deputy surveyor for the Southern District (the British Colonies of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, East Florida, and West Florida). Starting in 1769, Romans surveyed the coastal waters of East Florida. Later that year, his boat sank in the Manatee River near Tampa Bay. Romans walked overland from there to St. Augustine. Well aware of the historical significance of where he walked, he later wrote that he had been "on Ferdinando Soto's tract". He outfitted another boat, at his own expense, and resumed surveying the coast in September 1770. He reached Pensacola, Florida in August 1771, having recorded depth soundings, good harbors, and sources of fresh water, and drafted coastal charts, for much of the East Florida coast. Upon reaching Pensacola, Romans was hired to survey the western part of West Florida and the lands of the Choctaws and Chickasaws. The survey was not without its dangers; the Choctaws and the Creeks were at war. Rumors even reached Mobile that Romans and his party had been killed by Creeks. Roman's survey work in West Florida continued into 1772. In Pensacola, a John Lorimer recruited Romans to explore for new plant specimens. Romans soon discovered what he believed to be true jalap, which was much in demand in Europe as a cathartic. Jalap had previously been available only from New Spain, and the prospect of a supply under British control pleased many in West Florida. It was later realized that Roman's jalap was not the Mexican jalap, but a relative in the family Convolvulaceae, probably Solanum jamesii. This "wild jalap" or "wild potato" was in the Pharmacopoeia of the United States from 1820 until 1863. Romans pursued his botanizing enthusiastically, collecting many plant specimens and seeds, and began seeking support for a plan to establish a botanical garden in West Florida. Publishing A Concise Natural History of East and West Florida In early 1773, Romans left West Florida to travel to the northern colonies. He wanted to publish his nautical charts and navigational instructions, along with material on the natural history of the Floridas that he had gathered in his surveys. He also took rare seeds and plant specimens he had collected. His ship was "over-set at sea", and the seeds and plant specimens were lost or ruined. His navigational charts and the manuscript of the book he was writing on the natural history of the Floridas were saved. Romans