title: A guide to Florida, "The land of flowers,"
text: Z ' " & -o- V ^ '* ,<\" A* ° ^ ^ r, ■.■> ^ ^ <^- j> s *>v ■^ ,V ,0 o. ? , - ■>■■ ■>■,■ 4 V "W >o x £ ^ v* r ■ f\ ^r I- %£ x .0 •>• ** A- ,/> .*fc° ^ v*" ** - ^ "^ * ^ X ; V^' «s? •%. ,0c 0> s ^ '. <& r >- %■/>' ^•V ' ; "■»*■■■" V *>- v* 1 - K 0> ^ * <v> ^' Tf vV </> \V V <V -f 1 ^ rOJ M EX I C CU L F of LOl • /pi :,,. '.■■■■'- ' ||-„ H«pl M O N ROE /> j ^ *£° «'! it tLs ™~ jVrRO x : ^ |_.«— "'-^■"•, ' -" " ^Viorii TliiMKC /ERGLA ° t;i ' ' HILLSQOm '^ CYPB A E \VC S LL V ! DUB?.ESI ,' O ^/w T LiUDCRDM.; ■'■;. ; - * / # #"V FEENANDI1TA, PLOEIDA. This first-class House has been remodeled, refurnished, and put in complete order for the winter travel. This House has 50 Rooms, many of them of extra size ; 500 feet Piazza ; splendid Flower Garden ; 50 varieties of the Rose ; with Oranges, Lemons, Bananas, Figs. Pomegranates, Strawberries and other Fruits. J0Sf*Table Supplied with all the delicacies of the season. JOHN M. PAYNE, Proprietor. IN FLORIDA, On the East Bank of St. John's River, six miles above Jacksonville. House new ; 12 rooms ; well finished inside and out. Title perfect. Possession given at any time. For full description, with view of house, address A. F. STYLES, Jacksonville, Fla. STERBOSOOPIO VIEWS OF SC1SN-SS X3VT 3E" XLi O IE*. 133 -A. , For Sale by C, Drew, Masonic Building, Jacksonville ; R. H. Gordon, St. Augustine ; and on the River Steamers. GENERAL RAILROAD TICKET OFFICE, INF'ORMA.TIOISr With reference to the running of Railroads to and from SAVANNAH, will be cheerfully furnished at the General Ticket Agency of Robert R. Bren, at the corner of Bull and Broughton Streets. Mr. Bren will keep a Visitors' Register, to fill the place of a General Directory. Persons desiring to obtain the whereabouts of their triends can do so by referring to this Book. GWIME T@ FLQMM9* 9 "T4t£ im® Or flOW£|*S," CONTAINING AH HISTORICAL SKETCH, GEOGRAPHICAL, AGRICULTURAL AND CLIMATIC STATISTICS, ROUTES OF TRAVEL BY LAND AND SEA, AND GENERAL INFORMATION INVALUABLE TO THE Jnactlii, (iiottrist or Emigrant. "4, u Entered according: to Act of Congress by R. S Gardiner, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Jtefo fork: CUSHRCG, BARDCJA k. CO, Pbixtkks, 044 «b «4« Broads*. 0&\ p UIDE TO ^FLORIDA. Five years after Christopher Columbus first saw land in the New World, another navigator, Sebastian Cabot, sailing under the English flag, discovered the coast of Florida. This was in 1497. It was not until the spring of 15 12 that the Europeans made a permanent landing. A veteran cavalier of Spain, Juan Ponce de Leon, impelled by a romantic fancy that in the West there existed a fountain whose waters restored the aged to perpetual youth, raised an expedition of enthusiasts like himself and set sail on this wondrous voyage of discovery. He saw the coast for the first time on Easter Sunday, in April, 15 12, which day the Spaniards call Pasqua Florida, and because the charming country spread before him was fairly radiant with wild flowers, he gave it the beautiful name of Florida. This landing was made near the site of the present city of St. Augustine The cavalier's search for the immortal spring was fruitless. The Indians harassed and picked off his band with poisoned arrows, and he was finally forced to quit the country. He carried with him to Cuba a mortal wound which caused his death soon after his arrival there. A dozen years later Spain again attempted to colonize the peninsula. Narvaez was appointed Governor and landed 4 GUIDE TO FLORIDA. with three hundred men. He made no attempt at settle- ment however, but wandered off on an exploring expedi- tion, and after many hardships, finally reached the far off country of the Mexicans. The illustrious Ferdinand de Soto, the discoverer of the Mississippi river, followed him to Florida. He landed in Tampa Bay with a thousand followers, in the spring of 1539. His march through the interior was disputed at every step by the aborigines, and his little army was so decimated by war, fatigue and sick- ness, that when his own body was committed to the bosom of the " Father of Waters" two years later, but a third of them survived. The first actual settlement of Florida was made oy the French Huguenots who, under Jean Ribault, attempted to plant a colony at the mouth of the St. Johns River in 1564. This roused the ire of the Spaniards, who claimed the country as their own, and an expedition was sent out under the command of Don Pedro Menendez to extermi- nate the Frenchmen. The Don did his bloody Work effectually. The little French city was taken by surprise, and all of its inhabitants were massacred. Above their bodies, which he had suspended from the trees, Menendez left this inscription : " Not because they are Frenchmen, but because they are heretics and enemies of God." . But vengeance on the cruel Castilians was swift. Three years later an expedition under De Gourgues, a Huguenot gen- tleman, set sail from France, and landing at St. Augustine, which the Spaniards had just built, attacked and took it after a severe battle. A portion of the garrison were taken to the site of the ruined French settlement on the St. Johns, and there hung to the same trees, with this inscription over their heads: "Not because they are Spaniards, but because they are traitors, robbers and mur- derers." GUIDE TO FLORIDA. 