24 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WAGNER FREE 



A few miles above Fort Myers the mangrove gradually thins out, 

 and is followed by straggling lines or groups of palmettos, which here 

 attain a height of some thirty to forty feet. Before reaching Telegraph 

 Station, and at intervals beyond, the forest unfolds itself in its full mag- 

 nificence, the dense tangle of endless creepers and climbers, the rigid but 

 delicate leaves of the palm, whose noble shaft is reared pre-eminent over 

 the forest, and the brilliant greens with which the eye never satiates, 

 forming a picture of scenic loveliness which no pen can adequately de- 

 scribe. The growth along the immediate water margin is very dense, 

 so that in many places no landing can be effected. The almost complete 

 absence of flowering plants was here again very apparent, but I observed 

 at least one species of Ipomaea and a Lobelia in bloom. 



One of the largest of the lower clearings is seen at Thorpe's, on the 

 right bank of the river, where, in addition to the cultivation of a number 

 of semi-tropical products, such as the pineapple and banana, there is a 

 considerable industry derived from the growth of the cane, which yields 

 sugar of a fine quality. The soil is reported to be very favorable to the 

 proper development of this vegetable product, which is also cultivated 

 with profit in other sections of the country where but little else is pro- 

 duced. A series of clearings, alternating with larger patches of more or 

 less heavily timbered woodland, ending in a pine tract, extend from 

 Thorpe's to within about twelve or fourteen miles of Ft. Thompson, when 

 an apparently interminable forest of palms clothes the river on both banks. 

 This is probably one of the most extensive tracts of primeval palm growth 

 in the State. The palm trunks range to 40 or 50 feet, or more, in height, 

 and almost by themselves constitute the forest, there being but little in- 

 termixture of deciduous trees. There is also little, or no undergrowth, 

 and the eye, accustomed to the impenetrable mazes of the lower 

 river, follows with rapturous delight the beautiful vistas that reach far 

 into the forbidding recesses of the deep interior. Nowhere else did I 

 observe such a wealth of arboreal vegetation ; the profusion of plants 

 clustering around the individual palms, forming there aerial gardens of the 

 most fairy-like description, was simply amazing, and, indeed it seemed 

 as though the usual undergrowth of our northern forests had been bodily 

 transported into an upper realm. 



The larger game, such as the deer, wolf and American panther, or 

 Florida lion, are said to be fairly abundant in these wilds, especially in 

 the more open country of pines, but we had little opportunity of testing 

 the truth of the currently received notions respecting the distribution of 

 these animals. On the return journey our captain, whom we were com- 

 pelled to send on a foraging expedition, reported the finding of several 

 deer, but this is the only instance during our entire journey when a mam- 

 mal, exceeding the raccoon in size, was actually seen, although on one 



