The Ocean's Menace

By Archibald Rutledge, Jim Casada and Stephen Chesley

A twist-filled adventure story set in a treacherous land where most hunters dare not venture—enhanced with artwork and a literary scholar’s commentary.

One of the more underappreciated aspects of Archibald Rutledge’s varied literary efforts is the way he could weave stories of danger in the wilds. What he frequently described as chimeras—great sharks, alligators, rattlesnakes, and cottonmouths of incredible and often embellished dimensions, wild hogs with razor-sharp tusks, and more—clearly fascinated him. Similarly, he exhibited a knack for twists and turns in his tales reminiscent of O. Henry at his best.

“The Ocean’s Menace” offers a fine example. The title of the short story may conjure images of a massive white shark or a devilfish—but in fact “The Ocean” is a remote, treacherous tract of land where hunters dared not venture and which locals viewed with a mixture of awe and alarm. It provides an ideal setting for this tale—in which, Instead of a mighty stag or an antlered giant, the quarry proves to be the hunter’s salvation. Delightfully told, with an abundance of twists and turns as the story unfolds, this is the sage of the Santee—a John Burroughs Medal winner and South Carolina’s first poet laureate—at his finest.

A project of South Carolina Humanities benefiting South Carolina literary programs, this new edition of “The Ocean’s Menace” is illustrated in handsome charcoal etchings by Southern artist Stephen Chesley. Award-winning outdoors writer and noted Rutledge scholar Jim Casada provides the volume’s introduction and afterword.

“These books remind us of Mr. Rutledge’s command of the English language, his great skills of observation of the natural world, and his fondness for distilling universal truths from stories of local essence . . . It is good to have Mr. Rutledge with us once more.” —Pat Conroy

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Aug 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9781611178166

Archibald Rutledge

Archibald Rutledge (1883–1973) was South Carolina’s most prolific writer and the state’s first poet laureate. His nature writings garnered him the prestigious John Burroughs Medal.

Book preview

The Ocean’s Menace

The Ocean’s Menace

ARCHIBALD RUTLEDGE

Introduction and Afterword by Jim Casada

Illustrations by Stephen Chesley

THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA PRESS

A Project of South Carolina Humanities

© 2018 University of South Carolina

Published by the University of South Carolina Press

Columbia, South Carolina 29208

www.sc.edu/uscpress

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

can be found at http://catalog.loc.gov

ISBN: 978-1-61117-815-9 (cloth)

ISBN: 978-1-61117-817-3 (leather)

ISBN: 978-1-61117-816-6 (e-book)

Front cover illustration by Stephen Chesley

Contents

Introduction

Jim Casada

The Ocean’s Menace

Afterword

Jim Casada

Introduction

Jim Casada

ARCHIBALD HAMILTON RUTLEDGE (1883–1973) quite possibly ranks as South Carolina’s most prolific literary figure ever. Even more impressive than the scores of books, hundreds of articles, and thousands of poems he published is the diversity of his literary output. He was South Carolina’s first poet laureate, a post he held for upwards of three decades. Supposedly on not one but two occasions he was the runner-up for the Nobel Prize in literature. As a hunting writer Old Flintlock, as Rutledge was fondly known to family and friends, was incredibly prolific, with nationally recognized expertise on the quest for white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, grouse, and other species. His nature writings garnered him the prestigious John Burroughs Medal. Short inspirational books with comforting titles such as Beauty in the Heart, Life’s Extras, and Peace in the Heart lightened the days and brightened the ways of hundreds of thousands of readers. Poetry