THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES SAINT AUGUSTINE, FLOEIDA. SKETCHES OF ITS HISTORY, OBJECTS OF INTEREST, AND ADVANTAGES AS A RESORT FOE HEALTn AND RECREATION. BY AN ENGLISH VISITOR. / • ■WITH NOTES FOR NORTHERN TOURISTS ON ST. JOIIN's RITER, ETC. PRINTED FOR E. S. CARR, St. Augustine- C. DREW & CO., Jacksonville, Fla. NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM & SON. 1869. ay Entered according to Act of Congress, In tbo year 1SC8, by E. S. ABB., In the Clerk's Oflico of the District Court of the. United States for the Southern District of New York. I HI mOW I SMITH II *M HI II II... i mMIMNV, C, N. V. 5\ 1$^ SAINT AUGUSTINE. A SKETCH BY AN ENGLISH VISITOR. Saint Augustine, the most ancient town of North America, is situated in Florida, upon a narrow slip of land formed by the St. Johns river on the one side and the ocean upon the other. Florida was discovered in 1512 by Ponce de Leon, a companion of Columbus ; one of the en- terprising ad venture rs of the sixteenth century. At that period, when the love of the marvel- lous still held its sway equally over the lettered as over the untutored mind, there was a story prevalent, that away north beyond the West In- dian Islands there w r as a land of Elysium, rich with fruits and flowers, and possessing a river in whose waters flowed the Elixir of Life, conferring perpetual youth and beauty on whomsoever should lave in or drink of them. Inspired by this brilliant legend, and in hopes of making a discovery which should far outreach that of Co- lumbus, Ponce de Leon set sail from Porto Rico, and coming in sight of the Peninsula of Florida, and landing near the present site of St. Augus- tine in April, it is no wonder he believed he had realized the fable of the promised land in this O50098 SAINT AUGUSTINE. Elysium of constantly renewed bliss of youth and beauty. For nothing could look more like a paradise than Florida in April. Then he beheld ii bathed in balmy light, redolent in fruit, flowers, and sunshine. Nut only flowers, shrubs, and un- dergrowth by millions were in bloom, but the very forest trees till the air with the fragrance of their blossoms. The palmetto spreads its fanlike leaves to waft the breeze, the date palm waves \{- majestic plumes in the translucent blue air, and the feathery acacia and chaporell tremble to the gentle kiss of wooing zephyrs. The magnolia reflects the glowing sunshine upon its glossy leaves and contrasts its creamlike flowers with the radiant scarlet of the pome- granate. The golden oranges hang in tempt- ing clusters among their fresh green leaves, while here and there peep out their scented blossoms. The lilies, in their grace and purity, as of old, put to shame u Solomon in all his glory:" sleeping on the placid water, cushioned on relvet leaves, or dancing in the air highly sus- pended 0D their spiral stems, or humbly hiding in mossy nooks and fairy dells; then appearing as the impi rial oriflamme, the Fleurde Lis of France, clothed in royal purple <>r gorgeous as the scarlet trumpet lilv, dazzling with its glory. .Net only the lilies bloom perennially in this ivered land of Ponce de Leon ; the eglantine, in its tender embrace of all whom il can reach, ihe SAINT AUGUSTINE. 5 rose, the verbena, and jessamine entwine their fragrance and their foliage. The vine clings with delicate tendrils round every projecting rugged trunk that needs a shade. The " best loved West Wind " sighs through the pine barrens with a sweet and hallowed tone, like the voices of our loved and lost ones whispering us from the Spirit Land. The red- bird radiates prisms of light from his flaming wing, and when the heavens, which are always blue, are bespangled with stars, the air is filled with showers of tire-flies dashing to and fro like brilliant heavenly messengers, skimming and floating on the vast expanse of ethereal vault. If they are not angels, Ponce de Leon might have taken them for such, bearing to earth glad tidings from their celestial home above, illuminating the orange-groves ; lighting up the dark cypress and ancient cedars, hung with sepulchral moss, as though the wood nymphs and forest sprites were holding high carnival. All this and more than this of beauty that pen fails to describe, Ponce de Leon must have beheld when he landed in Florida in April. It may be seen to this day by every visitor to this enchanting spot. He might easily have pictured in the semi- lake-like wafers of the St. Johns river the reali- zation of his clay dream, the Elixir of Life. Flowing soft and silvery through bankless flats of luxuriant foliage, draped with the funereal 6 SAINT AUGUSTINE. moss hanging from the evergreen oak, or the pine and orange alternate laving in its brim: new spreading out to a placid lake where the stately pelican floats at lonely leisure — anon clos- ing in to the limits of a stream, every leaf and spray reflected in its clear bosom, and the pink crane in solemn meditation. The waters, haying a soft, sweet taste, might well have been mistaken by Ponce de Leon for Elixir, and doubtless he drank it by the quart in the true American fashion. But alas! the proof of the pudding was in the eating, or drinking in this case : he grew neither young nor handsome. Qui sa ? as the natives say, if this may not be the original cause of the great quantity of water consumed by Americans: even now they grow not younger, but considerably yellower; for quarts of ice water and pounds of hot bread would destroy the beauty of Venus herself Thus Ponce de Leon became disgusted with his paradise, and finding the native Indians fierce and implacable, he returned to Spain a dis- appointed man. In his hopes and aspirations he was fol- lowed by other Spaniards, Narvaez and DeSoto. Bui thefirel permancnl settlement was effected by the French in the reign of Charles the Ninth, alter the Sainl Bartholomew and during the < 'olignj t roubles. 'the Huguenots obtained permission t<> exile SAINT AUGUSTINE. 7 to America, where they are still traceable in some of the Southern States, who, nevertheless, in their own hour of discord and disunion, did not allow those who dissented to retire, but rather to force them by pains and penalties to succumb to the new established order of affairs. So true it is that those who have been oppressed are ever the first to turn oppressors. And this fact should act as a warning in the present emancipation of slaves. The French had scarcely enjoyed the results of their freedom and their labors in building a fort near Saint Augustine, when Menendez, the Spanish commander arrived from Spain, with powers to take possession of Florida and govern it in the king's name. He surprised the Hu- guenots by night, and entered the fort during a heavy thunder-storm. They, never anticipating any attack save by sea, had left their fort on the land side almost unguarded, and were most of them butchered in their sleep. Some few escaped into the woods, but were eventually obliged by famine to surrender. They were given their choice to renounce their faith or meet their death. They unanimously chose the martyr's fate, and were butchered in cold blood, " Dying as their fathers died, for the faith their foes denied." Their exile, toil, and labor had not saved them from the fate of Coligny ; they had flown from their homes in France only to rush into the jaws of Spanish Inquisitors, 8 SAINT AUGUSTINE. The escutcheon of Menendez, the great Span- ish commander, is traced in blood, and the foun- dation-stone of Saint Augustine which he laid is saturated with the gore of these brave and un- daunted victims to religious tyranny and persecu- tion. Blood having been so cruelly spilt at the bap- tism as it were of Saint Augustine, seems to have llowed freely through its walls and towers for three centuries of its history. For it has been watered with its own blood from its very birth to its hoary age, more than any city on this continent. It lias Buffered more ravages of fire, sword, and famine than any other city, and its inhabitants have acknowledged more foreign rulers and various flags than any other city. It is necessary to bear this in mind in form- ing any opinion of the present occupants of Saint AugUSt'me. Indeed, in coining to any ethnological, metaphysical or moral conclusion as to American character, il is essential to note the various causes which have tended to populate this vast and magnificent country. It is not a country thai has been conquered or overrun by a stronger people. The native Indiana have retired before the white man, leaving little trace behind. Prom the earliest dale we find it the Banctum <>l those brave men driven from their homes by persecution— of the Huguenots, who had Bealed their belief with their heart's SAIXT AUGUSTINE. 