CHAPTER XIV

INDIAN HOSTILITIES

IN MARCH, 1836, Secretary of War Lewis Cass requested General Scott, who had charge of the military operations against the Indians in Florida, to detach a garrison from his forces and re-occupy Key West, and directed the ordnance department to forward without delay one hundred and fifty stands of arms, together with the necessary ammunition, to the commanding officer here, and, if there was no army officer, then to the care of Mr. William A. Whitehead, the collector of customs.

On the 15th of December, 1835, Major Dade, who was in command of the army post at Key West, left on the transport Motto for Tampa, with his entire command, where he led an expedition against the Indians in South Florida. On December 28th he attempted to march from Tampa to Fort King, but his command was ambuscaded and one hundred and fifteen officers and men massacred. Only one escaped.

So complete was the ambuscade that all of the officers were killed at the first fire. Among them was Captain Gardener, whose wife and children were in Key West where they had been living during the time that Captain Gardener and Major Dade were stationed here. They were both highly esteemed and had a large social acquaintance, and the news of their death threw the city in mourning. Captain Gardener's wife and children were objects of tender consideration from our people, and every kindness and attention possible was extended to them in their bereavement.

On January 4, 1836, the Indians attacked the family of Mr. William Coolie at New River, murdering his wife and three children, together with Mr. Joseph Flinton, of Maryland, who was employed as instructor for his children. The inhabitants between New River and Cape Florida, and along the Florida Keys, became justly alarmed, and about two hundred fugitives came to Key West for safety. There were about three thousand Indians operating in South Florida, and as they carried their hostilities farther south on the East Coast, an attack on Key West was feared. Our citizens chartered a vessel, and sent it to Havana to buy arms and ammunition, and to solicit a visit from any American man-of-war that was then in port. This at once brought Commander Dallas, in the frigate Constitution, and Captain Rosseau in the sloop- of-war St. Louis, to Key West for the protection of our people.

After the massacre of Mr. Coolie's family at New River, several attempts were made by the Indians to attack Cape Florida light-house, and on January 16th it was abandoned by the keepers, and notice of that fact published to the world by the collector of customs at Key West.

About the time of the massacre at Indian Key an attack was made on the light-house at Cape Florida; the keepers and their families abandoned their residences, which were destroyed, and took refuge in the top of the light-house where the Indians were afraid to attack them, the spiral staircase affording excellent facilities for defense. They set fire to the interior of the light-house and destroyed part of the staircase, and but for the timely arrival of a revenue cutter the inmates would have perished.

Among these was the daughter of the light-house keeper, Miss Drucilla Duke, who married Captain Courtland Williams, and was the mother of Mrs. George W. Reynolds and Mrs. H. B. Boyer. At Indian Key the people made ready for an attack by erecting embankments, mounting cannon, etc.

A land patrol of the most prominent citizens was organized at Key West, which kept up until the spring rains set in, when the gentlemen composing the guard abandoned their patrol, and sought shelter on the verandas of the houses, and finally staid at home altogether.

A water patrol was also organized and the island was circumnavigated every night.

An incident, which illustrates the demoralizing effect of fear, is told by Mr. Wm. A. Whitehead. "I was both amused and provoked one night by being summoned by the captain of the watch to leave my family to look after some Indians supposed to be in the woods, saying that 'the sound of a drum had been distinctly heard several times.' The captain was no less a person than Mr. Alden A. M. Jackson. Mrs. Whitehead and I got up, and he marched us all the way to the barracks to see if the drum known to be there was in its place. The ridiculousness of the Indians having gone to the barracks and stolen the drum, and beat an alarm to give notice of their approach, never once occurred to the captain of the watch. It was later discovered that the noise was caused by a dog striking his leg on top of a cistern, while scratching fleas."

This incident found a counterpart in the Spanish American War, when Captain W. H. H. Sutherland of the United States navy, discovered and reported a Spanish fleet in the vicinity of Tampa, just as the transports were about to sail for Cuba. A fog or mist deceived him, as the dog scratching fleas deceived Captain Jackson.

The massacre of a number of Key West citizens on Indian Key was one of the most harrowing events in the history of our people. There were about twenty families living there, all of whom had relatives in Key West. A deputy collector of customs, a postmaster, commission merchant, warehouseman and others, were living on Indian Key. Among them was Dr. Henry Perrine, who had obtained a grant from congress, in 1838, of a township on Biscayne Bay for the purpose of demonstrating the adaptability of that part of South Florida for nearly all tropical and subtropical plants. Dr. Perrine moved to Florida in the winter of that year with his family, and several others who were to form part of the colony which was to develop his grant. On account of the Indian war it was not deemed safe to establish a colony on the mainland, and they took up their residence on Indian Key to wait the termination of hostilities.

