Show THE dark chit almost cn cnown to mm letter to km lot tribune five years ago a tingle white roan dropped a tiny canoe into the waters of the stance river and made bis way down to the gulf of mexico entered the river ascended it and paddled his way antu the great dismal watery waste of on this iLor elcas inland sea of solitude he wandena for eight days and nights searching for the mouth of the kissimmee Kis simmee river this lonely adventurer was mr kirk munroe of new york and there is every reason to believe that ho was the first while mau or tact first ajan of iny color whoever took a boat into the lake from the gulf since thu major williams if the new orleans democrat with an exploring arty entered the great inland sva ruin the and surveyors and civil engineers have also crossed a portion of the dismal lake beyond this little is known of Flo great inland ocean and alie catl savannah or everglades surrounding it which is really only HI expansion of the lake itself there is no shore to the lake but denae swamps of sea grass and wild half submerged hummocks encircle the clear water sheet on every side on which neither reptile animal nor man has ever yet a fooling immense bodies of water jel tuce a of air and water plant noat about on the eur face of the sea and like the treacherous will 0 lh deceive the solitary travelers atho venture into that lonely region the mouth ot the is thus often closed up by the floating plant and the daring explorer wanders around for da a before he can get his bearings the only sign that marks the mouth of the river ia a email barrel which the last party of surveyors placed on the top of u tall cypress tree that stands far out into the lake like some solitary sentinel of duty it 11 the only visible within a of nearly miles and if it had not been for the water lions of the two rivers floming into the lake the region would baill be unknown and unexplored the proper are just south are fully J 00 milea long and 70 broad over which no haa ever been stretched and of which all knowledge is as conjectural as of the interior of the dirk beyond the path t stanley on reaching the level of the gladce a vast meadow in expanded apparently as ai aliu ocean passing on through the winding lagoons lagoo nf you find yourself in a vai region partially and re an lake with of varying front a fraction of an acre to hundreds of acres in extent during the winter season the whole grassy border of the jake id covered with water but not w deep a to hide the grasia which is very thick and tall the border of the and laud which the everglades gradually aiuto rocky giue laud which forms the basin occupied by the glades this nm ia on an average 20 feet above the level of the sea but occasionally it ri ica to a much greater hight in home reaching nearly feet the at liu ilic th n whole labyrinth wet lakes lui Kua is drained on every eida by ruvem of difre reut dinieus ions the ht john braini it on the north tin st lucie greenville jupiter and miami on ilia eal ea l and the swallow aad on the west behind cape florida thu gladica approach within twelve of abo coast and the inlet reua into the sea with great to pene the is a daring undertaking and none but the cowboys of south florida ever to guide antu the dismal waste they have become more er familiar with alie lor dars world famous glade in lliter cattle through the genao and they will guide through certain well beaten tracks along the bank of the river but beyond that they will not even gu dangers from and alligators which are oa aa hairs ou your head and of gigantic size they but when it canies conies to facing IQ a trackless wilderness they weaken they are dot to get at nothing cither up in along tho border i iho everglades they have moat if their time in wandering wand tring around in the low wet swampy the land in tho gladce in treacherous and iu places a sort f puck annil will sink bi ones feet ami land you in a living grave the bottona of many of tha alamao boft that one 1 roust swim atheni and not trust to wading A heavy rain will make the most maiv clous changes in the country small streams will basuino gigantic jiro portions in one night anil hy morning you will fiod as it no A email inland cut all land by loag liea of uncertain water if the radii cunti fur several alayo or weeks as ia the caw in rainy abo great inland lake will continue lu rise anil the in tiie will grow proportionately breall you find your island gradually melting away from under your feet and you strike out fur another and larger one the dalerd carry you through alio llio making swimming un easy work game of all description are keeping you and when you finally a larger aej safer island beara deer wild cats allig atura rattler and moccasin are there to biye you a welcome but the general inundation bai tamed the savage brutes and there ia BO danger iron them if yu give them plenty of prooro fhe rattler raises head and sends out its alarm at the approach of every creature and the larger brutes grumble savagely oava gely at the hissing reptiles the alligators alone are in their element