The high road being here open and spacious, at a good distance before me, I observed a large hawk on the ground in the middle of the road: he seemed to be in distress endeavouring to rise, when, coming up near him, I found him closely bound up by a very long coach-whip snake, that had wreathed himself several times round the hawk’s body, who had but one of his wings at liberty; beholding their struggles a while, I alighted off my horse with an intention of parting them; when, on coming up, they mutually agreed to separate themselves, each one seaking his own safety, probably considering me as their common enemy. The bird rose aloft and fled away as soon as he recovered his liberty, and the snake as eagerly made off, I soon overtook him, but could not perceive that he was wounded.
I suppose the hawk had been the aggressor, and fell upon the snake with an intention of making a prey of him; and that the snake dexterously and luckily threw himself in coils round his body, and girded him so close as to save himself from destruction.
The coach-whip snake is a beautiful creature. When full grown they are six and seven feet in length, and the largest part of its body not so thick as a cane or common walking stick; its head not larger than the end of a man’s finger; its neck is very slender, and from the abdomen tapers away in the manner of a small switch or coach-whip; the top of the head and neck, for three or four inches, is as black and shining as a raven; the throat and belly as white as snow; and the upper side of their body of a chocolate colour, excepting the tail part, almost from the abdomen to the extremity, which is black. It may be proper to observe, however, that they vary in respect to the colour of the body; some I have seen almost white or cream colour, others of a pale chocolate or clay colour, but in all the head and neck is black, and the tail dark brown or black. It is extremely swift, seeming almost to fly over the surface of the ground, and that which is very singular, it can run swiftly on only its tail part, carrying the head and body upright. One very fine one accompanied me along the road side, at a little distance, raising himself erect, now and then looking me in the face, although I proceeded on a good round trot on purpose to observe how fast they could proceed in that position. His object seemed mere curiosity or observation; with respect to venom it is as innocent as a worm, and seems to be familiar with man. It appears to be a particular inhabitant of East Florida, though I have seen some in the maritime parts of Carolina and Georgia, but in these regions they are neither so large nor beautiful.
We ascended again, passing over sand ridges of gentle elevation, savannas and open Pine forests. Masses or groups of rocks presented to view on every side, as before mentioned, and with difficulty we escaped the circular infundibuliform cavities or sinks in the surface of the earth. Generally a group of rocks, shaded by Palms, Live Oaks, and Magnolias, is situated on their limb: some are partly filled up with earth, whilst others, and the greater number of them, are partly filled with transparent cool water, which discovers the well or perforation through the rocks in the centre. This day being remarkably sultry, we came to camp early, having chosen our situation under some stately Pines, near the verge of a spacious savanna.
After some refeshment, our hunters went out into the forest, and returned towards evening. Amongst other game, they brought with them a savanna crane[[34]] which they shot in the adjoining meadows. This stately bird is above six feet in length from the toes to the extremity of the beak when extended, and the wings expand eight or nine feet; it is above five feet high when standing erect; the tail is remarkably short, but the flag or pendant feathers which fall down off the rump on each side, are very long and sharp pointed, of a delicate texture, and silky softness; the beak is very long, straight and sharp pointed; the crown of the head bare of feathers, of a reddish rose colour, thinly barbed with short, stiff, black hair; the legs and thighs are very long, and bare of feathers a great space above the knees: the plumage of this bird is generally of a pale ash colour, with shades or clouds of pale brown and sky blue, the brown prevails on the shoulders and back; the barrels of the prime quill-feathers are long and of a large diameter, leaving a large cavity when extracted from the wing: all the bones of this bird have a thin shell, and consequently a large cavity or medullary receptacle. When these birds move their wings in flight, their strokes are slow, moderate, and regular, and even, when at a considerable distance or high above us, we plainly hear the quill-feathers, their shafts and webs upon one another creak as the joints or working of a vessel in a tempestuous sea.
We had this fowl dressed for supper, and it made excellent soup; nevertheless, as long as I can get any other necessary food, I shall prefer their seraphic music in the ethereal skies, and my eyes and understanding gratified in observing their economy and social communities, in the expansive green savannas of Florida.
