CHAPTER XXIV.
GREEN COVE SPRINGS AND GOVERNOR'S CREEK.
By the time we had finished our supper, the steamer was in sight of Green Cove Springs. Magnolia was abreast of us, and we had passed Hibernia; but nothing was in sight from either place except the hotels, where winter boarders from the North are domiciled, and at the former a few cottages. There were plenty of "crackers," or natives, in the country; but they did not appear to live on the banks of the river. The ladies were seated in the pilot-house, observing the scenery, which by this time had become a little monotonous, though the scene was always delightful, for we had only the varying breadth of the river, and the forest. Occasionally we saw a few old red cedars, whose fantastic forms excited attention for a time, with their trunks divided like an inverted V, near the surface of the water. The bluffs, when there were any, were covered with blackberry vines, all in blossom, so that they looked like snow banks in the distance.
"You must get up early in the morning, ladies, and take a bath in the warm water of the spring," suggested Mr. Cornwood as we approached the village, which had quite a number of houses, compared with any other place we had seen since we left Jacksonville.
Mrs. Shepard had heard of the spring, and was desirous of trying its waters. As we approached, we discovered a small steam-yacht anchored off an old wharf, nearly in front of the Union Hotel. It was a very pretty craft, very broad for her length, and evidently did not draw more than two feet of water, or perhaps three. Before we came up with her Cornwood had rung the speed-bell, and we were moving very slowly. He rang the gong when we were abreast of the yacht, and then gave two strokes of the bell to back her.
"Let go the anchor!" he shouted to the deckhands forward, for as the passengers were to remain on board all night, I thought it was better to be off in the stream than at the wharf.
The Sylvania brought up to her cable about half-way between the end of the long pier, where the steamers made their landings, and the little steam-yacht. It was almost dark when we anchored, and I could not obtain a very good view of the village. In the evening our musicians were called for. Then the absence of Griffin Leeds was regretted, as he played the violin; but Cobbington declared that he had played that instrument for years before he left home: only he had no fiddle. Fortunately, Landy Perkins, who played the violoncello, and was learning to play the violin, had one, and our orchestra was complete.
It was a beautiful, mild, and soft evening, and our party stayed on deck until eleven o'clock. I arranged an anchor-watch, so that two of the ship's company should be on deck all the time, one forward and the other aft, day and night. They were to allow no one to come on board, unless by permission of the captain or mate; and Washburn and I had agreed that one of us should remain on board all the time. Our passengers did not care to have strangers staring at them, and no one was willing that Griffin Leeds should put his feet on the deck of the Sylvania again.
Early in the morning the boats were dropped into the water, and put in proper condition for use. At six in the morning the steward called the passengers, as required by them, and a little later we landed them at some steps on the pier, near the shore, so that they had not far to walk. Mr. Cornwood and I remained on shore to assist the party. At the head of the wharf we found a store, a billiard-hall and a bar-room, and other evidences of civilization. A street on the right led to the Union Hotel and the Riverside Cottages, and one on the left to Orange Cottage, the two latter being large boarding-houses, which we found were occupied by people from the North.
Following the street from the wharf, we came to the Clarendon Hotel, the most pretentious establishment in the place. At the office of this house Cornwood obtained tickets for the baths. The spring and the bathing-houses are inclosed in a park, ornamented with live-oaks. We descended to the spring, around which a platform is built. The spring was similar to that we had seen at Orange Park, though there were no clouds of sand rising from the bottom of it. Though the water was eighteen feet deep, we could see to the bottom of the tunnel-shaped hole from which it issued. Its temperature was 76°, and it had a very strong odor of sulphur.
We all drank a dipper each of the water, which was perfectly transparent, and I thought it was not "bad to take" as a medicine. There is a bath for ladies, and another for gentlemen. Ours was a swimming-bath, about sixty feet long; and I must say that the water was perfectly delightful. I was told that the place was bad for consumptives, but the water was excellent for rheumatism, dyspepsia, and kidney complaints; but as I had none of them, I know nothing at all about its virtues. Colonel Shepard declared that he felt like a new man after the bath, and even the invalid Mrs. Shepard was as frisky as a young lamb. The bath was certainly a great luxury to all of us. We took a walk about the place, and found the village was very much like the rural part of Jacksonville. The gardens were crowded with orange-trees, and the mocking-birds filled the air with their melody.
In walking over to Orange Cottage we had to cross a bridge, about fifteen feet above the water, which was a stream flowing from the spring. It was the clearest water I had ever seen, and I have gazed into the crystal tide of Lake Superior, which has a great reputation for its purity. A boat was floating on the surface, and I saw great catfish swimming lazily out of the pool. Back of the village was the forest of pine, magnolia, and live-oak. We walked far enough to see the homes of some of the crackers, which were rude and primitive.
