274 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Oot. «8, 1880. 



CRUISE OF THE COOT. 



XXTII. 



E DENTON is a pretty, shady, comfortable little town, wMoli, in 

 its broad avennei-, great elm trees aud flnialied air, resembles 

 a well-to-do Nevv England village. It has a history full of great 

 memories and is crowded with relics of opulent and intlnential 

 colonial days. Once upon a time Edenton Avas a metropolis in the 

 South as Newport v.'as in the North. To this day the better class 

 Of inhabitants trace their family trees back to the aristocracy of 

 the first settlers, advontui'ous "gentlemen'" who invested largely 

 in lands and improved their fortunes by a thriving trade v.-ith" i lie 

 'West indies and the rising ports along the Atlantic coast. Albe- 

 ;marle Sound derives its name from General Monek, Duko of 

 Albemarle, who figured conspicuously in the restoration of King 

 Ciiarles 11. Back in the seventeenth century there were several 

 large and deep inlets breaking the sandy banks which now close 

 tlio sound to the ocean. The water was 

 salty up to the mouth of tne Roanoke and 

 Cliowan rivers, and Edenton was prac- 

 tically a seaport. It was foiinded as Roan- 

 oke and named subsequently after a great 

 landed proprietor, Eden, who also became 

 (joverncr of the settlement and ruled with 

 SO much foresight that to this day his intel- 

 ligent direction is to be detected in the 



clever way the town has been laid out with f 

 its broad roads, many of them being park- li 

 like and planted with four rows of elms. - I 



These have grown -with time, tmtil their ■ ' i 



intertwining branches form arches, pro- 

 tect ing the streets from the summer sun. 

 Edenton is in conseqtience one of the cool- 

 est and most delightful places of residence si^i-., 

 in the Soutb. Unfortunately no rose is Iif.Y 

 "Without its thorns, and the closing of the 

 Atlantic inlets allow the vast volumes of 

 fresh water pouring down the adjacent big 

 rivers to freshen the headwaters of the 

 sound so much that malarial fevers pre- 

 vail to some extent. Though not at all 

 Berious, and wholly absent in -vvinter, stmn- 

 gcrs are apt to leave the place dtaing the 

 warm months for hotter and less agreeable 

 abodes. Edenton lius iis Conev Island, 

 some seventy miles distant on "the banks" 



at Nag's Head. Large hotels have been erected on the sandy 

 dunes and hillocks, and the natives along die sound frequently 

 resort to the sea bathing. The weal thy travel in steamers to this 

 local Mecca and the poor cruise to the banks in their "kunners," 

 taking the whole establishment along, baby and all. Fishing, 

 boating and bathing are tite great amusements, and the natives 

 take naturally to all things aqua.tic. 



Edentoti is not what it used t:o be. In oldeii times, when vessels 

 wore small and did not draw mtich water, the town sent a lleet oi 



tamly nrgln and not exltansted as in the regtilar tobaccobelt. This 

 Will demand less fertilizing and produce a rich and strong variety 

 of the ^veed. Belie hunters of the East would discover a nch mine 

 in Edentoitand like Southern cities. They are full of antique furni- 

 ture, clocks and such things. Matiy houses are wainscoated in the 

 beautiful and lasting carpentery of the first settlers' time. At this 

 day the colonial buildings, constructed of large-size brick im- 

 ported from England, are the stateliest and best preserved in the 

 city. St. Paul's church was founded in 1700 and rebuilt in 1845. 

 Tlie vestry of the parish drew up the first Declaration ot Inde- 

 pendence, prior to a like step in tlie town of Mecklenbtirg. Tliere 

 is LtiJl an old house standing, in wliich the ladies of Edenton met 

 during the Stamp Act and resolved not to drink tea. This from 

 ladies was an abnegation which testifies the intense popular feel- 

 in.g then pre zaillng. The present County Court House was the 

 Colonial Capitol. It is still one of the best structures iu- town, 

 despite two ceuturies of existence. A royal prince, heir to the 



iiOANOlvE PACKET. 



