﻿ALLEX] 
  NEVER 
  EANGED 
  IN 
  PRESENT 
  LIMITS 
  OF 
  FLORIDA. 
  495 
  

  

  donmeut 
  of 
  Fort 
  Caroline, 
  covering 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  five 
  years 
  and 
  quite 
  

   extended 
  explorations 
  along 
  the 
  St. 
  John's 
  Eiver. 
  

  

  Professor 
  Wyman 
  also 
  quotes 
  Buckingham 
  Smith 
  as 
  saying, 
  in 
  a 
  note 
  

   to 
  his 
  (Smith's) 
  translation 
  of 
  the 
  "Memoir 
  of 
  Fontaneda 
  respecting 
  

   Florida" 
  (p. 
  49), 
  "The 
  bison 
  appears 
  to 
  have 
  ranged 
  in 
  considerable 
  

   immbers 
  through 
  Middle 
  Florida 
  a.hundred 
  and 
  fifty 
  years 
  ago. 
  It 
  was 
  

   considered 
  in 
  1718 
  that 
  the 
  Spanish 
  garrison 
  at 
  Fort 
  San 
  Marco, 
  on 
  a 
  

   failure 
  of 
  stores, 
  might 
  subsist 
  ou 
  the 
  meat 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo." 
  The 
  text 
  

   in 
  Fontaneda's 
  Memoir 
  (written 
  about 
  1575), 
  to 
  which 
  this 
  note 
  refers, 
  

   contains 
  the 
  following: 
  "The 
  men 
  of 
  Abalachi 
  go 
  naked, 
  and 
  the 
  wo- 
  

   men 
  have 
  waistbands 
  of 
  the 
  straw 
  that 
  grows 
  from 
  the 
  trees, 
  which 
  is 
  

   like 
  wool, 
  of 
  which 
  I 
  have 
  given 
  some 
  account 
  before; 
  they 
  eat 
  deer, 
  

   wolves, 
  tcooUy 
  cattle, 
  and 
  many 
  other 
  animals."* 
  Smith 
  in 
  his 
  com- 
  

   mentary 
  on 
  this 
  passage 
  cites 
  Barcia 
  as 
  authority 
  for 
  making 
  this 
  "pas- 
  

   sage 
  a 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  buffalo. 
  But 
  I 
  find 
  nothing 
  in 
  Barcia 
  that 
  seems 
  

   to 
  refer 
  to 
  the 
  occurrence 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo 
  within 
  the 
  region 
  embraced 
  by 
  

   the 
  present 
  boundaries 
  of 
  Florida. 
  

  

  Professor 
  Wyman 
  further 
  cites 
  Stow 
  ("p. 
  19") 
  as 
  saying, 
  "The 
  buf- 
  

   falo 
  is 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  savannahs, 
  or 
  natural 
  meadows 
  of 
  the 
  interior 
  

   parts," 
  but 
  as 
  no 
  title 
  is 
  given 
  of 
  Stow's 
  work 
  I 
  have 
  been 
  unable 
  to 
  

   find 
  it 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  ascertain 
  on 
  w^hat 
  authority 
  he 
  based 
  his 
  statement. 
  

   Wyman 
  further 
  quotes 
  Baird 
  as 
  authority 
  for 
  the 
  occurrence 
  of 
  the 
  buf- 
  

   falo 
  in 
  Florida, 
  but 
  Professor 
  Baird, 
  as 
  previously 
  noticed, 
  only 
  makes 
  

   the 
  general 
  statement 
  that 
  it 
  " 
  was 
  formerly 
  found 
  throughout 
  the 
  east- 
  

   ern 
  ]iortion 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  to 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  Ocean, 
  and 
  as 
  far 
  south 
  

   as 
  Florida.'''' 
  \ 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  explorers 
  not 
  only 
  did 
  not 
  meet 
  with 
  the 
  buffalo 
  in 
  any 
  part 
  

   of 
  the 
  present 
  States 
  of 
  Florida 
  or 
  Georgia, 
  but 
  probably 
  had 
  not 
  at 
  

   this 
  time 
  even 
  heard 
  of 
  its 
  existence 
  anywhere. 
  Among 
  these 
  are 
  Ponce 
  

   de 
  Leon, 
  who 
  visited 
  Florida 
  in 
  1512, 
  landing 
  near 
  the 
  present 
  site 
  of 
  

