Press enter after choosing selection

Southern Sketches

Southern Sketches image
Parent Issue
Day
2
Month
March
Year
1892
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

IV. I'a.ss Christian, (with tho accent on the "aai") is one of the. gull watering places witli a good bathlng beach, wUlch inakee it a summer resort for tihe southern foLk as well as a winter frendezvous lor the tourists of northlauHl. Thcre we rested a day from the lively whirl the New Orleans committee liad given the Michigan Press Association, taking ;i pleasant cari-iage drive about the town. At aiiglit we went to sleop in our tenir, Btanding on tlie side track of that 'Mississippi town, but the inagic of (stea.'m power eaught u.s up, whirled us in the ïiight, acu-oss the state of Alábatela, so that wc might awake al sleepy Peneacola. ïhere, a large number of ïoreign 'sliips load with hvrnber Jor Europe. Timbor is near at hand; land is cheap, ns well as labor. Accordingly, the Snost enterprising of northern capitalists are getting hold of these timber lande with a view of ïnaking profitalle investinents. Gen. Alger is among tliLs ïiumber, and it was our pleasure to anect liim at Pensacola, wliere he was looking after soTne land. THOMAS VILLE. ïiight i:ide brought us to a Georgia city, but so far down that it just escapes beingdji Florida. Thomasville is among -Uie pines, high, healthy and well drainod. Pears, vatewnelons, strawberries-, and grapes Bi1 ow ■weH there, -vhile farming land can bc pickcd up at fro.m $0 to $10 an mi acre. The ïarming population 'is thlujy scattered, but the early frults thcy raise get high prlces wherf sent Iioirtli. It Kecins that Georgia has a university plaai like that with which (Michigan Btarted, that Is, having ■branches scattered all over the state. One of tho.se branches is here loeated. A normal school has also been established for the colored race. It Hvas founded by thi .Vanerican misisioixary society, and has New EnglanU teachers. Tliey claim in this part öf Georgia to divide the public fechool iuml pro rata. between the White and colored children, and that the -white tax-payers pay seven-eighths ol tlio f uaid. The Piney Woods hotel where we ■breakfasted, is a handsome, large, liostelry, popular with tourists drawn 'there for liealth or ploasure from all parts of the country, all of whom enjoy tJie eweet perfume of the pines, in the park opposite. Speaking of pinos, it seemed queer to us to hear tlu'in Bpeakimg of turpentine farms alwut the city. AVe took a carriage ï-ide. arouoid town through the courteSy of the citizens, seeing many pleasïint homes, built by northern men, Viewing the business portion, sizeing up big forest trees and thoroughly enoying the soft, waa-m sunshine. SUWANEE RIVER. Kver Bince Icaving home, the singexs in the party had been taning their Voices fwith "TV'ay down upon the Suwanee river," nnl Ave had all been looking forward to the visit there with pleasure. It eame up to onr expectatlona. Ourio.uely enough, were disappoint■(1 ut not lx-iin; dieappointed, ïor we expected to flmd a Jow banked, slu#ïïtsh etream, running tlirougli ,a Bwamp. In0tead, was a lively curtrent, a (leep river and high banks ■covered witti great forest trees, which were draped wlth lons gray moss. A siil,phur spring, where we stoppd, Ls attaüiiiiig a reputatlon for it8 Kiirative proporties. In one way ït is doing the "vork of the Keeley cure, any one drinking that sulphur water, finds hdmself uaable to stand Mquor. 'i'lacards are up ou the walls wairning people not to try it. But ■whether it was a prohibition dodge to ecare ïoLlcs and keep tliem from tlrink we did not ascertain by sampling. However we eampled the water, and three of us went in Bwimming in the springs, enclosed ly a bigh.wall built airound the place where it bubbfljee aip. It wíis a jolly mid-wrate swtm in the lively pool where 45,000 gallons nvere in and out eacb minuti. The temperature Is 74 dejreea the year nround. Aftea1 tliiiücr thcre wa-s a sreat Kiramble for a boat j-ide in the littte Bteam launch. The old historie st.ream has many "windtags, its swift lurrent making numerous caves iy oe coquina banks. But how sick the leoplé at tlu' hotel must be of hearng everyone wlio co,uies there Bing hat old song ! Ti-ue 'it i pretty, ■ 1ut it must a.ssiinic the proportïohs ! oí a glgantic cbestraut to them. ' In the evenhig they built for us a : huge Ixmfü-e on the .ri ver banks, which añade a stirang-e effect of light a ml fehadow ainomg the ta.ll plnes. JACKSONVIU.E. All who go to Florida go to its Metropolis, Jacksonville, whicti city is the gateway to that beautiful pcliinsuku1 Istate. Tliere the Board of trade tureakfaeted us at the St. James hotel. The city beiiig on the St. John's 4"iver, is reached by ocean Bteamers and it is the market for Florida's proüuce, as well as 'the Wholesale market lor what Is brought in. They have liad big fires and an epidemie of yellow iever, but are rebuildlLng and liave gotten good sanitary regulations. We wei-e pleased to meet Peter Digaian, our former townsman, wlio has regained liie health, married and is in ia pirosperous grocery business. Tlie Florida Press Association was in session and gave us a cordial gretting. ST. AÜGUSTIXE. A special train over the Jaeksonville, St. August.iiic & Halifax River i'oad waa kindly tendered us ly General Superintendent Crawford, and we maile 'good time to the old Spanish lovn ï St. Augusrtine, the oldest txrwa in he D. S. Hero Ls an old toet. ímilt .10 one Imows when, and an old cathedral whose bells were presented by a Spanish klag, over 200 years ago. This quaint town has hotels of which New York or Paris would bu proud, íor no other city has on equal to the Ponce de Ieon, of St. Augnstine. That, s well as the Alcazaa1 and the CorUova, belongs to Flagler, the Standard OU mían, who has spared no expense ' fo beatüig the woa-ld. The architects 5 have studied to reproduce the. ancient 5 Kpanish-Moi-esque palaces with sigj "nal success, even ha vlug excelled any5 tliing oi the ï-ich days of Spanteh eqn' quostK. There are eourts, jxlazas, foim■ tainfi, mai-bles, mosaics, minareis and ) vt-raaidas. Old Inlaid cabinets, rare ipaintings, elegant frescóes, palma ánd I gardejis abound -where, a lew years 1 belore when we were ,there, was slmpJy a low, andy ii'artne. The tranwïoriiation was Alladin-ldke. It is belivod that the ownea has spent over '$2,000,000 in these hotels, and with it he has secured a, marvel of beauty. The Adrián Pírese crlticises the Argna cartoonist as iollows: "Aloxandcr, tlie Xast of the Aim Arbor Argus, presente Congressman Gorman in the act oí placing a ladfler againet a taOl -,tree, rom a high. iimb of -vvhicli swings the jwoposed new goverinncnt building-, like jan oreole's nest. Gorman ís poiiig to 'clinib the ladder and pluck down the building for the Ann Arbor people. There in one trouble labout the cartoon - the ladder is too short to reach 'the iirst lirab. There is also another ïault; when our Jaaies arrivés at the top of the ladder and makee a grab at the Iimb, (which, by actual measuremcnt is au inch too high), he is going to lose liis balance, strike the enrth witli a "dull tlnul." and break his neck. But Buppose he doesn't now in the najuo of the saints is he going to hang on to things and pluclc fche building too, having but one arm ? CMend the illustration. Mr. Cartoonist." ,

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Courier