Next morning we arose early, and proceeding, gradually descended again, and continued many miles along a flat, level country, over delightful green savannas, decorated with hommocks or islets of dark groves, consisting of Magnolia grandiflora, Morus tilia, Zanthoxylon, Laurus Borbonia, Sideroxylon, Quercus sempervirens, Halesia diptera, Callicarpa, Corypha palma, &c. There are always groups of whitish testaceous rocks and sinks where these hommocks are. We next crossed a wet savanna, which is the beginning of a region still lower than we had traversed; here we crossed a rapid rivulet of exceeding cool, pleasant water, where we halted to refresh ourselves. But it must be remarked here, that this rivulet, though lively and rapid at this time, is not a permanent stream, but was formed by a heavy rain that fell the day before, as was apparent from its bed; besides it is at best but a jet or mere phantom of a brook, as the land around is rocky and hollow, abounding with wells and cavities. Soon after leaving the brook, we passed off to the left hand, along the verge of an extensive savanna, and meadows many miles in circumference, edged on one border with detached groves and pompous Palms, and embellished with a beautiful sparkling lake; its verges decorated with tall waving grass and floriferous plants; the pellucid waters gently rolling on to a dark shaded grotto, just under a semicircular, swelling, turfy ascent or bank, skirted by groves of Magnolias, Oaks, Laurels, and Palms. In these expansive and delightful meadows, were feeding and roving troops of the fleet Siminole horse. We halted a while at this grotto; and, after refreshing ourselves, we mounted horse and proceeded across a charming lawn, part of the savanna, entering on it through a dark grove. In this extensive lawn were several troops of horse, and our company had the satisfaction of observing several belonging to themselves. One occurrance remarkable here, was a troop of horse under the controul and care of a single black dog, which seemed to differ in no respect from the wolf of Florida, except his being able to bark as the common dog. He was very careful and industrious in keeping them together; and if any one strolled from the rest at too great a distance, the dog would spring up, head the horse, and bring him back to the company. The proprietor of these horses is an Indian in Talahasochte, about ten miles distance from this place, who, out of humour and experiment, trained his dog up from a puppy to this business: he follows his master’s horses only, keeping them in a separate company where they range; and when he is hungry or wants to see his master, in the evening he returns to town, but never stays at home a night.
The region we had journeyed through, since we decamped this morning, is of a far better soil and quality than we had yet seen since we left Alachua; generally a dark greyish, and sometimes brown or black loam, on a foundation of whitish marl, chalk, and testaceous limestone rocks, and ridges of a loose, coarse, reddish sand, producing stately Pines in the plains, and Live Oak, Mulberry, Magnolia, Palm, Zanthoxylon, &c. in the hommocks, and also in great plenty the perennial Indigo; it grows here five, six, and seven feet high, and as thick together as if it had been planted and cultivated. The higher ridges of hills afford great quantities of a species of iron ore, of that kind found in New-Jersey and Pennsylvania, and there called bog ore; it appears on the surface of the ground in large detached masses and smaller fragments; it is ponderous, and seemed rich of that most useful metal; but one property remarkable in these terrigenous stones is, they appear to be blistered, somewhat resembling cinders, or as if they had suffered a violent action of fire.
Leaving the charming savanna and fields of Capola, we passed several miles through delightful plains and meadows, little differing from the environs of Capola, diversified with rocky islets or hommocks of dark woodland.
We next entered a vast forest of the most stately Pine trees that can be imagined, planted by nature at a moderate distance, on a level, grassy plain, enamelled with a variety of flowering shrubs, viz. Viola, Ruellia infundibuliforma, Amaryllis atamasco, Mimosa sensitiva, Mimosa intsia and many others new to me. This sublime forest continued five or six miles, when we came to dark groves of Oaks, Magnolias, Red bays, Mulberries, &c. through which proceeding near a mile, we entered open fields and arrived at the town of Talahasochte, on the banks of Little St. Juan.