March 1. 1883.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



83 



gaudstonfi :in. i thm -it the trap in winter by cov- 

 ering ii wiili the usual slab of ipe. Having bo Bleats of 

 trailinii off Hie -U'nw. tlivy us.- llii'in in making clothes for 

 their children. Reynard's sagacity extends bcynhd more 

 &! illustrated in hi- procuring subsistence, "When 



fishing he approaches the -here, and, splashing in the water 

 ■wiUi his foriii'i-i. allures the ibb near him, near enough to 1 

 spring ..a ihcni with effectiveness, says Crantz. In North 

 Hnl- .1.'- Boy their fishing is similar to thai of the Eaqui 

 maux rlbgs, the wolves, thf polar hear, ami even tlie 



wolverine^ 1 believe. In this hay the rise aud tail of lide is 

 great, and \\ h.iv tlh iKing thie pours into a hiKi- like inlcl 

 with a rockj mouth, the water in falling is drained through 

 great piles or kelp, held by the rooky bar. and this eulangles 

 all the fish Qui have been unlucky enough io enter this, 

 trap Wherevel such an inlel is found onan island well 

 out to sea thetc ihe Esquimaux -.inn' their dogs for the 

 summer, ami Ini'i they grow very fat. attd when- audi lish 

 Irap> exist along the' main shore there the wild fish-eating 

 animals may In- found When the ice litis nol covered the bay! 

 The tish usually caughl is a sort of pout, most horrihle look- 



lal.-ts k.-lptish. 



Franklin Beard 



ing, ami called by the ' 



i his 



id tin 



Expedition and 

 g of Franklin's 

 I Antic foxes. 



g stamped intl 



ship, and turned them loose, thinking 

 night naeh Franklin's ships or crews 

 r movements by such timely 



When Ii.. 



whitoiimj iii tin ii 



^hereabouts, he u-, 



put brass t ollara an 



the location ol his 



ami hoping that on 



and assist them in their retreat 



informal iou 



The ermine, the lemming and the uur fur heating small 

 game of tin- Arctic savor su much of the simp. s (1 much of 

 tlie market reports alone that I doubt if their cold- blooded 

 pursuit for men- gain would be ihtdcesting to the readers of 



the r'.Uii si ijjrj Stkkam. 



AROUND THE COAST OF FLORIDA. 



15V l)l(. .1. A., IIKNSIIAI.I.. 



Sixth Paper. 

 \V I. len Key West i.ii Sunday afternoon. March li, with 

 U a light easterly breeze, bound for Cape Sable, some 

 sixt\ mii.s i„,rii 1( -..,si across- Florida Bay. The usual route 

 to that poitii from !<■ f Wesl i~ to take l.'he KaBI Channel and 

 proceed to Bahia Honda, and thence across t,, Cap, Sable; 

 1ml not wishum 1.. retrace that portion of Our rctate to Bahia 

 Honda. 1 resolved to add variety to our voyage by going to 

 She westward and northward of the keys, or on theCulf 

 side, then sailing eastward to Key Vaccas, Meuee due north, 



thirty miles le EaSl (ape S:,h]e Accordingly, wc left Kev 



We-i by the Northwesi Channel, leaving ail the Uv- to 



starboard, and anchored hefore sundown at N. W.Boca 

 pica, a small key with a beautiful whhesandy beach, some 

 ten miles northwest from Key West. 



The Florida Keys, like the .southern portion of the penin- 

 sula are of recent' formal ii>n. and underlaid by oolitic and 

 coral limestones. These coral lime rocks are formed by tlie 

 action of the waves and weather upon Ihe calcareous secre- 

 tions of coral -polyps, ihrae beautiful "Flowers of the Sen," 

 which are still building, b.tiei than they know, on th.- on! 

 lying submerged reefs, and where mav'be seen those tiny 



•loii.-r- ..f the sea;" madrepores, astaeans, nueandrinaa, 

 pontes, gorgonias, etc., rivalling in beaut \ of form and 



coli. is the i i charming and delicate ferns, fungi, mosses 



and shrubs. The fishes about the keys arc vcrv handsome, 

 both in form and coloration; silvery, rosy, scarlet, brown 

 and golden bodies, with sky-blue, btffght yellow, rosy or 

 fclack stripes and bands, or spotted, stellated and nio'lticd 

 with all the hues of the rainbow, and with jeweled eyes of 

 scarlet, blue, yellow or black: tins of all colors and shapes, 

 and lips of scarlet, yollpw, blue or silver. Some of the 

 larger keys, a- Sugar-loaf, Saddle-bluff. Vino and Largo, 

 couiain a few deer, and some of the oldest settled ones har- 

 bor ii few bevies of quail, but most of the keys of the Florida 

 Straits me barren of game. 



