He had tended them himself and they stood a magnificent 15 feet.
Going there one morning he was shocked to find the leaves of the
plants torn to shreds and some of the stalks broken off at the ground.
He knew at once where the blame lay, and went immediately to
Hartsuff's camp where he accused the men of the outrage. They
admitted it cooly, signified no intention of making good the loss,
and gave as the only cause for their action the reason that they "just
wanted to see how old Billy would cut up." Early next morning,
Lieutenant Hartsuff and his men were fired upon.

In 1858 the Secretary of the Interior, in summing up the situation
said that the Seminoles had "completely baffled the energetic efforts of
our army to effect their subjugation and removal." Again an attempt
was made to remove them by peaceful means. This time it was more
effective. The Superintendent of the Western Seminoles, accompanied
by two assistants and 46 Indians from Arkansas, made their way to Fort
Myers. Billy Bowlegs was contacted through his niece Polly, who was
sent into the Everglades with an invitation for a "talk" with the Western
brothers. The chief appointed a place on the edge of the Everglades.
Here he met them, agreed to the terms of emigration, and gathered about
him 146 person for removal. This left about 100 Indians secreted in
remote parts of the Everglades.

Although Major General Sprague reported in 1841 that "commands
in canoes had penetrated every part of the Everglades," he was in