Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1877-07-26
From the New York Sun.
FISH INNUMERABLE.
THE STORY OF A FLORIDA INLET.

THE STORY OF FLORIDA INLET.
IF you will look at the map of Florida,
away down the eastern coast of the finger-like
peninsular, you may see spot marked "Ju-
piter," or "Jupiter Inlet" Some maps make
it Juniper" This is wrong. Its namesake
was old Jupiter, the slave of an army officer,
who was stationed at this point during the
first Seminole war. Jupiter is between lati-
tude 26 degrees and 27 degrees. Although
only 12O miles north of Key West it budges
to the east nearly a degree of longitude be-
yond Cape Canaveral 1t is probably the
most inaccessible and barren nook on the
whole Floridian coast and can be reached
only in light-draught boats, sailing the whole
length of the Indian river. Sharp coral reefs
fringe its shore. and high hillocks of white
sand, sprinkled with thick clumps Of scrub
and cactus, rear their heads above the inlet.
The lively sand crab catches 6reAies on the
beach, and huge turtles deposit their eggs in
the sand. This attracts scores of bears from
the swamps and hammocks bordering the
Everglades for to them the turtle and its
eggs are toothsome >delicacy. Spotted tiger
cats play among the sand-hills by moonlight,
and the fierce puma prowls along the shore
in quest of king crabs or more substantial
diet. The largest puma ever seen in the
State was shot in this region by the keeper
of the lighthouse. 1t was as formidable as a
royal Bengal tiger, and measured over thir.
teen feet from snout to tip.
The shallow salt water swarms with fish.
Schools of mullet and pompino flash in the
sunlight, and cavallo boneish, blue6sh, red
bass, drum, snappers, and groupers are here
in myriads Jewish have been caught weigh.
ing 500 pounds. Saw6sh the size of young
whales surge through the narrow channels,
and ravenous sharks from twelve to twenty
feet in length keep rigid blockade outside.
As the tide rises they come within the inlet
in search of prey. The bass and other fish
that have heen feeding upon the mullet be-
come in turn the victims of the shark. The
smaller fish dart to and fro, making the wa
ter boil in their efforts to escape. Millions
are slowly but surely driven into small bay
by the sharks, who whip the waves into foam
in their hungry fury. Penned at last, the
doomed fish leap in the air with terror, and
shoals of them run ashore. The sharks charge
with a rush. Their jaws snap like pistol
shots, and mutilated fish are scattered over
the water Schools of porpoises join in the
slaughter, and occasionally an old alligator
shoves off from the shore, sinks himself like
a submarine battery, and steals bounteous
meal.
Nor is an alligator the only free feeder
The air is filled with thousands Of black. k.feath-
cred terms and gulls Full we'll do they un-
derstaud the situation. The rush of their
wings is like breeze in forest Of pines,
and their screams are deafeping. By platoons
they dash into the agitated water, and soar off
above the roaring surf, each with fish in its
bill. The very air sparkles with fish, for the
gulls toss their victims up until they catch
them by the head. Then they are easily
bolted. High above the terms float focks of
gray pelicans larger than geese, and grave
and formal as judges. The wind whistles be-
meath their great wings, but they make no
audible expression of satisfaction. Dropping
into the waves with a great splash, after a
few lubberly maneuvres they Gil their pouch
es, and sail away as though the whole affair
had been arranged for their own exclusive
benefit. A party of stalwart herons pace the
strand in their Austrian uniform, and pick
up the tiny little silver fish stopping ashore
during the commotioh. And last and least,
our little northern king6sher, clad in sky
blue suit, springs his little rattle, and hangs
on the outskirts of the battle, picking up the