The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-06-30
Hunting and Fishing in jackson County
BY Gorgas Sportsman

and in the clean rock bottom grottos
and small assures of the most fantas-
tic design are carved out; interspersed
with these are numbers of projections,
some knob-like in form, others resem-
bling embryonic stalagmite and stylac-
tite, the whole being Joined by grace
fully curved erosion paths, of varying
depth and breadth, in a scheme Of gi-
gantic scroll work.
In the water of the cavern, which
has no perceptible flow, there is a no
ticeable absence Of small fish. Leis-
urely, almost insolently, trout and
suckers as long as a mans forearm
moved away ahead OF our boat, glided
pLst US into open water or dipped into
the lower assures. They gave no sign
Of fear but merely moved away as
though bored and wishing to be rid
Of our staring. Very few Of the fish
which we found here would measure
less than fifteen inches in length and
many Of them reached nearly, II not
quite, two feet
The water penetrates the hill for a
distance Of thirty or forty feet At
this point the floor Of the cavern rises
to a fat, dry table of rock about ff-
teen feet square, a perfect retreat for
gtorm-bound campers, whose protec-
ton, ''Pardner' told me, he had often
accepted very gratefully. Beyond this
rock shelf the back wall Of the cavern
rises abruptly, cutting off further
progress, save by three tunnels, from
two to four feet IN diameter, which
lead away toward the interior of the
hill. It is said that there is at times
a noticeable passage Of air through
these tunnels and that they communi-
cate with a large lime sink several
hundred yards back in the hills
Below the Rock House, though there
Is no single object or locality Of such
peculiar interest as either the Rock
House or the grottoed ledge, the seen
cry is more diversified and the ever
changing character of the stream and
it's banks, the great quantity and va
riety of f1sh-life in the water and the
constant expectation of duck overAe
made every moment live with interest.
Our course lay sometimes upon swift
water in a confined channel, between
steep hills on either side; at other
times we threaded a tortuous course
in a labyrinth Of rush-islands and
banks of floating moss; at one point,
Just above the site which we chose for
our camp for the night, the creek
widens out at short intervals, forming
a chain Of the most picturesque little
wood girdled lakes. Wide and placid
in the glow Of the winter sunset, they
stretch away to the encircling frings
of tall, straight bodied trees and, with
mirror like faithfulness, reflect every
line and color and shade. OF all that
we saw, the inverted double hung
tremendous in the water below; q tiny
patch Of white f1eese clouds moved
slowly across the sky and a kingfisher,
swinging in long, Furnished loops,
passed overhead; In the magic depths
of the water a tiny patch Of white
fleece cloud moved slowly and a king
fisher, swinging in long, FURNISHED
loops. passed far beneath our boat and
away to the dark cover of the shore
line.
Drifting or padding easily, we
slipped past sombre and stately ranks
of giant cypress. from their wide but
tressed roots reaching skyward like
minaretts, their meagre branches,
bleak and naked, drawn sharp against
the sky; sometimes, on gentle slopes,
primeval pines came trooping down TO
the waters edge, their high clustered
branches clad in living green and
whispering softly in the evening wind;
sometimes the shore line is marked
by long reaches of dwarfed gum trees
and water oaks, their slim bodies ris-
ing, singly or in clusters, out of mon
strous deformities of water-swelled
butt and sprawling root. Hoods and