THE EVERGLADES 137 



some supper and we made a try for the forty 

 winks. At daylight we resumed our journey with 

 a still balky engine and only reached Lake Hic- 

 pochee after nightfall. We had no food all that 

 day but at night I had to force the men to share a 

 few cakes I had with me. 



The boatman attempted to cross the lake to a 

 camp where the canal entered and where we all 

 hoped to get food. Before long I saw by the stars 

 that we were wandering aimlessly about and 

 finally the men had to admit being lost. They 

 then hauled the tow alongside, laid a piece of 

 board, some poles, and the oars lengthwise over 

 the thwarts, spread out some blankets and told 

 me that was my bed. I remonstrated against 

 their self-denial but the old man impatiently said: 

 "Oh, d — n it, don't set thar chawin' about it; we 

 got a-plenty o' beddin'," so I crawled in, or rather, 

 on, for a fair night's sleep. In the gray dawn I 

 awoke and looked at my companions in the 

 launch. There was a heavy fog and the air was 

 raw; not one of them had a shred of cover. One 

 was perched in the bow of the boat, one sat on a 

 box, while the other two were just managing to 

 lie on the thwarts, for there was water in the bot- 



