The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-12-26

bls stsms Of the cane are exquisitely adj
justed 90 that the water dripping from
them can nicely slip down the backs OF
dies. Speak Of yellow files 10 him who
has visited the Dismal swamp In mid
summer and you shall listen 70 real oio-
quence. Something might also be said
upon the subjecs OF mosquitoes.
SNAKE LIFE Is PLENTIFUL.
The uninitiated are likely to hear won.
dsrful tales Of the serpentine life Of the
great Dismal, and there IL certain
amount of foundation for them, although
one must allow for the sad fact that In
the presence Of snakes as OF Il sh tbs most
ardent lover OF truth 10 likely to go
astray. 10 srring one sees few snakes In
the swamp. But In July, especially
upon q sunny day, they crawl out upon
| tho ends Of the canes and bushes that
overhang the canal. Then, as one poles
along, there Is a series Of quick splashes
as snake after snake drops into the water
| One well-arown water moccasin made
| strious miscalculatioD and landed In
our boat. There he remained an hour or
so unkpown to us, when, growing holder,
he crawlsd out to meet hts fate In the
shape OF paddle blade. More pleasant
| TO the eye are the small turtles or snap
pers no larger than our common wood
tortoise, that abound In the ditchss.
Their black shells are besprinklsd with
spots of brilliant orange.
The water of the swamp Is one Of Its
most interesting features. The color OF
It IL a rich dark coffee- brown. as seen In
the canals and In Lake Drummond, but
nearly that Of sherry when small
amount Is taken up This Ia due 10 the
vast quantity of finely divided vegetable
| matter 10 contains. Notwithstanding, 10
Is.l Ill. I'M
water, pleasant In flavor, and II one may
| believe the local sages tonic in Its prop
critics by reason OF the particles OF 5uni-
per wood suspended In IL. lt was FORM
erly much In request for supplying ships
about 20 depart on long voyages. The
antiseptio virtue Of this water is MARVEL
Gus. Stamps and logs OF cypress that
nave long been buried beneath the surface
Of the swamp remain In excellent preser-
walton and, now that the best OF the
standing timber has been removed, they
are being sought BY lumbermen. Berries
keep their oolor and plumpness for
months In the water Of the bitches.
Tpe Dismal Swamp contrary to popu.
lar Impression, 10 not an unhealthful
place, Malaria IL said to be unknown
thsrs. and we were told that people visit
the swamp In order to get rid OF 10. 10
thot distant time which the South knows
as "bsfore the war;" when yellow fever
Was a periodical soourge In Norfolk. an
entsrprising hotel keeper put up a frame
| building on the shore Of Lake Drummoud
and advertised health resort. The place
was soon crowded with refug ees from the
pestilencs, and tbrovs for while. But
midsummer came and with II the yellow
| dies and mosquitoes when straightway
guests and employees left that hotel, never
more to return.
Autumn Is a delightful season for .
visit TO the Great Dismal, especially II
L. lx,u NNk rf nrf N
shotgun. Up to Thanksgiving, atieast,
the air Is soft and mild. A light haze
rests upon the lake and forest, through
which CLOVIS the brilliant scarlet and the
red maple foliage, the bronze purple OF
| the swsetgum, and the yellows and
| browns OF other dying leaves. The small
ponds scattered through the swamp are
| visited then by many flock Of brant
| and geese and ducks on their way to the
| sounds OF North Carolina. Then the
| 'possums grow sleek and fat upon persim-
mons and papaws or 'possum pocket
apples, as they are called In the Dismal,
Then. too, the black fruits Of the cotton
gum, or locally papaw, attract the hun
CRY eyes Of Master Bruin. Uncle
Joshus, q kindly old colored man who
leads a hermit's life in q shack on the
lake shore, deiighting with this simpls
hunor and good nature every visitor TO
the swamp, gave us q graphic description
| Of the way bears climb trees and feed
| upon these fl uits, can you oan hear dem
poppin' 'em 'atween their teeth long
| way OF. !"
BRUIN SUCCUMBS TO TEMPTA-
TON
II he were intent with such honestly
oome-ty food, Bruins life would be hap
by and respected to "a green old age, for
the odds are somewhat heavily against
his career being terminated by hunters
rifls. But, when the beautiful COLLEEN
corn stauds ripe beneath the autumn
moon ard the field seems abandoned to
his pleasure, IL Ia not In bear allure to
resist the temptatlon-to 60 marauding.
Then, % he ambles olumsily along. he
Is likely to encounter the cruel wire
which pulls the trigger Of a cunningly
set gun. and to get . skull full Of slugs
and bullets for his pains. saw one day
q hears hide nailed up on barn door on
one Of the large farms that border the
swamp. 1he sight recalled to mind many
u delightful CHASTITY tale OF heads dis
played on Temple Bar and of thieves
breaking In chains 1t the CROSSE Dads.
Take tt when one will or can, the Great
Dismal has a charm that falls upon oil
who go on pilgrimage thither. The very
/ lOU6nu6ke anu Nhet WiiucEhrSs VI ~ noipb
to increase this feeling. Although one
no longer hears the startling tales Of great
monsters, lions, and alligators, and others
still more impossible wherewith the rus
tics rsgalei William Byrd, one time his
ajssty's boundary commissioner for his
domain of Virginia, there 10 not wanting
delicious sense of unexplored fastnessss,
far beyond outer ken, In which the " lid
| things OF the forest have found last
hiding place. Tales of apparitions. such
az Moore's white maid and the ghosIly
| full-rigged ship that Is seen on Lake
Drummond In times Of storm, are firmly
rooted In the negro folklore. Then there
are many legends OF desperate runaway
slaves who took refuge In the swamp In
ante bellum days. With It's native weird
| beauty, Its strange history, ard yet
stranger traditions, the Dismal Swamp
has come to hold a place all Its own In
the imag inations Of men.
HIS TROUSERS MATERIAL.