The morning call., 1890-10-26
Legends That Have Clustered
About Georgia's Morass.
A Haunt for Refugees-Recert Explorations
Of the Swamp-Crcssed From East 10 West.
Its Islands and Its Rivers.


Indians are said to have pointed it out
as the hiding place of a remnant of the an
Gent Yamases. who fled thither before the
invading and couQuering Creeks. Many
years later tile Seminoes sought safety
there in their retreat before the advancing
whites, making it their last stronghold in
! the State. During the civil war its fast
nesses were the nesting places of swamp
angels" or deserters who preferred its damp
ami secure solitude to the roar Of battle.
| To-day it is the refuge of panthers, wolves,
| bears. deer and wild cattle, not to speak Of
aIligators, moccasins and other reptiles.
The earliest writer to speak OF this great
morass was William Bartram, the son of
john Bartram. Just ninety-nine years ago
he published q volume descriptive of his
travels in the Carolnas. Georgia and Flori-
da, devoting particular attention to the flora
of these regions. This quaint ana interest
ing old book refers to the Okefnokee as a
vast drowned swamp" called by the In
dams OuaQuaphenogau, and gives legend
relating to it current among the natives. A
much later book, Whites "Statistica of
Georgia" gives the name of the swamp as
Ecunfnocau, from ecunnau, earth" and
finocau, "quivering." These two names
and that which the swamp now bears are
manifeStly but varying transcriptions OF
the same Indian word or words.
Besides the story that the swamp had
| once been the refuge of the scattered rem-
nant of the ancient 1amases, still another
| is mentioned in Bartram'S Travels to the
effect that the Creeks believed the OkefnO.
| KEGS remote interior to be one of the most
| bliSsfui spots Of the whole earth, inhabited
by peculiar race Of Indians, whose women
were comparatively beautiful
This place, they CAIN, had once been seen
| by hunters from their tribe, who lost in the
| nterminable bpgs aud jungles, would have
| persisted had net a company of beautiful
| women suddenly appeared and rescued them.
| These mysterious creatures, called by the
/ Creek hunters daughters of The sun, pro-
Yided oranges, dates and corn cakes for the
sufferers. then urged them TO return with all
speed to their own country, because their
| husbands were mighty warriors, fierce and
cruel TO strangers. The Creek adventurous
also reported that they had got glimpse of
| the settlements of these people. situated on
| approach were fruitless. Involved in con-
| slant labyrintbs, they struggled forward
! only TO see the beautiful spot disappearing,
reappeariDg. and, as it were, flying from be-
! fore them. On hearing these reports, the
| young warriors of the Greek nation burned
with the desire to penetrate to so charming
region, but they never yet had succeeded
III So doing.
IT Is ONLY WITHIN RECENT YEARS
That this land of (Indan) poetry and en-
! Ch,ntment has opened its mysterious re-
cesSes to the eye of the mytl-dispersing
| Caucasian and so resolved Itself into Il
| commonplace swamp, remarkable only for
| lis immense size and the ext; enc difficulty
of traversing il. Instead of the blissfu,
elevated land of the Creek legend the Oke-
! finokee is now known TO contain only some
half-dozen small islands, none of them Of
| 1Aar 10 oil tsnf, hnN fln
rounding level. The most important are
Floyd's, Billy's and Blackjack, the first two
| being named for General Floyd and Billy
Bowless "a Seminole chief respectively and
| the third being famous as deSerters' aSy
| lum during the war.
| An island near the eastern extremity shows
| unmistakable evidence of more or less an
| cient Indian occupation III the way OF
| mounds, flint arrow-headS and the like. 1t
| is called the Little COw-hOuse in contradis
tnction to the Big Cuw-house, near the
| northern boundary OF the swamp, the two
taking their ungainly names from the fact
| that catte-thieyes employed them as base
| of operations before the war.
