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XI

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The trees stand like ghosts in the heavy morning mists.

(See chapter 18)

FLORIDAENCHANTMENTS

ByA. W. AND JULIAN A. DIMOCK

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS

NEW YORK

THE OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY

MCMVIII

Copyright, x908, by

THE OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY

All Rights Reserved

THE CAMP FIRE CLUB

OF AMERICA

BY

THE PERPETRATORS

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I HOMOSASSA, THE BEAUTIFUL . . . . 3II CRUISING ON THE GULF COAST OF FLORIDA . . 17

III THE CAPTURE OF THE MANATEE . 39

IV THE CHASE OF THE DOLPHIN . . . 63

V MAKERS OF MOONSHINE . . . . 77

VI THE FLORIDA CROCODILE . . . . 89

VII SALT-WATER FLY-FISHING . . . 103

VIII THE PASSING OF THE FLORIDA ALLIGATOR . 115IX THE BEE u . .TER .. 129X PHOTOGRAPHING A SAWFISH . . 141

XI A FLORIDA FAMILY'S PICNIC . . . . . 151XII TARPON FISHING . . .. 161

XIII THE TARPON AND THE SHARK . . . . 177

XIV A SQUARE DEAL . . .. 191

XV LIFE IN A BIRD ROOKERY . . . . 203

XVI CROSSING THE EVERGLADES IN A POWER BOAT . 215

XVII A TRIP THAT FAILED . . . . . 231

XVIII A SOUTHERN INDUSTRIAL EXPERIMENT . . . 253

XIX AN OVERLOOKED RIVER . . . . . 67XX CANOEING IN THE SURF . . . . . 277

XXI THE MANGROVE . ... 287XXII THE PASSING OF A WILDERNESS . . . 293

XXIII A VANISHING RACE . .. 307v

ILLUSTRATIONS

The trees stand like ghosts in the heavy morning mist . . Frontispiece

FACINGPAGE

At the approach of our boat the alligator tumbled into the water . 4An alliga at home . . . . 8The sunset was magnificent . . . . . 1The conventional houseboat, with every convenience from a chef to a

canary . . . . . . . . . . 20Becalmed in the emerald waters of the Bay of Florida . . . 20The fisherman's bete noir . . . . . . 24The lay of the loggerhead . . . . . . . 24Shell mounds of Aborigine antecedents, flanked by cocoa and date palms . 3A sudden dash of the creature nearly swamps us . . . 40The powerful tail lifts the skiff . . . . 40He drags us into the mangroves .. . 48View of back-lookin forward. . . . . . . 48Head of Manatee. Strange creatures, as shapely as a fattened pig . . 5The flippers are of use to gather grass within reach of the mouth . . 56Tussock Key. A haunt of the Manatee on Harney's River . . . 58When the Dolphin is struck, there is a mighty splash in the water . . 64The skiff is forthwith towed at high speed . . . . . 64Gafed and pulled to the side of the skiff . . . . . 64Trying to get him aboard head first. He is too heavy for that method . 68Tail first is a better way of getting him into the boat . . . . 68Just landed and all in . . . . . . . 68Traversing a vast swamp. A custard apple tree in the foreground . . 78Making Moonshine-The cover, deftly fashioned from a huge cypress

stump, converts the kettle into a retort . .. . . 80A watchful eye is kept on the tiny trickle of the potent product . . 80Frequent tests of the finished article seemed necessary. . . 82Suspicious of strangers, the moonshiners are always prepared for emer-

gencies . . . . . . . 8Streaked with strands of cypress . . . . . . 84The crocodile on his slide, taking a sun-bath . . . . . 90Coming out of his ave . . . . . . . 9

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Illustrations

FACINGPAGE

Taking the crocodile into the skiff . . . . . . . 94Caught in a turtle net . . . . . . . . . 94(1) Jumping at the camera-man. (2) Awkward navigation. (3) Home-

ward bound . . . . . 96The head of the Crocodile-(1) Top view showing the lower teeth pro-

jecting through upper jaw. (2) Lower jaw and throat. (3) Headin action (camera within four feet) . . . . . 98

From the beach at Gasparilla Pass we used the fly-rods. . . . 104In proportion to size, the Lady-fish will discount any other fish in exist-

ence for pyrotechnics . . . . . . . . . 104Pelicans and gulls flew up before us, and posed in picturesque fashion . 108Fire-hunting is the deadliest of the methods of pursuing these saurians . 116Taking the victim aboard . . . . . . . . . 118(1) Two dots on the surface indicate a 'gator. (2) It is wise to let him

have his end of the boat. (3) "Good-bye, m going home!" . . 120An angry nine-foot alligator posing for his picture 124A hot coal laid on a piece of comb, which rested on a cypress-knee, called

the bees and gave Bill his first line . . . . . .A few hundred yards to the side, bees were allowed flight to their main

hive, giving the second line. At the point of intersection the treewas found . . . . . . . 128

