INTRODUCTION. 



My first hunting experience in Florida dates back to the year 

 1877, and I have since spent ten winters in the State, much oi the 

 time being devoted to exploring out-of-the-way nooks and corners 

 which were then visited by but few people, and it was a journe\- of 

 several davs to places which, since the advent of railroads, may now 

 be reached in as nianv hours. Lake Okeechobee is now no longer 

 difficult of access and manv people visit it every year from Kissimmee 

 and Fort Myers. From Jacksonville to the Indian River, which but 

 a few years ago was a three days' journey, may now be done by rail 

 in a few hours. Although Florida is now annually visited by 

 thousands instead of hundreds of people, as was the case a few 

 years ago, there is still a vast extent of country which is practical!}' 

 a wilderness and where game is vet to be found in great abundance ; 

 and the magniticent winter climate of Florida adds much to the en- 

 joyment of the hunter or fisherman. 



Many there are who look with disfavor upon him who with 

 rifle and hound wanders into the wilderness to hunt and kill wild 

 animals. To such an one I would say, " Chacqiic 11 11 a son gout c.'' 

 If he be a man, with a man's health and strength, his hand steady 

 and his eye clear, let him go with me and camp tor a week on the 

 bank of some unnamed lake in the Florida wilderness, where the 

 panther, bear, and deer wander undisturbed. Let him breathe 

 the fresh morning air full of the smell of the pines, and listen to the 

 chorus of the hounds as they dash away in full cry on the hot trail 

 of something that can tight as well as run. I warrant you his pulse 

 will quicken as he forces his way into some thicket where the dogs 

 hold a bear or a panther at bay. Perhaps many of us ha\e a trace of 

 the savage left in us vet, but I believe the boy who loves the woods 

 wall gain much in health and manhood: and it is pleasant to think 



