Newspaper Page Text
.4
i‘ r ' L floyzrs
Florida
By LEONORA BECK ELLIS.
for •Svzxrxrr Sent lx
VERY winter or ear j y
spring we read In sundry
papers the news item that
Thomas A. Edison is
■spending- same Weeks in
Florida, it circulated again
December. as u Jias
■'Mrs past, yet com
paratively few people know
wbera or how the great
magician passes his play-
lime In the sunny land, in
of fact. Atr. Edison
has one of thi- most
villa,
short
rii nds
1 [l ° s ‘- Johns?
• a.ai!l«r with its every charm
tv,, , U)J Drklawaha. But. m
Edison know
1 am
Indian
pours
Jsorn
littl e
uu'l distinguish the
stream that our
sns ss
Its vast silver flood
>t fair Charlotte harbi
»y oj> this lovely
h ' ,Ut ■ sa,, ' li - s " debonairly until wo
outlines of the hand-'
llitihi i ,, M ers - ^thin
iiuanie halls v.%
which never
d •' Why, that
>f sailors, xen a
■P draw toward
must make
me inn ^ ..... ^.
.. ... whose hos-
i ' i, ’ as ' ,:;t Httie a
une off. tv,„ - lp ^ n l
'T What
aim.” th<-- bugbear ,
".-or would the slo
vn - s ". forsooth, .
os contented until
should wander na k
sailors might
1K ashore in
■oul,| quickly walk
romainin.- sailor ,
: hat wool i k '* awalt ‘he
■ t Mould bring our vessel
iK'l^ anchorage. The sugges-
.On„v ,uU ‘ M -
n 13 a Private landing?" sorT5p
Ifni -—- ,.^n ■ o.->*w* 11 a tnder-
g path—and found ourselves trailing in
and out among wonderful flowering
shrubs, feathery bamboos shooting up to
u great height, oranges, date-palms, ba
nanas. jessamines, all the wealth of ver
dure, fruit and bloom with which intel-
v®-I-• o»m«a. # a.
fjr
Home
i* © -£• C v «» \* c •’* d c
ves^d 'turned* 5 ?' Wh<2n at last '>"r little
a river course"unTil bay fonow **
Fort Myers.
I™ the Judgrner
In FhirhX’ the ‘ 1 ' ‘ s 1:01 an »‘hPr stream
in
•£l"^.L^" nuaI Relaxat
50c PER YEAR-SINGLE COPY 5c.
►vo-’- 3 ....
we came in sight of
th.
va gra n f
'Fading his home
PPed f heerfuJ1 >' anough on deck.
• SI irs came out, and .still
stinvd the sails, somebody
”■ the sailor:
the dinghey on,]
11 to town, while the
breeze
tip to the
Orphan
By I 1 rank X. Bullen
Second of the Outdoor Stories
Ills
• quite as long as hi?
lately leader signified
that the time was now
they must change their
-. Then
lepend-
hand
pleasui e
at
sur-
halo
from
vhite, making the immense
of his head look like a
monolith of Siena marble.
Easeful a.- any Arabian khalif. he lolled
supine upon riie glittering folds of his
■ •ouch, thi welcoming wave-lets caressing
liis vast form with gentlest touch, and
murmuring softly as by their united cf-
:*»iits they locked him in rhythm with
iheir melodic lullaby. Around liint glided
aid faithful harem—gentle, timid crea
tures. no one of them a third »>f tlwir
lord's'“TitHre bulk, but stili majestic in
their‘'pHTportions. each sonn- 45 lcct in
length by 30 in girri Unquestionably tin;
monarch of the flood, their great chief
nc-.epted in complacent dignity their un
remitting attentions, nor did their play
ful gambols stir him in the h ast from his
attitude of complete repose.
