Game Preserve
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A MON~O'GRAPH ON 51.VINCENT'S GAME PRESERVE F OR T H E I I.J . L·~ T R:\" I T D HL'FFA].O rX I' K E:'~ ; , A SP ECI M EN O F ST. VI ~ CE l\' T ISLA ND WI L D BOAR K ILLED BY DR. R. V. PI E RCE CA MP r.R OU ~ D O ~ 1I 0 R ~ A [) . \ Y P ASS IlE TW E E~ I. AK ES AN IDEAL GAME PRESERVE For Sale ST. VINCENT ISLAND. FLOIUDA !l E "nl} perfect and complete hUllt ing nnd fish ing prescn 'c left in this count ry. Situated in th e Gulf o f Mexico, eight miles f rom Apalachicola, Fla. Contains 11,290 acres. It is nine miles long, fou r milt's ® wide, about nne hal f Ctn'cfed with original for est, gra nd pines and palmetto. T here are open grassy savan na hs, five la rge f resh-water lakes con nected by a deep creek wh ich Rows by manor house to th e sea. A doz en ot her ponds afford fresh water for a large nu mber o f deer, wild hoar, wild cat tle, turkey, \ Vi!son J ack snipe, great quantities of all species of duck and some alligators, as well as a gr eat quantity o f lar ge and small fish and ovstcr beds. T he island has been own ed since the war It)' onl y t hree proprietors, all of whom protected th e game. T he present proprietor has lived on the island for man)' winters. He has sown m;lIlY hundreds of acres of wild rice, wild celery, smnrrweed, potam ogeton and oth er duck food, so th at gr eat quantities of (luck and geese visit and live 0 11 th e island. T he owner has imported nnd successf ully bred th e Sambur, or I ndia deer, also J apanese deer, which are increasing fast, as well as wild turkey and quail. T he island is easily protected. It contains, at a low estimate, 1,500 nat ive det'r, many nativ e cattle in wild stat e which are verv difficult to hunt and shoot, and perhaps a rhnu s:l1H1 wild pigs. T here are a hal f dozen bungalows built for th e con veuicnce uf a large family or visitors, wh ich would serve well for cluh purposes. T hey are mode rn and up-to-date. A yacht, oyster barge, duck boats, vehicl es and mules and Ford automobile go with the place. For inform.nion address; Vernon J'rice-\Vill iarns, No. 1430 Sout h Bar sh" r.· D r-iv e, P. O . Box 246, Mia mi, F lorida. Briel Statement of Facts Concerning St. Vincent Island This Island is the most sout herly o f a chain of severa l islands fnnning Apala chicola Bay, St. Vincent Sound and St. G eorge's Soun d. It is divided f rom th e mainl and at the south end hy Indian Pass, estimated to he about one half m ile wide, on the north it is divided from St. G t"orge's Island by \ Vest Pass, nbnut one mil e wide. It has scv eral large bayous making up into the island f rom the hay side. T he outside is wide white sand G ulf beach. T here are five la rge f resh- wat er lakes connec ted by a wind ing creek which run s out of the last lake into tIlt' linv ncar \ Vest Pass. I am informed that the salt water sometimes invaded the fr esh water in these lakes un til a dam was built which keeps the f resh wat er \IP to th e level and keeps the salt water out. These lakes and th e con nectin g creek constitu te pract ically th e best black bass waters ill the U nited States. 'They have nnt been fished ex tensively and read ily take any of the usual haits used for bass fi shing. T here is a chain of seven or eight ponds which ar e part Fresh wat er and part salt referred to as brackish. These contain no f resh- wat er fish hut are splendid wild fowl resorts. T he salt-water fishing about th e Island is unexcelled. N ear the Pass tarpon are found in great numbers and althoug h th ere has been hilt littl e fishing for tarpon a number were caught th ere last season . Red fish, sheepshcad, speckled trout or weakfish and oth er salt-wnrcr var ieties ca ll he caught at al most any season of th e year about the Island. I neglected to ment ion that the f resh- water ponds arc also well stocked with perch and bream. T he Island is stocked with deer estimated at fr om un c to three thousand head; several flocks of wild rurkev, from one hundred