Dr. Ferrine brought plants and seeds from Mexico, Central and South America, which he planted on Matecumbie and Lignum Vitae Key as nurseries for his mainland colony when the war should end. His massacre by the Indians indefinitely postponed the colonization scheme, but the plants that he set out grew abundantly, and other hands reaped the harvest which the dead had sown. The presence of mahogany and other hard woods en these islands, which do not grow on the other keys, is the result of Dr. Perrine's sojourn there. After his death his family moved to New York, and his son, Mr. Henry Perrine, some years ago married Mrs. Folsom, the mother of Mrs. Grover Cleveland.

Congress lately confirmed the grant made in 1838, and Dr. Perrine's heirs came into possession of a township on Biscayne Bay. His descendants now living in Florida are Mrs. Sarah R. W. Palmer, her sons, T. W. and J. D. Palmer, Jr., two daughters, Misses Jessie and Minnie, who are living in Miami with their mother. Another daughter, Mrs. Sarah Rogers Colmore, is the wife of Rev. Charles D. Colmore, an Episcopal clergyman in Cuba.

INDIAN KEY MASSACRE

For several years people on Indian Key lived in constant dread of an attack from the Indians. At Tea Table Key, about a mile from Indian Key, there was a naval depot and a detachment of United States troops was stationed there. A revenue cutter cruised constantly near Indian Key, making that its principal anchoring place.

Captain Houseman, who owned a large wharf and warehouse, and did a general storekeeping and commission merchant business, had for eighteen months been making preparations to defend the island from an anticipated attack, and spent about $20,000 for that purpose. In the fall of 1838 three hundred Indians congregated on the adjacent keys with a view of attacking the island. They sent a Spaniard, who was living with them, to Indian Key as a spy, but he was taken prisoner by Captain Houseman, who was informed by him that there were two Indians on Lignum Vitae Key. These were also captured, and the Indians realizing that the inhabitants were on the alert, abandoned their plan of an attack at this time. Captain Houseman ascertained from these spies that it was the intention of the Indians, after capturing Indian Key, to proceed to Key Vaccas and thence to Key West. He kept them prisoners for eighteen months, and on the arrival of the revenue cutter, sent for the protection of the people at Indian Key, they were turned over to the captain, from whom they effected their escape.
Captain Houseman and the citizens of Indian Key had repeatedly petitioned the government of Florida and Congress, to furnish troops for their protection. They urged that the troops and the naval depot should be at Indian Key and not at Tea Table Key, but their petitions were ignored. It was believed at the time that Tea Table Key was selected at the instance of certain prominent citizens of Key West who owned that island, and the feeling among the survivors of the massacre was very bitter against some of the people of Key West, whom they felt were to some extent responsible.

A short time before the massacre, Mr. John Whalton, the keeper of the Carysfort Reef lightship, was killed by a party of Indians on one of the keys where he had a garden. Mr. Whal- ton's family were living in Key West, and he has a number of descendants Jiving here now.

A few days before the attack, Lieut. McLaughline, who had under his command the revenue cutters Flint and Atrego, left the vicinity of Indian Key, and sent one of the cutters to Cape Florida, and the other to Cape Sable. It was while on this trip that the two Indian spies escaped by jumping overboard.. They carried the information to the other Indians that the cutters had left the vicinity of the island, and that there was no one on Tea Table Key except one officer and ten sick men. The Indians hastily gathered in force, and between two and three o'clock in the morning of the 7th of August, about three hundred quietly came in their canoes to the island and disembarked, and were proceeding to surround the housesj when they were discovered by Mr. J. Glass, who occupied one of the dwellings on Water street on the south side of the key. Mr. Glass got up, and looking out of his front window, discovered a large number of canoes along the rocks directly in front of his house. He immediately went to the adjoining house occupied by Mr. J. F. Beiglet and called him, and they started to give the information to Captain Houseman and others, but in crossing the public square they were discovered by a large number of Indians who were creeping silently along the fence which led to Captain Houseman's dwelling. As soon as the Indians discovered them, they commenced firing, screaming and yelling, which gave the alarm to another party of Indians coming around by Mr. Howe's house, and they all rushed for Captain Houseman's store and dwelling. Glass and Beiglet escaped, Glass secreting himself under the Second street wharf-Beiglet in a cistern under a large warehouse. They remained there, with James Sturdy and another man, until the building was set on fire. Beiglet and the other man escaped, but Sturdy was burned to death. Beiglet lost about $10,000.00 in gold.

