The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-07-19

This will not drain the swamp; the swamp will never, be drained; 1t would be of little use If 1t was, Some efforts were made to drain the great area, but the scheme only succeeded in lowering the water in places ten miles from the boundaries of the lake The soil thus disclosed is very sandy, and although it is being cultivated to some extent, it is not sufficiently valuable to render such a scheme financially profitable.
 The great commercial value of the swamp is It's inexhaustible supply of
 timber, The region is covered to such an extent with a thick growth that one finds the swamp dark on the brightest days. The trees are, of enormous size, and We found some cypress stumps which measured fourteen feet in diam- eter. As these stumps had been cut off years and years ago, one can only iln- agine what the size must have been be- fore the stumps were worn down by the water. Ditches have been dug which traverse the swamp in all directions, and by these ditches the lumbermen transport their logs to Lake Drum- mond, and from there through an out let to Albemarle Sound. The lumber industry is by no means in it's infancy there. Over hundred years ago some of the same ditches which are now in use to-day were dug. George Washing ton controlled heavy interests in the lumber industry, and when he died he left twenty thousand pounds worth of stock in the several companies. His wonderful engineering ability was ex- ercised here for many years, and one of hn Nrip nh al afa,.x i., was commenced and finished under his supervision and from plans formulated by him.
 "These waterways are extremely nar- row, and their great age Is evident from the great mass of moss overhanging the artificial banks. On this moss and among the branches on the banks are to be seen enormous numbers of snakes, with which the region is infested. The snakes are not poisonous and are harm less. Still few persons care to see snakes all the time. The snakes are of the species known as the King snake, like this one" and Mr. Palmer drew from box a snake about six feet long and of the circumference of an ordina- ry inkwel1. The snake immediately coiled itself tightly around MT. Palmer's arms, and the bright sun brought into view all the beauty of the firm, black scales, ringed with white. The darker scales were beautiful in the iridescent | rainbow coloring and MT. Palmer ex- l plained how the rings and head easily showed 1t to be a harmless snake.
 | Although the snakes are everywhere 1 to be seen," continued MT. Palmer, they are not pests. No snake is a l pest, and person should never kill a. l snake wantonly. They are of inca1cu- lable value for the unceasing war which l they wage against mice and vermin. Every barn in the country has a black
 snake. and every farmer will tell you
 that It Is worth its weight in gold for
 the good it does during the year. The
 pests of the swamp! region are the mo-
 squitoes and flies, which are uncom-
 fortably numerous during this season of the year, Mosquitoes are bad
 enough, but they can be borne. The | flies, however, are murderous in their
 intent. They go forth in swarms. and
 woe bettde the person or animal on
 whom they settle. Too small to be kept out by netting, they penetrate every | portion of ones clothing, and the only relief Is by jumpingAnt the water.
 ITO return to our original subject" :"
 said MT Palmer, in conclusion, ''the
 sight which was Viewed by the first man who entered the Dismal Swamp by
 way of Lake Drunrnond must have
 been one of the most beautiful which nature has shown to nah. As Is evil
 dent from the stumps to be found cir cling the lake, the entire lake was lined
 with a forest of enormous and beauti- full expresses eight, ten and fourteen feet in diameter. The branches inter-
 mingled in an impenetrable mass, and, covered with tropical moss and foliage,
 the scene in all sqsileht grandeur was the most strpendous spectacle of Gods nature can possibly imagine. Wash ington Post.