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ru
CRUISE
I
oF T~E-
OF THI
BLUE WING
Ir L
r-t
Il
THE WONDERLAND.
CAMP
AND
R
U
N
G
FLORIDA
33r2
JAMES
HENSHALL,
M.D
AUTHOR OF BOOK OF THE BLACK BA88
Illustrated
CINCINNATI
ROBERT CLARKE & CO
1884
ING
COPYRIGHT, 1884,
By J. A. HENSHALL
TO THE
Cincinnati
Canoe
Club,
In token of my sinere regard and frindship for its members, and in
membrane of many happy hours, qajat and asho^,
this book is
AFFECTIONATELY
DEDICATED,
by their comrade,
THE
AUTHOR.
I
I
PREFACE.
In the following
endeavored to give
spent in Southern ]
point of an angler,
ist, and a physician.
While every inci
picted, is strictly tru
down, and in certain
pages of personal adventure I have
a faithful account of two winters
Florida, as viewed from the stand-
a sportsman, a yachtsman, a natural-
lent described, and every scene de-
le, they are in some instances toned
in others a few dashes of color are
added, in order to make them
general reader. Indeed, there i
condensation, and selection, of
observations afforded by a cruisi
that land of wonders, than for th
ventive or imaginative faculties, i
mention this, particularly, as the
sense
gion
Th
of th
by th
valua
rate,
emen
Th
more acceptable to the
s a greater necessity for
actual occurrences and
ng and camping tour in
c employment of the in-
n writing up the log. I
book is intended, in one
, to serve as a guide to future tourists in the re-
described.
e sketches were originally published in the columns
e Forest and Stream and the American Field; and,
e courtesy of the proprietors of those popular and
blojournals, they are now presented in a more elabo-
convenient, and enduring form, and with many
dations and additions.
e chapter initials, and most of the other illustra-
tions, are original pen-drawings by
ter, of Lake Worth, Florida, forme
JAMES
CYNTHITAA, KY.,
June, 1884.
Mr. George W. Pot-
rly of Cincinnati, O.
A. HENSHAL.
(v)
PENINS
FLOOR
Pon' IIf.
Tomi
mans IUt
Galnueslll0
o Broja
Cedar
%amler
N
o0orw-siA
its lake
Volula
Anns, M
M4 Sd
CapiI
t. Myern.
Caridas
Lror-le
R. Ilet
1
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER L
Aant propoa.-Blue Grass gastronomy.-The omnipotent frying-pan.-
My patients.-Nature's remedies.-Seeking information.-The plan.
-Preparations for the cruise.-The outfit-The crew.-Off for
Florida.-Discouraging accounts.-The mosquito as a sanitarian.-
Along shore.-The saurian witness.-Indian River oranges.-The
south-east coast at all hazards.-Jacksonville.-Its beauties and bus-
ines.-Oranges and lumber.-Steam and sail.-Impedimenta.-Pe-
culiarities and idiosyncrasies of the crew.-The Volusia.-The St.
Johns.-Its remarkable features.-Its appearance.-Guide to the
river.-The Ocklawaha.-Birds and alligators.-Snake Creek.-Salt
Lake.-The mules.-Wooden tramway................................1-11
CHAPTER II.
Titusville.-Sand Point.-Products of the country.-Hotels and Stores.
-La Grange.-Game and fish.-Merritt's Island.-Florida staple.-
Indian Biver.-Boats and boatmen.-Wanted, a sharpie.-Balmy
weather.-The "Blue Wing."-No skipper need apply.-Advice
gratis.-An interesting colloquy.-An oracle vanquished.-Rough-
ing it.-" He knows the ropes."-Christmas night.-Mirth and music.
-The doctor, sailor, and fiddler.-The Nine Little Pigs.-The power
of music.-Off with the old love; on with the new.-"All aboard "
-Now we're off.-Beginning of the cruise..........................1 2-20
CHAPTER III.
Down the river.-Getting used to it.-" The boys."-Rockledge.-The
first camp.-Under the palms.-Fur, fin, and feather.-The cast net.
-Mullets.-Oranges and sweet potatoes.-The settlers-Oleander
Point.--omantlc and picturesque.-A Sunday reverie.-Fishing ex.
traordinary,-" Oh, Mose, 'I'm snake.bitl"-The Spanish bayonet.
(vii)
Viii CONTET&
-"A snolligoster."-Red-fish.-Delightful weatber.-Out of "pa-
tients."-Farewell to Rockledge.-Tho saw-mill.-Very like a whale.
Pines and palmettos.-Eau GaUie.-The "College."-A "busted
bubble."-Banana River.-The pot kept boiling.-The nameless
pond.................... ................. ................. ...........................21-81
CHAPTER IV.
Of again.-Elbow Creek.-One more unfortunate.-Ed's revenge.-Tur-
key Creek.-A snug harbor.-Oranges and bananas.-Fine fishing.
-A twilight reverie.-Phosphorescent display.--" My old Kentucky
home."-The blonde mulo.--Pegnsus on a fox chase.-Tho boys and
their vagaries.-A pleasant camp.--" Poor Joe."-'Possum a la Ken-
tucky.-Onward.-Grant's Farm.-A yellow pine breeze.-St.Sebas-
tian River.-Navigation under diffculties.-Insulted by an owl.-
Kane's.-Cabbage Camp.-Feathered fishers -In the "piney
woods."-A logging camp.-Gophers.-More patients.-Deer dogs.
The biggest snore on record.- An earthquake. A lively
shake...................................................... ........... ... ..........82-42
CHAPTER V.
A "cracker cowboy."-Sound on the moon.-Deer-banting in the fiat
woods.-" Bays" and burnd."-How to "jump" a deer.-A lost op-
portunity.-The first deer.- Who-whoop I "-Marion )nitiated.-A
herd of deer.-A long shot.-Venison galore.-A scientific discus-
sion.-Gall and wormwood.-On the South Prong.-By land and
water.-Turkey and moccasins.-A demoralized deer-slayer.-Frank
received the first degree.-Indian on the brain.-A. Rowland for an
Oliver.-Return to camp.-A triumphal procession.-An ovation.
-"No gall in mine, if you please."-The hero's. recital.--How to
stalk a deer.-A fight with a buck.-He forgot it was loaded...48-68
CHAPTER VI.
Journey in an ox-cart.-Cypress and saw-grass.-A buzzard roost.-St.
Johns Prairie.-Silent sentinels.-New fishes.-Bob-tail saurian.--
More venison.-Rough traveling.-Back to camp.-"All aboard I"
-Pelican Island.-Slaughter of the innocents.-The Narrows.-A
labyrinth.-A queer snake.-The water-tuikey.-A preposterous
aaOwlNT ir
bird.-Life-saving Station No. 1.-Oyster reefs.-Turtle nets.-Fort
Capron.-The fat of the land.--Under the orange trees.-Fruit and
lowers.-Oysters, fish, crabs, and turtle.-Sport with rod and gun.
-Turtle catching.-Indian River Inlet.--On the beach.--Under the
mangroves.-The Blue Wing in a gale.-Knocked down by a comber.
-"A bully boat and a bully crew."..................................54-65
CHAPTER VII.
Slight frost.-Beech-combing.-Feeding a loggerhead.-Fly-ishing.-
and-flies.-Adieu to Fort Capron.-Fort Pierce.-St. Lucio Sound.
-" Old Cuba."-A glimpse of the tropics.-Pet snakes and chame-
leons.-Manatees, and a man not at ease.-St. Lucie River.-In the
wilds of Florida.-Game plentiful.-Black bass fishing.-A fire-hunt.
-Scared by a panther.-A wild cat.-Down the river.-Life-Sav-
ing Station No. 2.-The breakers by moonlight.-The "Hero."-
A moonlight sail.-Jupiter Narrows.-Peck's Landing.-A man-
grove maze.-Arboreal beauties.-Indian Camp.-India rubber
trees.-Hobe Sound.-Trolling for crevall&.-Conch Bar.-Difficult
navigation.-Locohatchee River.-Jupiter Light-house.-A pict.
uresquo panorama.............. ................... ............. .............. 06-
CHAPTER VIII.
Jupiter.-The cocoanut well.-By saw-grass or sea.-Over Jupiter Bar.-
The tramps.-"Blue Wing" and Hero."-Ocean spray.-Lake
Worth Inlet.-Breakers ahead.-A strong ebb.-A new style of nav-
igation.-Sharks and "gulls."-A rough passage.-Lake Worth.--A
semi-tropical paradise.-The "haulover."-A rich hamak.-Tropical
foliage.-" Wait-a-while."-A mammoth fish preserve.-An enter-
prising settlement.-Cocoanut culture.-Pine-apples and bananas.-
Sugar-cane.-Tho profits.-Green pens and tomatoes in February.-
A perpetual Indian summer.-The settlers.-An astonished deer.-
Rattlesnakes, alligators, and crocodiles.-The pompano.Wreck of
the "Hero.".... ................ ......................... ............81-96
CHAPTER IX.
Off again.-A long tramp.-A romantic young man.-A pirate's cave.-
Life-Saving Station No. 8.-Steve Andrews.-The Florida hog as
fish and game.-Wild oranges and flowers.-A Spanish wreck.-
X CONTENTS.
Bully buoy."-Boca Ratone.-A palmetto camp.-Subsisting on
the country.-Camp cookery.-Scrambled cocoanut.-Lost tim-
ber.-Hillsboro' Inlet.-Treasurcs of the sea.-Life-Saving Station
No. 4.-Wash Jenkins.-New River.-Largo fish.-Lo, the poor In-
dian.-A sail up New River.-A pedestrian match.-Life-Saving
Station No.- 5.-Biscayne Bay.--Fish, turtle, and sponge.-The
Southern peninsula.-Peculiar formation.-Semi-tropical fruits.-
Komptie.-A perfect climate.-The Everglades.-Indian hunting
grounds.- The settlers.- Seminoles.- Florida Keys.- Homeward
bound.-A safe voyage.-Back in Old Kaintuck."-L'/eni...97-108
CHAPTER X.
Off for Florida.-Jacksonville.-Up the St. Johns.--Salt Lake.-Vale,
the railroad; voila, the mules.-Sellers redivivus.-Oh, Ichabod.-
Tribulations of an English naturalist.-Rockledge.-A Christmas
feu de jote.-Land sharks.-Eau Gallie.-Christmas and green corn.
-St. Sebastian River.-Again, Cabbage Camp."-How to dress a
coot.-Black bears and feminine strategy.-A heavy fish on a light
rod.-The Rambler."-Personnel of the crew.-The voyage around
the peninsula.-Beginning of the cruise.-Jack drops into poetry.-
Up the St. Sebastian.-The cut-off."-HJw ihey played it on Squire.
--The Indian ambush.-Scared out of his wits.-Jack's revenge.-
A blue atmosphere......... ......... .............................. ......... 11-126
CHAPTER XI.
Pelican Island.-Old pelicans and young 'uns.-The pelican at home.
-Too full for utterance.-The Narrows.-A hunter's cabin.-Leap
in the dark.-Gannets.-Indian River Inlet.-The sea-beach.-Tar-
pum.-Hogg's store.-Sour oranges and flapjacks.-Poor Old Cuba."
-Up the St. Lucie.-Mt. Pisgah.-A disappointed panther.-The
stolen egg.-The wreckers and the fish crows.-Santa Anna.--A
feathered deceiver.-Misplaced confidence.-Black bass.-Sharks and
turtles.-Race with a manatee.-Down the river.-Jupiter.-Hair-
breadth .escapes.-Sharks and saw-fish.-A mammoth flsh.-Back's
departure.-At sea.-Lake Worth.-Hearts are trumps.......126-144
COBTKOTS. 8I
CHAPTER XII.
The deep blue sea.-The south-east coast.-Hillsboro' Inlet.-The canvas
canoe-Tho "Rambler" in the breakers.-Man's inhumanity to
man.-A rattlesnake.-A royal feast.-An ambrosial delicacy.-A
dusty sail in a lumpy sea.-New River Inlet.-Sharks again and
more of them.-Afloat on a raft-The perils of an hour.-Crevalld
and alligators.-Fort Lauderdale.-Wash Jenkins.-A deer drive.
-Unsophisticated quail.-Off for the Everglades.-Up the South
Branch.-Tropical scenery.-Through the cypress belt.-In the
sloughs.-The Everglades.-Enchanting view.-Discovered by the
Indians-" Big Tiger."-" Me glad see 'urn."-Jack talks "ia-
gin." ..........t........,....................................... ......... 1 61 7
CHAPTER XIII.
An Indian village.-Old Tiger-tail.-Indian curiosity.-Life in the
Everglade.-The Seminole at home.-His dress and manners.-The
squaws and children.-Palmetto huts.-Night in the Indian vil-
lage.-The mysteries of the Everglades.-Voices of the night.-An
evening call.-Prestidigitation.-An ," Indian meal."-Gar-fish and
tobacco sauce.-Customs of the Indians--" Me Englis talk, good.-
Wy-ho-mee.-Mosquitoes.-The miseries of a night-Target shoot-
ing.-The white man's supremacy must be maintained.-Cuff"
lost-"White man's dog, me bring 'um."-The Rambler again at
sea.-Bay Biscayne.-Miami.-The Punch BowL"--Arch Creek.-
The invalid's camp.-The shining pathway........................16-170
CHAPTER XIV.
Down the bay-The Keys.-The Beefs.-Canoe posibilities.-CCmar's
Creek-Key Largo.-Incompatibility of poetry and a heavy swell.
-Through the Florida Strait.-Isolated light-houses.-The cocoa.
nut boom."-Bahia Honda.-A heavy sea--Key West-" Key to
the Gulf."-The harbor and city.-Confusion and harmony.-The
new and the old.-Cosmopolitans.-Mixed colors.-A liqui-linguistic
at-The dance house.-A lively scene.-The rink.-Skating in the
tropics.-Beauty and bicycles.-Music and fiowers.-Jack in the
toils.-Cigar factories.-" Conchs."-8ponging.-Fishing smacks.-
Fish market.-Daily
CHAPTER XV.
Bond for Capo Sable.-Formation of the reefs and keys.-" Flowers of
the sea."-Beautiful fishes.-The wonders of the deep.-Key Vaceas.
-Cape Sable.-Tropical birds.-The flamingo.-A
Fish galore.-Myriads of
snug berth.-
water-fowl.-Ten Thousand Islands.-
Bahia Ponce de Leon.-Mangroves.-W hitewater Bay.-Pavilion
Key.-Panther
Key.-
"Old Man
Gomez."-" Oh, such asnake ''-A
season
.-Cape
liomano.-Rambling on the beach.-Marco.-
Caximbas
Pass.-Graining
the tarpum.-Divin
for green turtle.-
Bay snipe and shore birds.-Voices of the deep.-Prehistoric oyster
suppers.-Estero Pass.-A crew of "one hand."-Alligator Ferguson.
-Tho life history of the 'gator.-"Jist like humans."
CHAPTER XVI.
The cero and bonito.-A long leap.-Devil-flsh.-Punta Rassa.-The
cattle
trade.-Sanibel
Island.-A
piscatorial
paradise.-Caloosa-
hatchee River.-Fort Myers.-Jack at cl
urch.-Upthe
river.-Deer
and turkeys.-The
,Spitfire."-More snakes.-Jack lost in the
woods.--A
singulara"
record.-A
wonderful
appetite.-Lake
Okecchobee-Charlotto Harbor.- A
The Gasparillas.-Again,
rookery.-Spanish firh ranch.-
the ruttlesnnke.-Tlo Skipper's ingrati-
tudo.-A another
giantjew
fish.-TTh
and frigate bird.--Snti-
mental frauds.-Feathered
Fish and gnme.-Oysters
atosa-Big Sarasota.-Tam
Pharisees.-Turtle eggs for the
million.-
and clams.-Casey's Pass.-Little Sar-
pa Bay................................... 197-211
CHAPTER XVII.
