■;':;{- ,t,:>; mm(^: Class Book COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT Highways and Byways of Florida THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO - DALLAS ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Limited LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. TORONTO Il3t^ '^!A^^%.< On an East Coast beach HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS OF FLORIDA HUMAN INTEREST INFORMATION FOR TRAVELLERS IN FLORIDA; AND FOR THOSE OTHER TRAVELLERS WHO ARE KEPT AT HOME BY CHANCE OR NECESSITY, BUT WHO JOURNEY FAR AND WIDE ON THE WINGS OF FANCY WRITTEN BY CLIFTON JOHNSON FULLY ILLUSTRATED Published by THE M ACM ILL AN COMPANY New York McMviii LONDON: MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED Copyright, 1918 ,J6(^ by the Macmillan Covipany. Set up and electrotyped Published December, 1918. AMERICAN HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS FLORIDA DtC -7 1918 ©CI.A50B982 A I loi I Introductory Note This book is an attempt to include in readable form all the human interest information concerning Florida that the space will permit. I have sought for what is characteristic and significant in nature and in history, in the observations of travelers present and past, in commercial and industrial enterprise on land and sea, and for that which is illuminating and entertaining in literature, legend, and humor. It has been my custom to supply the Illustrations for my travel books with my own camera, and I had intended to make photographs for this Florida book as usual. But our part in the World War interfered with my plans. I walked out on a wharf at a Gulf port in quest of camera material and soon found myself ar- rested as a suspected German spy. For two days and a night I was behind prison bars. When I was released, the official prediction was that I would have further disagreeable experiences of the sort if I persisted in my purpose to make photographs, and I decided to gather the illustrations in other ways. Later the old saying that "Misfortunes never come singly" was corroborated when a fire at the engravers destroyed most of the pictures I had secured, and I had to collect material anew. vi Introductory Note I am grateful to those mentioned below for the illus- trations which appear opposite the pages listed: United States Forest Service, 97, no, 143, 173, 212, 213, 220, 221. United States Geological Survey, 100. Florida East Coast Railv^ay, 76, 81, 96, 132, 153, 164, 193. Seaboard Air Line Railway, Frontispiece, 16, 17, 49, 80, 140, 141, 165. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, 209. Agwi Steamship News, 48, 64, 65, 69, 99, 152, 208, 245. Charleston Chamber of Commerce, 244. A. D. Copeland, of Springfield, Mass., 68. W. J. Harris, 22, 26, 32, 33; from a very serviceable and well-illustrated copyrighted St. Augustine booklet. A. W. Dimock, 142, from Mr. Dimock's "Book of the Tarpon"; 172, from his "Florida Enchantments." Places and other features of Florida are often lent an additional attraction by their names. Many of these names have an Indian origin and are not only appropriate in their significance but strikingly melo- dious. Others smack of the pioneer period, or at least of a rude unconventionalism. Some supply almost excuse enough in themselves for inclusion in the text, and I regret that I did not find place in my chapters for such as the Sopchoppy River, a tributary of the Ochlockonee, and for Hogtown, where the first blood was shed in the Seminole War near Miccosukee. Clifton Johnson. Hadley, Mass. Contents Chapter Page I. Ponce de Leon and Fernando de Soto . i II. The Oldest City in the United States . 20 III. The Stately St. Johns and the Beautiful Ocklawaha .... IV. The East Coast and the Indian River V. Key West and Its Sea-going Railway VI. Tallahassee and Northwestern Florida VII. Central Florida with its Lakes and Springs 121 VIII. The West Coast . IX. The Seminoles X. The Everglades . XL Some Naturalist Visitors XII. The Weather and Other Characteristics XIII. Pines, Palmettos, and Other Trees XIV. Birds and Beasts XV. Two Charming Cities Index ..... SO 72 89 103 135 148 161 176 196 212 227 242 261 Illustrations On an East Coast Beach Atlantic Surf on the Florida Coast . A Florida Jungle .... The Cathedral Completed in 1797 Ancient Spanish Gateway The Arch in Old Fort Marion . Ruin of a Spanish Fort at Matanzas Inlet One of the Narrow Streets A St. Augustine Monument February on the Beach, Anastasia Island Pablo Beach Palmettos and Sand Dunes A Quiet Nook on the Borders of the St. Johns River Getting the Trotter Ready Voyaging on the Ocklawaha A Cracker's Home Beside the Halifax River at New Smyrna An Off-look on the Indian River Spanish Bayonets At Palm Beach on the Shore of Lake Worth One of the Viaducts of the Seagoing Railway A Remarkable Wild Fig Tree at Key West Navigating a Sponge Boat A Street in Key West .... On Loggerhead Key, Dry Tortugas . Young Mangroves Growing in a Shoal Frontispiece Facing Page 16 17 22 23 26 27 32 33 48 49 64 65 68 69 76 77 80 81 96 97 98 99 100 lOI Illustrations Docks at Pensacola Washing in the Yard Woodland in Northwestern Florida near Rocky A Drink from the Suwannee Lake Parker near Lakeland Picking Oranges .... A Phosphate Mine .... Ready to Start for Market A Kissimmee Valley Prairie A Rustic Well .... The Greek Sponge Fleet at Tarpon Springs A Bellair Bridge .... An Exciting Moment in Catching a Tarpon A Schoolhouse in Lee County . An Everglades Indian in his Dugout The Tomoka River near Ormond On the Shore of Lake Okechobee The Cotee River near Sarasota Canoeing in the Big Cypress . A Trapper's Home in the Everglades Deep Creek, a Tributary of the St. Johns A Florida Waterside An Ox-cart in Southern Florida A St. Petersburg Roadway Log-drawing in a Long-leaf Pine Forest Cutting a Gutter for Turpentine A Turpentine Orchard In the National Forest — a Fire Lookout Voyaging in the Everglades Cocoanut Palms on Key Biscayne Facing Bayou Page io8 109 no III 128 129 130 131 132 133 140 141 142 143 152 153 164 i6s 172 173 192 193 208 209 212 213 220 221 232 233 Illustrations XI St. Michael's Church, Charleston Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor In a Charleston Alley A Home Entrance . A River Scene at Bonaventure The Atlantic Beach on Tybee Island Facing Page 244 245 248 249 252 253 Highways and Byways of Florida Highways and Byways of Florida I PONCE DE LEON AND FERNANDO DE SOTO A MONG the sturdy New World explorers of the /% sixteenth century was Ponce de Leon, who, ^ m as a companion of Columbus on his second voyage to the Western Hemisphere, proved