9 blood. The dauntless followers of Ribault, the first settlers of this little colony, were the heroic victims of another St. Bartholomew. Historians disagree about the number Avho fell, but it was doubtless from three to four hundred. Religious and political persecution at home, have both tended to establish this great Nation more than any other cause. But for that, the Pilgrim Fathers would never have landed on the wild New England shore, nor the gallant Cavalier, South Carolina and Virginia. Nor would the Irish and Germans have found their way to the prairies of the "West, save for political persecution at home. The penal laws against the Irish in the last and beginning of the present century, have been a prolific cause of immigration, and have done more to depopulate Ireland and colonize Western America than any other cause. But where a man lives under a ban and is branded for his religious or political opinions for years ; where the future is robbed of those ra- diant tints which so dazzle and delight in our forward gaze, which make anticipation the secret charm of our existence, the guiding star and lead- ing magnate which drives us on to exertion, stronger effort and enterprise — when hope folds her wings and sits brooding under the spurning feet of persecution — the human heart casts abroad in search of a spot where it may be free; free to 10 SAIXT AUGUSTINE. expand and glory in its thoughts and aspirations; free to worship in a temple or on the mountain- top. Such a spot was found in the benignant continent of America. She lay with her fair wide bosom open to take in all who mourned and were afflicted. To gather them in her genial embrace, and make them welcome to her fold. The per- secuted patriot, loving his country more than his own happiness, borne down in his zeal to stem the purple tide of tyranny and usurpation; the religious enthusiast, braving the faggot and in- strument of torture for a conscientious principle of faith, and bidding defiance to inquisitors and hell's power to pain, rather than relinquish the right to worship from his heart's pure inspiration; the woe-begone 1 1- 1 — 1 1 mother, with her brood of Starvelings; the Milieu father, whose spirit is nigh crushed t<> bitterness and evil from the long weighl of his wrongs ; the timid young girl, whose early lines of beauty are mingled with those of care — all come trooping with eager steps to the Land of the Free. To the land of corn, and fruits and flowers. To the land of every clime, of every Bky; every temperature for every race. To all who are overburdened and oppressed she extends her snowy arms from the tops of her giant Rooky Mountains, and steps oul on her Californian feet, clad in sandals Of gold, to give them welcome. She spreads her llower-enaniellcd lap over vast prairies to the weary and worn; and the shelter SAINT AUGUSTINE. 11 of her pine forests to each and every one. God's mercy goeth not ont of reach, and his dew falls on the feverish eyelids of those who weep. To the toilsome, patiently enduring German, driven at last to bay by tyrannical exaction on his down-trodden liberty, she offers her glowing homesteads, with independent, healthful labor — her waving corn-fields and lowing kine, wood and water in reach of every hand ; her seas, hav- ing a thousand miles of coast, cast up their ma- rine fruits and store with prodigal munificence. Beautiful, generous laud, offering every gift to man that man's heart can rightly desire. Surely Ponce de Leon might have been satisfied with his portion of the discovery. Such, howevei', is human nature. He had set his affections upon a particular object, viz., youth and beauty a perpetuete, ; and not realizing that, all the rest seemed unavailing to satisfy this craving. The same thing happens to this day on the same spot, where the sweet and bitter orange still abound. The fig, peach, lemon, and pome- granate refresh the eye, and cool the palate. Northern travellers are grumbling every day because they cannot procure dirty tap-water, and purchase lake ice. Ice-water is an American mania, an anti-hydrophobia sort of disease ; and it is quite certain, if there is not a good sup- ply of ice-water in heaven, they will all peti- 12 SAINT AUGUSTINE. tion St. Peter to be allowed to return to New York. They all repined because Wenham Lake ice could not be raised in Florida; every other growth was in vain. Ponce de Leon being dis- gusted because the water did not perpetuate youth and beauty, was yet less unreasonable than these Northern travellers. Hence youth and beauty a perpetuetb, cam not be offered as one of the productions of Florida. Nevertheless, we can, on the authority of the historian from whom we have obtained the datea and facts relating to this portion of the country, go so thv as to state that at the period of the evacuation by the Spaniards, numbers of the in- habitants left the city who were over one hun- dred years of age ; and there still lives in the town of St. Augustine a uegro who is said to be one hundred and eighteen. Apropos of beauty, where all nature is so lovely, it would be an anomaly for human nature to form an exception. As regards all those adjuncts which make our exterior life enjoyable, Florida abounds in a larger share than any (liniate I have \isilcd; and St. AugUStine, with her cool sea bneze and cl Hess sun, is doubtless the Eden of Florida. Had Ponce de Leon only had the good fortune, like his greal forefather, to espy an Eve mirror- ing i i r elf in the blue waters of the bay, and SAINT AUGUSTINE. 13 enamored of the reflection, be would no doubt have followed suit and not only proclaimed it a paradise but inhabited by Peris. So it is that " Man never is but always to be blest." He, find- ing the Indian squaws the reverse of Venuses, and the men more like unto Mars, returned, we are told, disconsolate to Spain. In 1580, shortly after the death of Menendez, St. Augustine was attacked by the celebrated English Admiral, Sir Francis Drake. But alter some ineffectual attempts to dis- lodge the Spaniards from the fortifications which they bad established there, he abandoned the siege, and sailed on his voyage. About this period, the Franciscan missionaries came to this country, with the purpose of Chris- tianizing the natives. They settled in St. Augus- tine, where they built the first church at the In- dian village of Talmato, where the burying-ground remains to the present time, most interesting to visit, from the old Spanish tombs which remain almost perfect. They are constructed of the Coqitina stone or shell, and bear a strong resem- blance to some of the Egyptian sarcophagi or stone coffins. Some of them were cut out from a solid piece, the lid consisting of a large slab. Some were put together in slabs and partly buried in the earth. It is also interesting as the site of the first martyr to religious zeal, the first Fran- ciscan monk. This order, the rivals of the Jesuits, in pioneering Christianity and civilization, were 14 SAINT AUGUSTINE. indefatigable in their endeavors to civilize the Indians, and for some time apparently succeeded. But there Beems to be something in the nature of the red men of the forest which bids defiance both to religion and cultivation, and is incompatible with either. Three centuries have now well nigh elapsed, of continued effort ; but the Indian tribes remain as wild ami primitive as the trees of their own forests. It was in vain that the Padre Corpa, the fore- most <>f the missionary band, rejoiced in the con- version of one of the chiefs with all his tribe. Having dared to lecture his new convert upon the unchristian number of his wives, his a was passed. IK' was barbarously murder- ed at the loot of his own altar, as lie was prepar- ing to celebrated mass, by the chief and his tribe, the devoted Padre stipulating in his sublime agony only for Buffii ienl time to perform the Ber- . whieh was accorded, his executioners 1\ around whilsl he prayed for their forgiveness fu- tile last time, and gloating over their prey like famished wolves, and glaring upon him with tin} eyes of the hyena. No sooner was t he service con- eluded and he turned to give them his benedic- tion, than they rushed up him and tore him limb from limb, bis head beingtbeonly portion of him r found by his lu.'i hren. This act alone was in itself a startling pi-oof SAINT AUGUSTINE. 