Hut while the busy seven were thus dis
porting themselves in the happy security
there suddenly appeared among them a
Gviglltful companion in the shape of a.
newly born calf, elegantly dappl'd like
ids sire, the first born.son of the youngest
mother in the group. Even the apparent
ly impenetrable stolidity of the head of
the - bool was arou-cd into some faint
tokens of interest in the newcomer, who
clung leech-like to his mother's side, vig-
oious’a draining the enormous convexity
of her bosom of its bounteous flood of
milk. So well did he thrive that at the
md of a week the youngster was able
to hold his own with the school in a
• aec, and competent also to remain under
plentiful than
i. which was but natural, ie-
the revage- necessarily made
company of monsters. More-
of continued ease and sioth-
ittch as of late had been theirs
ly favorable to the growth of
g investiture of parasites—
limpets and weed -all ovi r
s, but it completely unfitted
the stern struggle awaiting
hen in their periodical progress
should arrive on
e Antarctic zone,
had they forgot. -
lie to meet with
nferenoe decided,
the kind are a; t
ling influence of
that on the next
for the south by
the teeming "off-
Routh America All
night tli" might-y crea-
notionless on th
opaque center of r
emerald light,
drowsy spout
ions lungs sliding
primeval stillness like the
vary Titan. When at last
dom above, with its my-
eid spangles, began to throb
with tremulous waves of lovely
vari- - dored light flowing before- the con
quering squadrons of the sun. the whole
troop, ir. open order about their guide,
turned their heads steadfastly to the
south-west, steering an absolutely unde
viating course for their destination by
th*-:;- innate sense of direction alone. Up
sprang the flaming sun, a vast globe of
fervent /ire that, even at a horizon's edge,
seemed to glow with meridian strength.
And right in tin center of his blazing
appeared three tiny lines, recog
nizable even at that distance by the hu
man eye as the masts of a ship whose
hull was as yet below the apparent meet
ing place of sea and sky. This appari
tion lay fairly in the path of advancing
whales, wlvo. unhappily for them, pos
sessed but feeble vision, and that only
at its best straight behind them. So on
they went in leisurely fashion, occasion
ally pausing for a dignilii d descent in
search, of food, followed by an equally
stately reappearance and resumption of
th-. ir journey. Nearer and nearer they
drew i i the fatal area wherein they
would become visible to tiie keen-eyed
watchers at trie mast-head of that lone
ly ship, still in perfect ignorance of any
po.-sibl danger being at hand. Suddenly
that mysterious sense owned by them,
will h is more than any hearing, gave
warning of approaching peril. All lay still,
though quivering through every sinew of
iheir huge bodies with th<
of unknown on- mies, the
aised from the sparkling s
their lins and flukes testing
of the mobile eh merit like
of a phonograph. Even tl
mother's side as
tder the influence
•hensi'
half
to its
to 111
that,
sport iv
> apprt
ir heads
ea surface and
the vibrations
the diaphragm
e voting clung
if glued th- ro
of a terror
far.
lifeh
an
•idle
ness,
coming,
-ank sih
of those
any
and arching
linguisti tli
tlint has rt
curious manner air
••►■malneil below so
ir effectually stilled bis
gave him no hint oi what
At the instance of the Head
illy and stonelike without
preliminary lall-flourislungs
it the back that always tlis-
umvorried whale from one
■ived alarming news in the
idy spoken of. They
long and went to so
almost a
out scath
vuision c
could not
and almr
all that wide
not whither
wrath. Of ,
him so brief
bodiment of
mained to In ip or
were involved
of blood. His kin-
him, he was overt
and when h- cmr
:.lom . A. sudden
him. and under its
of the youngli
miracle he had pa.-sed
What manner of dread
nature was in progre;
know—lie was blind and
-?»••• s ••• 9 S •»" » © •• i- O
iture befell him which ra:
•e to liis rightful position
i folk. During his rambi
■ mazes and glades of tiii-
■dtip
kin dur
illy
abb
iis - lie iri'i
litii term
ound him
from thi:
wlm 1l
he k
da y
st i
W I
(1 b
'll
I v ago the living em-
ible might not one re
shield him, none but
i a this cat acyisni
Iretl were cut off from
ook.-d liy his vnemics,
ic to himself he was
frantic impulse seized
influence lie fled, fled
ly of fath
r the str-i
e animate
• estigate
he knew
?nilous
ratio
chr
twici
lumns
>1.1
solitud
surrou
of his
:d. while
jackals
LUt io’l
At 1;
bo'.d 1
be.