and they ims prove their opportunity by devouring a few of the more hanulec han ulea animals they will not however attack a aran unless lie firby begins the battle and then they show a savage front there is no ecale from euch prisons until the waters subside Bub side and even then it requires luany days for the moat experienced woodsman to find his way back to civilization have to be corded forded that aro up to the neck and trails followed that are nearly ob liter aled by the water Ifune docs not starve to death in such u journey he is likely to be prostrated many days afterward with fever and exhaustion at certain seasons of the year however portions of the can he explored with comparative bakity during the hummer the ground is often dry and hard for ten miles from the timbered land and abundant game roama at large over it lauy of the bilanda then are dimply high elevations in the country and halt trails of indian lead to them bertila islands the remnant of have pitched their aenlo and hut villages there are about of their most of whom live in the big cypress swamp are plenty of inland islands the cowboys occasionally trade will them but no white man has ever yet penetrated to their main village supposed to be somewhere in the center of the glades the trail leading to it is no obscure and so deally covered up that one has yit been able to follow it to net to the village cancea have lobe faed and the indians carefully coucill their email dug onta irum the white mans eyes although generally friendly the do not encourage the pale lace to come exploring tou near their homes A note book and pencil iu the hands of a surveyor or explorer aggravates them and eccli a person la likely ta re ceide rude treatment the row boys w ho go among them simply to barter goods get along with them the beat tor this the birst barvey was made on the border of the glades the daiil not like the invasion and they showed it by their manners and rude treatment ot the party the barvey was made however without any quarrel but two years later when one of the surveyors Hurve went over the same ground he made an amusing discovery in trying to reach the most westerly township line be un ier took to do it by following the surveyors posts this should have taken him due west but his conr pointed out t liidi lie win going northwest after going out of his way for some dozen ot miles be detected the fraud the indians had played up in him not liking the looks of the posts which marked out the town hipa the wily indians had taken them up after the departure jwj years bt tor and placed them in a line loading oil in another direction the surveyor hud thus been lol loping a false guide about miles southeast on cow brcik slough is ants typical indian vil lages situated on a round hummock of fifteen or twenty acres the village conahan of eight or ten house luila of polea three on a side about idine leet high they arc about eighteen with elevated about three teet from the ground aud the roof are thatched with palmetto leavea the village af abutin thirty ludia iia ten of whom are men and the remainder women and children the place is culled after tho chief choso whoso baine is parker they have gained an impelled knowledge of english from the in conversation they auly the words of a benl cuce oil creek ten in ilca south of jow slouch is another village af eighty it is not laid down on any duap but is known a which the place where the live the chiefs ia old tiger of the war fame they leave felds gelds of corn and pumpkins which are cultivated by the while tho men hunt and fish they cure their meat without the use n salt they uw winchester rides to kill their gather down near the jig cyprean Siv arup on the west bide of the are several other indian villages that bavo been visited by the if you go down there you bad better take a with you one will hear now and then from the cowboy the reason according to their cx plan alion la a very good one too tor you cau sell the negro to the indians lor enough to pay all your not a few negro slavca are owned by the indiana iu thia region who know nothing about the war that wan fought to set free they have been brought up aa slaves among alio indiana and they are liello bolter than brutes the indian women will comb hair with their lingers but the slaves in thin never of lucli a thing their wool ithier and more repulsive looking than that ou tho back of sheep before they aro washed for tho clipperd clipp erB they are far below the indiana in their manner af living and habib and it is hard work to call then human beings occasionally tho indiana get hold of a more civilized negro and carry him away to their forbat home they may make him work their gardens aud lielda of corn and vegetables otolea or bought is not an easy question to hut certain it ia that have been circulated around eo the degro slaves among tho indiana that a cannot get a darkey to accompany him in a journey to the everglades they are suspicious of one at once when asked to make uch a trip and probably it is ailua to this fact that south flur aja las bo very few |