Cache is placed at Highlands Hammock State Park, open from 8 am until sunset 365 days a year. There is a park entrance fee, please pay at the Rangers Station. This cache is located on a trail off of the bike trail.
The Ten Thousand Islands country, including Chokoloskee, had a reputation as being a refuge for outlaws The Ed Watson story, as related by Ted Smallwood, is the best known example of that. Edgar Watson, a native of Ridge Springs, in the Saluda Division of Edgefield District, South Carolina, showed up in the Chokoloskee Bay country in the early 1880s. He had supposedly gotten into trouble in Columbia County in northern Florida, to which his parents had migrated sometime after 1870, and had then gone out to the Indian territory (later known as the Oklahoma Territory) where he allegedly killed Belle Starr, herself allegedly an outlaw. He then returned to Florida and killed a man in Arcadia, apparently in self-defense. After that Ed Watson moved to the Ten Thousand Islands area, then part of Monroe County, where he bought a claim on the Chatham Bend River and began raising vegetables.
On a trip to Key West, Watson got into an argument with Adolphus Santini and tried to cut his throat. Santini survived, but the incident cost Watson $900. After that Watson bought a claim on the Lost Man's River, also in Monroe County. A man named Tucker soon squatted on the claim and would not leave. Eventually Tucker and his nephew were found murdered, and suspicion fell on Watson. After that Watson went back to Fort White, Columbia County. While there he again became involved with bad company, and came under suspicion in the deaths of two men.
Watson returned to the Chatham Bend area and began making syrup from sugar cane. Soon Watson had several people living at his place, including a man named Dutchy Melvin, who is said to have "killed a policeman and burned a factory or two." While Watson and Melvin were in Chokoloskee, a man named Cox and someone identified only as "the Nigger" allegedly killed an old woman named Hannah Smith and a man named Walker at the Watson place. When Watson and Melvin returned, Cox and "the Nigger" allegedly killed Melvin as well. Hannah Smith's body was later found in the Chatham Bend River by some settlers and given a burial.
About this time, on October 17, 1910, a major hurricane struck the area. Ed Watson went to Fort Myers during the hurricane and tried to bring the sheriff back afterwards to arrest Cox, but the Lee County sheriff would not go out of his jurisdiction past Marco. Watson then bought some shells at Ted Smallwood's store and said he was going back to his place to kill Cox. When Watson returned to Chokoloskee a few days later a crowd met him at the landing and, after a brief standoff, killed him. The sheriff did come down to Chokoloskee after that, and took a number of Chokoloskee residents back to Fort Myers for a court session, but nothing came of it.
Peter Matthiessen fictionalized the story in his Watson trilogy (Killing Mister Watson, Lost Man's River, Bone by Bone) and retold the "Watson Legend" in Shadow Country. Matthiessen inspired the Decemberists to retell the story as "E. Watson" on their EP Long Live the King.
Florida based swamp rock & blues band MOFRO relates some of the story in a song titled "Ten Thousand Islands" from the album Lochloosa:
"In the deepest hour,
Lord times have changed,
On that black Sunday Lord 1910,
When that hurricane rolled in on us.
Now all these boys walking around,
All these boys talking big just like they was men,
But it's easy to talk so loud and proud...
Now that Mr. Watson's gone from Chatham Bend"