In the Wilds of Florida: A Tale of Warfare and Hunting
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thanthey can obtain the common oyster. While we were watching the shore,sure enough a racoon came down, and seizing several oysters which hungjust below the surface, picked them off the branch, and shaking themviolently backwards and forwards, ran back with his prize to aconvenient spot on the beach, where, with his teeth and claws, he openedthe shells, and speedily devoured the contents. Presently we saw himdart into the water, and return with a handful of shrimps, which hiskeen eyes had perceived; and he again immediately sat himself down todevour them, giving each of them a pinch as he placed them by his side.He appeared perfectly fearless of the neighbourhood of the vessel,though, no doubt, had we been on shore with our dogs and guns, he wouldquickly have concealed himself.
Lejoillie remained in the bows of the vessel watching its movements withhis gun ready. As soon as the poor 'coon had finished its meal,destined to be its last, he fired, and over it fell, though stillstruggling violently. Tim and another man immediately jumped into theboat, and pulling to the shore, quickly put it out of pain, and broughtit on board. It was about the size of a fox, being somewhat larger thanthe common racoon. Lejoillie called it the agouara, and our skippersaid it was the crab-eater. The fur was of a blackish-grey, with atinge of yellow. The tail was somewhat short and marked, with six blackrings on a greyish ground.
As there was but little chance of our making progress for some hours tocome, after breakfast we pulled off in the boat to secure some fish fordinner. Our skipper possessed a species of harpoon called grains, whichconsists of a two-pronged iron-headed barb, about ten inches in length.The head is loosely slipped into a socket at the end of a staff abouttwelve feet long, and the two are connected by a rope. A double prongis used for catching fish, but for killing turtle a single-prongedbarbed head is employed, as it pierces the shell more easily. We hadnot gone far when Captain Crump, standing up in the bows like an oldTriton, lowered his weapon close to the water; it flew from his hand,and immediately afterwards he drew up a red-fish of about twelve poundsweight, and threw it into the bottom of the boat. He then stood readyfor another stroke. Again he darted down the deadly weapon. The head,which had a long line attached to it, by slipping off at once from thestaff, remained sticking in the fish, which, after being allowed tostruggle so as to exhaust its strength, was hauled on board. Three orfour other fish having been caught in the same way, we had an amplesupply for ourselves and dogs. We pulled back to the schooner, on ourway collecting, off a bank, a number of fine oysters, very superior tothose which the 'coons are addicted to eating.
At length a light breeze sprang up, sufficient to carry us at a slowrate down the sound. We passed vast numbers of the Florida cormorants--a small species, which breeds in the mangrove islets. They were feedingon shoals of mullet, which rushed along the surface of the water,endeavouring to escape the attacks of sharks, porpoises, and other cruelfoes beneath the surface. The cormorants, however, did not have it alltheir own way; for, watching their opportunity, numbers of ospreys andpelicans incessantly splashed down among them to rob them of their prey.Whenever we brought up, we pulled off in the boat to supply ourselveswith fish, which we seldom failed to take with hook and line, even whenthe skipper was unsuccessful with his grains. We baited withland-crabs, which abound in the mangrove swamps. Frequently within aquarter of an hour we caught red-fish, dark-fleshed jack, and black andwhite banded sheep's-heads, in numbers sufficient to feed all on board.Indeed, we agreed that no one need starve in Florida, if only providedwith guns and ammunition, hooks, lines, and harpoons.
At length Jupiter Inlet was reached. It is narrow, and very shallow,and is occasionally closed by a strong easterly gale. We were now oncemore in the open sea, steering southward for Key Biscayne, at the northend of a line of keys or islets which sweep round the whole southerncoast of Florida. Our skipper kept a sharp look-out for wrecks, numbersof which occur on this dangerous coast. His object was, he said, toassist the crews, and to take possession of the cargoes. There were, hetold us, a number of vessels so employed--cutters and schoonersconstantly cruising about in search of wrecks. Their skippers werehonest men; but there were others--"beach-combers," he called them--whonot only plundered shipwrecked crews, but endeavoured to allure to theirdestruction, by means of false lights, any vessels approaching thecoast. Many a stout ship has thus been lost, their crews miserablyperishing.