The inhabitants were aroused from their sleep by the bloodcurdling yells and war cries of the Indians.

The house occupied by Dr. Perrine belonged to Mr. Howe. It was the largest on the island, being three stories high, with a porch and cupola, and built so close to the water that, during high tide, three sides were surrounded by water. Fronting the porch was a short wharf. Under the wharf was a crawl for turtle. It communicated with the cellar by a narrow passage way walled up above high water mark. The cellar being open to the influx of the sea, was used by the family for bathing, and was entered by a trap door from the dressing room above. It was into this cellar that Dr. Perrine hurried his family when they were awakened by the discharge of guns, crashing of glass and wild yells of the Indians. His family urged him to come into the cellar with them, but he knew that the Indians would discover the trap door, so he remained in the house and closed the opening, and piled upon it bags of grain, etc., so as to completely hide it. He then got his guns ready but discovered that he had no caps. His family heard him parleying with the Indians in Spanish, trying to prevail on them to spare his dwelling. Soon the distressed listeners in the cellar heard the Indians make a furious assault upon the dwelling, and one of them say in English, "All hid; old man upstairs." They heard with terror the rush up the stairs, the heavy blows upon the massive doors-which led to the cupola, the terrific crash as it yielded, a single rifle shot, the awful war whoop, and the demoniac yells of the savages; and the family below knew that their father and husband was no more!

Captain John Mott, his. wife and two children, and his mother-in-law, were discovered by the Indians about daylight. Mott and his wife were shot. The oldest child, a girl about four years old, was picked up and her brains dashed out against a post.: The baby was choked to death and thrown into the sea. Mott and his wife, who were not yet dead, were dragged about fifty yards, and killed with blows from clubs, and their hair and clothes set afire. The mother-in-law escaped and hid under a building until the Indians left.

After the massacre they set fire to houses, and what they did not burn they destroyed. One house alone escaped. It belonged to Mr. Charles Howe. Mr. Howe was a Mason, and when the Indians left the island, his Masonic apron with its all-seeing eye and other mystic symbols, was found spread out on a table. The savages had found it in ransacking the place, and whether they knew anything of Masonry and spared Mr. Howe's house on that account, or whether it appealed to their superstitions and frightened them, will never be known; but it was believed that this home was spared on that account. After his death the apron was presented to Dade Lodge No. 14, F. & A. M., but it was destroyed in 1886, when the Masonic Temple was burned.
Nearly all who escaped massacre did so by secreting themselves in cisterns. Many of them remained in water up to their necks for five or six hours, and where the cisterns were under the houses which were burned, those who escaped, endured frightful tortures.

Captain Elliott Smith's family, consisting of wife and one child and his wife's little brother, who resided on Fourth street, were among those who suffered in this way. The older members of the family managed to escape, but the boy, about twelve years of age, was burned to death.

In addition to burning and destroying property, the Indians carried away all the slaves that they could find. They took three belonging to Mr. Howe and a negro girl from Captain Houseman.

While the Indians were still on the island, the few soldiers who were in the hospital at Tea Table Key, unfit for active service, manned a small boat, in which they placed two four- pound swivels, and put off about daylight to attack the Indians and cut eft' their retreat. In the hurry of their departure they took six pound bags of powder instead of four. When they came within about two hundred yards of the wharf they opened fire on a number of the Indians, who had congregated on the wharf, but at the first discharge of the swivels, the overloaded guns recoiled overboard, and the Indians fired upon the boat, killing one of the soldiers and they were forced to beat a retreat.

One of the most pathetic incidents of the massacre, which the people of Key West saw the effects of for many years, happened to the family of Mr. Williams, of Key West, who were li\ing at Indian Key. They escaped being massacred, only to find that their young son, James, had been driven insane, and for many years he wandered the streets of Key West uttering harsh cries, and at times screaming "The Indians are coming." "Crazy Jim," as he got to be known, was a pathetic sight in Key West until death gave him relief.

Beiplet afterwards moved to Key West and married the widowed mother of Hon. Peter T. Knight. Mr. Charles Howe also came to Key West, and was afterwards collector of the port for many years. His sons, Charles and Edward, became large land owners and prominent business men of Key West. His daughter, Miss Amelia, married Mr. Horatio Crain, and is living here with her son, St. Clair, who conducts the Key West News Company.

Many years after the massacre Dr. Perrine's remains were taken from lower Matecumbie and interred in the family lot in Palmyra, N. Y. His monument is of granite, representing a cocoanut palm, on which is a tablet with a short narrative of the Indian Key massacre.