The next morning, with a splendid breeze from the south- 

 west, we left X. \V. Boca Chfea. and under the lee of the 

 keys we made good time, arriving at Key Vucca.s in the 

 afternoon. The spongers and fishing smacks were lying at 

 anchor under l he different keys as we bowled merrily' along, 

 the wind being too high for them to pursue their vocations. 

 At K,v Vaccas we found several brothers, named Watkins. 

 with their families, all "cODCUS," who had quite a large 

 clearing, or "cultiwation," as they (ailed it. and who were 

 raising tomatoes and other vegetables for Kev West and the 

 Northern markets. The soil is thin and very rockv, but 

 rich, tlticl produces well. There is a line .spring of excellent 

 water pouring out of the sharp and jagged rocks of this kev. 

 eastof the Watkins settlement, where we tilled our water 

 casks. We <o llecie.i a number of beautiful land shells on 

 this key. and ,i rich variety of botanical specimens, for we 

 stayed 'here the following day, the wind having backed up to 

 Hie north, blowing hard. Tlie next day thereafter, however, 

 it hauled to the eastward, when we again set sail, dm north. 

 for Bast (ape Sable. AVe were out of sight of land for two 

 hours until wc sighted Sandy Key, and made the cape in 

 six hours sailing from Key Vaccas. Had we not gone to 

 Key West we should have crossed to the cape from Long 

 Key or Channel Key. Very small boats can cross from 

 these points, and by keeping Well to the eastward can be in 

 sight of some of the keys of Barnes's Soutid all the wav, but 

 the water is shallow, with numerous banks and shoals of 

 sand. 



We sailed eastward of East Cape Sable to the mainland, 

 where there is abundance of deer, turkey and other game. 

 "We here saw for the first lime that magnificent bird. the 

 flamingo, with great numbers oj igr.ls, rosy Spoonbills, and 

 herons. The next day we passed East Cape Sal ,1c and pro 

 ceeded to Ihe Middle (ape. or I'aliu Point, where there was 

 a houac, We landed to call on the occupant, who iva- uri 

 desirous for Oft to slop a day or two to kill some deer, which 



were plentiful, inn being pressed for. time we kepi on to the 

 N. V\ . Cape, and a lew miles further on entered Cape Sable 

 Creek, where wfl an. h..ici This creek is an admirable 

 haibor for .small boats, anrl the only one near Cape Sable. 

 With a narrow entrance, some twenty feet in width, it. .soon 

 expands into a roomy bisin, quite deep, where a vessel em, 

 be safely moored alongside a sand spit running out from the 

 shore: a hurricane blowing OtttStfle would not ripple the 

 water of this quid basin, sharks and other large lish mav 

 be harpooned or grained from the deck of the vessel, Or w itii 

 lin: and hook the angler can »,-;;.• snrieii ni fishing. Tie- 

 stream heads in a large lagoon hack ol the cap..-, the resort 

 of innumerable waterfowl and aquatic birds I 

 tthOUl Cape Sable is the best south of Charlotte Harbor' for 

 camping, hunting and fishing, there being a broad, smooth, 



sandy beach all around the cape, abounding in beautiful 

 shells and other marine i ui'i.eiii. s. with good dry ground 



for camping, and an abundance of game on the savannas, 



and in the pine Woods and hamnks. 



From Gape Sable Creek to Pavilion Kev there is a sueces 



si.. u oi' mangrove keys and islands, and but very little beach 



or hard ground. Between lhe-e points ]jp Shark, l.ostman's, 

 HarneC- and olhci rivers, mid \\ hio-w aler ami Chatham 

 hays, which are studded with the "Thousand Islands:" had 

 ill.-., be.ii called "Ten Thousand islands" it would have 

 been a morn appropriate ni ■ This whole region lies in 



Bahia Poncfi de Leon, It is from ten to twenty miles from 

 the Oulf to the mainland, which latter can only be readied 

 hv following the intiieate ,-hminels between these number 

 less -.. eal!. d islands, many of which have not a particle of 

 soil, being merely clumps' or thickets of mangroves. It 

 would take a month or more to gel an idea of Whitewater 

 and Chatham hays by p< net raring to the mainland and to 



tin- Everglades, mid as we w,re already behind time we did 

 not attempt it, leaving that unexplored region for a more 

 convenient season. 