After breakfast we landed again, and followed "St. David's Path" to Magnolia. It was through the woods, on the bank of the river. "St. David," though he was not the original champion of Wales, had a very fine residence near the entrance to the wood. I believe he was canonized for the ink he made. Near the house we found some magnolia leaves that were nearly a foot long. The blue sand in the path was as hard as a rock, and it was strange that anything would grow in it.
The proprietor of Orange Park resented the idea, when some one called the soil nothing but blue sand; and taking up a handful of it, he rubbed it between his palms. The skin was considerably stained by the operation, which could not have been the case if the earth had been simply house-sand, as it is called in the North. We all knew that the finest oranges, bananas, lemons, sugar-cane, as well as strawberries and garden vegetables, grew out of it.
At the bridge which crosses Governor's Creek, on the other side of which is the Magnolia House, we found the boats, which had been ordered to be here. We all embarked, and ascended the creek. Our course was through water-weeds and tiger-lilies; but we soon came to clear water. An old mill stood by the shore.
"There is a friend of yours, Captain Garningham," said Cornwood, as he pointed to a log, one end of which was submerged in the creek.
On the log, coiled up, with his head in the middle and resting on one of the folds of his body, was a moccasin snake just like the one I had seen in the attic room of Captain Boomsby's house.
"Mercy!" exclaimed Miss Margie. "It is a snake! Let us get away from here!"
"Don't be alarmed, Miss Tiffany," interposed the guide. "He is fast asleep."
"But he may wake, and bite some of us," insisted Miss Margie.
"If he wakes, the first thing he will do will be to run away. It is a moccasin, and his bite is poisonous; but he can't bite in the water."
Cornwood picked up a boat-hook, but the snake was just out of his reach. The men backed the boat a little, and the guide just touched the tail of the reptile. This woke him, and without waiting to bid adieu to the party, he scurried up the log, and disappeared in the trees on the bank of the stream. Miss Margie was greatly relieved when he was gone. The oarsmen gave way again, but had not taken three strokes before one of them tipped over an alligator in the water. He was a little fellow, and made off with all his might, to the great amusement of the party. The men had not taken half a dozen strokes more, before another alligator was turned over by an oar. This was a larger one than the other, and his head was lifted entirely out of the water. At the same moment Cornwood, who was standing in the bow of the boat, aimed a revolver at him, and fired.
Miss Margie gave a little scream at the report of the pistol. The ball had evidently done its work, for the reptile was floundering on the top of the water, instead of running away, as the other one had done. The guide fired again; and after a little more struggling, the alligator lay still on the top of the water.
"We will tow him ashore and let you look at him, if you wish," said the guide.
"No, I thank you; not on my account," added Miss Margie.
"I should really like to see him," said Miss Edith.
"Then you shall see him," replied Owen.
But there was no shore in the vicinity to tow him to; and the guide suggested that he should be allowed to remain, while we followed the other boat to the head of boat navigation on the creek, which was only a short distance farther. The shore was under water, and the trees grew out of it. The guide said this was a specimen of a portion of the Ocklawaha, on a small scale. But we soon came to higher banks, which were covered with a fragrant blossom called the "swamp pink" in some parts of the North. The air was loaded with its perfume, and the young ladies were in ecstasies over the sweetness of the blossoms, and the beautiful appearance of the banks of the stream. Beyond this we found the shore covered with another blossom, the swamp blueberry. The bushes lined the shore, and were so covered with blossoms that they seemed to be all there was of them. The young ladies wanted to gather some, and the men filled every available place in the boat with these and the swamp pinks.
On our return we picked up the alligator, making a line fast to him, and towing him down to the bridge. We made a landing under the bluff, and hauled the reptile out of the water. He was about five feet long. Buck pried his mouth open, so that the ladies could see his teeth. Cornwood asked Miss Margie if she did not want a piece of him for her supper, declaring that he had eaten a portion of the tail, which he considered very good. The English maiden preferred beef and mutton.
We did not want the alligator, and we left him where he was. Cornwood said some native would take possession of him, and in two or three months his teeth would be for sale in the stores at Jacksonville. We were on board in time for dinner at one, the hour at which it had been ordered. In the afternoon I received a visit from the gentleman who was sailing the little steam-yacht near us. He was a New Yorker, spending the winter in Florida, and had his wife and daughter on board. I introduced him to our party, and showed him all over the Sylvania.
CHAPTER XXV.
