In fall of 1858, he moved from Tampa Bay to Brevard County where he settled on the Sebastian River.

He lived in a palm thatch hut near the mouth of the river.

He, along with Ed Marr, hunted, fished and raised onions in a small garden.

He started to cultivate citrus, but the idea was abandoned later impatiently.

In 1885 he wrote Life and Adventures in South Florida, in which he lamented the demise of wildlife in the Indian River area.