Class _. Book_ COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT )AND( •'-Adventures ANDREW \\ CANOVA, PAI^ATKA, FI.ORinA. & ■'■si Wi' *■ 'M: ..dk^ W^^> W-^MMsM^jcSM^M&SM&ilMiM^ So.ys , ^^.^,^.„„ o£ home" brought us vrsrons of «'«; ^_" g^^ the slimy at our return from the V-'''°^" ^^'I'/Z, purpose, I can- monsters were creeping -■-";^. ;:'^^°;;,' ,, vhat strange be- not say ; perhaps they were '^^"^ «°^^ J^.^^ ,,,uing eompau- 1,,. had corrre among them ^n,aybe,t^ the alligator possessed ionship, although I ne e. Kn probable truth of sueh an inclinatiou for human ''"ce j^ i 1 . ,^.^^ ^^ L matter is, that the huge ^^^^^^^'^ Jd that the „.eat -«' '--'^'^ fj:;;; 1 S minoL, and hasbeen Uno.n alligator IS very o„doyo^» ^^^.^ ,^^^,^^_,g_ „,. - watch around wtae ^^^^ ,,, ^^tle red cherubs, the purpose of s«^'"S ^,^^^^ ;, that the l.ttle One peculiar feature ot * ^j^'^l nobody Indians are never seen any more. '="" ''"• M have known anything about the Possibly, we never -»" ""^^^^^j j^J „,en had not ..aly rascals being .n »- ^ P; ^^^./..^ep, threw his arm „ade the d.scove y. ^h- - ^ ^^. ^^ ,.„„g,„ cold outwar- '^ , '„t ,„d we puUed tl-uce of peace, and wa» understood by all of us. When we landed, all o, us had ouv a^s ;--^>--,/- battle, and so,.e oiy'l^::^-^':^^^^^^^.. She ,,„,w was --';^;"8;j:,tte,- half was, and perhaps r:r ::r h':: ".r i.. ^.h wi. ,.,. .nt had .^ """ nUfTa^L^r^r: .rrJlt, l. esp-.ed a mg in the d y ^rass ^^^^^ ^^ custard-apple Thef ^rl"! the nren to hi., the two crept silently upon the unsuspecting redskin. LIFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. 3 1 CHAPTER V. A FLORIDA DELICACY NOVEL METHOD OF SECURING GAME. The Indian, who had been sleeping "the sleep of the just," and lay wrapped in dreams while his captors were stealing upon him, was rudely awakened by an unceremonious "laying on of hands." He turned his affrighted gaze toward the men, and, seeing there was no hope of escape, a diplo- matic grin overspread his features, and he rose to his feet, held out his hand, saving: "How do? How you do?" "Well, we're a-doin' first rate, and you'd better thank goodness that you're a doin' at all. What's your name, any- how, you dirty, half-made sneakin' whelp?" "My name Tommie ; me Seminole, good, too much. Me not hurt eesta-hotka — me good, ojus, too much, umcah." "Well, Tommie," said Captain Mickler, "where were you going?" "Goin' to coontee-sassahollober." ••Where are all the other Indians." "All gone to coontee-sassahollober," he repeated, point- ing in the direction of the Big Cypress. He seemed will- ing to give us information about his people, and did not ex- hibit any of that surly, taciturn disjDOsition that was shown by the majority of the Indians. His w'fe, however, had quite a serious cast of countenance, and kept her little boy close by ^a JAFV. AVn ADVENTURES IX SOUTH PLORIDA. ! her side, occasionally speaking to him in a low voice, in j Seminole. When asked about the number of Indians in the i neighborhood, he replied by shaking his head and saying, j "Sookkus-chay," which is the Indian word for departing. | We noticed some pots hanging over the fire, and upon > examining one, we found that it contained "cabbage per- | meeter." The fragrant odor that arose thereform told us that I it was a luxury never to be forgotten when once tasted. The \ manner of procuring the "permeeter" is as follows: A ' thrifty young cabbage-palm tree is selected, and with an ax, the : leaf-stems are cut off. About the spot, on the trunk of the palm tree, where the leaf-stems begin to whither and die, is , where the chopping must be done. If it is cut lower than this, ; the bitter, woody part will be included, and if higher, the ' tender germinal bud will be lost, or sliced up in such a man- | ner as to be hardly fit for food. Having felled the trunk, the | sheathing leaf-stems are separated, and soon the snow-white "bud" is visible. This, in a thrifty specimen, is about eigh- j teen inches long, four inches in diameter, and cylindrical, I with a bulge at the base. It is so brittle that a large piece of ' it can be broken up easily, with the fingers ; is as smooth as ] glass, and whiter than ivory. When raw, the bud resembles a green chestnut in taste. But let it once be properly cooked ; stewed with ham or breakfast bacon, and served with cream j and butter, with a sprinkling of pepper — oysters, green corn I and pumpkin pie sink into insignificance. A lingering, I "soul-filling, hunger-killing" sensation is experienced, as the gastronomist takes his first bite. I am speaking in earnest, ; when I say that palmetto cabbage is the raciest, most tooth- some dish that ever came to my acquaintance since I was old | enough to know what it was. Even as I write, I long to toss ! my pen aside and rush into the wild hammocks, where the ' coveted delicacy grows in abundance. 1 The other pot contained "comptie." I cannot well tell just what that is, for I don't think there is anything like it growing in the North. It is the root of a plant that is found in immense quantities in South Florida. The roots are macer- ated in a mortar, and a fine quality of flour is obtained, which LIFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. 33 contains a very large percentage of starch. When cooked it resembles arrowroot in taste and character. It is used very extensively as a breadstuff among the Indians, who call it "soff-kee," after it is cooked. We also noticed a number of large birds called "cor- morants" in that region, which had been placed so as to broil over the fire. Seeing that the Indian had no lock on his gun, and of course could not use it, Captain Mickler asked him how he got the birds. "Hannah," he answered, pointing at his wife, "go rookery ; take stick— knock 'em down." It was true. The woman, disregarding all accepted rules of sportsmanship, took a stout cypress limb, and, creeping under the trees where the birds had selected a roost, com- menced such a fierce onslaught on them that but few of the luckless creatures escaped. About this time, our captain ordered the men to chop the ; Indian canoe to pieces. The owners looked on with rueful countenance, but said nothing. The myriads of custard-apple trees around "^ were , loaded with fruit, but none of it was ripe. Captain Mickler ' picked one of them, and asked Tommie if it was fit to eat. "No good, holiwaugus. TomoUow, ripe; good, too much. He meant that next day it would ripen. The