Ten Days with the Seminoles, Part I [pp. 142-144]

142 TEN DA YS WITH THE SEMINOLES. [JULY 31,
keen suffering of that fair, sad September I
day. TIEX DA YS WITH THE
At last they reached the home of their SEFILNOLES.
guide-a substantial log farm-house situated
in a valley, where the mountains receded a
little from the banks of the river. As they
came in sight they perceived that it was evi- SO jealously do the Seminoles hold themdently the scene of commotion and excite- ) selves in seclusion that their existence
ment. Horses were fastened to the fence, is regarded by many writers as purely mythand under the trees men were lounging here ical. Of the thousands of people who anand there; a group of women stood gossip- nually visit Florida, not ten-rarely does one
ing by the door. Louise turned so faint- -get a glimpse of the swarthy red-man.
that deathly faintness which comes only The waters of the St. John's, the mighty
from the heart-that every thing grew black river which the Seminole once held as his
before her. She clutched her companion's own, is the winter resort of hundreds who litarm. tle suspect, as they pass the forest-covered
"Please take me in at once," she said. fields and mounds that the Indian once owned
"I cannot bear this suspense much longer." and cultivated, that the descendants of the
So they went in at once-stopping to aboriginal inhabitants yet live in the State.
hear nothing, putting aside those who would Far down in the swampy Everglades a ruined
fain have spoken. and degraded people eke out a bare exist "Only show us where the body is," said ence upon a tithe of the lands which their
Louise's companion. "That is all we ask." ancestors once claimed by right of conquest.
Some one led the way, and pushed open Few Northern men have ever visited them,
the door of a lean-to room. They entered, so well have they covered the trails to their
and the sick horror seized Louise again as hiding-places.
she saw the outlines of a rigid figure ex- No tribe-or remnant of a nation, rather
tended on a bed, covered with a coarse -has preserved its blood so free from consheet. But she was resolutely determined tamination as this. No tribe has so sacredly
that she would not fail until all was over- guarded its customs and dress from innovauntil she knew. She held herself, therefore, tion as this.
in a powerful constraint, and walked steadily Despite the changes and rude shocks
forward. As she lifted the thick veil which which the war must have occasioned, the
she wore, a man who was standing by the Seminoles have retained their old-time habbed turned quickly around. For one breath- its of speech, ceremonies, dress, and tradiless moment they faced each other. What tionary rites of religion. They have adopted
was this? Had the dead risen? If so, the the dress and habits of the white man only
dead could speak, for this man cried: in such a degree as will benefit them, but
"Louise!-for IHeavel's sake, what has they cling to the primitive style of garb and
brought you here?" speech that their chiefs and old women strove
Poor Louise! The revulsion was too so zealously to preserve in the early part of
great. All her self-control gave way sudden- the last century. They are, therefore, more
ly, and she fell forward fainting in George interesting as a tribe than any other in the
Dunwardin's arms. United States.
During the late war they maintained a
When she recovered it was to hear a story ritl r th. te ap
strictly neutral position, though often apwhich can be more briefly related than it was rcer p osition tha te
told by Dwd ot basf ue proached with propositions that they should
told by Dunwardin on the banks of Laurel.
fight the Yankees. It is possible that they
In his mining expeditions he had been led
may break the bonds of caution that now
farther into the mountains than he had an- may break the bonds of caution that now
restrain them, and dig up the hatchet so long
ticipated, but had been abundantly rewarded D
, ~~~~~~~~buried, for they are subject to many persefor hardships and delays by finding all-and fm
cutions by the white settlers who have penemore than all-of which he was in search.
* trated into the unattractive Indian reserve.
On his way back to Alexander's he had been It has been the writer's fortune to twice
stopped by news of the drowned body —sup-.
visit this people, which he did at much risk,
posed to be his own-lying within this farm-..'
and after inlcurring many dangers, and he has
house. He identified it at once as that of a had very favorable opportunities for studyMethodist preacher whom he had met the.
ing the red recluse in his own stronghold.
week before among'the mouiitains, and who
n ~~~The Indian settlement near Lake Okehad been, no doubt, accidentally drowned in chobee is about thirty miles from the Indian
attempting to cross the swollen stream.
