Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1895-08-16

A Strange Region Full OF Oddi-
ties MOI Found Elsewhere.
Some Things Told by DIT. A. x. Fisher. an
Ornithologist In the Federal Employ,
who Went for the Purpose
~ of Investigation.

~ Of Investigation.
II have just returned from q visit
to the Dismal swamp" said DR.. A.
X. Fisher, ornithologist of the de-
partment of agriculture, to Wash
ington Star writer.
eft is strange region, full OF odd
tiles that are not to be found else
where. The purpose Of my expedi-
ton was to investigate the fauna OF
the locality, and of rare mammals
and birds / secured quite a number.
Snakes are abundant. and are alleged
by the 4patives to be venomous, but
all THAI saw were harmless. When
I picked up good-sized one from a
log and held him by the neck, the
negro who was padding for me
shuddered so that he nearly upset the
boat.
II found about fifty species OF
birds breeding in the swamp. One
of them Is Swainson's warbler. which
is very rare. trapped several
species OF small mice-rice mice,
field mice, golden mice and lemrning
mice. The lemming mouse Is hard
to. catch, because it will not take
any sort Of bait. The only way to
capture It Is to set a trap in its rum
way. / set my traps In dry places
out Of water. Among other things
l got two rare shrews.
"There are plenty of cattle in the
swamp-small, dark, and very wild.
They are the progeny of animals that
have strayed from domesticated
herds. Hunters stalk and shoot
them like deer. Bears are numerous.
In the autumn they feed greed
ily on the fruit of the sour
gum, Wildcats, opossums and rae
coons are not scarce, while squirrels
are remarkably abundant. The
squirrels have discovered an easy
way to get a living, by going along
the shore of Lake Drummond and
picking up the nuts and berries
which have fallen into the water and
drifted in windrows. They trot
along the logs and fish them out
with their paws. Deer are common,
but hard to get In the fall hunters
run them into the lake and catch
them 9TH dogs.
There is fine fishing in Lake
Drummond, which contains plenty
of perch, black bass, two kinds of
pickerel, three species of sunfsh, and
other panfish. There is no dry
ground in the swamp, and one sinks
at every step to his knees In mud.
The cane which forms brakes all
throuk She south is abundant. To-
gether with varied underground,
1t is tangled with vines that run up
into the trees, so that half mile an
hour is good rate of progress. One
must carry knife to cut the vines,
walking being further impeded by
the cat-brier, whose thorns catch in
the clothing and hold on like hooks.
THE boats used in the Dismal
swamp are all dug-outs, made from
cypress logs, twelve feet long and
very narrow. To shape such craft
properly is nice piece of work. The
novice who steps into one of these
boats is apt to go out on the other
side, but the native stands up and |
paddles with security. The water
is darker than amber, and excellent
to drink; it is said to be sure cure
for malaria. There Is no malarial
disease in the swamp, The swamp |
is full of magnolias from the size Of
bushes to trees sixty feet high.
When was there they werefull of
flowers. The cypress trees are cut
for shingles. The best trees for the
purpose are those which fell from
twenty-five to fifty years ago, and
are now covered with moss. The
negroes wade in and cut off the moss
and rotten bark Then they cut up
the log into shingles on the spot. The
next best tree is one thatis newly
fallen, and the third quality is the
tree that has to be felled."