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THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



due on a thirty mile run across the 

 northern part of the lake. As we lay 

 piled up on the sand bar the boatman 

 told us that it was possible to get a 

 boat across the bar by means of the 

 proper combination of time and labor. 

 So we began our task. First we re- 

 sorted to our water ballast again, placed 

 the rowboat across the bows and filled 

 it with water. Then the engine was 

 set going at full speed and all hands 

 jumped overboard. By pushing and 

 pulling and lifting, the "Barbee" was 

 moved inch by inch, and after an hour 

 or two of this violent exercise on our 

 part she glided into the canal. Every- 

 body clambered aboard, and we were off 

 on the final tangent of our course to 

 Moorehaven. 



We had finally reached an extraordi- 

 nary portion of the earth's surface. 

 There was present neither soil nor 

 rock ! All the dry land was built up of 

 pure humus. We were in a land of 

 "peat." For many miles in all direc- 

 tions there was nothing but vegetable 

 matter in all degrees of decomposition, 

 derived from both herbaceous and 

 woody plants. This accumulation of 

 "peat" extends around Lake Okeecho- 

 bee. It is interrupted and partly ob- 

 scured just back of the eastern shore 

 by a sand ridge which represents the 

 one-time bottom of the lake, blown out 

 and piled up by strong westerly winds. 

 At the southern and southwestern side 

 the accumulation of peat is more mas- 

 sive than elsewhere, varying from three 

 to fifteen feet in depth — or even more. 

 Although this form of decayed vege- 

 table matter is spoken of as "peat," the 

 basis of true peat, sphagnum and the 

 usual associated plants, does not enter 

 into its composition. Furthermore, it 

 is evidently not as acid as sphagnum 

 peat, for all or nearly all cultivated 

 crops may be grown on it in its virgin 

 condition. No preliminarj'' preparation 

 is necessary, except the loosening up of 

 the surface so that seeds may be 

 planted. 



The natural plant covering is the 

 hardwood growth known in the south- 

 ern United States as "hammock." The 

 trees consist principally of cypress 

 {Taxodium), strangling-fig (Ficus), 

 pond apple (Annona), pop ash (Fraxi- 

 nus), and elder (Samhucus). The 

 growth is impenetrable except with the 

 aid of a machete. 



From the vicinity of Moorehaven 

 around the southern side of the lake, 

 the "peat" formation is remarkable. It 

 resembles a gigantic sponge and walk- 

 ing on it is extremely tiresome. The 

 mass trembles under foot with each 

 step; yet, the concrete sidewalks, the 

 houses, and other structures in Moore- 

 haven are built directly on it. 



We tied up to the bank of the Three 

 ]\Iile Canal in town for a time, then 

 proceeded slowly down to Lake Hic- 

 pochee, where the canal terminates. 

 This lake is a beautiful body of water 

 to behold, with narrow and wide di- 

 mensions of about three and five miles 

 respectively. It is the source of the 

 Caloosahatchee Eiver, and consequently 

 one of the links in the chain of the 

 transpeninsular waterway. We navi- 

 gated our boat to about the center of 

 the lake without difficulty, but out 

 there we ran into a "Slough of De- 

 spond" of the most discouraging kind. 

 This was a mass of black "gruel" of 

 just the proper consistency to prevent 

 the "Barbee" from moving forward or 

 backward. To make things worse we 

 could not move the boat by hand, as a 

 pole pushed into the black mass would 

 sink to an indefinite depth without ap- 

 preciable resistance. 



The propeller churned up this ink- 

 black loblolly, with the aquatic plants, 

 water moccasins, fish, and what not, 

 without making progress. But a vio- 

 lent electric storm with high wind came 

 to our assistance and blew us into a 

 gruel of less dense consistency, and by 

 degrees we drifted into deeper water, 

 whence we were able to make our way 

 back to the mouth of the canal. x\fter 



