INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, PHILADELPHIA. 43 



entire day during one of these high seas, when the waves beat most 

 unmercifully against our little craft. 



The border line of the lake is in most places not absolutely defined, 

 owing to a continuous passage of the open waters into those of the 

 Everglades ; on the whole, however, the delimitation of the latter region 

 is fairly well marked, the growth of saw -grass or flag terminating rather 

 abruptly. Where the Everglades constitute the border line, which is the 

 case for the greater part of the west coast, there is necessarily no true 

 shore, and, indeed, it is the common supposition that no landing can be 

 effected in such a region. This supposition is, doubtless, true in its 

 general application, but not absolutely so. We secured a landing 

 opposite Observation Island at a spot where the vegetable accumulation, 

 living and dead, of flag, lily, and grass was so dense as to permit of a 

 safe footing, although numerous holes and pit-falls everywhere revealed 

 the unstable character of the fundament. A pole could readily be thrust 

 into this vegetable bottom to a depth of four or five feet, or even more. 



For some distance along the north shore, but more particularly on the 

 northeast, there is a true beach line, made up of oceanic sand. This beach 

 extends for nearly two miles almost due west of the mouth of Taylor's 

 Creek, and probably not less than eight or ten miles, if not considerably 

 further, to the southeast of that stream. It shelves very gradually into 

 the lake, and rises out of it with the same moderate slope. At the localities 

 visited by us I nowhere found it to rise more than about four or five feet 

 above the surface of the water, although not unlikely it may attain a 

 greater elevation. It everywhere supports a dense growth of hard woods 

 oak, maple, palmetto, etc. which form a fringe to the almost intermin- 

 able expanse of saw-grass and cypress-swamp which follows at a very 

 moderate distance in the rear. 



OBSERVATION ISLAND. This island, which lies a few miles S. by E. or 

 S. E. of the mouth of the canal, is perhaps the largest island in the lake, 

 although not impossibly some larger island may exist in the southern 

 bayous not yet explored. It is currently, and even officially, reported to 

 be some two miles in length, but I much doubt if its greatest (north and 

 south) expanse greatly exceeds a half-mile, or, at the utmost, three- 

 quarters of a mile. Along its western and southern borders it is well- 

 nigh inaccessible, owing to a heavy growth of small cypress and custard- 

 apple (?), whose gnarled stems and stumps form an effective barrier to 

 approach. On the east, as also on the north, there is a much more 

 open sand-beach, on which there was a considerable break of water at the 

 time of my visit. The width of the island is at all points very insignifi- 

 cant, and the elevation probably nowhere exceeds four or five feet. 



Numerous birds take shelter in the almost inaccessible recesses of 