Tampa.-Papys Bayou.-Sqnnll
domiciliary mounds.-Boca
weather.-Point
Ceiga
Pinellas.-Burial and
Bay.-Duplication of
names.-
John's Pass.-Becalmed on the Gulf.-A
golden sunset.-Jack's illu-
mination.-A midnight
gale.-Longing
f.r daylight.--afe at last.-
Clearwater Harbor.-Dunedin.-Ancloto River.-Railroad "boom."
auction ............................. ............ 1 71-188
.. i.....184-196
CONTENTS. xii
-'Cootie River.-Bayport.-Up the Weckawachee.-White Moun-
tain Spring.-Chessowiskee River.--"Nigger heads."-Homosassa.-
A pleasant resort.-My last deer.-Music on the water.-Jolly rafts-
men.--Proteus and Triton....................... .....................212-228
CHAPTER XVIII.
Song of the raftsmen.-Crystal River.-Withlacoochee River.-Canoeist's
happy land.-Wonderful springs.-Subterranean rivers.-The Gulf
Humak.-Jack's bouquet.-He comes to grief.-Cedar Key.-Saw-
mills.-Commerce and manufactories.-Cedar pencil mills.-Fish
trade.-Cruising on the Gulf coast.-Route for canoeists.-The
wonders of Florida.-The ubiquitous and indispensable palmetto.-
Southern Florida for invalids.-Advice to cruisers-Farewell to
Florida............... ..... ............. ...... ..... ..... ......... ......0224-288
APPENDIX.
A LIsT or FXnzXs OBnanRVD BY THE AuHo IN FLORIDA...285-241
A LIST or DIBRiS OBSERVED BY TM AUTHOB iN.FLonDA......242-248
- -- t -, A,
k~a
ILLUSTRATIONS.
THE WONDEFLLAiD..............................;....... ... ......... ontiapi et
THE BLUE WING.......................... .. ............................ 1
SNAKE CREEK (UPPER ST. JOHSs).......................................... 7
INDIAN RIVER.2............ ....... ................................. ...... 12
"OH, MOSES! I'M SNAKE BIT."............................................. 21
T MULLET.................................................................... 25
THE RED-Fs U.........8..................................................... 28
A PALMETTO SHAINT ............................................................ 39
A TRIUMPHAL PnocEsaioN................................................... 43
"A CRACKER."....................................,,,*.,..., ,,., ., 44
CYPRESS SWAMP....................... ......................................... 54
THB WATER TURKEY............................................... .......... 059
THE GBEN TURTLE......... ........,,,. ,.., .. ,,,,,,,,... ........,,, ,,,... 61
OLD CUBfA 1N His WAR HOBSE....................................... 66
TH MAATEE.......................................................................... 72
THE CREAoLz.7................................................................. 9
LAK O. ..B.. *********..........******...............*****................. 9
THE POMPAoO..T. .. ....... ........,............ .................. 91
TH 9A1DFAHEL"
"OPEN FOR BnsINESS "...................s o..m o.o.,....., 92
"A PGRANDFATRER O 'LO. ............. ........................................... 93
Tu RA 1E2.7...........................1...........1.....................
THa Pz&L ear .........*......................................................... 127
(xv)
ILLUSTRATIONS.
A SURPRISE PARTY...................
THE SAW-FISH................
THE JEW-FISH................
A ROUGH PASSAGE.........
A FAIR WIND...............
FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY.....
OLD TIGER-TAIL.............
LITTLE TIGER. ..............
ONE LITTLE INDIAN BOY..
LITTLE CUBAN BEAUTY....
CONCH SPONGING................ ........
TARFUI..
OFF THE
*1111111 ...* **S* **I *I ** *
PRODMIAL'S RETRN.............
DETalTISH..... .............-,....
FRIGATE.BIRD......................
'LOGGERHEAD TURTLE...... .....
MOOs-FISH..........................
RoSE WITbOUT A THOBs.......
KEYS...................*.............
II(1II ~1II~I11I1)LI111111111111111)111((1
11111,III((II)II,(I irllllcrlll, 1111(,, I III
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-4
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-
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-
THE BLUE WING OFF JUPITER LIGHT.
.% :e
y~SS;
$B;zP
CRUISE
THE
BLUE
WING.
CHAPTER
Avant
pro-POs
Blue GrAss gastronomy.-The omnipotent frying-pan.-
My patients.-Nature's remedies.-Seeking information.-The plan.
-Preparations
for the cruise.-The
outfit-The crew.-Off for
Florida.-Discouraging accounts.-The mosquito as a sanitarian.-
Along shore.-The saurian witness.-Indian River oranges.-The
south-east coast at all hazards.-Jacksonville.-Its beauties and bus-
iness.-Oranges and lumber.-Steam and sail.-Impedimenta.-Pe-
culiarities and idiosyncrasies of the crew.-The Volusia.-The St.
Johns.-Its remarkable
features.-Its appearance.-Guide to the
river.-The Ocklawaha.-Birds and alligators.-Snake Creek.-Salt
Lake.-The muled.-Wooden tram way.
HE "Blue Grass
region of Kentucky, fa-
mous for its beautiful women, fast horses,
fine cattle, and
Bourbon whisky, is
verbial for "good living"
housekeepers.
and accomplished
Its matrons, old and young,
vie with
other in
producing
most inviting and appetizing gastronomic
"spreads.
Piping-hot soda biscuits, steam-
ing corn fritters, fried bacon, fried chicken (and nowhere else ist
the art of frying chicken so well understood), coffee, jams, jellies,
pickles, and marmalades are the regular and standard features
of the morning, noon,
and evening meals.
To these are added
such other delicacies and substantial as the ingenuity and re-
(1)
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
sources of the housekeeper can suggest or command
and as it
is especially in cakes, pies, puddings, and pastry generally that
the Kentucky matron
matchless epicurean gi
exhibits her
great culinary
enius, these additional
products
kill and
of the
cuisine are forthcoming on the slightest provocation, and regard-
less of expense, on every convenient occasion.
But what has all this to do with Florida?
My dear reader, it has every thing to do with Florida as por-
trayed in these pages, for I might truly say that the conception,
inception, realization, and fulfillment of the events chronicled in
the log of the
" Cruise of the Blue Wing"
are due, solely and
alone to the frying-pan!
During the fall of 1878 I had, among other chronic patients,
several young men who were improving but slowly, owing to the
fickle climate and the too generous and imprudent mode of living
common to Central Kentucky.
slowly but surely, by the frying-pi
Their graves were being dug,
in. It became my duty, then,
both as a physician and a friend, to take them into voluntary
exile for a brief season.
Knowing that a plain diet, pure air, bright sunshine, and va-
exercise
would work wonders toward
their restoration to
health, I advised them to accompany me on my trip to Florida
during the ensuing winter.
To this they readily agreed, as I
assured them that by hunting, fishing, and living in the open
air, they would not only enjoy themselves to the top of their
bent, but that in no other way could they secure so fully and
agreeably the benefits of natul
shine, exercise, and sound sleep.
re's great restoratives-air, sun-
I was certain that in no other
climate could an open-air life be indulged in with such perfect
impunity as in South-east Florida, whose balmy atmosphere and'
PREPARATIONS FOR THE CRUISE.
genial climate can not be surpassed, if, indeed, it can be equaled,
even. by the vine-clad hills of Southern France, or the sunny
slopes of Italy; and certainly, better opportunities for enjoying
the sports of flood and field exist nowhere else.
As I had never been farther south in Florida than Palatka
and St. Augustine, I recalled to my mind all that had been re-
lated to me by friends who had visited South-east Florida, and
studied the maps and read up every thing I could procure in
relation to Indian River and the south-east coast, but the in-
formation I obtained from these various sources was so meager
that I determined to write up our experiences on my return,
for the
benefit and guidance
of future
tourists
to Southern
Florida.
Having been accustomed to "camping out" and sailing from
boyhood, my plans were soon formed.
I decided to proceed at
once by rail and steamboat to Titusville, at the head of Indian
River, there to obtain a suitable boat, and sail down the eist
coast to Bay Biscayne and the Florida Keys, and returning over
the same route to sail down the St. Johns River to Jacksonville,
if time would permit.
About the beginning of December I began my preparations
for the journey.
As our boat would be used only as a means of
transportation, and most of our time would be spent ashore, I
procured
duck.
two A or wedge tents, made of the
5ach tent
tA
being nine and a half feet square
en-ounce
on the
ground,
would comfortably accommodate three
persons-there
being six of us in the party.
my experience in
"roughing it,
As my companions had not had
" I advised each of them to take,
in addition to shot gun
or rifle, and hunting-knife, two old suits
of woolen clothing, two flannel shirts, a change of undercloth-
J
4 CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
ing, three pairs of woolen socks, two old felt hate, a pair of
boots, a pair of brogans, two pairs of woolen blankets, a rubber
blanket, a rubber poncho, and a huswife-containing needles,
thread, pins, buttons, wax, etc.
My own immediate outfit was similar to the others, with the
addition of a box of assorted fishing tackle, a bundle of rods,
my twelve-gauge "Parker,
"and a hammock,
with the further
addition of a ten-gallon can of alcohol,
of Florida fish fauna.
for preserving specimens
My armamentarium mediiamentum con-
listed of a few leading remedies, a pocket surgical case, some
adhesive and isinglass plasters, a couple of pairs of tooth-forceps,
together with a dissecting-case, and several pounds of arsenic
for taxidermic purposes.
Our party, comprising two dyspeptics, one incipient consump-
tive, one bad liver, one nasal
catarrh, myself and
my setter
puppy
Gipsy Queen
on the
morning
(Royal
Duke-Queen),
of December 16th
left Cynthiana,
amidst
a flurry of
snow, and arrived at Cincinnati at noon, where we embarked
on the mailboat for Louisville in the afternoon. We left Louis-
ville on the morning of December 17th, and arrived in Jackson-
ville, Fla., on the bright, warm, and balmy morning of the 19th.
I at once called on Dr.
J. Kenworthy, better known to
readers of horticultural and sportsman's journals as "Al Fresco."
I found him in his garden superintending the planting of some
sub-tropical
fruit trees.
Repairing to his library, we discussed
my projected cruise over a bottle of Florida orange wine, which,
by the way, equaled old Madeira in body, boquet, and flavor.
To my regret, the Doctor informed me that he had never been
in the Indian River country, though he had visited nearly every
other portion of Florida.
He endeavored to dissuade me from
THE MOSQUITO AS A SANITARIAN.
my contemplated trip to that region-said we would be devoured
by fleas, sand-flies, and mosquitoes; that the Indians had killed
off all the game, and that the fishing was not so good as on the
south-west coast.
He advised me, by all means, to go to Cedar
Keys, and cruise down the gulf coast to Charlotte Harbor, Gal-
livan's Bay, Whitewater Bay, etc., to Cape Sable.
But I was dead-set for Indian River and beyond
my tiller
was lashed, and, like Barney O'Reirdon, the Irish navigator, I
would be turned from my
" ou-aist cooise" by no man.
I sim-
ply argued that for obvious reasons I invariably found game and
fish more abundant where
were thickest.
black-flies, sand flies, or mosquitoes
Besides, it would do my patients no harm to re-
I
lieve them of a little of their bad blood-thus could I vicariously
practice phlebotomy, which of late years has grown to be as un-
popular as it is said to be unnecessary.
Then, again, the mos-
quito might be a blessing in disguise to those who frequent ma-
larious districts, for, according to the late theory of some savant,
the poison that he injects with his delicate hypodermic syringe is
analogous
to quinine, and acts as an efficient prophylactic to
malarial fevers I
The Doctor, seeing that I was rash and determined, started
down to the river with me to look at the sail-boats.
I found
quite a number of yacht-built boats of light draught, center-
boarders, sloop and cat-rigged, and of the flat-iron model. I
found one that suited me, which the Doctor was to ship to Titus-
ville, provided I could find none at the latter place.
While on
our tour of inspection, the Doctor showed me his little yacht, the
Doni, only sixteen feet long, in which he made a cruise from
Key West to Cedar Keys.
up" for another cruise.
She was hauled out and being
"fixed
He showed me where a shark struck
6 CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
her while anchored in Shark River, starting one of the butts of
her planking, and startling the Doctor out of his nap.
as trim and taut a little craft as one would desire to s
She was
Observing a crowd on one of the docks, we went over and saw
a huge alligator lashed to a plank being taken from one of the
steamers.
They said he was twelve feet long and was from In-
dian River.
This was encouraging.
I merely glanced at the
Doctor and said nothing, thinking that the saurian had mouth
enough to speak for himself, and was certainly of age.
Turning
the corner on to Bay street, I noticed that all of the fruit stores
displayed conspicuous signs bearing the legend,
Oranges.
"Indian River
" Here was more encouragement, and food for thought
and stomach too.
The Doctor merely smacked his lips and said
nothing.
After
introducing me to some
" old salts,
" steamboat
captains, and merchants with whom I would have some subsequent
business transactions, he left me, cordially wishing me bon voyage,
hoping I would change my mind as to my destination.
knew it was useless to hope against fate and bade him
But I
" good-by.
Jacksonville is a quiet, lovely city, with wide sandy streets and
plank sidewalks, shaded by magnificent water-oaks, whose wide-
spreading
evergreen
branches are
draped
with festoons and
streamers of long gray Spanish moss.
The residences are quite
tasteful and pleasing in design, and are surrounded by well-kept
grounds and gardens, in which are numerous varieties of semi-
tropical trees, shrubs, and flowering plants, prominent and con-
spicuous among which are the orange, lemon, and banana. A
number of commodious and well-appointed hotels were being put
in order for the reception of winter guests-the St. James, the
Windsor, the Duval, the Carleton, the National, the Metropoli-
tan, and others.
SNAKE CREEK (UPPER ST. JOHNS).
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IDIOSYNCRASIES OF THE CREW.
The stores were being tastefully arranged and their wares at-
tractively displayed.
The curiosity stores were already thronged
by visitors, admiring the beautiful display of sea-shells, corals,
ornaments of orange-wood, crab-wood, satin-wood, and mangrove,
and the charming and curiously constructed jewelry of sea-beans,
alligator teeth, boar's tusks, and fish scales.
The chief commer-
cial products seemed to be pine lumber and oranges.
Newly-painted steamers were moored to the wharves or plying
on the broad river amidst numerous sailing craft.
The large
schooner yacht, Ambassadress, owned by Wi. B. Astor, of New
York, was anchored in mid-stream, as trim and ship-shape, and
as thoroughly disciplined as a man'-war.
I now busied myself laying in our supplies of groceries, pro-
visions, ammunition,
fishing tackle, lantern, ax, spade, hatchet,
etc., which were ordered to be well boxed and shipped to Titus-
ville via Salt Lake.
Saturday, December 21st, was the day set
for our departure from Jacksonville on the good steamer Vdusia,
Isaac Hall, master.'
I proceeded to look up my companions, and found Ben in a
canemaker's shop, intently watching the man carving alligators
on the tops of orange-wood canes-Ben has a penchant for canes.
He then had in his hand a young hickory with a huge knotted
head, which he had cut before leaving
"Old Kentuck."
would have had this knot carved into some grotesque figure, but
I dragged him away.
From my knowledge of their proclivities, I found Frank and
Ed where I expected-at the gun store.
Frank was looking
lovingly upon the guns and rifles ranged along the wall, while
Ed was gazing abstractedly at a fine display of salt-water fish-
ing tackle.
Frank can never see a gun but he must handle it,
a CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
try the locks, bring it up to his shoulder, and bore some image
inary object through and through. I've no doubt he had handled
every gun in the store.
Ed seemed particularly taken with a
shark hook
and its chain and swivel.
He is a monument of
patience-will sit all day long under a shady tree in fond antici-
nation of the
"bite
he may never get.
I discovered Marion, who has an eye for mechanics, watching
a machine hulling rice, while his brother Henry was trying to
devour the contents of a fruit store near by.
was one of my dyspeptics.
down to the boat at once.
them aboard the steamer.
they are never in a hurry.
Henry, of course,
I told them to get their baggage
An hour later and I was waiting for
They came at last, one at a time-
I observed that Ben came up smiling
and swinging his cane, the top of which he had had carved into
some sort of a head, either of
clown, I could not tell which.
a pointer dog or a pantomime
Ed had the shark hook sticking
out of his pocket, while Marion was examining his latest pur-
chase, a hollow handle, containing all manner of
chisels, gimlets, etc.;
into the handle again.
awl blades,
he was vainly trying to get them all back
The last to arrive was Henry,
in great
haste too, his pockets full of oranges and bananas, and his mouth
moving faster than his legs.
