The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-05-27
HoTYL DISMAL.

The white-washed plank hotel is of the
Venetian style OF architecture: that is. II
has water for a foundation, and soft
water Mt that. 1t is impossible to go
twenty-five feet away from II in any d.
rection, except by boat, and boat exercise
after the second day, imagine. has
tendency 10 give one the bow knots in the
limbs. to say nothing OF how painfully
indurated the seat In a boat becomes
after one has applied his person TO 1t
for several hours consecutively. There are
accommodations for fhirty-two guests,
eight in a room. two 10 bunk and one
sheet TO bed. AS there are objections
TO one-man-power government, so there
are 10 one-sheet-power beds. but II isn't
so bad. when one learns by trying II, that
there are not some other things there
which are found in more civilized hotel
beds Evidently the cimex iecturarius
does not find the climate OF the swamp
congenial.
The dining room is the only other in
the house. except the kitchen. and 1t is
the reception hall also when the Gazing
function Is not in progress. what we
ate IN that hall was corn bread. hsh,
bacon, eggs and rolls, with good coffee
Not an elaborate menu. Of course, but one
TO put fat on your ribs after you got used
TO il.
Did YOU ever hear the story OF the
horse and the shavings?
MYSTERIES or THE NIGHT.
T. Is at night that the silence and the
solemnitv. the mystery and the majesty
of the Great Dismal come with all their
impressiveness and grandeur, and the
human being does not live who can stand
by that shoreiess sea and not be pro-
foundly moved by the invisible and all
pervading spirit Of his weird environ
ments. After the moon had risen went
out into the dark waters Of the lake, anu
rocking idly in the moonlight. sat ana
listened to the stiffness. No light along
the circling marge sent out Its welcome
beam 10 say that man was there; no
sound came forth TO herald living things
save now and then. at intervals, the SOL
emn hooting of the owl, as II he tohed the
| kneu of universal death: no voices Of the
night to speak us, sailing on that sound
! less sea: wrapped in a shroud Of silence
sky and sea and shore had sunk to sleep.
! and we who rocked upon those moonlit
! waves were atoms in the silent infinite
| Which reads like an advertisement lot
| the Dismal Swamp Town Lot company
| but IT isn't; and IL you ever. gentle read
er, sit out there on that lake In a Doa'
| at midnight you will know that 1t Ism L
LAKE DRUMMoND.
Lake Drummond, as this central sheet
Of water is called, is almost circular pc
ing five miles by six in extent, and us
! aontbern line Is very nearly in North
| Carolina. Various geologic myths pre-
vail as TO its origin, but the real fact
| is that IT'S site was lower than the rest
of the swamp. and the water OF the sur
| rounding territory, being unable TO repeal
| n well-known law of physics, ran uoWH
that way, instead of taking 10 the nils
| or climbing a tree. I'm not much OF
| geologist. but I'll take issue with any OF
them on this point. and prove my theory
] TO be correct.
| Tom Moore. an Irish poet OF some re-
nown in his own country, visited the lake
| abut ninety years ago, and wrote poem
| on the only poetic legend that the swamp
! has ever been able 20 turn out. Inc le-
| gend Is to the effect that young man,
whose sweetheart had died, went crazy
| and ran off into the swamp, where he
thought she had gone to paddle white
| canoe though what the canoe had ever
done to be thus punished does not APP
pear Toms poem began thus:
"They made her grave too cold and
damp
For a heart so warm and true;
And she's gone to the lake Of the Dismal
Swamp.
Where all night long by the FREELY lamp
She paddles her white canoe
There are six more stanzas. but they
| do not add any new particulars TO the
| main facts. so I shall omit them. Mr..
Moore wrote very good poetry for those
| days, but he did not clutter 1t up with
| ID a., this instance he got wolves
and birch trees into the swamp, though
| the great Creator couldn't, or didn't, do
/ II when he put II there. There is
| small boat on the canal named Tom
! Moore" i'm his honor At least 1t is par
TALLY in his honor. the balance being
| to enable the brilliant and witty tourist
| to remark that, however many boats
may be taken away. there is always one
| Moore-and his merry ha, ha, may De
| heard echoing through the swamp TIL
! the next one comes.
THE TRIP OUT.
Our party followed the steamboat party
| Of the day before at o'clock on Sunday
| morning. four going by the jericho dltch
| and the others by the Washington way.
so as to see all there was TO be seen. Ed
was our gondolier via Jericho, and Will
upqar fellow to let his passengers assist
in the ceremony Of padding you never
saw. They say it is ten miles out that
wav but I think 1 have some signs con
cealed about my person which would indi-
cate that it is forty. Ed told us stories
~ the bears in the swamp, and the deer
and the 'coons and the wild cattle about
the only mammalia the swamp possesses
though I believe there are some squlrre's.
Birds seem TO stand II pretty We'll ana
in tho less thicSly grown portions theH
make the swamp redolent Of song. Inc
wild cattle are sui generis, so / am told
and there are supposed to be 800 in the
swamp. They originated from domestic
stock. but now there is no more domes-
ticitv about them than there is about
society woman. They and the bears have
frequent fights, making a sort of Wall
street Of the swamp, greatly 20 the credit
of the swamp. / have my doubts as TO
the frequency of these fights, but 1t
sounds well in print. There are snakes
though, galore and we counted twenty
one on our way out, not as many By
forty-four as the steamer party, up the
day before, reported. However, we didn't
have to believe what they told US, any
more than we did the other legends OF
the swamp. They sell no liquor at the
~