ALLIGATOR SHOOTING ON BLACK CREEK.
After supper I returned the visit of Mr. Garbrook, the owner and captain of the little steam-yacht. She was a perfect beauty, and, small as she was, she had two state-rooms for the owner and his family, and a nice little cabin. The whole ship's company besides the owner, consisted of an engineer and a boy. Forward of the engine were a cook-room, a little cabin, and the pilot-house, the latter so small that only one person could occupy it at the same time.
"Who is the cook?" I asked, wondering how he managed to run the boat with only two hands.
"Sometimes the boy does the cooking, and sometimes I do it; but we don't live very high on board," said Mr. Garbrook, laughing. "We take most of our meals on shore when we are near a hotel."
"I think I should prefer a little more room," I added.
"So should I; but a steamer of your size draws too much water. I have an orange plantation back of Picolata; I have to run up Five-Mile Creek to reach it by water; and it is not deep enough for such a craft as I would like," added Mr. Garbrook.
"I was thinking of going up Black Creek to-morrow, to Middleburg; but I cannot find a pilot. I was going to ask your party to accompany us," continued the owner of the little steamer.
"I think I can furnish the pilot," I replied.
"Your steamer draws too much water for Black Creek, or I suppose you would run up to Middleburg in her. A great many parties make this excursion."
"I don't know that I ever heard of Black Creek before," I replied, wondering that Cornwood had not mentioned it.
Perhaps our guide did not know about Black Creek; and I pulled out of my pocket the "Suggestions" he had written out for the trip; but I could not find the name in it. If there was anything in Florida that Cornwood was not familiar with, I desired to know what it was. It would be a real enjoyment to me to find that he was not competent to pilot the little steam-yacht up Black Creek. I was instructed to invite all our party to the excursion, if I could bring a pilot for the occasion.
I returned to the Sylvania, and I thought I would invite the party before I said anything to the pilot. I gave them what information I had obtained in regard to Black Creek and Middleburg, and they were ready to accept the invitation. I found Cornwood on the forecastle, smoking his cigar, and opened the matter by informing him that the party were going up Black Creek the next day.
"But this boat draws too much water to go up to Middleburg," said the pilot, promptly. "She can't go half-way up there."
"But we are to go in that little steam-yacht," I added.
"That's another thing; I dare say she would go up if there was nothing but a little fog under her," laughed Cornwood.
"But we wish you to pilot her up the creek," I continued.
"I will do it with the greatest pleasure," he answered.
I was taken aback by this ready reply, for I had felt confident that I had found something the Floridian could not do.
"You did not mention Black Creek in the paper you wrote," I suggested.
"Neither did I mention Lake Griffin, because it would be impossible to get up there in a boat drawing eight feet of water," replied Cornwood.
The pilot was not to be caught. I sent word to Mr. Garbrook that our party would be happy to join his family in the excursion up Black Creek, and that I would furnish a pilot. I noticed considerable activity on board of the Gazelle, for that was the name of the steam-yacht, after I sent the message.
I had heard nothing of Griffin Leeds during the day. Though I had no doubt he was in Green Cove Springs, he made no attempt to come on board. I concluded that he intended to wait for a more favorable opportunity to recover possession of his wife; but I was determined that no such chance should be afforded to him.
At nine in the morning we went on board of the Gazelle, and she weighed anchor immediately. Cornwood took possession of the pilot-house, declaring that he had never been confined in a canary-bird's cage before. But he was good-natured about it, and when the boy had got up the anchor, Cornwood rang the bell to start the engine. Everything worked as regularly as though the little yacht had been a steamer of a thousand tons. The pilot ran the boat down the river about a mile below Magnolia, and then stood into an inlet, at the head of which we found the stream. It was a considerable river, but Cornwood seemed to be quite at home in it. It was a crooked stream, but the pilot ran from one side to the other, talking to me all the time with the utmost indifference.
I observed him for a couple of hours, until I was entirely satisfied that he knew what he was about, and then joined the party astern. It was seldom that a steamer disturbed the waters of Black Creek, never in these days, except when a party of curious excursionists desired to explore the lonely region. The Gazelle made about eight knots an hour, and at eleven o'clock we were fast to a dilapidated pier at the ruined town of Middleburg. It lay about half-way between the St. Johns and the Atlantic, Gulf and West India Company's Railroad, extending from Fernandina to Cedar Keys, on the Gulf of Mexico, intended as part of a quick route to Havana. The building of this railroad, by diverting from it the trade and transportation of a considerable region of country, had utterly ruined Middleburg, and it was as lone and deserted as Pompeii under the ashes of Vesuvius. Hardly a family was to be found in its abandoned houses.
