28 FLORIDA DAYS.

 And how many foes there were! Indeed, that
narrow edge of flowers and trees, where the
shell-stone houses had been built, was contin-
ually importuned by men and elements. The
winds and waves assailed it from about the


northern end of the island, and it seemed a
hundred times as though it. must yield to the
embrace of the entreating sea. Men, steering
triumphantly across the treacherous reefs, rav-
aged it with fire and sword again and again;
its beauty and its promise tempted every buc-