run ORK.\r /////: ///:/: 



arnom: ili.' 111:1111:1.. \es that iNirdered tin- K-\ TI which we \\.-n-. .in<l iiMiii.-diai.-l\ pursued it. 

 Had \ou U-eii looking on. good reader. \ u niiu'ht lia \ .-nj< 1\ .-d :i heart} lauuh, although f.- 



i>f n- .-..iii. i h.i\.- j..in.-d \uii. Sei.-n ..... L'hi | tenon* were engaged in the pm-Miit of this -in-i.- 

 Mid. which. \\i\\\ extended n. -i k. wings, and legs, mad- >!' the tangled tnv at Meha 



rate. thai, anxious 118 I wa to obtain it ali\e, I several times thought of shootim: it. At length. 

 how>-\.-r. it wa.s caught, its l.ill was soriirely tied, ifct legs '' drawn up. :m<l fasi.-n.-d by u 

 "ill, :ui(l the jxKir thing was thus conveyed to Indian K.-\.and pla.-.-d aloiiir with its 

 kin-.fi. Ik. On seeing it. the latter immcdiateh ran inwards ii with I.JH-II l.ills, and grcet-d it 

 with a most friendly welcome. pas^in^ th.-ir li.-ads ,,\.'r and nnd.-i iis ,,\\ii in tin- im.M nirioiis 

 and, imlii|. ludicrous maiin.-r. A l>ui-k.-fful f tisli \\as tlm.wn to tlit-in. \\ liirli t)i<-\ s\\allo\\.-d 

 in a f.-w niinni.-s. Aft.-r a fr\v days, they also ut- jiii-o-s of |mrk-rind. rlif<tie, and otln-r 



\Vliil-' sjiilin^ aloiitf tin- niinii-rus i-laiids thai <nvur lN-t\\i-Mi Indian K<-y and Ki-\ \V.-i. 

 I S.-IM 1 1 1. 1 ii v I'll. 1- . .f I hi- -]s-iea, HBM in pain, MI. -in_l.-. and . .1 h.-i - ill ll.-k- ; I MI I on H,, 

 did I -!< .-.-.. 1 in getting ttfall did olOBe \li . h^pin ...n-, ,i. ,| n,,- l,\ saving thai h.- 

 plar.-s lt.-yc.nd K.-y \V.-M \\ln-ri- I ..-riainly should obtain st-vt-rd, \\.-ii- to sjM-nd 

 a day and a nii;lil tli.-r.- for tin- j.ur|H.s-. I>r. liciijainin StroU-1 aft-r\sapls pivo me a similar 

 as.siir.iiu-.-. In t|u> course of a wc'k aft-r n-adiini: K-y \\'.-si, I, in fact. piiM-un-d more than a 

 I|O/.-M l.irds of dilTi-n-nt air-s, as w.-ll as n.-sts and I'^ir*. and fh.-ir hal.il- \\viv .-an-fully xain- 

 in.-d by seven 1 1 of my party. 



\t thrH- o'.-liM-k. <>n.- niorniiii;. you miirlu ha\.--.-.n Mr. Firm and mys-lf. alKiut ci^ht 

 mil.-s from ..ur harl.or. paddling as silently as posiblf o\.-r s,,in.- narrow an<l tortuous inli-i-. 

 formt-d l.y tin- tid.-s through a laiv- flat and partially siil.m.-i-'-d K-\ . Tht-r.- \M- cxitccti-d to 

 tind many \Vhit.- H.-mn-: Imt our lalnir wa for a lony time almost ho|'l>SM, for, although 

 otli.-r l>inls .x-rurn-d. we had <leiTmin.-d to shoot nothing Imt the (Jrt-at \Vhit.- Il.-ron. and 

 none of that >|-<-i.-s came tn-ar u-. At length, aft.-r six or seven hours of haul la 1 tor, a Heron 

 flew right over our heads, and. to make sure of it. \ve l>otli tired at once. The l>ird came down 

 dead. It proved to IK- a female, which had either U-en sitting on her eggs, or had lately 

 hatch"! her young, her U-lly Ix-ing liare. and her j.luma^e .-..usideniMy worn. \Ve now n-steI 

 awhile, and breakfasted on some biscuit so;ike<I in molasses and water, revising under the 

 shade of the mangroves, where the mos<iuitoes had a good op|x>rtunity of breaking their fast 

 also. \\"e w.-nt about from one Key to another, saw a great number of White Ib-roiis. unil at 

 l.-iiu'tli. towanls night. n-.iche<l the Murimi, nither exhaiist-d. and having a olitary bird. Mr. 

 Egan and I had l>cen most of the time devising s.-h.-m.-s for jinK-uring others with less trouble, 



a ta-k v. liidi ini_'ht easil\ I- ive !..!] a-coiM| ii-l;.-i | n:..iilh !.!'.,!.. when, US In- -aid. I!L- biid- 



wei>- -sitting hard.' He asked if I would return that night at twelve o'clock to the last K 

 which we had \isit-d. I meniioned the proposal to our worthy ('aptain, who, ever willing to 

 doall in his power to oblige me, when the service did not require constant attendance on board, 

 said that if I would go, he would acconijuny us in the gig. Our guns w.-re soon cleaned. | 

 \ i-i-.tis and ammunition placed in the boata, and after supping we talked and lauirhed until 



the a].|N.inte.l time. 



'"Eight Bells' made us bound on our feet, and (T w- pushed for the islands. The 

 moon shone bright in the dear sky: but as the breeze had dieil away, we iK'took ourselves 

 to our oars. The state of the tide was against us. and we had to drag our !>oat> several 

 miles over the soapy shallows; but at last we found ourselves in a deep channel ) H -neath the 

 hanirinir mangroves of a la rm- Key, where we had obser\.-d the Ilei,,n- retiring to roo-t the 

 previous evening. Then- we lay quietly until daybreak. Hut the m..s,|uit<-s and sand (lies! 

 II.-ad'-i. if yon li:i\.- ti"t IM-.-H iii -urh M | ,|.i,-.-. \ . ,u BMBOl BMfl] conceive th.- torments we 

 eiidun-*! for a whole hour, when it was absolutely necessary for us to remain j-rf.-.-tly motion- 



\t leiiirth day dawned, and the Ix.ats jKirted. <o meet on the other -ide ,,f the K- 

 Slowly and silently .-jidi advanc.-<|. A Heron -pruni: from its p-rdi almost dir.-ctly ,,\ ,. r our 

 li.-ads. Three Iwrn-ls w.-n- discharged. in \ain: the binl tl.-w on unscathe*! ; the pilot and I 

 had probably been too anxious. As the bird sj-d away, it croaked loudly, and the noise, 



