COVER Shipping vegetables on the Florida East Coast Railway, Dania, c. 1910. Photo- graph is from the collection of the Broward County Historical Commission. Florida Historical Quarterly Volume LXIX Number 4 April 1991 THE FLORIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COPYRIGHT 1991 by the Florida Historical Society, Tampa, Florida. The Florida Historical Quarterly (ISSN 0015-4113) is published quarterly by the Florida Historical Society, Uni- versity of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, and is printed by E. O. Painter Printing Co., DeLeon Springs, Florida. Second-class postage paid at Tampa and DeLeon Springs, Florida. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Florida Historical Society, P. O. Box 290197, Tampa, FL 33687. THE FLORIDA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Samuel Proctor, Editor Canter Brown, Jr., Assistant Editor EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD David R. Colburn University of Florida Herbert J. Doherty University of Florida Michael V. Gannon University of Florida John K. Mahon University of Florida (Emeritus) Joe M. Richardson Florida State University Jerrell H. Shofner University of Central Florida Charlton W. Tebeau University of Miami (Emeritus) Correspondence concerning contributions, books for review, and all editorial matters should be addressed to the Editor, Florida Historical Quarterly, Box 14045, University Station, Gainesville, Florida 32604-2045. The Quarterly is interested in articles and documents pertaining to the history of Florida. Sources, style, footnote form, original- ity of material and interpretation, clarity of thought, and in- terest of readers are considered. All copy, including footnotes, should be double-spaced. Footnotes are to be numbered con- secutively in the text and assembled at the end of the article. Particular attention should be given to following the footnote style of the Quarterly. The author should submit an original and retain a copy for security. Authors are encouraged to submit articles in IBM WordStar 4.0, WordPerfect 5.0 or 5.1, or ASCII; please include both a hardcopy and a diskette. The Florida His- torical Society and the Editor of the Florida Historical Quarterly accept no responsibility for statements made or opinions held by authors. The Quarterly reviews books dealing with all aspects of Florida history. Books to be reviewed should be sent to the Editor to- gether with price and information on how they may be ordered. Table of Contents THE FLORIDA, ATLANTIC AND GULF CENTRAL RAILROAD, 1851-1868 Canter Brown, Jr. 411 “THE FOX GOES TO FRANCE": FLORIDA, SECRET CODES, AND THE ELECTION OF 1876 James C. Clark 430 THE EAST BIG CYPRESS CASE, 1948-1987: ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS, LAW, AND FLORIDA SEMINOLE TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY Harry A. Kersey, Jr. 457 FLORIDA LIBRARY ACQUISITIONS AND ACCESSIONS . 478 B OOK REVIEWS . 483 B OOK NOTES . 515 HISTORY NEWS . 522 DIRECTORS MEETING . 528 INDEX TO VOLUME LXIX . 535 BOOK REVIEWS LOS SOBREVIVIENTES DE LA FLORIDA: THE SURVIVORS OF THE DE SOTO EXPEDITION, by Ignacio Avellaneda reviewed by Marvin T. Smith CHARLES H. JONES, JOURNALIST AND POLITICIAN OF THE GILDED AGE, by Thomas Graham reviewed by James B. Crooks FLORIDA PORTRAIT: A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FLORIDA, by Jerrell Shofner reviewed by William M. Goza THRILLS, CHILLS,& SPILLS - A PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF EARLY AVIA- TION ON THE WORLD'S MOST BIZARRE AIRPORT - THE BEACH AT DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA, by Dick and Yvonne Punnett reviewed by John P. Ingle, Jr. FLORIDA LIGHTHOUSES, by Kevin M. McCarthy GREAT AMERICAN LIGHTHOUSES, by F. Ross Holland, Jr. reviewed by Leland M. Hawes, Jr. THE JUAN PARDO EXPEDITIONS: EXPLORATION OF THE CAROLINAS AND TENNESSEE, 1566-1568, by Charles Hudson reviewed by Vernon James Knight, Jr. A NEW FACE ON THE COUNTRYSIDE: INDIANS, COLONISTS, AND SLAVES IN SOUTH ATLANTIC FORESTS, 1500-1800, by Timothy Silver reviewed by John S. Otto THE INDIANS NEW WORLD: CATAWBAS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS FROM EUROPEAN CONTACT THROUGH THE ERA OF REMOVAL, by James H. Merrell reviewed by James H. O’Donnell III CREEK INDIAN HISTORY: A HISTORICAL NARRATIVE OF THE GENEALOGY, TRADITIONS AND DOWNFALL OF THE ISPOCOGA OR CREEK INDIAN TRIBE OF INDIANS, by George Stiggins reviewed by John K. Mahon SLAVE LAW IN THE AMERICAS, by Alan Watson reviewed by Herbert Aptheker THE FORMATION OF A PLANTER ELITE: JONATHAN BRYAN AND THE SOUTH- ERN COLONIAL FRONTIER, by Alan Gallay reviewed by Kenneth Coleman A REBEL CAME HOME: THE DIARY AND LETTERS OF FLORIDE CLEMSON, 1863-66, edited by Ernest Lander and Charles McGee reviewed by James E. Kibler, Jr. CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS, by Reid Mitchell reviewed by William Nulty BLOODY ROADS SOUTH: THE WILDERNESS TO COLD HARBOR, MAY-JUNE, 1864, by Noah Andre Trudeau reviewed by James L. McDonough CIVIL WARS: WOMEN AND THE CRISIS OF SOUTHERN NATIONALISM, by George C. Rable reviewed by