CHUCK- WILL'S- WIDO W. 395 



ferns, air plants, and orchids. The sandy pine woods, appearing rather barren to the 

 casual observer, are replete with beautiful flowers in great variety throughout the year. 



Of particular interest is a trip by steamer on the narrow Ocklawaha and the 

 St. Johns. The various excursions made by me on the last named river are always 

 remembered with much delight, especially a particular one made in the latter part of 

 April, 1886. Late in the afternoon I took one of those comfortable steamers running 

 between Sanford and Jacksonville. The air was exquisitely mild and refreshing, and the 

 silvery light of the moon imbued the landscape with an indescribable charm. The starry 

 sky in Florida is always enchantingly beautiful, but I had never enjoyed its magnificence 

 in such high spirit. The groups of palmettos, and the bushes and smaller trees over- 

 grown and festooned with moonflowers {Ipomasa Boiia-Nox), growing on the banks of 

 the narrow and constantly winding stream, had a charming appearance. For hours I 

 remained on deck, enjoying the wonderful night and the enchantingly beautiful pictures 

 appearing and vanishing before my eyes. Now a group of magnolias was passed, their 

 glossy evergreen foliage relieving the large, starry, white flowers with an almost weird- 

 like effect. A most delicious fragrance, exhaled by these blossoms, filled the air. Now 

 an orange grove came in view, from whence the inimitable song of the Mockingbird 

 resounded, and now a cypress swamp was passed, the home of numerous alligators. 



Soon after dusk my attention was constantly called to the motions and circular 

 flights of a bird, whose characteristic sounds came from far and near. This was the 

 Chuck-will 's-wiDOW, or, as it is often called by northern settlers, the "Spanish Whip- 

 poorwill." The whole forest on both sides of the river appeared to be alive with these 

 birds. They circled around and over the palmetto groups and thickets festooned with 

 moonflowers, and w^ere equally numerous among the orange trees. Frequently they were 

 skimming over and around the steamer, passing and re-passing only a few feet firom 

 where I observed their gyrations. They were not at all shy and uttered their notes 

 frequently while circling around in rapid flight. Often they alighted on old prostrated 

 logs, and apparently also on palm fronds. The call-notes of these nocturnal, swift-flying 

 birds resounded so often and so rapidly and with such pathos, that the whole woods 

 seemed to be alive with them. It was a singularly harmonious and impressive living 

 picture, filling the soul with delight and higher emotions. The glorious moonlight night, 

 the soft pure air, filled with the odor of magnolia and orange blossoms, the loud call- 

 notes of the Chuck-will's-widow, and at a distance the song of the Mockingbird and 

 Cardinal! When the steamer entered Lake George, the picture vanished and the last 

 notes of an exquisite concert faded away. An extensive and smooth stretch of water 

 lay before us, and it remained silent throughout the rest of the night. 



Scarcely anyone is better acquainted with the habits of this poetical night bird 

 than the orange growers in the woods. The evenings in the orange groves and orna- 

 mental plantations of Florida are almost always charmingly beautiful. I am not able 

 to describe such nights of bird-song and flower perfume. Only a man of ideal thoughts 

 and higher emotions is capable to appreciate this kind of natural beauty. It must be 

 experienced in order to convey an adequate idea. As the bird not unfrequently alights 

 on the roof of a cottage during the night, uttering its notes rather suddenly and unex- 

 pectedly, those not accustomed to these unique nocturnal sounds often become startled 



