Once upon a time a little girl named Ruthie Rich lived in a magical land of swaying Palm trees, golden-sand beaches, big pink Flamingo birds, red hibiscus flowers and Seminole Indians who wrestled alligators. This land was named Miami, Florida. It was located near the bottom of a long thumb of land (called a Peninsula) at the South Eastern edge of the United States of America. The Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream run along the whole Eastern shore of Florida. The Gulf Stream is always warm and so is the Atlantic Ocean running beside it. Ruthie liked to swim in the warm water. The most fun was floating on her back over the high waves. They made her stomach thrill on the slide down.
Seminole Indians lived near the Miami River and wore colorful shirts and dresses. The clothes were sewn together by the women, who wore their hair as a sunshade for their eyes. The shirts and dresses were made of tiny one-inch pieces of cloth, sewn in lines and looked very pretty. To entertain tourists (visitors) to Miami, the young Seminole men wrestled alligators. Alligators are very dangerous and their tails are very strong. One time an alligator bit an Indian boy’s arm and he wore a bandage for a long time. Somehow the Seminoles knew when a big storm was coming. People knew that when they moved inland on their little boats – down the Miami River into the Everglades – that a storm was coming. It meant DANGER!
One day five-year old Ruthie and her three- year old brother, Clarence, were doing cartwheels in front of their small wooden house – one of many in Magic City Tourist Camps, in Lemon City section of Miami, when suddenly a strong wind began to blow! Ruthie’s short brown hair whipped in all directions and the sand around their home blew into her eyes. The sky began to turn dark gray.
“Go in the house!” shouted Emma, Ruthie’s Mother, as she hurried down the dirt road with groceries she had purchased from a nearby store.
“A waterspout is coming!! HURRY!!” Emma screamed.
They all looked up at the sky and saw a wide, dark-gray whirling ball with a narrow tail dangling almost to the ground. It was whirling toward them from the south. Lowell, Ruthie’s Dad, rushed Ruthie and Clarence into the house. Emma was right behind them and slammed the door closed, even though it took all her strength to fight the wind. She put the children on the bed and covered them with a blanket.
“Stay under the blanket and everything will be all right.” Emma said calmly. She didn’t seem to be afraid, so Ruthie wasn’t either.
The fury of the wind and rain blew against the little house, making it tremble. The rain banged on the roof like hard rocks.
“Lowell, come help me hold the door shut! It’s about to blow in!” Ruthie heard Emma shout. It was dark and warm under the blanket. The roof made a loud creaking sound. Suddenly Ruthie felt a hard slap as the wind hit her and Clarence. The creaking sound screeched like wood coming apart. Was it the roof? Then her Dad grabbed her in the blanket and Emma grabbed Clarence in one. They braved the 120 mph winds and crossed the dirt road to their neighbor’s home. Many other people had gone there also, hoping for safety.
A big “BOOM” sounded. The roof on Ruthie’s home went flying off into the sky; it’s timbers tearing apart like matchsticks. (Later people learned to open a window on the leeward side to prevent that. “Leeward” is the side where the wind is NOT blowing from). Ruthie’s home and everything in it was completely blown away. Even their car disappeared in the whirling wind and rain. (Months later a pair of scissors was found buried in the sand – all which remained of their possessions. Emma had only that day unpacked her treasured cut-glassware.
Suddenly everyone slid to a corner of the room of the neighbor’s house – then to another corner. The house was blowing off the foundation!
“Get out!” someone shouted.
Once again, Ruthie was under a blanket carried by her Dad. His Mom was carrying Clarence. Even under the blankets, the driving rain felt like little rocks stinging their faces. Ruthie wanted to cry – it hurt! How much more it must have hurt their parents, who had no blankets.
“Watch out, Emma!” Lowell shouted. “A big piece of corrugated metal roofing is blowing toward you.” (Corrugated is up and down curves)
“Can you get up?” Lowell asked. Emma had fallen on a 2” by 4” piece of wood, but she and Clarence were able to go on. The sky was dark from the rain clouds.
After battling the raging wind and rain for a long time, they arrived at Schindler’s Dry Goods Store. It was the only concrete building in the area, and the only one able to withstand the hurricane. Sproul’s Drug Store shared the building.
Ruthie and Clarence were shivering with cold from their wet clothes. Emma asked Mrs. Schindler to let her use some of the cloth material she sold in the store, but Mrs. Schindler said “No.” Many other people had taken shelter in the store also. Emma noticed that Ruthie and Clarence were getting a fever, and felt very upset with Mrs. Schindler for not sharing her dry material.