Although our skipper spoke with just indignation of such a mode ofproceeding, he had no objection whatever, when a ship was on shore, toget out of her all the booty he could obtain. We passed the skeletonsof several wrecks; but they had long before been visited by theever-vigilant wreckers, and everything of value on board carried away.
Lejoillie had a great desire to visit the Everglades--a large tractextending over the greater part of the southern end of Florida. Itconsists of a vast plain of coarse saw-grass; above which, here andthere, rise well-wooded and fertile islands, composed of coral rock of acrescent form, which they assumed when first forced up, by someconvulsion of nature, above the surface of the ocean. The plain isswampy; and down it narrow channels exist, which drain the water in agreat measure towards the west.
As our skipper wished to obtain some cocoa-nuts which grew abundantly onthe shore, and proposed to employ the time of our absence in catchingturtle, he consented to bring up for a few hours; advising us to keep asharp look-out for Indians, and to avoid them, as they would certainlyrob us, and perhaps take our lives, should they find us off our guard.He offered to allow one of his crew to accompany us, who, being wellacquainted with the country, and a good sportsman--as most wreckersare--would act as our guide.
Standing into a small bay, lined on either side with mangroves andcabbage-palms, having at the farther end a grove of cocoa-nut trees, wecame to anchor. At the outer point was a deserted lighthouse, which weagreed would serve as a guide to us should we have any difficulty infinding our way back. We lost no time in going on shore, accompanied byTim and Bill Dixie, boatswain of the _Great Alexander_, and forthwithmade our way west towards the nearest point on the Everglades. We hadnot gone far before we fell in with a deer, which I shot. Knowing howwelcome it would be on board, and hoping the schooner had not sailed, wedespatched Bill to request the captain to send for it. In the meantime,leaving Tim to guard the game, we went forward, and were fortunateenough to shoot a couple of parrots, which were sent on board with themen who shortly afterwards made their appearance.
Having as much game as we required, Lejoillie begged that we would atonce push forward, as our object was to visit the Everglades, which wehad not hitherto reached.
The Everglades answered the description I had heard of them. Carlos andI agreed that there was so little attractive in the region, that exceptfor the sake of saying we had been there, we would rather have remainedon board and amused ourselves by fishing or spearing turtle with theskipper. However, as we had come, and our friend wished to proceed, wewent on with him. Though we had shot several birds, Lejoillie wanted toreach one of the woody islands I have described, which appeared some wayahead; so on we went.
"Keep a look-out for snakes," said Carlos, "or we may very likely stepon one before we see it."
"It will not be very easy to avoid the creatures in this high grass," Iobserved. "Don't you think we had better turn back?"
"Not until we have attained the object of our visit to this region, myfriends," answered the naturalist. "The love of science should make usdespise all dangers and difficulties."
The next instant Carlos fired. Running forward, we found that he hadblown off the head of a huge rattlesnake which his keen eye had detectedin the grass, though the rest of us had failed to see it. It provedthat his warning was not unnecessary. The creature was over seven feetlong, and a bite from its fangs would quickly have proved fatal.
Still, Lejoillie insisted on going forward, and we were ashamed ofdeserting him. At length the island for which we were aiming wasreached. It extended for several miles, in a crescent form, from northto south-west, rising
abruptly eight or ten feet above the plain. Itwas composed entirely of coral, though covered over thickly withcreepers of various sorts. On the summit grew enormous trees mostly ofthe palm species, such as I have before described.
We halted on the top to refresh ourselves with the provender we hadbrought. Not until then did we discover how large a portion of the dayhad gone by. We lighted a fire to boil our kettle, and were seatedround it, the smoke partially keeping at bay the mosquitoes and otherstinging creatures, when Tim, who had gone a short distance from thecamp, came running back.
"We had better be afther puttin' our best foot foremost, gentlemen!" heexclaimed. "As I was lookin' away to the westward, my eye fell on anumber of creatures moving among the grass. I stopped until they cameto an open space; then I saw that they were Redskins, with feathers ontheir heads and firelocks in their hands. I counted twenty of them,