88 THE STORY OF A BIRD LOVER 



quence in the state was the one from that point 

 to Cedar Keys. Arriving at Jacksonville, we took 

 a primitive steamer on the St. Johns to Palatka, 

 and here disembarked, and following the instruc- 

 tions given by Mr. Conover, reembarked on an 

 even more antiquated boat, a stern-wheeler of the 

 wheelbarrow type, which carried us up the Ockla- 

 waha River to its headwaters at Silver Spring. 

 The Ocklawaha presented at this time a picture 

 of exuberant bird life along its banks and in the 

 trees that overhung the stream ; I had almost said 

 in the ceiling of trees, because the river was so 

 narrow and winding that there were only short 

 intervals where the branches did not meet over- 

 head and hang above the steamer's deck. 



Among the w^ater-birds, the water-turkey, or 

 darter, two kinds of beautiful white herons, the 

 little blue heron, the Louisiana heron, the great 

 blue heron, and the rosy spoonbill were all con- 

 spicuous. White and wood ibises were constantly 

 startled from the banks or limbs by the progress 

 of the boat. Among the land-birds, woodpeckers 

 of many kinds were everywhere, paroquets in 

 flocks of from forty to a hundred were seen con- 

 stantly, and as for the smaller bird life, the v/oods 

 fairly teemed with it. Five or six times as we 

 ascended the stream large flocks of wild turkeys 

 were to be observed close along the banks. In 

 short, never had my wildest fancy painted, not 



