FLORIDA: THE GULF COAST 151 



Now, when the three darkies saw us take from 

 the trunk what appeared to be a bundle of can- 

 vas, stretch it out, and by the use of a few wooden 

 frames and bolts convert it in a few minutes into 

 a boat, in which we embarked and rowed away 

 down the bayou, their wonder could not find 

 expression. The stories they told of that part of 

 their adventures when they returned to Ocala I 

 think must have become a part of the legendary 

 history of the place, as I have frequently had it 

 recited to me in different forms by various darkies 

 and white men at intervals for years, and as each 

 year rolled by the miracle grew in magnitude. 



The place where we reached the Gulf was about 

 three miles north of the mouth of the Withlacoo- 

 chee River. The coast-line is not definite at this 

 point ; perhaps this will be realized as the narra- 

 tive proceeds. Many bayous, having the appear- 

 ance of streams or rivers, reach back into the 

 swamps and pine woods which border the Gulf, 

 and their entrance into the country is guarded 

 by numerous small islands that form a picturesque 

 element in the scene. 



One of these islands, half a mile from the doc- 

 tor's place, belonged to one Parson Gigger, who 

 had built here a small house. The reason for 

 the absence of the parson was carefully explained 

 in detail, but I am inclined to the hypothesis that 

 the mysterious Gigger was a solar myth. The 



