SWAMPJAWS!

Many years ago I visited the home of Bud Taylor, a man renowned for his trout fishing exploits in Colorado. After dinner I asked to see his fish photographs. Out came the shoe box, but instead of rainbows, browns and cutthroats it contained photos of fish I barely recognized: Gar, Permit, Tarpon, Bonefish, Redfish, Peacock Bass and Snook.

 

"Wow," I exclaimed. "These are incredible. And they're HUGE!"

 

SNOOK (Centropomus Undecimalis)

"Trout don't interest me much anymore," Bud explained. "I've taken up fishing in Florida instead. Every January I fly down there and rent a canoe and head off into the swamp for a week of fishing and camping. It's the most fun I've ever had."

"Good Lord, man!" I blurted. "Swamps are dangerous places! What about mosquitoes? Snakes? Alligators?" 

 

"Mosquitoes are only a nuisance while in camp, and I wear protective netting. Poisonous snakes, for the most part, can be avoided. As for alligators---well, I just keep out a watchful eye."

 

That January, as usual, Bud flew down to Florida and paddled off into a swamp by himself.

He never returned. 

His body was never found.

 

 

Okay. I made that last part up. Bud's no longer with us (may his spirit forever guide our flyline), but it was a bad ticker that ended his fishin' days, and not swampjaws. Still, the thought of canoeing around with a bunch of snakes and gators is not my idea of "fun" (though I have fished in grizzly country before). But if it sounds like fun to you, and maybe you've been thinking about planning your own trip into a swamp, take a good look at the covers I've selected below. You might just change your mind.

The classic old-school crocodile-- and some quick scrambling fisherlads (please try to ignore the cats). The Children's Natural History was published by the Religious Tract Society in 1910. The artist is unknown.

Curtis Charles Senf (1873-1949) knew how to satiate a crocodile---feed 'em humans! Senf produced 45 covers and more than a hundred interior illustrations for Weird Tales magazine, from 1927 thru 1933. At that point he was basically fired by management due to the large volume of complaints they received about his sometimes shoddy art. When Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith and Seabury Quinn take umbrage with your work you better start looking elsewhere for employment. I like Senf's art though-- it begs the old days.

Quick man, pull me out! Derek Charles Eyles (1902-1974) was a British illustrator and comics artist. Before WWII he produced dustjacket art and illustrations for westerns, boys' and girls' annuals, juveniles, and adventure novels. After the War he worked mostly on comics for Amalgamated Press. He was an excellent illustrator, as evidenced by his dustjacket art on Harold Bindloss's adventure novel True Grit (Partridge, U.K., 1933).

 

Some fools decided to make a movie in a swamp, but at least they had the smarts to hire pulp artist Norman Blaine Saunders to chronicle their ill-advised campaign. This issue of Saucy Movie Tales magazine was published in May, 1936.

Eat this, swampjaws! The pulp magazine cover art of Harry Lemon Parkhurst was almost always good, and almost always lurid. This issue of Spicy-Adventure Stories was no exception. It was published in December, 1936.

Uh-oh. Mulligan time. This issue of The New Yorker magazine was published on January 27, 1940. The cover artist is Constantin Alajalov.
 

Two questions for Ki-Gor: who exactly tied these gals up, and why? Jungle Stories ran from 1938 to 1954. Fifty-nine issues were produced. George Gross painted the majority of the covers in the last decade of the magazines existence. His signature can be seen on the lower cover, bottom right. These two issues were published in the summer of 1945 and 1949, respectively.

Fitzgordon caught Jack sharply by the arm.
"I say, Jackson, what was that noise?" he asked in a voice which was not too steady.
"That. Oh, it's only an alligator," replied Jack carelessly.
"An alligator! But it's awfully close."
"It's in the creek. Heaps of 'em there. They won't bother you if you keep clear of the water."
Just then the dogs gave tongue, their baying crashing out startlingly loud under the huge cypress trees...

 

This young adult adventure is actually set in Florida, and concerns the illegal activities of a gang of moonshiners. The Secret of the Smoking Swamp by Thomas Charles Bridges was published in 1950 by Frederick Warne (U.K.). The jacket artist is unknown.

After reading The Lost City of Z, David Grann's sensationalized account of famed 20th Century explorer Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett, I too got caught in the fascination of his endeavors. I even borrowed this book, Exploration Fawcett (Hutchinson, UK, 1953), through Worldcat, only the copy I received lacked this marvelous dustjacket. The cover illustration was produced by one of Percy's youngest sons, Brian Fawcett.

