IN THE WARM SOUTHEAST.
Florida and its Appropriate Name--The First Portions of North America
Discovered by White Men--Early Vicissitudes of its Explorers--An
Enormous Coast Line--How Key West came to be a great Cigar Town--The
Suwanee River--St. Augustine and its World-Renowned Hotel--Old Fort
Marion.
Florida is the name given to one of the least known States in the Union.
Ponce de Leon was the godfather of this southeastern corner of our
native land. Its baptism took place in a remote period. The day of the
event was Easter Sunday, which in the Spanish language is called Pascua
Floria, which is literally interpreted "The Flowery Festival." Almost by
accident, therefore, Florida received a name which is singularly
appropriate and well chosen. From end to end, in either direction, there
is a profusion of semi-tropical beauty and of flowers, some of them
entirely peculiar to the immediate vicinity. There is an abundance of
fruit as well, and frequently the blossoms on the fruit trees make a
lovely flower show in themselves.
The State arms are very peculiar and appropriate. The main figure is
that of an Indian lying upon a bank, scattering flowers around him. In
the distance the sun is setting amid beautiful hills. In the center
there is a river with a steamboat upon it, and with a large cocoanut
tree growing by the side. The State's motto is one which has been
adopted by many communities, but which is ever welcome for the
purpose--"In God We Trust."
In regard to its climate, Florida can offer a great deal of variety.
Consumptives by the tens of thousand have sought a renewed lease of life
in the warmest sections of the State, and many have come back greatly
benefited. The winters are of the Indian summer order, being singularly
dry, healthy and free from dust. The Gulf Stream adds from five to ten
degrees to the temperature in cold weather, and in the southern section
the temperature rarely gets below freezing point. The exceptionally cold
spell of 1894-95 may be quoted as quite an exception to the general
rule, and the heavy loss to growing fruits was as great a surprise as it
was a loss.
Florida has the honor of being the first portion of North America to be
discovered by white people. Ponce de Leon, whose very name is suggestive
of romance and poetry, explored a section of the country in the year
1513, when he proclaimed the sovereignty of Spain over it. In 1527, a
Spanish company of soldiers attempted to drive out the native
inhabitants. The attempt failed, but another one some fourteen years
later was more successful. Spain was not given a clear title to the
peninsula without protest. French Huguenots built Fort Caroline on St.
John's River at about the middle of the century. Shortly after this
enterprise, a Spanish fleet surprised and annihilated the pioneers, upon
whose graves they placed the inscription, "Not as Frenchmen, but as
Lutherans." This brutal attempt to give a religious aspect to the murder
was resented very soon after. A French expedition captured the fort,
hung the garrison one after the other, announcing that they did so, and
hanged the ruffians "Not as Spaniards, but as traitors, thieves and
murderers."
West Florida was settled at the close of the Seventeenth Century, and in
1763 the territory now included in the State was ceded to Great Britain
in return for Cuba. Colonization followed, and a very large number of
British Tories settled in the country. In 1814, the United States seized
portions of the country, and four years later it became evident that
European rule must cease in it. When in 1821 Spain ceded this territory
to the United States, the number of white inhabitants was barely 600,
although there were fully 4,000 Seminoles residing in it.
The Seminole War commenced in 1835, and continued for seven years. The
war cost some $20,000,000, and over 1,500 American soldiers lost their
lives during the campaign. Over 30,000 troops were engaged in the
conflict, and the Indians by taking advantage of their knowledge of the
country, held out against superior force for an extraordinary length of
time. Gradually the savages were driven south, and at last the Seminoles
were overpowered. Those who survived were for the most part sent west of
the Mississippi River. A few are still found, however, on a reservation
some fifteen miles from Fort Pierce on Indian River.
When the Southern States seceded, Florida went with them. In 1864,
General Seymour led 7,000 troops nearly as far as Lake City.
Jacksonville remained under Federal control, but the State fortunately
escaped being made a battle-ground to any extent between the opposing
forces.
Florida has a very interesting geological record. It was evidently
founded on coral reefs, and the formations are so recent that few
minerals are found. Phosphate rock is one of the most remarkable natural
productions of the State, and the actual value of this has not yet been
thoroughly ascertained. The State itself is naturally divided into two
sections, the East and the West. East Florida includes a long peninsula,
and extends westward to the Suwanee River, concerning which the negro
melodist delights to sing. Western Florida is more inland in character.
