Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. III.djvu/296

Rh lovely, thousands of alligators swam in front of, and on each side, of our vessel, and fish leapt and splashed about as if they were out of their senses, but whether from terror or from joy I know not. It was a grand spectacle the whole way.

We were also more comfortable on board, for our little coterie was now almost alone on the “Sarah Spalding,” and there was added to it an enlightened and agreeable French creole, Mr. Belle C., from Cuba, who, with a friend of his, were on a journey of discovery in Florida, to ascertain the availability of the soil for sugar-cultivation. His society was a great pleasure and ornament to our little party. The captain was a polite and good-natured man, and the crew, who were all negroes, seemed to have very much their own way; but that was a good way; they were all agreeable and cheerful. The cook, a young man, who cooked very good dinners, was a really witty fellow, and said and did many very amusing things. But the pearl of the black company was our little waiter, the negro boy, Sam, clever, intelligent, and willing, who attended to all our little wants, waited at table, and did everything, and was always merry. We had no female attendant on board, which we found to be an advantage; because these ladies are, in the American steam-boats, not frequently patterns of their sex, or of their race, whether they be white, black, brown, or yellow. We had, however, on the St. Matthew, a remarkably agreeable and also very handsome young negro woman as stewardess; she was a free woman, married to a free negro.

The only annoyance I experienced the whole way was the lust of shooting which possessed one of the passengers in particular, and who was not contented with shooting alligators right and left, but who even shot the lovely water-fowl, which, however, he could not make any use of, and it was distressing to me to see them fall down wounded,