Wilmington journal., 1875-02-26
The Great south.


The Great south.
AS matter of some interest to our
readers we COPY from that portion of
Mr.. Kings book, relating to our city.
1t will be remembered that this vol
ume is the republication, in book
form, of Mr.. Kings papers on The
Great South,' published same little
while since in ,Scribner' Magazine.
Mr.. King says:
The range OF climate covered by the
State may be taught by the statement
that buckwheat can be grown on the
mountains in Ashe county, and oran-
ges flourish in the soft sweet air of
Wilmington.
There is tropical luxuriance of
flowers and trees in Wilmington
which is almost astonishing, for one
sees all plants possible at Charleston
or Savannah fourishing in the gardens
of this more Northern town.
Wilmington lies on the banks of the
Cape Fear river, and on the hills
which extend backward from those
banks. It is bnt twenty y-eight miles
from the mouth of the river. and
was one of the havens most sought
after by blockade runners during our
civil war. At the mouth of the
river stand Forts Fisher and Caswell,
the former one of the strongest forts
on the Atlantic coast, as it proved
itself in the terrible days of 1865, when
Porter and Terry knocked at it's doors
and finally burst them open. Will
mington has important railway con-
nections. notably the Wilm lngton,
Charlotte & Rutherford Carolina Cen
trail Road, which will give the port
direct communication with Tennessee,
Kentucky, Ohio and Illinois, and will
immensely increase her trade. All
the counties through which the road,
when completed, will pass, are rich in
mineral and agricultural resources.
The other routes, leading to Charles
ton and Richmond, also command
considerable trade.
The Cape Fear river, at Whining
ton, is a wide and noble stream, and
the scene along it's banks in the bril-
liant Sunshine of the autumn morning
when I saw it, was inspiring. Cheer
full gangs of negroes were rowing huge
scows from side to side of the stream,
standing upright and steering by
means of long poles or sweeps; one
might have fancied them a species of
African gondoliers. Swedish ships
were loading with naval stores huge
piles of lumber, and heaps and long
rows of barrels of turpentine, and
pitch and rosin, were ranged on the
wharves. There were great num-
bers of negroes who looked idle,
although many were employed;
some were fishing, others sleeping in
corners; one or two groups seemed
discussing politics, and in the centre
of a crowd of jet black men I heard
the following question and answer
isolated fragments of deep religious
discussion:
.e'Wha's de reason dar's so many de-
grees (sects) O. Baptists now, when lar
want on'y one John the Baptis'
hey? ,. o.,,. ,.,..;,.,. e
dot; dat aint got muffin to do wild god
Hness!"
Front street is fine avenue, lined
with many elegant blocks devoted to
business. Market street is broad
central promenade, crowded with the
omnipresent negroes, who chatter and
''discuss" all day long. The blacks seem
to think that labor is incompatible
with the enjoyment of city life.
In that portion of the town devoted
to the residences, churches, and pub
lilo buildings, perfect tranquility pre-
walls. Nowhere is there hum Of
whistles. On Third and Fifth streets
gardens, filed with rarest tropical and
costly plants. The City and Thalian
Halls, the Jail. and one or two of the
churches are quite imposing, but the
city is not rich in architecture. The
cemeteries are pretty sylvan retreats,
and the sleepy, moss grown suburb of
Clifton" is favorite resort for ex-
cursions.
Commercially, Wilmington has every
reason to hope for great develop
ments. The principal articles of ex-
port are spirits of turpentine, in bar
rels, crude turpentine. rosin, tar,
pitch. cotton, peanuts, and lumber in
all shapes.
The foreign trade is mainly with
Liverpool, Queenstown, Antwerp,
Belfast, London, Cardenas, Rotterdam,
Havana, Bristol, Hamburg, Cape Hay
ten. Demerara, Jamaica, Nassau and
Hayti. The steamship lines running
to Philadelphia, Baltimore and New
York, have an aggregate tonnage of
10000 tons monthly. In 1872, o.
600, 900 feet of lumber were shipped
from this port.
After the war the exports of spirits
of tnrpentine and rosin were encour-
aging until 1870; since then their
development has not been SO great.
but the constant growth of the cot
ton trade makes amends for their fail
ure. The fine regions extending along
the road to Weldon, and on both sides
of the Wilmington, Columbia & Augusta
railroad, as we'll as on the new Ruth-
erford route, are very rich in
turpentine and timber. The sections
traversed by the two Cape Fears and
the South and Black rivers are.
perhaps, richer in turpentine stores
than any other in the world. A new
railway line On the lowlands of the
coast, aud terminatingin Wilmington.
is contemplated.
The little city has a valuation of
only 81. .OO0, 900. debt of 5000, 900, an
excellent city government, and many
enterprising merchants.
There is still some bitterness among
those of the aristocrats, who were
ruined by the war, but it is rapidly |
mellowing into regret which has but |
little of unkindly feeling toward the |
North mingled in it.
"A determination Oh their part To |
make Wilmington all that it has op-
portunlties to be, would soon increase |
Its population from 14,O0O to many
times that number.