Produced by Ann Jury, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive)
Every attempt has been made to replicate the original as printed.
Some typographical errors have been corrected; a list follows the text.
[Illustration:
FLORIDA:
PAST AND PRESENT,
TOGETHER WITH NOTES FROM
SUNLAND,
ON THE
MANATEE RIVER, GULF COAST OF SOUTH
FLORIDA:
_ITS CLIMATE, SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS_.
THE LAND OF THE ORANGE AND GUAVA,
THE PINE-APPLE, DATE AND CASSAVA.
By SAMUEL C. UPHAM.
ILLUSTRATED.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA.:
ASHMEAD BROTHERS.
1883.
]
[Illustration: PART OF THE GULF COAST OF FLORIDA.]
FLORIDA:
PAST AND PRESENT,
TOGETHER WITH NOTES FROM
SUNLAND,
ON THE
MANATEE RIVER, GULF COAST
OF
SOUTH FLORIDA:
_ITS CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS_.
The Land of the Orange and Guava,
The Pine-Apple, Date, and Cassava.
BY SAMUEL C. UPHAM.
ILLUSTRATED.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA.:
ASHMEAD BROTHERS,
1883.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1883,
By SAMUEL C. UPHAM,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.
To
MARION FOSTER, }
SAMUEL ZENAS, AND } UPHAM,
CHARLES HENRY }
THREE LIVING LINKS IN THE CHAIN THAT BINDS ME TO LIFE, THIS
BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY
THEIR FATHER,
THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
Two or three letters written by myself to friends at the North having
found their way into print, I have been literally flooded with letters
during the past six months, from all sections of the Union and British
Provinces, asking for information in relation to the Manatee region of
Florida. Hundreds have been replied to, and many remain unanswered for
want of time. This little book has been written with the belief that it
will answer the requirements of my numerous correspondents, and also
prove a welcome guest to others who desire reliable information
concerning this portion of the Gulf coast of South Florida. With these
brief remarks I cast my little waif upon the tide of public opinion,
with the hope that favorable breezes will waft it into the hands of
those who will be benefited by its perusal.
SUNNYSIDE COTTAGE,
_Braidentown, Florida, April 1, 1881_.
PREFACE
TO THE ENLARGED EDITION.
When I published the little _brochure_--"Notes from Sunland"--two years
ago, the Gulf Coast of South Florida was, comparatively speaking, a
_terra incognita_. The favor with which that work has been
received--having passed through three editions--and at the request of
numerous correspondents in the United States, Canada, and Continental
Europe, I have concluded to enlarge the work and make it more general in
its scope--the former work being confined exclusively to the Manatee
region. In reply to the question from different sections of the Union:
"Are you as well pleased with the Manatee region as when you wrote
'Notes from Sunland'?" I reply, emphatically, "Yes!" The longer I live
here the more thoroughly I am convinced that it is the Sanitarium of the
world. In addition to twenty-five pages of letter-press, I have added
an additional illustration and a map of the Gulf coast of South Florida.
I have placed the publication of the book in the hands of those
well-known and reliable publishers, the Ashmead Brothers, of
Jacksonville, Fla., who will supply the book to the trade and also
furnish it to the public. With many thanks for the patronage bestowed
upon my former book, I trust the present will be found equally
acceptable.
SAMUEL C. UPHAM.
_Braidentown, Fla., August, 1883._
CHAPTER I.
INDIANS AND ALLIGATORS--DADE'S MASSACRE--PONCE DE LEON AND THE
"FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH"--DE SOTO AND "EL DORADO"--FLORIDA EXCHANGED FOR
CUBA--PENSACOLA CAPTURED BY GENERAL JACKSON--FLORIDA PURCHASED BY
THE UNITED STATES--SECEDES FROM THE UNION--RECONSTRUCTED.
Thirty years ago the word Florida was synonymous with mosquitoes,
alligators, snakes, and Indians. As a part of this Union, it was at that
time considered financially a worthless sand-spit, which had cost our
Government fifty million dollars and many lives in the almost fruitless
effort to rescue it from the hands of the wily Creeks and Seminoles, who
occupied the middle and southern portions of the State. From the date of
Dade's massacre by Osceola's band near Brooksville, in December, 1835,
which sent a thrill of horror throughout the length and breadth of our
land, to the surrender of Billy Bowlegs in 1858, a period of nearly
twenty-five years, war was waged by our Government under the leadership
of Generals Worth, Scott, Harney, Taylor, and their subordinates, with
the result above stated.
