THE FLORIDA GULF. 339 
tinued our voyage in the early morning following, down and ont 
of the river into the broad Atlantic. 
The deep solitude of the sky-bound sea was relieved by occa- 
sional white-winged but lonely wanderers, bearing the varied 
products of distant and invisible lands. Dark, graceful smoke 
plumes, at first but dimly seen, revealed the presence of approach- 
ing steamers, and furnished welcome food for speculation.” A 
German barque, looking as if it had wrestled with the elements, 
raised its flag to indicate that it desired to communicate with us. 
Having sighted the land after a voyage across the Atlantic of 
more than three thousand miles, its captain wished to ascertain 
as accurately as possible, his whereabouts, and to test the cor- 
réctness of his reckoning. Upon a large blackboard, each veés- 
sel marked, and exhibited to the other, first the latitude and then 
the longitude of the place where they met, as indicated by their 
respéctive logs or records, from which it appeared that the barqué 
was fifty milés removed from the position its officers ees it 
occupied. 
In, the neighborhood of Jupiter lighthouse, well down on “the 
Florida coast, we met a schooner, one of whose officers inquired 
éf us if we wére going to Key West. It had no name in sight 
aid was in ballast. As it sailed, after parting company with 
us, first towards the east, and soon, without any apparent. good 
rédson, changéd its course to the south, our experienced passén- 
ger captain, having watched her closely, quickly made up ‘his 
mind as td her character and business. He explained how easily 
but fraudulently a few thousand dollars could be made. <‘‘ De- 
péud upon it,” said the captain, “she’s a bank shark. She hails 
from Key West, no doubt, and very likely has a Key West license. 
She may have English papers, or both English and American: 
papers. Nassau wreckers can’t come here—our wreckers would. 
drive them off. So at the Bahamas they will not allow our wreck- 
