Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1895-07-31
Curiositfes of the Dismal s,camp.

the Dismal Swamp, said Dr. a. N.
Fisher. ornothologist of the Department
of Agriculture, to Star writer. ut is a
strange region, full of oddities that are
not to be found elsewhere. The purpose
of my expedition was TO investigate the
fauna of the locality, and of rare man.
mails and birds | secured quite a number
Snakes are abundant and are alleged by
the natives to be venomous, but all that
| saw were harmless When picked up
a good re one from log and held him
by the neck, the negro who was padding
for me shuddered so that he nearly upset
the boat.
81 found about fifty species of birds
breeding in the swamp. One of them
was Swainson's warbler, which is very
rare l trapped several species of small
mice-rice mice, field mice, golden mice
and lemming mice. The lemming mouse
it hard to catch, because it will not take
any sort of bait; the only way to capture
it is to set trap in its runway. | set
my traps in dry places out of water
Among other things | got two rare shrews.
There are plenty of cattle in the
swamp-small, dark, and very wild. They
are the progeny of animals that have
strayed from domestic herds Hunters
stalk and shoot them like deer. Bears
are numerous. In the autumn they feed
greedily on the sour gum. Wildcats,
opossums, and raccoons are not scarce,
while squirrels are remarkably abundant.
The squirrels have discovered an easy
way TO make a living by going along the
shores of Lake Drummond and picking
up the nuts and berries which have fallen
into the water and drifted into winrows.
They trot along the log and fish them out
with their paws. Deer are common, but
hard TO get. In the fall hunters run them
into the lake and catch them with dogs.
There is fine fishing in Lake Drum
mond, which contains plenty of perch,
black bass, two kinds of pickerel, three
species of sunish, and other pan.fsh.-
There is no dry ground in the swamp, and
one sinks at every step to his knees in
mud. The cane which forms brakes all
through the South is abundant Together
with varied underground, it is tangled
with vines that run up into the trees, so
that half a mile an hour is a good rate Of
progress. One must carry a knife to cut
the vines, walking being further impeded
by the cat brar, whose thorns catch in
the clothing and hold on like hooks.
"The boats used in the Dismal Swamp
are all dug-outs, made from cypress logs
twelve feet long and very narrow. To
shape such craft properly is nice piece
of work. The novice who steps into one
of these boats is apt to 90 out on the other
side, but the native stands up and paddles
with security. The water is darker than
amber and is excellent to drink it is said
to be a sure cure for malaria. There is
no malarial disease in tie swamp. The
swamp is full Of magnolias, from the size
of bushes to trees sixty feet high. When
| was there they were full of flowers
The cypress trees are cut for shingles
The best trees for the purpose are those
which fell from twenty to twenty-five
years ago, aud are now covered with moss.
The negroes wade in and cut off the moss
and rotten bark Then they cut up the
log into shingles on the spot The next
best tree is one that is newly fallen, and
the third quality is the tree that has to
be feled.
The Dismal Swamp is the most north
ern of the great morass swamps. Lake
Drummond, in the center OF it, is four
miles long and of an oval shape. There
is a very odd fact about the Jericho Ditch,
which extends for a distance of eleven
miles from the Nansemond river to the
lake. From the middle point Of the ditch
the water runs both ways there Is a cur
rent toward Lake Drummond and anoth-
er current in the opposite direction to-
ward the Nansemond river" II flashing
fOD STIR.