The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1920-07-29
STRANGE FAMILY IN SWAMP.
Scientist Reveals Mysteries of the Ok
efenokee, Hitherto Unexplored.

The discovery OF half savage fam
lily speaking Chaucerian English, on
an island in the midst of the Okefe-
nokee swamp, in Georgia, was de-
scribed by DR.. W. D. Funkhouser in
a lecture at the University OF Ken
lucky.
DR.. Funkhouser was one of par
ty of scientists from Cornell uni
versity which undertook the trip in
1912 in search of new flora and fauna
and to determine the expediency of
having the swamp made national
park by the government.
So far as was known at the time
no man had ever entered the swamp,
of it, and even criminals could not
make their way into it, Dr. Funk
houser said.
Among the rumors heard by the
scientists were stories that Billy Bow
legs, famous Seminole chief, made
his last stand against the whites in
the swamp; that a colony Of people
lived on an island in it.; and that it
was inhabited by a witch who devour-
ed men who attempted entrance. They
could get none of the natives to act
as guides for them, and learned that
the only man who ever made any
start into the swamp was brought
back after half days journey by his
native guide, who refused explana-
ton.
1--WE five started in alone, carrying
ffty-pound packs, with compass as
our guide" DR.. Funkhouser said.
ttThe water was from waist to shOul-
der deep, full of giant cypress trees,
and so closely overgrown with under
brush and entangling vines that we
literally had to cut our way with axes
at every step, and could only advance
a mile day. On the bottom was a
thick growth of moss, which would
support the weight of man While
moving, but which would begin to
sink with us as soon as we stood still
to begin cutting the brush. =.
eve soon had to discard cameras,
provisions and other paraphernalia
because of the difficulty of travel and
we ate bear meat and alligator tails.
The swamp was full of game of every
kind, and the water abounded with
fish, snakes and alligators. We drank
the swamp water, which was coffee
colored, but had nothing in it to pol
lutte it, as no human habitations were
near. -
cat night we piled brush as high as
we could around the cypress trees to
make beds. Of course the brush soon
sank below the water, which would
wake us, and we then cut more brush
n
morning. There were myriads Of mos
auitoes and other insects, but as there
were no other people for them to bite
they could not give us malaria. we
were wet all the time, and everything
that could be spoiled by water was
ruined.
Sometimes we came to big tun-
mel through the underbrush, where
large alligator had crashed his way
through, and we would crawl through
it to save some cutting. The dithcul-
ties were that the sides were usually
supplied with wasp nests, and there
was always the chance Of meeting the
alligator coming back.
Finds Family on Island.
cat the end of the twentieth day
we came in sight of low island COW
cred with pineltrees. Here We found
a family of persons who in many
WAYS can be compared only to AMI
mails. It consisted of an old, old Wo-
man, her tribe of three sons and TWO
daughters, who had intermarried; and
their eleven children. All Of them
were degenerate weahhngs, under
nourished, and had hookworm and
bad blood, as the tests we made show
ed. They had a large graveyard
which was about full.
tThe family had no shelter except
a rude lean-to built against tree,
and wore no covering to speak OF, the
children being entirely naked. While
they spoke English, we had much dlt-
ficulty in understanding them as their
vocabulary was Chaucerian, Spencer
ian and Shakespearian. We did not
know this at the time, and their
speech was very strange to us, but
we made a dictionary of it during
our all-summer stay on the island,
and when we came out we learned
that many of the words they used are
known to the world only through
OnduCST, Willie VIC VI IuO tl11iO
of Spencer and Shakespeare.
Only One Traveller.
'FThey had never heard of reading,
writing or any of the things we take
for granted, and on learning that
we were from New York, inquired
if it were another island or a turpen-
tine STILL Only one of them had ever
been off the island. He had found
the headwaters of the Sewanee river,
which rises in the swamp, and had
twice year foated down it in fat
bottomed boat to the edge of the
swamp where there was turpentine
still and small store. He had suit
of everalls which he wore at these
times and kept concealed with the
boat in the brush in the meantime.
"On these semi-annual trips he
traded bear and alligator skins for
salt and corn meal at the store, but
he didn't talk to anyone there and
they supposed him to be one of the
Georgia crackers of the vicinity. AL