but my companions would not stop. I was assured, by a gentleman who had resided on the island for 24 years, that the canal extended across the island a distance of 3 miles, and that it could be traced inland (from the shore of the mainland) a distance of 14 miles. A canal similar in character exists between the falls at the head of the Caloosahatchee and Lake Okeechobee. An old coaster informed me that he had discerned an ancient canal on one of the Thousand Islands south of Cape Romano. Those excavations are evidently very old and not the work of Indians. They were not constructed for defensive purposes, but evidently for canals.
In his examinations, Professor Wyman did not visit the large mounds of the State. The largest of those standing are to be found on Pine Island and Gasparilla Island, Charlotte Harbor, at Old Fort Centre, Fish Eating Creek, on the plain between New Fort Centre and Fort Thompson, and between Fort Myers and Cyprus Bay. The mound at Old Fort Centre is about 50 feet high. It was evidently used for burial purposes, and if an excavation was made many things might be collected. I used a stick, and with a few minutes' scratching I found bones everywhere. The largest and most interesting mounds in the State have escaped notice and examination. From the immense number and large size of the shell heaps on the southwest coast, this section must have been inhabited for a long period by a large population. The distribution of the shells in some of the heaps led me to believe that the inhabitants were governed by some law. In some of the heaps you will find a layer of conch shells several feet in thickness, and above or below a layer of oyster shells. The largest number of shell mounds are to be found on the Nelt River, a lagoon or river connecting Crystal and Henoosana Rivers.
In my wanderings I found a remarkable shell deposit on the shore of Orange Lake. I noticed an elevation on the flat near the shore of the lake, covering over an acre and about 6 feet high. I noticed on the surface fragments of oyster shells. I obtained a grubbing hoe and made an excavation about 2 feet deep, and found a bed of oyster shells. They differed from other shells I have examined in other portions of the State. As far as examined, each shell had been broken at the end, as oysters were opened some years ago. The present elevation of Orange Lake is 48 feet 8 inches above the ocean level. The nearest oyster bed is distant 43 miles. This immense heap of shells was not transported 43 miles, but in my opinion were obtained from Orange Lake when it was a bay or estuary of the sea. From my investigations I feel assured that the oysters were collected and eaten when the State of Florida consisted of a belt of high land extending from the Chattahoochee to a point south of Sumterville, and before the balance of the State attained its present elevation above the ocean. If my views are correct, Florida was inhabited a long time ago. If the shells referred to have not presented the endeavors of man's work I might have referred the
