About one o'clock
The vines and branches snapped and twanged as they broke or slipped from the parts of the boat where they were caught . In a few minutes we were clear of the obstructions , though we had to work the boat around the bends , and through masses of trees in this way , at least twenty times in the course of the forenoon . The river was full of alligators , and our sportsmen amused themselves by firing at them , but with no great success , for the wobbling of the boat interfered with their aim . About one o'clock we came to a landing-place , where a few logs had been laid and tied into the sand to form a sort of wharf . On the bank was a shanty , and we concluded to stop for a while and have a run on shore , as the ground seemed to be high enough to give us standing room . Dinner was ready , and as soon as we had disposed of it we went on the wharf . We walked through the woods a short distance , and then came to an orange-grove , with fields of corn six inches high , and sugar-cane of the same height .