Ingraham Expedition: March 15, Tuesday

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Ingraham Expedition: March 15, Tuesday

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.

X (Close panel)Text:
[There is no entry for this date.] March 15th. In Camp No. [1] [Tuesday, March 15, 1892]

Next day we [amused] ourselves as best we could, during the forenoon Mr. Sydney and I going out in a buggy to inspect a neighboring lemon grove and in the afternoon packing our valises to send around to Miami to await our coming. Near our tent and close by a well stood some wash-tubs, which during the day some of the Miami [Ft. Myers] "ladies" had been using, and which we thought we could utilize to as much advantage as they, only in a different manner; so Mr. Sydney and I stripped and enjoyed the pleasure of bathing in a tub.

The day had been very warm, and as is usual in that climate the night was correspondingly cool, so bathing in the open air inclined us to seek the warmth of the camp fires which our men kept brightly burning. On all sides could be seen the cheesecloth mosquito bars, showing snowy white against the dark background and arranged in picturesque confusion, while gathered around the fires in little groups the men were smoking and chatting about the march they were to make the next day and their prospects of getting safely through the everglades. Captain Newman was the center of one group in front of Mr. Ingraham's tent, and with him he was planning our campaign and the chances of getting through to Miami. "You see," said he to Mr. Ingraham, pointing to a map which lay between them, "We know that rivers of considerable size run into the Gulf on the west, the Bay of Florida on the south, the Atlantic on the east, and if this map is correct, into the Okeechobee on the north; now if this is so, there must be a divide within these everglades between the head waters of these rivers, or else a large basin or lake from which they all flow. If we find a lake it will be an easy matter, with the boats we have, to ferry across it, while if we find the divide, as I anticipate, we ought to be able to cut our way through it. We may have to undergo some hardships, but we have an object in view which is worth the sacrifice, and I hope when necessary it will be made cheerfully. Should our expedition be successful it may result in good to the whole country, for if this land can be rendered fit for cultivation it will be the most productive of any in this state. It is rich with the vegetable mould of centuries, has the mildest climate on this continent, and once drained could be put into cultivation at a small cost. It might support an immense population, and would doubtless supply the United States with sugar, rice and the fruits adapted to the climate. With the money spent on hotels in the city of St. Augustine to gratify the luxurious tastes of our millionaires I believe this land could be drained, and the promoter of such a scheme would have the right [to] be considered the greatest philanthropist of his age. It would be a glorious undertaking, for [charity] could ask no nobler enterprise, ambition no higher glory and capital no greater increase than would result from the redemption of this land."

The enthusiasm of our captain was infectious, and when he finished speaking every man who heard him had determined to do all in his power for the success of the expedition, and felt the dignity of an explorer who belongs to an enterprise which if successfully carried out may benefit his race.

'Twas late that night before I left my place by the fire, so interesting were the possibilities and probabilities propounded by our imaginative captain, but he stayed up still later, and my last recollection that night was of him, silhouetted against the bright glow of the fire, drawing inspiration from his pipe and peering into the bright coals as though he were reading there the secrets of the future.
X (Close panel)Text:
[There is no entry for this date.] March 15th. In Camp No. [1] [Tuesday, March 15, 1892]

Next day we [amused] ourselves as best we could, during the forenoon Mr. Sydney and I going out in a buggy to inspect a neighboring lemon grove and in the afternoon packing our valises to send around to Miami to await our coming. Near our tent and close by a well stood some wash-tubs, which during the day some of the Miami [Ft. Myers] "ladies" had been using, and which we thought we could utilize to as much advantage as they, only in a different manner; so Mr. Sydney and I stripped and enjoyed the pleasure of bathing in a tub.