and fifty to two hundred head of cat tl e, and an estimate of six hundred head of wild hllgs and in win ter time ducks flock there in thousands. Artesian water with volumin ous natural How has ht" tll found at a depth of five hundred and fi f tv feet. I n t he early fall turtle doves flock to St. Vincent an d neighbor ing islands to feed on a weed seed that grows along the beaches and at such seasons the shuot ing is sim ilar to that in a baited field. T hese few facts have been prepared hastily hut futl in formation will follo w and will be vouched for by anl' p t'fSl l/l having knowledge of the Island. Letter from Postmaster, A palachicola. Florida Mr. Vrn lO 71 Pricr-TVilliams, ,lliami, Floridll. Apri l 2, 192 5. GE NTLEMEN- I am informed that you, gt'ntle men , hare just purchased St. Vincent Island in Apalac hicola Hay, and I want to extend my congratulations to you on securing that propert y. I have had the pleasure of spendin g a number of hours on this Islan d and I consider it the most bcaunful and valua ble piece o f und eveloped property in our gr eat Sta tc, I also desire to extend to you, gentle men, t·\'t·ry fucil itr' of the postnffi ce departmen t in anr way that we Ill:l)' serve r ou in our line. Sincerell' yours , J. F. \ V ARREN, P ost mastrr, Scal e of Yard" "XC -a " !i!. 'f~ P i En "' 2000 ''::00 Statute Mile s o 3 ,~ ,i,~ 0' ~Lo ,~ ~ "". ~\ .,,\ .,,\. ,;\ lo ."... ..\ ..) . t> ..\ .,," ,:}r.. '" lo\ ....s. t ·... .,,\ .,'<. ~ ",Jol ' .,\ "". ,." .,'t '" t>" ,.>; ,~ ",'t .. ~, 'aX t~ ~~ '\ ~.. .". .,1. ,,\. -:,:.'" ..\ TR.EAS l1RY DE PARTMENT . COA ST CI-IART No .18 3 .., r , ,, ,, ,, <, , '-. , PMT OF WEST flORIDA. P ..... 8 1 " . , . V ln••nt Island _ O n. Hou r'a Calth r-k i nl' W ul At..... Bay.... f ro'" Fl a.. Iola nel C.. ~. to Oyd ,. Ponel "r- Ir-SIG II T I ~ TO T II E BIG BAYO U ~ ~ A I X T \ ' IXC EX T IsI.A X U enjoys the: distinction of being the: only rea l game preserve in ~ subtropical America, and th e only one on which any of the large game of the old worl d is being acclimatized. In at least a score of diffe rent wars, it is an island of nove lties and delights. When for twent y r ears or more a sportsma n and traveler has fitted and floated along the shores of Florida, around her keys, over her sounds and bays, through her multitudinous passes, channels, rivers, creeks, and bayous, anchoring whenever he and his boats listed, it is a 501 fe guess that at the finish of all this cruising, the cruiser has the picturesque features of florid a thoroughly sized up. W hen th at same man has fi shed and shot wisely and well wherever he has gone, it is also safe to suppose that he knows a good hunting ground from a poor one. W hen Dr. Ray \ '. Pierce informed me that at last he had cast anchor permanen tly, boug ht Saint Vincent Island, and sett led down to live upon it for eight months of each year, I wondered what his choice was like. Consu med by curiosity to know for sure whether the doctor had really secured the finest wilderness in all Fl orida, we packed our grips, and one whizzing cold da y in February we hied southward to sett le the question. Incidentally, We had an invitation , for with out one, strangers and pilgrims may not land upon th e enchanted isle. Primarily, Saint Vincent is a game preserve of the first water. In one sense it is another j ekyl Island, but with zoological and aquati c improvements, and without a big hotel, palatial stables and kennels, and a whole ra ft of peopl e. I am told that jckyl Island is so barren of fre sh water that the wild game-birds need to he watered in troug hs ; but here un Saint Yinccnt is the most wonde rful labyrinth of Fresh-water d uck ponds that the present incumbent eve r attempted to stud y out. Know, oh ye d uck-and-goose hunters, th at thi s collection contains ten distinct bodies of water. in two grou p~ , all suitab ly connected by creeks, and in thei r season they are stocked with untold hun dreds of canvasbacks, mall ards, pintai ls, blu e-bil ls and wild geese.