24 THE INLAND PASSAGE. 



liis clothes washed, dress up in *' a boiled shirt'' for 

 a change, and revive the fact that he is one of the 

 aristocracy, not an ordinary seaman. He will soon 

 tire of civilization, however, and long for the pleas- 

 ures of the chase. Then let him ascend any of the 

 tributaries of the St. John's from San Pablo at its 

 mouth to Juniper Creek, which empties into the 

 southerly end of Lake George. It was on the latter 

 stream that I nearly killed a Limpkin. 



The man does not live who has actually caught or 

 shot a Limpkin. There are no Limpkin s for sale 

 in the curiosity shops, where almost every other pro- 

 duction of Florida is to be had. It is admitted that 

 the Limpkin, like the recognized ghost, is proof 

 against powder and ball. But the writer never miss- 

 es — that is, on paper and when he is recording his 

 shots. All writers do the same. So when the Limp- 

 kin sat on a limb and whistled and chuckled and 

 bobbed and bowed and finally flew away just before 

 we were near enough, and I fired as he disappeared 

 with horrible screams through the forest, one leg 

 dropped ! I had not killed him, but even a Limpkin 

 was not quite proof against my aim. Mr. Seth 

 Green, who was with me at the time and can vouch 

 for the truth of this statement, remarked in a mel- 

 ancholy tone of voice that he wished he had had his 

 rifle. As he had not succeeded in hitting anything 

 with his rifle thus far since we started, although he 

 had fired away half his cartridges, there is a chance 

 that he might have succeeded this time by way of 

 a change, and so I agreed with him heartily. 



