Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1897-07-16
.'Gath's Travels on the Potomac,


count Of his trip. The article is too
long to republish entirely, but we give
a few entertaining extracts therefrom:
81 heard that few people, generally
Marylanders, went from Washington to
Baltimore by steamboat, so seized a
Tuesday in june and went aboard the
steamer Potomacin Baltimore at 5 o'clock
The eolorel steward looked up from peel.
ing his potatoes, to say that if we had good
luck We might get to Washington By
Wednesday midnight.
| paid 50 for passage and 81 for
stateroom, which [ occupied two full
nights, as we did not land at Washing
ton till Wednesday morning; meals 90
the boat, of which ! ate three, costs
Sl,T5 ali told. Therefore for IS, in
Guiding tips. had a cruise of thirty-si1
hours.
The Potomac was a three-decked, new
boat, built for city protector at the
Virginia mouth Of the Potomac, Mr..
Lewis, whose enterprise failed with hard
times, and the Weems' Line, named for
Parson Weems' family. acquired the
boat and annexed the Potomac to their
other rivers, Patuxent, Rap2ahannock,
and Piankatank, which they control by
owning the timber wharves. Their
several boats need a point of confluence
and exchange. such as Crisfeld is for
the Eastern Shore steamboats,.
was made happy in seeing that my
stateroom was clean with linen and
spring mattresses and had electric lights,
and that the meals were without grease
aud up to New York restaurant quality.
Ice cream and strawberries, bay tur-
tie soup and turtle pie, spring chickens,
softshell crabs, oysters out of season,
good said oil, and profusion OF regu-
lar things, with colored servants under
maritime discipline and voluntary clean
illness, made me face one day of banisl-
ment from this rapid life with courage
enforced by box l filed at Baltimore
with mineral waters, ale, sardines and
cigars.
The officers Of the boat had that marine
cleverness and brevity which probably
ends southwark on the Chesapeake
As | look out of my clean stateroom
window | see a yellow-skinned female of
my race spit tobacco with manly pre-
cision in the Patapsco. So, perhaps,
did George Westinghouse mothers.
The Potomac, said a mariner, is
the best river going, except for one
th;ng-the gusts and blows, which are
caused by its trend receiving the north
casters and southeasters straight in the
broad rivers course
The Eastern Shore of Maryland beats
the Western Shore, said one of the Po-
tomas's officers. They don't drink
whiskey over there. On the Western
Shore they can drink more of it than
anywhere | ever saw in this country
| thought this might be difference in
example between priests and preachers
Cedar bushes and spar buoys marked
the channel of the quarter and hdlf-mile
rivers. maritime life should flourish on
the Chesapeake as much as on Long Is
land Sound 1t is picking up, but the
Potomac is said to be the least directly
navigated river for continuous passen-
gers. Yet the steamers show by their
improved accommodations that passen-
gers are their reliance for profits. The
Delaware River builds most of the steam
ofe for the Ohesapnake Our fine boat
was built by Napheys.
Both whites and blacks at the land
ings looked abel bodied and resoute, and
were inOhensive in bearing and kind in
address. Oyster chain rakes lay all
along the shores in the planting and
resting season, but we had oysters and
soft-shell crabs for meals. Slavery's
habits and homes were about all gone;
27O years of slavery have disappeared
in enc generation.
A man with embarrassed eyes got on
the boat somewhere, whom l soon found
out from the following card which he
gave me to be traveller away from cars
and cities:
'Wanted-old mahogany round front
sideboard, with long legs. Round front
bureaus Brass front tenders, andirons,
old sofas, or tables with brass or wood
claw feet Hall clocks. Tomgommas,
Baltimore, Md
You are also in pursuit Of the old?'
said l to him.
And it's scarce said Tomgommas.
i have put up with many things. They
are proud people, and when they have
got no shoes they resent selling their
old furniture Dutch clocks 90 only
one day. Andirons are scarce. Some
times the niggers hold on to their heir
looms bad as the old whites. The best
furniture is in Gloucester county; they
wont sell.
My furniture friend was chiefly elo-
quent on the few places where he took
square meal He had come over from
Norfolk, having ransacked Southampton
county without reward From him
picked up some notion Of the political
topography.
From the chesapeake up to Washing
ton city, the Northern Neck, or coun-
ties above the Rappahannock, are Ian
caster. and Richmond, Northumberland
and Westmoreland King George, Stat
ford, and Prince William, and Fairfax;
the f:st two Ease the Rappahannock;
the next three front that river and the
Potomac, Northumberland is only on
the Potomac at its mouth.
This region was the first Virginia
frontier after the original settlement; its
men were just ripe for command at the
Revolution and the next frontier was
beyond the mountains, and produced
he leaders in the conflict to preserve
slavery. Frontier sempe liber.'
Piney Point, an ante bellum watering
llace, has been handsomely rebuilt, and
frame hotel with wings Of cottages ex-
ends under the large pines along the
irescent beach with another resort, Mar
halls. on the baekside of the inlet
ma c. Ma-u'c nrovinoial nanitol is a |