It was harder to get to Floyd’s Island in the Okfonok back then: several weeks bushwhacking, climbing on water lily roots, through bamboo briars (palmettos) and mosquitoes, on trails made by bears and wildcats.

The author’s tree-cutting camping method would not be allowed in the swamp these days, and his attitude towards native Americans was a product of his times. So was his urge to drain and “root” the swamp to turn it to “valuable account.”

The Okefenokee: C.R. Pendleton on The Trembling Earth, The Times, Valdosta, Ga. 1890-02-08

The Times., VALDOSTA GA., FEB. 8, 1890, THE OKEFENOKEE: CHARLES R. PENDLETON ON “THE TREMBLING EARTH.”

Explanation of the Unknown Land of Georgia—The Constitution’s Hunting Party—Incidents Connected With the Swamp.

From the Atlanta Constitution,

VALDOSTA GA., Feb, 1.—I have been watching with a great deal of interest the discussion in regard to the sale of the Okefenokee Swamp. I have followed, step by step, all the developments in the case. The mistaken opinions of so many people, especially in middle and north Georgia, about this swamp surprises me more than anything else. Those who have written and spoken most seem to know least about it.

EARLY DAYS IN THE SWAMP.

A half dozen years of my boyhood were spent within an hour’s ride of the swamp, and I have sat by the hour and listened to the tales of those who hunted and helped to drive the Indians from its fastnesses several decades before. Those old fellows, the pioneers of that section, with their long flint-and-steel rifles, have passed away, except here and there one at a very advanced age. When I was a boy they were quite Numerous through the pine woods in Ware and Clinch counties, and nothing had more charms for me than to get off, in the spring of the year, with a party of them on the cow-hunting expedition to the “Okfonok,” my father having some cattle in the range. It was customary for the neighbors to club together and hunt through the season in concert, I have seen the spot often where the Wildes family was massacred, and have hard from his lips the harrowing details of the butchery by one of the surviving boys. My first deer shot when I was eleven years old, fell within fifty yards of the clump of old field pines which were fertilized by the blood of that family. But I will not dwell upon that episode, because Hon. W. A. McDonald, of Ware county, gave the Constitution a complete and correct history of the bloody affair last year. In the course of these few years, thus spent, I became quite familiar with the country round about the Okefenokee swamp, and soon after attaining to my majority I determined to learn something of the mysteries of the inner regions of that unexplored morass.

Through the assistance of the late Dr. W. B. Folks, of Waycross, father of the present state senator from that town, who was the author of the bill to sell the swamp, I got an interview with Ben Yarborough, and old “swamp angel,” who was not sufficiently imbued with that patriotic ardor which made the young men of ’61 rally to the call of the state, but who preferred to commune with wild beasts and reptiles in the swamp; and he told me that he had trod upon every known island in the Okefenokee, and knew every trail and by-path in it which was known to man. I secured his services as a guide at fifty cents a day, and announced my intention of entering the swamp and learning all he knew and more. I was quickly joined and ably assisted by Mr. Geo. W. Haines, now superintendent of the Brunswick and Western railroad. We organized our little expedition at Waycross in April 1875, and Senator Folks, then a lad, became one of our party.

The Okefenokee: Charles R. Pendleton on The Trembling Earth, The Times, Valdosta, Ga. 1890-02-08

ONE WEEK IN THE SWAMP.

We were out one week and after several days of hardships, trying to find a route from Hickory island, near the north end of the swamp, to Floyd’s island, we abandoned the expedition, finding, after we had been bled nearly to faintness by mosquitoes, that we had not selected a good season of the year and that we were not properly equiped for the undertaking.

Mr. Henry W. Grady was running the Atlanta Herald at that time, and on my return home I found a letter from him awaiting me. Of course he wanted me to write up the trip for the Herald, which I did; but we had not accomplished much.

In the August following, Mr. Haines and I organized another expedition. We found the mosquitoes less severe, and we made a two weeks’ jaunt of it. We divided our party. Mr. Haines, at the head of one division, entered the swamp at Hickory island, and he made another effort to enter to Floyd’s island from the north. I went with Uncle Ben Yarborough, Mr. Boone, of Valdosta, and a negro servant to the south side of the Suwanee river, and entered the Pocket (a long peninsula running up the bank of the Suwanee river into the swamp six or eight miles) thence, by Floyd’s trail to Billy’s island, where we found one Jim Lee living alone in his glory. He joined us on the trip to Floyd’s island, which we reached from the south after as hard a day’s work as I had ever accomplished up to that time, but greater hardships were in store for me later on. We hoped to meet Mr. Haines’s party, but after remaining on the island two days, and firing repeated signal guns, he failed to put in an appearance, and we returned to Billy’s island, not however, without killing a huge bear and other game. We sent our wagon back to Hickory island in search of him. After several days in vain efforts to reach Floyd’s Island he returned by his back trail and emerged from the swamp in time to be met by the wagon, and he joined us the next day at Billy’s island.

