Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1895-08-15

osssv ThIsss vsrss II Tsss Dismal
0o0lon.


Region.
IT have just returned from visit
to the Dismal swamp" said DR.. A.
X. Fisher, ornithologist of the De-
partment Of Agriculture, to q WASH
ington Star writer. 1T Is strange
region, full OF oddities that are not
to be found elsewhere. The purpose
of my expedition was to investigate
the fauna Of the locality. and OF rare
mammals and birds l secured quite
q number. Snakes are abundant and
are alleged by the natives to be veno-
nous, but all that saw were harm
less. When picked up good
sized one from 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 was Swainson's warbler,
which is very rare. trapped several
species Of small mice, rice mice, field
mice, golden mice, and lemming
mice. The lemming mouse is hard
to catch, because it will not take any
sort of bait; the only way to capture
1t is to set trap in it's runway.
set my traps in dry places out of
water. Among other things / 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 numer-
Gus. In the autumn they feed
greedily on the fruit Of the sour gum.
Wildcats, opossums, and raccoons
are not scarce, while squirrels are
remarkably abundant. The squirrels
have discovered an easy way to get
a living, by going along the shores
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 with dogs.
There is fine fishing in Lake
of perch, black bass, two kinds of
pickerel, three species of sunfish,
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
through the South is abundant. To-
gether with varied underground. it
is tangled with vines that run up
into the trees. so that half mile an
hour is a good rate of progress. One
must carry knife to cut the vines,
walking being further impeded by
the cat-briar, whose thorns catch
in the clothing and hold on like
hooks.
1.-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 a 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 ex-
cellent to drink; it is said to DO a
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 l was there they were full 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 of the moss
and rotten bark. Then they cut up
the log into shingles on the spot.
The next best tree is one that is
newly fallen, and the third quality
is the tree that has to be felled.
"The Dismal Swaihp is the most
northern Of the great morass swamps.
Lake Drummond, in the center of it,
is four miles long and Of an oval
shape. There is very odd fact
about the Jericho Ditch, which ex-
tends for distance of eleven miles
from the Nansemond River to the
lake. From the middle point Of the
ditch the water runs both ways;
there is current toward Lake Drum;
mond and another current in the
opposite direction toward the Nanse-
mond River"