Exposed, during the day, to the rays of a vertical sun,
Mr. Bartram experienced great inconvenience in rowing his canoe against
the stream; and, at night, he was annoyed by the stings of musquitoes,
and he was obliged to be constantly on guard against the attacks of
alligators. In one instance an alligator, of immense size, came up to
his tent, and approached within six feet of him, when he was awakened by
the screaming owl. Starting up, he seized his musket, which, during the
night, he always kept under his head; and the animal, alarmed by the
noise, rushed again into the water.

In many places the banks of the river were ornamented with hanging
garlands of various climbing vegetables, both shrubs and plants. One of
these had white flowers, each as big as a small funnel, the tube five or
six inches in length, and not thicker than a tobacco-pipe. It was
curious to observe the wild squash, (a species of cucurbita,) which grew
upon the lofty limbs of the trees: its yellow fruit, somewhat of the
size and shape of a large orange, pendant over the water. In some parts
there were steep cliffs on each side of the river. During the middle of
the day the weather was so intensely hot, that Mr. Bartram was obliged
to seek for shelter under the shade of the trees which grew upon the
banks.

He passed another lake, the eastern shores of which were adorned with
dark, high forests: on the north and south were apparently endless
plains and meadows, embellished with islets and promontories covered
with trees. Whilst he was navigating this lake, he was exposed to the
most tremendous storm of thunder and lightning that he had ever
witnessed. The lofty forests bent beneath the fury of the blast, and the
sturdy limbs of the trees cracked under the weight of the wind. Groves
were torn up; and the spreading branches of the trees were rent asunder,
and, like leaves or stubble, were whirled aloft in the air. After a
while the wind and rain abated. Mr. Bartram then crossed the lake, about
a mile in length, and arrived in safety at a plantation near its
southern extremity. Here he found that nearly all the buildings had been
overturned by the hurricane; and that a hundred acres of indigo plants,
almost ripe for cutting, and several acres of sugar-canes, had been
ruined.

About four miles beyond this plantation, Mr. Bartram was shown a vast
fountain of hot mineral water, which issued from a ridge or bank of the
river, in a great cove or bay. Th