CHAPTER X 



THE GULF COAST OF FLORIDA 



IN March, 1886, we left Arizona. We trav- 

 elled to Florida, and Grouse and Bull alone of 

 our animal friends accompanied us. The other 

 members of the happy family at the " Little 

 Palace " were provided with new homes among 

 our different neighbors in the mountains; for 

 though we would have gladly taken all of them 

 with us, this was impossible. 



Our destination was a little town, Tarpon 

 Springs, one of the many new resorts that had 

 grown up since our former expedition to the 

 Gulf Coast. During the entire interval that 

 had elapsed since that event, some seven years 

 back, a vast impetus had been given to the 

 development of the resources of Florida. The 

 cultivation of the orange and other members of 

 the Citrus family presented golden visions, of 

 more than one kind, to many. This enterprise, 

 as well as the salubrity of the climate during the 

 winter making the whole region favorable for 

 places of winter resort, attracted the attention of 

 a horde of land speculators. What is known as 



