Early Florida

I remember being delightedly amused reading the journals of Lewis and Clark as they attempted to describe the new animals they found along the way.

That delight returned reading the various journals of various English, French, and Spanish explorers.

The first thing I’ll say is that Florida was very different in the 1500’s than it is today, and I don’t just mean in population, culture, and architecture. It was an entirely different climate.

First of all, Florida was nearly twice the size as it is today. So, the earliest map may have been more accurate than uninformed readers may think.

This map was drawn by Jacques ale Moyne de Morgues, a French artist tagging along with Pedro Menendez de Aviles.

So, yeah, Florida used to be a lot bigger. Some archeological sites of the early Indians have been found as far as twenty miles off the coast of Florida.

Secondly, Florida’s climate used to be much colder. While reading The Journal of Jonathan Dickinsin, he repeatedly mentions how bitterly cold the coast of Florida near Cape Canaveral was, especially at night. However, this wasn’t in the middle of December, but July, August, and September. Reading it, I was incredulous, because I grew up very near Port Canaveral, and the summers were never cold. Surely never so cold as to render limbs, “black and useless” as Dickinsin describes.

However, upon further research, his descriptions were confirmed. Florida used to be pretty dang cold. 

Okay, so the animals...

One thing I found really amazing was the animal the Spanish explorers called “Sea-Wolves.” I imagined they were referring to something fierce or blood-hungry, like sharks or orcas, but they weren’t. They were referring to manatees. Playful, gentle, manatees, like the ones that would come play in the little cove near my old condo in Merritt Island.

Here’s Flappy making waves:

And here’s Matilda and her pup, Bubbles, being happy:

Some other descriptions of the animals amazed me, but didn’t really surprise me, since I’m aware that the encroachment of humans has disastrous results on wildlife.

For example, there were once large black bears roaming in great numbers on the Florida Keys. Statistics say that the bear population is only 45% that of historic Florida, and that’s sorta sad, isn’t it? Key deer, now endangered, were also proliferate, being spotted often by early explorers.

The journal of Fontaneda, who became a captive of the Calusa and remained with them 17 years, describes what I think is a raccoon:

“And I also relate that in these islands (the Florida Keys) there are many deer, and some animals that look like foxes and aren’t, but something else different. They are very fat and good to eat.”

And lastly, for today’s post, Fontaneda describes sea turtles, which were so plentiful back then that the Tortuga Islands were named for them. Of course, they are now a protected species. 

“...The turtles are of the size of a shield, and have as much meat as a cow. They have all types of meat, and it is a fish.”

A fish. Lol. But not too far a stretch, as sea turtles live their entire lives in the sea, coming ashore only  to lay their eggs. 

Oh, just one more...the captive Juan Ortiz mentions the Florida panther in his journals, which seemed to be more plentiful, more ferocious, and less timid in the 1500’s, maybe because they were often found carrying off the Indian dead, who had a unique way of burial. I’ll mention more about that in a later post. 

Anyway, that’s about all I have time for this morning. I’m looking forward to seeing the kids for Christmas! Joe will be here Dec 4th (he’s enjoying Dartmouth immensely), and Callie the 11th. Callie is still enjoying the U of San Fran, and is playing guitar and singing in a band. She wants to start an all girl band, though, and I’m excited to see where that goes! Aidan is coming home just for the holiday, because she’s now working two jobs. She just started her job at a brand new axe throwing pub in Daytona, and she loves it. She had her axe throwing orientation last night. An appropriate job for a Viking!

All of my kids are different, but one thing they have in common is they’re pursuing their passions, not money. When you do something you love, it’s a labor of love, not work. I’m glad they’re pursuing the things they enjoy, because when you pursue those things you’re passionate about, success is easy.