Cutting down the bee tree . . . . . . 180The home of the bees laid bare . . . . . . 132The comb and bees . . . . . . . . . 134Protected only by a little smoke, the bee hunters take out the comb with

bare hands. . . . . .. . . 136Smith, in gloves and head-net, inspects the honey . . . . 136The next day the cavity was filled with bees . . . . . 138The die is cast . . . . . . .. . . 142Catching the Saw-fish-(1) There is a big swirl in the water. (2) You

attempt to lasso him. (3) Succeeding, the struggling fish is drawnto the skiff . . . . . . . . . 144

During the fracas he breaks his saw on the boat . . . . . 146Our record fish, fifteen feet ten inches long . . . . . . 148Fishing for pompano with a net . . . . . . 152Taking the fish from the net . . . . . . . 152This time holding his body horizontally . . . . . . 156Ran fifty feet up the rigging and dove far out into the stream . . 156A sudden pull at the line-you awake from your day dreams . . . 164The joy of the first jump makes up for unrequitted days of fishing . . 168He follows the tide in his wild rushes for freedom . . . . . 168

vriii0*0V111l

Illustrations

FACINGPAGE

The humane angler unhooks his adversary and lets him go his way . 172A shark cuts the tarpon in two . . .. 172Up! Up! he rose until the camera seemed pointed at the zenith . . 180He dashed for the Gulf through big Gasparilla Pass .. 180The hammerhead's great bulk gliding easily behind the tarpon . . 184A knife drawn across the distended organ disclosed the tarpon in sections,

with the hook still fast in his jaws .. . . 186The fish struck with all his weight upon the side of the canoe . . 19I got into the submerged canoe, right side up, and the game in my hands . 196The tarpon slid into it of his own accord, which I accepted as a formal

surrender . . . . 196Rarest and most beautiful were the Long Whites . . . 200In the Glades, behind the rookery, were young Limpkins . . . 202Near the entrance to our estate, lived our friends, the Pelicans . . 202Madam Curlew keeping house . . .. 204Young Curlew, brown in his first year . . 204The young Water Turkeys were like blubbery, cream colored goslings . 206Baby Blues, one egg yet unhatched . . .. 208Baby Blues, a few days old . . ... 908Baby Blues, ready to leave the nest .. 210Baby Blue old enough to fare for elf . . 212Louisianas on a small mangrove. 212Harney's River. The head of the rivers are choked with "bonnets," a

sort of water lily . . .. 216A view of the Glades from a tree-top-water, grass and trees everywhere . 218Now and then we poled through strands of sawgrass . . 220Where we camped for the night . . . 220Our camp on an Indian Farm . . .. 222A young Evergladite . 222Rounding Cape Sable on the return trip ... 226For five days we lived aboard this prairie schooner . . . 232The water shoaled until we could hardly budge the canoe . . 236Then began weary days of hauling the canoes through soft, sticky mud . 236We followed trails in the Glades until they dried into mud-paths . . 240At Osceola's camp there was a distilling device-presumably used to

purify the water . . .. . 240We passed cunningly constructed nests of the diedipper. . . . 244This sinuous creature fascinated us and seemed altogether worthy of his

Indian name, "The King" . . . . . . . 244Down the Caloosahatchee River, through masses of water-hyacinths . 248A prairie, level as the sea, threaded with strands of cypress . . . 256

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Illustrations

FACINGPAGE

Uncleared hummock-land at the deep lake plantation . . 260A hydra-headed palmetto-one of the "freaks" of the great swamp . 260A young grape-fruit tree . . . . . . . . . 262When navigation was closed to boats with spars, we tied the Irene to the

bank. . . . . . . . . . . . 268Palmettoes, their roots undermined by water, lean across the stream . 270The pines begin and the palmettoes take strange shapes . . . 272The light and shade of park-like arrangements . . . . . 274Canoeing the Breakers-(1) The first breaker rolled me over. (2) The

turning was as dangerous as breaking a girth. (3) Choosing a bigwave I paddled and rowed home on its crest . . . . . 280

How the Mangrove Works-(1) A case where the sea tried to destroy anisland-everything but the firmly rooted tree washed away. (2) Theindomitable march out to sea. (3) The railroad vine which co-operates with the mangrove in making islands. (4) The way anisland is started . . . . . . . . . 282

How the mangrove forms a jungle . . . . . . . 284How the mangrove extends a shore line . . . . . . 286The Mangrove in Detail-(1) The shafts in their first growth. (2) The

claw-like roots drive fast in the mud. (3) The flowers and the fruit.(4) The shoots break off and sow themselves . . . 288

Great bunches of oysters attach themselves to these branches . . . 290Cocoa palms at Marco . . . . . . . . 292Royal Palms, native to these plantations . . . . . 294The cane field . . . . . . . . . 294The jacklantern is the hunter's best assistant . . . . . 296In the Big Cypress . . . . . . . . . 298A primitive method of grinding the cane . . . . . . 300A prairie fire-ignited by hunters to lure the deer . . . 302Our conveniences were two Ontario canoes . . . . 308Charley Dixey, his wife and child . . . . 312Seminole Types-(1) The squaws smoke-whenever they get a chance.

(2) Johnny Billy, a medicine man. (3) A primitive mortar for grind-ing corn, and an up-to-date coffee mill . . . . 314

The dancing girls. Their dance is simply a rising and falling on thetoes . . . . . . . . . . 316

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