A PREHISTORIC EVERGLADE MOUND.
The whole party had come to a halt on first seeing the mysterious
smoke, and now, with their boats grouped close together, they watched
it curiously. Its several puffs did not last more than a minute, and
then it was seen no more. Nobody but Worth mentioned volcanoes, and
his suggestion caused a general smile. Quorum uttered the single word,
"Injuns," and Lieutenant Carey agreed with him. He said:
"Such a smoke as that must result from human agency, and as I do not
believe there is a white man besides ourselves within the limits of
the 'Glades, it is probably the work of Indians, and is doubtless a
signal of some kind, referring to our presence. I hope it is, for one
of the objects of my mission being to reassure the Everglade Indians of
the kindly intentions of the Government towards them, I shall be glad
to meet them as quickly as possible. Let us go on, then, and have our
first interview with them by daylight."
Half an hour later the canoes reached the island, close to which was
a wide channel of open water that apparently extended wholly around
it. So dense was its encircling growth of custard-apple and cocoa-plum
bushes, that not until they had cut a passage through these could they
reach the dry land behind them.
Anxious to discover the occupants of the island before darkness should
set in, the Lieutenant, taking Sumner and the sailor with him, and
leaving Worth and Quorum to guard the boats, set out for the mound,
which, rising to a height of fifty or sixty feet, seemed to occupy the
centre of the island.
Besides being desirous of meeting with Indians, Lieutenant Carey was
most curious concerning the formation of this strange mound. Until
he had seen the smoke rising from its summit, he had believed it to
be merely a growth of tall forest trees surrounded by lesser trees
and bushes that grew smaller as they neared the water. This is a
common feature of that level Southern country, where the outer lines
of vegetation are stunted by the constant high winds. Behind their
protection, the inner circles of trees rise higher and higher until
they attain a maximum size, and present an appearance of hills and
mounds that proves most deceptive to strangers. The character of the
smoke rising from the summit of this one had proved it to be something
more than one of these ordinary tree mounds. Consequently the explorers
were not surprised, after making their toilsome way through a forest
of trees bound together with luxuriant vines, and brilliant with the
blossoms of flowering air-plants, to find a veritable hill of earth
rising before them. The forest encircled it, but ended at its base,
and its sides were clothed only with a low growth of shrubs. They had
hardly begun the ascent when they ran across a narrow but well-worn
path leading to the summit.
On reaching the top they were disappointed to find it as lonely and
unoccupied as the forest through which they had just passed. What they
did find was a small cleared space from which even the grass had been
worn away, and in the centre of which stood a sort of an altar of rough
stones. It was about six feet square by four high, and was built of
the ordinary coralline rock of the 'Glades. From this, or near it,
the smoke must have ascended; but they looked in vain for ashes or
other traces of a recent fire. The appearance of the altar showed that
fires had been built on it; but there was nothing to indicate that one
had burned there within an hour, and the mystery of the smoke became
greater than ever.
If they had only been familiar with the Seminole method of making
signal smokes, they would not have been so puzzled. A bright blaze
of dry grass is smothered for an instant by a thick branch of green
leaves. This is lifted and dropped again as often as the operator
wishes to make a puff of smoke. Then the grass is allowed to burn out,
and the wind, quickly dispersing the light ashes, removes every trace
of the fire.
While disappointed and puzzled at finding no remnants of the fire that
they were certain had recently burned there, nor of those who had
lighted it, the explorers were enchanted with the beauty of the scene
outspread on all sides of them. To the west the sun was sinking in
wonderful glory behind the distant belt of cypress forest. Everywhere
else the brown 'Glades, dotted with blue islands, seamed with the green
threads of interlacing channels, and flashing with bits of open water,
stretched beyond the limits of their vision. Over them hung a tremulous
golden haze in which all objects were magnified and glorified. The
all-pervading silence was only broken by the occasional rush on heavy
pinions of flocks of snow-white ibises home-returning from their
distant fishing-grounds.
"No wonder the Seminoles love this country, and dread the very thought
of leaving it," said Sumner, at length breaking the silence in which
they had gazed on the exquisite scene.
