History of Norfolk County, Virginia : and representative citizens, 1637-1900, Part 25

Author: Stewart, William H. (William Henry), 1838-1912
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1054

USA > Virginia > City of Norfolk > City of Norfolk > History of Norfolk County, Virginia : and representative citizens, 1637-1900 > Part 25

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On August 18, 1757, the court recom- mended ( to the Governor and Council ) Ben- jamin Dingly Gray and Jesse Sykes to be in- spectors of tobacco and the recommendations were equivalent to appointment. On August 17. 1767. Peter Butt and Jeremiah Murden, Sr .. were recommended. On the 20th day of August, 1789, the court recommended John Morris and John Branan to be first inspectors of tobacco and James Gaskins and Benjamin Crow additional inspectors at the warehouse in Portsmouth. On December 18. . 1843. the court recommended Walter DeLacy and Rob- ert Stanwood. to be inspectors of tobacco for Portsmouth.

CHAPTER XI

THE DISMAL SWAMP

THE WONDERFUL SWAMP REGION OF NORFOLK COUNTY-O'REILLY'S DESCRIPTION OF THE DISMAL SWAMP-JUNIPER WATER-GEOLOGY-TOPOGRAPHY-VEGETATION -- ANIMAL LIFE-METHODS OF DRAINING,

The Dismal Swamp is a noted section of Virginia and North Carolina and has a large area in Norfolk County. Its limits are not well defined, but it embraces thousands of acres of wild land that have produced untold quantities of valuable timber. Even away back in early colonial days the lumberman's axe resounded in its great forests, and when the Indians hunted in its depths it was one vast green of flourishing juniper trees, except where the towering cypress and pines overtopped the ash, maple and gum trees that flourished on some of its lands of different soil. Around the lake of the Dismal Swamp and on the tongue-like peninsulas which lick in from the borders, these latter are indigenous ; but the largest area was covered by the evergreen of the white cedars, that have left the tangled beds of everlasting roots, overgrown by shrubs and vines not higher than a man's head, making expanses which are termed "lights," because you can stand on a stump and overlook them as far as the eye can reach. There are still some oases in these "lights," that grow clumps of green trees which reproduce very rapidly after the timber has been cut, and for these the "lights" are still valued at $1.00 per acre, although it may take a hundred acres to pro- duce one of "green." When these "lights"

are swept by fire the black stump roots demon- strate the heavy growth of juniper which has been there, and the corduroy roads penetrating in every direction remind us of the labor of the mules and swamp slaves, who were the happy lords of the domain. The old shanties on beds of shavings are gone, the drawing-knife no longer glistens in the sunlight, the maul and frow are silent forever; new schemes have taken hold of the old swamp and now mule cars on tramways, and in some places steam engines, haul the log timber that formerly came out in riven shingles by mule carts on corduroy paths.

The numerous trees and shrubs flourish luxuriantly in the water or morass. The juniper tree (Cupressus thyoides) stands firmly in the softest part of the quagmire sup- ported by long tap-roots. Ferns, reeds and myriads of shrubs form a carpet that is never exposed to the sun on account of the dense shade of these trees.

Trunks of large trees lie buried in this soil, and even where dense growths of juniper trees are standing as many more may be found buried in the peaty soil. In this loose soil they are easily blown down, and soon sink from sight. When kept wet they never decay, save the sap-wood, which is not more than one or

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two inches thick. A very large proportion of the lumber made into shingles is obtained by sounding below the surface; it is then dug out and "worked up.'

The Dismal Swamp is on a hillside 22 feet alove the level of the sea. If a wide and deep ditch were dug from tidewater to the lake in the center of this swamp the water thereof would run out to the sea like a mill-race, and the swamp would be a thing of the past. This swamp was surveyed by Washington at an early day, and he owned large tracts in the swamp. There are no waters in the United States so pure as those of this swamp. For- merly government vessels leaving for long ocean voyages secured the juniper water from the swamp on account of both its medicinal and keeping qualities. Invalids who, with rod and gun, go into this swamp and spend a week or months sleeping on juniper boughs. drinking juniper water and inhaling the ju- niper impregnated air, rapidly improve in health, appetite and general robustness.

