The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-23
VANDERBILT PULLED An OAR.
4 "Reminiscences of a Future Duchess
Ancestor.
From the Washington Post

From the Washington Post.
Apropos of the Marlborough Vanderbilt
nuptials, which are approaching. COmmO-
dore Marshall Parks of Norfolk. who says
he has seen every President of the United
States except George Washington, gives
the following interesting history of the
early struggles of the late Commodore
Vanderbilt. and how he got his start:
When ne was a young man." said
Parks, "he and a man named Hatfield
started a ferry from Staten Island TO
New York to carry passengers between
the two points. The ferry was propelled
with oars. This was long before the
steam ferry was thought of. When the
steamboats, were put on they soon found
that muscle could not compete with steam
Nevertheless, they worked the hand ferry
in opposition to steam until they became
convinced that it was useless, though Hat
field held the deepest hatred Of steam and
held il until he died.
.'One day they had a lot of passengers
in their boat bound for New York. The
steam ferry passed them on the way
with a load of human freight, but when
off Governors island the steamboat broke
down. Capt. Hatfield was Wild with eN-
element and shouted out to the commo-
dore.
Pull ahead, Cornelius, Wen beat the
Id thing, anyhow. p
The Vanderbilt-Hatfield boat made the
landing first and took on a return load
encouragement The steamer had to go
in for repairs for several days, during
which the hand ferry was doing gooG
business.
1T wasn't long, however before the two
hard-WOrking sons of toll saw that steam
would drive them out of the business, and
when that time came they bought "a mr.
teen-ton schooner, the Dancing Molle
loaded her with all kinds of yankee no.
ions, ana started Ior the coast OF North
Carolina 70 open up trade with that sec
tiOn of the country. They went into
small inlet into the Pungo river and fol-
lowed that tideWater stream UP to its
source. The banks and the back country
We're thickly settled with Well-to-do peo~
pie, who We're entirely cut of from the
outer world. Hatfield and Vanderbilt ex-
changed their goods for sweet potatoes
and hooking birds. The potatoes We're
taken TO New York and hauled through
the streets and sold by hucksters, who
derbilt potatoesH The birds We're sold to
the wealthy people of cities in the north.
knocking birds selling in those days for
very high price.
'.i'he TWO continued in the coasting trade
for number Of years and made a good
living. During one Of their trips to New
a very severe September gale washed the
sand mud into the inlet of the Pungo river
and completely closed it to navigation.
They were not able to reach their trading
grounds without going hundreds of miles
around the stormy and dangerous coast of
Cape Hatteras, and this act of providence
trade.
In the meantime steamboats, had pass
ed the experimental stage and become a
success. Vanderbilt saw that steam was
the coming motive power. returned to New
York, and sought employment as a. deck
hand on a Hudson river steamboat plVing
between New York and Albany. He rose
through the different grades of promo
ton from deckhana to commander and
owner, and the world knows the result of
his labOrs
Hatfield swore that ne never would en-
courage steam, and never own stock in
anything that used steam. lie returned
to the coast of North Carolina and bought
a small island Of fifteen acres in Curr-
tuck sound, known as Crow Island where
he remained fishing and hunting until his
death. Here IS shown the difference be-
tween the man who followed steam and
the one who followed wind for a living.
Capt Hatfield died several years before
his wife. She continued to live on this
lonely island until a few years before her
death, when she was induced TO sell it
for $4,000 to a syndicate for club hunt
ing purposes"