Florida Swamps and Forests 



naked as to the earth he came. Had he emerged 

 from the black muck of a marsh, we might eas 

 ily have believed that the Lord had manufac 

 tured him like Adam direct from the earth. 



Surely, thought I, as I started for Gaines 

 ville, surely I am now coming to the tropics, 

 where the inhabitants wear nothing but their 

 own skins. This fashion is sufficiently simple, 

 &quot;no troublesome disguises,&quot; as Milton calls 

 clothing, but it certainly is not quite in har 

 mony with Nature. Birds make nests and 

 nearly all beasts make some kind of bed for their 

 young; but these negroes allow their younglings 

 to lie nestless and naked in the dirt. 



Gainesville is rather attractive an oasis 

 in the desert, compared with other villages. 

 Its gets its life from the few plantations located 

 about it on dry ground that rises islandlike a 

 few feet above the swamps. Obtained food and 

 lodging at a sort of tavern. 



October ig. Dry land nearly all day. Encoun 

 tered limestone, flint, coral, shells, etc. Passed 

 several thrifty cotton plantations with com- 

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