the boats and as they bog, raise themselves and so continue. It rarely
happens that they all bog at once. It would require a very strong man
to go any distance alone and reach civilization.')"

Other expeditions followed Ingraham's, notably Lieutenant
Willoughby's. He took a trapper and started out to explore these parts
of the Everglades to which the Indians had been driven, and which
previous expeditions had left untouched.

Of all the ventures into the 'Glades, the dream of drainage and
reclamation without doubt, grew from the early expeditions of army
engineers sent into the region during the Indian War.

Ninety years ago, various persons, in studying the question of
drainage of the Everglades, agreed that the best method would be to
"decrease the waters of Lake Okeechobee five or six feet."

Round, clear, Lake Okeechobee, 31 miles in diameter, spilling
over its southern rim into the Everglades, has been a chief cause of the
big swamp. Bonded to the brim, the lake gives the impression that it
cannot hold another drop. Its islands, fringed with Australian pines,
appear like plumed warriors bursting abruptly from the water.

The ground of the islands in the Lake is so amazingly fertile
that all available space is utilized. Between the trees of the orange
groves, rich crops of beans and other vegetables are grown