15 that no sentiment of Christianity had ever enter- ed their savage breasts and in all probability never would. The spirit of Christianity is in- comprehensible to them. The devoted missionaries, however, were not of this opinion. They steadily pursued their sa- cred calling, building over twenty churches and mission-houses through Florida. Their head house, the Franciscan Convent, is now the hand- somest building in St. Augustine, having been renovated and turned into a barrack for the Union troops. It is still claimed as the property of the Church, and the matter is one of intermin- able litigation. The next handsomest building is the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy, which has recently been erected. The castle or fort, the most picturesque, was built in 1G20, principally by the forced labor of the Iudians, who, for sixty years, were compelled to work as servants to the Spaniards. This is more than the Americans have ever been able to make them do, even for them- selves ; for the Indians consider it an indignity to labor; and, up to the present day, neither argu- ment, persuasive or forcible, has had the effect of inducing them to live otherwise than in the com- plete simplicity of unsophisticated nature. They will neither construct nor provide for the future. They will live upon the produce of the land, as provided by nature, and upon the animals which come within their power to destroy for food. 16 SAINT AUGUSTINE. Any thing which we call improvement and culti- vation, they are averse to ; and when pressed upon them, they retire further and further back to their fastnesses and mountains, hut cannot he brought to adopt the ideas of the white man, or amalgamate with him in social intercourse. These were the primitive inhabitants of St. Augustine, then under the name of Talmato, when the Spaniards first took possession. In 1665, the town of St. Augustine was again besieged and captured, in spite of the castle and fort, which was then octagon and flanked by round towers, still in existence. This time the unfortunate little town was cap- tured and destroyed by an English buccaneer, cruising upon his own account, in search of booty and adventure. Upon these occasions, which appear to have been not anfrequenl at poor St. Augustine, it was the custom of the inhabitants to retire into the fortress, carrying with them all their household -"<"is which were portable, and leaving the town to the mercy of the invaders, or, in other words, t" he ransacked and destroyed. It would there- fore be diffioult to determine at what precise pe- riod any particular part of St. Augustine was built. A ft ir the retiring of the buccaneer, the un- happy inhabitants were besel by the sea on the other side, against whose encroachments they were SAINT AUGUSTINE. 17 obliged to build a sea-wall, the remains of which are still visible on Bay-street, much within the limits of the present one, constructed at a much later date, and now the fashionable promenade, being about four feet broad, and extending the whole way from the fort to the barracks — a dis- tance of more than a mile. Admitting only of two abreast, it is naturally the favorite resort of lovers, who thus enjoy the sea-air and the pic- turesque little bay. In 1681, the famous "Friend," William Penn, obtained, from Charles II. of England, a grant of land in Florida, which he strove to colonize — it is to be hoped, from his principles and char- acter — by other means than by fire or sword, like most of the colonizers of this period. He did not interfere with St. Augustine. But in 1702, England being at war with Spain, the colonies seized this opportunity to have another skirmish with little Spanish St. Augustine. The English, under Governor Moore, once more took possession of the town, driving the inhabitants into the fortress, which resisted the attack of the enemy. After remaining and devastating the place for a month, they were frightened away by the appearance, in the offing, of two ships, which they mistook for Spanish men-of-war. They at once prepared to decamp, and marched overland to Charleston, a distance of three hundred miles, burning all that was combustible before leaving. 2 18 SAINT AUGUSTINE. The vicissitudes of the picturesque little town seem, about 1712, to have been varied by a famine, owing to the non-arrival of the vessels from Spain, carrying- the usual supplies upon which they depended for their support. So that, after one hundred years' settlement, they were still unable to supply themselves with the neces- saries of life, in a land abounding in fish, fowl, game, fruit, and vegetables. Still stranger to re- late, at the present time, a century and a half later, almost every thing is supplied from the north, and northern energy and capital furnish much that is produced on the spot. Spaniards were never good colonizers, and rarely did more than simply stagnate upon the country they took by conquest or otherwise. The dolce far niente is still prevalent in St. Au- gustine to the present time; and, having once bad their orange-groves destroyed by some acci- dental frost, which had lost its way and come there, they consider iliis a sufficient reason for never planting or grafting any more. But war's Waste and ravages were not at an end for St. Au- gustine, and seem never to have been; for at the period of the late war of Secession, she had to change hands three time-. In I "725, a party under Col. Palmer, from Char- leston, made another incursion — the town falling a prey. They burned, killed, and destroyed, and then departed. Again, eight years later. Ogle- SAINT AUGUSTINE. 19 thorpe laid siege to the place in regular form, planting his batteries upon the island of Anastasia, and bombarding both fort and town therefrom. This was the most formidable siege which St. Augustine had ever sustained, and it lasted several months — the enemy having at length to retire, leaving the fort uncaptured. Previous to this, the fort had been put in a thorough state of defence. The ramparts had been heightened, bomb-proof vaults constructed, entrenchments thrown up, and ravelins projected. The fort then presented a formidable appearance, and, although upon a small scale, it was considered as impregnable as any in Europe. Events realized this supposition ; for although Gen. Oglethorpe was considered one of the greatest commanders of that day, and although he displayed great talent and perseve- rance, sparing no expense or eifort, the fort, then called San Juan, withstood him, and although sub- jected to more than a score of attacks, it never once yielded or fell into the hands of its besiegers. With the exception of again laying the town in ruins, and nearly starving out the garrison and inhabitants refuged in the fort, amounting to 2,500, Gen. Oglethorpe was no more successful than his predecessors, and had finally to abandon his position. In spite of this failure, he with true British pertinacity made a detour by land, some two years later, and appearing with a large army 20 SAINT AUGUSTINE. before the fort, with drums beating and flags flying, dared the garrison to come out and give battle. The Spaniards, believing " discretion to be the better part of valor," and choosing to leave well alone, declined the challenge: and the haughty general had ignominiously to walk back again to Charleston. Reflection would doubtless come, on the 300 mile road, for British foot was never set within the brave little fort until it was ceded by treaty in 1763. Slavery, even at this early period, was showing itself the apple of discord of this distracted land. The excuse or pretext for these continual attacks was the accusation that the Spaniards inveigled and retained slaves belonging to the British, and they stormed the place with a view of recovering them. Slavery was also the actual cause ofthe long Floridian war which desolated the country for so many years. And Slavery has, alas, del- uged not only Florida hut the who!.' of tliis fair continent in blood. Pray heaven thai this hydra- headed monster in this last great Struggle has bled itself to death. Its history in peaceorwar is written in human blood, not alone of the soldier who perished at his post, to enforce barbarous laws, or the wild Indian dyeing with his heart's hi I the green leaves of his hummuok, but of helpless woman, Bcrecohing oul her sad story un- der the lash of the tyrant. One breathes more ly this delicious air, to know that these atro- SAINT AUGUSTINE. 21 cities are at an end for ever ; to believe that the worm corroding at the heart of the fairest land of God's creation is destroyed ; that the great skele- ton looming over her youthful beauty has crum- bled to ashes, and that now she may ripen to maturity and perfection. It is only just to say that Florida and St. Augustine prospered more under the 20 years which followed of British possession and rule, than she had done in the two hundred years of their predecessors. The exports in indigo and turpentine rose to forty and fifty thousand pounds yearly. There was no question now of starving to death in a land of plenty, as had been the case under the Spaniards. Barely, however, had the English obtained peaceable possession, and St. Au- gustine began to prosper, before the Declaration of American Independence took place, and placed them at daggers drawn with the United States ; and the town was again made the point cVappui for the British forces against the American, and it was still her destiny to be kept in a state of trouble and warfare. IV 84 saw this province of Florida re-ceded to Spain in pursuance of treaty between the two countries. The singular mixture of the inhabitants at this time, and the strange confounding of tongues, must somewhat have resembled Babel. English, 22 SAINT AUGUSTINE. Spanish, French, American, Indian, African, inust have formed a curiously heterogeneous com- pound — a real pot-pourri of nationality. Until 1812 the country continued to be har- assed by the Americans constantly yearning for more territory. The King of Spain came to the sage conclusion " que le jeu nc vallait pas la chandelle," that the colony cost more than it was worth. He sold it to the United States for so many millions of dollars. PRESENT CONDITION". Saint vVimuistine is therefore interesting to the moralist from its many and varied vicissitudes. To the antiquary from its antique remains of old S|i:uiisl) customs and characteristics its narrow Streets, projecting balconies nearly reaching across and forming a constant shaut the number of new settlers from the Onited States wishing to take possession of this beautiful and desirable land interfered greatly with the savage life of the Indians, who had no idea of being driven out of their forests and Bwamps, hunting-grounds and fishing-rivers and lakes, for the benelit of the new eoniers to grow tlieir (muii and cotton. Hence feuds arose, which did not end even with solitary murder and mas- re, but brought aboul the Floridian War, which raged round St. Augustine for five or six SAINT AUGUSTINE. 