himself to be a brave and gallant officer. Most of his time for many years afterward was spent In the New World, exploring, seeking gold, governing provinces, and parleying with the Indians, or fighting them. By the time he was fifty he had amassed wealth enough to make him Independent, and he returned to Spain. At length this bold mariner felt the Infirmities of age and the shadows of the decline of life hanging over him, and he willingly credited the tale that In the mysterious land beyond the sea there existed a spring whose waters could efface the marks of time and confer im- mortal youth on whoever bathed In It. The spring was said to be In a region which abounded in gold and all manner of desirable things. A considerable number of Cuban Indians had gone north from their Island in 2 Highways and Byways of Florida search of this delectable country and its magic spring. They had never returned. No doubt they had suc- ceeded in their quest, and had preferred to remain in their rejuvenated state to enjoy the felicities of that land. So the gallant cavalier, Ponce de Leon, sailed from Spain to Porto Rico, where he fitted out three vessels and embarked in them to seek the fountain of youth. March 27, 1 5 13, he came within sight of Florida, and after hovering along the coast for a fortnight he went on shore a little south of the mouth of the St. Johns River. There a cross was planted, the royal banner was thrown to the breeze, and he took possession of the country for the Spanish crown. He called it Terra de Pascua Florida, Land of Easter Flowers. The name is supposed to refer in part to the time of his discovery, and in part to the abounding spring flowers that he saw and scented. For a month and a half after landing. Ponce de Leon engaged in an earnest search for the magic fountain. There are a score of springs in Florida which might impress an ignorant or credulous observer with the idea of supernatural virtues. But none of the springs in which the gallant cavalier bathed served his purpose, and he finally sailed away without having grown either younger or handsomer. However, though he failed to find the fountain of youth, he gave Florida its name and perpetuated his own by his romantic quest. In the year 1521 Ponce de Leon again voyaged to Ponce de Leon and Fernando de Soto 3 Florida. His fancy had been stirred by the brilliant exploits of Hernando Cortes in Mexico, and it seemed to him not unlikely that Florida might contain vast unknown regions of marvelous wealth in its bosom which would yield their discoverer fame and riches. About four hundred men accompanied him in two ships, and he carried along a number of sheep, cattle, and horses. He wanted to learn whether Florida was an island, as he was inclined to believe, and he planned to establish a settlement. It is probable that he ex- plored the west coast northward, and that stops were made at various places. But no sooner did he and his men begin to build habitations than they were assailed by the Indians with remarkable valor. Several of the Spaniards were slain, and Ponce de Leon was wounded in the thigh by a flint arrow. He was borne on board his ship, and the two vessels sailed to Cuba, where he died soon afterward. His body was carried to Porto Rico and entombed in one of the churches of the city of San Juan. The epitaph inscribed on his tomb was to the purport that "In this sepulcher rest the bones of a man who was a lion by name and still more by nature." In 1539 the conquest of the Florida peninsula was attempted by Fernando de Soto, who had taken a lead- ing part with Pizarro in conquering Peru. He went to Peru a needy adventurer, but his exploits had made him famous and rich. When it was known that he was to engage in this Florida enterprise, cavaliers, soldiers, 4 Highways and Byways of Florida peasants, and artisans hastened to volunteer their services. Many sold or mortgaged their estates to buy an interest in the expedition. Some had seen with their own eyes the shiploads of gold and silver that had been brought from the New World, and no one seemed to doubt that success was assured. The seven large ships and three caravels that presently sailed away toward the setting sun made the finest fleet that ever left Spain to cross the Atlantic. De Soto went first to Cuba, where he added two more ships to his squadron, then turned northward, and on the 25th day of June sailed into Tampa Bay and dropped anchor. He had with him six hundred and twenty men, gallant and well equipped, eager in purpose, and audacious in hope. De Soto declared that the enterprise was undertaken for God alone. Certainly this devout marauder did not neglect the spiritual welfare of the Indians whom he had come to plunder; for besides fetters to bind them and blood- hounds to hunt them, he brought priests and monks to save their souls. After several days spent in exploring the waterways of the vicinity three hundred soldiers landed and raised the Spanish flag and royal arms on the beach. At nightfall, when supper had been eaten, the soldiers stretched themselves on the ground around the stand- ard of their king and slept. But just before the gray hour of dawn there burst from the silent black forest a tumult of cries and yells, leaping savage forms, and a Ponce de Leon and Fernando de Soto 5 flight of arrows. The Spaniards, overwhelmed and confused, ran in helpless terror down the beach and out into the water, whence their trumpets sent clamorous calls to the ships for aid. Barges quickly brought reinforcements, and the savages were driven back into the forest. The Indians made no further demonstration, and a few days later the Spaniards marched ten miles to a deserted native village on the site of the present city of Tampa. The village consisted of a single row of low wooden cabins, thatched with palmetto. On a mound at one end was the cabin of the chief, and opposite, on another mound, was a temple bearing the wooden effigy of a fowl. De Soto with his staff took possession of the chief's cabin, the officers established themselves in the other cabins, and the soldiers tore down the temple and combined the fragments with brush to make rude shelters for themselves. The ground was cleared of trees and shrubbery for the distance of a crossbow shot on every side, sentinels were posted, and horsemen were ordered to make regular rounds. Scouting squads captured a few straggling natives to serve the expedition for guides, but the captives were of little use without interpreters. Gradually, however, De Soto managed to understand from them that he was in the village of their chief, Hirrihigua, and