The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-08-09
DEATH OF A VETERAN HUNTER
John Gomez, OF Florida Drowned
While on Fishing Trip.
From the Chicago ChronicIe,l

Fort Myers Fla. Aug. 3.-J0lly old
John Gomez. the veteran hunter CT the
Everglades. the fayorite among sportsmen
and Indians settler and hunter, IS dead,
after long life sIznt amid dangers and
excitement sufficient 10 rake a most inter
esting volume If one had all the details
connected with his long and venturesome
career After spending a long life amid
dangers OF all kinds fighting the Span
iards. hunting the Indians, and being
hunted, seeking wild game OF all kinds in
the Businesses of the dismal Everglades,
to escape all these perils only to be
drowned while of OF q fishing trip within
Ave miles OF his little log cabin on Panther
Island-aH this seems too tame for the
ending of such q life.
Gomez lived on Panther Island, small
piece of dry land containing about forty
acres. forty miles from here. in the midst
OF one of the big lakes just OF the CaIoosa-
hatchie River. He was a native OF Portu-
gal He would say little OF his early life,
save that he left home after having hot
time with q stepnlother. He secured 6
place as cabin boy on a vessel coming TO
ST. Augustine.
The Spaniards were in possession then.
Gomez would tell of the terrible trials en-
dured by the people who crossed any OF the
soldiers or officers, and gave the details OF
some of mis- troubles with them. He was
Imprisoned numberless times for not agrees
ing TO work for the officers without pay and
at other times for fighting back When
struck by the soldiers At one time ne was
put in the stocks and carried to desert
island near the shore and kept for days in
the hot sun. exposed to insects, sharks, etc
Finally an Indian slave girl liberated hin
and he escaped First he went back TO 81.
Augustine burning for revenge. Finding
out the house of his principal prosecutor,
he went up to the door, called him to the
gate and stabbed him dead. He fed at oIce
with the Indian girl.
In 1857 he was in the Seminole war,
under General Taylor, acting as chief OF a
body of scouts or hunters for the force. He
was slightly wounded twice. One time he
was captured by the Indians and was TO be
killed He was tied 10 the stake and prep
arations were being made for burning him,
when a sudden attack by his comrades
saved his life. On another occasion he was
captured and held for torture An Old In
dian woman VINO had lost son saw him
and adopted him, which. according 10 In
dian usage. made him member OF the
tribe. He remained with them fer nearly a
year before getting chance 10 escape.
AT the famous battle of Okeechobee Lake,
December %. 1883, he killed the chief Of
the attacking Indians after long fight
This turned the tide of battle and the IN
dams were routed
After this he kept near St Augustine and
other small villages on the seashoTe till
| somewhere about 1855 or 1870, when he
moved to Panther Island, beautiful spot
that he had found III one OF his hunting
expeditions At this time he was. accord
ing to his story, about eighty-five or ninety
years old, but still hale and hearty. Ten
years before this he had married again, this
| time 10 a woman frcsa Georgia, his first
wife being a woman living at St Augustine,
and who had died many years previous
The couple moved TO Panther Island and
settled down
Once he came upon chief who was fight
ing a huge tiger cat. The cat had badly
wounded the Indian. and, the chief had
lost his bow and arrows and spear, he was
in a bad way. Gomez boldly jumped in and
knitted the cat, as he could not shoot with
out endangering the life of the chief.
Gomez took the suffering Indian in his
canoe, bound up his wounds as best he
could. and took him TO his village, ten
miles away. 1t happened that this tribe
had always been antagonistic to the white
man. and as they saw him coming they
warned him away from their village with
angry shouts and display of weapons
Gomez padded up to within a few rods of
the land and then showed them their chief
lying in the bottom ~ the boat, uneon-
SclOuS ana DIeeGlnS- Inc IlQlaHS ran lulO
the water with angry cries and dragged
the boat to land. They tenderly took up
| their chief and carried him to his wigwam.
Gomez was seized and dragged up to a
close enclosure. tightly bound. a few
hours afterward he was released and the
| Indians couldn't do enough for him. 1t
seemed that as soon as the chief had re
covered consciousness he enquired about
| the whereabouts of the hunter, and was
! told that he had been seized and bound, as
| they thought that he had been attacking
| their chief. He told them of Gomez
| heroic aid and they released him imnledi-
| ateIy. They kept him there a week OF
more and offered him two Indian girls as
| wives if he would live with them. When
| finally he left they filled his boat with
presents, blankets. skins, etc, and the
| chief gave him an elegantly mounted spear
| Cuha's Future.
| From the St. Louis Globe Democratic
| No event of the political future is more esrtair
| than that Cuba viii some day be part of tht
| Republic OF the United States but the unior
| Will have to come when it does come, through