News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-01-31
THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES.
A Region Astounding In Reptiles and WORTH
less for Cultivation.

The New Orleans Times prints de-
tailed account of its Florida Everglades
expedition. The report is written by
Major A. ?. Williams, who commanded
the expedition. The exploring party
consisted of II persons, white and 6
colored. They took with them six
Racine canoes. They went by steamer
ON Oct. II last from Cedar Keys to
Punta Rassa, Fla, where they took to
their canoes and proceeded up the Ca
loosahatchie river to Lake Okeechobee,
distance of about 80 miles, arriving
there ON Nov. 1. Skirting the western
and southern shores of the Okeechobee,
they discovered eight large streams
flowing into the dense saw-grass swamp
that borders on the Everglades. Enter
ing one of these streams, which was
named the Chimes Democrat" the ex-
petition proceeded to its head, some
three miles, on Nov. 10, and began the
tedious work of cutting its way through
the swamp to the saw-gTass. The dense
ness of this swamp may be imagined
from the fact that the party travelled on
an average only about one quarter of a
mile day. Myriads of huge alligators,
snakes, leeches, and poisonous bugs
were encountered. The leeches were
especially troublesome, covering the legs
of the men, and demanding special at
tention. Emerging from the swamp
they entered the saw-grass, which grows
from 10 to II feet high and which is very
dense, with sharp edges that cut one
way and saw the other. This grass the
party fired and pushed forward over the
stubbles, which grew in water about
three inches deep, the mud beneath be-
ing seemingly without bottom. The
labor of pushing the canoes over this
character of country was inconceivably
great. After travelling due south some
10 miles the party struck an innumer-
able number of small lakes or ponds,
most of which were 20 feet deep, filled
with alhgators and the finest fish.
About 80 miles from Okeechobee the
party entered the grassy waters of the
Everglades and encamped upon an
island, the first dry land encountered
after leaving the lake. The only trees
on this island were the custard, apple,
aud wild fig. The progress of the ex-'
petition from that time was more rapid.
They passed through thousands of small
islands, some of which were slightly sub
with large trees and luxuriant foliage. In
the southern glades there was an abund-
ance of wild fowl, deer and fish. No
Indians were met, although smoke from
their fires was seen, and they seemed to
hover about in the distance. Near the
| head of Sharks river, in the extreme
southern glades, the progress OF the ex-
petition was greatly retarded by lime
stone boulders, which cropped out
everywhere above the surface of the wa
ter, aud over which it was necessary to
carry the canoes. The head of Shark
river was reached on Dec. 5, and the
expedition, sailing down, debouched
into Whitewater Bay, on the Gulf coast,
about 80 miles from Cape Sable. The
distance travelled from Lake Okeechobee
to the Gulf was about 40 miles. The
whole distance travelled in canoes was
nearly 800 miles. There is no special
current IN the waters of the Everglades,
but an almost imperceptible flow toward
the south. But few flowers were dis
covered, and those were of simple va
rieties, such as water lilies and other
varieties found in marshes all over
Florida. The only snakes seen were
moccasins. The mosquitoes were only
troublesome at night.
The expedition has established the
fact that the Everglades from Lake
Okeechobee to Cape Sable are worthless
for any purpose of cultivation; that they
contain no large tracts of land above wa
ter; that they cannot be successfully
drained, and that the establishment and
maintenance of telegraph line along
the route traversed would be impossible.
The Everglades, and especially the
northern glades, are vast swamp, ire
claimable and useless. The only por-
tons of the southern peninsula capable
of cultivation lie on the Atlantic and
Gulf coasts with this vast morass be-
tween them