IN FLORIDA. 93 



no tiny fellows either, but weighing from six to ten 

 pounds a piece, or half as many channel bass of 

 fifteen to twenty pounds each, together with as 

 many sharks thrown in as he has stomach or tackle 

 for. By the way, I forgot to mention that among 

 our outfit was a couple of shark hooks and a line of 

 a hundred fathoms, as thick as the little finger, all 

 of which did good but rather brutal service. Back 

 of New Smyrna, the woods are full of venison and 

 bear meat, turkeys, and other feathered game. The 

 best duck shooting is in the southern part of the 

 lagoon or river, but the bars and beaches everywhere 

 are alive with bay snipe, herons, cranes, pelicans, 

 and a thousand smaller birds. 



But a truce to this everlasting repetition of sport, 

 which was growing monotonous even to Mr. Green's 

 insatiable sporting appetite, and turn to something 

 pleasanter. The royal lady of the house had resolved 

 to give us such a feast as we had not had before. 

 The supplies laid in at St. Augustine enabled her to 

 carry out her idea, but the selection of the day and 

 date for the event was a mystery. I supposed it 

 must have been to celebrate my birthday, which, it 

 is true, had come and gone six months before ; but 

 as it had not yet been kept, needed commemoration 

 as badly as though it had never taken place at all. 

 No matter what was the moving inducement, the 

 banquet was worthy of it. We men had been 

 smuggled out of the way while the preparations 

 were being made, so that, while we had a general 

 idea of the drift of things, we had no conception 