5 It was in 1565 that Menendez founded the city of St. Augustine, the oldest within the present limits of the United States. From this foothold colonies were sent out along the coast and into the interior of the province, and for an hundred years ot more Florida was a growing and thriving Spanish colony. The Indians were almost uniformly hostile, but the superior civilization prevailed over them. Many vestiges of the early Spanish settle- ments in the State remain to show what the country was at this nourishing era of its history. The period of its deca- dence was at the conclusion of the great Continental war of 1753-60, when it passed from Spain into the possession of Great Britain. In the meantime it had been the scene of many conflicts. The English, under Sir Francis Drake, attacked and plundered St. Augustine in 1586. It was pillaged by the Indians in 161 1, and. sacked by the Buc- caneers in 1665. Governor Moore, of South Carolina, raided into the colony in 1702, and unsuccessful attempts were made by the Georgians in 1725, 1740 and 1743 to capture and destroy St. Augustine. In 1763 Spain ceded the whole territory of Florida to Great Britain. So greatly had its prosperity declined that its population did not exceed 600. In 1781, the Spaniards captured Pensacola, and three years later, by virtue of the treaty of 1 784, they resumed jurisdiction over the country. During the last war with Great Britain the English troops under Col. Nichols occupied Pensacola, but General Jack- son appearing before the town, they decamped to their fleet. Jackson, while fighting the Indians in 181 8, was so affronted by the conduct of the Spanish governor that he took possession of Pensacola and sent the Spanish prison- ers to Havana. The Spanish government recognized "manifest destiny" in 1 819, and consented to the cession of the entire terri- 6 GUIDE TO FLORIDA. tory of Florida to the United States. The exchange of flags took place in 1821, a territorial government was established in 1822, and Florida was admitted as a State into the Union in 1845. From the time of the cession down almost to our own day, there have raged those desolating Indian wars which reddened the border settlements with the blood of white men, women and children, and made the Everglades re- sound with the dying whoop of the hunted Seminole. The story of the valor of Coa-cou-chee, of Osceola, and of Little Cloud, fighting the last battles of their race for the hunting grounds of their ancestors, has passed into poetry and romance. Florida, like her sister Southern States, was a battle- ground between North and South in the late civil war. After the passage of the ordinance of secession in 1861, Fort Pickens in Pensacola harbor, was invested by the Con- federate troops, and the Navy Yard was occupied. Fer- nandina and St. Augustine were captured by Admiral Dupont's fleet in 1862. The following month the United States forces occupied Jacksonville, and the Confederate authorities abandoned nearly the whole of Northern and Western Florida, including Pensacola, and withdrew their army into Georgia. The year 1864 was characterized by raids on both sides. General Birney penetrated to Trent Creek, and the Confederate salt works at Ocala were de- stroyed. In February of this year General Trueman Sey- mour marched westward with a large body of United States troops, and at Olustee was disastrously defeated by the Confederate army under General Joseph Finegan. He retreated with a loss of 1200 men, leaving his dead and wounded on the field ; and during the remaining months of the war the Federals were on the defensive. After the surrender of General Lee, at Appomattox, GUIDE TO FLORIDA. 7 Virginia, the people of Florida abandoned further re- sistance, and the State was duly reconstructed by Con- gress. The State of Florida extends from the parallel of 31 ° North latitude to 25 ° North latitude, and lies within 8o° and 88° West longitude from Greenwich. It is in the same latitude with the Desert of Sahara, Southern China and Northern Mexico, but its comparative degree of heat is not accurately indicated by its latitude, for it is isother- mal with the Bermudas, Egypt, Northern Hindostan, Southern California and Louisiana. Moreover, lying between the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Stream, its main portion is fanned by ocean breezes which materially modify the temperature. The shape of the State has been likened to that of a boot; the foot part being Northern Florida, and the leg being the peninsula. The first extends about 350 miles from East to West, and the peninsula 400 miles from North to South, and ninety miles, on the average, from East to West. The Gulf Stream skirts the Eastern coast about 300 miles. The State contains 59,868 square miles, or 37,931,520 acres, and is therefore a little larger than Georgia, Illinois or Michigan, and almost as large as the New England States or the united kingdoms of Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands. The extent of her coast line