Florida Swamps and Forests 



naked as to the earth he came. Had he emerged 

 from the black muck of a marsh, we might eas- 

 ily have believed that the Lord had manufac- 

 tured him like Adam direct from the earth. 



Surely, thought I, as I started for Gaines- 

 ville, surely I am now coming to the tropics, 

 where the inhabitants wear nothing but their 

 own skins. This fashion is sufficiently simple, 

 — **no troublesome disguises," as Milton calls 

 clothing, — but it certainly is not quite in har- 

 mony with Nature. Birds make nests and 

 nearly all beasts make some kind of bed for their 

 young; but these negroes allow their younglings 

 to lie nestless and naked in the dirt. 



Gainesville is rather attractive — an oasis 

 in the desert, compared with other villages. 

 Its gets its life from the few plantations located 

 about it on dry ground that rises islandlike a 

 few feet above the swamps. Obtained food and 

 lodging at a sort of tavern. 



October ig. Dry land nearly all day. Encoun- 

 tered limestone, flint, coral, shells, etc. Passed 

 several thrifty cotton plantations with com- 

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