18" x 24"

acrylic on canvas

While El Sapo springs in north Florida is small, it has a big history. The native inhabitants, the Tuh-Lee Indians, were a peaceful people who lived in harmony with nature. Because of their small toad-like appearance, the Conquistadors who discovered them called them "El Sapo" which means toad. During the Spanish conquest of Florida, the Tuh-Lee were all but wiped out in a massacre at El Sapo spring. A few of their descendants surivive to this day and some, like the one in this painting, live on to tell the tale. El Sapo also means big mouth. The forest ranger in the picture has the general idea, but many of the details in his story are wrong.

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