seven p.m.
After coasting a series of creeks rich in oysters and lobsters , the _ Tampico _ entered the Bay of Espiritu-Santo . This bay is divided into two long roadsteads , those of Tampa and Hillisboro , the narrow entrance to which the steamer soon cleared . A short time afterwards the batteries of Fort Brooke rose above the waves and the town of Tampa appeared , carelessly lying on a little natural harbour formed by the mouth of the river Hillisboro . There the _ Tampico _ anchored on October 22nd , at seven p.m. ; the four passengers landed immediately . Barbicane felt his heart beat violently as he set foot on Floridian soil ; he seemed to feel it with his feet like an architect trying the solidity of a house . J.T. Maston scratched the ground with his steel hook . `` Gentlemen , '' then said Barbicane , `` we have no time to lose , and we will set off on horseback to-morrow to survey the country . ''