Stopping again at a natural shrubbery, on turning my eyes to some flowering shrubs, I observed near my feet, the surprising glass snake (anguis fragilis). It seems as innocent and harmless as a worm. It is, when full grown, two feet and an half in length, and three-fourths of an inch in thickness; the abdomen or body part is remarkably short, and it seems to be all tail, which, though long, gradually attenuates to its extremity, yet not small and slender as in switch snakes. The colour and texture of the whole animal is so exactly like bluish green glass, which, together with its fragility, almost persuades a stranger that it is in reality of that brittle substance: but it is only the tail part that breaks off, which it does like glass, by a very gentle stroke from a slender switch. Though it is quick and nimble in twisting about, yet it cannot run fast from one, but quickly secrets itself at the bottom of the grass or under leaves. It is a vulgar fable, that it is able to repair itself after being broken into several pieces; which pieces, common report says, by a power or faculty in the animal, voluntarily approach each other, join and heal again. The sun now low, shot the pointed shadows of the projecting promontories far on the skirts of the lucid green plain: flocks of turkeys calling upon their strolling associates, circumspectly marched onward to the groves and high forests, their nocturnal retreats. Dewy eve now arrived. I turned about and regained our encampment in good time.
The morning cool and pleasant, and the skies serene, we decamped, pursuing our progress round the Alachua savanna. Three of our companions separating from us, went ahead and we soon lost sight of them: they again parting on different excursions, in quest of game and in search of their horses, some entered the surrounding groves and forests, others struck off into the green plains. My companion, the old trader, and myself kept together, he being the most intelligent and willing to oblige me. We coasted the green verge of the plain, under the surrounding hills, occasionally penetrating and crossing the projecting promontories, as the pathway or conveniency dictated, to avoid the waters and mud which still continued deep and boggy near the steep hills, in springy places; so that when we came to such places, we found it convenient to ascend and coast round the sides of the hills, or strike out a little into the savanna, to a moderately swelling ridge, where the ground being dry, and a delightful green turf, was pleasant travelling; but then we were under the necessity of fording creeks or rivulets, which are the conduits or drains of the shallow boggy ponds or morasses just under the hills. This range or chain of morasses continues round the South and South-West border of the savanna, and appeared to me to be fed or occasioned by the great wet bay-gale or savanna Pine lands, which lie immediately back of the high hilly forests on the great savanna, part of which we crossed in coming from Cuscowilla; which bottom is a flat, level, hard sand, lying between the sand ridge of Cuscowilla and these eminences of the great savanna; and is a vast receptacle or reservoir of the rain waters, which being defended from the active and powerful exhalations of the meridian sun, by the shadow of the Pine trees, low shrubs and grass, gradually filtering through the sand, drain through these hills, and present themselves in innumerable little meandering rills, at the bases of the shady heights fronting the savanna.
Our progress this day was extremely pleasant, over the green turf, having in view numerous herds of cattle and deer, and squadrons of horse, peaceably browzing on the tender, sweet grass, or strolling through the cool fragrant groves on the surrounding heights.
Besides the continued Orange groves, these heights abound with Palms, Magnolias, Red Bays, Liquidambar, and Fagus sylvatica of incredible magnitude, their trunks imitating the shafts of vast columns: we observed Cassine, Prunus, Vitis labrusca, Rhamnus volubilis, and delightful groves of Æsculus pavia, Prunus Caroliniana, a most beautiful evergreen, decorated with its racemes of sweet, white blossoms.
Passing through a great extent of ancient Indian fields, now grown over with forests of stately trees, Orange groves, and luxuriant herbage, the old trader, my associate, informed me it was the ancient Alachua, the capital of that famous and powerful tribe, who peopled the hills surrounding the savanna, when, in days of old, they could assemble by thousands at ball play and other juvenile diversions and athletic exercises, over those, then happy, fields and green plains. And there is no reason to doubt of his account being true, as almost every step we take over those fertile heights, discovers remains and traces of ancient human habitations and cultivation. It is the most elevated eminence upon the savanna; and here the hills descend gradually to the savanna, by a range of gentle, grassy banks. Arriving at a swelling green knoll, at some distance in the plains, near the banks of a pond, opposite the old Alachua town, the place appointed for our meeting again together, it being near night, our associates soon after joined us, where we lodged. Early next morning we continued our tour; one division of our company directing its course across the plains to the north coast: my old companion, with myself in company, continued our former route, coasting the savanna W. and N. W.; and by agreement we were all to meet again at night, at the E. end of the savanna.
We continued some miles crossing over, from promontory to promontory, the most enchanting green coves and vistas, scolloping and indenting the high coasts of the vast plain. Observing a company of wolves (lupus niger) under a few trees, about a quarter of a mile from shore, we rode up towards them; they observing our approach, sitting on their hinder parts until we came nearly within shot of them, when they trotted off towards the forests, but stopped again and looked at us, at about two hundred yards distance: we then whooped, and made a feint to pursue them; when they separated from each other, some stretching off into the plains, and others seeking covert in the groves on shore. When we got to the trees, we observed they had been feeding on the carcase of a horse. The wolves of Florida are larger than a dog, and are perfectly black, except the females, which have a white spot on the breast; but they are not so large as the wolves of Canada and Pennsylvania, which are of a yellowish brown colour. There were a number of vultures on the trees over the carcase, who, as soon as the wolves ran off, immediately settled down upon it; they were however held in restraint and subordination by the bald eagle (falco leucocephalus.)