The measurements of the State are peculiar. Thus it is 700 miles from
the Perdido River to Cape Sable. From the Atlantic to the extreme west
the distance is about 400 miles, and from north to south the distance is
slightly greater. The peninsula itself averages rather less than 100
miles in width throughout. Florida naturally possesses an enormous coast
line. Of this nearly 500 miles is on the Atlantic seaboard, with some
700 miles on the Gulf of Mexico. Harbors abound on every side, and when
Florida becomes a manufacturing State as well as a fruit-growing one,
its resources for exporting will be an immense advantage to it in
overcoming competition and opposition.
This coast line makes sea fishing one of the most profitable occupations
in the State. About 10,000 men are kept constantly employed in this
work. Some of the fish found here are choice and costly delicacies, and
include red snapper, pompano, Spanish mackerel and sea trout. Of turtle
there is an abundance, and tarpon fishing provides amusement to those
who are more strictly sportsmanlike in disposition. Fishing for sponges
is also a fairly remunerative occupation, which always excites much
interest when watched by visitors from other States. Key West alone
sends away sponges worth $500,000 every year, two great capitals of
Europe being the best customers.
Key West is, however, better noted for its cigars. It is situated on
what was originally called Bone Reef by the Spaniards, on account of
great quantities of human bones being found on it by the early
explorers. Eighty years ago, a number of New England fishermen located
at Key West, which is about sixty miles from Florida proper and about
ninety miles from Havana. The great revolution in the nature of the
town's business and habits was brought about by the settlement in it,
less than a quarter century ago, of a large band of Cuban exiles. These
brought with them the secrets of the manufacture of cigars of the
highest grade. They at once set about establishing factories as large as
their means allowed, and the business has grown so rapidly that there
are now facilities for manufacturing nearly 150,000,000 cigars every
year. To the man who appreciates the difference between good and bad
cigars it is hardly necessary to say that in quality, as well as
quantity, the product of this Spanish-American island has progressed.
The harbor of Key West is the ninth port of entry in the country. It is
so naturally impregnable that it escaped capture during the Civil War,
when the Gulf Coast ports were a special source of attack and envy.
Legend and history twine around the harbor stories of thrilling
interest, many of which have formed the plots for successful and
celebrated novels. The town has peculiar but attractive streets, with
tropical trees on both sides. Seven miles distant is Key West, the most
extreme southern point of United States territory. From the immense
light-house pier the distance to the island of Cuba is less than
eighteen miles.
Returning to the inland, we may spend a few minutes
'Way down 'pon de Suwanee Ribber,
Far, far away--
Dare's wha' my heart is turnin' ebber--
Dare's wha' de ole folks stay.
This river, as we have seen, forms the western boundary of Eastern
Florida. It is a very romantic stream, running through a country of
surpassing beauty, with tropical trees and undergrowth coming right to
the water's edge. It enters Florida from Southern Georgia, and runs
through a country which varies from forest to plain and from upland to
valley. Along its banks there are a number of little Southern homes, few
of them boasting of the magnificence of which we often read, but all of
them peaceful and attractive. Of one of these we give an illustration.
At first glance they may not appear to be anything very remarkable about
the little house and its surroundings, but on second thoughts and
glances something more than poetical will be discovered. The old negro
ballad from which we have quoted above gives in its lines a charming
idea of the river and of the memories and thoughts which cling to it.
Excursion parties are very frequent along the river. Some indulge in
hunting, and take advantage of the profusion of game on every hand.
Others prefer to indulge in peaceful reverie and to think only of the
quaint old folks, who, as we are told in the song, still stay in the
vicinity.
The Ocklawaha River resembles the Suwanee in many respects. Steamboats
run along it for a considerable distance, and there is seldom difficulty
in securing passengers. It is said that there are more alligators to a
hundred square feet of water, in sections of this river, than can be
found in any other water in the world. From the deck of a passenger
steamer it is quite interesting to watch the peculiar proceedings of
these dangerous creatures, and many conjectures are exchanged as to what
would happen in the event of any one of the watchers falling overboard.
On the banks of the river, cedar groves are frequently seen. Florida
supplies the world with the wood required for lead pencils, and the
inroads made into her cedar forests for this purpose threaten to
eventually rob the State of one of its most unique features. Cypress, a
wood which is just beginning to be appreciated at its true worth, is
also abundant in this vicinity, and many of the much talked-of cypress
swamps are passed. Pineapples are also seen growing vigorously, and also
the vanilla plant, which resembles tobacco in its leaf. Vanilla leaf is
gathered very largely, and sold for some purpose not very clearly
defined or explained.
