
RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 355 
north of the above is the second in point of size, but the 
shell deposit, composed of the same species, is not as thick 
or deep, while at the north-east is a third mound of exceed- 
ingly regular form, also composed of shells; this latter has 
not been materially defaced, though a house of considerable 
size has been erected upon its summit. Between the two 
largest mounds, and connecting them, is a piece of flat or 
slightly uneven ground, which was used apparently for 
burial purposes, for here can be obtained human remains 
undoubtedly aboriginal, and fragments of pottery of large 
size may be picked up. At other places in the vicinity 
human bones may be found, but there is no certainty that 
they are aboriginal. During the war this island was the 
asylum for deserters and refugees, and the yellow fever 
and cholera carried off great numbers. They were buried 
carelessly, and the unmarked graves are scattered over the 
higher land of the Key. 
In examining this part of the island, which is covered 
With various forms of shrubbery, the visitor frequently 
stumbles over the hidden resting-place of some poor victim 
of pestilential disease. A few trees may be seen here and 
there growing out of the sides or summits of the mounds; 
the latter are so crossed and defaced by the embankments, 
ditches and rifle-pits, that it is difficult or impossible to de- 
e their original forms and proportions. Before leaving 
this extensive and interesting cluster of mounds, we as- 
cended to the highest point to obtain a view of the sur- 
rounding scenery.: Immediately below, and but a few yards 
from the base of the elevation, a sloping shelly beach runs . 
gradually down beneath the placid waters of the Gulf; the 
White sail of a boat, hardly moving in the bland and gentle 
breeze, and the whiter wings of «the circling gulls, with 
islands near and distant, a cloudless sky, and a bright sun- 
shine, combined to form a scene of quiet and dreamy beauty. 
. Not far from the mounds is a mill, where the soft cedar 
İS sawed into blocks of convenient size for the use of the 
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