IN FLORIDA. 75 



the most disagreeable is the mocassin, which, al- 

 though not so fatal, sometimes attacks a man in the 

 water without provocation. The latter's bite pro- 

 duces paralysis more frequently than death, but as 

 his attacks cannot be guarded against, he is really 

 a more unpleasant enemy. The traveller's safety in 

 bathing consists in seeking one of these wonderful 

 sulphur springs, into Avhich snakes do not enter, al- 

 though fish abound in them, looking like moving 

 motes in liquid amber. The temperature of these 

 springs is not cold, being the same as that of the 

 rivers, but there is something exceedingly exhilarat- 

 ing in bathing in them. The feeling of the water is 

 different from that of any other bath. There is a 

 peculiar sense of cleanliness, and a lightness of spir- 

 its, which may account for the fancy of Ponce de 

 Leon, that he had at last found the source of eternal 

 youth. Many of these springs are brought within the 

 destructive dominion of man, and are open to every 

 passing tourist, but the one where we were Avas sa- 

 cred to him, who has his own conveyance, and was 

 not to be defiled or polluted by the common way- 

 farer. 



We had a delightful bath. There is a common 

 delusion that the water of the sulphur springs is so 

 thin and light, that it will not support the best 

 swimmer. We soon ascertained that this was a to- 

 tally unfounded fancy, so far as the Welaka spring 

 was concerned. We not only swam to and fro 

 without difficulty, but enjoyed an additional pleas- 

 ure in getting directly over the boiling spout itself, 

 4 



