816 
FOREST AND_ STREAM. 
[Dec. 29, 1900. 
about thirty-iive miles, and thence in a southwesterly 
direction for another thirty-five miles, the turn formmg 
the cape. The distance along the center length of this 
sound is about sixty miles. 
Its greatest width is about twenty-foUt miles, and it 
has a general depth of between three and four fathoms. 
Though separated throughout its length from the At- 
lantic by only a narrow beach, which in some places is 
but a quarter of a mile wide, there are only three inlets 
through which vessels can enter from seaward, namely, 
Oregon, Hatteras and Ocracoke inlets. The latter en- 
trance it is proposed to dredge and keep open, though 
if is considered that this will be one of the most difficult 
tasks in the whole undertaking. 
Core Soimd, Avhich practically completes the southern 
end of the route, is a narrow and shoal body of water 
extending along and just inside the beach from the south- 
west of Pamlico Sound to a point just inside Cape Look- 
out. At its western end it joins a similar body of water 
known as Back Sound, which extends to the westward 
about six miles and connects with Beaufort Harbor and 
Inlet. A channel winds through Core Sound of from 
seven to ten feet in depth, but in places this channel is 
extremely narrow. 
Beaufort Harbor is considered the most important 
harbor between Cape Henry and Cape Fear. Its en- 
trance is about seven and a half miles northwest of Cape 
Lookout; it is obstructed by a shifting bar^ which ex- 
tends nearly a mile and a half to seaward, and at last 
accounts had about twelve feet of water in the channel 
crossing it. Inside the bar there is a depth of from three 
to five fathoms, and good anchorage. 
There are no appreciable tides in these sounds, although 
a northerly gale will pile the water up at the lower end 
to the extent of two feet. 
When the improvements now under way are made it 
is probable that the "inside route" will be continued 
below Beaufort Inlet. This will give the United States 
the greatest stretch of protected water in the world. It 
will be invaluable in war time, as small war ships and 
whole fleets of torpedo boats can pass from Northern 
waters almost to the gulf without once going outside. 
Less Noise. 
The launch was moving swiftly toward the yacht. A 
sailor sat at the engine, the owner sat in the stern 
holding the tiller ropes, while ranged around the cushioned 
seats in the bow were four middle-aged men. Presently 
the owner spoke : 
"Don't make so much noise." 
The man in the bow thus addressed made no response, 
but stared al: the speaker with imperturbable gravity. 
"That's what I say," observed the stout man. "There 
is too much confusion." And he gazed back toward the 
city which they were leaving behind them. 
"What's the matter with you?" cried the owner. "Want 
to argue?" 
This challenge to wordy combat was ignored, and once 
more silence reigned. In a few moments they reached 
the yacht, and while the party scrambled up the gangway 
a sailor ran down the absent flag and ran aloft the 
owner's pennant. The yacht was cast loose from her 
buoy, the tiny launch was swung to its davits, the white 
sails filled to the breeze, and soon a gentle rolling mo- 
tion told the men in the cabin that they were under way. 
They were busily engaged, with the help of the stew- 
ard, in removing the tan-colored shoes they had come 
aboard in and putting on in their stead white canvas 
ones having rubber soles. The steward also brought to 
each of them a cap, those for the guests being of white 
duck, the one for the owner being of blue cloth and 
having an emblem of red and gold worked at the peak. 
Again some humorist among them cried out, "Less noise !" 
and then they went on deck. 
Directly the steward came after them with a tray, on 
which were some sandwiches wrapped in a napkin, to- 
gether with some small glasses of water and others partly 
filled with an amber-colored fluid. The five men grasped 
the last mentioned glasses, bowed, and, seemingly for the 
first time that day, smiled toward each other. But the 
smiles w^ere speedily swallowed up by the sandwiches as 
if they were against the laws of the high seas. 
Once again, when dinner was nearly ready, the owner 
called to the steward to bring him one, emphasizing the 
"one," but not specifying one what, and when the man 
returned his tray was seen to contain five "ones." And 
the owner said : "Who told you to bring five? I'm trying 
to keep down expenses on this boat." 
The steward grinned and said, "Yes, sir," and the 
guests grunted in disdain, seizing "four." 
After dinner the men betook themselves to their cigars. 
