238 THE LIVE-OA KERS.
On the 25th of February 1832,1 happened to be far up the St Johns
River in East Florida, in the company of a person employed by our
government in protecting the live-oaks of that section of the country,
and who received a good salary for his trouble. While we were proceeding
along one of the banks of that most singular stream, my companion
pointed out some large hummocks of dark-leaved trees on the
opposite side, which he said were entirely formed of live oaks. I
thought differently, and as our controversy on the subject became a
little warm, I proposed that our men should row us to the place, where
we might examine the leaves and timber, and so decide the point. We
soon landed, but after inspecting the woods, not a single tree of the species
did we find, although there were thousands of large " swamp-oaks.1''
My companion acknowledged his mistake, and I continued to search for
birds.
One dark evening as I was seated on the banks of the same river, considering
what arrangements I should make for the night, as it began to
rain in torrents, a man who happened to see me, came up and invited me
to go to his cabin, which he said was not far off. I accepted his kind
offer, and followed him to his humble dwelling. There I found his wife,
several children, and a number of men, who, as my host told me, were,
like himself, Live-Oakers. Supper was placed on a large table, and on
being desired to join the party, I willingly assented, doing my best to diminish
the contents of the tin pans and dishes set before the company by
the active and agreeable housewife. We then talked of the country, its
climate and productions, until a late hour, when we laid ourselves down
on bears' skins, and reposed till day-break.
I longed to accompany these hardy wood-cutters to the hummock
where they were engaged in preparing live-oak timber for a man of war.
Provided with axes and guns, we left the house to the care of the wife
and children, and proceeded for several miles through a pine-barren, such
as I have attempted to describe. One fine wild Turkey was shot, and
when we arrived at the Shantee put up near the hummock, we found another
party of wood-cutters waiting our arrival, before eating their breakfast,
already prepared by a Negro man, to whom the turkey was consigned
to be roasted for part of that day's dinner.
Our repast was an excellent one, and vied with a Kentucky breakfast
: beef, fish, potatoes, and other vegetables, were served up, with
l
THE LIVE-OAKERS.
coffee in tin cups, and plenty of biscuit. Every man seemed hungry
and happy, and the conversation assumed the most humorous character.
The sun now rose above the trees, and all, excepting the cook, proceeded
to the hummock, on which I had been gazing with great delight, as it
promised rare sport. My host, I found, was the chief of the party; and
although he also had an axe, he made no other use of it than for stripping
here and there pieces of bark from certain trees which he considered
of doubtful soundness. He was not only well versed in his profession,
but generally intelligent, and from him I received the following account,
which I noted at the time.
The men who are employed in cutting the live oak, after having discovered
a good hummock, build shantees of small logs, to retire to at
night, and feed in by day. Their provisions consist of beef, pork, potatoes,
biscuit, flour, rice, and fish, together with excellent whisky. They
are mostly hale, strong, and active men, from the eastern parts of the
Union, and receive excellent wages, according to their different abilities.
Their labours are only of a few months1 duration. Such hummocks as
are found near navigable streams are first chosen, and when it is absolutely
necessary, the timber is sometimes hauled five or six miles to the
nearest water-course, where, although it sinks, it can, with comparative
ease, be shipped to its destination. The best time for cutting the live
oak is considered to be from the first of December to the beginning of
March, or while the sap is completely down. When the sap is flowing,
the tree is " bloom,11 and more apt to be " shaken.11 The white-rot,
which occurs so frequently in the live-oak, and is perceptible only by the
best judges, consists of round spots, about an inch and a half in diameter,
on the outside of the bark, through which, at that spot, a hard
stick may be driven several inches, and generally follows the heart up or
down the trunk of the tree. So deceiving are these spots and trees to
persons unacquainted with this defect, that thousands of trees are cut and
afterwards abandoned. The great number of trees of this sort strewn in
the woods would tend to make a stranger believe that there is much more
good oak in the country than there really is; and perhaps, in reality, not
more than one-fourth of the quantity usually reported, is to be procured.
The Live-oakers generally revisit their distant homes in the Middle
and Eastern Districts, where they spend the summer, returning to the