River, upon the Atlantic coast. Between the
" If I had traveled faster, if I had been a
XIf IhdtaeefatrifIhcoast and the settlement, at the time of my
day earlier, I might have spared you all first visit, there was but one white man's
this)" he said, remorsefully, in ending his.'
>'' ~~~~~~~cabin, and this was some ten miles inland.
story. From that cabin, one April morning, emerged
But Louise laid her hand on his.'*
But Loue ld hthe settler aforesaid and myself.
"Don't regret your delay," she said, in We mounted two tough stallions and
her sweet voice. "No doubt it was best I * t
* * ~~~~~turned their heads westward. My guide was
have suffered terribly, but if this suffering
' ~~~~~owner of several hundred head of cattle,
had not come, I might never have learned ***
had not cme, migtnevrhaelernedwhich roamed in a half-wild state through
how much I love you." the woods and over the prairies, and these
And so, to this day, Dunwardin says that * w
a } ~~~~~~horses we were astride were especially
he won his wife " up Laurel.".-.
trained for hunting those wiry cattle, and
CHRISTIAN REID. admirably fitted for our purpose.
We each carried a gun, a pint.cup, and a
knife, and across our horses' backs were
thrown two well-filled saddle-bags of provender for man, and two inore of corn for
beast.
A narrow trail led across the vast Alpattiokee Flats, following dry creek-beds, through
cypress-swamps and saw-grass jungles, beneath gigantic pines, and through dense palmetto-slirub. We followed this Indian trail
in a southwesterly direction, till we struck the
saw-grass bordering the Black Cypress, a cypress belt of swamp nearly forty miles in
length, but scarcely a mile in width. Through
this swamp was a narrow, blind trail, carefully hidden, lest the white man should discover it.
The precautions the Seminoles had taken
to guard it were useless, for my guide had
trailed Indians in that very swamp years
before, and it was to him as plain as noonday. Dismounting, we attempted to lead our
horses through it. Bleeding and torn, we
emerged from the saw-grass, whose serrated
edges had cut and gashed us, to enter the
blackest swamp that ever defiled the face of
Nature. The tall cypress grew high above
our heads, excluding every ray of light.
Long, trailing vines, and hooked, cruel-looking briers, hung athwart our path, and festooned every tree. The mud in which we
struggled was black, and exceedingly soft and
tenacious. Stagnant pools of slime-covered
water gave lurking-places to numberless alligators and poisonous snakes, which latter
reptiles untwisted themselves in dozens from
the gnarled cypress-roots, and wriggled silently away after darting at us their forked
tongues. It required the utmost vigilance to
elude the snakes and the alligators, and the
desperate leaps of our frightened horses, as
we waded on ahead leading them by the
bridle.
Never was daylight hailed more joyfully than by us at the moment we emerged
from the swamp, and dragged our mud-covered horses out upon the solid ground. The
Black Cypress was passed; a few miles over
level prairie, and we saw the first habitation.
This, then, was the Indian country. This was
the last refuge of a persecuted tribe, this
half-dozen miles of prairie, bounded north and
east by the swamp; south and west by forests of pines.
The scene before me was of peaceful rest
and happiness. The meadow-lark trilled his
clear note from the grass as we rode along;
the quail whistled merrily; and the woodpecker tapped the aged pine. Paroquets flew
by on golden wings, and the mysterious ibis
winged his silent way overhead.
As we neared the village the entire population came forth to meet us, for those at
work in the hammocks had been apprised of
our arrival, and were there to greet us.
The shanties were grouped together, about
thirty in number. They were simply constructed; four posts supported a pitched
roof thatched with palmetto-leaves. Open
at the sides and ends, a full view of the interior could be obtained. A raised platform
of logs, three feet from the ground, was used
to sleep upon, and hold the family treasures.
The people that surrounded me were
142
TEN -D A YS WIT- SEE SEMiIIOLES.
[JULY 31,