Ed Brewer

Ed Brewer, possibly A.E. Brewer, was born in Virginia and lived most of his life in South Florida. He was a hunter and trapper. In 1896, Hugh Willoughby hired Brewer to be his guide and hunter on his canoe trip in the Everglades. Friends had warned him that Brewer "was a dangerous character," but Willoughby had no reason to regret his decision to hire Brewer. Marjory Stoneman Douglas writes of Brewer in The Everglades: River of Grass. He was often on the wrong side of the law, and frequently accused of selling spiked liquor to Native Americans. He lived in various places, including the Ten Thousand Islands on the west coast and in the Long Key region. He was evidently extremely comfortable in the Everglades and spent long periods of time there. He often was employed as a guide. He is included as a character in Killing Mister Watson, Peter Matthiessen's fictional book based on some historical facts.

Name Variations:

• A.E. Brewer
• Ed. Brewer

Credits:

• Photo, "Brewer on Key Largo" from Across the Everglades by Hugh Laussat Willoughby

Sources:

• Across the Everglades by Hugh Laussat Willoughby, 1898 (including a photo of Brewer on page 88)
• The Everglades: River of Grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglas
• Laura A. Ogden, "Searching for Paradise in the Florida Everglades," Cultural Geographies Vol. 15, 2008
• "A Trip in the Glades: What a Party of Buena Vista People Saw and Did on a Recent Trip in the Long Key Country of the Glades," Miami Metropolis, July 17, 1896

References in the Texts:

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• March 14, Monday

For other topics referenced in the Expedition texts, please refer to the Index to Subjects and Names.
1892 Everglades Exploration Expedition : Three Digital Texts, 2015