The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-10-16

tells an interesting and remarkably coineidentsl
story of the building of the canal. Nearly two
centuries ago the large landowners OF Var
ginis began 10 penetrate the dark and gloomy
wilds OF the Dismal Swamp in search of juni-
per aud cypress shingles. The greatest diff
Guilty with which they had TO contend. however.
was the sogey condition Of the soil. In which
the wheels OF their carts sank TO the hubs. Tie
further they penetrated the swsmps this diff
Guilty became greater, and at last they resorted
to the e1pedient of digging q narrow and i'll
shaped ditch just deep enough to foat a small
fiatbost. Down this canal the timber was
ioated to Deep creek, q tributary to the Eliza
beth river. and thence TO the market at Nor
folk Year by year the timber was cut away
along the banks of the ditch, and each year, 80
the demand for juniper and cypress shingles be-
came crater. il was extended further into the
almost impenetrabie wilds OF the forest
The work WAS done altogether by slaves, with
shovels and pickaxes. The use OF steam shovels
was then unknown ard uuthoueht Of. The
towering cypress trees were also feiled and
split into shingles by slaves, who were given
tasks each day by their overseers, and for all
shingles they made over the required amount
they were PAID extra One Sunday afternoon
they were visited By their overseer, who was
much surprised to hear severa. negroes singing
away of in the swamp. Their voices sounded
like faint echoes. He asked the slaves who
lived constantly in the swamp. tx they knew the
men who were singing, aud was told that they
were North Carolina negroes. An investigation
of their unexpected and rather intruding pres
ence was made, and the fact was discovered
that the North Carolina landowners, like those
of Virginia, about twenty miles away, had ex-
perienced the same difficulties of hauling lumber
10 the soggv and treacherous swamp, and bad
sent their slaves into the wilds 10 dig q ditch 10
aid them in their transportation OF shingles and
lumber
For years these two forces worked indepen,
IDENTITY Of each other. and each. strange to say
was digging unawsres toward the other. The
two sections OF the canal were Joined. and the
point of connection is marked by an angie.
The government and the State OF Virginia
finally became interested in the work, aud the
waters of Lake were brought into
reQuisition for feeding the canal. This lake Is
situated IN the center OF the swamp. and the
depression In which the placid water eparkles
was made by q fire centuries, perhaps thousands
of years. AGO. Tue whole swamp. in facr, repre-
sents In q modern age the conforming epochs
OF millions of years back in the geological his
tory OF the globe, and during an exceedingly
dry eeasen-so dry, indeed, that the DOGGY soil
was parched and transformed into an iufiamms-
bic clay. a fash Of lightning became the
origin Of . big fire. Towering trees
were felled, the scrubby underbrush was laid
low, and then the flames ate their way
foot after foot. into the infismmsble soil, and
hollow circle was formed in the ground. When
the rains came this depression became q basin
for the inuumerable streams which trickled
through the forest, and was soon transformed
into Q lake.
The almost trackless swamp through which
the canal penetrstes is still valuable on account
OF Its cypress and juniper, the latter article be-
coming year by year more and more scarce and
exceedingly valuable. At one time q single
share of stock of the Dismal Swamp Land CON-
pany was worth as much as $50 600. The tract
originally taken up and surveyed embraces Co.
600 square acres. About half as many addition
al square acres are now embraced in the forest
Bears wander unmolested in its trackless depths,
and the deadly rattler hasks himself in the sun
without fear of man. Birds of brilliant plumage
fly from limb to limb OF the huge AID high cy-
press trees, and sing their carols from dawn to
dark unseen, visible to-day in the course Of the
canal