The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-11-09

smooth road surface, hardly . jar VA
felt and the ride was altogether com
Portable.
TurnbuiPs Individuality.
To open and develop an immense
tract in the wilderness for the cult
walton Of indigo. which thsn com
manded q high price In the London
market, and for other crops. was nc
easy task Il was the work Of pho
neers in . land far from home, to
which for the settlers there probably
was little hope Of return. Yet, &C
cording to the market reports of that
return from the first years production
Of indigo.
Different writer's who have studied
this story with more or less serious.
ness, vary much in their estimate
Of the character Of Dr.. Turnbull. One
Of them, writing with a strong ap
probation Of the picturesque. makes
him a man of profound learning and
Of polished manners. which he I'M
doubtedly WAS. something Of IN ad
venturer and good deal Of q pirate
He pictures the leader Of this colony
arriving at the Florida coast with a
fleet Of more than . hundred sailins
vessels. loaded with several thousand
head Of cattle and horses, great guam
titles Of household goods. farming i'm
PIGMENTS, artillery and munitions OF
war, beside . large force Of engineers
and skilled workmen and Minorcau
bondmsn. and more than . thousand
youth Of high birth and mettle, who
We're mis- i1eutenants, body guard and
lighting force. His wife. who is re-
called as woman Of unusual beauty
and charm, was attended by q train
Of lovely senoritas from CASTLE and
old Leon. TurnbMl IL described a
thus surrounding himself With pomr
and power with the hope and ambi
ton OF eventually establishing . prin
cipality. II not . great ar~4 CONTROL
ing nation on the shores Of the new
world.
There seems to be no evidence OF
this semi-royal equipment, but the re
porte a. they have come out of the
uncertain past. seem rather to indf
cate that he was q hArd-headed old
Scotchman, adventurous 20 the exteu,
that he planned and carried out an
undertaking OF such magnitude and
character, yet a business man Of good
sense, who realized that he must en-
counter great difficulties and who met
emergencies with q preparedness that
was not the result OF impulse or OF
the moment. Doubtless he had amons
bis followers certain disturbing ele
ments which might be relied upon to
increase troubles when they came. OF
to make trouble impromptu, and
probably he maintained a degree OF
military discip1ine--possibly q small
suard-to cope with such conditions.
A Strike by the coionists.
All Of which is Introductory to IN
account Of the flrst and greatest trou
bic that the new colony encountered
The nardships Of new surroundings
the tremendous amount Of physical
toll that was required upon the plan.
tations, and, so say some writer's, q
great famine that swept the colony
and the east coast Of the state. were
the causes Of this trouble. which arose
between the colonists and their lead
er, or his representatives in his ah
sence, for some say that Il eliminated
during business trip to London. The
colonists declared that the agree
ments with the proprietors had not
been kept. that they had been reduced
to q condition OF practical slavery
that they had been cut short OF ra
tons and had been in other ways
abused and degraded. On this part
OF the subject, Mr.. Fairbanks says:
In 1859 a revolt had taken place
among them In consequence Of the
infliction Of severe puuishments upon
some OF their number. The insurrec
ton was put down and the leader
brought to st. Augustine for trial
Five OF the number were convicted
ana sentenced to death, two Of who q
were pardoned by the governor. and
third released upon the condition
OF his becoming the executioner OF
the remaining two. He at first de-
clined to become the executioner OF
his friends, but the condemned men
generously urged upon him to accept
the condition. The New Smyrna col
ony at Its establishment numbered
fourteen hundred persons. but in nine
years had become reduced by death
to about six hundred. IN the year
1776 two OF their number came to ~
Augustine and placed before Mr..
Yonge, the attorney-general, q state
eA~0~As ~ sASSAA V4O06o 0uO grievances
Proceedings were Instituted In the
civil tribunals OF St. Augustine which
resulted In decree the indentures
to be cancelled and the colonists re
leased from their engagements to the
proprieors. Liberal offers were
made. to induce them to remain al
New Smyrna a. freeholders, continu
ing the cultivation Of their lands. but
the colonists had suffered 20 much
from sickness and trouble that they
were unwilling to stay longer. The
entire number removed to st. ANGUS
tine where they received aIlotmenta
In the northern part of TIE city, which
Is occupied BY their descendants at the
present day. OF the character Of DR.
Turnbull We have but little knowl
edge. except the prejudical differences
to be derived from this transaction
He was . Scotchman, and was un
Goubtedly strict and exacting in bust
ness transactions. The colony which
he established 1t New Smyrna must
have been an almost total loss, a.
1t was abandoned before it could
have reached the point where 1t would
have proved remuneratire. The 10