Terms, Five Dollars a Year. | 

 Ten Cents a Copy. I 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, OCT. 23, 1873. 



i Volume I, Number 11. 

 I 103 Pulton Street. 



For Forest and Stream. 

 WONDERS OF NATURAL. HISTORY. 



\/ T WONDER why the savans call 



_L A mackerel saltator, 

 Because a 'tator doesn't swim, 

 And salt is not its nature. 



I wonder if the great sea-snake 



Is but a sailor's yarn, or 

 Did he really shake his mane, 



Forenins't that Maine mariner T 



I wonder what the devil fish 



Would say about the "picter," 

 If he could read the wondrous tale 



Of fascinating Victor. 



Is it a lie that nautili 



Have sails and oars and tillera f 

 Do phoenixes exist ? And are 



Or are there not gorillas ? 



I wonder if we all came down 



From some superior monkey; 

 Or if the sage philosopher 



Is but a Dar(wi)n'd donkey. 



Will man develop f nrther yet, 



And learn to live on water 

 Teetotally, and learn to catch his fish 



Like any seal or otter ? 



Will some one tell me all about 



The vampire and the emu ? 

 And is there any link between 



Tuo cat-fish and the ssa-rnaw? 



I wonder much if Reade is right 



About that whale of Behring. 

 Which swam a thousand miles a day, 



And wore a harpoon ear-ring. 



I wonder if an author grave 



Can ever make a blunder; 

 I know that all I read is true, 



And yet, and yet I wonder ! J. J. Roche. 



r ;ht Mrturalist in 



IT is a singular fact that for apart of the year at least 

 three-fourths of Florida is under water. After such an 

 introduction my readers will perhaps think that I have 

 chosen a very inattractive subject, for they can scarcely 

 see what there is that can possibly be interesting in swamps, 

 even though they are vast, and teeming with an exuberant 

 growth of vegetation, or in sluggish rivers, if they do 

 abound in all classes of animal life. 



Had I nothing to write about, however, excepting the 

 submerged sections, I trust I could find something even 

 there which would interest and perhaps instruct my readers. 

 But it must be remembered that the State of which I am 

 speaking contains nearly as much land as is occupied by 

 New England, and that notwithstanding three-fourths of it 

 is under water the number of square miles which are never 

 flooded considerably exceed the area of Massachusetts. 



This country has also considerable value, and the United 

 States was aware of this fact, for in 1819 $15,000,000 were 

 paid to Spain for relinquishing her claims. Although the 

 Government has doubtless committed many errors, this pur- 

 chase cannot be considered as one of them. For, aside from 

 the qa33tion of the protection afforded to our southern bor- 

 dsrs, this peninsula is certainly a desirable acquisition to 

 the Union. 



The water which covers so much of Florida is both detri- 

 mental and beneficial to the inhabitants. Much arable land 

 is rendered worthless from this cause, but it is by means of 

 the numerous rivers and bayous that the settlers gain ready 

 access to the interior. The St. Johns is the largest river in 

 the the State,' and forms the principle thoroughfare to the 

 numerous little towns which are situated on its banks. 



As the region through which this river flows contains as 

 many inhabitants as any other portion of the State, I will 

 endeavor to convey some idea of this section by describing 

 whH I have seen while making several trips up this stream. 



I say up, but as the St. Johns rises nearly two hundred 

 miles south of its outlet, this term will perhaps give an er- 



roneous idea, for this is the only river in the United States 

 that flows directly north, and as the peninsula lies north 

 and south, this stream runs parallel with the coast as far as 

 Jacksonville; then turning directly eart flows into the At- 

 lantic ocean, within twenty-five miles of the northern 

 boundary of the State, thus traversing in its course nearly 

 two thirds of the entire length of Florida. 



Jacksonvi le is the largesc city in the State, and although 

 of recent growth compared with other towns, contains about 

 10,000 inhabitants, and is the centre of trade. Several 

 lines of small river steamers form the means of communi- 

 cation with the interior. 



I found myself on one of these little steamers early one 

 December morning, gliding over the sun-lit waters. The 

 river for about a hundred miles is very wide, being a suc- 

 cession of lakes, on which account the Indians named the 

 stream " Wei aka," which in their language signifies the 

 river of lakes. These lakes vary fro^fn two to ten miles in 

 width, and as the boat kept in the middle, we could see but 

 little of the shores, excepting when we called at various 

 towns. 



The small size of these villages surprised me much, for I 

 had long been familiar with their names on the maps, and 

 although some of them have been settled for about three 

 hundred years, at the time of my first visit, in 18G8, they 

 contained but three or four houses. 



Of course, in the days when the Spaniards occupied 

 Florida these places were much larger, being important 

 military posts, and formed the homes of many inhabitants. 

 They have deteriorated much since, but are now growing 

 slowly; how slowly maybe seen by the fact that after an 

 absence of four years I again visited this section and found 

 that some villages had added only one or two houses to 

 their number, while others remained as I had previously 

 seen them. 



I have used the terr" houses in speaking of the inhabited 

 structures along the upper St. Johns, but shanties would 

 perhaps convey a better idea of their appearance. It will 

 be a source of much wonder why the steamers touched at 

 such places, but it must be understood that they are with a 

 few exceptions representatives of the towns in East Flor- 

 ida, and contained post-offices. We stopped then to leave 

 the mail, and frequently to take on wood, or occasionally 

 found a passenger waiting. And odd passengers they 

 were too, many of them genuine Florida "crackers." 



