NATURAL HISTORY SKETCHES 325 



at Philadelphia, was used four or five winters as a pleas- 

 ure-boat and then sold for a ferry-boat without much 

 loss. Three men made up the crew. The whole expense 

 was about $15 each day, which, divided among six, was 

 not high for such fishing and hunting as we used to get ; 

 and such bird suppers as Reuben could get up I never 

 expect to see again. This boat was built by a party of 

 gentlemen from Clifton Springs, New York, and run 

 down from Philadelphia. One could be got up much 

 cheaper now, in Jacksonville. Such a boat can go to the 

 upper waters of the St. Johns, above where hunters go, 

 and where game is plenty. The St. Johns is a wonder- 

 ful river, and one of great magnitude, and it has always 

 been a wonder to me where so much fresh water comes 

 from. It runs from south to north, is over 300 miles 

 long and in many places is very near the coast. It 

 appears more like a beautiful chain of lakes for more 

 than a hundred miles from its mouth, and will average 

 nearly two miles wide, for that distance. The tide is 

 felt as far up as Palatka and, what appears singular, 

 when it is high water at the mouth of the river it is 

 low tide at Jacksonville. Visitors should always go up 

 as far as Enterprise, to see the beautiful lakes and won- 

 derful springs. We could not get the Clifton much above 

 Lake Winder. A floating island covered with willows 

 had drifted across the channel and we could only get 

 up in small boats to Lake Washington. We found Lake 

 Winder a fine place for game ; deer and turkeys were 

 very abundant and more snipe than we had seen in 

 Florida. We also found many birds which we did not 

 see about Lakes Harney and Jessup. The carrocca eagle, 

 in full, light plumage, was common ; also the purple 



