<P> From the Glades peoples, two major nations emerged in the area: the Calusa and the Tequesta . The Calusa was the largest and most powerful nation in South Florida . It controlled fifty villages located on Florida's west coast, around Lake Okeechobee, and on the Florida Keys . Most Calusa villages were located at the mouths of rivers or on key islands . The Calusa were hunter - gatherers who lived on small game, fish, turtles, alligators, shellfish, and various plants . Most of their tools were made of bone or teeth, although sharpened reeds were also effective for hunting or war . Calusa weapons consisted of bows and arrows, atlatls, and spears . Canoes were used for transportation, and South Florida tribes often canoed through the Everglades, but rarely lived in them . Canoe trips to Cuba were also common . </P> <P> Estimated numbers of Calusa at the beginning of the Spanish occupation ranged from 4,000 to 7,000 . The society declined in power and population; by 1697 their number was estimated to be about 1,000 . In the early 18th century, the Calusa came under attack from the Yamasee to the north . They asked the Spanish for refuge in Cuba, where almost 200 died of illness . Soon they were relocated again to the Florida Keys . </P> <P> Second in power and number to the Calusa in South Florida were the Tequesta . They occupied the southeastern portion of the lower peninsula in modern - day Dade and Broward counties . Like the Calusa, the Tequesta societies centered on the mouths of rivers . Their main village was probably on the Miami River or Little River . Spanish depictions of the Tequesta state that they were greatly feared by sailors, who suspected them of torturing and killing survivors of shipwrecks . With an increasing European presence in south Florida, Native Americans from the Keys and other areas began increasing their trips to Cuba . Official permission for the immigration of Native Americans from the Florida Keys was granted by Cuban officials in 1704 . Spanish priests attempted to set up missions in 1743, but noted that the Tequesta were under assault from a neighboring tribe . When only 30 members were left, they were removed to Havana . A British surveyor in 1770 described multiple deserted villages in the region where the Tequesta lived . Common descriptions of Native Americans in Florida by 1820 used only the term "Seminoles". </P> <P> Following the demise of the Calusa and Tequesta, Native Americans in southern Florida were referred to as "Spanish Indians" in the 1740s, probably due to their friendlier relations with Spain . The Creek invaded the Florida peninsula; they conquered and assimilated what was left of pre-Columbian societies into the Creek Confederacy . They were joined by remnant Indian groups and formed the Seminole, a new tribe, by ethnogenesis . The Seminole originally settled in the northern portion of the territory . In addition, free blacks and fugitive slaves made their way to Florida, where Spain had promised slaves freedom and arms if they converted to Catholicism and pledged loyalty to Spain . These African Americans gradually created communities near those of the Seminole, and became known as the Black Seminoles . The groups acted as allies . </P>

What are the higher dryer areas of the everglades called