Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 August 1893 — A Notable Spot. [ARTICLE]

A Notable Spot.

The strangest bit of land north of Ffortarlies- Qtfito PdarTiflH«BT , o«Caa* well. This is Smith’s Island, which by reference to a map, will be found to project nearer tho Gulf Stream than any other land on the continent. The result 1b that it is sub-tropical, the palmetto reaching a height of thirty leot or more, growing in profusion, while the olive and the myrtle are abundant. A greater peculiarity Is that frost does not affect vegetation On the island, which is about four miles long and three wide. On it is a lightn ouse built in 1817 and a lifo-saving station. Extending across it is a hoavy earthwork, built by the Confederates in 1861, now a vast lino of sand honks. The place is a huntor’s paradise' f elx months of tho year. The island was recently purchased for $26,000 by a Chicago man, who will build a hotol and utilize the great forest of live oak and palmetr to as a game preserve. The island is a bit of Florida anchored on the North Carolina Coast. . For two centuries wrecks have oocurrod off this stretch of coast, and looking seaward thoro uro more signs of partly submerged blockade runners which came to grief. - Money is frequently exposed by tho washing away of the beach. Onp night lnlßG4aparty landed there and digging a hole hid $176,000 in gold. Ever sinoo this has boon searched for.