27 years. Treaties were made to confine the wild- man within certain limits and boundaries. But the Indian, having ever considered this beautiful country as specially constructed for his benefit by the Great Spirit, could never be made to define any limits or bounds to his rovings ; and was very apt to help himself to any crops or produce ready made to his hand. In fact, that impossible problem of the wild and civilized man existing to- gether had to be solved, and the solution could be but one, by the disappearance of the former. Coacouchee, the chief of the Seminoles, had come under a flag of truce to entertain what they denominate a " Talk," or negotiation. He had been retained a prisoner and confined in the Stone Chamber, from whence he made his won- derfully-daring escape through a port-hole, drop- ping himself some fifty feet. Nothing can justify bad faith towards any people ; but policy and necessity were the excuses set forth for this unjust detention of an ambas- sador, as it were, of peace — this abuse of the sacred rights of the fia<>- of truce. The United States had been at war five or six years without making any permanent conquest of this handful of erratic men, the tribe of the Seminoles. It was like warring against the wild- cat or the wind. Scoured from the land, they sheltered in the trees. Swept from the prairie, they were heard howling in the cypress swamp. 28 SAINT AUGUSTINE. Driven to bay, they could swiui the river or pad- dle their hark canoes across and back — an army would seek a ford or construct a pontoon bridge. Their unerring shots whistled through the pine branches, and their spears, like the tongues of snakes, hissed through the hummucks. There seemed no probability of vanquishing them by fair and honest warfare. A pitched battle was a farce. There was no enemy to be seen after the first round of musketry; it resembled a game at "Mother Bunch," who thinks to drive all her chickens before her whilst they are all scattered round and about. Hence treachery as base as their own, was had recourse to ; and they were finally partly forced, partly trepanned, partly cajoled in going farther West, and settling upon the hunting-grounds in Arkansas. As recently as 183G, St. Augustine was kept in trepidation by the inroads of the Indians on various plantations in the environs, stealing negroes and carrying way crops, and perpetra- ting sundry atrocities in a similar fashion to the Indians West :ii this very day. In regard to the enormity of these crimes, we should never lose Bight of the peculiar position of the red and w hite man. The one is the natural inhabitant of the soil, living upon it as his birth- ' by the special dispensation of the Great Spirit, using all his gifts for his own benefit and SAINT AUGUSTINE. 29 that of his family. The white man is an intruder and encroacher, and the destroyer of his means of life. Looking at the question from the Indian's most natural point of view, we might ask, what would be our conduct if some great, powerful nation were to appear and insist upon pulling down onr factories and great cities to make pas- ture-lands ? It is more than probable that a few barbarities would be committed by us, the most civilized people in the world. There is, however, far more poetry about the red man than the black. Novelists have done much to idealize him, and associate him inti- mately with the dark pine forest and luxuriant hummuck. Agile, daring, fleet, and graceful ; decked with the most brilliant trophies of the bird, beast, and fish, he conld well become the hero of a theme for poets to sing, or novelists write wild stories of the flood and field. So well does he seem adapted to the country, and the country suited to him, that even at the present day, when inhabited by a white and mixed popu- lation, and his elastic tread has not bounded on his native soil or crushed tin wild flowers and grass for more than twenty years, still, in traversing the vast, lonely glades of pine, or sailing on the smooth bosom of the St. Johns river, over-laden with dense foliage, one expects every moment to see his heron-plumed head-gear 30 SAINT AUGUSTINE. peer through the branches, or see the brushwood and undergrowth crushing under his agile spring, or hear his war- whoop echoing through the oak thickets. The story of Coacouehce, as detailed by Gen- eral Sprague, in his history of the Floridian War, is full of interest and poetry. Be was the son of a great chief called King Philip, and was thus an hereditary chief; added to which, he possessed in his own person all the requisites and qualifications of a great Indian leader. Shrewd, active, daring, and enduring, he was enabled to exercise commanding sway over his tribe, and appears to have won somewhat of the respeel of his enemies. War to him was a pastime, and he delighted in the excitement as a hunter in the pursuit of game. Often when pur- sued to a deep swam]., he would turn and laugh, and jeer his pursuers, floundering with their arms and accoutrements through the mud and water, and enjoyed the Bight of their disasters, whilst his Own lithe figure shimmed easily through. He was as fleet as a deer, and as strong and tierce as a wolf. He was aboul twenty-eight years of age, Blight in person, above the middle height, with a countenance bright, intelligent, playful, and attrac- tive. After many hair-breadth escapes, and won- derful feats in il 1 and field, he was taken in the manner described, and confined in the fort, from wh< nee he effected his escape as described, and SAINT AUGUSTINE. 31 succeeded in giving his captors a good deal of trouble after that. When he was again captured and brought into camp, he was informed that his liberty would only be restored to him upon his consent to immigrate with all his tribe to Arkan- sas. That he must send for his family, and all his warriors, who would be conveyed on the ship with him. Iron manacles were placed upon him to im- press him with the futility of any attempt to es- cape, and to urge him to influence his own and other tribes to depart. For a time these irons seemed to eat into the very soul of the warrior, and deprive him of any spirit ; his haggard and ghastly countenance bespoke the secret suffering of the wild animal caught in a trap ; for to be chained, is the deepest degradation which can be- fall the free limbs of an Indian. Death in the open field, would be regarded as a boon in comparison. But by judicious talk and argument, he was finally brought to understand that his future in Arkansas would be free, and even more brilliant than in Florida, and that, as his own destiny in that direc- tion was inevitable, he ought to encourage the other chiefs and tribes to join him. In these views he at length coincided, and messengers were sent bearing his authority to bring in the other chiefs, the women and children. Be divested himself ot his last and onty garment, and sent it to his broth- er, with his earnest entreaties to yield himself, and spare him any longer the degradation of his chains. 32 SAINT AUGUSTINE. The persuasiveness of this appeal could not be refused; the greater part of his people came in. The meeting between the tribe and their chief, was touching in the extreme. As this is not a history of the Florida war, but a sketch of St. Augustine, it may be sufficient to mention that Coacouchee did emigrate, with a number of the warriors of his tribe, which once more left St. Augustine in peace. "When his irons were struck off, and he once more stood a free man, upon the vessel lying in Tampico bay, ready to bear him to his new home in Arkansas, he stood on the gangway gazing intently, and with lingering regret, on the loved land his foot might never press, on the land of his birth, the haunts of his childhood, the graves of his fathers. As the vessel heaved her anchor and jiiil tosea, two large tears filled his dark eyes, and rolled down bis bronzed cheeks. "I have taken farewell," he exclaimed, "of the last tree of my own land." The existence of a Great Spirit was acknow- ledged by Coacouchee and by all Indians, and honored most devoutly by festivals, games, and dances, and medicine making. To this Great Spirit they believed themselves accountable for their aCtB. Coacouchee'e dream, as related to General Sprague, is fall of the highest sentiment of poetry and Bpiritnalized love and tenderness, which SAINT AUGUSTINE. 