“‘The required condition of the climate of Tampa for good cigars is said to be fully equal to that of Key West or Havana,’ said one of the manufacturers who has had factories in both places. ‘This has been proven by an actual and thorough test. Another advantage comes from the superior transportation facilities of the South Florida Railroad, which gets freight quickly to New York.’ “The colored people of Tampa are declared to be in a better general condition than they are in any other part of the South. They are also represented to be a generous, quiet and inoffensive class of citizens. They are also far more industrious than those in some other sections of the South, working almost every day, and the 2000 negro population have a settlement of their own, midway between Tampa proper and Ybor City, which would be a credit to any community. Many of the houses, like the streets, run in irregular lines, but the homes and the shops have a tidy and orderly appearance as though not neglected, and at night everything about them is quiet and peaceful, only the songs and the moderate conversations and the musical laughter being heard. Very few of these people live in rented apartments, but nearly all own their little cottage homes. They have many excellent churches, schools taught by colored teachers, and nearly every home has a small library. Then, too, or with very few exceptions, the colored people command the respect of the whites. “Port Tampa, which is the port from which the Plant Steamship Line sails for Havana and other places, is about ten miles below here. One of its attractions is ‘The Inn,’ a great hotel built in colonial style, beside the South Florida Railroad, over the water and about 2000 feet from the shore. It is both a summer and winter resort for tourists and Floridians. Another attraction is the fishing, either for bass from the wharf or boats, or for the tarpon, or, ‘Silver King,’ at Pine Island. The third attraction is Picnic Island, the name itself telling its purpose.” Notwithstanding the general depression of the country during the last five years, the growth of Tampa has gone forward with a rapidity unsurpassed in any five years of its history. The entire city has increased in population from seven thousand to twenty-eight thousand during the past decade and is still growing steadily. Property is as valuable on the main business street of Tampa as it is in New York City above Central Park. The city has a Board of Trade, a Board of Health, schools, academy and churches of all Christian denominations. Few, if any, cities in Florida have a more promising future before them than Tampa. [Illustration: text decoration] [Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER VIII.