Travel And yes, sometimes it was freezing cold. The Februarys of 1894 and ‘95 recorded temperature of minus 10C at Okeechobee for three days. Ice, sleet and snow killed much of the wildlife upon which the pioneers depended and many starving folks headed as far south as they could go, just for survival. This was the “Wild East”...the new Territory of Florida. Ceded to the U.S. by Spanish treaty in 1821 after 287 years of ownership, the Spanish settlers abandoned all of their livestock to this savage land, and returned to Havana in Cuba. So why were American settlers attracted to such an inhospitable place? Money! The Territory was filled with hundreds of thousands of wild Spanish cattle. They roamed the peninsula, along with wild cattle dogs and small ponies...all for the taking. Beef was very profitable outside of the Territory. A fatted cow could bring as much as a gold doubloon (1860 = $15) at the shipping port of Punta Rassa (just north of Fort Myers Beach) and the eponymous Florida Cracker (named after the crack of a whip) or Cowman Hunter was born. Dave Hunter is the award-winning author of “Along I-75” and “Along Florida’s Expressways” the quintessential guides for those driving to and in Florida. With his researcher wife, Kathy, he enjoys travelling with history, gathering unusual and mysterious local stories. The Hunters winter in Lakeland, Florida. Spanish cracker cow with six-foot horns CSANews | WINTER 2018 | 23
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