260 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[April 16, 1891. 



petuons Ashty— so soon to fall at Cross Keys— they went scurrying 

 Tip the river for this purpose aheaa of both armif f: and back over 

 tbiB Bame srouud o»me. these same troops in a broken, torn and 

 shattered tiiass a few days later, after the dnnghty Shields bad 

 accompl'shed his desire and overtaken and met Jackson upon the 

 bloody iield of Port Republic, forty miles above 



At the close of the war ne wem, to worU, with every one else 

 throne bout tie desolated, impoverished South, to repair his 

 broken fortunes, „ , , 



We found tne character of the river from here on down to 

 Riverton, gome fifty miles or so below, quite changed from what 

 it had been above. Tuti bold, open rapids were replaced by long 

 lines of "saw-iooth" ledges or reefs; which stretched across the 

 river from shore to shore in irregular, parallel lines insiead of 

 running lengthwise with the stream, as they had generally seemed 

 to do aiiove. An observation of ihe uuflerljmg strata of the 

 Talley sliow* that these linss of reefs (which are not by anv means 

 confined to the river bed. but may be found cropping out in the 

 fields, along the hillsides and acmss th^ roads.) appear to run gen- 

 erally lengthwise of the valley or parallel with ihe mountain 

 ranges; and as the river in this section, from Massanutton to 

 RivertoQ. is simply a series of zigzag r-urves or loops from west to 

 east and from east to west in search of an outlet through the 

 mountains to the sea, and nowhere presents the approximately 

 straight course that hud irregularly characterized its flow from 

 Port Republic to Massanutton; it followed that the ledges were 

 invariably found rot parallel v.ith but cr^issing the river; some- 

 times in a straight line, forming a literal cataract or watprfall of 

 several feet; but more often in a series of parallel ledges a few 

 yards apart, extending frequently for miles down the river: each 

 reach, or bend, from one sidf of the valley to the other being more 

 or less filled with them; while, as a consequence of these obstruc- 

 tions in these reachep, the "eddies" orstill pools were as in var'ab'y 

 found in the angles of the bends where the river made its turns 

 torecross the valley in its interminable series of letter S loop?. 



There were no more wild exhilarating dashes down long, open 

 stretches of rapid— nothing but these series of reefs or fails, as t hey 

 are not inaptly termed. The river was literally terraced, the 

 water in each terrace between the lines of reefs being still and 

 motionless. Large parts of each reef— par icularly in the present 

 low stage of the river-stood out above the surface of the waier; 

 and the black and jaggd masses of stone, some of them of great 

 size, and in many cases matied with a tangled, stunted growth of 

 bushes, vines anr] weeds, tbat presented themselves to view, 

 scattered iiregulaily over the snrfaee of the river as each new 

 reach was entered, added to the wildness of the scene; and with 

 the dttll. menacing rnar of the river as it fell over the ledges in 

 countless lit'le cas^cades. wei e not calculated to allay onr appre- 

 he^ sions of unknown perils and difficulties in our watery path as 

 we threaded our way t'lrough their mazes. 



As may readily be surmised we found this sort of cruising to be 

 quite difficult and not unattended with danger to our frail craft. 

 If not to ourselves, and indeed bur for the friendly ever present 

 boat channel it would have been impossible to safely navigate 

 many of these falls. It did not take us long to quickly and accu- 

 rately locat» the channel on reaching the bead of a fall. We 

 speedily discovered thai tlip channel was almost invariably close 

 up against one bank or the other; and it, was an easy matter to 

 find it by one of us coasting along close lo one bank, another close 

 to the other, while the third remained in midstream to watch f' r 

 the occasional exceptions to the rule, when the channel would be 

 found in midstream; and when found it was a oebghtfuland 

 comparatively easy matter to shoot swiftly down the narrow little 

 road of wate>-, past all these forniioable obs' ructions, a sharp 

 lookout being kept for occasional stray rocks and the -ver-present 

 fish dams. However, if the falls provrd particularly long and 

 intri' ate we had to watch sharply for the channel, for it not in- 

 frequently took advantage of the still, watery terraces between 

 the ledge-', to cross over from one side of the river to the other. 



