Mat 81, 1880.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



S37 



as to which to follow next morning. It is well to show an anchor 

 light, even ' in unpretentious looking creeks, which apparently can 

 lead to nowhere in particular. Usually there is a line country back 

 of the fringe of swamp and marsh and the universal propeller is cer- 

 tain to come poking up the creek to a landing higher up when least 

 expected. 



Underway early next day in a squally southwester. Tied down two 

 reefs as the blasts came across the marshes and through gaps in the 

 trees with sudden energy. Passed the steam yacht Ibis, of Boston, 

 hound north, and also a tow of six schooners, among them a yacht 

 whose name could not be made out, having hands full attending to 

 the Coot. An hour later, as the river broadened, the wind steadied 

 and reefs were shaken out. It was ten miles to the first beacon in 

 Upper Currituck, located at the confluence of a small stream called 

 Blackwater, like a good many others. The river wound about through 

 swamp and marsh in many coils, doubling back upon itself in over- 

 hand hitches, till you lost all bearings. Somehow the wind was in- 

 variably ahead, so that the whole distance was a dead beat through 

 hard puffs, which compelled a good deal of begging and slack sheet. 

 The last three miles were contortions through marshes as far as the 

 eye could reach, with a bluish frame of trees upon the horizon. The 

 only settlements passed were a patch of sandy bottom with an 

 apology for a ranch, appropriately called "starvation farm," and tne 

 town of Pimgo Ferry, a. town it appears on the maps, in fact it is a 

 half decayed landing, a shanty and a corduroy road leading into the 

 interior. On tne opposite side is an attempt at permanent residence, 

 probably by the ferryman. A house has been built upon blocks in a 

 half -flooded bit of sand not half an acre in extent. Upon this modest 

 holding there was a chicken coop, a pig, and a cur, and the stalks of 

 some corn. Jf you were to travel the world over a more miserable 

 and unfit place of abode could not be found, yet here in abject 

 poverty without a ray of hope in life, somebody was eking out an 

 existence. Perhaps a severe case of "Home, sweet home." The 

 ferry consists of a flatboat and rope across the river. By these the 

 town can be identified, with the gratifying knowledge that two miles 

 more will see you into open water. 



When Currituck was espied it was blowing strong from south, with 

 a short, steep, foam-crested sea. As this would require beating down 

 to the Coinjock cut-off into North River, the Coot coisld not attempt 

 tie task so late in the day, and was turned into the Blackwater 

 for a harbor instead. There are 14ft. near the mouth, and pro- 

 filers steam up two miles and a half to a bridge, where there 

 3 a small settlement and store. 



At the junction of the Blackwater, North Landing River and 

 the head of Currituck stands the first of a series of gas beacons 

 erected by the canal company as guides to the excavated chan- 

 nel down Currituck to the Coinjock cut-off. The greater part 

 of Currituck has 5ft , with 3ft. spots, but the made channel has 

 about Oft. It is accurately marked by closely-spaced bushes 

 and red buoys. A large vessel must hug these for best water 

 and cannot beat down. It is usual, therefore, to tow clear 

 through to North River, a distance of sixty miles from Norfolk. 

 The gas beacons are an institution. There are eight in the 

 fifteen miles from North Landing River to the Coinjock cut-off. 

 They are miniature lighthouses, automatic in a< fcon, requiring 

 attention cnce a week. Three cylinders, about 20ft. high, 

 contain the gas, which is led into a regular Fresnel lense on 

 top. These give forth a bright, steady light. Being pairt#d 

 hlack or red, the beacons also serve by day to show on which 

 side they should be left. No charts exist of the 

 'r-fff/^A/C /J" Upper Currituck, except a sketch supplied by the 

 canal company, hence my aversion to beating down 

 the shoal water aarainst a high sea. 



Hardly had a pipe been lit after the Coot's sail 

 was stowed, when a curious concern hove in sight 

 pulling down the Blackwater. It proved to be a 

 long narrow skiff, loaded with all manner of traps, 

 nets, shooting and fishing implements, and assorted 

 booty of the chase. Wnen alongside, Mr. E. S. 

 Evans, the proprietor of the multitudinous outfit, 

 volunteered information about the alleged country 

 round about, most of which was under water. 

 "Was he fishing?" "No." "Shooting:, of course?" 

 "No, he was just furrin' a bit." That is to say 

 he was makiug the rounds of sundry traps in the 

 marshes, from which he collected the ensnared 

 muskrats and coon. Mr. Evans smiled as he men- 

 tioned the last-named character as an object of the 

 chase. "The marshes are full of them; we nail 

 the skins on a board to dry and then ship to Norfolk 

 where they realize about fifteen cents apiece. Later 

 in the season we go turt ling." And therewith Mr. 

 Evans cast an envious glance at the Coot and con- 

 tinued: "Now with such a boat as that, there's a 

 fortune in turtles. You see, we set a lot of traps 

 about the marshes, and every day collect the tur- 

 tles, sometimes twenty in a trap. But we have no 

 boat in which to camp, and must pull for home 



CRUISE OF THE COOT. 



XXIII. 



IN the narrower reaches of the creeks connecting with the canals, 

 the one thing to be dreaded is the appearance of a timber raft in 

 tow. These rafts, which are made up in North Carolina, are of great 

 length, and in the turns of the creeks swing from shore to shore, 

 grinding along one bank first and then over to the other. Whichever 

 side of the raft you choose, there is a chance of getting squeezed be- 

 tween it and the bank, as the towing steamer has no control over its 

 long tail. The Coot escaped the quandary by sheering into a small 

 cove and holding on to the bushes upon one occasion, and in another 

 following her own judgment iu opposition to the signals from the 

 pilot of a towing steamer. His raft edged across stream in response 

 to the wind blowing, and had I followed the pilot's injunctions to keep 

 to leeward, the Coot would have been badly nipped between the logs 

 and a dyke of oyster shells and rock. 



