Nov. 1, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



283 



stated the remarkable 

 visited by an epidemic <> 

 one bundl ed and twcr 

 than a single patient; 



— ( - ! 



quickly to treatment, a seldom followed by those 



dangerous sequels so die;. .;, in a Northern climate. He 

 v>hat years earlier they were 

 rlet fever, when he attended 

 Idren, without losing more 

 i Jirtda one death was owing to 

 other complications. Tn< ^ is no other way of account- 

 ing for Buch a history of such a disease, except the per- 

 fect climate. Some winters ago I received a little patient 

 from New York with chronic pneumonia following an 

 unusually severe whooping cough: and in a very short 

 time the little girl recovered completely, renewing the 

 roses in her cheeks and her buoyant, childlike spirits. 

 She returned with her mother, who was summoned to 

 attend her husband suffering with pneumonia, in the 

 month of March — much against my advice, but fortu- 

 nately without serious consequences. Pneumonia is sel- 

 dom seen in .St. Augustine, and the resident physicians 

 are almost unacquainted with the disease and have no 

 desire to attend it. The absence and the mild form of 

 the diseases mentioned can be accounted for on no other 

 grounds than the salubrity of the climate. 



If there is the slightest possibility of any one laboring 

 with the lust symptoms of consumption being benefited 

 by climate it will be accomplished in Florida. A gentle- 

 man who was a martyr to asthma all his life, possessing a 

 beautiful home near Philadelphia, told me lie could find 

 no comfort in life but in two localitities, Newport in 

 summer and St. Augustine iu winter. 



My own personal experience in the beneficial effects of 

 the climate of St. Augustine makes me the more earnest 

 in recommending it to all who may be suffering from 

 overwork. After a laborious life of more than thirty 

 years iu the climate of New York, on the Hudson River, 

 I broke down completely, 'ad insomnia to a fearful 

 degree, bordering on insanity. Old professional friends 

 advised me to visit Florida. When I arrived in the 

 qua hit old city one Christmas Eve I was nearly exhausted. 

 1 could not walk a, mile, and only with great fatigue at 

 all. Appetite was fitful, energy gone, and though I was 

 longing tor rest, yet, I dreaded the experience of a night 

 of sleeplessness. One who has never had the misery of 

 such a state of health can form no conception of such a 

 deplorable condition. I began improving the first week, 

 walking with less fatigue daily, and improved in appe- 

 tite and spirits, and in six weeks I could tramp with dog 

 and gun twenty miles. It was truly a renewal of life. 

 Instead of my life work being abandoned, I put on the 

 harness again aud began to offer aid and encouragement 

 to all who, like myself, had become discouraged and 

 almost sick of life. The limit of this paper forbids my 

 enumerating many interesting facts experienced from 

 year to year. I am sure that 1 know a number who, by 

 going to St. Augustine, ward off from winter to winter 

 hereditary disease which a severe climate would awaken 

 and develop. 



In the early days in St. Augustine a more quiet and 

 restful spot could scarcely be found, and it was always 

 attractive, making little change and seeming to desire 

 none. Now all has been altered, since several gentle- 

 men of wealth and enterprise have become interested 

 and located there. Among them none have become 

 more conspicuous or accomplished more for St. Augus- 

 tine than Mr. H. M. Flagler of New York, Mr. Franklin 

 Smith of Boston, and Mr. W. G. Warden of Philadelphia. 

