298 SOUTH-WEST FLORIDA. 



favored us with his views of the (C pesky critters,&quot; and 

 assured us that they were a lazy, dirty, treacherous, and 

 thieving lot, and that the whole race should be extermi 

 nated.&quot; Our visitor informed us that the Indian camp 

 at Fort Thompson was distant three miles by land, and 

 nine by the course of the river. We bade our friend 

 good-by, and applied our muscles to oars and setting 

 pole. He preceded us by land, and unwisely informed 

 the Indians that some white men were coming up the 

 river, armed with sixteen-shooting guns, with the inten 

 tion of exterminating all the Indians about Lake Okee- 

 chobee. At 9 A. M. we grounded the bow of the boat 

 Spray on the northern bank of the river below the 

 falls. A few minutes afterward we discovered four 

 Indians approaching, armed with rifles and long butcher 

 knives. From their manner we fancied that there was 

 a &quot;screw loose in their celestial machinery,&quot; As they 

 neared the boat I landed and shook hands with all. To 

 my surprise they manifested sullenness and an indispo 

 sition to be friendly or communicative. Soon after, a 

 squaw, and several young feminine representatives of 

 poor Lo, approached, to whom I presented ear-rings, 

 beads, and breast-pins, costing $1 per half-dozen sets. 

 These presents exerted a happy influence, and the 

 niasculine Los expressed a wish to inspect our fire-arms. 

 We exhibited our breech-loading arms and ammunition, 

 which seemed to surprise them. All seemed to be new 

 to them, and they expressed their surprise by remarking 

 &quot;Indian s rifles holywagus&quot; (no good). 



An examination of Drew s and Cqlton s maps will 

 show a large lake existing at Fqrt Thompson, and another 

 some miles east, named Ilickpockee. These bodies of 

 water only exist in the imagination of map-makers. As 



