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Down South or Yacht Adventure in Florida

CHAPTER XXVIII. AN EXPEDITION TO INDIAN RIVER. After spending three days at Leesburg, we started on Friday noon, March 22, as I find it in my diary, which I kept in place of the logbook of the Sylvania, on our trip down the river. In order to get the fullest idea of travelling on the Ocklawaha, Cobbington rigged out the sheet iron pans, with which the boat was provided for burning light wood, and other combustibles that would give a bright blaze, and the run was continued till midnight. The effect was exceedingly picturesque; and the ladies, wrapped in their shawls and water-proofs, were delighted with the view of the forest, illuminated by the bright fires. The trees, the trailing moss, and the openings in the woods assumed weird shapes, and the alligators were as frisky as though they were attending a grand ball. At midnight, the ladies began to yawn, and had evidently seen enough of the dazzling spectacle; and the boat was moored to a tree for the rest of the night. At daylight we were moving again, and in the middle of the forenoon we reached the mouth of the river, and ran alongside of the Sylvania. We found our ship-keepers in good condition; but both of them wanted to go with us up the St. Johns, and I had not the heart to refuse them. I hired a reliable man to take charge of the Sylvania, and on Monday morning, at daylight, we began the trip. "I don't think we want to stop at all these towns on the river," said Owen, who put in an appearance on deck about six, with Colonel Shepard. "We have seen enough of the little places, and I dare say there is nothing but a shop and a post-office at any of them." "Just as you please," I replied. "We can be at the head of navigation on this river to-night, if you say so. But we are just going into Lake George, and I think you had better call the ladies, for I am told the scenery is very fine." But the ladies began to come out of their room before we had time to call them. The lake was simply a widening of the river for eighteen miles to a breadth of twelve miles. It was not very different from the lower St. Johns, except that it was studded with islands, and was twice its width. On the largest of the islands is an extensive orange-grove. As there were no difficulties in the navigation of the lake, Cornwood called Buck to the wheel, and joined the party on the outer deck. He pointed out the herons, curlew, cranes, paroquets, and other birds. When he said it was fine fishing in the lake, our sportsmen had their trolling lines overboard. Ten fine black bass were taken; and at "seven bells," a portion of them were on the breakfast table. We all took our meals at the same table on the Wetumpka, though not at the same time. As we sat in front of the pilot-house, Cornwood pointed out all the objects of interest, and named the towns we passed. But nature was more to our taste than any village, after we had obtained an idea of the average town in Florida. We did not stop all day long, except to run into the stream that flows from Blue Spring, to note the marvellous clearness of the water. At four in the afternoon we passed into Lake Monroe, which is the head of navigation. On it are located the three towns of Sanford, Mellonville, and Enterprise, at the last of which we made a landing. This place I had heard spoken of as the "paradise of sportsmen," and the headquarters of all who desire to hunt and fish in this part of the state. For a change, the passengers went on shore and stopped at the Brock House over night. Cornwood went with them, but he returned about nine o'clock. I was reading some letters I had obtained at the post-office; but none came from my father, and I had become quite anxious about him. "What do your passengers wish to do, captain?" asked Cornwood, as he joined us in the cabin. "They intend to hunt and fish a few days; and they want to get at it to-morrow morning," I replied. "There is not much game about here, I am told. I have talked with several of the old guides, and they say this part of the country has been hunted out," continued Cornwood. "Where shall we go, then?" "I find there have been heavy rains down south of us, and that the streams are high. We can certainly go as far as Lake Harney, and perhaps thirty or forty miles farther. That would bring us to a country where the sportsmen seldom go; and there you will find plenty of deer, wild turkeys, and ducks. But I want to show you some better fishing than you have seen in Florida, or in any other place." "Where shall that be?" I asked, curiously. "In the salt water." "In the salt water!" I exclaimed. "Certainly you can't get to the salt water in the Wetumpka." "We cannot; but if we can get seven or eight miles above Lake Harney, as I think we can, we may cross the land to Titusville, on Indian River. There we can find boats, and do some of the biggest fishing you ever heard of, to say nothing of the shooting." "How far is it across the land?" I inquired. "Not more than nine or ten miles." "We can walk that distance easy enough." "The ladies can't walk nine miles." "I think we had better go on shore and consult Colonel Shepard and Mr. Garningham," I added; and we started to do so. Our passengers, even the ladies, were enthusiastic for the plan. They all wanted to go across to the salt water. Before we went on board we had engaged four mules and two wagons, which were to be taken on board of the steamer the next morning. I had every sort of fishing-tackle in abundance, and both the colonel and Owen had complete outfits of rods and reels, with a vast variety of lines, hooks, squids, sinkers, gaffs, and