 All of these gentlemen first sought the South in search 

 of health and to avoid our inclement winters. Besides 

 building line residences in St. Augustine Mr. Warden and 

 Mr. Smtth became interested iu building up the city gen- 

 erally, and Mr. Flagler may be truly said to be the founder 

 of a modern St. Augustine, so completely has he been 

 identified with the vast improvements of the city. Since 

 the appearance of these gentlemen the old Spanish town 

 has awakened from a Rip Van Winkle slumber of hundreds 

 of years. New life has been infused into the rather indo- 

 lent natives, and real estate has risen beyond the capacity 

 of most individuals. Beautiful churches have been built, 

 and grand edifices that would grace the capitals of the 

 world have appeared as if by magic. The Ponce de Leon 

 Hotel and the Alcazar, built by Mr. Flagler, surpass in 

 their architectural beauty and elegance any public build- 

 ings in the country. To give an adequate idea of these 

 unique and surpassingly beautiful structures would re- 

 quire the knowledge and pen of an accomplished archi- 

 tect. In truth, one must see and study the different parts, 

 which will occupy many leisure hours, and the study 

 will give exquisite pleasure, as all of the various beau- 

 tiful details are viewed. The dining hall of the Ponce 

 de Leon is said, by those competent to judge, to surpass 

 in beauty the palaces of the Old World. My object and 

 aim is not a description of these wonderful structures — 

 which is far beyond my power — but to point out the 

 advantages of the climate of Florida to the weary and 

 the sick, and to show them what may be their gain from 

 the warm sunny atmosphere of St, Augustine. 



With the continued improvement in drainage, which is 

 daily progressing, with an inexhaustible supply of water 

 from many artesian wells, there is no reason why St. 

 Augustine should not he one of the healthiest cities in the 

 world. Every surface well should be closed and filtered 

 cisterns substituted; these wells, scarcely six feet deep, 

 are many of them on a level and near objectionable 

 structures, which in a sandy soil percolate through and 

 pollute the water. These necessary and indispensable 

 structures ought to be cleansed daily, and a system of 

 scavengers should he arranged to carry off all offensive 

 deposits into the country, or better, out to sea, thus re- 

 moving all dangerous sources of disease. The water used 

 in the hotels is from 'artesian wells, and its supply is abso- 

 lutely beyond the reach of any pollution. If those who 

 have used the sulphur water of the artesian wells, both 

 for drinking and for bathing, have received the same 

 benefit from its use that I and many of my patients have 

 experienced, it will not be long before St. Augustine will 

 be resorted to for the use of these waters alone. When it 

 is generally known that Mr. Flagler has instituted a most 

 elaborate and costly system of baths, not only of the sul- 

 phur waters but. also of salt water, this surely will be suf- 

 ficient to draw people from all parts of the Union for 

 their use; add to all the other advantages which surround 

 the Ancient City, the attractions of the most unique and 

 beautiful oriental struct ures and there is little else to be 

 desired to make an eiysium. 



For the lovers of outdoor field life let me add that the 

 sportsman will find here his happy hunting grounds. The 

 fishing is unsurpassed; as a gentleman expressed it in 

 nswer to inquiries to his success, "it was like dropping 



a line into a great aquarium." The quail and snipe 

 shooting is re mark' ably fine, and there is no end to the 

 duck shooting in the rivers and inlets south of the city. 

 If larger game be the object of the sportsman, wild tur- 

 keys are in aburdance, and he. can chase the deer, riding 

 after a pack of hounds, within a few miles of the city. If 

 his ambition still soars after greater triumphs, and more 

 lordly game, he can by beating the swamps arouse the 

 wildcat and the bear, and I hope his experience may not 

 be that of a friend of mine, who, instead of sending bruin 

 up a tree, in his excitement lost his gun and was himself 

 treed by the bear, and was kept shouting for help many 

 anxious hours, until his friends rescued him. Now if you 

 want to raise a storm you have only to ask him about that 

 bear hunt. 



The delightful sunny climate of Florida, with its ever- 

 blooming roses, its fragrant orange blossoms and its golden 

 fruit, invites the invalid, the weary and the overworked 

 man of business, as does no other place I am acquainted 

 with; and if recreation only he sought and whiling away 

 the time be the aim, this is said to be the "paradise of 

 loafers." Horseback exercise is always health-giving, 

 and the choicest saddle horses can be had, well trained 

 for ladies and gentlemen; and in the beautiful bay of St. 

 Augustine one can handle the oars if he desires, or at any 

 time enjoy the poetry of motion in any of the sailboats, 

 well managed, awaiting the visitor. This bay stretches 

 out toward the North beach, where the wild waves whis- 

 per and where the breakers dash madly on as beautiful a 

 beach as aii) T on the Atlantic coast. The bay or river also 

 extends south, reaching Matanzas, eighteen miles away, 

 where the fishing is superb. If it is desirable hoi'ses can 

 Lie crossed on a boat for a ride for miles along the South 

 beach, on which the horses' hoofs scarcely make an im- 

 pression, so firm and compact is the sand; and if new life 

 and vigor cannot be gained in such an atmosphere, then 

 it is useless to seek for it in any other quarter on this side 

 of the ocean. 



