Morning journal and courier., 1882-09-23
A North Carolina Venice.
The Queer Town fn Which People Gt About in Boats Instead of Wagons.
 From the Atlanta Constitution.l

The aueer Town fn Which People Go About in Boats Instead of Wagons. From the Atlanta Constitutionl
 suppose Morehead City is the only city in the world without wheel in it. I do not think there is 8 wagon or buggy horse in the town, and very few in the county. Eve rything is done in boats. There is not a house in the county that boat cannot get within mile of. Not doctor or lawyer in the county owns a horse-they practice in ! boats. The people go to funerals in boats, and when they arrest man they carry him to jail in boat.
 Ihe main export of the town besides truck is fish, but the fish caught :here embrace ev- erything from & whale to Q shrimp. Last year two or three whales were taken off this coast, and whale is worth from $l 200 to l $2,OOO It is said that they get between the shore and the gulf stream and in trying to l beat out to sea are sickened by the warm water. They turn in shore again and soon ! strand themselves. Along the bays and in ! let's mackerel caught in large quantities l in nets. But this wholesale fishing is neither I picturesque nor interesting pretty sport l practiced along shore is spearing founders. | A small rowboat IS put adrlft. A man with 1 a Rambeau walks alongside up to his knees in 1 water. In the bow of the boat sportsmen
 stand with slender gigs. Along the bottom, by the reflection of the light, can be seen ! white founders half buried in the sand. They remain perfectly still while the gig is poised above them. aud never move until ! they are either speared missed. The only drawback to this sport is that occasionally your torch bearer is stung by stingaree. A
 stingaree is simply long buggy whip, broken
 out with smallpox and filled with steel l springs aquaforts and needles. When he l hits you lockjaw is the nildest possible re-
 suit. The ''little nigger'' contingent about
 Morehead makes it's living by grabbing. | With little boat, hardly bigger than tub,
 they go out in the surf, and Hopping in and
 out like amphibia, soon come in wish bush | el or so of the ugliest looking and sweetest
 tasting things that swim the water.
 One other very important industry of this ! most interesting place is the raising of ''marsh
 tackles" The marsh tackey is shaggy | pony hardly larger than the Sheltand light | built and hardy. He lives in the water and l will not eat corn hay. He is brought up
 on the marsh grass, which he eats between
 tides. They cost literally nothing, breeding
 in droves wild horses Each drove has it's
 leader, who selects the eating grounds and
 decides when the tides going out or com
 ing in. Once every year the owners have
 what is called pony penning." All the
 ponies along the coast, running into the
 thousands, are driven in by boats and either
 branded or sold. They bring from $l5 to
 $3O apiece, and it is tribute to their wild
 ness that "broke" pony, that is, one that
 can be ridden driven, is called "trained
 tackey," and brings $7O. They are in great
 demand in the middle part of the State, eat
 ing little and doing heap of work. They
 run down to skin and bones before they
 learn to eat corn or hay, but then fatten rap
 idly and lose the ugly reddish color the salt
 water gives them. There are men who buy
 them in large numbers, train them and take them to the mountains and get fancy prices
 for them. As I write there is a drove oi
 tackles marching in slow and sedate process sion against the horizon. The leader, bear ! ing his responsibility with dignity, picks the way carefully, and his company follow witt blind sense of confidence. The water, a.
 it splashes about their legs, glistens ik, showered silver, and their red sides shine against the sun like bronze. On they go, a
 birds beat homeward in the twilight, growing
 smaller and more indistinct as they plod the
 steady way. At last they are but speok above the water, moving dumb and patien 3 l to some we'll l-desired goal.