After several hours the hurricane stopped and there was a great calm – even the sun shone. Sirens sounded and an ambulance pulled up. Ruthie and Clarence were put inside the ambulance on a bed called a gurney. It has legs that fold under so it can fit inside the ambulance. Emma tried to get inside also, but the ambulance driver said “No,” closed the doors and drove off, leaving Emma crying and running after the ambulance to be with her children.
Ruthie and Clarence had diphtheria from being wet so long. They were put in the same hospital room. It had a big window. Ruthie said she saw sheep grazing on the lawn outside her window, but there were none – her high fever made her delirious (imagine things); – but she never forgot those sheep!
Ruthie felt so sad for Clarence when the nurse came in daily to cut the scabs off the sores on his body. They were called “Florida Sores.” Someone said playing in the sandy ground where cattle had been before the tourist camp was built caused it.
After three weeks, Ruthie and Clarence were overjoyed to see their Mom. Emma had volunteered to care for 9 children, including Ruth and Clarence. They spent a lot of time in a sunny room, with lots of windows. After 2 weeks, the family found themselves in the lobby of a hotel in downtown Miami. Everyone sat on the floor, around the room. The Salvation Army gave everyone clothes, and hardtack to eat. Hardtack is a very large, round, hard biscuit about one inch thick. The children also got a small cup of milk.
People talked about the hurricane. Ruthie learned that a hurricane turns in a circle and that in the middle is “the eye” – a quiet, sunny “hole.” Once the eye passes, the wind comes from the opposite side of the hurricane, blowing in the opposite direction. They told of people who drove their cars on to the Causeway (a dirt-road bridge that has been paved) to see the huge waves. When the other side of the hurricane hit, they and their cars were blown into the water and they all drowned.
Large ships docked at Miami and during a hurricane a huge Ocean Liner was blown up onto the lawn of Biscayne Bay Park. It was turned into an Aquarium, and people enjoyed watching starfish, coral, and beautifully colored fish – yellow, blue, orange, and many other colors. Huge four- foot to six- foot Sawfish and Marlin (like Tuna Fish) were caught. Fishing for large fish is quite a tourist attraction.
Homes were rebuilt and Ruthie and her family once again lived in a house in Lemon City Tourist Camp. Years later, houses were built to withstand a hurricane. One thing remains as a witness – the bent Coconut Palm Trees can still be seen everywhere to attest to the strength and viciousness of a hurricane!
Because of her Mom and Dad’s courage, Ruthie has never been afraid of hurricanes. You don’t have to be afraid either. Just obey your Mommy and Daddy because they love you and will help you in any way they can. Give them a great big hug every day to let them know that you love them. They’ll be so happy!
Remember that you also have a Heavenly Father who loves you and protects you. Even if Mommy and Daddy aren’t with you, you will NEVER be alone because He cares about you and is always with you in your heart. He will help you. You can show love to Him by saying your prayers and by being good, especially to others. Always trust Him to guide your life to good!
FOOTNOTE: The Seminole Native American Indian Nation is the only tribe that does not have citizenship I the United States of America. They eluded capture by hiding in the swamps of Georgia and in the Everglades of Southern Florida. In the 1920’s era, the Seminoles survived in the Everglades during hurricanes.
photo George Catlin. Lithograph. New York, 1838
SEMINOLES
In the middle of the 18th Century, North Florida was a haven for fugitive bands of Creeks and other Southern Tribes of Indians – including a Oconee, Apalachiocola, Hitchiti, Yamasee, and Yuchi. Intermarriage produced a New Nation, the Seminole; but the arrival of the Red Sticks (Creeks against America in the War of 1812 with Britain) put Red Sticks in villages against America. Red Sticks tripled the population and gave the tribe a distinctly Creek character. President Jackson chased them and the 1832 treaty provided for Seminole removal west of the Mississippi, causing the 2nd Seminole War (7 years). Seminoles pushed into impenetrable swamps of Everglades. Any Seminoles who surrendered were sent west in small bands. In 1842 the United States agreed to permit a few hundred holdouts to remain in Florida where some descendants still live.
Osceola was the most elusive Indian Leader in the 2nd Seminole War. During an Armistice in May 1837, Osceola was painted by an artist in his Seminole dress – buttoned leggings and ruffled shirt. Crescent shaped pendants of silver hung about his neck, and Ostrich plumes adorned his cloth turban. Failing to capture him, they ran up a flag of truce in treachery and seized him in October 1837. The following January he died in prison, but the war lasted four more years.
From the book “American Heritage Book of Indians” published by Simon & Schuster