"Yes, no wonder," replied the Lieutenant; "for in all my travels I
don't know that I have ever seen anything more beautiful. But the most
interesting of it all to me," he continued, "is this mound. It is
evidently a structure of human erection, and must be contemporaneous
with the famous earth pyramids of Mexico. Perhaps it was raised by the
same wonderful prehistoric race. I have examined many of the well-known
shell mounds of Florida, including those of Cedar Keys, and from there
at various places down the west coast. I have also seen the great
Turtle Mound on the Atlantic side, and those on the St. John's River;
but all of them were evidently feast mounds, and showed in themselves
the reason for their existence. I have heard of the earth mounds and
ancient canals of the upper Caloosahatchie and Fish-eating Creek, but
I have never heard it even intimated that similar structures might be
looked for in the Everglades. Consequently I regard this one in the
light of an important discovery. It is certainly sufficiently so to
warrant us in spending to-morrow on this island investigating the mound
as thoroughly as our means will allow."
"Doesn't that altar look as though the mound had been used as a place
for offering sacrifices?" asked Sumner.
"No; that altar, as you call it, is evidently of recent construction,
and was probably built by the Indians now inhabiting this country as
a place from which to make signal smokes, or possibly as a sepulchre.
We will try to find out which to-morrow. These mounds were undoubtedly
erected as places easy of defence, and perhaps this one may yield us
some ancient weapons, as the 'kitchen middens,' or feast mounds, of
Cedar Keys have so abundantly. I have seen quantities of celts and
other stone implements taken from them, while the most exquisite quartz
spear-head I ever saw was taken from a Caloosahatchie mound, which from
descriptions must be very similar to this one. Oh yes, we certainly
must spend another day on this island. Now we'd better be going, for it
will soon be dark, and--"
Here the Lieutenant was interrupted by two shots fired in quick
succession from the direction in which they had left Worth and Quorum.
"I am afraid that means trouble of some kind," said Lieutenant Carey,
anxiously, after he had fired two answering shots.
Hurrying down the pathway, which they found led to the water on the
opposite side of the island from that on which they had landed, they
plunged into the forest, and were surprised to notice how dark it had
already grown. Its intricacies were so bewildering and its difficulties
so numerous that it was nearly an hour after they heard the shots
before they came within sound of a voice answering their repeated calls.
At length they reached the place where they had left the boats, and
here they found Worth alone, and so panic-stricken that it was with
difficulty he could answer their eager questions.
"Why had he fired those shots?"
"Where was Quorum?"
"Where were the boats?"
"I fired them to call you back," answered the boy, "and I don't know
where Quorum is nor where the boats are. They were here when I left,
and when I came back they were gone. This was all I found here." With
this Worth pointed to a bag of hardtack that lay on the ground at
his feet. "And I'm afraid poor Quorum has been killed, for I know he
never would have left us. I thought perhaps you were killed too, and
that I was left here all alone, and I've been getting more and more
frightened, until I think I should have gone crazy if you had not come
when you did."
"You poor boy!" said the Lieutenant, soothingly, "I don't wonder that
you were frightened. I should have been myself. But how did you happen
to leave Quorum? and what was he doing when you left him?"
"He was sitting in the cruiser, and I only left him for a minute,
because I heard such a big turkey gobbler right here in the woods close
to us. I thought it would be such a pleasant surprise for you to have
me get him for supper, and I was sure there weren't any panthers or
rattlesnakes here. So I just crept into the bushes to get a shot at
him, and he kept going farther and farther off, and I kept following
him. I didn't see him at all, and after a while I didn't hear him any
more either, so I thought I'd better come back. When I got here, I
couldn't find Quorum or the boats, so I fired my gun as a signal."
"And you haven't seen nor heard anything of Quorum since?" inquired
Lieutenant Carey, looking puzzled and anxious.
"No, I haven't heard a sound nor seen a sign of a living thing,"
answered Worth.
"There can't be any doubt of this being the right place," said the
Lieutenant, reflectively, "for there is where we cut our way through
the bushes."
"And here is the bag of biscuit," added Worth.
"I am not a bit surprised at the disappearance of the canoes," said
Sumner. "I am getting used to that. But to have Quorum and the cruiser
go too is certainly very strange."
"And leaves us in a most awkward predicament," added the Lieutenant.
"If Quorum had only gone with one boat, we might expect to see him back
at any moment; but to have them all go looks very suspicious. I greatly
fear the poor fellow has been the victim of some foul play. However, it
is too dark now to do anything but light a fire and prepare to pass the
night where we are as well as we can under the circumstances."