The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-04-02
OTTER SWAMP'S HERMIT.
n 1RhPPER NOSE HOME rs A
DENSE ARKANSAS FOREST.

"OnuertuI knowledge OF nature Gninei
by nj IlIiterato Man and n Sixth Sens,
Developed-Cruel Sport with Piratica
Gars-Trnps for offers and Coons
FRosTvrLLE. Ark. March 29.-Througi
woods 80 thick that sunlight seldom pierces tc
the dank leaf mould. Otter Creek winds u slug
xlsh way. Limbs Of giant trees interlock abov,
its bed Ia places and everywhere the ~funerea
boards Of the Spanish moss wag Rravely In the
slow winds. Along the banks Of this streamlei
the raccoon trcads his velvet way at night. for
he 10 n scientific fisherman and loves anything
with a Nm. The bobtailed wildcat leaves his
deeply lndented trail upon it's muddy shores
and above 1t rings occasionally the shrill terri
BILE scream Of the male panther seeking mis-
love. Portions OF tho territory II traverses are
thickest canebrake and in this the black bear
makes his home. There are pools In otter
Creek whose bottom has not been found. The
water is black. though thin and cool. On hot
August days every rottinC log which lies In it
Is tenanted BY a dozen turtles. and as they hear
an approaching ~footstep they project their
snagy heads. look wnrily about. then roll into
the depths with sullen splashes. IL is dark
along the Otter even at midday. At midnight.
when the stars are cloud. hidden. the inIre-
ouent visitor. to uso the strong statement Of
Stonewall Jackson. the trarper. can slap ink
out Of the air with a paddle" The stream Ia
bttH lTDIn year \ emu 10 year = emu Only Uy LnB
man who dashes into and across II. hot on the
path OF the fleeing deer. or by some negro at-
tracted into its neighborhood by tho tens OF
thousands OF gray squirrels that chatter In It's
cypress trees. or by Stonewall Jackson. who
gets his living from II.
This Is the more remarkable as the creek
contains many hsEes. principally white perch
and black hiss. IL is also plcntifully supplied
with CARS. some OF them eight feet in length
and with appetites as largo az their size. There
Is scarcely a form Of woodland life common to
this part OF the South that In not numerous
along Otter Creek. II is the home OF in livid-
uals OF the bird world seldom found elsewhere.
little thrushes OF n brown 80 dark that il seems
nearly black. vireos which love the faint light
and appear never to venture into the open
fields. small shrikcs and other ravenous tots.
which feed on things weaker than themselves.
the woods hawk. n short winged and active
prowler built to catch and eat squirrels. enor-
nous owls Of many varieties. which find in
the depths OF the woods that degree OF atmos-
pherir clarity which oest suits their vision.
many kinds OF meat-devouring animals which
prev and prey all through the day and night.
The very look OF Otter Creek invites to murder.
and the negroes have strange tales of things
that have haprened.in and near it. Their
superstitious fears have invested It with ghost
~ "iiGh h''ouiNS III u u u
the fact that so few people 20 near II. The
swamp through which It runs is cut bv many
smaller streams. eullies. washes and ravines.
1t contains many morasses. which compel the
hunter to 60 far out OF his way in striking for
any given point. For this reason to get lost in
the woods OF Otter Creek is the easiest thing
in the world. The strip OF territory domi-
mated by the cypress AMI oaks Is not more than
fifteen miles wide by thirty long. &C the wan
derer entangled in the woody labyrinth is GER
tain TO find his way out before starvation stops
him. and. OF course. there is water
with which to slake his thirst. No fatalities
have resulted from incautious venturing into
the forest. but experienced woodsmen have
been known to be turned around and spend
.day and night working their way out.
There is no part OF Otter Swamp. however.
which is not known to Stonewall Jackson. who
dwells on its edge in a sauatter's cabin and has
livedin 1t for ten OF the twenty-five years OF his
life. This man Is utterly illiterate. so far as
print is concerned. yet in his line he is one OF
tho most learned men:in Arkansas. He can
not read books. but.the various signs Of trees,
grass. animals. flowers and sky are as plain 70
as type to the folk OF the cities. He has.
for instance. never owned n watch or clock.
and would not know how to Use one il he had
It. hut.if he can see the sun he can tell the hour
VI III uuy Wltnlu tnTeS minutes Win unerrlnR
certainty. and this at any season Of the year.
Among his belongings he does not number a
compass. The shifting magnetic needle tells
him nothing. He does not even know tho
names Of the cardinal points. The west to
him Is the place where the sun sets. The east
Is the place wheresit rises. The north is the
point whence the cold comes. The south Is
productive Of heat and fevers. Yet from the
moss at the roots OF trees and from the thick
ness OF their bark and from tho way in which
the leaves hang he picks his way about on
cloudy days with as .much certainty as II he
owned n whole shop OF nautical and astronom-
ical Instruments. This Is easily understand
able. as he has sucked In woodcraft through
every pore Of his skin. and makes the sun and
the stars serve him as compasses and time
keepers. Tho fact. however. that he is able to
plunge into Otter Swamp OF a cloudy night,
when no moon or star is visible and find his
way about with certainty. Is not explainable.
He is not able to perceive the trees. He does
not stop to feel them. He carries no torch,
asserting that he Is better able to see in tho
dark. Yet he will start from his cabin three
miles away and go through the thickest Of the
woods to n point on the creek where one of his
trans Is set and never hesitate tor an instant.
Returning. he will not vary ten feet from the
line he drew In going. He cannot tell himself
INV" thio 10 UNIV io pays II Jnut no Can I
go wrong. Frequently animals do things
which demonstrate their possession OF the rea-
soniag power. Jackson does things a hun
dred times n year which demonstrates his ros-
session OF the sixth sense of instinct. He has
another popularity. More than once it has
to bin that. lying on his pallet OF
.oonskins in the single room which serves
him az home he has awakened at night with
a strong feeling that there was something in
one OF his traps which demanded immediate
or that something was happening to
ono OF them that would cause him to lose IL
unless he was quick. At s1ch time he will
leap up aad strike a dog trot through the ray
less woods. travelling the three miles in
twenty minutes. He says. and those who have
spent nights with him bear him out In the as
that this mysterious warning has never
yet played him false. Sometimes he has found
an otter 40 trapped that anothe: wrench would
have SGT It free but for his arrival. Again the
trap has become disengaged.in so ne way from
its chain and he has seized the animal Just be-
fore the final plunge into the water. Again