The country was much wilder alf^o and more thinly Fettled, and 

 the mills were much less numerous along ti»e river. However, as 

 there was a corresponding scarcity of iheir necessary adjuncts, 

 the mill dams, we bore their ahsenr-e wiin great eqiianimii.s . We 

 were also gratified to note that most of l ue dams had shoots in 

 them, which, %vhile invariably crude aff '•irs and more or less sleep 

 and rough in pitch, especially for small boa s, still savfd us the 

 trouble of pori aging, and afforded us exciting sport in pitching 

 down rheir steep slopes and plunging wll'tly through the big fOAm- 

 crested waves at the bottom ot each shnot. 



The dav proved most intensely hot by far the hottest we bad 

 had on the cruise, and alter successfully negotiating the unusual 

 intricacies of "the pig path." which we accomplished by entering 

 the chantiel alone tbe bluff close to the right bank, follnwmg it as 

 it veered to the m'd'lle of the river, and wound through tne laby- 

 rinth of ugly grinning reefs and small bu^h-grown isle's, and 

 finally emerg'ing with it from the sharp-nointed "sawtooth" ledges 

 into the still water below, close over to the left bank. We were 

 iain lo lie by for several hours on a shady bank close to a fine cold 

 spring while we indulged in a lunch, pmoke and unusuaJly pro- 

 longed siesta, nnil the heat of the day should pass by before re- 

 suming our ciuije. . .,.,„. 



We l amped that nieht by a little spring on the side of a steep 

 bank 20fi. hij^h Tnere was not a foot of level ground between the 

 water's edge and the top of tne bank, and we bra^td the canvas 

 up alongside of tae bank with stones, ' ne gunwale of each boat on 

 the upper side being directly against the bank, while on the lower 

 side it WHS so high above the ground that Lacy declared he wottld 

 have to get a step ladder to get into bed. 



A platform of stones was soon heaped together by the side of 

 the spring, upon which the camp stove was placed, and a fire 

 started in it; and in a v^ry short time the appetizing odors of 

 bacon and coffee were difl'using their fragrance around about us. 



A country road ran along the top of the bank; hut the bank was 

 so heavily wooded and so sieep that one or two out of a procession 

 of four-horse wagoi.s loaded with the piinoipal commodity of this 

 section— bark— passed by before we were observed; but finally we 

 heard the inevitable yell, "Gosh. Bill look down yer at i hese fel- 

 lers campin' under tti' baal< !" and in a minut- we were surrounded 

 by half a dozen of the primitive, bare-footed, shirt-sleevf d drivers, 

 who examined everything with wonder and interest, thei canoes in 

 particular attracting their notice because of their unusual model 

 and constfuction. ^ . 



"You two fellers went down yer a couple o' year ago, didn't ye?" 

 asked one. af ler gazing intently at me for a short tioae. 



I admitted th^ fa^t. 



"J seed ye !" he said. "Me and Bill ver wasfordin' the river right 

 up there with a couple o' loads o' bark, an' a couple o' them dad- 

 blamed little boats sQoi by anead of us an' yon two fellers was in 



^Y^-'reckoned" if "musr a bpn us," as I recalled the incident to 

 George, how wh had narrowly escaped being blockaded in the boat 

 channel through the rapids above by the foremost wagon, which 

 was slowly bumping its way across over the reefs and stones of 

 the ford; and how we mide a dash for it— as the condition of the 

 water and the swift rush of the cui-rent would nor admit of much 

 tarrying on our part while they leisurely crossed— and shot by 

 just' under the noses of the foremost team of horses, who were 

 'disposed to be restive and frightened until quieted by the reassur- 

 ing cuss words of the drivers. 



After we had finished our supper and had gotten the club tin- 

 ware out of the way, and while we we'e enjoying onr ev^euing 

 smoke, a stylishly dressed, nice-looking young man scramoled 

 down the bank into the camp and couveised with ns for a while. 

 He was engaged in getting out ties ana rafting them down the 

 river. He proved to be quite tamiltar with the river, and gave us 

 considerable useful information in regard "o theloiation of the 

 boat channels through the falls and rapids for miles below. 



Strange to sav, we found his information to be quite coriect; for 

 it is proverbial among canoeists that the natives along tht> j ivers 

 know little or nothing ot ihe streams along which they live, and 

 but little reliable information can be obtained from them, par- 

 ticularly in regard to distances; a man, when asked, almost in- 

 variably giving the distance to the desired pomt by the nearest 

 road, and seeming to have no idea of the possibility of any differ- 

 ence existing by the river. 



