Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-08-07
A Wonderful Lake,

III 1QoA4uK OA043 way W 141C
shore of Lake .Okeechobes, and in
making a partial exploration Of that
great, dismal body Of water, which lies
in the midst Of the gloomy swamps
and somhre forests Of fSouthern Florida,
Concerning Lake Okeechobee, com:
paratively little has been known,
except in regard to its geographical
position and the peculiar character of
It's shores. It is from twenty to forty
milsswide, and is supposed to be over
sixty miles in length, and to cover an
area Of more than two thousand square
miles: IL is surrounded on every side,
except the North, by dense forests of
cypress and pine, and vast and almost
impenetrable sxamps. ''S' ''''' = ; S'''
Several United States forts are, situ-
ated in this portion Of Florida, some
in the very vicinity of this lake; but
its uninviting character, and the entire
absence of suitable means for exploring,
have, combined to discourage those
who were stationed there from making
any extensive observations, %
that succeeding garrisons, from time to
time, went to and came away from
there, and while each wondered what
this curious water contained, all were
compelled to leave without unveiling
the secrets of this secluded lake. rt'
The party were over four weeks in
moving their boat to the shore Of the
lake, q distance Of fifteen miles. They
visited number of islands of censid-
e1able extent, upon some Of which they
discovered heaps Of stone lying in such
a position as to resemble ruins of some
kind of structures., None of the ruins
were extensive, and the structures
must, therefore, have been. of small
dimensions. Similar. ruins. If ;sueh
they were, were found in great num-
bers upon the small island north Of
this one. na!s1T : n..s.
Upon the summit of q cliff which
stands upon the eastern shore Of the
large island, the party fornd large
heap of stones lying IN u semi-circular
form, and facing to the east. The
length of these ruins was nearly 200
feet in front of this semi. circle, and
about fifty feet from it was large heap
of stones nearly twenty feet square.
The ruins found on the plain below,
and upon the small island, were much
smaller than those found upon the cliff,
being only from five 10 ten feet square.
There can be little doubt that these
stones are ruins of ancient struc-
lures, but of what kind of structures
no one can tell. Their limited size
precludes the possibility of their hav-
ing been used for this purpose by peo-
pie of ordinary size. The lake in the
vicinity of these islands swarmed
with alligators, many of them being Of
monstrous size and uncomfortably
tame. This fact, in connection with
the insignificant appearance of the isl
ands, induced the party to remain bal
a. short time in thia vicinity.
The explorers left their boat upol
the bank oi the bayou, and returnet
} home very much gratified at the sue
cess of their undertaking. They con
template making another and amor
} extensive exploration of the lake q
Lsome time during this season, and hop
to add much more to their knowledg
of this lake. They arc fully satisffe'
! that the lake IS more extensive thu
{ has been generally supposed; that
extends further south into the everglad
0 swamp, and is somewhat wider tha
hitherto believed. The, islands foull
in; this lake, although not sxtensiv,
|, are at least beautiful and interesting
and the ruins discovered upon thei
may yet prove to be q key to the earl
history Of one Of the loveliest portion
'of America. ~