33 proves that the Indian, amidst nil Lis ferocity, has yet a sonl for high-toned chivalry, which has made him the hero of song and story. They were very opposite from the black race, who are neither graceful, symmetrical, handsome, simple or mod- est, and lacking all the dignity which marks the Indian chief — the picturescpicness and simplicity. The blacks are rather inclined to the ludicrous than the sublime. Coacouchce's story ran thus : " The day and manner of my death," he says, " are given out, so that whatever I may encounter I fear nothing. The Spirits of the Seminoles protect me, and the spirit of my twin sister, who died many years ago, watches over me. When I am laid in the earth I shall go to live with her. She died suddenly. I was out on a bear-hunt, and when seated by my camp-fire alone, I heard a strange noise, a voice that told me to go to her. The camp was some distance off, but I took my rifle and started. The night was dark and gloomy ; the wolves howled about me. As I went from hummuck, sounds came often to my ear. I thought she was speaking to me. At daylight I reached the camp. She was dead ! I sat down alone, and in the long gray moss hanging from the trees I heard strange sounds again. I felt myself moving, and went above into a new country where all was bright and beautiful. I saw clear water ponds, rivers, and prairies upon which the sun never set. All 3 34 SAINT AUGUSTINE. was green ; the grass grew high, and the deer stood in the midst looking at me. I then saw a small white cloud approaching, and when just be- fore me, out of it came my twin sister, dressed in white and covered with bright silver ornaments ; her long black hair, which I had often braided, fell down her back. She clasped me round the neck and said, ' Coacouchee ! Coacouchee ! ' I shook with fear. I knew her voice, but could not speak. With one hand she gave me a string of white beads, in the other she held a cup sparkling with pure water. As I drank she sang the peace song of the Scminoles and danced round me. She had silver bells on her feet, which made a loud, sweet noise. Taking from her bosom something, she laid it before me, when a bright blaze streamed above us. She took me by the hand and said, 'AH here is peace ! ' I wanted to ask for others, bu1 she shook her head, stepped into the cloud, and was gone. All was silent. I felt mysclt sinking until I reached the earth, when I met my brother (hilka. He had been seeking me, and was alarmed at my absence." CoaCOUOhee fondly believed in the reality oft his vision, lie declares that he lost the "white heads" in the St. Augustine prison-chamber, it is a pity they cannot be shown as trophies at the present time. ili rabsequenl history was not unworthy of hi- pi<\ ioua career. SAINT AUGUSTINE. 35 The same officer who had .struck off his chains at Tampa Bay and seen him safely landed in his new home in Arkansas, chanced, in the course of his duty years afterward, to be quartered upon the Mexican frontier. One morning-, happening to look out from his tent at day break, he was astonished and some- what alarmed to see a cloud in the distance which looked like a body of armed men ; the sun's first rays caught the glitter of steel. Summoning his orderly, the officer rode to the crest of a hill, in order to obtain a better view of the enemy, if such it was. Here he saw a single horseman ad- vancing bearing a white flag. This man stated that his commander wished for an interview with the General. Presently who should ride up but the Indian warrior chief Coacouchee. He was partly, but only partly, transformed into a Mexi- can officer. He had commenced his habiliments from the top ; he had donned a plumed hat and military full-dress long-tailed coat, with sword and epaulettes. Then he considered ho had eon- decended far enough to civilization, and the rest of his person was still in the natural " state of the red Indian." Poor Coacouchee ! as Burns said of " Cutter Sark's garment," "Though in longitude t'was sorely scanty, It was his best, and he was vaunty." 36 SAIXT AUGUSTINE. He met his old enemy and friend with af- fectionate welcome, and npon equal terms, for he was decorated with the insignia of a Colonel in the Mexican service. He seemed delighted to prove to his former captor that he was a great chief in spite of those irous they had placed upon him, and pointed to the band o'f warriors under his command with exultation and pride. AS A WINTER RESORT, St. Augustine is one of the most eligible and attractive places within the limits of the United States, especially for certain classes of invalids needing a mild and genial climate. The air is ever balmy, yet fresh and bracing, there being more or less Avind every day, and devoid of that moist, oppressive heat which visitors find so enervating upon the river. There is a large bath- house built cst people of the Country and in many small towns in the South. There is a system of borrowing and lending and bartering canned <»ii quite amusing if it were not. SAINT AUGUSTINE. 41 too sad. There exists a listless apathy, a morbid inertness, as of people who had expended their last effort — a hopeless feeling very terrible to be- hold, hanging over most of the Southern cities. They are crushed, broken, ruined, and humiliated, if a people so proud can ever realize that senti- ment. Saint Augustine is not only unique for its jie- euliar antiquity, but it possesses a speciality of its own, for it can boast of a manufacture peculiar to itself. Small and insignificant as it is, it is the only town in this country we have visited which has a speciality.* In England most towns have, or have had, a special manufacture of their own. As Sheffield for cutlery, Coventry for ribbons, Nottingham for lace, Matlock for its spar and marble ornaments, Tunbridp-e for its wood-car vine;; — every town, almost, is celebrated for something. St. Augustine is thus celebrated for making hats, baskets, fans and boxes, out of the palmetto — very pretty and fanciful — and no strangers leave the place without carrying away sonic little souvenir. They also make baskets and mats of the strong wire-grass, which are quite durable and useful. The old-fashioned Spanish lace-making is the prominent needle-work among the inhabitants, but is not of the best style, and is very tedious and trying to the eyes. * The author had evidently made a very limited examina- tion of the United States when this remark was written. 42 SAIXT AUGUSTINE. Recently some French nuns have arrived from Le Puys, in France, brought over for the instruc- tion of the poor black as well as white, by the energetic Bishop of Savannah. They come from that part of France where the beautiful thread and silk lace is made, such as Cluney, Passemen- terie, Guissure, Valenciennes and Lille. They are proficients in their art, and in their own coun- try devoted their lives to instructing the poor in religion, a simple education, and the means of earning their own living, by teaching them to make lace. They open large Avork-rooms -where, after the children have gone through their exer- cises of reading and writing, they are each sup- plied with a little frame or cushion, thread and bobbins, and they are taught Lace-making for the rest of the day. A child of eight years old can learn if, ami can be taught as early as they could be taught their notes on the piano, and little girls take a great delight in it, especially in making trimming for their dolls, and the first communion veil. In that part of France every woman and child, rich and poor, knows how to make lace. When visiting that pail- of France three years a". I we all took the mania, and commenced cushion lace-making with great vigor. It is very interesting work, and the satisfaction great in wearing Lace of your own manufacture. Ladies all make it for pastime, and the poor for profit. <»l>l women almost blind and bedridden can still SAINT AUGUSTINE. 