Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1876-03-14
visit % ,he Di.mal sv.mn.

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A writer ia the Washington Star says:
Having lately made a visit to the Dis.
NAL swamp Of Virginia, / have thought
Q brief description Of that unfinished part
OF creation might be interesting to four
readers. Its locality is so weIl.known
that need not refer TO that. For d.
mansions and statistics, I give them as
told to me, but believe them TO be gener-
ally correct. The swamp ia about thirty
miles long and from fifteen to twenty
vide. Il is covered with 4 dense growth
Of vegetation. consisting OF much vslua
Bile timber, such az cypress, juniper, pine.
and gum, with an underground Of wild
cane (Arpndinaria Gigantia) and great
variety Of other plants. in many places
so dense that q squirrel could not yet
through. In other places. particularly
such known as gum swamps, it is not go.
dense. Cypress and juniper make very
valuable timber, especially where great
durability is desired. In the central
part Of this swamp is body of fresh wa.
ter, known as Lake Drupmand, former
ly said TO be unfathomabse, but this is a
mistake. l am told that It is only from
ten 10 fifteen feet in depth. Possibly
there may be places Of greater depth.
II ia oval in shape aud abont seven miles
long and four vide. It has no .slOping
banks like ordinary lakes. Cypress and
juniper grow near the shore in water sew.
eral feet in depth, the crown of their roots
two or three feet above the water. You
can step from comparatively solid earth
liz Q purely vegetable mould we'll satu.
rated with water may be called solid
earth into deep water. The shore APP
pears to be gradually %eucroAchins upon
the lake, and in time viii doubtless ab-
sorb it entirely. This whole swamp was
once q lake Of fresh water after the
ocean retired 10 its present limiis.
There is uumistskbie evidence that
this whole lover part Of Vir.
giuis aud North Carolina was
once the bed of the Atlantic ocean, and
that at no distant geological period.
Immense beds OF mari, consisting OF
partly decomposed marine shells, abound
here. and are used by farmers on baud
requiring lime. Il is singular fact that
in these mari beds ara found shells IN.
like any found on this coast now. But |
Am getting out Of the swamp. The water
OF this lake IL very sRlubrious, aud said
to be a sure cure for chills and fever.
Before the late Wal a house was built
near the lake az 9 resort Tor inyalids and
sportsmeu. The lake a6Sunds with fish,
such as pickereL, pike, perch and some
other varieties, which afford Cue sport
the year round for anglers. In the
swamp are beats, deer, rBSeoops wild
oat, turkeys, and 10 the lake wild geese,
ducks and other aquatic birds. Not uu.
frequently the sportsman will meet with
wild cattle and hogs, who live and get
ist on the Wild sne that Crews 10 great
abundance here. Farmers living on the
borders Of the swamp turn their cattle
into the swamp in the fall, and they re-
main there all the winter and get fat.
Beet lstted on this zane has an excel.
lent favor. have eat it and thought il
superior 10 any beef | eyer tasted. In
my late visit there | ate butter made
from the milk of COWS hat had no other
food than this wild csRe, made, too, by o
Pennsylvania lady, who knew good
butter. She thought il equal to the best
Pennsylvania butter. There is quite q
colony Of PsnusylvanianB who have
bought farms not far from Suffolk, Nan.
semond county, and 10 the neighborhood
Of the swamp, many Of them including
a portion Of it. Some Of this rich land haI
been reclaimed, and is the richest part o.
the farm. Last summer a ditch was dos
on three sides Of two-thirds OF an acre
which was grubbed, burned over, anC
planted with corn on the Fourth OF July
aud fully mstured, growing from ten t
fifteen feet in height, and yielded forty
Eve bushels OF shelled corn. This whole
swamp Is covered with q vegetable mold
the accumulation Of ages, of from three
10 four feet in thickness. 1t is net I'm.
common to find large trees Of cypress
and juniper that have fallen down and
lie imbedded in this mold two or three
feet below the surface, that must have
lain there for centuries, and yet when
dug up are as sound as the day they fell,
except the sap Of the tree. These are
often dug up aud split into shingles. In
digging the Dismal Swamp canal, con.
Meeting the waters OF Albemarls Sound
With those Of the Chesapeake Bay, the
boles Of large trees were found ten feet
below the surface. Trees more than two
feet in diameter had grown directly over
them.
Many people suppose that this sWamI
is q worthless waste. 1t is q mistake
There's. millions in it," The Dismal
Swamp Land Company own forty.eighi
thousand acres Of it. They have built g
narrow gage railroad from the Nanse.
mond river, nesr Suffolk, some eight OF
ten miles into the swamp, have built
steam saw mills there, aRd ara bringing
out immense quantities Of pine wood
railroad ties, and lumber of various
kinds. They employ hundreds Of mer
who live in the swamp the year round
Chills aud fever ale unknown anon
them. The common opinion is that thi,
exemption from disease is owing to their
drinking the juniper water Of the lake
This water is about the color Of brandy
Others are Of the opinion that the i'm
mense amount Of dense vegetation sb
serbs the malaria that may arise from
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