The only sounds are crickets and running water from the spillway. Otherwise, the main impression of the swamp at night is deep silence. Before dawn, the woods beside the ditch are black. There's about 300 yards between the campground and the lake. Suddenly bright red eyes catch the beams of a flashlight, then disappear.
Trees groan as they rub together.
Out on the vast lake, stars pierce the night sky. Ghostly shapes of bald cypress trees glide past. Legend has it that an Indian maiden who died just before her wedding now paddles her white canoe, searching for her lover by firefly light. But myth unites them. The story blends with various theories about how Lake Drummond was formed, including a direct hit by a meteorite.