I hope those who find it necessary to seek a warmer 

 climate than this in winter to avoid the risk of northern 

 storms, or those who think they must migrate with the 

 birds, or even those who, like the butterfly, prefer to 

 spread their wings only where the flowers are "perpetually 

 in bloom, will not mourn as those having no hope because 

 of the epidemic in the sunny land of Florida; nor give up 

 the idea of resorting thither and seek some other home in 

 distant lands, nor even make the long westward journey 

 to California. When the first frost comes it will be the 

 death knell of the scourge. History proves this so fully 

 that the statement requires no further ai'gument. It will 

 not affect the usual health of the other towns in the State 

 of Florida and Georgia where it has not visited. On the 

 contrary, those places are likely to be more healthy than 

 in former years. For every town and village has been 

 swept and garnished. No sanitary device is known that 

 has not been put in force. All places within hundreds of 

 miles of Jacksonville are as clean and pure as the in- 

 genuity of man can make them. Therefore I would not 

 hesitate to go to Florida as usual, which I shall do the 

 last of November; neither would I decline to advise any 

 one to seek his accustomed Southern home. It might be 

 well to avoid those places where the fever has been until 

 after January, and even then those unaccustomed to the 

 climate had better not venture into them. When the 

 fever visited St. Augustine some few years ago I spent 

 the winter there, reaching the city about Dec. 1. The old 

 Spanish town was as healthy during the remainder of the 

 season as I have known it before or since. I could almost 

 venture to affirm it will never be healthier than the com- 

 ing season, if human caution, device and untiring 

 watchfulness in a sanitary point are any security against 

 disease. Hohace Car cithers, M.D. 



Takrytown, N. Y. 



We see an occasional copyy of the St. Augustine Even- 

 ing News, and in its columns, along with reports from 

 the shotgun cordons and quarantine stations which sur- 

 round the town, are frequent notes of the fishing. Here 

 are some excerpts: 



Mr. Fritchie Monson, captain of the guard on North Beach, says 

 that he and his corps revel in fish— fried, boiled, chowdered, 

 stewed and every other way of decoction. He says that he goes 

 out in the morning and catches a bushel of big mullet with one 

 cast. That you can rake 'em out with a bucket. Bass, he says, 

 are plentiful. 



Joe Baya was seen on Charlotte street yesterday, weary, foot- 

 sore, sunburned and hands blistered. But Joe wore a smiling 

 face as lie lugged behind him a big bass. The bass was tugged up 

 to Genovar's store and tipped the scales at 231bs. to the ounce. 



Some time ago Dr. Alexander obtained some fish that were 

 thrown out of the big well in the Ponce de Leon grounds. The 

 doctor put these fish into an aquarium with some goldfish, and 

 has succeeded in raising a cross between the. two specimens. The 

 doctor wdl put some of these new species in the Alcazar fountain 

 pool. 



Mr. Fritchie Monson, from the North Beach quarantine station, 

 reports a large school of trout which passed that, point yesterday 

 going south. He says from 11 A. M. till dark the school continued 

 to nass. 



Sam Lyons, wlule out in a boat fishing yesterday morning, felt 

 a slight tug at his line, and drawing it up found a small fish upon 

 it. Just as lie had it nearly to the surface of the water a big 

 trout, which he thinks must have weighed lOlbs., darted out from 

 under the boat and began making oil. with the catch. Lyons was 

 a little disconcerted by the surprise, and about 20ft. of tine spun 

 out before he checked the big fish and began hauling him in. A 

 big black fin was showing above the water a few yards away, and 

 in an instant a 10ft. shark pounced upon the trout and made off 

 with fish, line and all. 



Streeper, the undertaker, undertook to go fishing yesterday 

 and came home with an 181b. trout. 