The little Volusia steamed out shortly afterward,
and went
puffing up the St. Johns against a strong head-wind.
In some respects the St. Johns is the most remarkable river
in the United States.
One peculiar feature is its course, flow-
ing nearly due north, so that while one is sailing up the river he
is going down into Florida.
From its mouth to near the head of
tide-water, Palatka--some seventy-five miles-it varies from a
mile to five miles in width, and in its whole course, from its
THE ST. JOHNS.
source in the Cypress Belt to its mouth, some three hundred
miles, it has a fall of but twelve feet.
Above Palatka it is
really a succession of lakes with a narrow connecting stream,
though this is somewhat characteristic of the entire river, hence
its Indian name-We-la-ka-" a chain of lakes."
It is :extremely probable that at one time the St. Johns was
an arm of the sea, or sound, similairto Halifax and Indian riv-
ers, and that the lowland lying eastward of its course was formed
by accretion.
This view seems more
plausible in connection
with the fact that the land between the river and the Atlantic
coast nowhere exceeds an elevation greater than the fall of the
river, say twelve or fifteen feet, while west of its entire course
there exists quite a ridge, extending north and south, which
varies in different localities from fifty to one hundred and fifty
feet above the sea level.
SThen again its largest tributaries are
from the west, while those from the east are small streams, usually
the outflow of small lakes or large springs.
Halifax and Indian
No doubt but the
rivers would in time become true rivers, in
like manner, but for the opposing influence now brought to bear
upon the coast by the Gulf Stream.
The banks of the St. Johns are green to the water's edge, and
clothed with successive groups of palmetto or "cabbage"
trees,
live-oaks, pines,
water-oaks and swamp-maples,
with here and
there an orange grove.
While the banks are low, they seem
much lower than they really are, owing to the wide expanse of
water and the absence of a background of hills or highlands.
Many charming villas and cosy cottages adorn the lower St. Johns,
with an occasional hotel or winter resort.
As this river has been
so often described I will not dwell upon it here, but will merely
give the following table of distances of the various landings
I
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
from Jacksonville. Those marked by an asterisk (*) are upon
.the west bank of the river:
Arlington.. .........
St Nicholas .........
Riverside*...........
Black Point*.........
Mulberry Grove. ....
Mandarin............
Orange Park*........
Fruit Cove ...........
Hibernia .............
New Switzerland ....
Remington Park.....
Magnolia* .... ......
Green Cove Spring*.
Orange Dale.........
Hogarth's Landing..
Picolata..............
Tocol. ... .........
Federal Point. ... ...
Orange Mills ........
Cook's Landing.......
Dancy's Wharf. ......
Russell's Point.......
Whetstone*..........
Russell's Landing....
Palatka*...............
Hart's Orange Grove.
Rawleston ............
San Mateo.............
Edgewater............
Buffalo Bluff* ........
Horse Landing*.......
Smith's Landing......
Nashua................
Welaka..... ..........
Beecher...............
Norwalk ..............
Mt. Royal .............
Fruitlands ..........
MILES.
.... 2 Fort Gates*..................
.... 2 Georgetown.. .. ....... ...
.... 3 Pelham Park ................
.... 10 Racemo ....... ...............
.... 12 Lake George...... ........
.... 15 Orange Point ................
.... 15 Drayton Island*..............
.... 19 Salt Springs*. ...............
.... 23 Benella.... .................
.... 23 Seville.......................
.... 25 Yellow Blurff ..............
.... 28 Spring Garden*..............
... 30 Spring Grove.................
.... 34 Lake View,.... ... ..........
.... 38 Volusia.......................
... 44 Astor, St. J. & L. E. Railway.
.... 49 Fort Butler*........ ....
.... 58 Manhattan* ..... .........
.... 63 Orange Bluff. ........ .........
.... 65 Bluffton .... ................
.... 66 St. rancis* ..................
.... 67 Old Town*....................
.... 68 Crow's Landing* ............
.. 69 Hawkinsville*.......... ....
.... 75 Cabbage Bluff................
... 75 De Laud's Landing...........
... 78 Lake Beresford .. ...........
... 79 Cabbage Bluff.................
... 80 Blue Spring ...................
... 87 Wekva. .....................
.... 94 Manuel Landing.............
... 96 Shell Bank...................
... 95 Sanford*......... .. .........
.. .100 Mellonvill*. .................
...101 Enterprise.....................
...108 Lake Jessup..................
.. .105 Lake Harney.................
...105 Salt Lake. ...................
A mile above Welaka is the mouth of the Ocklawaha River, a
narrow and tortuous stream, which is navigated by small stern-
wheel steamboats to Okahumkee, two hundred and fifty miles
above its mouth. Above Lake Monroe, on which are situated
Sanford, Mellonville, and Enterprise, the St. Johns is quite
El~a
THE MULE-WOODEN TRAMWAY. 11
narrow, more tropical in appearance than the lower river, and
more picturesque. Alligators begin to appear, and the small boy
with his pistol, and the boy of larger growth with his rifle, are
correspondingly happy. White herons, egrets, blue herons,
water turkeys, ducks, and coots also put in a frequent appear-
ance, to the delight of the aforesaid small and large boys, and to
the waste of a large amount of ammunition.
On Tuesday morning, the third day after leaving Jackson-
ville, we left the St. Johns a few miles above Lake Harney, and
entered Snake Creek, whose tortuous windings we followed for
a few hours, and arrived at Salt Lake about eleven o'clock. This
is the present head of navigation, and is two hundred and sev-
enty-five miles above Jacksonville. We were transferred to the
shore in a lighter, or I should say to a car, which stood some
hundred yards from the shore in the shallow water, which but
barely covered the track. There is a wooden tramway seven
miles in length, extending from Salt Lake to Titusville. The
car is drawn by two mules who travel outside of the track, one
on each side, and entirely independent of each other-each hav-
ing a pair of lines to himself-like a Mississippi steamboat with
two engines, which can be forged ahead with one wheel while
being backed by the other. We arrived at Tituaville in time for
dinner.
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
CHAPTER
Titusville.-Sand Point.-Products of the country.-Hotels and Stores.
-La Grange.-Game and fish.-Merritt's Island.-Florida staple.-
Indian River.-Boats and
weather.-The
boatmen.-Wanted, a hbarpie.-Balmy
" Blue Wing."-No skipper need' apply.-Advice
gratis.-An interesting colloquy.-An oracle vanquished.-Rough-
ing it.--" He knows the ropes."-Christmas night.-Mirth and music.
-The doctor, sailor, and fiddler.-The Nine Little Pig.-The power
of music.-Off with the old love; on with the new.-"All aboard "
-Now we're off.-Beginning of the cruise.
SJTUSVILLE, though a small village, is a
place of considerable importance in East
Florida, being the emporium for the entire
|country south for a distance of two hun-
miles.
Its former name
was Sand
Point, which it is still called by the boat-
men and lower country people.
A long,
sandy point, projecting into the river a
quarter of a mile above, gave it this name.
It is now known
as Titusville in honor of Colonel H. T. Titus, one of its pioneer
residents, and whose enterprise gave it its initiative impulse of
activity and importance.
dozen stores, and is the
It has now two hotels and a half-
distributing and shipping point for
South-east Florida.
The products of the country, such as oranges, limes, pine-
apples, bananas, cane syrup, early vegetables, green turtle, oys-
venison,
via Salt Lake,
skins, hides, etc.,
while
are shipped
to Jacksonville
the return cargoes consist of
groceries,.
INDIAN RIVRn.
TITUSVILLE-LA. GRANGE.
provisions, clothing, household goods, etc.
Its wooden tramway
will probably be extended to Lake Harney-some twenty miles
-before long, which will add greater facilities for trade and
traVel.-Mr. S. J. Fox is the principal owner and manager of
this road, and sportsmen and tourists will find him genial, jolly,
and fully alive to their interests.
The hotels are the
"Titus Hotel
the "Lund House,"
the former owned by Colonel Titus, and the latter by Captain
Lund, of the Jacksonville and Salt Lake Line of steamers.
Both are good houses.
The "Titus
was kept last winter by
Messrs. Bodine and McCarty, and the "Lund" by S. A. Mer-
rill, Esq., of Lynn, Mass.
Mr. Merrill expects to
" run it"
again another year, and I can cheerfully recommend it to the
notice of tourists.
It is charmingly located near the river beach,
and is a most comfortable hostelry.
Mr. M.
"knows how to
keep a hotel,
as he has had an experience of twelve years in
conducting a summer house on the Massachusetts beach. He
intends introducing a novel and desirable feature next winter.
He will have several yachts, in charge of competent skippers,
who will take parties of guests on camping and fishing excursions
down the river, at no additional expense to.the regular per diem
rate of the hotel.
There are a number of places of interest in the immediate vi-
cinity of the village.
About a mile north-west from Titusville
is quite a large and thrifty settlement, called La Grange. The
settlers-are engaged in the culture of oranges and early vegeta-
bles. About eight miles above, on the same side of the river,
is the settlement called Aurantia.
From Titusville to the head
of Indian River is fourteen miles; to the Haulover Canal, con-
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
nectig Indian River with Mosquito Lagoon, is ten miles, and
the celebrated Dummit's orange grove is in that vicinity.
Opposite Titusville is the head of Merritt's Island, which is a
wedge-shaped island about thirty miles long, bounded on the
north by Banana Creek, on the east by Banana River, and on
the west by Indian River.
It is ten miles wide on the northern
end, and runs to a point at its southern extremity, opposite Eau
Gallie.
At the head of the island there are plenty of deer, and
on Banana Creek, the mouth of which is five and a half miles
east from Titusville, the gunner will find good wild fowl and
snipe shooting.
The fishing is all that can be desired, and the
angler will need no guide to find the best places, for fish will be
found wherever there is water.
can hear them cheerfully piping
Quail arc plentiful, and one
" bob-vhite" in the palmetto
scrub among the pines, not two hundred yards from the hotel.
At the several stores every thing in the way of grub" cu
be obtained at reasonable rates.
Self-raising flour, bacon, coffee,
sugar, canned goods of every description, and the great Florida
staple, hominy, or
"grits," can be purchased at about Jackson-
ville prices; but the sportsman must take his ammunition and
fishing tackle with him, or at least procure them in Jacksonville.
Indian River is an extensive but shallow sheet of water, one
hundred and fifty miles in length, and above the Narrows varies
from a mile to five miles in width.
It is not a river, properly
speaking, but a shallow salt water lagoon, or sound, with two
inlets from the sea-one opposite Fort Capron and the other at
its extreme southern end, at Jupiter River.
From Jupiter Nar-
rows to the head of the river there is no current, and the mean
rise and fall of the tides is but three inches.
From Jupiter In-
let to the Narrows there is a strong
derivative
tide-wave of
BOATS AND BOATMEN.
greater me
8. e. E.
54 sec.
an.
The general course of the river is N. N. W,
The variation of the compass at Titusville is 2 deg.,
. It is a magnificent body of water, separated from
the Atlantic by a narrow strip of land, generally from a fourth
to a half mile in width, though in places the intervening strip is
not more than from seventy-five to two hundred yards wide.
Being so near the sea, there is a good sailing breeze almost
every day, and with an easterly or westerly wind one can lay his
course either up or down the river.
While the breezes are al-
most always fresh, gales are very infrequent during the winter
eason.
"Northers
are dreaded most, chiefly on account of
their coolness, but a sou-wester"
is the most treacherous, baf-
fling, and squally wind that blows on Indian River.
The entire carrying or freighting business is done by small
yachts and sail-boats; consequently there are plenty of boats and
experienced boatmen that can be chartered to convey parties or
individuals to any portion of East Florida.
as a rule, intelligent and accommodating.
These boatmen are,
An Indian River
boatman -is su generic; a peculiar and unique combination of
sailor, fisherman, hunter, guide, cook, woodman, and philosopher;
an animated Salmagundi, full of all kinds of expedients for all
kinds of emergencies.
The boats are necessarily of light draught, and center-boarders.
There are the
"' skimming-dish,
the pumpkin-seed," and the
" flat-iron
models, all half-round yacht-built boats, broad and
beamy, cat-rigged or sloop-rigged
they all pound and spank in
a sea-way, and are very wet.
Then there is the
"skip-jack," a
much superior model for sailing
" will go to windward much bet-
ter, but, as they are built very flat, with little or no sheer, and
with chubby bows, they are also wet.
There are a few ship
16 CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
boats, picked up on the beach, mostly, built over and usually
schooner-rigged; they do very well sailing free, but on the wind
are logy. Last and bestis the batteau," of good length, little
beam, and flat bottom, with pirogue," or periauger," rig-that
is, two leg-o'mutton sails like the sharpie."
I will say here, that if the "sharpie is ever introduced into
East Florida, it will rapidly take the place of all other boats, for
it is undoubtedly the boat for Florida waters, being fast, safe,
weathetly, easily handled, of extremely light draught, great car-
rying capacity, and cheap.
The day after we arrived at Titusville was Christmas day; but
it was hard to realize it with the thermometer at 75 degrees, with
the birds singing merrily, and tuberoses and hyacinths blooming
in the open ground; while all around were trees and shrubs lux-
uriant in their green and graceful foliage. Eager to begin our
cruising and camping, I hastened to the river in search of a suit-
able boat for our party; and, by a stroke of extreme good for-
tune, I hit upon a "skip-jack" yacht, cat-rigged, eighteen feet
long, seven feet beam, and drawing fifteen inches when loaded;
she was decked over forward and aft, with a very roomy cock-pit.
I examined her thoroughly and found her tight, in good order,
and sound condition. She was called Blue Wing, and proved to
be one of the fastest and safest boats on the river. I purchased
her for quite a moderate sum-about one-half her real worth.
Of course, my purchase was soon noised abroad" among the
boatmen, and at night there were "all hands and the cook"
mustered in the office of the hotel. With an eye to the main
chance, many were quite anxious to go with me in the capacity
of skipper and guide. They were quite solicitous in regard to
our welfare; and I was entertained graphically with the diffi-
AN INTERUTING COLLOQUY.
culties of navigating Indian River with its intricate channels,
rocky reefs, treacherous shoals, oyster bare, variable winds, and
sudden squalls.
I was regaled, mysteriously, with highly-colored
descriptions of the best fishing grounds and hunting localities,
known only to a
" chosen few."
But as I deemed my past experience in sailing-ten years of
my youthful life on Chesapeake Bay, and later on Long Island
Sound, and still later on the Great Lakes-sufficient for Indian
River, I declined their kind offices with the best grace possible,
and put a bold face on the matter as
may witness.
the following colloquy
After I had been interviewed by a number, one
who appeared to be a kind
of "oracle
amongst
them, ap-
preached me and cast off his
Oracle (patronizingly)--"
"jaw-tackle
in this wise:
Doc, I'd like to sail the Blue Wing
for you fellows, and learn you the ropes.
How long will you be
on the river?"
"About four months."
O. (surprised)-
three weeks
" Why, most parties only go down for two or
but I 'spose you'll run down to Jupiter and make
long camps all the way down? "
"I shall stop but a day or two at Horse Creek and Elbow
Creek
; a few days on Banana River
Turkey Creek
a week on Sebastian Ri
then Crane Creek and
ver; through the Nar-
rows and Capron for another week; then St. Lucie River and
through Jupiter Narrows, and
Hobe Sound to Jupiter River.
After a few days at Jupiter I will go to Lake Worth."
O. (emphatically)-" But you can't get the Blue Wing through
the saw-gram to Lake Worth!
"No; I shall go over Jupiter bar, and sail outside to Lake
Worth Inlet."
2
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
O. (amazed)-
" But she has never been outside
and, if you'll
take my advice, you won't try it."
"And from Lake Worth I will sail to Biscayne Bay.
O. (astonished)-
" Jerusalem
Why, that's a hundred and
fifty miles outside sailing "
, "No, only about seventy-five miles, with two good harbors be-
tween ; New River and Hillsboro' River."
O. (vanquished)-
" Well, Doe, you'll excuse me-I do n't want
any of that outside bizness in mine-not in an eighteen-foot boat,
no how I"
"Then I may cruise along the Keys to Key West, and if the
the boys stand the racket pretty well I will sail up the west coast
to Charlotte Harbor and Pease Creek, where I will sell the boat,
hire an ox-cart and team, and go across the country to Lake
Okechobee and come out at Fort Capron, where I will charter
your boat to bring us
up to Titusville, provided you are on
hand."