had
. ha vii
his ow
of p
gnat a depth that all except the huge
li ader were quite exhausted when they
returned again to the necessary air, not
onL from privation ot breath, but troin
the incalculable pressure of the superin
cumbent sea. Ro lor a brief space they
lay almost motionless, the valves of their
spiracles deeply depressed as they drew
in great volumes ot revivtvifying breath,
and their great frames limply yielding to
the heave of the gliding swell. They had
s. an ely recovered their norma! energy
whan into their midst rushed the destroy
ers. bringing with them the realization ot
all those paralyzing fears. Kirst to be u-
taeked was the noble bull, and once the
first bewildering sliovk and smart had
passed lie gallantly maintained the repu
tation of his giant race. Every device
tliat sagacity -could conceive or fearless
ness execute was tried by him, until Un
troubled ocean around the combatants
was all a-boil. and its so recently un
sullied surface was littered with tangled
wreaths of blood-streaked foam. Whether
from affection or so for protection is un
certain, but the rest of the family did
not attempt to flee. All seven of the cows
kept close to their lord, often appearing
as if they would shield him with their
own bodies from the invisible death-
darts that continually pierced him to the
very seat of his vast vitality. And this
attachment proved their own destruction,
for their assailants, hovering around
them with the easy mobility of birds,
slew them at their leisure, not even need
ing to hamper themselves by harpooning
another individual. Instead, they wield
ed their long lances upon the unresisting
females, leaving the ocean monarch to
his imminent death. Ro successful were
these tactics that before an hour bad
flown, while yet the violet tint of de
parting night lingered on the western
edge of the sea. the last one or those
mighty mammals hid groaned out the
dr-gs i f her life. Flushed with conquest
and breathless from their great exertions,
tin- victors lolled restfullv hack in their
boats, while all around them upon the
incarnadined waters the massy bodies ot
their prey lay gently swaying to the
slumbrous roll of the silent svv'-ll.
Meanwhile, throughout that stark bat-
musj-
Whon
arnei
•:i ters
as the bee flies, but without the homing
instinct to guidi- him. southward through
the calm blue silences of that sleeping
ocean. On, on, he fled untiring, until
behind him tiie emerald sheen of his
passage through the new starlit water-
broadened into a wide blaze of soft, s:
light. When compelled to break th”
glassy surface for breath there was a
sudden splash, and amid the deep s-'gh
from his laboring lungs came th
cal fall of the sparkling spray,
morning dawned again on his h
jeetless flight, unfailing instinct
him of his approach to shallower
and with slackening speed lie w tit on,
through the tender diffused sunlight of
those dreamy depths, until he came to an
enormous submarine forest, where the
trees w-re fantastic abutm -nts of living
coral, the leaves and fronds of dull-hued
focus or alg- . the blossoms oi oreiiid-
like sea-anemones or zoophytes, and Un-
birds were darting, gliding fish, whose
myriad splendid tints blazed like illumi
nated jewels.
Here, surely, in- might be a/ peace and
find some solace for his loneliness, some
suitable food to replace that which lie
had hitherto always found awaiting him.
and now would find nt'Vt yrni>rt\ Moving
gently through the interminably intri
cate avenues of Jhis submarine world of
stillness and beauty, his small lower
jaw hanging down as usual, he found
abundant store o r sapid moll uses that
glided down his gaping gullet with a
pleasant tickling, and were_ soon fol
lowed by a s ioin ng sense -if hunger sat
isfied. When he rose to spout he was
in the midst of a weltering turmoil ot
broken water, where the majestic swell
fretted and roared in wrath around the
hindering peaks of a great reef—a group
of islands in tiie making. Here, at any
rate, he was safe, for no land was in
sigiit whence might mm. a band of ids
hereditary foes, while into that network
of jagged rocks no vessel would ever
dare to venture. After a few days of
placid enjoyment of this secure existence
lie began to feel courage and independ
ence, although still pining for the com
panionship of his kind. Thus he might
havi go. i- on for long, blit that an ad
ching its
ill- swept
nt-
•amc venturesome, and mad.
gloomy abyss, bent upon seat
ieeess‘s thoroughly. Boidly
between the immense bastions t
guarded it, and with a swift upw
thrust of his broad horizontal tail w
headlong down, down. down. IP -.-a
ly In- saw amid the outer darkness a
we'- of pab-ly gleaming lines incessant
ly changing their patterns and extend
ing over an area of a thousand square
yards. They centered upon a dull
ghostly glare that
less, indescribable
was a blackness d
that of the surrounding pit. Rud
all that writhing entanglement wrapped
hint round, each elute ling ai:.' f aim
ing upon hint with innumerable gnaw
ing mouths as if to devour him ail over
at ote ■ . With a new and even pleasant
sensation thrilling along iiis spine, the
lung leviathan hurled himself forward
his powerful jaws
le lithe form up-
•umu-
am pie
flesh.
red upon a
as motionless.
