Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-07-28
The Jungle Home Of Bear, Deer, Rae
coon, 0posSum and Snakes.
RECLAIMING THE VAST SWAMP.
The Story of Man Who Braved ALI Its
Dangers for jug.
4 REJECTED LOVERS DREADFUL FATE
rwRITrEN FOR THE pIsPArcH.l

''Dismal." 1t runs along somewhat parallel
to the Albemarle Sound. at q distance of
from three to five miles from the sandy
shores of that beautiful inland sea. The
strip OF high land in between forms some of
South. while the almost impenetrable jun
giles of the bordering dismal afford shelter
and protection to various wild animals
notably the common black bear and deer.
Numberless wild cattle browse upon its
extensive reed pastures; the fox finds in its
solitary thickets congenial camping ground,
while the raccoon and opossum from its
dense shades make nightly torays upon the
bordering cornfelds. In earlier days the
cry of the panther broke the stiffness of its
depths and even now the huge wildcat is
often encountered b. hunters. During the
rainy season it Is mostly covered with water
from few inches to several feet in depth,
though it contains many high spots, acres in
extent, that are never submerged. The tim
Der is mostly juniper, with considerable
cypress, some long leaf pine and scattering
poplar and gum. For large areas the growth
Of juniper is so thick and tall that the
sun never strikes the ground. In
such places we are reminded of twilight at
high noon. 1t is only partially drained by
sluggish creeks that circuitously find their
way to the sound. Strange as it may seem
the waters of these juniper swamps are con-
sidered penacea for the ills of the locality,
and their medicinal qualities are so we'll es-
tablished that it is sent away BY the barrel
for such use. Natives, who had been
shaken up by the ague until they were
white as a piece of cotton cloth, would
plunge into the shingla swamps, remaining
for weeks drinking only this water and re-
turn to the hill hearty and robust with the
roses of health blooming on their cheeks.
1t is about the color of scuppernong wine
and smacks little Of the juniper in taste.
1t is very palatable and when taken from
the quiet depths of its natural reservoir on
a hot day makes a most delightful drink.
REcLAIMING THE SWAMP.
Many years before the war this body of
land was purchased from the State by a rich
corporation, with Burwell Reddick Presi-
dent They attempted to work out the tim
Der, but when the war came on had only
made a beginning, and its jungles for II
miles, its width, were as unbroken as they
were the day Sir Walter Raleigh furled his
sails at Roanoke Island, in the lower end of
the sound. Surveying parties only had
crossed to the other side, and that after
weeks of patient toll with ak and cutlass.
Many of the tales of narrow escapes from
snakes yet told by the old chainbearers
and their descendants. They tell that the
snakes were SO numerous the entire party
wore buckskin breeches over their other
clothing to protect them from the reptiles;
and on reaching the other side it became
necessary to send Immediately back mile
or more to their last camp after something
that had been forgotten (possibly jug), 50
Of ha ct TT
back, cutlass in hand. over the freshly
cleared track. The snakes in the mean
time had congregated along the pathway.
Nothing daunted, he pressed on. With
open mouths they would come at him two
and three at time, but he slashed right and
left, behind and before, with his cutlass,
literally hewing his way through snakes as
he ran. When the camp was reached he
counted 90 rattler's heads dangling from his
buckskin pants. How many more he had
decapitated he never knew. but that many
heads had hung on until the jug was
reached.
The lower end of the Dismal widens and
deepens until Its waters mlngle with and
are lost in those of the Albemarle. Hug
ging the Sound along, as stated In the be-
ginning of this article, for a distance of 80
miles it makes sudden bend, and termi-
mates within a mile of the town of Plymouth
on the Roanoke river. The long strip of
land in between forms the counties of WASH
ington and Tyrrel, with their only outlet by
land at Plymouth. Many wealthy planters
lived down in these counties before the war,
some of them owning as many as 400 slaves.
For two years of the war the Federal forces
held Plymouth. Their occupancy of that
town closed up the people in the two coun-
ties between the Sound and Dismal as COM
pletely as cork stops bottle.
ADIvIDED COMMUNITY.
The inhabitants were very much divided
on the war, furnishing six companies to the
Confederates and three to the Federals. A
young man of considerable wealth intended
to enlist in the Confederate service, but put
it off until he could win promise of mar
riage from a beautiful maiden of his &C.
quaintance. For some reason she rejected
him. In the meantime the Federals cap
tured Plymouth, cutting off communication
with Dixie. The fear of falling in their
hands, and the grief at being rejected BY his
sweetheart, unsettled his mind and for weeks
he wandered about in a demented state.
Saddling his horse one morning he rode to-
ward the dismal, and astonished q family
living near its borders by telling them he
intended to make his escape by crossing the
vast swamp and joining the Confederates.
Knowing the feat could not be accomplished
by a sane man without compass and rations,
they endeavored to dissuade him from the
attempt. He left and for days was not seen.
His friends formed party, and after dill
gent search found his horse about mile in
the thicket tied to a tree. nearly starved and
terribly bitten by flies; but its poor master
was not found, nor was he ever heard from
afterward.
Northern enterprise and capital are about
to change this vast wilderness into a
hundred farms. A railroad has been run
from the sound across its entire width, con-
Meeting with towns on the opposite side, and
with the Norfolk Southern Railroad at
Edenton. An immense mill has been built
that saws up 500 of the largest pine logs
daily. The lumber, after being thoroughly
kiln-dried, is loaded upon cars and shipped
to Baltimore, Philadelphia and other mar
kets. The juniper is turned into shingles
and coopers' timber. Quite a town is
sprfnging up around the mill and hundreds
of native men are finding ready employ
ment al good wages. The snort and whistle
of the steam engine now startles the bear
prowling through the undergrowth, and
deer are frequently seen flying down the
long stretches of railroad track. Soon their
haunts will know them no more. ALI will
be changed. The timber once taken of,
canals will be dug, completely draining the
land, and thousands of acres will be turned
into fertile farms and smiling gardens. The
President of the company CARRYING forward
this work is John L. Roper, ESQ, now re-
siding at Norfolk. Va, but native of
Pennsylvania. w. COTTON DOWNING.
You Want Them, Others Get Them.
13 cabinet photos for one dollar at Stewart