The Indian Key Massacre: Survival, Salvagers, and Spanish Indians

Festival Season was a whirlwind! Florida Seminole Tourism has had a blast the last few months featuring the best and most exciting events, demonstrations, and music available at this year’s three powerhouse “Winter Festival Season” events: Seminole Tribal Fair & Pow Wow, the Big Cypress Indigenous Arts and Music Festival, and Brighton Field Day Festival & Rodeo. Mark your calendars for next year; you won’t want to miss out!

Now that festival season is done for another year, we are getting back to our regularly scheduled programming, sharing Seminole history, tourism, and culture. This week, we are looking at a Seminole Space with a surprising history: the small, 11-acre island of Indian Key. Located off Islamorada is South Florida, Indian Key shares a brief, but impactful, history with Seminoles during the Seminole War period.

Pre-Historic Occupation at Indian Key

Although not the main focus of today’s story, Indian Key also holds a connection with Seminole ancestor tribes. Seminole ancestor tribes, most likely the Calusa or the Tequesta, have been visiting Indian Key since around 800 A. D. Although the connection to a particular tribe has not been explored, it is important to note that Indian Key, like many of the keys directly off the coast, have a long history of Native use and occupation.

 

A Wrecker with a Vision

Jacob Housman, from Key West, bought Indian Key in 1831. He proceeded to utilize the island to build his wreckage and salvage empire. Prior to this, the island had a transient population of around 50 people: mostly salvagers, wrecking crews, fishermen, and turtlers. At this time in South Florida, wrecking and salvage cargo crews were incredibly lucrative, profiting off the many shipwrecks.

Housman hoped to compete with the wrecking monopolies of Key West. He would go on to do so in any way possible. Known for his less than savory business practices, Housman was often warring with other salvage crews. He was “known far and near as an enterprising, adventurous, and unscrupulous man-as a bold wrecker and the autocratic proprietor of Indian Key.” (Dodd 1948)

During his time on Indian Key, he would make numerous improvements to the island. He used his less than scrupulous earnings from his wrecking business. He “neatly laid off the island into streets and squares…built himself ‘a large and elegant mansion,’ erected another large building for use as a hotel and constructed a number of smaller houses for the families of his crews.” Housman also “extended three substantial wharves out to the channels on the north and south of the key. He had several cisterns cut in solid rock to store rainwater, and laboriously brought topsoil from a distance to make gardens in which subtropical fruits and flowers flourished.” (Dodd 1948)

It is estimated that by 1834, he had spent over $40,000 on improvements to the tiny island. In essence, Housman built his own empire on the tiny key. In 1836, continuously chafing with Key West, Housman had the Legislative Council establish Indian Key as the first county seat for Dade County. This would be part of his effort to gain independence from Key West.

 

Dr. Henry Perrine

Dr. Henry Perrine and his family moved to Indian Key from Mexico in 1838. Perrine moved to Indian Key to avoid the turmoil of the Second Seminole War. He was interested in growing and creating a business with tropical plants. While there, Perrine and his family were waiting for a land grant approval from Congress, where he was supposed to be allotted a number of acres in South Florida. Around this time, Housman’s fortunes were declining.

Plagued by numerous court case losses, as well as the loss of his wrecking license, the late 1830s were a tumultuous time both on Indian Key and on the mainland of Florida. Florida was again embroiled in conflict, and in full swing of the Second Seminole War. The Dade Massacre would spark the start of the Second Seminole War in 1835. Opportunistic businessmen like Housman and Perrine, who both would profit off Indian Removal though land, were just two of many who would, inadvertently or not, fan the flames of war.

Emboldened by the Indian Removal Act, the U.S. Army was conducting mass removals of Seminoles from their homelands. The remaining dissenters were pushed further and further into the Everglades to evade capture, and the lands sold or allotted to American businessmen, farmers, and opportunists. This also put significant pressure on their resources; as bounties were also offered on Seminoles, it was often unsafe to trade with Americans. Although under significant pressure, Seminoles were showing fierce opposition to U.S. forces, demonstrating their might through guerrilla warfare tactics. As the Second Seminole War wore on, Seminoles became increasingly desperate for supplies, as they fought for their families, their homes, and their lives.

 

 

The Indian Key “Massacre”

Accounts of the attack show that on August 7, 1840, a band of between 60 and 130 Seminole warriors came ashore, with the intent to destroy the town and appropriate the storehouse. Due to Housman’s wrecking empire, it was well known to be well-stocked  and also included fresh water and other valuable resources.

Led by Chakaika, the group were identified as Spanish Indians, a band within the Seminoles of the time. The number of Americans who perished in the attack is unknown; accounts vary from as few as 6 to as many as 18. While Housman would survive the attack. Dr. Henry Perrine would not. Almost all of the structures on Indian Key were burned to the ground.

In a Seminole Tribune article about Indian Key, Brad Bertelli, the curator at the Keys History & Discovery Center states that: “Indian Key’s significance to the Seminole War is that the island demonstrates the desperate nature of the Indians and the steps they were willing to take to fight for what they believed.” Records show that Chakaika and his band would carry off tons of loot – “as many as 28 canoes and six of Housman’s boats filled with their bounty.”

