AUDUBON AND BOONE. 141 
boat propelling us towards the shore, and in brief time we 
Btood on the desired beach. With what delightful feelings 
did we gaze on the objects around us !—the gorgeous flowers, 
the singular and beautiful plants, the luxuriant trees. The 
balmy air which we breathed filled us with animation, so pure 
and salubrious did it seem to be. The birds which we saw 
were almost all new to us; their lovely forms appeared to be 
arrayed in more brilliant apparel than I had ever before seen, 
and as they gambolled in happy playfulness among the bushes, 
or glided over the light green waters, we longed to form a 
more intimate acquaintance with them. 
Students of nature spend little time in introductions, espe- 
cially when they present themselves to persons who feel an 
interest in their pursuits. This was the case with Mr. Thruston, 
the Deputy Collector of the island, who shook us all heartily 
by the hand, and in a trice had a boat manned at our service. 
Accompanied by him, his pilot and fishermen, off we went, 
and after a short pull landed on a large Key. Few minutes 
had elapsed, when shot after shot might be heard, and down 
came whirling through the air the objects of our desire. One 
thrust himself into the tangled groves that covered all but the 
beautiful coral beach that in a continued line bordered the 
island, while others gazed on the glowing and diversified hues 
of the curious inhabitants of the deep. I saw one of my party 
rush into the limpid element, to seize on a crab, that with 
claws extended upwards, awaited his approach, as if deter- 
mined not to give way. A loud voice called him back to the 
land, for sharks are as abundant along these shores as pebbles, 
and the hungry prowlers could not have got a more savory 
dinner. . 
The pilot, besides being a first-rate shot, possessed a most 
‘intimate acquaintance with the country. He had been a 
“ conch-diver,” and no matter what number of fathoms mea- 
sured the distance between the surface of the water and its 
craggy bottom, to seek for curious shells in their retreat, 