fruit is ' about as large as a quince. A grove of custard-apple trees, '' full of fruit, will perfume the air for half a mile around. We manned our boats and left with our captives, steer- e inc. our course toward the south end of Lake Okeechobee, 'e After traveling five miles, we reached that point and began '1 looking for an outlet into the Everglades, but without success - We were bounded by a high, almost impenetrable wall of saw-grass, through which the water from the lake oozed its way to the Everglades. We went on about three miles farther, and reached an Indian town. Here we saw several palmetto huts, and the place looked as if it had been deserted for many years. In answer to a question as to who lived there, Tommie said : "Miccosukie ; no good — thief, too much." Miccosukie was the name of a tribe who had lived apart from other tribes, plundering their neighbors and murdering women and children. Tommie told some fearful tales of their depredations. Next day we landed on Observation Island, and in my next chapter I will tell my readers what we saw there. LIFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. 35 CHAPTER VI. A MAN TRIES CHICKEN-HAWK AS AN ARTICLE OF FOOD, WITH- OUT SUCCESS WE REACH THE EVERGLADES. Observation Island is about three-fourths of a mile in length, and one-fourth of a mile wide. It has a hard, white sandy beach, and is known as a favorite resort for turtles. On landing at the island, a curious sight met our eyes. The ground was literally paved with turtles and cooters, some of which were industriously digging in the sand, forming a place in which to deposit their eggs. The fierce, gray-eyed soft-shell, the bright, yellow-striped cooter, and his odorifer- ous companion, the "alligator turtle," were dwelling together n unity, but there was consternation among them as we came ip ; which was plain, from their frantic scrambles toward the ater. We hurried ashore, and commenced a raid on the un- fortunate reptiles. I secured half-a-dozen without accident, and letired with my struggling, kicking captives to a shady Ispot, where I made them secure with a few stinps of tough ubark. One man, a long, lean Tar-heel, named Turnipseed, /was not so fortunate. While wrestling with a giant soft-shell turtle, the vicious chelonian grabbed him by the thumb and ; eld on like "grim death." There is a superstition prev- alent among some people, to the effect that a turtle will not p-elax his hold "until it thunders." Perhaps Turnipseed mad began to have that opinion, for the soft-shell tightened his gi-ip, and, drawing in his head, plunged forward so suddenly 36 LIFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. that the Tar-heel was obhged to move his arm accordingly, to save his thumb. The turtle continued to plunge and rear, but there is a limit to human endurance. Notwithstanding his peculiar name, there was nothing small about Mr. Turnipseed. He didn't swear, and tear around, nor curse, nor wish that the vicious reptile was in the country, of which u they say the pepper is a native. No, he simply held up the | turtle by his thumb, and waiting until its neck was sufficiently extended, made a skillful swipe of his knife, and the body fell to the ground. The head, however, remained, and Mr. T.I had to practice some surgery before he finally got his thumb free. V7e considered we had plenty, when two dozen of the snapping turtles were thrown into the boats. On close in- 1 spection, we failed to discover any signs of Indians, and ofj course our only alternative was to return to the mainland. I When we arrived at the camp, we found some little ex- citement among the soldiers. It appeared that one of the j men had shot a chicken-hawk, and insisted upon having it for j his dinner, despite the remonstrances of the men. Not long ij after he had finished his meal, he complained of intense paini | in the stomach. When we arrived, he was almost delirious, , and the physician of the camp was doing his best to alleviate the man's sufferings. \ Our captive, Tommie, seemed much concerned about the j man's condition, and repeatedly begged Dr. Oliver to let himj ,| try a cure. The doctor at last consented, and Tommie dis- patched his squaw, Hannah, to the woods for the purpose of gathering roots and herbs. He then took the man's hands inj his own, and repeated a strange jargon of unintelligible'* | sounds, and passed his hands over the man's face. Thp voodoo operations had no effect, and when Hannah returned : with an apron full of leaves, Tommie bruised them together ij in his hands, and then put them in the man's ears and mouth,, at the same time repeating the gibberish of a voodoo. All to no purpose. After a few struggles, the man lay still in death before us. LIFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. 37 Tommie seemed greatly affected at the unfortunate ter- mination of his case, and tried to explain to us that the moon's phase was unfavorable to a cure. We buried our comrade under a rubber-tree, and inscribed the name in the bark, over his head, which, no doubt, can be seen until this day, perhaps partly effaced by the growth of the tree. Next morning, we set out on the journey to Fort Myers, and after two days of rowing on the Caloosahatchie, we ar- rived at our destination, and delivered Tommie, Hannah and the boy to the Indian agent. j After securing a receipt for the Indians, Captain Mickler j/vvas furnished with a guide, an old Spaniard, named Phil- "ippi, and an Indian squaw, called Polly, a former wife of "hi-ee, a famous Seminole chief. We again impelled our boats down the Caloosahatchie, fand arrived at Punta Rassa, where the river empties into the Gulf of Mexico. At that point we entered the salt water, ^nd cruised along the coast, southward. Mullet and pompino ^ere our chief diet, and the men, who had grown tired of [resh-water fish, feasted on these products of the "briny deep" (vith unlimited zest. Sanibel Island, off Punta Rassa, is famous for its wild liogs and deer. Before leaving for Shark river, some of the men .vent across to that island and began chasing the long-toothed Doars. Andrew Wiggins was one of the party, and proposed o show the others just how easy he could lay the vicious jame low. They "jumped" a herd of the swine, digging in \ small pond, in search of "wampee," an aquatic plant, jomething on the order of Arum, or Indian turnip. Andrew Wiggins unceremoniously interrupted their meal