is rather extraordinary. It is not less than 1 , 100 miles ; a distance nearly equal to that from Portland, Maine, to Jacksonville, Florida, in a straight line. The surface of the eastern section of the State is gener- ally level. In Western Florida it is rolling or hilly. The 8 GUIDE TO FLORIDA, extreme southern part is covered with swamps. The coast is indented with thousands of bays and inlets formed by the jutting of the land, and by innumerable islands. The principal rivers are the Apalachicola, which has its source in the mountains of Upper Georgia ; the beautiful Suwanee^ in Middle Florida ; the Withlacoochee, the Ocklawha and the Indian River, in Southern Florida. The great stream of the State, however, is the magnificent St. Johns, which rises in the Everglades, and. winds northward a distance of four hundred miles until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean below Jacksonville. The peninsula is filled with beautiful lakes, some of them being navigable for large steamers, and one of them, Lake Okeechobee, in the Everglades, being fully forty miles long and thirty miles wide. The lake scenery, in the neighborhood of the upper waters of the St. John, is un- surpassed in loveliness. Several of the larger bays on the coast deserve notice. Tampa Bay, Apalachee Bay and Pen- sacola Bay, are broad and deep enough to float navies. The State abounds in remarkable mineral springs. The Wakulla River rises about ten miles northwest of St. Marks from one of them. The water is moderately cold and highly impregnated with lime. From the big spring of Chipola bursts a furious river ; Silver Spring, in Marion County, is a basin of surpassingly clear and deep water. The Sulphur Springs of. the Suwanee are a curiosity, and enjoy a local reputation for curing rheumatism, dyspepsia and other kindred diseases. Springs of salt water are not uncommon in the interior. Scientists say that the geological formation of Florida is of comparatively recent origin. The opinion of one of them, relative to the peninsula, is expressed in this lan- guage : "The whole peninsula has been formed by the successive growth of coral reefs added concentrically from GUIDE TO FLORIDA. North to South to the first deposits, while the accumula- tion between these reefs has been a mixture of coral and fragments of shells, the coral prevailing in some parts, as in the regions of the Everglades, and in other portions, specially the Northern and Eastern, the shell. ' ' Agassiz assumes, of the lower half of the peninsula, "that if the growth be one foot in a century from a depth of seventy- five feet, and that each successive reef has added ten miles of extent southward, it would have required, on this com- putation, 135,000 years to have formed the southern half of the peninsula." The upper part of Florida is, of course, much older. Aiixmni' I rcc fr io GUIDE TO FLORIDA. Florida undoubtedly possesses the most equable and salubrious climate, all the year round, of any State in the Union. The thermometer seldom rises above 90 in the summer, nor falls below 30 in the winter. The summer may be said to be seven months long, but the heat is not intense. This is attributable in a great degree to the circumstance that the peninsula is fanned on the East by the Atlantic breezes, and on the West by those of the Gulf of Mexico, both of which can be sensibly felt in the middle of the State. The winter in Florida resembles very much the season known in more northern latitudes as the " Indian Summer. ' ' The climate of Florida, however, has the additional ad- vantage of being more dry and elastic. Rain falls rarely during the winter months. Five out of six days are bright and cloudless, and of the most agreeable temperature. In Southern Florida frost very rarely appears. Even as far north as the Suwanee River there are generally but two or three nights in a whole winter when ice as thick as a half dollar is found. A consequence of the evenness of the temperature is the very delightful salubrity of the nights in the sultriest season of the year, by which the body is refreshed, the sleep rendered sound, and the natural facul- ties are restored to vigor. The following tables show the range of the thermometer throughout the year in Florida, and the evenness of the temperature as compared with that of given points in the Northern States. GUIDE TO FLORIDA. u Observations made at Jacksonville for five years, from 1857 to 1 86 1, both inclusive, showing the highest and lowest range of the Thermometer each month. The figures are the mean of three  40 February. .. 81 44 77 39 79 39 79 44 75 42 March 85 41 83 34 84 45 83 40 83 43 April 81 47 86 49 89 53 92 58 85 54 May 91 61 91 66 92 64 92 58 94 64 June 91 73 92 73 94 70 97 69 98 73 July 89 68 96 74 95 70 98 74 92 70 August. ... 95 75 94 75 91 75 93 73 91 73 September. 92 64 86 64 92 70 89 65 92 58 October 81 42 85 62 84 50 87 53 86 57 November.. 82 27 79 39 1 79 35 80 25 79 45 December.. 