About noon tne next day, after threading our way along the 

 narrow little boat ctannel cl'tse up along the left bank through 

 the three or four mile wilderness of reefs and ledges constituting 

 Bumgardner's Falls and Keyser'a Falls, we found ourst^lves pad- 

 dling through the short backset above the dam at Goode's mill. 



•'Say, Commodore," Geoi ge sung out as we approached the dam, 

 the Frankie leading, "this is that ugly shoot we went down last 

 trip, don't you recollect?" 



"Well, 1 should sav I did," 1 replied, "the water is lower this 

 year and I do not believe it is so rough. I'll land on the dam and 

 take a look at it, as 1 see the top of it is above water." 



The shoot was close over against the left bank and I approached 

 the dam with the intention of landing to reconnoitre. I got a 

 look down it and at once saw that it was practicable, although as 

 the construction of the shoot consisted in merely leaving off the 

 top course of timber in the short rising of the dam next the bank, 

 over which the water poured in a smooth cataract of some 4 or 

 5ft., with an enormous wave rearing itself up on end at his foot 

 and flaunting its white crest at us, followed by a long line of 

 lesser waves, It was a tremendous pltuige; so I resolved to take 

 it a^d abandoned my ide% of landing and made at onoe for the 



SAIL PLAN OF CANOE YAWL. 



"Look out, Cimraodore!" yelled George, "you are not going 

 down there again!" 



"Certainly 1 am!" I replied, snapping my hatches tightly down 

 and pulling the waterproof apron up to my chin. "Come on! it's 

 all right!" 



My canoe swooped down over the fall with a dizzying plufge. 

 Her"bow went straight out over the edge of the dam until nearly 

 half the boat's length was out of the water and then it droppad 

 with tt thud and a shock rigor into the breast of the huge roller at 

 the foot of the fall, whose white, curling crest loomed up to my 

 astonished eyes appsren ly as high as the bank. 



That fnll, high bow, as usuil, proved its effli-acy, and although 

 a shower of spray flew all over me the water did not roll over mv 

 decks any further than to the front end of the forward hatch and 

 I did not ship a drop of water, nor did a single drop shimmer on 

 the blistering hot deck behind me. 



I gavR a yell of delight as my beamy canoe swooped buoyantly 

 down over the big waves below, and I backed in under the trees 

 close to the hank, and held on by the overhanging branches to see 

 George and Lacy make the passage. Down they came wi'h a slap 

 and a pltmge, George in the lead and Lacy following Each of the 

 sharp-nosed, narrow little Bob Roys dove bodily through the big 

 wave at the foot of the shoot, and the water rolled m a solid sheet 

 a fiiot deep clear over each canoe from stem to stern, 



"Great Scott! C ^mmodore, that's aroug'i plunge! What r'o you 

 want to go down such places as that for?" said Lacy, as he and 

 George swung in alongside of me and wrung the water out of 

 their flannel sleeves and mopped their dripping faces. "I look a 

 tub full of water there and I'm wet from head to foot," he con- 

 tinued. 



"Me too." said George, as both opened their hatches and pro- 

 ceeded to dip and sponge the water out of their canoes. 



"Hadn't you better buy this canoe this winter. Lacy, when I sell 

 her?" I asked, "Look at my decks! perfectly dry from the batches 

 back, and I didn't snip a drop of water. How about that -full high 

 bow' now, eh?" 



■'Oh, she's sot her good points," he admitted. 



"Say, fellows" said George, "I notice that in shooting places 

 like that, if. instead of driving your canoe briskly over, you hold 

 her back by back paddling steadily, and let her slip gently over, 

 she don't ship anything like as much water." 



"Yes, I've noticed that too," I replied. "The water seems to 

 slip out from under the canoe and she floats up gently over the 

 waves; whereas, ii you push her ahead, she shoves her nose right 

 through them." , . . , , 



"I'm hungry! let's lunoh somewhere, ' said Lacy, who was 

 always the first to propose lunch. 



"Well, we'll lunch at the old Oedar Point campground just 

 around the bend below," I replied, as we get under way again. 



We easily dropped down over the lower fall and paadh d slowly 

 along under a burning sun over the deep, still pool b lovv the dam, 

 and around the hiyh, he.ivily-wooded point to the left, and beached 

 the boats on a bar of glistening white sand putting out from the 

 point upon which the burning ravs of the sun beat fiercely down. 

