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If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon + University" within the 60 days following each + date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) + your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, +scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty +free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution +you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg +Association / Carnegie-Mellon University". + +*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +Voyage of the Paper Canoe, N. H. Bishop, 1878 +This Etext prepared by Charles Hall chall@totalsports.net + + + + + +Voyage of the Paper Canoe, by N. H. Bishop, 1878 + + + + + +A GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNEY OF 2500 MILES FROM +QUEBEC TO THE GULF OF MEXICO, +DURING THE YEARS 1874-5. + +BY NATHANIEL H. BISHOP, + +AUTHOR OF "ONE THOUSAND MILES WALK ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA" +AND CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY +AND OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. + +BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS. NEW YORK: CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM. 1878. + +TO THE SUPERINTENDENT. ASSISTANTS, AIDS, AND ALL EMPLOYEES OF THE +UNITED STATES COAST SURVEY BUREAU, THE "VOYAGE OF THE PAPER CANOE" +IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, + +AS A SLIGHT EVIDENCE OF THE APPRECIATION BY ITS AUTHOR FOR +THEIR INTELLIGENT EFFORTS AND SELF-DENYING LABORS +IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY, SO PATIENTLY +AND SKILFULLY PERFORMING, UNDER MANY +DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + + +The author left Quebec, Dominion of Canada, +July 4, 1874, with a single assistant, in a wooden +canoe eighteen feet in length, bound for the Gulf of +Mexico. It was his intention to follow the natural +and artificial connecting watercourses of the +continent in the most direct line southward to the gulf +coast of Florida, making portages as seldom as +possible, to show how few were the interruptions to +a continuous water-way for vessels of light draught, +from the chilly, foggy, and rocky regions of the Gulf +of St. Lawrence in the north, to the semi-tropical +waters of the great Southern Sea, the waves of which +beat upon the sandy shores of the southernmost +United States. Having proceeded about four +hundred miles upon his voyage, the author reached +Troy, on the Hudson River, New York state, where +for several years E. Waters & Sons had been +perfecting the construction of paper boats. + +The advantages in using a boat of only fifty-eight +pounds weight, the strength and durability of which +had been well and satisfactorily tested, could not +be questioned, and the author dismissed his +assistant, and "paddled his own canoe" about two +thousand miles to the end of the journey. Though +frequently lost in the labyrinth of creeks and marshes +which skirt the southern coast of his country, the +author's difficulties were greatly lessened by the use +of the valuable and elaborate charts of the United +States Coast Survey Bureau, to the faithful +executers of which he desires to give unqualified and +grateful praise. + +To an unknown wanderer among the creeks, rivers, +and sounds of the coast, the courteous treatment of +the Southern people was most gratifying. The +author can only add to this expression an extract +from his reply to the address of the Mayor of St. +Mary's, Georgia, which city honored him with an +ovation and presentation of flags after the +completion of his voyage: + +"Since my little paper canoe entered southern +waters upon her geographical errand, -- from the +capes of the Delaware to your beautiful St. Mary's, +-- I have been deeply sensible of the value of +Southern hospitality. The oystermen and fishermen +living along the lonely beaches of the eastern shore +of Maryland and Virginia; the surfmen and +lighthouse keepers of Albemarle, Pamplico, and Core +sounds, in North Carolina; the ground-nut planters +who inhabit the uplands that skirt the network of +creeks, marshes, ponds, and sounds from Bogue +Inlet to Cape Fear; the piny-woods people, +lumbermen, and turpentine distillers on the little bluffs +that jut into the fastnesses of the great swamps of the +crooked Waccamaw River; the representatives of +the once powerful rice-planting aristocracy of the +Santee and Peedee rivers; the colored men of the +beautiful sea-islands along the coast of Georgia; +The Floridians living between the St. Mary's River +and the Suwanee -- the wild river of song; the +islanders on the Gulf of Mexico where I terminated +my long journey; -- all have contributed to make the +'Voyage of the Paper Canoe' a success." + +After returning from this paper-canoe voyage, the +author embarked alone, December 2, 1875, in a cedar +duck-boat twelve feet in length, from the head of +the Ohio River, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and +followed the Ohio and Mississippi rivers over two +thousand miles to New Orleans, where he made a +portage through that city eastwardly to Lake +Pontchartrain, and rowed along the shores of the Gulf +of Mexico six or seven hundred miles, to Cedar +Keys, Florida, the terminus of his paper-canoe +voyage. + +While on these two voyages, the author rowed over +five thousand miles, meeting with but one accident, +the overturning of his canoe in Delaware Bay. +He returned to his home with his boats in good +condition, and his note-books, charts, &c., in an +excellent state of preservation. + +At the request of the "Board on behalf of the +United States Executive Department" of the +Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, the paper canoe +"Maria Theresa," and the cedar duck-boat "Centennial +Republic," were deposited in the Smithsonian +Department of the United States Government +building, during the summer and fall of 1876. + +The maps, which show the route followed by +the paper canoe, have been drawn and engraved +by contract at the United States Coast Survey +Bureau, and are on a scale of 1/1,500,000. As the work +is based on the results of actual surveys, the +maps may be considered, for their size, the most +complete of the United States coast ever presented +to the public. + +Much credit is due to Messrs. Waud and Merrill +for the artistic results of their pencils, and to Messrs. +John Andrew & Son for their skill in engraving the +illustrations. + +To the readers of the author's first book of +travels, "The Pampas and Andes: a Thousand Miles' +Walk across South America," which journey was +undertaken when he was but seventeen years of +age, the writer would say that their many kind and +appreciative letters have prompted him to send forth +this second book of travels -- the "Voyage of the +Paper Canoe." + +LAKE GEORGE, WARREN COUNTY, N. Y., +JANUARY 1, 1878. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + +CHAPTER I. THE APPROACHES TO THE WATER-WAY OF THE CONTINENT. + +ISLAND OF ST. PAUL. -- THE PORTALS OF THE GULF OF ST. +LAWRENCE. -- THE EXTINCT AUK. -- ANTICOSTI ISLAND. -- +ICEBERGS. -- SAILORS' SUPERSTITIONS. -- THE ESTUARY OF +THE ST. LAWRENCE. -- TADOUSAC. -- THE SAGUENAY +RIVER. -- WHITE WHALES. -- QUEBEC. + +CHAPTER II. FROM QUEBEC TO SOREL. + +THE WATER WAY INTO THE CONTINENT. -- THE WESTERN AND +THE SOUTHERN ROUTE TO THE GULF OF MEXICO. -- THE +MAYETA. -- COMMENCEMENT OF THE VOYAGE. -- ASCENT of +THE RIVER ST. LAWRENCE. -- LAKE. of ST. PETER. -- +ACADIAN TOWN OF SOREL. + +CHAPTER III. FROM THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER TO TICONDEROGA, LAKE CHAMPLAIN. + +THE RICHELIEU RIVER. -- ACADIAN SCENES. -- ST. OURS. -- ST. +ANTOINE. -- ST. MARKS. -- BELOEIL. -- CHAMBLY CANAL. -- ST. +JOHNS. -- LAKE CHAMPLAIN. -- THE GREAT SHIP CANAL. -- +DAVID BODFISH'S CAMP. -- THE ADIRONDACK SURVEY. -- A +CANVAS BOAT. -- DIMENSIONS OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. -- PORT +KENT. -- AUSABLE CHASM. -- ARRIVAL AT TICONDEROGA. + +CHAPTER IV. FROM LAKES GEORGE AND CHAMPLAIN TO THE HUDSON RIVER. + +THE DISCOVERY OF LAKE GEORGE BY FATHER JOGUES. -- A +PEDESTRIAN JOURNEY. -- THE HERMIT OF THE NARROWS. -- +CONVENT OF ST. MARY'S of THE LAKE. -- THE PAULIST +FATHERS. -- CANAL ROUTE FROM LAKE. CHAMPLAIN TO +ALBANY. -- BODFISH RETURNS TO NEW JERSEY. -- THE LITTLE +FLEET IN ITS HAVEN OF REST. + +CHAPTER V. THE AMERICAN PAPER BOAT AND ENGLISH CANOES. + +THE PECULIAR CHARACTER OF THE PAPER BOAT. -- THE +HISTORY OF THE ADOPTION OF PAPER FOR BOATS. -- A BOY'S +INGENUITY. -- THE PROCESS OF BUILDING PAPER BOATS +DESCRIBED. -- COLLEGE CLUBS ADOPTING THEM. -- THE GREAT +VICTORIES WON BY PAPER OVER WOODEN SHELLS IN 1876. + +CHAPTER VI. FROM TROY TO PHILADELPHIA. + +PAPER CANOE MARIA THERESA. -- THE START. -- THE DESCENT +OF THE HUDSON RIVER. -- -- CROSSING THE UPPER BAY OF +NEW YORK. -- PASSAGE OF THE KILLS. -- RARITAN RIVER. -- +THE CANAL ROUTE FROM NEW BRUNSWICK TO THE +DELAWARE RIVER. -- FROM BORDENTOWN TO PHILADELPHIA. + +CHAPTER VII. FROM PHILADELPHIA TO CAPE HENLOPEN. + +DESCENT OF DELAWARE RIVER. -- MY FIRST CAMP. -- BOMBAY +HOOK. -- MURDERKILL CREEK. -- A STORM IN DELAWARE +BAY. -- CAPSIZING OF THE CANOE. -- A SWIM FOR LIFE. -- +THE PERSIMMON GROVE. -- WILLOW GROVE INN. -- THE +LIGHTS OF CAPES MAY AND HENLOPEN. + +CHAPTER VIII. FROM CAPE HENLOPEN TO NORFOLK, VIRGINIA. + +THE PORTAGE TO LOVE CREEK. -- THE DELAWARE +WHIPPINGPOST. -- REHOBOTH AND INDIAN RIVER BAYS. -- A PORTAGE +TO LITTLE ASSAWAMAN BAY. -- ISLE OF WIGHT BAY. -- +WINCHESTER PLANTATION. -- CHINCOTEAGUE. -- WATCHAPREAGUE +INLET. -- COBB'S ISLAND. -- CHERRYSTONE. -- ARRIVAL AT +NORFOLK. -- THE "LANDMARK'S" ENTERPRISE. + +CHAPTER IX. FROM NORFOLK TO CAPE HATTERAS. + +THE ELIZABETH RIVER. -- THE CANAL. -- NORTH LANDING +RIVER. -- CURRITUCK SOUND. -- ROANOKE ISLAND. -- VISIT +TO BODY ISLAND LIGHT -- HOUSE. -- A ROMANCE OF +HISTORY. -- PAMPLICO SOUND. -- THE PAPER CANOE ARRIVES +AT CAPE HATTERAS. + +CHAPTER X. FROM CAPE HATTERAS TO CAPE FEAR, NORTH CAROLINA. + +CAPE HATTERAS LIGHT. -- HABITS OF BIRDS. - STORM AT +HATTERAS INLET. -MILES OF WRECKS. -THE YACHT +JULIA SEARCHING FOR THE PAPER CANOE. -- CHASED BY +PORPOISES. -- MARSH TACKIES. - OCRACOKE INLET. - A +GRAVEYARD BEING SWALLOWED UP BY THE SEA. -- CORE +SOUND. -- THREE WEDDINGS AT HUNTING QUARTERS. - +MOREHEAD CITY. -- NEWBERN. - SWANSBORO. - A PEANUT +PLANTATION. -- THE ROUTE TO CAPE FEAR. + +CHAPTER XI. FROM CAPE FEAR TO CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA. + +A PORTAGE TO LAKE WACCAMAW. -- SUBMERGED SWAMPS. -- +NIGHT AT A TURPENTINE DISTILLERY. -- A DISMAL +WILDERNESS. -- OWLS AND MISTLETOE. -- CRACKERS AND +NEGROES. -- ACROSS THE SOUTH CAROLINA LINE. -- A +CRACKER'S IDEA OF HOSPITALITY. -- POT BLUFF. -- PEEDEE +RIVER. -- GEORGETOWN. -- WINYAH BAY. -- THE RICE +PLANTATIONS OF THE SANTEE RIVERS. -- A NIGHT WITH THE +SANTEE NEGROES. -- ARRIVAL AT CHARLESTON. + +CHAPTER XII. FROM CHARLESTON TO SAVANNAH, GEORGIA. + +THE INTERIOR WATER ROUTE TO JEHOSSEE ISLAND. -- +GOVERNOR AIKEN'S MODEL RICE PLANTATION. -- LOST IN THE +HORNS. -- ST. HELENA SOUND. -- LOST IN THE NIGHT. -- +THE PHANTOM SHIP. -- THE FINLANDER'S WELCOME. -- A +NIGHT ON THE EMPEROR'S OLD YACHT. -- THE PHOSPHATE +MINES. -- COOSAW AND BROAD RIVERS. -- PORT ROYAL +SOUND AND CALIBOGUE SOUND. -- CUFFY'S HOME. -- +ARRIVAL IN GEORGIA. -- RECEPTIONS AT GREENWICH +SHOOTING-PARK. + +CHAPTER XIII. FROM THE SAVANNAH RIVER TO FLORIDA. + +ROUTE TO THE SEA ISLANDS OF GEORGIA. -- STORM-BOUND +ON GREEN ISLAND. -- OSSABAW ISLAND. -- ST. CATHERINE'S +SOUND. -- SAPELO ISLAND. -- THE MUD OF MUD RIVER. -- +NIGHT IN A NEGRO CABIN. -- "DE SHOUTINGS" ON DOBOY +ISLAND. -- BROUGHTON ISLAND. -- ST. SIMON'S AND JEKYL +ISLANDS. -- INTERVIEW WITH AN ALLIGATOR. -- A NIGHT +IN JOINTER HAMMOCK. -- CUMBERLAND ISLAND AND ST. +MARY'S RIVER. -- FAREWELL TO THE SEA. + +CHAPTER XIV. ST. MARYS RIVER AND THE SUWANEE WILDERNESS + +A PORTAGE TO DUTTON. -- DESCENT OF THE ST. MARY'S +RIVER. -- FETE GIVEN BY THE CITIZENS TO THE PAPER +CANOE. -- THE PROPOSED CANAL ROUTE ACROSS FLORIDA. - +PORTAGE TO THE SUWANEE RIVER. -- A NEGRO SPEAKS +ON ELECTRICITY AND THE TELEGRAPH. -- A FREEDMAN'S +SERMON. + +CHAPTER XV. DOWN UPON THE SUWANEE RIVER. + +THE RICH FOLIAGE OF THE RIVER. -- COLUMBUS. - ROLINS' +BLUFF. -- OLD TOWN HAMMOCK. - A HUNTER KILLED BY +A PANTHER. -- DANGEROUS SERPENTS. -- CLAY LANDING. -- +THE MARSHES OF THE COAST. -- BRADFORD'S ISLAND. -- +MY LAST CAMP. -- THE VOYAGE ENDED. + + + + +LIST OF MAPS DRAWN AND ENGRAVED AT THE UNITED STATES +COAST SURVEY BUREAU, FOR THE "VOYAGE OF THE PAPER CANOE." + + + +GENERAL MAP OF ROUTES FOLLOWED BY THE +AUTHOR DURING TWO VOYAGES MADE TO THE GULF +OF MEXICO + + +GUIDE MAPS OF CANOE ROUTE. + + +FROM QUEBEC, CANADA, TO PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK STATE + +FROM PLATTSBURGH TO ALBANY + +FROM ALBANY TO NEW YORK CITY + +FROM NEW YORK CITY TO CAPE HENLOPEN, DELAWARE + +FROM CAPE HENLOPEN, DELAWARE, TO NORFOLK, VIRGINIA + +FROM NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, TO BOGUE INLET, NORTH CAROLINA + +FROM BOGUE INLET, NORTH CAROLINA, TO BULL'S BAY, SOUTH CAROLINA + +FROM BULL'S BAY, SOUTH CAROLINA, TO ST. SIMON'S SOUND, GEORGIA + +FROM ST. SIMON'S SOUND, GEORGIA, TO CEDAR KEYS, FLORIDA + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS. ENGRAVED By John ANDREW & SON. + + + +GREAT AUK (Alca impennis). Extinct. +ANCHORED AT LAST +A FULL-RIGGED NAUTILUS CANOE +THE ROB ROY CANOE +THE ABORIGINAL TYPE + +Photographed at Disco, Greenland. + +THE IMPROVED TYPE. -- PAPER CANOE MARIA THERESA +A CAPSIZE IN DELAWARE BAY +DELAWARE WHIPPING-POST AND PILLORY +BODY ISLAND LIGHT HOUSE +CROSSING HATTERAS INLET +RECEPTION AT CHARLESTON POST-OFFICE +HOME OF THE ALLIGATOR +THE PANTHER'S LEAP +THE VOYAGE ENDED + + + + +CHAPTER I. THE APPROACHES TO THE WATER-WAY OF THE CONTINENT. + + + +ISLAND OF ST. PAUL. -- THE PORTALS OF THE GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE. -- +THE EXTINCT AUK. -- ANTICOSTI ISLAND. -- +ICEBERGS. -- SAILORS' SUPERSTITIONS. -- THE ESTUARY OF THE +ST. LAWRENCE. -- TADOUSAC. -- THE SAGUENAY RIVER. -- WHITE WHALES. -- QUEBEC. + +While on his passage to the ports of the +St. Lawrence River, the mariner first +sights the little island of St. Paul, situated in +the waste of waters between Cape Ray, the +southwestern point of Newfoundland on the north, +and Cape North, the northeastern projection of +Cape Breton Island on the south. Across this +entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence from cape +to cape is a distance of fifty-four nautical miles; +and about twelve miles east-northeast from Cape +North the island of St. Paul, with its three hills +and two light-towers, rises from the sea with +deep waters on every side. + +This wide inlet into the gulf may be called the +middle portal, for at the northern end of +Newfoundland, between the great island and the +coast of Labrador, another entrance exists, +which is known as the Straits of Belle Isle, +and is sometimes called "the shorter passage +from England." Still to the south of the +middle entrance is another and a very narrow one, +known as the Gut of Canso, which separates +the island of Cape Breton from Nova Scotia. +Through this contracted thoroughfare the tides +run with great force. + +One hundred years ago, as the seaman +approached the dangerous entrance of St. Paul, +now brightened at night by its light-towers, his +heart was cheered by the sight of immense +flocks of a peculiar sea-fowl, now extinct. +When he saw upon the water the Great Auk +(Alca impennis), which he ignorantly called +"a pengwin," he knew that land was near at +hand, for while he met other species far out +upon the broad Atlantic, the Great Auk, his +"pengwin," kept near the coast. Not only was +this now extinct bird his indicator of proximity +to the land, but so strange were its habits, and +so innocent was its nature, that it permitted +itself to be captured by boat-loads; and thus +were the ships re-victualled at little cost or +trouble. Without any market-value a century +ago, the Great Auk now, as a stuffed skin, +represents a value of fifteen hundred dollars in +gold. There are but seventy-two specimens of +this bird in the museums of Europe and +America, besides a few skeletons, and sixty-five of its +eggs. It was called in ancient days Gare-fowl, +and was the Goiful of the Icelander. + +Captain Whitbourne, who wrote in the reign +of James the First, quaintly said: "These +Pengwins are as bigge as Geese, and flye not, for +they have but a little short wing, and they +multiply so infinitely upon a certain flat island that +men drive them from thence upon a board into +their boats by hundreds at a time, as if God had +made the innocency of so poor a creature to +become such an admerable instrument for the +sustenation of man." + +In a copy of the English Pilot, "fourth book," +published in 1761, which I presented to the +library of the United States Coast Survey, is +found this early description of this now extinct +American bird: "They never go beyond the +bank [Newfoundland] as others do, for they are +always on it, or in it, several of them together, +sometimes more but never less than two +together. They are large fowls, about the size +a goose, a coal-black head and back, with a +white belly and a milk-white spot under one of +their eyes, which nature has ordered to be under +their right eye." + +Thus has the greed of the sailor and +pothunter swept from the face of the earth an old +pilot -- a trusty aid to navigation. Now the +light-house, the fog-gun, and the improved chart +have taken the place of the extinct auk as aids +to navigation, and the sailor of to-day sees the +bright flashes of St. Paul's lights when nearly +twenty miles at sea. Having passed the little +isle, the ship enters the great Gulf of St. +Lawrence, and passes the Magdalen Islands, shaping +its course as wind and weather permit towards +the dreaded, rocky coast of Anticosti. From the +entrance of the gulf to the island of Anticosti +the course to be followed is northwesterly about +one hundred and thirty-five nautical miles. The +island which divides an upper arm of the gulf +into two wide channels is one hundred and +twenty-three miles long, and from ten to thirty +miles wide. Across the entrance of this great +arm, or estuary, from the high cape of Gaspe +on the southern shore of the mainland to +Anticosti in the narrowest place, is a distance of +about forty miles, and is called the South +Channel. From the north side of the island and near +its west end to the coast of Labrador the North +Channel is fifteen miles wide. The passage from +St. Paul to Anticosti is at times dangerous. Here +is an area of strong currents, tempestuous winds, +and dense fogs. When the wind is fair for an +upward run, it is the wind which usually brings +misty weather. Then, from the icy regions of +the Arctic circle, from the Land of Desolation, +come floating through the Straits of Belle Isle +the dangerous bergs and ice-fields. Early in the +spring these ice rafts are covered with colonies +of seals which resort to them for the purpose of +giving birth to their young. On these icy +cradles, rocked by the restless waves, tens of +thousands of young seals are nursed for a few days; +then, answering the loud calls of their mothers, +they accompany them into the briny deep, there +to follow the promptings of their instincts. The +loud roarings of the old seals on these ice rafts +can be heard in a quiet night for several miles, +and strike terror into the hearts of the +superstitious sailor who is ignorant of the origin of +the tumult. + +Frequently dense fogs cover the water, and +while slowly moving along, guided only by the +needle, a warning sound alarms the watchful +master. Through the heavy mists comes the +roar of breaking waters. He listens. The dull, +swashy noise of waves meeting with resistance +is now plainly heard. The atmosphere becomes +suddenly chilled: it is the breath of the +iceberg! + +Then the shrill cry of "All hands on deck!" +startles the watch below from the bunks. +Anxiously now does the whole ship's company lean +upon the weather-rail and peer out into the thick +air with an earnestness born of terror. "Surely," +says the master to his mate, "I am past the +Magdalens, and still far from Anticosti, yet we have +breakers; which way can we turn?" The riddle +solves itself; for out of the gloom come whitened +walls, beautiful but terrible to behold. + +Those terror-stricken sailors watch the slowly +moving berg as it drifts past their vessel, fearing +that their own ship will be drawn towards it +from the peculiar power of attraction they believe +the iceberg to possess. And as they watch, +against the icy base of the mountain in the sea +the waves beat and break as if expending their +forces upon a rocky shore. Down the furrowed +sides of the disintegrating berg streamlets trickle, +and miniature cascades leap, mingling their +waters with the briny sea. The intruder slowly +drifts out of sight, disappearing in the gloom, +while the sailor thanks his lucky stars that he has +rid himself of another danger. The ill-omened +Anticosti, the graveyard of many seamen, is yet +to he passed. The ship skirts along its southern +shore, a coast destitute of bays or harbors of +any kind, rock-bound and inhospitable. + +Wrecks of vessels strew the rocky shores, and +four light-houses warn the mariner of danger. +Once past the island the ship is well within the +estuary of the gulf into which the St. Lawrence +River flows, contributing the waters of the great +lakes of the continent to the sea. As the north +coast is approached the superstitious sailor is +again alarmed if perchance, the compass-needle +shows sympathy with some disturbing element, +the cause of which he believes to exist in the +mountains which rise along the shore. He +repeats the stories of ancient skippers, of vessels +having been lured out of their course by the +deviation of the guiding-needle, which +succumbed to the potent influence exerted in those +hills of iron ore; heeding not the fact that the +disturbing agent is the iron on board of his own +ship, and not the magnetic oxide of the distant +mines. + +The ship being now within the estuary of the +St. Lawrence River, must encounter many risks +before she reaches the true mouth of the river, +at the Bic Islands. + +The shores along this arm of the gulf are wild +and sombre. Rocky precipices frown upon the +swift tidal current that rushes past their bases. +A few small settlements of fishermen and pilots, +like Metis, Father Point, and Rimousky, are +discovered at long intervals along the coast. + +In these St. Lawrence hamlets, and +throughout Lower Canada, a patois is spoken which is +unintelligible to the Londoner or Parisian; and +these villagers, the descendants of the French +colonists, may be said to be a people destitute +of a written language, and strangers to a +literature. + +While holding a commission from Francis the +First, king of France, Jacques Cartier discovered +the Gulf of St. Lawrence, during his first +voyage of exploration in the new world. He +entered the gulf on St. Lawrence's day, in the +spring of 1534, and named it in honor of the +event. Cartier explored no farther to the west +than about the mouth of the estuary which is +divided by the island of Anticosti. It was +during his second voyage, in the following year, +that he discovered and explored the great river. +Of the desolate shores of Labrador, on the +north coast, he said, "It might as well as not +be taken for the country assigned by God to +Cain." + +The distance from Quebec to Cape Gaspe, +measured upon a course which a steamer would +be compelled to take, is four hundred and seven +statute miles. The ship first enters the current +of the river St. Lawrence at the two Bic +Islands, where it has a width of about twenty +miles. By consulting most maps the reader will +find that geographers carry the river nearly two +hundred miles beyond its usual current. In fact, +they appropriate the whole estuary, which, in +places, is nearly one hundred miles in width, +and call it a river -- a river which lacks the +characteristics of a river, the currents of which +vary with the winds and tidal influences, and +the waters of which are as salt as those of the +briny deep. + +Here, in the mouth of the river, at the Bics, +secure anchorage for vessels may be found; but +below, in the estuary, for a distance of more +than two hundred and forty-five miles, to Gaspe, +there is but one port of refuge, that of Seven +Islands, on the north coast. + +As the ship ascends the river from Bic Islands, +a passage of about one hundred and sixty statute +miles to Quebec, she struggles against a strong +current. Picturesque islands and little villages, +such as St. Andre, St. Anne, St. Rogue, St. Jean, +and St. Thomas, relieve the monotony. But very +different is the winter aspect of this river, when +closed to navigation by ice from November until +Spring. Of the many tributaries which give +strength to the current of the St. Lawrence and +contribute to its glory, the Saguenay River with +its remarkable scenery is counted one of the +wonders of our continent. It joins the great +river from the north shore, about one hundred +and thirty-four statute miles below Quebec. +Upon the left bank, at its mouth, nestles the +little village of Tadousac, the summer retreat +of the governor-general of the Dominion of +Canada. + +American history claims for the Roman +Catholic church of this settlement an age second +only to that of the old Spanish cathedral at St. +Augustine, Florida. For three hundred years +the storms of winter have beaten upon its walls, +but it stands a silent yet eloquent monument of +the pious zeal of the ancient Fathers, who came +to conquer Satan in the wilderness of a new +world. The Saguenay has become the "Mecca" +of northern tourists, ever attracting them with +its wild and fascinating scenery. Capes Eternity +and Trinity guard the entrance to Eternity Bay. +The first towers sublimely to a height of +eighteen hundred feet, the other is only a little +lower. A visit to this mysterious river, with its +deep, dark waters and picturesque views, will +repay the traveller for the discomforts of a long +and expensive journey. + +Where the turbulent current of the Saguenay +mingles angrily with that of the St. Lawrence, +there may be seen disporting in the waves the +white whale of aquariums, which is not a whale +at all, but a true porpoise (Delphinopterus +Catodon, as he is now called by naturalists), having +teeth in the jaws, and being destitute of the +fringed bone of the whalebone whales. This +interesting creature is very abundant in the +Arctic Ocean on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides, +and has its southern limits in the Gulf of St. +Lawrence, although one is occasionally seen in +the Bay of Fundy, and it is reported to have +been observed about Cape Cod, on the +Massachusetts coast. + +As the ship nears the first great port of the +St. Lawrence River, the large and well +cultivated island of Orleans is passed, and the bold +fortifications of Quebec, high up on the face of +Point Diamond, and flanked by the houses of the +French city, break upon the vision of the mariner. +To the right, and below the city, which +Champlain founded, and in which his unknown +ashes repose, are the beautiful Falls of +Montmorency, gleaming in all the whiteness of their +falling waters and mists, like the bridal veil of a +giantess. The vessel has safely made her +passage, and now comes to anchor in the Basin of +Quebec. The sails are furled, and the heart of +the sailor is merry, for the many dangers which +beset the ship while approaching and entering +the great water-way of the continent are now +over. + + + + +CHAPTER II. FROM QUEBEC TO SOREL + + + +THE WATER-WAY INTO THE CONTINENT. -- THE WESTERN AND +THE SOUTHERN ROUTE TO THE GULF OF MEXICO. -- THE MAYETA. +-- COMMENCEMENT OF THE VOYAGE. -- ASCENT OF THE RIVER +ST. LAWRENCE. -- LAKE OF ST. PETER. -- ACADIAN TOWN OF +SOREL + + +The canoe traveller can ascend the St. +Lawrence River to Lake Ontario, avoiding the +rapids and shoals by making use of seven canals +of a total length of forty-seven miles. He may +then skirt the shores of Lake Ontario, and enter +Lake Erie by the canal which passes around the +celebrated Falls of Niagara. From the last great +inland sea he can visit lakes Huron, Michigan, +and, with the assistance of a short canal, the +grandest of all, Superior. When he has reached +the town of Duluth, at the southwestern end of +Superior, which is the terminus of the Northern +Pacific Railroad, our traveller will have paddled +(following the contours of the land) over two +thousand miles from salt water into the +American continent without having been compelled to +make a portage with his little craft. Let him +now make his first portage westward, over the +road one hundred and fifteen miles from +Duluth to the crossing of the Mississippi River at +Brainerd, and launch his boat on the Father of +Waters, which he may descend with but few +interruptions to below the Falls of St. Anthony, +at Minneapolis; or, if he will take his boat by +rail from Duluth, one hundred and fifty-five miles, +to St. Paul, he can launch his canoe, and follow +the steamboat to the Gulf of Mexico. This is +the longest, and may be called the canoeist's +western route to the great Southern Sea. In +St. Louis County, Minnesota, the water from +"Seven Beaver Lakes" flows south-southwest, +and joins the Flood-Wood River; there taking +an easterly course towards Duluth, it empties +into Lake Superior. This is the St. Louis River, +the first tributary of the mighty St. Lawrence +system. From the head waters of the St. Louis +to the mouth of the St. Lawrence at Bic Islands, +where it enters the great estuary, the length of +this great water system, including the great +Lakes, is about two thousand miles. The area thus +drained by the St. Lawrence River is nearly six +millions of square miles. The largest craft can +ascend it to Quebec, and smaller ones to +Montreal; above which city, navigation being +impeded by rapids, the seven canals before +mentioned have been constructed that vessels may +avoid this danger while voyaging to Lake Ontario. + +The southern and shorter coast route to the +gulf leaves the great river at the Acadian town +of Sorel, where the quiet Richelieu flows into +the St. Lawrence River. Of the two long routes +offered me I selected the southern, leaving the +other to be traversed at some future time. To +follow the contours of rivers, bays, and sounds, +a voyage of at least twenty-five hundred miles +was before me. It was my intention to explore +the connecting watercourses southward, without +making a single portage, as far as Cape +Henlopen, a sandy headland at the entrance of +Delaware Bay; there, by making short portages from +one watercourse to another, to navigate along +the interior of the Atlantic coast to the St. Mary's +River, which is a dividing line between Georgia +and Florida. From the Atlantic coast of +southern Georgia, I proposed to cross the peninsula +of Florida by way of the St. Mary's River, to +Okefenokee Swamp; thence, by portage, to the +Suwanee River, and by descending that stream +(the boundary line of a geographical division -- +eastern and middle Florida), to reach the coast +of the Gulf of Mexico, which was to be the +terminal point of my canoe journey. Charts, maps +and sea-faring men had informed me that about +twenty-three hundred miles of the trip could be +made upon land-locked waters, but about two +hundred miles of voyaging must be done upon +the open Atlantic Ocean. + +As I now write, I smilingly remember how +erroneous were my advisers; for, while +prosecuting my voyage, I was but once upon the open +sea and then through mistake and for only a +few minutes. Had I then known that I could +have followed the whole route in a small boat +upon strictly interior waters, I should have +paddled from the Basin of Quebec in the light +paper canoe which I afterwards adopted at Troy, +and which carried me alone in safety two +thousand miles to the warm regions of the Gulf of +Mexico. The counsels of old seamen had +influenced me to adopt a large wooden clinker-built, +decked canoe, eighteen feet long, forty-five inches +beam, and twenty-four inches depth of hold, +which weighed, with oars, rudder, mast and sail, +above three hundred pounds. The Mayeta was +built by an excellent workman, Mr. J. S. +Lamson, at Bordentown, New Jersey. The boat was +sharp at each end, and the lines from amidships +to stem, and from amidships to stempost, were +alike. She possessed that essential characteristic +of seaworthiness, abundant sheer. The deck was +pierced for a cockpit in the centre, which was +six feet long and surrounded by a high combing +to keep out water. The builder had done his +best to make the Mayeta serve for rowing and +sailing -- a most difficult combination, and one +not usually successful. + +On the morning of July 4, 1874, I entered +the Basin of Quebec with my wooden canoe +and my waterman, one David Bodfish, a +"shoreman" of New Jersey. After weeks of +preparation and weary travel by rail and by water, we +had steamed up the Gulf and the River of St. +Lawrence to this our most northern point of +departure. We viewed the frowning heights +upon which was perched the city of Quebec +with unalloyed pleasure, and eagerly scrambled +up the high banks to see the interesting old city. +The tide, which rises at the city piers eighteen +feet in the spring, during the neaps reaches only +thirteen feet. Late in the afternoon the +incoming tide promised to assist us in ascending the +river, the downward current of which runs with +torrent-like velocity, and with a depth abreast +the city of from sixteen to twenty fathoms. +Against this current powerful steamers run one +hundred and eighty miles up the river to +Montreal in eighteen hours, and descend in fourteen +hours, including two hours' stoppages at Sorel +and Three Rivers. At six o'clock P. M. we +pushed off into the river, which is about +two-thirds of a mile wide at this point, and +commenced our voyage; but fierce gusts of wind +arose and drove us to the shelter of Mr. +Hamilton's lumber-yard on the opposite shore, where +we passed the night, sleeping comfortably upon +cushions which we spread on the narrow floor +of the boat. Sunday was to be spent in camp; +but when dawn appeared we were not allowed +build a fire on the lumber pier, and were +forced to ascend the St. Lawrence in quest of a +retired spot above the landing of St. Croix, on +the right bank of the river. The tide had been +a high one when we beached our boat at the foot +of a bluff. Two hours later the receding tide +left us a quarter of a mile from the current. +The river was fully two miles wide at this point, +and so powerful was its current that steamers +anchored in it were obliged to keep their wheels +slowly revolving to ease the strain on their +anchors. Early on Monday morning we beheld +with consternation that the tide did not reach +our boat, and by dint of hard labor we +constructed a railroad from a neighboring fence, +and moved the Mayeta on rollers upon it over +the mud and the projecting reef of rocks some +five hundred feet to the water, then embarking, +rowed close along the shore to avoid the current. +A deep fog settled down upon us, and we were +driven to camp again on the left bank, where a +cataract tumbled over the rocks fifty or more +feet. Tuesday was a sunny day, but the usual +head wind greeted us. The water would rise +along-shore on the flood three hours before the +downward current was checked in the channel +of the river. We could not place any +dependence in the regularity of the tides, as strong +winds and freshets in the tributaries influence +them. Earlier in the season, as a writer +remarks, "until the upland waters have all run +down, and the great rivers have discharged the +freshets caused by thawing of the snows in the +spring of the year, this current, in spite of tides, +will always run down." To the uninitiated the +spectacle is a curious one, of the flood tide rising +and swelling the waters of a great river some +eight to ten feet, while the current at the surface +is rapidly descending the course of the stream. + +Finding that the wind usually rose and fell +with the sun, we now made it a rule to anchor +our boat during most of the day and pull against +the current at night. The moon and the bright +auroral lights made this task an agreeable one. +Then, too, we had Coggia's comet speeding +through the northern heavens, awakening many +an odd conjecture in the mind of my old salt. + +In this high latitude day dawned before three +o'clock, and the twilight lingered so long that +we could read the fine print of a newspaper +without effort at a quarter to nine o'clock P. M. +The lofty shores that surrounded us at Quebec +gradually decreased in elevation, and the tides +affected the river less and less as we approached +Three Rivers, where they seemed to cease +altogether. We reached the great lumber station +of Three Rivers, which is located on the left +bank of the St. Lawrence, on Friday evening, +and moved our canoe into quiet waters near the +entrance of Lake of St. Peter. Rain squalls +kept us close under our hatch-cloth till eleven +o'clock A. M. on Saturday, when, the wind being +fair, we determined to make an attempt to reach +Sorel, which would afford us a pleasant +camping-ground for Sunday. + +Lake of St. Peter is a shoal sheet of water +twenty-two miles long and nearly eight miles +wide, a bad place to cross in a small boat in +windy weather. We set our sail and sped +merrily on, but the tempest pressed us sorely, +compelling us to take in our sail and scud under +bare poles until one o'clock, when we +double-reefed and set the sail. We now flew over the +short and swashy seas as blast after blast struck +our little craft. At three o'clock the wind +slackened, permitting us to shake out our reefs and +crowd on all sail. A labyrinth of islands closed +the lake at its western end, and we looked with +anxiety to find among them an opening through +which we might pass into the river St. +Lawrence again. At five o'clock the wind veered +to the north, with squalls increasing in intensity. +We steered for a low, grassy island, which +seemed to separate us from the river. The wind +was not free enough to permit us to weather it, +so we decided to beach the boat and escape the +furious tempest. But when we struck the marshy +island we kept moving on through the rushes +that covered it, and fairly sailed over its +submerged soil into the broad water on the other +side. Bodfish earnestly advised the propriety of +anchoring here for the night, saying, "It is too +rough to go on;" but the temptation held out +by the proximity to Sorel determined me to +take the risk and drive on. Again we bounded +out upon rough water, with the screeching +tempest upon us. David took the tiller, while I sat +upon the weather-rail to steady the boat. The +Mayeta was now to be put to a severe test; she +was to cross seas that could easily trip a boat of +her size; but the wooden canoe was worthy of +her builder, and flew like an affrighted bird over +the foaming waves across the broad water, to +the shelter of a wooded, half submerged island, +out of which rose, on piles, a little light-house. +Under this lee we crept along in safety. The +sail was furled, never to be used in storm again. +The wind went down with the sinking sun, and +a delightful calm favored us for our row up the +narrowing river, eight miles to the place of +destination. + +Soon after nine o'clock we came upon the +Acadian town, Sorel, with its bright lights +cheerily flashing out upon us as we rowed past its +river front. The prow of our canoe was now +pointed southward toward the goal of our +ambition, the great Mexican Gulf; and we were about +to ascend that historic stream, the lovely +Richelieu, upon whose gentle current, two hundred +and sixty-six years before, Champlain had +ascended to the noble lake which bears his name, +and up which the missionary Jogues had been +carried an unwilling captive to bondage and to +torture. + +We ascended the Richelieu, threading our +way among steam-tugs, canal-boats, and rafts, +to a fringe of rushes growing out of a shallow +flat on the left bank of the river, just above +the town. There, firmly staking the Mayeta +upon her soft bed of mud, secure from danger, +we enjoyed a peaceful rest through the calm +night which followed; and thus ended the rough +passage of one week's duration -- from Quebec +to Sorel. + + + + +CHAPTER III. FROM THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER TO TICONDEROGA, LAKE CHAMPLAIN. + + + +THE RICHELIEU RIVER. -- ACADIAN SCENES. - ST. OURS.-- ST. +ANTOINE. -- ST. MARKS. -- BELCEIL. -- CHAMELY CANAL. -- ST. +JOHNS. -- LAKE CHAMPLAIN. THE GREAT SHIP-CANAL. -- +DAVID BODFISH 'S CAMP. -- THE ADIRONDACK SURVEY. -- A +CANVAS BOAT. -- DIMENSIONS OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. -- PORT +KENT. -- AUSABLE CHASM. -- ARRIVAL AT TICONDEROGA. + + +Quebec was founded by Champlain, July 3, +1680. During his first warlike expedition +into the land of the Iroquois the following year, +escorted by Algonquin and Montagnais Indian +allies, he ascended a river to which was +afterwards given the name of Cardinal Richelieu, +prime minister of Louis XIII. of France. This +stream, which is about eighty miles long, +connects the lake (which Champlain discovered +and named after himself) with the St. Lawrence +River at a point one hundred and forty miles +above Quebec, and forty miles below Montreal. +The waters of lakes George and Champlain +flow northward, through the Richelieu River +into the St. Lawrence. The former stream flows +through a cultivated country, and upon its banks, +after leaving Sorel, are situate the little towns +of St. Ours, St. Rock, St. Denis, St. Antoine, St. +Marks, Beloeil, Chambly, and St. Johns. Small +steamers, tug-boats, and rafts pass from the St. +Lawrence to Lake Champlain (which lies almost +wholly within the United States), following the +Richelieu to Chambly, where it is necessary, to +avoid rapids and shoals, to take the canal that +follows the river's bank twelve miles to St. Johns, +where the Canadian custom-house is located. +Sorel is called William Henry by the Anglo-Saxon +Canadians. The paper published in this +town of seven thousand inhabitants is La +Gazette de Sorel. The river which flows past the +town is called, without authority, by some +geographers, Sorel River, and by others St. Johns, +because the town nearest its source is St. Johns, +and another town at its mouth is Sorel. There +are about one hundred English-speaking families +in Sorel. The American Waterhouse Machinery +supplies the town with water pumped from the +river at a cost of one ton of coal per day. At +ten o'clock on Monday morning we resumed +our journey up the Richelieu, the current of +which was nothing compared with that of the +great river we had left. The average width of +the stream was about a quarter of a mile, and the +grassy shores were made picturesque by groves +of trees and quaintly constructed farm-houses. + +It was a rich, pastoral land, abounding in fine +herds of cattle. The country reminded me of +the Acadian region of Grand Pre, which I had +visited during the earlier part of the season. +Here, as there, were delightful pastoral scenes +and rich verdure; but here we still had the +Acadian peasants, while in the land of beautiful +Evangeline no longer were they to be found, +The New Englander now holds the titles to +those deserted old farms of the scattered +colonists. Our rowing was frequently interrupted +by heavy showers, which drove us under our +hatch-cloth for protection. The same large, +two-steepled stone churches, with their +unpainted tin roofs glistening like silver in the sunlight, +marked out here, as on the high banks of the +St. Lawrence River, the site of a village. + +Twelve miles of rowing brought us to St. Ours, +where we rested for the night, after wandering +through its shaded and quaint streets. The +village boys and girls came down to see us off the +next morning, waving their kerchiefs, and +shouting "Bon voyage!" Two miles above the town +we encountered a dam three feet high, which +deepened the water on a shoal above it. We +passed through a single lock in company with +rafts of pine logs which were on the way to New +York, to be used for spars. A lockage fee of +twenty-five cents for our boat the lock-master +told us would be collected at Chambly Basin. +It was a pull of nearly six miles to St. Denis, +where the same scene of comfort and plenty +prevailed. Women were washing clothes in large +iron pots at the river's edge, and the hum of the +spinning-wheels issued from the doorways of +the farm-houses. Beehives in the well-stocked +gardens were filled with honey, and the +strawthatched barns had their doors thrown wide +open, as though waiting to receive the harvest. +At intervals along the highway, over the grassy +hills, tall, white wooden crosses were erected; +for this people, like the Acadians of old, are very +religious. Down the current floated "pin-flats," +a curious scow-like boat, which carries a square +sail, and makes good time only when running +before the wind. St. Antoine and St. Marks +were passed, and the isolated peak of St. Hilaire +loomed up grandly twelve hundred feet on the +right bank of the Richelieu, opposite the town +Beloeil. One mile above Beloeil the Grand +Trunk Railroad crosses the stream, and here we +passed the night. Strong winds and rain squalls +interrupted our progress. At Chambly Basin +we tarried until the evening of July 16, before +entering the canal. Chambly is a +watering-place for Montreal people, who come here to +enjoy the fishing, which is said to be fair. + +We had ascended one water-step at St. Ours. +Here we had eight steps to ascend within the +distance of one mile. By means of eight locks, +each one hundred and ten feet long by +twenty-two wide, the Mayeta was lifted seventy-five +feet and one inch in height to the upper level of +the canal. The lock-masters were courteous, +and wished us the usual "Bon voyage!" This +canal was built thirty-four years prior to my visit. +By ten o'clock P. M. We had passed the last lock, +and went into camp in a depression in the bank +of the canal. The journey was resumed at half +past three o'clock the following morning, and +the row of twelve miles to St. Johns was a +delightful one. The last lock (the only one at St. +Johns) was passed, and we had a full clearance +at the Dominion custom-house before noon. + +We were again on the Richelieu, with about +twenty-three miles between us and the boundary +line of the United States and Canada, and with +very little current to impede us. As dusk +approached we passed a dismantled old fort, +situated upon an island called Ile aux Noix, and +entered a region inhabited by the large bull-frog, +where we camped for the night, amid the +dolorous voices of these choristers. On Saturday, +the 18th, at an early hour, we were pulling for +the United States, which was about six miles +from our camping-ground. The Richelieu +widened, and we entered Lake Champlain, passing +Fort Montgomery, which is about one thousand +feet south of the boundary line. Champlain has +a width of three fourths of a mile at Fort +Montgomery, and at Rouse's Point expands to two +miles and three quarters. The erection of the +fort was commenced soon after 1812, but in +1818 the work was suspended, as some one +discovered that the site was in Canada, and the +cognomen of Fort Blunder was applied. In the +Webster treaty of 1842, England ceded the +ground to the United States, and Fort +Montgomery was finished at a cost of over half a +million of dollars. + +At Rouse's Point, which lies on the west shore +of Lake Champlain about one and one-half miles +south of its confluence with the Richelieu, the +Mayeta was inspected by the United States +custom-house officer, and nothing contraband being +discovered, the little craft was permitted to +continue her voyage. + +At the northern end of the harbor of Rouse's +Point is the terminus of the Ogdensburg and the +Champlain and St. Lawrence railroads. The +Vermont Central Railroad connects with the +above by means of a bridge twenty-two hundred +feet in length, which crosses the lake. Before +proceeding further it may interest the reader of +practical mind to know that a very important +movement is on foot to facilitate the navigation +of vessels between the great Lakes, St. Lawrence +River, and Champlain, by the construction of +a ship-canal. The Caughnawaga Ship Canal +Company, "incorporated by special act of the +Dominion of Parliament of Canada, 12th May, +1870," (capital, three million dollars; shares, one +hundred dollars each,) with a board of directors +composed of citizens of the United States and +Canada, has issued its prospectus, from which I +extract the following: +"The commissioners of public works, in +their report of 1859, approved by government, +finally settled the question of route, by declaring +that, 'after a patient and mature consideration of +all the surveys and reports, we are of opinion +that the line following the Chambly Canal and +then crossing to Lake St. Louis near +Caughnawaga, is that which combines and affords in the +greatest degree all the advantages contemplated +by this improvement, and which has been +approved by Messrs. Mills, Swift, and Gamble.' + +"The company's Act of Incorporation is in +every respect complete and comprehensive in its +details. It empowers the company to survey, to +take, appropriate, have and hold, to and for the +use of them and their successors, the line and +boundaries of a canal between the St. Lawrence +and Lake Champlain, to build and erect the +same, to select such sites as may be necessary +for basins and docks, as may be considered +expedient by the directors, and to purchase and +dispose of same, with any water-power, as may +be deemed best by the directors for the use and +profit of the company. + +"It also empowers the company to cause their +canal to enter into the Chambly Canal, and to +widen, deepen, and enlarge the same, not less in +size than the present St. Lawrence canals; also +the company may take, hold, and use any +portion of the Chambly Canal, and the works +therewith connected, and all the tolls, receipts, and +revenues thereof, upon terms to be settled and +agreed upon between the company and the +governor in council. + +"The cost of the canal, with locks of three +hundred feet by forty-five, and with ten feet six +inches the mitre-sill, is now estimated at two +million five hundred thousand dollars, and the +time for its construction may not exceed two +years after breaking ground. + +"Probably no question is of more vital +importance to Canada and the western and eastern +United States than the subject of transportation. +The increasing commerce of the Great West, the +rapidity with which the population has of late +flowed into that vast tract of country to the west +and northwest of lakes Erie, Michigan, Huron, +and Superior, have served to convince all +well-informed commercial men that the means of +transit between that country and the seaboard +are far too limited even for the present +necessities of trade; hence it becomes a question of +universal interest how the products of the field, the +mine, and the forest can be most cheaply +forwarded to the consumer. Near the geographical +centre of North America is a vast plateau two +thousand feet above the level of the sea, drained +by the Mississippi to the south, by the St. +Lawrence to the east and by the Saskatchewan and +McKenzie to the north. This vast territory +would have been valueless but for the water +lines which afford cheap transport between it +and the great markets of the world. + +"Canada has improved the St. Lawrence by +canals round the rapids of the St. Lawrence, and +by the Welland Canal, connecting lakes Erie and +Ontario, twenty-eight miles in length with a fall +of two hundred and sixty feet, capable of +passing vessels of four hundred tons. The St. +Lawrence, from the east end of Lake Ontario, has a +fall of two hundred and twenty feet, overcome +by seven short canals of an aggregate length of +forty-seven miles, capable of passing vessels of +six hundred and fifty tons. The Richelieu River +is connected with Lake Champlain by a canal +of twelve miles from Chambly. A canal of one +mile in length, at the outlet of Lake Superior, +connects that lake with Lake Huron, and has +two locks, which will pass vessels of two +thousand tons. New York has built a canal from +Buffalo, on Lake Erie, and from Oswego, on +Lake Ontario, to Albany, on the Hudson River, +of three hundred and sixty and of two hundred +and nine miles, capable of passing boats of two +hundred and ten tons; and she has also +constructed a canal from the Hudson River into +Lake Champlain of sixty-five miles, which can +pass boats of eighty tons. + +"Such is the nature of the navigation between +tide-water on the Hudson and St. Lawrence and +the upper lakes. The magnitude of the +commerce of the Northwest has compelled the +enlargement of the Erie and Oswego canals from +boats of seventy-eight to two hundred and ten +tons, while the St. Lawrence and Welland canals +have also been enlarged since their first +construction. A further enlargement of the Erie +and Champlain canals is now strongly urged in +consequence of the want of the necessary +facilities of transport for the ever increasing western +trade. The object of the Caughnawaga Ship-canal +is to connect Lake Champlain with the St. +Lawrence by the least possible distance, and +with the smallest amount of lockage. When +built, it will enable the vessel or propeller to +sail from the head of lakes Superior or Michigan +without breaking bulk, and will enable such +vessels to land and receive cargo at Burlington and +Whitehall, from whence western freights can be +carried to and from Boston, and throughout New +England, by railway cheaper than by any other +route. + +"It will possess the advantage, when the +Welland Canal is enlarged and the locks of the St. +Lawrence Canal lengthened, of passing vessels +of eight hundred and fifty tons' burden, and with +that size of vessel (impossible on any other route) +of improved model, with facilities for loading and +discharging cargoes at both ends of the route, in +the length of the voyage without transshipment, +in having the least distance between any of +the lake ports and a seaport, and in having the +shortest length of taxed canal navigation. The +Construction of the Caughnawaga Canal, when +carried out, will remedy the difficulties which +now exist and stand in the way of an +uninterrupted water communication between the +western states and the Atlantic seaboard." + +From Rouse's Point we proceeded to a +picturesque point which jutted into the lake below +Chazy Landing, and was sheltered by a grove +of trees into which we hauled the Mayeta. +Bodfish's woodcraft enabled him to construct a +wigwam out of rails and rubber blankets, where we +quietly resided until Monday morning. The +owner of the point, Mr. Trombly, invited us to +dinner on Sunday, and exhibited samples of a +ton of maple sugar which he had made from the +sap of one thousand trees. + +On Monday, July 20th, we rowed southward. +Our route now skirted the western shore of +Lake Champlain, which is the eastern boundary +of the great Adirondack wilderness. Several of +the tributaries of the lake take their rise in this +region, which is being more and more visited +by the hunter, the fisherman, the artist, and the +tourist, as its natural attractions are becoming +known to the public. The geodetical survey +of the northern wilderness of New York state, +known as the Adirondack country, under the +efficient and energetic labors of Mr. Verplanck +Colvin, will cover an area of nearly five +thousand square miles. In his report of the great +work he eloquently says: + +"The Adirondack wilderness may be +considered the wonder and the glory of New York. +It is a vast natural park, one immense and +silent forest, curiously and beautifully broken +by the gleaming waters of a myriad of lakes, +between which rugged mountain-ranges rise as +a sea of granite billows. At the northeast the +mountains culminate within an area of some +hundreds of square miles; and here savage, +treeless peaks, towering above the timber line, crowd +one another, and, standing gloomily shoulder to +shoulder, rear their rocky crests amid the frosty +clouds. The wild beasts may look forth from +the ledges on the mountain-sides over unbroken +woodlands stretching beyond the reach of sight +-- beyond the blue, hazy ridges at the horizon. +The voyager by the canoe beholds lakes in +which these mountains and wild forests are +reflected like inverted reality; now wondrous +in their dark grandeur and solemnity, now +glorious in resplendent autumn color of pearly +beauty. Here -- thrilling sound to huntsman -- +echoes the wild melody of the hound, +awakening the solitude with deep-mouthed bay as he +pursues the swift career of deer. The quavering +note of the loon on the lake, the mournful hoot +of the owl at night, with rarer forest voices +have also to the lover of nature their peculiar +charm, and form the wild language of this forest. + +"It is this region of lakes and mountains -- +whose mountain core is well shown by the +illustration, 'the heart of the Adirondacks' -- that +our citizens desire to reserve forever as a public +forest park, not only as a resort of rest for +themselves and for posterity, but for weighty reasons of +political economy. For reservoirs of water for the +canals and rivers; for the amelioration of spring +floods by the preservation of the forests +sheltering the deep winter snows; for the salvation of +the timber, -- our only cheap source of lumber +supply should the Canadian and western markets +be ruined by fires, or otherwise lost to us, -- its +preservation as a state forest is urgently +demanded. To the number of those chilly peaks amid +which our principal rivers take their rise, I have +added by measurement a dozen or more over +four thousand feet in height, which were before +either nameless, or only vaguely known by the +names given them by hunters and trappers. + +"It is well to note that the final hypsometrical +computations fully affirm my discovery that in +Mount Haystack we have another mountain of +five thousand feet altitude. It may not be +uninteresting also to remark that the difference +between the altitudes of Mount Marcy and Mount +Washington of the White Mountains of New +Hampshire is found to be quite eight hundred +feet. Mount Marcy, Mount MacIntyre, and +Mount Haystack are to be remembered as the +three royal summits of the state. + +"The four prominent peaks are -- +Mount Marcy{ Mount Tahawus -- "I cleave the clouds,"} 5,402.65 +Mount Haystack, 5,006.73 +Mount Maclntyre, 5,201.80 +Mount Skylight, 4,977.76." + + +If the general reader will pardon a seeming +digression to gratify the curiosity of some of my +boating friends, I will give from the report of +the Adirondack Survey Mr. Colvin's account +of his singular boat, -- one of the lightest yet +constructed, and weighing only as much as +a hunter's double-barrelled gun. + +Mr. Colvin says: + +"I also had constructed a canvas boat, of my +own invention, for use in the interior of the +wilderness on such of the mountain lakes as were +inaccessible to boats, and which it would be +necessary to map. This boat was peculiar; no +more frame being needed than could be readily +cut in thirty minutes in the first thicket. It was +twelve feet long, with thin sheet brass prows, +riveted on, and so fitted as to receive the keelson, +prow pieces, and ribs (of boughs), when +required; the canoe being made water-proof with +pure rubber gum, dissolved in naphtha, rubbed +into it." + +Page 43 of Mr. Colvin's report informs the +reader how well this novel craft served the +purpose for which it was built. + +"September 12 was devoted to levelling and +topographical work at Ampersand Pond, a solitary +lake locked in by mountains, and seldom visited. +There was no boat upon its surface, and in order +to complete the hydrographical work we had +now, of necessity, to try my portable canvas boat, +which had hitherto done service as bed or tent. +Cutting green rods for ribs, we unrolled the boat +and tied them in, lashing poles for gunwales at +the sides, and in a short time our canvas canoe, +buoyant as a cork, was floating on the water. +The guides, who had been unable to believe that +the flimsy bag they carried could be used as a +boat, were in ecstasies. Rude but efficient +paddles were hastily hewn from the nearest tree, +and soon we were all gliding in our ten-pound +boat over the waves of Ampersand, which +glittered in the morning sunlight. To the guides +the boat was something astonishing; they could +not refrain from laughter to find that they were +really afloat in it, and pointed with surprise at +the waves, which could be seen through the +boat, rippling against its sides. With the aid of +the boat, with prismatic compass and sextant, I +was able to secure an excellent map of the lake; +and we almost succeeded in catching a deer, +which was driven into the lake by a strange +hound. The dog lost the trail at the water, and +desiring to put him on the track, we paddled to +him. He scrambled into the boat with an air of +satisfaction, as if he had always travelled in just +such a thing. Soon we had regained the trail, +and making the mountains echo to his voice, +he again pursued the deer on into the trackless +forest. + +"Continuing our work, we passed down into +the outlet, where, in trying to effect a landing, +we suddenly came face to face with a large +panther, which had evidently been watching us. +He fled at our approach. + +"Our baggage was quickly packed, and the +temporary frame of the canoe having been taken +out and thrown away, we rolled up our boat and +put it in the bottom of a knapsack. . . . The same +day by noon we reached Cold Brook again, here +navigable. In an hour and a half we had +re-framed the canvas, cut out two paddles from a +dry cedar-tree, had dinner, loaded the boat, and +were off; easily gliding down stream to the +Saranac River. Three men, the heaped baggage in +the centre, and the solemn hound, who seemed +to consider himself part of the company, sitting +upright near the prow, forming in all a burden +of about one third of a ton, was a severe test of +the green boughs of which we had made the frame. + +"Ascending the Saranac River, we struck out +into the broad Saranac Lake, some six miles +in length, and though the winds and the waves +buffeted us, the canvas sides of the boat +responding elastically to each beat of the waves, we got +safely along till near the Sister Islands, when, the +wind blowing very fresh, the white-capped +rollers began to pitch into the boat. The exertions +of the guides brought us under the lee shore, and +at evening we disembarked at Martin's." + +Geographies, guide-books, and historical works +frequently give the length of Lake Champlain as +one hundred and fifty, or at the least one hundred +and forty miles. These distances are not correct. +The lake proper begins at a point near +Ticonderoga and ends not far from the boundary line of +the United States and Canada. Champlain is not +less than one hundred nor more than one hundred +and twelve miles long. The Champlain Canal, +which connects the river that flows from +Whitehall into the lake with the Hudson River, is +sixty-four miles long, ending at the Erie Canal at +Junction Lock, near Troy. From Junction Lock +to Albany, along the Erie Canal, it is six miles; +or seventy miles from Whitehall to Albany by +canal route. This distance has frequently been +given as fifty-one miles. + +From the United States boundary line south-ward +it is a distance of seven miles to Isle la +Motte, which island is five and a half miles long +by one and three quarters wide, with a +lighthouse upon its northwest point. From the New +York shore of Monti Bay, across the end of Isle +la Motte to St. Albans, Vermont, is a distance of +thirteen and a half miles. Two miles south of +the island, on the west shore, is Point au Roche +light; and two miles and three quarters south of +it is Rocky Point, the terminus of Long Point. +Next comes Treadwell Bay, three miles across; +then two miles further on is Cumberland Head +and its light-house. West from Cumberland, +three miles across a large bay, is Plattsburgh, at +the mouth of the Saranac River, a town of five +thousand inhabitants. In this vicinity +Commodore Macdonough fought the British fleet in 1814. +These are historic waters, which have witnessed +the scene of many a bloody struggle between +French, English, and Indian adversaries. Off +Cumberland Head, and dividing the lake, is +Grand Isle, twelve miles in length and from +three to four in width. + +The village of Port Kent is near the mouth of +the Ausable River, which flows out of the +northern Adirondack country. A few miles from the +lake is the natural wonder, the Ausable Chasm, +which is nearly two miles in length. The river +has worn a channel in the Potsdam sandstone +formation to a depth, in places, of two hundred +feet. Between high walls of rock the river is +compressed in one place to ten feet in breadth, +and dashes wildly over falls and rapids on its +way to Lake Champlain. It is said to rival the +famous Swiss Gorge du Triant. + +Schuyler's Island, upon the shore of which we +passed Tuesday night, is nearly in the latitude of +Burlington, Vermont. The distance from Port +Douglass on the west, to Burlington on the east +side of Champlain, over an open expanse of +water, is nine miles and three quarters. We +breakfasted by starlight, and passed Ligonier's +Point early in the day. One mile and a half east +of it is the group of little islands called Four +Brothers. The lake grew narrower as we rowed +southward, until, after passing Port Henry Iron +Works, and the high promontory of Crown Point, +upon which are the ruins of the French Fort +Frederic, built in 1731, it has a width of only +two miles. + +At eight o'clock P. M. we dropped anchor +under the banks of Ticonderoga, not far from the +outlet of Lake George. It is four miles by road +between the two lakes. The stream which +connects them can be ascended from Champlain +about two miles to the Iron Works, the +remainder of the river being filled with rapids. +A railroad now (1867) connects lakes George +and Champlain, over which an easy portage can +be made. The ruined walls of Fort +Ticonderoga are near the railroad landing. A little +south of this the lake grows so narrow as to +resemble a river. At its southern end, +twenty-four miles from Ticonderoga, is situated the +town of Whitehall, where the Champlain and +Hudson River Canal forms a junction with Lake +Champlain. This long river-like termination of +Champlain gave to the Indians the fancy of +calling it Tisinondrosa -- "the tail of the lake;" +which in mouths inexperienced with the savage +tongue became corrupted into Ticonderoga. + +Wednesday broke upon us a glorious day. +Proceeding three miles to Patterson's Landing, +into the "tail of the lake," I left the Mayeta to +explore on foot the shores of Lake George, +promising Bodfish to join him at Whitehall when +my work should be finished. