A Look at the Region Around “the Shores of Biscayne Bay” Prior to the Decision to Extend the Railroad was Made

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By Seth H. Bramson

While much has been written regarding the extension of the Florida East Coast Railway to the shores of Biscayne Bay, with too much of it being either totally false or complete fol-de-rol (the “orange blossom myth,” a total and absolute fable being the most glaring of those, with more of that myth and its origins and debunking to be discussed in our next column) it is important that, with this year (2021) being the 125th anniversary of both the City of Miami and the railroad which built and brought the city to national prominence also celebrating its 125th year under the same name, it is now important that we begin to investigate the conditions in and of the region and what life must have been—and likely was—like prior to the railroad’s arrival.

That story begins in the Paleo-Indian era, the period before recorded time, during which several groups of native Americans roamed freely through the area, if not the region

Before we proceed with that discussion, however, we ask that the reader finally begin to realize and understand that the names of the groups of native-Americans, which may or may not have been formal “tribes,” are, like the names of the planets and celestial bodies, totally artificial monikers. Simply put, it is doubtful that those groups even thought of themselves as named entities, simply living their day to day lives in what, even then, was, for the most part, a tropical paradise.

Think of it this way: if we were ever able to land on a planet in this solar system with a manned (or womaned) space vehicle, or, for that matter, on any celestial body anywhere in the Milky Way galaxy (let’s start with one of the planets of Alpha Centuri, supposedly the closest star to us in said galaxy), do you really think or believe that there would be a sign reading welcome to Horsefeathers or Schmeggey or any other name? Of course not! And why? Because, like the original native American groups, the names given to every star and every heavenly body in the universe, are artificial names, names given by the astronomers and scientists on earth, simply as an identification mechanism, but, truly, with no real clue—none at all—as to, if that place has life, what the inhabitants—if senscient—call themselves. The point, obviously, is to get our readers to understand that, in Florida, with the exception of the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes of Indians, all of the names of the previous groups of native Americans are made up and were given by researchers and/or historians simply as a method of identifying which group or groups existed during a particular time period.

Once that fact is established we can move on to stating which groups preceded today’s two named tribes, those noted in the preceding paragraph.

While there were no few other groups in what was to become north Florida, our focus, of necessity, must be related to Southeast Florida in order to avoid attempting to name other groups which, it appears, did not venture this far south (referring to the area from approximately today’s Martin County, the seat of which is Stuart to the Florida Keys.)

Before noting the names of the three main groups, a fourth should be mentioned because the Caribe Indians apparently ventured into East Florida beginning in the 14th century, and they or their descendants continued to do so until, approximately, the late 1600s or very early 1700s. That group never settled here, but, rather, would, as flesh eaters (yes, seriously, also known as “cannibals”) on occasion, canoe (or whatever the type of vessel they used) across from someplace in the group of islands today known as the Bahamas, the most likely spot for embarkation probably today’s Bimini, given its relative proximity to the South Florida mainland, coming across to wherever it would be that they would come ashore.

They would come across, stealthily “invade,” pick out, pick off and pick up a young buck or squaw or maiden or whatever the proper terms are, bind them securely and immediately return to the island from whence they came, that young individual becoming lunch and or dinner over the next several days.

Preceding, or, possibly, concurrently with the Caribe were the Timucuan, about whom, as with the Caribe, very little is known, other than that they appear to have existed prior to the coming of the next two pre-current day tribes or groups, the Calusa and the Tequesta.

About a year ago, maybe a bit more, a letter appeared in the Miami Herald, written by my friend, Annette, claiming that Tequesta were the first inhabitants, which was complete incorrect and a few days later that paper printed my lengthy correction letter, which explained that, indeed, Tequesta came after several other groups had held the stage. Both Calusa and Tequesta, unlike the previous tribes or groups, did leave their marks, not in writings but in drawings which have been preserved by archaeologists, hence their existence was factual.

Before closing, one fact must be noted: none of those groups, just as with the humanoids known as cro-magnon man or neanderthal, simply disappeared, with another group suddenly taking its place, rather, as science has now proven, one group—the weaker—would be subsumed into the stronger, and that is what occurred with the Florida groups.

This, then, brings us to the conclusion of this “episode,” for next time we will examine the two main areas of pre- and early colonial years, with the importance of what would later become Arch Creek as well as the Miami River being the focus of that discussion.

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