The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-09-06
RELIC OF THE SEMINOLES.
Oranges, Sugar Cane and Bananas in Bi,
Cypress swamp.

Sugar Cane and Bananas I'm Big
Cypress swamp.
FRANK j.. Hinson found two magnificent
orange groves Il few weeks ago in the
o1g cypress swamp of far South Florida.
\" man has Il valid claim to the property.
tne groves being in the middle Of one
o1 the most f~lnpregnable swamps in the
Wnoi% state. Up to ten years ago the
a. ''jmpracticable" and "unsuryeyeJH
ihen it was surveyed, and islands Of fine
nunh9ck land were found here and
there' but they were not Of sufficient size
to tempt anybody. The section lines.
WiAch ran d mile apart. seemed to have
missed the groves, which Mr.. Hinson got
Wihd or from an old Indian fighter. who
o a,'I the seminoles into the Big c. press
war. On one of these islands dur;nr
the war a village was found aud burned
MI. dinson, with an old hunter as a
GUIDE, penetrated into the swami and
found an island of about 300 acres. bean
liuly wooded and containing fully (iW
sou trees: all in full leaf and fruit. The
isianu dla not contain Il single grove.
ing as large as three acres. The fruit is
sour hut it is large and golden, The
trees average twenty-five feet in height !"
Oh TINS island Mr.. Hinson also found
ucfes or sugar cane, evidently planted hy
tne oen1noles years ago. It is of nam
motn size; and the quality is excellent.
panama plants were also found in album
dahce and heavy with fruit.
;,t tnattl Mr. Hlnson penetratedE farther
ni'o tue swamp and found another land.
richer III orange trees than the first.
J both islands seem to be wonderfully
itrule' trees of all kinds being giants in
SIZE ana other vegetable growth of the
most iuxurlant character. One india ruh-
Der rec was found to measure - feet
around, while Il live-oak tree measured
% 1eet. Wild tgs were also growing
!uAuriantly: Mr.. Hinsun's theory is thai
.n:se isiahds; naturally fertile were, cent
water fowl, and thus became fortified
70 the highest degree of perfection.
"neh the SemlnOles ran away from
the treeks they selected the richest of
ands on which to build their villages
and to lazily cultivate a few acres of
corn and pumpkins. During the last
war they We're driven from place to
pace II finally found refuge in the
Big cypress: and for Il long time consid.
ered themselves safe, as the Big Cypress.
was regarded, even among the native
Indian fighters. as impregnablr. Final.
~ however, an expedition was formed
ana marched i'll and attacked the isl
a1lds, drove the Indians from their vii
lages and chased them into the saw
grass. where the water was from knee
to waist for several miles, keeping up a
running hre, until he Indians who were
not captured or killed had disappeared.
1t is thought that these villages were
founded long years before the last In
DIAN war. as the old fighters, some of
whom are now living, tell of the feastS
they made in the villages on oranges.
pumpkins and corn. How the groves got
there. and, i'll fact, how oranges got into
Florida. is easily explained. Explorers
who sailed from Spain in the earlier
days always loaded their ships with sour
oranges as an antidotc against scuryy.
Those oranges which were not eaten ON
the voyage We're given to the Indians.
who Toasted on them around their ,amn.
hres i'll the hummockS of the state. The
seeds fell to the ground and grew into
trees.-Jacksonville Times-J7nion.