O. (admiringly)-
" Why, Doc, you
must
be a regular old
salt!"
Yes, I can discount Lot's wife for saltness; I am the saltiest
of the salt-saltpetre and Epsom salts-a double dose."
O. (reflectively)-
"Are the rest of your party good sailors?"
I don't think any of them ever saw a sail-boat before they
reached Jacksonville, and I am certain that none of them were
ever in one."
0. (decidedly)-
they follow you."
" That's
" Well, they'll have a rough time of it if
what I brought them to Florida for, to rough it.
The oracle moved away and mingled with the crowd.
Frank
told me afterward that he heard him tell the others that that
THE POWER OF MUSIC.
doctor from Kentucky had been to Indian River before, and
knew the ropes like a book."
It being Christmas night, every one was iow in a thoroughly
good humor, and we were
swapping yarns
" and retailing old
jokes.
Some one then suggested to Mr. Long, the shipping-
clerk of the railroad, to get his violin.
He readily complied,
and after he and several boatmen had taken a turn at it, the.
"oracle
sidled up and requested me to "play a tune,
"observ-
ing that he knew from the "cut of my jib"
Nothing loth, I scratched off "Devil's Drean
"Arkansas Traveler,
that I could do so.
n," "Gray Eagle,"
"and other lively tunes, to the great ad-
miration of the crowd, and especially of the
"oracle
himself
whose delight seemed
unbounded, and who seemed to take a
patriarchal or proprietary interest in me, exclaiming:
First you're a doctor, then -you're a sailor, and now you're
a fiddler!"
"Yes,
"said I,
"I sometimes fiddle for my patients; it does
them more good than medicine."
At Mr. Long's suggestion we then
repaired
to the parlor,
when I surrendered the violin to him and accompanied him on
the piano.
-It was not long until the
" oracle
again approached
me, confidentially, and asked me to
"sing something,
Naming
several of my favorite songs.
when he called for
my party had been
I wondered a .little at this, but
"The Nine Little Pigs," then I knew that
"giving me away."
However, I accepted
the situation, and with a few
"forecastle songs" 1 sung myself
right into the hearts of those rough but honest boatmen, and dur-
ing my stay in Florida I had no better friends.
They were
always ready, and more than willing, to do me any favor in their
power.
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
On the morning of December 27th,
clothes,"
we doffed our "store
packed them in our trunks, which were left at the hotel
until our return, and arrayed ourselves in flannel shirts,
do'" and brogans.
The rest of our camping wardrobe was made
into compact bundles, with rubber blankets strapped outside to
protect them from the spray.
with our supplies,
The Blue Wing was already loaded
which were covered with a large tarpaulin.
guns,
ammunition, flour, and
sugar were snugly stowed
under the forward
shape, I sung out,
deck.
Every thing
being trim and ship-
"All aboard," made sail, hove anchor, and
the Blue Wing was soon dancing merrily over the waves with a
fair wind, and bound
" down the river.
" It was a perfect day,
the thermometer about 70 degrees, and the sun, shining brightly,
kissed the glad waves as they reared aloft their foaming crests.
We waved our hats to the boatmen on the pier, who wished us
"good luck," and Titusville was soon left astern.
=E~.
ctj~
'AE~
Se
r --- -
VI. -s
"OH, MOSESi II'M SNAKE BIT."
WSk146
a
~f6~':
aliW!
DOWN THE RVEB. 21
CHAPTER III.
Down the river.-Getting used to it.-" The boys."-Rockledge.-The
first camp.-Under the palms.-Fur, fin, and feather.-The cast net.
-Mullets.--Oranges and sweet potatoes.-The settlers-Oleander
Point.-Roman tic and picturesque.-A Sunday reverie.-Fishing ex-
traordinary.-" Oh, Moses, I'm snake-bit'I"-The Spanish bayonet.
--"A
snolligoster."-Red-fish.-Delightful
weather.-Out of
tients."-Farewell to Rockledge.-The saw-mill.-Very like a whale.
Pines and palmettos.-Eau
bubble." -Banana
Gallie.-The "College."--A
River.-The pot kept
" busted
boiling.-The nameless
OON after leaving Titusville we entered the
broadest portion of the river, called by the
boatmen
"Bay of Biscay,
a fine stretch
of water five miles in width and of about
the same length; its southern
extremity
marked by a group of tall pines, apparently
separated from Merritt's Isiand, is known
as Pine Island.
The wind being abaft the
beam we kept the main channel, which varies from a half mile tp
a mile from the western shore.
a distance of fifty miles or more i
The water of the channel, for
s from six tp ten feet in depth.
I soon discovered that the Blue Wing was a most admirable
working boat, and the boys"-as
I had unconsciously begun to
designate my party-were becoming more accustomed to their new
experience.
Their distrust of the boat, which at first seemed but a
cockle-shell in the wide waste of waters, began to give way as
they saw her dash through the waves "like a thing of life." The
splashing of the spray over her bows had ceased to cause them
22 CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
any uneasiness, and her occasional listing to leeward in the fresh.
ening breeze was no
longer a source of
alarm.
They really
began to enjoy the situation, and were watching the gulls and
gannets skimming to and fro, and the flocks of scaup-ducks, or
"blue-bills,
windward),
' that made way for us (invariably paddling off to
as we went bounding along.
Frank sobn had out his gun and was popping away at every
thing within two hundred yards of the boat.
He occasionally
knocked down a blue-bill, which necessitated my picking it up,
and gave me an opportunity to explain to the boys some of the
principles of sailing.
I endeavored at the same time to instruct
them in the meaning of a few nautical terms.
We had passed Pine Island and -were soon abreast of Jones'
Point, on the mainland, ten miles below Titusville.
In the bight
just beyond are the residences of Dr. Holmes and several others,
and five miles farther on is City Point, where there is a store and
post-office.
Colonel Spratt's orange grove, the best on the river,
is just below City Point, and a mile or two farther on is Mrs.
Dixon's grove.
Opposite, on Merritt's Island, is the clearing of
Mr. Martin and R. D. Hoke.
We next passed Oleander Point
and a half mile below it we ran in and cast anchor.
noon.
It was just
In three hours we had made the run of twenty miles
from Titusville to Rockledge.
We anchored close to the shore and cast out a stern line, by
which the stern could be hauled in near enough to the rocks to
enable us to jump ashore.
We were not long in getting out all
necessary articles, and soon had both tents pitched in the shade
of some magnificent live-oaks and cabbage-trees, while the smoke
from a cheerful Jght-wood fire was soon curling upward through
the broad fronds of the palmettos.
THE FIBP T CAMP.
On the way down I had divided the party into three teams of
cooks and camp-keepers, and it now devolved upon team "num-
ber one," composed of Marion and Ed, to prepare our dinner;
but as this was our first camp we all lent a hand, stimulated by
that peculiar sensation indigenous to this region, which we had
heard of but until now had not experienced, an "Indian River
appetite."
Frank's ducks, which had been picked and dressed
on board, were now cut up, and, with the addition of some white
bacon, and an onion, were soon simmering away and exhaling
the savory odor of a "hunter's stew."
Dinner was ready in an
hour, and the boys being sharp set, pronounced it good.
After dinner we gathered the long Spanish moss that hung in
graceful festoons from
the water-oaks,
and made our
beds.
Team "number two," Ben and Henry, started down through
the settlement, while number one" washed the dishes, and put
things to rights.
After a smoke,
team
"number three," Frank and myself,
shouldered our guns, and struck out to provide
"meat for the
pot." We went through an orange grove, and, in the hedge on the
further side,.
" Queen
soon discovered a bevy of quail, out of
which vwe got two.
We marked them down in the scrub, when we
found another bevy, and soon had five more.
In the same length
of time, in Kentucky, we would have bagged at least a dozen
out of the two bevies.
But I noticed then, what subsequent ex-
perience confirmed, that the quail of Florida make very short
flights when flushed; that they at first rise up very quickly a few
feet above the scrub, and then, by a somewhat less rapid flight,
they fly in a direct line to a point on the ground from twenty to
a hundred yards, according to the nature of the cover; that their
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
line of
flight,
consequently,
is steadily
downward, and
gunner is very apt to overshoot until he remarks this pecu-
liarity.
Going through the pines, we came to a small pond, screened by
a thick fringe of bushes.
Approaching cautiously, we observed
a small flock of mallards quietly feeding.
three as they rose,
We knocked down
which Queen found for us in the thick scrub.
We then started back to camp, bagging four gray squirrels on
the way.
We found Marion practicing with a cast-net, under the tuition
of a settler.
The cast-net is a sine qua non in Florida.
It is a
circular net, from eight to twelve feet in diameter, with the lead-
line running around the circumference, and loaded with ten or
twelve pounds of lead, equally distributed.
In the center is
fastened a ring, generally the section of a cow's horn.
Tucking
lines are attached, at regular intervals, to the lead-line, and are
united to the hand-line which passes through this ring. It is
cast by means of both hands and the teeth, in a manner that
must be seen to be understood.
It should be spread evenly on
the water, when the lead-line is carried rapidly to the bottom,
and, by pulling on the hand-line, the net is drawn into a purse,
which incloses the fish.
for catching mullet
(Mugil atula),
a fine, fat
fish, which literally swarms in countless millions in the shallow,
brackish waters of Florida.
It is the common food alike of
man, beast, bird,
reptile, and fish.
It is used as a bait for all
other fish
the size of the fish to be caught will determine the
size of the bait, for it can be taken from an inch in length up to
four or five pounds in weight.
It is of good flavor when broiled
and fried mullet roe is a dish fit for an epicure.
MULLET-ORANGES AND SWEET POTATOES.
TaE MULLET-(Mugf aibula.)
Ed was scaling and cleaning
mullet for supper.
Ben and
Henry came in shortly, the former with several walking canes
in the rough, and Henry with a sack of oranges, each still true
to his
Frank
and myself
cleaned
our guns, anointed
them with
vaseline," and put them away.
I will state here
that we found vaseline and "elbow grease
effective preventive
to rust during our winter's sojourn on the Florida coast;
but it
required constant care and extreme watchfulness to keep the
guns bright.
A number of settlers came into camp that night,
and spent a few hours with us around the cheerful fire of pine
logs. They brought us a generous supply of oranges, lemons,
and sweet potatoes.
Rockled
East Florida.
hamak is the best settlement for orange culture in
Its soil (which seems peculiarly adapted, and ex-
ceedingly rich in all the elements conducive to the growth of
the Citrus family) is a dark-grayish compound of sand, humus,
I The orthography of this word varies greatly.
of it, as it is, no doubt, of Indian derivation. Ii
I prefer this form
t is variously spelled
hammock, hommock, and hummock.
In Florida it denotes
land covered
with hard-wood timber, in contradistinction to pine land.
3
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
and disintegrated shells.
The hamak extends some four miles
along the river front, and is underlaid by a bold ledge of coquina
rock, with a good depth of water close up to its rocky shore.
The river bank is skirted by a border of
cabbage-palmettos,
live-oaks, oleanders, and Spanish bayonets, through which can
be obtained glimpses of the whitewashed cottages of the settlers,
giving
to the whole
a picturesque
and tropical
appearance.
The northern extremity of the ledge terminates in a small snow-
white beach, crescentic in shape, which, running well out into
the river, forms Oleander Point.
The settlers are mostly from Georgia and Alabama, and are
exceptionally intelligent and enterprising.
The names of some
that I remember are
Mrs. Delano,
Gardner Hardee,
Captain
Bob Hardee, Allan Hardee, H.
S. Williams, E. T. Hatch, C.
Magruder, Captain Bob May, and Quincy Stewart.
All of them
have fine groves, some bearing abundantly, particularly that of
Gardner Hardee, which is the oldest.
There is a good store, a post-office, a nursery of sub-tropical
fruit trees, and a good school;
They were soon to erect a church
edifice near Oleander Point, in a grove of gigantic live-oaks that
have withstood the shock of countless storms for centuries, and
whose crooked and scarred arms stretch out over the glistening
white beach beneath; it is truly a most romantic spot.
On some quiet, dreamy Sunday morn,
when the white sails
drift lazily by, and the air is heavy with the incense of orange
blossoms, and quivering with the mocking-bird's song, the Gloria
in Exeesis will be borne aloft through those grand old trees:
"Glory to God on high; and on earth peace, good-will toward
men
" while the whisper of the rustling leaves, the purl of the
rippling waves, and the murmur of the distant sea will catch up
I.
* ; i-
THE SPANISH BAYONET -RED-FISH.
the strain of the Benediite
floods-praise Him, and n
" 0 ye winds of God-O ye seas and
lagnify Him forever!"
While Ben and Henry were preparing breakfast, the next
morning, Ed and Marion were getting their fishing tackle ready.
Ed was quite anxious to try his shark hook, but I persuaded him
to use cod-fish hooks instead.
They rigged
up several
hand-
lines with heavy sinkers, about the same as used for cod-fishing.
After baiting with mullet I showed them where to cast, and ad-
vised them to tie the ends to the projecting limbs of trees near
the shore.
While eating breakfast Ed's eye was attracted by
the swaying of the limb to which his line was tied.
his coffee and rushed to the fray.
He dropped
He ran against a Spanish
bayonet in his hurry, which caused a howl of anguish
" Oh, Moses
I'm snake-bit! "
The sword-like leaves of this plant terminate in strong and
sharp needle-points, which pierce through the clothing and into
the flesh upon the slightest provocation
and one who has been
" horned by the spiny fin of a cat-fish will appreciate the sensa-
tion exactly. When Ed discovered the source of his suffering
he did some
cussing,
" and began to
step high and
" walk
Spanish."
But another tug on the
branch and he forgot his
misery, seized his line, and began hauling in.
short:
Then it stopped
" It's caught on a ro-ock!"
What caused Ed to split the rock into two syllables just then
was a violent jerk on the line, which nearly threw him down.
"Put your line over your shoulder, and walk away with him,"
aid I
which Ed proceeded to do, and hauled out an immense
red-fish or channel bass, weighing upward of forty pounds.
" Ge-whillikens
What a snolligoster
shouted Ed.
L. 1 I -
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
And so it was-the largest we caught in Florida.
In a half hour Ed and Marion had landed six red-fish, the
smallest
weighing
twenty
pounds.
surplusage
was dis-
tribute among the settlers, who seemed quite surprised to know
that such fish could be caught there-but then they did their
fishing with a cast net, and seldom used a hook.
I THE RED-FISH-(Sciaa oceUata.)
The red-fish, or channel bass
common on the coast of Florida.
as the barb and whiting. It is
(Sciena ocellata) is exceedingly
It belongs to the same family
a pretty fair table fish, though
much
inferior to some others in the same waters.
It is of a
beautiful golden red color on the back and sides, while the belly
is silvery; it is very brilliant and iridescent when first out of
the water.
It has a large black spot, sometimes several, on each
side near the tail, which gives it its specific name.
The scales
are quite large
and firm, and are
much
used in Florida for
making jewelry and artificial leaves and flowers.
Two or three miles back of Rockledge is a fine fresh-water
lake, called Lake Poinsett, where excellent black bass fishing
can be enjoyed with bait or the artificial fly.
Its waters connect
r%*0
2.- -:I?.
:j~-~ -r
FAREWELL TO BOCKLEDGE.
with the upper St. Johns.
A few miles south of this lake is an-
other, Lake Winder, which also abounds in black bass and .other
fresh-water fishes.
Deer are also
plentiful in the vicinity of
these lakes.
Our stay at Rockledge was prolonged several days, in order
that the boys might become somewhat accustomed to camp-life
before
proceeding farther.
The weather
was delightful,
days warm,
balmy, and hazy, and the nights cool enough to allow
a thorough enjoyment of the camp fire.
The boys began to im-
prove rapidly in health, and, to use their own expression,
bully."
" felt
Their appetites were becoming ravenous, and in pon-
sequence they began to pick up in flesh, and, as Sam Weller
mid of the fat boy,
"began to swell wisibly before my wery
heyes."
At length, one fair day, with a fair wind,
we bid farewell to
Rockledge.
Five miles
below
, behind a long
point and in a
rocky cove, we passed the saw-mill which furnishes most of the
lumber for
Indian River.