Although the banks of s wamp-lined creeks are generally abrupt, 

 except off projecting points, it is not safe to approach them in strange 

 waters on account of enlarged tree stumps and sunken trunks. 

 "Look out for stumps, captain" is a common injunction when a 

 native wishes to show his friendly regard. The stump even figures 

 on the charts in the mouth of the Scuppernong River right in the 

 fairway of 12ft. Logs adrift from the tows, with one end shot into the 

 mud and the other barely discernible above water are frequently en- 

 countered as well as much drifting rubbish, so that a watchful eye 

 ahead is at all times necessary. Creeks leading through marshes are 

 invariably deep and bold, often deeper than the main body into 

 which they flow, and frequently obstructed by a narrow bar. In 

 un buoyed regions, the natives generally have stakes planted to guide 

 into harbor where the channel Is tortuous. The greatest nuisance in 

 Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds is the mass of old pound net stakes 

 reaching far off shore into the deepest water, obliging a small boat to 

 give points a wide berth and forfeit the benflts of a weather shore. 

 The whole beach is a confusion of stakes, and where the nets or 

 "leads" are spread, the yachtsman is obliged to pick his way through 

 certain openings marked by bush-headed stakes unless he proposes 



to endanger the nets by driving over them and exciting the wrath of 

 the fishermen. Local boats of little draft pass over the leads any- 

 where by crushing tnem under without harm. A native tried this 

 once with the Coot after tricing up the centerboard, with the result 

 that the boat got hung up on the net for half an hour and open war was 

 threatened by the fishermen. Hugging the shore at night is also 

 impracticable. 



A strong westerly breeze was on hand to blow the Coot through the 

 ten-mile canal connecting the headwaters of the Elizabeth with those 

 of North Landing River. The lock tender had the gate open and 

 quickly dropped the boat the few feet down to the canal level. This 

 lock, which is granite-faced, 240ft. long and 40ft. wide, is the only one 

 on the route south. Seven feet can de carried clear through the vari- 

 ous links in the chain connecting Albemarle and Chesapeake, 

 whereby some 1,800 miles of navigable interior waters have been 

 brought within direct reach of Norfolk, Baltimore and northern 

 markets. 



In 1818 the famous Dismal Swamp canal was cut into the heart of 

 the great swamp to open its vast wealth in pine timber to the world. 

 The son of the projector of this work, Marshall Parks, Jr., conceived 

 and executed the new line of communication with the South, the in- 

 valuable results of which are now fully demonstrated in the fresh 

 vigor and growth of North Carolina's lowlands. The new canal was 

 excavated entirely by steam power, the dirt being thrown up on each 

 side. It runs almost due east and west, averages 80ft. in width and 

 is excellently maintained. Owing to the high hanks and trees it was 

 rather slow work getting through in the Coot, despite the strong 

 wind blowing. Four hours were occupied in the transit and an end- 

 less amount of jibing made it a matter for congratulation when the 

 North Landing bridge hove in sight and the inspector's pass was de- 

 livered to the bridge tender, who poked out a long pole with a slit in 

 the end into which the document was inserted. 



Beyond the bridge there are two miles of crooked creek and then 

 some broader reaches. Four miles down the creek forked into two 

 branches, equally attractive, and not being certain which one to take 

 the Coot was brought to ah anchor as the evening shades began to 

 fall. The traffic up and down one branch soon settled the question 



every day. We have no funds to start with, and so the rich harvest 

 slips by." A turtle trap, as I found out, is much like an eel basket. 

 Two barrel hoops serve to distend the funnel-like ends of a net, 

 which lead through small apertures into a cylindrical middle in which 

 the bait is hung. Once in, the turtle cannot reach the small hole 

 outward, but climbs to the top of the net for air. Hence they must 

 he set between stakes several incbes clear of the water. If the wind 

 piles up the water higher than the net the confined turtles drown. 



Mr. Evans had a high opinion of the business. Some Africans from 

 Core Sound had come up and caught $75 the first night, when the 

 natives drove them off as foreigners. An unwritten law in this part 

 of the world consigns the game to the inhabitants of the region, and 

 strangers are promptly resisted. Thus Mr. Evans was originally 

 from Powell's Point, about twenty miles below, but in the eyes of the 

 Blackwater people he might have come from the South Pole. So he 

 had no business to capture the food from under the nose of the 

 Blackwaters. Mr. Evans knew no such law on the statute books, but 

 heing wise in his generation, quietly rented a small ranch up the 

 river, and becoming "one of us" saved his nets from surreptitious 

 attack. His capital was invested in four nets, valued at $1.50 each, 

 with proportionately modest returns. If he had a boat like the Coot 

 and thirty nets, a fortune was certain to come unbidden, always sup- 

 posing the turtles to do the right thing by him. Thus we calculated 

 the number of turtles upon his allegations, the number of pounds 

 total and the equivalent in dollars and cents, until appalling riches 

 were heaped up, and the only remaining difficulty was how to spend 

 so much money. There seemed to be millions in it. But the turtles 

 had not signed the contract yet, and that is probably where the glit- 

 tering calculation was a little shaky. Remembering also tbat one 

 turtle in hand was worth two in the marsh, I escaped making a for- 

 tune by sticking to the cruise of the Coot, and promising Mr. Evans 

 to entertain the subject when we again met. 



Snappers and terrapins bring ten cents per pound in May, and down 

 to three cents as they become more plentiful. They are stowed in 

 barrels for shipment and keep in condition a long time. Mr. Evans 

 had experimented with one of ten pounds weight, keeping him with- 

 out food for thirty days, at a loss of only half a pound, accounted for 



