VOL. LVIII.
INDIANAPOLIS, JAN. 31, 1903.—TWENTY PAGES.
NO. 5
A. C. Harvey's Florida  Letter.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
I want tn toll my good In.liana Farmer
friends about our Florida trip this winter,
as we (self ami wife) left Lafayette, Indiana, on December 2nd for our winter
home here, and I hope you will get some
ire, too, out of our trip. "Oh! that
• could write a hunk," or sing a song! for
I feel like the school boy that took it in
by eating his Imuk. I am full of it, and
want to "tell it all."
We had a premonition when we arrived
at Cincinnati, aud did not want to go on
that night tram; so we stayed over and
took the morning train; and after n Ion*,
wait at Somerset Kentucky, we heard
some oue say "wreck ahead," then in the
evening at Sunbright, Tennessee, we passed the still burning wreck of the evening
train, wheels and twisted iron and broken
wreckage strung along the track; and the
two great locomotives had turned clear
over and were pointing back, and piled
on top were the baggage and express
cars, all burning up; and the locomotives,
like some enormous things of life, hail
lost their breath; their life had gone out!
after their desperate conflict, and they
lay there passive and dead! The wink
was caused by a heavily londeal freight
car beWg blown* down on the main track,
on that terrible dark and stormy night.
It stood fast in the switch, about half
way across the track, when the two locomotives pulling the passenger train crashed into it.
In the flickering light of the burning
cars that night didn't we see "Gorgons"
and "Gnomes" in their slimy garbs, working with derrick and chains, clearing away
the wreckage? And as the hot smoke
came up in our faces we were more than
glad nnd thankful that we did not get on
that train, as we came within one of getting on it at Cincinnati the night before.
But I always had a desire to see how I
would get out of one, if I had to. And
I have had a curiosity to see a tornado,
or ride down an avalanche, or slide down
a precipice, or "be there" when the world
comers to an end!
There were 202 passengers on the train,
and they crawled out through broken windows. Two men were killed and a dozen
wounded, and our four trunks had been
put on that train at Cincinnati, and were
burned up, utterly destroyed, with all
their precious contents, the collections
and mementoes of a lifetime; and I felt
like the man who had but one shirt, ami
he had to go to bed to have it washed,
and the calf came a'.ong and ate that shirt
np. And I thought of the colored woman
who had "nothing but one frying
pan," and she said "Bress de Lawd for
Hit, for if we get some fish we could fry
um." Xow they say "what is to be was
to be," so here we are happy in Candler,
safe and lonesome, but some good friends,
with big hearts and open hands, plenty of
oranges, roses and tropical beauty on
every side.
Thermometer runs from 50 degrees at
night to 82 degrees in day time.
Wm. Martin anil wife, from South
Raub, Indiana (please notice he brought
his wife along) are here. He is a substantial farmer and knows which side of
his bread is buttered. Yon ought to gee
him ride through town on a load of cowpea hay!
Well, the railroads are making arrangements to pay us for our trunks, soon as
they "officially know that they were really
destroyed, waiting for us to get ripe? (red
tape).    Now  when  we get out from the
liule f   I'urdue   and   Lafayette
we think we could cover the rest of the
world with one hand. We think of the
school girl with the little head, and the
"frog and the cow." Our train was the
fast train, sometimes fast to the track for
hours at a stretch, and we had the voluble old lady that lost her specs and tickets, and the tittering, faded flirt, waving
her ostrich plumes at the conceited fop,
and  the selfish,    self-satisfied    old     gent,
muler Immense sheds, 23 feet high. We
dime around in* one iu a "carriole,"
throng' rows of orange trees, each tree
li*a*k\. wilh $r,(*<» worth, and grape fruit
trees, with $10 on eaeh one. I am glad
these patient, hopeful people begin 1
their money hack. A good many Northern people are here for the winter. Some
of them ha*l asthma up north, so they
could imt lie clown to sleep, but they are
happy here, and sleep like logs, and wake
iir the pi&e woods, ami had nothing to begin with, so they put it all on tho table
and went visiting, and the old horse put
his bead in at Ihe window, and pulled
all the things off ou the floor, and that
y.ntng couple in the plney woods went
back to ma, because ihey had forgotten
to take their kitchen dour along.
-Although Mr. Harvey wrote it, as we
print it, "$."('0 worth," we don't believe
it is true that any orange tree ever bore
that amount of fruit in one year. He did
not mean to say $6 worth and forget to
put the point after the 5, for that would
be a small sum, if the tree is in full bearing. So he must write ami explain.
