Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1898-02-02
A BATTLEFIEID'S CROPS.
Relics of a Giant Race Found on a Flor
 ida Farm.

Reiios of Giant Race Found on a Flor
 ida Farm.
 i graveyard in farm is not an extraordinary thing, bat a farm in a graveyard is something different Imagine a vast tract of many acres planted with corn, cane, tomatoes and many other vegetables, while the ground round about is almost completely covered with skulls, bones and other debris that belongs -te a graveyard proper. Such is the farm of Captain E. J. Watson, who lives at Chatham Bay Key, Fla, in the Tel island section. In the fields are seen big cOrnstalks and sugar cane growing out through empty skulls, while the ground underneath the thiclly matted tomato vines seems nothing but a surface of bones.
 This key is one of the most pecul- jar of the many odd islands in this group. It is a large island, contain ing about % acres, most being ex- tremely rich land. In the center is a sort of raised highland, containing about ten acres. On the edges of shis there are still to be seen remains of what was formerly probably fertilization of some kind, the CO., Quina walls showing about foot high in some places, while in others they have completely disappeared. In the center are the ruins of what was once @ temple of some sort, the fragments of wall foundations still remaining being about 300 by 300 fleet in the form of an eight pointed star. In the center of this island is a square upright column made from coquina It is now only about 10 inches square and not over 12 feet high, but from its foundation and other points it would seem to have been at least 9 feet square and possi- bly % or more feet high. Queer h. dian figures can be yet made out or it.
 The Indians have a superstition regarding this island, and it is i'm possible to get any of them to visit it at night. Chief Iconadachee, enc of the oldest Indians there, says that years ago when the Spaniards in Florida were prosecuting the Indians q powerful race inhabited this south ern section. They were large and fierce and astOnished the invaders by their gigantic size and immense strength. He says that this tribe was driven south of the Chatham river, beyond which lies an impene trable mOrass. They made this their last fighting ground, and many tales are told of the encounters that oc- cured there between the Spaniards end these Indians Finally they were driven away from this refuge, and what was left of the tribe, pos sibly 1, 1000, moved to this island. A mighty battle was fought here aft erward, and 1t is supposed that the tribe was completely exterminated. An examination of the farm would indicate that a massacre of some kind had occurred, as the whole up per part of the key is completely covered with skulls and various body bones of all sizes and condi- tiOns. One can scarcely walk with -out treading on something of the kind Hundreds and hundreds of the skulls are crushed in, as if the owner had been killed by a bludgeOn wound or by q battleax-in fact, three fourths of all the skulls picked up show the marks of wounds of this character.
 4 large number of skeletons have been put together, and the result has been surprising. A majority Of them are nearly feet in height, coTespondingly broad in shoulders and with a mighty arm reach that would astonish even a FitzsimmOns or a Corbett. All the other frame bones are correspondingly large, be ing much larger than the bones of an ordinary human body. A great many scientists have visited this section this winter, but none of them could explain this strange find, ex- cept on the hypothesis of complete massacre and an extinction of this tribe. Air. Watson's s farm is noted for its richness. decaying bones giV ing IL an immense amount of ferti hzing. From 50 acres planted in cane and vegetables he has sold nearly SlO, 900 worth of stuff. This shows the incomparable richness of the splace. St Louis Globe Democrat.