvaine, who knows how to serve the traveling
public, without robbing them, when they are in his power. The memory of
the fresh fried fish, they can serve up so fresh and hot, will make
visitors who go once have a desire to return. Then, to think of oysters
twenty-one times in a week! Consider on it, those who never ate enough
fine, first-class bivalves in their lives. Visitors who come here will
find sailing and fishing very fine amusement. Cedar Keys is going to
have a big hotel--then everybody will want to come, if they can only
regulate the prices according to the amount of accommodation. There is,
no doubt, a bright future before her yet.
For the benefit of those who imagine Cedar Keys never had a citizen in
it with an idea much above an oyster, I have copied the following, which
is a specimen of the toasts drunk by the patriotic to the military, July
4, 1843. They contain something so genuine, in the way of
word-selecting find arranging, that it really reads refreshing in these
days, when such a surfeit of fulsome flattery is considered the only
current coin of the day:
"Mr. Speaker. Freedom's Anniversary: The wilds of Florida, where echoed
the Indian's war-whoop and the revengeful battle-strife, to-day bring
forth their festive offering. We celebrate a new jubilee.
"By Mr. Thompson. The champions of Florida's restoration from the
desolations of war--Generals Jessup and Worth.
"By Mr. Brown. Colonel Belknap: The red man's friend in peace--the
terror of the savage in war.
"By William Cooley. Colonel Wm. S. Harney: The brave and gallant avenger
of savage atrocity and barbarity.
"By Augustus Steele, Esq. General Worth: The peaceful fields we till,
the quiet roads we travel in happy security, the waving corn and lowing
herds that gladden our senses, bespeak our remembrance and admiration of
the skill and intrepidity, also the indomitable perseverance which,
under difficulties little less than insurmountable, have secured us
these blessings."
The "moving impulse" from Cedar Keys for a long time was in a weak
condition, the H. Cool being the only craft to convey passengers from
here to Manatee and Tampa. However, now two regular steamers, with good
accommodations, are to be had, without the prospect of a dive beneath
the briny waves.
Many imagine that a trip to South Florida is an enterprise which would
require the fortitude of a Stanley to undertake. It is true, the
inaccessible position of some localities in this portion of the State
would be rather impracticable for feeble invalids; but what more could
craving humanity demand than a climate where the thermometer never rises
over ninety, and rarely descends lower than sixty? By taking a
creditable steamer at Cedar Keys, we can reach Manatee, the point of our
destination. Sometimes the gulf is a little rough, but very often smooth
as a mill-pond, when we glide along gently as a sail across a summer
sea.
Clear Water Harbor, the last point before Manatee, was first explored by
Narvaez, whom the Indians received without demonstrations of fear or
hostility. After the Spaniards landed, they were attracted by the gold
worn upon the persons of the Indians, which they said came from the far
North. These Spaniards, being both sailors and soldiers, wearied with
maritime pursuits and fighting, now resolved to try their fortunes on
land. They started with three hundred men, in a north-west course, to
search for the mountains of gold. In their travels they discovered
nothing but fatigue, privation, disappointment, and death, wherever they
went. But four of the number survived, who became medicine men among the
Indians--finally making their way to Mexico, after an absence of six or
seven years.
Nothing of particular interest occurs to break the monotony during our
voyage to Manatee, one hundred miles distant from Cedar Keys. It is
situated on a river of the same name, fifteen miles from the gulf. It
was named from the sea-cow, which was found there, and used as an
article of food. Visitors or immigrants may have the fondest dream of
their imagination realized in finding here all the natural
accompaniments for a pleasant home.
The view of Manatee, as we approach the town, is not particularly
imposing--the houses being scattered in every direction, like the forces
of a retreating army, while each settler appears to have taken
possession of what land he could cultivate as he came. The dwellings are
embowered in orange-trees, which in March freight the air with a perfume
that permeates our very existence, producing a kind of luxurious rest,
when time and all objects around us move as though in dreamland.