43 continue making the same pattern they have done all their lives, and earn enough to keep themselves in a tidy little room until they go to a better habitation. If the sisters could succeed in es- tablishing the same work and class-rooms in St. Augustine, there is no reason why it should not speedily rival Cluny or Valenciennes. There are a number of young persons in this ancient Spanish city who are peculiarly adapted to this work from their domestic habits, refusing to leave home for any service, but having ingenuity and adaptability of finger. These girls, if they were taught, could make rapid fortunes for themselves and their quaint and beautiful little city. Not a yard of lace worn by any lady on this great continent which is not imported, and half a dozen profits levied therefor, besides the duty, before she can touch it. Girls working it at home, at no expense but the raw material, which is trifling, could sell it, making a handsome profit, at less than two- thirds the price paid for it at present in this coun- try. In Malta, where the young girls all make lace, and are very similar in habits and character to the St. Augustinians, we bought rich black silk lace (in wear ever since, five years) for exactly one-third of what it is valued at in America ; for the reason that here, after it leaves the hands of the girl who makes it, it passes through those of half a dozen buyers, sellers, agents, merchants, custom-house and store-keepers. The greatest 44 SAINT AUGUSTINE. lace manufactories have been started by one or two persons having the art, and settling down in a spot. The object of the sisters is simply to do good to their fellows. They have devoted their lives to charity in any and every shape and form, whether it be teaching the ignorant, tending the sick, soothing the miserable, teaching God's word, or teaching the needy to earn their bread, and thus putting them above temptation ; they are but fulfilling their vocation of charity. And so much respect do I bear to these devoted sisters of charity, whom I have known as a body since I was four years old, that I cheerfully take this op- portunity of testifying to their great merit, and trust, with all my heart, that their good works may be crowned with success in this world, as their earnest, devoted endeavor will surely be crowned hereafter. The hats are made by slitting and plait- ing the palmetto, which when completed resem- bles very much the coarse straw hats of other countries, being lighter or whiter, or it is said, not cleanable. Bui the ornaments with which they trim them constitute the beauty of the hat. The broad, smooth palmetto leaf is cut into various forms of Leaves and flowers and feathers, and re- sembles the finest Swiss wood work ; frequently the BUgar-cane flower is added as a feather, and imitates a golden Maraborie. The trimming is in fact the whole charm of the hat. The ornamen- SAINT AUGUSTINE. 45 tation upon fans, boxes, watch - pockets, and a variety of small articles, is also very tasteful and peculiar, and displays a talent and ingenuity re- markable only as a generality in this little spot of the Southern States, where there appears rather a lack of original inventiveness. Other hats are made from a strong grass called the wire-grass, which when stitched with colored silk have a very pretty effect, and are exceedingly durable. Mats and all kinds of baskets are made of the same wire - grass, and resemble in appearance, strength and durability the baskets made by the Arabs in Algiers, on the coast of Africa. The manufacture is so similar that it would lead one to suppose that the Augustinans learned it from the Spaniards, who took it from the Moors in Spain, who brought it from Tunis and the African coast — a curious history for a basket. There is little doubt that St. Augustine will eventually become as fashionable a resort as West Point, Newport, or Saratoga, and more vitally important than any of the above-named places, on account of its life-giving properties to all persons afflicted with pulmonary disease, and all maladies which require a mild and equable climate. Pleas- ant summer resorts are rarely suitable for winter residences, and many families and individuals find it too inconvenient and expensive to change their abode twice a year. The moving of all one's belongings, and the packing up of household gods, 4G SAINT AUGUSTINE. is often a consideration that weighs to keep many a poor invalid in a climate which every day saps the fountain of his life, which in a genial atmos- phere might flow on softly for a number of years. It is no uncommon case for consumptives to live for ten or fifteen years with hut one lung, in a climate such as St. Augustine, where no bitter eastern wind ever irritates the remaining lung, wbere no biting frost ever congests the respiratory organs the year round, where the summer knows no enervating heat, or the winter any intense cold, but glide imperceptibly into each other, wafted in and out by a clear sea breeze, not keen enough to chill the most sensitive, but cool enough to be a grateful Jan. Fully realizing these great advantages, numer- ous wealthy families from the North have estab- lished themselves permanently at St. Augustine, where they live the year round, in great comfort and considerable elegance, which the climate permits; going on pleasure-trips only for amuse- ment and relaxation of change. Their houses are unsurpassed, tor luxury and convenience, by any thing in the States. Commanding piazzas, inter- laced with gorgeous flowery creepers and vines; hanging baskets of drooping moss and lichens; shady walks beneath the orange and magnolia; line airy rooms, catching the balmy gale of the citron from one side or the other. There is always one side of the house where, in the height of SAINT AUGUSTINE. 47 summer it is quite cool. There is the advantage of excellent fishing, and for gentlemen who are given to sporting, there is an abundance of game — wild turkey, wild duck, deer, beai-, and smaller game ; oysters in plenty, crabs, mullet, sheepshead, and others in great variety. It is almost needless to say, that vegetables can be grown in the greatest profusion and variety, and through the whole sea- son — peas in January, and tomatoes in March. Many northern families not only grow all their own fruits and vegetables, but have such an exceed- ing quantity, that they easily supply the tables of various hotels and boarding-houses in St. Augus- tine, which are usually full of visitors in the winter months. Of these, the Magnolia House, kept by Mrs. Buffington, is a spacious, clean, commodious house, with snug, airy rooms opening on to a wide balcony or veranda, overhanging a quaint old-fashioned garden, the walks marked out by coquina stone, reminding one of some old cloister garden in monastic enclosures. It is ever flowery the year round with perfumed orange blossoms, scarlet pomegranate, yellow chaporelle, pink, crape, myrtle, and a variety of other blooming trees,' gladening the eyes of the weary invalid with their cool, fragrant beauty. On the other side of the garden, in a green field well shaded with trees, is an old-fashioned Methodist chapel, from whence, early on Sabbath morning, comes wafted the 48 SAINT AUGUSTINE. sweet voice of young children, singing their Sunday school hymn, " The river, the "beautiful river, that flows by the throne of God," So gold- en floods the light over this scene, so deliciously perfumed is the air these Sunday mornings, so holy and benignant is all around, so sacredly all nature seems to join with the heavens in "telling the glory of God," that could one be sure there was " peace and good will among men," it would not be difficult to believe that this in truth was the promised land the little children are singing of. There is also a Presbyterian church, and the min- ister, like most of his brethren of that denomina- tion, delivers a sound, sterling, excellent discourse twice every Sunday. Besides these is the Roman Catholic church, on the Plaza, already described, with the Moorish belfry; and the Episcopal church, whoso amiable and intelligent minister resides at the Magnolia. Also a Baptist assembly of negroes, which it is worth any stranger's while to visit, if they wish to form a correct idea of how far Christianity has perineal i'd into some of these dark skins. There are two convents for the education of 'all classes — black and white, rich and poor; for these devoted Sisters rarely <1<> any thing by halves. To Catholic families, with delicate girls re- quiring a warm climate and tender care, as well 8 education, this convent — which is a handsome SAINT AUGUSTINE. 49 building, surrounded by a large garden — offers considerable advantages rarely to be met with in a school. There are a number of French Sisters from whom they would have all the facility of learning the language, together with all the usual branches of an English education. To those girls whose future livelihood de- pended upon their own exertion, the lace-making would prove a valuable acquirement; for a girl able to work this lace can earn from four to five dollars a day — sitting quietly in her own room, with her little cushion before her — with half the exertion of playing the piano. The St. Augus- tine girls excel, as we have shown, in ingenuity of fingers practised by Europeans. Every Frenchwoman is a superior needle wo- man, and their fancy-work of all descriptions is spread over the whole world. Germans are wonderful knitters, wool-workers, and toy makers. The Swiss — ivory-carvers and wood-cutters. The Italians — mosaic-setters in stone and wood, cameo and coral-carvers. The Armenian Turkish woman's embroidery in gold, silk, and pearls, excels the whole world. In America there is little of this ingenuity of finger, unless in St. Augustine,* where it is prom- inent, and is destined to take rank with any Eu- ropean continental city ; for the same genius is * Probably the writer's observation has been rather limited. 