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. FROM LAKES GEORGE AND CHAMPLAIN TO THE HUDSON RIVER. + + + +THE DISCOVERY OF LAKE GEORGE BY FATHER JOGUES. -- A +PEDESTRIAN JOURNEY. -- THE HERMIT OF THE NARROWS. -- +CONVENT OF ST. MARY'S OF THE LAKE. -- THE PAULIST +FATHERS. -- CANAL-ROUTE FROM LAKE CHAMPLAIN TO +ALBANY. -- BODFISH RETURNS TO NEW JERSEY. -- THE LITTLE +FLEET IN ITS HAVEN OF REST. + + +In the last chapter I gave, from seemingly +good authority, the appellation of the narrow +terminal water of the southern end of Lake +Champlain, "the tail of the lake." Another +authority, in describing Lake George, says: +"The Indians named the lake, on account of the +purity of its waters, Horicon, or 'silvery water;' +they also called it Canderi-oit, or 'the tail of +the lake,' on account of its connecting with Lake +Champlain." Cooper, in his "Last of the +Mohicans," says: "It occurred to me that the +French name of the lake was too complicated, +the American too commonplace, and the Indian +too unpronounceable for either to be used +familiarly in a work of fiction." So he called it +Horicon. + +History furnishes us with the following facts +in regard to the discovery of the lake. While +journeying up the St. Lawrence in a fleet of +twelve canoes, on a mission to the friendly +Huron aborigines, Father Isaac Jogues and his two +friends, donnes of the mission, Rene Goupil and +Guillaume Couture, with another Frenchman, +were captured at the western end of Lake of +St. Peter by a band of Iroquois, which was on a +marauding expedition from the Mohawk River +country, near what is now the city of Troy. In +the panic caused by the sudden onslaught of the +Iroquois, the unconverted portion of the thirty-six +Huron allies of the Frenchmen fled into the +woods, while the christianized portion defended +the white men for a while. A reinforcement of +the enemy soon scattered these also, but not +until the Frenchmen and a few of the Hurons +were made captive. This was on the 2d of +August, 1642. + +According to Francis Parkman, the author of +"The Jesuits in North America," the savages +tortured Jogues and his white companions, +striping off their clothing, tearing out their +fingernails with their teeth, and gnawing their fingers +with the fury of beasts. The seventy Iroquois +returned southward, following the River +Richelieu, Lake Champlain, and Lake George, en +route for the Mohawk towns. Meeting a war +party of two hundred of their own nation on +one of the islands of Champlain, the Indians +formed two parallel lines between which the +captives were forced to run for their lives, while +the savages struck at them with thorny sticks +and clubs. Father Jogues fell exhausted to the +ground, bathed in his own blood, when fire was +applied to his body. At night the young +warriors tormented the poor captives by opening +their wounds and tearing out their hair and +beards. The day following this night of torture +the Indians and their mangled captives reached +the promontory of Ticonderoga, along the base +of which flowed the limpid waters, the outlet of +Lake George. Here the party made a portage +through the primeval forests, carrying their +canoes and cargoes on their backs, when suddenly +there broke upon their view the dark blue waters +of a beautiful lake, which Mr. Parkman thus +eloquently describes: + +"Like a fair naiad of the wilderness it +slumbered between the guardian mountains that +breathe from crag and forest the stern poetry of +war. But all then was solitude; and the clang +of trumpets, the roar of cannon, and the deadly +crack of the rifle had never as yet awakened +their angry echoes. Again the canoes were +launched and the wild flotilla glided on its way, +now in the shadow of the heights, now on the +broad expanse, now among the devious +channels of the Narrows, beset with woody islets +where the hot air was redolent of the pine, the +spruce, and the cedar,-- till they neared that +tragic shore where, in the following century, +New England rustics battled the soldiers of +Dieskau, where Montcalm planted his batteries, +where the red cross waved so long amid the +smoke, and where, at length, the summer night +was hideous with carnage, and an honored name +was stained with a memory of blood. The +Indians landed at or near the future site of Fort +William Henry, left their canoes, and with their +prisoners began their march for the nearest +Mohawk town." + +Father Jogues lived among his captors until +the fall of 1643, when he escaped in a vessel +from the Dutch settlement of Rensselaerswyck +(Albany), to which place the Iroquois had gone +to trade with the inhabitants. He arrived at the +Jesuit college of Rennes, France, in a most +destitute condition, on the 5th of January, 1644, +where he was joyfully received and kindly cared +for. When he appeared before Queen Anne of +Austria, the woman who wore a diadem thought +it a privilege to kiss his mutilated hands. -- In the +Roman Catholic church a deformed or mutilated +priest cannot say mass; he must be a perfect +man in body and mind before the Lord. Father +Jogues wished to return to his old missionary +field; so, to restore to him his lost right of saying +mass, the Pope granted his prayer by a special +dispensation. In the spring of 1643 he returned +to the St. Lawrence country to found a new +mission, to be called the Mission of Martyrs. His +Superior at Montreal ordered him to proceed to +the country of the Mohawks, and in company +with Sieur Bourdon, a government engineer, and +six Indians, he followed the Richelieu and +Champlain, which the savages called "the doorway +of the country," until the little party stood on +the northern end of Lake George, on the +evening of Corpus Christi; and with the catholic +spirit of the Jesuit missionary he christened it +Lac St. Sacrement, and this name it bore for a +whole century. On the 18th of October, 1646, +the tomahawk of the savage ended the life +of Father Jogues, who, after suffering many +tortures and indignities from his Iroquois captors, +died in their midst while working for their +salvation in his field of Christian labor. + +The right of a discoverer to name new lakes +and rivers is old and unquestioned. A +missionary of the cross penetrated an unexplored +wilderness and found this noblest gem of the lower +Adirondacks, unknown to civilized man. +Impressed with this sublime work of his Creator, +the martyred priest christened it St. Sacrement. +One hundred years later came troops of soldiers +with mouths filled with strange oaths, cursing +their enemies. What respect had they for the +rights of discoverers or martyred missionaries? +So General Johnson, "an ambitious Irishman," +discarded the Christian name of the lake and +replaced it with the English one of George. +He did not name it after St. George, the patron +saint of England, of whom history asserts that +he "was identical with a native of either +Cappadocia or Cilicia, who raised himself by flattery +of the great from the meanest circumstances to +be purveyor of bacon for the army, and who was +put to death with two of his ministers by a mob, +for peculations, A. D. 361;" but he took that of +a sensual king, George of England, in order to +advance his own interests with that monarch. + +For more than a century Lake George was the +highway between Canada and the Hudson River. +Its pure waters were so much esteemed as to be +taken regularly to Canada to be consecrated and +used in the Roman Catholic churches in +baptismal and other sacred rites. The lake was +frequently occupied by armies, and the forts George +and William Henry, at the southern end, possess +most interesting historical associations. The +novelist Cooper made Lake George a region of +romance. To the young generation of +Americans who yearly visit its shores it is an El +Dorado, and the very air breathes love as they +glide in their light boats over its pellucid waters, +adding to the picturesqueness of the scene, and +supplying that need ever felt, no matter what +the natural beauty, -- the presence of man. I +believe even the Garden of Eden itself could +not have been perfect till among its shady +groves fell the shadows of our first parents. +The cool retreats, the jutting promontories, the +moss-covered rocks against which the waves +softly break, -- if these had tongues, they would, +like Tennyson's Brook, "go on forever," for +surely they would never have done telling the +tender tales they have heard. Nor would it be +possible to find a more fitting spot for the +cultivation of love and sentiment than this charming +lake affords; for Nature seems to have created +Lake George in one of her happiest moments. +This lake is about thirty-four miles long, and +varies in width from one to four miles. Its +greatest depth is about the same as that of +Champlain. It possesses (like all the American +lakes when used as fashionable watering-places) +the usual three hundred and sixty-five islands. + +When I left the Mayeta I followed a narrow +footpath to a rough mountain road, which in +turn led me through the forests towards Lake +George. In an isolated dell I found the home +of one Levi Smith, who piloted me through the +woods to the lake, and ferried me in a skiff +across to Hague, when I dined at the hotel, and +resumed my journey along the shores to Sabbath +Day Point, where at four o'clock P. M. a steamer +on its trip from Ticonderoga to the south end of +the lake stopped and took me on board. We +steamed southward to where high mountains +shut in the lake, and for several miles threaded +the "Narrows" with its many pretty islands, +upon one of which Mr. J. Henry Hill, the +hermit-artist, had erected his modest home, and +where he toiled at his studies early and late, +summer and winter. Three goats and a squirrel +were his only companions in this lonely but +romantic spot. + +During one cold winter, when the lake was +frozen over to a depth of two feet, and the +forests were mantled in snow, Mr. Hill's brother, +a civil engineer, made a visit to this icy region, +and the two brothers surveyed the Narrows, +making a correct map of that portion of the lake, +with all its islands carefully located. Mr. Hill +afterwards made an etching of this map, +surrounding it with an artistic border representing +objects of interest in the locality. + +Late in the afternoon the steamer landed me +at Crosbyside, on the east shore, about a mile +from the head of the lake, resting beneath the +shady groves of which I beheld one of the most +charming views of Lake George. Early the +following morning I took up my abode with a +farmer, one William Lockhart, a genial and +eccentric gentleman, and a descendant of Sir +Walter Scott's son-in-law. Mr. Lockhart's little +cottage is half a mile north of Crosbyside, and +near the high bluff which Mr. Charles O'Conor, +the distinguished lawyer of New York city, +presented to the Paulist Fathers, whose +establishment is on Fifty-ninth Street in that metropolis. +Here the members of the new Order come to +pass their summer vacations, bringing with them +their theological students. The Paulists are hard +workers, visiting and holding "missions" in +Minnesota, California, and other parts of the United +States. They seem to feel forcibly the truth +expressed in these lines, which are to be found +in "Aspirations of Nature," a work written by +the founder of their order, Father Hecker: +"Existence is not a dream, but a solemn reality. +Life was not given to be thrown away on +miserable sophisms but to be employed in earnest +search after truth." + +Mr. Lockhart kindly offered to escort me to the +convent of St. Mary's on the Lake; and after +following the mountain road for a quarter of a +mile to the north of the cottage of my companion, +we entered the shady grounds of the convent and +were kindly received on the long piazza by the +Father Superior, Rev. A. F. Hewit, who +introduced me to several of his co-laborers, a party +of them having just returned from an excursion +to the Harbor Islands at the northern end of the +Narrows, which property is owned by the Order. +I was told that the members of this new religious +establishment numbered about thirty, and that all +but four were converts from our Protestant faith. +Their property in New York city is probably +worth half a million of dollars, and the Sunday +schools under their charge contain about +fifteen hundred scholars. Here, among others, +I saw Father D____, who gave up his +distinguished position as instructor of the art of war +at the Military Academy of West Point, to +become a soldier of the Cross, preferring to serve +his Master by preaching the gospel of peace +to mankind. Under an overhanging rock at a +little distance were conversing, most happily, +two young priests, who a few years before had +fought on opposite sides during the civil strife +which resulted in the preservation of the Great +Republic. + +A mathematician and astronomer from the +Cambridge and also from a government +observatory, who had donned the cassock, gave me +much valuable information in regard to the +mountain peaks of Lake George,* which he had +carefully studied and accurately measured. Through +his courtesy and generosity I am enabled to give +on the preceding page the results of his labors. + + +* Heights of mountains of Lake George, New York state, +obtained by Rev. George M. Searle, C. S. P. + +Finch, between Buck and Spruce, 1595 feet. +Cat-Head, near Bolton, 1640 feet. +Prospect Mountain, west of Lake George village, 1730 feet. +Spruce, near Buck Mountain, 1820 feet. +Buck, east shore, south of Narrows, 2005 feet. +Rear, between Buck and Black, 2200 feet. +Black, the monarch of Lake George, 2320 feet. + +From another authority I find that Lake Champlain is ninety-three +feet above the Atlantic tide-level, and that Lake George is +two hundred and forty feet above Lake Champlain, or three +hundred and thirty-three feet above the sea. + + +The interesting conversation was here +interrupted by the tolling of the convent bell. A +deep silence prevailed, as, with uncovered heads +and upon bended knees, the whole company most +devoutly crossed themselves while repeating +a prayer. I felt much drawn towards a young +priest with delicate and refined features, who +now engaged me in conversation. He was an +adept in all that related to boats. He loved the +beautiful lake, and was never happier than when +upon its mirrored surface, except when laboring +at his duties among the poor of the ninth +district of New York. The son of a distinguished +general, he inherited rare talents, which were +placed at his Saviour's service. His Christianity +was so liberal, his aspirations so noble, his +sympathies so strong, that I became much interested +in him; and when I left the lake, shortly after, +he quietly said, "When you return next summer +to build your cottage, let me help you plan the +boat-house." But when I returned to the shores +of Lake George, after the completion of my +voyage to the Gulf of Mexico, no helping hand was +there, and I built my boat-house unassisted; for +the gentle spirit of the missionary Paulist had +gone to God who gave it, and Father Rosencranz +was receiving his reward. + +When I joined my travelling companion, David +Bodfish, he grievously inveighed against the +community of Whitehall because some dishonest +boatmen from the canal had appropriated the +stock of pipes and tobacco he had laid in for his +three or four days' voyage to Albany. "Sixty +cents' worth of new pipes and tobacco," said +David, in injured tones, "is a great loss, and a +Bodfish never was worth anything at work without +his tobacco. I used to pour speerits down to keep +my speerits up, but of late years I have depended +on tobacco, as the speerits one gets nowadays +isn't the same kind we got when I was a boy and +worked in old Hawkin Swamp." + +Canal voyaging, after one has experienced the +sweet influences of lakes George and +Champlain, is indeed monotonous. But to follow +connecting watercourses it was necessary for the +Mayeta to traverse the Champlain Canal +(sixty-four) and the Erie Canal (six miles) from +Whitehall to Albany on the Hudson River, a total +distance of seventy miles. + +There was nothing of sufficient interest in the +passage of the canal to be worthy of record save +the giving way of a lock-gate, near Troy, and +the precipitating of a canal-boat into the vortex +of waters that followed. By this accident my +boat was detained one day on the banks of the +canal. On the fourth day the Mayeta ended her +services by arriving at Albany, where, after a +journey of four hundred miles, experience had +taught me that I could travel more quickly in a +lighter boat, and more conveniently and +economically without a companion. It was now about +the first week in August, and the delay which +would attend the building of a new boat +especially adapted for the journey of two thousand +miles yet to be travelled would not be lost, as by +waiting a few weeks, time would be given for +the malaria on the rivers of New Jersey, +Delaware, and Maryland, and even farther south, to +be eradicated by the fall frosts. David returned +to his New Jersey home a happy man, invested +with the importance which attaches itself to a +great traveller. I had unfortunately contributed +to Mr. Bodfish's thirst for the marvellous by +reading to him at night, in our lonely camp, +Jules Verne's imaginative "Journey to the +Centre of the Earth." David was in ecstasies over +this wonderful contribution to fiction. He +preferred fiction to truth at any time. Once, while +reading to him a chapter of the above work, his +credulity was so challenged that he became +excited, and broke forth with, "Say, boss, how do +these big book-men larn to lie so well? does it +come nat'ral to them, or is it got by edication?" +I have since heard that when Mr. Bodfish arrived +in the pine-wood regions of New Jersey he +related to his friends his adventures "in furrin +parts," as he styled the Dominion of Canada, +and so interlaced the facts of the cruise of the +Mayeta with the fancies of the "Journey to the +Centre of the Earth," that to his neighbors the +region of the St. Lawrence has become a +country of awful and mysterious associations, while +the more knowing members of the community +which David honors with his presence are firmly +convinced that there never existed such a boat +as the Mayeta save in the wild imagination of +David Bodfish. + +Mr. Bodfish's fictitious adventures, as related +by him, covered many thousand miles of canoe +voyaging. He had penetrated the region of ice +beyond Labrador, and had viewed with +complacency the north pole, which he found to be +a pitch-pine spar that had been erected by +the Coast Survey "to measure pints from." +He roundly censured the crews of whale-ships +which had mutilated this noble government +work by splitting much of it into kindling-wood. +Fortunately about two-thirds of Mr. Bodfish's +audience had no very clear conceptions of the +character of the north pole, some of them having +ignored its very existence. So they accepted +this portion of his narrative, while they rejected +the most reasonable part of his story. + +The Mayeta was sent to Lake George, and +afterwards became a permanent resident. Two +years later her successor, the Paper Canoe, one +of the most happy efforts of the Messrs. Waters, +of Troy, was quietly moored beside her; and +soon after there was added to the little fleet a +cedar duck-boat, which had carried me on a +second voyage to the great southern sea. Here, +anchored safely under the high cliffs, rocked +gently by the loving waters of Lake George, rest +these faithful friends. They carried me over +five thousand miles, through peaceful rivers and +surging seas. They have shared my dangers; +they now share my peace. + + + + +CHAPTER V. THE AMERICAN PAPER BOAT AND ENGLISH CANOES. + + + +THE PECULIAR CHARACTER OF THE PAPER BOAT. -- THE HISTORY +OF THE ADOPTION OF PAPER FOR BOATS. -- A BOY'S INGENUITY. +-- THE PROCESS OF BUILDING PAPER BOATS DESCRIBED. -- +COLLEGE CLUBS ADOPTING THEAM. -- THE GREAT VICTORIES WON +BY PAPER OVER WOODEN SHELLS IN 1876. + + +Inquiries regarding the history and +durability of paper boats occasionally reach me +through the medium of the post-office. After +all the uses to which paper has been put during +the last twenty years, the public is yet hardly +convinced that the flimsy material, paper, can +successfully take the place of wood in the +construction of light pleasure-boats, canoes, and +racing shells. Yet the idea has become an +accomplished fact. The success of the victorious +paper shells of the Cornell College navy, which +were enlisted in the struggles of two seasons at +Saratoga, against no mean antagonists, -- the +college crews of the United States, -- surely proves +that in strength, stiffness, speed, and fineness of +model, the paper boat is without a rival. + +When used in its own peculiar sphere, the +improved paper boat will be found to possess the +following merits: less weight, greater strength, +stiffness, durability, and speed than a wooden +boat of the same size and model; and the moulded +paper shell will retain the delicate lines so +essential to speed, while the brittle wooden shell yields +more or less to the warping influences of sun and +moisture. A comparison of the strength of wood +and paper for boats has been made by a writer in +the Cornell Times, a journal published by the +students of that celebrated New York college: + +"Let us take a piece of wood and a piece of +paper of the same thickness, and experiment +with, use, and abuse them both to the same +extent. Let the wood be of one-eighth of an inch +in thickness -- the usual thickness of shell-boats, +and the paper heavy pasteboard, both one foot +square. Holding them up by one side, strike +them with a hammer, and observe the result. +The wood will be cracked, to say the least; +the pasteboard, whirled out of your hand, will +only be dented, at most. Take hold and bend +them: the wood bends to a certain degree, and +then splits; the pasteboard, bent to the same +degree, is not affected in the least. Take a knife +and strike them: the wood is again split, the +pasteboard only pierced. Place them on the +water: the wood floats for an indefinite time; the +pasteboard, after a time, soaks, and finally sinks, +as was to be expected. But suppose we soak the +pasteboard in marine glue before the experiment, +then we find the pasteboard equally as +impervious to the water as wood, and as buoyant, if of +the same weight; but, to be of the same weight, +it must be thinner than the wood, yet even then +it stands the before-mentioned tests as well as +when thicker; and it will be found to stand all +tests much better than wood, even when it +weighs considerably less. + +"Now, enlarging our pieces, and moulding +them into boats of the same weight, we find the +following differences: Wood, being stiff and +liable to split, can only be moulded into +comparative form. Paper, since it can be rendered +perfectly pliable, can be pressed into any shape +desirable; hence, any wished-for fineness of lines +can be given to the model, and the paper will +assume the identical shape, after which it can be +water-proofed, hardened, and polished. Paper +neither swells, nor shrinks, nor cracks, hence it +does not leak, is always ready for use, always +serviceable. As to cost, there is very little +difference between the two; the cost being within +twenty-five dollars, more or less, the same for +both. Those who use paper boats think them +very near perfection; and surely those who have +the most to do with boats ought to know, +prejudice aside, which is the best." + +An injury to a paper boat is easily repaired by +a patch of strong paper and a coating of shellac +put on with a hot iron. As the paper boat is +a novelty with many people, a sketch of its early +history may prove interesting to the reader. Mr. +George A. Waters, the son of the senior member +of the firm of E. Waters & Sons, of Troy, New +York, was invited some years since to a +masquerade party. The boy repaired to a toy shop to +purchase a counterfeit face; but, thinking the +price (eight dollars) was more than he could +afford for a single evening's sport, he borrowed +the mask for a model, from which he produced a +duplicate as perfect as was the original. While +engaged upon his novel work, an idea impressed +itself upon his ingenious brain. "Cannot," he +queried, "a paper shell be made upon the wooden +model of a boat? And will not a shell thus +produced, after being treated to a coat of varnish, +float as well, and be lighter than a wooden boat?" + +This was in March, 1867, while the youth was +engaged in the manufacture of paper boxes. +Having repaired a wooden shell-boat by +covering the cracks with sheets of stout paper cemented +to the wood, the result satisfied him; and he +immediately applied his attention to the further +development of his bright idea. Assisted by his +father, Mr. Elisha Waters, the enterprise was +commenced "by taking a wooden shell, thirteen +inches wide and thirty feet long, as a mould, +and covering the entire surface of its bottom and +sides with small sheets of strong Manila paper, +glued together, and superposed on each other, so +that the joints of one layer were covered by the +middle of the sheet immediately above, until a +sheet of paper had been formed one-sixteenth of +an inch in thickness. The fabric thus +constructed, after being carefully dried, was +removed from the mould and fitted up with a +suitable frame, consisting of a lower keelson, two +inwales, the bulkhead; in short, all the usual +parts of the frame of a wooden shell, except the +timbers, or ribs, of which none were used -- the +extreme stiffness of the skin rendering them +unnecessary. Its surface was then carefully +waterproofed with suitable varnishes, and the work was +completed. Trials proved that, rude as was this +first attempt compared with the elegant craft +now turned out from paper, it had marked merits, +among which were, its remarkable stiffness, the +symmetry of the hull with respect to its long +axis, and the smoothness of the water-surface." + +A gentleman, who possesses excellent +judgment and long experience in all that relates to +paper boats, furnishes me with the following +valuable information, which I feel sure will +interest the reader. + +"The process of building the paper shell-boat +is as follows: The dimensions of the boat having +been determined upon, the first step is to +construct a wooden model, or form, an exact +facsimile of the desired boat, on which to mould +the paper skin. For this purpose the lines of the +boat are carefully drawn out of the full size, and +from the drawings thus made the model is +prepared. It is built of layers of well-seasoned +pine, securely fastened together to form one solid +mass; which, after having been laid up of the +general outline required, is carefully worked off, +until its surface, which is made perfectly smooth, +exactly conforms to the selected lines, and its +beam, depth, and length are those of the given +boat. During the process of its construction, +suitable rabbets are cut to receive the lower +keelson, the two inwales, and the bow and stern +deadwoods, which, being put in position, are +worked off so that their surfaces are flush with +that of the model, and forming, as it were, an +integral part of it. It being important that these +parts should, in the completed boat, be firmly +attached to the skin, their surface is, at this part +of the process, covered with a suitable adhesive +preparation. + +"The model is now ready to be covered with +paper. Two kinds are used: that made from the +best Manila, and that prepared from pure +unbleached linen stock; the sheets being the full +length of the model, no matter what that may +be. If Manila paper is used, the first sheet is +dampened, laid smoothly on the model, and +securely fastened in place by tacking it to +certain rough strips attached to its upper face. +Other sheets are now superposed on this and on +each other, and suitably cemented together; the +number depending upon the size of the boat and +the stiffness required. If linen paper is used, but +one sheet is employed, of such weight and +dimensions that, when dry, it will give just the +thickness of skin necessary. Should the surface +of the model be concave in parts, as in the run +of boats with square sterns for instance, the paper +is made to conform to these surfaces by suitable +convex moulds, which also hold the paper in +place until, by drying, it has taken and will +retain the desired form. The model, with its +enveloping coat of paper, is now removed to the +dry-room. As the paper skin dries, all wrinkles +disappear, and it gradually assumes the desired +shape. Finally, when all moisture has been +evaporated, it is taken from the mould an exact +fac-simile of the model desired, exceedingly stiff, +perfectly symmetrical, and seamless. + +"The paper is now subjected to the water-proof +process, and the skin, with its keelson, inwales, +and dead-woods attached, is then placed in the +carpenter's hands, where the frame is completed +in the usual manner, as described for wooden +boats. The paper decks being put on, it is then +ready for the brass, iron, and varnish work. As +the skins of these boats (racing-shells) vary from +one-sixteenth of an inch in the singles, to +one-twelfth of an inch in the six-oared outriggers, the +wooden frame becomes necessary to support and +keep them in shape. In applying this invention +to gigs, dingys, canoes, and skiffs, a somewhat +different method is adopted. Since these boats +are subjected to much hard service, and must be +so constructed as to permit the occupant to move +about in them as is usual in such craft, a light +and strong frame of wood is prepared, composed +of a suitable number of pairs of ribs, with stem +and stern pieces cut from the natural crooks of +hackmatack roots. These are firmly framed to +two gunwales and a keelson, extending the +length of the boat; the whole forming the +skeleton shape of the desired model. The forms for +these boats having been prepared, as already +described for the racing-shells, and the frame +being let into this form, so that the outer surface +of the ribs, stem and stern pieces will conform +with its outer surface, the paper skin is next laid +upon it. The skin, manufactured from new, +unbleached linen stock, is carefully stretched in +place, and when perfectly dry is from one-tenth +to three-sixteenths of an inch thick. Removed +from the model, it is water-proofed, the frame +and fittings completed, and the boat varnished. +In short, in this class of boats, the shape, style, +and finish are precisely that of wooden ones, of +corresponding dimensions and class, except that +for the usual wooden sheathing is substituted the +paper skin as described. + +"The advantages possessed by these boats over +those of wood are: + +"By the use of this material for the skins of +racing-shells, where experience has demonstrated +the smooth bottom to be the best, under-water +lines of any degree of fineness can be developed, +which cannot successfully be produced in those +of wood, even where the streaks are so reduced +in thickness that strength, stiffness, and +durability are either wholly sacrificed or greatly +impaired. In the finer varieties of 'dug-outs' +equally fine lines can be obtained; but so delicate +are such boats, if the sides are reduced to +three-sixteenths of an inch or less in thickness, that it +is found practically impossible to preserve their +original forms for any length of time. Hence, +so far as this point is concerned, it only remains +for the builder to select those models which +science, guided by experience, points out as the +best. + +The paper skin, after being water-proofed, is +finished with hard varnishes, and then presents a +solid, perfectly smooth, and horny surface to the +action of the water, unbroken by joint, lap, or +seam. This surface admits of being polished as +smooth as a coach-panel or a mirror. Unlike +wood, it has no grain to be cracked or split, it +never shrinks, and, paper being one of the best +of non-conductors, no ordinary degree of heat +or cold affects its shape or hardness, and hence +these boats are admirably adapted for use in all +climates. As the skin absorbs no moisture, +these boats gain no weight by use, and, having +no moisture to give off when out of the water, +they do not, like wooden boats, show the effect +of exposure to the air by leaking. They are, +therefore, in this respect always prepared for +service. + +The strength and stiffness of the paper shells +are most remarkable. To demonstrate it, a +single shell of twelve inch beam and twenty-eight +feet long, fitted complete with its outriggers, +the hull weighing twenty-two pounds, was +placed on two trestles eight feet apart, in such a +manner that the trestles were each the same +distance from the centre of the cockpit, which +was thus entirely unsupported. A man +weighing one hundred and forty pounds then seated +himself in it, and remained in this position three +minutes. The deflection caused by this strain, +being accurately measured, was found to be +one-sixteenth of an inch at a point midway between +the supports. If this load, applied under such +abnormal conditions, produced so little effect, we +can safely assume that, when thus loaded and +resting on the water, supported throughout her +whole length, and the load far more equally +distributed over the whole frame, there would be +no deflection whatever. + +"Lightness, when combined with a proper, +stiffness and strength, being a very desirable quality, +it is here that the paper boats far excel their +wooden rivals. If two shells are selected, the one of +wood and the other with a paper skin and deck, +as has been described, of the same dimensions +and equally stiff, careful experiment proves that +the wooden one will be thirty per cent. the +heaviest. If those of the same dimensions and +equal weight are compared, the paper one will +be found to exceed the wooden one in stiffness +and in capacity to resist torsional strains in the +same proportion. Frequent boasts are made that +wooden shells can be and are built much lighter +than paper ones; and if the quality of lightness +alone is considered, this is true; yet when the +practical test of use is applied, such extremely +light wooden boats have always proved, and will +continue to prove, failures, as here this quality +is only one of a number which combine to make +the boat serviceable. A wooden shell whose +hull weighs twenty-two pounds, honest weight, +is a very fragile, short-lived affair. A paper +shell of the same dimensions, and of the same +weight, will last as long, and do as much work, +as a wooden one whose hull turns the beam at +thirty pounds. + +"An instance of their remarkable strength is +shown in the following case. In the summer of +1870, a single shell, while being rowed at full +speed, with the current, on one of our +principal rivers, was run into to the stone abutment of a +bridge. The bow struck squarely on to +obstacle, and such was the momentum of the mass that +the oarsman was thrown directly through the +flaring bow of the cockpit into the river. +Witnesses of the accident who were familiar with +wooden shells declared that the boat was ruined; +but, after a careful examination, only the bow-tip +was found to be twisted in a spiral form, and the +washboard broken at the point by the oarsman +as he passed between the sides. Two dollars +covered the cost of repair. Had it been a +wooden shell the shock would have crushed its +stem and splintered the skin from the bow to the +waist." + +Old and cautious seamen tried to dissuade me +from contracting with the Messrs. Waters for the +building of a stout paper canoe for my journey. +Harvard College had not adopted this " +newfangled notion" at that time, and Cornell had +only begun to think of attempting to out-row +other colleges at Saratoga by using paper boats. +The Centennial year of the independence of the +United States, 1876, settled all doubts as to the +value of the result of the years of toil of the +inventors of the paper boat. During the same +year the incendiary completed his revengeful +work by burning the paper-boat manufactory +at Troy. The loss was a heavy one; but a few +weeks later these unflinching men were able to +record the following victories achieved that +single season by their boats. + +The races won by the paper boats were: + + The Intercollegiate Championship: + Freshmen and University. + + The International Championship at Saratoga: + Singles, Doubles, and Fours. + + The National Championship, N. A. of A. 0.: + Singles, Doubles, and Fours. + + The World's Championship at Centennial Exhibition: + Singles, Doubles, and Fours. + + The Professional Championship of the United States. + +And every other important race of the season, +besides receiving the highest honors at the +Centennial Exhibition. The right to make boats of +paper in Canada and in the United States is +exclusively held by the Messrs. Waters, and they +are the only manufacturers of paper boats in +the world. + + + + +It is not many years since Mr. McGregor, of +London, built the little Rob Roy canoe, and in it +made the tour of interesting European waters. +His example was followed by an army of tourists, +and it is now a common thing to meet canoe +voyagers in miniature flotillas upon the +watercourses of our own and foreign lands. Rev. +Baden Powell, also an Englishman, perfected +the model of the Nautilus type of canoe, which +possesses a great deal of sheer with fullness of +bow, and is therefore a better boat for rough +water than the Rob Roy. The New York Canoe +Club have adopted the Nautilus for their model. +We still need a distinctive American type for our +waters, more like the best Indian canoe than the +European models here presented. These +modern yacht-like canoes are really improved kyaks, +and in their construction we are much indebted +to the experience of the inhabitants of the Arctic +Circle. Very few of the so-called Rob Roy +canoes, built in the United States, resemble the +original perfected boat of Mr. McGregor -- the +father of modern canoe travelling. The +illustrations given of English canoes are from +imported models, and are perfect of their type. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. TROY TO PHILADELPHIA. + + + +PAPER CANOE MARIA THERESA. -- THE START. -- THE DESCENT +OF THE HUDSON RIVER. -- CROSSING THE UPPER BAY OF NEW +YORK. -- PASSAGE OF THE KILLS. -- RARITAN RIVER -- THE +CANAL ROUTE FROM NEW BRUNSWICK TO THE DELAWARE +RIVER. -- FROM BORDENTOWN TO PHILADELPHIA. + + +My canoe of the English "Nautilus" type +was completed by the middle of October; +and on the cold, drizzly morning of the 21st of +the same month I embarked in my little +fifty-eight pound craft from the landing of the +paper-boat manufactory on the river Hudson, two miles +above Troy. Mr. George A. Waters put his +own canoe into the water, and proposed to +escort me a few miles down the river. If I +had any misgivings as to the stability of my +paper canoe upon entering her for the first time, +they were quickly dispelled as I passed the +stately Club-house of the Laureates, which +contained nearly forty shells, all of paper. +The dimensions of the Maria Theresa were: +length, fourteen feet; beam, twenty-eight inches; +depth, amidships, nine inches; height of bow +from horizontal line, twenty-three inches; height +of stern, twenty inches. The canoe was +one-eighth of an inch in thickness, and weighed +fifty-eight pounds. She was fitted with a pair +of steel outriggers, which could be easily +unshipped and stowed away. The oars were of +spruce, seven feet eight inches long, and weighed +three pounds and a quarter each. The double +paddle, which was seven feet six inches in length, +weighed two pounds and a half. The mast +and sail -- which are of no service on such a +miniature vessel, and were soon +discarded -- weighed six pounds. When I took on board at +Philadelphia the canvas deck-cover and the +rubber strap which secured it in position, and the +outfit, -- the cushion, sponge, provision-basket, +and a fifteen-pound case of charts, -- I found that, +with my own weight included (one hundred and +thirty pounds), the boat and her cargo, all told, +provisioned for a long cruise, fell considerably +short of the weight of three Saratoga trunks +containing a very modest wardrobe for a lady's +four weeks' visit at a fashionable watering-place. + + +<IMG SRC=images/kayak.gif ALT="The Aboriginal Type (Kayak) + - The Improved Type (Maria Theresa)"> + +The rain ceased, the mists ascended, and the +sunlight broke upon us as we swiftly descended +upon the current of the Hudson to Albany. The +city was reached in an hour and a half. Mr. +Waters, pointing his canoe northward, wished me +bon voyage, and returned to the scene of the +triumphs of his patient labors, while I settled down +to a steady row southward. At Albany, the +capital of the state, which is said to be one +hundred and fifty miles distant from New York city, +there is a tidal rise and fall of one foot. +A feeling of buoyancy and independence came +over me as I glided on the current of this noble +stream, with the consciousness that I now +possessed the right boat for my enterprise. It had +been a dream of my youth to become acquainted +with the charms of this most romantic river of +the American continent. Its sources are in the +clouds of the Adirondacks, among the cold peaks +of the northern wilderness; its ending may be +said to be in the briny waters of the Atlantic, +for its channel-way has been sounded outside +of the sandy beaches of New York harbor in +the bosom of the restless ocean. The highest +types of civilized life are nurtured upon its banks. +Noble edifices, which contain and preserve the +works of genius and of mechanical art, rear their +proud roofs from among these hills on the lofty +sites of the picturesque Hudson. The wealth +of the great city at its mouth, the metropolis of +the young nation, has been lavished upon the +soil of the river's borders to make it even more +beautiful and more fruitful. What river in +America, along the same length of coast-lines +as from Troy to New York (one hundred and +fifty-six miles), can rival in natural beauty +and artificial applications of wealth the lovely +Hudson? "The Hudson River," says its genial +historian, Mr. Lossing, "from its birth among +the mountains to its marriage with the ocean, +measures a distance of full three hundred +miles." + +Captain John Smith's friend, the Englishman +Henry Hudson, while in the employ of the +Dutch East India Company, in his vessel of +ninety tons, the Half-Moon, being in search +of a northwest passage south of Virginia, cast +anchor outside of Sandy Hook, September 3, +1609, and on the 11th passed up through the +Narrows into the present bay of New York. +Under the firm conviction that he was on his +way to the long-sought Cathay, a day later he +entered the Hudson River, where now stands +the proud metropolis of America. As the Half-Moon +ascended the river the water lost its +saltness, and by the time they were anchored where +the city of Albany now stands all hopes of Cathay +faded from the heart of the mariner. Englishmen +called this river in honor of its discoverer, but the +Dutch gave it the name of North River, +the Delaware had been discovered and named +South River. Thus, while in 1609 Samuel +Champlain was exploring the lake which bears +his name, Hudson was ascending his river upon +the southern water-shed. The historian tells us +that these bold explorers penetrated the +wilderness, one from the north and the other from the +south, to within one hundred miles of each other. + +The same historian (Dr. Lossing) says: "The +most remote source of the extreme western +branch of our noble river is Hendricks Spring, +so named in honor of Hendricks Hudson. We +found Hendricks Spring in the edge of a swamp, +cold, shallow, about five feet in diameter, +shaded by trees, shrubbery, and vines, and fringed +with the delicate brake and fern. Its waters, +rising within half a mile of Long Lake, and upon +the same summit-level, flow southward to the +Atlantic more than three hundred miles; while +those of the latter flow to the St. Lawrence, and +reach the same Atlantic a thousand miles away +to the far northeast." + +Since Dr. Lossing visited the western head of +the Hudson River, the true and highest source +of the stream has probably been settled by a +gentleman possessing scientific acquirements and +inflexible purpose. On the plateau south of +Mount Marcy, State-Surveyor Colvin found +the little Lake Tear-of-the-Clouds to be the +loftiest sheet of water in the state, -- four +thousand three hundred and twenty-six feet above +the sea, -- and proved it to be the lake-head of +the great river Hudson. A second little pond in +a marsh on a high plateau, at the foot of Mount +Redfield, was also discovered, -- "margined and +embanked with luxuriant and deep sphagnous +moss," -- which was named by the party Moss +Lake. It was found to flow into the Hudson. +A beautiful little bivalve shell, three-sixteenths +of an inch in diameter, of an undescribed species, +was found in the pellucid water, and thus a new +shell was handed over to conchology, and a new +river source to geography, in the same hour. +This pool is four thousand three hundred and +twelve feet above tide-water, and only a few feet +lower than its sister, Tear-of-the-Clouds -- the +highest source of the Hudson. + +Should the state of New York adopt Mr. +Colvin's suggestion, to reserve six hundred square +miles of the Adirondack region for a public park, +the pool Tear-of-the-Clouds will be within the +reservation. The waters of these baby +fountains are swollen by contributions from the +streams, ponds, and lakes of the Adirondack +wilderness, until along the banks of Fishing +Brook, a tributary of the Hudson, the water is +utilized at the first saw-mill. A few miles lower +down the forests are vexed by the axe of the +lumbermen, and logs are floated down the river +one hundred miles to Glens Falls, where the +State Dam and Great Boom are located. Half +a million logs have been gathered there in a +single spring. + +It was upon the Hudson that the first +successful steamboat, built by Robert Fulton, made +its voyage to Albany, the engine having been +built by Watt & Bolton, in England. + +From Mr. Lossing we obtain the following. + +"The Clermont was one hundred feet long, +twelve feet wide, and seven feet deep. The +following advertisement appeared in the Albany +Gazette on the 1st of September, 1807: + + + "The North River steamboat will leave Paulus Hook (Jersey + City) on Friday, the 4th of September, at 9 in the morning, and + arrive at Albany on Saturday at 9 in the afternoon. Provisions, + good berths, and accommodations are provided. The charge to + each passenger is as follows: + + To Newburgh, . . . . 3 Dollars. . . Time, 14 hours. + " Poughkeepsie, . . 4 " . . . . " 17 " + " Esopus, . . . . 5 " . . . . " 20 " + " Hudson, . . . . 5-1/2" . . . . " 30 " + " Albany, . . . . 