Foreverglades_Valiente2019

24 BELLE
24 BELLE
GLADE
GLADE
FROM
FROM
SW
SW
AMP
AMP
TO
TO
SUGAR
SUGAR
BOWL
BOWL
24 BELLE GLADE FROM SW AMP TO SUGAR BOWL
32 BELLE GLADE FROM SW AMP TO SUGAR BOWL
and never even by Indians . . . The axes and machete are
kept busy until 2 o'clock cutting trees and slashing vines.
The trees become thinner, and about 3 o'clock we find our
course has brought us to the borders of a marsh of yma
grass, wampu or warmpea, and mixed with willow scrub.
Ahead "there extends before us one vast marsh, in which
even with a field glass we see no sign of water or trees
of any description."
As to this "marsh of yma grass" the Lord only knows
what that was. Grass experts in our experiment station,
and in Louisiana too, can't find it mentioned in their reference
books. Maybe it was maiden cane, that grass with
macaroni-like roots, for a sketch which I made in 1914
shows that then maiden cane was growing thickly near
here amidst the sawgrass.
Old Democrat River has now vanished without a trace,
but it was a famous stream in the early days. Although it
meandered and vanished into the sawgrass, yet its channel
seems to have connected with Brooker's Lakes near Shawano,
and from there became part of the Gulf Stream of
the Everglades, that water highway used by Seminoles
and hunters, which flowed southward probably as far as
Miami. With the help of aerial maps and the recollections
of early settlers, I've tried to show on this book's map,
its windings through Belle Glade.
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER
CHAPTER
THREE
THREE
CHAPTER THREE
Democrat River
Democrat River
Glade Crest
Drainage and Land Clearing
From
From
the
the
time
time
the
the
Chosen
Chosen
mounds
mounds
were
were
abandoned
abandoned
by
by
the
the From Calusas
Calusas the (or
(or time what
what the Chosen ever
ever
tribe
tribe mounds they
they were might
might abandoned have
have
been)
been) by
right
right the Calusas on
on
down
down (or till
till what the
the
days
days ever of
of tribe the
the they Seminole
Seminole might War,
War, have a been) good
good
300
300 right years,
years, on down we
we
don't
don't till the know
know days a of thing
thing the Seminole of
of
what
what War, might
might a have
have good
transpired
transpired 300 years, in
in we this
this don't Belle
Belle know Glade-Chosen
Glade-Chosen a thing of area.
area. what During
During might those
those have
primeval
primeval transpired days
days in the
the this only
only Belle distinguishing
distinguishing Glade-Chosen f ea
ea area. tu
tu
res
res During of
of
this
this those location
location
primeval were
were days those
those the same
same only Indian
Indian distinguishing mounds,
mounds, f and
and ea tu the res the of largest
largest this location
were of
and
and
longest
longest of
the
the those lake's
lake's same "dead
"dead Indian rivers",
rivers", mounds, old
old
Democrat.
Democrat. and the The
The largest earliest
earliest and
mention
mention longest of of
of the Democrat
Democrat lake's "dead River
River rivers", was
was old recorded
recorded Democrat. by
by
Lieu­tenant
The Lieu­tenant earliest
Henry
Henry mention H.
H. of Benson
Benson Democrat of
of
the
the River 2nd
2nd was Artillery,
Artillery, recorded who
who by in
in Lieu­tenant
1855
1855
had
had
cruised
cruised Henry down H. down Benson the
the
Kissimmee
Kissimmee of the 2nd River
River Artillery, and
and
along
along who the
the in Lake's
Lake's 1855 east
east had
shore.
shore. cruised Of
Of down Democrat
Democrat the Kissimmee he
he
says,
says, River and along the Lake's east
shore. Of Democrat he says,
"At
"At
the
the
extreme
extreme
southern
southern
shore
shore
(we)
(we)
entered
entered
a large
large
outlet
outlet
80
80
yards
yards "At the wide
wide extreme at
at the southern entrance
entrance shore and
and (we) six
six entered feet
feet a deep.
deep. large After outlet After
proceeding
proceeding 80 yards wide down
down at this
this the outlet
outlet entrance half
half and a mile,
mile, six creek
creek feet forked, deep. forked, After one
one
prong
prong proceeding to
to
the
the down southwest
southwest this outlet and
and
the
the half other
other a to mile, to
the
the creek southeast.
southeast. forked, This
This one is
is
the
the prong largest
largest to the outlet
outlet southwest on
on
the
the
southern
southern and other shore."
shore." to the southeast. This is
the
Next
largest outlet on the southern shore."
Next
to
to
visit
visit
and
and
describe
describe
this
this
river
river
and
and
the
the
man
man
who
who
gave
gave Next it
it
a name,
name, to visit was
was and Major
Major describe Archie
Archie this P.
P. river WiUiams
WiUiams and the in
in
1883,
1883, man and who and
here's
here's gave it how
how a name, that
that was came
came Major about.
about. Archie A grand
grand P. WiUiams effort
effort in was
was 1883, being
being and
made
made here's by
by how Hamilton
Hamilton that came Disston,
Disston, about. a saw
saw A maker
maker grand from
from effort Philadelphia,
Philadelphia,
was being
made by Hamilton Disston, a saw maker from Philadelphia,
Like I've been a-telling you folks, Belle Glade is now
the biggest town in the whole blamed Everglades and since
it's on the Hillsboro Canal, I reckon you'd natu;ally think
that it was the first settlement there as well. (Of course,
you understand that at one time everybody lived beside
a canal, that is, if they didn't live on the lake shore itself.)
Well, more'n likely you never heard tell of this first settlement,
but it had already reached its wobbly peak while
Belle Glade and Chosen were getting started. Glade Crest
was this settlement's name. It was only a mile and a half
below Six Mile Bend, in the pure old sawgrass Everglades.
The first settler here, a Canadian named Slade had
arrived in November 1913, and in December he was jined jined
by another Canadian, J. W. Bissell. By January there were
twenty people living here.
Not only was this the first settlement on the canal it came
mighty blamed close to being the first in all the swgrass swgrass
Everglades. It had been only a month before Slade arrived
that the first settlement, not on the lake shore, was started,
and that had been at Okeelanta, four miles from the lake
on the North New River Canal. In October, five men, and
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