Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-10-28
DISMAL SWAMP CANAL.
The Accident of It's Origin-Treasures Of
the Morsss Land.

Half q century ago the Dismal Swan
|. Canal in Virginia was one Of the most in
portant artificiil waterways in the Urite
, States. Ia thefe days Of rapid railroa
trar spcrtaiion, however. and owing to tb
competition of the Albermarle aud Chess
reale Canal. which parallels it, it ha
dropped somewhat cut Of tight, though
is still considerably patroniz, d. It is on
of tas Oldest canals in the country, and it
mauaa ement is probably the oldest incor
porated company of its kind. Georg
Washington was prominently connected
with il, and he found it very availabl,
means of obtaining supplies when he va
contending sgainst Corvallis at York
| town. There was no Eastern Vitginian o.
prominence and wealth until the begin
nirg of the century to the beginning of the
late war who was pos in some way or an.
other ident fed with it.
Mr.. Marshall Parks, the supervising in.
spector-general of steamboats,, whose early
days were pa SD 10 canal construction in
Virginia, tells an interesting and remarks
i bly, coir cidental story Of the building VI
the canal. Nearly two centuries ago the
Ia 90 LAND xners CT Virginia began to pen.
citrate the d4rk and gloomy vii is of the
Dismal swamp in search Of joniper and
cypress shingles. The greatest Difficult y
against which they had TO Ltsnd, how.
ever, was the soggy condition of the soil,
in which the wheels of thsir carts sank to
the hubs The further they penetrated
the swamps this difficulty became greater,
and at last they resorted to the expedient
OF digging q narrow and illshareu ditch
Just deep enough 10 fl ,as small fl t boat.
Down this canal the timber was fl 'ated to
Deep creek, o tributary OF Elizabeth river,
and tbe.cs to the market at Norfolk.
Year by year the timber was cut away
from the banks of the ditch, and each
year, az the demand for juniper and cy-
pi ess shiuglss becaIe greater, it was ex-
tended farther into the almost impsnetra'
bls wilds of tie forest.
SLAVES SINGING AT THEIR WORK.
The work was done altogether by slaves,
with sbovels and p'ekaxes. The use Of
steam shovels was then unknown and nm.
thought of. The towering cypress trees
we've also fellsd sni sp il into shirg 'es by
slaves, who were g ven tasks each day by
their overseers, and for all shingles they
made over ths required amount they were
paid extra. One Sstu day afterrooa they
were visited by this cvsrseer, wto was
much surprised to hear several negroes
singing aaay off in the swamp. Their
voices sounded like faint ech,es. He
ask e the slaves Wh) lived constantly in
the swamp if they knew the men who
were singing, and was told they were
| North Carolina negroes. An Investigation
of their unexpected and rather intrudiug
presence WAS made, and the fact WIS dis
covered that the North Carolina lsndown-
ers, like thcee of Virginia, alb out twenty
mile, away, had appreciated the s,me diff
iculties of hauling lumber in the soggy
and trescherous ewamp' ard lad sent their
slsves ia:o the wilds to dig often to aid
them in their transportation OF shirgles
and lumber.
For years these two forces worked IL de-
pandently of each other, and each, strange
to say, was digging unawares towards the
other. The two sections OF the canal were
Joined. and the point of their connection
is marked by an angle FL inly visible to-
day in tbs (ourte of the canal.
ALAKE MADE BY FIRE.
The government OF the State of Virginia
finally became luteres I'd in the work, and
the waters Of Lake Drunmold were
brought into rtquisition for feeding the
canal. Til, lake is situated in tie centre
of the swamp, and the depression in which
the placid water spsrkles was made by a
fire cen uries. perhsp,. thousands of years,
ago The whole swamp, in fact, repre-
se ats ia q modern Egg, the conforming
epochs of millior of years back in the geo.
Logical hi tory Of the globe, and during an
exceedingly dry season-so dry, indeed,
that the bcggy soil was psrched and trans
formed into an il fl ,mmable clay, fl ish
of lightning became the origin of big
fire. Towering trees were felled, the
serubbJ undsrblu:h w lid low, and
then the fl ,mes ate their way foot after
foot into the i, fl lmmable coil, and bol-
low circle was formed in the ground.
When TIE rains came this depression be-
came basin fer the .innumerab,e streams
which t,ickled thro ugh the 70 est, and was
soon transformed into lake.
CYPRESS AND JUNIPER.
The almost trackless swamp through
which the canal penetrates is still valuable
on account Ct its cypress and juniper, the
latter article becoming year by year more
ard mole scarce and xteedipgly valuable.
At one time sir gle share of stock of the
Dismal Swamp Land Company was worth
as much IS $32, 900. The tract origins lily
taken pp and surveyed embraces 60, 00C
square acres. About half as many add.
tional square acres are row embraced in
the forst. Bears wander unmolested in
it's trsckless depths, and the dead y rattle
b SKIS himself in the sun witkout fesr oi
man. Birds OF brilliant p'umage fly from
limb to limb of the huge and high cyp esq
tire q. and tiug their cnols from dawn tc
dark unseen and unheard by the prowline
and watchful hunter.
A CANAL BUILT BY STEAM.
No less interesting is tie history of TIE
construction of tie Albemarle and Chesa
paske canal, which has become ths high
way Of CONNIE, CO te,w IN tie Chess FAX:
b V and the Albemarle sound, N @. It il
ore of the most imrort mt Of the many
navigable feeders of Baltimore. 1t may
be said to be tie modern rapid canal II
diatinc ion from the old, snail pace water
way. No. shovel or picksxe was ma
nipulated by band in IFS construction. L
was built by steam and powder, and steam
only is used in navigating its waters tt