7 " . . . . " 36 " ." + + +The trip, which was made against a strong +head wind, was entirely successful. The large +steamers can now make the trip from New York +to Albany in about ten hours. + +As I pulled easily along the banks of the river, +my eyes feasted upon the gorgeous coloring of +the autumnal foliage, which formed a scene of +beauty never to be forgotten. The rapid +absorption of oxygen by the leaves in the fall months +produces, in northern America, these vivid tints +which give to the country the appearance of a +land covered with a varied and brilliant garment, +"a coat of many colors." A soft hazy light +pervaded the atmosphere, while at the same time +the October air was gently exhilarating to the +nervous system. At six o'clock P. M. the canoe +arrived at Hudson City, which is on the east +bank of the river, and I completed a row of +thirty-eight statute miles, according to local +authority; but in reality forty-nine miles by the +correct charts of the United States Coast Survey. +After storing the Maria Theresa in a shed, I +repaired to a dismal hotel for the night. + +At seven o'clock the next morning the river +was mantled in a dense fog, but I pushed off and +guided myself by the sounds of the running +trains on the Hudson River Railroad. This +corporation does such an immense amount of +freighting that, if their freight trains were +connected, a continuous line of eighty miles would +be constructed, of which sixteen miles are +always in transit day and night. Steamboats +and tugs with canal-boats in tow were groping +about the river in the misty darkness, blowing +whistles every few minutes to let people know +that the pilot was not sleeping at the wheel. +There was a grand clearing up at noon; and as +the sun broke through the mist, the beautiful +shores came into view like a vivid flame of +scarlet, yellow, brown, and green. It was the +death-song of summer, and her dying notes the +tinted leaves, each one giving to the wind a sad +strain as it softly dropped to the earth, or was +quickly hurled into space. + +A few miles south of Hudson City, on the +west bank, the Catskill stream enters the river. +From this point the traveller may penetrate the +picturesque country of the Appalachian range, +where its wild elevations were called Onti Ora, +or "mountains of the sky," by the aborigines. + +Roundout, on the right bank of the Hudson, +is the terminus of the Delaware and Hudson +Canal, which connects it with Port Jervis on the +Delaware, a distance of fifty-four miles. This +town, the outlet of the coal regions, I passed +after meridian. As I left Hudson on the first of +the flood-tide, I had to combat it for several +hours; but I easily reached Hyde Park Landing +(which is on the left bank of the stream and, by +local authority, thirty-five miles from Hudson +City) at five o'clock P. M. The wharf-house +sheltered the canoe, and a hotel in the village, +half a mile distant on the high plains, its owner. +I was upon the river by seven o'clock the next +morning. The day was varied by strong gusts +of wind succeeded by calms. Six miles south +of Hyde Park is the beautiful city of +Poughkeepsie with its eighteen thousand inhabitants, +and the celebrated Vassar Female College. Eight +miles down the river, and on the same side, is a +small village called New Hamburg. The rocky +promontory at the foot of which the town is +built is covered with the finest arbor vitae forest +probably in existence. Six miles below, on +west bank, is the important city of Newburg, +one of the termini of the New York and Erie +Railroad. Four miles below, the river narrows +and presents a grand view of the north entrance +of the Highlands, with the Storm King Mountain +rising fully one thousand five hundred feet above +the tide. The early Dutch navigators gave to +this peak the name of Boter-burg (Butter-Hill), +but it was rechristened Storm King by the +author N. P. Willis, whose late residence, Idlewild, +commands a fine view of Newburg Bay. + +When past the Storm King, the Crow-Nest and +the almost perpendicular front of Kidd's Plug +Cliff tower aloft, and mark the spot where Kidd +(as usual) was supposed to have buried a +portion of that immense sum of money with which +popular belief invests hundreds of localities +along the watercourses of the continent. Now +the Narrows above West Point were entered +and the current against a head-wind made the +passage unusually exciting. The paper canoe +danced over the boiling expanse of water, and +neared the west shore about a mile above the +United States Military Academy, when a shell, +from a gun on the grounds of that institution +burst in the water within a few feet of the boat. +I now observed a target set upon a little flat at +the foot of a gravelly hill close to the beach. +As a second, and finally a third shell exploded +near me, I rowed into the rough water, much +disgusted with cadet-practice and military etiquette. +After dark the canoe was landed on the deck of +a schooner which was discharging slag or cinder +at Fort Montgomery Landing. I scrambled up +the hill to the only shelter that could be found, a +small country store owned by a Captain Conk +who kept entertainment for the traveller. Rough +fellows and old crones came in to talk about the +spooks that had been seen in the neighboring +hills. It was veritable "Sleepy Hollow" talk. +The physician of the place, they said, had been +"skert clean off a bridge the other night." + +Embarking the following morning from this +weird and hilly country, that prominent natural +feature, Anthony's Nose, which was located on +the opposite shore, strongly appealed to my +imagination and somewhat excited my mirth. One +needs a powerful imagination, I thought, to live +in these regions where the native element, the +hill-folk, dwell so fondly and earnestly upon the +ghostly and mysterious. Three miles down the +river, Dunderberg, "the thundering mountain," +on the west bank, with the town of Peekskill on +the opposite shore, was passed, and I entered +Haverstraw Bay, the widest part of the river. +"Here," says the historian, "the fresh and salt +water usually contend, most equally, for the +mastery; and here the porpoise is often seen in +large numbers sporting in the summer sun. Here +in the spring vast numbers of shad are caught +while on their way to spawning-beds in +freshwater coves." Haverstraw Bay was crossed, and +Tarrytown passed, when I came to the +picturesque little cottage of a great man now gone +from among us. Many pleasant memories of +his tales rose in my mind as I looked upon +Sunnyside, the home of Washington Irving, +nestled in the grove of living green, its white +stuccoed walls glistening in the bright sunlight, +and its background of grand villas looming up on +every side. At Irvington Landing, a little further +down the river, I went ashore to pass Sunday +with friends; and on the Monday following, in a +dense fog, proceeded on my route to New York. + +Below Irvington the far-famed "Palisades," +bold-faced precipices of trap-rock, offer their +grandest appearance on the west side of the +Hudson. These singular bluffs, near Hoboken, +present a perpendicular front of three hundred or +four hundred feet in height. Piles of broken rock +rest against their base: the contribution of the +cliffs above from the effects of frost and sun. + +While approaching the great city of New +York, strong squalls of wind, blowing against +the ebb-tide, sent swashy waves into my open +canoe, the sides of which, amidships, were only +five or six inches above water; but the great +buoyancy of the light craft and its very smooth +exterior created but little friction in the water +and made her very seaworthy, when carefully +watched and handled, even without a deck of +canvas or wood. While the canoe forged ahead +through the troubled waters, and the breezes +loaded with the saltness of the sea now near at +hand struck my back, I confess that a longing to +reach Philadelphia, where I could complete my +outfit and increase the safety of my little craft, +gave renewed vigor to my stroke as I exchanged +the quiet atmosphere of the country for the +smoke and noise of the city. Every instinct was +now challenged, and every muscle brought into +action, as I dodged tug-boats, steamers, yachts, +and vessels, while running the thoroughfare +along the crowded wharves between New York +on one side and Jersey City on the other. I +found the slips between the piers most excellent +ports of refuge at times, when the ferry-boats, +following each other in quick succession, made +the river with its angry tide boil like a vortex. +The task soon ended, and I left the Hudson at +Castle Garden and entered the upper bay of New +York harbor. As it was dark, I would gladly +have gone ashore for the night, but a great city +offers no inducement for a canoeist to land as a +stranger at its wharves. + +A much more pleasant reception awaited me +down on Staten Island, a gentleman having +notified me by mail that he would welcome the +canoe and its owner. The ebb had ceased, and +the incoming tide was being already felt close +in shore; so with tide and wind against me, +and the darkness of night settling down gloomily +upon the wide bay, I pulled a strong oar for five +miles to the entrance of Kill Van Kull Strait, +which separates Staten Island from New Jersey +and connects the upper bay with Raritan Bay. + +The bright beams from the light-house on +Robbin's Reef, which is one mile and a quarter +off the entrance of the strait, guided me on my +course. The head-sea, in little, splashy waves, +began to fill my canoe. The water soon reached +the foot-rest; but there was no time to stop to +bale out the boat, for a friendly current was near, +and if once reached, my little craft would enter +smoother waters. The flood which poured into +the mouth of Kill Van Kull soon caught my +boat, and the head-tide was changed to a favorable +current which carried me in its strong arms +far into the salt-water strait, and I reached West +New Brighton, along the high banks of which I +found my haven of rest. Against the sky I +traced the outlines of my land-mark, three +poplars, standing sentinel-like before the house of +the gentleman who had so kindly offered me his +hospitality. The canoe was emptied of its +shifting liquid ballast and carefully sponged dry. +My host and his son carried it into the main hall +of the mansion and placed it upon the floor, +where the entire household gathered, an +admiring group. Proud, indeed, might my dainty +craft have been of the appreciation of so lovely +a company. her master fully appreciated the +generous board of his kind host, and in present +comfort soon forgot past trials and his wet pull +across the upper bay of New York harbor. + +My work for the next day, October 27th, was +the navigation of the interesting strait of the old +Dutch settlers and the Raritan River, of New +Jersey, as far as New Brunswick. The average +width of Kill Van Kull is three-eighths of a mile. +From its entrance, at Constable's Point, to the +mouth of Newark Bay, which enters it on the +Jersey side, it is three miles, and nearly two +miles across the bay to Elizabethport. Bergen +Point is on the east and Elizabethport on the west +entrance of the bay, while on Staten Island, New +Brighton, Factoryville, and North Shore, furnish +homes for many New York business men. + +At Elizabethport the strait narrows to one +eighth of a mile, and as the mouth of the +Rahway is approached it widens. It now runs +through marshes for most of the way, a distance +of twelve miles to Raritan Bay, which is an arm +of the lower bay of New York harbor. The +strait, from Elizabethport to its mouth, is called +Arthur Kill; the whole distance through the +Kills, from Constable's Point to Raritan Bay, is +about seventeen statute miles. At the mouth of +Arthur Kill the Raritan River opens to the bay, +and the city of Perth Amboy rests on the point +of high land between the river and the strait. + +Roseville and Tottenville are on the Staten +Island shores of Arthur Kill, the former six +miles, the latter ten miles from Elizabethport. +The tide runs swiftly through the Kills. +Leaving Mr. Campbell's residence at nine A. M., with +a tide in my favor as far as Newark Bay, I soon +had the tide against me from the other Kill until +I passed the Rahway River, when it commenced +to ebb towards Raritan Bay. The marshy shores +of the Kills were submerged in places by the +high tide, but their monotony was relieved by +the farms upon the hills back of the flats. + +At one o'clock my canoe rounded the heights +upon which Perth Amboy is perched, with its +snug cottages, the homes of many oystermen +whose fleet of boats was anchored in front of the +town. Curious yard-like pens constructed of +poles rose out of the water, in which boats could +find shelter from the rough sea. + +The entrance to the Raritan River is wide, +and above its mouth it is crossed by a long +railroad bridge. The pull up the crooked river +(sixteen miles) against a strong ebb-tide, through +extensive reedy marshes, was uninteresting. I +came upon the entrance of the canal which connects +the rivers Raritan and Delaware after six +o'clock P. M., which at this season of the year +was after dark. Hiding the canoe in a secure +place I went to visit an old friend, Professor +George Cook, of the New Jersey State Geological +Survey, who resides at New Brunswick. In the +morning the professor kindly assisted me, and +we climbed the high bank of the canal with the +canoe upon our shoulders, putting it into the +water below the first two locks. I now +commenced an unexciting row of forty-two miles to +Bordentown, on the Delaware, where this +artificial watercourse ends. + +This canal is much travelled by steam tugs +towing schooners of two hundred tons, and by +barges and canal-boats of all sizes drawing not +above seven feet and a half of water. The +boats are drawn through the locks by stationary +steam-engines, the use of which is discontinued +when the business becomes slack; then the +boatmen use their mules for the same purpose. To +tow an average-sized canal-boat, loaded, requires +four mules, while an empty one is easily drawn +by two. It proved most expeditious as well as +convenient not to trouble the lock-master to open +the gates, but to secure his assistance in carrying +the canoe along the tow-path to the end of the +lock, which service occupied less than five +minutes. In this way the canoe was carried around +seven locks the first day, and when dusk +approached she was sheltered beside a paper shell +in the boat-house of Princeton College Club, +which is located on the banks of the canal about +one mile and a half from the city of Princeton. + +In this narrow watercourse these +indefatigable collegians, under great disadvantages, drill +their crews for the annual intercollegiate struggle +for championship. One Noah Reed provided +entertainment for man and beast at his country +inn half a mile from the boat-house, and thither +I repaired for the night. + +This day's row of twenty-six miles and a +half had been through a hilly country, +abounding in rich farm lands which were well +cultivated. The next morning an officer of the +Princeton Bank awaited my coming on the banks +of the sluggish canal. He had taken an early +walk from the town to see the canoe. At +Baker's Basin the bridge-tender, a one-legged man, +pressed me to tarry till he could summon the +Methodist minister, who had charged him to +notify him of the approach of a paper canoe. + +Through all my boat journeys I have remarked +that professional men take more interest in canoe +journeys than professional oarsmen; and nearly +all the canoeists of my acquaintance are +ministers of the gospel. It is an innocent way of +obtaining relaxation; and opportunities thus offered +the weary clergyman of studying nature in her +ever-changing but always restful moods, must +indeed be grateful after being for months in daily +contact with the world, the flesh, and the devil. +The tendency of the present age to liberal ideas +permits clergymen in large towns and cities to +drive fast horses, and spend an hour of each day +at a harmless game of billiards, without giving +rise to remarks from his own congregation, but +let the overworked rector of a country village +seek in his friendly canoe that relief which nature +offers to the tired brain, let him go into the +wilderness and live close to his Creator by studying +his works, and a whole community vex him on +his return with "the appearance of the thing." +These self-constituted critics, who are generally +ignorant of the laws which God has made to +secure health and give contentment to his creatures, +would poison the sick man's body with drugs and +nostrums when he might have the delightful and +generally successful services of Dr. Camp Cure +without the after dose of a bill. These +hardworked and miserably paid country clergymen, +who are rarely, nowadays, treated as the head +of the congregation or the shepherd of the flock +they are supposed to lead, but rather as victims +of the whims of influential members of the +church, tell me that to own a canoe is indeed a +cross, and that if they spend a vacation in the +grand old forests of the Adirondacks, the +brethren are sorely exercised over the time wasted in +such unusual and unministerial conduct. + +Everywhere along the route the peculiar +character of the paper canoe attracted many remarks +from the bystanders. The first impression given +was that I had engaged in this rowing enterprise +under the stimulus of a bet; and when the +curious were informed that it was a voyage of +study, the next question was "How much are you +going to make out of it?" Upon learning that +there was neither a bet nor money in it, a shade +of disappointment and incredulity rested upon +the features of the bystanders, and the canoeist +was often rated as a "blockhead" for risking his +life without being paid for it. + +At Trenton the canal passes through the city +and here it was necessary to carry the boat +around two locks. At noon the canoe ended +her voyage of forty-two miles by reaching the +last lock, on the Delaware River, at Bordentown, +New Jersey, where friendly arms received the +Maria Theresa and placed her on the trestles +which had supported her sister craft, the Mayeta, +in the shop of the builder, Mr. J. S. Lamson, +situated under the high cliffs along the crests of +which an ex-king of Spain, in times gone by, +was wont to walk and sadly ponder on his exile +from la belle France. + +The Rev. John H. Barkeley, proprietor as well +as principal of the Bordentown Female +Seminary, took me to his ancient mansion, where +Thomas Paine, of old Revolutionary war times, +had lodged. Not the least attraction in the +home of my friend was the group of fifty young +ladies, who were kind enough to gather upon a +high bluff when I left the town, and wave +graceful farewell to the paper canoe as she +entered the tidal current of the river Delaware en +route for the Quaker city. + +During my short stay in Bordentown Mr. +Isaac Gabel kindly acted as my guide and we +explored the Bonaparte Park, which is on the +outskirts of the town. The grounds are +beautifully laid out. Some of the old houses of the +ex-king's friends and attendants still remain in a +fair state of preservation. The elegant residence +of Joseph Bonaparte, or the Count de +Surveilliers, which was always open to American +visitors of all classes, was torn down by Mr. Hairy +Beckon, an Englishman in the diplomatic +service of the British government, who purchased +this property some years after the Count returned +to Europe, and erected a more elaborate +mansion near the old site. The old citizens of +Bordentown hold in grateful remembrance the +favors showered upon them by Joseph Bonaparte +and his family, who seem to have lived a +democratic life in the grand old park. The Count +returned to France in 1838, and never visited +the United States again. New Jersey had +welcomed the exiled monarch, and had given him +certain legal privileges in property rights which +New York had refused him; so he settled upon +the lovely shores of the fair Delaware, and +lavished his wealth upon the people of the state +that had so kindly received him. The citizens +of neighboring states becoming somewhat +jealous of the good luck that had befallen New +Jersey in her capture of the Spanish king, applied +to the state the cognomen of "New Spain," +and called the inhabitants thereof "Spaniards." + +The Delaware River, the Makeriskitton of the +savage, upon whose noble waters my paper +canoe was now to carry me southward, has its +sources in the western declivity of the Catskill +Mountains, in the state of New York. It is fed +by two tributary streams, the Oquago (or +Coquago) and the Popacton, which unite their +waters at the boundary line of Pennsylvania, at +the northeast end of the state, from which it +flows southward seventy miles, separating the +Empire and Keystone states. When near Port +Jervis, which town is connected with Rondout +on the Hudson River, by the Hudson and +Delaware Canal, the Delaware turns sharply to the +southwest, and becomes the boundary line +between the states of New Jersey and +Pennsylvania. Below Easton the river again takes a +Southeasterly course, and flowing past Trenton, +Bristol, Bordentown, Burlington, Philadelphia, +Camden, Newcastle, and Delaware City, empties +its waters into Delaware Bay about forty miles +below Philadelphia. + +This river has about the same length as the +Hudson -- three hundred miles. The tide +reaches one hundred and thirty-two miles from +the sea at Cape May and Cape Henlopen. +Philadelphia is the head of navigation for vessels of +the heaviest tonnage; Trenton for light-draught +steamboats. At Bordentown the river is less +than half a mile wide; at Philadelphia it is +three-fourths of a mile in width; while at +Delaware City it widens to two miles and a half. +Delaware Bay is twenty-six miles across in the +widest part, which is some miles within the +entrance of the Capes. + +October 31st was cool and gusty. The river +route to Philadelphia is twenty-nine statute miles. +The passage was made against a strong head-wind, +with swashy waves, which made me again regret +that I did not have my canoe-decking made at +Troy, instead of at Philadelphia. The +highly cultivated farms and beautiful country-seats along +both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey sides +of the river spoke highly of the rich character +of the soil and the thrift of the inhabitants. +These river counties of two states may be called +a land of plenty, blessed with bountiful +harvests. + +Quaker industry and wise economy in +managing the agricultural affairs of this section in +the early epochs of our country's settlement +have borne good fruit. All praise to the +memory of William Penn of Pennsylvania and his +worthy descendants. The old towns of +Bristol on the right, and Burlington on the left +bank, embowered in vernal shades, have a most +comfortable and home-like appearance. + +At five o'clock P. M. I arrived at the city pier +opposite the warehouse of Messrs. C. P. Knight +& Brother, No. 114 South Delaware Avenue, +where, after a struggle with wind and wave for +eight hours, the canoe was landed and deposited +with the above firm, the gentlemen of which +kindly offered to care for it while I tarried in +the "City of Brotherly Love." + +Among the many interesting spots hallowed +by memories of the past in which Philadelphia +abounds, and which are rarely sought out by +visitors, two especially claim the attention of +the naturalist. One is the old home of +William Bartram, on the banks of the Schuylkill at +Grey's Ferry; the other, the grave of Alexander +Wilson, friends and co-laborers in nature's +extended field; -- the first a botanist, the second the +father of American ornithology. + +William Bartram, son of the John Bartram +who was the founder of the Botanic Garden on +the west bank of the Schuylkill, was born at +that interesting spot in 1739. All botanists are +familiar with the results of his patient labors and +his pioneer travels in those early days, through +the wilderness of what now constitutes the +southeastern states. One who visited him at his +home says: "Arrived at the botanist's garden, +we approached an old man who, with a rake in +his hand, was breaking the clods of earth in a +tulip-bed. His hat was old, and flapped over +his Etee; his coarse shirt was seen near his neck, +as he wore no cravat nor kerchief; his waistcoat +and breeches were both of leather, and his shoes +were tied with leather strings. We approached +and accosted him. He ceased his work, and +entered into conversation with the ease and +politeness of nature's nobleman. His +countenance was expressive of benignity and +happiness. This was the botanist, traveller and +philosopher we had come to see." + +William Bartram gave important assistance +and encouragement to the friendless Scotch +pedagogue, Alexander Wilson, while the latter was +preparing his American Ornithology for the +press. This industrious and peaceable botanist +died within the walls of his dearly-loved home +a few minutes after he had penned a description +of a plant. He died in 1823, in the eighty-fifth +year of his age. The old house of John and +William Bartram remains nearly the same as +when the last Bartram died, but the grounds +have been occupied and improved by the present +proprietor, whose fine mansion is near the old +residence of the two botanists. + +Without ample funds to enable him to carry +out his bold design, Alexander Wilson labored +and suffered in body and mind for several years, +until his patient and persistent efforts achieved +the success they so richly merited. All but the +last volume of his American Ornithology were +completed when the overworked naturalist died. + +The old Swedes' Church is the most ancient +religious edifice in Philadelphia, and is located +near the wharves in the vicinity of Christian and +Swanson streets, in the old district of +Southwark. The Swedes had settlements on the +Delaware before Penn visited America. They built +a wooden edifice for worship in 1677, on the +spot where the brick "Swedes' Church" now +stands, and which was erected in 1700. +Threading narrow streets, with the stenographic +reporter of the courts, Mr. R. A. West, for my +guide, we came into a quiet locality where the +ancient landmark reared its steeple, like the +finger of faith pointing heavenward. Few indeed +must be the fashionable Christians who worship +under its unpretentious roof, but there is an air +of antiquity surrounding it which interests every +visitor who enters its venerable doorway. + +The church-yard is very contracted in area +yet there is room for trees to grow within its +sacred precincts, and birds sometimes rest there +while pursuing their flight from the Schuylkill +to the Delaware. Among the crowded graves +is a square brick structure, covered with an +horizontal slab of white marble, upon which I read: + + + "THIS MONUMENT COVER5 THE REMAINS OF + + ALEXANDER WILSON, + + AUTHOR OF THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. + + HE WAS BORN IN RENFREWSHIRE, SCOTLAND, ON THE 6 JULY, 1766; + + EMIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES IN THE YEAR 1794; + + AND DIED IN PHILADELPHIA, OF THE DYSENTERY, + + ON THE 23 AUGUST, 1813, AGED 47. + + Ingenio stat sine morte decus." + + +Philadelphia has been called the, "city of +homes," and well does she merit that +comfortably sounding title, for it is not a misnomer. +Unlike some other large American cities, the +artisan and laborer can here own a home by +becoming a member of a building association +and paying the moderate periodical dues. Miles +upon miles of these cosy little houses, of five or +six rooms each, may be found, the inmates of +which are a good and useful class of citizens, +adding strength to the city's discipline and +government. + +The grand park of three thousand acres, one +of, if not the largest in the world, is near at +hand, where the poor as well as the rich can +resort at pleasure. I took leave of the beautiful +and well laid-out city with a pang of regret not +usual with canoeists, who find it best for their +comfort and peace of mind to keep with their +dainty crafts away from the heterogeneous and +not over-civil population which gathers along +the water-fronts of a port. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. PHILADELPHIA TO CAPE HENLOPEN. + + + +DESCENT OF DELAWARE RIVER. -- MY FIRST CAMP. -- BOMBAY +HOOK. -- MURDERKILL CREEK. -- A STORM IN DELAWARE BAY. -- +CAPSIZING OF THE CANOE. -- A SWIM FOR LIFE. -- THE +PERSIMMON GROVE. -- WILLOW GROVE INN. -- THE LIGHTS OF +CAPES MAY AND HENLOPEN. + + +Monday, November 9, was a cold, wet +day. Mr. Knight and the old, +enthusiastic gunsmith-naturalist of the city, Mr. John +Krider, assisted me to embark in my now +decked, provisioned, and loaded canoe. The +stock of condensed food would easily last me a +month, while the blankets and other parts of the +outfit were good for the hard usage of four or +five months. My friends shouted adieu as the +little craft shot out from the pier and rapidly +descended the river with the strong ebb-tide +which for two hours was in her favor. The +anchorage of the iron Monitor fleet at League +Island was soon passed, and the great city sank +into the gloom of its smoke and the clouds of +rainy mist which enveloped it. + +This pull was an exceedingly dreary one. The +storms of winter were at hand, and even along +the watercourses between Philadelphia and +Norfolk, Virginia, thin ice would soon be forming in +the shallow coves and creeks. It would be +necessary to exert all my energies to get south +of Hatteras, which is located on the North +Carolina coast in a region of storms and local +disturbances. The canoe, though heavily laden, +behaved well. I now enjoyed the advantages +resulting from the possession of the new canvas +deck-cover, which, being fastened by buttons +along each gunwale of the canoe, securely +covered the boat, so that the occasional swash sent +aboard by wicked tug-boats and large schooners +did not annoy me or wet my precious cargo. + +By two o'clock P. M. the rain and wind caused +me to seek shelter at Mr. J. C. Beach's cottage, +at Markus Hook, some twenty miles below +Philadelphia, and on the same side of the river. +While Mr. Beach was varnishing the little craft, +crowds of people came to feel of the canoe, +giving it the usual punching with their finger-nails, +"to see if it were truly paper." A young +Methodist minister with his pretty wife came also to +satisfy their curiosity on the paper question, but +the dominie offered me not a word of +encouragement in my undertaking. He shook his head +and whispered to his wife: "A wild, wild +enterprise indeed." Markus Hook derived its name +from Markee, an Indian chief, who sold it to the +civilized white man for four barrels of whiskey. + +The next morning, in a dense fog, I followed +the shores of the river, crossing the Pennsylvania +and Delaware boundary line half a mile below +the "Hook;" and entered Delaware, the little state +of three counties. Thirty-five miles below, the +water becomes salt. Reaching New Castle, +which contained half its present number of +inhabitants before Philadelphia was founded, I +pulled across to the New Jersey side of the river +and skirted the marshy shore past the little Pea +Patch Island, upon which rises in sullen +dreariness Fort Delaware. West of the Island is +Delaware City, where the Chesapeake and +Delaware Canal, fourteen miles in length, has one +of its termini, the other being on a river which +empties into Chesapeake Bay. Philadelphia and +Baltimore steamboat lines utilize this canal in +the passage of their boats from one city to the +other. + +After crossing Salem Cove, and passing its +southern point, Elsinborough, five miles and a +half below Fort Delaware, the inhospitable +marshes became wide and desolate, warning me +to secure a timely shelter for the night. Nearly +two miles below Point Elsinborough the high +reeds were divided by a little creek, into which I +ran my canoe, for upon the muddy bank could be +seen a deserted, doorless fish-cabin, into which I +moved my blankets and provisions, after cutting +with my pocket-knife an ample supply of dry +reeds for a bed. Drift-wood, which a friendly +tide had deposited around the shanty, furnished +the material for my fire, which lighted up the +dismal hovel most cheerfully. And thus I kept +house in a comfortable manner till morning, +being well satisfied with the progress I had +made that day in traversing the shores of three +states. The booming of the guns of wild-fowl +shooters out upon the water roused me before +dawn, and I had ample time before the sun arose +to prepare breakfast from the remnant of canned +ox-tail soup left over from last night's supper. + +I was now in Delaware Bay, which was +assuming noble proportions. From my camp I crossed +to the west shore below Reedy Island, and, filling +my water-bottles at a farm-house, kept upon that +shore all day. The wind arose, stirring up a +rough sea as I approached Bombay Hook, where +the bay is eight miles wide. I tried to land upon +the salt marshes, over the edges of which the +long, low seas were breaking, but failed in +several attempts. At last roller after roller, +following in quick succession, carried the little craft on +their crests to the land, and packed her in a +thicket of high reeds. + +I quickly disembarked, believing it useless to +attempt to go further that day. About an eighth +of a mile from the water, rising out of the salt +grass and reeds, was a little mound, covered by +trees and bushes, into which I conveyed my +cargo by the back-load, and then easily drew the +light canoe over the level marsh to the camp. +A bed of reeds was soon cut, into which the +canoe was settled to prevent her from being +strained by the occupant at night, for I was +determined to test the strength of the boat as +sleeping-quarters. Canoes built for one person are +generally too light for such occupancy when out +of water. The tall fringe of reeds which +encircled the boat formed an excellent substitute for +chamber walls, giving me all the starry blue +heavens for a ceiling, and most effectually +screening me from the strong wind which was blowing. +As it was early when the boat was driven ashore +I had time to wander down to the brook, which +was a mile distant, and replenish my scanty stock +of water. + +With the canvas deck-cover and rubber +blanket to keep off the heavy dews, the first night +passed in such contracted lodgings was endurable, +if not wholly convenient and agreeable. The +river mists were not dispelled the next day until +nine o'clock, when I quitted my warm nest in +the reeds and rowed down the bay, which seemed +to grow broader as I advanced. The bay was +still bordered by extensive marshes, with here +and there the habitation of man located upon +some slight elevation of the surface. Having +rowed twenty-six miles, and being off the mouth +of Murderkill Creek, a squall struck the canoe and +forced it on to an oyster reef, upon the sharp +shells of which she was rocked for several +minutes by the shallow breakers. Fearing that the +paper shell was badly cut, though it was still +early in the afternoon, I ascended the creek of +ominous name and associations to the landing of +an inn kept by Jacob Lavey, where I expected to +overhaul my injured craft. To my surprise and +great relief of mind there were found only a few +superficial scratches upon the horn-like +shellacked surface of the paper shell. To apply +shellac with a heated iron to the wounds made +by the oyster-shells was the work of a few +minutes, and my craft was as sound as ever. The +gunner's resort, "Bower's Beach Hotel," +furnished an excellent supper of oyster fritters, +panfish, and fried pork-scrapple. Mine host, before +a blazing wood fire, told me of the origin of the +name of Murderkill Creek. + +"In the early settlement of the country," +began the innkeeper, "the white settlers did all +they could to civilize the Indians, but the cussed +savages wouldn't take to it kindly, but worried +the life out of the new-comers. At last a great +landed proprietor, who held a big grant of land +in these parts, thought he'd settle the troubles. +So he planted a brass cannon near the creek, +and invited all the Indians of the neighborhood +to come and hear the white man's Great Spirit +talk. The crafty man got the savages before the +mouth of the cannon, and said, 'Now look into +the hole there, for it is the mouth of the white +man's Great Spirit, which will soon speak in tones +of thunder.' The fellow then touched off the +gun, and knocked half the devils into splinters. +The others were so skeerd at the big voice they +had heard that they were afraid to move, and +were soon all killed by one charge after another +from the cannon: so the creek has been called +Murderkill ever since." + +I afterwards discovered that there were other +places on the coast which had the same legend +as the one told me by the innkeeper. Holders +of small farms lived in the vicinity of this tavern, +but the post-office was at Frederica, five miles +inland. Embarking the next day, I felt sure of +ending my cruise on Delaware Bay before night, +as the quiet morning exhibited no signs of rising +winds. The little pilot town of Lewes, near +Cape Delaware, and behind the Breakwater, is a +port of refuge for storm-bound vessels. From +this village I expected to make a portage of six +miles to Love Creek, a tributary of Rehoboth +Sound. The frosty nights were now exerting a +sanitary influence over the malarial districts +which I had entered, and the unacclimated +canoeist of northern birth could safely pursue his +journey, and sleep at night in the swamps along +the fresh-water streams if protected from the +dews by a rubber or canvas covering. My hopes +of reaching the open sea that night were to be +drowned, and in cold water too; for that day, +which opened so calmly and with such smiling +promises, was destined to prove a season of trial, +and before its evening shadows closed around +me, to witness a severe struggle for life in the +cold waters of Delaware Bay. + +An hour after leaving Murderkill Creek the +wind came from the north in strong squalls. +My little boat taking the blasts on her quarter, +kept herself free of the swashy seas hour after +hour. I kept as close to the sandy beach of the +great marshes as possible, so as to be near the +land in case an accident should happen. +Mispillion Creek and a light-house on the north of +its mouth were passed, when the wind and seas +struck my boat on the port beam, and continually +crowded her ashore. The water breaking on +the hard, sandy beach of the marshy coast made +it too much of a risk to attempt a landing, as the +canoe would be smothered in the swashy seas if +her head way was checked for a moment. +Amidships the canoe was only a few inches out of +water, but her great sheer, full bow, and +smoothness of hull, with watchful management, kept her +from swamping. I had struggled along for +fourteen miles since morning, and was fatigued +by the strain consequent upon the continued +manoeuvring of my boat through the rough waves. +I reached a point on Slaughter Beach, where the +bay has a width of nearly nineteen miles, when +the tempest rose to such a pitch that the great +raging seas threatened every moment to wash +over my canoe, and to force me by their violence +close into the beach. To my alarm, as the boat +rose and fell upon the waves, the heads of +sharp-pointed stakes appeared and disappeared in the +broken waters. They were the stakes of +fishermen to which they attach their nets in the season +of trout-fishing. The danger of being impaled +on one of these forced me off shore again. + + +There was no undertow; the seas being driven +over shoals were irregular and broken. At last my +sea came. It rolled up without a crest, square +and formidable. I could not calculate where it +would break, but I pulled for life away from it +towards the beach upon which the sea was +breaking with deafening sound. It was only for +a moment that I beheld the great brown wave, +which bore with it the mud of the shoal, bearing +down upon me; for the next, it broke astern, +sweeping completely over the canoe from stern +to stem, filling it through the opening of the +canvas round my body. Then for a while the +watery area was almost smooth, so completely +had the great wave levelled it. The canoe +being water-logged, settled below the surface, +the high points of the ends occasionally +emerging from the water. Other heavy seas followed +the first, one of which striking me as high as my +head and shoulders, turned both the canoe and +canoeist upside-down. + + +A Capsize in Delaware Bay (100K) + + +Kicking myself free of the canvas deck, I +struck out from under the shell, and quickly +rose to the surface. It was then that the words +of an author of a European Canoe Manual came +to my mind: "When you capsize, first right the +canoe and get astride it over one end, keeping +your legs in the water; when you have crawled +to the well or cockpit, bale out the boat with +your hat." Comforting as these instructions +from an experienced canoe traveller seemed +when reading them in my hermitage ashore, the +present application of them (so important a +principle in Captain Jack Bunsby's log of life) +was in this emergency an impossibility; for my +hat had disappeared with the seat-cushion and +one iron outrigger, while the oars were floating +to leeward with the canoe. + +The boat having turned keel up, her great +sheer would have righted her had it not been for +the cargo, which settled itself on the canvas +deck-cloth, and ballasted the craft in that +position. So smooth were her polished sides that it +was impossible to hold on to her, for she rolled +about like a slippery porpoise in a tideway. +having tested and proved futile the kind +suggestions of writers on marine disasters, and +feeling very stiff in the icy water, I struck out in an +almost exhausted condition for the shore. Now +a new experience taught me an interesting +lesson. The seas rolled over my head and +shoulders in such rapid succession, that I found I +could not get my head above water to breathe, +while the sharp sand kept in suspension by the +agitated water scratched my face, and filled my +eyes, nostrils, and ears. While I felt this +pressing down and burying tendency of the seas, as +they broke upon my head and shoulders, I +understood the reason why so many good +swimmers are drowned in attempting to reach the +shore from a wreck on a shoal, when the wind, +though blowing heavily, is in the victim's favor. +The land was not over an eighth of a mile away, +and from it came the sullen roar of the breakers, +pounding their heavy weight upon the sandy +shingle. As its booming thunders or its angry, +swashing sound increased, I knew I was rapidly +nearing it, but, blinded by the boiling waters, I +could see nothing. + +At such a moment do not stop to make vows +as to how you will treat your neighbor in future +if once safely landed, but strike out, fight as you +never fought before, swallowing as little water +as possible, and never relaxing an energy or +yielding a hope. The water shoaled; my feet +felt the bottom, and I stood up, but a roller laid +me flat on my face. Up again and down again, +swimming and crawling, I emerged from the +sea, bearing, I fear, a closer resemblance to Jonah + +(being at last pitched on shore) than to +Cabnel's Venus, who was borne gracefully upon +the rosy crests of the sky-reflecting waves to +the soft bed of sparkling foam awaiting her. + +Wearily dragging myself up the hard shingle, +I stood and contemplated the little streams of +water pouring from my woollen clothes. A new +danger awaited me as the cold wind whistled +down the barren beach and across the desolate +marshes. I danced about to keep warm, and for +a moment thought that my canoe voyage had +come to an unfortunate termination. Then a +buoyant feeling succeeded the moment's +depression, and I felt that this was only the first +of many trials which were necessary to prepare +me for the successful completion of my +undertaking. But where was the canoe, with its +provisions that were to sustain me, and the charts +which were to point out my way through the +labyrinth of waters she was yet to traverse? +She had drifted near the shore, but would not +land. There was no time to consider the +propriety of again entering the water. The struggle +was a short though severe one, and I dragged +my boat ashore. + +Everything was wet excepting what was most +needed, -- a flannel suit, carefully rolled in a +water-proof cloth. I knew that I must change +my wet clothes for dry ones, or perish. This +was no easy task to perform, with hands +benumbed and limbs paralyzed with the cold. O +shade of Benjamin Franklin, did not one of thy +kinsmen, in his wide experience as a traveller, +foresee this very disaster, and did he not, when +I left the "City of Brotherly Love," force upon +me an antidote, a sort of spiritual fire, which my +New England temperance principles made me +refuse to accept? "It is old, very old," he +whispered, as he slipped the flask into my coat- +pocket, "and it may save your life. Don't be foolish. +I have kept it well bottled. It is a pure article, +and cost sixteen dollars per gallon. I use it only +for medicine." I found the flask; the water +had not injured it. A small quantity was taken, +when a most favorable change came over my +entire system, mental as well as physical, and I +was able to throw off one suit and put on +another in the icy wind, that might, without the +stimulant, have ended my voyage of life. + +I had doctored myself homoeopathically under +the old practice. Filled with feelings of +gratitude to the Great Giver of good, I reflected, as +I carried my wet cargo into the marsh, upon the +wonderful effects of my friend's medicine when +taken only as medicine. Standing upon the cold +beach and gazing into the sea, now lashed by +the wild frenzy of the wind, I determined never +again to do so mean a thing as to say a +word against good brandy. + +Having relieved my conscience by this just +resolve, I transported the whole of my wet but +still precious cargo to a persimmon grove, on +a spot of firm land that rose out of the marsh, +where I made a convenient wind-break by +stretching rubber blankets between trees. On +this knoll I built a fire, obtaining the matches +to kindle it from a water-proof safe presented to +me by Mr. Epes Sargent, of Boston, some years +before, when I was ascending the St. Johns +River, Florida. + +Before dusk, all things not spoiled by the +water were dried and secreted in the tall sedge +of the marshes. The elevation which had given +me friendly shelter is known as "Hog Island." +The few persimmon-trees that grew upon it +furnished an ample lunch, for the frosts had +mellowed the plum-like fruit, making it sweet and +edible. The persimmon (Diospyrus +Virginiana) is a small tree usually found in the middle +and southern states. Coons and other animals +feast upon its fruit. The deepening gloom +warned me to seek comfortable quarters for the +night. + +Two miles up the strand was an old gunners' +inn, to which I bent my steps along Slaughter +Beach, praying that one more day's effort would +take me out of this bleak region of ominous +names. A pleasant old gentleman, Mr. Charles +Todd, kept the tavern, known as Willow Grove +Hotel, more for amusement than for profit. I +said nothing to him about the peculiar manner +in which I had landed on Slaughter Beach; but +to his inquiry as to where my boat was, and +what kind of a boat it was to live in such a +blow, I replied that I found it too wet and cold +on the bay to remain there, and too rough to +proceed to Cape Henlopen, and there being no +alternative, I was obliged to land much against +my inclination, and in doing so was drenched to +the skin, but had managed to get dry before a +fire in the marshes. So the kind old man piled +small logs in the great kitchen fireplace, and +told me tale upon tale of his life as a +schoolmaster out west; of the death of his wife there, +and of his desire to return, after long years of +absence, to his native Delaware, where he could +be comfortable, and have all the clams, oysters, +fish, and bay truck generally that a man could +wish for. + +"Now," he added, "I shall spend my last +days here in peace." He furnished an excellent +supper of weak-fish or sea trout (Otolithus +regalio), fried oysters, sweet potatoes, &c. + +This locality offers a place of retirement for +men of small means and limited ambition. The +broad bay is a good sailing and fishing ground, +while the great marshes are the resort of many +birds. The light, warm soil responds generously +to little cultivation. After a day of hunting and +fishing, the new-comer can smoke his pipe in +peace, to the music of crackling flames in the +wide old fireplace. Here he may be +comfortable, and spend his last days quietly vegetating, +with no criticisms on his deterioration, knowing +that he is running to seed no faster than his +neighbors. + +The wind had gone to rest with the sun, and +the sharp frost that followed left its congealed +breath upon the shallow pools of water nearly +half an inch in thickness by morning. From +my bed I could see through the window the +bright flashes from Cape May and Cape +Henlopen lights. Had not misfortune beset me, a +four-hours' pull would have landed me at Lewes. +There was much to be thankful for, however. +Through a merciful Providence it was my +privilege to enjoy a soft bed at the Willow Grove +Inn, and not a cold one on the sands of +Slaughter Beach. So ended my last day on Delaware +Bay. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. FROM CAPE HENLOPEN TO NORFOLK, VIRGINIA + + + +THE PORTAGE TO LOVE CREEK. -- THE DELAWARE +WHIPPINGPOST. -- REHOBOTH AND INDIAN RIVER BAYS. -- A PORTAGE +TO LITTLE ASSAWAMAN BAY. -- ISLE OF WIGHT BAY. -- +WINCHESTER PLANTATION. -- CHINCOTEAGUE. -- WATCHAPREAGUE +INLET. -- COBB'S ISLAND. -- CHERRYSTONE. -- ARRIVAL AT +NORFOLK. -- THE "LANDMARK'S" ENTERPRISE. + + +My first thought the next morning was of the +lost outrigger, and how I should replace +it. My host soon solved the problem for me. +I was to drive to the scene of the late disaster in +his light, covered wagon, load it with the canoe +and cargo, and take the shortest route to Love +Creek, six miles from Lewes, stopping on the +way at a blacksmith's for a new outrigger. +We drove over sandy roads, through forests of +pine and oak, to the village of Milton, where a +curious crowd gathered round us and facetiously +asked if we had "brought the canoe all the way +from Troy in that 'ere wagon." The village +smith, without removing the paper boat from her +snug quarters, made a fair outrigger in an hour's +time, when we continued our monotonous ride +through the dreary woods to a clearing upon the +banks of a cedar swamp, where in a cottage +lived Mr. George Webb, to whom Bob Hazzle, +my driver, presented me. Having now reached +Love Creek, I deposited my canoe with Mr. +Webb, and started off for Lewes to view the +town and the ocean. + +Across the entrance of Delaware Bay, from +Cape Henlopen Light to Cape May Light on the +southern end of New Jersey, is a distance of +twelve statute miles. Saturday night and +Sunday were passed in Lewes, which is situated +inside of Cape Henlopen, and behind the +celebrated stone breakwater which was constructed +by the government. This port of refuge is much +frequented by coasters, as many as two or three +hundred sails collecting here during a severe +gale. The government is building a +remarkable pier of solid iron spiles, three abreast, which, +when completed, will run out seventeen +hundred feet into the bay, and reach a depth of +twenty-three feet of water. Captain Brown, of +the Engineers, was in charge of the work. By the +application of a jet of water, forced by an +hydraulic pump through a tube down the outside of +the spile while it is being screwed into the sand, +a puddling of the same is kept up, which +relieves the strain upon the screw-flanges, and +saves fourteen-fifteenths of the time and labor +usually expended by the old method of inserting +the screw spile. This invention was a happy +thought of Captain Brown. + +The government has purchased a piece of land +at Lewes for the site of a fort. Some time in the +future there will be a railroad terminating on the +pier, and coal will be brought directly from the +mines to supply the fleets which will gather +within the walls of the Breakwater. Here, free from +all danger of an ice blockade, this port will +become a safe and convenient harbor and +coaling station during the winter time for government +and other vessels. + +At dusk on Sunday evening the collector of +the port, Captain Lyons, and his friends, took +me in their carriage back to Love Creek, where +Mr. Webb insisted upon making me the +recipient of his hospitality for the night. A little +crowd of women from the vicinity of the swamp +were awaiting my arrival to see the canoe. One +ancient dame, catching sight of the alcohol-stove +which I took from my vest-pocket, clapped her +thin hands and enthusiastically exclaimed, "What +a nice thing for a sick-room-the best nuss-lamp +I ever seed!" Having satisfied the curiosity of +these people, and been much amused by their +quaint remarks, I was quietly smuggled into Mr. +Webb's "best room," where, if my spirit did not +make feathery flights, it was not the fault of the +downy bed in whose unfathomable depths I now +lost myself. + +Before leaving Delaware I feel it an +imperative duty to the public to refer to one of her +time-honored institutions. + +Persons unacquainted with the fact will find +it difficult to believe that one state of the great +American Republic still holds to the practice of +lashing men and women, white and black. +Delaware -- one of the smallest states of the Union, +the citizens of which are proverbially generous +and hospitable, a state which has produced a +Bayard -- is, to her shame we regret to say, the +culprit which sins against the spirit of civilization +in this nineteenth century, one hundred years +after the fathers of the Republic declared equal +rights for all men. In treating of so delicate a +subject, I desire to do no one injustice; therefore +I will let a native of Delaware speak for his +community. + + +"DOVER, DELAWARE, August 2, 1873. + +"EDITOR CAMDEN SPY: According to +promise, I now write you a little about Delaware. +Persons in your vicinity look upon the 'Little +Diamond State' as a mere bog, or marsh, and +mud and water they suppose are its chief +productions; but, in my opinion, it is one of the +finest little states in the Union. Although small, +in proportion to the size it produces more grain +and fruit than any other state in the country, and +they are unexcelled as regards quality and flavor. +Crime is kept in awe by that best of institutions, +the whipping post and pillory! These are the +bugbear of all the northern newspapers, and +they can say nothing too harsh or severe against +them. The whipping-post in Kent County is +situated in the yard of the jail, and is about six +feet in height and three feet in circumference; the +prisoner is fastened to it by means of bracelets, +or arms, on the wrist; and the sheriff executes +the sentence of the law by baring the convict to +the waist, and on the bare back lashing him +twenty, forty, or sixty times, according to the +sentence. But the blood does not run in streams +from the prisoner's back, nor is he thrown into a +barrel of brine, and salt sprinkled over the lashes. +On the contrary, I have seen them laugh, and +coolly remark that 'it's good exercise, and gives +us an appetite.' But there are others who raise +the devil's own row with their yells and horrible +cries of pain. The whipping is public, and is +witnessed each time by large numbers of people +who come from miles around to see the culprit +disgraced. + +"A public whipping occurred not very long +ago, and the day was very stormy, yet there +were fully three hundred spectators on the ground +to witness this wholesome punishment! A +person who has been lashed at the whipping-post +cannot vote again in this state; thus, most of the +criminals who are whipped leave the state in +order to regain their citizenship. The newspapers +can blow until they are tired about this 'horrible, +barbaric, and unchristian punishment,' but if their +own states would adopt this form of punishment, +they would find crime continually on the +decrease. What is imprisonment for a few months +or years? It is soon over with; and then they +are again let out upon the community, to beg, +borrow, and steal. But to be publicly whipped +is an everlasting disgrace, and deters men from +committing wrong. Women are whipped in the +same manner, and they take it very hard; but, to +my recollection, there has not been a female +prisoner for some time. I did not intend to +comment so long upon the whipping-posts in the +state of Delaware. + +"The pillory next claims our attention. This +is a long piece of board that runs through the +whipping-post at the top, and has holes [as per +engraving] for the neck and arms to rest in a +very constrained position. The prisoner is +compelled to stand on his toes for an hour with his +neck and arms in the holes, and if he sinks from +exhaustion, as it sometimes happens, the neck is +instantly broken. Josiah Ward, the villain who +escaped punishment for the murder of the man +Wady in your county, came into Delaware, +broke into a shoe-store, succeeded in stealing one +pair of shoes, -- was arrested, got sixty lashes at +the post, was made to stand in the pillory one +hour, is now serving out a term of two years' +imprisonment, -- and he never got the shoes! +The pillory is certainly a terrible and cruel +punishment, and, while I heartily favor the +whipping-post, I think this savage punishment should be +abolished. + +"Since writing the above, I have heard that a +colored woman was convicted of murder in the +second degree last May, and on Saturday the +17th of that month received sixty lashes on her +bare back, and stood in the pillory one hour. + +"What do you think of Delaware law, after +what I have written? I have written enough +for the present, so I will close, ever remaining, +Yours very truly, P. P." + +For twenty years past, Delaware and +Maryland farmers have given much attention to peach +culture, which has gradually declined in New +Jersey and states further north. There are said +to be over sixty thousand acres of land on the +peninsula planted with peach-trees, which are +estimated to be worth fifty dollars per acre, or +three million dollars. To harvest this crop +requires at least twenty-five thousand men, women, +and children. The planting of an acre of +peach-trees, and its cultivation to maturity, costs from +thirty to forty dollars. The canners take a large +portion of the best peaches, which are shipped +to foreign as well as to domestic markets. + +The low lands and river-shores of the +peninsula exhale malaria which attacks the inhabitants +in a mild form of ague. During the spring, +summer, and early fall months, a prudent man +will not expose himself to the air until after +the sun has risen and dispelled the mists of +morning. The same caution should be observed +all through the low regions of the south, both +as to morning and evening exercise. Chills and +fever are the bane of the southern and middle +states, as this disease affects the health and +elastic vigor of the constitution, and also +produces great mental depression. Yet those who +suffer, even on every alternate day, from chills, +seem to accept the malaria as nothing of much +importance; though it is a well-known fact that +this form of intermittent fever so reduces the +strength, that the system is unable to cope with +other and more dangerous diseases for which it +paves the way. + +Upon a little creek, tributary to St. Martin's +River, and near its confluence with the Isle of +Wight Bay, a long day's pull from the swamp of +Love Creek, was the old plantation home of a +friend of my boyhood, Mr. Taylor, who about +this time was looking out for the arrival of the +paper canoe. It was a question whether I could +descend Love Creek three miles, cross Rehoboth +and Indian River sounds, ascend White's Creek, +make a portage to Little Assawaman Bay, thread +the thoroughfare west of Fenwick's Island Light, +cross the Isle of Wight Bay, ascend and cross St. +Martin's River to Turval's Creek, and reach the +home of my friend, all in one day. But I +determined to attempt the task. Mr. Webb roused his +family at an early hour, and I rowed down Love +Creek and crossed the shallow waters of +Rehoboth Bay in the early part of the day. + +From Cape Henlopen, following the general +contour of the coast, to Cape Charles at the +northern entrance of Chesapeake Bay, is a +distance of one hundred and thirty-six miles; from +Cape Charles across the mouth of Chesapeake +Bay to Cape Henry is thirteen miles; from +Henlopen south, the state of Delaware occupies +about twenty miles of the coast; the eastern +shore of Maryland holds between thirty and +forty miles, while the eastern shore of Virginia, +represented by the counties of Accomac and +Northampton, covers the peninsula to Cape +Charles. + +Commencing at Rehoboth Bay, a small boat +may follow the interior waters to the Chesapeake +Bay. The watercourses of this coast are +protected from the rough waves of the ocean by +long, narrow, sandy islands, known as beaches, +between which the tides enter. These passages +from the sea to the interior waters are called +inlets, and most of them are navigable for +coasting vessels of light draught. These inlets are so +influenced by the action of storms, and their +shores and locations are so changed by them, +that the cattle may graze to-day in tranquil +happiness where only a generation ago the old skipper +navigated his craft. During June of the year +1821 a fierce gale opened Sandy Point Inlet with +a foot depth of water, but it closed in 1831. +Green Point Inlet was cut through the beach +during a gale in 1837, and was closed up seven +years later. Old Sinepuxent Inlet, which was +forced open by the sea more than sixty years +ago, closed in 1831. These three inlets were +within a space of three miles, and were all north +of Chincoteague village. Green Run Inlet, +which had a depth of about six feet of water for +nearly ten years, also closed after shifting half a +mile to the south of its original location. The +tendency of inlets on this coast is to shift to the +southward, as do the inlets on the coast of New +Jersey. + +Oystermen, fishermen, and farmers live along +the upland, and in some cases on the island +beaches. From these bays, timber, firewood, +grain, and oysters are shipped to northern ports. +The people are everywhere kind and hospitable +to strangers. A mild climate, cheap and easily +worked soils, wild-fowl shooting, fine oysters and +fishing privileges, offer inducements to +Northerners and Europeans to settle in this country; +the mild form of ague which exists in most +of its localities being the only objection. While +debating this point with a native, he attacked my +argument by saying: + +"Law sakes! don't folks die of something, +any way? If you don't have fever 'n' ague round +Massachusetts, you've got an awful lot of things +we hain't got here -- a tarnashun sight wuss ones, +too; sich as cumsempsun, brown-critters, mental +spinageetis, lung-disease, and all sorts of +brownkill disorders. Besides, you have such awful +cold winters that a farmer has to stay holed four +months out of the year, while we folks in the +south can work most of the time out of doors. +I'll be dog-goned if I hadn't ruther live here in +poverty than die up north a-rolling in riches. +Now, stranger, as to what you said about +sickness, why we aren't no circumstance to you +fellows up north. Why, your hull country is +chuckfull of pizenous remedies. When I was a-coasting +along Yankeedom and went ashore, I found +all the rocks along the road were jist kivered +with quack-medicine notices, and all the farmers +hired out the outsides of their barns to advertise +doctor's stuff on." + +In no portion of America do the people seem +to feel the burden of earning a livelihood more +lightly. They get a great deal of social +enjoyment out of life at very little cost, and place +much less value on the "mighty dollar" than do +their brother farmers of the northern section of +the states. The interesting inquiry of "Who was +his father?" commences at Philadelphia, and its +importance intensifies as you travel southward. +Old family associations have great weight among +all classes. + +It was six miles from the mouth of Love Creek +across the little sound to Burton's marshy island +at the entrance of Indian River Sound. Indian +River supplies its bay with much of its fresh +water, and the small inlet in the beach of the +same name with the salt water of the ocean. +Large flocks of geese and ducks were seen upon +the quiet waters of the sound. Pursuing my +southward course across Indian River Sound +three miles, I entered a small creek with a wide +mouth, which flows north from the cedar swamp, +known as White's Creek, which I ascended until +the stream became so narrow that it seemed +almost lost in the wilderness, when suddenly +an opening in the forest showed me a clearing +with the little buildings of a farm scattered +around. It was the home of a Methodist +exhorter, Mr. Silas J. Betts. I told him how +anxious I was to make a quick portage to the +nearest southern water, Little Assawaman Bay, +not much more than three miles distant by road. + +After calmly examining my boat, he said: "It +is now half-past eleven o'clock. Wife has dinner +about ready. I'll hurry her up a little, and while +she is putting it on the table we will get the cart +ready." The cart was soon loaded with pine +needles as a bed for the canoe. We lashed her +into a firm position with cords, and went in to +dinner. + +In a short time after, we were rattling over a +level, wooded country diversified here and there +by a little farm. The shallow bay, the east side +of which was separated from the ocean by sandy +hills, was bounded by marshes. We drove close +to the water and put the Maria Theresa once +more into her true element. A friendly shake +of the hand as I paid the conscientious man his +charge of one dollar for his services, with many +thanks for his hospitality, for which he would +accept nothing -- and the canoe was off, threading +the narrow and very shallow channel-way of this +grassy-bottomed bay. + +The tall tower of Fenwick's Island Light, +located on the boundary line of Delaware and +Maryland, was now my landmark. It rises out +of the low land that forms a barrier against +which the sea breaks. The people on the coast +pronounce Fenwick "Phoenix." Phoenix Island, +they say, was once a part of the mainland, but a +woman, wishing to keep her cattle from +straying, gave a man a shirt for digging a narrow +ditch between Little and Great Assawaman +bays. The tide ebbed and flowed so strongly +through this new channel-way that it was worn +to more than a hundred feet in width, and has +at high tide a depth in places of from ten to +fifteen feet of water. The opening of this new +thoroughfare so diminished the flow of water +through the Little Assawaman Inlet to the sea, +that it became closed. The water was almost +fresh here, as the nearest inlet which admits salt +water at high tide is at Chincoteague Island, +some fifty miles distant. + +Passing to the west of the light-house through +this passage, I