too 
TRAVELS Itf 
nbferver as fome aquatic animal, at intervals emerg- 
ing from its furface. This lake is a large and 
beautiful piece of water ; it is a dilatation of the 
river St. Juan, and is about fifteen miles wide, and 
generally about fifteen or twenty feet deep, except- 
ing at the entrance of the river, where Ires a bar, 
which carries eight or nine feet water. The lake 
is beautified with two or three fertile iflands. The 
firft lies in the bay, as we afcend into the lake, near 
the weft coaft, about S. W. from Mount Royal, 
from whence it appears to form part of the weft 
ihore of the bay. The fecond ifland feems to ride 
on the lake before us as w r e enter, about a mile with- 
in it. This ifland is about two miles in breadth, 
and three quarters of a mile where broadeit, moftly 
high land, well timbered and fertile. The third and 
laft lies at the fouth end of the lake, and near the 
entrance of the river ; it is nearly circular, and con- 
tains but a few acres of land, the earth high and fer- 
tile, and almoft an entire orange grove, with grand 
magnolias and palms. 
Soon after entering the lake, the wind blew fo 
brifkly from the weft, with thunder-clouds gather- 
ing upon the horizon, that w T e were obliged to feek 
a (belter from the approaching tempeft, on the large 
beautiful ifland before mentioned ; where, having 
gained the fouth promontory, we met with an ex- 
cellent harbour, in which we continued the remain- 
ing part of the day and the night. This circum- 
llance gave me an opportunity to explore the greater! 
part of it. 
This ifland appears, from obvious veftiges, to 
have been once the chofen refidence of an Indian 
prince, there being to this day evident remains of 
a large 
