Found this bit. Not yet what you want, Pete, but with title and singer the search might be easier. Wolfgang

"As with all local legends, this one has its variations recorded by nationally recognized folklore singer Will McLean in the 1945 song "Ballad of Tate's Hell," a movie that substantially embellished the story, a play and several books. According to McLean's ballad, Cebe Tate, a resident of the tiny town of Sumatra located just outside of the Apalachicola forest, went hunting for panthers with his two dogs and a "puppy named Spark. ... The big rattler struck him above the bent knee. The lick was so hard, a'sprawling he fell. This was the beginning of poor old Tate's Hell." In the ballad, Tate managed to crawl out of the swamp 12 days later in Carrabelle, about 25 miles southeast of Sumatra, where he muttered, "My name is old Tate, boys, I've just been through hell!" Then he died."