thought of what a woman could +do, and almost expected to hear from the rippling +waters the "Song of the Shirt," which would +have been in this case a much more cheerful +one than Hood's. I now entered Great +Assawaman Bay, the waters of which lay like a +mirror before me; and nearly five miles away, to the +southwestern end, the tall forests of the Isle of +Wight loomed up against the setting sun. Ducks +rose in flocks from the quiet waters as my canoe +glided into their close vicinity. If I could have +taken less cargo, I should have carried a light +gun; but this being impossible, a pocket +revolver was my only fire-arm: so the ducks and +other wild-fowl along my route had reason to +hold the paper canoe in grateful remembrance. + +Upon reaching the shores of the Isle of Wight +I entered the mouth of St. Martin's River, which +is, at its confluence with Isle of Wight Bay, more +than two miles wide. I did not then possess the +fine Coast Chart No.28, or the General Chart +of the Coast, No.4, with the topography of the +land clearly delineated, and showing every man's +farm-buildings, fields, landings, &c., so plainly +located as to make it easy for even a novice to +navigate these bays. Now, being chartless so +far as these waters were concerned, I peered +about in the deepening twilight for my friend's +plantation buildings, which I knew were not far +off; but the gloomy forests of pine upon the +upland opened not the desired vista I so longed +to find. + +Crossing the wide river, I came upon a long +point of salt-marsh, which I hoped might be +Keyser's Point, for I knew that to the west of +this point I should find Turval's Creek. While +rowing along the marsh I came upon two +duck-shooters in their punt, but so enveloped were +they in the mist that it was impossible to do +more than define their forms. I, however, +ventured a question as to my locality, when, to my +utter astonishment, there came back to me in +clear accents my own name. Never before had +it sounded so sweet to my ears. It was the +voice of my friend, who with a companion +was occupied in removing from the water the +flock of decoys which they had been +guarding since sunrise. Joyful was the unexpected +meeting. + +We rowed around Keyser's Point, and up +Turval's Creek, a couple of miles to the plantation +landing. There, upon the old estate in the little +family burial-ground, slept, "each in his narrow +cell," the children of four generations. Our +conversation before the blazing wood-fire that night +related to the ground travelled over during the day, +a course of about thirty-five miles. Mr. Taylor's +father mentioned that a friend, during one week +in the previous September, had taken upon his +hook, while fishing from the marshes of +Rehoboth Bay, five hundred rock-fish, some of which +weighed twenty pounds. The oysters in +Rehoboth and Indian River bays had died out, +probably from the decrease in the amount of +salt water now entering them. A delightful +week was spent with my friends at Winchester +Plantation, when the falling of the mercury +warned me to hurry southward. + +On Wednesday, November 25, I descended +the plantation creek and rowed out of St. +Martin's River into the Bay. My course southward +led me past "the Hommack," an Indian mound +of oyster-shells, which rises about seven feet +above the marsh on the west side of the entrance +to Sinepuxent bay, and where the mainland +approaches to within eight hundred feet of the +beach. This point, which divides the Isle of +Wight Bay from Sinepuxent, is the terminus of +the Wicomico and Pocomoke Railroad, which +has been extended from Berlin eastwardly seven +miles. A short ferry conveys the passengers +across the water to a narrow island beach, which +is considered by Bayard Taylor, the author, the +finest beach he has ever visited. This new +watering-place is called Ocean City; and my +friend, B. Jones Taylor, was treasurer of the +company which was engaged in making the +much-desired improvements. The shallow bays +in the vicinity of Ocean City offer safe and +pleasant sailing-grounds. The summer fishing +consists chiefly of white perch, striped bass, sheep's-head, +weak-fish, and drum. In the fall, bluefish +are caught. All of these, with oysters, soft +crabs, and diamond-backed terrapin, offer +tempting dishes to the epicure. This recently isolated +shore is now within direct railroad +communication with Philadelphia and New York, and can +be reached in nine hours from the former, and +in twelve hours from the latter city. + +From the Hommack to South Point is included +the length of Sinepuxent Bay, according to Coast +Survey authority. From South Point to below +the middle of Chincoteague Island the bay is +put down as "Assateague," though the oystermen +do not call it by that name. The celebrated +oyster-beds of the people of Chincoteague +commence about twenty miles south of the +Hornmack. There are two kinds of oysters shipped +from Chincoteague Inlet to New York and +other markets. One is the long native plant +the other, that transplanted from Chesapeake +Bay: this bivalve is rounded in form, and the +most prized of the two. The average width of +Sinepuxent was only a mile. When I turned +westwardly around South Point, and entered +Assateague Bay, the watery expanse widened, +between the marshes on the west and the +sandy-beach island on the east, to over four miles. + +The debouchure of Newport Creek is to the +west of South Point. The marshes here are +very wide. I ascended it in the afternoon to +visit Dr. F. J. Purnell, whose attempts to +introduce the pinnated grouse and California +partridges on his plantation had attracted the +attention of Mr. Charles Hallock, editor of "Forest +and Stream"; and I had promised him, if +possible, to investigate the matter. This South Point +of Sinepuxent Neck is a place of historical +interest, it being now asserted that it is the +burial place of Edward Whalley, the regicide. + +Early in 1875, Mr. Robert P. Robins found in a +bundle of old family documents a paper containing +interesting statements written by his great-great-grandfather, +Thomas Robins, 3d, of South Point, +Worcester County, Maryland, and dated July 8, +1769. We gather from this reliable source that +Edward Whalley left Connecticut and arrived in +Virginia in 1618, and was there met by a portion +of his family. From Virginia he travelled to +the "province of Maryland, and settled first at +ye mouth of ye Pokemoke River; and finding +yt too publick a place he came to Sinepuxent, a +neck of land open to ye Atlantic Ocean, where +Colonel Stephen was surveying and bought a +tract of land from him and called it Genezar; it +contained two thousand two hundred acres, south +end of Sinepuxent; and made a settlement on ye +southern extremity, and called it South Point; to +ye which place he brought his family about 1687, +in ye name of Edward Middleton. His own name +he made not publick until after this date, after ye +revolution in England, (in ye year of our Lord +1688,) when he let his name be seen in publick +papers, and had ye lands patented in his own +name." + +The writer of the above quotation was the +great-grandson of Edward Whalley (alias Edward +Middleton), the celebrated regicide. + +Four miles from South Point I struck the +marshes which skirted Dr. Purnell's large +plantation, and pushing the canoe up a narrow branch +of the creek, I waded through the partially +submerged herbage to the firm ground, where the +doctor was awaiting me. His house was close +at hand, within the hospitable walls of which I +passed the night. Dr. Purnell has an estate of +one thousand five hundred acres, lying along the +banks of Newport Creek. Since the civil war it +has been worked by tenants. Much of it is +woodland and salt-marshes. Five years before +my visit, a Philadelphian sent the doctor a few +pairs of prairie-chickens, and a covey of both the +valley and the mountain partridge. I am now +using popular terms. The grouse were from a +western state; the partridges had been obtained +from California. The partridges were kept caged +for several weeks and were then set at liberty. +They soon disappeared in the woods, with the +exception of a single pair, which returned daily +to the kitchen-door of a farm tenant to obtain +food. These two birds nested in the garden +close to the house, and reared a fine brood of +young; but the whole covey wandered away, and +were afterwards heard from but once. They +had crossed to the opposite side of Newport +Creek, and were probably shot by gunners. + +The prairie-chickens adapted themselves to +their new home in a satisfactory manner, and +became very tame. Their nests, well filled with +eggs, were found along the rail-fences of the fields +in the close vicinity of the marshes, for which +level tracts they seemed to have strong +attachment. They multiplied rapidly, and visited the +cattle-pens and barn-yards of the plantation. + +The Maryland legislature passed a law to +protect all grouse introduced into the state; but a +new danger threatened these unfortunate birds. +A crew of New Jersey terrapin-hunters entered +Chincoteague Inlet, and searched the ditches and +little creeks of the salt-marshes for the +"diamondbacks." While thus engaged, the gentle grouse, +feeding quietly in the vicinity, attracted their +attention, and they at once bagged most of them. +A tenant on the estate informed me that he had +seen eighteen birds in a cornfield a few days +before -- the remnant of the stock. + +The Ruffled Grouse (Bonasa umbellas), so +abundant in New Jersey, is not a resident of the +peninsula. Dr. Purnell's first experiment with +the Pinnated Grouse (Cupidonia cupido) has +encouraged others to bring the ruffled grouse to +the eastern shore of Maryland. That +unapproachable songster of the south, the American +Mocking-bird (Mimus polyglottus), is becoming +scarce in this region, from the inroads made by +bird-catchers who ship the young to northern +cities. This delightful chorister is only an +accidental visitor in the New England states. +Indeed as far south as Ocean County, New Jersey, +I saw but one of these birds, in a residence of +nine years on my cranberry plantations; though I +have heard that their nests are occasionally found +about Cape May, at the extreme southern end of +New Jersey. + +My time being limited, I could enjoy the +doctor's hospitality for but one night. The next +morning the whole family, with tenants both +black and white, assisted me to embark. By +dusk I had crossed the division line of two states, +and had entered Virginia near the head of +Chincoteague Island, a locality of peculiar interest to +the student of American character. The +ebb-tide had left but little water around the rough pier +abreast of the town, and heaps of oyster-shells +rose from the mud flats and threatened the +safety of my canoe. I looked up through the +darkness to the light pier-head above me, and +called for assistance. Two men leaned over to +inquire, "What's the row now, stranger? " To +which I replied, "I wish to land a light boat on +your pier; and as it is made of paper, it should +be carefully handled." For a moment the +oystermen observed a silence, and then, without one +word of explanation, disappeared. I heard their +heavy boots tramping up the quay towards the +tavern. Soon a low murmur arose on the night +air, then hoarse shouts, and there came +thundering down the wharf an army of men and boys. +"Pass her up, stranger!" they cried. "Here, +give us your bow and starn painters, and jest +step overboard yourself, and we'll hist her up." +Some of the motley crew caught me by the +shoulders, others "histed away," and the canoe +and its captain were laid roughly upon the +ground. + +There was a rush to feel of the paper shell. +Many were convinced that there was no humbug +about it; so, with a great shout, some of the men +tossed it upon their shoulders, while the rest +seized upon the miscellaneous cargo, and a rush +was made for the hotel, leaving me to follow at +discretion and alone. The procession burst open +the doors of the tavern, and poured through +the entrance to a court-yard, where they laid +the boat upon a long table under a shed, and +thought they had earned "drinks." This was the +spontaneous way in which the Chincoteague +people welcomed me. "If you don't drink, stranger, +up your way, what on airth keeps your buddies +and soulds together?" queried a tall oysterman. +A lady had kindly presented me with a peck of fine +apples that very morning; so, in lieu of "drinks," +I distributed the fruit among them. They joked +and questioned me, and all were merry save one +bilious-looking individual, not dressed, like the +others, in an oysterman's garb, but wearing, to +use a term of the place, "store clothes." + +After the crowd had settled in the bar-room, +at cards, &c., this doubting Thomas remained +beside the boat, carefully examining her. Soon +he was scraping her hull below the gunwale, +where the muddy water of the bay had left a +thin coat of sediment which was now dry. The +man's countenance lighted up as he pulled the +bartender aside and said, "Look ahere; +I tell you that boat looked as if she was made to +carry on a deck of a vessel, and to be a-shoved off +into the water at night jest abreast of a town to +make fools of folks, and git them to believe that +that fellow had a-rowed all the way ahere? +Now see, here is dust, dry dust on her hull. +She ahain't ben in the water mor'n ten minutes, +I sware," It required but a moment's +investigation of my Chincoteague audience to discover +that the dust was mud from the tide, and the +doubter brought down the ridicule of his more +discriminating neighbors upon him, and slunk +away amid their jeers. + +Of all this community of watermen but one +could be found that night who had threaded the +interior watercourses as far as Cape Charles, and +he was the youngest of the lot. Taking out my +note-book, I jotted down his amusing directions. +"Look out for Cat Creek below Four Mouths," +he said; "you'll catch it round there." "Yes," +broke in several voices, "Cat Creek's an awful +place unless you run through on a full ebb-tide. +Oyster boats always has a time a-shoving through +Cat Creek," &c. + +After the council with my Chincoteague +friends had ended, the route to be travelled the +next day was in my mental vision "as clear as +mud." The inhabitants of this island are not all +oystermen, for many find occupation and profit +in raising ponies upon the beach of Assateague, +where the wild, coarse grass furnishes them a +livelihood. These hardy little animals are called +"Marsh Tackies," and are found at intervals +along the beaches down to the sea-islands of the +Carolinas. They hold at Chincoteague an annual +fair, to which all the "pony-penners," as they +are called, bring their surplus animals to sell. +The average price is about ninety dollars for a +good beast, though some have sold for two +hundred and fifty dollars. All these horses are sold +in a semi-wild and unbroken state. + +The following morning Mr. J. L. Caulk, +ex-collector of the oyster port, and about fifty +persons, escorted me to the landing, and sent me +away with a hearty "Good luck to ye." + +It was three miles and three quarters to the +southern end of the island, which has an inlet +from the ocean upon each side of that end -- the +northern one being Assateague, the southern one +Chincoteague Inlet. Fortunately, I crossed the +latter in smooth water to Ballast Narrows in +the marshes, and soon reached Four Mouths, +where I found five mouths of thoroughfares, and +became perplexed, for had not the pilots of +Chincoteague called this interesting display of +mouths "Four Mouths"? I clung to the authority +of local knowledge, however, and was soon in a +labyrinth of creeks which ended in the marshes +near the beach. + +Returning over the course, I once more faced +the four, or five mouths rather, and taking a new +departure by entering the next mouth to the one +I had so unsatisfactorily explored, soon entered +Rogue's Bay, across which could be seen the +entrance to Cat Creek, where I was to +experience the difficulties predicted by my Chincoteague +friends. Cat Creek furnished at half tide +sufficient water for my canoe, and not the +slightest difficulty was experienced in getting through +it. The oystermen had in their minds their own +sloop-rigged oyster-boats when they discoursed +to me about the hard passage of Cat Creek. +They had not considered the fact that my craft +drew only five inches of water. + +Cat Creek took me quite down to the beach, +where, through an inlet, the dark-blue ocean, +sparkling in its white caps, came pleasantly into +view. Another inlet was to be crossed, and +again I was favored with smooth water. This +was Assawaman Inlet, which divided the beach +into two islands -- Wallops on the north, and +Assawaman on the south. + +It seemed a singular fact that the two +Assawaman bays are forty-five miles to the north of an +inlet of the same name. In following the creeks +through the marshes between Assawaman Island +and the mainland, I crossed another shoal bay, +and another inlet opened in the beach, through +which the ocean was again seen. This last was +Gargathy Inlet. Before reaching it, as night was +coming on, I turned up a thoroughfare and rowed +some distance to the mainland, where I found +lodgings with a hospitable farmer, Mr. Martin R. +Kelly. At daybreak I crossed Gargathy Inlet. + +It was now Saturday, November 28; and being +encouraged by the successful crossing of the +inlets in my tiny craft, I pushed on to try the less +inviting one at the end of Matomkin Island. +Fine weather favored me, and I pushed across +the strong tide that swept through this inlet +without shipping a sea. Assawaman and +Gargathy are constantly shifting their channels. At +times there will be six feet of water, and again +they will shoal to two feet. Matomkin, also, is +not to be relied on. Every northeaster will shift +a buoy placed in the channels of these three +inlets, so they are not buoyed. + +Watchapreague Inlet, to the south of the three +last named, is less changeable in character, and +is also a much more dangerous inlet to cross in +rough weather. From Matoinkin Inlet the +interior thoroughfares were followed inside of Cedar +Island, when darkness forced me to seek shelter +with Captain William F. Burton, whose +comfortable home was on the shore of the mainland, +about five miles from Watchapreague Inlet. +Here I was kindly invited to spend Sunday. +Captain Burton told me much of interest, and +among other things mentioned the fact that +during one August, a few years before my visit, a +large lobster was taken on a fish-hook in +Watchapreague Inlet, and that a smaller one was +captured in the same manner during the summer +of 1874. + +Monday was a gusty day. My canoe scraped +its keel upon the shoals as I dodged the broken +oyster reefs, called here "oyster rocks," while on +the passage down to Watchapreague Inlet. The +tide was very low, but the water deepened as +the beach was approached. A northeaster was +blowing freshly, and I was looking for a lee +under the beach, when suddenly the canoe shot +around a sandy point, and was tugging for life in +the rough waters of the inlet. The tide was +running in from the sea with the force of a rapid, +and the short, quick puffs of wind tossed the +waves wildly. It was useless to attempt to turn +the canoe back to the beach in such rough water, +but, intent on keeping the boat above the caps, I +gave her all the momentum that muscular power +could exert, as she was headed for the southern +point of the beach, across the dangerous inlet. + +Though it was only half a mile across, the +passage of Watchapreague taxed me severely. +Waves washed over my canoe, but the gallant +little craft after each rebuff rose like a bird to +the surface of the water, answering the slightest +touch of my oar better than the best-trained +steed. After entering the south-side swash, the +wind struck me on the back, and seas came +tumbling over and around the boat, fairly forcing me +on to the beach. As we flew along, the +tumultuous waters made my head swim; so, to +prevent mental confusion, I kept my eyes only upon +the oars, which, strange to say, never betrayed +me into a false stroke. + +As a heavy blast beat down the raging sea for +a moment, I looked over my shoulder and +beheld the low, sandy dunes of the southern shore +of the inlet close at hand, and with a severe jolt +the canoe grounded high on the strand. I +leaped out and drew my precious craft away +from the tide, breathing a prayer of thankfulness +for my escape from danger, and mentally vowing +that the canoe should cross all other treacherous +inlets in a fisherman's sloop. I went into camp +in a hollow of the beach, where the sand-hills +protected me from the piercing wind. All that +afternoon I watched from my burrow in the +ground the raging of the elements, and towards +evening was pleased to note a general subsidence +of wind and sea. + +The canoe was again put into the water and +the thoroughfare followed southward for a mile +or two, when the short day ended, leaving me +beside a marshy island, which was fringed with +an oyster-bed of sharp-beaked bivalves. +Stepping overboard in the mud and water, the oars +and paddle were laid upon the shell reef to +protect the canoe, which was dragged on to the +marsh. It grew colder as the wind died out. +The marsh was wet, and no fire-wood could be +found. The canvas cover was removed, the cargo +was piled up on a platform of oars and shells to +secure it from the next tide, and then I slowly +and laboriously packed myself away in the narrow +shell for the night. The canvas deck-cover +was buttoned in its place, a rubber blanket +covered the cockpit, and I tried to sleep and dream +that I was not a sardine, nor securely confined in +some inhospitable vault. It was impossible to +turn over without unbuttoning one side of the +deck-cover and going through contortions that +would have done credit to a first-class acrobat. +For the first time in my life I found it necessary +to get out of bed in order to turn over in it. + +At midnight, mallards (Anas boschas) came +close to the marsh. The soft whagh of the +drake, which is not in this species blessed with +the loud quack of the female bird, sufficiently +established the identity of the duck. Then +muskrats, and the oyster-eating coon, came +round, no doubt scenting my provisions. Brisk +raps from my knuckles on the inside shell of the +canoe astonished these animals and aroused their +curiosity, for they annoyed me until daybreak. + +When I emerged from my narrow bed, the +frosty air struck my cheeks, and the cold, wet +marsh chilled my feet. It was the delay at +Watchapreague Inlet that had lodged me on this +inhospitable marsh; so, trying to exercise my +poor stock of patience, I completed my toilet, +shaking in my wet shoes. The icy water, into +which I stepped ankle-deep in order to launch +my canoe, reminded me that this wintry morning +was in fact the first day of December, and that +stormy Hatteras, south of which was to be found +a milder climate, was still a long way off. + +The brisk row along Paramore's Island (called +Palmer's by the natives) to the wide, bay-like +entrance of Little Machipongo Inlet, restored +warmth to my benumbed limbs. This wide +doorway of the ocean permitted me to cross its +west portal in peace, for the day was calm. +From Little to Great Machipongo Inlet the +beach is called Hog Island. The inside +thoroughfare is bounded on the west by Rogue's +Island, out of the flats of which rose a solitary +house. At the southern end of Hog Island +there is a small store on a creek, and near the +beach a light-house, while a little inland is +located, within a forest of pines, a small +settlement. + +At noon, Great Machipongo Inlet was crossed +without danger, and Cobb's Island was skirted +several miles to Sand Shoal Inlet, near which +the hotel of the three Cobb brothers rose +cheerfully out of the dreary waste of sands and +marshes. The father of the present proprietors +came to this island more than thirty years ago, +and took possession of this domain, which had +been thrown up by the action of the ocean's +waves. He refused an offer of one hundred +thousand dollars for the island. The locality is +one of the best on this coast for wild-fowl +shooting. Sand Shoal Inlet, at the southern end of +Cobb's Island, has a depth of twelve feet of +water on its bar at low tide. + +In company with the regular row-boat ferry I +crossed, the next day, the broad bay to the +mainland eight miles distant, where the canoe was +put upon a cart and taken across the peninsula +five miles to Cherrystone, the only point near +Cape Charles at which a Norfolk steamer stopped +for passengers. It was fully forty miles across +Chesapeake Bay from Cherrystone Landing to +Norfolk, and it was imperative to make the +portage from this place instead of from Cape Charles, +which, though more than fifteen miles further +south, and nearer to my starting-point on the +other side, did not possess facilities for +transportation. The slow one-horse conveyance arrived +at Cherrystone half an hour after the steamer +N. P. Banks had left the landing, though I +heard that the kind-hearted captain, being told +I was coming, waited and whistled for me till +his patience was exhausted. + +The only house at the head of the pier was +owned by Mr. J. P. Powers, and fortunately +offered hotel accommodations. Here I remained +until the next trip of the boat, December 4. +Arriving in Norfolk at dusk of the same day, I +stored my canoe in the warehouse of the Old +Dominion Steamship Company, and quietly +retired to a hotel which promised an early meal +in the morning, congratulating myself the while +that I had avoided the usual show of curiosity +tendered to canoeists at city piers, and above all +had escaped the inevitable reporter. Alas! my +thankfulness came too soon; for when about to +retire, my name was called, and a veritable +reporter from the Norfolk Landmark cut off +my retreat. + +"Only a few words," he pleadingly +whispered. "I've been hunting for you all over the +city since seven o'clock, and it is near midnight +now." + +He gently took my arm and politely furnished +me with a chair. Then placing his own directly +before me, he insinuatingly worked upon me +until he derived a knowledge of the log of the +Paper Canoe, when leaning back in his chair he +leisurely surveyed me and exclaimed: + +"Mr. Bishop, you are a man of snap. We +like men of snap; we admire men of snap; +in fact, I may say we cotton to men of snap, and +I am proud to make your acquaintance. Now +if you will stop over a day we will have the +whole city out to see your boat." + +This kind offer I firmly refused, and we were +about to part, when he said in a softly rebuking +manner: + +"You thought, Mr. Bishop, you would give us +the slip -- did you not? I assure you that would +be quite impossible. Eternal Vigilance is our +motto. No, you could not escape us. Good +evening, sir, and the 'Landmark's' welcome to +you." + +Six hours later, as I entered the restaurant of +the hotel with my eyes half open, a newsboy +bawled out in the darkness: "'Ere's the +Landmark.' Full account of the Paper Canoe," &c. +And before the sun was up I had read a column +and a half of "The Arrival of the Solitary +Voyager in Norfolk." So much for the zeal of Mr. +Perkins of the "Landmark," a worthy example +of American newspaper enterprise. Dreading +further attentions, I now prepared to beat a hasty +retreat from the city. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. FROM NORFOLK TO CAPE HATTERAS. + + + +THE ELIZABETH RIVER. -- THE CANAL. -- NORTH LANDING RIVER. +-- CURRITUCK SOUND. -- ROANOKE ISLAND. -- VISIT TO BODY +ISLAND LIGHT-HOUSE. -- A ROMANCE OF HISTORY. -- PAMPLICO +SOUND. -- THE PAPER CANOE ARRIVES AT CAPE HATTERAS. + + +On Saturday morning, December 5, I left the +pier of the Old Dominion Steamship +Company, at Norfolk, Virginia, and, rowing across the +water towards Portsmouth, commenced +ascending Elizabeth River, which is here wide and +affected by tidal change. The old navy yard, +with its dismantled hulks lying at anchor in the +stream, occupies both banks of the river. About +six miles from Norfolk the entrance to the +Dismal Swamp Canal is reached, on the left bank +of the river. This old canal runs through the +Great Dismal Swamp, and affords passage for +steamers and light-draught vessels to Elizabeth +City, on the Pasquotank River, which empties +into Albemarle Sound to the southward. The +great cypress and juniper timber is penetrated by +this canal, and schooners are towed into the +swamp to landings where their cargoes are +delivered. + +In the interior of the Dismal Swamp is +Drummond's Lake, named after its discoverer. It is +seven miles long by five miles wide, and is the +feeder of the canal. A branch canal connects it +with the main canal; and small vessels may +traverse the lake in search of timber and shingles. +Voyagers tell me that during heavy gales of +wind a terrible sea is set in motion upon this +shoal sheet of water, making it dangerous to +navigate. Bears are found in the fastnesses of +the swamp. The Dismal Swamp Canal was dug +in the old days of the wheelbarrow and spade. + +The Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal, the +entrance to which is sixteen miles from Norfolk, +on the right or east bank of the Elizabeth River, +and generally known as the "new canal," was +commenced about the year 1856, and finished in +1859. It is eight miles and a half in length, +and connects the Elizabeth and North Landing +rivers. This canal was dug by dredging-machines. +It is kept in a much better state for +navigation, so far as the depth of water is +concerned, than the old canal, which from +inattention is gradually shoaling in places; consequently +the regular steam-packets which ply between +Elizabeth City and Norfolk, as well as steamers +whose destinations are further north, have given +up the use of the Dismal Swamp Canal, and +now go round through Albemarle Sound up the +North River, thence by a six-mile cut into +Currituck Sound, up North Landing River, and +through the new canal to the Elizabeth River +and into Chesapeake Bay. The shores of the +Elizabeth are low and are fringed by sedgy +marshes, while forests of second-growth pine +present a green background to the eye. A few +miles above Norfolk the cultivation of land +ceases, and the canoeist traverses a wilderness. + +About noon I arrived at the locks of the +Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. The telegraph +operator greeted me with the news that the +company's agent in Norfolk had telegraphed to the +lock-master to pass the paper canoe through with +the freedom of the canal -- the first honor of the +kind that had fallen to my lot. The tide rises +and falls at the locks in the river about three feet +and a half. When I passed through, the +difference in the level between the ends of the locks +did not reach two feet. The old lock-master +urged me to give up the journey at once, as I +never could "get through the Sounds with that +little boat." When I told him I was on my +second thousand miles of canoe navigation since +leaving Quebec, he drew a long breath and +gave a low groan. + +When once through the canal-gates, you are +in a heavy cypress swamp. The dredgings +thrown upon the banks have raised the edge of +the swamp to seven feet above the water. Little +pines grow along these shores, and among them +the small birds, now on their southern migrations, +sported and sang. Whenever a steamer or +tugboat passed me, it crowded the canoe close to +the bank; but these vessels travel along the +canal at so slow a rate, that no trouble is +experienced by the canoeist from the disturbance +caused by their revolving screws. Freedmen, +poling flats loaded with shingles or frame stuff, +roared out their merry songs as they passed. +The canal entered the North Landing River +without any lockage; just beyond was North +Landing, from which the river takes its name. +A store and evidences of a settlement meet the +eye at a little distance. The river is tortuous, +and soon leaves the swamp behind. The pine +forest is succeeded by marshes on both sides of +the slow-flowing current. + +Three miles from North Landing a single +miniature house is seen; then for nearly five +miles along the river not a trace of the presence +of man is to be met, until Pungo Ferry and +Landing loom up out of the low marshes on the east +side of the river. This ferry, with a store +three-quarters of a mile from the landing, and a farm +of nearly two hundred acres, is the property of +Mr. Charles N. Dudley, a southern gentleman, +who offers every inducement in his power to +northern men to settle in his vicinity. Many of +the property-holders in the uplands are willing +to sell portions of their estates to induce +northern men to come among them. + +It was almost dark when I reached the +storehouse at Pungo Ferry; and as Sunday is a sacred +day with me, I determined to camp there until +Monday. A deformed negro held a lease of the +ferry, and pulled a flat back and forth across +the river by means of a chain and windlass. He +was very civil, and placed his quarters at my +disposal until I should be ready to start southward +to Currituck Sound. We lifted the canoe and +pushed it through an open window into the little +store-room, where it rested upon an unoccupied +counter. The negro went up to the loft above, +and threw down two large bundles of flags for a +bed, upon which I spread my blankets. An old +stove in a corner was soon aglow with burning +light wood. While I was cooking my supper, +the little propeller Cygnet, which runs between +Norfolk and Van Slyck's Landing, at Currituck +Narrows, touched at Pungo Ferry, and put off +an old woman who had been on a two years' +visit to her relatives. She kindly accosted the +dwarfed black with, "Charles, have you got a +match for my pipe?" +"Yes, missus," civilly responded the negro, +handing her a light. +"Well, this is good!" soliloquized the ancient +dame, as she seated herself on a box and puffed +away at the short-stemmed pipe. Ah, good +indeed to get away from city folks, with their +stuck-up manners and queer ways, a-fault-finding +when you stick your knife in your mouth in +place of your fork, and a-feeding you on China +tea in place of dear old yaupon. Charles, you +can't reckon how I longs to get a cup of good +yaupon." + +As the reader is about entering a country +where the laboring classes draw largely upon +nature for their supply of "the cup that cheers +but not inebriates," I will describe he shrub +which produces it. + +This substitute for the tea of China is a holly +(ilex), and is called by the natives "yaupon" +(I. cassine, Linn.). It is a handsome shrub, +growing a few feet in height, with alternate, +perennial, shining leaves, and bearing small scarlet +berries. It is found in the vicinity of salt water, +in the light soils of Virginia and the Carolinas. +The leaves and twigs are dried by the women, +and when ready for market are sold at one dollar +per bushel. It is not to be compared in +excellence with the tea of China, nor does it approach +in taste or good qualities the well-known +yerbamate, another species of holly, which is found +in Paraguay, and is the common drink of the +people of South America. + +The old woman having gone on her way, and +we being again alone in the rude little shanty, +the good-natured freedman told me his history, +ending with, - + + + "O that was a glorious day for me, + When Massa Lincoln set me free." + + +He had too much ambition, he said, deformed as +he was, to be supported as a pauper by the +public. "I can make just about twelve dollars a +month by dis here ferry," he exclaimed. "I +don't want for nuffin'; I'se got no wife -- no +woman will hab me. I want to support myself +and live an honest man." + +About seven o'clock he left me to waddle up +the road nearly a mile to a little house. + +"I an' another cullo'd man live in +partnership," he said. He could not account for the +fact that I had no fear of sleeping alone in the +shanty on the marshes. He went home for the +company of his partner, as he "didn't like to +sleep alone noways." + +Though the cold wind entered through broken +window-lights and under the rudely constructed +door, I slept comfortably until morning. Before +Charles had returned, my breakfast was cooked +and eaten. + +With the sunshine of the morning came a +new visitor. I had made the acquaintance of +the late slave; now I received a call from the +late master. My visitor was a pleasant, +gentlemanly personage, the owner of the surrounding +acres. His large white house could be seen +from the landing, a quarter of a mile up the +road. + +"I learned that a stranger from the north was +camped here, and was expecting that he would +come up and take breakfast with me," was his +kindly way of introducing himself. + +I told him I was comfortably established in +dry quarters, and did not feel justified in +forcing myself upon his hospitality while I had so +many good things of this life in my +provision-basket. + +Mr. Dudley would take no excuse, but +conducted me to his house, where I remained that +day, attending the religious services in a little +church in the vicinity. My kind host introduced +me to his neighbors, several of whom returned +with us to dinner. I found the people about +Pungo Ferry, like those I had met along the +sounds of the eastern shore of Maryland and +Virginia, very piously inclined, -- the same +kindhearted, hospitable people. + +My host entertained me the next day, which +was rainy, with his life in the Confederate army, +in which he served as a lieutenant. He was a +prisoner at Johnson's Island for twenty-two +months. He bore no malice towards northern +men who came south to join with the natives in +working for the true interests of the country. +The people of the south had become weary of +political sufferings inflicted by a floating +population from the north; they needed actual settlers, +not politicians. This sentiment I found +everywhere expressed. On Tuesday I bade farewell +to my new friends, and rowed down the North +Landing River towards Currituck Sound. + +The North Carolina line is only a few miles +south of the ferry. The river enters the head +of the sound six or eight miles below Pungo +Ferry. A stiff northerly breeze was blowing, +and as the river widened, on reaching the head +of the sound, to a mile or more, and bays were +to be crossed from point to point, it required +the exercise of considerable patience and +muscular exertion to keep the sea from boarding +the little craft amidship. As I was endeavoring +to weather a point, the swivel of one of the +outriggers parted at its junction with the row-lock, +and it became necessary to get under the south +point of the marshes for shelter. + +The lee side offered a smooth bay. It was +but a few minutes' work to unload and haul the +canoe into the tall rushes, which afforded ample +protection against the cold wind. It was three +hours before the wind went down, when the +canoe was launched, and, propelled by the double +paddle, (always kept in reserve against accidents +to oars and row-locks,) I continued over the +waters of Currituck Sound. + +Swans could now be seen in flocks of twenties +and fifties. They were exceedingly wary, not +permitting the canoe to approach within rifle +range. Clouds of ducks, and some Canada +geese, as well as brant, kept up a continuous +flutter as they rose from the surface of the water. +Away to the southeast extended the glimmering +bosom of the sound, with a few islands relieving +its monotony. The three or four houses and two +small storehouses at the landing of Currituck +Court House, which, with the brick court-house, +comprise the whole village, are situated on the +west bank; and opposite, eight miles to the +eastward, is the narrow beach island that serves as +a barrier to the ingress of the ocean. + +At sunset I started the last flock of white +swans, and grounded in the shoal waters at the +landing. There is no regular hotel here, but a +kind lady, Mrs. Simmons, accommodates the +necessities of the occasional traveller. The +canoe was soon locked up in the landing-house. +Fortunately a blacksmith was found outside the +village, who promised to repair the broken +rowlock early upon the following morning. Before +a pleasant wood fire giving out its heat from a +grand old fireplace, with an agreeable visitor, +-- the physician of the place, the tediousness of +the three-hours' camp on the marshes was soon +forgotten, while the country and its resources +were fully discussed until a late hour. + +Dr. Baxter had experimented in grape culture, +and gave me many interesting details in regard +to the native wine. In 1714, Lawson described +six varieties of native grapes found in North +Carolina. Our three finest varieties of native +grapes were taken from North Carolina. They +are the Scuppernong, the Catawba, and the +Isabella. The Scuppernong was found upon the +banks of the stream bearing that name, the +mouth of which is near the eastern end +of Albemarle Sound. The Catawba was originally +obtained on the Catawba River, near its head-waters +in Buncombe County. The Long Island stock +of the Isabella grape was brought to New York +by Mrs. Isabella Gibbs: hence the derivation of +the name. + +Of the six varieties of North Carolina grapes, +five were found in Tyrrel County by Amadas +and Barlow. Tradition relates that these +travellers carried one small vine to Roanoke Island, +which still lives and covers an immense area of +ground. There are five varieties of the grape +growing wild on the shores of Albemarle Sound, +all of which are called Scuppernong, -- the +legitimate Scuppernong being a white grape, sweet +and large, and producing a wine said to resemble +somewhat in its luscious flavor the Malmsey +made on Mount Ida, in Candia. + +The repairing of the outrigger detained me +until nearly noon of the next day, when the +canoe was got under way; but upon rowing off +the mouth of Coanjock Bay, only four miles from +Currituck Court House, a strong tempest arose +from the south, and observing an old +gentleman standing upon Bell Island Point, near his +cottage, beckoning me to come ashore, I obeyed, +and took refuge with my new acquaintance, +Captain Peter L. Tatum, proprietor of Bell Island. + +"The war has left us without servants," said +the captain, as he presented me to his wife, "so +we make the best of it, and if you will accept +our hospitality we will make you comfortable." + +Captain Tatum drew my attention to the flocks +of swans which dotted the waters in the offing, +and said: "It is hard work to get hold of a swan, +though they are a large bird, and abundant in +Currituck Sound. You must use a good rifle +to bring one down. After a strong norther has +been blowing, and the birds have worked well +into the bight of the bay, near Goose Castle Point, +if the wind shifts to the south suddenly, gunners +approach from the outside, and the birds +becoming cramped in the cove are shot as they rise +against the wind." + +More than forty years ago old Currituck Inlet +closed, and the oysters on the natural beds, which +extended up North Landing River to Green +Point, were killed by the freshening of the +water. Now winds influence the tides which +enter at Oregon Inlet, about fifty-five miles +south of the Court House. The difference +between the highest and lowest tide at Currituck +Court House is three feet. The sound is filled +with sandy shoals, with here and there spots of +mud. The shells of the defunct oysters are +everywhere found mixed with the debris of the +bottom of the sound. This is a favorite locality +with northern sportsmen. The best "gunning +points," as is the case in Chesapeake Bay, are +owned by private parties, and cannot be used +by the public. + +Thursday, the 10th of December, was cold, +and proved as tempestuous as the previous day; +but the wind had changed to the north, and I +embarked amid a swashy beam-sea, with the +hope of reaching Van Slyck's Landing at +Currituck Narrows. The norther, however, proved +too much for my safety. My course would be +easterly until I had passed the mouth of +Coanjock Bay and Goose Castle Point, then following +the trend of the west shore southerly down the +sound; but the wind raised such a rough sea +that I was obliged to turn southward into +Coanjock Bay, ascend it five miles, and seek for a +crossing-place overland to the sound again, +which I found near the entrance of the +lockless canal that is used by steamers to pass from +North Landing River to North River and +Albemarle Sound. + +A fire was soon built, upon which I placed +long, light poles taken from the drift-wood, and +burning them in pieces of the required lengths, +(no axe being at hand,) I was prepared to make +the portage. Laying these pieces of wood on +the ground, I drew my canoe over them to the +shore of Currituck Sound; then, by making up +back-loads of the cargo, transported everything +to the point of embarkation, which was just +inside the mouth of a little creek. + +The row to Currituck Narrows was not +difficult, as the north wind was a fair one. Along +the west shore of the sound there were many +little houses upon the high banks, and a +windmill supplied the place of a water-power for +grinding corn. The improvements made by Mr. +Van Slyck, of New York, were in cheering +contrast to what had been seen since leaving +Norfolk. Here a comfortable hotel welcomes the +northern sportsmen, few of whom, for lack of +accommodations and travelling conveniences, go +much south of this locality, in this state, to shoot +wild-fowl. Currituck Sound has an average +width of four miles. Its length is about +thirty-five miles. At the Narrows, a group of marshy +islands divides it into two sections, the northern +one being the longest. + +The keen, cold air of the next day made +rowing a pleasant exercise. After passing through +the tortuous channel, I should have crossed to the +beach and followed it; but this part of the bay +is very shallow, and deeper water was found on +the west side. It was an enjoyable morning, +for gunners were passed, secreted behind their +"blinds," or pens, of pine brush, which looked like +little groves of conifera growing out of the shoal +water. Geese were honking and ducks were +quacking, while the deep booming of guns was +heard every few minutes. Decoy-birds were +anchored in many places near the marshes. +Every sportsman gave me a cheering word as +the canoe glided over the smooth water, while +here and there the violet-backed swallow +darted about over the marshes as though it were +summer. + +When opposite Dew's Quarter Island, several +men hailed me from a newly constructed shanty. +When the oldest man in the company, who had +never seen a shell like the paper canoe, had +examined it, he shook his head ominously; and +when I told him Nag's Head must be reached +that day, he grew excited, exclaiming, "Then be +off now! now! Git across the bay under Bald +Beach as soon as ye can, and hug the shore, hug +it well clean down to Collington's, and git across +the sound afore the wind rises. Sich a boat as +that aren't fit for these here waters." + +Taking this kindly meant advice, I pulled to +the east side, where there was now a good depth +of water for the canoe. On this high beach the +hills were well covered with yellow pines, many +of which were noble old trees. On a narrow +point of the shore was the comfortable house of +Hodges Gallup, the Baptist minister, a generous +old gentleman, who seemed to be loved by all +the watermen along the sound. He was +described as being "full of fun and hospitality." +His domain extended for several miles along +the beach, and, with deer quietly browsing in his +grand old woods, formed a pretty picture. + +The beach shore now became more thickly +settled, while out in the water, a few rods from +each little house, arose the duck-blind, with the +gunner and his boat inside, anxiously watching +for birds, while their decoys floated quietly on +the surface of the water. A few miles below +Mr. Gallup's estate the canoe entered upon the +broad waters of Albemarle Sound, and at dusk I +approached Roanoke Island. The large +buildings of the hotels of Nag's Head on the beach +rose up as boldly to the eye as a fortification. +The little sound between Roanoke Island and +the beach was traversed at dusk as far as the first +long pier of Nag's head, upon which with great +difficulty I landed, and was soon joined by the +keeper of the now deserted summer watering +place, Mr. C. D. Rutter, who helped me to carry +my property into a room of the old hotel. + +Nag's Head Beach is a most desolate locality, +with its high sand-hills, composed of fine sand, +the forms of which are constantly changing with +the action of the dry, hard, varying winds. A +new and very large hotel was located south of +the first one, and was inhabited by the family of +Captain Jasper Toler, who furnished me with +lodgings. A few fishermen have their homes on +this dreary beach, but the village, with its one +store, is a forlorn place. + +The bright flashes of Body Island Light, ten +miles distant, on the north side of Oregon Inlet, +showed me my next abiding-place. + +The beach from Nag's Head to Oregon Inlet +is destitute of trees, and the wind sweeps across +it, from the ocean to the sound, with great +violence, forcing the shallow waters to retire, and +leaving the bottom dry as far out as three miles. + +The next day was very windy, and the long, +finger-like, sandy shoals, which extended one or +two miles out into the sound, were covered with +only from three to eight inches of water. I could +not hug the beach for protection, but was forced +to keep far out in the sound. Frequently it +became necessary to get overboard and wade, +pushing my boat before me. Then a deep channel +between the shoals would be crossed; so, by +walking and rowing in Roanoke Sound, with +the wind blowing the water over the canoe and +drenching its captain, the roundabout twelve +miles' passage to Oregon Inlet was at last +accomplished, and a most trying one it was. + +Body Island Lighthouse was erected in 1872, +on the north side of Oregon Inlet, to take the +place of the old tower on the south shore. It is +in latitude 35 deg 48', and longitude 75 deg 33'. +Captain William F. Hatzel, a loyal North Carolinian, +is the principal keeper, and a most efficient one +he is. + +The temperature was falling rapidly when I +crawled into the high rushes of the wet marsh +near the light-house to seek shelter from the +strong wind that was blowing. As this treeless +beach was destitute of fire-wood, or natural +shelter of any kind, necessity compelled me to have +recourse to other means for procuring them. I +carried in my pocket a talisman which must +open any light-keeper's door; from Maine to the +Rio Grande, from Southern California to Alaska, +even to the vicinity of the Arctic Circle, the +Lighthouse Establishment of the United States has +planted a tower or erected a light. While +shivering in wet clothes on this desolate beach, most +thankfully did I remember that kind and thoughtful +friend, who through his potent influence had +supplied me with this open sesame to +lightkeepers. + +There resides in Washington, when not +engaged elsewhere in the important duties of the +Commission of Fisheries, a genial gentleman, an +ardent naturalist, a great scientist. To him the +young naturalists of America turn for information +and advice, and to the humblest applicant +Professor Spencer F. Baird never turns a deaf ear. +How this distinguished author can attend to so +many and such varied duties with his laborious +investigations, and can so successfully keep up a +large correspondence with perhaps one thousand +scientific associations of nearly every nation of +the universe, is a difficult thing to imagine; but +the popular and much beloved Assistant +Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, seemingly +ubiquitous in his busy life, does all this and much +more. America may well feel proud of this man +of noble nature, shedding light and truth +wheresoever he moves, encouraging alike old and +young with his kindly sympathy; -- now taking +his precious moments to answer with his own +busy hand the question in the letter of some boy +naturalist about beasts, birds, reptiles, or fishes, +with which epistles his desk is always covered; +now stimulating to further effort the old man of +science as he struggles with the cares of this +world, striving, sometimes vainly, save for this +ever ready aid, to work out patiently theories +which are soon to blaze forth as substantial facts. +The young generation of naturalists, which is +soon to fill the place of their predecessors, have +in this man the type of all they need ever strive +to attain. How many, alas, will fall far short +of it! + +Since boyhood the counsels of this friend had +guided me on many a journey of exploration. +He had not deserted me even in this experiment, +which my friends called "your wildest and most +foolish undertaking." He had obtained from the +Light House Board a general letter to the +lightkeepers of the United States, signed by the +naval secretary, Mr. Walker, in which the +keepers were authorized to grant me shelter, &c., +when necessary. I did not have occasion to use +this letter more than twice during my journey. +Having secreted my canoe in the coarse grass +of the lowland, I trudged, with my letter in hand, +over the sands to the house of the light-keeper, +Captain Hatzel, who received me cordially; and +after recording in his log-book the circumstances +and date of my arrival, conducted me into a +comfortable room, which was warmed by a +cheerful fire, and lighted up by the smiles of his +most orderly wife. Everything showed +discipline and neatness, both in the house and the +light-tower. The whitest of cloths was spread +upon the table, and covered with a well-cooked +meal; then the father, mother, and two sons, +with the stranger within their gates, thanked the +Giver of good gifts for his mercies. + +Joining the night-watch of the chief +lightkeeper, I also joined in the good man's +enthusiasm for his wonderful "fixed white light," the +bright beams of which poured out upon the +surrounding waters a flood if brilliancy, gladdening +hearts far out at sea, even though twenty miles +away, and plainly saying, "This is Body Island +Beach: keep off!" How grand it was to walk +out on this gallery in the sky! Looking +eastward, a limitless expanse of ocean; gazing +westward, the waters of the great sound, the shores +of which were low marshes miles away. Below +me could be heard the soft cackle of the +snow-goose (Anser hyperboreus), which had left its +nesting-place on the barren grounds of arctic +America, and was now feeding contentedly in its +winter home in the shallow salt-ponds; which the +gentle shur-r-r- of the waves softly broke on +the strand. Above, the star-lit heavens, whose +tender beauty seemed almost within my grasp. +Perched thus upon a single shaft, on a narrow +strip of sand far out in the great water, the many +thoughts born of solitude crowded my mind, +when my reverie was abruptly broken by an +exclamation from Captain Hatzel, who threw +open the door, and exclaimed, with beaming +eyes peering into the darkness as he spoke, "I +see it! Yes, it is! Hatteras Light, thirty-five +miles away. This night, December 13th, is the +first time I have caught its flash. Tell it to the +Hatteras keeper when you visit the cape." + +From Captain Hatzel I gleaned some facts of +deep interest in regard to the inhabitants of the +sound. Some of them, he told me, had Indian +blood in their veins; and to prove the truth of his +assertion he handed me a well-worn copy of the +"History of North Carolina," by Dr. Francis L. +Hawks, D. D. From this I obtained facts which +might serve for the intricate mazes of a romance. +It had been a pet scheme with Sir Walter +Raleigh to colonize the coast of North Carolina, +then known as Virginia, and though several +expeditions had been sent out for that object, each +had failed of successful issue. One of these +expeditions sent by Sir Walter to Roanoke +Island consisted of one hundred and twenty-one +persons, of whom seventeen were women and +six children. Of all these souls only two men +returned to the old country, the fate of the +remainder being unknown, and shrouded in the +gloom which always attends mystery. England +did not, however, leave her children to perish on +a barren shore in the new land without at least an +effort to succor them. + +On March 20, in the year 1590, there sailed +from Plymouth three ships, the Hopewell, John +Evangelist, and Little John, taking in tow two +shallops which were afterwards lost at sea. In +these days the largest vessels of a fleet did not +exceed one hundred to one hundred and forty +tons burden. This expedition was under the +charge of Admiral John White, governor of the +colony of Sir Walter Raleigh on Roanoke Island, +and who had left the feeble band on the island +in 1587. In thirty-six days and eight hours these +small vessels arrived off "Hatorask" -- Hatteras +Beach. The fleet dropped anchor three leagues +off the beach, and sent a well-manned boat +through an inlet to Pamplico Sound. + +There existed in those days passages from the +ocean through the beaches into the sounds, +which have since been filled up by the action +of the sea. Old Roanoke Inlet, now closed, +which was about four miles north of the +modern Oregon Inlet, is supposed to be the one used +by Sir Walter Raleigh's expeditions. It is only +four miles from the site of this closed inlet to +Shallowbag Bay, on Roanoke Island. At the +southern entrance of the bay, near Ballast Point, +some vessel evidently grounded and threw +overboard her stone ballast; hence the name of the +point. Captain Hatzel has examined this stone, +and gives his opinion, as an old pilot, that it is +foreign in character. He never met with similar +stones, and believes that this ballast was +deposited at Shallowbag Bay by some of the vessels +of Sir Walter's expeditions. + +As the boat's crew above mentioned rowed +northward to Roanoke Island -- made famous +two hundred and seventy-two years later by +the National and Confederate struggles -- they +sounded their trumpets and sang familiar songs, +which they hoped might be borne to their +countrymen on the shore; but the marshes and +upland wilderness returned no answering voice. + +At daybreak the explorers landed upon +Roanoke Island, which is twelve miles long by two +and a half wide, and found the spot where +Admiral White had left the colony in 1587. +Eagerly searching for any tokens of the lost ones, they +soon traced in the light soil of the island the +imprint of the moccasin of the savage, but +looked in vain for any footprint of civilized +man. What had become of their countrymen? + +At last some one spied a conspicuous tree, +far up on a sandy bank, blazed and carved. +There were but three letters cut upon it, C.R.O., +but these simple symbols possessed a world of +meaning. Three years before, when the sad +farewells were being spoken, and the ships were +ready to set sail for England, this feeble band, left +to struggle in the wilds of the new land with sad +forebodings of their possible fate, had agreed +upon a signal, and had promised Admiral White +that if driven to starvation upon the island, they +would plant their colony fifty miles inland, near +a tribe of friendly Indians. Indeed, before the +ships sailed for England, they were making +preparations for this move. Admiral White requested +them to carve upon a tree the name of the +locality to which they should remove, and if distress +had overtaken them they were to add a cross +over the lettering. Anxiously gathering round +this interesting relic of the lost Englishmen, the +rude chirography was eagerly scanned, but no +vestige of a cross was found. + +Much relieved in mind, the little company +continued their investigations, when, farther on, +almost in their very pathway, there rose a noble +tree, pointing its top heavenward, as though to +remind them in whose care their lost ones had +been. Approaching this giant, who had stood +a silent sentinel through winter storms and +summer skies, they found he bore upon his body +a message for them. Stripped of its bark, five +feet upward from the ground there appeared +upon the bare surface in bold lettering the word +so full of hope -- Croatan; and now also, as in +the last case, without the graven cross. Cheered +by these signs, and believing that the lost +colonists had carried out their early intentions, and +were now located among the friendly tribe