A glance at the ruins was enough to satisfy the party, especially as Cornwood warned us not to enter the houses, or we should be covered with fleas. These pests are not uncommon in Florida. Green Cove Springs formerly had some, which were supposed to be scattered through the place by the pigs that ran at large. The evil was corrected by keeping them out of the village. The fleas were a vastly greater terror to the ladies than the alligators, of which there were a great many in the creek. Its quiet waters, not often disturbed by steamers, afforded them a peaceful retreat. Owen and Colonel Shepard had brought their guns with them, and had fired at some of the larger ones seen on the shore; but the saurians might have laughed at them, if they were given to expressing themselves in that manner. Cornwood smiled every time one of them fired.
We ran up the "North Prong" of the river a few miles. Under the shade of some spreading oaks we stopped for the lunch which our host had provided. It had been obtained at the hotels, and after our sail we were in condition to enjoy it. The alligators were larger and more plentiful, and while the Gazelle was at rest they were more disposed to show themselves on the sandy beach above us. Owen and the Colonel fired at them several times; but they seemed to take no notice of the shots, and the pilot laughed as usual.
"You haven't graduated as alligator sportsmen yet," said Cornwood when they had wasted a large quantity of powder and ball. "You might as well fire at an iron-clad, as at the back and sides of an alligator as large as those are."
Owen handed him his gun, which was one of the most expensive pieces, intended for deer and other large game. The pilot loaded it himself, and said he should try for the largest reptile in the group on the beach. He fired. The alligator gave a spring, and began to flounder in the sand, while his companions deserted him, taking to the water. In another moment he was dead.
"What do you aim at, Mr. Cornwood?" asked Owen, with admiration at the skill of the Floridian.
"It depends on circumstances," replied the pilot. "If the alligator is in such a position that I can take him in the eye, as that one was, and send the ball diagonally through his head, I fire at the eye. If he lies so that I can put the ball in behind his forward flipper, and have it pass forward, I take him there. Sometimes he is in such a position that you can't hit him in either of these places, and it is no more use to fire at him than it is to shoot into the water."
"You made an end of that fellow, at any rate," added Colonel Shepard. "I think we had better run over and take a look at him."
The pilot ran the boat near enough to the beach so that we could jump ashore. I took a measure with me, and the alligator proved to be ten feet and four inches long. Owen considered himself a good shot, and he was somewhat mortified at his ill-success in shooting the saurian. We ran farther up the creek till we saw another group of them on the sand. The steam was shut off as soon as they came in sight around a bend. The boat went ahead a considerable distance after the screw stopped. On this beach were a number of parallel crooked lines, where the alligators had crawled on the sand. One of the reptiles raised his head, and seemed to be in doubt whether or not he should take to the water at the approach of the steamer.
Alligator Shooting on Black CreekAlligator Shooting on Black Creek.Page 259.
Owen raised his piece and fired. All but one of the alligators scurried into the water, and disappeared. One remained on the beach motionless. The Gazelle was started, and on reaching the shore we found the reptile was as dead as he could be. He was larger than the other, his length being eleven feet and two inches. My cousin wanted to take him back to the Springs, and we hauled him on the forecastle of the little steamer. Cornwood gave the Englishman abundant praise for what he had done. After three attempts farther up the stream, Colonel Shepard shot one seven feet long. This was considered enough for one day, and we started on the return. At six we put our party on board of the Sylvania, with many thanks to Mr. Garbrook for the pleasure of the excursion.
We had no further business in Green Cove Springs; but Owen insisted that we must reciprocate the hospitality of the Garbrooks, and I was asked to plan an excursion for the next day. There was no locality above Jacksonville to which our friends had not been; and I proposed to breakfast the Gazelle's people on board, and starting at six in the morning make a trip to Fort George Island, where the Garbrooks had never been, or even below Jacksonville on the river. The plan was received with acclamation, and I hastened on board of the Gazelle to present the invitation of Owen.
Our party were all up at five the next morning, for they did not omit the swimming-bath a single day while they were at the Springs; and they returned in season for the Sylvania, which had hauled up to the pier to start on the excursion at the appointed hour. Washburn had filled the bunkers of the steamer with light wood, which is plenty and cheap on the St. Johns, and made steam very rapidly. I told Moses Brickland to make the best time he could with safety, and at the breakfast-hour I found we were making twelve knots.
Our guests were delighted with the steamer. In the forenoon, as we had a strong southerly breeze, I put on all sail, as much to show the Garbrooks how it was done, as for any other reason. This operation showed off our sailors, and pleased all the party. At eleven we reached our destination; and after lunch the party landed, and spent three hours in visiting the various localities on the island. At three we sailed again, and reached our destination at eight.