The banyan tree has to be seen to be understood. It is really an
exclusive product of Florida and is found in the Key West country, where
sea island cotton will grow all the year around, indifferent to changes
of season. The banyan is almost a colony of trees in itself, having,
apparently, a dozen trunks in one. All the upper boughs are more or less
united, and the old proverb of "In union there is strength," seems to
have in it a unique illustration and confirmation.
Lake Worth is one of the prettiest lakes in the South. It is a very
beautiful sheet of water, broken only by Pitts' Island, which is located
near its northern end. The most useful and desirable products of the
North have here a congenial home, alongside those most loved in the
region of the equator. A New Englander may find his potatoes, sweet
corn, tomatoes and other garden favorites, and can pluck, with scarcely
a change in his position, products that are usually claimed as
Brazilian. He finds in his surroundings, as plentiful and as free as the
water sprinkling before him, such strange neighbors as coffee, the
tamarind, mango, pawpa, guava, banana, sapadillo, almond, custard apple,
maumec apple, grape fruit, shaddock, Avadaco pear, and other equally new
acquaintances.
And these are all neighbors, actual residents, natives of the soil, not
imported immigrants or exacting visitors to be tenderly treated. Giant
relatives, equally at home, are the rubber tree, mahogany, eucalyptus,
cork tree and mimosa. All these, within forty hours' travel of New York,
to be reached in winter by an all-rail trip, and to be enjoyed in a
climate that is a perpetual May. It was but a few years ago (less than a
dozen) that the beauties of Lake Worth were at first dimly reported by
venturesome sportsmen, who had gazed upon its unspeakable loveliness.
To-day the taste and labor of wealthy capitalists from East and from
West, have lined its fair shores with elegant homes. One of these, the
McCormick Place, has for the past two years been famous for its wondrous
beauty. It is situated at Palm Beach, on the eastern shore of the lake,
and faces westward or inland. It thus receives the cool air from the
lake and the breezes from the Atlantic, which is but a stroll distant.
The entire estate comprises 100 acres, all under high cultivation. It
has a water front on both lake and ocean of 1,200 feet. In this lovely
spot Mr. McCormick built a castle, so handsomely finished, inside and
out, so tastefully designed and so elegantly furnished, that one would
imagine he expected to entertain royalty within its walls.
It is said that nowhere on the continent is so great a variety of
vegetable growth presented in one locality, as is here to be seen in the
full perfection of lusty growth. The cacti at this point are marvels of
variety and beauty. One's idea of what a cactus is can never be complete
until one has witnessed a scene such as this, and a collection of this
magnitude. The fruit trees form a mass of groves. In some of these, huge
cocoanuts tower away above all other growth, while alongside of these
monarchs of arbory culture there are groves of dwarf trees, less
tremendous but quite as interesting.
This region has been described as a mental quicksand. There is something
in the atmosphere which makes the most industrious man contentedly idle.
Here the nervous, irritable, fussy individual, who for years has never
known what rest meant, and who has fidgeted when he could not work,
finds himself relaxing, against his will, into a condition of what a
celebrated statesman described as "innocuous desuetude." The balminess
of the air, which is at once warm and invigorating and bracing, without
being severe, brings about a natural feeling of rest. The fascination
which this creates soon becomes overpowering. The longer the visitor
remains the more completely and hopelessly does he give away to his
feelings, until at last he only tears himself away by a painful effort.
Biscayne Bay stands at the terminus of the peninsula of Florida, and at
the extreme southeastern end of the United States. The visitor who
stands here is on what is frequently called the great projecting toe of
the Union. South of him there are a number of islands, but of the main
land there is no more. The bay is almost a lake. It sets well into the
coast, but is not quite enclosed by land. It is between five and ten
miles wide and is forty miles long. A score of little inlets feed it
from the ocean. The water is blue and clear and of no great depth,
making the lake one of the finest cruising places in the world. All
along the shores there are picturesque little settlements, all of them
distinctly Southern in their appearance, and concerning each of which
the traveler can hear legend without number.
St. Augustine is perhaps the most talked-about city in Florida. It is a
quaint old Spanish city with a great history. The evidences of the past
seem to be disappearing rapidly, the retreat being forced by the
introduction of modern ideas and immense sums of modern capital.
Memorial Church is one of the features of the town, and behind it the
traveler sees, as he approaches, turrets and towers of every shape and
size. The pavements are almost uniformly good, and as one is driven
along the streets for the first time, every turning seems to bring to
light some new wonder and some unexpected beauty. Hedges formed of
oleanders, arbor vitae, larches and cedars, to say nothing of masses of
roses of all kinds, upset all his preconceived notions of tree, shrub
and flower growth, and convince him that he has come to a land flowing
indeed with milk and honey, where winters are practically unknown.
