CRUISE OF TPE BLUE WING.


CHAPTER


VII.


Slight frost.-Beach-combing.-Feeding a loggerhead.-Fly-ishing.-
 Sand-flies.-Adieu to Fort Capron.-Fort Pierce.-St. Lucie Sound.


-" Old Cuba.


glimpse of the tropics.-Pet snakes and chame-


leons.-Manatees, and a man not at ease.-St. Lucie River.-In the
wilds of Florida.-Game plentiful.-Black bass fishing.-A ire-hunt.
-Scared by a panther.-A wild cat.-Down the river.-Life-Sav-
ing Station No. 2.-The breakers by moonlight.-The "Hero."-


A moonlight sail.-Jupiter


Narrows.-Peck's Landing


man-


grove


maze.-Arboreal


beauties.-Indisn


Camp.-India


rubber


trees.-Hobe Sound.-Trolling for crevall6.-Conch Bar.-Difficult


navigation.-Locohatchee


River.-Jupiter


Light-house.-A


uresquo panorama.

 HE northerr" mentioned in the preceding
 T Chapter lasted two days, and was followed
 J-. / by a slight frost, the only one we experienc-


ed in Florida.


Our sojourn at Fort Capron


was passed very agreeably in hunting, fish-
ing, and rambling on the beach. At the inlet
I procured some rare and interesting speci-
mens of marine fishes, among them a Mexi-


can star-gazer (Astrosopu y-greum),


electric powers.


which possessed decided


We obtained some lumber and built a dingey, or


tender for the Blue Wing, which was in constant requisition by
the boys in rowing to the various camps of the turtlers and oyster-


men, and to the fishing grounds and sea-beach.
object of special interest in a huge loggerhead tu


 They had an
irtle, which was


moored to a stake in shallow water at the camp of Jim Russell.
They went up daily to feed him oysters in the shell, and took