Marker to honor historic Okeechobee battle site

This weekend “marks” a milestone for one of our more outlying but historically rich areas: Okeechobee County. At 11 a.m. Saturday, at the reenactment of the historic Battle of Okeechobee, a marker will be dedicated at its new spot at a new state park.

The 1837 skirmish on the north shore of the big lake is approaching its 175th anniversary.

The battle, on Christmas Day 1837, was the biggest and bloodiest fight of the Second Seminole War, one of America’s most controversial, and mostly forgotten.

At an expanse of sawgrass, chest-high water and muck, Gen. Zachary Taylor — later president — led about 1,000 U.S. soldiers and Missouri volunteers who routed several hundred Seminoles.

The new park is itself a stunning victory for forces who for decades fought to protect the site from encroaching development.

In 2006, as part of the $3 billion Florida Forever program, the state agreed to buy 145 of the 211 acres at the battlefield, which the National Trust for Historic Places had listed as one of America’s 11 most endangered historic sites.

Officials said it likely would have ended up as townhomes.

Plans include a small museum that will describe the battle and house artifacts found at the site.

While the site will host this weekend’s reenactment, it’s not yet open as a park. No structures have been built yet.

The Second Seminole War, 1835 to 1842, was the longest and most expensive the white man waged against American Indians and draws parallels to Vietnam.

Soldiers were sent far away to an inhospitable swamp to fight locals familiar with the territory, and it was a war of attrition in which three died of disease for every one killed in battle.

After the war, the Seminoles were scattered, with about 600 shipped west as part of the “Trail of Tears” and the rest vanishing into the Everglades. In 1939, West Palm Beach and Fort Pierce chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution erected a roadside marker (above) along U.S. 441 near the battlefield. In November 2011, the marker was moved to the new park site.

The Battle of Okeechobee State Park site is at 3500 S.E. 38th Ave. in Okeechobee.

Willard Steele, playing the part of Gen. Zachary Taylor who fought in the Seminole War at Okeechobee, sets up the Missouri Volunteer Flag at the battle site south of Okeechobee. (1987 Palm Beach Post staff file photo)

Tags: Glades, Native Americans, Seminole Wars, war

Scene of the 1837 Battle of Okeechobee one of America’s 11 most endangered historic sites

Some unfinished business about a corner of our region that’s rich in history:

On the first weekend in February, the north end of the big lake was the scene of a reenactment of the Battle of Okeechobee.

The Second Seminole War, from 1835 to 1842, was the longest and most expensive the white man waged against American Indians and draws many parallels to Vietnam.

It was less than popular on the home front, as soldiers were sent far away to an inhospitable swamp to fight locals familiar with the territory. And it was a war of attrition; three soldiers died of disease for every one killed in battle.

On Christmas Day 1837, the bloodiest fight of the Second Seminole War erupted in saw grass, chest-high water and muck. Gen. Zachary Taylor — later president — led about 1,000 U.S. troops and Missouri volunteers against several hundred Seminoles. Soldiers killed 14 but lost 26.

After the battle, 103 soldiers and sailors fought about 200 Seminoles on the headwaters of the Loxahatchee on Jan. 15, 1838.

Nine days later, 200 to 300 Seminoles and their black allies and 1,500 to 1,600 soldiers and Tennessee volunteers fought fiercely along the banks of the river. That event marks the end of organized resistance in the Second Seminole War.

The Seminoles were scattered, with about 600 shipped west as part of the “Trail of Tears” and the rest melting into the Everglades.

As Florida’s population exploded, the site of the battle became as much a concern as the fate of the Seminoles. For decades, advocates fought to protect the spot from encroaching development. The National Trust for Historic Places named it one of America’s 11 most endangered historic sites.

Then, in 2006, the state agreed to buy 145 acres of the 211-acre Okeechobee tract. For now, the park is open to the public only on reenactment weekend until money is found to build facilities.

In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a bronze plaque on a concrete block to mark the battle. The DAR’s Okeechobee, West Palm Beach and Fort Pierce chapters are working to have the battle’s historical marker moved into the new state park in time for the reenactment on Feb. 4, 2012, according to Susan George, American History Chair for the DAR’s Okeechobee chapter.

The battlefield site is a half mile east of Taylor Creek, off U.S. 441.

On the first weekend in February, the north shore of Lake Okeechobee is the scene of a reenactment of the Battle of Okeechobee. The site is open only on a reenactment weekend, such as the one pictured above in 2009. Local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution are working to move the battle’s historical marker in time for the 2012 reenactment. (Photo by Willis Tate)

Tags: Native Americans, Seminole Wars, war

Our local history is all over the map

Independence Day is near, and it’s a good time to reflect on the heritage of not only our nation, but our community.

For a decade, we’ve been privileged to answer your questions about historic people, places and events in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast.

But there’s been a pleasant side benefit we hadn’t envisioned when we started: Those 500-plus columns have generated a remarkable database.

Here’s more from staff researcher Michelle Quigley:

“Over the years, the Post Time column has told us how Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Hypoluxo and other places got their names.

“The columns were printed in Neighborhood Post, then compiled into a database, but we didn’t have a good way to store and display that information.

“Now we can share stories with you in a way that makes them easier to find, and more fun to browse. All the columns are on historicpalmbeach.com. Look for the “Place Names Map” link on the main menu. This feature lets you click on a map for links to place name origins. There are already 100, with more to come.

