In Lower Florida Wilds 



CHAPTER I 

 THe Bxiildin^ of tKe Land 



THE observant visitor in Florida will find 

 much that is interesting and surprising; 

 some things indeed that may be quite 

 beyond his comprehension. He will 

 notice that there are np mountains or high hills, 

 that the general region is flat and but slightly 

 elevated above sea level. He will observe that 

 the drier part of the State is largely composed of 

 sand sometimes blown into dunes; that the many 

 sluggish streams have hardly any valleys, and that 

 the greater part of the territory is covered with a 

 monotonous open growth of long leaved pines, 

 with here and there stretches of denser forest 

 composed of hardwood trees and shrubs, called 

 "hammocks." Occasionally there is a swamp 



