Evening journal., 1903-06-03
OLD LEW|STOWN
BY THE SEA
An Evening Journal Scribe
Visits Pilot Town and Is
Delighted
SEES THE REVOLUTIONARY CANNON
An Interesting Place Whore Every
body is Kin, and Where Houses
Date Back a Century or
Two.


S' BACK Century or
Two.
About two hundred aud fifty years
ago the Dutch decided to Visit Amer
lea, ana as at that time John Edward
Addicks had not taken possession OF
Delaware they landed near the Cape,
and after giving the creek upon A,aose
banks they built their huts the 40
norous name Of the Hoornkill. settled
down to good time eating the oysters
of the creek and fighting the mosquit-
oes until they became used to them, as
are the inhabitants to this day
That settlement didn't last long FOR
it is rumored that the sturdy Dutch
got a little gay and fllrted outrageous.
ly with the dusky daughters Of Ic.
Anyway, when after a time the Dutch
sent a ship TO see how they were get
ting along they found only. a lot Of
innocent looking Indians who, when
interviewed, said "Me no understan',"
or words meaning the same thing.
Later Sir Hendrick Hudson. in search
of nice spot TO build New York city
and Haarlem upon, sailed up the bay.
But It Is said that he thought OF
the indians, and so he took his depart
ure. do not vouch for this. but give
II for what IL Is worth
IL Was some time later that l arr
rived. There was no unusual demon
strauon and none was needed Quiet
reigned save when the distant boom
OF the surf was heard In the distance
II being Saturday night the streets
swarm with the African population,
AS in all towns In lower Delaware these
citizens enjoy themselves on Saturday
nights. They walk the length OF the
! main street and then they walk bach
again. Could anything be more divert
ing. more wildly exciting?
When one reaches Lewes he immcdt-
ately gets n Whit of the sea. and he Il
J apt 10 hil his lungs with the nir thai
p sweeps across straight from England
! or some other foreign point. II mas
, be that this scent OF the big brlny
has a peculiar effect upon one, FOR w'
know that an old salt can't spin yari
without much coaxing and many pausei
TO nh his pipe, and hence this some
what lengthy prelude.
But to go back 10 the point where
, digressed, for the textbooks in the oil
school used to say avoid prolixity AM
2 redundancy, which meant don't "shoo
} orr too copiously and don't repeat
, thing more than a dozen times, 1 am IL
Lewes, and am about TO enjoy It's hos
pitality for a couple of days. and gal,
thirty or forty pounds in the mean.
Time TO say nothing about getting re
Of few chronic diseases that have at.
tachcd themselves TO me
II Is "A strange old town that reminds
me Of some Of the smaller settlement.
along the ocean In Southern Spain
which / should have visited had trav.
eled abroad. You walk down the street
with native and he tells you. "Ther.
ls house that was standing during ths
Revolution" "But when was 1t built ?
YOU ask "Oh, nobody knows" Is th'
answer. There are rows of such houses
and there is something incongruous e
step inside and find-not the barrennes
and austerlty of the Revolutionary
days, but electric lamps, enameleo
bath tubs and the most modern plumb
ling. Sometimes one is a little surpris ID
al the dates which are assigned e
local events By the natives, and when
one lounger at the hotel Informed me
that I.ewes was settled I'm 1892 | didn
lxnown whether to be shocked or IN
credulous.
What is that odd-looking iron post
doing there on the cornerY' I asked Q
NATIVE. 1T amt doin' nuthin' was the
lteply But what is Il? And what j.
lit for?' I persisted. oh" said he
that's the cannon we licked them Eng
llish with during the days Of the ReNo'
lution." And Il was There It Is stucl
I'm the earth to rust away. while II
should be treasured like our Libert
bell
gentleman well versed in locN
history repeated the story Of that en-
counter. how occasionally some farmer
lbevond the town plows up an Englis'
solid shot. thrown from their ships
lanchored In the bay when Lewes wai
bombarded. "Yonder, where sltie's
Greenbank light is the site of the old
fort" he says. That old cannon was
the only defense Lewes had. The
people armed themselves with poles
1and cornstalks and marched IN and
out between the houses all day 10 give
the impression OF a large armed force
Il had It's effect. too. for after firing a
great many shots. which went over the
1 IAOWllf AAlt HiAAAAARAA NANAN+N'
was too strong to hold"
The war Of 1912 seems 10 have added
to their stock OF cannon, for they are
planted at proper intervals along the
streets. and they make good resting
places for the citizens who pause 70
converse with a neighbor.
Il is a good rule when one is in
Lewes not to talk about Deople-at
least not about anyone in that COM
munity. You will certainly hit a native.
Indeed, Lewes is the genesis and IL"
mother Of Sussex county. The Burtons.
the Mustards, the Normans, the Mar
shalls, the Maulls. and others too nu-
lmerous TO mention, have lived there
whereof the memory OF man runneth
mot TO the contrary" After awhile yop
cease to be surprised when you hear
someone get Off something like the fol
lowing: That house over there was
built by the grandfather Of my WIFE