Opposite, on Merritt's Island, on
quite an eminence, is the quaint cottage of Dr.
pioneer settler of this section.
Whitfeldt, the
Just ahead of us I described a
school of porpoises, rolling, tumbling, and basking in the sun-
shine.
I headed directly for them, to give the boys a better
view of them.
"Great Cesar!" shouted Ed,
"Porpoises,
"what's that?
"I replied.
"What's
whales I
poor-pueses?
There, see 'em spout, hear
can't fool
'em blow
me, they're
Doe, don't go
any nearer, or I11 get out!"
I saw that Ed was really frightened, so I bore away to leeward,
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
while Frank gave them a parting salute with his shot gun.
'The
boys had it on Ed, then,
"bad.
Passing Otter Creek, we were soon abreast of Horse Creek.
The west shore, or mainland, is now a high sandy bluff, clothed
with forests of pine.
Tho water is quite shallow for a long dis-
tance from shore, so we
kept the middle
of the river.
posite here, on Merritt's Island, is the hamak of Bethel Stewart,
and on the mainland the shanties of the settlers are scattered
along.
We soon arrived at Eau Gallie.
This place is twenty miles from Oleander Point and forty from
Titusville.
There is a store and post-office, and a fine building
composed of coquina rock, built for the State Agricultural Col-
lege, but never used as such, I believe.
It was the job of
" who laid out and built a fine city here, with broad av-
enues, parks, schools, churches, and hotels-on paper.
There
was to have been a canal, eight miles in length, connecting In-
River with
the St. Johns,
via Elbow Creek and Lake
Washington.
But the ring
lost its influence with
the state
officers, its hold on the state money bags slipped, it dropped the
bubble, and it
"busted."
Nothing remains but the nucleus of
the scheme-the College,
" as it is called.
The site is a beautiful one, and the location advantageous. It
is opposite the foot of Merritt's Island and the confluence of the
Banana and Indian rivers.
*
There is a good depth of water close
up to the rocky shore at all times.
Should
the contemplated
railroad from Jacksonville via St. Augustine to Indian River be
built, a charter for which had been already obtained, Eau Gallie
will become an important point, and in my opinion will super-
sede Titusville, should the railroad extend to it.
We spent a few days in the vicinity of Eau Gallie very pleas.
-A I
-I
THE NAMELEKS POND.
antly.
There was plenty of ducks, snipe, and plover up Banana
River, and excellent black bass fishing in Horse_Creek, Elbow
Creek, and Crane Creek, all within three miles of Eau Gallie;
while red-fish, sheepshead and mullet were abundant in Indian
River.
In the scrub about the
of Elbow Creek, also
within three miles, the sportsman will find deer and turkeys,
though the latter are becoming scarce. With a good dog, quail
can be found anywhere in the settlement. In short, there was
no difficulty in keeping the
"pot boiling," for we always had
enough and to spare.
There is a certain little fresh-water pond near the foot of the
island, where the ducks come in from the large waters to drink,
and where I
went several times tith my gun and twenty-five
cartridges,
my pipe and
tobacco, and
rubber wading
boots.
After making myself comfortable in a snug blind, I would light
my pipe. and await further developments.
Pretty soon
came, two or three at a time-sometimes half a dozen-mallards
and blue-bills.
After shooting both barrels I would wade out
and retrieve them, one or two, as the case might be, or the alli-
gators would have saved me the trouble.
Then I would resume
my pipe, and my waiting and watching, and so on ad infinitum.
As soon as I had bagged a dozen I would return to camp, but it
would be no extraordinary thing for one to bag a hundred in a
day, for they are coming and going.all day long.
This pond is
not known to many, and the sportsman must find it as I did, by
his own judgment and observation, and his knowledge of the
habits of the game.
5 CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
CHAPTER IV.
Off again.-Elbow Creek.-One more unfortnnate.-Ed's revenge.-Tur-
key Creek.-A snug harbor.-Oranges and bananas.-Finn fishing.
-A twilight reverio.-Phosphorescent display.
-". My old Kentucky
home."-The blonde mulo.-Pegasus on a fox chase.-The boys and
their vagaries.-A pleasant car.p.
-'- Poor Joe."-'Possum a la Ken-
tucky.-On ward.- Gran t's
Farm.-A
yellow pine breeze.-St.Sebas-
tian River.-Navigation under difficulties.-Insulted by an owl.-
Kane's.-Cabbage
Camp.-Feathered
fishers.-In
"piney
woods."-A
lomiipg
camp.-Gophers.-Moro patients.-Deer dogs.
-The biggest snore on record.-An
LEAVING
earthquake.-A lively shake.
Eau Gallie we soon passed El-
bow Creek, at the mouth of which lives
Mr. Houston, one
of the oldest settlers.
Three miles below is Crane Creek, where
reside Mr. Fish and several negro families,
among
whom
is Peter
Wright,
known to northern tourists as a good boat-
man and a sharp trader.
porpoises ahead,
Observing some
Ed, with murderous intent and malice afore-
thought, got out the
"alligator gun,
"a Spencer carbine.
the school went rolling and tumbling by, one more unfortunate
than the rest ventured too near the boat in his gambols, when
Ed let drive, and the huge ball struck with an ominous thud.
As it disappeared beneath the waves, leaving a crimson stain
to mark the spot, Ed grinned a ghastly smile of triumph, min-
gled with remorse.
" Thus the whirligig of time brings in his
revenges.
TURKEY CREEK-A NUG HARBOR.
We were now abreast of Turkey Creek, ten miles from Eu
Gallie, and entering the beautiful little harbor at its mouth, we
camped on a narrow spit of land at the entrance of the creek,
on the farther side.
The water here was quite deep, allowing
our boat to lie close up to the sandy shore.
The little land-locked
bay is circular in form and about an eighth of a mile in extent.
Its shores are well wooded, and in the north-west bight is a swift-
running brook of clear, cold water.
Its northern shore termi-
nates in a bluff twenty feet or more in height, crowned with
palmettos, and running out into Indian River forms quite a
prominent headland.
On this bluff is the log cabin of Charles Creech,
in the edge
of a once famous orange grove, but now unfortunately it is af-
fected with the disease called
"die-back,
produced, as I was
told, by plowing too deeply and cutting off the
There is, however, a thrifty young grove adjoining
surface root.
; and between
our camp and the little brook, behind the skirt of cabbage-trees
and water-oaks, is a fine banana plantation.
The view from our
camp across the bay, toward the bluff, and out through its narmr
mouth, and across Indian River to the distant strip of verdurt
hiding old ocean from our gaze, is one of extreme loveliness and
entrancing beauty.
While Ben aud Henry were gathering moss and chopping
wood, Ed and Marion had knocked down several ducks, while
Frank and I had bagged several brace of quail in the old-field
near by.
Marion also soon secured a
"mess of mullet"
a cast net, while Ed, appropriating some for bait, caught several
sea-trout and a large sergeant-fish.
The sea-trout (Cynoseion macuatum) is one of the S=envie,
and belongs to the same genus as the squeteague, or weak-ab,
CRUISE OF'THE BLUE WING.
which it very much resembles.
sharp and pointed teeth, and i1
Its jaws re armed with very
t has numerous dark spots on its
back and sides.
It is a very gamy fish,
and when quite fresh is
palatable.
The sergeant-fish
(Elae&de
canada),
called
"snooks
eaters.
runninfe
in East Floria,
It
belong to the Elacatidc, or crab-
is a handsome, silvery fish,
with a jet-black stripe
along the lateral line from its head to its tail
sergeant-fish.
It has an elongated head,
hence,
with the lower jaw pro-
jecting and armed with long, sharp teeth, similar to the pike,
which it much resembles in habits.
insipid.
As a table fish it is rather
The one Ed caught weighed not less than twenty-five
pounds.
After supper I lay upon the deck of the Blue Wing, smoking
my pipe, and idly contemplating the wreaths "of blue smoke as
they gracefully drifted
away in
the deepening twilight, and
listening to the sullen roar of the breakers beyond the distant
line of trees.
The silent stars began to peep out, one by one,
through the hazy atmosphere above the sea, sparkling and scin-
tillating like diamonds, with ever-varying tints of red,
blue, and
green, like spangles from some dissolving rainbow.
A dream-like quiet pervaded the scene, disturbed only by the
leap of the mullet, the plaintive twitter of the coot, and the
solemn hoot of the owl.
Then
, as the twilight faded out of the
sky, the surface of the little bay began to gleam and glimmer
with a pale and lambent light, while the water-oaks on shore,
draped in funereal moss, assumed a weird and ghostly aspect in
the gloom of the lurking shadows.
As the night grew darker the
phosphorescent sheen became more luminous.
The leap of the
mullet produced coruscations of blazing jets and bashing drops,
while the track of the red-fish and the wake of the sea-trout, in
THE BLONDE MULE.
their eager rushes for their prey, formed dazzling lines and glit-
tering furrows, radiating in every direction upon the lustrous
water.
The scene, which had begun with the film and haze of the
dim, uncertain twilight, now burst forth into a refulgence of
gorgeous splendor.
But soon the full moon
"unveiled her peer-
less light
above the fringe of palms across the river, and, chas-
ing the shadows from the shore,
"took up the wondrous tale."
And now the piping of the frogs, and the hum of insects, and
the complaiuings of the water-fowl began to
music." while the fire-flies
"fill the night with
, flitting across the bay, seemed to
have borrowed their light from the water beneath.
I was roused
from my reverie by hearing the refrain,
"We will sing one song for my old Kentucky home,
For my old Kentucky home far away,"
which was heartily sung by the boys around the camp fire.
My pipe had gone out, so I joined the group, and finished my
smoke while listening to Frank relating an experience in fox
hunting
How he had been sent upon an errand on a blonde
mule, and how he met a pack of hounds in full cry after a red
fox, followed by a score of hard-riding huntsmen; and how he
and the mule
"pooled their issues,
and joined the chase, and
how he threw the rider off a ten-rail fence, which the mule then
took at standing leap; and how, in taking a water-gap on the
fly, the saddle-girth broke, and the mule threw his rider, and kept
on after the hounds, while Frank took a flying leap into the icy
water;
and how he took up his saddle, and struck a cold trail for
home, where, instead of the "brush," he got a brushing. We
then turned in, and I dreamed of riding a pale mule-a Pegasus
t CRUISE OP THE BLUE WMoG.
b
with wings on his head, who took flying leaps over cabbage-trees,
and who finally threw me into a thicket of Spanish bayonetaand
cactus plants.
We laid at Turkey Creek a day or two longer, waiting for a
wind.
Henry consumed,
during that time, a hundred and fifty
oranges by actual count, while Ben added several walking-canes
to his stock, the last one being made from the green stalk of a
palmetto leaf.
Marion had constructed a rude model of a sugar-
cane mill for a settler up the creek, while Ed had fishing enough
to satisfy his piscatorial greed, and Frank found steady employ-
ment in poking his gun at the pelicans, cormorants, ospreys, and
eagles that frequented the little bay.
A half mile up the creek
I enjoyed some fine fly-fishing for black bass.
Frank brought me one day a bird for identification,
called a
which he
" fly-up-the-creek.
said I;
"it is a small, green heron, called
by the
crackers a
' poorJoe,' though why poor and why Joe, I can't tell
you.--
Frank mused a while, and then said:
"A fat poor-Joe sat on a dead live-oak,
" and then suddenly
disappeared into the hamak.
While fishing up the creek one day, I shot -a large yellow-
bellied terrapin,
weighing upward of twenty pounds.
He was
in shallow water, near the shore, and poked up his head,
I cut in two with a ball from my pistol.
stew.
which
He made a capital
Frank brought in a fine, fat 'possum one day, which he
baked with sweet potatoes a la Kentucky.
To dress and cook a
'possum in this mode, proceed as follows:
Put a pot of water on the fire, and just before it boils stir in a
few handfuls of ashes; dip in your'possum a few seconds, when
6" No,"
GRANT' FARM.
the hair can then be scraped off slick and clean.
The 'possum
now looks like a suckling-pig, which it also resembles in taste.
After cleaning and washing, stuff with a dressing of bread-
crumbs, a small onion cut fine, some sage, and a little salt and
cayenne pepper.
Heat a Dutch oven, and place it on some live
coals, put the 'possum in, cover with the lid, on which place more
live coals, or, as they do in Florida, build a fire of light-wood splint-
ers on top of the oven lid.
When the 'possum begins to brown,
pack sweet potatoes, previously scraped, all around it, and con-
tinue the baking until all are nicely browned and crisp.
Place
a lemon in
the 'possum's mouth and serve.
A 'possum thus
prepared is good, especially if one has an "Indian River appe-
tite." Non possum quin.
We left Turkey Creek on the afternoon of a warm day, with
a moderate breeze, which soon veered round to the south-east, so
that we had to. sail close-hauled down the river.
were now few and far between.
The settlers
There was one on the mainland,
five miles
moored the
below, and
opposite,
near the eastern shore,
was
United States Coast Survey boat, the Steadfast, en-
gaged in surveying Indian River.
We now approached
" Grant's Farm,
a narrow island half a
a mile in length, and covered with mangroves and, a few water-
oaks. A settler named Grant at one time moved on to this isl-
and with his family, but it became submerged after the heavy
rains of summer, and he left it for a drier and more stable lo-
cation.
It is called Grant's Farm
to this
day, and is seven
miles below Turkey Creek.
Here the wind left us, and the set-
ting poles came into requisition.
From Turkey Creek the channel is well out from the west
shore (a half mile), and then winding between the west shore
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
and Grant's Farm.
Just below is the hamak of Frank Smith
and Mr. Parramore, from whence the channel runs close to the
west shore for some three miles.
There is a shoal running from
the southern extremity of Grant's Farm down-river for a mile
or two.
spells at
The boys whistled for a breeze in vain, and we took
"'poling,
" which is a style of navigation quite common
on Indian River in
hurry.
the absence of a wind, when one is in a
At length we reached the mouth of the St. Sebastian
River, twelve long miles
below Turkey Creek,
and some sixty-
five miles from
Titusville.
This river must not be confounded
with the small stream of the,same name near St. Augustine;
this duplication of names is not infrequent in Florida.
It was quite dark when we entered
the mouth of the river,
but we proceeded a half mile up stream by poling, being warned
t away from shoal places
by the rushing and, leaping of mullet,
which are more numerous in very shallow water.
'it advisable to anchor until the moon rose. Pr
ashore, built a fire and made some coffee. W
I then deemed
ank and I waded
e could find no
-spot suitable for camping, the scrub being quite .thick and the
shores lined with mangroves.
We carried the coffee back to
the boat, h*en we eat our supper of cold duck,'dried beef, hard
tack and coffee.
"Who cooks?
Just then a large owl on shore vociferated
Who cooks?
Who cooks for yo-o-u ? "
About ten o'clock the moon rose, and we poled around a point
just ahead of us, when we heard some dogs barking.
We soon
discovered a house on the bluff on the north bank, which proved
to be the cabin of Mr. Kane.
We camped there for the night,
and next morning proceeded up-stream a half mile farther, and
'camped just above the mouth of the north fork of the river, in
the edge of a magnificent pine wood.
The water was of good
THE ST. SEBASTIAN RIVE.
depth, and the boat was moored close up to the shore, near to a
spring of good water which issued from the bank.
The St. Sebastian from its mouth to this point is from a fourth
to a half mile in width, and a mile long.
the North, West, and South Prongs.
Here it separates into
The main river abounds
in fish of numerous varieties, and occasionally the manatee and
tarpum
portion of the stream.
seen, while immense alligators frequent this
It is likewise- a favorite fishing ground
A PALMErt SHArNY.
Frank said that the pelicans
for pelicans, cranes and herons.
carried their fishing-poles in front, while the cranes carried theirs
behind, alluding to the positions of the bills of the former, and
the long legs of the latter when flying.
In the piney-woods" around our camp were numerous holes
of land tortoises-Testuda carolina-which burrow in the ground
like woodchucks, and are called "gophers" by the crackers, who
esteem them as a great delicacy. They grow from fifteen to
twenty inches long, and of an oblong form. The surface of the
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
ground was also perforated in many places with
the holes of
"salamanders."
Black bass fishing was excellent in either of the prongs of the
river, and quail were quite plentiful in the palmetto scrub, while
the hamaks abounded with hares, squirrels, coons, and opossums.