by firing kmong them, and he wounded one so badly that it set up a earful scream. One old boar became greatly enraged at this, ind with a blood-curdling "gosh-gosh," and rattling grunt, jrotted straight for Wiggnis, who turned and ran for a tree. |t was wise for him to do so, for the angry animal was right ^t his heels, when he reached a small oak tree. With the agility of a squirrel he climbed the tree, and the boar, finding 3S LIFE AXD ADVEXTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. o^k wf n'^T K ' ^"^^"^^""^ ^-^-t"^? at the foot of th oak Whether the boar would ultimately have overturned th, saplmg, I cannot say, but as soon as Wiggins could <.et . firm foothold he stopped the tunnelling operations n^th . bullet from his rifle. We killed several fine youn.. shoats and carried them to the boats. "^ of P»nta Rassa and after traveling two davs, we reached the mouth of the nver. Proceeding up this "stream eight mi^es we selected a camp, amid the mangrove trees. The ground was dry, although not more than three feet above the water Roammg around the forest that evening, I found a tree covi ered with grape-vines, on which hung the finest grapes I ever saw. rhey were larger than muscadines, covered with aJ deep purple bloom, and so juicy and rich that they were neaJ burstuig. Neither before, nor since, have I eve seen suclJ magniticent grapes. Next day we entere.l the Everglade. Mangrove £ore,st.' were beh,„d us; and before „s, as far as the e,e could .each J cou d be seen nothing but an ocean of saw-gra^s, dotted w th ;" wiif °" '" '°"''"'"™ ■^"" '"^^"^ '^^^^ --1 ' Many people who ha^e heard of the Everglades all theij lues, have no tdea of what the country looks like. Some! "n.g.ne .t to be a beautiful forest, where tropical bW fly throt^h frutt-ladeu trees; others iu,agine tlJIt it is El Dorado, where one is almost sure to find gold or jewels I understand that one prominent writer, and citi:en of F orida f will vet'T '° "■'": '™'" "P"'™^'^' ---^ "-' «■' Evergiadei vv.ll yet become the greatest w-inter resort in Florida hS soil and healthy chmate, which must some day gain for it a! vorld-w,de reputation as a resort for invjlifs." I an scarcely conceive of a more shameless misrepresentation S my next chapter I will give a description of the Everglades"' which I am ready to substantiate in every particular i LIFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. 39 i CHAPTER VII. 1 A JOURNEY ACROSS THE EVERGLADES, AND A PROMISE OF J AN ADVENTURE. 'j Standing on the edge of the Everglades, we could look If each way, and discern the line of demarkation as plainly as ever was seen in a field or lake. The confines of the great morass ran in almost a straight line north and south, and melted away into the dim distance on each side of us. At our feet lay a warm, reeking mass of water and decaying \ vegetation, and around us stood myrtle and cocoa-plum trees, ! laden with fruit. An intense silence prevaded the whole jScene. Far ahead of us we could see the white heron and the ,,roseate spoonbill, expanding their wings in the warm sun- yjlight, bvit they uttered no sound. A. solitary flamingo spread jhis scarlet pinions on the air, and slowly wended his flight to ^1the south, at last looking like a blazing red star, sinking into ^the horizon of the saw-grass and myrtle. i(j The water was less than six inches deep, and we could jv6?.sily foresee that the journey would be a difficult one, for the eapats would have to be drawn over the fields of saw-grass by ;icTiain strength. Captain Mickler ordered that two of the largest boats be ■ sent back, as they were too large to be hauled along like the other boats. Accordingly, William Mickler, the captain's brother, assumed the task of taking them back, and we pre- pared for the journey across the Everglades. All of us entered the water with the exception of Polly, the Indian squaw, who sat in the prow of the foremost boat. Five men were assigned to each boat; one behind and two on each side, 40 LIFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. and vve had all we could do to push them along, although J, they contained nothing but rations, ammunition and guns, j Polly, who was to act as our guide, gave her du-ectjons to ^ Phillippi, who interpreted them to us in English. She had ^ crossed the Everglades eighteen years before, and yet she knew the way just as well as if she had made the tnp a hun- dred times. No mariner's compass could have guided us across this trackless waste with more precision than did thi^ ,^ hideous old hag. e \ Occasionally Captain Mickler would order a halt, and go ^j to an island, climb a cocoa-plum tree, and take a long look at , the surrounding country. As far as he could see there was J no variation of the monotonous scenery. On examining these \ islands we found that they were only a few inches above the ^ water, and the soil seemed to consist of rotten limestone, covered with a thin, hard crust, which broke through as we j walked upon it. Underneath was a whitish, calcareous, ill- ; smelling soil, mixed with shells. But the cocoa-plum trees ^ which grew in such numbers on every island, were a boon to us There are two varieties-the black and the white cocoa , -and the fruit is about the size of a green-gage plum. The | pulp is very sweet and good, and very refreshing. After the ..^ pulp has been eaten, the seed is cracked, and inside is found ^. a substance that resembles chocolate very closely, both in . taste and appearance. It is claimed that the seed possesses • many properties of Erythroxylon coca. One thing I am sure of is, that eating the seeds seemed to enable one to do a ^ greater amount of labor without fatigue, than was Possibig- ,| before. , *"* 'f Occasionally we crossed the little rills trickling their way ^ sluggishly toward the south. These little streams were , hardly ever more than six feet across and contained a few species of swamp t^sh. The water was not more than a foot j deep and the current was scarcely discernable. i Strange to say, we saw no alUgators nor snakes on this . journey, nor the slightest trace of any reptile except an , occasional cooter. At sunset we were weary indeed. LIFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. 