146 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 



visited by men, the sun rose from the bosom of the waters 

 with a burst of glory that flashed on my soul the idea of that 

 power which called into existence so magnificent an object. 

 The moon, thin and pale, as if ashamed to show her feeble 

 light, concealed herself in the dim west. The surface of the 

 waters shone in its tremulous smoothness, and the deep blue 

 of the clear heavens was pure as the world that lies beyond 

 them. The Heron heavily flew towards the land, like the 

 glutton retiring at day-break, with well-lined paunch, from 

 the house of some wealthy patron of good cheer. The Night 

 Heron and the Owl, fearful of day, with hurried flight sought 

 safety in the recesses of the deepest swamps ; while the Gulls 

 and Terns, ever cheerful, gambolled over the water, exulting 

 in the prospect of abundance. I also exulted in hope ; my 

 whole frame seemed to expand ; and our sturdy crew showed, 

 by their merry faces, that nature had charms for them too. 

 How much of beauty and joy is lost to those who never view 

 the rising sun, and of whose waking existence the best half is 

 nocturnal ! 



Twenty miles our men had to row before we reached 

 " Sandy Island," and as on its level shores we all leaped, we 

 plainly saw the southernmost cape of the Floridas. The 

 flocks of birds that covered the shelly beaches, and those 

 hovering over head so astonished us, that we could for awhile 

 scarcely believe our eyes. The first volley procured a supply 

 of food sufficient for two days' consumption. Such tales, you 

 have already been told, are well enough at a distance from 

 the place to which they refer ; but you will doubtless be still 

 more surprised, when I tell you that our first fire among a 

 crowd of the Great Godwits laid prostrate sixty-five of these 

 birds. Rose-colored Curlews stalked gracefully beneath the 

 mangroves ; Purple Herons rose at almost every step we 

 took, and each cactus supported the nest of a White Ibis. 

 The air was darkened by whistling wings, while, on the waters, 

 floated Gallinules and other interesting birds. We formed a 



