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
VOLUSIA.
Good boarding-house by Dr. Langren--price moderate. Little is now seen
from the river but a few ruinous 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
stands _Fort 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 the brave Seminole warrior, Osceola, (corruption of _asse
heholar_, sun rising). On the left bank, six miles above, is the
remarkable
BLUE SPRING.
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
ENTERPRISE,
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 a mile 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 salt springs. 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.
NEW SMYRNA.
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 still discernible. 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.
INDIAN RIVER.
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, averaging half 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.
SANTA LUCIE,
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.
SANTA LUCIE RIVER
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.
5.--JACKSONVILLE TO TALLAHASSEE, QUINCY AND ST. MARKS.
(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 is _White House_ (eleven
miles). The next (eight miles) is _Baldwin_, (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.
LAKE CITY
(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 body of 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.
WELBORN
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 passes _Houston_, (five miles), and reaches
_Live 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.
The _Lower 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, is _Ellaville_, (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) is _Madison_, 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 are _Goodman_ station, (fourteen miles), _Aucilla_, (seven
miles), and the _Junction_ (seven miles). At the latter a railway four
miles in length diverges to
MONTICELLO,
The county seat of Jefferson county.
_Hotels._--Monticello house, kept by Mrs. Madden, accommodates about
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 at _Lloyd’s_ (nine miles),
_Chavies_, (six miles), and finally at
TALLAHASSEE.
_Hotels._--City Hotel, Hagner house, about $3.00 a day.
_Newspapers._--The _Floridian and Journal_, Democrat, an old established
and ably conducted paper; the _Tallahassee Sentinel_, Republican,
likewise well edited.
_Churches_ of 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 Greek _talofah_, town, and
_hassee_, 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,
QUINCY
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._--The _Quincy 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,
of which 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.
TALLAHASSEE TO ST. MARKS.
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 word _wankulla_, (_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 spring is 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.
NEWPORT,
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.
6. THE OKLAWAHA RIVER AND THE SILVER SPRING.
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
DAVENPORT’S BLUFF,
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
*BLUE SPRINGS.
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
FORT BROOKE.
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
PAINE’S LANDING,
near where the waters of Orange Lake drain into the river.
One and a half miles beyond is a settlement with the pretty name _Iola_.
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 savannas on
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’s
_Letters from the Frontier_, p. 149, and a more scientific one in my
_Notes 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
OCALA,
The county seat of Marion co., nine miles distant. The intervening
country is rolling, with pine woods and 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 the _pistia 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 nine miles 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.
LEESBURG,
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.”
7. FROM FERNANDINA TO CEDAR KEYS.
(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 is _Callahan_ (27 miles); the next
_Baldwin_ (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
GAINESVILLE.
_Hotels._--*Exchange hotel, by Messrs. Barnes & Shemwell; the Magnolia
house; the Bevill house; charges, $2.50 per day.
_Newspaper._--The _New 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 Grove_ commences 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.
8. KEY WEST--THE FLORIDA KEYS AND THE GULF COAST.
KEY WEST.
_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.
_Telegraph_ to 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’s _Guide-Book_).
_Newspaper._--Key West _Dispatch_, 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 Spanish _Cayo 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
six miles 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
reputation which 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 of salt 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.
DRY TORTUGAS. FORT JEFFERSON.
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 carried off 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.
MIAMI AND KEY BISCAYNE BAY.
_Mail Schooner_ on 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 very _best_, it could also be made the _most accessible_ part 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
great abundance, 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 bowl_ is 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
about one 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.
9. THE WESTERN COAST.
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.
TAMPA.
_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; the _Florida
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.
MANATEE
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
APALACHICOLA,
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.
PENSACOLA.
No hotel. Boarding houses by Mrs. Davis, on the beach, near the depot;
Mrs. Knapp, on Intendencia street; 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 Pensacola _Observer_, tri-weekly; the West Florida
_Commercial_, weekly. Reading room for gentlemen at the “Gem”
restaurant.
_Churches._--Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist.
_Physicians._--Drs. Hargis, Lee.