Bj itisii throne, was entertained with a grand ball during his visit 

 on a royal cruiser. Pembroke, a short distance up the Chowan 

 liiver, was the baronial homestead of the Marquis Stephen Cabar- 

 rus, \vhosc name is perpetuated by one of the central counties of 

 the Old North State. Other liomesteads of former great families 

 line the banks of the Chowan. During the Revolution all rope 

 lor tlie yottng U. S. Government was made in the rope walks of 

 Eden Lon's ship yards. The first cotton raised in the U. S. came 

 f I'om land two miles beyond the city limits. 



Beaufort, at the foot of Core Sound, which -was planned to be the 

 destination. 



The mouth of the Roanoke is perfectly obscured and hard to 

 make out but for the lighthouse at the entrance. The river pours 

 forth its volume of mud-stained fltiid through a delta of small 

 canals penetrating the swamps which flU the lower corner of 

 Albemarle Sound. All are narrow but very deep witli about 18ft. 

 on the bar. The main channel turns sharp around the ligitthouse. 

 After entering the river you can hug either shore as they are very 

 bold, ttntil the first great bend to the westward is met, which is 

 about two miles up. The low marshy point on starboard hand 

 must be given a berth. After turning give the northern bank pref- 

 erence, until past a tributary flomng in from the east a quarter 

 mile further up. Beyond this both banks are bold with ;iO to 30ft. of 

 water, but a bar of mud has formed across tite raotith with a 

 crooked channel marked by dubious stakes. If entering w'th 

 more than 3ft. draft a boat should be sent ahead to find the best 

 water. As there is no tide to lift you off, 

 care must be takeit not to ground. 



Tlie current out of Roanoke varies with 

 tlie rainfall, snow and s>3ason of the year. 

 In latter part of April I found it about half 

 a knot strong. The liglithouso is pttrsued 

 by ill-fate. A year ago it burned down and 

 last winter the drift ice carried a brand 

 new structure nearly off the iron piles. As 

 I passed in the beacon was struggling to 

 exist until Congress should have made a 

 new appropriation. The regular lense had 

 been removed and a lamp hung in its place. 

 The keeper was engaged iu hanging on and 

 living an up-hill life. A long point juts out 

 from the mainland with the appearance of 

 a sunken poquosin. It is covered with a 

 multitude of stumps and wrecked giants of 

 the forest. Occasionally these stumps work 

 loose and go floating promiscuously abotit 

 tlie sound. 1 mistook them for buoys at a 

 distance and sometimes tool-: lite buoys to 

 be stumps. Que would suppose that in a 

 narrow river, bordered by thick forest, very 

 little wind is to be expected. But there is 

 usually a nice draft up or down and large 

 schooners manage to beat up against tJhe 

 current. The passage out is always assured 

 by simple drifting. In the mouth of the 

 river the Coot encountered two large lumber-laden schooners 

 and a frisky towboat trying to wind them into line for a 

 tow up to Norfolk. One schooner was fotil of the trees and 

 had passed a line across to a little half submerged island 

 going by the delectable cognomen of Louse. I did not see 

 the line, but heard the skipper hailing when it was too late. 

 The Coot had just enough way to lift uii and over, the oen- 

 t«rboard closing up with a bang like a knife in its casing. We 

 sailed and drifted along to the first elbow, and when spying tho 



traders to sea. There were shipyards and marine railways, and a 

 busv mercantile community. Then followed the plantation era 

 while slavery was in force and cotton became the great staple. 

 Since the war the clearings have grown over, the fences are doi\-n, 

 forest attd brush have obscured all traces of the vast tracts once 

 cultivated. Here and there are patches of ground tilled by the 

 free negroes, aud occasionally one meets an imposing mansion, 

 more or less dilapidated, in a yard sorely lacking thrift and atten- 

 tion, with the people moving about 

 in a listless, clejected sort of way. 

 The war fell heavily upon the com- 

 munity and left the people poor and 

 helpless withotit slave labor. But 

 within the last few years the local- 

 ity has a\\'akened to the new order 

 of things and is fast adapting itself 

 to circumstances which, promise a 

 Tjright fttture in due course of time. 

 Agriculture, especially mixed crops, 

 is again taken up with vigor by tne 

 new generation. Farms, evincing 

 care and skill, are once more en- 

 croaching upon the timber line. 