The day had been very warm, and as is usual in that climate the night was correspondingly cool, so bathing in the open air inclined us to seek the warmth of the camp fires which our men kept brightly burning. On all sides could be seen the cheesecloth mosquito bars, showing snowy white against the dark background and arranged in picturesque confusion, while gathered around the fires in little groups the men were smoking and chatting about the march they were to make the next day and their prospects of getting safely through the everglades. Captain Newman was the center of one group in front of Mr. Ingraham's tent, and with him he was planning our campaign and the chances of getting through to Miami. "You see," said he to Mr. Ingraham, pointing to a map which lay between them, "We know that rivers of considerable size run into the Gulf on the west, the Bay of Florida on the south, the Atlantic on the east, and if this map is correct, into the Okeechobee on the north; now if this is so, there must be a divide within these everglades between the head waters of these rivers, or else a large basin or lake from which they all flow. If we find a lake it will be an easy matter, with the boats we have, to ferry across it, while if we find the divide, as I anticipate, we ought to be able to cut our way through it. We may have to undergo some hardships, but we have an object in view which is worth the sacrifice, and I hope when necessary it will be made cheerfully. Should our expedition be successful it may result in good to the whole country, for if this land can be rendered fit for cultivation it will be the most productive of any in this state. It is rich with the vegetable mould of centuries, has the mildest climate on this continent, and once drained could be put into cultivation at a small cost. It might support an immense population, and would doubtless supply the United States with sugar, rice and the fruits adapted to the climate. With the money spent on hotels in the city of St. Augustine to gratify the luxurious tastes of our millionaires I believe this land could be drained, and the promoter of such a scheme would have the right [to] be considered the greatest philanthropist of his age. It would be a glorious undertaking, for [charity] could ask no nobler enterprise, ambition no higher glory and capital no greater increase than would result from the redemption of this land."

The enthusiasm of our captain was infectious, and when he finished speaking every man who heard him had determined to do all in his power for the success of the expedition, and felt the dignity of an explorer who belongs to an enterprise which if successfully carried out may benefit his race.

'Twas late that night before I left my place by the fire, so interesting were the possibilities and probabilities propounded by our imaginative captain, but he stayed up still later, and my last recollection that night was of him, silhouetted against the bright glow of the fire, drawing inspiration from his pipe and peering into the bright coals as though he were reading there the secrets of the future.
X (Close panel)Text:
[There is no entry for this date.] March 15th. In Camp No. [1] [Tuesday, March 15, 1892]

Next day we [amused] ourselves as best we could, during the forenoon Mr. Sydney and I going out in a buggy to inspect a neighboring lemon grove and in the afternoon packing our valises to send around to Miami to await our coming. Near our tent and close by a well stood some wash-tubs, which during the day some of the Miami [Ft. Myers] "ladies" had been using, and which we thought we could utilize to as much advantage as they, only in a different manner; so Mr. Sydney and I stripped and enjoyed the pleasure of bathing in a tub.

The day had been very warm, and as is usual in that climate the night was correspondingly cool, so bathing in the open air inclined us to seek the warmth of the camp fires which our men kept brightly burning. On all sides could be seen the cheesecloth mosquito bars, showing snowy white against the dark background and arranged in picturesque confusion, while gathered around the fires in little groups the men were smoking and chatting about the march they were to make the next day and their prospects of getting safely through the everglades. Captain Newman was the center of one group in front of Mr. Ingraham's tent, and with him he was planning our campaign and the chances of getting through to Miami. "You see," said he to Mr. Ingraham, pointing to a map which lay between them, "We know that rivers of considerable size run into the Gulf on the west, the Bay of Florida on the south, the Atlantic on the east, and if this map is correct, into the Okeechobee on the north; now if this is so, there must be a divide within these everglades between the head waters of these rivers, or else a large basin or lake from which they all flow. If we find a lake it will be an easy matter, with the boats we have, to ferry across it, while if we find the divide, as I anticipate, we ought to be able to cut our way through it. We may have to undergo some hardships, but we have an object in view which is worth the sacrifice, and I hope when necessary it will be made cheerfully. Should our expedition be successful it may result in good to the whole country, for if this land can be rendered fit for cultivation it will be the most productive of any in this state. It is rich with the vegetable mould of centuries, has the mildest climate on this continent, and once drained could be put into cultivation at a small cost. It might support an immense population, and would doubtless supply the United States with sugar, rice and the fruits adapted to the climate. With the money spent on hotels in the city of St. Augustine to gratify the luxurious tastes of our millionaires I believe this land could be drained, and the promoter of such a scheme would have the right [to] be considered the greatest philanthropist of his age. It would be a glorious undertaking, for [charity] could ask no nobler enterprise, ambition no higher glory and capital no greater increase than would result from the redemption of this land."

The enthusiasm of our captain was infectious, and when he finished speaking every man who heard him had determined to do all in his power for the success of the expedition, and felt the dignity of an explorer who belongs to an enterprise which if successfully carried out may benefit his race.

'Twas late that night before I left my place by the fire, so interesting were the possibilities and probabilities propounded by our imaginative captain, but he stayed up still later, and my last recollection that night was of him, silhouetted against the bright glow of the fire, drawing inspiration from his pipe and peering into the bright coals as though he were reading there the secrets of the future.