I 4 o IN LOWER FLORIDA WILDS 



They are quiet and dignified in manner, are 

 absolutely truthful and fully aware of their su- 

 periority in this respect over the white man. One 

 of the paleface vices they cherish to an extra- 

 ordinary degree, the love of firewater or "why- 

 ome" as they call it. They generally indulge a 

 bit freely when in town, but they are not given 

 to noise or viciousness when intoxicated. A tipsy 

 Seminole can get just a little more wabbly on his 

 legs without actually falling than can any other 

 human being. 



Their words are composed of a great number of 

 syllables. Willoughby has given a vocabulary of 

 them in his book Across the Everglades and in 

 this only two words have a single syllable while 

 many run up into eight or more. For instance 

 heron is "wak-ko-lot-ko-o-hi-lot-tee"; instep is "e- 

 lit-ta-pix-tee-e-fa-cho-to-kee-not-ee," and wrist 

 "in-tee-ti-pix-tee-e-toke-kee-kee-tay-gaw." I 

 should think it would take a half hour for a Sem- 

 inole to ask the time of day, but fortunately he 

 has plenty of time. 



There is something very distressing in the grad- 

 ual passing of the wilds, the destruction of the 

 forests, the draining of the swamps and lowlands, 