   St. 
  Augustine, 
  and 
  Yasquez 
  de 
  Ayllon, 
  who 
  landed, 
  it 
  is 
  supposed, 
  on 
  

   the 
  coast 
  of 
  Georgia 
  in 
  1520, 
  and 
  again 
  in 
  1525 
  ; 
  but 
  neither 
  of 
  them 
  made 
  

   extended 
  excursions 
  into 
  the 
  interior, 
  and 
  make 
  no 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  

   buffalo. 
  

  

  In 
  1528 
  Pamphilo 
  de 
  Narvaez 
  marched 
  from 
  Tampa 
  Bay 
  northwardly 
  

   into 
  the 
  interior, 
  to 
  the 
  source 
  of 
  the 
  Suwanee 
  River, 
  in 
  Southern 
  Georgia, 
  

   without, 
  however, 
  either 
  meeting 
  or 
  hearing 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo. 
  De 
  Soto, 
  on 
  

   the 
  occasion 
  of 
  his 
  journey 
  through 
  Florida, 
  disembarked 
  at 
  Tampa 
  

   Bay, 
  from 
  which 
  point 
  he 
  madehis 
  long 
  journey 
  into 
  the 
  interior, 
  finally 
  

   crossing 
  the 
  Mississippi 
  and 
  reaching 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  plains 
  beyond. 
  

   His 
  course 
  was 
  first 
  northward 
  through 
  Central 
  Florida, 
  and 
  thence 
  

   nortwestward 
  nearly 
  to 
  the 
  site 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  town 
  of 
  Tallahassee, 
  and 
  

   then 
  northeastward 
  across 
  Central 
  Georgia 
  to 
  the 
  Savannah 
  River. 
  

   From 
  this 
  point 
  his 
  course 
  was 
  again 
  northwestward 
  to 
  the 
  mountains 
  of 
  

   Northern 
  Georgia. 
  In 
  all 
  this 
  long 
  journey 
  he 
  obtained 
  no 
  information 
  

   of 
  any 
  animal 
  resembling 
  the 
  buffalo, 
  only 
  hearing 
  of 
  it 
  later 
  on 
  sending 
  

   out 
  soldiers 
  to 
  the 
  northward 
  from 
  his 
  camp 
  in 
  the 
  extreme 
  northern 
  

   parts 
  of 
  Georgia, 
  to 
  search 
  for 
  gold, 
  who 
  returned 
  at 
  length 
  with 
  the 
  re- 
  

   port 
  that 
  they 
  had 
  seen 
  in 
  the 
  possession 
  of 
  the 
  Indians 
  ox-hides 
  an 
  inch 
  

   in 
  thickness, 
  which 
  were 
  undoubtedly 
  skins 
  of 
  the 
  buflalo.l 
  These 
  facts 
  

  

  * 
  Smith's 
  Foutaneda, 
  p. 
  27. 
  

  

  fMam. 
  N. 
  Amer., 
  p. 
  684. 
  

  

  i 
  living's 
  account 
  of 
  this 
  expedition 
  is 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  He 
  says 
  two 
  fearless 
  soldiers 
  were 
  

   sent 
  northward 
  from 
  the 
  village 
  of 
  Ichiaha, 
  which 
  is 
  supposed 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  near 
  the 
  

   site 
  of 
  the 
  modern 
  town 
  of 
  Rome, 
  Ga. 
  "After 
  an 
  absence 
  of 
  ten 
  days 
  they 
  returned 
  

   to 
  the 
  camp 
  and 
  made 
  their 
  rei)ort. 
  Their 
  route 
  had 
  lain 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  way 
  through 
  ex- 
  

   cellent 
  land 
  for 
  grain 
  and 
  pasturage, 
  where 
  they 
  had 
  been 
  well 
  received 
  and 
  feasted 
  

  

  