80 39 78 40 j 79 36 72 32 74 38 REMARKS. Ice one to two in- ches thick, Jan. 19th and 20th, 1857. At 7 A. M., Nov. 25, 1860, the Ther- mometer stood at 25 deg. It is proper to observe that there is a marked difference in the theometric range at Enterprise, two hundred miles south of Jacksonville, the temperature being much more even. The following is a comparative table, showing the monthly and yearly mean of twenty years at St. Augustine, of thirty -one years at West Point, and of thirty-five years at Tort Snelling, Minn. : Augustine, Fla . .. West Point, N. Y.. Ft. Snelling, Minn.. Jan 57.03 Feb. 59.94 28.80 Mar. 63.34 37.63 Apl, 68.78 48.70 May Jun 73.50 59.82 79.36 68.41 July 80.90 73.75 13.76 17.57 31.41 56.34 58.97 68.46 73.40 70.05 58.86 47.15 31.67 16.89 46.54 Aug 80.56 71.83 Sep. 78.60 64.31 Oct, 71.8864.12 53.04 Nov 42.23 Dec. 57.26 69.61 31.98 50.73 12 GUIDE TO FLORIDA In Florida an extraordinary variety of valuable produc- tions are successfully cultivated. Lying as it does partly within the temperate zone and partly within the semi- tropical regions, within its limits may be seen flourishing most of the vegetation familiar to the soil of the Middle and Western States, together with the fruits of the West Indies. At least one-fourth of the entire area of the State is south of the line of frost, and will grow successfully the orange, the lemon, the citron, the grape fruit, the banana, the pine-apple, and the cocoa-nut. Most of the tropical trees and shrubs grow spontaneously. Tobacco, sugar and hemp have been cultivated to some extent, and can be made very valuable productions if systematically treated. The yield of sugar is much more to the acre than in Louis- iana. Cotton has hitherto been the leading staple. In- dian corn has been largely raised, but not in sufficient quantities to supply the home demand. Within a few years the raising of early vegetables for the Northern trade has been commenced, with great success, on the St. Johns River, and along the railroads. Among the vegetables which are readily grown and bring remunerative prices, are tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, green peas, beans, cab- bages, turnips, beets, squashes, onions, asparagus, and sweet and Irish potatoes. Wheat has been partially culti- vated in the northern part of the State. The Ramie plant has just been introduced, and it is believed will become an important staple. Arrowroot, indigo, the castor bean, can be raised without difficulty. The large growth of the Mulberry renders the conditions favorable to the produc- tion of the silk worm. There is no reason why tea and coffee cannot be cultivated, as the climate and soil are especially adapted to the purpose. Of the fruits other than tropical, the peach, grape, fig, pomegranate and plum are produced. Berries grow profusely. GUIDE TO FLORIDA. 13 Florida is the best timbered State in the Union. Over 30,000,000 of acres are covered with heavy forests. The business of cutting and shipping lumber is large and in- creasing. Florida also exports naval stores, and at Key West there are extensive salt works. Further remarks on the soil and productiveness of the State will be found in the paragraphs devoted to the advantages of Florida for immigrants. _ o~#-o- F@PWM,®T£QW a 8QC1M &W& JPOLiriG*Z According to the census of 1870 the population of Flor- ida aggregates 187,748; of which 96,057 are whites and 91,689 blacks. This shows a proportion of a fraction over three inhabitants to the square mile; a density about equal to that of the States of Kansas and Texas. The population of the State in i860 was 140,123, so that in spite of the ravages caused by the civil war, the increase in ten years has been 47,625, or thirty-four per cent. The leading cities and towns in the State are Jackson- ville with a population of 13,000, Fernandina with 2,500, Tallahassee with 2,500, St. Augustine with 3,500, Lake City with 2,000, Pensacola with 2,000, Gainesville with 1,500, Key West with 5,000; Palatka with 1,000, Quincy with 800, and Apalachicola with 1,000. The seat of government is at Tallahassee. The new constitution, adopted by the people and approved by Congress in 1868, vests the executive power in a Gover- nor, who is elected for four years. He is assisted in his deliberations by a Cabinet, composed of the principal officers in the State, viz : the Secretary of State, the Attorney-General, the Comptroller, the State Treasurer, the Surveyor - General, the Superintendent of Instruc- 14 GUIDE TO FLORIDA. tion and the Commissioner of Immigration. This is a novel feature in the framework of a State government, but was suggested by the success of the arrangement in the Federal system. The legislative power is vested in a Senate and Assembly. The former consists of twenty- four members, elected for four years; the latter of fifty - three members, elected for two years. The judicial pow- er is vested in a Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, County Courts and Justices of the Peace. The Judges of the Su- preme Court are appointed for life, of the Circuit Courts for eight years, and of the County Courts for four years. The election for State and County Officers and Members of the Legislature takes place the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Annual Sessions of the Legis- lature are held, beginning on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January. The present State government (1871-2) is as follows: Governor, - - - Harrison Reed. Lieutenant-Governor, - Samuel T. Day. Secretary of State, - - Jonathan C. Gibbs. Comptroller, - - Robert H. Gamble. Treasurer, - -• - S. B. Conover. Attorney-General, - J. B. C. Drew. Commissioner of Immi- . J. S. Adams. gration, j J Superintendent of Public 1 Charl£s Beecher _ Instruction, - j At the last political election in the State (1870) the vote was as follows: Republican, 12,439; Democratic, 11,810; Republican majority, 629. The Republicans elected one majority in the State Senate and three ma- jority in the House of Representatives. Florida, though one of the first-settled countries on this continent, has really all the characteristics of a new State. GUIDE TO FLORIDA. 