D’Ann Campbell THE DISAPPEARING SOUTH? STUDIES IN REGIONAL CHANGE AND CON- TINUITY, edited by Robert P. Steed, Laurence W. Moreland, and Tod A. Baker reviewed by Robert H. Zieger BLACK, WHITE, AND SOUTHERN: RACE RELATIONS AND SOUTHERN CUL- TURE, 1940 TO THE PRESENT, by David R. Goldfield reviewed by Stephen J. Whitfield CARNIVAL, AMERICAN STYLE: MARDI GRAS AT NEW ORLEANS AND MOBILE, by Samuel Kinser reviewed by Robert E. Snyder THE FLORIDA, ATLANTIC AND GULF CENTRAL RAILROAD, 1851-1868 by C ANTER B ROWN , J R . HE role of the Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Central Railroad T (FA&GC) in Florida’s development and politics, during the period beginning with the line’s incorporation in 1851 and lasting until its initial forced sale in 1868, was substantial and contro- versial. While the sixty-mile line was smaller than either the Pen- sacola and Georgia Railroad (P&G) or the Florida Railroad (FRR), its eastern terminus was Jacksonville which, only a village in 1851, rapidly developed into the principal port on Florida’s Atlantic coast. Equally propitious, its western end lay at Lake City on the edge of Florida’s rich plantation belt. The FRR’s ter- minus at Fernandina could not compare in potential to Jackson- ville, and the P&G needed access to the latter port for the trans- shipment of cotton and other goods. Knowledge of the roles of law and of public agencies as they impacted on Florida’s railroads and, specifically, the FA&GC is slight. Sources for the history of Florida’s railroads contain ref- erences to the passage of laws, court decisions, and administrative actions; they do little, however, to analyze or explain the dynamics and implications of those actions. An examination of the experience of the FA&GC offers a glimpse of those forces at play and casts light upon processes, events, and personalities key to any understanding of nineteenth-century Florida. By the mid-1800s Florida’s success at railroad building had been minimal. Though several lines had been projected, a dearth of capital, sparse settlement, and a lack of governmental support had combined to postpone construction. In 1850, only a single road in the state could be judged a success. That line, which ran Canter Brown, Jr., is a doctoral student, Department of History, University of Florida. The author wishes to express his appreciation for the encour- agement and assistance given him by Dr. Kermit L. Hall of the Department of History, University of Florida; Joe Knetsch of the Florida Department of Natural Resources; and David Coles of the Florida State Archives. [411] 412 F LORIDA H ISTORICAL Q UARTERLY the twenty-three miles from Tallahassee to the Gulf port of St. Marks, was remote from the increasingly populous areas of the state and offered no possibility of a vital Atlantic Ocean-Gulf of Mexico connection.1 Such an Atlantic-Gulf railroad link was a subject of consider- able interest to Floridians in the 1840s. Following statehood in 1845 that interest was expressed in a growing sentiment for legis- lative action to spur the construction of a transpeninsular line. United States Senator David Levy Yulee was the first to capitalize on the plan when, in 1849, he secured incorporation of the At- lantic and Gulf Railroad. Yulee’s success was not hailed by everyone, and it quickly provoked others to action.2 Although Yulee in 1849 was Florida’s most powerful Demo- crat, the elections of 1848 resulted in control of the state legisla- ture by Whigs and the election of Thomas Brown, a Whig, as governor.3 One center of Whig strength in the state was Jackson- ville. Among its leaders were individuals determined that, if an Atlantic to Gulf railroad were to be built, it should be controlled by themselves and their allies. They also believed that the line’s eastern terminus should be Jacksonville.4 Plans for a Jacksonville-based railroad developed slowly, and before they could be presented to the legislature elections in Oc- tober 1850 resulted in Democratic control of that body by a nar- row majority. Governor Brown remained in office, however, and opened the legislative session in November with a call for an overall state system of railroads and a board of internal improvement dominated by Whiggish public officials and ap- pointees. Had that action not gotten the assembly’s attention, Brown’s next action certainly did. He vetoed a Yulee-backed bill aimed at increasing the capitalization and powers of the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad. His message of support for a Jacksonville- based, Whig-controlled line was clear. Within two weeks after the veto, the legislature passed and the governor signed the char- ter of the Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Central Railroad.5 1. George W. Pettengill, Jr., The Story of Florida Railroads, 1834-1903 (Boston, 1952), 8. 2. Arthur W. Thompson, “The Railroad Background of the Florida Senato- rial Election of 1851,” Florida Historical Quarterly 31 (January 1953), 185. 3. Herbert J. Doherty, The Whigs of Florida, 1845-1854 (Gainesville, 1959), 30-31. 4. Thompson, “Railroad Background,” 187.