General History of Indian Key
The Massacre Story
Page 2
By Jerry Wilkinson
-
- The Narrative -
Using the
aforementioned
codes, floor plan and map, we will proceed to re-enact the occurrences
between August 4 to August 10, 1840 on Indian Key using events
described
by Hester and Henry Perrine Jr.:
1. Indian Key
consisting of
8.77 acres was the home for about 50 inhabitants at the time of the
massacre
in August, 1840. There were approximately 40 buildings on the Key when
the Perrines arrived December 25, 1838.
1-A. Probable route
used by
Chief Chekika and his attacking warriors from the Everglades to the bay
side of the upper end of Lower Matecumbe Key to await the Navy's
departure.
1-B. Chekika's attack
route
in the early morning of August 7, 1840. Note, this is one of the rare
mentioning
of any Indians ever attacking at night. Also, one of the few of Indians
crossing a body of water other than a creek or river to attack.
2. Dr. Perrine and
daughter
Hester walked one mile down Lower Matecumbe Key and into the forest to
visit his "Fairy Grotto" for lunch on August 4, 1840 and thought that
they
were watched by the waiting Indians.
3. Seventeen canoes
of Spanish
Seminole Indians and English-speaking negroes (not in the dialect of
the
negro) waited in this vicinity, or assembled here, waited for the Navy
vessels of war of the Florida Squadron at Tea Table Key to leave on
their
expedition to the Everglades.
4. Lt. Rodgers left
Tea Table
Key August 6, 1840 for Cape Romano in the vessel Wave with
every
man capable of doing service, except 5 men, yet including 7 or 8 who,
were
sick.
5. Chief Chekika and
his band
of 200 Indians landed here (5) August 6, 1840, during a moonlight night
and were discovered on Thursday, August 7, 1840 at about 2:00 A.M. by
James
Glass.
6. James Glass (J) informed
his neighbor,
George Beiglett, (K) who took his double barrel shotgun loaded with
mustard-seed
shot and with Glass climbed the fence in their backyard to inform Jacob
Housman (G). Enroute they found a large group of Indians lying in wait
(L). An Indian fired his flint lock musket, "which only flashed in the
pan", then Beiglett fired in their midst, at the same instant uttering
a
terrific yell. Thinking Beiglett wounded, Glass ran to Maloney's Wharf
(Q)
and hid beneath it (L-1). Meanwhile, Beiglett scaled a fence and went
in
an opposite direction to Housman's warehouse wharf (S), where he hid
his
gun under a ships mast (W-1).
[Research reveals Beiglett's real name was Augustus Frederick Beiglett, and
he was born in 1794 in Russia.]
7. Beiglett, met a sailor
from the
sloop at the end of the wharf (W) and young Joseph Sturdy, who wandered
by after being awakened by the savage yells while he slept on his
mother's
piazza (0). The three upon advice from Beiglett, who knew of the large
cistern
under Housman's warehouse (H) which could be entered by a trap-door in
the warehouse piazza (H-1) floor directly in front of the wide door
leading
into the warehouse, quietly pulled the trap door (H-2) and entered the
chest deep cistern. At dawn, after remaining there for some time,
Beiglett,
climbed out and ascended the high cupola where Indians could be seen
scattered
all over the island carrying the loot to their canoes and captured
boats.
He also saw them throwing books from Perrine's attic library (A-11). He
saw the Perrine family escaping, then returned to his hiding place.
Shortly
after his return to the cistern, the Indians set fire to the
warehouse
(H) and young Sturdy was suffocated by the dense smoke of the burning
bales
of hay. Beiglett and the sailor were greeted by flames when they raised
the trap-door, yet held their breath and dashed head-long through them
escaping with scorched hair, eyebrows and blistered arms and shoulders.
The body of the boy was later found amid the ruins in the water of the
cistern.
8. The captain and
mate from
the sloop Key West (W), docked at Housman's warehouse wharf
(S),
hearing the alarm lowered a hatch cover over the side of their vessel
as
a raft, and escaped to the schooner Medium (V) anchored off
shore.
