Insects are neither numerous nor troublesome. I have been worse annoyed by mosquitoes in the City of Philadelphia than in this part of Florida. The ubiquitous flea is, I admit, rather prevalent here, but one soon becomes reconciled to his habits, and honors his drafts whenever he presents his bill. Snakes are not as numerous here as in Pennsylvania. There are, however, rattlesnakes and moccasins in Florida. The former I have never seen, and the latter but seldom. Those that came under my observation, appeared to be worse frightened than I was, and made a hasty exit. Alligators are not numerous in this section, and are comparatively harmless. Like a once noted statesman, they desire to be let alone. If closely cornered, they will fight; but they prefer to run, if a chance is offered for escape. Braidentown, the embryo town of the Manatee, is situated on the south side of the bay, about eight miles above its entrance into Tampa Bay. Located on a bluff some fifteen feet above tidewater, it commands a fine view of the surrounding country and of the entire bay. Being constantly fanned by the breezes from the gulf "with healing on their wings," it is in point of healthfulness all that the most fastidious pleasure-seeker or invalid could wish for. From Jack's Creek, its eastern boundary, to its western terminus, Ware's Creek, it contains a frontage on the bay of three-fourths of a mile, dotted with picturesque villas, surrounded by tropical fruits and flowers. Although yet in a chrysalis state, being scarcely two years old, it contains two boarding-houses, two stores, a meat-shop, post-office and a warehouse, with a wharf connecting it with the shore--the only one on the bay east of Palmasola city. Passengers for Manatee and other places on the bay are conveyed on shore in sail or row-boats. Major W. I. Turner, the projector of Braidentown, a Virginian by birth, has been a resident of Florida for forty-five years. Although on the shady side of life, he is still hale and hearty. May he live to see his bantling, now in her leading-strings, the county-seat of Manatee County. Stranger events have happened. This is an age of progress; the world moves, and Florida, after her Rip Van Winkle sleep of three hundred years, is moving with it. Sportsmen visiting this place can be accommodated with sail-boats for fishing, or mule and ox teams for a hunting trip to the Miakka, the sportsman's paradise. Captain Charles Miller and Billy Stowell, _alias_ "Buffalo Bill," both "old salts" and reliable men, can be engaged with their respective crafts, the _Sancho Panza_ and _Onkeehi_, at reasonable rates. Ox and mule teams can be had of John N. Harris and Dr. S. J. Tyler.