Charlton County – Living Fair-haired Giants
Uncle Billy Spaulding, who is 65 years old, lives on Floyd’s Island in the very heart of Okefenokee. He lives entirely alone, and his only companions are a flock of chickens and one lonely cat. For weeks at a time, Billy never sees another human. To reach Floyd’s Island requires a boat and a lot of hard work since it is the only route available.
Uncle Billy has found that he enjoys living in his little house on his own. He keeps it clean and suggested that he doesn’t need a woman to maintain it. “Exactly what I don’t need,” he said with spirit. “I get along just fine with my chickens, garden, trapping, and fishing. I love to read. I’m not lonely or unhappy.”
Neither Uncle Billy nor any member of the Lee family has ever reported seeing the legendary creature believed by some to inhabit the swamp. The island remains unexplored by civilized people, and the legend of the creature comes from the Seminole Indians who once resided within the swamp.
While some claim to have glimpsed figures vanishing into the swamp’s gloom, there seem to be no real foundations for these stories. The idea that remnants of a people survive and make their homes in Okefenokee.
- Georgia, Charlton County 1929.