292 SOUTH-WEST FLORIDA. 



the letters and papers addressed to persons at or near 

 his settlement, and we of course consented. 



Anxious to reach our objective point, we left the fort 

 at eight A. M. Commencing three miles above the fort, 

 for a distance of nearly three miles the navigation is 

 rendered difficult by islands and mud banks. At the 

 lower, or west end, of the first island an extensive mud 

 bank will be found, and the channel will be discovered on 

 its north side, near the northern bank of the river. Soon 

 after entering the channel several stakes will be noticed 

 on the port side, and one on the starboard side of the 

 channel. Opposite the upper end, and to the north of the 

 first island, a small circular one will be discovered, which 

 must be left to starboard. The next two islands must be 

 kept to port, when a projecting point, studded, with tall 

 cabbage palmettoes, will be sighted on the northern bank 

 of the river. Beyond this point another island will be 

 observed, which must be left on the port side. If atten 

 tion is paid to these directions, and the shallow water 011 

 either hand of the channel looked for, no great difficulty 

 will be experienced in navigating this troublesome local 

 ity. Above the upper island, navigation is easy to Fort 

 Thompson. The river in the neighborhood of the upper 

 islands is famous for its well-developed alligators. We 

 devoted about an hour to their destruction, and killed 

 eight the smallest of which measured over ten feet. 

 Above the islands the river narrows to a few hundred 

 feet, and somewhat resembles the St. Johns above the 

 Devil s Elbow. To within about two miles of the tele 

 graph station the banks are low, and arc covered with 

 mangrove bushes, cabbage palmetto, and live-oak trees, 

 with an undergrowth of ferns, some of the fronds meas 

 uring eight feet in length. If the tourist is a disciple of 