A few hours with rod and gun furnished us with a good supply
of fur, fin, and feather.
Near by was the camp of Frank Strobhar and Habersham
King, who were cutting a raft of pine logs for the saw-mill up
Indian River.
They were formerly of Savannah, Ga.,
but are
now living at Eau Gallie.
Both are good sailors and hunters,
and we enjoyed their company exceedingly.
The next day, being Sunday, we devoted to rest, as usual,
though Frank disturbed the proprieties of the day by dancing an
impromptu hornpipe, occasioned by a scorpion climbing up un-
der the leg of his trousers, and stinging
He was more
scared than hurt, for the sting of the Florida scorpion is not
more serious than the sting of a bee.
A cracker settler, Tom Sellers, living at the head of the North
Prong, came into camp and requested me to prescribe for a sick
child.
As it was but two miles through the woods to his cabin,
I went with him, saw the child, and left some medicine.
I also
borrowed his dogs, Troop and Trailer, for a deer hunt the next
These dogs, like most other
" deer dogs
"in Florida, were
mongrels, a mixture of cur and hound, and trained to follow a
warm trail very s
hunting, except
hunter follows thi
lowly.
The style of hunting is similar to still
that the dog does the "tracking," while the
e dog. It would be impossible to track a deer
in any other way through the thick palmetto scrub.
Returning
to camp, I found that I had another call" to see a patient down
- J -
A: .- -- *1- -_2 -
-
I
-A^
THE BIGGEST SNOR ON RECORD.
the stream, at Kane's.
I went, and found a lad who was be.
yond the aid of human skill, dying with marasmus.
Sitting around
the blazing
pine logs that
night,
the time
passed quickly while talking of hunting, fishing, and sailing, and
it was eleven o'clock when we turned in.
custom,
snore I
catarrh
was asleep and snoring
in five
Ben, as was his usual
minutes-and such a
Ben was my case of nasal catarrh, but it was no
that he struck in his beautiful snore,
" light
" but a compound
of bassoon, trombone, and bass-drum.
Shakespeare says that-
"Weariness
Can snore upon the flint, when rusty sloth
Finds the downy pillow hard."
But Ben's snore was not produced by weariness
his slumbers flint-locked
nor were
; but his proboscian music, proceeding
from a stub-and-twist, full-choked, bouble-barreled
organ,
Wagnerian in pattern, and wonderful in effect and penetration.
I heard Strobhar, who is hard of hearing, say to King, in their
tent a few yards away:
"Hab!
just listen
to that bull
alligator bellowing up the
creek I"
"It's one of the boys snoring," replied King.
Well, by the Great Horn Spoon
their boat!"
no need of a fog-horn in
A few minutes later I heard a peculiar rumbling and roaring
sound
proceeding from the eastward
, which I at first thought
to be the sea; but as it rapidly came nearer it became louder,
and the ground began to tremble and roll, jarring the guns on
the rack, and producing a rattling among the pans outside. The
4
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
heavy rumbling seemed to pass right under me with an oscillating
and wavy motion, and disappeared in a westerly direction. I
found myself rolling out of my mossy bed, and became conscious
that it was the shock of an earthquake or some internal convul-
sion ;
and was a prolonged shock, or rather a quick succession of
two shocks, lasting nearly a minute altogether.
The boys were all now wide awake and discussing the matter.
Strobhar said he heard it distinctly, but he thought it was
" Ben snoring.
This event occurred on the night of January 12th,
eleven o'clock.
at half-past
I learned afterward that it was quite severe in
some portions of the State.
At Cape Canaveral light-house it
threw oil out of the lamp on the reflectors, and shook the solid
brick tower of Jupiter light from base to dome,
while the keep-
era of both lights made the best time on record for a hundred
feet downward.
Az.-
--
--A PC
A TRIUMnIAIA, PlOCgssxON(.
A CRACKER COWBOY.
CHAPTER
A "cracker cowboy."-Sound on the moon.-Deer-hunting in the fiat-
woods.-" Bays
and burns."-How to "jump"
a deer.-A lost op-
portunity.-The first deer.-" Who-whoop I
"-Marion initiated.-A
herd of deer.-A long shot.-Venison galore.-A scientific discus-
sion.-Gall and
wormwood.-On the South Prong.-By land and
water.-Turkey and moccasins.-A demoralized deer-slayer.-Frank
receives
the first degree.-Indian on the brain-A Rowland for an
Oliver.-Return to camp.-A triumphal procession.-An ovation.
-"No gall in mine, if
you please."-The hero's recital.-How to
stalk a deer.-A fight with a buck.-He forgot it was loaded.
N the morning succeeding the earthquake
we breakfasted at day-break, and leaving
Sthe camp in charge of Ed and Henry, the
rest of
us started on a deer-hunt.
were accompanied by Strobhar and his ox-
cart to bring in the game.
Reaching Tom
Sellers' cabin
sunrise,
we found
4 worthy smoking his pipe beneath his pal-
metto-thatched veranda.
"Good morning gentlemen,
you-ah.
Hit's
" was his greeting
a right fine day for a hunt--ah.
"glad to see
The moon sets
about nine o'clock, and
south
below
along about four this
evenin'-ah."
Sellers-a
"cracker cowboy,
born and
raised
in the flat-
woods, a good hunter and a thorough woodsman-has, in com-
mon with most Florida hunters, implicit faith in the theory that
deer feed at moon-rise
, moon-set, and
moonesouth, above and
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
below.
theory.
remarked that I did not take kindly to the moon
"Why," said he, "aint
it low tide at moon-rise
and moon-set, and
tide at moon-south--ah?"
"Yes." I
"that
answered,
is nearly correct,
for the moon is supposed
to influence the tides; but
every one does not believe
even that theory."
"And do n't fish feed at
high and low water-ah?"
"Fish
"A CRACKED"
better
the young flood, and at
the last of the ebb," I replied.
"In course," said
he, triumphantly
" and so deer, fish, and.
every thing else feeds
at rise, set, and south of moon-ah "
As it was worse than useless to argue the
point, I merely
said:
"Well, Tom, perhaps you r'e right; and I believe myself that
deer feed at those times, if they are hungry."
"Hit's a fact," said he
day, for I was out looking'
S" and I think you'll find ven'zin to-
up some stray cattle yesterday evening ,
and I saw lots o' sign-ah."
Taking his dogs Troop and Trailer, we left him muttering to
his wife:
"These fellers will try to make me believe next 'at the moon
is made o' green cheese-ah, and no manner of account-ah."
DEER HUNTING IN THE FLAT WOODS.
Just beyond his cabin we crossed the North Prong of the St.
Sebastian
, which is here but a dozen feet in width, and we were
soon traversing a large burn
"in the pine woods.
The view
was unobstructed for a half mile in any direction, save by an
occasional clump of saw-palmettos and a few small "bays" or
thickets.
The cowboys burn off the old grass and scrub in the
flatwoods at certain seasons, which is succeeded in a few weeks
by a new crop of succulent and tender grass, upon which the
cattle range
and feed.
It is on these "'burns,
as they are
called
, that the deer are found at feeding-time,
whenever that
may be.
The hunter, by standing on a log, can see a deer at a long dis-
tance in these level
, fat pine woods; but his observations will be
-much enhanced by the aid of a field-glass or a good opera-glass.
Having discovered the object of his search quietly feeding, the
experienced hunter can, by careful stalking, approach his quarry
and obtain a shot at short range.
In hunting with dogs, the
method is to track the deer to his hiding-place, where he may be
resting or sleeping, and, by
with a charge of buckshot.
"jumping" him, bring him down
As the dogs are trained to follow a
trail very slowly, and as the game generally lies very close in
the bays and brush, it is no difficult matter to jump a deer
within easy gun-shot.
The dogs soon struck a fresh trail, whereupon we deployed our
force in a skirmish line, and moved on a parallel with the creek
on our right, and with the wind in out faces.
I was on the ex-
treme left of the line, then Frank, Ben, and Marion, in the order
named, each being a hundred yards apart.
Ben, carrying the
only rifle in the party, and which was rather a heavy one, soon
46 CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
began to lag behind, until finally he and Marion were close to-
gether at some distance in the rear.
Ben, seeing a promising sapling in a little bay near the creek,
whipped out his hunting-knife, and, in accordance with his rul-
ing passion, proceeded to cut it for a cane.
As he was hacking
off the small branches, a deer bounded out of the coppice, not
ten yards from him.
As Ben stood staring, startled and stupe-
fled with amazement, Marion coolly brought it down at thirty
Syards-his first deer-dead in its tracks.
Ben, recovering from
his surprise, made the woods ring with a Kentucky "who-whoop !"
as he rushed in with his knife and cut its throat.
It proved to be a fine fat doe.
Marion's shot had made sure
work of it: her neck and both legs on one side were broken.
Strobhar soon coming up with the oxen,
the doe was eviscerated
and placed upon the cart, and Marion's face was duly blooded"
by Strobhar and Ben, as is customary in the event.of killing'one's
first deer.
They also hinted at the propriety of turning the
paunch over his head, as a necessary procedure in affairs of that
kind;
but Marion, flushed with victory and gore, looked quite
wicked at the suggestion, so that additional feature of the cervine
rite was omitted.
Frank and I were now a mile or more in advance of the others.
The dogs had followed the trail to the brush bordering the creek,
and I had swung around in the same direction, and was thus in
advance of Frank.
Suddenly a herd of five deer, three does and
two fawns, bounded out of the brush into the open woods, about
a hundred and fifty yards ahead of me, and stopped by the side
of an immense pine, where they huddled together, with necks
stretched, listening to the dogs, which were making music on the
hot trail.
A LONG SHOT.
I stood perfectly motionless, and longed for a Winchester re-
eating rifle
then I felt that I would have been happy with one
of Shelton's auxiliary rifle barrels.
As it was I had twelve buck-
shot, weighing just an ounce, in each barrel, and could not move
a single step nearer without alarming the herd.
As the dogs
were drawing nearer, I could not resist the temptation to hazard
a shot even at that distance.
So, cautiously and slowly putting
up the gun, I took deliberate aim high up on the shoulder of a
doe that was standing broadside to me, and fired.
They sprang away for a distance of ten rods and stopped again
for a few moments, when,
the dogs bursting out of the cover at
this juncture, they bounded away with the speed of the wind.
I noticed that one of the does left the herd
, and made for a bay
several hundred yards to the left, with the dogs following on her
Frank now came running up, and said excitedly:
" You hit that one which the dogs are after, because it went
off with
its tail down, and Tom Sellers said a wounded deer al-
ways holds its tail down I "
We followed the dogs, and sure enough we came upon the doe
struggling in the throes of death.
Frank had the mournful sat-
isfaction of cutting her throat, and shouted
" who-oop
" in dei-
ance of Ben's previous effort and my admonition to keep quiet.
Upon dressing the doe I found that a shot had cut the aorta or
large artery near the heart, while a second shot had struck her
in the flank.
I naturally felt quite elated at the result of this
long shot, and while awaiting the arrival of the ox-cart I stepped
off the distance, which I had accurately marked by the aid of the
large pine, and found it to be fully one hundred and twenty-three
yards
certainly an extraordinary as well as a lucky shot.
Perhaps I would not have risked a shot at
so long a distance
I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 4 ~ Jr. lZ'r 7 1~ -'Ur;~~~
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
had I not the day before, while targeting my gun,
put seven
buck shot out of twelve into a pine stump at eighty yards.
Loading up the venison we started back to camp, leaving a
saddle with Sellers on the way, who would scarcely credit the -
long shot with the
"scatter gun.
"Arriving at camp, the other
doe was skinned and quartered by Strobhar, who then rubbed all
of the meat with pepper and hung it in the shade, remarking
that it would now keep perfectly sweet until it could be con-
sumed.
This fact was borne out by our subsequent experience,
for the pure, salt air of South-east Florida is an admirable pre-
servative
of fish
, flesh, or fowl, when well dressed, dried, and
hung in the shade.
Ed and Henry soon set about making a venison stew, over-
looked by Frank and Ben, who were meanwhile discussing tie
most scientific way of cutting a deer's throat.
his doe pig-fashion,
Ben, having stuck
was, of course maintaining that view of the
subject, while Frank argued for the conventional crosswise method
as bein
g the only professional mode.
Frank had evidently been
coached by Tom Sellers.
Ed, while preparing some liver for the frying-pan, observed
that he could not find the gall.
no gall-bladder.
I informed him that a deer had
Frank remarked that it was "gall darned"
queer that Sellers had told him nothing about it, and seemed in-
clined to believe but half of the fact by intimating:
" Perhaps the bucks have galls if the does do not,"
added
and further
" I will kill one just to find out."
Ed dryly observed:
"You had better swallow it, Frank, for if you wait till you
kill a buck to be convinced you will die in ignorance."
"I'can't swallow it if there is none,"retorted Frank.
a'
TURKEY AND MOCCASINS.
King and Strobhar had some logs at the head of the South
Prong, and were going up the next day to
haul them to the
water.
Having decided to go with
them, our preparations were
soon made.
Early on the following morning Strobhar, Frank
and myself started with the ox-cart,
while the
others
of the
party went up in King's boat, which was of very light draught.
We of the overland party crossed the North Prong at Sellers',
and passed around the head waters of the West Prong, where we
discovered an abandoned Indian camp.
the point of
destination
and found
We arrived at noon at
the boys in camp, with
dinner ready.
Dinner over, King and Strobhar went to work on the logs,
while our party struck out over the burns in different directions.
Frank and I were together for a time, but separated to pass on
opposite sides around a large pond.
Having passed some dis-
tance beyond the pond, where I saw plenty of
" sign,
" but no
deer, I discovered a turkey running like a quarter-horse which
soon disappeared in the brush on the margin of a small stream.
I ascertained that the stream was dry, with the exception of an
occasional hole of water, and proceeded cautiously along the bed
of it, well screened by the foliage on each side, which here and
there met over my head, forming virescent arches, from which
the vines and creepers hung in luxuriant festoons.
Keeping a sharp lookout for "moccasins,
which slid into the
holes of water as I crept along, my patience was at length re-
warded by a glimpse of the turkey, which I soon succeeded in
knocking over with a charge of buck shot.
bier, in splendid condition.
He was a fine gob.
While stalking the gobbler I had
heard a shot behind me on the opposite side of the pond.
5
60 THE CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
crossed over in that direction on my way back to camp, and soon
described Frank a half mile away carrying a deer.
As he was
not proceeding in the direction of the camp I shouted and hal-
looed to him, but he only kept on the faster.
both barrels of my gun,
when he looked around,
Finally I fired
and I signaled
him to stop.
Coming up with him, I observed that his face was
quite bloody, and he was smiling like a prize-fighter after going
to grass.
"Frank, I congratulate you, old fellow, upon your first deer.
But what's the matter with your face?
I sung out.
"Well, I thought I would save the boys the trouble of bloody-
ing me; but perhaps you had better give me a daub."
"There," said I, as I put my "red right hand
forehead, "I brand you with the mark of Cain."
" I am glad to be able to bear it," said he,
against his
with a ianguinary
grin.
But, Frank, why did n't you stop when I called to you?"
He looked quite serious for a moment, and then said:
Do n't tell the boys; I thought you were an Indian till you
fired your gun.
I knew the sound of it then, for Tom Sellers
told me that the Indians always carried rifes.
Well, but where are you going?"
"To camp," he replied.
Frank, my boy, do you know you're lost? The camp is back
there,
said I, pointing in the direction.
"No, he replied, I'm not lost
I'm like
the Indian;
here-camp lost."
" It seems to me that you have Indian on the brain.
That's
a fine yearling buck, Frank; but why did n't you cut off his
and take out his entrails, and
not pack him
on your
A TRIUMPUAL FEOCS ION.ON
shoulder like a sack of meal, with twenty-five pounds of offal,
which had better been left behind ?"
"I was thinking of it," said he,
shoot, and then I began to think
" but just then I heard you
of Indians.
By the way,
that's a nice turkey; why didn't you get more? "
"More
I replied.
" Because there were no more.
What
an Oliver Twist you are! "
"Well, you'd be all of
a twist, too, carrying that
buck on
the double-quick, as I did."
"Frank, a true-spirited hunter would not complain of carry-
ing the buck he had killed;
besides these Florida deer are quite
small-not more than two-thirds the size of Northern deer."
