Southern Florida is really the tropical region, the Egypt of the United States, where frosts are unknown, and every fruit or flower, or forest product, which grows in the most tropical quarters of the world, is or may be cultivated with complete success. Pine-apples, bananas, cocoanut, guava, almonds, olives and figs, with a long list of other tropical fruits, are produced in luxuriant abundance, but we no longer wander through groves of orange or lemon trees. Of scenery in these parts there is nothing to speak of; in the interior it is made up of sunshine, fruits and flowers. The land is level and uninteresting till you reach the coast line, where all along the Atlantic shore you have fine picturesque ranks of bold rocky landscape, flanked by the glorious old sea. For 1,150 miles the sea washes the shores of Florida, and yet throughout this long stretch of seaboard there are but a very few good harbours, and these are chiefly on the Atlantic coast.
All along this coast line the country is very prolific, and in the woods, in the air, in the lakes, and in the rivers, fish, flesh and fowl—especially oysters and turtles—are most abundant. This is a delightful region wherein to enjoy a perfect summer climate during the winter months; but at the midsummer time, gnats, flies, and mosquitoes are swarming, and become a perfect scourge. Here, too, at the furthermost southern point, jutting out between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, are the celebrated “Everglades”—an immense tract of country consisting of many thousands of square miles of flat prairie land, completely covered with fresh sweet water, clear as crystal, and varying from six inches to six feet deep. This in turn is studded with islands which bear an immense growth of oak, hickory, palmetto, pine, cedar, and other valuable timbers, and here in these peculiar wilds dwell the remnant of the Seminole Indians, once the most powerful of all the Indian tribes which formerly inhabited those isolated regions. It needs not be said that no white folk are dwellers herein, though occasionally a bold party of hunters will penetrate these desolate regions; and on their return to the civilised world they bring a pleasant account of the simple hospitality and kindly spirit of the inhabitants.
There is some talk of draining these Everglades; if this idea be carried out, it will open up millions of acres of valuable cotton and sugar lands, and will, no doubt, be quickly occupied by an adventurous multitude.
The first great need here, as in other parts of Florida, is population. Let a party of pioneers start with pickaxe and shovel, and hew out the first pathway; one builds the first shanty, a companion follows and builds another; men are gregarious animals, and the nucleus once formed, soon gather together. Small storekeepers bring thither the necessities of life (a saloon and liquor store is among the first erections); then follows the wholesale dealers, the bankers, and soon solid prosperity is assured to the little colony. Villages spring up and soon expand into cities, for wherever labour leads capital quickly follows. There is no need for labour to languish for want of funds, industry and brains are more valuable than money in the market; and no matter how poor, even penniless, a man may be, if he is willing to work and to aid in the developing another man’s land, he will surely end by cultivating his own. It is not wealth that has made the first step towards progression in any land, it is always the poor emigrant, with his rifle and wheelbarrow, who first penetrates the wilds, turns the first sod, and so lays the first stone of cities and civilisation.
Nowhere can the capitalist find so large a scope for his speculations, and nowhere can the poor man find a better market for the labour of his hand or the fruits of his brain; with industry and prudence he may be assured of present comfort and future prosperity—limitless prosperity, provided also that he be energetic and wise.
The development of Florida has generally been carried on by the northern people. Everywhere throughout the entire state they are planning fresh improvements: draining swampy lands, fertilising the soil, and experimentalising with strange crops, building railways, cities, mills, and churches—in fact, endeavouring to cultivate, and turn to good account the most neglected and wildest regions; and everywhere their endeavours are crowned with success, for on every side you find evidence of northern capital and northern enterprise. No one who thinks of settling and establishing a permanent residence in this “flowery land,” can do better than consult Barbour’s Florida, from which he can extract all he desires to know.
Mr. Barbour has visited all parts, and penetrated the remotest recesses of the state, and has made himself thoroughly acquainted with the resources of every special district, and has boiled his varied experiences down, and reproduced them in the aforenamed volume. He gives no advice, makes no attempt to influence settlers in their choice of a location; he merely states facts, gives a descriptive account of each district—its capabilities, its climate, its soil, and gives a list of such cereals, fruits, flowers, and vegetables, etc. as have been, or may be, most successfully cultivated in each place; thus imparting most valuable information to those who most need it, never misleading the inquiring mind or twisting the imagination awry.
I have no time to consider the subject of Florida so particularly as I desire to do; I can only generalise, as a rule, and visit such special places as are easy of access, and are, or are likely to become, places of popular resort, either for the invalid or pleasure-seeker; my object is to enjoy the season, and see what there is for other people to enjoy.
Some transient visitors who have eyes yet no eyes, sensibilities without sense, give a brief but sweeping opinion of Florida, and say—
“It’s a hot, dry, dusty place, nothing in it but oranges and alligators—good enough in winter for those poor creatures who don’t care to run the risk of freezing in the north; and that’s all there is in it.”