Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1911-01-20
POCOMOKE SOUND AND RIVER.

The Eastern Shore of Virginia
and Maryland is entirely unlike this
mountain region. As one goes up
or down the Chesapeake the first
land toward the east side is the is
land of Tangier with a town of
some size covering the island. When
the town comes in sight the houses
appear to rise from the very sur
face of the water. The island is
merely a sandbank, and contains
only two or three trees. The peo-
pile scarcely attempt to keep any gar
dens. They live by fishing. The sur
rounding water is very shallow, and
during an unusually sever cold snap
a few years since, so much ice form
ed that for several days the steam
ers could not reach the pier, which,
by the way, is a quarter of a mile
from land. The people were re-
duced to very short commons be-
fore the ice gave way.
Near by is Pocomoke Sound,
where one may see dozens of boats
belonging to men who catch fish,
oysters and crabs. Usually there
is but one man in boat and it is
propelled by a single sail. In the
winter there business is a cold one.
In the shallower waters one may
see lines of brush rising above the
surface. These are the bounds of
private oyster beds. Real estate in
this region is often very wet, and
the oystering business has given
rise to special laws and usages. A
stack of oysters in the shells may
often be seen in a boat, and by
looking down from the steamer rail
one may see crabs swimming in the
water, and porpoises racing along
on the surface. May be a shark,
ten feet long and as thick through
as a sugar barrel, may be seen
swimming after the steamer.
From Pocomoke Sound one as
cends into Pocomoke River, but
unless the tide is high the boat may
have to struggle through the oozy
mud at the mouth. Once across
the bar there is no more trouble.
The Pocomoke is not at all like
mountain river. 1t is deep but
perhaps not 400 feet wide. The
tide affects it a long distance, so
that there is q downward current
only ten hours of each day and eN-
ceedingIy slow at that. No tribu-
taries can be seen, the country be-
ing too low and level to cause them.
The waves set in motion by the
steamer splash over the banks into
the grass, and by looking farther
down one may see the water run
ming down the face of the bank.
If the ground eyer rises 6 or S feet
above the river it begins to look al
most hilly. The river never over
flows. The fiat ground may be
come thoroughly water-soaked, but
there can be no foods.
The land lying so low and flat,
one may look off a long distance
over the country, provided the bod
les of pine timber do not stand in
the way. The pine is sawed up for
lumber or chopped up for cord
wood. The soil is generally sandy,
though not loose sand, and some
times it becomes clayey. There
are no stones Or gravel and one
horse or mule without shoes will do
the blowing. Corn is grown on ev--
cry farm, but scarcely any grain
unless oats for fodder. tits agreat
country for sweet potatoes and III
the fall hundreds of barrels of them
NAV be seen at the steamer load
ings. Tomatoes are also much
grown. Peaches and berriieess--afee-'
produced, but it is scarcely an APP
pie country except on the highest
ground, if anything like high ground
can be said to exist.
Not many years ago the sweet
potato growers were being piunder-
ed by the Middle men and were
making no money. Then they or
ganized Produce Exchange and
employed agents in all the e.
cities. Since then they haLS
pered. If the market id
ed in one city. there ass1Ts