NARRATIVE OF A CRUISE TO LAKE OKEECHOBEE 



689 



anil instead of an uninterrupted expanse 

 of watei'. Lireat ai'eas of lake bottitni ex- 

 tended as far as (lie eye could see, Avitli 

 uncertain iliaiiiiels running here and 

 there betwei'U them. We finally found 

 our way into the lake between Xreame!' 

 Ishmd and Hu' southern shore and 

 liea<led tor K'ita Island. On account of 

 the low slate of the water we passed the 

 nortlu'rn side of the latter island, and 

 headed for Sand Point. Thence we 

 attempted to pass between Observation 

 • Island and tlie inaiidaiid. but were con- 

 fronted by a harrier in the form of a 

 reef^ of jagged rock extending from 

 the island to the southern shore of the 

 lake. It proved to be a ridge of rock 

 placed nearly north and south at the 

 southwestern corner of the lake, with 

 Observation Island built up on the 

 higher part. As the water stood at that 

 time, the reef extended just under the 

 surface for about nine miles north of 

 Observation Island. 



Darkness fell as we arrived abreast 

 of Observation Island. "We were bent 

 on reaching the newly established set- 

 tlement of Moorehaven, which is situ- 

 ated at the mouth of Three Mile Canal, 

 a dredged channel connecting Lake 

 Okeechobee with Lake Hicpochee. On 

 the eastern side of Observation Island 

 we were about twelve miles, in a direct 

 line, from Moorehaven; but in order 

 to reach it we had to sail many miles to 

 the north to get around the end of the 

 reef already described. Several times 

 we imagined we saw the lights of the 

 settlement in the distance, and subse- 

 quently learned that our observations 

 were correct. Having been informed 

 that there was a beacon at the northern 

 end of the reef, we proceeded northward 

 in the darkness, keeping along the edge 

 of the reef by continual soundings. 

 The beacon was supposed to be lighted 

 at night, but after proceeding north- 

 ward for a distance of nine miles or 



* This reef is the one I was on the lookout for 

 in 1913, at which time we evidently sailed over it 

 twice without ohserving it. Journal of the New 

 York Botanical Garden, 15: 76. 1914. 



more no beacon light liove in sight, and 

 the night was too dai'k' lo see the bea- 

 con itself unless we had happened to 

 inn (|iiile close to it. Just how many 

 times we saw tlie light of that beacon 

 in imagination it would not be safe to 

 recoi-d. A\'hen we thought we were 

 fully twehe miles north of Observation 

 ishind. the lights of j\Ioorehaven were 

 \{'V\ e\ident in the distance, and we 

 could distinguish the outline of the 

 western shore of the lake above Fisheat- 

 ing Creek. Assuming that avc had in 

 some way succeeded in rounding the 

 end of the reef, or at least that we were 

 far enough to the northward to round 

 it. we decided to run on a southwesterly 

 course, which would take us to the 

 mouth of a canal recently dredged in 

 the lake for the distance of about eight 

 miles northward of the mouth of the 

 old Three Mile Canal. Successive at- 

 tempts were made but each resulted 

 only in finding shoal water. Finally we 

 seemed to get into deeper water. "We 

 increased our speed, when, to our sur- 

 prise, the stout keel of the "Barl)ee"' 

 struck a rock. The boat jumped the 

 rock and came down twice on other 

 rocks. We all watched to see the water 

 come in through a hole somewhere in 

 the hull ; but none appeared. This in- 

 cident, however, determined us to spend 

 the rest of the night at anchor. 



In the morning we found the much 

 sought for beacon in the distance. After 

 we rounded it, we reached the northern 

 end of the canal without incident, ex- 

 cept for an hour's delay on some mud 

 banks during the regular morning 

 squall and rainstorm. At the entrance 

 to the canal our real troubles in naviga- 

 tion began again. Up to within several 

 hundred feet of the canal was deep 

 water and within the canal was deep 

 water, Imt the bar of hard sand at the 

 entrance was covered with only one or 

 two feet of water. 



An old boatman within the canal was 

 watching for the stern-wheeled steamer 

 "Osceola,"" which was three davs over- 



