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Show BIG SWAMP ADVENTURES. Ufe on the Great Marsh with Deer, Bean., Alligators and Desolation. The prairie land which covers a considerable con-siderable portion ' of the Okefenokee swamp is a very remarkable formation, and is, I am told, peculiar to this swamp. It is open land, entirely free from timber, tim-ber, and stretching away aa far as the eye can reach in every direction. It has most of the characteristics of a huge inland in-land sea except the waves. Interspersed here and there in this huge prairie are small patches of high, dry ground of variable size and heavily timbered, called cow houses. I ' am nnable to ascertain the propriety of this name, unless it be that the cattle, deer and other animals seek these places for shelter and to get out of the water.' The surface of these prairies is covered cov-ered with a deposit of decayed vegetation vege-tation that has been accumulating for centuries, and - is called muck. This varies in thickness from four to ten feet, with water beneath, and below the water sand. This singular formation gives to the swamp its name of Trembling Trem-bling Earth. - It will support the weight of the average than if he keeps moving onward, but if He pauses an instant he commences to sink, and may go through to his waist or over his head. At every step the water dozes up around the feet, while the muck will tremble and quiver for yards around.' There is something grand and even sublime to the visitor in the silent vast-ness vast-ness of this prairie formation. It stretches away before the eye in every direction until 8nly limited by the horizon, hori-zon, its perfect stillness only broken by the occasional "bellow of some huge alli-. alli-. gator or the far distant scream of some unknown bird. Here and there can be seen the track left behind by some hunter, hunt-er, where possibly years ago he had laboriously poled his canoe along in pursuit pur-suit of game, the "path as distinct and fresh now as if1' only made yesterday. All around fish -tf endless species and sizes can be seen swimming and darting about, while not infrequently the eye may fall upon some immense alligator or enako sunning himself upon the surface sur-face of the muck and water, or slowly sinking out of sight as soon as he is discovered. dis-covered. This description conveys a Blight, but at best a very imperfect, idea of the prairie laud of this swamp. Upon the island where we are at present pres-ent encamped are living two families, with the aged father, named Cheshire. The old gentleman is nearly 80 years of age, and has spent thirty-odd years of his life here in this spot. . He is a wonderful fisherman and indeed calls himself the king of the swamps, to which position he says he was duly appointed ap-pointed and Commissioned by Dr. Little, the state geologist. The two sons of Mr. Cheshire have their familieshere. The men attempt to cultivate small crops, but spend most of their time hunting. Their revenue is almost wholly derived from the sale of bides, alligators, deer and bear. The quantities of these that they destroy and many of their stories of hunting adventures are almost incredible. in-credible. Think of a hunter shooting down four deer with a rifle, one after another, and without moving from one spot. In several sev-eral of the lakes that are thickly interspersed inter-spersed throughout this prairie the alligators alli-gators are so numerous and fierce that they will attack a man in a boat as soon as he appears among them, and shooting them by night, which is the way they are commonly killed, is sometimes attended at-tended with no little danger. The entire armament of the Cheshire family consists of one ten-gauge, ten-pound, ten-pound, double barreled Remington shotgun shot-gun and two Winchester rifles, one 38-caliber 38-caliber and one 32. Also a small yellow pine bow and a few cane arrows. The latter are used in shooting fish, and I feel safe in affirming that the dexterity with which these men use their rude bow and arrows would put to shame the average Atlanta marksman with his rifle. In passing over the prairie one of the Cheshires will suddenly stop, poise his little bow and send his little arrow flying fly-ing into the water ordinarily into a spot where you or I would see nothing, but the way in which that arrow will dance about for the next minute or two will convince you not only that there if an object on the other end of it, but that there is an object of some size, too. When your hunter pulls up his arrow, beholdt A four or six pound trout or black bass, centrally transfixed, a shot that very few of our marksmen conld make with a gun. Cor. Atlanta Journal |