The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1900-11-23
altzes and country dances till mid

Nor were the men less sensible than
their superiors of the change for the
better, as we'll in the temperature OF
the atmosphere, as in their own frame
of mind. There were among them
many who played the fife well; these.
taking Il cue from their officers, pro
duccd their instruments, and the fore
part Of the ship soon rasounded to the
voice Of piping and making merry.
al on board, in short, from the officer
commanding down to the cabin-boy,
appeared to acquire additional vicacity
as we proceeded farther and farther
from the tropic; insomuch, that | will
take it upon me to affirm, that a ship
h:s rarely navigatcd the Gulf of Mex
leo, among the crew of which so much
good humor and genuine conviviality
prevailed.
Such WAS the order of our existence,
from the 3rd of December. when the
romantic shores of Cuba were lost
sight OF, up to the 9th, when the low
coast of Floridas first came into view.
The wind had, generally speaking,
been in our favor; if a squall did occa-
sionally occur, it never lasted above
an hour or two, nor did the fleet the
smallest damage. On the Sth, indeed,
our master experienced no little un-
easiness; for, at moment when we
were proceeding under press of sail
the horizon suddenly overspread with
clouds, and violent hurricane seemed
at hand. But our ships company was
a good one; and the soldiers, brave by
habit, had all acquired some knowledge
of naval tactics; we were accordingly
enabled to take in our canvass in good
time. and SO avertcd the danger. The
storm, however, lief, one disagreeabe
consequence behind it;-the wind
changed; and hence, instead of seein.
land before dark that day. the evening
of the next Was approaching before we
were enabled to discover it. perfect
ly recollect that the 9th Of December
was an exceedingly cold day. A sharp
northeastcrly wind drove into our faces
a keen sleet; and it was not without
having recourse to cloaks and blankets,
that We were enabled to keep the deck
| shall! not readily forget the effect
produced by the first appearance Of
the land towards which our course was
directed The coast of America is. l
; believe. for the most part low, at least
| never chanced to approach it in any
quarter where it presented different
character; and all along the compass
of the Mexican Gulf, it is peculiarly
so. When, therefore, the cry was ut
| tered from the masthead of Gland ON
| the weather-bow," it was in vain that
we who stood upon the quarterback
strained our sight in order to discov er
it. We saw nothing, and more than
an hour elapsed ere any object rose
upon the view, calculated to satisfy us
that the look out seaman had not re-
ported falsely. At length. however
some dark specks, resembling the masts
of ships lying at anchor, stood between
us and the horizon AS the vessel
held her course, these appeared gradu-
ally to assume the appearance of thick
or bushy substances; and by and by it
became manifest enough, that We were
gazing upon the upper branches of a
! grove of fir trees. AS to the leaves
and roots, however, they were entirely
hidden f.om us. The entire picture
was as if 4 grove Of ccdars had been
| Topped off about - feet from the
| ground;as if the higher branches had
| been suspended hy some unseen rafter
in the air, whilst the stumps being
cleared away, the sea obtained free
course where they had stood. So
great was the refractve power of the
atmosp.n re in these parts; and so very
low the beach upon which this cedar
We, ID was growing.
1t happened, that during the whole
of the lOth and llth, the winds proved
battling in an extraordinary degree.
The consequence was, that we were
not only compelled to cast anchor each
evening after sun set, but throughout
all the hours of daylight we could only
beat off and on, without gaining one
inch Of way, or approaching one jot
nearer to the point of debarkation.
On the ltl, however, a clear, Sharp and
bracing frost set in; and the breeze
getting slightly round, we managed to
hold our course 80 we'll that at noon
tie hospitable beach of Chandelier
Island became conspicuous from the
poop Never have | gazed upon a
spot OF earth more woofully barren and
uhinvilinL. \ low red sand, just rising
above the level Of the tide. seemed to
give nonrishmcnt tonothng more than
a few miserable cypress trees. There
was not a house, hovel, or any other
symptom of a human habtaton to he
. noted; no batteries, no bcacons, no
watch-towels, nor anything capable of
! proving to the spectator, that the foot
! of man had ever trodlcn there | need
scarcely add, that the island in ques-
tion lies at the entrance of Lake Borgue,
! and that it forms the most advanced
| district of West Florida, of which New
0rloonS iS the can't n