15 Its scanty population has been scattered over a territory of nearly 60,000 square miles, and has heretofore been en- gaged almost wholly in agriculture. The social conveni- ences and advantages enjoyed in the thickly-settled States further North must not, therefore, be expected here. But immigration is pouring in and the State is rapidly im- proving. Schools and churches are to be found in all the towns and villages throughout the State, and a new sys- tem of public education has been provided for in the new constitution. In reference to the feeling of the old inhab- itants towards new comers, the State Commissioner of Im- migration, Mr. Adams, (himself a Northern man) writes : ' ' In our correspondence the question is often asked : 1 Is it safe for a Northern man to come to Florida ? ' The answer is : That there is no sort of danger whatever. The immigrant of good character and habits will be readily received by all. Southern men and women are not su- per-human, and cannot be expected suddenly to absolve themselves from the domination of those trains of political thought and those prevalent social notions that have ruled them for years, or to sympathize at once with the political ideas of a triumphant radicalism. But the whole popula- tion of the State is becoming rapidly convinced that ' men, money and labor,' are to be watch-words in the success of the future of Florida. * * * Indeed, any good citizen that proposes to pay special attention to his own affairs, will be welcomed by all, and this without any sacrifice of principle or any abridgment of his rights of free thought and free speech. Northern men and women, who may come and persist in associating exclusively with each other, and sequester themselves diligently from all social intercourse with old residents, will be allowed thus to indulge their social predilections without let or hin- drance." i6 GUIDE TO FLORIDA. The All-Rail Routes. Visitors to Florida, going from the North, make Sa- vannah the first objective point. It can be reached from Eastern points via connecting lines to Baltimore. From N. Y. by the N. Y. and Phila. R. R., running through trains — to which are attached cars having all the modern improvements — to Baltimore, Washington and Richmond. From Baltimore, via Bay Line of Steamers to Portsmouth, Va., connecting with "Atlantic Coast Li?ie." Or, From Washington, via Ac quia Creek, to Richmond; at Richmond two routes compete for the travel — the " Upper Route," via Danville, Charlotte and Augusta, and the "Atlantic Coast Line," via Petersburg, Wilmington and Charleston. The " Great Southern Mail Route," via Washington, Lynchburg, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Atlanta, Macon, and Jesup Junction, giving the tourist an opportunity to visit the most interesting localities in the entire South. Travelers from points North and West of the Ohio River will find at the Railroad Ticket Offices in all of the principal cities schedules, giving the distances and time to Savannah and Florida. From Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, De- troit, places on Lakes Erie and Michigan, and points North and East of Louisville, the "Short Line" is via Louisville and Nashville R. R. From St. Louis, and points North and West, the most direct route is via the St. Louis and Iron Mountain R. R. The Rail connections, North and West, are in excellent condition. Drawing Room and Palace Sleeping Cars are attached to all Through Trains. Polite and attentive Conductors and good Eating Houses on the entire route. GUIDE TO FLORIDA. \ 7 Schedules of the different routes will be found on adver- tisement pages at back of book. Through Tickets For Sale at BOSTON— At 87, 79, 82 & 134 Washington Street; Boston & Providence Depot; Boston & Albany Depot; Old Colony Depot; No. 3 Old State House; Boston, Hartford & Erie De- pot ; and No. 15 U. S. Hotel Block. NEW YORK— At 229, 303 & 944 Broadway; and all the principal Hotels ; and at foot Courtlandt Street ; BROOKLYN : 1 Court Street, City Hall Square. PHILADELPHIA— At 409 & 828 Chestnut. Street; Ex- change in Continental Hotel ; 44 South Fifth Street; and at the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Depot, corner Broad and Prime Streets. BALTIMORE— At the Camden Street Station, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Depot; 149 West Baltimore Street; S. E. cor- ner Baltimore and Calvert Street. WASHINGTON— At Adams Express Building, opposite Balti- more