THE MAGAZINE OF THE FLORIDA HUMANITIES COUNCIL

itant taxes on the Barbers’ cattle. Before
the smoke had cleared, at least eight
people had been slain.
Range wars remained common
over much of the state into the early
20th century. Generally they were engendered
by conflicts over fencing, grazing
rights, and cattle ownership.
Throughout this time, the cattle
industry in Florida kept growing. Its viability
depended upon finding new markets
as political and economic conditions
changed. Over the centuries, ranchers
sold their cattle to Native-American,
Spanish, British, and American markets.
Until the railroads were brought
to Central and South Florida, the biggest
stimulus to cattle sales was the West
Indies connection, especially Cuba. Beginning
as early as 1856, Cracker cattle
were shipped out of embarkation sites
such as Tampa, the Manatee River, and
especially Punta Rassa (a tiny spit of land
Riding through the fog at sunrise.
near the mouth of the Caloosahatchee
River).
A.H. Curtiss, reporter for the Florida
Dispatch, wrote this description of
busy Punta Rassa:
Long before we came in sight of the
wharf, we could see the roofs of the upper
works of a steamer, which proved to be the
Guillielerrmo awaiting a load of cattle
for Cuba. About sunset we came abreast of
the great steamer…The Guillielerrmo was
painted black with stripes of red. This and
the rough jargon of the Spanish crew made
her seem just a little piratical.
On shore there was a bedlam of
sounds, the bellowing of penned cattle,
the crys of drovers, the barking of dogs, the
cracking of whips—sometimes 18 feet in
length with a short handle. The cowboys
were very expert in using and cracking it
and have acquired the sobriquet of “crackers.”
As night drew on the noise increased.
Bonfires and torches flared in the darkness.
1 W I N T E R 2 0 0 6 / F O R U M F L O R I D A H U M A N I T I E S C O U N C I L
Bellowing herds came pouring in from the
back woods, until at nine o’clock 500 cattle
were ready to be transferred to the steamer.
From the cattle yard to the steamer extended
a long and narrow passageway…through
which the cattle were driven. A dozen at
a time were started, then with loud cries,
blows and clatter of the hoofs of cattle and
drivers [they] came rushing down to the
steamer…This process was continued until
late at night.
The men who drove the cattle in
Florida were described this way by Gov.
Ossian B. Hart (1873–74):
Cracker cowmen were larger than life
heroes who roamed the woods for weeks and
months on end, camping in the wilderness,
independent of spirit…They communicated
a lust for life and a deep affection
for Florida’s natural environment because
many of them were more content with their
lives, however miserable they may have appeared
to others.