The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-08-14
4 CANOETR|P DOWN
THE NEUSE
How Four of Col. Odds
Sunshiners Made it in
Canvas Boats.
IL T.II~ tlr ~tors Of Their Nine nnN
Journey ~ That Historic Stream.
From Raleigh to
kin-tou.


kin~ton.
Tn, RaIeich "Sunshlners IL pretty
nearl, an kinds Of stunts. in fact are
mn 10 ANYTHING. Four OF the hoys de-
eidedl last spring that they would batl1
canvas boats and make a trip down ihr
Eeus- river from Raleigh 70 New
Bern. The Director OF the S~unshtn"is
very heartily approved OF the scheme
ard very soon convinced The boys
parents tnat the trip would b one full
or pleasure and instruction The next
thing 10 40 Was 10 buill the boats
and this the BOYS did themselves. \
! good piece OF pine Was used for a keel.
though this Was placed horizontally
and not perp"ndicularly. the boats be-
ing nat-bottomed. and shaped exactly
like the high-class canoes seen ~ the
pictures, though two We're Dent III
more At the top. like birch-bark ca
noes. TO the keel or backbone W"F"
fastened b. screws and bolts half see
tioue of large barrel-hoopS. when
formed the frame of the boat and were
at once light and strong. Upon the
rame was stretched tWelve-ounce can
VAS and this was gwen three coats OF
good waterproof paint, leaving IL yell
loWish-White in color. EacG boat was
fifteen feet in length ana t~hirtN-thrcr
inches wide. and unloaded drew less
than an inch Of water. tile load Whlcn
| could be carried being six hundred
pounds. With three boys IL th" boat
and aIl the baggage the draft was
about three inches. The weight -
each boat was about 30 pounds and
Ithey were very easily carried. The
four Sunshiners who made the trip
were McNccIey DuBose son Of the
rector of ST. Mary's Female College,
his age being Il years ana his weight
l20 rounds; Richard Gicrsch. son of
the we'll known restauranteur of the
! same name. age IL, weight l26 pounds:
Richard Ball, son Of Jesse c.. Ball.
wholesale grocer, age 10, weight Ia
pounds; and James Y. Joynef. Jr., son
Of the State superintendent Of public
Instruction. his age being Il, and his
| weigh l29 pounds. The boats We're
Well tested before the "Trip vas BEGUN
and thew were given names, these be-
ing "SunShine." 'Moonghine," "NNhite-
| cap" and 'NhiteWingS."
1t was decided to begin the yoyag
July 9th, 1T APPOINT on the Neuse river
SIX miles due east Of Raleigh. mime
diateIy below HintOn'S falls, and at a
point which the only steamer which
ever ca:ne 10 Raleigh reached about
1925. The place thus chosen for the
start is at Pools bridge. a little dis
lance below the last dam on the river,
though to be sure there are 4 number
of obstacles in the stream lower down.
The c1nOerS packed their kits. having
therein clothing waterproof blanketS
all wrapped in oil cloth; taking AIMED
goods and placing perishable things in
TIN coffee cans: also carrying Il tent.
which was only large enough to ac-
cGmmOdate two Of the youngsters, SO
that two had to sleep in the open.
Luckily the weather was very good
during the trip. both by day and by
night. The river was at a low stage,
which WAS in some respects fortunate
and in others not SO. The boys had
never made a canoe trip before. and
SO had to feel their way. The boats
We're taken out in a furniture van and
Very smart they looked. The boys
got into bathin3 suits, which they We're
to wear On the trip, and packed their
garments i'll waterproof covers joy
ner had an adventure in Il very few
minutes, capSizing his boat before the
start was made. but being in his bath
ing suit paying no heed to the vet
ting. When everything had been
SIlugGed down the start began at II
o'clock. The boys used double-bladed
paddles. light and strong. eight feet
long. and found that it was only by
the use Of such paddles that a trip
like this can be safely made. oars not
being convenient and it being impoS-
sible with a single paddle to manipu-
late q boat quickly enough, and 50
they chose the double-blade, which the
Indians Of the North and Northwest
have ound to be tine best in the world.
The current was found quite strong
for the first two miles. and four hun
dred yards below the bridge from
which the start was made the first
rapid was met. The boys got out Of
the boats and let them down by lines.
called painters" from the bows.
Lodges of rock formed the rapid.
which is entirely across the stream.
Other rapids We're found further down.
the longest one being two miles in
length. Most Of them We're thickIy
Sown with rocks n at most the depth
of water was only from six inches to q
foot. The river averaged about sixty
yards wide on the first days trip on
which twenty miles was made. While !
there was a noticeable current for the
first few miles, the remainder Of the
stream seemed to be like saltwater. +!
and like q canal, With some four feet
Of water in the channel. 1t was de-
~ceitful. however, since the current is
really strong in nearly all places. as
the anoers found when they tried to
go upstream as an experiment. HI
fish-traps built in the river. with open
ings barely twenty feet wide. formed
the worst obstacle being real
falls, all these being at bends in
the stream and large stones being
used in building them. At the first
nights camp, which was on q sand
~ 80 ~ ItpIt, tic boys
slept Soundly, two in the tent. the
others wrapped i'm the oii-cloths. and
they We're not tToubled By MOSQUITOES
Of the boys hung his coat on .
tree and the garment in the dim light
gave Joyner quite a scare. SO he got
mis- rifle and started to shoot it. There
We're no capsizeS, though some very
daring runs We're made through the
natural and artificial rapids. 4 couple
Of ducks We're seen. several muskratr.
and soma offers. The latter were
seen at play. both in the stream itself
and sliding down the banks INTO m
water. Their antics in the strearo
We're very peculiar and they seemed
to be turning SOnerSaultS. while in
pIaNlng on their slides on the steep
banks they would spread Their TT
all around. as the phrase goes ard
then slide down Very rapidly. return
ing and repeating the performance
as BOYS would with slcds in L.