RUBBER OR BANYAN TREE, ON BANANA RIVER, FLORIDA.—We are now among the wonders of the semi-tropics and the paradisaic delights of a marvelous sun-browned land, where the mocking bird opens the matin competition in the college of vernal hymns, and the palmettos are vocal with the softly stirring breeze. The landscape is a dreamy haze of incomparable loveliness, where a feast of flowers is perpetually spread, and the voice of peris may be heard down under the green waters of a murmuring sea. The ocean is so near that the music of its rolling beach comes like a gentle lullaby through the clustering branches of the scented trees, bringing the hush of the still small voice that reminds us of the presence of Deity.
IN THE DEEP PALMETTO SOLITUDES ALONG INDIAN RIVER.
It is about seventy-five miles from St. Augustine to Ormond by the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railroad, one of the branches of the Plant System, whose terminus is Daytona, five miles below Ormond. Indeed, nearly every road in Florida is the property of the Plant company, which has proven a factor of incalculable benefit to the State, and has reaped correspondingly great reward. Ormond is located on the head of Halifax River, which is a part of the Indian River Lagoon, connected by the Mosquito Haul-Over, or canal. We are now in the sub-tropics, and among the paradisiac delights of a marvelous sun-browned land, where the mocking-bird opens the matin competition in the college of vernal hymns, and the palmettos are vocal with the softly stirring breeze. The landscape is a dreamy haze of incomparable loveliness, where a feast of flowers is perpetually spread, and the voice of peris may be heard down under the green waters of a murmuring sea. Only a thin stretch of golden beach lies between the mainland, on which Ormond is located, and the ocean, so near that the billows are distinctly heard beating against the shore. Along this water-front of lagoon and sea are gleaming sands so hard that step nor wheel make any impression, and so inviting that nymphs might make it a playground. West of the village is a typical hummock of tropical growths, penetrated by a glade that is embowered and sweetly shaded by massive oaks gracefully festooned with pearl-gray mosses, and palmettos that flaunt their tangled, rustling branches before the beaming sun. Hereabout, too, are groves rich-laden with fruits as golden as those that were plucked by Hercules in the garden of Hesperides; where the orange and the banana bend beneath the weight of their own deliciousness, and pour out their honey to the bees in rich extravagance.
At Ormond boat was taken for a trip down Indian River, a journey which all the speech of adjective and imagery cannot justly describe. Indian River and Halifax River are not streams, but shallow lagoons, strips of the ocean enclosed by narrow tongues of sandy beach, severed by occasional inlets through which the billows break tumultuously. Its extreme length, for the two are now joined by a canal, is about two hundred miles, and though rarely more than three feet deep, and in places less, the lagoon is navigated by a line of stern-wheel boats, which, in winter-time, are crowded with excursionists, notwithstanding their sleeping accommodations are confined almost entirely to cots in the cabins. One line runs to Titusville, and there connects with another, which carries passengers as far south as Jupiter, the southern limit of the river. In the last year (1892) a railroad has been built from Titusville to Rockledge, and is being pushed southward, so that in another year or two the trip to Jupiter may be made by rail. But the boat journey, though beset by some harassments, consequent upon narrow passages and low water, will lose little of its popularity, because it will always remain one of the most delightful that can be taken. The connection between Halifax and Indian Rivers is by means of a canal that requires constant dredging, and through which it is difficult to pass with boat when the wind is blowing hard; while at times it is so choked with sand that the boats have to be literally dragged through by means of hawser and capstan. New Smyrna is a town of some importance, as is Titusville, but besides these, the landings are of no consequence as trading-places, consisting of never more than one or two stores and as many houses. This sparseness of population increases the interest of travelers on the river, for the charm of primeval beauty and attractiveness thus remains.
ROCKLEDGE, ON INDIAN RIVER, FLORIDA.—Rockledge is a resort of great popularity, but of no commercial importance, for it does not contain a single store. For beauty it is almost unrivaled, being richly adorned by nature and lavishly ornamented by the arts of man. The large cabbage palmettos that grow up wildly along the coquina banks were suffered to remain, and between them avenues were laid out and covered with shells, so that from the river there is a long prospect of gleaming walks ramifying a shore of brilliant green. Here also the orange grows to its most delicious perfection, likewise the lemon, banana and grape fruit; and such a breeze of perfume greets the incoming passenger as paradise itself might exhale.