CHAPTER XXVI.
ON BOARD OF THE WETUMPKA.
The Garbrooks were exceedingly pleasant people. Miss Garbrook, without being pretty, was a very sensible girl, and our young ladies liked her very much. The time had apparently come to part when we anchored at the Springs. The young ladies would not consider it; and then came an invitation for our party to visit Mr. Garbrook's orange plantation on Five-Mile Creek. It was accepted; and the next day Cornwood piloted us up that stream as far as the depth of water would permit, and the Gazelle took them the rest of the way. It was a delightful house, with a beautiful garden, and ten acres of orange-trees, all in full blossom, as fragrant as the boudoir of a belle.
We dined on what our host called Florida fare, consisting mainly of a roasted ham and spring chickens, with oranges, cooked and uncooked, in every conceivable form. We enjoyed the repast and the hospitality of the plantation, and regretted that we could not remain as long as our friends desired. Then came the question of parting, and again the young ladies protested. Miss Nellie must go with them. Owen at once invited the family to go with us up the river. A long discussion followed; and the Garbrooks decided to go if we would wait till the next morning. This was agreed to; and I sent word to the mate of the Sylvania of the change in the time of sailing. The ladies remained at the house overnight, and the gentlemen returned to the steamer in the Gazelle.
At half past six the little steamer brought the ladies and the baggage of the Garbrooks on board. We got under way immediately, and in less than half an hour we were standing up the St. Johns. This addition to the number of our passengers made "a new deal" of the state-rooms and berths in the cabin. I was asked to assign them as I thought proper, and Owen told me not to consider him, for he would go into the forward cabin if necessary. Colonel Shepard and his wife retained one of the large state-rooms, and the other was assigned to Mr. Garbrook and his wife. The other two state-rooms were of good size, and had a bedstead three and a half feet wide in each. One of these was given to Miss Garbrook, and Miss Edith and Miss Margie volunteered to occupy the other, declaring that it was quite large enough for both of them. Mr. Tiffany, Gus Shepard, and Owen had each a berth, without disturbing Chloe. This arrangement was satisfactory to all the passengers.
The steamer went along at her usual speed of ten miles an hour. After breakfast, Owen and the young ladies took possession of the pilot-house, and the rest of the party were seated under the awning on the forecastle. These places afforded a view of both sides of the river, and of the long prospect ahead.
"Tocoi," said the pilot, pointing to the left. "This is the place where passengers are landed who go to St. Augustine. A railroad, fifteen miles in length, takes travellers the rest of the way."
We could see nothing but a few sheds, and Tocoi itself was of no consequence. The river was just about what we had seen all the way up from Jacksonville. At ten o'clock we ran up to the wharf at Pilatka. This is a thriving town of from fifteen hundred to two thousand inhabitants, and, like every other place on the river, is a resort for invalids from the North. After dinner the party landed and explored the town, which is not very different from any other Florida towns we had seen. It had pleasant houses, surrounded with orange gardens.
I directed Washburn to anchor the Sylvania at some distance from the wharf in the river, partly to keep out of the way of steamers arriving, and partly to make sure that Griffin Leeds did not get on board of her. I had seen nothing of him, though I fancied he was in Green Cove Springs while we were there.
The next day was Sunday; all our passengers, and some of the ship's company, went to church. On Monday morning we sailed for Welaka, twenty-five miles farther up the river. It is opposite the mouth of the Ocklawaha River. The St. Johns was only one-third of a mile wide at this point, and began to look more like a stream and less like a lake. Colonel Shepard had chartered a small steamer for our trip up the Ocklawaha and the upper St. Johns. On Saturday afternoon, Washburn, with Ben Bowman and Dyer Perkins, had started for Jacksonville to bring the Wetumpka, for that was the name of the craft, up to this point.
She was a nearly new vessel, which the owners had built for an extra boat, but the scarcity of engineers had prevented them from putting her on the route at that time, though they had a couple on their way from a northern city. Steamboat business was exceedingly brisk at this time of the year on the upper rivers, and the owners of the line had several boats running on them. The Colonel had obtained the Wetumpka only by agreeing to run her himself, and by paying a large price for her, quite as much as she could have made after paying her expenses, if she had gone on the line.
I was a little uneasy when I found she was not at Welaka. She did not draw over two feet of water when not loaded, and I was confident she could come through with Washburn at the wheel. I had left it to the mate of the Sylvania to start with his charge at whatever time best suited him. Both Moses Brickland and Ben Bowman had been offered double the wages I paid them when we arrived at Jacksonville, and had refused the offer. I could think of nothing but the want of an engineer that would prevent Washburn from coming through on time.