4 1 although we had traversed a distance of only twelve miles. Behind us lay the long, winding path made by our boats, through the saw-grass. Our course was toward the Miami, on the Atlantic coast — about east-northeast. At night we went on to an island, where the ground was a little dry, and prepared for the night. The myrtle, which grows in such abundance on these islands, is verj'^ brittle, and we had no difficulty in preparing couches of the fragrant boughs. We built a tire of the dry, dead branches, and were soon com- fortably seated around a smoking supper, making ourselves just as merry as if we were at home, and not forced to roam through one of the most desolate deserts known to mortal man. When we retired to rest on our couches of sweet myrtle boughs, sleep came to us on swift wings. Not a mosquito nor sand-flv appeared to keep us awake, and apparently, we just pressed the couches, and then opened our eyes to the ris- ing sun. Never did I sleep more perfectly and refreshingly. I cannot say whether this was owing to the cocoa-plum seeds I had eaten, or not. It is my honest opinion that we never could have gone a mile into the Everglades, without the aid of the boats, for the soil was so soft and boggy, that as soon as we relaxed our hold on the boats we sank above our knees. Nobody knows how much deeper we would have sunk. All the hardships I had ever endured were nothing, compared to this. Very often we .eaned over in the boats, thoroughly exhausted, by our exer- tions. It was an almost superhuman task to shove the boats along, and when we were once out of sight of dry land, the prospect was indescribably dreary — a circle of saw-grass and little islands in every direction. I think I can safely say that no human being ever did, or can, accomplish the feat of crossing the Everglades on foot and unaided. On the second day's journey, we observed no change in the character of the surroundings. The islands ahead of us ooked as if they were high and dry, and gave impressions of m earthly paradise, with their soft verdure, colored fruits and 43 LIFE AXD ADVENTURES IX SOUTH FLORIDA. shady trees. But when we reached them, the hallucination faded, and the stern reality was before us. Noisome weeds, growing on a low, unhealthy soil and a few cocoa-plum and custard-apple trees, covered with white-flowered vines, were all that met our disenchanted vision. As well as I can remember, none of these islands con- tained more than an acre and a half of land, and eighteen inches was the greatest elevation above the water. The weary, toiling soldiers became discouraged at the dreary prospect around them and showed signs of dissatisfac- . tion. Like the soldiers who accompanied Columbus on his | voyage of discovery, they began to express doubts as to the reliability of the guide. They at last openly declared that Polly was misleading them, and expressed an unwillingness to let the alligators and herons wrestle with their bones, in that forsaken solitude. It must j be said, right here, to the lasting credit of Jim Cook, ' that he was prompt and effectual in quelling the incipient mutiny among the men. His iron will and straightforward and convincing dialect had the desired effect and equanimity was soon restored. At night we had made about the same distance that we traveled the first day — twelve miles. As before, an island was our resting-place. In the morning we resumed the journey, and it is hardly necessary to repeat that we were much discouraged at the non- appearance of land. I say "land," for, of course, we were as much "at sea," as if we were on the ocean. Captain Mickler climbed a tree, about twenty feet high, and looked eastward. Soon he gave an exclamation of de- light, and told us that we might give ourselves no uneasiness, as there was land in sight. He could discern plainly the line of timber skirting Biscayne Bay. This was about nine o'clock in the morning, and when night came, we were within eigrht miles of the Miami. I,IFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. 43 At last, we were going to get out of this uniiallowed place. We were footsore and weary, and as we had to slake our thirst with the loathsome lime-water that oozed through the grass at our feet, we were suffering from the effects of it. Some of the men declared that one hundred dollars in gold would not tempt them to make another trip through the Ever- glades. It was perhaps ten o'clock in the morning of the fourth day, when we saw something ahead of us, which caused us to halt and hurriedly "call a council of war." About two miles ahead we discerned what we supposed to be an army of Indians coming toward us. "Well, boys," said the captain, "we are pretty well worn out, but I guess we will manage to give them a warm reception." With silent, eager movements, the men put themselves in readiness for a tussle with the savages. LIFE AND AD\'EXTURES IX SOUTH FLORIDA. 45 CHAPTER Vni. WE EMERGE FItOM THE EVERGLADES, AND HAVE A VERY PLEASANT TIME. With renewed energy in our sinews, we laid hold of the boats and sent them rushing through the water. It surely looked as if we ought to be rewarded for our long, wearisome struggle, and some of the men thought that a liberal number of captives woidd idemnify thern for their trouble. Steadily we advanced, and as steadily did the seeming enemy approach us, until they were only half a mile distant, when, to our astonishment, we discovered that we were soon to be joined by a company of regulars, instead of the human game we had been expecting. The friendliest greetings passed between our company and that of Captain Doubleday, the commander of the regulars. In replying to questions, they answered evasively, saying that our guide would prob- ably be more reliable than theirs. It was evident that they had been lost, and wore not willing to confess it. So they fell in behind and started back with us. After traveling two miles we came to a spot where Polly commenced an excited discussion in Seminole, with Phillippi. That old worthy said that Polly pronounced the little rivulet at our feet to be the head of the Miama river. Polly piped out in her shrill, panther-like voice: "Sookus-hechek-opko ! lokasee ; ojus !" 