Evening star., 1923-08-19

upon fleet of gray ships, motionless.
tied side by side in broad fanks,
pointed toward the open sea-a veri-
table ships graveyard. There they
stay. yearning silently, until one by
one they are towed up the river to be
dismantled.
Heading now over waters that have
changed from green to blue, the
Cuspidor points her way to the
Virginia shore that looms dark and
high in contrast with low shores to
the left.
Rounding the point, the Cuspidor
noses her way into Aqua creek, one
Of the prettiest OF the little streams
down the river. On all sides the hills
roll Inward, covered with a rich
growth of trees and wild vegetation.
as a hand mirror. rejecting the my
riad colors Of dying sun. Farther
ahead the surface is broken by the
jumping of little fish out Of their ele-
ment. This means the pursuit of the
little fellows by larger fish and the
locale of good fishing. When we go
overheard for a swim the water tastes
brackish and we know the salty sea
is but around the next bend in the
river
The next day revealed empty lard
ers, an alarming discovery for eight
men whose appetites had increased
threefold as a result Of life on the
deep. Dropping anchor off Rock
Point, the crew Of the Cuspidor earn
estly began to fish. and fifteen min
utes of the sport yielded enough large
"hardheads" for dinner and break
fast. With a peace Of mind induced
only by a hearty meal, we'll earned,
banjos and other stringed instruments
WERE brought from their storage un-
der the bow deck. Padding from
the ship to the lonely little wharf of
Bushw ood, the orchestra of eight en-
sconced itself on the edge, with feet
dangling over the water, and harmony
rose to the stars overhead.
Music is a sure magnet, particularly
to the negroes Of southern Maryland,
and IN a few minutes a dusky au-
dience of swelling ranks was arrayed
at hand. Silence on their part Is but
brief, for a jazZy selection on a banjo
inevitably results in a buckdance
contest with all the hilarity and
clanScr that a negro audience can Gre
ate: No orchestra can find a more
appreciative audience.
Piney Point was the next destina-
ton, the rendezvous Of the cruise. Four
members already had made camp upon
shore, above the little white light
house. They had come two in canoe,
equipped with a little puttering en-
gine, towing another canoe carrying
two additional passengers. Several
times waves had broken over the
sides, half filing the fragile craft and
threatening disaster in midstream
Midstream here is two or three miles
from shore.
A white speck on the water. up
|, stream, growing continually larger,
brought into camp two cruisers. They
had traversed the distance from
Washington, alternately sailing and
Upstream on the Virginia side the
shore is unbroken, with a wilderness
of tall pines. that resembles the con-
tour of the Carolina coast. At last
there appears an indentation of some
size, that shelters the entrance into
Nomini creek. Cruising slowly up this
tributary, strange to us, the first turn
reveals a picture of southern beauty.
On shore a group of willows dropped
over an old-fashioned southern home,
majestic with its white pillars and ia
cade against the background of red
lbrick. that may have been transported
| In the slave days from England. Trav-
ersing several more turns in the
stream in the growing darkness, we
saw a brilliance above the trees
ahead, and around the obstructing
point we came upon huge float. two
stories in height, lighted from stem to
stern, moored to the bank at Nomini.
Inquiry proved it to be a floating
theater, equipped with all the accou-
lterments necessary for performances.