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Florida Sketches

Florida Sketches image
Parent Issue
Day
19
Month
March
Year
1884
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Before I went to Florida I wastold tUat when i reached Jacksonville the alligators woultl be so thick the city had to have policemen on the corners to club them off so they would not amuse themselves by chewing off the legs of passers by. Well I saw i great many there and right on the sidèwalk too, but they were in biixes and so tame they never cared for more than a fipger or two at one bite. They make nice pets, for you eau forget to feed thein for two or three mouths at a time and they are apparentlv as haonv ., -„ mm ice cream tnree tunes 11 tïay. This sauriau then is better than the old woman's cow, whieh, just as she had taug-ht t to o-n bIAmi eatlng, iip and died. Along tlic banks of the St. John's nnd Oclawaha river3 they muy be seen in abuiidancestretchedouton the logsasleep in the suQshine. A few years ago the passengei-8 on the boats shot at tliem to annh a aegree that they were nearly driven olt' into the interior swamps, but now the rules forbid cairying lire-arins, and the monsters are agalu nppearing, and silently to blink at the disturbing boal to roll off into the water to flounderaway. It is a pity one cannot shoot at tliem for it is Iota of f un for a sportsman and at the same time itdoes not hurt the 'gator any. But the grentle alligator is not the only animal of prey in tropical climes, for there can be no paradise on earth. Howeyer. Flnruin wouia oomc clooc 10 u were it not for ita small insect pests. Fleas, bed-bugs, mosquitoes, gnats, flies, ants and worms are no respecters of person, and go about on blood-thirsty missions Thus early in the season they are not especially annoytng, but later tliey hold high carniyal, and the musquito, especially, chews you wliether you choose or not. That Ocklawaha river is a curious little stream wandering aimlessly diagonally across the state, finally to meet the St. John's. It starts from springs fiowing great volumes of water out of the earth. One of these is Silver Spring, where, although it is sixty-five feet deep the liquid is ao clear that at the bottom one eau easily see i tine piece of tin and the small U3iici. ii is ttsiunianiy pure ana transparent. From these the stream aiïses, thence going to the larger river by such acrooked aud tortuous route that it runs 110 miles where it might have made t in 30. The river seems to be on a perpetual "bender" when "uno ,i .._„ j - anotlier," and the wheezing linie boat is always having to be poled around the sharp curves But the strangest part is at niglit when the silent aisles of the impenetrable forests are draped il darkness. A large bon-fire of pine knots oa the top of the pilot liouse sendsaglare ahead over the inky v;ite-8. The puffing of the engiue and thesudden liglit startles the denizens of those lonely places and they hurry away with a wil.J slniek or a sudden splash in the flood, eacli according to its element. Close on eitlier side are the tall pines with branches interlocking aboye and pendant from tliem is the long grey moss. The tombreness and wierdnessofsuch a scène caiinot be relieved even by a jolly party sitting on deck telling stories and jokes. Onthecontrary, Itis heigbtened by the colored deck-hands who group themselves on the lower deck and plaintively chant or wail their oldtime melodies and hymns. Their black face?, quaint attire nnd the pitchy shadows their forms make to dance along among the passing f oliage combine with all the furroundings to impress one as though he wereattheentrance of Dante's Inferno.

Article

Subjects
Ann Arbor Courier
Old News