The Portland daily press., 1897-07-08

GAetACs O0b AA6y WON'T Is1Ce-hOSQul-
toes and Flies, but then the Scenery Is
aSpectacle.
(From the Washington Post.)
"The public at large has very erro-
neous idea OF the Dismal Swamp" said
Prof. William Palmer, chief taxiderrnist
of the Smithsonian Institution, who has
just returned from trip through the
swamp.
The idea seems to be the swamp is q
low, marshy waste, with an unhealthy,
fever breeding atmospheric place one
enters at the peril of his life, both from
the foul air and from the sting of snakes.
In point OF fact there is not healthier
place in the world than the Dismal
Swamp. There are no unhealthy or even
unpleasant odors. Swamps, as gen orally
known, are wastes poorly drained and
rendered unhealthy by the rotten vegeta-
ton which is deposited in the damp de-
pressions. In the Dismal Swamp the
drainage is perfect. The soil is sandy and
the water percolates through the sand
making the most approved system of
drainage. The water in the bitches them.
selves is not unpleasant to the taste. 1t
is dark in color and rather thick, much
OF the consistency of coffee, yet we drank
the water during our entire stay, and
suffered no i'll effects. In fact, we grew
to like it, and 1 for one found it much
more palatable than our Potomac water.
There is very little land; one might
almost say there is no land at all. The
soil, as have said, is of SAND, and from
this grows vegetation of considerable
size and of great density. This sand is
few inches below the surface of the
water, and the woody vegetation, growing
and falling during generations, has grad
ually formed a layer of wood and leaves
which rises a few inches above the water
in some portions. In the dry season this
built up layer is of sufficient stability to
permit it being used in the great lumber
industries.
'sLake Drummond itself is nothing
more than depression in the swamp 1t
is oblong in shape, being about three and
half miles long by three miles wide,
and in no place is it deeper than thin teen
feet. The lake is invaluable for trans
porting the lumber, and is now being
used as feeder for the ship canal being
built to connect Elizabeth City with Ports
mouth
This will not drain the swamp; the
swamp will never be drained; it would
be of little use if it 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 veryisandy land although it is
being cultivated to some extent, it is not
sufficiently valuable to render such q
scheme financially profitable.
1.-THE great commercial value of the
swamp is its inexhaustible supply of tim
ber The region is covered to such an ex-
tent with 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 meas
ured fourteen feet in diameter AS the Sc
ago, one can only imagine what the size
must have been before the stumps were
worn down by the water. bitches have
been dug which traverse the swamp in
all directions, and by these bitches the
lumbermen transport their logs to Lake
Drummond, and from there through an
outlet to Albemarle Sound. The lumber
there. Over hundred years ago some
of the same bitches which are now in use
today were dug. George Washington con.
trolled heavy interests in the lumber in :.
dustry, and when he died-he left 2O,O 600
pounds worth of stock in the several COM
panies. His wonderful engineering abil-
ity was exercised here for many years,
and one of the principal waterways in use
today was commenced and finished under
his supervision and from plans formulate
ed by him.
These waterways are extremely mar
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 harmless. 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 snake
about six feet long and Of the circumfer-
enoe of an ordinary inkwell. The snake
Immediately coiled itself tightly around
Mr.. Palmer's arms, and the bright sun
brought into view all the beauty of the
firm, black scales, hinged with white
The darker scales were beautiful in the
irridescent rainbow coloring and Mr.
Palmer explained how the rings and
head easily showed 1t to be harmless
snake.
although the snakes are everywhere to
be seen," continued Mr.. Palmer, "they
are not pests. No snake is pest, and a
person should never kill snake wanton-
ly. They are of incalculable value for
the unceasing war which they wage
against mice and vermin. Every barn in
the country has blacksnake, 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 mosquitoes and flies, which are
uncomfortably 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 betide
the person or animal on whom they set
tie. Too small to be kept out by netting,
they penetrate every portion of ones
clothing, and the only relief is by jump
ing into the water.
"To return to our original subject, ("
said Mr.. Palmer in conclusion, "the
sight which was viewed by the first man
who entered the Dismal Swamp by way
Of Lake Drummond must have been one
OF the most beautiful which nature has
-