The sun., 1896-09-13

| n receipt. The articles had all been made by
made to each individual when herSturned q
the everglades in the spring. HIS stasemeh'
ness sns corroborated by Seminole Hen. and
afterwnrd by other members of tho tribe:
To lind seminole. Ben was the surest and
easiest way of gaining access TO- one OF the
Seminole camps in the everglades, but twen:
| ty-five mile journey overland In this part OF
From % Jupiter to Zion the road is half oh;
liberated wagon track through the fand. and
ly any clcarings. and practically no forests, s;.,
| the whole surface being covered with thick
than than Il tho knee rarely as high as the shoulder
| As to temperature. Jupiter, Key West, and
Fort Yuma arc t about on par ens sstSS
! after 80 hard n journey-a log cabin Of tho
rLdest kind, containing only, one, room, with
| TO-: table and chair, and some bags OF moss for
beds. The cabin stanus close 10 the river
front, front to which three dugout canoes we're tied.
| This is the home of.old Ben and his daughter
ard her three soys
| siderably younger. Ben gives his age as 6s,
and he Is certainly no younger, but sill erect
woman of unattractve anpearance and her
entire obedience TO her father she atones for by
e2actlng much from her own children.
To guide two white men to the nearest Semi.
mole camp In Il o eyerglades was proposition
Wod h' s Sp%a sen n%s Of The dy Tey NOT
like intruders, and would resent such q
liberty on his part. But he wond rent one OF
his canoes for the purpose, and the way was
Thirty miles up. the river would take them
to the home of the Miamis. the nearest Semi.
mole family, well into the everglades. and they
could hardly miss the way If they y tnea nov
much for tho canoeF twenty-five cents IL
w here do you think these rivers riser" he
asked, when the white men hesitntcd abou,
Hsdf rsadps so%9 n%ss 'sim' 'af.
from fro t the heart I Of the swamp. and when you
follow item fifty miles into the everglades
y1n are st rs much on river as n y9u S Src psre
You have heard the white mems stories about
the dangers OF the great swamp; they are,
White men" he said. think they are 1,s ex:
make, great bras, if they cross it. But white
men have been there before many years ago,
tbele a a tho to
people; Follow this channel in way that
cond show yTI and n sixty se les ~ yoT "
fnd and the % ruins of sam @ jones' old town and ho
further and you would see the remains of
Fort Simon Drum. built by your own soldiers;
Then turn r YIN ~ hs n ShsnhS iSe 9e %
loosahatchee, with a clear stream to the Gulf"
Neither Ben nor any other seminole would
say as much as this in EnElish at one time.
and in several separate conversations, the OBJ
jeot being to show that any man with canoe
lie dwelt. upon the fact that there is much
good land in the everglades. high and dry
Stretches @ @ of si morass and nd many deep channels.
You no cross .he islands IN eante, he
said irving TO indian joke
With the assurance that the Miami camp
was directly on the river as II flowed through
show any hostility to white strangers. 1t was
arranged that the two visitors should spend
the night at n Ms sa start a gys
some leeway In case of missing the channel
This arrangement. however, did not involve
ready we'll occupied by two adults and three
children, besides reminders physical and
ers A pine tree oatside afforded all the pro
tcctinn needed in this climate, and was quite
good safeguard against the swarms of
mosquitoes as the open cabin.
shortly after daylight next morning the
two white men began 20 paddle up the Hills
out canoe. which. like all the others. might
more properly be called burnt.ont. as it
outfit was simple enough slmost for a Semi
mole being merely two rifles with ammuni-
tion.. two revolvers carried in the pockets. a
hatchet. a small bag OF corn neal and n tin
can containing matches and salt. There was
some talk between tho white men of having
water of Iiillsborough River looked too black
to be drunk with safety or comfort. but Ben
the river. so the jug was abandoned.
After an hour and a haif's padding against
the sluggish current the main land was left
behind. and tie canoe was fairly in the Ever,
glados. The low, swampy shores covered
with low bush made this plain enough. but i:
there had been any doubt on.thc subject the
increasing swarms OF mos iuitocs would have
settled the. doubt. In the neiGnborhood OF
enough; shy about ten lines IS plenty n- they they
are on a favorable day on the Newark marshes,
but in thG great swamp they reached point
n FtN mt IN
compare them. They settled ulon the hand.,
nSccks and wrists @ Of the paddlers in thick
wa. accidentally hi. thick cloud arose: not
81 dust but OF mosquitoes They were So over
whclming ard maddcning that they soon passed
the point Of mere discomfort, and raised the
question whother thcv would not disable n
white man in the tw"nty-four hours that it
would be necessary I" spend In the swamp.
AS the canoe passed. further and further into
the great morn,,s, over channel that twisted
and turned continually in every direction hut
remained distinct on account OF its superior
width. II became plain why So many contradic
tory accounts have been given of the COMPOST
tIon Of the Everglades. That they arc COW
cred with tall rai.i. grass; that the vegetable
gown Ms Is I'm, mas o' bushes highcr than the
pine aLd magnolia. are some of tho dcsCrp-
tions that travellers have given. and they arc
swamp changes ms constantly, when seen from
different points. ms the face of country
less pararcs ni dry grass were sucCecdch hy
dense bush that continued for miles. followed
ny FORESTS OF cypress trees hung with tuHcreal
moss, all looking solid and firm when seen
from n distance. but all too swnmpy to be
travcrsed on foot without the greatest difficulty
Occasionally when the channel made sweep
ing detOur IL half encirclcd great island In
this sea of marsh. tn. surface raised four or
five feet above the water. and thickly wooded
with plnes and live oaks some OF these, islands
were hundreds of acres In extent. with n rich
black soil that any farmer might covct.
That here oil these desolate islands. mrRy
or them beautiful in their fcstoons OF green
and gray, were Thousands OF of rich
n nj n hnr an
any voyager might pitch his tent and claim
ownership, was u fact that the Two paddlcrs
could not overlook. One OF them said SO.
Yes, said the other. I'VE have been fslap,
slnp at the mosquitoes wasting our lives. We
might havr lslapl come here and settled. /
think I'll stake out Islap. SLAP, slapl claim
on some OF these islands"
As long Ms the canoe remained In the mid
die OF tho stream, there was very little sign of
the abundant animal life for which the Ever.
Rlades get credit, beyond the ever present NOS
Qultoes ard occasionally n h rmlesS water
snake swimming across the channel. hut
the minute II approached either bank there
was stir among the natives of the swamp
Birds huttered out OF the bushes and flew
away with u rush Of wings. Al!igators that
had been entirely Invisible on the dark and
muddy banks turned and splashcd into the
water and disappeared. Moccasin snakes