While I was thinking about it, and worrying a little, I heard some one on deck say she was coming; and I felt ashamed of myself for doubting, even for a moment, the loyalty of Ben Bowman. I left my room and went aft. I saw one of those peculiar Florida boats coming around the bend below us. I sent for my spy-glass, and soon made out the name of the Wetumpka on the pilot-house. In ten minutes more she came alongside the Sylvania.
I had not seen the craft I was to command before, and I had no little curiosity to look her over. Washburn received me when I went on board, and we shook hands, for we had been separated for nearly two days, a longer time than for months before.
"What makes you so late? I was afraid something had happened to you," I began.
"Are we not on time?" asked the mate. "We were to be here on Monday forenoon; and it is only eleven o'clock."
"I thought you were to be here in the morning."
"We could not be here very early in the morning without running on Sunday, or incurring the risk of running aground in the dark," replied Washburn with a yawn. "The moon did not rise till one this morning. We slept on board last night, and left Jacksonville at one. We have kept her going very lively all the time."
"All right; I am entirely satisfied. What sort of a craft is she?" I continued.
"She is not such a craft as the Sylvania, but she is all right for a river boat. She has made very good time," replied Washburn, as he seated himself on the forward deck.
He looked tired, and gaped several times as he was talking to me. He looked as though he had had a hard time of it.
"I hope you are not sick, Washburn," I said, in commiserating tones.
"Not at all. I slept about four hours last night, and have been at the wheel of the boat ten hours on a stretch. That's all that ails me; and I shall be as good as new when I have had a nap."
"Have you had anything to eat to-day?" I asked, thinking the crew of the Wetumpka had been on duty so that they had not had time to get any meals.
"Plenty to eat. I laid in a stock of cold ham, chickens, and coffee for the trip."
"You and those who came up with you had better go on board of the Sylvania and turn in, while the rest of us transfer the baggage and stores to this boat," I added.
I called Moses, and asked him to take charge of the engine of the river boat, and sent the three hands from her to their bunks. The curiosity of the passengers and crew of the Sylvania was equal to my own. The party from the cabin rushed on board of the Wetumpka as soon as they found she was alongside, and we all went into an examination of her. She was a "twin boat:" that is, she had two hulls, like a "catamaran." They were flat-bottomed, so as to draw but little water. On these two hulls were laid a platform, which came to a point at the bow, and projected some distance forward of the stems of the two boats. On the main deck, no one would suspect that she was composed of two boats.
The paddle-wheel was between the two hulls, and near the stern of the craft. The engine was on deck, and the upper part of the paddle-wheel was boxed up above the main deck. She had a broad opening on each side of her lower deck, through which she could receive her wood and freight. Forward of these doors were the quarters for the crew on one side, and the kitchen and ice-house on the other.
Above the main deck was the saloon deck, with the pilot-house at the forward end of it. In front of this was a platform on which the passengers could sit, the pilot looking out over their heads. In the saloon were eight state-rooms on a side, which were small, but very comfortably fitted up. At the stern was a pantry and a little smoking-room. The saloon was neatly furnished, and I thought our passengers could be very comfortable on board of the Wetumpka for a couple of weeks. The steward and his force were busy getting ready for dinner; but I set the deck-hands to moving the baggage of the passengers at once.
After dinner the stores were removed on board of the river steamer, and by two in the afternoon we were ready to start up the Ocklawaha, which was to be the first of the two trips. We towed the Sylvania out into deep water, anchored her, and left her in charge of Ben Bowman and Dyer Perkins, for one engineer and one fireman were sufficient for the trip: Cornwood took the wheel, and we ran into the Ocklawaha. In a few hours we were in the woods, the trees of which were loaded with trailing moss, which, however, was no new thing to us, as we had seen it in Savannah, and all the way up the St. Johns. In places the shores were submerged, but the channel of the river was clearly defined by the shrubs and masses of vines, many of them covered with flowers of various colors. The water was very clear, and not a breath of air ruffled its surface. Everything above it was reflected as in a mirror, and the young ladies were in ecstasies at the beauty of the forest, the vines, and the water.
Occasionally the river widened out into a broad pool, with sandy shores. In one of these we encountered a raft of lumber, on its way to Jacksonville. The men on it were wiry, hatchet-faced fellows, good-natured and easy-going. Just before sunset we came to Silver Spring Run, into which the pilot turned the boat. If the water had been clear before, it was perfectly transparent in this run, or stream flowing from the spring. We could see the fish in the water, sixty feet down. After dark we moored to a wharf for the night.
