Ingraham Expedition: March 20, Sunday

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Ingraham Expedition: March 20, Sunday

Original Source

Encoded texts are derived from three typescript accounts of the 1892 Everglades Exploration Expedition found in the James E. Ingraham Papers and the Chase Collection in the Special and Area Studies Collections Department of the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries. Digital reproductions of the typescripts are available at:

Moses, W.R., Record of the Everglade Exploration Expedition

Ingraham, J.E., Diary

Church, A., A Dash Through the Everglades

Contents

Electronic Publication Details:

Text encoding by John R. Nemmers

Published by John R. Nemmers.

George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

2015

Licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License.

These manuscripts are available from this site for education purposes only.

Encoding Principles

The three accounts of the 1892 Ingraham Everglades Exploration Expedition have been transcribed and are represented in Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) P5 XML encoding.

Line and page breaks have not been preserved in the encoded manuscripts.

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CAMP NO. 5, Fort Shackleford, Fla., Sunday, March [20], '92..

Mr. Chase with Mr. Frank Hendry in a trip today, report having found several Indian villages, in one of which were bananas killed by the frost. They also saw lemons, and guavas of two or three varieties, one of which was unknown to Mr. Chase.

One of the men brought in a turkey gobbler of an estimated weight of 18 lbs. Wild turkey. Game very scarce, however, the Indians having evidently killed it pretty much all off.

At supper time we were visited by old Nancy, before mentioned, Nancy and little Lucy her daughters, the latter being the wife of "Tom Tiger" and Nancy the wife of "Little Billy". It seems to be a custom of the Indians to call their children after themselves prefixing "Little". The daughters ages appeared to be about 25 and 30 respectively. They brought with them 5 children from babies in arms upwards. Lee, the oldest daughter of Little Nancy and the girl previously spoken of is 7 years of age.

One of the boy babies was not named and was christened Ingraham, in honor of President Ingraham. The nearest they could pronounce the name, however, was "Inglam" which is probably what it will be known by.

Old Nancy told us, the two Mr. Hendry's acting as interpreters, that Harney's River headed about 20 miles southeasterly from here. This distance is corroborated by Mr. Frank Hendry, who has been up that river for an estimated distance of 44 miles. This river empties into the Gulf of Mexico on the south western part of the state and is said to contain some very large and rich hammock lands and contain sufficient water to float a good sized steamer for the 44 miles mentioned.

The old squaw sang for us, but it was scarcely melodious. Her compensation was 2 quarts of corn contributed by Mr. Frank Hendry. The young squaws were too diffident to either sing or talk.

Mr. Newman left shortly after breakfast and did not return till the middle of the afternoon having made a reconnaissance of about 5 miles in advance and reported a good camping place for tomorrow.
March 20th. Mercury 40 at 5:30 and slight frost. Very cold night, all suffered much from cold. All hands getting ready to begin real hard work on survey tomorrow. All seem in good health and toughened by the march from Myers here.

Grand region this for great stock farm.

Wrote to Mr. Plant and my wife from here, sending letters back by Langford's team, which we sent back to Myers.
The next day was Sunday, and as there was little work to do we had plenty of time in which to do as we pleased; some hunted, some explored the surrounding country, but most of us were well pleased to sleep, eat and chat, thoroughly enjoying the rest and quiet after our eighty mile walk from Ft. Myers.

In the evening the old squaw [came] back again, this time bringing with her two younger women, her daughters, and half a dozen or more little children. The two younger women were rather better looking than I expected, but had the usual Indian features, black, beadlike eyes, straight, inky-colored hair, and low foreheads. They were dressed in sacques and skirts of bright-colored calicoes, very much as white women dress, except that the sacque and skirt did not quite meet, which omission left a small rim or zone of the native and primitive Indian in view, giving the idea that each woman wore a belt. Possibly alligator-skin belts were in style there, and if so these might have been excellent imitations of the genuine article; or maybe the dress reform lecturer had instilled some of her principles into the natives' minds and this was a new system of ventilation just out. The most pleasant features about these women were their soft voices, although of course accustomed to speaking in the open air, their tones were low and musical, and very distinct to our ears. They left us about eight o'clock that night, having amused us very much, and promising to bring us some chickens early next morning before we got off.

That night I wrote in my diary: "From what squaw Nancy says I judge there is nothing between Miami and here but saw grass and an occasional hammock island." Oh, my prophetic soul!
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CAMP NO. 5, Fort Shackleford, Fla., Sunday, March [20], '92..

Mr. Chase with Mr. Frank Hendry in a trip today, report having found several Indian villages, in one of which were bananas killed by the frost. They also saw lemons, and guavas of two or three varieties, one of which was unknown to Mr. Chase.

One of the men brought in a turkey gobbler of an estimated weight of 18 lbs. Wild turkey. Game very scarce, however, the Indians having evidently killed it pretty much all off.

At supper time we were visited by old Nancy, before mentioned, Nancy and little Lucy her daughters, the latter being the wife of "Tom Tiger" and Nancy the wife of "Little Billy". It seems to be a custom of the Indians to call their children after themselves prefixing "Little". The daughters ages appeared to be about 25 and 30 respectively. They brought with them 5 children from babies in arms upwards. Lee, the oldest daughter of Little Nancy and the girl previously spoken of is 7 years of age.

One of the boy babies was not named and was christened Ingraham, in honor of President Ingraham. The nearest they could pronounce the name, however, was "Inglam" which is probably what it will be known by.

Old Nancy told us, the two Mr. Hendry's acting as interpreters, that Harney's River headed about 20 miles southeasterly from here. This distance is corroborated by Mr. Frank Hendry, who has been up that river for an estimated distance of 44 miles. This river empties into the Gulf of Mexico on the south western part of the state and is said to contain some very large and rich hammock lands and contain sufficient water to float a good sized steamer for the 44 miles mentioned.

