The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1876-04-06
The Dismal Swamp.

h a w -.
y correspondent oI Tue washington 9'"r
gives the following description of the Dismal
~>vu,an which thouoh hrief and to those who
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ii"'N N''N" - '0"''S' '''t'" I''''' - '''''
worth fcaullH. / he writer 1otTcts, among
other things to mention in favor Of tile swamp
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lnS "dlslnai NJ any sense, pelh8 luIl Pl hfillNhi
iloWer>, nt ntautlluliy LUXURIOUS Nc?ctatloh' ana
>il&lhS plfus: III theiF seasons ana aS acouhlfr
clarge, llal II ahou!uS III 2iits' lhos'IuItot>'
Wood-lifhs anu olileF annoying Nciiuhl' Wiiitu
abound TO such Hn extent a7 to make WISH TO
thclr DOMAIN Il thlti4 |" DE 'It'"ieu OF aNolucV
AZ any tilhc III tAe Nulh('l atNcf 'Ht ihoI'i u
MAY.
inc swamp IL auoul thfiI ihlleS 4of@ ana
lfulll Hittth 10 twenty WiNt. ~ Is 'oNtItl W NJ
a dense growth OF vegetation, consisting OF much
Ealla"e lumber sucA 1s cypress, juniper PINE
ana gum Win ah unueFSFoN IN ol Wllu cane
ana great variety VI other pants III many
places 50 dense that squirfei could hot gel
through. ih olhef places, paEtlcuiiTiN lh">e
known Us gum sWahlp'' u Is hot 50 dense. ~
press ana jumper MAKE very Naiuape tlhlDtr'
especially where great duraDllltN !, desired. IN
the central part oi tilis swamp Is bouV Oh lfeSh
water known Us Lake pfunlnonu, formerly
said to be uhlathomuble. but tins Is mistake.
IL IS only Irom ten 10 hileeh ieet III depth, fos-
slDiy there may pe places o1 greater ueplil- IL
Is oval IN shape ana about seven miies long ana
four VIDE. III h;ts N" Slopln2 banks Ike ofIl-
nary lakes. cypress AND jumper grow near the
shore Ill water >eNtr"! leei III depth, tlle crown
ot thtlf focts Two or thfee leet ABOVE tlc water
You can step from comparatively solld eartn
(li Il purely vegetable mould wei saturated
with Wafer may he called solid eaFth) INTO deep
water. Inc shore appears 10 DE @fdllltlly en-
croaching upon the lake, and in time will
doubtless absorb 1t entirely. rms whole swamp
was once lake OF fresh water after the ocean
retired to lis present limits. There is unmlstak-
able evidence that this whole lower part of
Virginia and North Carolina was once the bed
Of the Atlantic ocean, and that at no distant
geologic period. immense beds OF mari, con-
si>tng OF partly decomposed marine shells,
abound here, and are used by farmers on land
requiring lime. 1t is Il singular fact that III these
mari bed, are shells unlike any found on this
coast now.
The water of this lake is very salubrOuS and
said 10 be sure cure for chllls and fever. Be
fore the late war, Il house was built near the
lake IS 4 resort for invaiids and sportsmen
| The lake abound5 with fish, such as pickerel,
pike, perch. and some other varieties, which at-
ford lire sport the wear rouLd for anglers. In
the swamp are bears, deer. raccoOnS, wildcats
turkeys and in the lake, wild geese, ducks and
other aquatic birds. Not untrcqnentlv the
sportsman will meet with Wild cattle and hogs,
who live and get fat on the wild cane that grows
in great abundance here. Farmers living on the
borders of the swamp turn their cattle into tile
swamp in the fail, and they remain there all
winter and get fat. Beef fatted on this cane has
an excellent favor | have eaten it and thought
it superior to any beef | ever tasted. In my late
visit there | ate butter made from the milk Of
cows that hal no other food than this wild cane,
by Il Pennsylvania lady, who knew good butter.
She thought it equal to the best Pennsy sylvania
butter.
There is quite 4 colony of PennSylyanians
who have bough. farms not far from Suffolk.
Nansemond county, and in the neighborhood
of the swamp, many of them including a pol-
ton of it. Some of this land has been reclaimed
and is the richest part of the farm. Last sum-
mer ditch was dug on three sides OF two-thirds
of an acre. which was grubbed, burned over,
and planted with corn on the fourth OF July.
The crop fully matured. growing from ten to
fifteen feet in height and yielded torty-tve
bushels Of shelled corn.
This whole swamp Is covered with vegeta-
Bile mould, the accumulation of ages, of from
three to four feet in thickness. 1t is not uncom-
mon to find large trees of cypress and juniper
that have fallen down and lie imbedded in this
mould two OF three feet below the surface, that
must have lain there for centuries, and yet
when dug up are as sound as when they fell,
except the sap-wood of the tree. These are
often dug up and split into shingles. In digging
the Dismal Swamp canal, connecting the waters
of Albemarle Sound with those of the Chesa-