SThey're
big enough for me,
said he,
"and I shan't kill
another out of sight of camp, unless we have an ox-cart along."
We trussed up the little buck, cut off his head, 4ok out the
entrails, skinned up the legs to the knees and hocks, where we
cut them
in pairs.
off and tied the loose
We then slung
skins of
the legs together
him and the gobbler over a pole,
shouldered it, and started for camp,
where we arrived at sun-
down.
Our entrance into camp was in the nature of a triumphal pro.
cession.
When within a hundred yards Frank insisted on carry-
ing the buck in alone, and swung it over his shoulders in ortho-
dox style, with his arms through the leg loops, and the palm of
victory, a palmetto leaf, in his hand.
He strode in with his
face beaming and bloody, while I followed as arm-bearer to the
hero, carrying both guns, and-what Benjamin Franklin said
should have been the emblematic bird of America-the turkey!
The boys received the pageant with an ovation of shouts and
-. I
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
cheers, and relieved
Frank of
victory
perched
shoulders.
"He was bound to go to the bottom of that gall business, you
see!" said I, as I hung the gobbler by the side of two sand-hill
cranes that the boys had brought in.
"Well, how was it, Frank ?
asked Ed.
"Not any gall in mine, if you please,
" replied Frank.
While smoking our pipes after supper, in the ruddy glare of
blazing pine knots, Frank related his experience as follows:
" After I left Doc and got to the end of
a large pond, I
climbed a small tree to look for him on the burn beyond, but
seeing nothing of him I looked over the pond and saw a deer
feeding on the lily-pads near the edge of the water.
and crept along until I came in sight of him.
I slid down
Then I straightened
up, kept my eye on his tail, and walked toward him without
moving my arms or head.
When he shook his tail-as he did
every few minutes-I stopped perfectly still, for then you know
he would lift up his head and look around.
was to the lee-
ward of him
so he could not wind me.
As soon as he went to
feeding again, I started and kept moving up to him until he
winked his tail again, when I would stop, for you know a deer
always shakes his tail before he raises his head."
"How did you know that, F
"0, Tom Sellers told me.
asked Ed.
Well, I got up to within thirty-
five yards of him, when he shook his tail, raised his head, turned
around, and saw me.
I kept perfectly still, hardly breathing.
After staring awhile, he started on a trot right toward me, and
came up sniffing, until he was but twenty yards from me. I
thought that was close enough, and raised my gun-then you
ought to have seen him jump! I blazed away, and down he came.
' -
A FIGHT WITH A BUCK.
He tried to get up again, but I rushed in, caught him by the
head, and had hard work to hold him.
head and
He threw me once on
made my nose bleed, and that's how my face
happened to be so bloody when Doc met me."
At this the boys made a movement as if to get up, but I
stopped them by saying:-
, It's all right, boys: I' blooded' him when I found him. Go
on, Frank.
" Well,
" continued he,
" I got his head to the ground and held
him down like a horse by sitting on it till I got out my knife
and cut his throat.
I found that I had bored him through the
neck with three buckshot, though I aimed at his head."
Why didn't you give him the other barrel ? asked Strobhar.
" I never thought of
that," said Frank, and added: "And
then I didn't want to shoot him all to pieces."
On the next day we all returned to our camp at the mouth of
the North Prong.
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
CHAPTER
Journey in an ox-eart.-Cypress and saw-grass.
-A buzzard roost.-SL
Johns Prairie.-Silent sentinels.-New fishes.-Bob-tail saurian.-
More venison.-Rough traveling.-Back to camp.-"All aboard!"
-Pelican Island.-Slaughter of the innocents.-The Narrows.-A
labyrinth.-A queer
snake.-The
water-tutkey.-A
preposterous
bird.-Life-saving Station No. 1.-Oyster reefs.-Turtle nets.-Fort
Caproni--The fat
of the land.-Under the orange trees.-Fruit and
flowers.-Oysters fish, crabs, and turtle.-Sport with rod and gun.
-Turtle catching.-Indian River Inlet.-On the beach.-Under the
mangroves.-The Blue Wing in a gale.-Knocked down by a comber.
-"A bully boat and a bully
crew.
ING and Strobhar having finished hauling
their logs to the tributary waters of the St.
Sebastian, it was the intention of Strobhar
to drive his oxen home to Eau Gallie--some
thirty miles by land-on the day following
our return f
South Prong.
m the head waters of the
Frank and I resolved to ac-
company him, in order to
the back country.
see something of
Accordingly, we built a rack for the cart, took
a tent and a few supplies, and started soon after breakfast on a
lovely morning in January.
There being no roads, our rate of
travel was necessarily very slow, and we were two days in mak-
ing the journey, though we had a team of four good oxen.
After leaving camp, our course was west-north-west some six
miles through the pine woods, and along the borders of some
long ponds,
which were then nearly dry.
We crossed the big
-- ur -7 1
Y EA
sop
14
I0o
ST. JOHNe PRAmx1.
cypress belt, which is parallel with, and about midway between,
the Upper St. Johns and Indian
rivers.
Along this belt we saw
large numbers of cranes, herons, egrets, and ibises, a few flocks
of paroquets, and an extensive buzzard roost,
where there ap-
peared to be thousands of buzzards hovering and circling around
upon our approach.
The cypresses were covered with epiphytes,
or air plants, whose spikes of scarlet bloom appeared in pleasing
contrast with the light green and feathery foliige.
Floundering through the saw-grass
timber,
we at length
came out
that skirted the cypress
the St. Johns Prairie.
These savannas stretched away for miles, as far as the eye could
reach-a sea of vivid living green meeting on the horizon the
boundless blue sky above.
The monotony of the scene was some-
what relieved by clumps of palms, long distances apart, like oases
in a desert.
Here and there could be described an ibis or a white
heron
standing
solitary
and motionless,
like silent sentinel
guarding the emerald wastes.
A mysterious silence akin to awe
oppressed the sense painfully, and impressed one with a conscious-
ness of immeasurable distances and eternal solitude.
Proceeding along the prairie a few miles in a northern direction,
we made for a narrow pine ridge, and camped for the night.
Here we found a few mosquitos, but they were not very trouble-
some.
During the day I had procured a number of specimens of
fresh-water fishes from the small ponds about the head waters of the
St. Sebastian.
Some of them were new, among which were two
species of Zgonedes or top-minnows, that have since been named
Z. heneshai, by Prof. D. S. Jordan.
There
was also a new genus, but it had been anticipated a short time pre-
viously by Prof.
G. Brown Goode in
his "Fishes of the St.
Johns," and which he had called JordanelZflorida.
Z. sanguinfrons and
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
In scooping out the specimens with a dip net, I found the
moccasin snakes a little
troublesome, and on one occasion I
stirred up a huge alligator that had at some period in his early
life lost
his caudal appendage.
He was an odd-looking cus-
tomer, with an immense head and body and a bobtail, and was
unusually ferocious and remarkably active with his legs and
jaws.
On another occasion, while cutting away the brush from
around a small spring stream to allow the oxen to drink, a very
bold alligator seemed bent on having a taste of fresh beef, and
came within an ace of seizing one of the oxen by the leg, but
Strobhar gave him his quietus
by burying the hatchet in his
brain.
Leaving the prairie, we again struck into the fiat woods on
our right, and for a few miles followed the old military trail
running from St. Augustine to Fort Capron. All that now re-
mains of the trail are the old blazes on the trees. We killed a
buck at the head' of Turkey Creek, and a fawn near the head of
Crane Creek.
The remainder of the journey was through the
dense palmetto scrub, whose immense roots, lying above ground
like railway ties, made our progress exceedingly slow, and was
the roughest bit of travel I ever experienced.
We were not
sorry when we at length reached the mouth of Elbow Creek,
which we crossed, and soon arrived at Eau Gallie, where we
found King waiting for us with his boat.
The next day we
returned to camp, well pleased, upon the whole, with our labo-
rious trip.
On the following morning
we broke camp and
proceeded
on our way down Indian River with a head wind.
At the
mouth of the St. Sebastian we passed the fine hamak of Mr.
Gibson, and a few miles below we arrived at Barker's Bluff,
SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS.
quite an eminence,
on which
is the cabin of
Arthur Park.
Opposite here is Pelican Island, a few acres in extent, and the
first of a series of islands forming the
Narrows.
man-
groves and water-oaks of this island have been all killed by the
excrement of the
pelicans which
breed
there.
This guano,
which lies several inches deep on the ground, is utilized by the
settlers as an efficient fertilizer.
At a distance the dead trees and bushes and ground seemed
covered with frost or snow, and thousands of brown pelicans
were seen flying and swimming around or perched upon the
branches.
As we passed,
we saw a
party of northern
tourists at the island, shooting
scores through mere wantonness.
down
the harmless
birds
As volley after volley came
booming over the water, we felt quite disgusted at the useless
slaughter, and bore away as soon as possible and entered the
Narrows.
Indian River Narrows is some ten miles in length, and from
an eighth to a half mile in width
the channel is about a hun-
dred yards from
the western shore or mainland.
There are
numerous oyster-beds and reefs lying but a fewinaees below the
surface of
the water,,and
one must keep his
open even
with a fair wind.
As we were beating through,
the difficulties
were correspondingly increased
; but we were extremely fortu-
nate, and merely touched the center-board a few times in our
passage through.
The scenery in the Narrows is quite pleasing.
On the right,
the mainland
water-oaks,
bank,
with occasional
clothed
patches of
with mangroves and
rushes and saw-grass,
while in the background can be seen alternations of pine woods
and hamaks, which once in a while run down to the river bank.
05 CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
On the left are islands innumerable, with tortuous channels be-
tween them, and woe betide the unlucky boatman who gets lost
in the labyrinth of their intricate windings.
green to the water's
is enlivened
The islands are
edge with mangrove bushes, and the scene
by the numerous water-fowl, egrets, herons, peli-
cans, gallinules, water-turkeys cormorants, and fish-crows, feed-
ing near the islands, and the gulls, terns, vultures, ospreys. and
man-o'-war hawks, swooping, skimming, and sailing in the air
above.
"Look, what a queer snake
"suddenly exclaimed Frank, as
he seized his gun.
We saw a snake apparently
wriggling out of
water,
several feet into the air, near one of the islands.
As Frank
fired, part of the snake dropped on the water, while the other
part took wing and flew away.
Did the snake drop the bird, or the bird drop the snake?"
asked Frank.
" Yes, that was about the way of it,"
observed Ed.
The ex-
planation
was quite
simple.
A snake-bird
or water-turkey
swimming with his long neck only out of the
water, had the snake in his bill,
away when Frank fired his gun.
which he dropped, and flew
Sidney Lanier's description
of this bird is quite characteristic:
"The water-turkey is the most preposterous bird within the
range of ornithology.
He is not a bird, he is a neck, with such
subordinate rights, members, appurtenances, and hereditaments
thereunto appertaining as seem necessary to that end.
He has
just enough stomach to arrange nourishment for his neck, just
enough wings
to fly painfully along with
his neck, and just
big enough legs to keep his neck from dragging on the ground;
(Plotus anhinga),
A PREPOSTEROUS BIRD.
and his neck is light colored, while the rest of him is black.
When he saw us, he jumped on a limb and stared. Then sud-
denly he dropped into the water, sank like a leaden ball out of
sight, and made us think he was drowned, when presently the
A. v
- --
- I
Txz WATER TURKEY-(PIOtus anMhnga.)
tip of his beak appeared, then the length of his neck appeared,
then the length of his neck lay along the surface of the water,
and in this position, with his body submerged,
he shot out his
neck, drew it
back,
wriggled
it, twisted
it, twiddled
it, and
spirally poked it into the east, the west, the north, the south,
with a violence of involution and contortionary energy that made
one think in the same breath of corkscrews and lightning. But
what nonsense!
All that labor and perilous asphyxiation for a
beggarly sprat or a couple of inches of water-snake!"
At the lower end of the Narrows is a staked channel leading
of through the islands on the left, to the United States Life-
Saving Sts
Haton.
tion,
No. 1, on the sea-beach, in charge of Mr. John
Just as we were emerging from the Narrows, we ob-
60 CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
served two deer feeding on the mainland near the water's edge,
but they scampered away before we could obtain a shot. We
had now got into the broad river again, with more sea-room for
tacking, making long legs and short ones; but the greater num-
ber of
oyster bars
required extreme watchfulness and careful
sailing to avoid
them.
We could
now see the stakes .of the
turtle nets with palmetto leaves fastened to theirtops, all along
the river below us; but, with our usual good luck, we steered
clear of all difficulties, and arrived at the site of old Fort Capron
late in the afternoon, where we camped in a grove of bitter-sweet
orange trees, near the mouth of a small
brook of
good,
water.
Fort Capron, quite a noted place on Indian River, is thirty-
eight miles below St. Sebastian River and about a hundred from
Titusville.
Directly opposite is an
inlet to the sea, through
which can be seen the white crests of the breakers as they spar-
kle iri the sunlight.
The only vestiges of the old military post
are a fallen chimney and the debris of a brick bakeoven; but
the parade-ground and a moat or ditch can still be distinctly
traced.
There are evidences of a good state of cultivation at
some remote period in the furrowed ground, the groves of sour
and bitter-sweet oranges, limes,
lemons, and
guavas;
in the
hedges of oleander, Spanish bayonet, and Cherokee rose, and in
the ornamental groups of date palms, century plants, cacti, and
sisal hemp.
There are but two or three houses in the vicinity, the principal
one belonging to Judge Paine, at whose house is the postoffice,
the last on the river, and called St. Lucie.
Judge Paine is an
old resident, and is United States revenue officer for this locality;
he has a comfortable home, and keeps a few boarders during the
TURTLE CATCHING.
winter.
sidy.
There are also the houses of Mr. Jones and Mr. Cas-
Four miles below is the site of Fort Pierce, where lives
Mr. Bell.
THE GREEN TURTLE-(Chelonia mydaG).
There were several turtling camps scattered along between the
foot of the Narrows and Fort Pierce, the principal ones belong-
ing to Judge Paine, Martin
Bassett, and August Park.
and Hoke, Jim Russell and Jim
The green turtle is here taken in
gill nets with a mesh of eighteen inches.
The business is quite
profitable, there having been taken last winter several thousand
turtles, varying in
weight from
twenty to a hundred pounds.
They are kept in circular inclosures of stakes aud urdles, called
crawls, and shipped north, via Titusville and Jacksonville. The
turtlers have many difficulties to contend with, however, not the
least among them being the numerous saw-fish, sharks, and rays
which play sad havoc with the nets, occasionally.
The channels and cuts between the small islands near the inlet
abound in oysters of a delicious flavor, and
best on the river.
the fishing is the
Red-fish, sea-trout, sheepshead, crevall6,
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
grouper, black-fish,
drum
, snapper, cat-fish,
and other varieties
of the finny tribe can be taken by the boat-load,
The tide rushes through
if necessary.
the narrow cuts like a mill-tail, and
fishing, even with a hand-line, is exciting sport,
enhanced once
in a while by fastening to a shark.
Wild fowl are plentiful enough to afford good sport, and in old
fields near Capron will be found numerous bevies of quail. A
mile or two back of the old fort there is superb snipe shooting
on the savannas or wet prairies.
In Taylor Creek and several
smaller streams there is fine black bass and bream fishing. One
can here live on the fat of the land; green turtle, oysters, crabs,
fish, venison, duck, quail; snipe, etc.,
can be had for the taking,
without price.
The day following our arrival at Fort Capron was Sunday,
and as the boys could neither fish nor hunt, they were quite
eager to go over to the inlet and get on the sea-beach,
for as yet
they had not seen the sea, though they had heard the roar and
dash of the breakers almost daily.
As the wind was north-west
and rising, and the swift flying scud portended stormy weather,
I endeavored to dissuade them from the attempt, and pointed
out the danger should a northerr" set in. But they were im-
portunate, and I at last gave in,
though against my judgment
and inclination.
After taking every thing out of the boat, we started, leaving
Marion in charge of the camp, who remarked that he did not
want to be drowned on a Sunday.
and anchored
We made a quick sail across
under the mangroves, where the water was quite
deep.
Lowering the sail,
the boys struck out for tile beach, but
I deemed it advisable to stay in the boat, as the tide was run-
ning out strongly
and it was well that I did so.
