The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-09-14
(By w. j. Peele.)


still it was pleasant party and the trip
on the Pamlico in that commodious
steamer was delightful. The haze over
the face of the moon was not sufficient
to obscure the beauty of these historic
waters. Next morning, as l looked out
of the window of my stateroom toward
the East, day had just broken, and the
morning light was streaming across the
Atlantic, disclosing distinctly the huge
barrier of sand that lay between US and
the ocean. AS day advanced it looked like
a great yellow snake, ridged and wrinkled
along its body as though it had swallowed
eggs commensurate with its size and ap-
petite. One unusually large sand dune at
Mays Head holds in its NAV three hotels
ana is now looking with hungry eyes on
a fourth.
Arrived at Skycoe we were met by the
jealous and intelligent committee of ar
engagements, which had prepared ample
accommodations for our transportation
over to Manteo, about three miles dis
tant. A hooking bird just on the out
skirts of the little hamlet of Skycoe APP
propriately serenaded us as the sun was
rising. This compliment is not unusual,
for the island is the habitat of the mock
ing bird and they are everywhere enjoy
ing all the liberties contained in Sir Wal
ter Raleigh's charter that. are available
for their purposes. They are also pro-
tected by act of our assembly. 1t would
be easy to get a choir of a hundred of
them to sing at the celebration. The
thrush down there is of a redder brown
than his species further inland and the
redbird simply holds its own, which is
good enough. The vines and creepers,
wild flowers and the live oak were every
wherein many places pretty much as the
Indians left them.
Manteo, the county seat, pleasant lit
tie village on Shallowbag Bay, which wild
ems Roanoke Sound for a mile or two be-
tween the island and the banks, was al
ready astir when we arrived about six
O'Clock. The bay and the sounds spread
out on every side of us as placid as a
silver sea. Shallow bottomed boats with
their spreading sails were carrying the
traffic of the sounds in all directions,
and beyond the banks away out to sea
could be seen great sail ships carrying
The commerce of the ocean. long black
line of smoke up Croatan Sound told
where our steamer had passed on toward
Elizabeth City. now the principal trading
ceTter in that section.
The public exercises held by the people
of Roanoke Island and their friends, in
honor of the occasion, have been suffi-
GENTLY described. They made very
Favorable impression on everybody that l
saw. 1 heard one countryman in Eliza
beth City telling a lady that they had
nearly all of the big men of the State
down there. Nobody seemed to have any
doubt that there would ultimately be
celebration, and that, too, on a scale COM
mensurate with the Importance of the
events to be commemorated in the his
tory of the world.
One feature of the public exercises was
the introduction of some of the principal
speakers by the fair damsels of the is
land, which was novel and quite appro-
pirate too, as the celebration is in honor
OF American womanhood. There would
be lull in the music and an aprarition
in white would advance to the edge OF
the rostrum. and before anybody had re-
covered from the pleasant surprise, .
distinguished speaker would be ushered
to the front wreathed in smiles at the
compliments he had received from a
source he could not question. In fact
the women in the whole meeting were
The power behind the throne, and in it,
too, for about fifty of them gracefully
took possession of the rostrum, allowing
only a small and very select company or
men to occupy it with them.
The women of North Carolina will make
this celebration, but the men must get
out of their way the one great difficulty
transportation difficulty in the way of
many other good things; and this brings
us to
OUR SOUND CONNECTIONS.
Roanoke Island is about two hundred
and fifty-fve miles from Raleigh the way
the Raleigh party had to go. One hun
dred and thirty miles by land and one
hundred and twenty by water. BY a
straight course it is only one hundred and
fifty miles One hundred and five miles
lost in going two hundred and ffty-tive
in these times of steam and electricity
would seem to indicate that our people
are not in a hurry.
/ need hardly call the attention of the
Raleigh people to the fact that it is our
-
must make this place large city. we
are. with our present facilities for COM
petition. effectually cut off by Durham
and Greensboro toward the West and,
unless we establish very soon better
connection with both the Albemarle and
Pamlico sounds, we will be pretty effec-
tualIy cut off by Wilson, Rocky Mount,
Dunn, Goldsboro and Kinston. All hVe
of these towns constitute so many bar
riers against our Eastern connections and
we have allowed them to grow up, most
of them from little villages, in the last
few years to become cities with superior
water connections to our own; none OF
them are so favorably located as Raleigh;
none of them have equal advantages either
natural or artificial. but each of them
is better organized for aggression and
in none of them is there so much idle
and cowardly capital None OF them
would have allowed the railroad to
Springhope to run within thirty-flve miles
of the city and stop. Any of them would
simply have laughed at the contract be-
tween two railroads. which prevents the
building Of that missing link with this
centre. This contract was made in the
interest of Richmond and Norfolk and can
he oYpIodad nv SubScrintiOn of four