9. Other sailors from the Key
West concealed themselves under the wharf (S-2) by building a
"breastwork"
of coral rocks before them.
10. Jacob Housman's first
impulse
on hearing the alarming cries was to descend the stairs and gather his
guns which stood near his front door. However, he was met by the
Indians
who had succeeded in breaking open the door (G). Defenseless, both
Housman
and his wife turned and fled through the back door, scaled the fences,
and in their bare feet ran across the jagged rocks on the side of the
Key
towards the Gulf Stream. They waded out as far as they could. Their two
large and valuable dogs came barking after them and Housman had to
drown
them. Swimming with the incoming tide and supporting his wife as best
he
could, he made a wide swing around the warehouse wharf (S) to his
enclosed
docks (G-1) where he kept his boats (GA & GB). Leaving his wife
clinging
to one of the outer piles of the dock (G-3), Housman was able to reach
one of his boats (GA), loosen its fastenings and pushed it ahead of him
until he reached the place where his wife was anxiously waiting.
Finally
they made their way to Tea Table Key.
11. Houseman saw one
of his
favorite slaves, Ben, with a handkerchief tied around his head and he
seemed
to be helping his captors plunder the store (E) and house (G).
Actually,
he was contacting several other slaves, including three of Charles
Howe's,
and together they succeeded in seizing a canoe and making their way to
Key Vaca. Afterwards they returned to their masters.
12. A young negress
with a
baby in her arms jumped from the second story of Housman's home and hid
among the trees and bushes of his garden. She received only a sprained
ankle. (12 and 13 hard to find - just to the right of G.)
13. Henry Goodyear, one of
Housman's
clerks, upon hearing the Indians enter Housman's home (G) ran up to the
Housman's cupola and climbed out on the roof where he lay near the
eaves
until dawn. When an Indian near the corner of the building showed no
sign
of concern, Goodyear dropped to the ground unmolested, waited there for
a few moments, then crawled towards the garden and concealed himself
there.
Later, both the negress and Goodyear from the garden saw young Henry
Perrine
as he passed Housman's store (E) and home (G) after leaving the turtle
crawl (A-2).
14. Mr. Otis, a
carpenter,
who had a room over the store (E), received a musket ball in his side
as
he opened an upper outside door to look out. He escaped by a side door
and managed to reach the other side of the island where he took an
Indian's
canoe. Because of loss of blood he was too weak to paddle so he laid in
the canoe and let it drift. The next morning he was discovered by the
people
aboard the Schooner Medium (V) as he drifted toward Lignum
Vitae
Key. Otis recovered from his wound and lived for several years
thereafter.
15. The entire John
Motte family
and grandmother Johnson (N) were also aroused by the noise of the
screaming
Indians. Fearing for their safety, they hastily and unwisely sought
concealment
in the outhouse behind their home (N1). Soon they were discovered by
the
marauding Indians who with one shot fired through the thin siding
hitting
Mr. Motte. The Indians broke the door down and Mrs. Motte was dragged
out
with her baby still in her arms. Mr. and Mrs. Motte, clasped in each
others
arms, were found later scalped. Their clothes had been burned from
their
bodies. The baby was tossed into the ocean to drown.
16. An Indian
returned to the
Motte's outhouse N1 (this was probably a kitchen and not a privy) where
Mrs. Johnson (Mrs. Motte's 70 year old mother) and the older Motte
daughter
were still hiding. Mrs. Johnson hid behind the door and was not noticed
in the dark. The daughter was seized and clubbed to death. Her
grandmother,
being sure the Indians had gone, cautiously left the outhouse and
climbed
over a high picket fence. She crawled under a neighboring vacant house
(P) and remained for many hours until flames finally drove her from
this
hiding place. Then she fled to the bathhouse (R) at the end of
Maloney's
Wharf (Q).