On our route near a long projected point of the coast, we observed a large flock of turkeys: at our approach they hastened to the groves. We soon gained the promontory. On the ascending hills were vestiges of an ancient Indian town, now overshadowed with groves of the Orange, loaded with both green and ripe fruit, and embellished with their fragrant bloom, gratifying the taste, the sight, and the smell at the same instant. Leaving this delightful retreat, we soon came to the verge of the groves, when presented to view a vast verdant bay of the savanna. We discovered a herd of deer feeding at a small distance; upon the sight of us they ran off, taking shelter in the groves on the opposite point or cape of this spacious meadow. My companions being old expert hunters, quickly concerted a plan for their destruction. One of our company immediately struck off, obliquely crossing the meadow for the opposite groves, in order to intercept them, if they should continue their course up the forest, to the main; and we crossed straight over to the point, if possible to keep them in sight, and watch their motions, knowing that they would make a stand thereabouts, before they would attempt their last escape. On drawing near the point, we slackened our pace, and cautiously entered the groves; when we beheld them thoughtless and secure, flouncing in a sparkling pond, in a green meadow or cove beyond the point; some were lying down on their sides in the cool waters, whilst others were prancing like young kids; the young bucks in playsome sport, with their sharp horns hooking and spurring the others, urging them to splash the water.
I endeavoured to plead for their lives, but my old friend, though he was a sensible, rational and good sort of man, would not yield to my philosophy. He requested me to mind our horses, while he made his approaches, cautiously gaining ground on them, from tree to tree, when they all suddenly sprang up and herded together: a princely buck, who headed the party, whistled and bounded off; his retinue followed; but unfortunately for their chief, he led them with prodigious speed out towards the savanna very near us, and when passing by, the lucky old hunter fired and laid him prostrate upon the green turf, but a few yards from us. His affrighted followers at the instant sprang off in every direction, streaming away like meteors or phantoms, and we quickly lost sight of them. He opened his body, took out the entrails, and placed the carcase in the fork of a tree, casting his frock or hunting shirt over to protect it from the vultures and crows, who follow the hunter as regularly as his own shade.
Our companions soon arrived, we set forward again, enjoying the like scenes we had already past; observed parties of Siminole horses coursing over the plains, and frequently saw deer, turkeys, and wolves, but they knew their safety here, keeping far enough out of our reach. The wary, sharp-sighted crane, circumspectly observed our progress. We saw a female of them sitting on her nest, and the male, her mate, watchfully traversing backwards and forwards, at a small distance; they suffered us to approach near them before they arose, when they spread their wings, running and tipping the ground with their feet some time, and then mounted aloft, soaring round and round over the nest. They sit upon only two eggs at a time, which are very large, long and pointed at one end, of a pale ash colour, powdered or speckled with brown. The manner of forming their nests and sitting is very singular: choosing a tussock and there forming a rude heap of dry grass, or such like materials, near as high as their body is from the ground, when standing upon their feet, on the summit of this they form the nest of fine soft dry grass. When they cover their eggs to hatch them, they stand over them, bearing their bodies and wings over the eggs.
We again came up to a long projecting point of the high forests, beyond which opened to view an extensive grassy cove of the savanna, several miles in circuit. We crossed straight over from this promontory to the opposite coast, and on the way were constrained to wade a mile or more through the water, though at a little distance from us it appeared as a delightful meadow, the grass growing through the water, the middle of which, however, when we came up, proved to be a large space of clear water, almost deep enough to swim our horses; it being a large branch of the main creek which drains the savanna. After getting through this morass, we arrived on a delightful, level, green meadow, as usual, which continued about a mile, when we reached the firm land; and then gradually ascending, we alighted on a hard sandy beach, which exhibited evident signs of being washed by the waves of the savanna, when in the winter season it is all under water, and then presents the appearance of a large lake. The coast here is much lower than the opposite side, which we had left behind us, and rises from the meadows with a gradual sloping ascent, covered scatteringly with low spreading Live Oaks, short Palms, Zanthoxylon, Laurus Borbonia, Cassine, Sideroxylon, Quercus nigra, Q. sinuata and others; all leaning from the bleak winds that oppress them. About one hundred yards back from this beach, the sand hills gradually rise, and the open pine forests appear. We coasted a mile or two along the beach, then doubled a promontory of high forests, and soon after came to a swift running brook of clear water, rolling over gravel and white sand, which being brought along with it, in its descent down the steeper sandy beach, formed an easy swelling bank or bar. The waters spread greatly at this place, exhibiting a shallow glittering sheet of clear water, but just sufficient continually to cover the clear gravelly bed, and seemed to be sunk a little below the common surface of the beach. This stream, however, is soon separated into a number of rivulets, by small sandy and gravelly ridges, and the waters are finally stolen away from the sight, by a charming green meadow, but again secretly uniting under the tall grass, form a little creek, meandering through the turfy plain, marking its course by reeds and rushes, which spring up from its banks, joining the main creek that runs through the savanna, and at length delivers the water into the Great Sink. Proceeding about a mile farther, we came up to and crossed another brook, larger than the former, which exhibited the like delightful appearance. We next passed over a level green lawn, a cove of the savanna, and arrived at a hilly grove. We alighted in a pleasant vista, turning our horses to graze while we amused ourselves with exploring the borders of the Great Sink. In this place a group of rocky hills almost surrounds a large bason, which is the general receptacle of the water, draining from every part of the vast savanna by lateral conduits, winding about, and one after another joining the main creek or general conductor, which at length delivers them into this sink; where they descend by slow degrees, through rocky caverns, into the bowels of the earth, whence they are carried by secret subterraneous channels into other receptacles and basons.