I had om-
THE BLUE WING IN A GAL.
tied the boys to be back in an hour, and sat smoking my pipe
awaiting their return.
I soon discovered that the anchor was dragging and that the
ruh of the tide was tremendous, in consequence of the water
being blown to that side of the river.
If the cable had parted
I should soon have been drifting out to sea, with a
coming on.
northerr"
As the bottom seemed to be solid rock, and the
anchor continued to drag, I carried a line ashore and made it
fast to a big mangrove.
The wind had now increased to a gale
black, ominous clouds were piling up in the north-west, and an
angry sea was lashing the river into a boiling
caldron
, while I
was completely drenched with spray.
The boys now returned
from the beach loaded with shells, corals, sea-beans, etc., and, as
the ocean was comparatively smooth, as it is always with a
breeze off shore, they looked with amazement at the wild scene
on the river, and with evident misgivings of trouble ahead.
"Well, boys,
must get
said I,
"make up your minds quickly;
back at once, or stay here without food
or water.
Which horn of the dilemma will you take?"
" How long will this storm last ?"
" I can't tell," said I
anxiously inquired Ed.
" certainly all night,.and probably two
or three days, as these northers often
every minute."
"Do you think we cau get back?" a
"It looks worse than the sea."
It's getting worse
4
asked Frank, and added:
I
"Yes,
" 1 answered,
" If you do as I tell you, and the rigging
and rudder hold. But we will have some trouble in getting
away from this lee shore."
Well, let's try it," said Frank; we may as well drown as
tarve to death I"
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
Accordingly we double-reefed the sail, run a life-line around
the boat, and pumped her out.
We then cast off the shore-line,
made sail, hove the anchor, and by the help of the setting poles
we got her away from the shore close-hauled on the starboard
tack, and headed for camp, directly across the river.
"Now, Ed," said I,
" you and Henry hold on to the main-
sheet, and don't let go unless I give the word.
Ben, you stand
by the peak halyards, and Frank, you bail out with tybucket-
never mind the pump-when I tell you.
windward, outside the combing. If shi
the life-line, and keep cool. She can't
All hands.sit well to
e goes over, hold on to
sink, and we will drift
'ashore somewhere!"
The wind was now howling, the halyards shrieking, and the
sea pounding with terrific force against the little Blue Wing, but
she stood it bravely and eat her way to windward slowly but
surely.
Suddenly a
tremendous sea washed Frank and Ben
from their windward perch into the cockpit, and jammed them
against the center-board trunk; but they-were up again in an
instant, and Frank was bailing out for dear life.
It was not
long before I found myself sprawling in the cockpit, knocked
down by a heavy comber, but without loosing my hold on the
tiller.
We finally got
across
without any further mishaps, but it was
the longest two miles I ever sailed.
None of the
boys could
swim a stroke save Frank and myself, but they stood it manfully
and well; it was a good lesson for them, and one that they did
not forget.
We cast anchor, made every thing snug, and waded
ashore, where we found Marion, who was the most frightened
one in the party.
"I thought you were all gone, sure,
"said he;
"half of the
"A BULLY BOAT AND A BULLY CREW."
time I could only see the top of the sail, and I thought you were
swamped."
"said Frank
" we just kept down behind the waves
to keep out of the wind!"
A number of the turtles were there watching our maneuvers
with much interest, and ready to put out to our assistance in a
Whitehall boat should it have
been necessary.
Among them
was "Jim
Russell, the well known Indian River guide, who
" Boys, that's a bully boat and well. sailed
you need n't fear
to go anywhere in her!"
As this was
"praise from Sir Hubert,
" we were well satisfied,
CRUISE OF TPE BLUE WING.
CHAPTER
VII.
Slight frost.-Beach-combing.-Feeding a loggerhead.-Fly-ishing.-
Sand-flies.-Adieu to Fort Capron.-Fort Pierce.-St. Lucie Sound.
-" Old Cuba.
glimpse of the tropics.-Pet snakes and chame-
leons.-Manatees, and a man not at ease.-St. Lucie River.-In the
wilds of Florida.-Game plentiful.-Black bass fishing.-A ire-hunt.
-Scared by a panther.-A wild cat.-Down the river.-Life-Sav-
ing Station No. 2.-The breakers by moonlight.-The "Hero."-
A moonlight sail.-Jupiter
Narrows.-Peck's Landing
man-
grove
maze.-Arboreal
beauties.-Indisn
Camp.-India
rubber
trees.-Hobe Sound.-Trolling for crevall6.-Conch Bar.-Difficult
navigation.-Locohatchee
River.-Jupiter
Light-house.-A
uresquo panorama.
HE northerr" mentioned in the preceding
T Chapter lasted two days, and was followed
J-. / by a slight frost, the only one we experienc-
ed in Florida.
Our sojourn at Fort Capron
was passed very agreeably in hunting, fish-
ing, and rambling on the beach. At the inlet
I procured some rare and interesting speci-
mens of marine fishes, among them a Mexi-
can star-gazer (Astrosopu y-greum),
electric powers.
which possessed decided
We obtained some lumber and built a dingey, or
tender for the Blue Wing, which was in constant requisition by
the boys in rowing to the various camps of the turtlers and oyster-
men, and to the fishing grounds and sea-beach.
object of special interest in a huge loggerhead tu
They had an
irtle, which was
moored to a stake in shallow water at the camp of Jim Russell.
They went up daily to feed him oysters in the shell, and took
OLD CUBA ON HIS WAR HORSE.
Ire
; ~--~;
s
Jlfr~Yt't~ L cc~
;=";e ~L"
FLY-FISHING FOR THE MARINES.
great delight in seeing him crunch the bivalves like wafers,
swallowing shells and all.
As might be imagined, fishing with the artificial fly can be
practiced and enjoyed to the fullest extent, where fish are so
abundant.
I took many different species, both fresh-water and
marine, with the artificial fly, in the vicinity of Fort Capron.
While they did not run so heavy as those taken with bait,
they were quite
heavy enough for the fly-rod.
For instance,
I took crevall6 of five pounds, sea-trout of ten pounds, red-fish
of five pounds, blue-fish of four pounds,
" snooks,
or sergeant-
fish of six pounds,
bone, or lady-fish of two pounds, black
bass of eight pounds, and tarpum of ten pounds, in addition to
other species of less weight.
The best time for fly-fishing for the marine species in Florida
is from
sundown
dark, or later if the moon is nearly
full. At this time the predatory fish are in the shallow por-
tions of bays, and at the mouths of creeks, in the brackish water,
feeding on the mullet,
which swarms in countless'numbers in
such places.
The angler must be well concealed behind clumps of scrub
palmetto, mangroves, or canes, to insure success; or, if fishing
from a boat, must keep in deep water and make long casts in-
shore, near the sand bars and shoals.
After casting, he must
trail his flies along the surface, and permit them to be sub-
merged, at times, for a depth of several inches.
His tackle must be strong and serviceable.
I used a twelve-
foot, twelve-ounce, ash and lancewood trout fly-rod, and a re-
markably good one, by the way, which I often found rather light
for large fish.
A grilse rod would be more suitable for fly-fishing
CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
for the salt-water species
for there is a strong probability of
occasionally
hooking a
monster weighing
twenty
pounds or
more.
I often took some of the afore-mentioned species while fishing
for black bass and when using bass flies; but when fishing es-
pecially for the marine species, I used flies of my own tying,
made without much regard to any particular pattern.
I tied
them on Sproat hooks from 4-0 to 6-0 in size, using a combina-
tion of colors, and usually with white or grayish wings, as the
fishing was mostly done at dusk.
Bright feathers are easily procured in Florida from the nu-
merous gay-plumaged birds, so that the angler will be at no loss
for material for tying his flies.
particularly taking:
Two flies I remember as being
one with upper wings of white ibis and
lower wings of the mottled feathers of chuck-wills-widow; an-
other with top wings of white egret and lower ones of pink cur-
lew rotatee spoonbi).
ibis, silver gray, and
The coachman,
other flies
oriole
white and red
white or light-colored
wings, are good ones to pattern after in tying flies for this kind
of fishing.
They should be of good size, about the same as
salmon flies.
I might add that, on one occasion, I took an alligator "on the
fly," using a fly made by tying the wings of a common tern or
sea-swallow on a shark hook, with the tail of a gray squirrel for
the hackled body;
but, as Rip Van Winkle says: 'This one
don't count."
About sundown, one warm and muggy evening, the sand-flies
put in an appearance, and worried the boys considerably, as it
was their first experience with these pests.
They were soon en-
veloped in clouds of smoke from a hastily-built smudge, which
FORT PIERCE-ST. LUCIE SOUND. 69
seemed to only add to their torments. I know of nothing
so aggravating and exasperating as sand-flies when one under-
takes to "fight" them; for one is sure to lose his temper in the
operation, and this seems to increase the ferocity of the insects.
While one is vainly brushing, slapping, and striking at them,
they will crowd into his ears, nostrils, and hair, in constantly
increasing swarms, seeming to be attracted by the violent flour-
ishing of the sufferer's arms.
The best plan is to heroically endure the burning, stinging,
and creeping torments for a few minutes, making no effort to
drive them off, when, in a short time, one will get used to them,
and will be surprised to find how little they will annoy him,
though it will require the resolution of a martyr and the stoicism
of an Indian to do this. It is only about the inlets and on the
sea-beach that sand-flies are found, and they are only troublesome
on still, sultry days, about sunrise and sunset, seldom continu-
ing their annoying visitations longer than an hour.
We finally set sail from Capron, and went bounding along,
down-river, with a fresh breeze, soon passingTaylor Creek, some
three miles below. A mile farther on, we were abreast of the
site of Fort Pierce, on a high, commanding bluff, where the fine
parade-ground can still be seen sloping toward the river. We
were now below the oyster beds, and the river opened into a
broad sheet of water called St. Lucie Sound, extending from In-
dian River Inlet to Jupiter Narrows.
The mainland was now a succession of bluffs and hills, well
wooded with pines, and now and then extensive hamaks of hard
wood and palmettos, while, on the level beach strip on the left,
were long rows of cabbage-trees, with a dense undergrowth of
scrub and sea-grape. Passing Bird Island, we soon discovered
W CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
the bay at the mouth of St. Lucie River, and just ahead of us,
on the beach side, was the
palmetto hut of
"Old Cuba," nestling
in an exceedingly rich hamak, some twenty miles below Fort
Capron.
" Old Cuba," as he is called on the river,
"lives all alone in
the little log hut," and is the only settler between Fort Pierce
and Jupiter Inlet. As we put in and made fast to the end of
his wharf he welcomed us heartily.
He was a little, dried-up old
fellow about five feet high, with a machete half as long as himself
hanging to his
palmetto hat,
belt.
On his head he wore a broad-brimmed
turned up in front, under which was tucked a
banana leaf, to shade his sparkling black
sun.
from the noonday
A pair of sail-duck pants and a white cotton shirt completed
his attire.
" Mr. Cuba, have you any sweet potatoes to spare ?
I asked.
"Sweet-a potatoI" exclaimed he.
Plen-ty punkin'
" Y-e-s
Plen-ty banana I
plen-ty sweet po-
Plen-ty cassava!
Tomat-garlic-plen-ty I"
In a clearing of a few acres in the center of the hamak, well
sheltered from the winds, he raised a profusion of tropical fruits,
vegetables, sugar-cane, and tobacco.
He is a Cuban refugee,
and while digging the potatoes he gave us a history of his exploits
in the liberating army of Cuba, where he was known by the
briquet of" the Sand-fly."
The boys observed several large bl.ick-snakes gliding in and
out of Cuba's shanty, and upon making some hostile demonstra-
tions, they were stopped by Cuba, saying:
" No, no
You no kill-a my snake I
Dey kill- de rattlesnake!
Me like-a dem
Dey catch de roach
Dey no 'fraid
no 'raid I"
MANATEE, AND A MAN NOT AT EASE.
t
Racing about in the hut and over the thatched roof were numer-
ous chameleons, quite tame also, and which did Cuba good service
by ridding his hut of flies, bugs, and mosquitoes.
The chameleon
is a pretty little creature of the lizard tribe, with bright eyes and
a lively and affectionate disposition, and changes its color quite
frequently, being at various times green, gray
brown, and of a
reddish tinge.
After putting aboard a barrel of sweet potatoes, a bunch of
bananas, and some pumpkins, we bore away for the mouth of the
St. Lucie River, some five miles below, opposite to which could
be seen U. S. Life-Saving Station No. 2, on the beach ridge, and
five miles below that a gap in the line of trees marks the location
of Gilbert's Bar-formerly an inlet, but now closed.
In the
broad bay at the mouth of the St. Lucie we saw growing great
quantities of a grass-like plant, resembling wild celery, or eel-
grass, upon which were feeding thousands of coots and ducks.
We entered the river with the wind behind us, and went dash-
ing along at a spanking rate.
Suddenly I felt a severe shock, as
the boat struck something beneath the surface of the water, which
seemed to lift her up as she glided over it.
Then there was a
violent commotion in the water at our stern, which nearly cap-
sized the dingey in tow, and we saw at the same time a curiously-
shaped head and a flipper lifted above the surface, which instantly
disappeared, followed by a glimpse of a queer-looking tail, broad,
flat, and rounded.
Ed sprang up, looking quite pale about the
gills, and seemed inclined to get out.
"Sit down, Ed," said I,
"'tis only a sea-cow, and it's more
scared than you."
" I thought it was a water-quake I
exclaimed Frank.
The St. Lucie is the largest stream emptying into Indian
1Z CRUISE OF THE BLUE WING.
River, and its waters, including those of the bay at its mouth,
are quite fresh.
It is here that the sea cow, or manatee, flour-
ishes, feeding on the aquatic grass in the river and bay.
There
have been several captured alive with immense rope nets within
the past few years, one being caught in this manner by Old Cuba,
which was kept in a crawl that still stands at the mouth of the
river.
It was shipped North during the Centennial year.
THE MANATE--( MlWechus latirostri).
The manatee (Trichehus) is a warm-blooded amphibious ani-
mal, and is especially interesting as being the only living repre-
sentative of its family (Trichechide)
in fact,
there is but one
other
living
representative
of the same order (Sirenia)-the
dugong of the Indian Archipelago-the other members of the
order being extinct.
manatee
is a herbivorous
animal, shaped, externally,
something like the seals, but there the similarity ends-the lat-
ter being carnivorous.
It grows to a large size, some twelve or
fifteen feet in length, and ten or twelve feet in circumference,
and to nearly a ton in
weight.
Its fore fins, or flippers, are
somewhat
hand-shaped,
nails, from which
it derives its
name (manus: a hand).
Its head is small, with small eyes, and
THE SEA-COW
a muzzle somewhat resembling that of a cow, hence one of its
common
names:
sea-cow.
It has true molars
or grinding
teeth, and feeds on eel-grass and other aquatic plants.
Its tail
is horizontal, broad and rounded, and is a powerful swimming
organ.
It has two pectoral mammae.
It has a dark, brownish
pachydermatous skin, an inch thick, and very sparsely covered
with hairs about an inch apart.
There are a few longer stiff
hairs, or
" whiskers,
" about
the mouth.
Its bones'are very hard
and compact, the ribs especially, which are equal to ivory in
denseness, and used for the same purposes.
The manatee is a docile, harmless creature, though it is ca-
pable of giving a severe blow with its powerful tail.
said to be quite palatable.
rifle or harpooned. For ca
Its flesh is
It can be shot with a large-bored
,pturing it alive, a long rope seine,
ten feet in depth, with a mesh of fifteen to eighteen inches, is
stretched across the stream-and attached to the opposite shores.
One end is tied by a weak cord, which breaks when the animal a
becomes engaged with the seine, and it then becomes hopelessly
entangled in its efforts to free itself, when it is secured by its
captors.
On the north bank of the St. Lucie are a number of high
ridges sloping to the river, and well timbered.
We saw several
pre-historic mounds along that side of the river, some of which
were on top of the. ridges, and had, no doubt, been formerly
used by the Indians as signal stations, as they were quite bare of
trees.
The south bank is a succession of level pine forests, with
a heavy undergrowth
of palmetto
scrub.
We sailed
up the
river several miles to the main fork, where it divides into a north
and a south branch, called North and South Halpatiokee rivers.
7
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