The Days of a Man [^1883 



Mangrove coFals which gFow outsidc thc reef. The formation 

 jungles q£ ^\xq\\. islands or '* keys" (literally quays or wharves) 

 is helped on by the mangrove — Rhizophora — for, 

 once established, this vigorous shrub "walks" farther 

 and farther into the sea. Its method of progression 

 is by vertical branchlets from the limbs, which take 

 root in the bottom and form a continuous tangle, 

 catching whatever debris the waves may bear, coral 

 sand especially. About Key West are small keys in 

 process of formation — jungles of mangrove half 

 covered at high tide but appearing as little muddy 

 islands at low waters. In their thickets swarm in- 

 numerable tiny fishes, especially the young of the 

 common "Mangrove Snapper" — Neomcenis griseus. 

 The whole region, indeed, is very rich in fish life, 

 offering an amazing number of kinds, many of them 

 in great abundance. In our first haul of the fine- 

 meshed "Baird seine" adapted for such collecting, 

 we obtained seventy-five different species. 



The fishermen, chiefly English, came from the 

 Bahamas; the other citizens had mostly fled from 

 farther north to escape snow and ice. In general 

 we found everybody intelligent and appreciative of 

 our mission. 

 A rattler At Key Wcst I saw a small rattlesnake swimming 

 in the sea. This was an occurrence so unusual that 

 I gathered it in; it proved to be a "prairie rattle- 

 snake" or "massasauga" — Sistrurus catenatus — 

 a little beast with few rattles but a mean disposi- 

 tion. Later I saw a boatload of Louisiana hay from 

 which it had undoubtedly fallen overboard. The 

 incident suggests a digression on the topic of ven- 

 omous serpents in general, and of rattlesnakes in 

 particular. 



C 282 : 



overboard 