CHAPTER XXVII.
UP THE OCKLAWAHA TO LAKE GRIFFIN.
The spring in which we were moored was a pond covering several acres, from which the run, nine miles in length, conveys its waters to the Ocklawaha. It was so dark when we made fast the night before, that we could not tell exactly in what sort of a place we were.
"This spring is said to be the Fountain of Youth, which Ponce de Leon looked after," said Cornwood, as our passengers gathered on deck in front of the pilot-house, after breakfast. "Out in the middle of this pool, the water is eighty feet deep."
"I never saw so large a volume of clear water; and it is a great pity that Ponce de Leon didn't find it, though it probably would not have made the old gentleman any younger," added Colonel Shepard. "What sort of a fish is it I see in this pond, with a long nose?"
"That is the gar-fish; but it is of no account. He is more like an alligator than a common fish. There is an alligator-gar at the South. But our best fish are not to be found to any great extent in these waters, which are stirred up every day by steamers and rafts. In the upper waters of the St. Johns you will find the best fish and game, though there is plenty of both up this stream."
The party landed, and found on shore a village in the midst of the forest, with stores and a hotel. In the vicinity were cotton and sugar plantations, with many Northern settlers engaged in orange-growing and raising early vegetables for the Northern markets. At the landing, crates of green peas and cucumbers were ready for the steamer, which in less than twenty-four hours could land them in Jacksonville. But we were not much interested in examining the commercial features of the place, and after we had looked over a few orange-groves and fields of bananas, we returned on board. A steamer had just arrived from below, and it was a busy scene at the landing.
"That steamer must have come up in the night," said Mr. Tiffany, as we went on board of the Wetumpka.
"O, yes; steamers run in the night up the Ocklawaha," replied Cornwood.
"But they can see nothing, even in a moonlight night, under the trees that shade the stream in so many places," added the English gentleman.
"On the forward part of the boat they have fires of light wood, which illuminate their course for some distance ahead. They don't all get up here so easy as we did, for they are generally heavily loaded and draw a foot more water, which makes a difference in the navigation. During a considerable portion of the year, Silver Springs is the head of navigation on this river; but freight is brought down from Leesburg in barges, which Yankees call scows."
"But how do they move the scows?"
"With setting-poles, assisted by the current of the river. This place is only five miles from Ocala, to which a railroad has been laid out, though it may be years before it is built," replied Cornwood. "We are in the very heart of Florida now. It is not more than thirty-five miles to Gainesville, to which a stage runs from Ocala three times a week; and that place is on the railroad to Cedar Keys. We are forty-five miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and sixty from the Atlantic. It is thirty miles in a straight line to the St. Johns River, at the southern point of Lake George."
Steam was up on the Wetumpka, and we cast off the fasts from the landing-pier. All the party were on the main deck, looking down into the deep, clear water. The young ladies screamed forth their delight at the reflected objects in the water, and at the fish on the bottom, eighty feet down. We entered the run, and in another hour we were stemming the gentle tide of the Ocklawaha again. The stream was somewhat narrower than below the spring, from which it receives a large volume of water.
"Forward, there!" shouted Cornwood from the pilot-house.
"On deck, sir!" returned Buck Lingley, who was on duty there.
"Stand by with the pole."
Buck seized a pole, of which there were several on the forecastle; but he had no idea what he was to do with it, for he was a salt-water sailor. Cobbington was sitting on the deck, and saw that the deck-hand was puzzled by the situation, and took another pole to assist and show the old salt what to do. At about this time we were driven from our position forward of the saloon by the overhanging branches of the trees and the trailing vines. Cornwood had struck the bell, and the paddle-wheel stopped. But the steamer went ahead until the bow struck the bank of the stream. Overhead the trees met, and formed an arch above us, and the long vines were caught in various parts of the boat.
It seemed to me that we were in a bad scrape, and I looked to the pilot to ascertain if he considered the situation a difficult one. He did not seem to me to be at all disturbed, and I thought it was not worth while to make any outcry. I went down on the main-deck. I found the water was very shallow in the middle of the river, and Cornwood had taken the side where the greatest depth was to be had, though we were thereby more snarled up in the branches of the trees than we should have been if we had hugged the other side of the stream.
At this point the river made a sharp turn, inclining to an acute angle; and the current flowed by the longest way around the bend. Cobbington struck his pike-pole into a tree on the shore, and Buck followed his example. They shoved the head of the boat off, so that she pointed up the stream, while an occasional turn of the wheel was given to send her ahead. The vines and branches snapped and twanged as they broke or slipped from the parts of the boat where they were caught. In a few minutes we were clear of the obstructions, though we had to work the boat around the bends, and through masses of trees in this way, at least twenty times in the course of the forenoon.