 Great fields of corn, gardens of 

 truck, herds of sleek oattleand acres 

 of cotton attest the fresh energy of 

 the inhabitants. I talked vrlth many 

 .of the cultivators of the soil. All 

 agreed that, economically speaking, 

 tney were really better in-epared 

 than in the days of slaver> , and that 

 contrary to expectations the negroes 

 have shown themselves manageable 

 and respectful, mindful of their 

 own affairs and reliable in their 

 contraots. Sawmills have been 

 erected, mitch timber is being cut 

 into marketable shape and manu- 

 factories are contemplated, so that 

 ere long Edenton will follow in the 

 wake set by enterprising and mod- 

 ern Elizabeth City. The hotels are 

 good and liAnng cheap. The stores 

 ai'e keeping better stock, the Nor- 

 folk Soutiiern R. R. has come in 

 and put the country in direct con- 

 nection with all trade centers, and 

 propellers ply in all directions. 

 Meanwhile, the mainstay of the city 

 is in the rich fisheries during early 

 spring and in the crops of the fall. 

 The largest dwelling is owted by 

 "onr biggest fisherman," and the 

 smallest cottages by the darkies who 

 go "shadding" on theii' own account. 



A new crop this year will he 

 tobacco, tho soil and climate hav- 

 ing been pronounced weU adapted, 

 but whether the seductive Icat can 

 be raised and cured to compete with 

 the foothills of the AUeghanies re- 

 mains to be seen. The soil Is oer- 



MOUTH OI' ROANOKE RIVER. 



I spent four agreealjle days in harbor, took some residents for a 

 sail and made agreeable friends with some of the townspeople. 

 Then hove up and drifted out of port ^nth :i light nortiierly ^vind. 

 bound for the Roanoke. Slowly tlie Coot crossed the mouth of the 

 Chowan, whose high banks, d.ensely wooded, faded away in the 

 bluisit tint of distance. The inclination to sail up this noble river 

 on a voyage of exploration had to be resisted, as time was passing 

 and the Coot had still some 200 miles to traverse before reaching 



EDENTON COTJRT HOUSE. 



tributary from tho east, hauled up for a quiet harbor for the 

 night out of tho line of traflic. After groun^Ung twice on the soft 

 mud bar, the Coot got safely over and came lo tmciior for tho 

 night, the wind having fallen a\vay entirely. 



A deathlike stillness pervaded nature as"the shades of evening 

 fell. On both sides of tho Coot rose towering trees ^\ith dense 

 foliage, festooned wth climbing vines and paudout mosses. The 

 Ught and dark greens of varied foliage alternated, relieved liy the 

 contrast of penetrating trunkis and 

 branches, and fringed" golden 

 reeds along their dark shadows in 

 the placid waters. Overhead the sky 

 was a deep blue with silveiy stars 

 merrily twinkling at tlieir reflec- 

 tions in the river. The Coot's crew 

 seemed to be the only living being 

 for miles around. I felt as though 

 a waste of wilderness separated me 

 from the rest of human kind, and 

 sought company in the glow of my 

 pipe. Suddenly there was a shout, 

 then a melodious incantation broke 

 tlu-ough tho reign of silence. Re- 

 flections were driven awa.v in face 

 of the reali.stic present. Soon the 

 dusky foi-ms of a band of toiling 

 darkies were revealed, and a clumsy 

 scow was made out poking its square 

 nose round the reeds at a bend in 

 the little river. They were a gang 

 of lumbermen collecting timber 

 from above and working it doAvn 

 river in small lots by a method 

 peculiar to the region. They were 

 singing _ wliile tliey plied heavy 

 sweeps in time with the strains of 

 their music. The scow was pulled 

 ahead as far as a long line attached 

 to a raft of tree trunks would 

 permit. Then tho scow ^vas made 

 fast to tho bank and the dusky 

 hands manned a crude windlass in 

 the Bt«rn and wound un the raft 

 after them. The reason tliereof was 

 plain. The raft could not have been 

 towed around the bend by rowing in 

 the scow, for it was continually 

 chafing and catching in the reeds. 

 But with the scow fast and the 

 windlass at work something had to 

 come. Thus in short fleets the logs 

 were got down to the main river, 

 where they were moored until 

 enough had been collected to make 

 up a raf c fit for a tow by a steam 

 tug. The darky's placid tempera- 

 ment eminently fits him for thi-s 

 labor, which requires the patience 

 of Job and the staying qualities of 

 a mnle. The crowd were in pleasant 

 humor and considerately worked 

 their raft to the other side of th^ 