The owner had a camp chair on the after deck, and at 
four bells and at his second cigar it grew upon him 
that his company was planning mischief. The guietude 
had become so dense as to be ominous. He slipped for- 
ward and looked through the skylight into the cabin. The 
four men were whispering and gesticulating over a large 
sized firecracker, and as he looked, his faithless steward 
brought them a large sized frying pan. evidently intended 
to cover up the firecracker when it exploded and thereby 
enhance the sound thereof. He realized that he was about 
to be blown up on his own boat— hoist, as it were, by his 
ovvn petard. Going back to his chair he liiade one end 
of a rope fast to his chair and the other end fast to 
the rail and resumed his seat. When, a moment later, a 
terrific explosion took place beneath him, he jumped in the 
air just as high as he could, at the same time contriving 
to kick his chair overboard. The jump being higher than 
the plotters had dared hope for, made them cry out with 
glee, but the sotmd of the chair going into the water 
capped the climax of their delight, and they wept for joy 
When the mirth had somewhat subsided the victim of 
the bomb throwers reached down and hauled on the 
rope, and when the chair came over the side of the boat 
there ensued a moment of silence, followed by a low 
whistle from the stout man, who presently said': "The 
visitors on this boat will please step into the cabin " 
Presently the spokesman reappeared and politelv invited 
the owner to a little breakfast on the next morning but 
one at the yacht club. The person thus addressed prompt- 
ly signified his acceptance, but added tbat he still felt it to 
be his duty to lay the matter before the Executive Com- 
mittee. 
"Well, then." said the stout plenipotentiary, "if you are 
going to tell it and make us buy things for evei-y man 
in the club, we withdraw the invitation." 
"No, sir; the breakfast goes, I insist on accepting the 
invitation. You'll have everything on this boat eaten up 
by to-morrow night any way." 
The following day was spent on the fishing banks. Once 
the thin man caught a fish that was larger than any 
other that had been caught that day, and it became evi- 
dent that the men had the gift of speech, although the 
talk was abruptly stopped by some one exclaiming, "Want 
to argue?" 
They claimed to be the last remaining specimens of a 
nearly extinct variety of the human family which some- 
times docs not talk. The other variety of the species, as 
they maintained, talk all the time. They had found each 
other out one day at the Noonday Club. 
"Why," said the owner, "does a fellow insist upon 
claiming my attention and interest while he interests him- 
self with talk? Why don't he go off in the telephone 
box and talk to himself? Does he do it to please me? 
Not by a jugful ! It is to please his tender self. He 
thinks he thinks, and wants me to know he knows." 
"Yes, and the only time he ever tries to think is when 
he is t'alking. The remainder of the time he is trying 
to get the floor again, making a shallow pretense the 
while of listening to you when he is only waiting tmtil 
he can head you off." 
"The fault lies with the man who listens, though, and 
not with the talker. If he wouldn't listen, the other 
fellow would have to stop. The weak minded ass thiidvs 
if he listens a while the other fellow will let him say a 
little something." 
This conversation took place between the stout man and 
the owner. The other three men only nodded ap- 
provingly, thus indicating that they were the three best 
of the five remaining specimens. 
Before they had separated the owner said : "Gentlemen, 
it is strange we haven't flocked together before. Sup- 
pose we go off next Friday on my yacht." 
Each one of those addressed assumed instantly an in- 
trospective air, as one who asked himself what he had on 
hand for the end of the week, but no one seemed to 
recollect anything pressing, and the owner continued : 
"Now don't hunt for excuses; you haven't any. Be at 
the Barton street ferry at 2." 
Strange to say, the quiet man is generally in demand 
by his friends. One is unconsciously drawn to a quiet 
man — and one talks to him, When, therefore, these men 
began to go off together, the other fellows experienced 
a sense of injury. But the result was thoughtfulness and 
peace to the Nearly Extinct Varietj^ 
That day one of the fishers pulled a crab on deck, and 
it crawled away and presently dropped through a port- 
hole into the thin man's bunk, where it wrapped itself up 
in the blankets and fell asleep. " There were other crabs ' 
crawling about the deck, so this one was not missed. 
