Ingraham Expedition: March 13, Sunday

• • • Project Home • Credits • Index • Map
X (Close panel) Project Information

Ingraham Expedition: March 13, Sunday

Original Source

Encoded texts are derived from three typescript accounts of the 1892 Everglades Exploration Expedition found in the James E. Ingraham Papers and the Chase Collection in the Special and Area Studies Collections Department of the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries. Digital reproductions of the typescripts are available at:

Moses, W.R., Record of the Everglade Exploration Expedition

Ingraham, J.E., Diary

Church, A., A Dash Through the Everglades

Contents

Electronic Publication Details:

Text encoding by John R. Nemmers

Published by John R. Nemmers.

George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

2015

Licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License.

These manuscripts are available from this site for education purposes only.

Encoding Principles

The three accounts of the 1892 Ingraham Everglades Exploration Expedition have been transcribed and are represented in Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) P5 XML encoding.

Line and page breaks have not been preserved in the encoded manuscripts.

X (Close panel)Text:
[Sunday, March 13, 1892] View Page Image [Sunday, March 13, 1892]
[There is no entry for this date.] Next morning when we awoke, the "Tarpon" was going through Boca Grande Pass, the entrance to Charlotte Harbor from the Gulf, to take the inside passage from there down to Ft. Myers, and as we steamed steadily Southward, caught a fine view of the magnificent view we were leaving behind us.

Now and then between the mangrove islands, we could catch a glimpse of the Gulf on our right, while to the left stretched the solid shore line as far as the eye could reach: a fresh breeze was rippling the water, but no disagreeable motion was given the boat as our course lay in a land-locked channel, which enabled us to appreciate the exhilarating effect of the pure salt air, the shifting scene of the water, woods and sandy beach, the sentinel-like lighthouse distant and indistinct in the shadow of a cloud, and then when the cloud rolled by and the morning light flashed upon its white walls, gleaming brightly and showing its outline sharply against the sky.

The "Tarpon" stopped a few minutes at St. James City, a large and fashionable hotel on the south end of Pine Island, and there took in tow two sail boats for the use of a party of fishermen, who were anxious to go faster than the wind would carry them, but as the steamer started off again the sailboats, which lay around the corner of the wharf, and at right angles to the steamer, became entangled in the fender piles, and after filling full of water one of them broke loose and much to the grief of some on board who were to use her, was left behind.

We stopped next at Punta Rassa, from where most of the cattle raised in South Florida are shipped, and where the Cuban and Key West cable comes ashore, and from there up the Caloosahatchie to Ft. Myers. The river up to Myers is as majestic as the Mississippi, never less than three miles wide, with quite a strong current, and back of the mangroves bordered with what seems a heavy pine forest.

The channel is very crooked and very narrow, and it is difficult for vessels drawing more than five feet of water to come up to Ft. Myers.

It was Sunday when we arrived and as the "Tarpon" was to lie at the wharf all night we decided to stay on board her; indeed the hotel was so crowded with tourists that we were fortunate not to be thrown out on the tender mercies of the town for a night's lodging, as I am sure we would have fared badly.

Ft. Myers is on the south bank of the Caloosahatchie, and during the Seminole War and for some time afterwards was garrisoned by the Government. Some of the old concrete houses built for officers' quarters, still remain, and many of the palms planted by the soldiers along the river bank now beautify the place by their stately presence, and furnish shade and cocoanuts to their owners.

The town has about 1,000 inhabitants; is handsomely situated on ground eight or ten feet above the river, is regularly laid out in broad streets and in winter has a delightful climate. Protected by the broad river from the cold northwest winds, semi-tropical and some tropical fruits grow luxuriantly.

Having spent the afternoon inspecting mango orchards, [avocado] pear trees, etc., and the beautiful growth of bamboo to be seen at this place, we returned somewhat leg weary to our steamer.

After a hearty supper we sat upon the upper deck gazing at the full moon, at the glorious expanse of heaven left open to our view by the wide river, at the play of the moonlight upon the water, and on the fringe of palms along its border; the town was silent, and the only sound to be heard was the wind whispering in the rigging overhead, or dashing little wavelets against the side of the vessel. Too much impressed by the beauty of the scene and the harmonies of nature's music to say a word, our men, one by one, as Morpheus stole upon them, silently dropped off to bed.
X (Close panel)Text:
[Sunday, March 13, 1892] View Page Image [Sunday, March 13, 1892]
[There is no entry for this date.] Next morning when we awoke, the "Tarpon" was going through Boca Grande Pass, the entrance to Charlotte Harbor from the Gulf, to take the inside passage from there down to Ft. Myers, and as we steamed steadily Southward, caught a fine view of the magnificent view we were leaving behind us.

Now and then between the mangrove islands, we could catch a glimpse of the Gulf on our right, while to the left stretched the solid shore line as far as the eye could reach: a fresh breeze was rippling the water, but no disagreeable motion was given the boat as our course lay in a land-locked channel, which enabled us to appreciate the exhilarating effect of the pure salt air, the shifting scene of the water, woods and sandy beach, the sentinel-like lighthouse distant and indistinct in the shadow of a cloud, and then when the cloud rolled by and the morning light flashed upon its white walls, gleaming brightly and showing its outline sharply against the sky.

The "Tarpon" stopped a few minutes at St. James City, a large and fashionable hotel on the south end of Pine Island, and there took in tow two sail boats for the use of a party of fishermen, who were anxious to go faster than the wind would carry them, but as the steamer started off again the sailboats, which lay around the corner of the wharf, and at right angles to the steamer, became entangled in the fender piles, and after filling full of water one of them broke loose and much to the grief of some on board who were to use her, was left behind.