The old squaw sang for us, but it was scarcely melodious. Her compensation was 2 quarts of corn contributed by Mr. Frank Hendry. The young squaws were too diffident to either sing or talk.

Mr. Newman left shortly after breakfast and did not return till the middle of the afternoon having made a reconnaissance of about 5 miles in advance and reported a good camping place for tomorrow.
March 20th. Mercury 40 at 5:30 and slight frost. Very cold night, all suffered much from cold. All hands getting ready to begin real hard work on survey tomorrow. All seem in good health and toughened by the march from Myers here.

Grand region this for great stock farm.

Wrote to Mr. Plant and my wife from here, sending letters back by Langford's team, which we sent back to Myers.
The next day was Sunday, and as there was little work to do we had plenty of time in which to do as we pleased; some hunted, some explored the surrounding country, but most of us were well pleased to sleep, eat and chat, thoroughly enjoying the rest and quiet after our eighty mile walk from Ft. Myers.

In the evening the old squaw [came] back again, this time bringing with her two younger women, her daughters, and half a dozen or more little children. The two younger women were rather better looking than I expected, but had the usual Indian features, black, beadlike eyes, straight, inky-colored hair, and low foreheads. They were dressed in sacques and skirts of bright-colored calicoes, very much as white women dress, except that the sacque and skirt did not quite meet, which omission left a small rim or zone of the native and primitive Indian in view, giving the idea that each woman wore a belt. Possibly alligator-skin belts were in style there, and if so these might have been excellent imitations of the genuine article; or maybe the dress reform lecturer had instilled some of her principles into the natives' minds and this was a new system of ventilation just out. The most pleasant features about these women were their soft voices, although of course accustomed to speaking in the open air, their tones were low and musical, and very distinct to our ears. They left us about eight o'clock that night, having amused us very much, and promising to bring us some chickens early next morning before we got off.

That night I wrote in my diary: "From what squaw Nancy says I judge there is nothing between Miami and here but saw grass and an occasional hammock island." Oh, my prophetic soul!
X (Close panel)Text:
CAMP NO. 5, Fort Shackleford, Fla., Sunday, March [20], '92..

Mr. Chase with Mr. Frank Hendry in a trip today, report having found several Indian villages, in one of which were bananas killed by the frost. They also saw lemons, and guavas of two or three varieties, one of which was unknown to Mr. Chase.

One of the men brought in a turkey gobbler of an estimated weight of 18 lbs. Wild turkey. Game very scarce, however, the Indians having evidently killed it pretty much all off.

At supper time we were visited by old Nancy, before mentioned, Nancy and little Lucy her daughters, the latter being the wife of "Tom Tiger" and Nancy the wife of "Little Billy". It seems to be a custom of the Indians to call their children after themselves prefixing "Little". The daughters ages appeared to be about 25 and 30 respectively. They brought with them 5 children from babies in arms upwards. Lee, the oldest daughter of Little Nancy and the girl previously spoken of is 7 years of age.

One of the boy babies was not named and was christened Ingraham, in honor of President Ingraham. The nearest they could pronounce the name, however, was "Inglam" which is probably what it will be known by.

Old Nancy told us, the two Mr. Hendry's acting as interpreters, that Harney's River headed about 20 miles southeasterly from here. This distance is corroborated by Mr. Frank Hendry, who has been up that river for an estimated distance of 44 miles. This river empties into the Gulf of Mexico on the south western part of the state and is said to contain some very large and rich hammock lands and contain sufficient water to float a good sized steamer for the 44 miles mentioned.

The old squaw sang for us, but it was scarcely melodious. Her compensation was 2 quarts of corn contributed by Mr. Frank Hendry. The young squaws were too diffident to either sing or talk.

Mr. Newman left shortly after breakfast and did not return till the middle of the afternoon having made a reconnaissance of about 5 miles in advance and reported a good camping place for tomorrow.
March 20th. Mercury 40 at 5:30 and slight frost. Very cold night, all suffered much from cold. All hands getting ready to begin real hard work on survey tomorrow. All seem in good health and toughened by the march from Myers here.

Grand region this for great stock farm.

Wrote to Mr. Plant and my wife from here, sending letters back by Langford's team, which we sent back to Myers.
The next day was Sunday, and as there was little work to do we had plenty of time in which to do as we pleased; some hunted, some explored the surrounding country, but most of us were well pleased to sleep, eat and chat, thoroughly enjoying the rest and quiet after our eighty mile walk from Ft. Myers.

In the evening the old squaw [came] back again, this time bringing with her two younger women, her daughters, and half a dozen or more little children. The two younger women were rather better looking than I expected, but had the usual Indian features, black, beadlike eyes, straight, inky-colored hair, and low foreheads. They were dressed in sacques and skirts of bright-colored calicoes, very much as white women dress, except that the sacque and skirt did not quite meet, which omission left a small rim or zone of the native and primitive Indian in view, giving the idea that each woman wore a belt. Possibly alligator-skin belts were in style there, and if so these might have been excellent imitations of the genuine article; or maybe the dress reform lecturer had instilled some of her principles into the natives' minds and this was a new system of ventilation just out. The most pleasant features about these women were their soft voices, although of course accustomed to speaking in the open air, their tones were low and musical, and very distinct to our ears. They left us about eight o'clock that night, having amused us very much, and promising to bring us some chickens early next morning before we got off.

That night I wrote in my diary: "From what squaw Nancy says I judge there is nothing between Miami and here but saw grass and an occasional hammock island." Oh, my prophetic soul!