Mangroves here grow to be tall trees, as tall as water oaks 

 or even pines, There arc small bunches of them, and "ivai 



forests of them— nothing but mangroves, mangroves. It is 

 Wonderful bow these mangroves grow, and, when once 

 started, how rapidh tin-v increase. The seeds are afooui as 



long ahd Of the shape antl appearance of the old fashioned 

 "long nine" cigar. These fall into ihe mud or shallow 



water and s, „,ii take root, tlie upper end giving oft -I -. 



Which, growing upward, send down other s|.,„,is ,„■ n ,ots 

 parallel with the main siciib, and these taking root, again 

 grow upward, and the paieni stem as it continues io grow 

 continues to send down other branches or roots to the 

 water. 1 have seen the..- pendent liranehes descending 

 twenty feci to the water. aSBtraighl and smooth as an arrow, 

 and an inch thick. 1 have walked a quarter of a mile 

 through a mangrove thicket on the Ipwcr arching roots, iwo 

 or three feci above the water, where then- was not a particle 

 of soil. But in time, drift, sea weeds and s|„.||s accumulate 

 about ihe roots, and floating seeds lodge ami germinate, so 

 thai at last an island i- formed and lifted up above the sur- 

 face of the water 



Another reason for our not tarrying long in this section 

 was the scarcity of water. Our supply was getting short, 

 and there had been no rain on tlie southwest coastforfour 

 months. Wc attempted tO go up one ..f the creeks to the 

 mainland or to fresh water, but the ebb tide left us aground 

 and we were forced to return on the next tide. The water 

 in these bays is quite shallow, so with an oiling of several 

 miles in the Gulf wc sailed for .Ohuckfrtnsteec River, where 

 we expected to get a supply of water from cisterns at that 

 settlement, the first north ol Cape Sable. Stepping at 

 Pavilion Key we found a boat with two men who o.i.l us 

 the- easterns at Ghuckuluskea were dry, so we went on to 

 I'aiiiher Key and anchored lor tin- night. 



We went a- hore at Panther Key the next morning, where 

 we found a hut and a brighi eyed old Spaniard and his 

 wife. Mr. and Mis. .loin Gomez, old man Gomez is a 

 noted character on the Southwest qoaSt, having lived there 

 for thirty yeats or more. He is reputed to be a hundred 

 years old. He told me that he went from Spain io St. Au- 

 gustine w hen a young mm. ten years before Florida was 

 ceded to the United States, which would make him about 



that ;iL'e. He is laid in wholesome dread by the settlers, 

 who throw out dark hints of his having been a Slaver, and 

 even a pirate in his younger days; but He was the mildest 

 mannered man that ever scuttled ship M cut a throat." He 

 had a plantation up Ihe creek, mar Panther Key. but bis 

 well going dry, he had come down to his place on the key, 

 where there was a shallow well with about six inches of 

 brackish water. But lie informed me that then- was a good 

 well on Gape Romano, some live miles to the westward. 

 (ionic/, was under contract to furnish provisions to a Gov- 

 ernment surveying party, who were then some six miles up 

 the creek on the mainland. His schooner had gone to Key 

 Wesl for provisions, and he was daily expecting her. 



"Are there any rattlesnakes on this 'island v" asked Jack. 



•'1 no sec one for a long-a time,'" answered the old man. 

 "hut 1 kill-a one. long-a time ago; very hig-a one." 



••Oh-h-h: Such a su-a-k-c! Such ii snake!" broke in the 



old lady — a Georgia wo i— with both hands before her 



face, waving away the imaginary r.ptile. "Dear me; dear 

 mel lean see it now! Oh-b-lil Such a snake! Such a 

 snake!" 



"How long was It?" asked Jack; "ten feet'.'' 



"Oh, dear! longcr'n that; longci'n that !" answered s|„-. 

 "1 can see it now'' Oh-h-h! Sud'i a snake! Such a snake! 

 'Twas as long as this room ; it was; it was; it was! 1 can see 



The room was fifteen feci in length. 



"Did you save, the , altlesv" asked .lack. 



' 'No. no. no! Oh-h-h! Such a snake! Such a snake! .No, 

 no! 1 saved myself; I saved mvself! Oh-h-h! Such a snake! 

 Such a snake! 



"How thick was it?" persisted .lack, "as big as my leg?" 



"Oh, dear! bigger n that: bigger'n that! Oh-h-h! such a 

 snake, such a snake' Dear, dear, dearl I oan see it nqw! I 

 can seer it now! Such a snake! such a snake! Oh. ii makes 

 me suk it makes me sick] [ can smell it tooj I can smell it 

 too! It was as big as a water bucket! it was, it waj . it was' 



Oh-h-h' -in I, a snake! such n snake!" 



