Edgar Watson in the Everglades

Most of my life I have been plagued by the need for more knowledge.  I will choose a topic and then go a bit crazy trying to learn all of the details. Right now, I am obsessed with Edgar Watson. 

Edgar Watson was a man with a bad reputation. He lived in the ten thousand islands at the turn of the century, when the century turned from 1899 to 1900. 

He had a bad temper and it got him in trouble repeatedly. You know, stabbings and gunfights. He was known for his good aim, not his good intentions. 

Recently, I read the book “Killing Watson” by Peter Matthiessen. My whole life I had accepted the story that Edgar was knocking off his plantation workers on payday. This book changed my perspective.  It is filled with accounts, collected from the people who knew Edgar as a part of their community.  

While definitely not a saint, Edgar was not the only criminal living on those remote mangrove islands outside of Chokoloskee. It seems more likely that he was a scapegoat for other's crimes. No first hand accounts of him murdering anyone in the Glades was ever found. 

He paid with his life for the town's collected crimes. He paid with his life for their fear. Yet, most of the residents remember him as a friend, a business man, and someone who always paid his debts. 

It gives me compassion for him and his family. How many time have we judged or been judged by rumors from the past? How has that changed our perspective and our ability to be accepting?

I highly recommend “Killing Watson” and I would love to hear the thoughts of others who have read the book.