60 Remarks upon East Florida. 



long, and probably half buried beneath the surface, or deciduous 

 vegetation. Lying constantly on the ground, it never acquires 

 the bony hardness of the exterior coat of the upright cabbage 

 tree, but is covered with a fibrous hairiness, which gives it al- 

 most the softness of silken plush, prevailing through every fold, 

 to the very heart, excepting within a few inches of the end, 

 where is found a nutritious pith, smaller than, but not unlike, that 

 of the cabbage tree. This is bruised into meal, and made sub- 

 servient to the purposes of food. These roots spread, as we have 

 before remarked, over nearly every barren ; and, since a portion 

 of them is convertible into food, there can be no limit to the spon- 

 taneous subsistence of those who frequent them. The leaves or 

 foldings of this root are thin and pliable, several inches long, and 

 three or four wide, and are worked into many articles of orna- 

 ment and use. 



There is also found in Florida a wild potatoe, of tolerable qual- 

 ity, and much wild fruit. Game of all kinds is abundant, and 

 wild fowls are numerous on every stream and lake. The Indi- 

 ans, in Spanish times, were accustomed to herd cattle largely, 

 and at the commencement of the present war, they are said to 

 have had thousands. 



From this enumeration of the articles of food which present 

 themselves spontaneously to the wants of the Indian, it will be 

 seen that they are little dependent on care, foresight, or labor, for 

 subsistence. 



The mineralogy of Florida is scanty. The rocks found in 

 situ are all calcareous, though siliceous boulders, of a small size, 

 are occasionally seen, and nodules of hornstone are here and there 

 mingled with the limestone, which elicit sparks, and are some- 

 times used by the Indians for flints. 



The geology of Florida presents many interesting features ,• 

 but it has as yet been examined with little attention, warranting 

 few definite conclusions. The coast, as far as Cape Florida, is 

 alluvial, a seeming mass of comminuted shells, resting on a rocky 

 formation, composed also of shells, more or less broken and abra- 

 ded. From Cape Florida, the formation is mostly coralline, the 

 Keys being of that character. The shells around the Keys are 

 found in nearly a perfect state. Take up a handful at random, 

 and it will exhibit little else than fragments of coral and uni- 

 valves, generally of a small size, and diminishing almost to a point. 