Depot; at the Maryland Avenue Depot ; at 511 & 603 Pennsylvania Avenue ; Steamers, foot 7th Street ; and at the principal Hotels. Also at the Railroad Ticket Offices in Richmond, Charleston, Macon, Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, Louisville, St. Louis and New- Orleans By Sea to Florida. From New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore. (By Steamship to Savannah and Rail to Florida.) The Sea Routes from New York are via New York and Savannah Steamships, consisting of four lines of commo- dious and well-appointed Steamers. The Leo and Virgo, of Murray, Ferris & Co's Line, sail from Pier 16 East River, on alternate Tuesdays. The Steamships Herman Livingston and Gen. Barnes, of Livingston, Fox & Co's Line, from Pier 36 North River. The Steamships San Salvador and Magnolia, of W. R. Garrison's Line, from Pier 8 North River; and the Steamships Huntsville and i8 GUIDE TO FLORIDA. Montgomery, of R. Lowden's Line, from Pier 13 North River. Through Tickets sold by the Agents of these Lines to Florida and interior points in Georgia and Alabama. See advertisement, page 84. The New York and Charleston Line of Steamships, composed of staunch and favorite vessels, thoroughly sea- worthy and well-appointed in every respect, consisting of the James Adger, Manhattan, South Carolina, Champion, Georgia, and Charleston, sell Through Tickets, via the Sa- vannah and Charleston R. R., to all points in Florida. Their sailing days are Thursdays and Saturdays, from Pier 29 North River. H. R. Morgan & Co., Agents. See page 80. x By Sea, from Boston. The Boston and Savannah S. S. Co. dispatch the new and elegant Steamers Seminole and Oriental, on the 10th, 20th and 30th of each month ; returning, leave Savannah on the same dates. Through Tickets to all points in Flor- ida sold by F. Nickerson & Co., Agents 205 State Street, Boston. By Sea, from Philadelphia. The Philadelphia and Southern Mail Steamship Co. have a weekly line to Savannah, leaving every Saturday, from Queen Street Wharf. The Wyoming and Tonawanda are noted as first-class vessels, and have obtained a most en- viable reputation for the regularity of their trips. Through Tickets sold to all points in Florida and the interior of Georgia and Alabama. See advertisement on page 85. W. L. James, Agent, 130 South 3d Street, Philadelphia. By Sea, from Baltimore. The Baltimore and Savannah Steamship Co. dispatch, on the 10th, 20th and 30th of each month, one of their GUIDE TO FLORIDA. 19 thoroughly sea-worthy and commodious Steamers to Sa- vannah. The Line is extremely well managed, and the America, Saragossa, and North Point are commanded by experienced and able officers. Through Tickets to all points in Florida and the interior are sold by the Agent, James B. Andrews, Flannigan's Wharf, Baltimore. From Charleston and Savannah to Florida. The quickest and most comfortable route is via the Sa- vannah and Charleston and Atlantic and Gulf Railways. Travelers and invalids avoid the discomforts and risks at- tendant upon a sea voyage along an exposed, and at times, stormy coast. The Bar of the St. Johns, at Jacksonville, Fla., is frequently so rough that steamers are unable to cross it, and great inconvenience and suffering from sea- sickness has been experienced by travelers, from this cause. To those who are proof against the mal-de-mer, and prefer the sea, there is a weekly line of boats from Charleston and Savannah to Jacksonville. The passenger by Rail will have the advantage of Palace Sleeping Cars running through, without change, from Savannah to Jack- sonville, where boats connect with the St. Johns River and the St. Augustine Railroad. The route of the Atlan- tic and Gulf Railroad is through the south-eastern section of Georgia. It connects with the Florida net-work of railroads at Live-Oak Station, in Florida, and this brings it in close railway and steamboat connection with all prin- cipal points in the State. The Express Train of the Atlan- tic and Gulf Railroad leaves Savannah daily, at 5.00 p. m., and through passengers are due at Jacksonville in 15 hours, at Tallahassee in 18 hours, at St. Marks, on the Gulf of Mexico, in 19^ hours, and at Cedar Keys, in South-western Florida, in 25^ hours. At Jacksonville there is daily steamboat connection with all the towns and 20 GUIDE TO FLORIDA. landings on the St. Johns River. See advertisement of Brock's Line on page 91. Florida can also be reached from New Orleans by Steamers of the New Orleans, Florida and Havana S. S. Co., which touch at Cedar Keys, en route to Key West and Havana. Northern visitors to Florida, who wish to return home either by the way of Havana or the Missis- sippi River can avail themselves of this convenient route, embarking at Cedar Keys. I. K. Roberts, Agent New Orleans, Florida and Havana S. S. Co., New Orleans, La. It has been well said that no part of the United States can furnish a more exciting and agreeable winter hunting- ground than Indian River and the Gulf Coast. Turkeys, Ducks, Squirrels, Deer and Bear are to be found through- out the State. The hunter in the Indian river region "may comfortably camp out, month after month, with a single blanket, taking as he needs his sweet potatoes from the ground, and the orange, lemon and banana from the plantations along the route, and in the continuous sunshine of an unending spring surfeit himself with the pursuit of game." In the rivers and bays of Florida the lover of angling will find his real paradise. They literally swarm with valuable fish. Mullet, Bass, Sheepshead, Trout, Perch — salt water and fresh — and innumerable other varieties abound. The fish caught in the Lower St. Johns will run from one to forty pounds in weight. Lakes Harney and Jessup are abundantly stocked with fish of excellent quality, which are easily caught with nets, hooks or spears. GUIDE TO FLORIDA. 