236 TRAVELS IN THE CONFEDERATION 



supported on high stakes, as is customary in Madeira, 

 and the fruit was greatly bettered. 



Besides St. Augustin, St. John's is perhaps the only 

 place in East Florida deserving the name of town ; for 

 Smyrna was more a rural colony, and the old Spanish 

 town of St. Marc de Apalache,* on the Mexican Gulf, 

 has almost gone to ruin. It lies 188 miles to the west 

 of Augustin and, as a place of trade with the Indians, 

 is inhabited and visited by a few merchants. There is 

 a small fort a few miles south of Augustin, on the 

 Matanza, where a few men keep guard, this river 

 being connected with the harbor; another small fort, 

 called Musa, stood four miles to the north of the town 

 but is now in ruins. 



The remaining plantations are scattered singly and 

 sparsely about the country, but extend hardly more 

 than 60-70 miles west of the town. As far as this, 

 and still farther, the whole country is flat and sandy. 

 More inland and to the north it grows somewhat un- 

 evener and hilly, but without any elevations of con- 

 sequence ; for the principal mountains of eastern North 

 America come to an end in Georgia. Compared with 

 that along the coast, the interior country is vastly 

 better and more fertile, the coast-land being chiefly a 

 loose, deep, white sand, grown up especially in pines 

 and palms. Now and again are found tracts known as 

 hammock-land. These are low places, covered with 



* A company of Augustin merchants proposes, after the 

 change of establishment has been made, to carry on trade at 

 Apalache with the Florida Indians, who desire to have abso- 

 lutely no relations with the Spanish ; they hope to get permis- 

 sion from the Spanish court. 