Shortly after the thin man retired that night the crab 
woke up and caught his foot through the folds of the 
blanket. There was a shriek, not simulated this time, 
that brought all the pajamas out of their respective bunks, 
those of the thin man being the first. It was the thin 
man who brought the large firecracker aboard, and when 
the steward fished the crab out of his bunk he turned a 
steely gaze upon the owner as he stood in the door of 
his stateroom. 
"That's all right, old man," the thin man exclaimed. 
"Don't you ever go to sleep on this boat again with me 
on it without making up your own bed, and then you 
better sleep with otie eye open for fear I drop a crab on 
your belly." 
"Thomas," the owner replied, "you should say 
stomach." 
The thin man then began to ramble in his speech, and 
to use words not found in the public phonographs. For 
some time after that the silence was punctured by various 
snorts and chuckles, coming from various quarters, al- 
though no one had quite the fun out of the incident that 
the owner had; he saw two jokes to the other fellow's 
one. 
"Why does the little boy laugh? He laughs because 
he i.s so cute. If a man is fast asleep he can put a crab 
in his bunk." And the thin man determined to lie awake 
until the owner fell asleep, when he would insert a piece 
of ice under the owner's top pajama ; but some time 
afterward he forgot himself for a moment and drifted off to 
the Land of Nod himself, to be awakened the next morn- 
ing by the sound of the sailors making ready the bathing 
machine. The latter consisted of a force pump with a 
hose connecting with the water, and having a sprinkler 
attachment upon the other hose. The s.out man took his 
station on the forward deck, and when the water began to 
fly he threw himself prone upon the deck and took an 
irnaginary swim. He looked like a huge bullfrog, and 
his companions were laughing, and one of them seized 
the sprinkler and directed it with skill. 
An hour later the party went ashore at the club and 
proceeded to order the breakfast. The owner, as the 
guest of the occasion, asserted his right to be heard, and 
began rapidly enumerating the items of a banquet, but 
was thrust aside and admonished to stick to the homely 
fare he provided on his "skiff." 
While the waiters were setting the table on the lawn 
the owner and the stout man engaged in a driving match 
on the first hole of. the links, "during which they threw 
off their coats and loosened their belts. Then five certain 
preliminary beverages came and were disposed of the 
owner saying: "Here's to the firecracker." 
And the others saying, "Here's to the burial of the 
past. 
Shortly thereafter the two golfers became absorbed in 
the discussion of the noble game, and the thin man pro- 
cured a stout twine from the oflfice and tied them to their 
respective chairs by means thereof and their loosened 
u ^ "' ^^^'^^ '^'^'"^ Pl^^'^y string, and being 
shielded by the remaining two men, who entered into the 
discussion with sudden avidity, he tied the chairs to- 
gether also. The confederates then withdrew from the 
discussion of the ancient game and awaited developments 
in company of the thin man, who now began to feel less 
bitter about the crab. 
The Avaiters reappeared, bearing various covered dishes. 
All Was calm. ■ 
"Breakfast, shendlemen," said the waiter. The stout 
man arose and offered his arm to the gue-st of the occa- 
sion with an air of mock decorum. The strings tightened 
and ihe victims turned their heads and ga?ed for an instant 
at the tether. The stout man shivered and kicked be- 
hind him, like a frightened horse. His team mate also 
shivered and kicked, and then, with a frantic and con- 
certed leap there ensued the most realistic imitation of a 
runaway ever witnessed in this proud and stately Repub- 
lic. With the chairs flying behind them they careered 
about the ground, contriving whenever possible to swing 
their two-seated vehicle against any one's legs that could 
not be gotten out of the way. They snorted and, im- 
agining that runaway steeds .sometimes screamed, they 
let out on occasional scream. The three conspirators soon 
became infused with the spirit of the entei-prise and made 
strenuous efforts to head the runaways, generally at the 
expense of their shin bones. The waiters jabbered and 
laughed, but were earnestly admonished to help catch 
the two men, that they had delirium tremens, imagined 
themselves to be runaway horses, and might run them- 
selves to death. This seemed not unlikely to the Eu- 
ropean mind, so the chattering sons of Germany, France 
and Italy joined in the chase and speedily effected a 
capture, whereupon the conspirators threw themselves 
upon the team, now rolling on the a:rass, and while two of 
them held their heads down the otlier unhitched them, and 
with many "Whoa, Bill's" they were allowed to get up 
and be led to the table, where they were given two extra 
beverages upon demand therefor. " 
The stout man must have been in training, for he con- 
sumed many lamb chops and four stacks of griddle cakes 
without a tremor, while his companions marveled and 
indulged in invidious remarks. When the fifth stack ap- 
peared, he ate three and put the last one in his vest 
pocket and rose from the table. He knew when he had 
enough. 