of +Croatans, wheresoever their country might be, +the boat's company decided to go at once to the +ships, and return the next day in search of the +lost colony. + +One of the ships, in moving its position from +the unprotected anchorage-ground, parted its +cable and left an anchor on the bottom -- the +second that had been lost. The wind drove the +ships towards the beach, when a third anchor +was lowered; but it held the little fleet so +close in to the breakers, that the sailors were +forced to slip their cable and work into a +channel-way, where, in deeper water, they held their +ground. + +In debating the propriety of holding on and +attempting to wear out the gale, the scarcity of +their provisions, and the possession of but one +cask of water, and only one anchor for the fleet +to ride at, decided them to go southward in quest +of some favorable landing, where water could be +found. The council held out the hope of +capturing Spanish vessels in the vicinity of the +West Indies; and it was agreed that, if +successful they should return, richly laden with spoil, +to seek their exiled countrymen. One of these +vessels returned to England, while the Admiral +laid his course for Trinidad; and this was the +last attempt made to find the colonists. + +More than a century after Admiral White had +abandoned his colony, Lawson, in writing about +the Hatteras Indians, says: "They said that +several of their ancestors were white people, and +could talk in a book as we do; the truth of +which is confirmed by grey eyes being frequently +found among them, and no others. They value +themselves extremely for their affinity to the +English, and are ready to do them all friendly +offices. It is probable that the settlement +miscarried for want of supplies from England, or +through the treachery of the natives; for we +may reasonably suppose that the English were +forced to cohabit with them for relief and +conversation, and that in process of time they +conformed themselves to the manners of their +Indian relations." + +Dr. Hawks thinks, "that, driven by starvation, +such as survived the famine were merged into +the tribes of friendly Indians at Croatan, and, +alas! lost ere long every vestige of Christianity +and civilization; and those who came to shed +light on the darkness of paganism, in the +mysterious providence of God ended by relapsing +themselves into the heathenism they came to +remove. It is a sad picture of poor human +nature." + +It needed not the fierce gusts of wind that +howled about the tall tower, causing it to vibrate +until water would be spilled out of a pail resting +upon the floor of the lantern, blowing one day +from one quarter of the compass, and changing +the next to another, to warn me that I was near +the Cape of Storms. + +Refusing to continue longer with my new +friends, the canoe was put into the water on the +16th, and Captain Hatzel's two sons proceeded +in advance with a strong boat to break a +channelway through the thin ice which had formed in +the quiet coves. We were soon out in the sound, +where the boys left me, and I rowed out of the +southern end of Roanoke and entered upon the +wide area of Pamplico Sound. To avoid shoals, +it being calm, I kept about three miles from the +beach in three feet of water, until beyond Duck +Island, when the trees on Roanoke Island slowly +sank below the horizon; then gradually drawing +in to the beach, the two clumps of trees of north +and south Chicamicomio came into view. A +life-saving station had recently been erected +north of the first grove, and there is another +fourteen miles further south. The two +Chicamicomio settlements of scattered houses are +each nearly a mile in length, and are separated +by a high, bald sand-beach of about the same +length, which was once heavily wooded; but the +wind has blown the sand into the forest and +destroyed it. A wind-mill in each village raised +its weird arms to the breeze. + +Three miles further down is Kitty Midget's +Hammock, where a few red cedars and some +remains of live-oaks tell of the extensive forest +that once covered the beach. Here Captain +Abraham Hooper lives, and occupies himself in +fishing with nets in the ocean for blue-fish, which +are salted down and sent to the inland towns for +a market. I had drawn my boat into the sedge +to secure a night's shelter, when the old captain +on his rounds captured me. The change from a +bed in the damp sedge to the inside seat of the +largest fireplace I had ever beheld, was indeed +a pleasant one. Its inviting front covered almost +one side of the room. While the fire flashed up +the wide chimney, I sat inside the fireplace with +the three children of my host, and enjoyed the +genial glow which arose from the fragments of +the wreck of a vessel which had pounded +herself to death upon the strand near Kitty Midget's +Hammock. How curiously those white-haired +children watched the man who had come so far +in a paper boat! "Why did not the paper boat +soak to pieces?" they asked. Each explanation +seemed but to puzzle them the more; and I +found myself in much the same condition of +mind when trying to make some discoveries +concerning Kitty Midget. She must, however, +have lived somewhere on Clark's Beach long +before the present proprietor was born. We +spent the next day fishing with nets in the surf +for blue-fish, it being about the last day of +their stay in that vicinity. They go south as +far as Cape Hatteras, and then disappear in deep +water; while the great flocks of gulls, that +accompany them to gather the remnants of fish +they scatter in their savage meals, rise in the air +and fly rapidly away in search of other dainties. + +On Thursday I set out for Cape Hatteras. +The old sailor's song, that - + + + "Hatteras has a blow in store + For those who pass her howling door," + + +has far more truth than poetry in it. Before +proceeding far the wind blew a tempest, when a +young fisherman in his sailboat bore down upon +me, and begged me to come on board. We +attempted to tow the canoe astern, but she filled +with water, which obliged us to take her on +board. As we flew along before the wind, +dashing over the shoals with mad-cap temerity, +I discovered that my new acquaintance, Burnett, +was a most daring as well as reckless sailor. +He told me how he had capsized his father's +schooner by carrying sail too long. "This 'ere +slow way of doing things" he detested. His +recital was characteristic of the man. + +"You see, sir, we was bound for Newbern +up the Neuse River, and as we were well into +the sound with all sail set, and travelling along +lively, daddy says, 'Lorenzo, I reckon a little +yaupon wouldn't hurt me, so I'll go below and +start a firs under the kittle.' Do as you likes, +daddy,' sez I. So down below he goes, and I +takes command of the schooner. A big black +squall soon come over Cape Hatteras from the +Gulf Stream, and it did look like a screecher. +Now, I thought, old woman, I'll make your sides +ache; so I pinted her at it, and afore I could luff +her up in the wind, the squall kreened her on to +her beam-ends. You'd a laughed to have split +yourself, mister, if you could have seen daddy +a-crawling out of the companion-way while the +water was a-running down stairs like a crick. +Says he, ruther hurriedly, 'Sonny, what's up?' +It isn't what's up, daddy; but what's down,' +sez I; it sort o' looks as if we had capsized.' +Sure 'nuff,' answered dad, as the ballast shifted +and the schooner rolled over keel uppermost. +We floundered about like porpoises, but managed +to get astride her backbone, when dad looked +kind of scornfully at me, and burst out with, +'Sonny, do you call yourself a keerful sailor?' +'Keerful enough, dad,' sez I, 'for a smart one. +It's more credit to a man to drive his vessel like +a sailor, than to be crawling and bobbing along +like a diamond-backed terrapin.' Now, stranger, +if you'll believe me, that keerful old father of +mine would never let me take the helum again, +so I sticks to my aunt at the cape." + +I found that the boat in which we were sailing +was a dug-out, made from two immense cypress +logs. Larger boats than this are made of three +logs, and smaller ones are dug out of one. + +Burnett told me that frame boats were so easily +pounded to pieces on the shoals, that dug-outs +were preferred -- being very durable. We soon +passed the hamlet of North Kinnakeet, then +Scarsborough with its low houses, then South +Kinnakeet with its two wind-mills, and after +these arose a sterile, bald beach with Hatteras +light-tower piercing the sky, and west of it +Hatteras woods and marshes. We approached the +low shore and ascended a little creek, where +we left our boats, and repaired to the cottage +of Burnett's aunt. + +After the barren shores I had passed, this +little house, imbedded in living green, was like +a bright star in a dark night. It was hidden +away in a heavy thicket of live-oaks and cedars, +and surrounded by yaupons, the bright red +berries of which glistened against the light green +leaves. An old woman stood in the doorway +with a kindly greeting for her "wild boy," +rejoicing the while that he had "got back to his +old aunty once more." + +"Yes, aunty," said my friend Lorenzo, "I am +back again like a bad penny, but not +empty-handed; for as soon as our season's catch of +blue-fish is sold, old aunty will have sixty or +seventy dollars." + +"He has a good heart, if he is so head-strong," +whispered the motherly woman, as she wiped a +tear from her eyes, and gazed with pride upon +the manly-looking young fellow, and -- invited +us in to tea -- YAUPON. + + + + +CHAPTER X. FROM CAPE HATTERAS TO CAPE FEAR, NORTH CAROLINA. + + + +CAPE HATTERAS LIGHT. -- HABITS OF BIRDS. -- STORM AT +HATTERAS INLET -- MILES OF WRECKS. -- THE YACHT JULIA +SEARCHING FOR THE PAPER CANOE. -- CHASED BY PORPOISES. +-- MARSH TACKIES. -- OCRACOKE INLET. -- A GRAVE-YARD +BEING SWALLOWED UP BY THE SEA. -- CORE SOUND. -- THREE +WEDDINGS AT HUNTING QUARTERS. -- MOREHEAD CITY. -- +NEWBERN. -- SWANSBORO. -- A PEA-NUT PLANTATION. -- THE +ROUTE TO CAPE FEAR. + + +Cape Hatteras is the apex of a +triangle. It is the easternmost part of the +state of North Carolina, and it extends farther +into the ocean than any Atlantic cape of the +United States. It presents a low, broad, sandy +point to the sea, and for several miles beyond it, +in the ocean, are the dangerous Diamond Shoals, +the dread of the mariner. + +The Gulf Stream, with its river-like current +of water flowing northward from the Gulf of +Mexico, in its oscillations from east to west +frequently approaches to within eighteen or twenty +miles of the cape, filling a large area of +atmosphere with its warmth, and causing frequent +local disturbances. The weather never remains +long in a settled state. As most vessels try to +make Hatteras Light, to ascertain their true +position, &c., and because it juts out so far into the +Atlantic, the locality has become the scene of +many wrecks, and the beach, from the cape +down to Hatteras Inlet, fourteen miles, is strewn +with the fragments of vessels. + +The coast runs north and south above, and +east and west south of the cape. The old light +house had been replaced by the finest light-tower +I had ever examined, which was completed in +1870. It is one hundred and ninety feet in +height, and shows a white, revolving light. + +Body Island Light, though forty feet less in +elevation, is frequently seen by the Hatteras +light-keeper, while the splendid Hatteras Light +had been seen but once by Captain Hatzel, of +Body Island. One nautical mile south of +Hatteras Light is a small beacon light-tower, which +is of great service to the coasting-vessels that +pass it in following the eighteen-feet curve of +the cape two miles from the land inside of +Diamond Shoals. + +While speaking of light-houses, it may be +interesting to naturalists who live far inland to +know that while (as they are well aware) +thousands of birds are killed annually during their +flights by striking against telegraphic wires, +many wild-fowls are also destroyed by dashing +against the lanterns of the light- towers during +the night. While at Body Island Beach, Captain +Hatzel remarked to me that, during the first +winter after the new light-tower was completed, +the snow-geese, which winter on the island, would +frequently at night strike the thick glass panes +of the chamber, and fall senseless upon the floor +of the gallery. The second season they did not +in a single instance repeat the mistake, but had +seemingly become educated to the character of +the danger. + +I have seen one lantern damaged to the +amount of five hundred dollars, by a goose +breaking a pane of glass and striking heavily +upon the costly lens which surrounds the lamp. +Light-keepers sometimes sit upon the gallery, +and, looking along the pathway of light which +shoots into the outer darkness over their heads, +will see a few dark specks approaching them in +this beam of radiance. These specks are birds, +confused by the bright rays, and ready to fall an +easy prey to the eager keeper, who, quickly +levelling his double-barrelled gun, brings it to bear +upon the opaque, moving cloud, and with the +discharge of the weapon there goes whirling +through space to the earth below his next +morning's breakfast of wild-fowl. + +I found Mr. W. R. Jennett and his first +assistant light-keeper, Mr. A. W. Simpson, intelligent +gentlemen. The assistant has devoted his time, +when off duty, to the study of the habits of +food-fishes of the sound, and has furnished the +United States Commission of Fisheries with +several papers on that interesting subject. + +Here also was Mr. George Onslow, of the +United States Signal Service, who had completed +his work of constructing a telegraph line from +Norfolk along the beach southward to this point, +its present terminus. With a fine telescope he +could frequently identify vessels a few miles +from the cape, and telegraph their position to +New York. He had lately saved a vessel by +telegraphing to Norfolk its dangerous location +on Hatteras beach, where it had grounded. By +this timely notice a wrecking-steamer had +arrived and hauled the schooner off in good +condition. + +A low range of hills commences at Cape +Hatteras, in the rear of the light-house, and extends +nearly to Hatteras Inlet. This range is heavily +wooded with live-oaks, yellow pines, yaupons, +cedars, and bayonet-plants. The fishermen and +wreckers live in rudely constructed houses, +sheltered by this thicket, which is dense enough to +protect them from the strong winds that blow +from the ocean and the sound. + +I walked twelve miles through this pretty, +green retreat, and spent Sunday with Mr. Homer +W. Styron, who keeps a small store about two +miles from the inlet. He is a self-taught +astronomer, and used an ingeniously constructed +telescope of his own manufacture for studying +the heavens. + +I found at the post-office in his store a letter +from a yachting party which had left Newbern, +North Carolina, to capture the paper canoe and +to force upon its captain the hospitality of the +people of that city, on the Neuse River, one +hundred miles from the cape. Judge I.E. West, +the owner of the yacht "Julia," and his friends, +had been cruising since the eleventh day of the +month from Ocracoke Inlet to Roanoke Island +in search of me. Judge West, in his letter, +expressed a strong desire to have me take my +Christmas dinner with his family. This +generous treatment from a stranger was fully +appreciated, and I determined to push on to +Morehead City, from which place it would be +convenient to reach Newbern by rail without +changing my established route southward, as I +would be compelled to do if the regular water +route of the Neuse River from Pamlico Sound +were followed. + +On this Saturday night, spent at Hatteras Inlet, +there broke upon us one of the fiercest tempests +I ever witnessed, even in the tropics. My +pedestrian tramp down the shore had scarcely ended +when it commenced in reality. For miles along +the beach thousands of acres of land were soon +submerged by the sea and by the torrents of +water which fell from the clouds. While for a +moment the night was dark as Erebus, again +the vivid flash of lightning exposed to view the +swaying forests and the gloomy sound. The sea +pounded on the beach as if asking for admission +to old Pamplico. It seemed to say, I demand a +new inlet; and, as though trying to carry out its +desire, sent great waves rolling up the shingle +and over into the hollows among the hills, +washing down the low sand dunes as if they also +were in collusion with it to remove this frail +barrier, this narrow strip of low land which +separated the Atlantic from the wide interior +sheet of water. + +The phosphorescent sea, covered with its tens +of millions of animalcula, each one a miniature +light-house, changed in color from inky blackness +to silver sheen. Will the ocean take to itself +this frail foothold? -- we queried. Will it +ingulf us in its insatiable maw, as the whale did +Jonah? There was no subsidence, no pause in +the storm. It howled, bellowed, and screeched +like a legion of demons, so that the crashing of +falling trees, and the twisting of the sturdy +live oak's toughest limbs, could hardly be heard in +the din. Yet during this wild night my +storm-hardened companion sat with his pretty wife by +the open fireplace, as unmoved as though we +were in the shelter of a mountain side, while he +calmly discoursed of storms, shipwrecks, and +terrible struggles for life that this lonely coast +had witnessed, which sent thrills of horror to +my heart. + +While traversing the beach during the +afternoon, as wreck after wreck, the gravestones of +departed ships, projected their timbers from the +sands, I had made a calculation of the number +of vessels which had left their hulls to rot on +Hatteras beach since the ships of Sir Walter +Raleigh had anchored above the cape, and it +resulted in making one continuous line of vessels, +wreck touching wreck, along the coast for many, +many miles. Hundreds of miles of the Atlantic +coast beaches would have been walled in by the +wrecks could they have come on to the strand +at one time, and all the dwellers along the coast, +outside of the towns, would have been placed +in independent circumstances by wrecking their +cargoes. + +During this wild night, while the paper canoe +was safely stowed in the rushes of the marsh at +the cape, and its owner was enjoying the warmth +of the young astronomer's fire at the inlet, less +than twenty miles from us, on the dangerous +edge of Ocracoke shoals, the searching party of +the yacht Julia were in momentary expectation +of going to the bottom of the sound. For hours +the gallant craft hung to her anchors, which +were heavily backed by all the iron ballast that +could be attached to the cables. Wave after +wave swept over her, and not a man could put +his head above the hatches. Then, as she rolled +in the sea, her cabin-windows went under, and +streams of water were forced through the ports +into the confined space which was occupied by the +little party. For a time they were in imminent +danger, for the vessel dragged anchor to the edge +of the shoal, and with a heavy thud the yacht +struck on the bottom. All hopes of ever +returning to Newbern were lost, when the changing +tide swung the boat off into deeper water, where +she rode out the storm in safety. + +Before morning the wind shifted, and by nine +o'clock I retraced my steps to the cape, and on +Tuesday rowed down to Hatteras Inlet, which +was reached a little past noon. Before +attempting to cross this dangerous tidal gate-way of the +ocean I hugged the shore close to its edge, and +paused to make myself familiar with the +sandhills of the opposite side, a mile away, which +were to serve as the guiding-beacons in the +passage. How often had I, lying awake at night, +thought of and dreaded the crossing of this +ill-omened inlet! It had given me much mental +suffering. Now it was before me. Here on my +right was the great sound, on my left the +narrow beach island, and out through the portal +of the open inlet surged and moaned under a +leaden sky that old ocean which now seemed to +frown at me, and to say: "Wait, my boy, until +the inlet's waves deliver you to me, and I will +put you among my other victims for your +temerity." + +As I gazed across the current I remarked that +it did not seem very rough, though a strong ebb +was running out to the sea, and if crossed +immediately, before the wind arose, there could be +no unreasonable risk. My canvas deck-cover +was carefully pulled close about my waist, and a +rigid inspection of oars and row-locks was made; +then, with a desire to reserve my strength for +any great demand that might be made upon it a +little later, I rowed with a steady stroke out into +Hatteras Inlet. There was no help nearer than +Styron's, two miles away on the upper shore, +while the beach I was approaching on the other +side was uninhabited for nearly sixteen miles, to +the village at its southern end, near Ocracoke +Inlet. Upon entering the swash I thought of the +sharks which the Hatteras fishermen had told +me frequently seized their oars, snapping the +thin blades in pieces, assuring me, at the same +time, that mine would prove very attractive, +being so white and glimmering in the water, and +offering the same glittering fascination as a +silver-spoon bait does to a blue-fish. These +cheerful suggestions caused a peculiar creeping +sensation to come over me, but I tried to quiet +myself with the belief that the sharks had +followed the blue-fish into deeper water, to escape +cold weather. + +The canoe crossed the upper ebb, and entered +an area where the ebb from the opposite side of +the inlet struck the first one. While crossing +the union of the two currents, a wind came in at +the opening through the beach, and though not +a strong one, it created a great agitation of the +water. The dangerous experience at +Watchapreague Inlet had taught me that when in such +a sea one must pull with all his strength, and +that the increased momentum would give greater +buoyancy to the shell; for while under this +treatment she bounced from one irregular wave to +another with a climbing action which greatly +relieved my anxiety. The danger seemed to be +decreasing, and I stole a furtive glance over my +shoulder at the low dunes of the beach shore +which I was approaching, to see how far into the +inlet the tide had dragged me. The white water +to leeward warned me of a shoal, and forced me +to pull hard for the sound to escape being drawn +into the breakers. This danger was hardly +passed, when suddenly the waters around me +seethed and foamed, and the short waves parted +and closed, as great creatures rose from the +deep into the air several feet, and then fell +heavily into the sea. My tiny shell rocked and +pitched about wildly as these animals appeared +and disappeared, leaping from the waves all around +me, diving under the boat and reappearing on +the opposite side. They lashed the current with +their strong tails, and snorted or blowed most +dismally. For an instant surprise and alarm took +such possession of me that not a muscle of my +arms obeyed my will, and the canoe commenced +to drift in the driving stream towards the open +sea. This confusion was only momentary, for as +soon as I discovered that my companions were +porpoises and only old acquaintances, I +determined to avoid them as soon as possible. + +With a quick glance at my stern range, a +sandhill on the shore of the inlet, and another look +over my shoulder for the sand dunes of the other +side, I exerted every muscle to reach the beach; +but my frisky friends were in no mood to leave +me, but continued their fun with increased +energy as reinforcements came up from all directions. +The faster I rowed the more they multiplied, +ploughing the sea in erratic courses. They were +from five to seven feet in length, and must have +weighed from two hundred to four hundred +pounds each. Though their attentions were +kindly meant, their brusqueness on such an unsteady +footing was unpardonable. I most feared the +strong, shooting movements of their tails in the +sudden dives under my canoe, for one sportive +touch of such a caudality would have rolled +me over, and furnished material for a tale the +very anticipation of which was unpleasant. + + +Crossing Hatteras Inlet (112K) + + +The aquatic gambols of the porpoises lasted +but a few minutes after they had called in all +their neighbors, and had chased me into three +feet depth of water. They then spouted a nasal +farewell, which sounded more catarrhal than +guitaral, and left me for the more profitable +occupation of fishing in the tide-way of the inlet, +while I rowed into a shallow cove, out of the +ebb, to rest, and to recover from the effects of +my fright. + +As I pulled along the beach the tide receded +so rapidly that the canoe was constantly +grounding, and wading became necessary, for I could +not get within several feet of the shore. When +five miles from Hatteras Inlet I espied an empty +grass cabin, which the fishermen used in +February while catching shad; and, as a southerly wind +was now blowing from the sea, and rain was +falling, it offered a night's shelter for the traveller. +This Robinson Crusoe looking structure was +located upon the low land near the sound, while +bleak, sharp-pointed, treeless and grassless +sandhills, blown into shape by the winds, arose in the +background, and cut off a view of the ocean, +which, judging from the low, melancholy +moaning coming over the dunes, was in a sad mood. + +The canoe was hauled into the bushes and +tied securely for fear a deceptive tide might bear +it away. The provisions, blankets, &c., were +moved into the grass hut, which needed +repairing. The holes in the south wall were soon +thatched, and a bed easily prepared from the +rushes of the marsh. It mattered not that they +were wet, for a piece of painted canvas was +spread over them, and the inviting couch +finished. + +As fresh water can usually be obtained on all +these low beaches by digging two or three feet +into the sand, I looked for a large clam-shell, and +my search being rewarded, I was soon engaged +in digging a well near the cabin. + +Upon looking up from my work a curious +sight met my gaze. In some mysterious way +every sharp-pointed sand-hill had been covered +by a black object, which swayed about and +nodded up and down in a strange manner. As I +watched the development of this startling +phenomenon, the nodding, black objects grew in +size until the head, body, and four legs of a +horse were clearly cut against the sky. A little +later every crest was surmounted by the comical +figure of a marsh-tacky. Then a few sheep came +out of the hollows among the hills and browsed +on the coarse grass near the cabin, as though +they felt the loneliness of their situation so far +removed from mankind. With the marsh-ponies, +the sheep, the wild-fowls of the sound, and the +sighing sea for companions, the night passed +away. + +The bright moonlight roused me at five o'clock +in the morning, and I pushed off again in shoal +water on an ebb-tide, experiencing much +difficulty in dragging the canoe over shallow places +until deep water was entered, when the row to +Ocracoke became an agreeable one. The +landing-place at Ocracoke, not far from the +lighthouse, was reached at noon, and the people +gathered to see the paper boat, having been +notified of my proximity by fishermen. + +The women here can pull a pretty good stroke, +and frequently assist their husbands in the +fisheries. These old dames ridiculed the idea of +having a boat so small and light as the canoe. +One old lady laid aside her pipe and +snuff-paddle (snuff-rubbing is a time-honored +institution in the south), and roughly grasping the +bow of the craft, lifted it high in the air, then, +glancing at the fine model, she lowered it slowly +to the ground, exclaiming, "I reckon I wouldn't +risk my life acrossing a creek in her." + +These people told me that the yacht Julia had +stopped there to make inquiries for me, and had +departed for Newbern. + +It was more than a mile from the landing to +Ocracoke Inlet, and a mile and three quarters +across it to the beach. A straight course from +the landing to the village of Portsmouth, on the +lower side of the inlet, was a distance of five +miles, and not one of the hardy watermen, who +thumped the sides of my boat with their hard +fists to ascertain its strength, believed that I +could cross the sound to the other village +without rolling over. One kind-hearted oysterman +offered to carry myself and boat to Portsmouth, +but as the day was calm, I rowed away on the +five-mile stretch amid doleful prognostications, +such as: "That feller will make a coffin for +hisself out of that yere gimcrack of an egg-shell. +It's all a man's life is wurth to go in her," &c. + +While approaching the low Portsmouth shore +of the sound, flocks of Canada geese flew within +pistol-shot of my head. A man in a dug-out +canoe told me that the gunners of the village +had reared from the egg a flock of wild geese +which now aggregated some seven or eight +hundred birds, and that these now flying about were +used to decoy their wild relatives. + +Near the beach a sandy hill had been the place +of sepulture for the inhabitants of other +generations, but for years past the tidal current had +been cutting the shore away until coffin after +coffin with its contents had been washed into +the sound. Captain Isaac S. Jennings, of Ocean +County, New Jersey, had described this spot to +me as follows: + +"I landed at Portsmouth and examined this +curious burial-ground. Here by the water were +the remains of the fathers, mothers, brothers, +and sisters of the people of the village so near at +hand; yet these dismal relics of their ancestors +were allowed to be stolen away piecemeal by +the encroaching ocean. While I gazed sadly +upon the strata of coffins protruding from the +banks, shining objects like jewels seemed to be +sparkling from between the cracks of their +fractured sides; and as I tore away the rotten wood, +rows of toads were discovered sitting in +solemn council, their bright eyes peering from +among the debris of bones and decomposed +substances." + +Portsmouth Island is nearly eight miles long. +Whalebone Inlet is at its lower end, but is too +shallow to be of any service to commerce. +Hatteras and Ocracoke inlets admit sea-going +vessels. It is thirty-eight miles from Whalebone +Inlet to Cape Lookout, which projects like a +wedge into the sea nearly three miles from the +mainland, and there is not another passage +through the narrow beach in all that distance +that is of any use to the mariner. Following +the trend of the coast for eleven miles from the +point of Cape Lookout, there is an inlet, but, +from the character of its channel and its +shallowness, it is not of much value. + +Leaving Portsmouth, the canoe entered Core +Sound, which grew narrower as the shoals inside +of Whalebone Inlet were crossed, partly by +rowing and partly by wading on the sand-flats. As +night came on, a barren stretch of beach on my +left hand was followed until I espied the only +house within a distance of sixteen miles along +the sea. It was occupied by a coasting skipper, +whose fine little schooner was anchored a long +distance from the land on account of the +shoalness of the water. Dreary sand-hills protected +the cottage from the bleak winds of the ocean. + +While yet a long distance from the skipper's +home, a black object could be seen crawling up +the sides of a mound of white sand, and after it +reached the apex it remained in one position, +while I rowed, and waded, and pulled my canoe +towards the shore. When the goal was reached, +and the boat was landed high up among the +scrub growth, I shouldered my blankets and +charts, and plodded through the soft soil towards +the dark object, which I now recognized to be a +man on a lookout post. He did not move from +his position until I reached the hillock, when he +suddenly slid down the bank and landed at my +feet, with a cheery -- + +"Well, now, I thought it was you. Sez I to +myself, That's him, sure, when I seed you +four miles away. Fust thinks I, It's only a +log, or a piece of wrak-stuff afloating. Pretty +soon up comes your head and shoulders into +sight; then sez I, It's a man, sure, but where is +his boat? for you see, I couldn't see your boat, it +was so low down in the water. Then I reckoned +it was a man afloating on a log, but arter a +while the boat loomed up too, and I says, I'll be +dog-goned if that isn't him. I went up to +Newbern, some time ago, in the schooner, and the +people there said there was a man coming down +the coast a-rowing a paper boat on a bet. The +boat weighed only fifty-eight pounds, and the +man had a heft of only eighty pounds. When +pa and me went up to the city agin, the folks +said the man was close on to us, and this time +they said the man and his boat together weighed +only eighty pounds. Now I should think you +weighed more than that yourself, letting alone +the boat." + +Having assured the young man that I was +indeed myself, and that the Newbern people had +played upon his credulity, we walked on to the +house, where the family of Captain James Mason +kindly welcomed me to a glowing wood-fire and +hearty supper. Though I had never heard of +their existence till I entered Core Sound, the +kindness of these people was like that of old +friends. + +Half a mile below Captain Mason's home, a +short time before my visit, a new breach had +been made by the ocean through the beach. +About twenty years before a similar breach had +occurred in the same locality, and was known +during its short life as "Pillintary Inlet." The +next day I crossed the sound, which is here four +miles in width, and coasted along to the +oystermen's village of Hunting Quarters, on the +mainland. The houses were very small, but the +hearts of the poor folks were very large. They +came to the water's edge and carried the canoe +into the only store in the neighborhood. Its +proprietor, Mr. William H. Stewart, insisted +upon my sharing his bachelor's quarters in an +unfinished room of the storehouse. My young +host was hardly out of his teens. In his boyish +way he kindly remarked: + +"I am here all alone. Father told me, before +he died, never to let a stranger pass my door but +to make him share my lodgings, humble though +they are; and now, any way, you're just in time +for the fun, for we are to have three weddings +to-night, and all the boys and girls of the +neighborhood will be at Hunting Quarters." + +I entered a mild protest against joining in the +festivities, on the plea of not having received an +invitation; at which the handsome youth laughed +heartily. + +"Invitation!" he exclaimed; "why, no one +ever gives out invitations in Hunting Quarters. +When there is to be a 'jolliflcation' of any sort, +everybody goes to the house without being +asked. You see we are all neighbors here. Up +at Newbern and at Beaufort, and other great +cities, people have their ways, but here all are +friends." + +So we went to the little house in the piny +forest, where two hearts were to be made one. +The only room on the first floor was crowded +with people. The minister had not arrived, and +the crowd was gazing at the young groom and his +pretty bride-elect as they sat in two chairs in the +middle of the company, with their arms around +each other, never speaking a word to any one. +The heavy weight of people began to settle the +floor, and as two joists gave way I struggled to +escape through an open window, thinking we +would be precipitated into the cellar below. +But the good-natured company took no notice +of the snapping timbers, only ejaculating, "She'll +soon touch bottom;" and to my inquiries about +the inconvenience of being pitched through to +the cellar, a rustic youth, with great merriment +depicted upon his countenance, replied: + +"Sullers, captain, why, there ain't a suller to a +buildin' within thirty miles of the Quarters. We +never uses sullers hereabouts." + +By my side was a young fisherman, who had +got home from a cruise, and was overflowing +with affection towards every girl present. "O, +gals," he would cry, "you don't know how nice +I feels to get back to you once more!" +Throwing his arms around a bright-eyed girl, who +vainly tried to escape him, he said, "O, weary +mariner, here is thy rest! No more shall he +wander from thee." + +This sentimental strain was interrupted by an +old lady, who reached her arm over my +shoulder to administer a rebuke. "Sam, ye're a fool!" +she cried; "ye're beside yourself to-night, and +afore this paper-canoe captain, too. Ef I was +a gal I'd drap yere society, wid yere familiar +ways right in company." + +The blow and the admonition fell harmlessly +upon the head and the heart of the sailor, who +replied, "Aunty, I knows my advantages in +Hunting Quarters -- women is plenty, and men +is few." + +The crowd roared with laughter at this truism, +but were quieted by the shout of a boy that +the preacher was a-coming; whereupon the +reverend gentleman elbowed his way through +the guests to the quiet couple, and requested +them to stand up. A few hurried words by the +clergyman, a few bashful replies from the young +people, and the two were made one. The crowd +rushed outside of the house, where a general +scramble took place among the boys for their +girls. Then a procession was formed, headed +by the clergyman, which marched along the +sandy road to another house in the woods, where +the second marriage was to be celebrated. + +It was amusing to see the young men dash +away from the procession, to run to the village store +for candy at twenty-five cents per pound, +containing as much terra alba (white clay) as sugar. +With well-filled pockets they would run back to +the procession and fill the girls' aprons with the +sweets, soon repeating the process, and +showering upon the fair ones cakes, raisins, nuts, and +oranges. The only young man who seemed to +find no favor in any woman's eyes invested +more capital in sweetmeats than the others; and +though every girl in the procession gave him a +sharp word or a kick as he passed, yet none +refused his candies as he tossed them at the +maidens, or stuffed them into the pockets of their +dresses. + +The second ceremony was performed in about +three minutes, and the preacher feeling faint from +his long ride through the woods, declared he must +have some supper. So, while he was being +served, the girls chatted together, the old ladies +helped each other to snuff with little wooden +paddles, which were left protruding from one corner +of their mouths after they had taken "a dip," +as they called it. The boys, after learning that +the preacher had postponed the third marriage +for an hour, with a wild shout scampered off +to Stewart's store for more candies. I took +advantage of the interim to inquire how it was +that the young ladies and gentlemen were upon +such terms of pleasant intimacy. + +"Well, captain," replied the person +interrogated, "you sees we is all growed up together, +and brotherly love and sisterly affection is our +teaching. The brethren love the sisteren; and +they say that love begets love, so the sisteren +loves the brethren. It's parfecly nateral. That's +the hull story, captain. How is it up your way?" + +At last the preacher declared himself satisfied +with all he had eaten, and that enough was as +good as a feast; so the young people fell into line, +and we trudged to the third house, where, with +the same dispatch, the third couple were united. +Then the fiddler scraped the strings of his +instrument, and a double-shuffle dance commenced. +The girls stamped and moved their feet about in +the same manner as the men. Soon four or five +of the young ladies left the dancing-party, and +seated themselves in a corner, pouting +discontentedly. My companion explained to me that +the deserters were a little stuck-up, having +made two or three visits on a schooner to the +city (Newbern), where they had other ways +of dancing, and where the folks didn't think +it pretty for a girl to strike her heels upon the +floor, &c. + +How long they danced I know not, for the +prospect of a long row on the morrow sent me +to rest in the storehouse, from which I was called +by a kind old couple sending for me to take tea +with them at half an hour after midnight. +Unwilling to wound the sensitive feelings of these +hospitable people, I answered the summons in +propia persona, and found it was the mother +of bride No. 1, to whom I was indebted for +the invitation. A well-filled table took up the +space in the centre of the room, where a few +hours before the timbers creaked beneath the +weight of the curious crowd; and there, sitting +on one side in the same affectionate manner I +have described, were the bride and groom, +apparently unmoved by the change of scene, while +the bride's mother rocked in her chair, moaning, +"O John, if you'd taken the other gal, I might +have stood it, but this yere one has been my +comfort." + +At dawn the canoe was put into Core Sound, +and I followed the western shore, cheered by the +bright sun of our Saviour's natal day. At noon +the mouth of the thoroughfare between Harker's +Island and the mainland was unintentionally +passed, and I rowed along by the side of the +island next Fort Macon, which is inside of the +angle made by Cape Lookout. + +Finding it impossible to reach Newbern via +Morehead City that day, the canoe was beached +upon the end of Harker's Island, where I +breakfasted at the fashionable hour of two P. M., with +men, women, and children around me. My +mode of cooking the condensed food and liquid +beef; so quickly prepared for the palate, and the +remarkable boat of paper, all filled the islanders +with wonder. They were at first a little shy, +looking upon the apparition -- which seemed in +some wonderful way to have dropped upon +their beach -- with the light of curiosity in their +eyes. + +Then, as I explained the many uses to which +paper was put, even to the paying off of great +national debts, my audience became very +friendly, and offered to get me up a Christmas dinner +in their cabins among the groves of trees near +the strand, if I would tarry with them until night. +But time was precious; so, with thanks on my +part for their kind offers, we parted, they helping +me launch my little boat, and waving a cheerful +adieu as I headed the canoe for Beaufort, which +was quietly passed in the middle of the afternoon. + +Three miles further on, the railroad pier of +Morehead City, in Bogue Sound, was reached, +and a crowd of people carried the canoe into +the hotel. A telegram was soon received from +the superintendent of the railroad at Newbern, +inviting me to a free ride to the city in the first +train of the following morning. + +The reader who has followed me since I left +the chilly regions of the St. Lawrence must not +have his patience taxed by too much detail, lest +he should weary of my story and desert my +company. Were it not for this fear, it would +give me pleasure to tell how a week was passed +in Newbern; how the people came even from +interior towns to see the paper canoe; how +some, doubting my veracity, slyly stuck the +blades of their pocket-knives through the thin +sides of the canoe, forgetting that it had yet to +traverse many dangerous inlets, and that its +owner preferred a tight, dry boat to one +punctured by knives. Even old men became +enthusiastic, and when I was absent from my little +craft, an uncontrollable ambition seized them, +and they got into the frail shell as it rested upon +the floor of a hall, and threatened its +destruction. It seemed impossible to make one +gentleman of Newbern understand that when the +boat was in the water she was resting upon all +her bearings, but when out of water only upon +a thin strip of wood. + +"By George," said this stout gentleman in a +whisper to a friend, "I told my wife I would get +into that boat if I smashed it." + +"And what did the lady say, old fellow?" +asked the friend. +"O," he replied, '"she said, 'Now don't make +a fool of yourself, Fatness, or your ambition may +get you into the papers,'" and the speaker fairly +shook with laughter. + +While at Newbern, Judge West and his brother +organized a grand hunt, and the railroad +company sent us down the road eighteen miles to a +wild district, where deer, coons, and wild-fowl +were plentiful, and where we hunted all night for +coons and ducks, and all day for deer. Under +these genial influences the practical study of +geography for the first time seemed dull, and I +became aware that, under the efforts of the +citizens of Newbern to remind me of the charms +of civilized society, I was, as a travelling +geographer, fast becoming demoralized. + +Could I, after the many pleasures I was daily +enjoying, settle down to a steady pull and one +meal a day with a lunch of dry crackers; or +sleep on the floor of fishermen's cabins, with +fleas and other little annoyances attendant +thereon? Having realized my position, I tore myself +away from my many new friends and retraced +my steps to Morehead City, leaving it on +Tuesday, January 5th, and rowing down the little +sound called Bogue towards Cape Fear. + +As night came on I discovered on the shore a +grass cabin, which was on the plantation of Dr. +Emmett, and had been left tenantless by some +fisherman. This served for shelter during the +night though the struggles and squealings of a +drove of hogs attempting to enter through the +rickety door did not contribute much to my +repose. + +The watercourses now became more +intricate, growing narrower as I rowed southward. +The open waters of the sound were left behind, +and I entered a labyrinth of creeks and small +sheets of water, which form a network in the +marshes between the sandy beach-islands and +the mainland all the way to Cape Fear River. +The Core Sound sheet of the United States +Coast Survey ended at Cape Lookout, there +being no charts of the route to Masonboro. I was +therefore now travelling upon local knowledge, +which proves usually a very uncertain guide. + +In a cold rain the canoe reached the little +village of Swansboro, where the chief personage +of the place of two hundred inhabitants, Mr. +McLain, removed me from my temporary +camping-place in an old house near the turpentine +distilleries into his own comfortable quarters. + +There are twenty mullet fisheries within ten +miles of Swansboro, which employ from fifteen +to eighteen men each. The pickled and dried +roe of this fish is shipped to Wilmington and to +Cincinnati. Wild-fowls abound, and the +shooting is excellent. The fishermen say flocks of +ducks seven miles in length have been seen on +the waters of Bogue Sound. Canvas-backs are +called "raft-ducks" here, and they sell from +twelve to twenty cents each. Wild geese bring +forty cents, and brant thirty. + +The marsh-ponies feed upon the beaches, in +a half wild state, with the deer and cattle, cross +the marshes and swim the streams from the +mainland to the beaches in the spring, and graze there +until winter, when they collect in little herds, +and instinctively return to the piny woods of +the uplands. Messrs. Weeks and Taylor had +shot, while on a four-days' hunt up the White +Oak River, twenty deer. Captain H. D. Heady, +of Swansboro, informed me that the ducks and +geese he killed in one winter supplied him with +one hundred pounds of selected feathers. +Captain Heady's description of Bogue Inlet was not +encouraging for the future prosperity of this +coast, and the same may be said of all the inlets +between it and Cape Fear. + +Rainy weather kept me within doors until +Friday, the 7th of January, when I rowed down +White Oak River to Bogue Inlet, and turned +into the beach thoroughfare, which led me three +miles and a half to Bear Inlet. My course now +lay through creeks among the marshes to the +Stand-Back, near the mainland, where the tides +between the two inlets head. Across this shoal +spot I traversed tortuous watercourses with mud +flats, from which beds of sharp raccoon oysters +projected and scraped the keel of my boat. + +The sea was now approached from the +mainland to Brown's Inlet, where the tide ran like +a mill-race, swinging my canoe in great circles +as I crossed it to the lower side. Here I took +the widest thoroughfare, and left the beach only +to retrace my steps to follow one nearer the +strand, which conducted me to the end of the +natural system of watercourses, where I found a +ditch, dug seventy years before, which connected +the last system of waters with another series of +creeks that emptied their waters into New River +Inlet. + +Emerging from the marshes, my course led +me away from New River Inlet, across open +sheets of water to the mainland, where Dr. +Ward's cotton plantation occupied a large and +cultivated area in the wilderness. It was nearly +two miles from his estate down to the inlet. +The intervening flats among the island marshes +of New River were covered with natural beds +of oysters, upon which the canoe scraped as I +crossed to the narrow entrance of Stump Sound. +Upon rounding a point of land I found, snugly +ensconced in a grove, the cot of an oysterman, +Captain Risley Lewis, who, after informing me +that his was the last habitation to be found in +that vicinity, pressed me to be his guest. + +The next day proved one of trial to patience +and muscle. The narrow watercourses, which +like a spider's web penetrate the marshes with +numerous small sheets of water, made travelling +a most difficult task. At times I was lost, again +my canoe was lodged upon oyster-beds in the +shallow ponds of water, the mud bottoms of +which would not hear my weight if I attempted +to get overboard to lighten the little craft. + +Alligator Lake, two miles in width, was crossed +without seeing an alligator. Saurians are first +met with, as the traveller proceeds south, in the +vicinity of Alligator Creek and the Neuse River, +in the latitude of Pamplico Sound. During the +cold weather they hide themselves in the soft, +muddy bottoms of creeks and lagoons. All the +negroes, and many of the white people of the +south, assert, that when captured in his winter +bed, this huge reptile's stomach contains the hard +knot of a pine-tree; but for what purpose he +swallows it they are at a loss to explain. + +In twelve miles of tortuous windings there +appeared but one sign of human life -- a little +cabin on a ridge of upland among the fringe +of marshes that bordered on Alligator Lake. It +was cheering to a lonely canoeist to see this +house, and the clearing around it with the +season's crop of corn in stacks dotting the field. +All this region is called Stump Sound; but that +sheet of water is a well-defined, narrow, +lake-like watercourse, which was entered not long +after I debouched from Alligator Lake. Stump +Inlet having closed up eighteen months before +my visit, the sound and its tributaries received +tidal water from New Topsail Inlet. + +It was a cold and rainy evening when I sought +shelter in an old boat-house, at a landing on +Topsail Sound, soon after leaving Stump Sound. +While preparing for the night's camp, the son +of the proprietor of the plantation discovered +the, to him, unheard-of spectacle of a paper boat +upon the gravelly strand. Filled with curiosity +and delight, he dragged me, paddle in hand, +through an avenue of trees to a hill upon which +a large house was located. This was the boy's +home. Leaving me on the broad steps of the +veranda, he rushed into the hall, shouting to +the family, "Here's a sailor who has come from +the north in a PAPER boat." + +This piece of intelligence roused the good +people to merriment. "Impossible!" "A boat +made of paper!" "Nonsense!" + +The boy, however, would not be put down. +"But it is made of paper, I tell you; for I +pinched it and stuck my nails into it," he +replied earnestly. + +"You are crazy, my boy," some one +responded; "a paper boat never could go through +these sounds, the coon oysters would cut it in +pieces. Now tell us, is the sailor made of +paper, like his boat?" + +"Indeed, mother, what I tell you is true; and, +O, I forgot! here's the sailor on the steps, where +I left him." In an instant the whole family were +out upon the veranda. Seeing my +embarrassment, they tried, like well-bred people, to check +their merriment, while I explained to them the +way in which the boy had captured me, and +proposed at once returning to my camp. To +this, however, they would not listen; and the +charming wife of the planter extended her hand +to me, as she said, "No, sir, you will not go back +to the wet landing to camp. This is our home, +and though marauding armies during the late +war have taken from us our wealth, you must +share with us the little we have left." This lady +with her two daughters, who inherited her beauty +and grace of manner, did all in their power to +make me comfortable. + +Sunday was the coldest day of the season; but +the family, whose hospitality I enjoyed, rode +seven miles through the woods, some on +horseback, some in the carriage, to the little church +in a heavy pine forest. The next day proved +stormy, and the driving sleet froze upon the +trees and bound their limbs and boughs together +with an icy veneer. My host, Mr. McMillan, +kindly urged me to tarry. During my stay with +him I ascertained that he devoted his attention +to raising ground-peas, or peanuts. Along the +coast of this part of North Carolina this nut is +the chief product, and is raised in immense +quantities. The latter state alone raises annually +over one hundred thousand bushels; while +Virginia and Tennessee produce, some years, a crop +of seven hundred thousand bushels. + +Wednesday opened with partially clearing +weather, and the icy covering of the trees +yielded to the softening influences of a southern +wind. The family went to the landing to see +me off, and the kind ladies stowed many +delicacies, made with their own hands, in the bow of +the boat. After rowing a half-mile, I took a +lingering look at the shore, where those who +four days ago were strangers, now waved an +adieu as friends. They had been stript of their +wealth, though the kind old planter had never +raised his hand against the government of his +fathers. This family, like thousands of people +in the south, had suffered for the rash deeds of +others. While the political views of this +gentleman differed from those of the stranger from +Massachusetts, it formed no barrier to their +social intercourse, and did not make him forget +to exhibit the warm feelings of hospitality which +so largely influence the Southerner. I went to +him, as a traveller in search of truth, upon an +honest errand. Under such circumstances a +Northerner does not require a letter of +introduction to nine out of ten of the citizens of the +fifteen ex-slave states, which cover an area of +eight hundred and eighty thousand square miles, +and where fourteen millions of people desire to +be permitted to enjoy the same privileges as the +Constitution of the United States guarantees to +all the states north of Mason and Dixon's line. + +From Sloop Landing, on my new friends' +plantation, to New Topsail Inlet I had a brisk +row of five miles. Vessels drawing eight feet of +water can reach this landing from the open sea +upon a full tide. The sea was rolling in at this +ocean door as my canoe crossed it to the next +marsh thoroughfare, which connected it with +Old Topsail Inlet, where the same monotonous +surroundings of sand-hills and marshes are to be found. + +The next tidal opening was Rich Inlet, which +had a strong ebb running through it to the +sea. From it I threaded the thoroughfares up +to the mainland, reaching at dusk the "Emma +Nickson Plantation." The creeks were growing +more shallow, and near the bulkhead, or +middleground, where tides from two inlets met, there +was so little water and so many oyster reefs, that, +without a chart, the route grew more and more +perplexing in character. It was a distance of +thirty miles to Cape Fear, and twenty miles +to New Inlet, which was one of the mouths +of Cape Fear River. From the plantation to +New Inlet, the shallow interior sheets of water +with their marshes were called Middle, +Masonboro, and Myrtle sounds. The canoe could +have traversed these waters to the end of +Myrtle Sound, which is separated from Cape Fear +River by a strip of land only one mile and a +half wide, across which a portage can be made +to the river. Barren and Masonboro are the only +inlets which supply the three little sounds above +mentioned with water, after Rich Inlet is passed. + +The coast from Cape Fear southward eighty +miles, to Georgetown, South Carolina, has several +small inlets through the beach, but there are no +interior waters parallel with the coast in all that +distance, which can be of any service to the +canoeist for a coast route. It therefore became +necessary for me to follow the next watercourse +that could be utilized for reaching Winyah Bay, +which is the first entrance to the system of +continuous watercourses south of Cape Fear. + +The trees of the Nickson Plantation hid the +house of the proprietor from view; but upon +beaching my canoe, a drove of hogs greeted me +with friendly grunts, as if the hospitality of their +master infected the drove; and, as it grew dark, +they trotted across the field, conducting me up +to the very doors of the planter's home, where +Captain Mosely, late of the Confederate army, +gave me a soldier's hearty welcome. + +"The war is over," he said, "and any northern +gentleman is welcome to what we have left." +Until midnight, this keen-eyed, intelligent officer +entertained me with a flow of anecdotes of the +war times, his hair-breadth escapes, &c.; the +conversation being only interrupted when he +paused to pile wood upon the fire, the +chimney-place meantime glowing like a furnace. He +told me that Captain Maffitt, of the late +Confederate navy, lived at Masonboro, on the sound; +and that had I called upon him, he could have +furnished, as an old officer of the Coast Survey, +much valuable geographical information. This +pleasant conversation was at last interrupted +by the wife of my host, who warned us in her +courteous way of the lateness of the hour. With +a good-night to my host, and a sad farewell +to the sea, I prepared myself for the morrow's +journey. