The islands are covered with a dense growth of oak, pine, cypress, and palmetto trees, together with a jungle of luxuriant tropical vines and shrubs. They range in size from one to one hundred acres and are but slightly elevated above the surrounding waters. About three hundred Seminole Indians inhabit the interior and live by hunting and fishing. Deer, bears, otters, panthers, wild cats, and snakes frequent the land; alligators, crocodiles, fish of various kinds, and waterfowl dwell in the water. In the western part of the Everglades is Big Cypress Swamp and in the extreme southern part Mangrove Swamp, where myriads of mosquitoes are hatched out. Extending along the eastern side of the Everglades is a long, narrow belt of dry, fertile land which is utilized for farming purposes. A far-reaching project to reclaim the Everglades has been proposed. Unlike the Western projects, the problem is to get rid of water and not to supply it. The plans for reclamation include the construction of drainage canals and the clearing of the jungle growths. It is purposed to use the land thus reclaimed for sugar growing. At the present time the United States is importing annually over two hundred million dollars' worth of sugar; it is estimated that by draining only a part of this vast area and planting it to sugar cane the local demands could not only be supplied but a large surplus for export would result. The possibilities of this region, when properly drained and cleared of its superfluous vegetation, are almost beyond computation. It has a rich soil, abundant moisture, and almost tropical climate. Reclaimed land of this character is suitable for raising not only sugar cane and subtropical fruits, but a great variety of other crops. It is estimated that the cost of reclaiming the Everglades, so that the land may be made productive, need not exceed one dollar per acre. A great impetus has been given to southern Florida by that wonderful achievement of engineering, Mr. Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway. This railway stretches in a direct line along the coast from Jacksonville to the southern part of the State, and has been extended along the Florida Keys to Key West. When all arrangements are completed, the trains will be ferried across Florida Strait between Havana and Key West, and freight will be sent from points in Cuba to New York and Chicago without reloading. The building of the Florida East Coast Railway is one of the great engineering feats of the world. In its construction from key to key thousands of tons of rock and cement were dumped into the water on which massive viaducts in fifty-foot spans have been built to carry the road-bed. These solid archways, rising from twenty to thirty feet above the water, defy tides and storm waves. This railway has become one of the chief factors in developing the resources of southern Florida and hastening the reclamation of the Everglades. CHAPTER XVII STRANGE ROCK FORMATIONS--NATURAL BRIDGES