New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-03-09
TURTLEDOM AND wEsrCOrr.
'he poet speaks OF Q charming place

Coast Of Florida, otherwise THrtlefOm. Flori-
da, every body knows, is an immense State. 1t
contains any quantity of bullfrogs, rattlesnakes,
aIligators, water-rats and lsnd-rats 70 the acre.
No part of Turtledom, We believe, il visible
to the naked eye. What isn't under water is
under the sand. The inhabitants are most
Iy smphibious, or of the Caspar Hauser sort.
A considerable portion Of the latter have never
been caught. They inhsbit the everglades snd
are called Seminoles. Uncle Sam tried TO
catch them several years ago, and speat some
thirty millions and nearly ruined the reputation
Of several military men of distinction in the at
tempt-the latter being loss OF no small ac-
count, military men being the material out OF
which we have of late got into the habit OF
making Presidents and Cabinet Ministers IN
. very large proportions. The free white inha6-
itants Of Florida are to be found after dill
gent search on its surface, at the rate of
about one TO a square mile-bardly more
than some of our Northern States eau boast
of schoolhouses or churches. But among
these free white inhabitants, as among their
bulI.froes, are some Of the nOisiest sort. And
the noisiest among the nOisiest Is ex-Sen-
ator, Ex-Governor Westcott. This gentle
man has run an eventful career, and We
hardly know Of anything he is not, or has
not been, or Of anything that he has not
done. or had hand in, especially in the
way of mischief making. If there is anything
particularly pert or pungent going through the
newspapers in the way Of political diGbterie, it
may be pretty safely assumed that Mr. West
colt is at the bottom of it. And for many,
such things, We imagine few would dispute his
right to take out patent as original inrentor.
He is sort of political Guy Fawkes with this
distinction, that his powder canisters often
get touched of. OF Florida, he may say, in
the main, from the establishment of her Con-
stitution down TO the present time, " all OF
which / saw and most of which Twas" West
colt is in fact the turtles head Of Florida, and q
swapping turtle at that. The arms of Florida
should be a Turtle cOuchant, and Wescott
rampant. Florida without Westcott would be
no Florida SO far as We have seen any sign OF
brains in that quarter Westcott has furnished
them. When WestcOtt was Governor he wrote
his own messages, and when Duyallwas Govern
or Westcott wrote Duvall smessages, and when
be became Senator, every body knows. that the
| flhbustering propensites of his eyer-boiling
noddle were the constant source of Senatorial
commissions and splurges, until no man in the
body was so conspicuous as this eccentric and
pugpacious Senator with the queue; and no
State of half so much prominence as the State
Of Florida. MOI was so Jealous about Sla-
very, none 30 vigilant in watching, or so keen
in seeming dangers TO the peculiar institution.
But, above ALL be was especially conspicuous
ia locking after the interests of Florida. One
little fact shows this in ludicrous light. When
the tariff Of lSl6 was under discussion, West
colt bowed up about it, and refused to support
il unless a certain article was protected; and
reader what think you it was Why nothing
less than turtles. And, accordingly, turtles
went into the tariff and they are the subjects
Of protection TO this day.
Our late fishing difficulties have developed
fishery literature in abundance. We have had
Mr.. Sabine most deliberately on the subject,
and as we thought most efectualy. We could
not see that lie had left a fin or scale Of it
untouched, or spawn Of il TO be Matched into
life by any body else. More lately, Mr.. Consul
Andrews, of the Fishing District has expOunded
in that manual ofpOlitcal and statisticalubiquity
of his, Just issued, all the in-shore and deep
sea branches OF. this prolific topic, and wound
in and out of ii in so many weir-like ways, that
We did not imagine that even the pollywog
interest would have reason 10 complain that
its history and claims had not been fully recOg.
nized and presented to an admiring country.
But "Ex. Document, No. 49," " Senate, ~
has convinced us that We have lbored under
deep delusion. So far as We have observed
neither Sabine nor Andrews, nor any Other OF
the learned commentators, have said word
upon the momentOus branch of the subject
brought to light BY Senate Document No. 45
the most of which is the product of the prolific
brain Of the aforesaid Senator Westcott
alias Governor Westcott, alias Captain
: Westeott of the Florida Volunteers, and
Seminole extirpator and Negro Slavery de-
fender, and Cotton interest calculator in gen
eral. The field here explored and brought
before us with Daguerrean accuracy and crayon
drawing distiactnessis part Ofthe sphere which
we denominate " TurtledOm" Mr. Westcott
has hitherto appeared in all sorts of characters
upon the political stage, and always with
selat, but his versatile genius has here
found expression in something entirely