Swamped by swampjaws! This issue of Hunting Adventures magazine was published in the Spring of 1955. The cover artist is unknown.

The two hardcover editions of Crocodile Fever by Lawrence Earl represent a not dissimilar style of cover art. The artist of the 1954 Collins edition (upper) is not known; the art on the 1954 Knopf edition (lower) was produced by Bill English. The cover art on the paperback would seem to be stepped up-- that is, if you believe that "realism" somehow implies a greater effort (the realism here being technique and not content depiction). River of Eyes (aka Crocodile Fever) was published by Popular Library Eagle in 1955. The cover artist is unknown.

 

Drastic measures for a drastic moment! This issue of Male magazine was published in November, 1955. The cover artist is Stan Borack.

Never swim in these waters-- ever! This issue of Man's Life magazine was published in September, 1955. The cover artist is Will Hulsey.

Oh gawd, please be loaded! This issue of Stag magazine was published in November, 1955. The cover artist is Mort Kunstler.

Oh no, I can't reach it! This issue of True Adventures magazine was published in November, 1955. The cover artist is Jay Weaver. Burmese pythons, which can reach lengths of 20 feet or more, are running amok in South Florida, decimating native species populations. The blame lies squarely on the exotic pet owner.

That pea-shooter is no match for these monsters! Mort Kunstler produced this marvelous painting for the cover of the October, 1956, issue of Adventure magazine. 

I guess this dude didn't read the memo that smoking is dangerous to your health. This issue of Men True Adventure magazine was published in July, 1956. The cover artist is Rafael DeSoto.

Ouch, ouch, OUCH! This issue of Man's Life magazine was published in January, 1957. The cover artist is Will Hulsey.

 

Up Schitt's Creek with one paddle! This issue of Rage for Men magazine was published in August, 1957. The cover artist is Clarence Doore.

I got one chance to make this throw count! This issue of Man's Conquest magazine was published in January, 1958. The cover artist is George Gross.

 

No escape! This issue of Man's Life magazine was published in July, 1958. The cover artist is Will Hulsey.

 

 

The fist shake-- always a classic gesture! This issue of Man to Man magazine was published in August, 1960. The cover artist is unknown.

Is she being rescued from, or fed to, the gators? The answer is in the man's face. This issue of True Adventures magazine was published in October, 1963. The cover artist is Victor Olson.

If you can't stop yourself from falling into the jaws of a croc', it's probably best to be dead first. The Master of Broken Men was one of eight volumes that were republished by Corinth, chosen from the 48 issue output of the 1930's pulp magazine Operator 5. Robert Bonfils produced the cover art on all eight titles, which may or may not have been the jaws of death for any additional volumes being published. For for the record though, I like his artwork.

Git yer foot out of the water, fool! Shelley Katz's Alligator was championed by, among others, acclaimed writer David Foster Wallace. That didn't make me like it anymore than I did, which I didn't. But like I always say about novels; to each his own. The cover art is fantastic though. I only wish I could attach an artist's name to it. Dell published this paperback edition in 1977.

Death Tour by David J. Michael was more to my liking that Katz's Alligator. It features the mother of all gators roaming around inside a town sewer system. What could be better than that! The first US hardcover edition was published by Bobbs Merrill in 1978 (upper), with cover art by Charles Chiodo. The first US paperback edition was published by Signet in 1979 (middle), with cover art by Don Punchatz. The first British paperback was published by New English Library in 1980 (lower), with cover art by an unknown artist (Les Edwards, perhaps).

The world's most famous teenager knows how to tame a croc'-- feed 'em raw steak's! The Mystery of Crocodile Island by Carolyn Keene (aka Harriet Stratemeyer Adams) was published in the U.S. by Grosset & Dunlap in 1978. It's the 55th volume in the Nancy Drew Series. Its overseas counterpart was published by Collins in 1979. The cover art on the U.S. edition was produced by Rudy Nappi, while the British edition art was produced by Roger Hall, obviously replicating Nappi's original conception.

As I said, David Foster Wallace placed Shelley Katz's Alligator high on his "recommended list," but I'll bet he never read a Guy N. Smith novel! This British paperback edition of Smith's Alligators was published by Arrow in 1987. The cover artist is unknown.

The predators who live on the recently colonized world of Avalon are called "grendels," powerful, toothsome monsters, with land speeds up to 100 miles per hour-- but the above image is clearly an Earth-born crocodile if there ever was one! This paperback reprint of The Legacy of Heorot by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes was published by Pocket in 1993. The impressive cover art was produced by Lee MacLeod.

GONE FISHIN'!

[© January, 2022, Jeffersen]