that they had all taken refuge in the forest at the approach of the Spaniards. The captives were sent to the chief with friendly messages and presents, but he railed at 6 Highways and Byways of Florida them for bringing him fair words and gifts from Chris- tians. He told them to bring him the Spaniards' heads instead. De Soto learned from his captives that the chief's enmity had its origin ten years back when a Spanish expedition led by Panfilo de Narvaez landed there. The relations of the strangers and the natives were at first friendly, but trouble soon developed because of the Spaniards' arrogance and treachery. The chief was seized, and vilely mutilated by cutting off his nose, and his old mother was thrown to the dogs and devoured by them before his eyes. A few years later a Spanish ship had sailed into the bay seeking tidings of Narvaez and his men, who had marched into the Florida forests and had not been heard from since. Hirrihigua divined the purpose of the voyagers, and he indicated by signs that Narvaez had left papers there to be given to Chris- tians who would come for them. In proof, old letters found in the Spanish camp, were tied to sticks and held up on the beach. The ship's people were suspicious and feared to trust themselves on shore. Then Hir- rihigua sent four of his warriors to remain on the vessel as hostages, whereupon four Spaniards paddled to land in the Indians' canoe. But it had barely touched ground when the four warriors sprang from the ship into the water, and swam away like fish. The four white men were dragged off in triumph to the forest. Three were tortured and killed, but the fourth was still dwelling among the savages. Ponce de Leon and Fernando de Soto 7 Two detachments of cavalry and crossbowmen were at once sent by De Soto in different directions with orders to spend a week, if necessary, searching for the captive Spaniard. The route of one of these lay through bogs and swamps where the horses traveled with difficulty, but where the Indians moved about freely. A soldier said of the savages: "Warlike and nimble, when we charge they run away; and as soon as we turn our backs they are at us again. They never keep still, but are always running about, so that no crossbow nor arquebuse can be aimed at them, and before a man of us makes one shot they make six." This detachment returned at the end of Its time bringing one man mor- tally wounded, and several others with minor hurts, and nothing gained except four frightened squaw cap- tives. The other detachment started out briskly with an Indian to guide it. But after a time he became uncer- tain in his conduct and led the troop aimlessly through the forest from one bypath to another. At length the Spaniards discovered his treachery. They arrived where the woods were thin enough to allow a distant view, and saw the masts of the ships In the bay. Then they knew that they had been traveling in a circle, and they scared the Indian into guiding them aright. Not long afterward they turned Into an open plain and encountered face to face a small band of savages. The troopers, all eagerness to fight, spurred forward at full speed, with lances set, and the Indians darted into the 8 Highways and Byways of Florida leafy coverts of the forest. Only two of the fugitives were overtaken. One was wounded and captured. The other turned, warded off with his bow the lance thrust at him, made the sign of the cross in the air, and shouted to his pursuers in Spanish. He was Juan Ortiz, the man whom they were seeking, and they returned to camp with him. Juan's three comrades had been killed shortly after their capture at a great tribal feast In Hirrlhigua's village. He, then a boy of eighteen, was spared at the request of the chief's wife and daughters — spared to labor as a slave fetching wood and water, scantily fed, and constantly buffeted and cudgeled. On every feast day he furnished amusement for the people by being chased, and pelted with blunt arrows from sunrise to sunset. At the day's end, when he lay panting and exhausted on the ground, the chief's wife and daugh- ters would bring him food and speak soft words to him. Once Hirrihigua attempted to burn him alive, and would have succeeded but for the timely intervention of the lad's friends in the chief's family. After that he was set to guard the burial-place of the village. This was a lonely open field in the depths of the forest. The bodies were laid in wooden boxes resting flat on the ground. Beasts of prey would come prowling among the boxes at night, and sometimes contrived to force one open and carry off a corpse. Hirrihigua armed Juan with four darts and told him that if he allowed a body to be carried off, death should be his punishment. Ponce de Leon and Fernando de Soto 9 For a time Juan got along very well, but at last he went to sleep one night just before dawn. The noise of a falling box cover awoke him, and he hurried to the burial chests. The body of a child brought there two days before was gone. Juan listened and heard a noise in the woods like the crunching of bones. He crept softly in that direction till he came to a clump of bushes. Beyond these he dimly perceived the figure of a crouching animal. "May God help me!" he muttered, and threw one of his darts with all his strength. The animal neither moved nor uttered a sound, and when daylight came he saw that his missile had pierced Its heart, and It lay there dead. He took up the body of the child and ran back to the burial-place, where he restored it to its box. Then he grasped the brute by one of Its feet and dragged It to the village. The In- dians praised him for what he had done, and HIrrihIgua gave him other employment. For a time things went better, but the chief's old malice returned, and at last Hlrrlhigua's eldest daughter smuggled Juan away to the protection of a young neighboring chief who wanted her to be his wife. He was still with this chief when news came that a strong Spanish force had established itself in Hlrrlhi- gua's village. Juan, with an escort of warriors, was dispatched thither to tell the Christian commander how kindly he had been treated by the young chief, and to beg in return that the chief and his people lo Highways and Byways of Florida should not be harmed. It was while Juan was on this errand that he met the Spaniards. After reaching the camp of his countrymen and telling his story, De Soto gave him a doublet and hose of fine black velvet, and other clothing, but from long habit of having no covering except a cloth around his waist, It was several weeks before he could bear any- thing