356 



RECREATION. 



my front to the left, scarcely 50 yards away. 

 Supposing Mr. Strickland had shot at this 

 deer and missed it, I promptly emptied the 

 magazine of my rifle at the fast fleeing ani- 

 mal. His graceful bounds were not 

 interrupted by the flying shot, and 

 he flaunted his white flag with ■ a 

 majestic sweep at every crack of the gun. 

 I became convulsed with laughter as the 

 8th ball started on a long journey to over- 

 take him a quarter of a mile away. If that 

 deer intended to stop short of Lake Okee- 

 chobee, he gave no evidence of the fact. 

 Turning toward my companions, who were 



came to securing tusks 9 inches long, even 

 though it did entail a possible dangling 

 from the first limb of a sapling pine ! 

 Mr. Strickland expressed much reluctance 

 in allowing me to remain behind, saying, 

 "these woods are mighty treacherous." 

 They thought we were about 2^2 miles 

 Northeast of camp. I had my compass 

 and expressed every confidence, after 

 circling around a little, in being able to re- 

 turn by following a Southwestern course. 

 Finding myself alone, I gave Bruce full 

 freedom. Soon he had a coon going, and 

 after a lively chase caught it in the tall 



LOST IN THE DEVIL'S' GARDEN. 



some distance to my right, I saw them 

 standing by a dead doe and watching 

 with much interest my vain effort to stop 

 the young buck. Buzzards being bad, we 

 concluded to carry the meat back to the 

 camp without delay. I was heartily glad 

 I had missed the young buck. One deer at 

 a time if you please, and camp meat was all 

 we were after. 



It being yet early I asked to stay out 

 awhile and look around a little, promising 

 to return in 2 or 3 hours. Besides, having 

 my rifle, I was anxious to find that old 

 boar and put him out of the way. I 

 wanted to take him in, hide and bristles, 

 for I was a game hog all over when it 



grass of a bog. Next came a gray fox. 

 It climbed a straight tree 30 feet or more 

 and stayed there until shot out. The wild 

 hogs failed to materialize. I concluded to 

 throw coon and fox over my shoulder and 

 return to camp. Southwest I went, mile 

 after mile, passing around .hammocks, over 

 sloughs and through palmetto until I had 

 gone far enough to find camp twice over. 

 Finally I realized I was lost. This feel- 

 ing spread over me with a dumb chill. In 

 vain I looked for some familiar hammock, 

 but in that country it was a sad case of 

 "all coons look alike." The thought of the 

 many boggy miles between me and Fort 

 Meyers almost made me desperate. If I 



