Itf FLORIDA. 65 



visiting sportsman, and where the birds and fish exist 

 in their primeval abundance and fearlessness. It is 

 unnecessary to specify these by name, or to particu- 

 larize any as better than others, for they are essen- 

 tially alike. We could not explore them all, but 

 those which we did, we found filled with fish and 

 with a fair amount of game. It was too early in the 

 year for alligators, if they can be called game, to 

 show themselves, but birds were to be had plenti- 

 fully, and fish were simply innumerable. Of these 

 we killed so many that we had to salt them down. 

 There is an additional interest, the interest of new 

 explorations, in ascending the secluded rivers, and 

 I advise every tourist who visits this portion of Flor- 

 ida in his own conveyance, not to omit going up 

 one or more of them. 



This was a late season, shad were running, and we 

 had them continually on our table, but roses were 

 not in full bloom in the open air, and as for straw- 

 berries, which are usually abundant by New Year's, 

 they had not come in at all yet. We had bought up 

 all the curiosities that we could distribute among 

 our Northern friends ; we had played with the baby 

 alligators in the jewelry stores ; we had listened to 

 the first installment of the wonderful Florida stories; 

 we had dined at all the excellent Jacksonville hotels, 

 and were ready to withdraw once more from civili- 

 zation. So the Heartsease spread her sails again, 

 and started up the river. I say "up," because by 

 the current our course was up stream ; but it was 

 down by the map. We were going south, the St. 



