FLORIDA: THE GULF COAST 147 



stretches of pine forest, — a seeming procession 

 of trees. This was varied by " bayheads " and 

 "cypresses" which indicated streams of greater 

 or less extent, down whose steep banks we 

 plunged into fords of all grades of difficulty. 

 The road was, after the first few miles, always in 

 doubt. Often it appeared to lead nowhere. On 

 such occasions Black Tom, Yellow Tom, and 

 Amaziah each accused the other of losing the 

 way. These lengthy and often heated discussions 

 consumed valuable time, and had to be summarily 

 suppressed by the powers in authority. Some- 

 times at noon or during the night (for we were two 

 nights on the way) a horse was lost, which involved 

 tedious delay and much chatter on the part of the 

 three. Sometimes a break in the harness afforded 

 opportunity to make short excursions in the 

 vicinity while the damage was repaired. In 

 short, every kind of petty accident conceivable 

 happened, yet the trip was enjoyable, and the 

 humor of the situation generally compensated 

 for all annoyance. 



Finally, on the afternoon of the third day, when 

 a certain sense of indefiniteness and discourag-e- 

 ment was beginning to manifest itself in various 

 ways, we encountered a horseman, one of the first 

 persons we had seen since leaving Ocala. He was 

 of a magnificent physique, broad-shouldered, with 

 a mighty chest ; a sturdy and resolute-looking per- 



