114 



FLORIDA BIRD-LIFE 



out' 



by my 



guide 's father — now a 



been "shot 

 warden ! 



It was not until the next day that we succeeded in reach- 

 ing the forest-enclosed sloughs and found a place where, 

 after some cutting of the dense undergrowth, our canoe 

 could be launched. Doubtless it was the first boat to be 



A Camp in the Palms 



used here. At the same time, I discovered one of those 

 evidences of the conflict between soldier and Indian, which 

 are so potent in effacing the present and bridging the lapse 

 of years. Summerlm, who knew its history, identified it as 

 the camp-site of a body of cavalry. They had thrown up 

 earthworks, but the long trench was now a rounded hollow 

 and the embankment had weathered away. Their horses had 

 evidently been tethered to a great pine at the head of the 

 trench, the grass, for radius of six or eight feet around the 

 tree, being sparse and stunted. I never passed the place 

 without forming a clear mental image of horses and 

 troopers. 



The ponds were so thickly covered with glistening 