At a wooding up station where there was but one dwell- 

 ing, a queer looking specimen of humanity came on board 

 in the shape of a long, lank individual, clad in homespun. 

 In one hand he carried an old-fashioned rifle, and with 

 the other led a fine looking horse, upon which was strapped 

 a large saddle, with a saddle bag and an ax handle hanging 

 on either side. 



This singular being had a powder horn suspended from 

 his brawny neck, and his matted black hair hung down 

 to his shoulders, while his unkempt beard reached nearly 

 to his waist. A pair of sinister eyes looked out from under 

 the shaggy brows, which were shaded by a slouched hat. 

 He was evidently a hunter by profession. 



At one of these stopping places we drppped a little dried 

 up man, whose countenance indicated an uncertain age. 

 He might have been twenty or even fifty, for he was evi- 

 dently one of the Rip Van Winkle type of men who can 

 lie down and sleep an age or two in the wilderness without 

 trouble. From this sleep they will arise half awake, and again 

 plod through the w T orld, no more or less musty-looking or 

 dried up than before. Such men, even while in infancy, have 

 scarcely enough flesh to cover their bones. As they grow 

 older this little expands, until a certain age, when it hard- 

 ens; then old Time may shake his glass over their heads 

 without producing the slightest effect, or hack at them with 

 his rusty scythe in vain— they look not an hour older. 



Such was the bodily appearance of the man whom we 

 dropped at this place. He was clad in a very dirty suit of 

 homespun cotton cloth, while a satchel of the same material 

 hung at his side. His not very prepossessing face was shaded 

 by an old palmetto hat, from beneath which his long flaxen 

 hair hung in tangled skeins. His stockingless feet, thrus 



into a pair of broadsoled shoes, proclaimed him a cracker 

 of the lowest class. 



The steamers move slowly against the current, so that in 

 twenty-four hours we had accomplished but 100 miles of 

 our journey, and on the following morning we were cross- 

 ing Lake George. This is a very large expanse of water, 

 about ten miles in diameter. At the southern extremity the 

 river suddenly narrows, so that it is but a few rods across. 

 Here the scenery changes entirely. The stately live oaks 

 and pines of the more northern St. Johns give place 

 to the tropical-looking palmetto and the graceful-f oliaged 

 sweet bay. 



Vegetation is also much more advanced, and as the 

 steamer almost brushed against the luxuriant foliage, we 

 could catch the odors of thousands of flowering shrubs 

 growing in the dense forest which lay on either side. It 

 was indeed a sceAe of surpassing loveliness, to which I 

 can scarcely do justice. One must stand, as I stood that 

 morning, with every sense rapt in profound admiration of 

 the beautiful panorama that was passing before the eyes, 

 and with the south wind, laden with those delightful odors, 

 blowing gently across the face, to thoroughly appreciate it. 

 For every turn of the now winding river disclosed new 

 beauties for enjoyment. 



At first the brain is confused with the multiplicity of ob- 

 jects that are presented to the gaze. Gradually, however, 

 the eye becomes aceustomed to the mass of green, and 

 selects objects of greater interest from the whole. From 

 the exuberant growth of creepers and shrubs which line 

 the water's edge, the attention is drawn to the gray , straight 

 trunks of the palmettos, with their stiff, fan-like fronds. 

 The dark green of these is relieved by the paler foliage of 

 the sweet gum, while high over all hang the giant branches 

 of the lofty black walnuts drooped with festoons of Span- 

 ish moss. Large bunches of the emblematic mistletoe are 

 brought out in strong relief against the blue sky, with their 

 bright green colors heightened by their more sombre sur- 

 roundings. 



An occasional group of the gloomy cypress might be 

 seen among this sea of living green, raising their dark trunks 

 covered with leafless branches from the swampy ground. 

 As we passed onward our attention was attracted by nu- 

 merous orange groves, which were growing upon shell 

 mounds, with the golden fruit relieved by the dark green 

 and shining leaves. This scene was renderec intensely in- 

 teresting by the multitude of birds which swarmed on all 

 sides. Numerous ducks and gallinules swam among the 

 aquatic plants on the river's margin. At one point we saw 

 a group of red and black-headed vultures feeding upon the 

 carcass of some animal. Large numbers of wood ducks 

 started up everywhere, flying but a short distance, then 

 tamely settling down again. 



Among all this apparently peaceful life the great law of 

 nature, which ordains that her subjects shall live by prey- 

 ing upon one another, was in full force. At every few rods 

 along the river was perched a hawk. They sat silent and 

 apathetic, but were only waiting for the coots and ducks 

 to finish their morning meal of aquatic life before seizing 

 the plumpest of them ;"or breakfast. 



High overhead the osprey was sailing with motionless 

 wings, in huge circles, gazing with eager eyes upon the 

 fishes below. The ever-watchful bald eagle was perched 

 upon the lofty black walnuts or cypresses, intent upon the 

 motions of the fish hawk. 



This magnificent scenery, in which is mingled so much 

 of life and animation, must attract the attention and call 

 forth the admiration of the most casual observer. What, 

 then, must be the sensations of the earnest student of na- 

 ture ? Words fail to express the intense ecstacy that he 

 feels as object after object presents itself to his bewildered 

 gaze. The brain is completely overwhelmed, and can 

 simply grasp the mingled mass as it is seen, and in calmer 

 moments arrange each in its proper place. 



The sun had now reached a considerable height, and was 

 shining hotly on the water. The captain of the steamer in- 

 formed us that we might as well be on the look-out for al- 

 ligators. About a dozen among the passengers produced 



