Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-22
A Spot on the Carolina Coast Where
Nature Aids Cupid to
FOOL FOND FLUTTERING HEARTS
As Youth and Maiden Wander on the Sands
in the Moonlight.
THE STORY OLA SHELF COVERED GRAVE
WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH,

| lives, has gone down forever 10 the bottom
of the treacherous sea, stands a large hotel
| and numerous cottages on a strip of the
sandy beach with the usually placid waters
of the Albemarle on one side and those of
| the more turbulent ocean on the other. The
land between the ocean and sound at this
| point is in the shape of a horses head, and
the place from the earliest times has been
called ''Nag's Head" 1t is here that many
of the wealthy people of the Carolinas spend
their summer, and no more interesting or
picturesque summer resort can be found
from Maine to Florida. A few miles from
| "Nag's Head", on the sound side, can be
seen historic Roanoke Island with its clus-
ters of vine-covered forest and its bowers Of
blooming wild roses.
Every part of this lovely isle of the South
has its legend or history, and, as we ramble
at eventide beneath the towering branches
of live oaks, listening to the sweet music of
singing birds and the hoarser murmur of the
ceaseless waters, breathing the perfume of a
million flowers, watching the blood-red sun
dashing his fiery chariots toward the west
ern horizon while his slanting beams glisten
and dance along the foam-crested waves of
Walter Raleigh's astonishment and delight
when he furled his storm-whitened sails and
set foot on its lovely virgin shore. 1t was
there Virginia Dare, the first child in
America was born, and either the deepen
ing shadows of the murmuring pine trees or
the unreal rhythm of Ginning waters still
hold the secret of
HER MYSTERIOUS FATE.
On the ocean side we look out, out, out,
and naught can be seen but the mighty At
lantic. Its ponderous, white-capped waves
roar and rumble and break upon the golden
sands up and down as far as the eve can
see. Soaring aloit, lazily, or darting with
the swiftness of the wind, white-winged sea
birds dip down in the briny deep for a
moment, then rise dripping with the salt
seas tears, and screaming over the silver
scaled prey their talons hold. And the
Winds 'Tis here they gambo and frolic;
tits here they moan and shrek VITA the
vengeance of myriad demons. Here the
gentlest health-giving zephyrs bring out the
roses on the pallid maiden's cheek in sum-
mer, and toy with beauty's flowing curls as
tenderly as an enraptured lover. Here the
hoarse, wild sweep of the storm is felt in
embarrassing, cutting, benumbing in its
most awful fury. Here the sun shines
brightly along the vast expanse of the ever
pulsing sea, and here the full, round moon
sheds her silvery radiance in showers of
sparkling, glittering diamonds over the
throbbing bosom of the rolling deep. Here
the clouds gather and deepen and spread
till they seem to touch the ocean as man,
moth pail, while the roar Of the thunder
detonates like exploding worlds, and the
flashing, twisting, burning lightning scars
and seams the very vault of heaven.
Youth and beauty ramble along the
stretches OF sandy beach or bathe in the
chafng waters near the shore. Female love-
illness and manly excellence promenade the
water-washed piers or congregate in reclin-
ing chairs on the cool verandahs where the
tempered sea breezes blow. 'Tis here Cupid
wings his tender darts most accurately, and
many lovely, blushing Southern maiden
has arrived heartwhole TO depart in Septem-
Der engaged to some gallant beau whom she
will follow to the altar and promise to ''love,
honor and obey" ere the Christmas tide has
come. Ay, this is indeed
A PARADISE FOR LOVERS.
He who would not feel the soft influence
of pretty woman's smile here would be safe
anywhere. Oh! the witchery of the music
wnere a flood of light is streaming and
merry feet are dancing to the strains of
gushing melody! Graceful forms recline on
cushioned divans and sofas meath chande-
liers of oriental splendor, while hearts, warm
hearts, pulsate to kindred hearts! Or leave
the heated ballroom and go out with your
fascinating partner for a stroll along the
moonlit shore. The refreshing night wind
cools your brow, and you scarcely feel the
weight of the willowy form on your arm as
she floats along. You glance into the depths
of her dusky eyes and plainly mark the
curve of her rosy lips by the bright moons
beam. On, on you 60 until the music dies in
the distance, the flashing lights pale from
the windows and all is silence save the beat
ing of your own hearts and the continual
sound of the sea. Before YOU return, unless
your heart is made of steel, you have made
a fool of yourself-thrown yourself at her
feet and vowed to be her slave forever!
While she, with the witchery Of siren, bids
you rise, and either fills your cup of happi-
ness to the brim or dashes it in a thousand
fragments over the phosphorescent sands.
In the morning many places of interest
can be visited-the sand hills and the fresh
water ponds, or lakes, the groves of stunted
oak, and, further on, the pony pennings.
These ponies run wild over the marshes and
are penned once year, in August, by their
owners to be branded or sold to purchasers
who come from distance to buy them.
When the branding is finished and all sales
have been made, the remaining ponies are
again turned out to roam at will for another
twelve-month. They constitute the greater
part of the wealth of these hardy people
who live along this narrow strip of land
washed by the sea on one side and the sound
on the other.
WARM FRIENDS. BITTER ENEMIES.
And what a generous, hospitable people
they arel Though rough and uncultured
they extend the hand of friendship to the
stranger and open wide their door for his
entrance into their humble homes. The
best their larder contains is set before him,
and when we remember the luscious oyster,
the delightful wild towl and the toothsome
fish that grace their plain tables, he would
be an epicure indeed who could not do
justice to the bountiful repast they spread.
Like the Indians, who centuries ago bathed
in the surf. ished and hunted. loved and
mated and lived and died along these banks,
they are strong in their friendships and last
ing in their dislikes. They know what it is
to. love and are unwavering in affection.
They know what it is to hate, and are un-
ioFgiving in their enmities. Gain their
esteem and they will shield and protect
you-incur their ill-will and they will
hound you to the death. The maidens love
and wed and are as constant and true to the
objects of their choice as the most cultured
lady at the summer resort lower down the
beach. And their young men, while not as
polished as city gentlemen, are faithful to
the girls they marry. Indeed, they possess