more on his skin than the loosest linen garment. The fleet had been unloaded, and the nine ships sent back to Havana. Pedro Calderon was now appointed commander of a small garrison to be left In charge of the village and the three caravels. The rest of the force marched away Inland, startling the ancient forest with clangor of trumpets, the neighing of horses, the fluttering of pennons, and the glittering of helmets and lances. Presently they entered the territory of Urre- barricuxi, but he kept In hiding and would not be tempted out either for peace or war. Farther on they pushed through a swamp that they were two days In crossing, and the scouts reported another swamp ahead that made the crossing of the one just passed seem like child's play. The vast region of this "mother swamp," as they called it, was so miry as to be impassable. De Soto himself went forth scout- ing with a troop of horsemen looking for an opening, or a footpath used by the Indians. No footpath was found, though the Indians infested the region like mosquitoes. Again and again they swarmed forth with sudden fury, shot a volley of arrows, and disap- Ponce de Leon and Fernando de Soto 1 1 peared. However, the arrows did little harm to the armor-protected horsemen. A few captives were taken and forced to act as guides, but they led their captors astray. De Soto had four of them thrown to the dogs, several of which were taken along on every reconnois- sance. The dogs' appetites were kept keen by starva- tion, and they soon made an end of the four Indians. A fifth, in dread of a like fate, offered to guide the whites faithfully, and he led them around the swamp. The next country to which they came was that of the chief Acuera. As soon as some captives had been secured, they were sent with greetings and presents to their chief. He was invited to meet the Spaniards in peace and friendship. But Acuera responded that from other Spaniards in years gone by he had become well aware what manner of folk they were. They went wandering round like vagabonds from country to coun- try, robbing people who had done them no harm what- ever. With such persons he wished no kind of peace and friendship, but never-ending war. He would fight them as long as they remained in his land, and he warned them that he had ordered his people to bring him two Christian heads each week. The chief proved to be a man of his word. During the twenty days that the invaders lingered in his ter- ritory he assailed them unceasingly, and his people brought him more than twice the quota of heads he had requested. A Spaniard could not wander a hun- dred yards from camp, unarmed, without being spitted 12 Highways and Byways of Florida by an arrow, and his comrades were rarely so quick to the rescue but that they found a headless corpse await- ing them. The captive Indians spoke of a province called Ocali, farther along to the northeast, where the people wore ornaments of gold. This decided De Soto to direct his march thither, but he found only little groups of de- serted cabins, and storehouses well filled with corn and pumpkins, dried plums and grapes, and nuts. He saw no evidence of gold. Before leaving Ocali he captured thirty Indians for slaves. The country beyond was ruled by three brothers; five-tenths by the eldest, three-tenths by the second, and two-tenths by the youngest. One morning before daylight De Soto surprised and captured the youngest brother's village with the chief and all his warriors in it. However, only the young chief was retained a prisoner. The rest were liberated. The captive was flattered and treated with honor, and by this means was persuaded to send messages to his brothers advis- ing their submission to the invaders. The second brother promptly came in state escorted by his best warriors and made peace with the Spaniards. But the eldest brother declared that if the white men entered his territory he would roast half of them, and boil alive the other half. Every day two of his heralds would approach the camp, sounding their horns, and pro- claiming defiance with great bravado. His brothers finally came and made a personal appeal to him. Then Ponce de Leon and Fernando de Soto 13 he pretended to be won by their persuasion, the Span- iards were invited to march into his domain, and he made ready for a grand reception and for a grand massacre afterward. The strangers were entertained In the chief's village, where a great store of food was provided for them and their horses. There were two hundred well-built cabins in the place, and a fringe of smaller and poorer ones on the outskirts. De Soto and his staff were lodged in the chief's big cabin. The chief planned to slaughter his visitors at the end of three days of feasting, but his purpose was betrayed to Juan Ortiz by one of the native interpreters. His warriors were to assemble on a near by plain with their weapons hidden in the grass at their feet, and the Spaniards were to be invited to see what a fine troop they made. When the proper mo- ment came, the chief was to give a signal, and they were to destroy the strangers. De Soto learned of this scheme through Juan Ortiz, and he went to the plain with his men in battle array prepared to attack first. He led a charge of his horse- men on the Indian squadrons. The Spaniards tram- pled and overthrew the savages, and slew them with their swords right and left. It was armor against naked skins, steel blades against bows and arrows. Many Indians were slain, and hundreds were captured, in- cluding the chief. His warriors were compelled to do the camp drudgery as slaves, but he was treated more like a guest. Even yet he fancied that a final triumph 14 Highways and Byways of Florida was possible, and he sent secret word to his warrior slaves that at noon on a certain day each was to be ready to kill the master to whom he had been allotted. He would give a war whoop as a signal for action, and he promised it would be loud enough to be heard from one end of the village to the other. The appointed day came, and just after the midday meal the chief suddenly seized De Soto by the collar with his left hand, and dealt him such a blow in the face with his right fist as knocked him senseless. The chief flung him down, jumped on him with both feet, and shouted the war whoop. It was his last call. Ten or twelve Spanish officers were close at hand. They drew their swords and plunged them into his body, and he fell dead on the unconcious De Soto. The entire camp was in commotion, for every Indian had rushed on his master with whatever utensil or missile he could lay hold of. Several