Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-04-28

right Sunday evening in Norfolk, ready to
take the boat for Washington, d. c.
Jericho Ditch and Her Steamer.
A mile and a half this side of Suffolk
there is ditch passing under the railroad
track, and this is Jericho ditch, or canal as
1t is called. until you see 1t once, or If you
have grudge against the canal family and
want to call names Here everybody got
out by direction Of Admiral Day. who had
charge of the contingent assisted by
Brother Babb. the incarnation of general
usefulness. and all except nine men went
aboard of a knitting needle in the ditch.
with wheel at one end and a boiler in the
middle. This craft. by name the Jennie
Wilson of Lake Drummond-let us all hope
Jennie never was as long and thin as her
namesake--is popularity of swamp navi-
cation, and II she were of any other shape
she would have to get out of the ditch and
walk, for it is only about eight to ten feet
wide and two to four deep. In order to
carry anything, then, the boat must be as
near as possible the definition of a line
that is length, without breadth or thick
ness--and that is the Jennie Wilson Think.
If you please, of boat sixty feet long and
five and a half wide. with a depth of hold
that almost sticks up out of the water, and
does when the boat hits a stump or labs her
nose into the bank, which she has been
known to do when the steersman, who
stands out on the bow with a pole for a rud-
der, forgets what he is there for and uses
his rudder to kill snakes with, as they gam
Dol along the sedgy shore, words to that
effect.
BY Jericho way It is called ten miles to
Lake Drummond, the piece de resistance of
the swamp, and it takes the boat four hours
to make the trip, which would indicate that
the boat lacks speed or that the estimate Of
distance lacks accuracy, either of which
that tired feeling" in quantities to give
away by the time the journey is completed,
so am informed by those who went in by
the boat. AS for myself. l went with our
party by express (wagon) six or seven miles
to the Washington ditch. and was canoed
to the lake-five miles, alleged.
Going over there in that wagon. with one
horse to pull six men, we passed through
the suburbs of Suffolk, which l was assured
several times by our driver had a population
of fifteen people. Later 1 asked Mr.. Hosier
a gentleman who is boomer and has town
lots to sell, If the drivers figures weren't a
little shy, and when 1 told him what they
were 1 feared for a time that he would do
serious bodily harm to the driver an in
offensive colored man, who didn't know a
town lot from truck patch-as, indeed. a
good many people wouldn't If they didn't
have a handsome map in colors.
p. S.-That driver had better hide in the
swamp until he can secure some modified
statistics of population.
About the only object Of interest between
Suffolk and the Washington ditch, beside
truck farms and buxom bellies on vine-clad
porches, is what is called Soldiers Hope an
ancient house, with an avenue of trees lead
ing up to 1t from the road. The house is
gone now, and most of the trees and all of
the avenue but once 1t was famous.
What soldiers hope?" inquired Of that
driver.
deed, doan' know, boss"
what sort of hope was it?' continued;
"hope that when they got there they could
take to the swamp and escape from their
enemies?"
Oats it, boss"
"Johnnies or Yanks?"
"Johnnies, l reckon, boss, Gaze de Yanks
got in on um."
1 made a note Of this, and began exploiting
my superior Knowledge at the first oppor-
tunity, only to be shocked by the informa-
ton that the Soldiers Hope romance be-
longed to the personal---very. period and
had something to do with our forefathers.
l really don't believe there was ever any,
thing there, and / have lost confidence in
that driver.
In the Swamp.
The head Of navigation on the Washing
ton ditch is five miles from the lake. and
here we took small boats, each with a
colored gondolier, two passengers to the
boat. Here begins the swamp, and here be-
fore one has gone a hundred yards into
the shadowy wilderness of cypress and
c@inging creepers, before he has fairly be-
gun his juniper journey, before he has
more than crossed the threshold Of the in