In order to fully understand and appreciate the present condition of
Florida, some little knowledge of her history is indispensable; for
without such knowledge, the sparseness of the present population of the
State is inexplicable, when taken in connection with its genial climate,
its natural fertility, and the immense scope of its possible
agricultural production. "If Florida possesses so great a variety and
power of vegetable growth, and such a desirable climate, why is it not
more densely populated?" is a question answered only by a glance at her
past history.
The honor due to the first discovery of the land which now constitutes
the southern extremity of the United States is generally awarded to that
famous and eccentric old Spanish adventurer, Juan Ponce de Leon.
Nevertheless, the validity of his claim to that honor is liable to some
dispute. Several authorities of very good credit maintain that Sebastian
Cabot, in the year 1497, traced the whole line of the American coast as
far southward as 36° 9´ north latitude; and Peter Martyr avers that he
sailed to the west of the meridian of Cuba. From this account it does
not appear that Cabot proceeded further southward than the mouth of the
Chesapeake Bay, the latitude of which corresponds nearly with that of
the Straits of Gibraltar, and the longitude with that of the eastern
extremity of Cuba. It can scarcely be doubted that Ponce de Leon was the
first European who landed on any part of that ground which is now
occupied by the Southern States of our Republic. The purpose for which
he visited this country has exposed his memory to no little ridicule;
but his childish delusion is entitled to more indulgence and respect
than the sordid and hypocritical motives which induced so many of his
countrymen to become explorers and crusaders in America. Juan Ponce, for
the purpose of discovering the location of the "Fountain of Youth," set
sail from Porto Rico, on the 3d day of March, 1512. After a short voyage
he came to a country covered with flowers and verdure, and as the day of
his discovery happened to be Palm Sunday, called by the Spaniards
_Pasqua Florida_, he bestowed the name of Florida on the country in
commemoration of this circumstance. Thus the first European discovery of
Florida took place on the second day of April, 1512.
The next visit to Florida by Europeans was made in the year 1520, by
Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon, who kidnapped one hundred and thirty Indians
and sailed for San Domingo, where he sold them as slaves. In the year
1524, Giovanni da Verazzano, a Florentine sea-captain in the service of
the French Government, coasted from Florida as high as Cape Breton.
On the 17th day of June, 1527, Pamphilo de Narvaez left Spain with five
ships and six hundred men, being authorized by the Spanish Government
to explore and take possession of "all the lands between Rio de las
Palmas and Cape Florida." The fleet was much damaged by a hurricane, and
was obliged to remain at Cuba for more than six months to be refitted.
In February, 1528, Pamphilo again embarked; and after a short and
prosperous voyage, landed his army at the bay of Santa Cruz, Florida.
Having formally taken possession of the country, and proved that he was
in earnest by pillaging some of the villages, Pamphilo began to
interrogate the natives respecting the precise locality of that immense
deposit of gold which he expected to find in Florida. In their answers
to these inquiries, the Indians, wishing to hasten the departure of
their unwelcome guests, directed the gold-hunters to a distant region
called Apalacha, assuring them that the shining metal could there be
obtained in the greatest abundance. After a wearisome march, the
Spaniards reached the designated place on the 26th day of June. The
ungrateful behavior of the Spaniards soon provoked the hostility of the
natives, and before they had an opportunity to make any mineralogical
researches Pamphilo was compelled to retreat. While endeavoring to make
his escape to the seashore, he was closely pursued by the natives, who
killed two hundred of his men--about one-third of the whole number.
The whole country being aroused, Pamphilo found it impossible to return
to his ships, which were probably destroyed by the Indians. The
Spaniards, therefore, took the shortest route to the coast, and came to
the bay now known as St. Marks. The Apalachian Indians being satisfied
with driving the intruders from their territory, abandoned the pursuit
when that object was gained. They arrived at St. Marks in a starving
condition, their only food being horse-flesh. All their ingenuity was
now employed to effect some means of escape from the country. They
erected a forge on the beach, and, with great toil and difficulty,
converted their swords, lance-heads, stirrups, and bridle-bits into
nails, saws, and hatchets. Having thus provided themselves with the
proper instruments, they felled trees, shaped the timber, and finally
constructed several very inelegant specimens of marine architecture. In
the meanwhile all their horses were consumed for food; and when they
embarked in their rude batteaux, their thin, ghastly, Tanner-like
appearance might have reminded a spectator of that shadowy boat-load of
"magnanimous heroes" so graphically described by Virgil in the Sixth
Book of his celebrated Epic. All the boats were subsequently wrecked
near the mouth of the Mississippi, and all on board perished, except
Cabeca de Vaca, the treasurer of the expedition, and four common
soldiers. The survivors, after enduring many toils and sufferings,
finally reached Spain in August, 1537.