In his Travels Bartram speaks of the
| 0keiiuokee as mother of rivers" and they
! are, indeed, two considerable rivers which
take their rise within its borders. One of
| them is the ST. Mary's, which flows east
| ward into the Atlantic; the other is the fa-
nous Suwanee, which flows in a southwest
| eTly direction to the gulf.
In the first organized party Of explorers,
| which, so far as is known, ever penetrated
the swamp. the moving spirit was c. X. Pen
| deton OF Georgia anu the guide (hired at
| the moderate rate Of 80 cents day was
! one Ben Marlborough, man who had made
| himself familiar with much of the terra
| incognita while playing the ugly role of
swamp ANGEL during the war. The party
moved from the town of WaycrosS, on the
| western side, in April, 1875. but after one
weeks struggle in the boys and Jungles, dur
| ing which time all hands were merclessly
| bled by myriadS of mosquitoes, the eXpedi-
| ton was abandoned.
In the following August the same persons
made another attempt, with somewhat bet
| ter success. Dividing the party one divis-
! ion entered the swamp at Hickory Island to
the north, making further attempt to cross
| southwark 10 Floyd'S Island. Meanwhile
| Mr.. Pendleton with one companion, negro
servant and the guide, Ben Marlborough, en-
| tered the "Pockec on the south side-a long
peninsula running up the bank Of the
Suwanee River for six or eight mlles-and
| proceeded thence by trail to Billy's Island,
| where he found solitary settler, Jim Lee
by name. Joined by him the party went
forward and reached Floyd'S Island from the
| south after great hardship. Certain other
Islands were then visited and several deer
were killed, but at the expiration of two
weeks it was seen that the proper prepare
| been made.
The project had now attracted considera-
| BILE attention in the State, and The proprie-
tors of the Atlanta Constitution engaged to
support Mr.. PeDdletOn in an extensive eX-
| plUration of the swamp. The Governor Or
dered the State Geologist to accompany the
expedition, civil engineers being also pro-
| vided, and when ready to start early in No.
vember the same year the party consisted of
twenty-one men supplied with four teams
The wagons were left at camp on the more
accessible island from the west (Billy's) ami
a march was made thence
TO FLoYD's ISLAND.
Where the party was divided. One division
started northward in the direction of HEX
DRY Island. carrying only three DAYS rationS.
and as they were five days in reaching their
destination, suffered greatly from hunger
and exposure.
The route led through dense thickets of
small shrubs and trees penetrable only
where wild animals had worn narrow paths -,
| through areas overrun with the tharny trail
, ing bambO0-briar, which sometimes barred
the way i'll tangled masses, rising to height
OF ten feet; through open marshes filled
with long rushes and water lilies, the spread
ing roots of which afforded the only sup
| port to the travellers foot, a siugle misstep
being sufficient to land him up to his arm
pits in the soft ooze and mud. Little islands
| and clumps Of trees dotted these marshes or
segregated masses OF moss and drift float
ing upon mud and water. While this thick
deposit would rarely break beneath the feet,
one could see it sink and rise at every step
at distance Of twenty feet. Hence tie
name Ouaquaphenogau, Ecuniuocau, or
Okehnokee-q uiveriug earth
Alter returning to camp and recruiting
l the other division of nine persons with four
days raiions, started due east for Praders
Mill, on the st. Mary's River. They were
six days on the march, and throughout that
time failed to see even tussock Of dry land.
When night arrived they were obliged to
cut down two large trees, so managing that
they would fall and lie parallel about ten
feet apart, and bridge across with small
poles and bushes. Here they slept, doing
their cooking on the stamps Of fallen trees.
Travelling in this direction was found to be
equally as difficult as in the other, it being
often necessary to cut way through the
jungle with bush-hooks and axes, and on
one day tue party succeeded in making only
one and quarter miles.
Nevertheless, during period of six weeks
the object Of the expedition was fully at
tanned. The great mcrass was crossed from