The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1871-11-16

theys had to force their way for twenty
miles. The trees grow in mud and water,
, spread out roots and branches, and shoot
up sturdy sprouts called knees that i'm
pede all progress. There is no firm foun-
datlon, and no road can be formed except
: by cutting a way with the axe and filling
up with hurdles; and even then the bot
tom is soft and treacherous. The Indian
paths are under water; you wade. STEP
ping on trees sunk below the surface,
and the track will suddenly turn at right
angles, with space between the logs at
the angle; these turnings are known only
to the guides, so that an ,incautious fol
lower is soon tloundering in water or
deep mud
When our men had forced their way
through these treacherous .footings, they
hailed the Everglades with joy Here
was water, green with grass and bound
less in extent, with islands of verdure
here and there covered with trees or cul-
tlvated as gardens. The water is from
one to six feet deep, the bottom firm,
though covered with slight layer of
mud. The Indian custom was to make
rough boat by taking the hide OF beef,
and drawing it up at the edges in boat
form. In this the guns, provisions and
Fapooses were put, and dragged by
cord made of bear-gras5 from island to
island. This made a depressed track in
the grassy surface that remained for days
and could be followed like the trail of
saw-log in the sand.
The Everglades are lust submerged
prairie, and they exhibit the manner in
which the great Western prairies were
formed Drain the Everglades (it could
be done), and the present islands would
be hills; submerge a prairie, and its hills
would become islands No 4ree is found
on the Everglades, because they are con-
stantly covered with water, no trees are
| found on the prairies because they were
long covered with water. The time will
come when this vast plain will be clear of
water, and then we shall have large
| surface, like the prairies. clear of trees,
and fitted for cultivation by man. In
these little Everglade islands the palm
tlourishes. and also the orange and every
| other tree in Florida. The castor-oil
plant grows up to be large tree of sew
eral years life. The arrow-root and
sweet potato patches merely require that
stirring Of the ground necessary in
removing the tull-grown roots to cause
the younger ones to grow and keep on
growing, 1t is really not necessary to
plant more than once. 1t is 4 lazy mans
paradise, No wonder the Indians We're
unwilling to move to the West it was
not the graves Of their fathers they were
unwilling to leave; it was their potato
and pumpkin patches, Their pumpkin is
small, round and sweet; they cut is open,
put in u raccoon or opossum, cover it
with ashes and bake it in the fire The
hunters think it a superb dish. Another
plan is to take q fish Just off the hook, and
without scaling or cleaning wrap it up in
green leaves and bake ii in the same way
Hunters use wet newspaper 1t is done
when, if you tear a piece of the wrap
nlng, the skin and scales come Off with it. |
You tear off skin and wrapping from one
side, eat the flesh, turn it over and eat
the other and throw bones and inside |
away.
Indians in small numbers are still found |
near the Everglades. They do not like
the whites, and are not sociable, but |
there is Il talisman that will move them |
out of stoicism into cordiality, there |
is 4 sesame that will open an Indians |
heart and mouth, and that is whiskey. |
They are the only savages who have new
er invented an intoxicating liquor of their
own. Their only idea of civilization is to
get drunk. Ride into their country, put !
up with a chief, give him wh,slley and |
promise him more, and he and his are at !
your service so long as your whskey ,
lasts. H. will become garrulous, mix up /
his English and Indian in an imperfect |
polyglot, swear friendship, feast You to
the extent of his cookery, take you hunt |
ing, and share his hut and his wives with |
you.
One thing curious about the race is,
that Indian babies don't cry When a
camp was surprised by our troops the very
infants would crawl off in the grass like |
young partridges, and when captured be |
perfectly mute.
In Tallahassee I saw part of the armor
of Spanish cavalier of De Soto's army.
During the late war a plough had turned |
up complete suit in one Of the adjoining
counties. Nothing was found in the armor I
but q few crumbling bones that fell to
pieces on exposure to the air. and some |
solid teeth that had resisted decay The
farmer considered the iron a godsend |
in the war, when iron was so scarce, and
had most Of 1t made into horseshoes. |
What | saw consisted Of nearly all the
head piece, with large, heavy visor for
the face and neck, and the plates for one
arm. | tried them on, and how any man
wore them and fought in them passes
comprehension. The helmet and visor
were so contrived that the weight rested |
on the shoulders; no head could have
borne it, The eye-holes were covered |
with sliding plates, leaving a very narrow
slit; no arrow could have penetrated.
The protection 10 head, face and neck was
perfect. At he shoulder and elbow We're
sill to be seen straps of leather. The /
leather of Cordova, used in armor, was
always made Of tn best hides and lay in
vat ten years before it was considered fit
for use.
What tale would that armor tell could |
il speak of the marches, battles and sieges |
it had been in De Soto gathered his |
cavaliers from the most adventurous blood |
Of Old Spain-men who had marched with |
Cortez to the Halls of Montezuma, who |
had been with De Soto himself when he |
served under Pizarro. They were the |
very flower of the chivalry of Spain, the |
best troops for valor and hardihood the !
world has ever seen, either before or
since. There is no record in the history !
OF adventure brighter and stronger than |
that of these men. who, plunged into an
unknown wilderness, without supplies or
hope of aid, encountered and conquered |
numerous well-armed savage tribes,
crossed immense rivers, traversed large |
tracts of country, discovered the Missis- |
pi, and penetrated as far west as the
Rocky Mountains, before De Soto's death
and the destroying effect of long march
es and a terrible warfare compelled the
few survivors to take boat for Mexico.