 We then opened all the hatches and removed the cargoes, throw- 

 ing the canoes wida op^n, and pla'-iug the provisions in the shade, 

 while the tents, blankets and extra clothing were spread out on 

 the hot, dry sand to give them a sun bath, tnan which nothing is 

 80 relreshing to blankets, rents, etc.. and to air and dry out the 

 canoes. We then rook the mes* ch^st; our camp stools, books and 

 smoking materials and repaired to a nice shady bank, where we 

 proceeded to make ourselves comtortable for the next three hours 

 or so, for it was entirely too hot to think of pushing ahead during 

 the heat of the day. . -r, ^ ■, 



The true canoeist is never m a hurry. He takes things easily 

 and does not measure a cruise by i he number of mil^s made in a 

 day. He spends more days on the cruise even to the extent of 

 shortening his objective point if time be limited. If the heat is 

 great or a strong headwind prevails he seeks a shady nook and 

 lies by and go^s a fishing, or reads an entertaining book, or takes 

 a nap, or does anything except to obstinately push ahead through 

 the heat or work like a cart horse battling against a head- 

 wind. He lakes time to explore the attractive lii tie brooks and 

 creeks along ihe river, frequented only by the muskrat, the duck 

 or the contemplative lurtle. He visits places of inturest along or 

 near the river, climbs lofty bluffs and gets a view of the country- 

 for he really sees but little of the country through which he is 

 passing from the bottom of the trough in which his cruising 

 stream flows. , , , ^ ^ . , , , 



He strolls contempla'ively through the streets ot quaint old 

 towns and villages, and becomes of real benefit to the drowsy in- 

 habitants thereof by affording fresh subjects of conjecture and 

 comment; or finds a lovely camping place and remains quietly 

 there for days if the fancy suits him or the fishing is good. In 

 short, canoeing is not a rapid sport, like bicycling or driving or 

 riding, but is a quiet, lassy, dreamy sort of existence where just to 

 drop quietly and calmly down the stream, or linger repose.fuUy 

 under breezy, shady trees and listen to the musical plash of the 

 water, the rustle of the leaves and the twittering carols of the 

 birds, in the great big out-of-doors, seems all there is of life for 

 the time being— albeit plentifully imerspersed wit h spoi-t of the 

 most exciting character, if the river be full of rapids and falls, as 

 is the lovely Phenandoah; and the true cruiser takes his cruise as 

 it really should be taken, and avoids that false idea of canoeing— 

 any attempt at making time. ™ • , ^ 



"Boys, although not strictly in the line of my olhcial and pro- 

 fessional duties," caid I, "I'm going up Che hill to the house there 

 on a forapn^ expedition, and wlU bring back a bucket of water 



^•■Thftt'e "a laudable enterprise, and one that ehowid iae«twltb 



"Thanks, ye?: yon go ahead and open the mess-chest and pre- 

 pare th" limch while 1 am gone," said'I, picking up % camp-kettle 

 as I siioke and starting off up the hill toward the 1-. :'go handsome 

 white house on its summit. 



"Well, what have you got?" said Lacy, who was r Kvava hungry, 

 as I reappeared in camp niesently, laden with all I could carry. 



"Ice water, by .Jove!" 



' And canteloiip !" exclaimed George. 



"And fresh bunerl" 



"And toma'oof!" 



"And pies ! ! ! " yelled Lacy in delight. 



"Yes, and I've arranged for five diz^u nice fresh biscuits, which 

 we can have in an hour," I continued as, assise d by the boys, I 

 relieved myself of my load, and we attacked our r.oon-dav lunch 

 with a will, for L cv was not the only ho nu'i-y one in the p'u'ty. 



Our aft.f moon's cruise was thro-igli as '.^ikl and uppaveniiy un- 

 inbabiied a section of country as thoutrh vi e v.'ere cviuijlei elj- out 

 of the confines of civHiz itinn. For hours we saw no si.t;u of human 

 habitation or pre'euce, aiud the v.'.si, screen soiitude of forest and 

 mountain which hemmed tlK- rive;- in on all sides hmT^overua 

 oppressively with its solemn, i.iajestir-. repose brokf^n only by the 

 occasional splash of a fish, the aioui'i:ful o y of a loon or the far 

 off scream of atish hawk and ihe ever preyenl. hoarse, menacing 

 complaint of the river, as ir, iripped ana fell over and among the 

 ledges and rocks that contiuuonsly ohsfnicted its pro:^re-s. 



