We left Baraboo for Florida at four 
o’clock on the morning of the 13th of November 
and took the train to Chicago. We left 
Chicago the same afternoon at half past four 
and arrived at Nashville early the next morning 
and changed cars for Jacksonville, and took 
the train for Tampa and stopped a day at 
Palatka. We saw the St. Johns' River, it is 
about three miles wide to Palatka. From 
Palatka we went to Tampa and had to stay all 
night. We took the train to Port Tampa in 
the morning, and went on board the steamer 
Margaret, and went across Tampa Bay and up the 
Manatee River to Palmetto for a week, and then 
took our tents and went out camping. We 
camped out for two weeks. I went fishing in a 
little bay and caught a lot of chubs, and Papa 
baited a set line with them. The first night he 
caught a catfish and once he caught a shc*r\K, 
°<nd a stingeree. We had two catfish for 
thanksgiving. We had two tents, one to sleep 
in and one to eat in. The sleeping tent had a 
carpet on the floor and was fixed up quite 
homelike and comfortable. We had two oil stoves 
one in the sleeping tent and one to cook with. 
Our tents were on Hendricks point in front of 
the tents was some palm trees and the Manatee 
River. On the side were live oaks, Palmetto 
sfcrubs and small palm trees. Our camp was on a 
peninsula formed by two bays and the Manatee 
River. 
One day Papa and I went out hunting. Papa 
took the shotgun. We started for Hookers Point 
and passed a Bayou near Barricks wharf. Papa 
saw a big blue heron but could not get a shot 
at him for he was wild. There was a little 
foot bridge made of some boards, it was veiy 
narrow for it was only one board thick. There 