The Hotel Ponce de Leon is naturally the great object of his search, and
if his purse affords it the tourist certainly stops here, if only for
the sake of saying that he has slept, for one night at least, in this
extraordinary and marvelously magnificent hostelry. If the Ponce de Leon
were in New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis or Chicago, it would excite
murmurs of admiration on every hand. But its existence would not be
regarded as something extraordinary, as it certainly is in a town of the
size of St. Augustine. The enterprise which led to its construction has
been commented on again and again, and the liberal methods of management
have also been the subject of much comment. As the carriage passes
through the arched gateway into the enclosed court, blooming all the
year round with fragrance and beauty, the tourist begins to apologize
mentally for the skepticism in which he has indulged, concerning this
wonder of the age. After mounting several successive terraces of broad
stone steps, he finds himself at last before the magnificent front of
the great hotel. Before him there is the grand doorway, surmounted by
the oft-described arch of Spanish shields in terra cotta. All around
there are broad galleries and wide windows, with very costly, artistic
cappings. The galleries are supported by massive but neat pillars, and
the shaded nooks and quiet corners are full of romantic influence.
Everything is reminiscent of old Spain, although the magnificence and
architecture is often that of the extreme East. There are five elegantly
decorated salons, in which there are tables of costly onyx, and on whose
walls there are paintings of great splendor. On the ceiling above him
exquisite frescoes tell the story of the old cavalier after whom the
hotel is named, and of his patient and faithful search for the fabled
fountain of youth which no one has yet found. At dinner the visitor is
almost appalled by the magnificence of the service, and his appetite is
apt to be injured by his reflections as to the cost of the silver and
porcelain set before him. Sometimes as many as a thousand guests sit
down together, and the service seems to be perfect for an unlimited
number of visitors.
This great hotel was erected like the great temple described in
scripture, practically without hammer or nails. Being molded from
concrete, it is practically proof against weather and time, and it is
fireproof in a sense of the term far more literal than that generally
adopted in large cities. There is no sham work, from basement to tower.
Italian marble, terra cotta and Mexican onyx are the principal materials
used, and nothing "equally as good" is tolerated.
The view from St. Augustine can hardly be excelled in any part of the
world. The old city gates remind the tourist of Spanish stories and
Oriental fables. Net far distant he sees Fort Marion, described as the
oldest fortification in the United States. It was built by one of the
Spanish Kings at great expense, and, according to the opinion of
experts, is likely to survive many generations to come. It is
constructed of cocquina cement, found only in Florida, and which seems
to be everlasting in character.
Fort Marion has been the scene in years gone by of countless events of
thrilling interest, and the student of history, who sees it for the
first time, delights to conjure up reminiscences concerning it. In the
old Indian war days there were several massacres at this point, in which
the Indians occasionally outdid themselves in deeds of blood. About
twenty years ago, the old fort was turned into an Indian prison, and to
it were taken some of the worst and apparently most irreclaimable
members of Indian tribes. This included Mochi, the Indian squaw who
seemed to regard murder as a high art and a great virtue, "Rising Bull,"
"Medicine Water," "Big Mocassin" and other red ruffians who had proved
themselves beyond all hope of reformation. The watch-tower of the fort
stands high above surrounding buildings, and is probably one of the
oldest watch-towers and light-houses in the world.
The old sea-wall runs from the fort past the historical old slave-market
and the plaza, where cool breezes can be obtained on the hottest days.
There is the cathedral, the oldest place of worship in the country, if
the local historians are to be believed, with its chime of bells which
first called the faithful to worship more than 200 years ago. On the
east the smooth waters of the attractive bay rivet the attention of
every visitor who has in him a particle of poetry, or appreciation of
the beautiful. Not far away is Anastasia Island. At the north of
Mananzas Bay is the spot where Sir Francis Drake, one of England's first
admirals, landed, and close by is the oft-described lighthouse, with its
old Spanish predecessor just north of it.
Not far from St. Augustine is the Carmonna vineyard. Here there are
seventy-five acres of land covered with grape vines. The second year
these vines yielded two and a half tons of grapes per acre. The sea of
leaves, responding to the gentle breeze which generally blows up,
presents an appearance of green very restful to the eye, and opens up
new ideas as to color and expanse. All around Moultrie there are acres
and acres of white Niagara grapes, and in a few years Florida shipments
of this fruit will be enormous.