At rare intervals a saiall house or hovel would aiipfiir, hur- 

 nnnded by a barren, rocky idearing on the slope of the mountain— 

 the hom« of some mountaiueer, and generally swarmmir with 

 slatternly wcmen and dirty children, wtio eyed us witli dull 

 curiosity as we pissed by— or a bit of the weather-beaten, mD.ss- 

 grown roof or side of a mill would glance out at us from the dense 

 surrounding mass of green as we shot by— like a familiar face seen 

 hurriedly in the crowded street of a strange city. 



We picked our way cautiously through th- three miles of falls 

 that extend for that distance above the massive yellow-stained 

 cliff knowm as the Golden Rocks, and skirted our wav along its 

 base over the deep black waters, on whose reflective surface we 

 seemed to float like bubbles in mid air. 



A gigantic trestle bridge sti etched its spiderv filaments seem- 

 ingly half way to the cljuds, across the deep gorge at the head of 

 the cliff (the railroad returning to the river as-ain), and as we 

 aoproacbed it, ddn':ing down on the rapids above, a heavy freight 

 ( ngTne came hustling out of the depths of the forest, crawflsh- 

 like, tender first, and went roaring across it, outlined boldly 

 against the deep tdue of the sl, y, and screaming a salute to us as 

 it shot by, which we returned by waving our helmets. This 

 rushing, meteor-like fragment of ciyili^ation so suddenly nnd un- 

 expectedly projected across our vision in the midst of the dense 

 solitude was quite like meeting wi'h an old friend, und \ye felt 

 our oppressed -ind droop'ug spirits quite revived by tb'i ineident. 



' I say, boys," I exclaimed an hour or so later, as we wer^ pad- 

 dling along clo'e together in a little, bunch over a long, smooth 

 "eddy," our hatches open and our helmets lying before us upon 

 them as we enjoyed the cool shadow of Massanutton, behind 

 whose wall-like 'crest t.he sun has dropped. "Wha''3 the matter 

 with a canoe club ? The Shena"doah Canoe i ilub, for insfcauco ?" 



"That's a splendid idea," exclaimed treorge. --You'll be com- 

 modore, of course, in virtue of your having already enjoyed that 

 distinction. Til be secretary and treasurer, while Lacy will be 

 president and janitor." 



"We needn't have any initiation fees nor dues," said Lacy. 

 "Consequenily you needn't trouble yourself to give bonds, as your 

 duties and resoonsibiliti<^s will be light." 



"I really think it an excellent idea," I continued. "There are 

 two or three other canoeists at home, who of course will be in- 

 cluded; and as our club house will be in the river itself, and each 

 man takes care of hi^ own canoe and outfit. I do nor see hut what 

 your duties. Lacy, will be about as light as George's." 



"Well, consider the club duly organized and officered then," 

 said George. "By the way, it's high time we were looking out for 

 a place to camp; it's getting late." 



"It is that," said Lacy, "and I'm getting— " _ 



"Yes, we know you're getting hungry. Lacy," said T, "and I've 

 been looking for a suitable camping place this half hour, but have 

 seen notaing but bluffs aid woods and rock.«, with no signs of a 

 spiing or honse. We will hive to push on ro Overalls Creek. The 

 railroad touches the river again there, and Overalls Station is 

 just up on the bluff", and we will of course find water there." 



'■I wonder how far it is?" said George. 



"Around the next bend to the left, say a couple of miles; we'll 

 reach It in something like an hoiu-." 



"I hope so," said Lacy; "for it's getting on toward dark now, 

 and we've hardly an hoiir of daylight left." 



We slipped carefully along the boat channel, close up under the 

 frowning, rocky bluff along the right bank, whose dense shadow- 

 darkened the fast deepening twilight, in whose gathering shades: 

 tne foam crests of the waves in the rapids and falls, which here 

 filled the river, gleamed with a ghostly radiance, while the black 

 rocks glided swiftly up stream past u3 like threatening shadows. 

 The fall ended, as usual, as the river turned to the left at the foot 

 of the reach across the vallev; and the river flowed still, deep and 

 smooth in the half mile stretch before us, leading parallel with 

 the mountains. 



W. C. A. YEAR BOOK.— The new year book of the W. C. A. is a 

 very handsome pamphlet containing a number of excellent Illus- 

 trations, including a view of Ballast Island. TheW. O. \. now 

 Bumbere 170 members, including ladles. The meet -will be held 

 fTQia July 11-29, Bfc Ballast Island. 