whites were killed and many were bruised and maimed; but after the first moment of surprise the Spaniards caught up their weapons, and they ceased not to use them until not one unbound Indian was left alive. Then those who were in chains were brought into the public square where platoons of halberdiers slew them. This was done by De Soto's order. He had soon recovered from his swoon, but for twenty days his swollen face was kept in plasters and bandages. Mean- while the Spaniards had resumed their march. They advanced seventy-five miles through a perfect hornet's Ponce de Leon and Fernando de Soto 15 nest of assailing Indians to the village of the next province. Maddened by the attacks, the Spaniards chased the Indians like wild hogs, stuck their lances through them, and took no prisoners. Now that they were at the village, which, as usual, was deserted, they ambushed some natives to replace the slaves they had lost in the last village. These were taken along with iron collars about their necks, and to the collars were attached chains that at the other end were fastened to the belts of the troopers. It was a matter of complaint that sometimes, when in the forest, getting wood, the slaves killed their troopers and ran away with their chains; or that at night they broke their chains with stones and so escaped. At last the expedition came to a swamp so vast that the Spanish ever afterward called it simply the "Great Swamp." Only one narrow opening could be discov- ered, and the Spaniards followed its winding course that would admit no more than two men abreast. Often they had to wade, and much of the way they had to fight the natives; but they persisted till the last stretch of jungle was passed. They were now in open woodland. Here the Indians had blocked the path with felled trees and with vines tied across the trail. However, the adventurers finally reached the culti- vated lands of Apalachee, which were famed through- out Florida for their fertility, and a few days more of marching brought them to the chief village of the country. This is believed to have been in the i6 Highways and Byways of Florida neighborhood of Tallahassee. There they spent the winter. A troop which was sent south to seek the sea came out on the shore of the spacious bay of Apalachee and retraced its way to camp to report. Then De Soto dispatched thirty cavaliers to make the one hundred and fifty league journey to Hirrihigua's village and order Calderon's garrison to join him. They departed several hours before daybreak on the 20th of October, lightly equipped with helmets and coats of mail, and each carrying a lance and a small wallet of food. They proposed to travel rapidly and to kill every Indian they met, so no alarm would get ahead of them that would result in their being ambushed. The first day they went thirty-three miles and killed two Indians. Some days they made as much as fifty miles. They suffered from cold, they had to cross swollen streams, partly by swimming, partly on rude rafts they made, and there were many narrow escapes from the Indians. One of the men sickened and died in his saddle, and his comrades dug a grave with their hatchets and buried him. That night In camp another man died with the same mysterious suddenness. The others fell on their knees and prayed for the dead; but no one would touch the body, for all persisted that the man had died of the plague. At the end of the twelth day they reached the head- quarters of Calderon. One of the caravels was sent to Havana, where De Soto's wife was staying, to carry "^ A Florida jungle Ponce de Leon and Fernando de Soto 17 her a report of the expedition and a present of slaves. The cavaHers sailed in the other two caravels for the Bay of Apalachee, while the garrison made the march by land. Late in December the caravels arrived in the bay, and within a week Calderon's force marched into De Soto's camp after daily skirmishing with the Indians on all the hard journey. The caravels later voyaged along the coast and discovered the harbor of Pensacola, and soon afterward sailed to Cuba. The Spaniards in their winter camp could scarcely venture outside the village without danger of death or wounds, and De Soto determined to put an end to the warfare by getting the Apalachee chief into his power. He learned that this chief had hidden in the center of an extensive forest amid the canebrakes of a swamp about twenty-five miles distant, De Soto, with a company of men, some mounted and some on foot, assailed this forest stronghold. There was a short fierce battle, and then the chief surrendered. The Spaniards gazed in wonder at him. He was too fat to walk. He could not even stand upright on his feet. In public he was carried. In private he crawled about on his hands and knees. The Spanish commander received him aflfably and returned with him to camp, but, contrary to De Soto's expectations, the Indians became more persistent than ever in their ambushes. The chief said this was because his people suspected that he was being badly treated, and he begged to be sent to them as a messenger of peace. 1 8 Highways and Byways of Florida This plan was accepted, and a company of cavalry and one of infantry were detailed to go with the chief. They traveled all day far into the forest to a spot the chief selected. There he began to shout and call, and soon ten or twelve warriors stood before him to receive his commands. He ordered them to have all the In-- dians in the forest gather there on the morrow. Dark- ness closed in over the forest, and after sentinels had been posted, the rest of the tired Spaniards betook themselves to sleep, well satisfied that on the next day they would return triumphantly to camp escorting the whole of the chief's tribe in docile submission. But when daylight came they found that the chief had disappeared. Evidently the sentinels had failed to keep awake, and he had crawled away to his lurking warriors, who had hoisted him on their shoulders and borne him beyond the reach of his enemies. The Span- iards beat the forest in vain in search of him and went back to De Soto ashamed and discomfited. The Indian prowlers continued to haunt the wood- land roundabout the camp. They showed wonderful dexterity In the use of bow and arrow, though this was but natural considering their training. According to the Spaniards, Indian babies of three years or less, as soon as they could stand on their feet, were given tiny bows and arrows, with which they hunted the beetles and other insects crawling round their cabins. They would watch for hours before the hole of a mouse or a