Perennial spring-time keeps vegetation growing all winter. The _Palma
Christi_, in this locality, becomes a large tree, yielding its beans
perfectly every year; while tomato-vines grow to an immense size,
twining into shady bowers, fruiting, without cessation, until three
years old, when the tomato has a strong flavor, resembling the vine. The
guava, from which the jelly of commerce is manufactured, grows
spontaneously, and it is said the mamma of all in South Florida still
flourishes at this place. The lands in the vicinity are pine, hummock,
and prairie. The pine-land requires fertilizing--the hummock, clearing
and ditching--when two hogsheads of sugar and seventy five gallons of
sirup are the average product of an acre, which, to those who never in
their lives had as much sugar as they could eat, is a sweet item.
The prairie-lands furnish sustenance for the lowing herds, which are
wild as deer. They are captured by a song the "cow-boys" sing,
resembling nothing else in the world. Where it originated, none can
tell; but the cattle gather from afar whenever it is sung, and are then
driven at will by those long rawhide lashes that pop like pistols, many
times cutting out pieces of quivering flesh, at which the sight of
humanity would shrink.
The lusciousness of oranges produced here is incomparable, particularly
when contrasted with those sour, stringy products of commerce. We have
tasted this fruit from every clime, but never have the Manatee oranges
been excelled. How ripe and delicious they grow on those tall trees,
where they hang constantly exposed to the rays of a tropical sun until
March! Messrs. Gates, Whittaker & Lee have old bearing groves, while
hundreds of others are coming on.
When we reflect upon the superabundance of natural products that
flourish in this locality, with which to supply the necessities of life,
can we wonder why one of the wrecks of once powerful tribes so long
resisted the encroachments of white settlers, contesting for territory
until nearly extinct, many of them suffering with the calmness of
Christian martyrs, or the bravery of Roman heroes--thus regarding death
with a lofty disdain? The Indians, like the wild beasts in whose skins
they were clad, have been driven, by the march of civilization, farther
and farther into the grass-water country, where, like a lion deprived of
his claws, resentment has died for want of strength to assert its
prowess, while, by contact with an enlightened race, their original
independence has been brought into a state of subjugation.
In this portion of Florida the cactus-pear grows to an immense size.
History mentions a peculiar tribe of Indians who once lived here with as
little solicitude for their support as the birds of passage, especially
in the pear-season, which was hailed by them as a period of
feasting--their only labor being to obtain the pears, which they
afterward peeled and roasted for present use, or dried and packed like
figs, to eat on their journeys, while the remaining portion of their
time was passed in the observance of their various festivals and
dancing--their houses being made of palm-matting, which they carried on
their backs--thus moving their habitations, every three or four days,
without the slightest inconvenience.
The inducements for immigration here are equal to any in the State.
Adventurers do not flourish on this soil, the residents, taken as a
mass, being the best that can be found. Many of them from the Southern
States, uprooted from their old homes by the reverses of war, but not
disheartened, have come down here to take root and thrive again. Church
privileges are enjoyed, in a church where quiet Christian people
assemble for worship. Also three well-taught schools in the town and
vicinity. Two good resident physicians, but dependent on visitors for a
support--one of them from a malarious country, who came here to escape
death. Here, as in other localities, settlers have to sow before they
can reap, but the natural growth in the hummocks evidences great
fertility of soil.
The Manatee boarding-houses are sanitariums, where more trouble is taken
to please visitors, at less expense, than at almost any other place in
the State. The tables are supplied with food visitors can eat, that will
nourish them--not what the host chooses to furnish. I well remember with
what a troubled look Mrs. Gates took me into the larder one day after
having dined on lemonade. There was a quantity of provisions to gladden
the hungry: almost an entire roasted wild turkey, stuffed quarter of
venison, fresh-baked fish, home-made light-bread and biscuits,
pound-cake, rich lemon pies--any of which would tempt an epicurean
taste. "You are eating nothing hardly," said she; "now, whenever you
wish, come and help yourself."
The remoteness of this point from the principal resorts is the only
objection. Every one who comes says the climate is perfect. The streams
and gulf swarm with fish. Visitors sit on the wharf and recreate in
catching twenty-pound snappers, while at low-tide the rheumatic old men
wade about in the warm salt-water, happy as boys just entering their
teens. Let all those who dream of sand-hills, and only starvation
staring them in the face while in Florida, come to Manatee. A pure
sea-breeze pervades the whole surrounding country, the evenness of
temperature producing a very genial and happy influence in pulmonic
diseases, more than all the drugs compounded by any pharmaceutist in the
world. The moon here shines with a clear, luminous light of two common
moons--an indescribable brilliancy that transforms the darkness of night
almost into a continued day, which has a tendency to bewilder, and make
us think we are in a land of fabled beauty, more than a troubled world,
to be tossed again by the tempests incident to life. This appears to be
the native home of the grape-vine, where all varieties flourish finely.
