NORTH CAROLINA 145 



From the Neus river to Wilmington on the Cape 

 Fear river it is 42 miles through forest and sand. 

 The many paths and roads inter-crossing these woods 

 often bring travellers to confusion. Here and there, 

 indeed, guide-posts are set up, but nothing is written 

 on them. Once we got quite out of the road and 

 might have gone heaven knows where, had not a gen- 

 tleman met us and set us in the road again. This was 

 the first human creature that for many days had met 

 us on this road. He had come a matter of 21 miles to 

 have a trifle made at a smith's, and tomorrow would 

 be going 19 miles farther to find a tailor and was 

 riding on a saddle-cloth. 



Wilmington stands close to the Cape Fear river, 

 and lower than the general sand-surface. There are 

 in the town perhaps 150 framed houses, but most of 

 them of good appearance. This was once for a good 

 while the capital of the province, and drove a con- 

 siderable trade with the West Indies and the northern 

 provinces ; at the present time its trade is almost en- 

 tirely with Charleston. The harbor should be good; 

 but the entrance is difficult for larger vessels, from a 

 bar giving no more than 9-10 ft. water. Larger ships 

 must consequently first lighten cargo at Brunswick, a 

 little place 16 miles from here, lying nearer the mouth 

 of the river. Nine miles below Brunswick, on Cape Fear 

 so much dreaded by mariners, stands or rather stood, 

 Fort Johnson, erected long ago for covering the ap- 

 proach ; both this and Brunswick are now almost 

 wholly demolished and deserted. 



While on the road to Wilmington I heard mention 

 of a place by the name of Rocky-point, on the Cape 



