The Frankfort roundabout. [volume] (Frankfort, Ky.) 1882-1908, 1892-04-30
Highest of avenng Report, Aug 1889
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filling it with sand. But the working of
the wheel washed the sand away and
opened up a channel. This canal
was four miles to the next lake, but
we were about seven hours getting
through, it being after dark. We
crossed Lake Cypress to the mouth
of the next canal and laid up for the
night, with the understanding that
we could get up early and go fishing
by trolling down the canal in the
small boat until the steamer would
overtake us. About half past four
Miss Maggie LeCompte, Mr.. and Mrs.
Tebeau and myself, with Sam. Gill
bert to row us, went through the
canal four or FIVE miles into the next
lake, where we were overtaken by the
steamer and taken in with fifteen or
twenty large bass, weighing from
two to six or seven pounds each.
Miss Maggie proved to be the hero
inc and 'boss fisherman" all the way
through, she never failing to lead.
The full history Of these fishing
excursions would take too mnch
space to give them all. Sometimes we
would go morning and evening, while
UllO DOtU NOulO OC WI lOo way
through the sand in the canals. Alli-
gator shooting was another pastime.
When the boat was under way Ispent
every spare hour with a double-bar
rel shot gun and Winchester rifle,
with ammunition furnished me by the
boatmen, all of which l made good
use of, using good sized shot up to
buck shot. The number of alligators
killed by the party will never be
known as we made no stop to take
them in except one.
The country passed through is
very romantic, and sometimes L
thought grand. The whole distance
through from Kissimmee to Fort
Thompson, a distance of over three
hundred and fifty miles, we saw but
three or four settlements.
At one of these one man lived
alone. He came from New York
ten or twelve years ago and settled,
killing alligators and offers for their
skins, besides he has several hundred
orange trees loaded with fruit, as
good as l ever eat, and we thought at
that time the best we ever eat. We
took supply on the boat to last us
through the trip.
The fish are so numerous all
through the canals, lakes and rivers
that it was rarely they could not be
seen from the minnow up to the hun
dred Founders. The trolling hooks
were as apt to catching them in the
back as in the mouth. We caught
more than we could begin to use,
and would throw them away
Fort Thompson is near the head of
Caloosahatchie river and near the
mouth of one of the canals, cut
through solid stone. The remains of
the old fort or stockade still stand.
1t was made from pine logs put in
the ground endways, and eight or
ten feet high, four square, fifty feet
more or less. At this place lives
Capt. Hendry, who served in the
late Indian war, which closed in 1857
l think. l asked him who had COM
mand of this fort and the troops in
that section, he told me Col. May.
The thought came to me instantly
it was Capt. May who had command
of the Dragons in the Mexican war,
and was in the battle of Pala Alto,
Resaca de la Palma and Monterey
and other battles, and who made
gallant and victorious charges in all
these battles
A few miles below Fort Thompson
we met four canoes coming up the
river filled with Indians, who had
been down to Fort Meyers to lay in
supplies and were on their way back
to their settlement on the Okeecho-
bee. We had photographer aboard
all the way taking views at different
places along. He and | were sitting
on the hurricane deck of the boat, he
with his Kodak taking instantaneous
views, with my Winchester Shoot
ing alligators and big fish. Just as
the photographer was ready to take
the Indians with their canoes the
most OF them jumped ashore, rolled
over the bank and took to the woods,
running like wild turkeys, with no
on except hat and gar
ment known all over the world as
shirt, reaching only above their
knees. We were SO anxious TO get
their pictures the boat was stopped
and we all did our best to have them
come back, but to no purpose. | had
been shooting every minute and none
of us knew whether they were
afraid Of the gun or the Kodak. The
waves from the boat fioated their
canoes from the shore, we hallooed
''loose cancel" "loose canoe!n all to
no purpose-they could not be in