Walter Gerard produces two mosquitoes caught on the north 

 cordon which are big enough to lug off an ordinary sized infant. 



Capt. Allen reports plenty of quail over on North Beach. 



Two colored men with a lightly nailed box between ihem, from 

 which emanated the ominous warning of a rattlesnake, were the 

 center of a crowd on St. George street last night. B. C. Bawls 

 had captured his snakeship out on the north cordon, and was 

 conveying it home, expecting to start out in the show business. 

 He described it as being Sfcjft. long and having seven buttons. 



Between the hours of 1 and 2 o'clock this morning the little 

 steamer Dart might have been seen scudning over the bay making 

 her nightly tour of inspection. She first proceeded up North 

 Biver, found all the guards wide awake. At Gardener's wharf 

 we disembarked and plodded our way across to the beach. Here 

 the guards were also wide awake and sitting around a big fire 

 warming themselves. Then back and again on the boat we 

 visited all the ditl'erent pickets and found them every one doing 

 their duty. About 2 o'clock the weather became quite cool and 

 we could distinctly hear the cry of geese overhead, flying south. 



tk.pt. 27. — In conversation with one of St. Augustine's old boat- 

 men the other day on the prospects of the weather he said that 

 there would be an earlier winter this year than we had ever had 

 in a score of years. His reasons, were these: "The fig and many 

 other trees are shedding their leaves and preparing for autumn. 

 At night if you listen you can hear the plaint) tl note of the kildee 

 as it flies south to the warm sun. The kildee generally comes 

 about three weeks hence. There are many other signs that 

 emphatically forecast an early winter." 



Monsieur Pierron, whose airy gallery frouts on the bay, relates 

 a remarkable incident regarding a white pointer he gave away a 



year ago to a man living in the country, fourteen miles from the 

 city. A few days ago the dog returned to him after a year's 

 absence. Stranger yet. the family cat, an old stand by*, with 

 arched back and flashing eyes, rook up a hostile attitude in the 

 corner, but soon a look of recognition stole over the feline coun- 

 tenance, and bounding over to the side of the old dog Master 

 Thomas began kissing aud rubbing up against her in the most 

 affectionate manner. 



TWO MONTHS A COWBOY. 



(Continued from page 



SUNDAY, while the others were out rounding up, I staid 

 in camp to sleep, but spent the afternoon on "horse 

 herd," i. c, to keepthe one hundred and fifty horses from 

 wandering off. It is mean work, necessitating continued 

 moving about, and it is tiresome for your horse; but I 

 was relieved, and putting hobbles on the horses we turned 

 them loose and went to enjoy supper and a cigar, which 

 (She boss of the. round up gave each of us in honor of 

 his having won the steer the previous night. 



Around us were the Bald Hills before referred to, wholly 

 destitute of timber ami covering an immense space of 

 country, over which roamed a herd of about twenty wild 

 horses. These were once owned by ranchmen, but jump- 

 ing the pastures they had wandered off into that region, 

 where they roamed at their own sweet Will and lived but 

 to eat. Many attempts have beef) made to run them down, 

 by several men stationed at different intervals with fresh 

 horses, but with poor success, only three or four having 

 been captured. 



The round up next day was a hard one, being up among 

 some high buttes, which made it late when we moved. 

 The night was cold and the ground where we camped 

 very stony and sloping down hill, ma king an uncomfort- 

 able bed. It rained very often, and during that night my 

 cousin and I woke at the same time (for w r e bunked 

 together) witli a feeling that the ground was damp. 

 Striking a match we found that one edge of the blanket 

 was out under the tent and caught the rain as it ran off 

 the rope, making a stream between , which soaked the 

 blanket. The country was beautiful . the trail at one time 

 running several hundred yards through a cut only wide 

 enough for three to ride abreast, owing to a stream which 

 occupied most of the space between the two walls of 

 stone nearly two hundred feet high. 



Holding cattle is even worse than holding horses, for 

 they are more accustomed to stray, not being as hungry 

 as the horses, and used to more freedom. Some broke 

 loose from me. and the boss wanted to know "Had I been 

 driving long?" It nettled me, for I wanted to be thought 

 a good hand, but even such things as herding and driving 

 cattle need experience which cannot be learned in a day. 

