The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1873-04-12

| N"N iV"u anu WTlue, anu 10 my sur
prise repeated the whole Of the Sd chapter
OF Matthew by memory, | holding the
book. at the time, and he made no mistake.
| asked him If he went to school, he said
no, had never been to school day in his
life, but kept his book with him wherever
he went and If he stopped along the road
or IN the field, but for moment he studied
his book. He could also sing well, and
carried the different parts Of music this
seemed natural to him.
About II o'clock the five men left in A
row boat, and promised to send the ferry
boat for us if they got over. They did not
get over, but came near being swamped,
and were covered with ice and the boat
half full of water when they reached shore.
About B o'clock the wind abated aud we
got across Here | saw the largest man
in North Carolina. His name was Jones,
from Green county. He is six feet high
and weighs little over 600 pounds For
all he Is SO large he is quite active and at
tends to business. He has wife and sew
eral children. 1t annoys him very much
to be gazed at, and when on recent trip
to New York City, the boys followed him
in such gangs he had to take buggy to
escape the annoyance As | am now
about to leave this section of the country.
will close my remarks with brief sum
mary on some matters Of which | have not
spoken.
Of course this is an old section Of coun-
try, being one of the original 13 States.
But through much Of it the population is
very sparce When slavery prevailed,
large tracts Of land were owned By indi-
viduals at mere nominal prices. The own
er generally resided in some town, where
society and educational facilities abounded,
and his slaves, under an overseer, were
sent to the lands, where small log cabins
and stick and clay chimneys were erected,
and there put to work, bleeding pines and
making naval stores generally. No more
than small patches of ground around the
huts were opened for corn and potatoes,
which the women and children worked,
while the men bent all their energies to
the production of urpentine--crude, and
spirits-tar, &c. A good hand at this
business would make from 500 to 5000 a
year, which paid better than other pur-
suits. But of course this kept the coun-
try in forest condition, and the fertile belts
Of country were not valued for the worth
of the soil. That industry, through the
section | have traversed, is now exhausted
the long straw pine or turpentine pine,
is only found in small belts and will soon
be extinct--though there are in North
Carolina vast tracts Of such pines, but not
in the eastern slope Of counties. This be-
ing the case, labor has taken a new direc-
ton in the last twenty years. Steam mills
for numbering have been erected in many
places, furnishing the means to build bet
ter houses, and exhiting more taste and
comfort. The soil is now sought for what
ever it is productive, and a better class of
society is settling the country, and draw
ing around them religious, educational and
commercial influences and advantages, that
must develop that hitherto obscure section
of the old Bay State.
True, there are drawbacks to this region
of country it is generally malarious and
chills and fevers and bilious arrangements
prevail to great extent, from July until
December By observing the laws of
health as to diet and exposure, | do not
think our own country has any advantages
over that in sanitary point of view
Again, there is another drawback of some
Importance, but which can be overcome by
a small outlay of means--I allude TO the
drinking water. As before observed, this
country is underlaid with mari almost ey-
erywhere, and well of good water is a
rare thing Usually they dig down into
the mari and can go no farther, and the
water is Of a hard brackish taste, unfit for
dringking. Most of the people have cave
cutters to their houses which catch rain
water in cistern prepared for the pur-
pose. This furnishes good drinking water,
while horses and other stock use the well
water. Mosquitoes and gnats are quite
troublesome at certain seasons of the wear.
On the Albemarle Sound and its tribu-
taries they catch fish in large quantities
with seines from one to three miles long,
drawn by steam engines, stationary on
shore, where they frequently catch l00,-
900 herrings at orh haul Rock, perch,
shad, blue fish and mullet (which we cali
hat-backs) abound in great quantities in
their season. Wild fowl, such as geese,
ducks, brant and swan, are also numerous.
Oysters and clans are found generally in
the Sounds and Rivers and their tributaries,
and are of excellent quality. Wild game,
such as deer, bears, some wild turkies and
wild cats, foxes, 'coons opossums squirrels,
rabbits otters, muskrats and minks, furnish
sport and profit to the huntsman and trap
per.
The turpentine business that used to be
of first Importance is fast giving way to
other pursuits in Eastern n c. learned
some facts, however, connected with it,
which here give During the month
Of February man goes into pine forest
(none but long straw will do) and with
long narrow bitted axe, proceeds to box the
trees by cutting deep hollow cups that will
hold about one quart These are made on
two sides Of the tree and sometimes on
four sides. Five hundred of such boxes are
considered days work for one man.
The 10th of March they begin to chip the
pines which is done by sharp, crooked
iron, fastened in staff or pole and one
rake each way bringing the angle down to
the box, or in that dire ,tion, is done at
that time. The turpintine runs down into
the box. 10000 turpentine trees is con-
sidered a task for one man to chin, and
this must be done once week to October.
Another set Of hands come around and
dip out the turpentine from the boxes by
using a thin fiat, iron dipper; the turpen-
tine is put into barrels, and at a proper
time is carried to the still, where from Is
to 80 barrels are poured up and distilled
at one time. The spirits are put into
barrels well glued inside, and the residuum
is drawn off into barrels as rosin. 200
trees will drip one barrel Of turpentinc,
aud this dripping must be done seven times
a year.
| witnessed the setting of a tar kiln also.
The wood that makes the tar is generally
cut from the turpentine trees after they
oaaaa 90 hc ,,aaC,f g.. ..-... ml