
June 23, 1906. “a 
possession of the St. Augustine Institute of 
Science and Historical Society. 
The fishing at Matanzas bar has always been 
very good, and you can pitch your tent on the 
very good, and you can pitch your tent on thte 
sands and be certain of not casting your line in 
vain, either in tthe surf on the beach only a few 
hundred yards away, or inside the bar and along 
the river front. 
Just below the fort is what is known as Rattle- 
snake Island, where an enthusiastic young dog 
of mine came near losing his life, as he ran his 
nose into a thick bunch of grass to identify a 
strange smell which met his nose. I called him 
sharply out and none too soon, for the whirr of a 
rattler whose siesta he had disturbed was heard 
at once. Driven out and dispatched, the snake 
measured six feet. This was the first and last 
indiscretion of the kind of which the dog was 
ever guilty. He seemed to realize, from the 
actions of his men friends, that he had escaped 
some great danger, and he never after came to 
a point on a rattler. As is well known, this is 
the way many a valuable dog loses his life in 
Florida. . 
The old fort at Matanzas is well worth a visit, 
for, although it is now a ruin, it was once a well- 
planned structure built with a finish equal to that 
of Fort Marion at St. Augustine, and able to 
hold a garrison supposed to be equal to any 
emergency. that might arise, as the shallowness 
of the bar (only about four feet) would effectu- 
ally prevent any vessel from crossing it. Two 
old cannon still remain of its armament, and a 
brass cannon, supposed to have been lost over- 
board in landing, is said to be buried in the 
sand not far from its front. 
Until a comparatively recent date there were 
two inlets. The one near what is now known as 
Summer Haven was closed by a storm in 1839. 
This complicates the search for the massacre, but ° 
like all mysteries, adds interest to the quest. 
All of these points are of the greatest historic 
interest when one can stop at his leisure, some- 
times staying on board the little yacht, sometimes 
pitching his tent on the shore and sometimes 
occupying an abandoned cabin. One of the de- 
lightful things about camping in Florida is that 
you always find plenty of dry firewood and plenty 
of water, and can, with a little wood wandering 
to some farm house, find plenty of eggs. 
The changing currents of the inlet are under- 
mining the foundations of the old fort, and the 
aid of the War Department has been invoked for 
its repair and preservation, but thus far without 
result. 
come an utter ruin through neglect, as a few 
piles driven along the east and north front would 
effectually stop the cutting away of the foundation 
by the current of the river. 
We sail from the fort, and soon pass a shell 
mound, its summit twenty-five feet above the 
ground being a sharp peak, with a ditch which 
would answer for a covered way running from 
the base to the top, and protecting the sentry as 
he crawled up to peer over the top to view the 
wide spreading country and observe the approach 
of the enemy. Behind this observation mound 
are many acres of shell fields and shell heaps, 
showing how thickly it was inhabited. 
Next comes Summer Haven, a hamlet stretched 
along a very narrow ridge that separates the 
river from the sea. At one point, as I have said, 
there was, until recent years, an inlet now closed. 
It is so narrow for a mile or so that a stone can 
easily be thrown from the river into the sea, and 
the surf in fall storms often in places dashes 
over it. 
The fine fishing here, in both sea and river, 
makes it quite a resort in summer for those who 
live in the interior. Fine channel bass are caught 
in the surf, and a great variety of fish from the 
river. From Summer Haven to Du Pont’s shell 
mound is only two or three miles. This shell 
mound is an ideal place for a camp. You reach 
it as the sun draws near its setting. and every 
member of the party has his hands full with 
pitching its tent, gathering the wood, fixing the 
fireplace, and cooking the supper, while the 
skipper is making his boat snug for the night. 
Camp fire stories and speculations as to the life 
of the prehistoric dwellers, who made this their 
home thousands of years ago, take up the evening. 
It would be a great pity if it should be- 
FOREST AND STREAM. 

987 

MATANZAS FORT FROM THE WATER, 
For this mound covers thirty acres at least, while 
the shell fields stretch southward for miles. In 
the morning, those who love fishing get busy, 
while those of an archeological turn of mind set 
out on the quest for implements of shell and 
utensils of pottery. The pottery shows the 
measure of their art, and the implements of shell 
their way of living, while the refuse heaps of 
shell and remains from the hearths give us the 
record of the sources of their food supply. 
From these old hearths we learn that, rude as 
they were, they were yet able to catch all kinds 
of fish, including sharks and dolphins, and all 
the birds and animals now known in Florida, and 
in addition we know that they were cannibals, for 
we find human bones along with those of the 
deer, bear, coons, etc., scattered in the ashes of 
the ancient hearths. A good part of the mound 
is being removed to shell the roads and streets of 
OBSERVATION SHELL MOUND—THE 
St. Augustine, and the dwellings of the laborers 
employed in the excavating and loading on the 
lighters are, no doubt, practically a reproduction 
of those of the ancient dwellers, a simple frame 
of easily procured timber covered with a thatch 
of palmettos, giving a good protection against 
wind and storm. 
A few days here and we break camp and 
enter the canal now in progress of construction. 
It will soon be completed, and then there will be 
unobstructed navigation from St. Augustine to 
Key West by an inside water route, safe for the 
sinallest craft. 
On our left as we enter the canal are the for- 
ests of live oak and pine, and on our right 
stretches away the broad expanse of marsh, 
affording the best of snipe hunting, while the 
ponds scattered over it are the resort of all varie- 
ties of ducks. The canal is sixty feet wide, and 

SEA BEYOND, be 