During the raid, the Seminoles “removed large quantities of goods from the store and houses, carrying loads in their canoes and in several boats captured on the Key…Among the loot were four kegs of powder, which were later turned over to the custody of the Seminole chiefs in the Big Cypress….” (Sturtevant 1953)

In the accounts, it is also apparent that “the main objective seems to have been the well-stocked store; the Indians concentrated on looting, rather than searching out and killing the inhabitants.” (Sturtevant 1953)

 

After the Attack

It is important to note that the raid was also considered a massive embarrassment to the U.S. Navy, who had a depot only about a mile away at Tea Table Key. For the Seminoles, this was a wartime raid, and an act of violent resistance to the oppression of the United States. That being said, although there were recorded deaths, the purpose of the raid itself was to commandeer supplies for the resistance.

After the attack, Indian Key would no longer support the same level of residents ever again. Eventually, Chakiaka and his band would also be captured. Lt. Col. William Harney of the U.S. Army would hang Chakaika and his men only a few months later, escalating the violence to a new fever pitch.

Some records show that Abiaka (Sam Jones) in particular was enraged by Chakiaka’s death, discovering the bodies only a few days later. Abiaka and Chakiaka had both had a hand in a raid against Harney in 1839, who took particularly cruel vengeance against Chakiaka. Abiaka and the Big Cypress Seminoles “declared eternal hostility and cruelty to the whites,” with Abiaka saying, “We have given them heretofore, when prisoners, a decent death, and shot them instead of hanging them like a dog.” (Sturtevant 1953)

 

Who were the “Spanish Indians”?

Through many historic records, the Seminoles who attacked Indian Key on August 7, 1840, are referred to as “Spanish Indians.” But what does this mean? In the same Seminole Tribune article linked above, Dave Scheidecker, Research Coordinator for the Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) explains the term. “The interesting thing about [the attack] is the group that was involved [was] under the leadership of Chakaika,” Scheidecker shares. A fierce Seminole warrior, Chakaika and his group was part of a coalition that were the Seminole at the time. But there were many individual bands within the “Seminole” during this period, including – the Miccosukee and the Cow Creek, to the Tallahassee and the Black Seminole.  This group was named “Spanish Indians.”

“There’s some evidence that this was a group with direct ties to either the Calusa or the Tequesta, survivors of them who had joined with the Seminole,” Scheidecker said. “There’s also evidence that this group had a lot of Spanish blood and were closer in culture to the Spanish.”

Scheidecker also explained that there is evidence that they were fishermen, who regularly travelled between Cuba and Florida. “Given the circumstances of Spain losing Florida (in 1819), there’s certainly good reason for them to have sided with the Seminole. It’s also known that the Seminole kept up trade, and it’s possible the Spanish Indians were the link to Cuba for the Tribe. It also explains why they would have good knowledge of Indian Key and the stores there,” Scheidecker said.

 

Indian Key Historic State Park

The State of Florida purchased the tiny history-packed key in 1971, where it became the Indian Key Historic State Park. Today, visitors can stop by the 11-acre key to swim, snorkel, fish, hike, and sunbathe. It is accessible only by kayak, canoe or paddleboard. Hurricane Irma damaged the boat dock in 2021, and it has not been repaired. Kayaking is a popular option for making the half-mile offshore trek out to the key. Kayak rentals can be found at Robbie’s Marina or Backcountry Cowboys.

If you plan to visit, make sure you’re taking your trip during high tide! This will make it significantly easier to glide over the shallow seagrass beds. There is only one authorized kayak landing on site, so keep a sharp eye for the posted signage. It costs $2.50 per person to access the key, and fees can be paid online or at an iron lock box at the kayak launch. Indian Key Historic State Park does feature an interpretive exhibit, as well as remnants of stone structures.

Located about 4 miles away on Islamorada, the Florida Keys History and Discovery Center is a great place to start learning about Indian Key before you paddle out. Their main mission is to educate on the long history associated with the Upper Key, which includes exhibits on “Legends of the Line, First People, Spanish Treasure Fleets, Pirates/Wreckers/Salvagers, Indian Key, Henry Flagler’s Over-Sea Railway, Stories of the Upper Keys and 1935 Labor Day Hurricane, as well as the unique coral reef ecosystem via three aquariums.” The 7,500 square foot museum and learning center is open Wednesdays through Sundays, 10:00 am through 5:00 pm.

 

Additional Sources

Dodd, Dorothy (1948). “Jacob Housman of Indian Key” (PDF). Tequesta. 8: 3–20 – via Digital Collections Florida International University.

Sturtevant, William C. (1953). “Chakaika and the ‘Spanish Indians’” (PDF). Tequesta. 13: 1-40. Via Digital Collections Florida International University.

 

Author Bio

Originally from Washington state, Deanna Butler received her BA in Archaeological Sciences from the University of Washington in 2014. Deanna moved to Florida in 2016. Soon, she began working for the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office. Deanna was the THPO’s Archaeological Collections Assistant from 2017-2021. While at the THPO, Deanna worked to preserve, support, and process the Tribe’s archaeological collection. She often wrote the popular Artifact of the Month series and worked on many community and educational outreach programs. She lives in Lakeland, FL with her husband, two sons, and dog.