DRAINING THE SWAMPS 

 country passed into its second stage of develop- 

 nncnt and m many places the "hoodooed" craw 

 fish flats of the Kankakee region is now the 

 Kankakee Valley corn fields. The reclaiming 

 of the Kankakee swamps cast a shadow of 

 gloom and sadness to the few remaining old- 

 time hunters who have spent their early years 

 hunting and trapping on the Kankakee river. 

 They feel pretty much as did the Indians when 

 they had to give up their ideal hunting grounds 

 to the whites. The pioneer hunter saw the 

 French fur-trader and the Indian go, then they 

 saw the wild game go and now what is left of 

 their number have seen the vanishing of the 

 Kankakee swamps. In the language of the 

 poet "There is a magical tie to the land of our 

 home, which the heart cannot break though the 

 footsteps may roam." Yes, indeed, the ties that 

 bind us to the land of our birth are truly magi- 

 cal. 1 often find this so when I am visiting my 

 old home. I am naturally attracted to the 

 scenes that 1 loved so well when a boy. 5o it 



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