Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1890-09-26
LIFE IN THE BIG SWAMP.


The prairie land. wkich covers n con-
siderable port. oi the Okcfenokee
3 !,-, - i very remarkable forma-
ton, and is, | am told. peculiar TO this
swamp. Ii is open land. entirely free
from timber, and stretching away As
far as the eye can reach in every d.
rcciion. 1t has E,u>l OF the character
Is; = of a hurh ir'and sea. except the
w, J ,-.srrlscd here and there
....s huge prairie are small patches
OF high dry ground, of variable size
and heavily tiu:acrcd. called cow.
houses. am unable to ascertain the
propricty of HIS name. unless it be
thai the cattle, deer, and other animals
seek these places for shelter and to get
out Of the water. The surface of these
prairieS is covered with a deposit of de-
cayed vegetation that has been ac-
cumulatinT fnr centuries. and is called
muck. This varies in thickness from
four to ten feet with water beneath.
and below the water sand. This
sin ,.u!ar formation givcs to the swamp
iiS name Of Trembling Earth. 1t will
support the weight of the average man
- IN h' - itipN oiiN Dul IL lt
pauscs an instant he commences to
sink, and may 90 I ~ouSh to his waist
OF over his head. every step the
water oozes up aroU ID the feet. while
tie muck will trem..c and CULVER for
yards around
There is somethii:-, grand and even
sublime tc the visitor in the silent vast
ness of this prairie formation. 1t
stretches away h@fr:e the eye in every
direction uutil only limited by the
horizon. its perfect stiffness only
broken by the occasional below of
some huge alligator, or the far distant
scream of some unknown bird. Here
and there can he seen the track left be-
hind by some hunter. where possibly
years ago lie had laboriously poled his
caioc along in pursuit of game, the
path as distinct and fresh now as if
made only yesterday. All around fish
of endless species and sizes can be seen
swimming and darting about. while
not infrequently the eye may fall upon
some immense alligator or snake sun.
ming himself upon the surface of the
muck and water or slowly sinking out
OF sight as soon as he is discovered.
This description conveys a slight but
at best very imperfect idea of the
prairie land Of this swamp.
Upon the island where we are at
present encamped are living two
families. with the aged father named
Cheshire. The old gentleman is nearly
80 years of age. and has spent thirty
odd years of his life in this spot. At
the time Of the expedition sent through
the swamp by the Constitution he acted
as guide. and is full of "reminiscences
of that trip. He is a wonderful fisher
man. and indeed calls himself the King
of the swamp. to which position he
was duly appointed and commissioned
by DR.. Little. the State geologist. The
two sons of Mr.. Cheshire have their
families here. The men attempt to
cultivate small crops, but spend most
OF their time hunting. Their revenue
is almost entirely derived from the sale
of hides of alligators, deer and bears.
The quantity Of these that they destroy
and many of their stories of hunting
adventures are almost incredible.
Think of a hunter shooting down four
deer with rifle. one after another,
and without moving from one spot.
In several of the lakes that are thickly
interpreted throughout this prairie
the alligators are so numerous and
fierce that they will attack man in a
boat as soon as he appears among them,
and shooting them by night. which is
the way they are commonly killed. Is
sometimes attended with no little
danger.
The entire armament of the Cheshire
family consists of one ten gauge. ten
pound d0uble-barrelled Remington
shotgun and two Winchester rifles. ono
thiriy-eight c,libre and one thirty-two.
Also Il snail yellow pine bow. and q
few cane arrows. These latter are
used in shouting fish, and feel safe in
affirming HAT the ,icxtcriiy with which
these ;aen Use ter rude bow and
arrows will put to shame the average
Atlanta marksman with his rifle. In
passing over the prairie. one of the
Cheshires will suddenly stop. poise his
little bow. and send his little arrow
flying into tho water, ordinarily into a
spot where you OF / would see nothing,
but the way in which that arrow will
dance about for the next minute or
two will convince you not only that
there is an object ON the other end Of
It, but that it is an object of some size.
too. When your hunter pulls up his
arrow behold four or six pound trout
Or black bass. centrally transsixed. y
shot tina. very few of our m.rksmen
pould make with a gun.-Atlanta