Evening journal., 1893-04-11
THIS RICH PENINSULA.
Quaint Pronunciation Of the
Names of the Counties.
NINE OF MARYLAND, TWO OF VA,

Characteristics of the Inhabitants-one
of the Richest Regions on Earth in
Fish and Aquatic Fowl.
Those nine counties of Maryland and
two Of Virginia known collectively as the
''Easts IN Shore" constitute a region
somewhat hazily conceived by persons to
whom it has not been familiar from
childhood Geographically the Eastern
Shore is simple enough, being merely
those counties of Maryla aud Virgins
lying east Of Chesapeake bay, and help
ing to form what is usually known as
the Delaware Peninsula Tney have an
area of rather more than 3. 3OO square
miles, and population Of perhaps
800 000
When the stranger knows so much he
is still ignorant of the Eastern Shore,
because great part of the region has
peculiarities of dialect and social char
acteristics that only native is likely 10
be acquainted with The very nsmes OF
the counties, mostly of plain English
origin, are stumbling blocks to the
stranger No Eastern Shoreman calls
Cecil county any thing but "Sissle, 3"
Dorchester comfy anything but Dor
set" Worcester county anything but
Wooster Talbot county is al avs
pronounced with a broad "a Wico
mico county with short Il" in the FIST
syllable, aud no Eastern ShOreman
makes the common mistake of pronounc
ing the name Anne in two syllablvs,
because he and his ancestors of nearly
two centuries have had Queen Anne's
county TO guide them
Eastern Shoremen not only differ from
other Americans, but also among them
selves. Cecil county, which borders
upon Pennsy lvania and lies Immediately
south of Mason aud Dixon's line. is in
habited by people who speak much as
southern Pennsy lvanians speak, and who
possess many characteristics of the
North Kent aud Queen Anne's counties,
which lie south of Cecil in the order
named, are more distinctly Southern ia
tone A Northerner set down in Cecil
county village would hardly suspect
himself in a Southern state, but once
we'll within the bounds of Kent OF Queen
Annes county he could hardly fail to
le ,lize that he had passed Mason aud
DlxOn's line. Talbot, Caroline and Dor
chester are still more remai kably South
ern Wicomico is like them, and Wor
cester and Somerset, which are the most
southern of the Maryland counties. re
tain much the flavor Of ante bellum days
The two Virginia counties, Accomac aud
Northampton, are distinctly of the Old
Dominion
Ii the land agent were talking about
the Eastern Shore he would describe it
with various intensitives, having tenn
perate sumner, semi-tropical winter,
a light fertile soil, and saluorious eli.
mate, but he wouldn't be telling the
truth. AS the Eastern Shore extends
from just above the thirty seventh par
allel Of latitude to within twenty five
miles Of the fortieth, it has a considera
bic variety of climate, aud what is trui
of its climate is true Of its soil The lattei
is not especially Ter lie, save in parts o.
Cecil, Kent, Queen Annes and Talbot
counties, while in much of the southern
portion the Eastern Shore is made up o.
deep sand, suitable only for the growtl
of early vegetables Neither is th,
Eastern Shore, as a whole, a special ly
healthtul country, because much of it Il
subject to malarid diseas, S. and ther,
have been generations Of torpid livers in
the lower Maryland counties.
The Eastern Shore owes much of III
fame to the fact that it is peopled maiul,
by men and women who still cherish n,
traditions of their seventeenth an,
eighteenth century ancestors, a gen tie
hOspitable race, in whose hands evel
slavery WAS a much less hid.ous insti
tuition than it was elsewhere, whose man
ners are. marked by a simple unsuspi
cious good nature, whose very ancestral
pride takes the complimentary attitud,
Of suppOsing that every man has lik
cause for Standardization
As there is no single spot on the
Eastern Shore 80 much as Eve miles dis.
tant from the navigable tidewater, th,
region is one of the richest on earth Il
fsn and aquatic fowl There is 10 singl
week in the year when good fish are no
TO be caught somewhere in Eastt T
Shore waters and hne aquatic fowl AZ
not To be shot.
Nearly every county south Of Cecil hs
large numbers OF psrtrioges, rs quail Al
called in that region Rabbits swarm !
parts Of Talbot, Dorchester, Somerset
aud WOrces er, and wild tuckeys ar
found in some of the wooded region.
while there was not long ago a traditio
of n occasional deer in he pine barre1
even of Cecil county The number an
variety of aquatic fowl in thu region b
low the southern line of Delawal
astonish the Northern visitor.
From one end of he Eastern Shore
the other there is a geutle tradition
the 'humanities Almost every eunsi
erable town has its academy. usual
more than a century old, where lads a
prepared for college, and there are hu
dreds OF Old Libraries all over the E ,.tei
Shore stocked with eighteenth centu
classics. L. was Presbyterian elder
Worcester county, who named his slav
for the characters IA 'IvaLhOe." al
there is still disposition among East.
Shoremen to read Scott rather. than Ho
ellis
Alongside Of the ancient acadamies
the Eastern Shore arr still more ancie
churches, and it. is not many years sin
Eastern Shore Presbyterians rememb r
unkbd the prosecutions their auc,
tors suffered at the hands
the Colonial Established ChurC
Presbyterians believe that the I'll
permanently established churches
their denominations in America we
those founded by Mak.mis ia Somer,
and Worcester counties, and ElC
Irving Spence, who died two or IN
years ago. was descended by an unbroh
line OF elders from Adam Spence.