46 LIFE AXD ADVEXTrRES IX SOrTH FLORIDA. j We all understood the word ''lokasee," and permission f | was speedily obtained to follow a bear which was running ^ ' ■; across from one island to another. The chase was a short | one ; the bear took refuge on an island, and was soon sur- 1 rounded and killed. As we went on, the rivulet broadened and deepened so that we could launch our boats. What a j relief it was ! We had been forced to shove them along through the mud and grass, but now we could use the oars, j and we were happy. The bear was safely lying in the bottom of the boat ; the Everglades were behind us, and a prospect of I rest before us. Some of the men, more sentimentally in- clined, lifted their voices and sang. We were gliding over the purest, clearest water; pines, hammocks, and other familiar objects greeted our vision, and palms dipped their fern-like leaves in the crystal stream. As we rowed on, the leafy woods on each side echoed the music : "Quickly our boats are now gliding along Gliding along, Gliding along ; Swiftly we're rowing in time with our song, Rowing in time with our song. "Forest and meadows are passing behind, Passing behind, Passing behind ; Odors so sweetly are borne on the wind, Odors are borne on the wind." In high glee we rowed into Fort Dallas, at the mouth of the !Miami river. Here we saw many nice frame houses among the cocoa palm trees. The ground was high and dry, and the sea breeze was most refreshing after our sojourn through the Everglades. No better place could have been found for a camp. We stayed here two days and recruited. The guava bushes were full of delicious fruit, and no one can say that we did not do them ample justice. Next to a peach, I think the guava is the most delightful fruit under the sun. No — I will not say that — for the guava stands without rival ; it is the queen of fruits. The man that says we didn't h ave plenty of cocoa-nuts, makes ? grand mistake. We ate the m, and drank the milk, until we didn't have a very good opinion of them. One man ate so many jelly-cocoa- LIFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. 47 nuts that he was seized with severe cramps in the stomach, and came near dying. Maj^be my readers would like to know what a "jelly-cocoa-nut" is. It is nothing more nor less than a very young, unripe nut ; at that stage the flesh has a jelly- like consistency, and the milk is indescribably delicious, but it is dangerous if eaten without moderation. When the two days had passed away we were in fine con- dition for another journey. The jelly-cocoa-nut man had recovered, and all went merry. It did not require much time to prepare ourselves for the trip. At sunrise we set out over the waters of Biseayne Bay, toward the south. The weather was delightful, and after bidding adieu to our friends, the regulars, the cocoa-nut groves were left behind. Fine ham- mock skirted the beach ; rubber, hackberry, saffron-plum mastic, pigeon-plum and "gumbolimbo" were among the tropical trees we saw. The fruit of a mastic tree is about the size f)f a plum, yellow, and has a soft, juicy pulp, with a cin- namon-like odor. It is delicious eating, but the effects are unpleasant. When too many have been eaten, the mouth becomes as sore as if the person were salivated. The saffron- plum, pigeon-plum and hackberry all bear edible fruit. The first object of interest we came to was Gen. Harney's Punchbowl. It was about ten o'clock in the morning when we arrived at the place and landed. The bank was about twelve feet high, rocky and steep. About halfway up the de- clivity was a spring of cold, clear water, issuing from a deep, bowl-like depression in the rock. We drank the cooling water, and ascended to the hammock, which lay beyond. (This spring was named after Gen. Harney, the famous Indian fighter.) In the hammock we came upon a lime grove that eclipsed anything I ever saw. The ground was literally paved with the fragrant, golden globes. We gathered several bushels and carried them to the boats. After another deep draught at Gen. Harney's Punch-bowl, we resumed the journey. That night we camped at the south end of Biseayne Bay, and next day we passed through Upper and Lower Cards 4^> I-ll-K AND APVKX rUKKS IX SOUTH FLOKIOA. Sound, into Barnes' Sound, and through Chi-ec's Cut-off, into Saillor's bay. Chi-ec's Cut-off is where the waters of Barnes' Sounii connect with Sadler bay. The water was twenty-five feet deep, ami clear as it well could be. Down near the bot- tom we could sec cnoruunis rcil snappers and groupers dart- ing aioiuul, and they evidently had plenty to eat, for they paid no attcution to bait. At sunset we were within fiv^ miles of Cape Sable, at a place nanicd Saw-fish Hole. That night we diseovercil that there were mosquitoes in Florida, after all. Hut we had plenty ot nets. In the morning, after breaking fast on mullet, pompano and grouper, we shouldered guns and attacked the deer. Foremost among the hunters was Andrew Wiggins. With au imerring hand, he caused many a deer to bite the sand that ilay. One hunter swore that a deer came up within a few yards of him, and nc\ cr tlinched, as he took aim and fired. I cannot vouch for tlie truth of the statement, but it seeiNcd to me as if the deer were remarkably tame. But '"graining"' the tarpons w:ii» the finest sport of all. The tarpon, when full grown, is about five feet in length, and clothcil in bright, silvery scales, about the size of a silver dollar. They have a habit of rising to the surface and strik- ing the water with the tail, with such force that the blow can be heard for tive or six hundred vards. "Graining the tarpon" is ,H sport very popular around Key West, and consists in throwing a long gig, or barbed rod, into the fish, from a boat. To the rod is fastened a long, stout line, and to that a stop- pered jug is attached. The tarpon, when caught, is far too powerful to be controlled by hand ; so he is allowed to plunge around at will, but the jug follows him wherever he goes, and betrays his presence. The jugs, flying across the water with such rapidity that a cloud of spray envelopes them : the ex- cited men, bending all their strength to the oars, and the overtaking and capture of the jug, and the final landing of the shining fish, forms as animating a scene as one could well imagine. The flesh of the tarpon, while hardlv so fine as that of the red snapper, is really good eating. LIFE AND ADV'KXTURES IX SOUTH FLORIDA. 