lizard, waiting to shoot the creature when it came forth. Ponce de Leon and Fernando de Soto 19 If there was no larger game available, they sped their arrows at the flies on the cabin walls. In March, De Soto and his dwindling force journeyed northeasterly from Apalachee. They were soon beyond the confines of what is now Florida, and we will not follow them farther in their strange and tragic adven- tures. II THE OLDEST CITY IN THE UNITED STATES A S the earliest permanent settlement made by /% Europeans in the United States, St. Augustine ^ »^ will always have exceptional interest. Its beginnings are interwoven in a story of barbaric war- fare between the French and Spanish. Captain Jean Ribaut with a small French fleet visited the coast in 1562, and named the harbor of St. Augustine the "River of Dolphins" because of the many porpoises he saw there. Thence he went on northward and en- tered the mouth of the St. Johns. Somewhere beside its waters he planted a stone cross on which was carved the fleur-de-lis of France, After more exploration along the coast he sailed back across the Atlantic. Two years later another fleet came with a colony of French Protestants to make a permanent settlement of the country. The colonists were welcomed by the Indians, who had carefully preserved Ribaut's cross with its mystic symbols, and had even sacrificed to it. These French got to know the savages very well, and found among them some who claimed to be two and a half centuries old and expected to live thirty or forty years more. The Oldest City in the United States 21 A spot was selected a few miles up the St. Johns, on the south side, and with pine logs and sand a fort was constructed and called Fort Caroline. This was on what is now known as St. Johns Bluff. The leader of the French said that on top of the hill grew "cedars, palms, and bay trees of so sovereign odor that balm smelleth not more sweetly," and in conclusion asserted, "The place is so pleasant that those which are mel- ancholic would be inforced to change their humor." From the summit of the bluff the sea was in plain sight to the east, and in the other direction meadows and islets. Presently queer doings began In Fort Caroline. A soldier who professed to have some expertness in magic stirred up disaffection. Those who came under his influence seized the leader of the colony while he was sick, shut him up, and then went off with a couple of vessels on a piratical cruise. They were not very suc- cessful as freebooters. Most of them perished. The remnant returned to Fort Caroline, where the com- mandant took four of the ringleaders into custody and shot them. Afterward he hung them on gibbets as a warning to others who might be tempted to mutiny. Before long the garrison got into great straits for lack of food. But when their resources were well-nigh exhausted Sir John Hawkins with an English fleet visited Fort Caroline and gave them a generous allow- ance of provisions. One of the English wrote, "The ground doth yield victuals sufficient, if they would have 22 Highways and Byways of Florida taken pains to get the same; but they, being soldiers, desired to live by the sweat of other men's brows." This same chronicler said of the use of tobacco among the Florida Indians that "When they travel, they have a kind of herb dried, and a cane with an earthern cup in the end. They put together fire and the dried herb, and do suck through the cane the smoke, and therewith they live four or five days with- out meat or drink; and this all the Frenchmen used for this purpose, yet do they hold that it causeth them to reject from their stomachs and spit out water and phlegm." The Spanish sovereign, who considered Florida his property by right of discovery, learned of the French colony, and promptly dispatched Pedro Menendez in eleven vessels with twenty-six hundred men to exter- minate it. When Menendez with several of his ships approached the mouth of the St. Johns on the after- noon of September 4, 1565, he descried four French vessels anchored there outside the bar. These were part of a fleet with which Jean Ribaut had again come to America. Menendez prepared for battle, while the French assailed him with scoffs and insults, but cut their cables, left their anchors, and in all haste got their sails up and fled. The Spanish chaplain wrote, "These devils are such adroit sailors and maneuvered so well that we did not catch one of them." Pursuers and pursued ran out to sea firing useless volleys at each other. The Cathedral, completed in IJQJ Ancient Spanish gdlt:v(iy The Oldest City in the United States 23 By and by Menendez turned back, and voyaged along the coast southward till he came to an inlet which he entered, and there debarked troops, guns, and stores to establish a colony. He had arrived on St. Augustine's Day, and conferred the saint's name on his settlement. Here was an Indian village. The dwelling of the chief was a huge barn-like structure, strongly framed of entire trunks of trees, and thatched with palmetto leaves. This was taken possession of by the Spaniards, and around it gangs of workers toiled throwing up intrenchments. On the 8th of the month Menendez took formal possession of his domain. He landed in state at the head of his ofhcers, while cannon were fired, trumpets sounded, and banners were displayed. The chaplain, crucifix in hand, came chanting a hymn to meet Menendez, who, with all his company knelt and kissed the crucifix. Roundabout were gathered the Indians gazing in silent wonder. Ribaut learned of the landing of Menendez, and put to sea to make a surprise attack on the enemy. The next day the crew of one of the smaller Spanish vessels that lay outside the bar at St. Augustine with Menen- dez himself on board saw through the twilight of early dawn two of Ribaut's ships close at hand. Not a breath of air was stirring, and escape seemed impos- sible. The Spaniards fell on their knees and prayed for a little wind. Their prayer was granted, and they found refuge behind the bar. Soon the increasing light revealed to their astonished eyes nearly all of Ribaut's 24 Highways and Byways of Florida ships, hovering off the entrance to the port, their decks black with men. But the breeze which Heaven had sent now freshened to a gale, and then rose to a storm more violent than any that the Indians had ever known before. It lashed the ocean into fury, and Menendez saw the French fleet beat seaward through the rack and mist, and go on beyond sight, forced southerly by the tempest. Then he decided to march overland and attack Fort Caroline during Ribaut's absence. Natives