We stopped next at Punta Rassa, from where most of the cattle raised in South Florida are shipped, and where the Cuban and Key West cable comes ashore, and from there up the Caloosahatchie to Ft. Myers. The river up to Myers is as majestic as the Mississippi, never less than three miles wide, with quite a strong current, and back of the mangroves bordered with what seems a heavy pine forest.

The channel is very crooked and very narrow, and it is difficult for vessels drawing more than five feet of water to come up to Ft. Myers.

It was Sunday when we arrived and as the "Tarpon" was to lie at the wharf all night we decided to stay on board her; indeed the hotel was so crowded with tourists that we were fortunate not to be thrown out on the tender mercies of the town for a night's lodging, as I am sure we would have fared badly.

Ft. Myers is on the south bank of the Caloosahatchie, and during the Seminole War and for some time afterwards was garrisoned by the Government. Some of the old concrete houses built for officers' quarters, still remain, and many of the palms planted by the soldiers along the river bank now beautify the place by their stately presence, and furnish shade and cocoanuts to their owners.

The town has about 1,000 inhabitants; is handsomely situated on ground eight or ten feet above the river, is regularly laid out in broad streets and in winter has a delightful climate. Protected by the broad river from the cold northwest winds, semi-tropical and some tropical fruits grow luxuriantly.

Having spent the afternoon inspecting mango orchards, [avocado] pear trees, etc., and the beautiful growth of bamboo to be seen at this place, we returned somewhat leg weary to our steamer.

After a hearty supper we sat upon the upper deck gazing at the full moon, at the glorious expanse of heaven left open to our view by the wide river, at the play of the moonlight upon the water, and on the fringe of palms along its border; the town was silent, and the only sound to be heard was the wind whispering in the rigging overhead, or dashing little wavelets against the side of the vessel. Too much impressed by the beauty of the scene and the harmonies of nature's music to say a word, our men, one by one, as Morpheus stole upon them, silently dropped off to bed.
X (Close panel)Text:
[Sunday, March 13, 1892] View Page Image [Sunday, March 13, 1892]
[There is no entry for this date.] Next morning when we awoke, the "Tarpon" was going through Boca Grande Pass, the entrance to Charlotte Harbor from the Gulf, to take the inside passage from there down to Ft. Myers, and as we steamed steadily Southward, caught a fine view of the magnificent view we were leaving behind us.

Now and then between the mangrove islands, we could catch a glimpse of the Gulf on our right, while to the left stretched the solid shore line as far as the eye could reach: a fresh breeze was rippling the water, but no disagreeable motion was given the boat as our course lay in a land-locked channel, which enabled us to appreciate the exhilarating effect of the pure salt air, the shifting scene of the water, woods and sandy beach, the sentinel-like lighthouse distant and indistinct in the shadow of a cloud, and then when the cloud rolled by and the morning light flashed upon its white walls, gleaming brightly and showing its outline sharply against the sky.

The "Tarpon" stopped a few minutes at St. James City, a large and fashionable hotel on the south end of Pine Island, and there took in tow two sail boats for the use of a party of fishermen, who were anxious to go faster than the wind would carry them, but as the steamer started off again the sailboats, which lay around the corner of the wharf, and at right angles to the steamer, became entangled in the fender piles, and after filling full of water one of them broke loose and much to the grief of some on board who were to use her, was left behind.

We stopped next at Punta Rassa, from where most of the cattle raised in South Florida are shipped, and where the Cuban and Key West cable comes ashore, and from there up the Caloosahatchie to Ft. Myers. The river up to Myers is as majestic as the Mississippi, never less than three miles wide, with quite a strong current, and back of the mangroves bordered with what seems a heavy pine forest.

The channel is very crooked and very narrow, and it is difficult for vessels drawing more than five feet of water to come up to Ft. Myers.

It was Sunday when we arrived and as the "Tarpon" was to lie at the wharf all night we decided to stay on board her; indeed the hotel was so crowded with tourists that we were fortunate not to be thrown out on the tender mercies of the town for a night's lodging, as I am sure we would have fared badly.

Ft. Myers is on the south bank of the Caloosahatchie, and during the Seminole War and for some time afterwards was garrisoned by the Government. Some of the old concrete houses built for officers' quarters, still remain, and many of the palms planted by the soldiers along the river bank now beautify the place by their stately presence, and furnish shade and cocoanuts to their owners.

The town has about 1,000 inhabitants; is handsomely situated on ground eight or ten feet above the river, is regularly laid out in broad streets and in winter has a delightful climate. Protected by the broad river from the cold northwest winds, semi-tropical and some tropical fruits grow luxuriantly.

Having spent the afternoon inspecting mango orchards, [avocado] pear trees, etc., and the beautiful growth of bamboo to be seen at this place, we returned somewhat leg weary to our steamer.

After a hearty supper we sat upon the upper deck gazing at the full moon, at the glorious expanse of heaven left open to our view by the wide river, at the play of the moonlight upon the water, and on the fringe of palms along its border; the town was silent, and the only sound to be heard was the wind whispering in the rigging overhead, or dashing little wavelets against the side of the vessel. Too much impressed by the beauty of the scene and the harmonies of nature's music to say a word, our men, one by one, as Morpheus stole upon them, silently dropped off to bed.