w in proportion, that there can be little doubt
that many places are untraversed.

Emerging on the open sand-plain somewhat unexpectedly, I caused my party
no little alarm; they instinctively grasped their rifles, imagining the
approach of a party of hostile Indians.

The constant dread of molestation causes the traveller here to be ever
on the _qui-vive_, the precaution being highly necessary, to prevent
surprise. The least movement in a coppice excites apprehension, and
fills the soul of both the resolute and the timorous with anticipations
of danger. Nor are these fears groundless, for the treacherous Indian
crawls stealthily to the attack, and, without a moment's warning, two or
three of a party may fall to the earth, pierced by rifle-balls, or
rearing horses may throw the riders, and leave them at the mercy of
these ruthless assassins.

Arriving at length at the Bay in safety, I was accommodated in the
officers' quarters of a temporary fort or stockade, erected there. The
steamer had left, so that I was compelled to remain here longer than I
had intended, awaiting the arrival of the next boat. To beguile the
time, I went for miles into the forests, looking for game, often coming
back disappointed and weary; at others rewarded by, perhaps, a racoon,
or, what I valued more, a fawn or wild turkey. There was, however,
plenty of sport on the river, and thousands of wild ducks, gannet, and
pelicans, inhabited the little islands in the vicinity, and reared their
young there; some of these islands being covered with their eggs. Large
numbers of alligators infested the streams adjacent, and their
bellowings, in concert with bull-frogs and other reptiles, often
banished sleep for nights together, although I was pretty well
accustomed to such annoyances. Snakes were often to be met with,
although harmless if unmolested; amongst these, the moccason, hoop, and
garter snakes, of which I procured several specimens, were the most
common to be met with. Rattle-snakes exist in rocky districts, but I saw
none of them here.

The steamer not arriving as I anticipated, after remaining for a
considerable time, and getting tired of so solitary a life, I determined
to retrace my steps to Tallahassee.

While remaining at this post, a party of mounted volunteers arrived from
Georgia. These men were mostly sons of farmers, who had suffered from
the unceasing attacks of the Indians on their farms, in many instances
accompanied by the but