landing-nets. Each of them had two sporting pieces, and all the equipments of a hunter. Before six in the morning, the mules appeared on the wharf, drawing the wagons, which were nothing but "hay-riggings." They had stakes and rails, so that seats could be put on them. Of course the mules made a row about going on board; but they went, for all that. We took in an abundance of forage and grain for them. We did not consider it necessary to take any drivers, who would only increase the load for the mules. At seven the passengers appeared. The native guides and sportsmen said we were going off on a "wild goose chase"; to which Cornwood replied that he should catch the goose and bring him back to Enterprise. I rather liked his pluck, and determined to do the best I could to make the enterprise a success. We were under way as soon as possible, and had no difficulty in getting to Lake Harney, in which the water was not more than three feet deep in many places. But that, and even less, was enough for us, for it gave one foot clear under the sterns of the twin boats. "Now comes the tug of war," said Cornwood, as we entered the river above the lake. "The water looks very high to me, but the bottom shifts. Will you station a deck-hand on each side of the boat to sound, captain?" I went down to the main deck, and placed Buck on one side, and Hop on the other. They were provided with poles, marked off in feet. I had seen them used by other boats on the Ocklawaha, and so had the deck-hands. The poles were ten feet long, but they were to report no depths above four feet; for if we had four feet, it made no difference how much deeper the water was. "No bottom!" called both of them, for some time; then, "Four feet." "Three feet!" shouted Hop, when we had gone about two miles. Cornwood rang the speed bell, and the boat slowed down to five miles an hour. "Two feet and a half!" cried Buck, the next moment. The pilot rang the gong, for there was not more than six inches of water under the stern. The Wetumpka continued to go ahead. The pilot did not ring to back the paddle-wheel, and the deck-hands both reported two feet and a half, several times in succession. "A stream comes in there," said Cornwood, pointing to the mouth of a creek on the left bank; "that run of water has made a shoal here." "Three feet!" called Hop; and the same call was repeated by Buck; and the pilot rang to go ahead at full speed. In a short time it was "No bottom" again; and we went along very nicely for about five miles. Here we had to slow down again, and then stop her. The deck-hands got down to two feet and a half. When Hop said two feet, Cornwood rang to back her. This was the draft of the boat aft. One of the flat-boats which were stowed away aft, and which we had had no occasion to use before, was put into the water, and with Buck I went ahead, with a sounding-pole in my hand. I followed the two feet depth for about a rod, and then came to three feet, and soon after to "no bottom." I shouted to the pilot the result of my examination of the stream, and Buck pulled back to the steamer. We got on board and made fast the painter of the flat-boat, letting it tow astern, for we might soon need it again. Cornwood ran the Wetumpka back for some distance, and then went ahead at full steam. If the boat stuck, he intended to force her over the shoal, which was not more than a rod in breadth. She went over without even scraping the sand. If she had been loaded with freight, she could have gone no farther. After going a couple of miles more, the pilot ran the boat up to the shore, which was almost the only place we had seen for miles where the banks of the river were not swampy, with the roots of the bushes under water. It was a pine forest on the eastern shore, with no underbrush. "This looks like the right place," said Cornwood, after he had directed the deck-hands to carry the bow fasts ashore and catch a turn around the trees. Then he looked about him, as if he was trying to identify the place. "I wish I had the latitude," he added. "We can give you that, for I have my instruments in my room. I brought them because I was afraid they might be stolen," I replied. I got the instruments, and took an observation from the hurricane-deck of the steamer; and Washburn figured it up. "28° 37′ 55″," said the mate, when he had completed and verified his calculation. "That's it, almost to a hair line," said Cornwood, laughing. "Parallel section line 21 runs through Titusville. We are in east section 33, and south section 21. We are all right, and you may land your mules." He referred to the land sections of the state, of which I had no knowledge. We laid down the planks, and got the mules ashore, and then the wagons. It was only ten o'clock, and we wished to reach our destination by noon. In a few minutes, our hands, under the direction of the pilot, succeeded in harnessing the mules to the wagons. We put six persons in each, with their bags and sporting apparatus. All hands wanted to go with us, but we could not take any of them. We had the same sand for roads as in the streets of Jacksonville. Cornwood drove one team, and I drove the other. Half a mile from the river, we found a settler in a log house, who seemed to be greatly astonished at our sudden appearance, and insisted on knowing how we got there. We told him, and in reply he informed us that the woods were full of game, and no sportsman had been that way for a year. We reached our destination at noon. Titusville consisted of only a few houses; but the party were gladly taken in by the settlers. <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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