The Pioneers of South Florida

Prior to white men staking claim to all land in continental North America, large numbers of Native Americans lived in relative peace throughout the land. The Seminole Indian Tribe was quite small when the Civil War began, but when white men decided they wanted all of Florida, Indians saw an evil cloud forming in the sky. Soon, groups of different tribes were mixed and forced to head west on foot as Union Soldiers herded them from houseback. Mixing tribes was an act of stupidity, but splitting families and sending mother and some of the children one-way / father and children another, was an act of cruelty and hatred toward warriors they could not beat who fought so fiercely for their homeland. Few knew the difference between a Cherokee and a Seminole. A small group of Seminole warriors gathered their families and headed south toward the Everglades; a natural phenomenon-a moving river of grass that exists nowhere else on Planet Earth. They learned to exist in that hostile land and soon became comfortable. After three Seminole Wars they remain free and undefeated today, because white men whether soldier or civilian had never been able to defeat the Seminoles. They settled with the government for land they can use and money to repair damage. Once again, white men began heading for South Florida, but they were an honorable group looking for the same thing the Seminoles fought to the death for-a piece of land to live on and call Home. You will meet rugged dawn-to-dark cowboys in a hostile land that became the main beef source in America for decades until Texas took the lead. Everglades City and Chokoloskee has a fair share of pioneer kin that know how lucky they are to still be living in a paradise that pioneer's built.