There they embarked on board the _Tampico_, a despatch-boat belonging to the Federal Navy, which the Government had placed at their disposal, and, with all steam on, they quickly lost sight of the shores of Louisiana.
The passage was not a long one; two days after its departure the _Tampico_, having made four hundred and eighty miles, sighted the Floridian coast.

As it approached, Barbicane saw a low, flat coast, looking rather unfertile.

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." The minute Barbicane landed the three thousand inhabitants of Tampa Town went out to meet him, an honour quite due to the president of the Gun Club, who had decided in their favour.