Excerpt from Travels by William Bartram, published in 1791: “HOW happily situated is this retired spot of earth! What an elisium it is! where the wandering Siminole, the naked red warrior, roams at large, and after the vigorous chase retires from the scorching heat of the meridian sun. Here he reclines, and reposes under the odoriferous shadesContinue reading “Where the Wandering Seminole Lives”
Tag Archives: Bartram Travels
William Bartram’s Cypress
Excerpt from William Bartram’s Travels, published in 1791: “THE Cypress stands in the first order of North American trees. Its majestic stature is surprising, and on approaching them, we are struck with a kind of awe, at beholding the stateliness of the trunk, lifting its cumbrous top towards the skies, and casting a wide shade uponContinue reading “William Bartram’s Cypress”
Trees So Lofty
Excerpt from William Bartram’s Travels, published in 1791: “On the West side it was bordered round with low marshes, and invested with a swamp of Cypress, the trees so lofty, as to preclude the sight of the high-land forests, beyond them; and these trees, having flat tops, and all of equal height, seemed to be aContinue reading “Trees So Lofty”
William Bartram’s Snake Bird
A passage describing the Anhinga from the nature journals of William Bartram, published in 1791: “HERE is in this river and in the waters all over Florida, a very curious and handsome bird, the people call them Snake Birds. I think I have seen paintings of them on the Chinese screens and other India pictures:Continue reading “William Bartram’s Snake Bird”
Some Sovereign Alligator – William Bartram
An excerpt from William Bartram’s Travels Through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida. “I HAD now swamps and marshes on both sides of me, and evening coming on apace, I began to look out for high land to encamp on, but the extensive marshes seemed to have no bounds; and it was almost darkContinue reading “Some Sovereign Alligator – William Bartram”
Assiduous and Courageous Mother
Excerpt from William Bartram’s Travels, written in 1773-1777; Part II, Chapter V “The female, as I imagine, carefully watches her own nest of eggs until they are all hatched, or perhaps while she is attending her own brood, she takes under her care and protection, as many as the can get at one time, either fromContinue reading “Assiduous and Courageous Mother”
The Long Moss
An excerpt from William Bartram’s Travels, Part II, Chapter III: “The long moss, so called, is a singular and surprising vegetable production: it grows from the limbs and twigs of all trees in these southern regions, from N. lat. 35 down as far as 28, and I believe every where within the tropics. Wherever it fixes itself,Continue reading “The Long Moss”
Floating Fields of Nymphea
“WE approached the savanna at the South end, by a narrow isthmus of level ground, open to the light of day, and clear of trees or bushes, and not greatly elevated above the common level, having on our right a spacious meadow, embellished with a little lake, one verge of which was not very distantContinue reading “Floating Fields of Nymphea”
A Very Large and Terrible Creature
Excerpt from William Bartram’s Travels, Part II, Chapter V. ”THE alligator when full grown is a very large and terrible creature, and of prodigous strength, activity and swiftness in the water. I have seen them twenty feet in length, and some are supposed to be twenty-two or twenty-three feet; their body is as large as that ofContinue reading “A Very Large and Terrible Creature”
William Bartram’s “Little Green Chameleon”
– Excerpt from William Bartram’s Travels, Part II, Chapter X “THERE are several species of the lizard kind besides the alligator, which is by naturalist allowed to be a species of that genus. THE green lizard or little green chameleon is a pretty innocent creature; the largest I have seen were not more than seven inches inContinue reading “William Bartram’s “Little Green Chameleon””