 To each in turn comes the task of driving, so it fell to my 

 lot that day, and in company with another we moved the 

 horses some fifteen miles due east toward Pike's Peak. 

 To the beauty of that peak full justice cannot be done. 

 The sun sinking in the west cast its rays eastward and 

 striking the sides of the peak gave it a brilliant hue 

 which deepened as it found its way to the top, where the 

 Little remaining snow took on a tint of blood. Then a 

 sudden gloom covered us as of a light going out, shutting 

 out forever the day's doings, whether good or bad, and 

 leaving only the remembrance, which yet remains, al- 

 though many suns have since set. 



At "Witcher's," where we were on the 30th, I had a 

 new experience, that of a "nor'wester." The morning 

 was bright and warm, the riding steep and wooded, bring- 

 ing well into use our ehaperajos to keep from tearing our 

 trousers, as we rode among the trees. I saw a blue jay 

 fluttering on the ground, and jumping down, caught it. 

 Having in my saddle bags some leather strings for use in 

 case anything should break about the saddle, I tied one 

 about the bird's foot, attaching the other end to the pom- 

 mel of the saddle. There he sat looking around in the 

 most bewildered fashion, but tiring of one position he 

 tried to walk out on the horse's mane just as we neared 

 the herd, but slipping, fell to the ground, breaking the 

 string. Forgetting for an instant I leaped down and ran 

 to put my hat over him, but no sooner did the cattle see 

 me on foot and the large sombrero floating in the air than 

 they all stampeded, many having never before seen man 

 and horse separated. Quickly gaining my prize I was 

 soon on horseback and fast "after the other boys, who 

 headed the cattle, but not without some trouble. ' I had a 

 good lecture read to me ("the — little Yankee"), but they 

 all laughed heartily at a little bluejay scaring a bunch of 

 steers. The poor bird did not survive long, for we found 

 him frozen stiff in his cage one niorning. 



The weather was so warm that we all had our coats off, 

 when suddenly a cloud passed over the face of the sun, 

 chilly wind sprang up, accompanying the rain which 

 speedily turned to hail. It made me shake and shiver for 

 I was wet to the skin, but I untied my "slicker," which 

 was always carried behind my saddle, and put it on for 

 protection. Nevertheless the cold passed right through, 

 but the poor horses had to take it with their heads turned 

 from the wind and storm. This lasted fifteen minutes 

 and passing on left us in the bright, warm sun, as half an 

 hour before. The "day herd" was growing entirely too 

 large, so Martin cut out our cattle and drove them back 

 that night to our range. 



On the 1st of August at the invitation of a "granger" 

 we camped on his claim, by a clear cold stream, which 

 he utilized for irrigating, thereby growing some excel- 

 lent potatoes, a rarity, for up at' our ranch nothing in 

 the way of vegetables will grow. I spent Sunday morn- 

 ing digging them, while the others were out hunting 

 cattle. Don't think I stole, for he said, "Help yourself," 

 conveying a more charitable meaning than the sign 

 which hung in the dining room at the ranch, "The Lord 

 helps him who helps himself, but the Lord help him who 

 gets caught helping himself around here." 



Dick was a funny fellow, he was forty years old if he 

 was a day, but had not a hair on his face: about which 

 we joked him a good deal. By his pasture was our next 

 camp and there we had a jolly good time. Supper over 

 we dug a hole, and filling it full of wood there soon 

 blazed out a warm and cheery fire. We gathered round 

 and each one had to sing a song or "talk it," tell a story 

 or in some way make himself agreeable. Several had 

 good voices and when "The Dying Cowboy" was sung 

 all was still except the clear voice of Dick as he sang: 

 "Oh bury me not on the lone prairie, 

 Where the coyotes howl, aud the. winds they blow." 

 How the hillsides did throw back a wild and weird 

 echo there in the semi-darkness as the loud tones of the 

 others joined in the chorus. A feeling akin to sadness 

 came over me as the boys dropped off one after the 

 other to bed and I was left alone. 



