162 FLORIDA DAYS.

together above him for a coverlet. While h#
sleeps he is being bathed. What glory to awake
sweetened and refreshed by the sole careless ac
of sleep! "
 Turtles also watch the intruder; there is 4
condescending curiosity in the way in which
they stretch up their long, thin necks to observe
him, but they easily lose countenance, and drop
bashfully down into the water when he return
their stare. The snakes are the only really
timid and deprecating denizens of the creek
and swamp. Doubtless they have been made
to feel their outcast condition by their less ob|
jectionable neighbors, who have watched th
unfailing antipathy of men for these beautiful
and often harmless creatures. In this silent
progress of the canoe into the forest, one
comes upon a snake lying across a cypress
knee, lithe, black, shining, with alert, uplifted
head and diamond eyes, half in and half out o0
the water, ready at the first splash of the paddle
to drop and dive, swimming across the creek
in wonderful gleaming curves. It is strange
how few can appreciate his beauty or feel his