ng roots which descend to the bottom. These beds of
_Pistia_ become matted together with grass and weeds, so as to be thick
enough to bear the weight of small animals, and even sometimes of man.
In strong winds these islands break loose from their anchorage and float
away for miles, till they bring up in some quiet bay, where the plants
again take root. Lake Okechobee contains many of these floating meadows,
which are a great resort for ducks and water-fowl. In fact, one would
think that all the ducks, divers, herons, curlews, ibises, cranes, and
waders generally had assembled here in mass-meeting. Among them are
those rare and beautiful species, the scarlet ibis, roseate spoonbill,
and black-necked stilt. The ducks, being birds of passage, spending
their summers up North, are acquainted with men and their arts, and are
comparatively shy, but the native birds are very tame and can easily be
approached.

I was awakened the next morning at sunrise by sounds from the woods as
of a gang of ship-carpenters or calkers at work. It was the great
ivory-billed woodpecker (_Picus principalis_) tearing off the bark and
probing the dead trees for insects and grubs, and making a noise which
could plainly be heard half a mile in the still morning air. Another
sound of a different character now made itself heard from the swamps.
It was something like the bellowing of bulls, and proceeded from the old
male alligators calling to their mates. This indicates the coming of
spring, the breeding-season of these creatures. William Bartram, who
travelled in East Florida a hundred years ago, gives a thrilling account
of the terrible combats which he witnessed in the St. John's River
between these rival champions, who did not hesitate to attack him in his
boat.

The next day, March 15, being in want of meat, Colonel Vincent, Dr.
Macleod, Morris, and I started for a hunt, taking Pecetti for guide,
since nothing is easier than to get lost in this wilderness. We kept up
the lake shore to the north on the sandy beach, towards the mouth of the
Kissimmee River, which here enters the lake. This is a deep and rapid
stream, which drains the great wet prairies to the north, and in the
rainy season must carry a large volume of water. Like the lake, it has
great patches of water-lettuce, which in some places almost bridge the
channel. Much of its course is through swamps, though in some places the
pine barrens and live-oak hummocks approach its banks. It co