49 After graining^ half a dozen of the silvery monsters, we cleaned them, and proceeded to "jerk" them. As everybody knows that this means drying the meat in the sun or over a fire, I will not dwell on the particulars. Next day we visited Cape Sable, the extreme southern point of the mainland of Florida. There are three points which compose the cape proper; East Point, Palm Point and North Cape. On Palm Point were two prodigiously tall royal- palm trees, (fully 125 feet high) which were visible as a land- mark, for many miles around. The Government authorities ordained that any one who cut these trees down, was to be fined at least five hundred dollars. Since that time, however, a storm of unwonted violence has uprooted them. My readers have patiently followed me among the red savages, have traversed deep swamps, and finally waded through the Everglades with me, until we are lodged safely at Cape vSable. And now, my dear readers, we are preparing to set out on a seven days' scout through the Big Cypress, and WQ are likely to pass through some strange scenes before we rest again. I.IFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. 51 CHAPTER IX. AMONG THE TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS. No one who enters the border of Florida and steps into the kingdom of the orange, where everything wears such a soft, imsered hue of sempiternal spring, would imagine that the southern extremity of the State presented such a desolate, gloomy appearance. The pine-covered hills and orange- scented hammocks are metamorphosed into low, oozy points, and slimy mangrove swamps. The very cranes and herons, poised on one leg, look as mournful as the sprawling frogs about to become their prey. The croak of the water-turkey is worse than a funeral dirge, and the far-reaching note of the curlew and flamingo makes one wish to be at home. As we left Cape Sable the prospect grew brighter. The sampson-grass gave way to hammocks bordered with man" grove forests. At night we reached Pavilion Key, and se- lected it as a camping spot for the night. I had heard of the great clam beds at this key, and was anxious to make the trip. What a beautiful spot it was ! The setting sun w^as laving its heated face in the cool Gulf far to the westward ; the last ruddy rays gilded the top of the lofty mangrove trees, and already a deep twilight lay in the shadowy places. The water was clear and we could see millions of clams beneath us. As we approached the key, some of the soldiers jumped overboard (it was only knee deep) and threw hundreds of the succulent bivalves into the boat. We built a fire and soon 52 LIKE AND ADVENTURES IN SOITTH FLORIDA. had a mammoth chowder ready, together with some cooter steak. Poll3''s eyes scintillated with suppressed joy, but when she tasted the delicious mixture, her bosom heaved, her lips parted, and lifting her withered hands toward heaven, she ejaculated : "Good— too much'" We ''fell to" with the gusto of savages and had a glorious feast. Stories were told, jokes passed, and former gi'iefs forgotten amid the joys of the present. But amid the hearty laughs that echoed through the twilight, there was one who maintained a deep, thoughtful silence, as if he thought the time too precious, while sitting around the chowder-pot, to waste in useless merriment. But after the feast was over, he crawled to a mangrove tree and leaned against it ; throwing out his feet, and clasping his hands over his shaggy head, he gave vent to one of those laughs for which he was famous. First his mouth opened, then there was a commotion all over, and a gurgling sound arose, seemingly, from his boots, and finally the bubbling, undulating mixture of sounck poured forth, astonishing and amusing all who heard it. Tndy, Andrew Wiggins was a great laugher. But I must proceed on the journey, or we will be late. From Pavilion Key we went through 8and Fly Pass into Chocaliska Bay, where we encountered the Ten Thousand Islands. I had long wished to see and determine just what these islands were, and observed them with great interest. Our boats wound in and out among them, and once I landed with some others to examine an island. It was larger than some of the rest, being about ten acres in extent. Around the edges stood a circle of mangrove trees, and inside of that the land was high, dry, shell hammock, and very rich, covered with a heavy growth of mastic, gumbolimbo and other West India trees. You have often heard me speak about mangrove trees, and maybe you would like to know what thej^ look like. The mangrove don't content itself with rising straight out of the ground like any other tree, but props its trunk away up in the air on several small trunks, which LIFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. S3 were originally roots. Some of these trees look like a lot of large tent-poles leaning together, and a big tree growing on top. It often reaches a height of seventy feet or more ; the wood is extremely heav^y, and is used extensively for piers in making wharves, as it lasts a long time in water. The trees bear a long, dry seed, which drop down when ripe and stick upright in the mud, and in a short time a new man- grove is putting forth its leaves. The islands were, on an average, not more than two or three hundred yards apart, and the smallest one I saw was only fifty feet across, with a few stunted mangrove and mas- tic trees growing on it. Sometimes, where the islands were close together, the tall, shady trees loomed up in leafy walls on each side of us, and formed an over-arching canopy of green, through which the echoes of the men's voices, and the sounds of the oars rang and reverberated. This was the home of the sand fly. High overhead we heard the shrill hum of untold millions of these little insects, which increased as we went on. In this arboreal wilderness, the semi-twilight hue of the scene seems to make the little creatures' advances more bold. The whirr of their wings — so fine and shrill, that "nothing seemed to lie 'twixt it and silence," — was constantly in our ears, and the infinitesimal white spots which marked their presence on the hands and face were the cause of considerable pain and annoyance. They are not like a mosquito ; they are too small for you to aim a blow at them, and they are biting you for dear life before you know it. The water was three feet in depth, and very clear, so that we could see the oyster beds below, with great distinct- ness. Many of these beds contained oysters of fine size, so that we supplied ourselves liberally with the delicious things. Seated in the boats, we pryed open the shells, and rapidly provided accommodations for the oysters contained within. After a while we emerged from among the islands, and came to the mouth of the Chocaliska river, and journeyed up the stream for five miles, to the point where it receives the 