^"iSg's^^] Wayxe oh Florida Birds. 363 



appearance, as there are no clearings whatever, but simply a 

 wilderness. The length of the Wacissa is about twelve miles. 

 It is very broad for four miles, when it becomes narrower — ■ 

 caused by a chain of islands, which extend some five miles par- 

 allel with the river. After the islands cease the river runs through 

 large tracts of saw grass and rushes, and here there is no channel 

 whatever. This spot is known as ' Hell's Half-Acre.' About a 

 mile lower down, the river runs all over the entire country, being 

 one large expanse of water with innumerable little streams which 

 run in every conceivable direction. This particular place is 

 called the ' Western Sloughs.' The Wacissa empties into a canal 

 which is five miles long, which was dug before the war with the 

 view of deepening the river and making it navigable. This 

 object, however, was never realized, as the river is very shallow 

 being' on an average, three feet deep. The canal above described 

 joins the Aucilla River and conveys the water into the Aucilla 

 River, and thence into the Gulf of Mexico. 



The Wacissa is simply made up of myriads of springs, which 

 are all perfectly clear, as is also the river. The bed of the river 

 is rock from which grows a species of water grass, which being 

 always more or less covered by water, is green throughout the 

 year. The forest of the Wacissa, on the east side, is well nigh 

 impenetrable. This is not clue wholly to the dense undergrowth, 

 but to the nature of the soil, which is exceedingly boggy, and, to 

 use the words of the residents, the ground would ' bog a saddle 

 blanket ' ! 



The west side of the river is little better. While there is some 

 high hammock land it is of small area and consequently harbors 

 very few birds. Bird collecting is very laborious and unprofitable, 

 as the country is simply a wdlderness to prospect through. 



The timber along the river is not very heavy, and the cypresses 

 all appear to be stunted. The case is entirely different on the 

 ' Canal Hammock,' near the Aucilla River, which is very heavily 

 timbered with cypress, water oak, live oak — immense trees — 

 black gum, sweet gum, magnolia, palmetto, etc. 



The Wacissa is a 'snail river' ; millions can be seen on the 

 bottom. In May the snails commence to lay their eggs, which 

 they deposit on any available object out of the water, and so 