We saw orange trees when in Florida
years ago that bore 40 boxes each, and
each box was worth over $2; or say $100
worth on the tree. The trees were immense, and so heavily loaded that the
branches rested on the ground. But $500
worth on one tree, won't do friend Harvey.
Felling a tree in    California.
holding down two seats with feet and baggage, while old ladies stood up, while the
two twins cry for a drink, and they were
named Jeff and Abe, Jeff because he started the war and Abe because he sot the
slaves free, and the old lady had forgo)
whieh she liked best. She was like the
other woman that said "the best indigo
would sink or swim she had forgot which."
And that put me in mind of the man that
nlways "forgot" something when he went
to town, so he was fully determined not to
forgot anything one day. and he took his
wife to town, and after he bought
his arms full of things, he hurried home,
and on entering his home, proud to say
that he had not "forgot," he asked the
family for "Ma! " "So there!" he ex-
<'aimed. "I vum; I forgot her in town!
Now did I get off the track? Well! here
we are in happy. Imesome Candler, with
two orange packing houses in fnll blast.
10 or 15 acres of orange groves covered
up and rush around like a woman after a
iad. Now. here Ls Christmas! Happy
Christmas! Hav** yon eome again, with
your joy, ami your sorrow ainl your pain?
Nn Santa Claus with reindeer sled and
creaking snow, am! rattling icicles or blizzards to make life a burden! Instead,
we look out on art evergreen tropical land-
rcape, clothed with holly, magnolia, cinna-
mon, camphor, copal, olive, palms and
other shrubs ami tiowers that are a "joy
forever," and wo wonder why some people
don't know when they have got enongh.
and why they like to feed hogs. And
raise more corn to feed more hogs. **r
work their wives to death to get so much
property that they have to stay ami watch
it until they wear out. Mrs. Harvey has
got well an*l is skipping around town like
a m*w woman, so I will hang my "typo-
line" on an orange tree, and ns it begins
to need oiling. I can't tell you all about
the young couple that set up housekeeping
Attention, Boys!
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Having just seen an article in a paper
complaining about the tcudem-v u£—tov-msf
protest against all such notions. I admit
that there was a time when there seemed
to be some excuse for them, when tha
farmer had tc beat out his wheat
clubs or flail, and clean it by throwing it
against the wind, or with a led sheet—
and then carrying it on horseback 10
miles to mill, and grate his corn, or grind
it in a coffee mill and bake it on a "johnny board"—and threshing the clever seed
with horses, riding them over it, and in
the coldest weather, too; and also the
wheat on ice or dirt floors, same way, or
cleaning on a sort of a fan mill; when the
farmer had to roll up his pants nnd plow
through mud ami water, over roots and
stumps, in order to get out his crops iit
time—when he had to shear his sheep with
hand shears, or cut off the wool with a
knife—when the farmer had to cut his
wheat with a sickle or cradle, mow his
grass with a scythe and handle it with a
fork; when eggs were 3 cents per dozen,
bntter (1 cents I"*r pound, hogs $3 per cwt.
etc., for this is not near all the strait
average farmer had to contend with—not
to mention the bail roads. Now see the
contrast. The farmer can ride to break
his ground and plant it; ean ride to tend
it; can* ride to put out his wheat crop; ride
to cut it, and no dozen hands over the
straw stack in the dust to thrash it—can
ride t<1 cut ami take care of the grass
crop; ami has the best of roada to take
!t t** market, and nice buggies to ride in.
Why, automobiles are as plentiful as bug-
ties were when I was a farmer boy. Uncle Sam has done a big thing for the farmer by giving him the free mail delivery.
It saves the farmer mueh time iu going
t*> the town or city after his mail, ami
gives him a better chance to keep posted.
This great improvement has just lifted
Ihe farmer right on top, together with
Ihe telephone system and the i.itenirban
railways. both extending themselves
through the country, with their splendid
si rvice and accomodations. These things
hnve thus s.* closely put the farmer in
touch with the city that a more neighborly and fraternal feeling exists and unites
all in one common brotherhood. No, no,
my farmer boy. you make a great mistake to abandon the farm, with the idea
cf enjoying city life.       Joel Fetlley.
Delphi, January 9.
Dr. T. O. Simpson, of West Fairloe. Vt.. owns
the musket from wbloh was Hred the first shot at
Hunker Hill. It belonged to bla grandfather Mai
John Simpson.