4 50 sAINT AUGUSTINE. noticeable, tbc same gift is innate to the people, aud "will sooner or later display itself in its own way. Some little incident to quicken the impetus, and St. Augustine may rise like a Phoenix from the ashes and blood which centuries of "war have heaped upon her devoted head. America is a living marvel for the rapid rise of her new cities; but her old ones need not crumble into dust for all that — and such is not the fate of her oldest. She "will yet stand with pride among her children and great-great-grandchildren cities — such as Chi- cago — as alert and juvenile as any, only shaking her hoary locks, as old folks will, over her long experience and wisdom. There is a large garrison kept in this city, which tends largely to support and enliven the place by the daily performance of the military band, which plays alternately upon the Plaza, in the evening, and the barracks. This cheery music breaks the stillness and monotony of a small town with a most exhilara- ting effect. The inhabitants hear the enlivening strains, and sally forth on to the Plaza. Young men ami maidens, children and old persons; and of course all the negroes who can muster. No doubt < General Sprague, the commander of this district, has discovered the beneficial effect of soothing and conciliatory policy, Cor there is no man who has filled this very difficull and arduous SAINT AUGUSTINE. 51 post with more successful results, and who is more admired and beloved by all parties. In some towns there are Southern ladies who will not allow their eyes to fall on a Northern epau- lette, hoAvever agreable its wearer may endeavor to make himself. But a lady would have to be something more or less than a woman if she could resist or fail to appreciate the nobility and benev- olence which nature has stamped upon the coun- tenance of Col. Sprague, and the effect is manifest. Surrounded by a charming family, his house is hospitably open to all the best people visiting St. Augustine. The house itself is a most interesting object, from its strongly marked Spanish character. From the colonnade or veranda running around it, you enter at once without hall or vestibule into a large room about fifty or sixty feet long, only broken by two Moorish archways, over which curtains can drop to form two separate rooms. The archways meeting in the centre form the fire-place, back and front, for each side of the room, whose capacious chimney, where half a dozen persons might ensconce themselves cosily, are ornamented with massive brass dog-irons, and in chilly weather a brilliant log fire completes the picture. There are eight doors to the room, all partially glass, and as the family is large and en- tertain all comers, the constant ingress and egress is almost like a pantoinine, and render it one of 52 SAINT AUGUSTINE. the most amusing and picturesque rooms I have ever visited. At door number one entered a gay-uniformed officer, doffing plumed hat and proceeding to pay his devoirs to a pretty girl seated in the shade of the archway, where she seems to have expected him. At door number two rush in such exquisite- ly beautiful children, that one imagines they have been made to grace this scene specially ; at the third door follows their ugly old black nurse, or niamy ; an orderly is waiting at the fourth for commands ; by the fifth enter a bevy of highly worked up fashionable ladies from New York, visiting Saint Augustine in order to say they have been there. At number six appear a party of naval officers from the cutter lying in the bay. At num- ber seven glide quietly in two meek-looking Sis- ters of Charity, for all have recourse to Mrs. Sprague in their difficulties and trouble. She is seated on a couch near her aged mother, who has been an invalid, and whilst bending her classical- shaped head gracefully towards the Sisters, and Listening with a placid smile lo their wants and requirements, she watches with tender devotion every movement of her mother. She is all thought and feeling for every one — for all but herself. Mrs. Sprague was one of the beautiful daugh- ters of General Worth, celebrated in the Florida and .Mexican war; she is, therefore, thoroughly acquainted wiih the temper, feeling, and senti- SAINT AUGUSTINE. 5:5 merits of the South, and thus is a most valuable adjunct in this way to her husband. St. Augustine has been fortunate in havinsr such a military commander, and fully appreciates her good luck, for with such an open house and the people who keep it, St. Augustine could never be wanting in pleasant society. Boating on the bay is a favorite amusement on moonlight nights, and in the day, boating ex- cursions to gather shells on the opposite beach of the Island of Anastasia, which abounds in very beautiful ones. Collecting sea mosses and lichens, is a pleasant occupation ; and for those who can arrange them scientifically, it would be possible to make a classified album, such as are made and sold by the thousand in the Isles of Wight, Jer- sey and Guernsey, in the old country. There are several good sailing boats for hire, and the day's amusement healthful and delightful, even tho' "the shells we gather are soon thrown idly by." Some ladies make excursions over to the pearly white sand beach to bathe, in preference to the bathing-house immediately on Bay street. To Americans who have not visited Europe, or only such modern portions of London, Paris, and capitals which more or less resemble New York, St. Augustine Avould possess a fund of in- terest, from its antiquities and curious appearance ; for although it greatly resembles Italian, Spanish Moorish towns, it is totally unlike any thing else 54 SAINT AUGUSTINE. in America, where all is comparatively modern and new. A stranger may form a very correct idea of what Cadiz, Tunis, Terracina may be like, looking at St. Augustine, especially by moonlight, when all its defects are hidden and all its beauties enhanced. And it seems to be generally moon- light. From the fact of the sn-eat clearness of the atmosphere, the smallest portion of moon gives a very strong light ; whether crescent or waning moon, it lights up the place with an astonishing vividness which I have only seen equalled on the Bay of Naples. The star-light nights are wondrously lovely, and the myriads of fire-flies of such size and bright- ness, that it looks as though the stars were de- scending upon the earth. Heaven and earth coming together, which no doubt would be a very pleasant circumstance, if it would really happen. J Jut these moonlight nights are the glory of Sainl Augustine. So bright and cool, and soft and balmy, few can resist the enjoyablenesa of a stroll, or the dreamy bliss of sitting out on the veranda listening to the echoes of the band or the I inkling of some distant guitar — dreaming over all the happiness we know, past, present, or to come. Evening ia the time for visiting, and there is a great deal of cosy neighboring amongst tho townspeople, of course it is the time for love- SAIN" T A G STI X IC. 55 making, and to the delicious moonlight nights is no doubt attributable the unusual number of mar- riages in this place, which seems to keep the small city in a perfect flutter of anticipation and excitement. It certainly deserves to be patronized by New England ladies, where, I understand, there is such an overplus of the gentler sex. They could not fail to find a mate under this specific of moonlight at St. Augustine. One lady, we were informed, had been married five times. It seems a great number, but we suppose she could not help it un- der the circumstances. The great desideratum for St. Augustine is a railroad from thence to Picolata, so that the route would then be quite direct from New York, with only one change of steamer at Charleston or Sa- vannah. Splendid steamers ply almost daily from New York to either of these towns, where several fine steamers continue the route up the St. Johns river to Picolata, the nearest point to St. Augus- tine. There are at present, stages to carry the passengers through the pine forests to St. Augus- tine. The ride, to a lover of nature, is charming, and not by any means monotonous. The whole distance is garlanded by flowers of every variety — lilies, honeysuckles, azelias, sunllowers, and a thousand varieties of small flowers which enamel the ground. Through forests of pine on the luxu- rious hummuck land of green oak magnolia, here 1 o 7 56 SAINT AUGUSTINE. and there you may see the milk-white heron float- ing in the cloudless azure vault, looking like a messenger angel bearing glad tidings to earth ; now and then a startled deer scudding away from the appearance of man — and to those who can appreciate all these beauties, the ride is delight- ful. But the generality of travellers are intent upon getting there and nothing else ; therefore, a railroad would convert the eighteen miles into nine, and an uncomfortable stage carriage into a comfortable railroad car. It is therefore to be hoped that very shortly a rail for these few miles will be established, and there is no doubt it would be a profitable venture for Northern speculators to unite St. Augustine with New York, with only one change, in a space of time of four or five days; so that persons snowed up in New York, shivering through their furs, having their extremities pinched blue and red, and all sorts of unbecoming colors; tor- mented with colds in the head, bidding defiance to troches, caudle, and Dr. Brown's lozenges, etc., e to. — sueh persons have only to put themselves comfortably to bed in one of the excellent steamers, take rather a long nap, and awake inhaling the perfume of the orange blossom and the golden fruit, hanging in rich clusters, ready to be plucked .