Soon the huge pine knots are lighted on the top of the pilot house above our heads, and a brilliant flame flares out upon the night and, for a moment, every tree, every leaf, is clearly defined, like a bas-relief flung out from a world of darkness. The blaze flickers and flashes and fades, and, for a moment, we glide through leafy obscurity, which seems to have grown darker from the light that has departed. In silent majesty the grand old forest is gliding past us with muffled steps and hidden features--a shrouded army, marching through the silent night. Then, again, our pine fire lights up the skies, and illuminates the surrounding scenery with flashes of red and green and blue and yellow; then all commingling fade into one white glare; frightened birds are scared from their secret nests, and flutter, with melancholy cries, for a second above our heads, and then are swallowed up in the darkness. Now the blue flame flashes up to the great tree tops, then darts downward like a fiery serpent, and up some narrow winding water lane, and, for a second, a thousand weird forms float before our eyes, and change and fade and melt into nothingness. The negroes passing to and fro upon the lower deck, their black faces and shining eyes illumined by the red glare, look like gnomes or demons labouring in their enchanted fires.
Through these mysterious lights and shadows, ever changing, ever varying, now suggesting veiled apparitions from another world, now bathed in the glory of this, we pass till long after midnight, when we are out of the labyrinth of the Ocklawaha, and back in the broad stream of the St. John’s river. Several of us are sitting up on deck with our baggage, ready to be transferred to the St. John’s river boat, which we expect every moment to meet. Presently, out of the dense black, a silver glare of light looms slowly on our sight. It is the electric lamp of the expected steamer. Nearer and nearer looms the dim giant hulk of the big vessel. We signal three shrill shrieks, “Will you stop and take passengers aboard?” They signal back three demoniacal yells, “Yes.”
She comes alongside and stops. We speedily transfer ourselves from the “Okeehumkee” to one of the splendid “De Bary” line of steamers which ply up and down the St. John’s river. Many people make their arrangements so as to sleep at Palatka, and take the St. John’s river boat from that, its starting place early in the morning; but to us it was a great saving of time to meet it on its way. There are two ways of enjoying the Ocklawaha river excursion: one is to take the boat at Palatka, which starts at eight o’clock in the morning, and reaches Silver Springs about seven o’clock on the next. It remains there about two hours, in order that its passengers may, if they please, take a row boat--there are plenty there for hire--and row about the spring, making a closer inspection of its wonders than they could possibly do from the deck of the steamer. It starts again on its return journey about nine o’clock, and reaches Palatka in the small hours of the following morning; but the sleeping passengers are not disturbed, except by their own desire, till the usual hour of rising. The return down the river, as the tide is with them, takes some hours less time than the upward journey. Some people prefer spending the two days and nights on the boat, as, by this means, they have a daylight view of every feature of the river. The other way is to follow our example: sleep at Ocala, and take the return journey only. Ocala has every possibility of developing into an important place; as yet it is new, but it is improving day by day. A large hotel is building close to the railway station, which promises well for future tourists.
