Here in N. FL, in Jefferson County in the 1830s, the Slave Canal was
dug from the Wacissa River to the Aucilla to allow transport of goods
from the upper reaches of the Wacissa to the Gulf. The canal was
necessary because the Wacissa simply disappears into a group of streams
known as "The Warriors" into the swamp. Upstream of the canal, the
Aucilla has the odd habit of going underground at least 30 times before
flowing freely to the Gulf from Nutall Rise. Even at the time it was
dug, the canal; was in wilderness and was obviously dug by slaves under
arduous conditions passing through some of the most gawdawful swamp you
can imagine. The only high areas are midden mounds left by indians
where you can still easily find artifacts strewn over the ground.
The entrance to the Slave Canal is below the last good place to put
into the river at Goose Pasture and is very well hidden behind some
Cypress trees. If you miss it, you stand a good chance of getting lost
in the Warriors. Every time I have canoed the river, I spend some time
making sure I am actually in the canal before proceeding further. The
canal does not have much appearance of being dug except that it is deep
enough for a shallow draft boat and it looks very natural. Every time
I canoe it I think about the poor men who labored to somehow dig this
thing and I know their bones are lost in the swamp somewhere.
Now, the state of FL has chosen to dishonor the memory of those men
by trying to rename the Slave Canal to the Cotton Canal.

wrote:
Here in N. FL, in Jefferson County in the 1830s, the Slave Canal was
dug from the Wacissa River to the Aucilla to allow transport of goods
from the upper reaches of the Wacissa to the Gulf. The canal was
necessary because the Wacissa simply disappears into a group of streams
known as "The Warriors" into the swamp. Upstream of the canal, the
Aucilla has the odd habit of going underground at least 30 times before
flowing freely to the Gulf from Nutall Rise. Even at the time it was
dug, the canal; was in wilderness and was obviously dug by slaves under
arduous conditions passing through some of the most gawdawful swamp you
can imagine. The only high areas are midden mounds left by indians
where you can still easily find artifacts strewn over the ground.
The entrance to the Slave Canal is below the last good place to put
into the river at Goose Pasture and is very well hidden behind some
Cypress trees. If you miss it, you stand a good chance of getting lost
in the Warriors. Every time I have canoed the river, I spend some time
making sure I am actually in the canal before proceeding further. The
canal does not have much appearance of being dug except that it is deep
enough for a shallow draft boat and it looks very natural. Every time
I canoe it I think about the poor men who labored to somehow dig this
thing and I know their bones are lost in the swamp somewhere.
Now, the state of FL has chosen to dishonor the memory of those men
by trying to rename the Slave Canal to the Cotton Canal.

Interesting description of the boating conditions down there. Isn't the
highest point in the whole state of Florida less than 100-feet above
sea level? I thought I read that somewhere.
Are there a lot of paddlers back in the swamp, or are you pretty well
isolated when you take a canoe in there?

Don't be too concerned about the name change. It really isn't all that
PC. A truly PC name change would be "The African American Forced
Laborers Toiling for Repressive Caucasian Planters Waterway......." and
I don't think anybody except the folks who sit around thinking up PC
names would like that- it would otherwise manage to offend everybody.
Most canals seem to be named for the waterways they connect or the area
they pass through, such as the Erie Canal, Panama Canal, etc. The
Waucissa Canal, or the Acilla canal, both sound better than either the
Cotton Canal or the Slave Canal, IMO.

On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 08:39:14 -0800, chuckgould.chuck wrote:


Interesting description of the boating conditions down there. Isn't the
highest point in the whole state of Florida less than 100-feet above sea
level? I thought I read that somewhere. Are there a lot of paddlers back
in the swamp, or are you pretty well isolated when you take a canoe in
there?

Hell, Mt. Trashmore, the Miami dump, is higher than 100'. ;-) Actually, I
think the highest point in Florida is @350', but, overall, it is a damn
flat state.

Fortunately, I live in the "hilly" part of FL (Tallahassee) any the
elevation of my home is 215'.
The Wacissa/Aucilla rivers are true wilderness jewels with very little
traffic. The Wacissa is spring fed and when you are on it you feel as
if you are in some South American jungle with so much life it si
astounding. Crystal clear spring runs come in from the sides. The
springs are ideal for snorkeling. The Aucilla is an odd tannin stained
river that flows fast for a FL river and even has two sets of "rapids".
Its canoeable portion is the upper aprt as it suddenly goes
underground comes back up flows for a hundred feet and goes underground
again repeating this process many times. Hiking this Aucilla Sinks
part is really interesting (winter only due to bugs, snakes and high
water).

On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 09:10:16 -0800, wrote:

Fortunately, I live in the "hilly" part of FL (Tallahassee) any the
elevation of my home is 215'.
The Wacissa/Aucilla rivers are true wilderness jewels with very little
traffic. The Wacissa is spring fed and when you are on it you feel as if
you are in some South American jungle with so much life it si astounding.
Crystal clear spring runs come in from the sides. The springs are ideal
for snorkeling. The Aucilla is an odd tannin stained river that flows
fast for a FL river and even has two sets of "rapids".
Its canoeable portion is the upper aprt as it suddenly goes
underground comes back up flows for a hundred feet and goes underground
again repeating this process many times. Hiking this Aucilla Sinks part
is really interesting (winter only due to bugs, snakes and high water).

I've never been to that part of Florida. I can only imagine it's beauty.
I have canoed parts of the Everglades, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was
all exotic to me. Seeing a river disappear underground would be a new
experience for me. I've heard divers sometimes explore those underground
sections. It must be interesting, but a little too claustrophobic for me.

wrote in message
oups.com...

Don't be too concerned about the name change. It really isn't all that
PC. A truly PC name change would be "The African American Forced
Laborers Toiling for Repressive Caucasian Planters Waterway......." and
I don't think anybody except the folks who sit around thinking up PC
names would like that- it would otherwise manage to offend everybody.

To be historically correct you would have to change the name to "The African
American Forced Laborers Toiling for Repressive Caucasian and freed African
American Planters Waterway......." African American's owned slaves also.