Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-01-02

almost covered with handsome big trees
We were all agreed that that would suit
us, and there we stopped. We made
camp on shore and lived there in the
daytime, but the women folks slept in
the boat every night for more than two
weeks. They declared they were not
afraid of snakes, but nothing would in
duce them to sleep on shore till we had
house that would keep the snakes out.
1.-THE first thing was to get a house to
shelter US, and 1 set to work to build
one. There was no mill up the river
| where we could buy boards and raft
them, and to bring them from Jackson
vile against the current was out of the
question. The only thing we could have
| was 1og-cabin, and that we must have
| as soon as possible. had never built
| Lighthouse, but had seen some, and be-
| fore we started took pains to examine
| one and see how it was built. After two
weeks work for myself and the boy our
house was done, chimney and all. Two
weeks was long time, you think? Not
| when you know what we had to do.
| ''That fall and winter we had more
time to be lazy than we ever had before
| or since, for there was nothing to do in
| the swamp the first year but girdle trees;
! and as every thing was new to us we en-
| joyed it all we could. We never knew
before what fishing was, though we
thought we did; but here all we had to
do was to sit on the river bank and in
| five minutes catch all we wanted. The
fish were a great saving to the pork bar
rel, and that fall and winter we killed a
good many wild ducks. The girls gen.
orally did the fishing and the boy and
were at other things.
1--WE could not expect to go to work in
a new place without making some mis-
take, and of course we made some.
| That winter we girdled a great many
trees, and about half our work was
thrown away. We had not learned yet
to tell good tree from bad one A
great many of the cypress trees are rot
ten at the heart, though they look all
right outside. But you can generally
tell poor one when you know how.
There are most always some light
colored spots on the bark of poor tree;
and if you take a hardwood peg you can
drive it into the spot three or four
inches. AS we did not know this we
girdled all the trees we wanted that
looked we'll, and when we afterward cut
them great many were rotten at the
heart and not good for any thing. But
4 UudO OLl lltGlO ldDOI 1OoC, dhu VIC
had plenty of trees girdled and killed to
give us good first crop
Adventures? We had some little ones
at first, but none of much account till
the spring after our arrival. The adj
venture we had in the spring, l suppose,
was not very dangerous one, but it was
unpleasant at the time. 1 must tell you
something about going into the swamp
before you can understand how it hap
pened.
''There is no tide on the Ocklawaha
river, you understand, and the state of
the water depends entirely upon the
amount of rain that falls. This differs
with the season of the year. The mi d.
summer rains raise the water through
August and September, and then it falls
again, and is generally low in October
and November. In December and Janu-
airy and February there is almost always
rain enough to keep the water high
through the winter and early spring.
Then it falls again and is mostly low in
April and May, and in June and July it
is sometimes so low that you can go all
over the swamp on foot, if you dodge
the holes and bitches.
Through the winter we always went
into the swamp in the boat, of course,
and girdled trees standing up in it. We
were fortunate enough to find natural
canal, sort of mud creek, running for
several miles into the swamp on the op-
posite side of the river from the house,
and this was the basis of all our opera
, tions. You always have to have an out
let of that sort to float the timber to the
river, where it is made into RATS. II
there is not one naturally it has to be
, made, for there is no possible way to get
the timber to the river but to float it.
? 1--WE had girdled pretty much all the
) trees we could reach from this muddy
/ creek in the winter, and early in June,
when the water was so low that large
, part of the swamp was almost dry, We
set out to make a trip some distance
, further than we could go in the boat, te
see what kind of timber we had there
t There is always water in the canals
3 even when the remainder of the SWAMP
y is dry, and we went in as far as ou
! natural canal went, perhaps mile bacl
from the river, and then left the boa
( and went ahead on foot. Fortunately
3 we had some provisions with us, for WI
, expected to be gone some days.
Travelling through the swamp, ever
| when it is dry, is slow work, stopping
3 here and there to examine a tree, anG
, often making a detour in search of
Y ditch to float it out when cut. At thu
end of the first day we were about three
r miles, should think, from the boat
v and toward the end of the afternoon w,
: found as dry spot as we could to make
4 our bed of branches on-for when we sa,
2 that the swamp is dry, that merel,
a means that it is not under water; it i
9 never dry, and the mud at least is al
b ways deep. We lighted fire and cooked
Q our supper, and after smoking our pipe
e wrapped ourselves in blankets and wen
K to sleep-for there is not much induce
ment to keep late hours in the swamp
e and we were tired.
Q ''Some time in the night was waket
o by being wet, 1 suppose-at any rate
!, both my feet were soaking and on
e hand lay in pool of water. Whereve
!. we were not raise1 above the grount
g by the boughs we were wet woke tn
o boy, and we built up the fire as we'll a
d we could with the wet wood. We wer
# ON tho hicheSt orOupd in Sipht ond h,