CRUISING ALONG SHORE. 215 



mangrove islands ; its windings reveal it in sheets of 

 silver among the trees. A narrow creek leads from it 

 southward toward Lake Worth. As I looked upon this 

 scene I saw no sign of life, save at the cottage, one hun 

 dred and fifty feet below me. North, the nearest human 

 habitation was forty miles away ; south, one hundred ; 

 west, no one knows ; the swamps and forests there are 

 peopled only by red men. 



The sun s last rays had disappeared, leaving clouds 

 of crimson and gold piled up behind the dark pine forest, 

 as I entered the lantern, where the light was already 

 glowing. I seated myself in the crystal dome, and 

 watched the reflected colors as they came and went with 

 each revolution of the lantern. As the lantern revolves, 

 every prism catches the rays of light and rends them into 

 their primary colors, paints the colors of the rainbow 

 upon the polished roof, and throws them forward to be 

 reproduced a thousand times in the crystal bars. As the 

 strong light shone forth, I thought of the many eyes gaz 

 ing upon it other than those of the sailors for whom it 

 was intended. The timid deer, the ferocious puma and 

 wild cat, the bear from his &quot;hammock&quot; for bears do 

 have &quot;hammocks&quot; of palms. No doubt the reflected 

 light is visible to the Indians dwelling upon the prairie 

 bordering that mysterious lake, Okeechobee. Toward 

 midnight a little warbler fluttered against the glass, 

 striving to enter. The keeper has often found them 

 after storms. The large plates have been shattered by 

 birds, who were afterward found lifeless with mangled 

 breasts. Many birds foreign to our country have flown 

 against the glittering, though fatal glass. 



Once a year the supply-ship visits this place, in its 

 annual tour from Maine to Florida. Other than this 



