James Morris Stephens

Go to the Rocks James Morris Stephens

The Big Cypress is a national wildlife preserve adjoining the Everglades National Park between Naples and Miami. Before becoming the Big Cypress National Preserve in 1974, it was a 500,000- acre wilderness area privately held by the Collier family in Collier County. "Go to the Rocks" became the annual battle cry of James Morris Stephens and his relatives at the beginning of hunting season. It refers to the unusual rocky outcroppings the Glades-men would encounter by foot and in swamp buggies in order to primitive camp in the vast interior of the Big Cypress. Morris begins his description of this colorful country with his father's forays in 1935 and includes his own sixty-five years of excursions beginning in 1952.