"Well, I believe it." said Jack, "and it wasn't much of a 

 snake cither, for if it was always as dry here as it is now. 

 there is no need of a water bucket bigg« than a pim cup'" 



As the old man could give us no water, he did the best he 

 could by giving ns a bountiful supply of tomatoes, sweet 

 p..t.ioe, and bananas, for which he would take no money. 



saying: 



'M. -ive a you tomat. swict a potato, banan'. Me no 

 want-a mo»'; me give a you." 



We departed for Cape' Romano, where, on the southerly 



shore, a quarter of a mile from the extreme point, we found 



a well of eveell. ui water, from which we replenished our 

 w.mci casks, We took a ramble on the beach, where we 

 found great quantities of shells, sea-urchins, atarflshes Bea.- 

 faiis. sp..n::.s. ei, . We tlwn sailed for Cocoauut Ke\ Ave 



mills K. X. K from (ape Romano where there i- a pass 



leading io Marco and i bars Kiand- . We anchored Off 

 Woodland Point ,,,, Majlco, near the house of Capt. Roberts, 

 who has a line plantation of tomatoes, bananas, etc. These 

 islands arc high, with e () ,,,| M ,i| and are vcrv productive; 



but the long droiK-ht had told on the plains. Oapt. Roberts 

 owns ,, tin,' schODner, in which he carries his fruits ( „„| 

 v., -labiis to Key We-i in their season, and at other limes 

 engages in fishing, tnrtling and sponging. On lion's |..la : „| 

 I found (apt Hoi:, formerly of Ohio, who was well located 

 for raising s.ub-tropieal flints and early vegetables., lor these 



islands possessed the best soil I saw on the west coast. At 

 the west pad of Marco, near Caximbas Pass, a brother of 

 Oapt. Roberts has also a large and excellent plantation, and 

 on its northerly Bide is the location of Capt. Collier, who 

 also owns a good wealherly schooner, transporting his pro- 

 due.' i.. Ke.\ West. Tlii, is a line settlement, very pleasantly 

 situated, tlie waters teeming with fish and turtles, green and 

 loggerheacl, and the flats with clams and oysters. Immense 

 laVpuni and jewfish are speared under the mangroves with 

 "grains. "a sioul. two-pronged fish spear, in the use of which 



these people ale \i ry expert. 



The boal being poled quietly along the fringe of man 

 grove bushes at the edge of tlie channels, the man standing 

 in the bow with tie grains ready 'd length spies a great tar- 

 pum some six feet long, like a giant fish of burnished silver 

 poised motionless in the shade. When within striking (lis 

 tance he hurls the grains by its long handle' with a skillful 

 and dexterous thrust and an unerring aim. bom of long ex- 

 perience, which strikes home with an ominous thud, when 

 the monster tears aw av with a tremendous spurt, leaps clear 

 of the surface, and, falling back, makes the waterfaiih boil 



and • the in his desperate efforts fo escape But the barbed 



grains holds fast and the long, stout line is as tense as a how- 

 string. The great fish tows the boat around like a cockle- 

 shell, until his fierce straggles and grand leaps begin to tell 

 on him, and at length he is toweii ashore completely ex- 

 hausted. Sometime the boat is capsi/.ed or swamped by 

 an unusually large and powerful tish. but. as I have men- 

 tioned before, these "0onohs"are almost amphibious, and 

 seldom lose their lish, even under the most adverse circum- 

 stances. 



Imagine a scene like this: A schooner under full sail, 

 plow ins;- the shallow waters of the Gulf, her prow proudly 

 dashing aside the spray as "she walks the waters like a 

 thing of life," when a pensive young "Couch.' standing on 



the weather bow, clad onlv in a cotton shin ami trousers. 



throws his hat on deck as he turns his face toward tie- man 

 at the tiller, and quietly, hut quickly saying, "Luff it up'" 

 flings himself head first, into the sea. One not accustomed 

 io these people would think the young man mad and intent 

 on suicide. 01 a visit !•. Davy Jones's locker; but as Ihe ves 

 sel comes up into the wind with shaking sails, the pensive 

 voi m a- Conch also comes up, shaking ihe short tail of an 

 immense green turtle, which he has adroitly turned mi its 

 hack. and. lowing it to the schooner's side, a running noose 

 is passed around a flipper, and it is hoisted on deck. Though 

 this is not Ihe usual wav of Catching turtle, it has been 

 done. 