Pensacola has about 2000 inhabitants, one-third of whom are colored. The
bay was discovered in 1559, by Don Tristan de Luna y Arellana, who named
it Santa Maria de Galve. He landed with 1500 men and a number of women
and children, intending to establish a permanent colony. The
neighborhood, however, proved barren, the ships were wrecked, and after
two years the few who survived returned to Mexico. In 1696, Don Andres
de Arriola made another attempt with more success. He constructed a fort
at the entrance of the harbor, and received the title Governor of
Pensacola, the name being taken from a small native tribe called
Pensocolos, who dwelt in the vicinity. The name is Choctaw, and means
“Hairy People.” In 1719, it was captured by the French, under M. de
Serigny, who lost and regained it within the year. In 1721, it reverted
to Spain, and some attempt was made by that power to lay out a city.
A few old Spanish buildings yet stand, but have nothing about them
worthy of note. Half a mile north of the bay is the site of Fort St.
Michael, a commanding eminence, with a fine view of the bay and navy
yard. About six hundred yards north of St. Michael’s, stood Fort St.
Bernard, known as _el sombrero_, from its resemblance to a hat. Both
these edifices are completely demolished, and a few stones, potsherds,
and pieces of iron are all that remain to mark their positions.
The climate of Pensacola is bracing in winter, but not at all suited to
consumptives. All such should avoid it, as they almost invariably grow
worse. The pine lands, twenty or thirty miles north of the city, are
much more favorable to such patients.
A railroad is just finished from Pensacola to Montgomery, Ala., which
connects this seaport with Louisville and the northern States east of
the Mississippi. Doubtless this will give the old town quite an impetus
in growth. A pamphlet setting forth its advantages as a seaport and
place of residence was published in July of the present year (1869) by
A. C. Blount, President of the railroad.
MILTON
Is a pleasant town of about a thousand inhabitants, thirty miles from
Pensacola.
_Hotels._--Eagle and City Hotel, $2.25 a day in each.
A daily steamboat line connects the two towns (fare $2) and a tri-weekly
line of hacks runs from Milton to Poland, Ala., en the Montgomery &
Mobile R. R., thirty-three miles--fare $5.
After leaving Pensacola, the next stopping place of the steamer is
MOBILE.
_Hotels._--The Battle House, corner Royal and St. Francis streets, $4.00
per day, an old established and well known house; *Gulf City Hotel,
corner Water and Conti streets, $3 per day, $17.50 per week, $65 per
month, new and good; Roper House, corner Royal and St. Michael streets,
same price as Gulf City Hotel, except $50 per month; Girard House, 123
Dauphin street, $2.50 per day; Goff House, Conti street, not first
class.
_Post Office._--In Custom House, opposite the Battle House. Telegraph
and Express offices near by.
_Bath Booms._--In Battle House, 50 cents; in Gulf City Hotel, 35 cents,
and in a barber shop on St. Francis street, opposite the ladies entrance
to the Battle House, 35 cents.
_Restaurant._--Jenkins’, on Royal street, opposite the Battle House, is
the best.
_Bookseller._--Putnam & Co., 52 Dauphin street.
_Livery Stable._--Hayden & Meenan, 39 Royal street, near the Roper
House; carriage and driver, for half a day, $8.00; buggy, for half a
day, $5.
_Newspapers._--The _Daily Register_; the _Daily Tribune_.
_Physician._--Dr. T. S. Scales, 128 Dauphin street.
_Omnibusses_ meet the boats and cars, and street cars run on the
principal streets--fare five cents and ten cents.
_Theaters._--Mobile Theater, Variety Theater, both on Royal street.
The city (population 35,000) is situated about thirty miles from the
Gulf of Mexico, on the west side of Mobile Bay. The bay is shallow and
the channel tortuous. The rivals of the city say that the entrance is
filling up, and will, before many generations, become little more than a
marsh. The site of the town is on a sandy plain, elevated about fifteen
feet above high tide, and is, consequently, well drained. The houses
extend along the bay nearly three miles.
The city was founded by the French at the commencement of the last
century, but remained an insignificant post until 1819, when it was
incorporated. Since then it has grown with rapidity, and is now one of
the most active cotton ports in the United States. Many of the buildings
are handsome, and though the city suffered considerably during the war,
it is rapidly regaining its former wealth. An excellent Directory has
been published by the Southern Publishing Co.
The Custom House is the finest public edifice. It is constructed of
marble.
There is a public square in a central locality, and the abundance of
hedges of the Cherokee Rose, a flowering evergreen, gives the streets a
pleasant appearance.