PAST AND PRESENT,

TOGETHER WITH NOTES FROM



ON THE

Manatee River, Gulf Coast
OF
SOUTH FLORIDA:

ITS CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS.

ILLUSTRATED.

JACKSONVILLE, FLA.:

1883.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1883,
By SAMUEL C. UPHAM,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.

To

THREE LIVING LINKS IN THE CHAIN THAT BINDS ME TO LIFE, THIS
BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY
THEIR FATHER,

THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE.

TWO or three letters written by myself to friends at the North having found their way into print, I have been literally flooded with letters during the past six months, from all sections of the Union and British Provinces, asking for information in relation to the Manatee region of Florida. Hundreds have been replied to, and many remain unanswered for want of time. This little book has been written with the belief that it will answer the requirements of my numerous correspondents, and also prove a welcome guest to others who desire reliable information concerning this portion of the Gulf coast of South Florida. With these brief remarks I cast my little waif upon the tide of public opinion, with the hope that favorable breezes will waft it into the hands of those who will be benefited by its perusal.

Sunnyside Cottage,
Braidentown, Florida, April 1, 1881.

PREFACE

To the Enlarged Edition.

WHEN I published the little brochure—“Notes from Sunland”—two years ago, the Gulf Coast of South Florida was, comparatively speaking, a terra incognita. The favor with which that work has been received—having passed through three editions—and at the request of numerous correspondents in the United States, Canada, and Continental Europe, I have concluded to enlarge the work and make it more general in its scope—the former work being confined exclusively to the Manatee region. In reply to the question from different sections of the Union: “Are you as well pleased with the Manatee region as when you wrote ‘Notes from Sunland'?” I reply, emphatically, “Yes!” The longer I live here the more thoroughly I am convinced that it is the Sanitarium of the world. In addition to twenty-five pages of letter-press, I have added an additional illustration and a map of the Gulf coast of South Florida. I have placed the publication of the book in the hands of those well-known and reliable publishers, the Ashmead Brothers, of Jacksonville, Fla., who will supply the book to the trade and also furnish it to the public. With many thanks for the patronage bestowed upon my former book, I trust the present will be found equally acceptable.

Samuel C. Upham.

Braidentown, Fla., August, 1883.

CHAPTER I.

THIRTY years ago the word Florida was synonymous with mosquitoes, alligators, snakes, and Indians. As a part of this Union, it was at that time considered financially a worthless sand-spit, which had cost our Government fifty million dollars and many lives in the almost fruitless effort to rescue it from the hands of the wily Creeks and Seminoles, who occupied the middle and southern portions of the State. From the date of Dade’s massacre by Osceola’s band near Brooksville, in December, 1835, which sent a thrill of horror throughout the length and breadth of our land, to the surrender of Billy Bowlegs in 1858, a period of nearly twenty-five years, war was waged by our Government under the leadership of Generals Worth, Scott, Harney, Taylor, and their subordinates, with the result above stated.

In order to fully understand and appreciate the present condition of Florida, some little knowledge of her history is indispensable; for without such knowledge, the sparseness of the present population of the State is inexplicable, when taken in connection with its genial climate, its natural fertility, and the immense scope of its possible agricultural production. “If Florida possesses so great a variety and power of vegetable growth, and such a desirable climate, why is it not more densely populated?” is a question answered only by a glance at her past history.

The honor due to the first discovery of the land which now constitutes the southern extremity of the United States is generally awarded to that famous and eccentric old Spanish adventurer, Juan Ponce de Leon. Nevertheless, the validity of his claim to that honor is liable to some dispute. Several authorities of very good credit maintain that Sebastian Cabot, in the year 1497, traced the whole line of the American coast as far southward as 36° 9´ north latitude; and Peter Martyr avers that he sailed to the west of the meridian of Cuba. From this account it does not appear that Cabot proceeded further southward than the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, the latitude of which corresponds nearly with that of the Straits of Gibraltar, and the longitude with that of the eastern extremity of Cuba. It can scarcely be doubted that Ponce de Leon was the first European who landed on any part of that ground which is now occupied by the Southern States of our Republic. The purpose for which he visited this country has exposed his memory to no little ridicule; but his childish delusion is entitled to more indulgence and respect than the sordid and hypocritical motives which induced so many of his countrymen to become explorers and crusaders in America. Juan Ponce, for the purpose of discovering the location of the “Fountain of Youth,” set sail from Porto Rico, on the 3d day of March, 1512. After a short voyage he came to a country covered with flowers and verdure, and as the day of his discovery happened to be Palm Sunday,