In the latter part of May, 1539, Hernando de Soto landed his troops on
the eastern shore of Hillsborough Bay, above the mouth of the Little
Manatee River, and commenced his toilsome overland march, which ended in
his death and burial in the Mississippi River, on the 5th day of June,
1542, three years and one month afterward. In 1562 it is probable that a
temporary settlement was formed near the mouth of the St. Johns River by
Ribault, a Frenchman.
In 1564, under the protection of Admiral Coligny, a settlement of
Huguenots was formed under the leadership of Lardonierre, on the south
bank of the St. Johns, about six leagues from its mouth. This settlement
was called Caroline, and was completely destroyed by the Spaniards under
Menendez in 1565, who massacred all that escaped death in the fight,
"not as Frenchmen, but as heretics." This murderous act was fully
avenged by a Frenchman--De Gourges--who, in 1659, led an expedition
especially against Fort Caroline, and massacred the Spanish garrison,
"not as Spaniards, but as cut-throats and murderers." In 1565 the same
Menendez founded a Spanish colony at St. Augustine, _thus establishing
the first European town on the continent of America_.
In 1584, as the result of various expeditions, the area of Spanish
occupation and conquest had become so extended that the authority of
Spain was acknowledged by the natives, not only throughout Florida, but
as far west as the Mississippi and as far north as the mountains of
Georgia.
In 1586, St. Augustine was attacked and plundered by a party of English
adventurers under Sir Francis Drake. In 1611, it was pillaged by the
Indians, and in 1665 was sacked by another party of English pirates, led
by the freebooter, Davis.
In 1689, Pensacola was settled by the Spanish.
In 1702, St. Augustine was unsuccessfully attacked by Governor Moore, of
the English colony of South Carolina. In 1725, Colonel Palmer, of
Georgia, also failed in an effort to capture the city, and in 1740,
General Oglethorpe, of Georgia, was signally repulsed in a similar
undertaking.
In 1763, the whole territory of Florida was ceded by Spain to Great
Britain in exchange for Cuba; but the entire population of the territory
at that time did not exceed six hundred.
In 1767, Dr. Trumbull, an English colonist, located at New Smyrna,
"imported fifteen hundred Corsicans and Minorcans, having deluded them
by unstinted promises of land and employment at high wages, and then
subjected them to a system of oppression, similar and scarce less
severe than slavery, till after a lapse of some ten years they escaped
in a body from his servitude and betook themselves to St. Augustine,
where they settled down, and ultimately became a prominent and valuable
element of the population of that section."
In 1781, the Spanish captured Pensacola, and the English again lost
possession of Florida. In 1784, the territory was once more formally
ceded to Spain. In 1812, Fernandina capitulated to the troops of the
United States, but was, during the following year, re-delivered to the
Spanish Government.
In 1814, the English forces, under the command of Colonel Nichols,
entered and manned the forts of Pensacola, although the whole territory
was nominally under the control of Spain; and in 1818, General Jackson
attacked and captured Pensacola in behalf of the United States.
In 1819, Florida was purchased by the United States, and was formally
ceded by Spain. In 1822, a territorial government was established; in
1845, Florida was admitted into the Union, and in January, 1861, she
seceded.
In the language of the talented and lamented J. S. Adams: "What a
picture does this brief abstract of the leading features in the history
of Florida present! Discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1512; permanently
settled in 1565; ceded to Great Britain in 1763, with a population of
only six hundred, after a colonial existence of two hundred years;
re-ceded to Spain in 1784; sold and ceded to the United States in 1819;
receiving a territorial government in 1822; admitted to the Union in
1845; seceding in 1861; and reconstructed in 1868; sacked and pillaged
repeatedly by Europeans; shifting its nationality from time to time, and
losing almost its entire population by each change; harassed and
plundered by repeated Indian wars from 1816 to 1858, and just as
prosperity began to dawn, plunged unnecessarily into the useless
slaughter of a hopeless rebellion, she has suffered every evil,
political and social, that does not involve absolute extinction. Is it,
then, a matter of surprise that Florida is so sparsely populated?"