Stories of Old St. Augustine

It is believed that Salazar had relatives in St. Augustine. At any rate during his term of office (1675-1680) he was very liberal in allotting tracts of grazing land to local ranchers. For this he was repimanded by the Crown, but there is no record anyof this land ever went back to th eroyal patrimony or to the Indian chiefs who presumably had a claim to it. Succeeding governors looked sourly upon th ebureoning power of the local families, but since there was nothing they could do to break up t epower of th ecattle barons, they decided to make th best of things. After all, their soldiers could eat the beef. It was ordered that all cattle be brought to th slaughtrehouse which was establilshed in St. Augustine and a tax of one head in every ten was imposed. This did not make some ranchers hapy, so those farther west and out of th egovernor’s closerscrutiny bootlegged their beef down t eSuwannee River and sold it at higher prices elsewhere around the Caribbean. (From Mose in Secondary Literature by Amy)

But things changed. Both officers and men began to remain here as private citizens and soon there was a solid nucleus of local families, whose sons sought a way to gain wealth and security. Two governors, Luis Horruytiner and Pablo de Hita y Salazar, shose to stay on when their terms were up. In 1685 we find that Lorenze Horruytiner, who was also an officer of the garrison, was demanding more land for his cattle. The family already operated an extensive ranch along th eSt. Johns. (From Mose in Secondary Literature by Amy)

Records for 1698 and 1699 show that there were 25 ranches in the province and tax of 223 head of cattle, but it is thought that far more than 2,230 AN54 head actually grazed in Florida, since many were never reported to the tax gatherers.

In 1702 when the English invaded Florida and besieged the fort, cattle were driven into the moat and helped the garrison to weather the long attack. In the next five years rustlers from over the Georgia border and marauding Indians destroyed nearly all of the herds. (From Mose in Secondary Literature by Amy)

If the Spaniards ever swam and surfed in the ocean, there is no record of it.

It was not until the administration of Governor Diego de Rebolledo in the middle of the17th century that documentary evidence can be found proving that there were cattle ranches in Florida. He reported that an Indian revolt had flared in Timucua, resulting in the slaughter of the Spaniards herding cattle there. Between 1680 and 1702 there was a real cattle boom, which had its foundation in the changing character of life in St. Augustine. Up until then most military men assigned to St. Augustine were very unhappy about it and pulled every strong they could to attain a new post in one of the bigger capitals of Spanish America. But things changed. Both officers and men began to remain here as private citizens and soon there was a solid nucleus of local families, whose sons sought a way to gain wealth and security. Two governors, Luis Horruytiner and Pablo de Hita y Salazar, chose to stay on when their terms were up. In 1685 we find that Lorenze Horruytiner, who was also an officer of the garrison, was demanding more land for his cattle. The family already operated an extensive ranch along the St. Johns. It is believed that Salazar had relatives in St. Augustine. At any rate during his term of office (1675-1680) he was very liberal in allotting tracts of grazing land to local ranchers. For this he was reprimanded by the Crown, but there is no record any of this land ever went back to the royal patrimony or to the Indian chiefs who presumably had a claim to it. Succeeding governors looked sourly upon the burgeoning power of the local families, but since there was nothing they could do to break up the power of the cattle barons, they decided to make the best of things. After all, their soldiers could eat the beef. It was ordered that all cattle be brought to the slaughterhouse which was established in St. Augustine and a tax of one head in every ten was imposed. This did not make some ranchers happy, so those farther west and out of the governor’s closer scrutiny bootlegged their beef down the Suwannee River and sold it at higher prices elsewhere around the Caribbean. Records for 1698 and 1699 show that there were 25 ranches in the province and tax of 223 head of cattle, but it is thought that far more than 2,230 AN487 head actually grazed in Florida, since many were never reported to the tax gatherers. In 1702 when the English invaded Florida and besieged the fort, cattle were driven into the moat and helped the garrison to weather the long attack. In the next five years rustlers from over the Georgia border and marauding Indians destroyed nearly all of the herds. However, in 1740 when Oglethorpe descended on the city there was still a big ranch to the north of town on the ”Plains of Diego” (now Palm Valley). As the Englishmen drew near, 93 head were driven south and ferried to Anastasia for safekeeping. The Spaniards did not know, alas, that the British fleet would soon appear and use Anastasia Island as a site for the battery which would lob shells into town, so it is presumed that most of those 93 beeves were eaten by the sailors.

However, in 1740 when Oglethorpe descended on the city there was still a big ranch to th enorth of town on t e”Plains of Diego” (now Palm Valley). As the Englishmen drew near, 93 head were driven south and feried to Anastasia for safekeeping. The Spaniards did not know, alas, that the British fleet would soon appear and use Anastasia Island as a site for the battery which would lob shells into town, so it is presumed that most of those 93 beeves were eaten by the sailors. (From Mose in Secondary Literature by Amy)