Moultrie Creek

As a strategic measure, the new reservation was confined to inland territory with no sea access. This was intended to prevent communications with Spanish Cuba, which supplied the Seminoles with powder and lead. It quickly became clear, however, that the agricultural quality of the land was so poor that the Seminoles would have to be allowed to fish on the coast just to survive. When Governor DuVal finally toured the reservation, he called it "by far the poorest and the most miserable region I ever beheld." The Florida Legislative Council feared that the terrible conditions would force upon the Seminoles "the wretched alternative of starving within their limits, or roaming among the whites, to prey upon their cattle."