Think of the money that is expended every year in sending to foreign
countries for the one article of wine, and what a miserable, adulterated
mixture is brought over, only dashed a little with pure grape-juice,
while the drugs introduced would cause any one with delicate
sensibilities to shrink from the thought of swallowing! If a reliable
firm were to come here and undertake the culture of vineyards,
manufacturing pure wines, it would be found more remunerative than
orange-growing, the risk being not half so great, as the wine is
improving with age, while fresh fruits decay very rapidly, when being
transferred. Invalids, in coming to Florida, bring their wines; whereas,
if they could be furnished with a better article at much less rates,
they would soon find it more advantageous to patronize a home-product,
the compounding of which they knew to be genuine as the far-famed
vintage of the Rhine. Wine has always been in use from the days of Noah
to the present time, although brigades of men and women-crusaders have
screamed themselves hoarse in proclaiming its evils and wicked
influences. If the manufacture of wines from pure grape-juice was
encouraged, this beastly drunkenness from strychnine whisky would very
soon be abandoned.
Sometimes here, as in other places, the laborer is not rewarded in his
efforts to raise a good crop, which, in this far-famed country for
fertility and productiveness, is pronounced a fraud practiced by
somebody in holding out inducements for them to come to Florida and
starve. No person has ever been known to suffer for food in this portion
of the State--as an illustration of which, one man has lived in the
vicinity nearly thirty years, reared a large family, and none can
testify to his having done a whole day's work during that time. The safe
way is to cultivate a variety of vegetables and fruits--something will
thrive. Sweet potatoes are indigenous, and never fail, making fine food
for man and beast. Sugar-cane is a sure crop, ratooning without
replanting for six years, if properly cultivated, and, as it is never
injured by frost, blooms and perfects seed.
Bees can be successfully kept, on account of the mild climate, as they
can work all the year. Much wild honey has been taken from trees, which
is a proof of their adaptation to this place. Patent hives have not been
introduced, or perhaps these old-fashioned bees would not fancy so many
apartments in their palaces; but it would, no doubt, be worth the
experiment to try them. Bee-gums made from a hollow log, set flat on the
ground, are principally in use. A good swarm is said to yield
seventy-five pounds of honey in a season. No apiarian societies have
been yet established, and very little attention is given to the bee
industry in any way. Some planters have twenty-five or fifty colonies.
Bee-culture will be introduced as the industry of the country is
developed, and the sweet tastes of the people demand it. "When you are
asked by the Floridians if you will take "long sweetenin'" or "short
sweetenin'" in your coffee, remember the "long sweetenin'" is honey, and
the "short" sugar.
Let all those who wish to avoid the long, dreary, drizzly days during
March and April, in more Northern latitudes, when the warm current of
life is almost chilled into frigidity, come to South Florida, and roam
by the river-side, or glide across the quiet lakes in light canoes; ply
the oar at night, when the bright moonbeams kiss the parting waves, or
while the iridescent rays of dancing sunbeams shimmer under the
brightness of a tropical sky.
It is now the last of February, and the sunny side of nature is beaming
upon the oleanders that are bursting their pink petals, while the
orange-trees are sending forth fresh leaves that envelop the germs of
the far-famed Hesperidean fruit. The wild orange is in bloom, which
freights the air with delicious odors, although the fruit is only used
for making beverages and marmalade. The banana, which is cultivated as
corn is farther North, has commenced putting up fresh shoots, whose
leaves are to take the place of those rent in shreds by the rude winds
that have spent their fury on this coast during the Northern winters.
The air is now soft as a sleeping zephyr on a summer sea, while the
earth is covered with a fresh carpet of green, mingled with white and
blue violets, the tiny forget-me-not, the wild verbena, the purple and
yellow crocus, and other flowers of less humble growth, and more varied
hues than can be described, deck the landscape with beauty, gemming the
wild woods with loveliness, and filling our hearts with delight. Sounds
of melody echo from sunlit bowers, where birds of song flit on airy
wings, and the gentle cries of fledglings arouse the maternal instincts
to greater exertion.
