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The Spanish explorer, Hernando DeSoto, explored this part of Florida in 1539, and according to legend, he had his daughter Sara with him. Sara met and fell in love with a native warrior by the name of Chi Chi Okobe (pronounced Chee Chee Okobee). He was a member of the Calusa tribe, which inhabited this region at that time. Unfortunately, he contracted a fever and was gravely ill. Sara decided to remain with him and nurse him back to health, but she contracted the fever and she died. Chi Chi Okobe was grief-stricken at the loss of his love. He had her body buried out in the bay. He then sent 100 of his best warriors out to the spot where they chopped holes in the bottoms of their canoes and drowned themselves to protect her final resting place. According to the legend, when you see whitecaps on the waves in the bay, they are actually the feather headdresses of those native warriors still guarding her grave.
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