252 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



to his farm, about ten miles distant, (or tiie purpose 

 of seeing llie large pocoson of which he has re- 

 claimed and has under cultivation between 200 

 and 300 acres. I had not before had an opportu- 

 nity of observing, or being correctly infbnnecl as 

 to the nature of this class ol" wet lauds, and I was 

 glad to avail myself of the request and invitation 

 which alibrded such an opportunity, wilh the ad- 

 ditional gratification and ad vantaife of the guidance 

 and conversation of a companion so interesting 

 and instructive. 



The appearance of the still unreclaimed part of 

 the pocoson is very similar to that, of most of the 

 great swamps in the drier time of the year. How- 

 ever, none of the uncleared par's adjacent to this 

 improvement are as wet as the whole was at first, 

 as the ditches have had a partial and considerable 

 effect in drying the fbiest part. The effect of this 

 partial drying is seen in the dying of the large 

 laurels and other trees which require very wet soil 

 ibr their most perfect condition. 



The surface of the land is so level, that it is 

 drained to outlets in two very different directions. 

 The water carried off by both these main ditches 

 ., is but little, to be collected from so large a body 

 \of land which had been absorbing rain water all 

 ilie winter. The discharge was not greater than 

 I should have expected to find from the existing 

 circumstances, even if there were not a real spring 

 in the whole ground. 



"^he surface of the pocoson is higher than most 

 of the surrounding firm pine lands. The opinion 

 of Judire Gaston is, that the pocoson was origin- 

 ally the ordinary level pine land of the country; 

 that the passage of the small streams of water 

 from its flat surlfice was afterwards iirpeded by 

 fallen trees or other obstructions: consequently a 

 new character gradually was assumed, different 

 Jrom its former state of dry land, and approaching 

 first to that of swamp, and next to that of peat, in 

 eo much as the progress of decomposition of the 

 vegetable products did not keep pace witli that of 

 their production, and therefore that the accumula- 

 tion was yearly increased and the surliice of the 

 land kept growing hiijhor by the increase of the 

 iindecomposed vegetable deposite from the trees, 

 and other plants crowing thereon, in this state, 

 the waters of rains, as well as those of impeded 

 small streams, would be necessarily sucked up and 

 retained by the great mass, as by a sponge, and 

 the surplus served to overflow the surlace during 

 the greater portion of the year. The proofs to 

 sustain this opinion were presented to him in the 

 two facts, Ist, tliat the surface of this vegetable 

 soil is actually higher tiian the surrounding firm 

 land; and, 2dly, that light-wood logs and knots, 

 the evident remains ol' a former growth of large 

 long-leaf pine trees, were dug up often in the 

 ditches, tliough not a tree of that kind remained 

 standing, or could possibly live on such soil as the 

 pocoson novv has. The subsoil is clay, as is the 

 surface soil of the adjacent firm pine lands. Inde- 

 pendent of the (iilching, the labor of clearing the 

 dense forest of large swamp trees, which covered 

 all this land, must have been enormous. The 

 whole clearing and improvement has been gradu- 

 ally made, and some of (he land cleared long ago 

 has been so much exhausted as to be turneri out. 

 The balance, now in a single field of corn of more 

 than 200 acres, had the appearance to me of being 

 very rich soil ; and some of the best, I was told, 



is as productive as almost any land in the country. 

 This reclaimed body of land, extensive as it is, is 

 but a small part of the whole great pocoson. Much 

 of the nearest adjacent land of the same kind, aa 

 before stated, is partially dried by ditching, and 

 the large trees have been killed l)y girdling, for 

 the purpose of extending the clearing. 



There is an immense amount of this kind of 

 land in lower North Carolma, very lilile of which 

 has bt^en reclaimed, or in any way improved. This 

 is not surprising, notwithsianding its great fi?rtilily, 

 when the great and expensive labor required is 

 considered, and that the far cheaper improvements 

 which might be made by marling, are almost 

 totally neglected in this part of the country. 



I had seen, in passing, the day before, through 

 Jones county, some pine lands approaching in their 

 appearance, as to their grassy turl^, the savannas 

 of' New Hanover. On inquiry in regard to them, 

 I learned from Judge Gaston that such lands and 

 more perfect savannas were also common in this 

 part of the coimtry, and that one of the latter v/as 

 on another part of' his land, close by where we 

 then were. We rode over it, and I was still more 

 delighted than with those seen before, with the 

 beautiful meadow-like turf which this exhibits 

 throughout. This had been burnt early, and the 

 young grass is more forward, and there are more 

 wild flowers already open or about to open, than 

 on the more southern savannas lately seen. With 

 no labor, save fencing and mowing, I should think 

 that this land would make very good though ra- 

 ther coarse hay, and profitable lor sale, as northern 

 hay is a regular article of import and sale in New- 

 bern; and if merely well limed on ;he surface, and 

 slightly ditched, would be excellent meadow, and 

 produce the finer grasses, I before expressed my 

 opinion as to the advantaijc and manner of carry- 

 ing the improvement of such land still farther, 

 for tillage, 



I was not aware until recently (hat alligators 

 were found so far north as this. Formerly they 

 were often seen in the Neuse, and though very 

 rare of late, they are supposed siill to inhabit this 

 river, A small one was caught in one of the 

 ditches of Judge Gaston's pocoson, it was also 

 on this farm, not very long afier the first clearings 

 of the wild pocoson land, that occurred a memora- 

 ble conflict wilh a bear, which was so severely 

 contested against great odds, and wilh such de- 

 structive power of resistance, that the narrative of 

 the circumstances was published at the time 

 throughout the United States, and even in the pa- 

 pers of Europe. Though at the time sur- 

 rounded and attacked by the overseer and the 

 negroes and their dogs, and assailed with every 

 weapon that the men could suddenly command, 

 the bear seized on the overseer, then the foremost 

 of his assailants, and tore his flesh so as to endan- 

 trer his life, and would have killed him outright, 

 but for his being drawn away by the negroes by 

 main force. At fast, however, the bear was killed, 

 after a longer and more desperate defence than 

 could have been supposed possible for him to make. 

 And yet it was only in deltmce that he fought ; for 

 he continued slowly to retreat, even after being 

 fired at twice, and slightly wounded at each fire, 

 and to the last, always singled out for his attacks 

 the particular enemy that had last struck or wound- 

 ed him. 

 1 liuttlesnakee are also found hereabout, thougU 