Every settler is busy gathering oranges, which will be ruined if left on
the trees when they commence blooming, as the juice is required to
perfect the future blooms. Young trees are being transplanted,
palmettoes dug out, cows penned for milking, calves caught and
marked--as no one can recover the value of a stolen animal not branded.
Poets have called the rose "a child of summer." Those rhyme-writers
never visited Manatee, where new-born roses open every day, and summer
lingers all the year. This vicinity, like most other places, has its
historic record of various _data_. It is here the pirates Ambroister and
Arbuthnot were captured, and afterward hanged by order of General
Jackson. These lands were once the hunting-grounds of Billy Bowlegs, who
defeated General Taylor at Ocheechobe Lake, during the Seminole war.
When Bowlegs was being taken through the Capitol-building in Washington,
he gave only a stupid stare or grunt at all other objects except an
oil-painting, where, among other figures, was General Z. Taylor, at
which he grinned with a look of satisfaction, exclaiming, "Me whip!" The
old chieftain was a great hunter. When expostulated with for hunting
game on Sunday, he very promptly replied, "White man have good book to
read, and he work on Sunday."
From this place Hon. Judah P. Benjamin, Secretary of the Confederate
States, now Solicitor-general for the Queen of England, made his escape.
Here he remained six months under an assumed name, with the pretext of
desiring to purchase hummock-lands. During his stay newspapers were
shown him by his friends, in which were large rewards offered for his
capture; but his protectors scorned treachery for gold. He left Manatee,
disguised as a cook, on board a sloop. Before they reached Key West
their little craft was overhauled by a United States revenue-cutter. The
powerless foe for whom they were searching, not being recognized in his
galley disguise, ran the gauntlet in safety. While on his way to Nassau
the schooner in which he was sailing, not being able to resist the heavy
seas that it had to encounter, sunk, when he was shipwrecked, losing all
his personal effects, and was rescued from drowning only by escaping to
a small boat, from which he was afterward picked up by an English
vessel. He was recently solicited to write an account of his adventures
before escaping to Europe, but replied, "It is too soon."
In this portion of Florida have been discovered bones of immense size,
belonging to an order of animals now extinct--these being fragments of
the
[Illustration: MASTODON GIGANTICUS.]
mammiferous mastodon and megatherium, which furnish material for study
that takes us back to the earliest history of the world, before giants
lived, or Adam was made out of the red clay, to enter Eden and
participate in its primeval glories. When those creatures, that now only
excite our wonder, walked the earth, covered with their piles of flesh,
moving with majestic tread the uninhabited globe, the sloth was then the
size of an ox, the bear as large as a horse. Portions of vertebræ
belonging to the mastodon _giganticus_--a race of elephants that lived
during the tertiary period--have been discovered here, measuring eleven
feet in height, with a body seventeen feet in length, and a huge tail
over six feet long. The bones of this animal, when exhumed, were found
in marl-pits, or salt-licks containing saline matter, to which may be
attributed their remarkable preservation. Their grinding-teeth were
adapted to a much coarser article of diet than that consumed by
elephants of the present period. They have also been called "the hairy
elephant." Was it not the mammoth megatherium that furnished the
aborigines with material for pointing their spears and manufacturing
their bone implements, the remains of which are now frequently found
beneath the _tumuli_ of Florida? The megatherium was a contemporary of
the mastodon--a few bones having been exhumed in South Florida; but
Skiddaway, on the coast of Georgia, has furnished remains of the most
perfect and interesting specimens of this animal ever found in North
America, discovered in 1855. This herbivorous creature belonged to an
extinct species of sloth, which had ribs measuring more than three
inches in width, and teeth nine inches long, its thigh-bones being three
times the thickness of those of the largest elephant, with fore-feet
one yard in length, a body eighteen feet long, and its massive tail two
feet in diameter, which enabled the animal to balance its body while
feeding, and also use it as a weapon of defense. The weight of its
hind-legs and tail prevented it from somersaulting while cutting down
trees with its teeth.
[Illustration: text decoration]