UP THE TOMOKA. 93 



less, and the water becomes very dark, almost black, 

 and deep. Rounding a bend we saw lying on the 

 bank our first live alligator on his native heath. He 

 was ten feet or more in length, and an ugly looking 

 varmint from any point of view. Several kodak 

 snap-shots were obtained of him as the boat went by 

 a half-dozen rods from where he lay blinking in the 

 sun. We had not fairly gotten past when, with a 

 clumsy plunge, he went headlong into the river and 

 disappeared beneath^ its turbid waters. A little 

 farther on the eyes and tip of nose of another "gator" 

 were seen close to the shore and just above the level 

 of the water. They sunk slowly and silently as we 

 drew near. But two others were noted during the 

 day, the air being too cool to suit their sunning pro- 

 clivities. 



A number of "cooters," or large greenish turtles, 

 Pseudemys concinna LeConte, were observed, always 

 solitary, resting on half submerged logs in secluded 

 nooks along the shore. 



The Tomoka makes many crooks and turns, often 

 abriipt. Like most other streams, one bank is usually 

 the lower, being the border of a flat marshy tract cov- 

 ered with reeds and coarse grass; and with willows, 

 cypress and cabbage palmettos close to the water's 

 edge. The other bank is six to ten feet higher, the 

 surface sandy, and covered with pine and saw palmet- 

 tos in abundance. 



