chief named
Wild Cat. There is a little window near the top of the cell, protected
by several iron bars; and it is said that Wild Cat starved himself until
he was thin enough to squeeze between two of the bars, having first
mounted on the shoulders of Osceola in order to reach them. Whether the
starving part of the story is true or not, it is certain that he escaped
through the window.

When I last visited San Marco, it was full of Indian prisoners who had
been captured in the far West. Some of them were notorious for their
cruelties and crimes, but in the fort they were all peaceable enough. It
was one of these Indians, a big, ugly fellow, who lighted me into the
dungeon of the skeleton-cages.

This fort, which is in many respects like a great castle, is not built
of ordinary stone, but of coquina, a substance formed by the
accumulation of sea-shells which, in the course of ages, have united
into a mass like solid rock. On Anastasia Island, opposite St.
Augustine, there are great quarries from which the coquina stone is
taken, and of this material nearly the whole town is built. It is
interesting to visit one of these quarries, and observe how in the
upper strata the shells are quite distinct, while the lower we look down
the more and more solid and stone-like the masses become.

The harbor of St. Augustine is a portion of the sea cut off by Anastasia
Island. Southward, the Matanzas River extends from the harbor; and in
all these waters there is fine fishing. On the sea-beaches there is good
bathing, for the water is not too cold even in winter. St. Augustine is
an attractive place at all seasons of the year, and its three superb
hotels--the Ponce de Leon, the Alcazar, and the Cordova--are among the
most celebrated in America. In winter people come down from the North
because its air is so warm and pleasant, and in summer people from the
Southern States visit it because its sea-breezes are so cool and
refreshing. It is a favorable resort for yachts, and in its wide, smooth
harbor may often be seen some of the most beautiful vessels of this
class.

St. Augustine is not only a delightful place in which to stay, but it is
easy to reach from there some points which are of great interest to
travelers. The great St. John's River is only fourteen miles away, and
is connected with the town by a little railroad. At Tocoi, the river
terminus of the railroad, people who wish to penetrate into the heart of
Florida, with its g