“For example, if you click on Lake Osborne you’ll find a short description of the connection to the Osborn (no ‘e’) family, among the first settlers to the area, and links to two columns with more detail about the family and how the lake had been called Metalkaoska by Native American residents.”

Tell us what you think!

Update: Our June 17 and June 24 columns on Chief Ho-Ti-Pi brought this from Jim Anderson of West Palm Beach:

“I once attended a performance of his, which was held (for lack of a better venue, I guess) at the old Lake Worth American Legion Arena on Lucerne Avenue. The arena was set up to hold boxing and/or wrestling matches as there was a ring in the center with seats on all four sides. The ‘chief’ arrived in full Indian regalia and sang to the accompaniment of an upright piano, which had been laboriously hauled up into the ring, for the performance. As I remember, Chief Ho did have a fine voice, but the event was sparsely attended. My recollection is that this took place in the late 1940s or very early ’50s. (No wrestlers attended.)”

Lake Osborne in May 1965 (Palm Beach Post file photo)

Tags: map, Native Americans, place names

Wild West roots were just a show

Last week, we met Cheyenne Chief Ho-To-Pi, actually Greek immigrant George Cutrulis. Here’s more.

He told kids they could recognize an Indian by how he walks; hands straight at his side and eyes and feet pointed the direction he’s traveling.

He said his mother’s name was Koon-Ka, or Moon Deer.

He claimed his father, Te-Ka-Ka-La — Thunderbird — had fought at the battle of Little Big Horn, where Gen. George Custer and his troops had a really bad day. And he said he’d later traveled with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show.

Had anyone done the math, Ho-To-Pi probably would have been busted. The part about his dad at Little Big Horn might have worked; it was in 1876. But Buffalo Bill, already retired, died in 1917, when Ho-Ti-Pi would have been a teen.

The chief also operated a 21-acre farm west of Lake Worth, between State Road 7 and Florida’s Turnpike.

A 1969 story said he had 23 dogs, 34 cats, eight cows, 150 chickens, a dozen turkeys and several goats. He’d gotten rid of his peacock and monkeys because they pecked visitors.

He kept a migrant workers’ camp there, and in 1959, a Puerto Rican laborer who objected to authorities removing his 13-year-old sister-in-law to a children’s home slashed the chief in the abdomen, cheek and hand.

Although it later was learned he’d immigrated after World War II, he told reporters he’d trained at conservatories starting at 13, traveled Europe, learned nine languages, knew 22 operas and 900 songs and toured across America and sang with the San Carlo Opera Company.

He said he fought for 22 months in World War I and appeared in silent films. “I recall Ho-To-Pi regaling my Cub Scout pack with Indian lore,” retired Palm Beach Post columnist Bill McGoun writes. “He was referred to then as the ‘Indian Caruso.’ A 1953 magazine article referred to him as ‘the famous Cheyenne opera singer.’’ If he ever sang in my presence, I don’t recall it.”

Chief Ho-To-Pi, actually Greek immigrant George Cutrulis, with a group of boys, discussing Indian folklore. (Palm Beach Post file photo)

Tags: Native Americans

Chief Ho-To-Pi: Greek-turned-‘Indian’ wowed kids

Question: Who was Chief Ho-To-Pi?

Answer: He said he was the last survivor of an obscure Dakotas based Cheyenne tribe. He turned out to be less bison and more bull.

But, as with all the eclectics who give Florida its unique character, does it really matter?

When he died of a heart attack in February 1973, and the funeral home checked his wallet, it was discovered he was George Cutrulis, 78, with a brother living in Athens, Greece, but no relatives in America.

It turned out Cutrulis had moved from Greece just after World War II and had lived among American Indians in Oklahoma, where he’d developed an obsession with Indian culture.

Within a few years, he made his way to South Florida, where he developed his nom de indigène, which he said translated to “Young Buffalo,” because his weight at birth was a staggering 12 pounds.

In a time before people fully wised up to this country’s horrific treatment of its indigenous peoples, the chief spoke to civic clubs, Boy and Girl Scout gatherings, and summer recreation camps at area parks, calling himself a “goodwill ambassador.”

He’d go dressed in full regalia, which presumably no one checked for accuracy. He said his headdress was 329 years old.

He called “savage” stereotypes “bunk,” telling kids that if they were nice to Indians, Indians would be nice to them, but if they treated an Indian badly, “watch out.”

The chief would wow kids with stories and “authentic” songs and dances and discussed and displayed Indian traditions, customs and crafts.

Ho-To-Pi got away with this in a time when all American Indians were lumped together. We now realize a Seminole has less in common with an Ojibwa from Minnesota than a Scotsman has with a Turk — or, in this case, a Greek. In none of the news articles is his pedigree questioned, either because reporters were too lazy or naive or because they didn’t want to be Scrooges, to mix literary metaphors.

Next week: The “Indian Caruso.”

Chief Ho-To-Pi speaks to children about American Indian culture. The chief was actually a Greek man named George Cutrulis, who, when he moved to America, landed in Oklahoma, where he developed an obsession with Indian culture. (Palm Beach Post file photo)

This photo was published in The Palm Beach Post on July 27, 1968, with this caption: ‘Youngsters at Sunset Ridge Park had a chance to hear and see a full-blooded Cheyenne Indian, Chief Ho-To-Pi, on Friday. The chief, whose name means “Young Buffalo,” has been a resident of Lake Worth for 20 years. He presented a program of Cheyenne songs, dances and stories under the sponsorship of the City Recreation Department.’

Tags: Native Americans