16A. Charles Howe and
his family
(B), after first hiding among the mulberry bushes in his garden,
were finally able to make an opening in the fence that surrounded his
home
through which they all escaped to the beach. While the Indians were
busy
ransacking the homes of Motte (N) and others (0 & P) and Housman's
store (E), the Howe's waded around to the wharf (A-4) near the
place
where the Perrine family were still in hiding (A-1). Untying a
scow,
Charles Howe was able to pole his way out to his sailboat moored
to a stake in the false channel, and sail towards Tea Table Key. In the
darkness they beat back and forth across the channel sometimes
coming
so near the island again that they almost ran the risk of
discovery.
Eventually, they succeeded in reaching the schooner Medium (V)
which
lay at anchor off Tea Table Key.
16B. Henry Perrine
Jr. wrote,
". . . Mrs. Sturdy and her daughter Mrs. Smith and child (see house O),
managed to reach the jagged rocks on the southeastern end of the
island,
and getting down in the water behind them (T), remained there in the
full
blaze of the tropic sun until after the foe had gone."
17. The noise of
falling glass,
Indian yells, rifle and musket fire awakened the Perrine family (A),
who
by now had gathered at the head of the stairs. Realizing that young
Henry
was missing, Hester returned to find him still asleep on a mattress
(A-13)
on the floor in the southeast corner of the hall. Leading him by the
hand
they all descended the stairs to the small bathroom where they sat upon
the floor. Dr. Perrine returned upstairs to get his Colt rifle (good
for
sixteen shots) and also some of the old style Allen pepper-box
six-barreled
pistols. It was then that young Henry remembered that he had used all
the
percussion caps on a recent hunting trip. As the noise of the attack
neared
the Perrines they raised the trap door (A-8) and descended the steps
into
the water below. Meanwhile, Dr. Perrine closed the trap door and placed
a chest of seeds over it. It was an open cellar except for a (A-6)
foundation
wall 13 feet in length directly under that part of the house where the
door from the hall led out onto the piazza. Cautiously they circled
this
wall and feeling their way along the outer wall, came to the passageway
(A-1) leading to the turtle crawl (A-2). They were fortunate in having
the space of a foot between the water and the planks above. Normally, a
spring high tide would have filled this passageway. Crouching, they
made
their way to the far end and sat down on the marl bottom. The water
reached
to up to their necks. Outside, an Indian waded past, another dropped a
chain into a boat, while others were seen leaping upon the wharf
directly
over their heads. As the Indians surrounded Howe's house (B), the
Perrines
could hear many voices in loud and rapid speech mingled with yells.
Suddenly
they became silent, as Dr. Perrine from his second floor window (A)
spoke
to them in Spanish - telling them he was a physician. Strangely,
they gave a shout and left the house - only to return a short time
later.
Soon they again started their yelling, and taking wood from a pile upon
the wharf (A-7), began to batter down the door and windows. As the
window
blinds were broken and the windows smashed, the Indians entered the
house.
In the pantry (A-9) they could be heard dashing the crockery on the
floor.
A voice was heard saying in English "They are all hid - the old man is
upstairs." In a few minutes the sound of battering against a heavy door
(A-15) could be heard, and a loud chorus of yells indicated the death
of
Dr. Perrine in his cupola (A-10). Over the heads of his family (A-1),
the
Indians were dragging the plunder from their home and loading it into
boats
alongside the turtle crawl (A-2). At about day break the turtles (A-16)
in the crawl splashed the water with their flippers and attracted
the attention of a lone Indian, who raised a plank and looked down into
the crawl. Being satisfied that the noise was made by turtles, he
continued
about his business. Had he looked more closely, he could probably have
seen the Perrine family in their night clothes behind the palmetto
piles.
Through a small crevice in the coral rock wall, Henry saw an Indian
wading
past. He was dressed in pantaloons and a hat. Through the turtle crawl
in the front, he saw a boat passing - loaded high with plunder.
Continued
on page 3
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