The Republican journal., 1885-07-02
On Pine Island. Florida

We mH'ie a trip to Pine Island, which lies
wedge-like parallel with the outer key. Here
we found the cocoa-nut and the lemon trees.
the branches laden down with magnificent
fruit. Here we came across certain dimnutive
Robinson Crusoes which excited our sympa-
thies. On this island, with Il sad-looking and di-
lapidated father, lived four children. You ap-
preached the place through shadows barely
navigable with light-lrAught boat at high
tide. ram->hackle structure on rotten piles
was the landing. This settlement was twenty
miles from anyW here. The house, the size of
small stable, looked As if built years before,
and was open to all the winds of heaven. As
the winds. however, are never cold here, that
perhaps wa, not important, but from April. as
the very iio0dgateS of heaven are open, that
family must have been drowned out for months.
Some time before. AS we learned while the
father was absent, the mother died, and these
poor BARNS with their own hands dug grave
and buried their mother. How that family
managed to exc out an existence God only
knows. Shells of the gopher, the land tor
toi>e, were streWn around, suggestive of mis-
cradle food. Fish, though. might have been
plenty. Two grim dogs, lean and lank. SUNK
around the house. The master of these sur
roundings told us the dogs We're only in good
condition when alligators were plentiful. The
house contained scarcely anything. There was
a grimy table, and few boxes serving as
chairs. We saw not cup or saucer; there
were no beds A tame crane, that did net
seem 10 heed our presence, Topped around.
That bird was Il convincing proof that those
little girls had bestowed their love on some
thing, and this was their pet.
Fancy lad of twelve having for toy a
squirning alligator some three fee, long. Not
Il very lovable companion, nor one TO be on In
innate terms with. But it was the only thing
the boy could find. Evidently it was some
thing not to be fooled with for the gators
jaws were bound with bit of rag. AT our re-
quest this ligature was loosed, when this ugl y
brute at once made for the boot of one Of the
party. and fastened his teeth in it. and would
not let go until his mouth was forced open.
The children could read Il little. and strange to
say, the lica Of Wakefield had been their horn
book. 1t was the only bound volume the
father possessed. There were. though, as adj
ditions to the library, a few taltered numbers
of childrens magazines of years long gone past.
There was a slate. and at once the artistic
young fellow stacked his gun, dropped his
Abruzz manner, and drew for the children
pretty and funny pictures, until that poor mis-
cradle house echoed again with laughter and
cries of delight The lad, instead of marbles,
played with the ugly fangs of the gator, and
was himself the slayer of saurians To judge
from miserable tire-lrm we saw, belonging
to the father, should think the risk the boy
ran was greater than that of the alligator.
Then the misanthropst of the party, who often
wondered why people ever wrote books or
magazine stories, and was always amazed why
people read them, made up his mind that that
library on Pine Island should be increased, and
if the mail facilities have not quite gone wrong,
it is supposable that before this these children
have supply of Juvenile literature sufficient TO
last them for some time to come. Harrer's
Magazine.