23 Alligator hunting is a sport peculiar to these southern latitudes and can be enjoyed to perfection along the rivers, lakes and lagoons of Florida. It takes a practiced eye to detect an alligator, for it closely resembles a rotten log, half-submerged and motionless. Shooting the alliga- tor from the decks of the river steamers is a common enough custom, but the real alligator hunt is to be had on the upper lakes where they swarm in almost countless numbers. Hunting parties for Lake Harney are made up at Enterprise, on the Upper St. Johns. The expense is not much and the amusement prodigious. Harper Bros. St. Augustine. The antiquarian and enthusiast in historical research will find abundant material of interest in the visible traces of the Spanish occupation of two and three centuries ago. Remains of ancient cities, forts, breastworks, churches, and roads may be found, sometimes when least expected, in the midst of dense forests which have grown up and covered the vestiges of the early civilization. St. Augustine 24 GUIDE TO FLORIDA. the oldest city on the North American continent, is unsur- passed in interest to the antiquarian. The battle fields of the later Indian wars also have a peculiar attractive- ness. Here the tourist may study the historic spots illus- trated by the valor and genius of Jackson, Taylor and Worth. The State of Florida offers rare opportunities for study to the students in Geology and Botany. The former have an interesting and important subject for in- vestigation in the extraordinary coral formation of the peninsula; the latter in the wonderful and varied growth of floral and other vegetation. Several professors of Natural History from Northern institutions of learning were in Florida last year, collecting specimens of insects, birds, fishes and beasts. There are several excellent tax- idermists in Savannah who make a business of preparing specimens for naturalists. There are those to whom field and water sports are un- interesting. They travel for a love of change merely, or to behold the beautiful and novel in nature or to enjoy idleness — as a relaxation from severe and unremitting labor. The soft, balmy air, the clear, blue sky, the genial, though never enervating warmth, the tropical richness of the verdure, the bright-plumaged birds filling the forests with their music, the placid, transparent lakes and river scenery of unsurpassed loveliness, fulfil all the conditions required by this class of tourists. No American need seek an Italy across the waters when one lies here r almost within a day's travel. ^o; GUIDE TO FLORIDA. 25 For more than a century Florida has been a resort for invalids from all parts of the world and particularly for those afflicted with pulmonary complaints. The dryness, evenness and salubrity of the climate are a most delightful and health-restoring change from the piercing winds and frigid temperature of the Northern, Middle and Western States in the winter. That many consumptives who have come to Florida die of the disease is true, but it is equally certain that they had postponed their visit until it was beyond the power of any climatic change to effect a cure. But there are thousands of persons threatened with the consumptive's death who have recovered their health in Florida, or at least have lengthened their days not un- pleasantly. It is estimated that at least fifty thousand people visited Florida last winter, of whom about a fourth were invalids. The many beautiful villages and landings on the St. Johns River, as far up as Enterprise, were crowded with these seekers for renewed life and health. St. Augustine and the Indian river country, on the Atlantic coast, were also filled with visitors of the same character. Among these were not only people troubled with lung diseases, but those who were suffering from nervous complaints and from physical and mental prostration. Many were over- worked business men from the great cities of the North and West, who sought this delicious and invigorating mode of recuperation. The mildness of the atmosphere in winter permits much exercise in the open air. It is not uncommon for the native ladies to walk late in the moonlight evenings covered, as to the head, only with a lace veil. Some nights are damp and chilly, particularly in the Northern 26 GUIDE TO FLORIDA, parts of the State, and a little fire is comfortable; but usually, throughout the winter, the inhabitants sit without afire and with open doors and windows. These remarks are not intended to convey the idea that caution