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Show Okefinokee vSuamp J I jsftt ii'yj" LOeiTuoc wiit 1111' op an 1 1 n wi c m if jfi Dnwo by Newman Burraicsd Okefinokee Swamp, Mystery Land of Georgia. Prepared by the National Geographic Society Washington, D. C. WNU Service. DOWN in the southeastern corner cor-ner of Georgia lies the great Okefinokee swamp, a primeval wilderness rich in treasure for the modern biologist. Mystery and enchantment en-chantment live in its coffee-colored waters, wa-ters, its moss-hung cypresses and sunlit sun-lit piney woods. The Okefinokee owes a great measure meas-ure of its unique charm to Its "prairies" "prai-ries" wide, unspoiled expanses filled in large part with a tropical abundance abund-ance of aquatic plants and flanked With dense "bays" of stately cypress. On these one may delight his soul amid scenes of unearthly loveliness that have changed virtually not at all since the Seminole warriors poled their dugouts dug-outs over them. The Okefinokee prairies prai-ries are not land, but water! In these morasses are many areas of open water, varying from lakes a quarter of a mile in diameter to "alligator "alli-gator holes" a rod in width. The snowy blossoms of the white waterlily gladden many acres of the deeper water, and the golden, globular flowers of yellow pond-lilies, or "bonnets," "bon-nets," glow in a setting of huge green leaves. In the shallows yellow-eyed grass, its tall stems swaying, forms a sea of pleasant color. The small pitcherplant is hardly true to its name on the Okefinokee prairies, for Its spotted greenish tubes reach a yard into the air a height unheard of elsewhere ; the parasollike parasol-like flowers of greenish gold, each on a separate scape, stand a little below the summit of the leaves. Another plant is the maiden cane, which forms dense, yard-high beds. Among its sheltering stems and leaves the least bittern, the swamp rice rat, and the Florida water rat build their nests. In late summer, as a boat pushes by a bed of maiden cane, a host of katydids will fly out and astound the newcomer by plunging into the water and disappearing. These diving katydids belong to a peculiar species first described from the Okefinokee. Resort of Hunters and Trappers. For generations swamp hunters have pushed over these prairie waters, standing up in their slight boats and bending rhythmically with graceful thrusts of their long poles. The skilled boatman is able to make better progress prog-ress over the prairies than the bear he chases. Old hunters knew well how to drive a deer out of a prairie head, in the direction of a waiting companion. com-panion. In winter the trapper camps for weeks at a time in these heads, tending his line of traps and taking the pelts of raccoon, otter, wildcat and opossum. To pass from the sparkling sunshine of the prairies Into the gloom of the adjoining cypress bays is a strikiug experience. The huge trees, buttressed but-tressed by "knees," stand in close ranks in a foot or so of water. Their green crowns, SO feet or more overhead, over-head, shut out all but a few stray beams of sunshine, causing even at midday a sort of twilight. Here and there a winding channel or "run" permits per-mits the hunter to push his tiny boat between the tree trunks; but in the greater part of the cypress bays there is tall, dense undergrowth that makes even foot travel a slow and arduous undertaking. The bear, having the double advantage of bulky strength and a tough hide, is the only large animal ani-mal that can readily and rapidly break through such a tangle. Good Fishing There. More than thirty species of fishes inhabit in-habit the Okefinokee. Persons who love simple pan-fishing, with an old-fashioned old-fashioned reed pole, find here their heart's content. At Suwannee lake this sort of angling surpasses that in almost al-most any other part of the country. When one considers that the lake is barely a quarter of a mile long, with an average width of perhaps 30 yards, a year's catch of more than 40.000 fish (recorded in 19L'5) is astounding. Farther within the swamp, at Billys, .Mines, and Buzzard Roost lakes, or on the Big Water or the Suwannee canal, there is likewise rare fishing. The bulk of a day's catch with hook and line is made up of such basses as the warmouth, the "stump knocker," and the "sand-flirter," with a goodly proportion pro-portion of mudfish and cattish. Those who elect trolling are more apt to land jackfish and large-mouthed bass. The great state of Texas can bonst of 30 species of frogs and toads; the Okefinokee region, with one-two-hun-dredths the area of Texas, has 20. With varied habitats to suit the requirements re-quirements of different species; with unlimited breeding places in the cypress ponds, cypress bays, and prairies ; with abundant rains in normal years, and with a warm and humid climate, the Okefinokee Is a veritable frog paradise. Let copious showers fall during a warm summer's day and by nightfall the bedlam of amphibian voices arising aris-ing from the swamp waters and their tangled margins is beyond description. The field herpetologist's trained ear picks out of the din the shrill peeping of the oak toad, the droning roar of the southern toad, the plainly uttered "giks" of the cricket frog, the Insectlike Insect-like chirp of the little chorus frog, the machine-gun bark of the pine-woods tree frog, the hogshead-thumping notes of the Florida tree frog, the deep, hollow roll of the gopher frog, the "clung" of the green frog, the pig-like grunts of the southern bullfrog, the clattering chorus of the southern leopard frog, the hammer strokes of the carpenter frog, and the lamb's bleating of the narrow-mouthed toad. Alligators and Birds. Men still living can speak of the times when it appeared as If "a feller could walk across Billys lake on 'gator backs." To this day the Okefinokee remains perhaps the best stronghold of our famous corrugated saurian. Suwannee lake in particular, where the alligators are protected, provides unequaled opportunities for making Intimate studies of the habits of wild individuals. Of the approximately 180 species of birds recorded in the Okefinokee region, re-gion, scarcely one-half remain during the summer and breed. While some of these summer residents move southward south-ward with the approach of cool weather in the autumn, their places are more than filled by hardier species coming from the northern states and Canada to find a congenial winter-home winter-home in the swamp. By far the largest mammal of the swamp, and perhaps the most interesting, inter-esting, is the Florida bear. From early times it has attracted the swamp hunters not so much because of any particular value of its hide and flesn as by reason of the thrill that comes from matching wits and strength with so formidable an animal. An additional addi-tional reason for the pursuit of the bear is its numerous depredations on the hogs that range through the piney woods and the swamp borders. At a hog's prolonged squealing the residents become instantly alert, for It generally means that a bear has seized the animal ani-mal and is making off with it toward the depths of the swamp. Guns are hurriedly lifted from pegs on the cabin walls, the dogs are called together with the hunting horn, and the chase is on. Primitive Life of the People. For generations the sturdy, self-sufficient, self-sufficient, and gifted people of tha Okefinokee have led a rather isolated and primitive existence, some of them on islands within the swamp and others along its borders. They represent repre-sent some of the purest Anglo-Saxon stock left in our country, though a few of the families have a slight mixture of French Huguenot and even Seminole Indian blood. In ancestry, speech, folksongs, and general social ways there is a marked affinity between the residents of the Okefinokee and those of the Appalachian Ap-palachian mountains. In each case there has been comparative isolation, tending to preserve the cultural heritage herit-age from Britain of several centuries ago. The picturesque regional vernacular ver-nacular contains various elements representing survivals from the Elizabethan Eliza-bethan age that have dropped out of general American usage. The old-fashioned square dance, or "frolic," still holds sway .-here as a leading form of social recreation. The fiddle, the handclap, the footbeat, and the "calling of the set" by the leader all lend their nid to the rhythmic performance. per-formance. The late fall days the season sea-son of "hog-killin' an' eane-grindin' " see these social expressions at their height. |