342 "WILD SPORTS IN THE BOTTIII. 



water as though relying for foliage upon the grey Spanish 

 moss that hangs from everything in tresses and curtains 

 of wondrous length, sometimes reaching from the upper 

 limbs into the water, and marking the directionof the cur- 

 rent. Where the lagoons opened into the river there was 

 constant doubt as to the course of the channel, for the 

 lagoon might be broader than the true course, or the 

 latter totally shrouded from sight by the draping moss or 

 jammed trees. Sometimes the leading boat would wait 

 for its fellow, calling to it a few feet off to come through 

 some curtain of vegetation, where it had just found a 

 passage. There was no animal life here save reptiles, 

 and little vegetable beauty. It was a stagnant waste, 

 overhung by the dead growth of ancient times. 



Then, too, there was a watchfuhiess against Indian 

 contact that made our passage seem more like a flight 

 than a hunt, and when some alligator rushed from the 

 bank to the water, the noise would startle us and bring 

 back the scene when Jackson died on just such ajDassage 

 down the Ouithlacouchee. Two, or three days brought 

 us into pleasanter life, and our eyes were greeted Avith 

 the open water of Lake George and the varied vegetation 

 of its low-lying shores. 



It was curious to watch Mike make his entry on the 

 lake. As we ai^proached, our boats came nearer and 

 paddled slower. We hugged the shore closely, and 

 when the first faint roll of the waves of the lake came 

 mto the river, he motioned us to stay, and glided down 

 among the rushes in his own canoe, watching the broad 