54 LIFE AND AD\'ENTURES IX SOUTH FLORIDA. waters of the Faquahatchie. Here we found a company of soldiers who had just finished burying their commander — Capt, Parkhill — who had been killed by Indians the day before, in the Roj^al Palm Hammock. There was the most intense excitement among the men, and their speech and actions boded no good for the Indians they were preparing to hunt next day. They had carried his body nine miles in order to find a safe resting-place for their chief. Capt. Mickler ordered us to return, and when we again entered the Chocaliska bay, our course was directed north- ward, en route for Marco Inlet, near Cape Romano. After a journey of twenty miles, we reached the inlet, and next morning we were joined by the company before mentioned. We were, in all, about one hundred strong, and were provided with guns, ammunition and provisions. Col. St. George Rogers took command, and, at an early hour, we set forth, ostensibly for the purpose of quelling a rebellion, but many of the men were ready to nsk life and liberty for the purpose of avenging the dastardly murder of their chief, Capt. Parkhill. My next chapter will tell of how we made a trip through the weird and gloomy Big Cypress, and that will conclude the first part of the book. LIKE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. 55 CHAPTER X. A SEVEN days' SCOUT THROUGH THE BIG CYPRESS CLOSING SCENES. The Everglades and Big Cypress are great problems, in themselves, which can only be solved by time and ingenuity. It would seem as if the climate — the counterpart of which is found nowhere else on the globe — were not to be enjoyed by the settler, here. But those who have had the temerity to venture into these vast solitudes, have often returned with the con- sciousness of having had a very pleasant time, and the botanist and naturalist was never heard to complain of the scarcity of the flora and fauna of those "dim, mysterious re- gions." As I have said in a former chapter, I consider it a misrepresentation, for any one to call the Everglades a "winter resort." The Everglades are simply immense stretches of long, low, level prairie, covered for the most part with water and saw-grass, and dotted with little islands. This region of country is some eight or ten feet above the sea, and I do not think the highest elevation can exceed fifteen feet. The great drainage scheme inaugurated by Disston is a fine idea, and the solution of the problem he has undertaken is an object of unlimited discussion, and I think that a successful termina- tion of the project would be of untold benefit to Florida and the whole South. But I think somebody ought to turn his at- tention to the Big Cypress. There are islands in there that, for fertility, are equal to the delta of the Nile. You are put to a great deal of trouble in gaining access 56 LIFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. to these islands, but a visit will repay a long journey. Some of these beautiful bodies of land are elevated many feet above the water, and the soil is something wonderful. The Indians raised some verv fine rice on these bodies of hammock, and that region may be termed, with propriety, the home of the banana, for frost seldom, if ever, enters the dominion of the Big C3'press. Pinc-apples would run riot. But little game is found, except around the borders. One man, in walking over this soil, (so says an old tradition) was so deeply impressed with its fertile appear- ance, that he took a tenpenn^' nail from his pocket and planted it near a tree, which he marked for future reference. When six months had gone by, he returned to the spot, and dug for the nail. To his surprise, he found that it had grown into a crowbar, four feet long! A wonderful result, certainly, but as I didn't see the nail planted, nor the crowbar harvested, I can't vouch for the truth of the story. It is difficult to imagine the impressive solemnity of this mighty forest, unless one takes a trip through it. Strange, unwholesome legends are rife among the Seminole Indians (who are less inclined to superstition than many other tribes) concerning the death-dealing character of certain things to be found in the Big Cypress, and it is a brave warrior indeed who undertakes to enter the dread "coontee-sassa-hollober" after nightfall. But the resolute band of soldiers were preparing to prove themselves greater objects of dread to the eesta-chatta than any goblin that might have its lair in the coontee-sassa- hollober. At an early hour we brought our boats into Marco river, and steered for the Big Cypress. Our course was to the southeast, and after we entered Palm Hammock creek, we followed that stream for nine or ten miles, and came to its head. A grassj' prairie half a mile wide lay ahead, and after crossing that we entered the Little Royal Palm Hammock and struck camp. The land was nice and dry, and the air seemed somewhat purer. Did you ever see the famous royal LIFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. C7 palm, or Oreodoxia regiar\ If you have not, a description might interest you. At this pilace the trees were nearly a hun- dred and twenty feet high, ancJ stood fifteen or twenty feet apart. The trunks are white, as .nmooth as poHshed marble and as straight as an arrow. Near i^he top the trunk is bright green, and jointed hke sugar cane, surmounted by an im- mense crown of leaves, the stems of whicJi are sometimes fif- teen feet long. No animal not provided witi-, vvings can climb these lofty palms. The royal palm is one of the finest trees in all the vegetable kingdom, and surely Florida ^^n boast of nothing more uniquely grand or singularly beautif,jj_ Our course next day lay to the eastward, and 1-,^ jj^_ mense swamp lay before us and around us. The c},^j.ggg trees were never more than twenty inches in diameter, ^^^ were covered with poisonous vines, whose velvety leaves \^' avoided as we would shun fire. Especially is a person in dangerwhen freely perspiring; then the pores of the body are oi)en, and the skin is peculiarly susceptible to poisoning from contact with the vines. The arboreal Rhus toxicodendron, or "(.levil's shoe-string," and the dreaded Rhus vernix, or "th underwood," were pointed out to us as being worse than the terrible upas tree. One of the men, a Spaniard, named Johnnie Ortagus, (a native of St. Augustine,) was the most expert climber I ever saw. And he seemed invulnerable to the poisonous