The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-12-21

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terry that surrounded Gan Swami noe
many years after the Clvn war. h
cidentally. the lnd = 90 that nay
mean wealth to property 0WnaaU n
the district concerned.
A tale that reads IKE Romance q
an old legend - furnished b. Nat \.
Walker. . lawyer and legislator e
Crawf0rdsville, whose theory that the
extinct volcano" Was Z burning "a
well has come true. He writes that
the oil lands arc now being developed
by the Gates Brothers, who organised
. company and that to date the guam
ttty Of the mineral has not been ~
certained.
suspseesd on Veins.
For many years, residents Of that
section have known Of the wonderful
geological formation Of surface rocks
and the keroeenelo0king substance
found covering the waters Of many
pools In the vicinity of the recent dis
covery. Some had faith that sooner or
later petroleum In large quantities
would be found In the extreme eastern
part of the county.
All of the land east of the Wakulla
and the St. Marks river is u1derlaid
with rock near the surface. Cd in
many places covering almost Tia sur
face. Across the st. Marks the nature
OF the rocks changes, further east for
| five or six miles the rocks being hard
er. At Gum Swamp, at the extreme
east, the rocks are flint as pure as
any Indian arrowhead.
| 1t must not be forgotten that this
gum marsh was a veritable swamp
covering many miles along the coast
of Wakulla and Jefferson counties
from whence the smoke Of the social
ed Florida volcano came in the days
of 1864 when it was first seen. The
smoke was constant until after the
Charleston earthquake in the early
eighties, after which it was seen nc
more.
Thought lmpenetrable.
Considered impenetrable. no man
had even explored this swamp, ther
supposed to be q wet, Doggy morass
with briars and brambles, SO thick
that you could scarcely stick q butch
er's knife to the handle In it." as the
old residents used to express 1t. This
opinion prevailed until recent years
Now it is favorable ground for hunt
ers and trappers.
Who discovered that Gum Swamp
was not such an impenetrable place
is not known. However. in the day.
when the volcano spit forth its smoke
in greatest volume. one party of ex
pl0rers attempted to locate it.
| Explorers Try Hand.
Headed by Hon. Judge p. Wo0ds0I
White, who is still living in Quincy
at the age of IS years, the party en-
tered the woods in 1876. Among thes'
bold and intrepid men was q reporter
| r,f h0 Wyh mil
sion was to write up" for the frs
time this great mysterious smoke.
The band sailed eastward on tn
st. Marks river until they reached
} deep creek running into the swamp
Several miles inland they camped TO
the night and the next morning al
tempted to rig a ladder up the side O
a tall pine. The adventurous repOrte
claimed the honor of taking the frs
peep" of the surrounding territory
He fell from a height of forty feet
breaking his leg, which fact so dis
couraged the explorers that they re
truned without making one discovery
They also brought back tales that
was useless for other marOOnerS to al
tempt to enter Gum Swamp.
Burned Many Years
This was many, many years age
The smoke was seen for many year
afterward. During the war, it wa
supposed to come from a deserter'
camp. of which there were many alon
the Florida coast; afterward, it wa
just a plain mystery, with no one ca
D ing to undertake it's solving.
4 People in Tallahassee, twenty-fiv
|, miles away saw the smoke, which fac
gives an idea of its intense volum,
When it died out, many tales Origina
ed as to it's cause.
!. When recent indications of oil weT
discovered, Mr.. Walker was anon
the first to advance the burnin
4 gusher theory, which has now bee
: accepted as the truth.