A Dash Through the Everglades

This excerpt shows an entry in Alonzo Church's diary during his expedition in 1891 in the Everglades. Church explored the area and wrote a detailed account of what he saw. His entry would have been used to gain insight into life in the Everglades, and it is helpful in analyzing Hurston's novel because a great deal of the novel takes place in the Everglades. Church's account describes the exact environment that characters Janie and Tea Cake were living and working in during the early 20th century.