Evening star., 1938-07-24
CF1INCOTEAGUE TO STAGE SHOW
Day Has Roundup Feature With Carnival Events
Sports and Coast Guard Drll-Birthday of Centenarian

originally held fol- the purpose OF nj.
lowing each owner to brand his colts
Each man on the island owned at least
two or three mares. Catching and
branding the ponies was a Job then.
To quote Mr.. Bowden, in the A. A. A.
garage, the ponies were as wild az
any animal could be "in its own hide"
They would throw a man and go
after him like dog" with intent TO
Kill. They were smart and treacher-
Gus. wild and wiry.
Nowadays the round-ups have lost
their original significance, because all
the ponies on Chincoteague are owned
by the two Beebe brothers, who keep
them fenced of. Pony-penning Is a
commercial enterprise now, but 1t Is
great show. The really wild ponies
that still roam Assateague are rounded
up and forced to swim the channel to
Chincoteague. From them the widest
are chosen and riders may try 10
break them. There are all sorts of
contests and exhibits by experienced
riders. The Coast Guard puts on q
boat race and drill, there are prize
fights, baseball games and pony races,
In connection is the firemen's carnival.
one of the largest carnivals on the
Eastern Shore The carnival lasts
from July 20 OF 80 and pony -penning
is July %. 1t always falls on the last
Thursday of July.
The celebration is over when the
Assateague herd is separated from the
others and driven to the channel and
allowed to swim back to their island,
There are many stories about the in
stinctive intelligence Of these wild AMI
mails. They are good barometers;
whenever a major storm comes up the
stallion calls his herd to the highest
ground on the island. In the winter
they break Ice with their hooves to
get at water. II the ice is too thick
to break, they grind it fine with q
sharp hoof and eat the chips,
THE fortunes Of Chincoteague ebb
and flow with the sea: the
islanders have always lived by fishing,
oystering and grabbing You can get
sea food meals there. Usually two or
three kinds of meat are served with
meal. And with every meal you
have the fat Eastern Shore biscuits.
There are two fine .hotels-the Russell
and the Channel Bass. You are treated
like home folks" at either. During
the "penning" accommodations are at
a premium. Practically every one of
the thousand or SO houses on the
island has the tourist" sign out.
For an interesting return route miss
ing the ferry. you may go straight up
the Dupont highway through Delaware
to Elkton, Md, and swing down toward
Washington on the new dual highway.
This adds only 80 miles to the trip
At Pocomoke City you will notice
what appears to be another freak road
side Establishments great river
steamer by the side Of the road. On
closer inspection you see that 1t act
ually is an obsolet river boat docked in
the Pocomoke River. Princess Anne.
north of Pocomoke, has one famous
building, the George Washington
Hotel. which features two identical
staircases side by side. One is for ladies
with their hoop skirts and the other Is
for gentlemen-that they may ascend
or descend without waiting for q lady
and several dozen yards OF cloth and
braces to get out of the way.
SALISBURY calls itself the hub Of
the Eastern Shore, and 1t u that.
It's business activity Is surprising: the
canalized Wicomico makes It the see
ond largest port in Maryland. As you
go north from Salisbury you pass
through some Of the country that
makes it so prosperous. The Shore"
Is one large truck farm, supplying
vegetables, fruits, berries and eggs for
the tables of Philadelphia, Washington
and Baltimore. On the fringe Of the
Eastern Shore oystering. claiming,
grabbing and fishing make a million
dollar industry.
Chincoteague Island, Va.
After passing old. Quaker Dover
with its fine colonial buildings. and
Smyrna, you leave the Dupont High
way and take Delaware No. II through
Middletown to Glasgow Here you
strike U. S. No 40 You cross the
Susquehanna and enter one Of the
best highways in the countryside
Gov. Nice highway Driving Is like
flying, and you are soon through Bal
timore to Washington.