-iii<1 eaten. Wrapped to the eyes in mufflers, the half-be- numbed traveller pioneers his way to the steamer SAINT AUGUSTINE. 57 wharf at New York, now over hillocks of drifted snow, now through slushy swamps of melted ditto ; a bleak north-east wind is whistling through the blocks of buildings, which look black and dreary, as if they too suffered from the bitter cold. Every one he meets is huddling himself together to keep all the little warmth he has in his body from escaping. The very animals stand- ing to be burdened or unloaded, have on them a look as if they had now once for all resigned all hope of ever feeling comfortable again. The steamer, when reached, is coated and clothed and draped with ice and icicles ; all her spars ai*e slippery with ice, her rigging and ropes stiff and festooned in ice ; she is united to every thing round about her with ice, and when she moves there will be a terrible smashing and crashing and bursting asunder of icy bonds. She looks as dreary as ever a ship can look, and of the captain there is nothing whatever to be seen or understood but his eyes ; a great fur cap and cape join with his beard and conceal his nose and mouth, and a coat of similar material disguises the rest of his person. You discover that this furry, hairy animal is the captain, from hearing clcai - , distinct orders issue from thence. How surprised you are two days after, when you are greeted by a pleasant, fair-faced, white waist- coated individual, straw hat in hand, " Fine day, ma'am ; making sixteen knots," and find it to be 58 SAINT AUGUSTINE. the captain come out of his shell or rather his furry skin. You, too, have done the same if you had one, and are watching the porpoises play and bask in the sun, running in past the famous Fort Sumter at Charleston, where the roses hang heavy on their stems, and where you are soon eating pineapple and mangoes. Any one who has experienced this rapid contrast will never forget the delight of the sensation, the sudden re- lief from wearisome precautions against cold — the speedy exit of the enemy who has held us in durance vile and siege of his bitter fangs for so long; of the release of the respiratory organs, which begin to exert their functions without a conscious effort ; of the feeling of exhilaration and happiness, and the bound of enjoymenl whicb transports the whole existence. This rapid change of climate from mid-winter in New York to Florida, is one of the most aston- ishing effects of Steam. We know the enormous distance we have come from the change in the atmosphere, and thus realize the annihilation of space by science. This short space of rail from St. Augustine to Pioolata, would enable her to send her early fruits and vegetables to New York and Other northern towns, in the same manner as Jacksonville and IYniandina, at least six weeks earlier,- peas, potatoes, tomatoes, grapes, oranges, cucumbers, ami every vegetable which will bear carriage. England is supplied in this way from SAINT AUGUSTINE. 59 France, Holland, Belgium, with fruit and vege- tables, a month earlier than she can produce them ; and there is a much greater eagerness to possess things in a hurry in America, than England. The northern cities of America would pay any price to obtain any thing a little before the natural course of time — in fact, to " hurry up " the seasons. In speaking of Florida as a slip of land pro- jecting from the American continent, it will be curious to English readers to know that Florida is about the exact length and breadth of England and Scotland, together ! with a magnificent river, the St. Johns, flowing through the length, for about three hundred miles, when it is met by the Indian river; thus forming a national high-road through the rich and luxuriant country. A great river is one of the greatest blessings to a new country. It is the " providential high- way," which needs no macadamizing; a railroad, without the trouble of laying down the rails. It also supplies rations gratis in its fish. In the St. Johns is splendid fishing for bass, cat-fish, perch, and other fish. Wild fowl abound. The stately pelican floats on its broad waters, and the sea-gulls skim the air. ADDENDA. THE WAY TO GET THERE ; HOTELS, ETC. From New York, travellers have the choice of three conveyances, viz. : I. Railroad, via Washington, Richmond, and Charles- ton or Savannah ; and thence by steamer to St. Johns River : or railroad direct to Jacksonville, Florida. II. By steamer to Charleston; and thence by the St. Johns River steamers to Jacksonville and Picolata, via Savannah. Fare to Charleston, $15. Through tickets to Picolata may be obtained at a cheaper rate. N. B.— In this way tho traveller has the advantage of seeing Charleston and its surroundings, and of resting there perhaps one or two days. III. By steamer to Savaxxaii; and thence by tho same line of Florida steamers as from Charleston — as they touch at Savannah. There are two lines, so that there is a steamer every other day. Livingston Fox & Co., 88 Liberty street, are the agents. The steamers now running from Charleston to East Florida via Savannah, Fernandina, Jacksonville to Pa- latka, are the City Point and Dictator ; and those from Sa- vannah arc tho Lizzy Baker and St. Mary's. All of those boats are of good size with all tho comfort of the North River steamers of New York. The fare to Palatka, the head of navigation for these steamers, Prom Savannah is about *H>. From Charleston $15. The route from the Northern States to Florida is not at all difficult. One can take a steamship every other day ADDENDA. 61 in the week from the city of New York direct to Savan- nah or Charleston and then continue the journey to East Florida on a smaller class of steamers. Through tickets can be purchased in New York to Palatka on the St. Johns Eiver for $33 T 7 ^. Five days time is suffi- cient to finish the journey. Or if any one desires to take a land route, through tickets can be obtained from New York by rail to Jacksonville ; where the Savannah and Charleston steamers call two or three times a week, to land and receive passergers for St. Johns Paver. To reach St. Augustine, through tickets should bo purchased to Picolata, and from thence take the stage 18 miles at a cost of $3 or $4 to the ancient city. The largest town on the St. Johns Eiver is Jackson- ville, which is located some 25 miles above the mouth, and the next town of importance is Palatka, a very pleasant place about 65 miles south of the former. Enterprise is considered the head of navigation for St. Johns Eiver steamboats, and is about 200 miles from the mouth of the river. The fare from Jacksonville to enterprise is about $7. (Two boats a week, via. Palatka.) The Magnolia House and the Florida House are the principal hotels at St. Augustine, and these are moder- ately comfortable — charges from $15 per week; but the are a number of fairly kept boarding-houses in the place, which are well patronized by strangers during the winter season. Essential improvements in the hotels are promised for the season of 1868— 9. The Florida House is to be in charge of a host who "knows how to keep a hotel," from a northern city. At Jacksonville there are a number of hotels, and they have just got a charter from the legislature to build one on a large scale. 02 ADDENDA. At Palatka there is a population of about 1,000 ; and they also have a charter for an extensive hotel and park. There are two large hotels, the Putnam House, and St. Johns House, both of which have the reputation of being as well kept as any hotels in the South. This place is famous for orange-groves. At Enterprise there is a large hotel which is hand- somely situated on the Lake Shore. There is a hotel at nibernia, and one at Green Cove Spring, both being romantic situations on the bank of the River St. Johns between Jacksonville and Palatka. The prices of board at all the public and private houses named, range from $8 to $25 per week. The colored population in the Eastern part of the State and in the towns mentioned, is quite small compar- ed to other parts of the South, for the reason that the St. Johns River country is newly settled, the lands bor- dering on its bauks not being suitable for the culture of cotton, and only adapted to the cultivation of vegetables and fruit. Hence, of late there has been almost a mania for orange groves, and now there can be seen thousands of orange trees recently planted out on the river, by Northern as well ns Southern settlers, all of whom seem to toil side by side, and try to forget, in the charms of tho climate and amidst their beautiful groves, that there had ever been trouble between their respective sections of country. No Northern visitor to Florida should fail to mako the round trip up the St. John's River, as far as Enter- prise. Invalids returning North should graduate the change of climate by stopping for a time at Aiken, S. 0. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below fitt OCT i OCT 8 {$72 REC'D LO-URt JUN 71984 IREC'D I.D-URC *ML J HIM JAN 49( B6672)470 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000 695 751