FORT C APRON&quot;. 115 



grassy taste during the summer, but as winter ap 

 proaches they have as fine a flavor as any other fish of 

 the genus. The streams which they inhabit, flowing as 

 they do through the sandy soil of the &quot;pine barrens,&quot; 

 which contains but little sediment, are almost as trans 

 parent as the celebrated trout brooks of New England. 

 Indian river, so called, is not properly a river ; but 

 rather a sound or salt-water lagoon, being separated 

 from the ocean by a narrow strip of sandy land over 

 grown with palmettoes and mangroves. It is about one 

 hundred and fifty miles long, and ranges from several 

 miles to forty yards in width. On the east it is fed by 

 several inlets from the sea, through which the tide ebbs 

 and flows freely. Several large rivers enter it from the 

 west, the principal of which are the San Sebastian, 

 Santa Lucia, and Locha Hatchee. No country that I 

 have ever visited affords as great a variety of game and 

 fish as South Florida. Besides large game, such as 

 bear, deer, turkeys, etc., this region literally swarms 

 with snipe and ducks, at least during the winter months. 

 Partridges (bob whites) are also sufficiently numerous to 

 afford sport ; but I have never seen a woodcock in that 

 section. The snipe shooting on the savannahs is simply 

 superb. These savannahs (or natural meadows) afford 

 sufficient moisture to attract the birds, without being 

 so miry as to render the walking difficult or fatiguing, 

 as is so often the case at points further north. On one 

 of these snipe grounds of many hundred acres in ex 

 tent, several miles in rear of Fort Capron, I used to 

 enjoy most delightful sport, seldom returning without 

 a full bag. 



I would advise sportsmen desirous of snipe shooting 

 in that section, to take pointers instead of setters, for 