They went back to their work m the dty, considering 
that they had had a pleasant, quiet time. 
That day at 3 o'clock the stout man was working on a 
brief in Smith vs. The Railway, when the thin man 
and the owner looked in at the door, one of them ex- 
claiming "Less noise,"^ Whereupon the stout man told 
the stenographer he would be back in five minutes, and 
went out around the corner with his friends, presumably 
on some h'ttle matter of business. George Kennedy. 
Our Boston Letter. 
Boston, Dec. 22.— With the closing of the week comes 
the announcemert that another a.spirant for Cup defender 
honors is to be built within fifteen miles of this city. 
While reports have been current that such a boat was 
possible, the announcement came in somewhat the nature 
of a thunderclap. The new possible Cup defender is to 
be built at the order of a syndicate by C, C. Hanley. a 
well-known builder of Cape 'cats and the designer of the 
successful ^Canada cup challenger and defender, Genesee, 
It is announced that the new nroduction will be of thp 
original centerlward type, without a pound of outside 
ballast. This will be something novel in the line of 
America Cup defenders, although there are many who 
have maintained that a boat of this type could defeat the 
modern keels, and who will pin their faith to the Hanley 
production, should she be one of the field, until the de- 
ciding race is finished. 
Mr. Hanley was seen by your correspondent Friday and 
he confirmed the rumors in regard to the possibility of 
.such a boat. He said that a syndicate was being formed 
and that, although matters had not been definitely settled, 
he could see no reason why the yacht should' not be 
built. Just who the men are who will form the syndi- 
cate, he said that he was not at liberty to mention. 
Gen. Paine, whose connection with former Cup defenders 
is well known, was thought a possible member of the 
.syndicate, but a visit to him disclosed the fact that he 
knew nothing whatever about it. 
Hanley has wanted to build a yacht for the defense 
of the America Cup for some time. He claims that he 
can produce a yacht along the lines of the Genesee and the. 
Meemer which can defeat the modern keel boats. This, 
of course, is a hard thing for yachtsmen, who have 
watched the evolutions in modern naval architecture, to 
believe ; but there is a possibility that such a thing might 
occur, and Hanley, with his immense experience at 
modeling and building centerboard yachts, should be the 
man who would successfully accomplish the feat. 
Mr. Hanley talked over' the matter of his hopes and 
beliefs at length and offered some reasons for his faith in 
the centerboard type of yacht, which, to say the least, are 
sound. He bases his claim on the records of the center-^ 
board boats as compared with the keels in former races 
in the smaller classes, and allows that the same principles 
will hold good in a QO-fooler. He says that an out-and-out 
centerboard boat for the defense of the America Cup 
has never been built — that is, one with no outside ballast — 
but that those which have competed, up to the time of 
the Vigilant, have been a combination of both types, carry^- 
ing a centerboard, but also being supplied with outside 
ballast. 
He thinks that the centerboard boat without ballast 
should be tried out with the keel boat with outside lead, 
placed at the lowest possible point, thus proving whether 
a 90ft. centerboard boat, constructed on this principle, is 
as practical as one of the same. type in the .smaller classes. 
He has every confidence in his ability to produce a boat 
which will do the trick, and has a good idea now what 
his boat will look like if she should be built. 
His claim is this : That the centerboard 90-footer, car- 
ried out on the same principles as Genesee and Meemer. 
maintaining the same excessive beam, will have the 
s ability in form which the keel boats obtain from placing 
the' ballast at the lowest point ; that when the yacht is . 
heeled she is sailing on' but about one-half of her beam, 
thus redticing the wetted surface, while the flat floors, with 
little dead rise, and the hard turn to the bilge gives her an 
easier entrance, while at the same time she maintains 
much of her stability of f.orjn, aided by the centerboard. 