We visited other island in the swamp, killed two bear, several deer, caught a great many fish in Suwanee lake, and concluded, after a two weeks’ outing, that we were not yet prepared for the thought exploration we desired to make. We returned home, and this time I found the Constitution awaiting my return. About this time the plucky Herald was stirring the Constitution to its best efforts, and the latter out-bid the former, I believe, and got my report. It made about a dozen letters.

THE CONSTITUTION EXPEDITION.

But our work had hardly commenced, and one of the proprietors of the Constitution came to Valdosta and arranged to back me in a more extended and a more thorough expedition. We got ready and rendezvoused at Homerville, Clinch county, in November. Governor Smith ordered Dr. Little, the state geologist, to join us, which he did. His party consisted of himself and assistant geologist, and two civil engineers.

Our entire party consisted of twenty-one men and four teams. We went direct to Billy’s island, a distance of forty miles, and camped. Leaving the wagons in charge of Mr. Clark and Mr. Johnson, we proceeded into Floyd’s island, following the Floyd trail, which some of us had traveled before. Once upon the island our party was divided. Mess. George W. Haines, M.T. Singleton and Mr. Loughridge, with four laborers and a boss, started north through the swamp, in the direction of Hickory hammock island. They had three days’ rations, but were about five days reaching the island. They suffered greatly from hunger and exposure during the trip. Mr. Singleton described the swamp through which they had passed follows: “There are dense thickets of small shrubs, almost impenetrable, except where wildcats and bears have made their trails; and beyond these thickets, which sometimes give place to a perfect mat of bamboo briars, ten feet high, many of them and inch in diameter and armed with thorns which stick like daggers, we find an open marsh filled with long rushes and water lilies, whose thick roots afford the only support for the feet in wading through the soft ooze and mud, which yields to the weight of-a man so that he sinks to the arm pits in many places, Many small islands and ok of trees dot these “prairies,” as they are called, and these are generally surrounded by a flood of moss, which is sometimes enough to hold one’s weight, and again forms a floating surface over the water, and while it does not break through beneath the feet, one can see it sink and rise for ten or twenty feet around at every step, hence its name, Oke-fi-no-Kee, or ‘Trembling Earth.’”

Dr. Little, Mr. Locke, an engineer, and myself, with old man Yarborough and four negroes, after surveying Floyd’s island, returned to camps on Billy’s island. After recruiting a day we set out, with four day’s rations in our packs, due east for Trader’s hill, of the St. Mary’s river. We were six days making the trip, and we slept in the swamp five nights. On the entire trip we never saw dry land— not to the extent of a tussock large enough for one man to sleep upon. When night came upon us we would have to cut down two trees, throwing them in the same direction so that they would lay parallel, about ten feet apart, and bridge across from one to the other with small poles and brushes. Upon these we slept at night, and we did what little cooking we could do on the stumps of the fallen trees. Billy’s island is near the center of the swamp, and we found it abont twelve miles across to the mainland on the east. About half the distance was an almost impenetrable jungle through which we had to cut with bush hooks and axes. One day, after hard work from daylight until sundown, we made only one mile and an eighth. The second half of the distance was an open marsh, dotted here and there with little cypress islands. These were low and wet, but still above the surrounding marsh. On these we camped at night. We got out of the swamp on the evening of the [illegible] day very much exhausted from exposure and hunger, but, as previously provide for, one of our wagons met us with supplies.

RETURNED TO HEADQUARTERS

After resting next day, which was Sunday, we went to the Cow House, some eight or ten miles south from the point where we emerged from the swamp, and being re-inforced by old man Chester, we made our way through lakes and over flooded marshes to Black Jack island, eight or ten miles in a southwestern direction. Here we halted a day and took its dimensions. Thence we entered the samp again in a northeasterly direction, and after two days and a half tramping and wading through marsh and jungle we came to Honey island, a half day’s tramp from our camp on Billy’s island. We returned to our headquarters and found the other division of our party returned.

Prior to this time no party of white men, so far as is known, had ever gone through the swamp from north to south and east to west, as we had done. Every step we took was directed by a surveyor’s compass and measured by a surveyor’s chain. The water level, or elevation above tide water, was also taken. Mr. Locke’s report made the line of elevations from East to west as follows:

Water surface at Mixon’s ferry	107.3
Bench B, in pocket	122.7
Bench D, in pocket	120.4
Bench F, in pocket	121.3
Swamp between pocket and Jone’s island	116.5
Jones’ island	121.4
Swamp between Jones’s island and Billy’s island	116.4
Billy’s island	118.0
Bench J, Billy’s island	128.8
Swamp surface, Billy’s bench	125.6
Billy’s lake, water surface	116.0
Swamp E, of Billy’s island	119.9
Two miles from Billy’s island, on Little trail	119.5
Prairie, west side, water surface	121.2
Roddenberry’s house east side	153.3
Long branch, two miles from Roddenberry’s house	55.1
Trader’s hill	76.?
Water surface, St. Mary’s river	5.?

