Where the River Runs Red

Paddling through the Florida Everglades’ Ten Thousand Islands is a breathtaking journey. The ten-mile trek that begins on Chokoloskee Island and leads to the mouth of the Lopez River can be treacherous, especially at low tide. The outgoing tidal currents are very strong, and large clumps of oyster shells lay in the shallows just below the surface. But once you clear these obstacles, you can sit back and relax as you cruise down river. Pods of bottle nose dolphin break the surface of the glassy waters, piercing the silence as you paddle toward Watson’s Island. Watson’s Island is located at the junction of the Chatham and Lopez Rivers. The only way to reach this remote destination is by water. It is hard to imagine anyone carving out an existence in the middle of the Everglades, but the early settlers who built homes here were a rugged bunch, especially Edgar Watson.

Watson was born on November 11, 1855, in Clouds Creek, South Carolina. Fleeing South Carolina as soon as he was old enough, Watson headed for the Indian Territory in the West, where he gained a certain degree of notoriety by killing Belle Starr, Queen of the Outlaws. Watson fled the West and found himself in Arkansas, where he was imprisoned for horse theft. Watson escaped prison and sought refuge from the law among the Ten Thousand Islands, where he began farming sugar cane on a forty-acre

island that he cleared by hand. He soon had a thriving business producing and selling “Island Pride” cane syrup. Through the years, Watson hired several cane workers, but many of these hired hands would never leave the Ten Thousand Islands alive. Watson frequently chose to kill his hired hands and bury them on his island instead of paying them.

One chilling account involves a couple by the name of Wally and Bess Tucker. Wally and Bess were running from their debtors in Key West and were told that there was work at the Watson place. The couple began working for Watson as cane hands and made a gruesome discovery one year after arriving on the island. Wally was working the fields when he uncovered a shallow grave containing the bodies of Ted and Zachariah, two farm hands who had demanded they be paid their back wages so they could leave the island. It had been assumed they collected their pay and moved on, but that was not the case. Terrified of the repercussions of finding the two corpses, Wally collected Bess and his meager possessions and fled the island on their tiny skiff.

Penniless, the couple eked out a meager existence on neighboring Long Man’s Key, where they subsisted on palm tops and shell fish. Outraged that the bodies had been discovered, Watson was determined to exact his revenge on the couple. Watson bought the quit-claim deed to the area of Lost Man’s Key where the couple lived and demanded they vacate his property. Wally refused, claiming he and his wife were still owed one year in back pay and that Bess was too far gone with child to travel. Late one evening, Watson rowed to the island and confronted Wally. An argument ensued, and Watson shot Wally in cold blood. Bess witnessed the murder and, fearing for her life and the life of her unborn child, ran into the mangrove swamps to hide. Watson soon found her huddled in the underbrush, cradling her swollen belly. Her white night shirt was wet and streaked with mud. She begged that her life be spared, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. Watson leveled his revolver and shot her in the head. Watson then dragged the bodies of both Wally and Bess to the shoreline and dumped them into the murky waters. Their partially eaten and bloated bodies were discovered weeks later when a skiff happened by at low tide and spotted their hands and feet sticking out of the water.

All that remains of the Watson place today is a crumbling foundation, chimney, and

cistern. The cistern is the only source of fresh water on the island and is frequented by families of raccoons and other animals. The island remains the final resting place for many of Watson’s cane workers who found themselves victims of what has been coined “Watson’s pay day.” Strange screams and unearthly sobs have been heard on the island late at night. If you choose to stop and camp on the island, your journey will continue the following day with a short eight-mile paddle to the Chatham River, past the Lopez homestead. Here you will find the foundation of the Lopez Home, a portable-toilet, and picnic benches where you can enjoy a leisurely lunch and frolic in the river’s shallow waters before heading out on the last leg of the journey. The Chatham River will lead you back to the bay where your journey began. On the way, the skies will be teaming with osprey, ibis, and bald eagles, while snook, trout, jewfish, and mackerel swim beneath you.

The Chokoloskee Loop is a trip that will be enjoyed by outdoor enthusiasts and ghost hunters alike, and provides the chance to encounter an unparalleled peace and tranquility only these majestic water ways can offer.

The short story, Escape from Watson's Island, is a historical romance inspired by the truth behind Edgar Watson, and what eventually became known as "Watson's Payday." Purchase your copy at