Mary Brickell Averts War with the Seminole, 1874:

a True Account of a Little-Known & Extraordinary Act

--Paul Hampton Crockett
Freedom's Just Another Word
for Nothing Left to Lose
--Kris Kristofferson, Me and Bobby McGee
(Note: Throughout this account, reference is made to the Seminole tribe, for simplicity and
convenience. Seminole is not essentially a tribal identity claimed by Native Americans, but a
grouping made by white people for practical purposes, describing an alliance formed by members
of several different tribes, all drawn to seek refuge in Florida during the same period in time.)

____________
IT WAS July of 1874. Mary Brickell, heart beating like a drum as she stepped mindfully
upon the uneven and rocky ground and tree roots below, cradled infant daughter Maude
in her arms as she made her way along a nearly forgotten old jungle trail deeper into the
ancient, thickly forested hammock. She was only a few minutes distant from the family
home, at Brickell Point, within the vast and unbroken span of green forest that followed
the bays shoreline all the way down to Cocoanut Grove from the rivers south bank, but
might as well have been in another world.
She walked alone, and her intended destination was a nearby encampment of hostile and
angry Seminole Indians, some known to her and others come there from all over the
State, in a common spirit of defiance and desperation. They had endured a great deal and
were near the end of their rope, and there was no place further to run.
They were preparing for all-out war.

She could not have known exactly what to expect, and had certainly been given no
guarantees as to safety, her own or the little life for which she was responsible. And
neither had any promise of safe return been made. She was perfectly aware that some
might call her insane, or suicidal.
But she had to go, even if she was not completely sure why, and had certainly not been
foolish enough, for one second, to ask for anyones permission.
The woods around her were quiet and still, in fact unusually so, yet the Native people
were almost certainly aware of her approach, having been advised far in advance by the
watchful scouts that moved through the deep woods so soundlessly, nearly invisible.
They had reported the unusual sight, and the group awaited quietly and patiently her
arrival. Some of those who had come may have glanced at one another, questioningly.
Did they say, a white woman and her baby daughter? Yes, that is what they said.
We know her. She is our friend. She is called Mary Brickell. They knew her name, of
course, but addressed her with affection and respect as Sister, in the same spirit they
addressed her husband as Chief. Yet they must have all remained puzzled. A grim
battalion of armed troops, they might expect, and were prepared for.
But why on Earth would Mary Brickell be coming here, with Maude?
_________________________

That summer, a near panic among the white settlers seemed to fill the very air, as close
and smothering as the heat. It had been only 16 years since the last of the dreadful
guerilla attacks in the Third Seminole War, when no one had been safe, and the awful
experience remained indelibly etched in the settlers memory. [To put the timeline in
perspective, if Mary Brickell was today taking her walk, the last attacks would have come
in 1998.] The wily Indians kept appearing suddenly and from out-of-nowhere, when least
expected, like vengeful ghosts bearing weapons all-too real, that meant business. They
were there only to kill, and in mere minutes, with mission accomplished, theyd
disappeared back into the Godforsaken jungle as completely as if theyd never come at
all. The terrifying scenes of carnage and bloody mayhem left behind would forever haunt
the unfortunates who first found them.
Both the killing and the surreal, sputtering militaristic responses to follow had all finally
wound down, and a fair number of the Indians been either placed in shackles and
chained, or bribed for small amounts of cash to allow themselves to be taken away to
Indian Territory, in O-kla-ho-ma or some other dismal place far, far away from
which none ever returned.
But no treaty had been signed, and the most stubborn and willful Indians were still very
much out there.
And of that the settlers of the time were certain, because they saw them all with some
frequency: heading up the Miami River toward town, in their dugout canoes laden with
hides, pelts, and plumes to trade, or walking about on the streets, and sometimes even in
the proper stores, like white people! They were hard to miss, in fact, a stately, tall, and
2

