Blue Spring page online at www.twoeggfla.com

I'm working on my Two Egg, Florida website some this week and the first of a series of new pages is now online.

It focuses on Blue Spring, a Jackson County landmark for hundreds if not thousands of years. Most people don't realize it, but one of the first places in the county described by early Spanish explorers was Blue Spring. They called it "Calutoble" or "Calistoble" and marveled at its size and the clarity of the water. One, a Franciscan missionary named Rodrigo de la Barreda, noted in 1693 that herds of buffalo grazed in the prairies surrounding the spring and that bear, deer and other animals lived in the woods.

Andrew Jackson stopped at the spring in 1818, by which time it was known as the "Big Spring" of the Chipola. His army of more than 1,000 men camped there while marching from Fort Gadsden on the Apalachicola River to Pensacola.

A major Confederate camp was located at the spring in 1862-1865 and it was also a popular place for picnics, baptisms, fishing and swimming. Today it is a well-known recreation area that is open to the public in late spring and early summer.

To visit the new page, please go to www.twoeggfla.com/bluespring.

Milly Francis and Duncan McKrimmon

This is a 19th century artist's rendering of Milly Francis, the "Creek Pocahontas," begging for the life of a captured Georgia militiamen named Duncan McKrimmon.

This is one of the stories I featured in my recent book, Two Egg, Florida: A Collection of Ghost Stories, Legends and Unusual Facts.

The incident took place during the spring of 1818. McKrimmon, a soldier in Andrew Jackson's army, wandered from Fort Gadsden on the Apalachicola River to do some fishing. He was quickly captured by several Creek warriors who were hovering around the fort to watch Jackson's movements. Taken to the village of the Prophet Josiah Francis on the Wakulla River, he was tied up and preparations began to execute him.

Milly later described how she heard shouting and ran to see what was happening, only to realize that McKrimmon was about to be killed. She pleaded with her father, the Prophet, to spare him, but was told that under Creek law, that decision must be made by the warrior who had captured him. She then took her appeal to the warrior in question who was finally convinced to spare McKrimmon on the provision that the young soldier agree to shave his head in the Creek style and become a member of the Prophet's band.

The Prophet Francis was captured and executed by Andrew Jackson a short time later and Milly and the other members of her family went up into Alabama. In 1836, she was among the Native Americans forced on the Trail of Tears to today's Oklahoma. After years of living in poverty in the Indian Territory, she was granted a pension and special medal of honor by the U.S. Congress. She died, however, before the funds and medal reached her.

If you are interested in learning more about Milly Francis, consider picking up a copy of Two Egg, Florida. It is available at Chipola River Book and Tea in downtown Marianna and can also be purchased at www.barnesandnoble.com, www.amazon.com, or ordered from my website at www.twoeggfla.com.