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. FROM CAPE FEAR TO CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA. + + + +A PORTAGE TO LAKE WACCAMAW. -- THE SUBMERGED SWAMPS. -- +NIGHT AT A TURPENTINE DISTILLER -- A DISMAL +WILDERNESS. -- OWLS AND MISTLETOE. -- CRACKERS AND NEGROES. -- +ACROSS THE SOUTH CAROLINA LINE. -- A CRACKER'S IDEA OF +HOSPITALITY. -- POT BLUFF. -- PEEDEE RIVER. -- GEORGETOWN. +-- WINYAH BAY. -- THE RICE PLANTATIONS OF THE SANTEE +RIVERS. -- A NIGHT WITH THE SANTEE NEGROES. -- ARRIVAL +AT CHARLESTON. + + +To reach my next point of embarkation a +portage was necessary. Wilmington was +twelve miles distant, and I reached the railroad +station of that city with my canoe packed in a +bed of corn-husks, on a one-horse dray, in time +to take the evening train to Flemington, on Lake +Waccamaw. The polite general freight-agent, +Mr. A. Pope, allowed my canoe to be transported +in the passenger baggage-car, where, as it had +no covering, I was obliged to steady it during +the ride of thirty-two miles, to protect it from +the friction caused by the motion of the train. + +Mr. Pope quietly telegraphed to the few families +at the lake, "Take care of the paper canoe;" so +when my destination was reached, kind voices +greeted me through the darkness and offered me +the hospitalities of Mrs. Brothers' home-like inn +at the Flemington Station. After Mr. Carroll had +conveyed the boat to his storehouse, we all sat +down to tea as sociably as though we were old +friends. + +On the morrow we carried the Maria Theresa +on our shoulders to the little lake, out of which +the long and crooked river with its dark cypress +waters flowed to the sea. A son of Mr. Short, +a landed proprietor who holds some sixty +thousand acres of the swamp lands of the Waccamaw, +escorted me in his yacht, with a party of ladies +and gentlemen, five miles across the lake to my +point of departure. It was now noon, and our +little party picnicked under the lofty trees which +rise from the low shores of Lake Waccamaw. + +A little later we said our adieu, and the paper +canoe shot into the whirling current which rushes +out of the lake through a narrow aperture into +a great and dismal swamp. Before leaving the +party, Mr. Carroll had handed me a letter +addressed to Mr. Hall, who was in charge of a +turpentine distillery on my route. "It is twenty +miles by the river to my friend Hall's," he said, +"but in a straight line the place is just four +miles from here." Such is the character of the +Waccamaw, this most crooked of rivers. + +I had never been on so rapid and continuous +a current. As it whirled me along the narrow +watercourse I was compelled to abandon my +oars and use the paddle in order to have my face +to the bow, as the abrupt turns of the stream +seemed to wall me in on every side. Down +the tortuous, black, rolling current went the +paper canoe, with a giant forest covering the +great swamp and screening me from the light +of day. The swamps were submerged, and as +the water poured out of the thickets into the +river it would shoot across the land from one +bend to another, presenting in places the +mystifying spectacle of water running up stream, but +not up an inclined plain. Festoons of gray +Spanish moss hung from the weird limbs of +monster trees, giving a funeral aspect to the +gloomy forest, while the owls hooted as though +it were night. The creamy, wax-like berries +of the mistletoe gave a Druidical aspect to the +woods, for this parasite grew upon the branches +of many trees. + +One spot only of firm land rose from the water +in sixteen miles of paddling from the lake, and +passing it, I went flying on with the turbulent +stream four miles further, to where rafts of logs +blocked the river, and the sandy banks, covered +with the upland forest of pines, encroached upon +the lowlands. This was Old Dock, with its +turpentine distillery smoking and sending out +resinous vapors. + +Young Mr. Hall read my letter and invited +me to his temporary home, which, though +roughly built of unplaned boards, possessed two +comfortable rooms, and a large fireplace, in +which light-wood, the terebinthine heart of the +pine-tree, was cheerfully blazing. + +I had made the twenty miles in three hours, +but the credit of this quick time must be given +to the rapid current. My host did not seem +well pleased with the solitude imposed upon +him. His employers had sent him from +Wilmington, to hold and protect "their turpentine +farm," which was a wilderness of trees covering +four thousand acres, and was valued, with its +distillery, at five thousand dollars. An old +negro, who attended the still and cooked the +meals, was his only companion. + +We had finished our frugal repast, when a +man, shouting in the darkness, approached the +house on horseback. This individual, though +very tipsy, represented Law and Order in that +district, as I was informed when "Jim Gore," a +justice of the peace, saluted me in a boisterous +manner. Seating himself by the fire, he +earnestly inquired for the bottle. His stomach, he +said, was as dry as a lime-kiln, and, though +water answers to slake lime, he demanded +something stronger to slake the fire that burned +within him. He was very suspicious of me when +Hall told him of my canoe journey. After +eying me from head to toe in as steady a manner +as he was capable of, he broke forth with: "Now, +stranger, this won't do. What are ye a-travel'ing +in this sort of way for, in a paper dug-out?" + +I pleaded a strong desire to study geography, +but the wise fellow replied: + +"Geography! geography! Why, the fellers +who rite geography never travel; they stay at +home and spin their yarns 'bout things they +never sees." Then, glancing at his poor +butternut coat and pantaloons, he felt my blue woollen +suit, and continued, in a slow, husky voice: +"Stranger, them clothes cost something; they +be store-clothes. That paper dug-out cost money, +I tell ye; and it costs something to travel the hull +length of the land. No, stranger; if ye be not +on a bet, then somebody's a-paying ye well for it." + +For an hour I entertained this roughest of law +dignitaries with an account of my long row, its +trials and its pleasures. He became interested +in the story, and finally related to me his own +aspirations, and the difficulties attending his +efforts to make the piny-woods people respect the +laws and good government. He then described +the river route through the swamps to the sea, +and, putting his arm around me in the most +affectionate manner, he mournfully said: + +"O stranger, my heart is with ye; but O, how +ye will have to take it when ye go past those +awful wretches to-morrow; how they will give +it to ye! They most knocked me off my raft, +last time I went to Georgetown. Beware of +them; I warn ye in time. Dern the hussies." + +Squire Jim so emphasized the danger that I +became somewhat alarmed, for, more than +anything else, I dreaded an outbreak with rough +women. And then, too, my new acquaintance +informed me that there were four or five of these +wretches, of the worst kind, located several +miles down the stream. As I was about to +inquire into the habits of these ugly old crones, +Mr. Hall, wishing to give Squire James a hint, +remarked that Mr. B_____ might at any time +retire to the next room, where half the bed was at +his disposal. + +"Half the bed!" roared the squire; "here +are three of us, and where's my half?" + +"Why, squire," hesitatingly responded my +host, Mr. B_____ is my guest, and having but +one bed, he must have half of it -- no less." + +"Then what's to become of me?" thundered +his Majesty of the law. + +Having been informed that a shake-down +would have been ready had he given notice of +his visit, and that at some future time, when not +so crowded, he could be entertained like a +gentleman, he drew himself up, wrapped in the +mantle of dignity, and replied: + +"None of that soft talk, my friend. This +man is a traveller; let him take travellers' +luck -- three in a bed to-night. I'm bound +to sleep with him to-night. Hall, where's the +bottle?" + +I now retired to the back room, and, without +undressing, planted myself on the side of the +bed next the wall. Sleep was, however, an +unattainable luxury, with the squire's voice in the +next room, as he told how the country was going +to the dogs, because "niggers and white folks +wouldn't respect the laws. It took half a man's +time to larn it to 'em, and much thanks he ever +got by setting everybody to rights." He wound +up by lecturing Hall for being so temperate, +his diligent search in all directions for bottles or +jugs being rewarded by finding them filled with +unsatisfactory emptiness. + +He then tumbled into the centre of the bed, +crowding me close against the wall. Poor Hall, +having the outside left to him, spent the night in +exercising his brain and muscles in vain attempts +to keep in his bed; for when his Majesty of the +law put his arms akimbo, the traveller went to +the wall, and the host to the floor. Thus passed +my first night in the great swamps of the +Waccamaw River. + +The negro cook gave us an early breakfast of +bacon, sweet potatoes, and corn bread. The +squire again looked round for the bottle, and +again found nothing but emptiness. He helped +me to carry my canoe along the unsteady footing +of the dark swamp to the lower side of the +raft of logs, and warmly pressed my hand as he +whispered: "My dear B____, I shall think of +you until you get past those dreadful 'wretches.' +Keep an eye on your little boat, or they'll devil +you." + +Propelled by my double paddle, the canoe +seemed to fly through the great forest that rose +with its tall trunks and weird, moss-draped +arms, out of the water. The owls were still +hooting. Indeed, the dolorous voice of this bird +of darkness sounded through the heavy woods +at intervals throughout the day. I seemed to +have left the real world behind me, and to have +entered upon a landless region of sky, trees, and +water. + +"Beware of the cut-offs," said Hall, before I +left. Only the Crackers and shingle-makers +know them. If followed, they would save you +many a mile, but every opening through the +swamp is not a cut-off. Keep to the main +stream, though it be more crooked and longer. +If you take to the cut-offs, you may get into +passages that will lead you off into the swamps +and into interior bayous, from which you will +never emerge. Men have starved to death in +such places." + +So I followed the winding stream, which +turned back upon itself, running north and south, +and east and west, as if trying to box the +compass by following the sun in its revolution. After +paddling down one bend, I could toss a stick +through the trees into the stream where the canoe +had cleaved its waters a quarter of a mile +behind me. + +The thought of what I should do in this +landless region if my frail shell, in its rapid flight to +the sea, happened to be pierced by a snag, was, +to say the least, not a comforting one. On what +could I stand to repair it? To climb a tree +seemed, in such a case, the only resource; and +then what anxious waiting there would be for +some cypress-shingle maker, in his dug-out +canoe, to come to the rescue, and take the traveller +from his dangerous lodgings between heaven and +earth; or it might be that no one would pass that +way, and the weary waiting would be even unto +death. + +But sounds now reached my ears that made +me feel that I was not quite alone in this desolate +swamp. The gray squirrels scolded among the +tree-tops; robins, the brown thrush, and a large +black woodpecker with his bright red head, +each reminded me of Him without whose notice +not a sparrow falleth to the ground. + +Ten miles of this black current were passed +over, when the first signs of civilization appeared, +in the shape of a sombre-looking, two-storied +house, located upon a point of the mainland +which entered the swamp on the left shore of +the river. At this point the river widened to five +or six rods, and at intervals land appeared a few +inches above the water. Wherever the pine +land touched the river a pig-pen of rails offered +shelter and a gathering-place for the hogs, +which are turned loose by the white Cracker +to feed upon the roots and mast of the +wilderness. + +Reeve's Ferry, on the right bank, with a little +store and turpentine-still, twenty miles from Old +Dock, was the next sign of the presence of man +in this swamp. The river now became broad as +I approached Piraway Ferry, which is two miles +below Piraway Farm. Remembering the +warnings of the squire as to the "awful wretches in +the big pine woods," I kept a sharp lookout for +the old women who were to give me so much +trouble, but the raftsmen on the river explained +that though Jim Gore had told me the truth, I +had misunderstood his pronunciation of the word +reaches, or river bends, which are called in +this vicinity wretches. The reaches referred to +by Mr. Gore were so long and straight as to +afford open passages for wind to blow up them, +and these fierce gusts of head winds give the +raftsmen much trouble while poling their rafts +against them. + +My fears of ill treatment were now at rest, for +my tiny craft, with her sharp-pointed bow, was +well adapted for such work. Landing at the +ferry where a small scow or flat-boat was resting +upon the firm land, the ferryman, Mr. Daniel +Dunkin, would not permit me to camp out of +doors while his log-cabin was only one mile +away on the pine-covered uplands. He told me +that the boundary-line between North and South +Carolina crossed this swamp three and a half +miles below Piraway Ferry, and that the first +town on the river Waccamaw, in South Carolina, +Conwayborough, was a distance of ninety miles +by river and only thirty miles by land. There +was but one bridge over the river, from its head +to Conwayborough, and it was built by Mr. +James Wortham, twenty years before, for his +plantation. This bridge was twenty miles below +Piraway, and from it by land to a settlement on +Little River, which empties into the Atlantic, +was a distance of only five miles. A short canal +would connect this river and its lumber regions +with Little River and the sea. + +For the first time in my experience as a +traveller I had entered a country where the miles +were short. When fifteen years old I made my +first journey alone and on foot from the vicinity +of Boston to the White Mountains of New +Hampshire. This boyish pedestrian trip +occupied about twenty-one days, and covered some +three hundred miles of hard tramping. New +England gives honest measure on the +finger-posts along her highways. The traveller learns +by well-earned experience the length of her +miles; but in the wilderness of the south there +is no standard of five thousand two hundred and +eighty feet to a statute mile, and the watermen +along the sea-coast are ignorant of the fact that +one-sixtieth of a degree of latitude (about six +thousand and eighty feet) is the geographical +and nautical mile of the cartographer, as well +as the "knot" of the sailor. + +At Piraway Ferry no two of the raftsmen and +lumbermen, ignorant or educated, would give the +same distance, either upon the lengths of surveyed +roads or unmeasured rivers. "It is one hundred +and sixty-five miles by river from Piraway Ferry +to Conwayborough," said one who had travelled +the route for years. The most moderate estimate +made was that of ninety miles by river. The +reader, therefore, must not accuse me of +overstating distances while absent from the seaboard, +as my friends of the Coast Survey Bureau have +not yet penetrated into these interior regions with +their theodolites, plane-tables, and +telametrerods. To the canoeist, who is ambitious to score +up miles instead of collecting geographical notes, +these wild rivers afford an excellent opportunity +to satisfy his aims. + +From sixty to eighty miles can be rowed in +ten hours as easily as forty miles can be gone +over upon a river of slow current in the +northern states. There is, I am sorry to say, +a class of American travellers who "do" all the +capitals of Europe in the same business-like way, +and if they have anything to say in regard to +every-day life in the countries through which +they pass, they forget to thank the compiler of +the guide-book for the information they possess. + +There was but one room in the cabin of my +new acquaintance, who represented that class of +piny-woods people called in the south -- because +they subsist largely upon corn, -- Corn Crackers, +or Crackers. These Crackers are the "poor white +folks" of the planter, and "de white trash" of +the old slave, who now as a freedman is +beginning to feel the responsibility of his position. + +These Crackers are a very kind-hearted people, +but few of them can read or write. The children +of the negro, filled with curiosity and a +newborn pride, whenever opportunity permits, +attend the schools in large numbers; but the very +indolent white man seems to be destitute of all +ambition, and his children, in many places in the +south, following close in the father's footsteps, +grow up in an almost unimaginable ignorance. + +The news of the arrival of the little Maria +Theresa at Piraway Ferry spread with +astonishing rapidity through the woods, and on Sunday, +after "de shoutings," as the negroes call their +meetings, were over, the blacks came in +numbers to see "dat Yankee-man's paper canno." + +These simple people eyed me from head to foot +with a grave sort of curiosity, their great mouths +open, displaying pearly teeth of which a white +man might well be proud. "You is a good man, +capt'n -- we knows dat," they said; and when I +asked why, the answer showed their childlike +faith. "'Cause you couldn't hab come all dis +way in a paper boat if de Lord hadn't helped +you. He dono help only good folks." + +The Cracker also came with his children to +view the wonder, while the raftsmen were so +struck with the advantages of my double paddle, +which originated with the inhabitants of the +Arctic regions, that they laid it upon a board and +drew its outlines with chalk. They vowed they +would introduce it upon the river. + +These Crackers declared it would take more +than "de shoutings," or any other religious +service, to improve the moral condition of +the blacks. They openly accused the colored +preachers of disturbing the nocturnal rest of +their hens and turkeys; and as to hog-stealing +and cow-killing, "Why, we won't have any +critters left ef this carpet-bag government lasts much +longer!" they feelingly exclaimed. + +"We does nothing to nobody. We lets the +niggers alone; but niggers will steal -- they can't +help it, the poor devils; it's in 'em. Now, ef they +eats us out of house and home, what can a poor +man do? They puts 'em up for justices of peace, +and sends 'em to the legislature, when they can't +read more'n us; and they do say it's 'cause we +fit in the Confederate sarvice that they razes the +nigger over our heads. Now, does the folkes up +north like to see white people tyrannized over +by niggers? Jes tell 'em when you go back, +stranger, that we's got soulds like yours up +north, and we's got feelings too, by thunder! jes +like other white men. This was a white man's +country once -- now it's all niggers and dogs. +Why, them niggers in the legislature has +spitboxes lined with gold to spit in! What's this +country a-coming to? We wish the niggers no +harm if they lets our hogs and chickens alone." + +After this tirade it was amusing to see how +friendly the whites and blacks were. The +Crackers conversed with these children of Ham, who +had been stealing their hams for so long a time, +in the most kindly way, realizing, perhaps, that +they had various peculiar traits of their own, and +must, after all, endure their neighbors. + +A traveller should place facts before his +readers, and leave to them the drawing of the moral. +Northern men and women who go to the +southern states and reside for even the short space of +a year or two, invariably change their life-long +views and principles regarding the negro as a +moral and social creature. When these people +return to their homes in Maine or Massachusetts +(as did the representatives of the Granges of the +northern states after they had visited South +Carolina in 1875) a new light, derived from contact +with facts, dawns upon them, while their +surprised and untravelled neighbors say: "So you +have become Southern in your views. I never +would have thought that of you." + +The railroad has become one of the great +mediums of enlightenment to mankind, and joins in +a social fraternity the disunited elements of a +country. God grant that the resources of the +great South may soon be developed by the +capital and free labor of the North. Our sister states +of the South, exhausted by the struggles of the +late war which resulted in consolidating more +firmly than ever the great Union, are now ready +to receive every honest effort to develop their +wealth or cultivate their territory. Let every +national patriot give up narrowness of views and +sectional selfishness and become acquainted with +(not the politicians) the people of the New +South, and a harmony of feeling will soon +possess the hearts of all true lovers of a government +of the people. + +The swamp tributaries were swelling the river +into a very rapid torrent as I paddled away from +the ferry on Monday, January 18. A warmer +latitude having been reached, I could dispense +with one blanket, and this I had presented to my +kind host, who had refused to accept payment +for his hospitality. He was very proud of his +present, and said, feelingly, "No one shall touch +this but me." His good wife had baked some +of a rich and very nice variety of sweet-potatoes, +unlike those we get in New Jersey or the other +Middle States-which potatoes she kindly added +to my stores. They are not dry or mealy when +cooked, but seem saturated with honey. The +poor woman's gift now occupied the space +formerly taken up by the blanket I had given her +husband. + +From this day, as latitude after latitude was +crossed on my way southward, I distributed +every article I could spare, among these poor, +kind-hearted people. Mr. McGreggor went in +his Rob Roy canoe over the rivers of Europe, +"diffusing cheerfulness and distributing +Evangelical tracts." I had no room for tracts, and if I +had followed the example of my well- +intentioned predecessor in canoeing, it would have +served the cause of truth or creed but little. +The Crackers could not read, and but few of +the grown negroes had been taught letters. +They did not want books, but tobacco. Men +and women hailed me from the banks as I glided +along in my canoe, with, "Say, captain, hab you +eny 'bacca or snuff for dis chile?" Poor +humanity! The Cracker and the freedman fill +alike their places according to the light they +possess. Do we, who have been taught from +our youth sacred things, do more than this? +Do we love our neighbor as ourself? + +For twenty miles (local authority) I journeyed +down the stream, without seeing a human being +or a dwelling-place, to Stanley's house and the +bridge; from which I urged the canoe thirty-five +miles further, passing an old field on a bluff, +when darkness settled on the swamps, and a +heavy mist rose from the waters and enveloped +the forests in its folds. With not a trace of land +above water I groped about, running into what +appeared to be openings in the submerged land, +only to find my canoe tangled in thickets. It +was useless to go further, and I prepared to +ascend to the forks of a giant tree, with a light +rope, to be used for lashing my body into a safe +position, when a long, low cry engaged my +attention. + +"Waugh! ho! ho! ho! peig -- peig - pe-ig - +pe-ig," came through the still; thick air. It was +not an owl, nor a catamount that cried thus; nor +was it the bark of a fox. It was the voice of a +Cracker calling in his hogs from the forest. +This sound was indeed pleasant to my ears, +for I knew the upland was near, and that a +warm fire awaited my benumbed limbs in the +cabin of this unknown man. Pushing the canoe +towards the sound, and feeling the submerged +border of the swamp with my paddle, I struck +the upland where it touched the water, and +disembarking, felt my way along a well-trodden +path to a little clearing. Here a drove of hogs +were crowding around their owner, who was +scattering kernels of corn about him as he +vociferated, "pe-ig -- pe-ig - pe-ig - pig - pig - +pig." We stood face to face, yet neither could +see the face of the other in the darkness. I told +my tale, and asked where I could find a sheltered +spot to camp. + +"Stranger," slowly replied the Cracker, "my +cabin's close at hand. Come home with me. +It's a bad night for a man to lay out in; and the +niggers would steal your traps if they knew you +had anything worth taking. Come with me." + +In the tall pines near at hand was a cabin of +peeled rails, the chinks between them being +stuffed with moss. A roof of cypress shingles +kept the rain out. The log chimney, which was +plastered with mud, was built outside of the +walls and against an end of the rustic-looking +structure. The wide-mouthed fireplace sent +forth a blaze of light as we entered the poor +man's home. I saw in the nicely swept floor, +the clean bed-spreads, and the general neatness +of the place, the character of Wilson Edge's +wife. + +"Hog and hominy's our food here in the piny +woods," said Mr. Edge, as his wife invited us to +the little table; "and we've a few eggs now and +then to eat with sweet potatoes, but it's up-hill +work to keep the niggers from killing every fowl +and animal we have. The carpet-bag politicians +promised them every one, for his vote, forty acres +of land and a mule. They sed as how the +northern government was a-going to give it to +um; but the poor devils never got any thanks +even for their votes. They had been stuffed +with all sorts of notions by the carpet-baggers, +and I don't blame um for putting on airs and +trying to rule us. It's human natur, that's all. +We don't blame the niggers half so much as +those who puts it in their heads to do so; but it's +hard times we've had, we poor woods folks. +They took our children for the cussed war, to +fight fur niggers and rich people as owned um. + +"We never could find out what all the fuss +was about; but when Jeff Davis made a law to +exempt every man from the army who owned +fifteen niggers, then our blood riz right up, +and we sez to our neighbors, 'This ere thing's +a-getting to be a rich man's quarrel and a poor +man's fight.' After all they dragged off my boy +to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and killed him +a fighting for what? Why, for rich nigger +owners. Our young men hid in the swamps, +but they were hunted up and forced into the +army. Niggers has been our ruin. Ef a white +man takes a case before a nigger justice, he +gives the nigger everything, and the white man +has to stand one side. Now, would you folks up +north like to have a nigger justice who can't +read nor count ten figgurs?" + +I tried to comfort the poor man, by assuring +him that outside of the political enemies of our +peace, the masses in the north were honestly +inclined towards the south now that slavery +was at an end; and that wrong could not long +prevail, with the cheerful prospect of a new +administration, and the removal of all +unconstitutional forces that preyed upon the south. + +The two beds in the single room of the cabin +were occupied by the family; while I slept upon +the floor by the fire, with my blankets for a +couch and a roll of homespun for a pillow, +which the women called "heading." They +often said, "Let me give you some heading for +your bed." We waited until eight o'clock the +next day for the mists to rise from the swamps. +My daily trouble was now upon me. How could +I remunerate a southerner for his cost of +keeping me, when not, in the true sense of the word, +an invited guest to his hospitality? + +Wilson Edge sat by the fire, while his wife +and little ones were preparing to accompany me +to see the paper boat. "Mr. Edge," I +stammered, "you have treated me with great +kindness, your wife has been put to some +inconvenience as I came in so unexpected a manner, and +you will really oblige me if you will accept a +little money for all this; though money cannot +pay for your hospitality. Grant my wish, and +you will send me away with a light heart." +The poor Cracker lowered his head and slowly +ran his fingers through his coal black hair. For +a moment he seemed studying a reply, and then +he spoke as though HE represented the whole +generous heart of the south. + +"Stranger," he slowly articulated,"Stranger, +I have known white men to be niggers enough +to take a stranger's money for lodgings and +vittles, but I am not that man." + +We found the canoe as it had been left the +night before, and I was soon pulling down the +river. The great wilderness was traversed thirty +miles to the county town of Conwayborough, +where the negroes roared with laughter at the +working of the double paddle, as I shot past the +landing-place where cotton and naval stores +were piled, waiting to be lightered nine miles to +Pot Bluff, -- so called from the fact of a pot +being lost from a vessel near it, -- which place +is reached by vessels from New York drawing +twelve feet of water. Though still a long +distance from the ocean, I was beginning to feel its +tidal influences. At Pot Bluff, the landing and +comfortable home of its owner, Mr. Z. W. +Dusenberry, presented a pleasant relief after the +monotony of the great pine forests. This +enterprising business man made my short stay a very +pleasant one. + +Wednesday, January 20th, was cold for this +latitude, and ice formed in thin sheets in the +water-pails. Twenty-two miles below Pot Bluff, +Bull Creek enters the Waccamaw from the +Peedee River. At the mouth of this connecting +watercourse is Tip Top, the first rice plantation +of the Waccamaw. The Peedee and its sister +stream run an almost parallel course from Bull +Creek to Winyah Bay, making their debouchure +close to the city of Georgetown. Steam +sawmills and rice plantations take the place of the +forests from a few miles below Tip Top to the +vicinity of Georgetown. + +Mr. M. L. Blakely, of New York, one of the +largest shingle manufacturers of the south, +occupied as his headquarters the Bates Hill +Plantation, on the Peedee. This gentleman had invited +me, through the medium of the post-office, to +visit him in the rice-growing regions of South +Carolina. To reach his home I took the short +"cut-off" which Bull Creek offered, and entered +upon the strongest of head-currents. The thick +yellow, muddy torrent of the Peedee rushed +through Bull Creek with such volume, that I +wondered if it left much water on the other side +to give character to the river, as it followed its +own channel to Winyah Bay. + +One and a half miles of vigorous paddling +brought me to a branch of the watercourse, +which is much narrower than the main one, and +is consequently called Little Bull Creek. This +also comes from the Peedee River, and its source +is nearer to the Bates Hill plantation than the +main Bull Creek. To urge the canoe up this +narrow stream three miles and a half to the +parent river Peedee, was a most trying ordeal. +At times the boat would not move a hundred +feet in five minutes, and often, as my strength +seemed failing me, I caught the friendly branches +of trees, and held on to keep the canoe from +being whirled down the current towards the +Waccamaw. After long and persistent efforts +had exhausted my strength, I was about to seek +for a resting-place in the swamp, when a view +of the broad Peedee opened before me, and with +vigorous strokes of the paddle the canoe slowly +approached the mighty current. A moment +more and it was within its grasp, and went flying +down the turbulent stream at the rate of ten +miles an hour. + +A loud halloo greeted me from the swamp, +where a party of negro shingle-makers were at +work. They manned their boat, a long cypress +dug-out, and followed me. Their employer, who +proved to be the gentleman whose abiding-place +I was now rapidly approaching, sat in the stern. +We landed together before the old +plantation house, which had been occupied a few years +before by members of the wealthy and powerful +rice-planting aristocracy of the Peedee, but was +now the temporary home of a northern man, +who was busily employed in guiding the labors +of his four hundred freedmen in the swamps of +North and South Carolina. + +The paper canoe had now entered the regions +of the rice-planter. Along the low banks of the +Peedee were diked marshes where, before the +civil war, each estate produced from five +thousand to forty thousand bushels of rice annually, +and the lords of rice were more powerful than +those of cotton, though cotton was king. The +rich lands here produced as high as fifty-five +bushels of rice to the acre, under forced slave +labor; now the free blacks cannot wrest from +nature more than twenty-five or thirty bushels. + +Fine old mansions lined the river's banks, but +the families had been so reduced by the ravages +of war, that I saw refined ladies, who had been +educated in the schools of Edinburgh, Scotland, +overseeing the negroes as they worked in the +yards of the rice-mills. The undaunted spirit of +these southern ladies, as they worked in their +homes now so desolate, roused my admiration. + +A light, graceful figure, enveloped in an old +shawl, and mounted on an old horse, flitted about +one plantation like a restless spirit. + +"That lady's father," said a gentleman to me, +"owned three plantations, worth three millions +of dollars, before the war. There is a rice-mill +on one of the plantations which cost thirty +thousand dollars. She now fights against misfortune, +and will not give up. The Confederate war +would not have lasted six months if it had not +been for our women. They drove thousands of +us young men into the fight; and now, having +lost all, they go bravely to work, even taking the +places of their old servants in their grand old +homes. It's hard for them, though, I assure +you." + +On Tuesday, January 25th, I paddled down the +Peedee, stopping at the plantations of Dr. +Weston and Colonel Benjamin Allston. The latter +gentleman was a son of one of the governors of +South Carolina. He kindly gave me a letter of +introduction to Commodore Richard Lowndes, +who lived near the coast. From the Peedee I +passed through a cut in the marshes into the +broad Waccamaw, and descended it to Winyah +Bay. + +Georgetown is located between the mouths of +the Peedee and Sampit rivers. Cautiously +approaching the city, I landed at Mr. David +Risley's steam saw-mills, and that gentleman kindly +secreted my boat in a back counting-room, while +I went up town to visit the post-office. By some, +to me, unaccountable means, the people had +heard of the arrival of the paper boat, and three +elaborately dressed negro women accosted me +with, "Please show wees tree ladies de little +paper boat." + +Before I had reached my destination, the +post-office, a body of men met me, on their way to +the steam-mill. The crowd forced me back to +the canoe, and asked so many questions that I +was sorely taxed to find answers for these +gentlemen. There were three editors in the crowd: +two were white men, one a negro. The young +men, who claimed the position of representatives +of the spirit of the place and of the times, +published "The Comet," while the negro, as though +influenced by a spirit of sarcasm, conducted +"The Planet." The third newspaper +represented at the canoe reception was the " +Georgetown Times," which courteously noticed the +little boat that had come so far. "The Planet" +prudently kept in the dark, and said nothing, but +"The Comet," representing the culture of the +young men of the city, published the following +notice of my arrival: + +"Tom Collins has at last arrived in his +wonderful paper boat. He has it hitched to Mr. +Risley's new saw-mill, where every one can +have a view. He intends shooting off his +six-pounder before weighing anchor in the morning. +Hurrah for Collins." + +I left Mr. Risley's comfortable home before +noon the next day, and followed the shores of +Winyah Bay towards the sea. Near Battery +White, on the right shore, in the pine forests, +was the birth-place of Marion, the brave patriot +of the American revolution, whose bugle's call +summoned the youth of those days to arms. + +When near the inlet, the rice-plantation +marshes skirted the shore for some distance. +Out of these wet lands flowed a little stream, +called Mosquito Creek, which once connected +the North Santee River with Winyah Bay, and +served as a boundary to South Island. The +creek was very crooked, and the ebb-tide strong. +When more than halfway to Santee River I was +forced to leave the stream, as it had become +closed by tidal deposits and rank vegetation. + +The ditches of rice plantations emptied their +drainage of the lowlands into Mosquito Creek. +Following a wide ditch to the right, through fields +of rich alluvial soil, which had been wrested by +severe toil from nature, the boat soon reached +the rice-mill of Commodore Richard Lowndes. +A little further on, and situated in a noble grove +of live-oaks, which were draped in the weird +festoons of Spanish moss, on the upland arose +the stately home of the planter, who still kept his +plantation in cultivation, though on a scale of less +magnitude than formerly. It was, indeed, a +pleasant evening that I passed in the company of the +refined members of the old commodore's +household, and with a pang of regret the next day I +paddled along the main canal of the lowlands, +casting backward glances at the old house, with +its grand old trees. The canal ended at North +Santee Bay. + +While I was preparing to ascend the river a +tempest arose, which kept me a weary prisoner +among the reeds of the rice marsh. The hollow +reeds made poor fuel for cooking, and when the +dark, stormy night shut down upon me, the damp +soil grew damper as the tide arose, until it +threatened to overflow the land. For hours I lay in my +narrow canoe waiting for the tidal flood to do its +worst, but it receded, and left me without any +means of building a fire, as the reeds were wet +by the storm. The next afternoon, being tired +of this sort of prison-life, and cramped for lack +of exercise, I launched the canoe into the rough +water, and crossing to Crow Island found a lee +under its shores, which permitted me to ascend +the river to the mouth of Atchison Creek, through +which I passed, two miles, to the South Santee +River. + +All these rivers are bordered by rice +plantations, many of them having been abandoned to +the care of the freedmen. I saw no white men +upon them. Buildings and dikes are falling into +ruins, and the river freshets frequently inundate the +land. Many of the owners of these once valuable +estates are too much reduced in wealth to attempt +their proper cultivation. It is in any case +difficult to get the freedmen to work through an +entire season, even when well paid for their +services, and they flock to the towns whenever +opportunity permits. + +The North and South Santee rivers empty into +the Atlantic, but their entrances are so shallow +that Georgetown Entrance is the inlet through +which most of the produce of the country - +pitch, tar, turpentine, rice, and lumber -- finds +exit to the sea. As I left the canal, which, with +the creek, makes a complete thoroughfare for +lighters and small coasters from one Santee River +to the other, a renewal of the tempest made me +seek shelter in an old cabin in a negro settlement, +each house of which was built upon piles driven +into the marshes. The old negro overseer of the +plantation hinted to me that his "hands were +berry spicious of ebbry stranger," and advised me +to row to some other locality. I told him I was +from the north, and would not hurt even one of +the fleas which in multitudes infested his negroes' +quarters; but the old fellow shook his head, and +would not be responsible for me if I staid there +all night. A tall darkey, who had listened to the +conversation, broke in with, "Now, uncle, ye +knows dat if dis gemmum is from de norf he is +one of wees, and ye must du fur him jis dis +time." But "Uncle Overseer" kept repeating, +"Some niggers here is mity spicious. Du not +no who white man is anyhow." "Well, uncle," +replied the tall black, "ef dis man is a +Yankeemans, Ise will see him froo." + +Then he questioned me, while the fleas, +having telegraphed to each other that a stranger had +arrived, made sad havoc of me and my patience. + +"My name's Jacob Gilleu; what's yourn?" I +gave it. "Whar's your home?" came next. "I +am a citizen of the United States," I replied. +"De 'Nited States -- whar's dat? neber hurd +him afore," said Jacob Gilleu. Having +informed him it was the land which General Grant +governed, he exclaimed: "O, you's a Grant man; +all rite den; you is one of wees -- all de same as +wees. Den look a-here, boss. I send you to one +good place on Alligator Creek, whar Seba +Gillings libs. He black man, but he treat you jes +like white man." + +Jacob helped me launch my boat through the +soft mud, which nearly stalled us; and following +his directions I paddled across the South Santee +and coasted down to Alligator Creek, where +extensive marshes, covered by tall reeds, hid the +landscape from my view. About half a mile +from the mouth of the creek, which watercourse +was on my direct route to Bull's Bay, a large +tide-gate was found at the mouth of a canal. +This being wide open, I pushed up the canal to +a low point of land which rose like an island out +of the rushes. Here was a negro hamlet of a +dozen houses, or shanties, and the ruins of a +rice-mill. The majority of the negroes were +absent working within the diked enclosures of +this large estate, which before the war had +produced forty thousand bushels of rice annually. +Now the place was leased by a former slave, +and but little work was accomplished under the +present management. + +Seba Gillings, a powerfully built negro, came +to the dike upon which I had landed the canoe. +I quickly told him my story, and how I had been +forced to leave the last negro quarters. I used +Jacob Gilleu's name as authority for seeking +shelter with him from the damps of the +half-submerged lands. The dignified black man bade +me "fear nuffing, stay here all de night, long's +you please; treat you like white man. I'se +mity poor, but gib you de berry best I hab." +He locked my boat in a rickety old storehouse, +and gave me to understand "dat niggers will +steal de berry breff from a man's mouff." + +He took me to his home, and soon showed me +how he managed "de niggers." His wife sat +silently by the fire. He ordered her to "pound +de rice;" and she threw a quantity of unhulled +rice into a wooden mortar three feet high planted +in the ground in front of the shanty. Then, with +an enormous pestle, the black woman pounded +the grains until the hulls were removed, when, +seating herself upon the floor of the dark, smoky +cabin, she winnowed the rice with her breath, +while her long, slim fingers caught and removed +all the specks of dirt from the mass. It was +cooked as the Chinese cook it -- not to a +glutinous mass, as we of the north prepare it- but +each grain was dry and entire. Then eggs and +bacon were prepared; not by the woman, but by +the son, a lad of fourteen years. + +All these movements were superintended by +old Seba, who sat looking as dark and as solemn +and as learned as an associate judge on the +bench of a New Jersey county court. On the +blackest of tables, minus a cloth, the well-cooked +food was placed for the stranger. As soon as +my meal was finished, every member of the +family made a dash for the fragments, and the board +was cleared in a wonderfully short space of time. + +Then we gathered round the great, +black-mouthed fireplace, and while the bright coals of +live-oak spread a streak of light through the +darkness, black men and black women stole into +the room until everything from floor to ceiling, +from door to chimney-place, seemed to be +growing blacker and blacker, and I felt as black as +my surroundings. The scant clothing of the +men only half covered their shiny, ebony skins. +The whole company preserved a dignified +silence, which was occasionally broken by deep +sighs coming from the women in reply to a +half-whispered "All de way from de norf in a paper +canno -- bless de Lord! bless de Lord!" + +This dull monotony was broken by the +entrance of a young negro who, having made a +passage in a sloop to Charleston through Bull's +Bay, was looked upon as a great traveller, and +to him were referred disputes upon nautical +matters. He had not yet seen the boat, but he +proceeded to tell the negroes present all about it. +He first bowed to me with a "How'dy, how'dy, +cap'n," and then struck an attitude in the middle +of the floor. Upon this natural orator Seba +Gillings' dignity had no effect -- was he not a +travelled man? + +His exordium was: "How fur you cum, sar?" +I replied, about fourteen hundred miles. " +Fourteen hundred miles!" he roared; "duz you +knows how much dat is, honnies? it's jes one +thousand four hundred miles." All the women +groaned out, "Bless de Lord! bless de Lord!" +and clapped their shrivelled hands in ecstasy. + +The little black tried to run his fingers through +his short, woolly hair as he continued: "What is +dis yere world a-coming to? Now, yous ere +folks, did ye's eber hear de likes o' dis -- a +paper boat?" To which the crones replied, +clapping their hands, "Bless de Lord! bless de +Lord! Only the Yankee-mens up norf can +make de paper boats. Bless de Lord!" + +"And what," continued the orator, "and what +will the Yankee-mens do next? Dey duz ebery +ting. Can dey bring a man back agen? Can +dey bring a man back to bref?" "No! no!" +howled the women; "only de Lord can bring a +man back agen -- no Yankee-mens can do dat. +Bless de Lord! bless de Lord!" "And what sent +dis Yankee-man one tousand four hundred miles +in his paper boat?" "De Lord! de Lord! +bless de Lord!" shouted the now highly excited +women, violently striking the palms of their +hands together. + +"And why," went on this categorical negro, +"did de Lord send him down souf in de paper +boat?" "Kase he couldn't hab cum in de paper +boat ef de Lord hadn't a-sent him. O, bless de +Lord! bless de Lord!" "And what duz he call +his paper boat?" "Maria Theresa," I replied. +"Maria Truss Her," cried the orator. "He calls +her Maria Truss Her. Berry good, berry good +name; kase he truss his life in her ebry day, and +dat's why he calls his little boat Truss Her. +Yes, de Yankee-mans makes de gunboats and +de paper boats. Has de gemmin from de norf +any bacca for dis yere chile?" + +As the women had become very piously +inclined, and were in just the state of nervous +excitement to commence "de shoutings," old +Uncle Seba rudely informed them that "de +Yankee-mans wants sleep," and cleared the room of +the crowd, to my great relief, for the state of the +atmosphere was beyond description. Seba had +a closet where he kept onions, muskrat skins, +and other pieces of personal property. He now +set his wife to sweeping it out, and I spread my +clean blankets with a sigh upon the black floor, +knowing I should carry away in the morning more +than I had brought into Seba's dwelling. + +I will not now expatiate upon the small +annoyances of travel; but to the canoeist who may +follow the southern watercourses traversed by +the paper canoe, I would quietly say, "Keep +away from cabins of all kinds, and you will by +so doing travel with a light heart and even +temper." + +When I cast up my account with old Seba +the next morning, he said that by trading the +rice he raised he could obtain "bout ebbry ting +he wanted, 'cept rum." Rum was his medicine. +So long as he kept a little stowed away, he +admitted he was often sick. Having been +destitute of cash, and consequently of rum for some +time, he acknowledged his state of health +remarkable; and he was a model of strength and +manly development. All the other negroes were +dwarfish-looking specimens, while their hair was +so very short that it gave them the appearance +of being bald. + +When the canoe was taken out of the +storehouse to be put into the canal, these half-naked, +ebony-skinned creatures swarmed about it like +bees. Not a trace of white blood could be +detected in them. Each tried to put a finger upon +the boat. They seemed to regard it as a Fetich; +and, I believe, had it been placed upon an end +they would have bowed down and paid their +African devotions to it. Only the oldest ones +could speak English well enough to be +understood. The youths chattered in African tongue, +and wore talismans about their necks. They +were, to say the least, verging on barbarism. +The experience gathered among the blacks of +other lands impressed me with the well-founded +belief, that in more than one place in the south +would the African Fetich be set up and +worshipped before long, unless the church bestirs +herself to look well to her home missions. + +In all my travels, outside of the cities, in the +south it has not been my good fortune to find an +educated white man preaching to negroes, yet +everywhere the poor blacks gather in the +log-cabin, or rudely constructed church, to listen to +ignorant preachers of their own color. The +blind leading the blind. + +A few men of negro extraction, with white +blood in their veins, not any more negro than +white man, consequently not negroes in the true +sense of the word, are sent from the negro +colleges of the south to lecture northern +congregations upon the needs of their race; and these +one-quarter, or perhaps three-quarters, white +men are, with their intelligence, and sometimes +brilliant oratory, held up as true types of the +negro race by northerners; while there is, in +fact, as much difference between the +pureblooded negro of the rice-field and this false +representative of "his needs," as can well be +imagined. + +An Irishman, just from the old country, +listened one evening to the fascinating eloquence +of a mulatto freedman. The good Irishman had +never seen a pure-blooded black man. The +orator said, "I am only half a black man. My +mother was a slave, my father a white planter." +"Be jabbers," shouted the excited Irishman, +who was charmed with the lecturer, "if you are +only half a nigger, what must a whole one be +like!" + +The blacks were kind and civil, as they usually +are when fairly treated. They stood upon the +dike and shouted unintelligible farewells as I +descended the canal to Alligator Creek. This +thoroughfare soon carried me on its salt-water +current to the sea; for I missed a narrow +entrance to the marshes, called the Eye of the +Needle (a steamboat thoroughfare), and found +myself upon the calm sea, which pulsated in +long swells. To the south was the low island +of Cape Roman, which, like a protecting arm, +guarded the quiet bay behind it. The marshes +extended from the main almost to the cape, +while upon the edge of the rushy meadows, upon +an island just inside of the cape, rose the tower +of Roman Light. + +This was the first time my tiny shell had +floated upon the ocean. I coasted the sandy +beach of the muddy lowlands, towards the +lighthouse, until I found a creek debouching from +the marsh, which I entered, and from one +watercourse to another, without a chart, found my +way at dusk into Bull's Bay. The see was +rolling in and breaking upon the ashore, which I was +forced to hug closely, as the old disturbers of my +peace, the porpoises were visible; fishing in +numbers. To escape the dangerous raccoon +oyster reefs of the shoal water the canoe was +forced into a deeper channel, when the lively +porpoises chased the boat and drove me back +again on to the sharp-lipped shells. It was fast +growing dark, and no place of refuge nearer +than the upland, a long distance across the soft +marsh, which was even now wet with them. + +The rough water of the sound, the oyster reefs +which threatened to pierce my boat, and a coast +which would be submerged by the next +floodtide, all seemed to conspire against me. +Suddenly my anxiety was relieved, and gratitude +filled my heart, as the tall masts of a schooner +rose out of the marshes not far from the upland, +telling me that a friendly creek was near at hand. +Its wide mouth soon opened invitingly before +me, and I rowed towards the beautiful craft +anchored in its current, the trim rig of which +plainly said -- the property of the United States. +An officer stood on the quarterdeck watching +my approach through his glass; and, as I was +passing the vessel, a sailor remarked to his +mates, "That is the paper canoe. I was in +Norfolk, last December, when it reached the +Elizabeth River." + +The officer kindly hailed me, and offered me +the hospitality of the Coast-Survey schooner +"Caswell." In the cosiest of cabins, Mr. W. H. +Dennis, with his co-laborers Messrs. Ogden and +Bond, with their interesting conversation soon +made me forget the discomforts of the last three +days spent in the muddy flats among the lowland +negroes. From poor, kind Seba Gillings' black +cabin-floor, to the neat state-room, with its snowy +sheets and clean towels, where fresh, pure water +could be used without stint, was indeed a +transition. The party expected to complete their +work as far as Charleston harbor before the +season closed. + +The Sunday spent on the "Caswell" greatly +refreshed me. On Saturday evening Mr. Dennis +traced upon a sheet of paper my route through +the interior coast watercourses to Charleston +harbor; and I left the pretty schooner on +Monday, fully posted for my voyage. The tide +commenced flooding at eleven A. M., and the flats +soon afforded me water for their passage in the +vicinity of the shore. Heavy forests covered +the uplands, where a few houses were visible. +Bull's Island, with pines and a few cabbage palms, +was on my left as I reached the entrance of the +southern thoroughfare at the end of the bay. +Here, in the intricacies of creeks and passages +through the islands, and made careless by the +possession of Mr. Dennis' chart, I several times +blundered into the wrong course; and got no +further that afternoon than Price's Inlet, though +I rowed more than twenty miles. Some eight +miles of the distance rowed was lost by +ascending and descending creeks by mistake. + +After a weary day's work shelter was found +in a house close by the sea, on the shores of +Price's Inlet; where, in company with a young +fisherman, who was in the employ of Mr. +Magwood, of Charleston, I slept upon the floor in my +blankets. Charles Hucks, the fisherman, asserted +that three albino deer were killed on Caper's +Island the previous winter. Two were shot by +a negro while he killed the third. Messrs. +Magwood, Terry, and Noland, of Charleston, one +summer penned beside the water one thousand +old terrapin, to hold them over for the winter +season. These "diamond-backs" would +consume five bushels of shrimps in one hour when +fed. A tide of unusual height washed out the +terrapins from their "crawl," and with them +disappeared all anticipated results of the experiment. + +The next day, Caper's Island and Inlet, +Dewees' Inlet, Long Island, and Breach Inlet were +successively passed, on strong tidal currents. +Sullivan's Island is separated from Long Island +by Breach Inlet. While following the creeks in +the marshes back of Sullivan's Island, the +compact mass of buildings of Moultrieville, at its +western end, at the entrance of Charleston +harbor, rose imposingly to view. + +The gloomy mantle of darkness was settling +over the harbor as the paper canoe stole quietly +into its historic waters. Before me lay the quiet +bay, with old Fort Sumter rising from the watery +plain like a spectral giant, as though to remind +one that this had been the scene of mighty +struggles. The tranquil waters softly rippled a +response to the touch of my oars; all was peace +and quiet here, where, only a few short years +before, the thunder of cannon woke a thousand +echoes, and the waves were stained with the +lifeblood of America, -- where war, with her iron +throat, poured out destruction, and God's +creatures, men, made after his own image, +destroyed each other ruthlessly, having never, in all +that civilization had done for them, discovered +any other way of settling their difficulties than +by this wholesale murder. + +The actors In this scene were scattered now; +they had returned to the farm, the workshop, +the desk, and the pulpit. The old flag again +floated upon the ramparts of Sumter, and a +government was trying to reconstruct itself, so that +the Great Republic should become more +thoroughly a government of the people, founded +upon equal rights to all men. + +A sharp, scraping sound under my boat roused +me from my revery, for I had leaned upon my +oars while the tide had carried me slowly but +surely upon the oyster-reefs, from which I +escaped with some slight damage to my paper +shell. Newspaper reading had impressed upon +me a belief that the citizens of the city which +played so important a part in the late civil war +might not treat kindly a Massachusetts man. I +therefore decided to go up to the city upon the +ferry-boat for the large mail which awaited my +arrival at the Charleston post-office, after +receiving which I intended to return to Mount +Pleasant, and cross the bay to the entrance of +the southern watercourses, leaving the city as +quietly as I entered it. + +My curiosity was, however, aroused to see +how, under the new reconstruction rule, things +were conducted in the once proud city of +Charleston. As I stood at the window of the +post-office delivery, and inquired through the +narrow window for my letters, a heavy shadow +seemed to fall upon me as the head of a negro +appeared. The black post-office official's +features underwent a sudden change as I +pronounced my name, and, while a warm glow of +affection lighted up his dark face, he thrust his +whole arm through the window, and grasped my +hand with a vigorous shake in the most friendly +manner, as though upon his shoulders rested the +good name of the people. + + + + + + +"Welcome to Charleston, Mr. B____, welcome +to our beautiful city," he exclaimed. So this +was Charleston under reconstruction. + +After handing me my mail, the postmaster +graciously remarked, "Our rule is to close the +office at five o'clock P. M., but if you are belated +any day, tap at the door, and I will attend you." + +This was my first welcome to Charleston; but +before I could return to my quarters at Mount +Pleasant, members of the Chamber of +Commerce, the Carolina Club, and others, pressed +upon me kind attentions and hospitalities, while +Mr. James L. Frazer, of the South Carolina +Regatta Association, sent for the Maria Theresa, +and placed it in charge of the wharfinger of the +Southern Wharf, where many ladies and +gentlemen visited it. + +When I left the old city, a few days later, I +blushed to think how I had doubted these people, +whose reputation for hospitality to strangers had +been world-wide for more than half a century. + +While here I was the guest of Rev. G. R. +Brackett, the well-loved pastor of one of +Charleston's churches. It was with feelings of +regret I turned my tiny craft towards untried +waters, leaving behind me the beautiful city of +Charleston, and the friends who had so kindly +cared for the lonely canoeist. