Maumee express. [volume] (Maumee City, Ohio) 1837-1838, 1837-08-05
ment, and eleven are acquitted Of all par
ticipation in the crime.--lb.
DOMESTIC NEWS.

~ A DOMESTIC NEWS.
LIEUT.. PowELLs EXPLORING OF THE
CoAsr OF FLoRIDA.-This gentleman
sent with boats in the Vandalia sloop Of
War in October last, to examine the
/" Everglades (Mungrove Islands, form
ing The innumerable islands, inlets,
swamps, W lagoons, &c. on the south coast
Of Floriday has furnished a highly inter-
esting report on this subject from which
we make the following extracts.
We ran along the coast for the most
part in the night, looking into Marittee
bav and Long river on the nth. This
is the real Shark river there, being noth-
ing but small creeks between it and
Cape Sable and Long river does not
deserve the name, being only an outlet
for the waters of the Everglades,
through as many,mouths as!there are isl
ands, these being innumerable. We
pulled full twenty miles with our oars
on Long river, and came out to sea a
few miles from the starting point.
The entire coast seems to be formed
of mangrove islands, packed in upon
each other, and separated from the wa
ter by the everglades by lagoon Of
fresh or salt by turns, as the tide or wa
ters of the gades prevail. To Snake
river it would be difficult to find an acre
of dry ground on which to encamp.
From the mouth of Snake river to
Pavilion key, several of these islands
present Sandy beach, with here and
there patch of dry land and such in
deed is the character Of the coast as far
as Cape Roman. The Indians, who
frequent this country are fishermen, and
seem to have forsaken their usual haunts.
Early in the morning anchored in the
Caximbo river, where was once settle.
ment of Marcos Indians.
We spent week in the examination
of the islands and numerous lagoons to
the distance of eighteen or more miles
from our encampment. N. Charles
Johnson engaged to show us the dwell
ing of the Indians but after a most la
borious excursion through lagoons, and
swamps, where we sometimes cut pas
sage for the boats through the mangroves
we returned to the camp, unable to dis
cover traces of Indians or their villages.
We anchored our boats that night in
the great inland basin Of South Florida,
known as the Everglades. We had
now night view of the coast that en-
circles the gladcs. Forests Of pines and
cypress enclosed US on all sides like a
black wall while on the other, the grass,
which cover the whole surface of this
shallow lake offered no obstruction to the
eye as it wandered over this dreary
waste. Here on the mainland, or on the
island in the glades, if there were Indi-
ans, so commanding was our position.
that their fires would have certainly been
seen by us. With the dawn we pushed
into the grassy sea before US, and en-
deavored to approach an island seen in
the distance. Several other islands we're
above the horizon as we progressed; /;
but the boats, although the smallest of
our little fleet, could not near either of
them. The matted grass which wounds
like razor, and the deep sluices, which
intersect the glades, prevent access to
them on foot. found it impracticable to
navigate the glades at this stage OF water,
in keel boats, thoug no labor had been
spared and we reluctantly commenced
our return to the camp.
The arrow root abounds, and is indeed
almost peculiar to this section Of Florida.
1t is the bread. the chief sustenance OF
the Seminole Indian, and without which
they might be starved.
We found the coast of the continent a
low, and, at high tide, an inundated
shore, defended from the sea by breast
work Of tangled mangroves, nearly in
accessible. Ifit be inhabitable, it be
barely possible to credit it. Ten miles
from the eastern part of Cape Sable, we
find the first sand beach. A strip Of shell
ly land separates the sea from the Ev-
erglades and from the appearance Of
the soil in this dry season, il must be in
undated half the year.-N. Y. Star.
From the Charleston Mercury.
LATE FROM FLORIDA. are in
debted to our attentive correspondent of
the st. Augusta Herald, for the follow
ing information;
st. Augustine, July l6. p
OUR INDIAN AFFAIRs.-Every thing
in relation 10 our Indian affairs for the
present seems to be quiet, unless we ex-
ceptja skirmish between a company of
Georgia volunteers and a gang Of Indi-
ans, which took place on the Suzanne
some DAYS since. in which one Indian