December, 1917 
587 
FOREST AND S T R E A 
M 
stages only and the two plots, while 
“staked-off” tentatively on the map, HAD 
NEVER BEEN TRAVERSED BY 
HUMAN BEINGS. It was simply known 
that these plots did exist and could be 
reclaimed with the putting through of the 
Snapper Creek division. 
Captain J. F. Jaudon, working with the 
Miami Commissioners, and a group of 
financiers who never for a moment doubted 
the ultimate result of the deal, bought in 
the Tamiami Trail Lands as a safe and 
sure investment. As soon as the tracts 
could be scientifically charted and staked 
and put in shape by an expert engineer, 
the public sale could take place. Every¬ 
thing was propitious. The canals were 
progressing splendidly; the Government it¬ 
self was interested, Dade County had 
bonded itself to put through a fine road 
when conditions permitted, and all around, 
on every side, the call for highly 
productive farming land was urgent. 
Once before, Mr. King had worked 
with Captain Jaudon and the County 
Commissioners. They had sent him 
a month or two prior—in December 
—to examine and explore that sec¬ 
tion of the land lying along the West 
Coast. It was unknown territory and 
Mr. King grew to respect and fear 
the perils of the new area. -He in¬ 
vestigated 375,000 acres of land 
through a territory known as the 
Ten Thousand Islands. It reached 
from Cape Sable, White Water Bay, 
to Marco along the- West Coast. 
But the far more important task 
was to put the specific Tamiami Trail 
tracts on a “business basis”—to have 
them charted officially, mile for mile, 
rather than by guess-work—to bring 
back from the Great Unknown Realm 
an engineer’s opinion of the project 
and its physical possibilities. He 
was to drive stakes and to create 
maps and gain the topography of the 
land. That first approach, from the 
West Coast, had been merely a 
“glance around.” Wildernesses of 
water and swamp undergrowth had 
halted extensive operations. This 
was to be a scientific expedition. 
Captain Jaudon selected Mr. King 
cause of his unbroken record of 
achievements in his field. King 
and was eager to have a fling at the second 
attefnpt. As events proved, he was to be 
invaluable, both for his complete resource¬ 
fulness and his unerring sense of behavior 
under stress of serious circumstances. 
John had studied the methods of the ex¬ 
perienced guide who was a member of Mr. 
King’s party on the Gulf trip—Gail Henry, 
an all-round, dependable Everglades man, 
and his father knew that John, far from 
being in the way,” would be a practical 
addition to the scheme. 
John King, Jr., however, had spread 
the news of his past adventures and his 
chum, also sixteen, William Catlow, pleaded 
to be made a member of the party. At 
the inception of the undertaking it was not 
thought that peril would play so important 
a part, and Catlow’s wish was granted. 
We wish to emphasize, at this point, that 
Mr. King, while not for a moment under¬ 
glade work in mind. Her total weight was 
one hundred and twenty-five pounds and 
her owners gladly contributed her to the 
good of the cause in which she went. 
A glade boat must possess unusual vir¬ 
tues, as you will see a little later on. There 
are days of dragging over rocks and lime¬ 
stone formations—clumsy portages through 
thick entanglements of swamp growth and 
the eternal wash of strange waters, in 
which chemical action is to be discovered. 
Since engines are out of the question and 
sails of no practical value, the propelling 
foi ce consisted of two light oars—more 
properly termed “skiff paddles”—and a 
long and very peculiar pole, with a trian¬ 
gular shoe to extend and broaden it. This 
pole is a device much used by the Seminole 
Indians. It is sixteen feet in length, made 
of stout pine, and proved of incalculable 
value in navigating the shallow water. 
5 OUTHE 0 N eXTPEMITY 
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BIG CYPPE/A 
SWAMP 
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be- 
fine 
„ was so 
much more than a surveyor or an engineer. 
He combined every essential qualification. 
He was the one man in a million for the 
ugly assignment. 
As outlined by the Government, the two 
pieces of property composed about thirty 
square miles and were situated three miles 
apart. One plot was three miles wide by 
six deep and the other two miles by six. 
It was estimated that the expedition would 
consume not more than two weeks. 
F ROM the very first, Mr. King consented 
to allow his son, John, to accompany 
him. The boy inherited his father’s 
love of the work and was experienced in 
woodcraft, hunting, fishing and even some 
of the elementary branches of engineering 
work. He could be of great assistance and 
material help in many ways. 
John was sixteen years of age and a 
sturdy, self-possessed lad. He had gone 
with his father on the previous expedition 
estimating the hazards of the expedition, 
nevertheless anticipated no lasting priva¬ 
tions and was sure the party would and could 
return safely within the two-week limit set. 
The King Party equipment is interesting 
in its simplicity. Keep in mind that they 
did not expect to be away for a greater pe¬ 
riod than two weeks—three at the outside, 
was considered time for the exploration. 
Successful negotiation of the Everglades 
can be accomplished only with a boat. 
Walking is quite out of the question, for 
the islands and hummocks are boggy and 
intermittent. Moreover, any craft used 
must be light enough for innumerable port¬ 
ages between the shallow water-ways. 
The King boat was what might be tech¬ 
nically termed a “Glade Skiff.” Fastidious¬ 
ness was certainly not one of its recom¬ 
mendations. It was made of five-eighths 
inch cypress, very flat and with many of 
the unassuming characteristics of a row¬ 
boat. Wide at center, sharp-nosed and un¬ 
encumbered, she was surprisingly easy to 
carry. A product of the Huff shipyard, at 
Miami, she had been constructed with 
RESS suits and silk shirts are 
not found in Big Cypress. 
True, the Seminole Chief wears 
a costume that can be favorably com¬ 
pared to chorus girl regalia, in its 
brilliancy of color and novelty of 
form, but the King party went into 
the Wilderness less pretentiously ap¬ 
pareled. There were khaki riding 
trousers, army shirts of the regula¬ 
tion type, with very long cuffs, woolen 
caps, wide-brimmed, and snug, woolen 
puttees, to protect against snakes. 
The Boy Scout shoes, despite the 
fact that they were ideally fashioned, 
did not last long. The Everglade 
Islands and hummocks are fringed 
with peculiarly sinister rocks and 
rough-edged fragments of lime¬ 
stone that cut like knives. Long be¬ 
fore the party had reached its des¬ 
tination, their shoes were ridden with 
holes, through which the water gur¬ 
gled, and when rapid progress was 
necessary snakes or no—footgear 
was abandoned because of the im¬ 
pediment of soaked leather and 
water-logged stockings. Each mem¬ 
ber of the party went through with 
two pairs of shoes made for hard 
service in rapid succession. 
To be always “light on foot” was a law 
of the expedition. While in camp, ordinary 
trousers were worn for “dryness” while 
the others were hung upon limbs of trees 
to come back to something like normal. 
Constant kneeling, both in the boat, while 
paddling, and along the hummocks, soon 
took the knees from trousers and at the 
expiration of the second week, the wide 
cuffs of shirts and trousers alike were 
strapped about the knees for protection. 
Resourcefulness gradually became second 
nature to these lonely voyagers, a striking 
proof of the “survival of the fittest.” 
Referring to Mr. King’s list (with 
abridged interlining) we find the further 
equipment as follows: 
Two mosquito nets. (One for both boys.) 
Four stakes to hold nets. ' 
(The Everglades mosquito is a harmless 
but persistent wretch. There are ticks and 
red bugs by the legion. Although two gal¬ 
lons- of precious kerosene were taken for 
the lanterns, almost all of it was used in 
a desperate fight against insects. They 
literally washed their bodies in it.) 