as to clothing can be neglected by the invalid. A writer on this point says : "As a rule, invalids should not expose themselves to the night air nor be tempted on warm, bright days to lay aside thick shoes and comfortable clothing. The invalid should always be clad in woolen clothing, and the robust do not require a linen suit except in the summer months." Statistics testify to the healthfulness of Florida. Not- withstanding the fact that so many thousands of consump- tives resort to the State for relief, the proportion of deaths from pulmonary complaints in it is less than in any other State in the Union. The census of i860 showed that these deaths were as follows : Massachusetts, - - - one in 254 Maine, - - - " 289 Vermont, - - ' J " 404 New York, - - - - '• 473 Pennsylvania, .-■"'"" 5 8 ° Ohio, -.-"--- "677 California, -  a wide-spread misapprehension respecting the malarial character of the interior of Florida. It is sup- posed that in some parts the air is charged with the most poisonous and noxious vapors arising from the swamp lands, and that fevers are common in consequence of it. GUIDE TO FLORIDA. 27 It is true that there is much swampy land in the State, and that wherever there is a dense vegetable growth accom- panied by decomposition, malarious diseases arise, but in this case, the magnificent breezes, which sweep across the country, clear the atmosphere and purge it of its evil humors. All fevers in Florida assume a much milder type than in other sections where they are prevalent. Surgeon-General Lawson, of the United States Army, in his report explicitly asserts this. He says that statistics show " that the ratio of deaths to the number of cases of remittent fever has been much less among the troops serv- ing there than in any other portion of the United States. In the Middle Division the proportion is 1 death to 36 cases of remittent fever ; in the Northern Division, 1 to 52 ; in the Southern Division, 1 to 54; in Texas, 1 in 783 in California, 1 in 122; in New Mexico, 1 in 148; while in Florida it is 1 in 287. The remedial character of the springs, which abound in every part • of the State, must not be overlooked. Some are known to be highly beneficial to rheumatic and dys- peptic patients. A reference to the index of this work will give inquirers the location of several of the best esteemed spas in the State. cofc; 28 GUIDE TO FLORIDA. The Legislature of Florida has taken active measures to induce immigrants, from the North and West and from Europe, to settle in the State. A Department of Immigra- tion has been established in connection with the State Government ; the officer is styled Commissioner of Immi- gration, and he is a member of the Governor's Cabinet. The Bureau furnishes, upon application, all the informa- tion an intending settler may desire about the price, character and situation of lands and the means of getting to them. It may be succinctly said that the inducements to immi- gration to Florida consist in the cheapness of the lands, ease of tillage, wide scope of crops, heavy profits and healthfulness of climate. The lands of the State are classified as swamp lands, high and low hummock and pine. The first are the most durably rich lands in the Union. Ditching is indispensable in preparing them for profitable cultivation ; then they produce a succession of exhausting crops with the most wonderful vigor. They are especially adapted for sugar, and have been known to yield four hogsheads to the acre, which is more than twice the average of Louisiana productiveness. There is at least a million of acres of this land vacant in Florida, most of which can be bought of the State for less than two dollars per acre. The characteristic of the hummock, as distinguished from the pine land, is, that it is covered with a growth of underbrush, while the latter is open. Whenever the land is not so low as to be called a swamp and produces an undergrowth of shrubbery, it is called hummock. These lands stud the pine forests every few miles and vary in extent from twenty acres to forty thousand acres. The GUIDE TO FLORIDA. 29 low hummocks require a little ditching, and are adapted to the growth of the cane. The high hummocks are composed of very rich soil and produce, with very little cultivation, all the crops of the country. They require no other preparation than clearing and ploughing, and are the lands most sought after by new settlers ; the price varies from 25 cents to #25.00 per acre, according to location. The pine lands are generally cleared by girdling the trees and cutting away the underbrush. The following year nothing remains but the trunks and dry branches which offer no further impediment to the rays of the sun. The fertility of what is denominated " first-rate pine M is remarkable. Some districts have yielded during fourteen years of successive cultivation, without the aid of manure, 400 pounds of Sea Island Cotton to the acre. The poorer classes of pine lands are valuable for the raising of Sisal hemp. They afford an excellent range for cattle, and are worth still more for their timber and naval stores. Prices of "first-rate pine" land varies from 25 cents to #10 per acre, according to location. 