vines, for he could handle them without being injured. He could take one of the vines in his hands and scale the tallest tree in a few minutes. His climbing powers were scarcely inferior to those of a squirrel. Col. St. George Rogers directed him to climb the tallest trees and inspect the surroundings. In this way we could gain some idea of the course that lay before us. Ortagus, in reply to questions from Col. Rogers, would de- scribe the country ahead, and we would direct our course ac- cordingly. (Mr. Ortagus is now a hale, vigorous old gentle- man, and keeps a restaurant in Jacksonville.) The water through which we traveled was never more than six inches deep, and was strongly impregnated with 58 LIFE AND ADVENTURES IN SOIOTH FLORIDA. lime, but we were forced to drink, 'it. Sometimes we came to high ridges of land, covered v.ith stunted pines and various species of palmetto. These, curious plants grew in the ut- most profusion and luxuri-ance ; the saw-palmetto, the trunk of wh^ch is usually' in the form of a long, creeping rhizome, reared high in the air, almost like trees. Here we found the needle-palm, with it«i myriads of long, sharp spines; the cab- bage palm, and bhae-stem. After leaving these ridges (which were, as a rule, not more than tjalf a mile across) we would generally descend into a low, lime prairie, which stretched north and south as far as the eye could reach. In the afternoon we reached the Big R Jyal Palm Hammock. Following the trail through the tlow, ^^'et swamp, we suddenly encountered a high slope, which jjjerl us into the Big Hammock. O, what a relief, and an in- }3,jpiration it was, after the dreary march through the cypress! The lofty palms towered toward heaven, lifting their spreading summits far above the big live oaks and gumbolim- bos. There was a large clearing here, and some of the oaks were covered with pumpkin and bean vines ; man}" of these trees were loaded with green and ripe pumpkins, which gave rise to the fancy that they were the fruit of the tree itself. Banana plants, fifteen feet or more in height, and immense corn, were among the products of this fertile region. "Without stopping to destroy what the Indians had planted, we pro- ceeded onward in search of the planters themselves. We then came to a deserted village, on an island three miles from Big Hammock. This was Saf-faj-eehojee's Town, and from the appearance of the log huts, with their fallen-in palmetto roofs, we judged that the town had been deserted for a couple of years. We saw no fresh signs, and went on, and before long came to another village, graced with the name of Emathle-ochee's Town. Farther on was Fin-halloway's metropolis, where a few logs lying in a square, told us that there was once an attempt at building a city, at this place. Here we saw plenty of fresh Indian signs, and followed the trail with greater activity than ever. The march was a drearv and monotonous one. Seven LIFE AND ADVEXTURES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. 59 I _ . long days we marched, and no glimpse of an Indian rewarded our anxious gaze. Captain Dick Turner was our guide. He had never been through there before, but his services as a guide were well rendered. So well did he pilot us through this trackless wilderness that, in a march of seventy-five miles, we missed our destination by only two miles. (When I re- visited Chocaliska Bay in 1880, in company with Prof. A. H. Curtiss, I was pleased to see Captain Turner pleasantly lo- cated on the Bay, surrounded by rich fields of sugar cane, orange groves and banana gardens. Truly the "Captain" is well fixed, but not a whit better than he deserves.) Finally we came to the Ock-kollowah-cootchee. Long and frightful as this name may seem, it was no worse than the thing itself. It was a field of dense saw-grass, about four miles wide. The grass was two feet higher than our heads, and was so dense that we could not see a foot ahead of us. One man was selected to break the road, so that the others could pass. No man could endure this task more than five minutes, and first one and then another ''took turns" at pushing in front ; the side and shoulders were used in this laborious and painful work. To add to our misery, the sun shone with terrible force upon us, and not a breath of fresh air could reach vis. Worse than all, the water was poison, and our feet soon felt the effects of it. The men, who were grumbling before, lifted up their voices and gave vent to some hair-lifting ex- pressions. The volunteers from Middle Florida, who had never experienced the like befo_e, were almost furious. But in time we emerged from the dreadful Ock-kollowah-cootchee, and reached Fort Simon Drum. There we were joined by other soldiers, and made our way to Fort Myers. At that place we boarded the steamer for Fort Brooke. We were there mustered out of the service, and bade each other good by. My readers have indeed been patient in following me thus far. My narrative has been necessarily a prosaic one, for I started out with the determination of telling nothing but the unvarnished truth. Many of the old settlers can bear witness to the truth of my descriptions, and would not be slow to de- 6o LIKE AND ADNENTL'UES IX SOUTH FLORIDA. \i tect any iiiisstatcniont T niiiiht inako. I am loth to part with r the comrades who aceoinpanieil me thioiu^li many hardships and vicissitndes. My journeys throui»h the far South have been varied and full of incident, and in the second part of my little book. I have endeavored to give a new phase of Florida life, which will. I hope, leave an agreeable impression ou the reader, who has been so patient to follow nio thus far. As to the subsequent life of my companlous-iu-arms. I can say but little. Captain Jaeob Miekler was killeil shortly after the war, by being- thrown from his buggy near Lake City. Andrew Wiggins disappeared from existence, as it were, without leaving a trace of himself. Ed. Marr died in 1864, on Indian river: and .Hm Cook, the dauntless warrior and huie hearted gentleman — rough-hewn though he was — departed from a useful life, near Tampa, a few years ago. honored ami admired by all who knew him. [end of IWRT l] TO THE PIONEERS OF SOUTH FLORIDA. 61 To the Pioneers of South Florida. \Vc have found, with iirWle and i)lea«ure, 'I'lial dui' own fair Stale Is knttwn To the world as tlie hiijfhtesl treasure Of the Henii-tro))ic, z(>ne, For the East and the West awaken To the j