18 BIRD S-EYE GLAXCE AT FLORIDA. 



die, we could see but little of the shores, excepting when 

 we called at various towns. The small size of these vil 

 lages surprised me much, for I had long been familiar 

 with their names on the maps, and although some of 

 them have been settled for about three hundred years, 

 at the time of my first visit, in 1868, they contained but 

 three or four houses. Of course, in the days when the 

 Spaniards occupied Florida these places were much 

 larger, being important military posts, and formed the 

 homes of many inhabitants. They have deteriorated 

 much since, but are now growing slowly ; how slowly 

 may be seen by the fact that after an absence of four 

 years I again visited this section and found that some 

 villages had added only one or two houses to their num 

 ber, while others remained as I had previously seen 

 them. I have used the term houses in speaking of the 

 inhabited structures along the upper St. Johns, but 

 shanties would perhaps convey a better idea of their 

 appearance. It will be a source of much wonder why 

 the steamers touched at such places, but it must be 

 understood that they are with a few exceptions represen 

 tatives of the towns in East Florida, and contained post- 

 offices. We stopped then to leave the mail, and fre 

 quently to take on wood, or occasionally found a passen 

 ger waiting. And odd passengers they were too, many 

 of them genuine Florida &quot; crackers.&quot; 



At a wooding-up station where there was but one 

 dwelling, a queer looking specimen of humanity came 

 on board in the shape of a long, lank individual, clad in 

 homespun. In one hand he carried an old-fashioned 

 rifle, and with the other led a fine looking horse, upon 

 which was strapped a large saddle, with a saddle-bag 

 and an axe-handle hanging on either side. This singular 