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. FROM CHARLESTON TO SAVANNAH, GEORGIA. + + + +THE INTERIOR WATER ROUTE TO JEHOSSEE ISLAND. -- GOVERNOR +AIKEN'S MODEL RICE PLANTATION. -- LOST IN THE HORNS. -- +ST. HELENA SOUND. -- LOST IN THE NIGHT. -- THE PHANTOM +SHIP. -- A FINLANDER'S WELCOME. -- A NIGHT ON THE +EMPEROR S OLD YACHT. -- THE PHOSPHATE MINES. -- COOSAW +AND BROAD RIVERS. -- PORT ROYAL SOUND AND CALIBOQUE +SOUND. -- CUFFY 'S HOME. -- ARRIVAL IN GEORGIA. -- +RECEPTIONS AT GREENWICH SHOOTING-PARK. + + +Captain N. L. Coste, and several other +Charleston pilots, drew and presented to +me charts of the route to be followed by the +paper canoe through the Sea Island passages, +from the Ashley to the Savannah River, as some +of the smaller watercourses near the upland were +not, in 1875, upon any engraved chart of the +Coast Survey. + +Ex-Governor William Aiken, whose rice +plantation on Jehossee Island was considered, before +the late war, the model one of the south, invited +me to pass the following Sunday with him upon +his estate, which was about sixty-five miles from +Charleston, and along one of the interior water +routes to Savannah. He proposed to leave his +city residence and travel by land, while I paddled +my canoe southward to meet him. The genial +editor of the "News and Courier" promised to +notify the people of my departure, and have the +citizens assembled to give me a South Carolina +adieu. To avoid this publicity, -- so kindly +meant, -- I quietly left the city from the south +side on Friday, February 12th, and ascended the +Ashley to Wappoo Creek, on the opposite bank +of the river. + +A steamboat sent me a screaming salute as the +mouth of the Wappoo was reached, which made +me feel that, though in strange waters, friends +were all around me. I was now following one +of the salt-water, steamboat passages through +the great marshes of South Carolina. From +Wappoo Creek I took the "Elliot Cut" into the +broad Stono River, from behind the marshes of +which forests rose upon the low bluffs of the +upland, and rowed steadily on to Church Flats, +where Wide Awake, with its landing and store, +nestled on the bank. + +A little further on the tides divided, one +ebbing through the Stono to the sea, the other +towards the North Edisto. "New Cut" connects +Church Flats with Wadmelaw Sound, a sheet +of water not over two miles in width and the +same distance in length. From the sound the +Wadmelaw River runs to the mouth of the +Dahoo. Vessels drawing eight and a half feet of +water can pass on full tides from Charleston over +the course I was following to the North Edisto +River. + +Leaving Wadmelaw Sound, a deep bend of +the river was entered, when the bluffs of +Enterprise Landing, with its store and the ruins of +a burnt saw-mill, came into view on the left. +Having rowed more than thirty miles from the +Ashley, and finding that the proprietor of +Enterprise, a Connecticut gentleman, had made +preparations to entertain me, this day of pleasant +journeying ended. + +The Cardinal-bird was carolling his mating +song when the members of this little New +England colony watched my departure down the +Wadmelaw the next morning. The course was +for the most part over the submerged phosphate +beds of South Carolina, where the remains of +extinct species were now excavated, furnishing +food for the worn-out soils of America and +Europe, and interesting studies and speculations for +men of science. The Dahoo River was reached +soon after leaving Enterprise. Here the North +Edisto, a broad river, passes the mouth of the +Dahoo, in its descent to the sea, which is about +ten miles distant. + +For two miles along the Dahoo the porpoises +gave me strong proof of their knowledge of the +presence of the paper canoe by their rough +gambols, but being now in quiet inland waters, +I could laugh at these strange creatures as they +broke from the water around the boat. At four +o'clock P. M. the extensive marshes of Jehossee +Island were reached, and I approached the +village of the plantation through a short canal. +Out of the rice-fields of rich, black alluvium +rose an area of higher land, upon which were +situated the mansion and village of Governor +Aiken, where he, in 1830, commenced his duties +as rice-planter. A hedge of bright green casino +surrounded the well-kept garden, within which +magnolias and live-oaks enveloped the solid old +house, screening it with their heavy foliage from +the strong winds of the ocean, while flowering +shrubs of all descriptions added their bright and +vivid coloring to the picturesque beauty of the +scene. + +The governor had arrived at Jehossee before +me, and Saturday being pay-day, the faces of the +negroes were wreathed in smiles. Here, in his +quiet island home, I remained until Monday with +this most excellent man and patriot, whose soul +had been tried as by fire during the disturbances +caused by the war. + +As we sat together in that room where, in +years gone by, Governor Aiken had entertained +his northern guests, with Englishmen of noble +blood, a room full of reminiscences both +pleasant and painful, -- my kind host freely told +me the story of his busy life, which sounded like +a tale of romance. He had tried to stay the wild +storm of secession when the war-cloud hung +gloomily over his state. It broke, and his +unheeded warnings were drowned in the thunders +of the political tempest that swept over the fair +South. Before the war he owned one thousand +slaves. He organized schools to teach his +negroes to read and write. The improvement of +their moral condition was his great study. + +The life he had entered upon, though at first +distasteful, had been forced upon him, and he +met his peculiar responsibilities with a true +Christian desire to benefit all within his reach. +When a young man, having returned from the +tour of Europe, his father presented him with +Jehossee Island, an estate of five thousand acres, +around which it required four stout negro +oarsmen to row him in a day. "Here," said the +father to the future governor of South Carolina, +as he presented the domain to his son, -- "here +are the means; now go to work and develop +them." + +William Aiken applied himself industriously +to the task of improving the talents given him. +His well-directed efforts bore good fruit, as year +after year Jehossee Island, from a half +submerged, sedgy, boggy waste, grew into one of +the finest rice-plantations in the south. The +new lord of the manor ditched the marshes, and +walled in his new rice-fields with dikes, to keep +out the freshets from the upland and the tides +from the ocean, perfecting a complete system of +drainage and irrigation. He built comfortable +quarters for his slaves, and erected a church and +schoolhouse for their use. From the original +two hundred and eighty acres of cultivated rice +land, the new proprietor developed the wild +morass into sixteen hundred acres of rice-fields, +and six hundred acres of vegetable, corn, and +provender producing land. + +For several seasons prior to the war, Jehossee +yielded a rice crop which sold for seventy +thousand dollars, and netted annually fifty thousand +dollars income to the owner. At that time +Governor Aiken had eight hundred and seventy +three Slaves on the island, and about one hundred +working as mechanics, &c., in Charleston. The +eight hundred and seventy-three Jehossee slaves, +men, women, and children, furnished a working +force of three hundred for the rice-fields. + +Mr. Aiken would not tolerate the loose +matrimonial ways of negro life, but compelled his +slaves to accept the marriage ceremony; and +herein lay one of his chief difficulties, for, to +whatever cause we attribute it, the fact remains +the same, namely, that the ordinary negro has +no sense of morality. After all the attempts +made on this plantation to improve the moral +nature of these men and women, Governor Aiken, +during a yellow-fever season in Savannah after +the war, while visiting the poor sufferers, intent +upon charitable works, found in the lowest +quarter of the city, sunk in the most abject depths of +vice, men and women who had once been good +servants on his plantations. + +In old times Jehossee was a happy place for +master and for slave. The governor rarely +locked the door of his mansion. The family +plate, valued at fifteen thousand dollars, was +stored in a chest in a room on the ground-floor +of the house, which had for its occupants, during +four months of the year, two or three negro +servants. Though all the negroes at the quarters, +which were only a quarter of a mile from the +mansion, knew the valuable contents of the +chest, it was never disturbed. They stole small +things, but seemed incapable of committing a +burglary. + +When the Union army marched through +another part of South Carolina, where Governor +Aiken had buried these old family heirlooms and +had added to the original plate thirty thousand +dollars' worth of his own purchasing, the soldiers +dug up this treasure-trove, and forty-five +thousand dollars' worth of fine silver went to enrich +the spoils of the Union army. Soon after, three +thousand eight hundred bottles of fine old wines, +worth from eight to nine dollars a bottle, were +dug up and destroyed by a Confederate officer's +order, to prevent the Union army from capturing +them. Thus was plundered an old and revered +governor of South Carolina -- one who was a +kind neighbor, a true patriot, and a Christian +gentleman. + +The persecutions of the owner of Jehossee +did not, however, terminate with the war; for +when the struggle was virtually ended, and the +fair mansion of the rice-plantation retained its +heirlooms and its furniture, Beaufort, of South +Carolina, was still under the influence of the +Freedman's Bureau; and when it was whispered +that Aiken's house was full of nice old furniture, +and that a few faithful servants of the good old +master were its only guards, covetous thoughts +at once stirred the evil minds of those who were +the representatives of law and order. This house +was left almost without protection. The war was +over. South Carolina had bent her proud head +in agony over her burned plantations and +desolate homes. The victorious army was now +proclaiming peace, and generous treatment to a +fallen foe. Then to what an almost +unimaginable state of demoralization must some of the +freedmen's protectors have fallen, when they +sent a gunboat to Jehossee Island, and rifled the +old house of all its treasures! + +To-day, the governor's favorite sideboard +stands in the house of a citizen of Boston, as +a relic of the war. O, people of the north, +hold no longer to your relics of the war, stolen +from the firesides of the south! Restore them +to their owners, or else bury them out of the +sight of your children, that they may not be led +to believe that the war for the preservation of +the Great Republic was a war for plunder; -- else +did brave men fight, and good women pray in +vain. Away with stolen pianos, "captured" +sideboards, and purloined silver! What but +this petty plundering could be expected of men +who robbed by wholesale the poor negro, to +protect whose rights they were sent south? + +The great political party of the north became +the pledged conservator of the black man's +rights, and established a Freedman's Bureau, +and Freedman's banks to guard his humble +earnings. All know something of the workings +of those banks; and to everlasting infamy must +be consigned the names of many of those +conducting them, -- men who robbed every one +of these depositories of negro savings, and left +the poor, child-like freedman in a physical state +of destitution, and in a perfect bewilderment of +mind as to who his true friend really was. + +A faithful negro of Jehossee Island was but +one among thousands of such cases. While the +tumult of war vexed the land, the faithful negro +overseer remained at his post to guard his late +master's property, supporting himself by the +manufacture of salt, and living in the most +frugal manner to be able to "lay by" a sum for his +old age. Having saved five hundred dollars, he +deposited them in the nearest Freedman's bank, +which, though fathered by the United States +government, failed; and the now destitute negro +found himself stripped in the same moment of +his hard-earned savings, and his confidence in +his new protectors. + +As the war of the rebellion was slowly +drawing to its close, Mr. Lincoln's kind heart was +drawn towards his erring countrymen, and he +made a list of the names of the wisest and best +men of the south, who, not having taken an +active part in the strife, might be intrusted with +the task of bringing back the unruly states to +their constitutional relations with the national +government. Governor Aiken was informed +that his name was upon that list; and he would +gladly have accepted the onerous position, and +labored in the true interests of the whole people, +but the pistol of an assassin closed the life of +the President, whose generous plans of +reconstruction were never realized. + +In the birth of our new Centennial let us +eschew the political charlatan, and bring +forward our statesmen to serve and govern a +people, who, to become a unit of strength, must +ever bear in mind the words of the great +southern statesman, who said he knew "no north, no +south, no east, no west; but one undivided +country." + +On Monday, at ten A. M., two negroes assisted +me to launch my craft from the river's bank at +the mouth of the canal, for the tide was very +low. As I settled myself for a long pull at the +oars, the face of one of the blacks was seemingly +rent in twain, as a huge mouth opened, and a +pair of strong lungs sent forth these parting +words: "Bully for Massachusetts!" + +"How did you know I came from +Massachusetts?" I called out from the river. + +"I knows de cuts ob dem. I suffered at Fort +Wagner. Dis chile knows Massachusetts." + +Two miles further on, Bull Creek served me +as a "cut-off," and half an hour after entering it +the tide was flooding against me. When Goat +Island Creek was passed on the left hand, knots +of pine forests rose picturesquely in places out +of the bottom-lands, and an hour later, at +Bennett's Point, on the right, I found the watercourse +a quarter of a mile in width. + +The surroundings were of a lovely nature +during this day's journey. Here marshes, +diversified by occasional hammocks of timber dotting +their uninteresting wastes; there humble +habitations of whites and blacks appearing at intervals +in the forest growth. As I was destitute of a +finished chart of the Coast Survey, after rowing +along one side of Hutchinson's Island I became +bewildered in the maze of creeks which +penetrate the marshes that lie between Bennett's +Point and the coast. + +Making a rough topographical sketch of the +country as I descended Hutchinson's Creek, or +Big River, -- the latter appellation being the +most appropriate, as it is a very wide +watercourse, -- I came upon a group of low islands, +and found upon one of them a plantation which +had been abandoned to the negroes, and the little +bluff upon which two or three rickety buildings +were situated was the last land which remained +unsubmerged during a high tide between the +plantation and the sea. + +I was now in a quandary. I had left the +hospitable residence of Governor Aiken at ten o'clock +A. M., when I should have departed at sunrise in +order to have had time to enter and pass through +St. Helena Sound before night came on. The +prospect of obtaining shelter was indeed dismal. +Just at this time a loud shout from the negroes +on shore attracted my attention, and I rested +upon my oars, while a boat-load of women and +children paddled out to me. + +"Is dat de little boat?" they asked, viewing +my craft with curious eyes. "And is dat boat +made of paper?" they continued, showing that +negro runners had posted the people, even in +these solitary regions, of the approach of the +paper canoe. I questioned these negro women +about the route, but each gave a different +answer as to the passage through the Horns to St. +Helena Sound. Hurrying on through tortuous +creeks, the deserted tract called "the Horns" was +entered, and until sunset I followed one short +stream after another, to its source in the reedy +plain, constantly retracing the route, with the +tide not yet ebbing strong enough to show me a +course to the sound. Presently it ebbed more +rapidly, and I followed the tide from one +intricacy to another, but never found the principal +thoroughfare. + +While I was enveloped in reeds, and at a loss +which way to go, the soft ripple of breaking +waves struck my ear like sweet music. The sea +was telling me of its proximity. Carefully +balancing myself, I stood up in the cranky canoe, +and peering over the grassy thickets, saw before +me the broad waters of Helena Sound. The +fresh salt breeze from the ocean struck upon +my forehead, and nerved me to a renewal of my +efforts to get within a region of higher land, and +to a place of shelter. + +The ebbing tide was yet high, and through +the forest of vegetation, and over the submerged +coast, I pushed the canoe into the sound. Now I +rowed as though for my life, closely skirting the +marshes, and soon entered waters covered by a +chart in my possession. My course was to skirt +the coast of the sound from where I had entered +it, and cross the mouths of the Combahee and +Bull rivers to the entrance of the broad Coosaw. +This last river I would ascend seven miles to the +first upland, and camp thereon until morning. +The tide was now against me, and the night +was growing darker, as the faithful craft was +forced along the marshes four miles to the mouth +of the Combahee River, which I had to ascend +half a mile to get rid of a shoal of frisky +porpoises, who were fishing in the current. + +Then descending it on the opposite shore, I +rowed two miles further in the dark, but for half +an hour previous to my reaching the wide +debouchure of Bull River, some enormous +blackfish surged about me in the tideway and sounded +their nasal calls, while their more demonstrative +porpoise neighbors leaped from the water in the +misty atmosphere, and so alarmed me and +occupied my attention, that instead of crossing to the +Coosaw River, I unwittingly ascended the Bull, +and was soon lost in the contours of the river. +As I hugged the marshy borders of the stream +to escape the strong current of its channel, and +rowed on and on in the gloom, eagerly scanning +the high, sedge-fringed flats to find one little spot +of firm upland upon which I might land my +canoe and obtain a resting-spot for myself for +the night, the feeling that I was lost was not the +most cheerful to be imagined. In the thin fog +which arose from the warm water into the cool +night air, objects on the marshes assumed +fantastical shapes. A few reeds, taller than the rest, +had the appearance of trees twenty feet high. +So real did these unreal images seem, that I +drove my canoe against the soft, muddy bank, +repeatedly prompted to land in what seemed a +copse of low trees, but in every instance I was +deceived. Still I pulled up that mysterious +river, ignorant at the time of even its name, +praying only for one little spot of upland where +I might camp. + +While thus employed, I peered over my +shoulder into the gloom, and beheld what +seemed to be a vision; for, out of a cloud of +mist rose the skeleton lines of a large ship, +with all its sails furled to the yards. "A ship at +anchor, and in this out-of-the-way place!" I +ejaculated, scarcely believing my eyes; but when I +pointed the canoe towards it, and again looked +over my shoulder, the vision of hope was gone. + +Again I saw tall masts cutting through the +mists, but the ship's hull could not be +distinguished, and as I rowed towards the objects, first +the lower masts disappeared, then the topmasts +dissolved, and later, the topgallant and royal +masts faded away. For half an hour I rowed +and rowed for that mysterious vessel, which was +veiled and unveiled to my sight. Never did so +spectral an object haunt or thwart me. It +seemed to change its position on the water, as +well as in the atmosphere, and I was too busily +employed in trying to reach it to discover in the +darkness that the current, which I could not +distinguish from smooth water, was whirling me +down stream as fast as I would approach the +weird vessel. + +Drawing once more from the current, I +followed the marsh until the canoe was opposite +the anchorage of a real ship; then, with hearty +pulls, I shot around its stern, and shouted: "Ship +ahoy!" + +No one answered the hail. The vessel looked +like a man-of-war, but not of American build. +Not a light gleamed from her ports, not a +footfall came from her decks. She seemed to be +deserted in the middle of the river, surrounded +by a desolate waste of marshes. The current +gurgled and sucked about her run, as the +ebbtide washed her black hull on its way to the sea. +The spectacle seemed now even more +mysterious than when, mirage-like, it peered forth +from a cloud of mist. But it was real, and not +fantastic. Another hail, louder than the first, +went forth into the night air, and penetrated to +the ship's forecastle, for a sailor answered my +call, and reported to the captain in the cabin the +presence of a boat at the ship's side. + +A quick, firm tread sounded upon the deck; +then, with a light bound, a powerfully-built +young man landed upon the high rail of the +vessel. He peered down from his stately ship upon +the little speck which floated upon the gurgling +current; then, with a voice "filled with the fogs +of the ocean," he thundered forth, as though he +were hailing a man-of-war: "What boat's that?" + +"Paper canoe Maria Theresa," I replied, in as +foggy a voice as I could assume. + +"Where from, and where bound?" again +roared the captain. + +"From Quebec, Canada, and bound to sleep +on board your vessel, if I can ever get up there," +I politely responded, in a more subdued voice, +for I soon discovered that nature had never +intended me for a fog-trumpet. + +"Ah, is it you?" cheerily responded the +captain, suddenly dispensing with all his fogginess; +"I've been looking for you this long time. Got a +Charleston paper on board; your trip all in it. +Come up, and break a bottle of wine with me." + +"All hands" came from the forecastle, and +Finland mates and Finland sailors, speaking both +English and Russian, crowded to the rail to +receive the paper canoe, which had first been +described to them by English newspapers when +the vessel lay in a British port, awaiting the +charter-party which afterwards sent them to Bull +River, South Carolina, for a load of phosphates. + +The jolly crew lowered buntlines and +clewlines, to which I attached my boat's stores. +These were hoisted up the high sides of the +ship, and, after bending on a line to the bow and +stern rings of the canoe, I ascended by the +ladder, while Captain Johs. Bergelund and his +mates claimed the pleasure of landing the paper +canoe on the deck of the Rurik. The tiny shell +looked very small as she rested on the broad, +white decks of the emperor of Russia's old steam +yacht, which bore the name of the founder of +the Russian empire. Though now a bark and +not a steamer, though a freighter and not a +royal yacht, the Rurik looked every inch a +government vessel, for her young captain, with a +sailor's pride, kept her in a thorough state of +cleanliness and order. We went to supper. +The captain, his mates, and the stranger +gathered around the board, while the generous sailor +brought out his curious bottles and put them by +the side of the still more curious dishes of food. + +All my surroundings were those of the +country of the midnight sun, and I should have felt +more bewildered than when in the fog I viewed +and chased this spectral-looking ship, had not +Captain Bergelund, in most excellent English, +entertained me with a flow of conversation which +put me at my ease. He discoursed of Finland, +where lakes covered the country from near +Abo, its chief city, to the far north, where the +summer days are "nearly all night long." + +Painting in high colors the delights of his +native land, he begged me to visit it. Finally, as +midnight drew near, this genial sailor insisted +upon putting me in his own comfortable +stateroom, while he slept upon a lounge in the cabin. + +One mile above the Rurik's anchorage was the +phosphate-mill of the Pacific Company, which +was supplying Captain Bergelund, by lighters, +with his freight of unground fertilizer. + +The next morning I took leave of the Rurik, +but, instead of descending the Bull River to the +Coosaw, I determined to save time by crossing +the peninsula between the two rivers by means +of two short creeks which were connected at +their sources by a very short canal near "the +mines" of the Phosphate Company. When I +entered Horse Island Creek, at eleven o'clock, +the tide was on the last of the ebb, and I sat in +the canoe a long time awaiting the flood to float +me up the wide ditch, which would conduct me +to the creek that emptied into the Coosaw. +Upon the banks of the canal three hours were +lost waiting for the tide to give me one foot of +water, when I rowed into the second +watercourse, and late in the afternoon entered the wide +Coosaw. The two creeks and the connecting +canal are called the Haulover Creek. + +As I turned up the Coosaw, and skirted the +now submerged marshes of its left bank, two +dredging-machines were at work up the river +raising the remains of the marine monsters of +antiquity. The strong wind and swashing seas +being in my favor, the canoe soon arrived +opposite the spot of upland I had so longed to reach +the previous night. + +This was Chisolm's Landing, back of which +were the phosphate works of the Coosaw +Mine Company. The inspector of phosphates, +Mr. John Hunn, offered me the hospitality of +Alligator Hall, where he and some of the +gentlemen employed by the company resided in +bachelor retirement. My host described a +mammal's tooth that weighed nearly fourteen pounds, +which had been taken from a phosphate mine; +it had been sent to a public room at Beaufort, +South Carolina. A fossil shark's tooth, weighing +four and a half pounds, was also found, and a +learned ichthyologist has asserted that the owner +of this remarkable relic of the past must have +been one hundred feet in length. + +Beaufort was near at hand, and could be easily +reached by entering Brickyard Creek, the +entrance of which was on the right bank of the +Coosaw, nearly opposite Chisolm's Landing. It +was nearly six miles by this creek to Beaufort, +and from that town to Port Royal Sound, by +following Beaufort River, was a distance of eleven +miles. The mouth of Beaufort River is only two +miles from the sea. Preferring to follow a more +interior water route than the Beaufort one, the +canoe was rowed up the Coosaw five miles to Whale +Branch, which is crossed by the Port Royal +railroad bridge. Whale Branch, five miles in length, +empties into Broad River, which I descended +thirteen miles, to the lower end of Daw Island, +on its right bank. Here, in this region of marshy +shores, the Chechessee River and the Broad River +mingle their strong currents in Port Royal Sound. +It was dusk when the sound was entered from +the extreme end of Daw Island, where it became +necessary to cross immediately to Skull Creek, at +Hilton Head Island, or go into camp for the night. + +I looked down the sound six miles to the broad +Atlantic, which was sending in clouds of mist on +a fresh breeze. I gazed across the mouth of the +Chechessee, and the sound at the entrance of the +port of refuge. I desired to traverse nearly three +miles of this rough water. I would gladly have +camped, hut the shore I was about to leave offered +to submerge me with the next high water. No +friendly hammock of trees could be seen as I +glided from the shadow of the high rushes of +Daw Island. Circumstances decided the point +in debate, and I rowed rapidly into the sound. +The canoe had not gone half a mile when the +Chechessee River opened fully to view, and a +pretty little hammock, with two or three shanties +beneath its trees, could be plainly seen on Daw's +Island. + +It was now too late to return and ascend the +river to the hammock, for the sound was +disturbed by the freshening breeze from the sea +blowing against the ebb-tide, which was increased +in power by the outflowing flume of water from +the wide Chechessee. It required all the energy +I possessed to keep the canoe from being +overrun by the swashy, sharp-pointed seas. Once or +twice I thought my last struggle for life had +come, but a merciful Power gave me the strength +and coolness that this trying ordeal required, and +I somehow weathered the dangerous oyster reefs +above Skull Creek, and landed at "Seabrook +Plantation," upon Hilton Head Island, near two +or three old houses, one of which was being fitted +up as a store by Mr. Kleim, of the First New +York Volunteers, who had lived on the island +since 1861. Mr. Kleim took me to his bachelor +quarters, where the wet cargo of the Maria +Theresa was dried by the kitchen fireplace. + +The next day, February 18, I left Seabrook +and followed Skull Creek to Mackay's Creek, +and, passing the mouth of May River, entered +Calibogue Sound, where a sudden tempest arose +and drove me into a creek which flowed out of +the marshes of Bull Island. A few negro huts +were discovered on a low mound of earth. The +blacks told me their hammock was called Bird +Island. + +The tempest lasted all day, and as no shelter +could be found on the creek, a darky hauled my +canoe on a cart a couple of miles to Bull Creek, +which enters into Cooper River, one of the +watercourses I was to enter from Calibogue Sound. +Upon reaching the wooded shores of Bull Creek, +my carter introduced me to the head man of the +settlement, a weazened-looking little old +creature called Cuffy, who, though respectful in his +demeanor to "de Yankee-mans," was cross and +overbearing to the few families occupying the +shanties in the magnificent grove of live-oaks +which shaded them. + +Cuffy's cook-house, or kitchen, which was a +log structure measuring nine by ten feet, with +posts only three feet high, was the only building +which could be emptied of its contents for my +accommodation. Our contract or lease was a +verbal one, Cuffy's terms being "whateber de +white man likes to gib an ole nigger." Cuffy +cut a big switch, and sent in his "darter," a girl +of about fourteen years, to clean out the shanty. +When she did not move fast enough to suit the +old man's wishes, he switched her over the +shoulders till it excited my pity; but the girl +seemed to take the beating as an every-day +amusement, for it made no impression on her +hard skull and thick skin. + +After commencing to "keep house," the old +women came to sell me eggs and beg for +"bacca." They requested me never to throw +away my coffee-grounds, as it made coffee "good +'nuf for black folks." I distributed some of my +stores among them, and, after cutting rushes and +boughs for my bed, turned in for the night. + +These negroes had been raising Sea-Island +cotton, but the price having declined to five +cents a pound, they could not get twenty-five +cents a day for their labor by cultivating it. + +The fierce wind subsided before dawn, but a +heavy fog covered the marshes and the creek. +Cuffy's "settlement" turned out before sunrise +to see me off; and the canoe soon reached the +broad Cooper River, which I ascended in the +misty darkness by following close to the left +bank. Four miles up the Cooper River from +Calibogue Sound there is a passage through the +marshes from the Cooper to New River, which +is called Ram's Horn Creek. On the right of +its entrance a well-wooded hammock rises from +the marsh, and is called Page Island. About +midway between the two rivers and along this +crooked thoroughfare is another piece of upland. +called Pine Island, inhabited by the families of +two boat-builders. + +While navigating Cooper River, as the heavy +mists rolled in clouds over the quiet waters, a +sail-boat, rowed by negroes, emerged from the +gloom and as suddenly disappeared. I shouted +after them: "Please tell me the name of the next +creek." A hoarse voice came back to me from +the cloud: "Pull and be d---d." Then all was; +still as night again. To solve this seemingly +uncourteous reply, so unusual in the south +I consulted the manuscript charts which the +Charleston pilots had kindly drawn for my use, +and found that the negroes had spoken +geographically as well as truthfully, for Pine Island +Creek is known to the watermen as "Pull and +be d---d Creek," on account of its tortuous +character, and chiefly because, as the tides head in +it, if a boat enters it from one river with a +favorable tide, it has a strong head current on the +other side of the middle ground to oppose it. +Thus pulling at the oars at some parts of the +creek becomes hard work for the boatmen; +hence this name, which, though profane, may +be considered geographical. + +After leaving the Cooper River, the +watercourses to Savannah were discolored by red or +yellow mud. From Pine Island I descended +New River two miles and a half to Wall's Cut, +which is only a quarter of a mile in length, and +through which I entered Wright's River, +following it a couple of miles to the broad, +yellow, turbulent current of the Savannah. + +My thoughts now naturally turned to the early +days of steamboat enterprise, when this river, as +well as the Hudson, was conspicuous; for though +the steamer Savannah was not the first +steam-propelled vessel which cut the waves of the +Atlantic, she was the first steamer that ever +crossed it. Let us examine historical data. +Colonel John Stevens, of New York, built the +steamboat Phoenix about the year 1808, and was +prevented from using it upon the Hudson River +by the Fulton and Livingston monopoly charter. + +The Phoenix made an ocean voyage to the +Delaware River. The first English venture was +that of the steamer Caledonia, which made a +passage to Holland in 1817. The London Times +of May 11, 1819, printed in its issue of that date +the following item: + + +"GREAT EXPERIMENT. -- A new vessel of three hundred tons +has been built at New York for the express purpose of carrying +passengers across the Atlantic. She is to come to Liverpool +direct." + + +This ship-rigged steamer was the "Savannah," +and the bold projector of this experiment of +sending a steamboat across the Atlantic was Daniel +Dodd. The Savannah was built in New York, by +Francis Ficket, for Mr. Dodd. Stephen Vail, of +Morristown, New Jersey, built her engines, and +on the 22d of August, 1818, she was launched, +gliding gracefully into the element which was to +bear her to foreign lands, there to be crowned +with the laurels of success. On May 25th this +purely American-built vessel left Savannah, and +glided out from this waste of marshes, under +the command of Captain Moses Rogers, with +Stephen Rogers as navigator. The port of New +London, Conn., had furnished these able seamen. + +The steamer reached Liverpool June 20th, the +passage having occupied twenty-six days, upon +eighteen of which she had used her paddles. A +son of Mr. Dodd once told me of the sensation +produced by the arrival of a smoking vessel on +the coast of Ireland, and how Lieutenant John +Bowie, of the king's cutter Kite, sent a boat-load +of sailors to board the Savannah to assist her +crew to extinguish the fires of what his Majesty's +officers supposed to be a burning ship. + +The Savannah, after visiting Liverpool, +continued her voyage on July 23d, and reached St. +Petersburg in safety. Leaving the latter port on +October 10th, this adventurous craft completed +the round voyage upon her arrival at Savannah, +November 30th. + +I pulled up the Savannah until within five miles +of the city, and then left the river on its south +side, where old rice-plantations are first met, and +entered St. Augustine Creek, which is the +steamboat thoroughfare of the inland route to Florida. +Just outside the city of Savannah, near its +beautiful cemetery, where tall trees with their +graceful drapery of Spanish moss screen from wind +and sun the quiet resting-places of the dead, my +canoe was landed, and stored in a building of the +German Greenwich Shooting Park, where Mr. +John Hellwig, in a most hospitable manner, cared +for it and its owner. + +While awaiting the arrival of letters at the +Savannah post-office, many of the ladies of that +beautiful city came out to see the paper canoe. +They seemed to have the mistaken idea that my +little craft had come from the distant Dominion +of Canada over the Atlantic Ocean. They also +looked upon the voyage of the paper canoe as a +very sentimental thing, while the canoeist had +found it an intensely practical affair, though +occasionally relieved by incidents of romantic or +amusing character. As the ladies clustered +round the boat while it rested upon the +centre-table of Mr. Hellwig's parlor, they questioned me +freely. + +"Tell us," they said, "what were your thoughts +while you rowed upon the broad ocean in the +lonely hours of night?" + +Though unwilling to break their pleasing +illusions, I was obliged to inform them that a +sensible canoeist is usually enjoying his needed rest +in some camp, or sleeping in some sheltered +place, -- under a roof if possible, -- after it is too +dark to travel in safety; and as to ocean +travelling, the canoe had only once entered upon the +Atlantic Ocean, and then through a mistake. + +"But what subjects occupy your thoughts as +you row, and row, and row all day by yourself; +in this little ship?" a motherly lady inquired. + +"To tell you honestly, ladies, I must say that +when I am in shallow watercourses, with the +tides usually ebbing at the wrong time for my +convenience, I am so full of anxiety about getting +wrecked on the reefs of sharp coon-oysters, +that I am wishing myself in deep water; and +when my route forces me into the deep water of +sounds, and the surface becomes tossed into wild +disorder by strong currents and stronger winds, +and the porpoises pay me their little attentions, +chasing the canoe, flapping their tails, and +showing their sportive dispositions, I think longingly +of those same shoal creeks, and wish I was once +more in their shallow waters." + +"We ladies have prayed for your safety," said +a kind-looking German lady, "and we will pray +that your voyage may have a happy and +successful end." + +When the ladies left, two Irish laborers, dressed +in sombre black, with high hats worn with the +air of dignity, examined the boat. There was an +absence of the sparkle of fun usually seen in +the Irish face, for this was a serious occasion. +They did not see any romance or sentiment in +the voyage, but took a broad, geographical view +of the matter. They stood silently gazing at +the canoe with the same air of solemnity they +would have given a corpse. Then one addressed +the other, as though the owner of the craft was +entirely out of the hearing of their conversation. + +Said No. 1, "And what did I tell ye, Pater?" +"And so ye did," replied No. 2. "And didn't I +say so?" continued No. 1. "Of course ye did; +and wasn't me of the same mind, to be sure?" +responded No.2. "Yes, I told ye as how it is +the men of these times is greater than the men of +ould times. There was the great Coolumbus, who +came over in three ships to see Americky. What +did he know about paper boats? Nothing at all, +at all. He cum over in big ships, while this young +feller has cum all the way from Canada. I tell ye +the men of ould times was not up to the men of +these times. Thin there's Captain Boyton, who +don't use any boat or ship at all, at all, but goes +aswimming in rubber clothes to keep him dry all +over the Atlantic Oshin. Jis' look, man, how he +landed on the shores of ould Ireland not long since. +Now what's Coolumbus, or any other man of the +past ages, to him? Coolumbus could not hold a +candle to Boyton! No, I tell ye agen that the men +of this age is greater than the men of the past +ages." "And," broke in No.2, "there's a +Britisher who's gone to the River Niles in a +canoe." "The River Niles!" hotly exclaimed +No. 1; "don't waste your breath on that thing. +It's no new thing at all, at all. It was diskivered +a long time a go, and nobody cares a fig for it +now." "Yet," responded No.2, "some of those +old-times people were very enterprising. There +was that great traveller Robinson Crusoe: ye must +confess he was a great man for his time." "The +same who wint to the South Sea Islands and +settled there?" asked the first biographer. "The +"very same man," replied No.2, with animation. + +This instructive conversation was here +interrupted by a party of ladies and gentlemen, who +in turn gave their views of canoe and canoeist. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. FROM THE SAVANNAH RIVER TO FLORIDA. + + + +ROUTE TO THE SEA ISLANDS OF GEORGIA. -- STORM-BOUND ON +GREEN ISLAND. -- OSSABAW ISLAND. -- ST. CATHERINE'S SOUND. +-- SAPELO ISLAND. -- THE MUD OF MUD RIVER. -- NIGHT IN A +NEGRO CABIN. -- "DE SHOUTINGS" ON DOBOY ISLAND. -- +BROUGHTON ISLAND. -- ST. SIMON'S AND JEKYL ISLANDS. -- +INTERVIEW WITH AN ALLIGATOR.-- A NIGHT IN JOINTER +HAMMOCK. -- CUMBERLAND ISLAND AND ST. MARY'S RIVER. -- +FAREWELL TO THE SEA. + + +On February 24th, the voyage was again +resumed. My route lay through the coast +islands of Georgia, as far south as the state +boundary, Cumberland Sound, and the St. +Mary's River. This part of the coast is very +interesting, and is beautifully delineated on the Coast +Charts No. 56-57 of the United States Coast +Survey, which were published the year after my +voyage ended. + +Steamers run from Savannah through these +interesting interior water-ways to the ports of +the St. John's River, Florida, and by taking this +route the traveller can escape a most +uninteresting railroad journey from Savannah to +Jacksonville, where sandy soils and pine forests present +an uninviting prospect to the eye. A little +dredging, in a few places along the steamboat +route, should be done at national cost, to make +this a more convenient and expeditious tidal +route for vessels. + +Leaving Greenwich, Bonaventure, and +Thunderbolt behind me on the upland, the canoe +entered the great marshy district of the coast along +the Wilmington and Skiddaway rivers to +Skiddaway Narrows, which is a contracted, crooked +watercourse connecting the Skiddaway with the +Burnside River. The low lands were made +picturesque by hammocks, some of which were +cultivated. + +In leaving the Burnside for the broad Vernon +River, as the canoe approached the sea, one of +the sudden tempests which frequently vex these +coast-waters arose, and drove me to a hammock +in the marshes of Green Island, on the left bank +and opposite the mouth of the Little Ogeechee +River. Green Island has been well cultivated +in the past, but is now only the summer home +of Mr. Styles, its owner. Two or three families +of negroes inhabited the cabins and looked after +the property of the absent proprietor. + +I waded to my knees in the mud before the +canoe could be landed, and, as it stormed all +night, I slept on the floor of the humble cot of +the negro Echard Holmes, having first treated +the household to crackers and coffee. The +negroes gathered from other points to examine the +canoe, and, hearing that I was from the north, +one grizzly old darky begged me to "carry" +his complaints to Washington. + +"De goberment," he said, "has been berry +good to wees black folks. It gib us our +freedom, -- all berry well; but dar is an noder ting +wees wants; dat is, wees wants General Grant to +make tings stashionary. De storekeeper gibs a +poor nigger only one dollar fur bushel corn, +sometimes not so much. Den he makes poor nigger +gib him tree dollars fur bag hominy, sometimes +more'n dat. Wees wants de goberment to make +tings stashionary. Make de storekeeper gib +black man one dollar and quarter fur de bushel +of corn, and make him sell de poor nigger de +bag hominy fur much less dan tree dollars. +Make all tings stashionary. Den dar's one ting +more. Tell de goberment to do fur poor darky +'nodder ting, -- make de ole massa say to me, +You's been good slave in ole times, -- berry +good slave; now I gib you one, two, tree, five +acres of land for yoursef.' Den ole nigger be +happy, and massa be happy too; den bof of um +bees happy. Hab you a leetle bacca fur dis ole +man?" + +From the Styles mansion it was but three +miles to Ossabaw Sound. Little Don Island +and Raccoon Key are in the mouth of the +Vernon. Between the two flat islands is a deep +passage through which the tides rush with great +force; it is called Hell Gate. On the south +side of Raccoon Key the Great Ogeechee River +pours its strong volume of water into Ossabaw +Sound. + +I entered the Great Ogeechee through the +Don Island passage, and saw sturgeon-fishermen +at work with their nets along the shores of +Ossabaw, one of the sea islands. Ossabaw Island +lies between Ossabaw and St. Catherine's +sounds, and is eight miles long and six miles +wide. The side towards the sea is firm upland, +diversified with glades, while the western +portion is principally marshes cut up by numerous +creeks. All the sea islands produce the long +staple cotton known as sea-island cotton, and +before the war a very valuable variety. A few +negroes occupy the places abandoned by the +proprietor, and eke out a scanty livelihood. + +There are many deer in the forests of +Ossabaw Island. One of its late proprietors +informed me that there must be at least ten +thousand wild hogs there, as they have been +multiplying for many years, and but few were shot +by the negroes. The domestic hog becomes a +very shy animal if left to himself for two or +three years. The hunter may search for him +without a dog almost in vain, though the woods +may contain large numbers of these creatures. + +The weather was now delightful, and had I +possessed a light tent I would not have sought +shelter at night in a human habitation anywhere +along the route. The malaria which arises from +fresh-water sinks in many of the sea islands +during the summer months, did not now make +camping-out dangerous to the health. Crossing +the Great Ogeechee above Middle Marsh Island, +I followed the river to the creek called Florida +Passage, through which I reached Bear River, +with its wide and long reaches, and descended it +to St. Catherine's Sound. + +Now the sea opened to full view as the canoe +crossed the tidal ocean gateway two miles to +North Newport River. When four miles up the +Newport I entered Johnson's Creek, which flows +from North to South Newport rivers. By +means of the creek and the South Newport +River, my little craft was navigated down to the +southern end of St. Catherine's Island to the +sound of the same name, and here another inlet +was crossed at sunset, and High Point of Sapelo +Island was reached. + +From among the green trees of the high bluff +a mansion, which exhibited the taste of its +builder, rose imposingly. This was, however, +but one of the many edifices that are tombs of +buried hopes. The proprietor, a northern +gentleman, after the war purchased one-third of +Sapelo Island for fifty-five thousand dollars in +gold. He attempted, as many other enterprising +northerners had done, to give the late slave a +chance to prove his worth as a freedman to the +world. + +"Pay the negro wages; treat him as you +would treat a white man, and he will reward +your confidence with industry and gratitude." +So thought and so acted the large-hearted +northern colonel. He built a large mansion, engaged +his freedmen, paid them for their work, and +treated them like men. The result was ruin, +and simply because he had not paused to +consider that the negro had not been born a +freedman, and that the demoralization of slavery was +still upon him. Beside which facts we must +also place certain ethnological and moral +principles which exist in the pure negro type, and +which are entirely overlooked by those +philanthropic persons who have rarely, if ever, seen a +full-blooded negro, but affect to understand him +through his half-white brother, the mulatto. + +Mud River opened its wide mouth before me +as I left the inlet, but the tide was very low, and +Mud River is a sticking-point in the passage of +the Florida steamers. It became so dark that I +was obliged to get near the shore to make a +landing. My attempt was made opposite a +negro's house which was on a bluff but the water +had receded into the very narrow channel of +Mud River, and I was soon stuck fast on a flat. +Getting overboard, I sank to my knees in the +soft mud. I called for help, and was answered +by a tall darky, who, with a double-barrelled gun, +left his house and stood in a threatening manner +on the shore. I appealed for help, and said I +wished to go ashore. "Den cum de best way +you can," he answered in a surly manner. "What +duz you want 'bout here, any way? What duz +you want on Choc'late Plantation, anyhow?" + +I explained to this ugly black that I was a +northern man, travelling to see the country, and +wished to camp near his house for protection, +and promised, if he would aid me to land, that I +would convince him of my honest purpose by +showing him the contents of my canoe, and +would prove to him that I was no enemy to the +colored man. I told him of the maps, the +letters, and the blankets which were in the little +canoe now so fast in the mud, and what a loss it +would be if some marauder, passing on the next +high tide, should steal my boat. + +The fellow slowly lowered his gun, which had +been held in a threatening position, and said: + +"Nobody knows his friends in dese times. I'se +had a boat stealed by some white man, and spose +you was cumin to steal sumting else. Dese folks +on de riber can't be trussed. Dey steals +ebryting. Heaps o' bad white men 'bout nowadnys +sens de war. Steals a nigger's chickens, boats, +and ebryting dey lays hands on. Up at de big +house on High Pint (norfen gemmin built him, +and den got gusted wid cotton-planting and went +home) de white folks goes and steals all de +cheers and beds, and ebryting out ob de house. +Sens de war all rascals." + +It was a wearisome and dangerous job for me +to navigate the canoe over the soft, slippery mud +to the firm shore, as there were unfathomed +places in the flats which might ingulf or entomb +me at any step; but the task was completed, and +I stood face to face with the now half tranquillized +negro. Before removing the mud that hung upon +me to the waist in heavy clods, I showed the +darky my chart-case, and explained the object +of my mission. He was very intelligent, and, +after asking a few questions, said to his son: + +"Take dis gun to de house;" and then turning +to me, continued: "Dis is de sort ob man I'se am. +I'se knows how to treat a friend like a white man, +and I'se can fight wid my knife or my fist or my +gun anybody who 'poses on me. Now I'se knows +you is a gemmin I'se won't treat you like a +nigger. Gib you best I'se got. Cum to de house." + +When inside of the house of this resolute +black, every attention was paid to my comfort. +The cargo of the paper canoe was piled up in +one corner of the room. The wife and children +sat before the bright fire and listened to the story +of my cruise. I doctored the sick pickaninny of +my host, and made the family a pot of strong +coffee. This negro could read, but he asked me to +address a label he wished to attach to a bag of +Sea-Island cotton of one hundred and sixty +pounds' weight, which he had raised, and was +to ship by the steamboat Lizzie Baker to a +mercantile house in Savannah. + +As I rested upon my blankets, which were +spread upon the floor of the only comfortable +room in the house, at intervals during the night +the large form of the black stole softly in and bent +over me to see if I were well covered up, and he +as noiselessly piled live-oak sticks upon the dying +embers to dry up the dampness which rose from +the river. + +He brought me a basin of cold water in the +morning, and not possessing a towel clean enough +for a white man, he insisted that I should use his +wife's newly starched calico apron to wipe my +face and hands upon. When I offered him +money for the night's accommodation and the +excellent oyster breakfast that his wife prepared +for me, he said: "You may gib my wife +whateber pleases you for her cooking, but nuffin for +de food or de lodgings. I'se no nigger, ef I is +a cullud man." + +It was now Saturday, and as I rowed through +the marsh thoroughfare called New Tea Kettle +Creek, which connects Mud River with Doboy +Sound near the southern end of Sapelo Island, I +calculated the chances of finding a resting-place +for Sunday. If I went up to the mainland +through North and Darien rivers to the town of +Darien, my past experience taught me that +instead of enjoying rest I would become a forced +exhibiter of the paper canoe to crowds of people. +To avoid this, I determined to pass the day in +the first hammock that would afford shelter and +fire-wood; but as the canoe entered Doboy +Sound, which, with its inlet, separates Sapelo +from the almost treeless Wolf Island, the wind +rose with such violence that I was driven to take +refuge upon Doboy Island, a small marshy +territory, the few firm acres of which were occupied +by the settlement and steam saw-mill of Messrs. +Hiltons, Foster & Gibson, a northern lumber firm. + +Foreign and American vessels were anchored +under the lee of protecting marshes, awaiting +their cargoes of sawed deals and hewn timber; +while rafts of logs, which had been borne upon +the currents of the Altamaha and other streams +from the far interior regions of pine forests, were +collected here and manufactured into lumber. + +One of the proprietors, a northern gentleman, +occupied with his family a very comfortable +cottage near the store and steam saw-mill. As the +Doboy people had learned of the approach of the +paper canoe from southern newspapers, the little +craft was identified as soon as it touched the low +shores of the island. + +I could not find any kind of hotel or +lodging-place in this settlement of Yankees, Canadians, +and negroes, and was about to leave it in search +of some lone hammock, when a mechanic kindly +offered me the floor of an unfinished room in an +unfinished house, in which I passed my Sunday +trying to rest, and obtaining my meals at a +restaurant kept by a negro. + +A member of the Spaulding family, the +owners of a part of Sapelo Island, called upon me, +and seeing me in such inhospitable quarters, +with fleas in hundreds invading my blankets, +urged me to return with him to his island +domain, where he might have an opportunity to +make me comfortable. The kind gentleman +little knew how hardened I had become to such +annoyances as hard floors and the active flea. +Such inconveniences had been robbed of their +discomforts by the kind voices of welcome +which, with few exceptions, came from every +southern gentleman whose territory had been +invaded by the paper canoe. + +There was but one place of worship on the +island, and that was under the charge of the +negroes. Accepting the invitation of a nephew of +the resident New England proprietor of Doboy +Island to attend "de shoutings," we set out on +Sunday evening for the temporary place of negro +worship. A negro girl, decked with ribbons, +called across the street to a young colored +delinquent: "You no goes to de shoutings, Sam! +Why fur? You neber hears me shout, honey, +and dey do say I shouts so pretty. Cum 'long +wid me now." + +A few blacks had collected in the small shanty +and the preacher, an old freedman, was about to +read a hymn as we entered. At first the singing +was low and monotonous, but it gradually swelled +to a high pitch as the negroes became excited. +Praying followed the singing. Then the black +preacher set aside "de shouting" part of the +service for what he considered more important +interests, and discoursed upon things spiritual +and temporal in this wise: + +"Now I'se got someting to tell all' of yese +berry 'portant." Here two young blacks got up +to leave the room, but were rudely stopped by a +negro putting his back against the door. "No, +no," chuckled the preacher, "yese don't git off +dat a-way. I'se prepared fur de ockasun. +Nobody gits out ob dis room till I'se had my say. +Jes you set down dar. Now I'se goin' to do one +ting, and it's dis: I'se goin' to spread de Gospel +all ober dis yere island of Doboy. Now's de +time; talked long 'nuf, too long, 'bout buildin' +de church. Whar's yere pride? whar is it? Got +none! Look at dis room for a church! Look +at dis pulpit -- one flour-barrel wid one candle +stickin' out ob a bottle! Dat's yere pulpit. Got +no pride! Shamed o' yeresefs! Here white +men comes way from New York to hear de +Gospel in dis yere room wid flour-barrel fur +pulpit, and empty bottle fur candlestick. No +more talk now. All go to work. De mill +pebple will gib us lumber fur de new church; +odders mus' gib money. Tell ebbry cullud +pusson on de island to cum on Tuesday and carry +lumber, and gib ebbry one what he can, -- one +dollar apiece, or ten cents if got no more. De +white gemmins we knows whar to find when we +wants dar money, but de cullud ones is berry +slippery when de hat am passed round." + +At the termination of the preacher's +exhortation, I proposed to my companion that I should +present the minister with a dollar for his new +church, but, with a look of dismay, he replied: +"Oh, don't give it to the preacher. Hand it to +that other negro sitting near him. We never +trust the preacher with money; he always +spends the church-money. We only trust him +for preaching." + +Monday, March 1st, opened fair, but the wind +arose when the canoe reached Three Mile Cut, +which connects the Darien with Altamaha River. +I went through this narrow steamboat passage, +and being prevented by the wind from entering +the wide Altamaha, returned to the Darien +River and ascended it to General's Cut, which, +with Butler River, affords a passage to the +Altamaha River. Before entering General's Cut, +mistaking a large, half submerged alligator for a +log on a mud bank, the canoe nearly touched the +saurian before he was roused from his nap to +retire into the water. General's Cut penetrates +a rice plantation opposite the town of Darien, +to Butler's Island, the estate of the late Pierce +Butler, at its southern end. Rice-planting, since +the war, had not proved a very profitable +business to the present proprietors, who deserve +much praise for the efforts they have made to +educate their freedmen. A profitable crop of +oranges is gathered some seasons from the +groves upon Butler's Island. + +From the mouth of General's Cut down +Butler River to the Altamaha was but a short row. +The latter stream would have taken me to +Altamaha Sound, to avoid which I passed through +Wood's Cut into the South Altamaha River, and +proceeded through the lowland rice-plantations +towards St. Simon's Island, which is by the sea. +About the middle of the afternoon, when close +to Broughton Island, where the South Altamaha +presented a wide area to the strong head-wind +which was sending little waves over my canoe, +a white plantation-house, under the veranda of +which an elderly gentleman was sitting, attracted +my attention. Here was what seemed to be the +last camping-ground on a route of several miles +to St. Simon's Island. + +If the wind continued to blow from the same +quarter, the canoe could not cross Buttermilk +Sound that night; so I went ashore to inquire if +there were any hammocks in the marshes by the +river-banks between the plantation and the sound. + +The bachelor proprietor of Broughton Island, +Captain Richard A. Akin, posted me as to the +route to St. Simon's Island, but insisted that the +canoe traveller should share his comfortable +quarters until the next day; and when the next +day came round, and the warm sun and smooth +current of the wide Altamaha invited me to +continue the voyage, the hospitable rice-planter +thought the weather not settled enough for me +to venture down to the sound. In fact, he held +me a rather willing captive for several days, and +then let me off on the condition that I should +return at some future time, and spend a month +with him in examining the sea islands and game +resources of the vicinity. + +Captain Akin was a successful rice-planter on +the new system of employing freedmen on +wages, but while he protected the ignorant blacks +in all their newly-found rights, he was a +thorough disciplinarian. The negroes seemed to +like their employer, and stuck to him with +greater tenacity than they did to those planters +who allowed them to do as they pleased. The +result of lax treatment with these people is +always a failure of crops. The rivers and swamps +near Broughton Island abound in fine fishes and +terrapin, while the marshes and flats of the sea +islands afford excellent opportunities for the +sportsman to try his skill upon the feathered +tribe. + +On Monday, March 9th, the Maria Theresa +left Broughton Island well provisioned with the +stores the generous captain had pressed upon +my acceptance. The atmosphere was softened +by balmy breezes, and the bright sunlight played +with the shadows of the clouds upon the wide +marshes, which were now growing green with +the warmth of returning spring. The fish +sprang from the water as I touched it with my +light oars. + +St. Simon's Island, -- where Mr. Pierce Butler +once cultivated sea-island cotton, and to which +he took his English bride, Miss Kemble, -- with +its almost abandoned plantation, was reached +before ten o'clock. Frederica River carried me +along the whole length of the island to St. +Simon's Sound. When midway the island, I +paused to survey what remains of the old town +of Frederica, of which but few vestiges can be +discovered. History informs us that Frederica +was the first town built by the English in +Georgia, and was founded by General +Oglethorpe, who began and established the colony. + +The fortress was regular and beautiful, and was +the largest, most regular, and perhaps most +costly of any in North America of British +construction. Pursuing my journey southward, the +canoe entered the exposed area of St. Simon's +Sound, which, with its ocean inlet, was easily +crossed to the wild and picturesque Jekyl Island, +upon which the two bachelor brothers Dubignon +live and hunt the deer, enjoying the free life of +lords of the forest. Their old family mansion, +once a haven of hospitality, where the northern +tourist and shipwrecked sailor shared alike the +good things of this life with the kind host, was +used for a target by a gunboat during the late +war, and is now in ruins. + +Here, twenty years ago, at midnight, the +slave-yacht "Wanderer" landed her cargo of African +negroes, the capital for the enterprise being +supplied by three southern gentlemen, and the +execution of the work being intrusted, under +carefully drawn contracts, to Boston parties. + +The calm weather greatly facilitated my +progress, and had I not missed Jekyl Creek, which is +the steamboat thoroughfare through the marshes +to Jekyl and St. Andrew's Sound, that whole +day's experience would have been a most happy +one. The mouth of Jekyl Creek was a narrow +entrance, and being off in the sound, I passed it +as I approached the lowlands, which were +skirted until a passage at Cedar Hammock +through the marsh was found, some distance +from the one I was seeking. Into this I entered, +and winding about for some time over its +tortuous course, at a late hour in the afternoon the +canoe emerged into a broad watercourse, down +which I could look across Jekyl Sound to the +sea. + +This broad stream was Jointer Creek, and I +ascended it to find a spot of high ground upon +which to camp. It was now low water, and the +surface of the marshes was three or four feet +above my head. After much anxious searching, +and a great deal of rowing against the last of the +ebb, a forest of pines and palmetto-trees was +reached on Colonel's Island, at a point about four +miles -- across the marshes and Brunswick River +-- from the interesting old town of Brunswick, +Georgia. + + +Home of the Alligator (101K) + + +The soft, muddy shores of the hammock were +in one place enveloped in a thicket of reeds, and +here I rested upon my oars to select a +convenient landing-place. The rustling of the reeds +suddenly attracted my attention. Some animal +was crawling through the thicket in the direction +of the boat. My eyes became fixed upon the +mysterious shaking and waving of the tops of the +reeds, and my hearing was strained to detect the +cause of the crackling of the dry rushes over +which this unseen creature was moving. A +moment later my curiosity was satisfied, for there +emerged slowly from the covert an alligator +nearly as large as my canoe. The brute's head +was as long as a barrel; his rough coat of mail +was besmeared with mud, and his dull eyes were +fixed steadily upon me. I was so surprised and +fascinated by the appearance of this huge reptile +that I remained immovable in my boat, while he +in a deliberate manner entered the water within +a few feet of me. The hammock suddenly lost +all its inviting aspect, and I pulled away from +it faster than I had approached. In the gloom I +observed two little hammocks, between Colonel's +Island and the Brunswick River, which seemed +to be near Jointer's Creek, so I followed the +tortuous thoroughfares until I was within a quarter +of a mile of one of them. + +Pulling my canoe up a narrow creek towards +the largest hammock, until the creek ended in +the lowland, I was cheered by the sight of a +small house in a grove of live-oaks, to reach +which I was obliged to abandon my canoe and +attempt to cross the soft marsh. The tide was +now rising rapidly, and it might be necessary for +me to swim some inland creek before I could +arrive at the upland. + +An oar was driven into the soft mud of the +marsh and the canoe tied to it, for I knew that +the whole country, with the exception of the +hammock near by, would be under water at +flood-tide. Floundering through mud and +pressing aside the tall, wire-like grass of the lowland, +which entangled my feet, frequently leaping +natural ditches, and going down with a thud in +the mud on the other side, I finally struck the +firm ground of the largest Jointer Hammock, +when the voice of its owner, Mr. R. F. Williams, +sounded most cheerfully in my ears as he +exclaimed: "Where did you come from? How +did you get across the marsh?" + +The unfortunate position of my boat was +explained while the family gathered round me, +after which we sat down to supper. Mr. +Wilhams felt anxious about the cargo of my boat. +The coons, he said, "will scent your +provisions, and tear everything to pieces in the +boat. We must go look after it immediately." +To go to the canoe we were obliged to follow a +creek which swept past the side of the hammock, +opposite to my landing-place, and row two or +three miles on Jointer Creek. At nine o'clock +we reached the locality where I had abandoned +the paper canoe. Everything had changed in +appearance; the land was under water; not a +landmark remained except the top of the oar, +which rose out of the lake-like expanse of +water, while near it gracefully floated my little +companion. We towed her to the hammock; +and after the tedious labor of divesting myself +of the marsh mud, which clung to my clothes, +had been crowned with success, the comfortable +bed furnished by my host gave rest to limbs and +nerves which had been severely overtaxed since +sun set. + +The following day opened cloudy and windy. +The ocean inlet of Jekyl and St. Andrew's sounds +is three miles wide. From the mouth of Jointer +Creek, across these unprotected sounds, to +High Point of Cumberland Island, is eight +miles. The route from the creek to Cumberland +Island was a risky one for so small a boat as the +paper canoe while the weather continued +unpropitious. After entering the sounds there was +but one spot of upland, near the mouth of the +Satilla River, that could be used for camping +purposes on the vast area of marshes. + +During the month of March rainy and windy +weather prevail on this coast. I could ill afford +to lose any time shut up in Jointer's Hammock +by bad weather, as the low regions of +Okefenokee Swamp were to be penetrated before the +warm season could make the task a disagreeable +one. After holding a consultation with Mr. +Williams, he contracted to take the canoe and +its captain across St. Andrew's Sound to High +Point of Cumberland Island that day. His little +sloop was soon under way, and though the short, +breaking waves of the sound, and the furious +blasts of wind, made the navigation of the shoals +disagreeable, we landed quietly at Mr. Chubbs' +Oriental Hotel, at High Point, soon after noon. + +Mr. Martin, the surveyor of the island, +welcomed me to Cumberland, and gave me much +information pertaining to local matters. The +next morning the canoe left the high bluffs of +this beautiful sea island so filled with historic +associations, and threaded the marshy +thoroughfare of Cumberland and Brickhill River to +Cumberland Sound. As I approached the mouth of +the St. Mary's River, the picturesque ruins of +Dungeness towered above the live-oak forest +of the southern end of Cumberland Island. +It was with regret I turned my back upon that +sea, the sounds of which had so long struck +upon my ear with their sweet melody. It +seemed almost a moan that was borne to me +now as the soft waves laved the sides of my +graceful craft, as though to give her a last, +loving farewell. