Evening star., 1941-07-20


days should be allowed if possible
one day to get there, one for the
pony-penning and one to drive
home. The mileage to Chincoteague
is 164 by way of the Annapolis
Matapeake Ferry and 241 by driv-
ing through Dover, Del. and around
tine head of Chesapeake Bay. A
| good idea is to go one way and come
back by the other tsee map, there
by taking in all the scenic and his
toric points of the productive East
ern Shore.
Ferry Rates Cut.
The Annapolis Matapeake Ferry,
now owned by the State of Mary
land, has slightly cheaper rates than
formerly Autos of ia inches wheel
base or under may cross for S125:
| larger passenger cars are charged
$3.50 Gncluding driver. Each pas
senger is 30 cents additional; round
trip so cents. Children 6 to II are
charged Is cents single fare and Is
cents round trip. Children under
dlC llCC. lllCl z 10 llo IOullIl-tllP lP
rate for automobiles.
July 81 is the big day, but any
day on Chincoteague is different.
1t has wonderful oysters. which are
edible the year-round. 1t provides
some of the best pleasure fishing
and boating on the Middle Atlantic
coast. It's sea food is world famous.
But, in any discussion of Chinco-
league, one always comes back to
the ponies. Standing on the fiat
southern portion of the island, the
visitor can see the breakers arching
up white above the land pouring
onto the island Perhaps silhou-
cited against them will be herd of
the ponies that have roamed these
salt marshes for as long as man can
remember. And probably to your
mind, as to mine when I first saw
this sight, the question will come,
rs there not some connection be-
tween the ocean and these ponies.
which have always breathed salt
spray and eaten salt grass?"
found that there was a decided
connection-the sea washed the
ponies ashore. In 1642 a shipload
of full-sized Spanish mustangs was
wrecked off Assateague. the large
encircling island that protects
Chincoteague from the ocean. Many
were drowned, but a few swan
ashore. They raised their noses
and whinnied to the wet, gray skies.
Turning into the wind they dropped
their heads to the lush salt grass
and started grazing on their new
pasture. In time the few were many
hundred in number and they had
spread to other islands, swimming
the wide channels fearlessly. Thus
did the ponies first come to Chinco-
league. Inbreeding of the original
stock accounts for their sizes.
Families Came by Sea.
Men first came to Chincoteague
from the sea. also; New England
settlers drifted down the coast to
Assateague. Some, seeing the tenn
perate productivity and tasting the
succulent oysters of the region,
stayed. The Down Easter" names
of Pruitt, Beebe, Bowden and
Daisey are often heard on the island.
During the War Between the
States, the 256 persons on Chinco-
league held out for the Stars and
Stripes in defiance to the State of
Virginia, to which they belonged.
Confederate troops tried to take the
island three times and were repulsed
more by the water and marshes than
by the Is fighting men on Chinco-
league.
Victoria Pruitt is compiling
history of Chincoteague and has
many records of past "pony-pen-
nings" and much information on
the subject She was born in the
third house built on the island. Her
grandfather, on one of his fishing
trips around AsSateague. saw the
remains of the Spanish galleon
which, wrecked in 1642, freed the
ponies. Since that time sand has
covered the wreckage
Lie mustangs VI lSlIldlIS "CIc
spotted. When man first saw them
they were $50 to 900 pound ponies,
and their spots had disappeared.
They were black, sorrel and bay.
Recent crossing with Shetlands
(Which reduced their size even more)
brought out the spots again.
Roundups, or "pony-pennings,"
originally were held to allow each
owner to brand his colts Each man
on the island owned at least two
or three mares. Catching and brand
ing the ponies was a job then. The
ponies were wild and would throw
a man and go after him like a dog
with intent to kill. They were smart
and treacherous, wild and wiry.
Riders Try Widest
Nowadays the roundups have lost
their original significance because