guided him and a force of five hundred men across the intervening forty miles of forest with its vines and palmetto thickets, and of inundated lowlands with their brambles, bulrushes, and mud. Of Ribaut's followers left at the fort, only nine or ten had weapons. Four of them were boys who kept Ribaut's dogs, and another was his cook. Besides the few who had weapons, he left a brewer, an old crossbow- maker, two shoemakers, a player on the spinet, four valets, an elderly carpenter, a crowd of women and children, and eighty-six camp-followers. In addition there were the men who had been at the fort before Ribaut arrived, but only seventeen of these were able to bear arms. The force, such as it was, stood guard in two watches, each watch In charge of an officer who had a lantern for going the rounds, and an hour-glass for keeping track of the time. When day dawned on the 20th of September, floods of rain were drenching the sentries on the ramparts, and the ofiicer took pity on them and The Oldest City in the United States 25 on himself, and they all went to their quarters. At that very moment the Spaniards were in the neighbor- ing thickets. Soon they made a rush on the fort, which had been allowed to fall into disrepair and had several breaches in its defenses. A trumpeter saw them and blew an alarm which brought a few half naked soldiers running wildly out of the barracks. They could make no effective resistance, the fort was captured, and in a short time most of its inmates had been slaughtered. But "after the rage of the assault was spent, Menendez ordered that women, infants, and boys under fifteen should be spared." A few of the other defendants escaped to the woods, and with great difficulty made their way to the mouth of the river, where were two vessels in which they sailed away to France. Menendez caused his men prisoners to be hung on the near by trees and left with them an inscription, "I do this not as to Frenchmen, but to Lutherans." Before departing, the pious butcher mustered his fol- lowers, and wept with emotion as here counted the many ways in which Heaven had helped their enterprise. When he returned to St. Augustine, on the 24th, accompanied by fifty of his men, he was met by the chaplain bearing a crucifix, "whereupon he, like a gentleman and a good Christian, kneeled with all his followers, and gave the Lord a thousand thanks for the great favors he had received from Him." Then the triumphant victors entered St. Augustine In solemn procession preceded by four chanting priests. 26 Highways and Byways of Florida Ribaut's fleet was wrecked on the Florida coast by the storm, but most of the voyagers got to the shore — one party of about three hundred and fifty with Ribaut well down toward Cape Canaveral, and another party of two hundred farther north. Both parties began to make their way toward Fort Caroline. The only seri- ous obstacle In their way was Matanzas Inlet, twenty miles south of St. Augustine. The lesser party arrived there first and camped, unable to cross. Indians brought word of their plight one midday to Menendez, who promptly set out with three boats to reconnoiter. About twenty men went in each boat. They rowed along the channel between Anastasia Island and the main shore, but when they neared the Inlet left their boats and walked to the other side of the island. There they bivouacked after nightfall on the sands within sight of the campfires of the shipwrecked French. Be- fore daybreak the next morning they went to the bor- ders of the Inlet and hid in a bushy hollow. As it grew light they could discern the enemy, many of whom were searching along the sands and shallows for shell- fish to relieve their hunger. Menendez went part way across the inlet in a boat and parleyed with a Frenchman who swam out to meet him. As a result five of the wrecked party were brought over to the Island for a further parley, but the Spanish leader's only response to their appeals for aid and mercy was, "If you will give up your weapons, I will do to you as the grace of God shall direct." More- ■^ E~, ii ** -" Ruin of a Spanish fort at Matanzas Inlet The Oldest City in the United States 27 over, he said in conclusion: "I have but few men, and you are so many that you could easily overpower us. Therefore it is necessary that you should march with your hands tied." The starving French had no recourse except to let him have his way. So first the boat conveyed across their banners, guns, swords, and helmets. Then the men were brought over ten at a time. As each boat- load arrived, the ten men were taken about two bow- shots from the shore behind a hillock of sand in a thicket of bushes, and tied. The transporting con- sumed the entire day. Twelve of the French who professed themselves to be Catholics, and four carpen- ters and calkers, of whom Menendez said he was in great need, were sent to St. Augustine by water. The rest were ordered to march thither by land. They were escorted by a vanguard and rearguard whom Menendez had ordered to destroy all these prisoners at a certain lonely spot not far distant, deep among the bush-covered sandhills; and this was done accordingly. Somewhat more than a week later, word was brought to Menendez that the larger French party was on the south side of the inlet, and he went to deal with it. He parleyed much as before, but only one hundred and fifty of the French were persuaded to come across. Of these he spared two young gentlemen of about eighteen years of age, and also a fifer, a drummer, and a trump- eter. The others, including Ribaut, were butchered. The tragic fate that they and their predecessors met 28 Highways and Byways of Florida here is commemorated by the name borne by the in- let — Matanzas — the place of slaughter. It is said that human bones are often found in the sand of the vicin- ity, and that the spot is haunted by unquiet ghosts, who at midnight shriek and moan and expostulate earnestly in some foreign language. The remaining two hundred of RIbaut's men went down the coast and started to build a vessel from frag- ments of the wreck, but a Spanish force was sent to deal with them. Some were captured, and the rest fled to the Indian towns. Thus was ended for the time being French colonization in Florida. The winter that followed was a trying one to the St. Augustine garrison. The naturally friendly Indians had been estranged by the cruel treatment of the Span- iards, and none of the whites could go outside the fort to hunt or fish without danger from an ever-vig- ilant and crafty foe. It is said that the lurking savages slew more than one hundred