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. ST, MARY'S RIVER AND THE SUWANEE WILDERNESS. + + + +A PORTAGE TO DUTTON. -- DESCENT OF THE ST. MARY'S RIVER. +-- FETE GIVEN BY THE CITIZENS TO THE PAPER CANOE. -- +THE PROPOSED CANAL ROUTE ACROSS FLORIDA. -- A PORTAGE +TO THE SUWANEE RIVER. -- A NEGRO SPEAKS ON +ELECTRICITY AND THE TELEGRAPH. -- A FREEDMAN'S SERMON. + + +I now ascended the beautiful St. Mary's River, +which flows from the great Okefenokee +Swamp. The state of Georgia was on my right +hand, and Florida on my left. Pretty hammocks +dotted the marshes, while the country presented +peculiar and interesting characteristics. When +four miles from Cumberland Sound, the little city +of St. Mary's, situated on the Georgia side of +the river, was before me; and I went ashore to +make inquiries concerning the route to +Okefenokee Swamp. + +My object was to get information about the +upper St. Mary's River, from which I proposed +to make a portage of thirty-five or forty miles in +a westerly direction to the Suwanee River, +upon arriving at which I would descend to the +Gulf of Mexico. My efforts, both at St. Mary's +and Fernandina, on the Florida side of +Cumberland Sound, to obtain any reliable information +upon this matter, were unsuccessful. A +settlement at Trader's Hill, about seventy-five miles +up the St. Mary's River, was the geographical +limit of local knowledge, while I wished to +ascend the river at least one hundred miles +beyond that point. + +Believing that if I explored the uninhabited +sources of the St. Mary's, I should be compelled +to return without finding any settler upon its +banks at the proper point of departure for a +portage to the Suwanee, it became necessary to +abandon all idea of ascending this river. I could +not, however, give up the exploration of the +route. In this dilemma, a kindly written letter +seemed to solve the difficulties. Messrs. Dutton +& Rixford, northern gentlemen, who possessed +large facilities for the manufacture of resin and +turpentine at their new settlements of Dutton, +six miles from the St. Mary's River, and at +Rixford, near the Suwanee, kindly proposed that I +should take my canoe by railroad from +Cumberland Sound to Dutton. From that station Mr. +Dutton offered to transport the boat through the +wilderness to the St. Mary's River, which could +be from that point easily descended to the sea. +The Suwanee River, at Rixford, could be +reached by rail, and the voyage would end at +its debouchure on the marshy coast of the Gulf +of Mexico. + +Hon. David Yulee, president and one-third +owner of the A. G. & W. I. T. C. Railroad, which +connects the Atlantic coast at Fernandina with +the Gulf coast at Cedar Keys, offered me the +free use of his long railroad, for any purpose of +exploration, &c., while his son, Mr. C. +Wickliffe Yulee, exerted himself to remove all +impediments to delay. + +These gentlemen, being native Floridians, +have done much towards encouraging all +legitimate exploration of the peninsula, and have +also done something towards putting a check on +the outrageous impositions practised on northern +agricultural emigrants to Florida, by encouraging +the organization of a railroad land-company, +which offers a forty-acre homestead for fifty +dollars, to be selected out of nearly six hundred +thousand acres of land along their highway +across the state. A man of comparatively +small means can now try the experiment of +making a home in the mild climate of Florida, +and if he afterwards abandons the enterprise +there will have been but a small investment of +capital, and consequently little loss. + +The turpentine distillery of Dutton was situated +in a heavy forest of lofty pines. Major C. K. +Dutton furnished a team of mules to haul the +Maria Theresa to the St. Mary's River, the +morning after my arrival by rail at Dutton +Station. The warm sunshine shot aslant the tall +pines as the teamster followed a faintly +developed trail towards the swamps. Before noon the +flashing waters of the stream were discernible, +and a little later, with paddle in hand, I was +urging the canoe towards the Atlantic coast. A +luxurious growth of trees and shrubs fringed +the low, and in some places submerged, river +shores. Back, on the higher, sandy soils, the +yellow pine forests, in almost primeval grandeur, +arose, shutting out all view of the horizon. Low +bluffs, with white, sandy beaches of a few rods +in extent, offered excellent camping-grounds. + +When the Cracker of Okefenokee Swamp is +asked why he lives in so desolate a region, with +only a few Cattle and hogs for companions, with +mosquitoes, fleas, and vermin about him, with +alligators, catamounts, and owls on all sides, +making night hideous, he usually replies, "Wal, +stranger, wood and water is so powerful handy. +Sich privileges ain't met with everywhar." + +[ FROM ST. SIMON'S SOUND, GEORGIA, TO CEDAR KEYS, FLORIDA ] + + +As I glided swiftly down the dark current I +peered into the dense woods, hoping to be +cheered by the sight of a settler's cabin; but in +all that day's search not a clearing could be +found, nor could I discern rising from the +treetops of the solitary forest a little cloud of smoke +issuing from the chimney of civilized man. I +was alone in the vast wilds through which the +beautiful river flowed noiselessly but swiftly to +the sea. Thoreau loved a swamp, and so do all +lovers of nature, for nowhere else does she so +bountifully show her vigorous powers of growth, +her varied wealth of botanical wonders. Here +the birds resort in flocks when weary of the hot, +sandy uplands, for here they find pure water, +cool shade, and many a curious glossy berry for +their dainty appetites. + +As the little Maria Theresa sped onward +through the open forest and tangled wild-wood, +through wet morass and piny upland, my +thoughts dwelt upon the humble life of the +Concord naturalist and philosopher. How he +would have enjoyed the descent of this wild +river from the swamp to the sea! He had left +us for purer delights; but I could enjoy his +"Walden" as though he still lived, and read of his +studies of nature with ever-increasing interest. + +Swamps have their peculiar features. Those +of the Waccamaw were indeed desolate, while +the swamps of the St. Mary's were full of +sunshine for the traveller. Soon after the canoe +had commenced her river journey, a sharp sound, +like that produced by a man striking the water +with a broad, flat stick, reached my ears. As +this sound was frequently repeated, and always +in advance of my boat, it roused my curiosity. +It proved to come from alligators. One after +another slipped off the banks, striking the water +with their tails as they took refuge in the river +from the disturber of their peace. To observe +the movements of these reptiles I ran the canoe +within two rods of the left shore, and by rapid +paddling was enabled to arrive opposite a +creature as he entered the water. When thus +confronted, the alligator would depress his ugly +head, lash the water once with his tail, and dive +under the canoe, a most thoroughly alarmed +animal. All these alligators were mere babies, +very few being over four feet long. Had they +been as large as the one which greeted me at +Colonel's Island, I should not have investigated +their dispositions, but would have considered +discretion the better part of valor, and left them +undisturbed in their sun-baths on the banks. + +In all my experience with the hundreds of +alligators I have seen in the southern rivers +and swamps of North America, every one, both +large and small, fled at the approach of man. +The experience of some of my friends in their +acquaintance with American alligators has been +of a more serious nature. It is well to exercise +care about camping at night close to the water +infested with large saurians, as one of these +strong fellows could easily seize a sleeping man +by the leg and draw him into the river. They +do not seem to fear a recumbent or bowed +figure, but, like most wild animals, flee before the +upright form of man. + +Late in the afternoon I passed an island, made +by a "cut-off" through a bend of the river, and, +according to previous directions, counted +fourteen bends or reaches in the river which was to +guide me to Stewart's Ferry, the owner of which +lived back in the woods, his cabin not being +discernible from the river. Near this spot, which +is occasionally visited by lumbermen and +pinywoods settlers, I drew my canoe on to a sandy +beach one rod in length. A little bluff, five or +six feet above the water, furnished me with the +broad leaves of the saw-palmetto, a dwarfish sort +of palm, which I arranged for a bed. The +provision-basket was placed at my head. A little +fire of light-wood cheered me for a while, but its +bright flame soon attracted winged insects in +large numbers. Having made a cup of +chocolate, and eaten some of Captain Akin's chipped +beef and crackers, I continued my preparations +for the night. Feeling somewhat nervous about +large alligators, I covered myself with a piece of +painted canvas, which was stiff and strong, and +placed the little revolver, my only weapon, under +my blanket. + +As I fully realized the novelty of my strange +position in this desolate region, it was some time +before I could compose myself and sleep. It +was a night of dreams. Sounds indistinct but +numerous troubled my brain, until I was fully +roused to wakefulness by horrible visions and +doleful cries. The chuck-will's-widow, which +in the south supplies the place of our +whippoorwill, repeated his oft-told tale of " +chuckwill's-widow, chuck-will's-widow," with +untiring earnestness. The owls hooted wildly, with +a chorus of cries from animals and reptiles not +recognizable by me, excepting the snarling voices +of the coons fighting in the forest. These last +were old acquaintances, however, as they +frequently gathered round my camp at night to pick +up the remains of supper. + +While I listened, there rose a cry so hideous in +its character and so belligerent in its tone, that I +trembled with fear upon my palm-leaf mattress. +It resembled the bellowing of an infuriated bull, +but was louder and more penetrating in its effect. +The proximity of this animal was indeed +unpleasant, for he had planted himself on the +river's edge, near the little bluff upon which my +camp had been constructed. The loud roar was +answered by a similar bellow from the other side +of the river, and for a long time did these two +male alligators keep up their challenging cries, +without coming to combat. Numerous +wood-mice attacked my provision-basket, and even +worked their way through the leaves of my +palmetto mattress. + +Thus with an endless variety of annoyances +the night wore wearily away, but the light of the +rising sun did not penetrate the thick fog which +enveloped the river until after eight o'clock, +when I embarked for a second day's journey +upon the stream, which had now attained a width +of five or six rods. Rafts of logs blocked the +river as I approached the settlement of Trader's +Hill, and upon a most insecure footing the canoe +was dragged over a quarter of a mile of logs, +and put into the water on the lower side of the +"jam." Crossing several of these log "jams," +which covered the entire width of the St. Mary's, +I became weary of the task, and, after the last +was reached, determined to go into camp until +the next day, when suddenly the voices of men +in the woods were heard. + +Soon a gentleman, with two raftsmen, +appeared and kindly greeted me. They had been +notified of my approach at Trader's Hill by a +courier sent from Dutton across the woods, and +these men, whose knowledge of wood-craft is +wonderful, had timed my movements so +correctly that they had arrived just in time to meet +me at this point. The two raftsmen rubbed the +canoe all over with their hands, and expressed +delight at its beautiful finish in their own +peculiar vernacular. + +"She's the dog-gonedest thing I ever seed, +and jist as putty as a new coffin!" exclaimed one. + +"Indeed, she's the handsomest trick I ever +did blink on," said the second. + +The two stalwart lumbermen lifted the boat as +though she were but a feather, and carried her, +jumping from log to log, the whole length of the +raft. They then put her gently in the water, and +added to their farewell the cheering intelligence +that "there's no more jams nor rafts 'twixt here +and the sea, and you can go clar on to New +York if you like." + +Trader's Hill, on a very high bluff on the left +bank, was soon passed, when the current seemed +suddenly to cease, and I felt the first tidal effect +of the sea, though many miles from the coast. +The tide was flooding. I now laid aside the +paddle, and putting the light steel outriggers in +their sockets, rapidly rowed down the now broad +river until the shadows of night fell upon forest +and stream, when the comfortable residence of +Mr. Lewis Davis, with his steam saw-mill, came +into sight upon Orange Bluff, on the Florida side +of the river. Here a kind welcome greeted me +from host and hostess, who had dwelt twenty +years in this romantic but secluded spot. There +were orange-trees forty years old on this +property, and all in fine bearing order. There was +also a fine sulphur spring near the house. + +Mr. Davis stated that, during a residence of +twenty years in this charming locality, he had +experienced but one attack of chills. He +considered the St. Mary's River, on account of the +purity of its waters, one of the healthiest of +southern streams. The descent of this beautiful +river now became a holiday pastime. Though +there were but few signs of the existence of +man, the scenery was of a cheering character. +A brick-kiln, a few saw-mills, and an abandoned +rice-plantation were passed, while the low +saltmarshes, extending into the river from the forest-covered +upland, gave evidence of the proximity +to the sea. Large alligators were frequently seen +sunning themselves upon the edges of the banks. + +At dusk the town of St. Mary's, in its wealth +of foliage, opened to my view from across the +lowlands, and soon after the paper canoe was +carefully stored in a building belonging to one +of its hospitable citizens, while local authority +asserted that I had traversed one hundred and +seventy-five miles of the river. + +One evening, while enjoying the hospitality +of Mr. Silas Fordam, at his beautiful winter +home, "Orange Hall," situated in the heart of +St. Mary's, a note, signed by the Hon. J. M. +Arnow, mayor of the city, was handed me. Mr. +Arnow, in the name of the city government, +invited my presence at the Spencer House. Upon +arriving at the hotel, a surprise awaited me. +The citizens of the place had gathered to +welcome the paper canoe and its owner, and to +express the kindly feelings they, as southern +citizens, held towards their northern friends. The +hotel was decorated with flags and floral +emblems, one of which expressed, in its ingeniously +constructed words, wrought in flowers, "One +hundred thousand Welcomes." + +The mayor and his friends received me upon +the veranda of the hotel with kind words of +welcome. Bright lights glimmered at this +moment through the long avenue of trees, and +music arose upon the night air. It was a +torchlight procession coming from the river, bearing +upon a framework structure, from which hung +Chinese lanterns and wreaths of laurel, the little +paper canoe. The Base-ball Club of the city, +dressed in their handsome uniform, carried the +"Maria Theresa," while the sailors from the +lumber fleet in the river, with the flags of several +nationalities, brought up the rear. + +When the procession arrived in front of the +hotel, three hearty cheers were given by the +people, and the mayor read the city's address of +welcome to me; to which I made reply, not only +in behalf of myself, but of all those of my +countrymen who desired the establishment of a pure +and good government in every portion of our +dear land. + +Mayor Arnow presented me with an engrossed +copy of his speech of welcome, in which he +invited all industrious northerners to come to his +native city, promising that city ordinances should +be passed to encourage the erection of +manufactories, &c., by northern capital and northern +labor. After the address, the wife of the mayor +presented me with two memorial banners, in the +name of the ladies of the city. These were made +for the occasion, and being the handiwork of the +ladies themselves, were highly appreciated by +the recipient. When these graceful tributes had +been received, each lady and child present +deposited a bouquet of flowers, grown in the gardens +of St. Mary's, in my little craft, till it contained +about four hundred of these refined expressions +of the good-will of these kind people. Not only +did the native population of the town vie with +each other to accord the lonely voyager a true +southern welcome, but Mr. A. Curtis, an English +gentleman, who, becoming fascinated with the +fine climate of this part of Georgia, had settled +here, did all he could to show his appreciation +of canoe-travelling, and superintended the +marine display and flag corps of the procession. + +I left St. Mary's with a strange longing to +return to its interesting environs, and to study here +the climatology of southern Georgia, for, strange +to say, cases of local "fever and chills" have +never originated in the city. It is reached from +Savannah by the inside steamboat route, or by +rail, to Fernandina, with which it is connected +by a steamboat ferry eight miles in length. +Speculation not having yet affected the low valuation +placed upon property around St. Mary's, northern +men can obtain winter homes in this attractive +town at a very low cost. This city is a port of +entry. Mr. Joseph Shepard, a most faithful +government officer, has filled the position of +collector of customs for several years. + +As vessels of considerable tonnage can ascend +the St. Mary's River from the sea on a full tide +to the wharves of the city, its citizens prophesy a +future growth and development for the place +when a river and canal route across the +peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of +Mexico shall have been completed. For many +years Colonel Raiford has been elaborating his +plan "for elongating the western and southern +inland system of navigation to harbors of the +Atlantic Ocean." He proposes to unite the natural +watercourses of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico +by short canals, so that barges drawing seven feet +of water, and freighted with the produce of the +Mississippi River and its tributaries, may pass +from New Orleans eastward to the southern ports +of the Atlantic States. The great peninsula of +Florida would be crossed by these vessels from +the Suwanee to the St. Mary's River by means +of a canal cut through the Okefenokee Swamp, +and this route would save several hundred miles +of navigation upon open ocean waters. The +dangerous coral reefs of the Florida and Bahama +shores would be avoided, and a land-locked +channel of thirty thousand miles of navigable +watercourses would be united in one system. + +Lieutenant-Colonel Q. A. Gilmore's report on +"Water Line for Transportation from the Mouth +of the St. Mary's River, on the Atlantic Coast, +through Okefenokee Swamp and the State of +Florida to the Gulf of Mexico," in which the +able inquirer discusses this water route, has +recently been published. I traversed a portion of +this route in 1875-6, from the head of the Ohio +River to New Orleans, and along the shores of +the Gulf of Mexico to Cedar Keys, in a cedar +duck-boat; and as the results of my observations +may some day be made public, I will at this +time refer the reader, if he be interested in the +important enterprise, to the Congressional reports +which describe the feasibility of the plan. + +Another portage by rail was made in order to +complete my journey to the Gulf of Mexico, and +Rixford, near the Suwanee River, was reached +via the A. G. & W. I. T. C. Railroad to Baldwin, +thence over the J. P. & M. Railroad to Live Oak, +where another railroad from the north connects, +and along which, a few miles from Live Oak, +Messrs. Dutton & Rixford had recently +established their turpentine and resin works. + +At Rixford I found myself near the summit, or +backbone of Florida, from which the tributaries +of the water-shed flow on one side to the +Atlantic Ocean, and on the other to the Gulf of Mexico. +It was a high region of rolling country, heavily +wooded with magnificent pine forests, rich in +terebinthine resources. The residence of the +proprietor, the store and the distillery, with a few +log cabins inhabited by negroes and white +employees, made up the establishment of Rixford. + +The Crackers and negroes came from long +distances to see the paper boat. One afternoon, +when a number of people had gathered at +Rixford to behold the little craft, I placed it on one +of those curious sheets of water of crystal purity +called in that region a sink; and though this +nameless, mirror-like lakelet did not cover over +an acre in extent, the movements of the little +craft, when propelled by the double paddle, +excited an enthusiasm which is seldom exhibited +by the piny-woods people. + +As the boat was carefully lifted from the +silvery tarn, one woman called out in a loud voice, +"Lake Theresa!" and thus, by mutual consent +of every one present, did this lakelet of crystal +waters receive its name. + +The blacks crowded around the canoe, and +while feeling its firm texture, and wondering at +the long distance it had traversed, expressed +themselves in their peculiar and original way. +One of their number, known as a "tonguey +nigger," volunteered to explain the wonder to the +somewhat confused intellects of his companions. +To a question from one negro as to "How did +dis yere Yankee-man cum all dis fur way in de +paper canoe, all hissef lone?" the "educated" +negro replied: "It's all de Lord. No man ken +cum so fur in paper boat ef de Lord didn't help +him. De Lord does eberyting. He puts de tings +in de Yankee-man's heads to du um, an' dey duz +um. Dar was de big Franklin up norf, dat made +de telegraf. Did ye eber bar tell ob him?" + +"Neber, neber!" responded all the negroes. + +Then, with a look of supreme contempt for +the ignorance of his audience, the orator +proceeded: "Dis great Franklin, Cap'n Franklin, +he tort he'd kotch de litening and make de +telegraf, so he flies a big kite way up to de heabens, +an' he puts de string in de bottle dat hab nufing +in it. Den he holds de bottle in one hand, an' he +holds de cork in de udder hand. Down cums +de litening and fills de bottle full up, and Cap'n +Franklin he dun cork him up mighty quick, and +kotched de litening an' made de telegraf. But +it was de Lord -- de Lord, not Cap'n +Franklin dat did all dis." + +It was amusing to watch the varied expression +of the negroes, as they listened to this description +of the discovery of electricity, and the origin of +the telegraph. Their eyes dilated with wonder, +and their thick lips parted till the mouth, +growing wider and wider, seemed to cover more than +its share of the face. The momentary silence was +soon broken by a deep gurgle proceeding from a +stolid-looking negro, as he exclaimed: "Did he +kotch de bottle full ob litening, and cork him +up. Golly! I tort he wud hab busted hissef!" + +"So he wud! so he wud!" roared the orator, +"but ye see 'twas all de Lord -- de Lord's +a-doing it." + +While in Florida I paid some attention to the +negro method of conducting praise meetings, +which they very appropriately call "de +shoutings." If I give some verbatim reports of the +negro's curious and undignified clerical efforts, +it is not done for the purpose of caricaturing +him, nor with a desire to make him appear +destitute of mental calibre; but rather with the hope +that the picture given may draw some sympathy +from the liberal churches of the north, which do +not forget the African in his native jungle, nor the +barbarous islanders of the South Seas. A +well-informed Roman Catholic priest told me that +he had been disappointed with the progress his +powerfully organized church had made in +converting the freedmen. Before going among them +I had supposed that the simple-minded black, +now no longer a slave, would be easily attracted +to the impressive ceremonies of the Church of +Rome; but after witnessing the activity of their +devotions, and observing how anxious they are +to take a conspicuous and a leading part in all +religious services, it seemed to me that the free +black of the south would take more naturally to +Methodism than to any other form of +Christianity. + +The appointment of local preachers would be +especially acceptable to the negro, as he would +then be permitted to have ministers of his own +color, and of his own neighborhood, to lead the +meetings; while the Roman Catholic priest +would probably treat him more like a child, and +would therefore exercise a strong discipline over +him. + +In one of their places of worship, at my +request, a New York lady, well skilled in rapid +writing and familiar with the negro vernacular, +reported verbatim the negro preacher's sermon. +The text was the parable of the ten virgins; and +as the preacher went on, he said: "Five ob dem +war wise an' five of dem war foolish. De wise jes +gone an' dun git dar lamps full up ob oil and +git rite in and see de bridegoom; an' de foolish +dey sot dem rite down on de stool ob do-noting, +an' dar dey sot till de call cum; den dey run, +pick up der ole lamps and try to push door in, +but de Lord say to dem, Git out dar! you jes git +out dar!' an' shut door rite in dar face. + +"My brudders and my sisters, yer must fill de +lamps wid de gospel an' de edication ob Moses, +fur Moses war a larned man, an' edication is de +mos estaminable blessin' a pusson kin hab in +dis world. + +"Hole-on to de gospel! Ef you see dat de +flag am tore, get hole somewhar, keep a grabblin +until ye git hole ob de stick, an' nebah gib up de +stick, but grabble, grabble till ye die; for dough +yer sins be as black as scarlet, dey shall be whit +as snow." + +The sermon over, the assembled negroes then +sung in slow measure: + + + "Lit-tell chil-ern, you'd bet-tar be-a-lieve - + Lit-tell chil-ern, you'd bet-tar be-a-lieve - + Lit-tell chil-ern, you'd bet-tar be-a-lieve - + I'll git home to heav-en when I die. + + Sweet heav-en am-a-my-am, + Sweet heav-en am-a-my-am, + Sweet heav-en am-a-my-am, + I'll git home to heav-en when I die. + + Lord wish-ed I was in heav-en, + Fur to see my mudder when she enter, + Fur to see her tri-als an' long white robes: + She'll shine like cristul in de sun. + + Sweet heav-en am-a-my-am, + Sweet heav-en am-a-my-am, + Sweet heav-en am-a-my-am, + I'll git home to heav-en when I die," + + +While visiting a town in Georgia, where the +negroes had made some effort to improve their +condition, I made a few notes relating to the +freedman's debating society of the place. +Affecting high-sounding words, they called their +organization, "De Lycenum," and its doings were +directed by a committee of two persons, called +respectively, "de disputaceous visitor," and "de +lachrymal visitor." What particular duties devolved +upon the "lachrymal visitor," I could +never clearly ascertain. One evening these +negroes debated upon the following theme, +"Which is de best -- when ye are out ob a ting, +or when ye hab got it?" which was another form +of expressing the old question, "Is there more +pleasure in possession than in anticipation?" +Another night the colored orators became +intensely excited over the query, "Which is de +best, Spring Water or Matches?" + +The freedmen, for so unfortunate a class, seem +to be remarkably well behaved. During several +journeys through the southern states I found +them usually temperate, and very civil in their +intercourse with the whites, though it must be +confessed that but few of them can apply +themselves steadily and persistently to manual labor, +either for themselves or their employers. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. DOWN UPON THE SUWANEE RIVER. + + + +THE RICH FOLIAGE OF THE RIVER. -- COLUMBUS. -- ROLINS' +BLUFF. OLD TOWN HAMMOCK. -- A HUNTER KILLED BY A +PANTHER, DANGEROUS SERPENTS. -- CLAY LANDING. THE +MARSHES OP THE COAST, -- BRADFORD'S ISLAND. -- MY LAST +CAMP. -- THE VOYAGE ENDED. + + +Some friends, among whom were Colonel +George W. Nason, Jr., of Massachusetts, +and Major John Purviance, Commissioner of +Suwanee County, offered to escort the paper +canoe down "the river of song" to the Gulf of +Mexico, a distance, according to local authority, +of two hundred and thirty-five miles. While +the members of the party were preparing for the +journey, Colonel Nason accompanied me to the +river, which was less than three miles from +Rixford, the proprietors of which sent the canoe +after us on a wagon drawn by mules. The point +of embarkation was the Lower Mineral Springs, +the property of Judge Bryson. + +The Suwanee, which was swollen by some +recent rains in Okefenokee Swamp, was a wild, +dark, turbulent current, which went coursing +through the woods on its tortuous route with +great rapidity. The luxurious foliage of the +river-banks was remarkable. Maples were in +blossom, beech-trees in bloom, while the +buckeye was covered with its heavy festoons of red +flowers. Pines, willows, cotton-wood, two kinds +of hickory, water-oak, live-oak, sweet-gum, +magnolia, the red and white bay-tree, a few +red cedars, and haw-bushes, with many species not +known to me, made up a rich wall of verdure on +either side, as I sped along with a light heart to +Columbus, where my compagnons de voyage +were to meet me. Wood-ducks and egrets, in +small flocks, inhabited the forest. The +limestone banks of the river were not visible, as the +water was eighteen feet above its low summer +level. + +I now passed under the railroad bridge which +connects Live Oak with Savannah. After a +steady row of some hours, my progress was +checked by a great boom, stretched across the +river to catch the logs which floated down from +the upper country. I was obliged to disembark +and haul the canoe around this obstacle, when, +after passing a few clearings, the long bridge of +the J. P. & M. Railroad came into view, stretching +across the now wide river from one wilderness +to the other. On the left bank was all that +remained of the once flourishing town of +Columbus, consisting now of a store, kept by Mr. +Allen, and a few buildings. Before the railroad +was built, Columbus possessed a population of +five hundred souls, and it was reached, during +favorable stages of water, by light-draught +steamboats from Cedar Keys, on the Gulf of Mexico. +The building of railroads in the south has +diverted trade from one locality to another, and +many towns, once prosperous, have gone to +decay. + +The steam saw-mills and village of Ellaville +were located on the river-bank opposite +Columbus, and this lumber establishment is the only +place of importance between it and Cedar Keys. +This far-famed river, to which the heart of the +minstrel's darky "is turning eber," is, in fact, +almost without the "one little hut among de +bushes," for it is a wild and lonely stream. +Even in the most prosperous times there were +but few plantations upon its shores. Wild +animals roam its great forests, and vile reptiles +infest the dense swamps. It is a country well +fitted for the hunter and lumberman, for the +naturalist or canoeist; but the majority of people +would, I am sure, rather hear of it poured forth +in song from the sweet lips of Christina Nilsson, +than to be themselves "way down upon the +Suwanee Ribber." + +On Monday, March 22d, Messrs. Nason, +Purviance, and Henderson joined me. The party +had obtained a northern-built shad-boat, which +had been brought by rail from Savannah. It +was sloop-rigged, and was decked forward, so +that the enthusiastic tourists possessed a +weatherproof covering for their provisions and blankets. +With the strong current of the river, a pair of +long oars, and a sail to be used when favorable +winds blew, the party in the shad-boat could +make easy and rapid progress towards the Gulf, +while my lightly dancing craft needed scarcely +a touch of the oar to send her forward. + +On Tuesday, the 23d, we left Columbus, while +a crowd of people assembled to see us off; many +of them seeming to consider this simple and +delightful way of travelling too dangerous to be +attempted. The smooth but swift current rolled +on its course like a sea of molten glass, as the +soft sunlight trembled through the foliage and +shimmered over its broad surface. + +Our boats glided safely over the rapids, which +for a mile and a half impede the navigation of +the river during the summer months, but which +were now made safe by the great depth of water +caused by the freshet. The weather was +charming, and our little party, fully alive to all the +beautiful surroundings, woke many an echo with +sounds meant to be sweet. Of course the good +old song was not forgotten. Our best voice +sang: + + + "Way down up-on de Suwanee Rib-ber, + Far, far away, + Dere's whar my heart is turn-ing eb-ber, + Dere's whar de old folks stay. + All up and down de whole creation + Sadly I roam, + Still longing for de old plantation, + And for de old folks at home. + + "All round de little farm I wander'd + When I was young; + Den many happy days I squan-der'd - + Many de songs I sung. + When I was playing wid my brud-der, + Hap-py was I. + O! take me to my kind old mud-der, + Dere let me live and die! + + "One little hut among de bushes, - + One dat I love, - + Still sadly to my mem'ry rushes, + No matter where I rove. + When will I see de bees a-hum-ming + All round de comb? + When will I hear de ban-jo tum-ming + Down in my good old home?" + + + +We all joined in the chorus at the end of each verse: + + + "All de world am sad and dreary + Eb-ry-whar I roam. + O, darkies, how my heart grows weary, + Far from do old folks at home." + + +We soon entered forests primeval which were +quiet, save for the sound of the axe of the log-thief; +for timber-stealing is a profession which +reaches its greatest perfection on the Florida +state lands and United States naval reserves. +Uncle Sam's territory is being constantly +plundered to supply the steam saw-mills of private +individuals in Florida. Several of the party told +interesting stories of the way in which log-thieves +managed to steal from the government legally. + +"There," said one, "is X, who runs his mill +on the largest tract of pine timber Uncle Sam +has got. He once bought a few acres' claim +adjacent to a fine naval reserve. He was not, +of course, able to discover the boundary line +which separated his little tract from the rich +government reserve, so he kept a large force +of men cutting down Uncle Sam's immense +pines, and, hauling them to the Suwanee, floated +them to his mill. This thing went on for some +time, till the government agent made his +appearance and demanded a settlement. + +"The wholesale timber-thief now showed a +fair face, and very frankly explained that he +supposed he had been cutting logs from his own +territory, but quite recently he had discovered +that he had really been trespassing on the +property of his much-loved country, and as he was +truly a loyal citizen, he desired to make +restitution, and was now ready to settle. + +"The government agent was astonished at the +seeming candor of the man, who so worked upon +his sympathy that he promised to be as easy +upon him as the law allowed. The agent +settled upon a valuation of fifty cents an acre for +all the territory that had been cut over. 'And +now,' said he, 'how many acres of land have +you "logged" since you put your lumbermen +into the forest?' + + +"Mr. X declared himself unable to answer +this question, but generously offered to permit +the agent to put down any number of acres he +thought would represent a fair thing between +a kind government and one of its unfortunate +citizens. Intending to do his duty faithfully, the +officer settled upon two thousand acres as having +been trespassed upon; but to his astonishment the +incomprehensible offender stoutly affirmed that he +had logged fully five thousand acres, and at once +settled the matter in full by paying twenty-five +hundred dollars, taking a receipt for the same. + +"When this enterprising business-man visited +Jacksonville, his friends rallied him upon +confessing judgment to government for three +thousand acres of timber more than had been claimed +by the agent. This true patriot winked as he +replied: + +"'It is true I hold a receipt from the +government for the timber on five thousand acres at +the very low rate of fifty cents an acre. As I +have not yet cut logs from more than one-fifth +of the tract, I intend to work off the timber on +the other four thousand acres at my leisure, and +no power can stop me now I have the +government receipt to show it's paid for.'" + +The sloop and the canoe had left Columbus a +little before noon, and at six P. M. we passed +Charles' Ferry, where the old St. Augustine +and Tallahassee forest road crosses the river. +At this lonely place an old man, now dead, +owned a subterranean spring, which he called +"Mediterranean passage." This spring is +powerful enough to run a rickety, "up-and-down" +saw-mill. The great height of the water +allowed me to paddle into the mill with my canoe. + +At half past seven o'clock a deserted log +cabin at Barrington's Ferry offered us shelter for +the night. The whole of the next day we rowed +through the same immense forests, finding no +more cultivated land than during our first day's +voyage. We landed at a log cabin in a small +clearing to purchase eggs of a poor woman, +whose husband had shot her brother a few days +before. As the wife's brother had visited the +cabin with the intention of killing the husband, +the woman seemed to think the murdered man +had "got his desarts," and, as a coroner's jury +had returned a verdict of "justifiable homicide," +the affair was considered settled. + +Below this cabin we came to Island No. 1, +where rapids trouble boatmen in the summer +months. Now we glided gently but swiftly over +the deep current. The few inhabitants we met +along the banks of the Suwanee seemed to carry +with them an air of repose while awake. To +rouse them from mid-day slumbers we would +call loudly as we passed a cabin in the woods, +and after considerable delay a man would appear +at the door, rubbing his eyes as though the genial +sunlight was oppressive to his vision. It was +indeed a quiet, restful region, this great +wilderness of the Suwanee. + +We passed Mrs. Goodman's farm and log +buildings on the left bank, just below Island +No. 8, before noon, and about this time Major +Purviance shot at a large wild turkey (Meleagris +gallopavo), knocking it off a bank into the +water. The gobbler got back to land, and led +us a fruitless chase into the thicket of saw-palmetto. +He knew his ground better than we, for, +though wounded, he made good his escape. +We stopped a few moments at Troy, which, +though dignified in name, consists only of a +store and some half dozen buildings. + +A few miles below this place, on the left +bank of the river, is an uninhabited elevation +called Rolins' Bluff, from which a line running +north 220 east, twenty-three miles and a half in +length, will strike Live Oak. A charter to +connect Live Oak with this region of the Suwanee +by means of a railroad had just passed the +Florida legislature, but had been killed by the veto +of the governor. After sunset the boats were +secured in safe positions in front of a deserted +cabin, round which a luxuriant growth of +bitter-orange trees showed what nature could do for +this neglected grove. The night air was balmy, +and tremulous with insect life, while the +alligators in the swamps kept up their bellowings till +morning. + +After breakfast we descended to the mouth of +the Santa Fe River, which was on the left bank +of the Suwanee. The piny-woods people called +it the Santaffy. The wilderness below the Santa +Fe is rich in associations of the Seminole Indian +war. Many relics have been found, and, among +others, on the site of an old Indian town, +entombed in a hollow tree, the skeletons of an +Indian adult and child, decked with beads, were +discovered. Fort Fanning is on the left bank, +and Old Town Hammock on the right bank of +the Suwanee. + +During the Seminole war, the hammock and +the neighboring fastnesses became the +hiding-places of the persecuted Indians, and so wild +and undisturbed is this region, even at this time, +that the bear, lynx, and panther take refuge from +man in its jungles. + +Colonel J. L. F. Cottrell left his native +Virginia in 1854, and commenced the cultivation of +the virgin soil of Old Town Hammock. Each +state has its peculiar mode of dividing its land, +and here in Florida this old plantation was in +township 10, section 24, range 13. The estate +included about two thousand acres of land, of +which nearly eleven hundred were under +cultivation. The slaves whom the colonel brought +from Virginia were now his tenants, and he +leased them portions of his arable acres. He +considered this locality as healthy as any in the +Suwanee country. The old planter's home, with +its hospitable doors ever open to the stranger, +was embowered in live-oaks and other trees, +from the branches of which the graceful festoons +of Spanish moss waved in the soft air, telling of +a warm, moist atmosphere. + +A large screw cotton-press and corn-cribs, +with smoke-house and other plantation buildings, +were conveniently grouped under the spreading +branches of the protecting oaks. The estate +produced cotton, corn, sweet potatoes, cattle, +hogs, and poultry. Deer sometimes approached +the enclosed fields, while the early morning call +of the wild turkey came from the thickets of the +hammock. In this retired part of Florida, +cheered by the society of a devoted wife and +four lovely daughters, lived the kind-hearted +gentleman who not only pressed on us the +comforts of his well-ordered house, but also +insisted upon accompanying the paper canoe from +his forest home to the sea. + + +When gathered around the firesides of the +backwoods people, the conversation generally +runs into hunting stories, Indian reminiscences, +and wild tales of what the pioneers suffered +while establishing themselves in their forest +homes. One event of startling interest had +occurred in the Suwanee country a few weeks +before the paper canoe entered its confines. +Two hunters went by night to the woods to +shoot deer by firelight. As they stalked about, +with light-wood torches held above their heads, +they came upon a herd of deer, which, being +bewildered by the glare of the lights, made no +attempt to escape. Sticking their torches in the +ground, the hunters stretched themselves flat +upon the grass, to hide their forms from the +animals they hoped to kill at their leisure. One +of the men was stationed beneath the branches +of a large tree; the other was a few yards distant. + + +The Panther's Leap (106K) + + +Before the preconcerted signal for discharging +their rifles could be given, the sound of a heavy +body falling to the ground, and an accompanying +smothered shriek, startled the hunter who was +farthest from the tree. Starting up in alarm, he +flew to the assistance of his friend, whose +prostrate form was covered by a large panther, which +had pounced upon him from the overhanging +limb of the great oak. It had been but the +work of an instant for the powerful cougar to +break with his strong jaws the neck of the poor +backwoodsman. + +In this rare case of a panther (Felis concolor) +voluntarily attacking man, it will be noted by +the student of natural history that the victim was +lying upon the ground. Probably the animal +would not have left his perch among the +branches of the oak, where he was evidently +waiting for the approach of the deer, if the +upright form of the man had been seen. Go to a +southern bayou, which is rarely, if ever, visited +by man, and where its saurian inhabitants have +never been annoyed by him, -- place your body +in a recumbent position on the margin of the +lagoon, and wait until some large alligator slowly +rises to the surface of the water. He will eye +you for a moment with evident curiosity, and +will in some cases steadily approach you. +When the monster reptile is within two or three +rods of your position, rise slowly upon your feet +to your full height, and the alligator of the +southern states -- the A. Mississippiensis - will, in +nine cases out of ten, retire with precipitation. + +There are but few wild animals that will +attack man willingly when face to face with him; +they quail before his erect form. In every case +of the animals of North America showing fight +to man, which has been investigated by me, the +beasts have had no opportunity to escape, or +have had their young to defend, or have been +wounded by the hunter. + +It was nearly ten o'clock A. M. on Friday, +March 26th, when our merry party left Old +Town hammock. This day was to see the end +of the voyage of the paper canoe, for my tiny +craft was to arrive at the waters of the great +southern sea before midnight. The wife and +daughters of our host, like true women of the +forest, offered no forebodings at the departure of +the head of their household, but wished him, with +cheerful looks, a pleasant voyage to the Gulf. +The gulf port of Cedar Keys is but a few miles +from the mouth of the Suwanee River. The +railroad which terminates at Cedar Keys would, +with its connection with other routes, carry the +members of our party to their several homes. + +The bright day animated our spirits, as we +swept swiftly down the river. The party in the +shad-boat, now called "Adventurer," rowed +merrily on with song and laughter, while I made an +attempt to examine more closely the character +of the water-moccasin -- the Trigono +cephaluspiscivorus of Lacepede, -- which I had more +cause to fear than the alligators of the river. +The water-moccasin is about two feet in length, +and has a circumference of five or six inches. +The tail possesses a horny point about half an +inch in length, which is harmless, though the +Crackers and negroes stoutly affirm that when +it strikes a tree the tree withers and dies, and +when it enters the flesh of a man he is poisoned +unto death. The color of the reptile is a dirty +brown. Never found far from water, it is +common in the swamps, and is the terror of the +rice-field negroes. The bite of the water-moccasin +is exceedingly venomous, and it is considered +more poisonous than that of the rattlesnake, which +warns man of his approach by sounding his +rattle. + +The moccasin does not, like the rattlesnake, +wait to be attacked, but assumes the offensive +whenever opportunity offers, striking with its +fangs at every animated object in its vicinity. +All other species of snakes flee from its presence. +It is found as far north as the Peedee River of +South Carolina, and is abundant in all low +districts of the southern states. As the Suwanee +had overflowed its banks below Old Town +Hammock, the snakes had taken to the low limbs +of the trees and to the tops of bushes, where +they seemed to be sleeping in the warmth of the +bright sunlight; but as I glided along the shore +a few feet from their aerial beds, they discovered +my presence, and dropped sluggishly into the +water. It would not be an exaggeration to say +that we passed thousands of these dangerous +reptiles while descending the Suwanee. +Raftsmen told me that when traversing lagoons in +their log canoes, if a moccasin is met some +distance from land he will frequently enter the canoe +for refuge or for rest, and instances have been +known where the occupant has been so alarmed +as to jump overboard and swim ashore in order +to escape from this malignant reptile. + +The only place worthy of notice between Old +Town Hammock and the gulf marshes is Clay +Landing, on the left bank of the river, where +Mrs. Tresper formerly lived in a very +comfortable house. Clay Landing was used during the +Confederate war as a place of deposit for +blockade goods. Archer, a railroad station, is but +twenty miles distant, and to it over rough roads +the contraband imports were hauled by mule +teams, after having been landed from the fleet +blockade-runner. + +As the sun was sinking to rest, and the +tree shadows grew long on the wide river's bosom, +we tasted the saltness in the air as the briny +breezes were wafted to us over the forests +from the Gulf of Mexico. After darkness had +cast its sombre mantle upon us, we left the +"East Pass" entrance to the left, and our boats +hurried on the rapidly ebbing tide down the broad +"West Pass" into the great marshes of the coast. +An hour later we emerged from the dark forest +into the smooth savannas. The freshness of the +sea-air was exhilarating The stars were shining +softly, and the ripple of the tide, the call of the +heron, or the whirr of the frightened duck, and +the leaping of fishes from the water, were the +only sounds nature offered us. It was like +entering another world. In these lowlands, near the +mouth of the river, there seemed to be but one +place above the high-tide level. It was a little +hammock, covered by a few trees, called +Bradford's Island, and rose like an oasis in the desert. +The swift tide hurried along its shores, and a +little farther on mingled the waters of the great +wilderness with that of the sea. + +Our tired party landed on a shelly beach, and +burned a grassy area to destroy sand-fleas. This +done, some built a large camp-fire, while others +spread blankets upon the ground. I drew the +faithful sharer of my long voyage near a thicket +of prickly-pears, and slept beside it for the last +time, never thinking or dreaming that one year +later I should approach the mouth of the +Suwanee from the west, after a long voyage of +twenty-five hundred miles from the bead of the Ohio +River, and would again seek shelter on its banks. +It was a night of sweet repose. The camp-fire +dissipated the damps, and the long row made +rest welcome. + +A glorious morning broke upon our party as +we breakfasted under the shady palms of the +island. Behind us rose the compact wall of +dark green of the heavy forests, and along the +coast, from east to west, as far as the eye could +reach, were the brownish-green savanna-like +lowlands, against which beat, in soft murmurs, +the waves of that sea I had so longed to reach. +From out the broad marshes arose low +hammocks, green with pines and feathery with +palmetto-trees. Clouds of mist were rising, and +while I watched them melt away in the warm +beams of the morning sun, I thought they were +like the dark doubts which curled themselves +about me so long ago in the cold St. Lawrence, +now all melted by the joy of success. The +snowclad north was now behind me. The Maria +Theresa danced in the shimmering waters of +the great southern sea, and my heart was light, +for my voyage was over. + + + +[ Etext Editor: The book includes an advertisement for Bishop's previous book: +A Thousand Miles' Walk Across South America, N. H. Bishop ] + + + + + +THE PAMPAS AND ANDES: A THOUSAND MILES' WALK ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA. +BY NATHANIEL H. BISHOP. +12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Price, $1.50 +---- +Notices of the Work. + + + +His Excellency Don Domingo F. Sarmiento, President of the Argentine +Confederation, South America, in a letter written to the author during 1877. says: "Your book of +travels possesses the merit of reality in the faithful descriptions of scenes and customs as +they existed at that time. + +"It has delighted me to follow you, step by step by the side of the ancient and +picturesque carts that cross the vast plains which stretch between the Parana River and the +base of the Andes. As I have written about the same region, your book of travels +becomes a valuable reminder of those scenes; and I shall have to consult your work in the +future when I again write about those countries." +-- +"Nathaniel H. Bishop, a mere lad of seventeen; who, prompted by a love of nature, +starts off from his New England home, reaches the La Plata River and coolly walks to +Valparaiso, across Pampa and Cordillera, a distance of more than a thousand miles! It +is not the mere fact of pedestrianism that will gain for Master Nathaniel Bishop a high +place among travellers; nor yet the fact of its having been done in the face of dangers +and difficulties, -- but that, throughout the walk, he has gone with his eyes open, and +gives us a book, written at seventeen, that will make him renowned at seventy. It is +teeming with information, both on social and natural subjects, end will take rank among +books of scientific travel -- the only ones worth inquiring for. One chapter from the +book of an educated traveller (we don't mean the education of Oxford and Cambridge) is +worth volumes of the stuff usually forming the staple of books of travels. And in this +unpretending book of the Yankee boy -- for its preface is signally of this sort - we have +scores of such chapters. The title is not altogether appropriate. It is called 'A +Thousand Miles' Walk across South America.' It is more than a mere walk. It is an +exploration into the kingdom of Nature. + +"Sir Francis Head has gone over the same ground on horseback, end given us a good +account of it. But this quiet 'walk' of the American boy is worth infinitely more than +the 'Rough Rides' of the British baronet. The one is common talk and superficial +observation. The other is a study that extends beneath the surface." - Captain Mayne +Reid. +-- +"Regarded simply as a piece of adventure, this were interesting, especially when told +of in a tone of delightful modesty. But the book has other recommendations. This +boy has an admirable eye for manners, customs, costumes, &c., to say nothing of his +attention to natural history. The reader seems to travel by his side, and concludes the +book with a sense of having himself trodden the Pampas, and mingled with their +barbarous inhabitants. So far as writing goes, this is the supreme merit of a book of +travels. Let those explore who not only see for themselves, but have the rare ability to lend +their eyes to others. Mr. Bishop is one of the few who can do this; the graphic +simplicity of his narrative is above praise. Meanwhile, his personal impression is very +charming. The quiet patience with which he accepted all the hardships of his position +without the slightest parade of patience, however -- is beyond measure attractive. But +the brave youth goes on quietly enduring what was to be borne, and not ever allowing his +observation to be dulled by the infelicities of his situation." -- Boston Commonwealth +-- +BOSTON: LEE & SHEPARD. +NEW YORK: CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Etext of Voyage of The Paper Canoe, by Bishop + + diff --git a/1082.zip b/1082.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1273b19 --- /dev/null +++ b/1082.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. 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