In its midst
per, if possible
ding - - Su
form-
t here
than
lenly
leviathan hurlc
at that midmost gap,
clashing and his who
strung wirit nervous energy. Right
through the glutinous musky mass of
that unthinkable chimera in- In-w.-d hix
way. heeding not in the least the
wrenching, sucking coils winding a out
him and coveiing every inch <>t his
body. Absolute silence reigned as the
great light went on. For a while the
vast amorphous bulk
completely dwarfed th.
puny si;;.; of tin- yciun-
was on the si !e of th
innate superiority of thi
nivorous mammal with
transmitted unimpaired
sand generations of
the
•unit
aralively
ot, there
uallv the grip of those (
relaxed as he felt the
tiniiusness divide, and i
ascended from that in
gloom into the light a
the upper ;
dry long
of his late
after filling
with the k
Ir:
latter all tiie
ertebratr. car-
warrior instincts
through a lltou-
lii royalty. (Irad-
elinging tentacles
succulent g.-la-
tvitii a hound lie
efouied abysmal
md loveliness of
I!- hind him trailed sun-
ments. disjecta membra
antagonist, and upon these
liis lungs again anil again
on pure air of heaven, he
feasted grandly.
But in spite of the new inspiring sense
of conscious might and ability to do even
as bis forefathers had done, his loneli
ness was heavy upon him. For, like all
mammals, the cachalot loves the follow-
strength; an
renders him
against jealous rivals, i
laggard in the united eh
sake the school and war
morose about tiie infirlt
limitless abed--. And so
the abundant evidences
th? Voting giant meditat
gry host of sharks, lik.
don’t kill. Mine prowling up out
surrounding silence, and with shri
of delight the hovering bird f dk
ered xn myriads to take tithe
enormous spoil. Unheeding the at
lating multitudes, who gave, him
room and verge enough, ami full >>
he diy almost ni ti nless. wh- n su M.- d
that subtit sense which, aituned to the
faintest vibrations of the mobile s.-a, kept
him warned, informed him that some
more than ordinary commotion was in
progress not many mEes away. Instantly
every sinew set taut, every nerve tingled
with receptivity, while, quivering like
some fucus fron-1 in a tide rip, his broad
tall swayed silently to and fro, but so
easily as not to stir his body from its
attitude of intense expectation. A gan-
net sw.-pt over him close down, startling
him so That with one tierce lunge of hi-
nukes he sprang forward 20 yards; but
recovering himself he paused again,
though the impi tus still bore him noise
lessly ahead, t’ne soothing wash of thy
waves e iding gently around Ids blunt
bow. Shortly after, to his unbounded joy,
a noble, company of 'his own folk hove in
sight, two score of th“nt in goodliest
array. They glided around him in grace
ful curves, won daringly saluting him hy
touching his small body with fin, nose and
tail, and puzzled beyond measure as to
how so young a fellow came to be in
habiting these vast wastes alone His
tale was sc-on told, for the whale peopl*-
waste no interchange of ideas, and th-
company solemnly received him into their
midst as a comrade woo bad well earn
ed tiie right to be. yne of their band by
providing for them so great a feat. Swift
ly the spoil of that gigantic mollusc was
rescued from the marauding sharks, and
devoured; and thorough was the subse
quent search among those deep-lying
darkness-.-s for any other monsters of the
same breed that might li-.- brooding in
their depths. None were to lie found, al
though for two days and nights the
questing leviatliians pursued their keen
investigations. When there remained np.
longer a cave untathomed or it maze
unexplored, the leader of the school, a
huge black bull of unrivaled fame, gave
the signal for departure, and away they
went in double columns, line ahead, due
south, their splendid chief about a cable’s
length in advance. The happy young
ster. no longer astray from his kind,
gamboled about the. school in unre-strain-
t’OXTlKl'ED OX LAST PAGE.
e
1 $