The map of this line, as well as others run by the compasses of our party, was prepared by Mr. M.T. Singleton, and may be found now, I presume among the records of the defunct and lamented geological bureau.

THE DRAINAGE OF THE SWAMP.

We spent about six weeks in, about, and around the swamp. As a result of our work it was demonstrated that the water in the swamp could be drained off to the St. Mary’s river. We found the islands in the swamp much smaller than generally supposed, and mostly ordinary pine land. The marshes were from eight to twenty feet deep in mud, which is principally decayed vegetable matter. Whereever we sounded below the mud we found sand. It was the opinion of some in our party that when drained and dried this mud would burn. This, I believe is Dr. Folks’ opinion.

The question now, of the practicability of draining the swamp and turning it to valuable account is debatable. I have often said that in my opinion it would be worth it to drain and “root” it, and I see no reason to change my opinion.

The matter of canals and lateral ditches throughout that vast area will provide and expensive and difficult task. How long it would, take that soft mud to dry and stiffen so that it will not slip into the excavations as fast as they are made, is not for me to say. If it can be reduced to that state of aridity a to successful cultivation, the swamp will be made rich and valuable.

It is advisable to make the sale to the highest bidder, under the terms of the act recently passed, because, if the purchasers make only a partial success of their undertaking, it will reclaim thousands of acres of land contiguous to the swamp, which are owned by citizens of the state, and it will increase the value of thousands of other acres already of some use to the owners, It will benefit a large per cent. of the citizens of four counties, and thus the state at large.

Partly from personal knowledge, and from what I can gather from those who are better posted, I am convinced that there is no foundation for the report recently published im the Constitution to the effect that a large area of land, outside of the swamp, is owned by the state, and is in danger of being gobbled up by those who may purchase the swamp. The town of Waycross stands in the midst of the area described by that correspondent, and the original plats and grants, with the seal of the state, to a number of lots in that vicinity were once owned by my father. There are no “squatter claims” in that section that may be overthrown, unless tho squatter has a forged title. There are some of that kind. The state has granted all the land in that region not a part of the swamp proper. C. R. PENDLETON.

See also Atlanta Constitution, 17 January 1914, Governor Will Pay Honor to Charles R. Pendleton,

Charles R. Pendleton, obituary, Atlanta Constitution, 1914-01-17

…

Mr. Pendleton was born in Effingham county, Ga. June 26, 1850, the fifth child of Philip C. Pendleton. His mother’s maiden name was Catherine Tebeau, of the family which gave Tebeauvllle its name. Philip C. Pendleton moved his young and growing family to Lowndes county, whore he lived the remainder of his life. He founded the Valdosta Times and ran it until his death, in 1869….

Immediately upon his father’s death Mr. [Charles R.] Pendleton took charge of The Valdosta Times for the family, a heavy responsibility for so young, a man, for there were several to support with the income from this source. He made The Valdosta Times on© of the most influential papers in south and southwest Georgia.and at one time enjoyed the county printing of several counties….

Mr. Pendleton’s virile writings, his abhorrence of sham and demagoguery soon attracted notice all over the state and finally Major Hanson, then owner of The Macon Telegraph and one of the most commanding figures in Georgia in many lines, induced him to leave The Valdosta Times and come to the editorial desk of The Telegraph, where he could have a wider field for hla editorial convictions. This was in 1896.

He Buys Telegraph.

In the meantime Mr. Pendleton retained the full ownership of The Valdosta Times, a paper always very close to his heart, but when two or three years later he learned that Major Hanson might be induced to soil The Telegraph, he disposed of The Valdosta Times to C. C. Brantley and E. L. Turner, the present owners of the paper, and purchased The Macon Telegraph, lock, stock nnd barrel.

He has controlled The Telegraph absolutely ever since, although several years ago he disposed of minority portions or hia stock to W. T Anderson, now general manager of The Telegraph, and to P. H. Gambrell, now business manager.

To his death, however, Mr. Pendleton retained unencumbered and uninfluenced control of his own paper, more so, perhaps, than any other owner in the south today.

…

Thanks to Shirley Kokidko for pointing out the 1890 article from The Times.

Map: Valdosta to Okefenokee in the WWALS map of all public landings in the Suwannee River Basin.

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