282 BUREiAU OF AMETUCAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 137 



pended mainly on fish and roots. Regarding the Calusa tribe, Fon- 

 taneda says ; 



Their common food consists of fish, turtles, snails, tunny fish, and whales, which 

 they catch in their season. Some of them also eat the wolf fish, but this is not a 

 common thing, owing to certain distinctions which they make between food 

 proper for the chiefs and that of their subjects. On these islands is found a 

 shell-fish known as the langosta, a sort of lobster, and another known in Spain 

 as the chapin (trunk fish), of which they consume not less than the former. 

 There are also on the islands a great number of animals, especially deer; and 

 on some of them large bears are found. (Coll. Docs. Inedit., 1864-84, vol. 5, pp. 

 532-533.) 



Regarding the "whales," see comments by Kellogg on page 329. 



Around Lake Okeechobee, in the interior, was a considerable popu- 

 lation occupying small villages. These Indians seem to have been re- 

 lated to the Calusa, but had a somewhat different dietary. To quote 

 Fontaneda once more, they lived 



on bread made from roots during most of the year. They cannot procure it, how- 

 ever when the waters of the lake rise very high. They have roots which resemble 

 the truffles of this country [Spain], and have besides excellent fish. Whenever 

 game is to be had, either deer or birds, they eat meat. Large numbers of very 

 fat eels are found in the rivers, some of them as large as a man's thigh, and 

 enormous trout, almost as large as a man's body ; although smaller ones are also 

 found. The natives eat lizards, snakes, and rats, which infest the lakes, fresh- 

 water turtles, and many other animals which it would be tiresome to enumerate. 

 (Coll. Docs. Inedit., 1864-84, vol. 5, pp. 534-535.) 



Coming over to the east coast, Dickenson — at a considerably later 

 date, it is true — gives us some interesting notes to compare with 

 the above. An early Spanish writer, Lopez de Velasco, describes 

 the hunting of sea cows, which must, indeed, have been an im- 

 portant special industry in this region. To be sure, he is mainly 

 interested in explaining the use the Tekesta Indians made of the 

 tusks, which were placed with the bodies of their dead, but it would 

 be absurd to suppose this was the only reason for hunting such 

 animals (Swanton, 1922, p. 389). Dickenson's information regard- 

 ing these people is that they had no fields, but lived mainly on 

 fish, and secondarily on oysters and clams. The only vegetable 

 foods mentioned by him were palm berries, coco plums {Ohryso- 

 halanus icaco), and seagrapes {Coccoloha uvifera). Dickenson adds, 

 "The time of these fruits bearing being over they have no other till 

 the next spring," which indicates the narrow range of their vegetable 

 diet (Dickenson, 1803, pp. 23, 26, 51). 



For the most part, therefore, the change in food which took place 

 in this distinct economic province was omission of horticulture 

 and greater utilization of the regional foods that nature offered. 

 The nearest approach to a positive reaction to this environment 

 on the part of the south Floridians was in the use of a certain root 



