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 nues for traversing the country. In other words, the lower
 SEverglades is a saw grass region, cut up by numerous natu-
 ral water avenues, having a course generally southerly and
 dotted by thousands of islands. The surface of the lower
 glades is well elevated above tide level, but, due to the rim
 of outcropping lime-rock extending along the gulf and At-
 lantic borders, the waters are, to a great measure, impounded
 and retained at varying elevations above the tide. Levels
 and measurements taken at Lake Worth establish the surface
 of the fresh water of the Everglades to be o10o feet above
 the tide waters of the Atlantic, and that a canal ioo feet
 long would afford relief for a vast area westward. Examin-
 ations at Miami and other points disclose the presence of this
 rocky ridge, whose crest was elevated above the normal level
 of the waters of the interior. It would be perfectly feasible
 to cut this rim at frequent intervals and permit the impound-
 ed water to flow into the gulf or Atlantic. This would re-
 sult in exposing great tracts of soil, now practically value-
 less. From these points drainage canals could be projected
 into the interior."
 The annexed extracts from a letter written by Gen. Thos.
 S. Jes up, to the Hon. J. D. Westcott, U. S. Senator, dated
 Feb. 12, .1848, shows that intelligent observation had been
 made by the United States officers engaged in the Seminole
 War. He says: "From my own observation, when com-
 manding the army operating in that country ten years ago,
 -as well as from reports made by and information derived
 from intelligent officers, who operated near and who explored
 the Everglades and the large lake, Okeechobee, north of
 them, I have no doubt the glades are about 30 feet above the
 level of the sea. The practicability of draining
 both, I take for granted. The effect of the meas-
 ure would be to reclaim many hundreds of thousands of acres
 without including the bed of the Everglades, now subject to
 inundation for several months every year. Were
 the surface of the lake and the glades lowered, these fine
 lands would be reclaimed, and would soon be converted into
 valuable sugar plantations, as rich as any in the wbrld. The
hammocks of this country are exceedingly rich. These re