The river was full of alligators, and our sportsmen amused themselves by firing at them, but with no great success, for the wobbling of the boat interfered with their aim. About one o'clock we came to a landing-place, where a few logs had been laid and tied into the sand to form a sort of wharf. On the bank was a shanty, and we concluded to stop for a while and have a run on shore, as the ground seemed to be high enough to give us standing room. Dinner was ready, and as soon as we had disposed of it we went on the wharf.
We walked through the woods a short distance, and then came to an orange-grove, with fields of corn six inches high, and sugar-cane of the same height. Across these fields we could see a house, but we did not care to visit it. The woods were full of flowers, and the ladies gathered bouquets to adorn the cabin. I was assisting Miss Margie in this pleasant occupation, when I suddenly heard a rattling sound just ahead of me.
The young lady was between me and the spot from which the sound came. Near her was Chloe, for we did not think it was necessary to confine her to the boats in these wilds of the interior. I did not believe that Griffin Leeds had followed us farther than Pilatka, though I had neither seen nor heard from him since we left him tied to the railing of the pier at Orange Park.
"Run away from there, Miss Margie! This way!" screamed Chloe, with energy. "Come to me, missy!"
Though I had no idea what the matter was, I concluded to retreat in the same direction. The scream of the stewardess brought up the rest of the party, who demanded the cause of the outcry.
"That was a rattlesnake in there!" exclaimed Chloe. "I know his music well enough."
"I should like to see him," said Owen, who had brought his gun with him for the chance of any game he might see.
I picked up a stick, and went with him. As we approached the spot where we had been before, the rattling was renewed.
"Look out, Mr. Owen! That snake will jump six feet, and bite as quick as a flash," screamed Chloe.
"There he is," said Hop Tossford, when we were within twenty feet of the reptile.
He was coiled up in a heap, and looked like a very large snake. He was shaking all over, apparently with anger at being disturbed by our approach; and it was this motion that shook the rattles in his tail. While we were looking at him he made a leap which brought him within twelve or fourteen feet of us, and again coiled himself up for another spring. Owen aimed his gun, and fired into the centre of the coil. The rattlesnake whirled and wriggled for a moment, and then lay still. We could see that his head had been torn all to pieces by the shot, and he was as dead as it was possible for a snake to be. We straightened him out, and found that he was six feet long. When positively assured that he was dead, the ladies came up and examined him. But he was not a pleasant sight to look upon, and a glance or two satisfied them. They wanted no more flowers, and insisted upon going on board at once.
As we started for the boat, we met a gentleman coming down the path from the house to the landing. He proved to be the owner of the plantation, who had come down to see what steamer was at the wharf. He invited us to his house, and would be delighted to have us stay a week; but we felt obliged to decline the invitation with many thanks.
"I should not dare to stay here even a day," said Miss Margie.
"Why not, miss?" asked the gentleman, who was a native of South Carolina.
Owen aimed his Gun and firedOwen aimed his Gun and fired.Page 280.
"Mr. Garningham has just killed a monstrous rattlesnake; and I should be afraid of my life to stay where they are," replied the English maiden.
"We don't mind them at all," replied the gentleman, laughing. "I have lived here ten years, and not one of our people has ever been bitten by a rattlesnake. In fact, I hardly ever heard of such a thing as any one being bitten by a rattlesnake. There are three times as many deaths from suicide in the South, as from the bites of moccasins and rattlesnakes put together. You get used to them in a little while, and don't mind anything more about them than you do the mocking-birds that sing day and night."
"I don't like them at all," added Miss Margie.
"I can't say that I like them," continued the gentleman. "I make a business of killing them when I come across them. I have no doubt the snake you killed was the one that came into my house the other day. We had a big hunt for him, and couldn't find him; and I am very much obliged to the gentleman that shot him. Very likely we shall not see another one for a year."
The gentleman walked with us to the landing, and waited there till the Wetumpka was out of sight. At five o'clock in the afternoon we entered Lake Griffin, which I judged to be about ten miles long, and moored at Leesburg in season for supper. This place is the county-town of Sumter County, and the head of navigation by the Ocklawaha. One end of the town was on Lake Hawkins, and there were a dozen lakes within a few miles of it. We found nothing very different from what we had seen. Our sportsmen brought in large quantities of small game, upon which we feasted, and we sailed about the lake, exchanging hospitalities with the people who treated us like old friends.