and twenty of the gar- rison by surprising them singly or in small parties. Provisions were scarce, and a considerable part of the colonists returned to Cuba, Mexico, and Spain. Meanwhile Menendez had replaced his first rude fortification with a more pretentious one that he called Fort St. John of the Pines. It was an octagonal structure that had walls of logs set upright in the ground, and it mounted fourteen brass cannon. After finishing this fort and erecting dwellings and a house of worship, Menendez sailed away to Spain. The Oldest City In the United States 29 In April, 1568, an avenging expedition of two hun- dred and fifty men from France arrived on the Florida coast. They communicated with the Indians, whom they found hostile to the Spaniards, gathered a large force of them, and without much trouble captured what had been Fort Caroline. Such prisoners as were taken were led to the same spot where Menendez had hung his victims. The French leader harangued them, then swung them up on the trees that had served as gallows before. Afterward he replaced the Menendez tablet with a pine board on which was seared the state- ment that he hung the men, not because they were Spaniards, but because they were "traitors, thieves, and murderers." The French went away satisfied, yet they had not exterminated the enemy, and St. Augustine continued to exist. Menendez returned the next year and turned his attention to converting the Indians to his religion. They did not, however, seem to appreciate its sub- limity. In one place four priests succeeded in baptiz- ing seven people in a year; but three of the converts were dying, and the other four were children. The Indians were quicker to accept the practice than the precepts of Menendez, and the Spaniards suffered much from their depredations. In 1586 the famous English sea rover. Sir Francis Drake, who had been commissioned by Queen Eliza- beth to capture or destroy as much Spanish property as possible, was sailing along the coast of Florida with 30 Highways and Byivays of Florida his fleet when he discovered a lookout on Anastasia Island. An armed party was sent ashore to investigate, and it soon returned and reported that the Spaniards had a fort and a settlement over on the mainland. Drake then landed a cannon near the head of the is- land, and two shots were fired at the fort just at night- fall. The first passed through the royal standard of Spain waving above the ramparts, and the second struck the log walls. Morning dawned, and Drake says, "Forthwith came a Frenchman, being a phipher. In a little boat, playing on his phiph a familiar English tune." He proved to be one of the men whom Menendez had spared at the time of the Matanzas massacre. Drake learned from him that everybody had been scared away from the fort. Boats were at once manned, and the English soon entered the town. The garrison. In the haste of their flight, had left behind them at the fort the treas- ure chest containing two thousand pounds, and this fell Into Drake's hands. He plundered and burned both the fort and town. After his departure the people, with some assistance from Havana, began the task of rebuilding. Two Indian villages had been established close by — one right on the northern borders of the town and the other somewhat farther north. In both villages mis- sionaries labored for the salvation of the savages; but in 1598 a young Indian chief, dissatisfied with the restrictions and reproaches of the priests, incited a The Oldest City in the United States 31 general conspiracy against them. One evening he and his followers killed Father Corpa In the chapel of the nearer village. Then they went to the other village to serve Father Rodriguez In the same manner. He begged that he might say mass before he died, and this favor was granted. His assailants stood by listening till he finished, then killed him, and the altar was spat- tered with his blood. Later they went to the several other missions up and down the coast, and very nearly exterminated the missionaries. Of course vengeance was taken by the Spaniards. Many of the marauders were slain, and their villages and granaries were burned. There was another Indian outbreak In 1638, and a large number of prisoners were brought to St. Augus- tine and set to work on the fortifications. They and their descendants were kept at this task for sixty years. In 1665 John Davis, a famous pirate, sailed into the harbor of St. Augustine with seven vessels. Citizens and soldiers fled to the woods, and the town was plun- dered and Its wooden portion burned. The next serious experience of the place was in 1702, at a time when England and Spain were at war. An expedition from South Carolina consisting of six hun- dred militia and an equal number of Indians attacked St. Augustine by land and by sea. The stone fort of San Marco was nearing completion, and while the town was easily captured a month's siege failed to reduce the fort Into which the town-folk had retired, taking with them their valuables. Presently two 32 Highways and Byways of Florida Spanish vessels appeared before the harbor, and the besiegers hastened to burn the town and escape, aban- doning their transports and a considerable amount of munitions and stores. This expedition cost South Carolina six thousand pounds, which for a young and struggling colony of not much more than five thousand people was such a burden that it led to the issue of the first paper money ever circulated in America. The feeling of enmity between the English and Spanish settlements long continued, and at length Governor Oglethorpe of Georgia undertook to capture St. Augustine. He began to bombarb it June 24, 1740, with three batteries located on Anastasia Island. The entire population of the town, about three thousand, took refuge in the fort. Little damage was done, for the cannon balls simply embedded themselves In the spongy coqulna stone with which the walls were con- structed. After about a month of this unsatisfactory battering, the Georgians gave up their attempt and went back home. Inroads such as these, and repeated Indian out- breaks, discouraged all attempts to cultivate the soil, and St. Augustine remained little more than a garrison town until Florida was ceded to England In 1762. Then the Spanish inhabitants nearly all left for Cuba. Such was their temper that the outgoing governor uprooted and destroyed the fine garden of the official residence, and it was with difficulty that many others were restrained from demolishing their houses. Roads A\ f^f^^^l ^ 1 "fhiS werry Elaborate IS ERECKTED IN ME^^ERY or i;fcto;