dignified people, garbed in their distinctive clothing so brilliantly colorful. The women
often wore strings of colorful beads around their necks, high enough to keep their heads
stiffly upright, and on their dresses hung decorative hammered silver coins. And every
single one of the men, it might be noted, always carried their rifles with them wherever
they went. Loaded.
____________
That summer, it had been 2 years since Mary and the children had made their
unforgettable first approach in from the Bay, on a schooner chartered in New York,
toward that most picturesque spot where William had had a spacious house built for them
by two fine carpenters brought down from back home, in Ohio, using building materials
also shipped in. (Brickell and fellow traveler Ephraim Sturtevant, an acquaintance also
living in Ohio (and the father of one Julia Tuttle) had first made the journey together
down to the wilderness of Bay Biscayne in 1870, to have a look. They both liked what
they saw, and, after considerable maneuvers clearing title, bought. Brickell acquired the
entire bay front, and much of the land from the south bank of the Miami River on down
through to Coconut Grove. He also picked up an additional 640 acres on either bank of
the New River 30 miles to the north, at Fort Lauderdale. In all, he paid $3,500. for over
2,500 acres.)
That schooner had carried William and Mary, ages 46 and 35, respectively, children
Alice, 14, Emma, 8, William, Jr., 6, Edith, 5, Charles, 3, and Belle, 2, a governess hired
to help with the children, and a housekeeper.
In a sense, the Brickells brought culture to this beautiful but utterly removed region. The
children received a fine education from the governess hired by the family in part for that
purpose, and any children of school age within practicable distance were invited to attend
"classes" without charge. In fairly short order, Brickell saw to the construction of a
simple wooden building, to serve as a store vending to fellow settlers to the basic staples
needed for their kitchens and homes, and as a trading post for the Seminole.
William Brickells trading post was of huge importance to the entire history of the region,
to follow. He was the first white man to deal with the Seminole with integrity and
respect, not hell-bent on their destruction and/or displacement, and his dealings created a
new context for non-threatening, positive interaction. He paid fairly and kept his
promises, and gained in return their staunch loyalty. The Brickells remained both good
friends to, and effective advocates for, the tribe.
_____________
The months before Mary Brickells quest had been very hard on her family. Tragically,
young Emma had quite suddenly taken ill with spinal meningitis, and died on April 4,
1874, at the age of 10. Both father and mother were devastated, but William was hit
especially hard. For reasons known only to the heart, he had always felt a special affinity
for the child and adored her unreasonably, as she had him. Something in him died, when
she did. He happened to be away on business in Key West, and so learned of the loss by
letter. A nail was driven further into his broken heart as he read in the letter that Emma

had called out for him shortly before taking her last breath. The fact was probably
mentioned to comfort him, but he was far beyond comforting, and inconsolable. He
immediately penned a reply, giving stern instruction that little Emmas body was under
no circumstances to be buried before his return. He had to say his goodbyes, forever.
In the same letter, he was also informed of the surprising news that his wife had again
given birth, on the very day of Emmas death. He had known she was pregnant, but
expected to be there for the birth. Maude arrived prematurely, but both she and her
mother were healthy and well. The attending physician opined that the early onset of
birth might have been triggered by shock and grief.
_____
SO, though the matter can be only the subject of speculation, it is possible that Mary
Brickell had indeed been mad with grief upon setting out on that noon hour to find the
war party. And considering the timing of the event, little Maude might be seen as less a
fragile burden, Marys responsibility to safeguard, than anchor keeping her spirit from
simply floating out of her body, and away, for the sadness. If Emmas loss had been
catastrophe, Maudes birth on the same day might at least be seen as a promise.
Years after the event, an adult Maude Brickell chronicled what she had learned of it. In
an excellent book by Beth Brickell (no relation), William and Mary Brickell: Founders of
Miami and Fort Lauderdale, the author outlines the prelude to the meeting, and Maude's
account of it:
Dr. Harry A. Kersey, Jr., who did extensive research about the relationship
between the Seminoles and settlers for his book Pelts, Plumes, and Hides, noted
that in 1872 the federal government considered sending a special agent to Florida
to check on reports of unrest among the Seminoles. A year later, in 1873, word
spread that the Seminoles were planning a revolt and were going to kill the
whites. Panic spread among the settlers, and they prepared to abandon their homes
and leave the area. Although the report turned out to be false, unease continued
between settlers and Indians.
Then, according to Maudes sketch, soon after her birth in 1874, the Indians
were expected to go on a rampage... Indians from all over Florida met... south of
the Brickell home... Mrs. Brickell, with Maude, a tiny infant in her arms, went out
and met the Indian Chief Big Tom Tiger and talked to him and explained to them
[that] Mr. Brickell was away and she was alone with the children. After a lengthy
conversation, the chief promised Mrs. B. to go away and never return in a war
against the whites. They never fought again.
Maude Brickell was rocked and petted by all the important Indians of her time.
She was the first white baby that many of the Indians had ever seen. The Indians
became staunch friends of the Brickells, coming to their home for food, medical
attention and advice.
________

No more is spelled out in Maudes sketch, and in any event, she had been at the time but
an infant. But the Seminole make their promises only with extreme care and in a spirit of
greatest solemnity, because they always keep them. Exactly why their unusual meeting
with Mary Brickell that day affected them so deeply as to promise an end of war, forever,
is not at all clear. Yet it is certainly a wonderful question, and rich with possibilities.
But that Mary Brickell had stepped far beyond the realm of the known, or safe, and done
so for the benefit of others, and thus in the truest and greatest sense played the part of
hero, there may be no doubt.
Thank you.