The mud flats about Caximbas Pass at low tide mv.hiu 

 with bfty snipe and shore birds, and at Hood lide tile chan- 

 nels under the mangroves teem with redfish, groupers, ami 

 snappers. While near the heds of COOC oVsier- an ,e,.,,ol-. of 

 shcepshead and drum. In fact, all of' these passes and in 

 lets of the west coast are (airly alive with fishes, from the 

 mullet to sharks and sawfish. \Vhile King in his bunk, one 

 can hear all night long the voices of the deep, under and 

 around him. The hollow, muffled boom of the drumfish 

 seems io be just under one's pillow; schools of sparoid tishes 

 feeding on shellfish on the bottom sounds like the snapping 

 of dry twigs on a hot tire; while a hundred tiny hammers in 

 the hands of ocean sprites are tapping on the keel. Then is 

 i the powerful rush of the tnrpum, the blowing of por- 



i-trout among the 

 lrfaee by Ihou- 



of silver tishes 



and the snapping jaws of the 

 swarms of mullet, which, leaping l'r< 

 sands, awake the \vater\ echoes like 

 falling in fitful gusts and squalls, 



On the islands about Caximbas Pass are many shell 

 mounds, hearing witness to the many "oyster suppers" en- 

 joyed by 'he aboriginal inhabitants. From the proximity of 

 wild lime and lemon lrees.it may he presumed that they 

 took them "on the halt shell," and also in the form of "box 

 stews," if we may judge from the fragments of pottery and 

 tire-coals scattered through the heaps. We are also reminded 

 bv tangible evidence that "clam chowder" was no novelty 

 to them, and that they were on familiar terms with "fried 

 scallops;" but whether a prehistoric "Dorian'' catered at 

 these feasts, or whether the "lugin meal" was moistened by 

 libations of primeval "Munitii" or pristine "Piper Sec." or 

 ware washed down by copious draughts of primogeuial 

 "lager," deponent sayeth not. 



We left Caximbas Pass in Ihe middle of the forenoon, with 

 a northwest wind, sailing close-hauled all (lav until au hour 

 before sundown, when we put into Estro Pass for the night. 

 We had just made everything. snug; Ihe kingtish was sput- 

 tering in the frying-pan, the venison broiling over the coals, 

 and the aroma of old Government Java was ascending 

 toward the mastheads, when a small schooner also put hi 

 and dropped anchor on a shoal within fifty yards of us. 

 The sails were lowered away and furled by the crew, which 

 consisted of a solitary one-armed nian. In a short time the 

 receding tide left the little schooner aground, when I went 

 over in the Daisy to see if we could be of any service. 



"Oh, no," said the combined skipper aud crew, "she'll 

 lay all the easier aground, and she'll be afloat time enough 

 for me in the mornin', bet your ribs'" 



Then making a tire in his little stove lie began preparing 

 hie supper, He had a. cargo of bananas for Cedar Keys. 

 This man, from the habit of hunting alligators in the sum- 

 mer, had obtained the sobriquet ol' "Alligator Ferguson," 

 ami was a, character of sonic note mi the west coast. After 

 supper he came over to the Rambler and assisted the boys in 

 shark fishing, regaling them, between biles, with accounts 

 of his prowess in hunting the huge saurians, which with 

 him had become an all-absorbing passion. 



"What I don't know 'bout 'gators, gentlemen." said he, 

 "the gator don'l know himself. If' I can ketch hi,, ugh 

 eye, 1 can tell jist what he's thiukin' 'bout, if he sees m'e 

 a'comin' with old •Sure-Death,' my big Springfield ritle, he 

 jist sez, sez he. 'Thai's Alligator Kerens, 

 OS off. my teeth's good as gone; I've done 

 pine knots in this vain world: my wa 

 over; fin-well to Fluridil!'" 



"You must have killed a good many?" said Jack. 



'Well, yes; a g I main, and more too. I couldn't 



'/nelly say just how many I've killed and skun. or how 

 nia.nv teeth I've pulled; but there ainl a butcher who lie/ 



1c or mutton-sheep than I've skun 



n't a tooth carpenter in the Newnited 



■led more teeth from humans than 1 



sled if there is' ' 



(th the hides aud teeth it is a preli\ 



aid Squire. 



: for the fun than the profit. The hides 

 and teeth buy grub and loi.acker; that's bizness. bet your 

 ribs! But the enjymcnt of the fun is what makes life wuth 

 livin' with me. You clean out I he 'gal.ers, aud you clean 

 out me; xlerminate 'gators, and you 'vliuguisli' Alligator 



: mi' hide's good 

 wallerin' tish an' 

 'ry pilgrimage is 



States' 



'gators 

 "I s 

 profitable' l>u 

 Well. I 



ho hez extra. 

 I'll bcdodla 

 ppose that t 



