The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1849-08-22

e''i'ii.r narratives OF the capture Of SUM
dry drums or 'shcephcad' of UNUSUAL
dimensions, would Bob bcguile the cas-
ual companion of his sporting hours as
seated in his ekiff he would arran 20 b;s @
tackel, of which article he had large
mahogany box full, which he had doubt.
less cost him from time to time, tho
price of at least grand piano. And
notwithstanding the doubtful looks OF
an occasional sceptic, Bob was blessed
in the belief that his fish tales were
generally regarded as being, in the
main, strictly true.
Having thus presented your readers
with a short preliminary account of
Bob's pcculiarities, I shall proceed to
give them the details of that particular
occasion, Gas Bob was wont to term it }
on which he captured the Mermaid
alluded to in our heading.
IT was in the latter portion of the
summer of '37, in the very height of
the real Estate bubble, when every
rod OF land, whether dry and arabic,
or, as III many instances, entirely COW
cred with water, within fifty miles of
New York, was made the subject of
blind speculation; and single farms, or
dina,ily valued at $4,000 or there
abouts, were sold to the speculative
gentry at prices varying from so to
$4,000, and immediately converted
into magnificent lithographic cities! Con
the map,) with churches, theatres,
squares and PARKS, with an occasional
fountain or two, located almost inva,i.
oily III spots innocent of water from time
immcmorial, the whole cxpcnsively
and claborately surveyed and laid out in
streets and avenues pompously desig.
mated in imitation of the parent city, as
broadway, Pearl street, Water street,
Bond street, Wall street, &c. &C., and
walled in by lcng line of heavy solid
stone wharves, sufficiently extensive for
the ample accommodation of the whole
United States navy, giving Con papcr,)
to the whole singularly imposing ap
pcarancc, and Frequently inducing the
adnirng bcholdcr to forget the trihing
drawback, that within these magnificent
marine havcns 10 vessel of more than a
hundred tons could ever, by any posi-
bllity, find entrance, from the simple,
overlooked fact, that the river channel
was too shallow to admit a larger
When at every other steamboat
landing Of the adjacent rivers and Kills
as they are termed, CANDY, shiny
looking gilt sign, proclaimed to the pas
scngcr that the little ten foot square
building to which it was attached was a
Land Office, of the tenant of which,
splendid and eligible lots might be pur.
chased at prices varying, in accordance
with their proximity to the apocrvplal
squares, parks, and public buildings
aforesaid, from one hundred to a thon.
sand dollars; and assurances were given
the puzzled inquirer, to whom was
clearly and certainly demonstrated that
by such an investment Of his surpl
fund handsome profit must almost i'm
mcd'atcly accrue. A constant appeal
to the map and eloquent descriptions
OF the intensity Of the public anxiety
to obtain scvcrally for themselves
chance in this 'thc most promising
opportunity for investment occurrin.
III modern times too often success
fully excited the cupidity of the
unwary and caused them to alix
to certain documents their signatures,
eventually depriving themselves of the
use and benefit of hundreds and thou
sands of hard-carncd dollars.
~ was during this exciting period
that Bob, avaiEng himself of his custo
mary summer holiday, wcaricd with the
dust and din Of city life and somewhat
tired OF the daily routine of salt fish
transactions, frcighting his skiff with the
necessary equlppage and implements
for the exercise Of his dcstructivcncss,
wcndcd his way to that peaceful por
ton of the shores of New Jersey which
is washed by the waters of the xii
Van kull,' immediately opposite to the
northern shore Of Staten Coz as he ia,
cctiously termed it, Satan's) Island.
This was a tavorite spot with Bob, as in
addition to its being in the vicinity of
certain celebrated drum grounds, it
possessed the additional charm of being
the home ofscveral rosy-chcckcd Dutch
girls in whose good graccs Bob had,
during the previous season, made con-
siderable advance. Here, then, Bob
pitched his tent, having issued, to one,
whom we shall cognominatc Ned, an in
v'tation to spend in his amphibious socie-
ty, awholc fortnight, and to whom he had