The celebrated poet. John Boyle O'Reilly. said : "The region of the Dismal Swamp was intended by nature to be a pleasure ground, a health resort and a game preserve for the east- ern side of the continent. In spite of all that has been done and left undone to destroy it. the swamp itself is, probably, the healthiest spot in America. Its delicious juniper water prevents malaria more effectually and perfectly than the famed eucalyptus of Australia. The flying game of the continent centers in this region, and the lake in winter is the best shoot- ing ground in the country. Now that wealthy clubs and individuals are buying up the coast shooting. this incomparable natural preserve ought to be secured for the nation or the State." Lake Drummond is a beautiful sheet of water nestling in the very bosom of the great unkept expanse of vines and woods. The shores are ragged with roots and stumps made bare by the washing of the sleepless waters. Lake Drummond is poetically known as the "Lake of the Dismal Swamp." which has been immortalized in poetry by the noble

bard Moore, who wrote from Norfolk, Vir- ginia. in 1803. a ballad entitled "The Lake of the Dismal Swamp." prefaced by a short love story of a young man who lost his mind upon the death of a girl he loved, and imagined her not dead but

Gone to the Lake of the Dismal Swamp.

O'Reilly says it is the very eye of material anguish :- "Its circle of silvery beach is Hooded and hidden, and still the pent-up water, vainly beseeching an outlet, is raised and driven in unnatural enmity to the roots of the tall juniper, cypress and gum trees that completely surround its shore. The waves that should murmur and break on a strand of incomparable brilliancy are pushed beyond their proper limits and compelled to soften and sap the productive earth; to wash bare and white the sinews of the friendly trees and in- undate a wide region of extraordinary fer- tility. The bleached roots of the doomed trees seem to shudder and shrink from the weltering death. There is an evident bending upward of the overtaken roots to escape suffocation. The shores of the lake are like a scene from the Inferno. Matted, twisted and broken, the roots, like living things in danger, arch them- selves out of the dark flood, pitifully striving to hold aloft their noble stems and branches. The water of the lake, dark almost as blood. from the surface flow of juniper sap and other vegetable matter, is forced from six to ten feet above its natural level and driven by winds hither to this bank to-day and thither to- morrow, washing every vestige of earth from the helpless life-gyves, till its whole circum- ference is a woeful network of gnarled trunks and intertwined fibres, bleached and dry as the bones of a skeleton, and sheltering no life but that of the blue lizard and red-throated moc- casin. These bare roots and blasted stumps circle the waters like a hideous crown, till the lake becomes a realization of the Medusa. Here, far from the voices of mankind. the Gorgon stares at heaven, but sees with intro-

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verted eyes only the writhing horror of her own brow; hears only the hiss, and shrinks from the kiss of her serpent locks, gazing into no living eyes but those of her own damnable strands. The lake of the Dismal Swamp is a victim waiting for deliverance. Release her and she is no longer Medusa; the snake lair will give place to bands of gold and light ; the region contaminated by her oppression will re- joice and blossom like a garden."

O'Reilly, who made a canoeing tour through the Dismal Swamp, wrote as follows to a friend, the letter being published in the Boston Herald:

IN THE DISMAL SWAMP.

Wednesday Morning. May 16. 1888. Dear Ned: I write this from near the heart of the Dismal Swamp, and send it by an obliging canal man to Norfolk.

This place is wonderful and beautiful. It is a desolate land crying for attention and reclamation.

The story of the Dismal Swamp is a tragedy of nature and a disgrace to civilization.

Mr. Moseley and I have had twenty-four hours of continued amazement and enjoyment.

This is the . most defamed land on the earth. The Dismal Swamp is the greatest sanitarium on the Amer- ican continent.

In two hours we start for the lake, at the very centre where they dug for the lady

"A grave too cold and damp. For a heart so warm and true. And all night long by her firefly lamp She paddles her light canoe."

Faithfully yours, JOHN BOYLE O'REILLY.

Last night we stopped at Mr. Wallace's, in the Dis- mal Swamp .- one of the largest and most beautiful farms in America. Last winter he killed on his farm 30 bears.

O'Reilly sent the following telegrams to some of his Boston friends :

"The most wonderful and beautiful sheet of water on the continent."

"This message is sent to Suffolk by canal-chance- boatman."

"The greatest fishing I have ever seen. Mr. Mose- ley shot a bald-headed eagle last night-a splendid bird." "Every hour unfolds new beanties and interesting sights."

JUNIPER WATER.

Have you ever tasted juniper water? It is nature's own remedy for kidney and other troubles of the human system. It is found in unlimited quantities in the recesses of the great Dismal Swamp, and the Dismal Swamp Canal and Lake Drummond are bodies of juniper water. Its medicinal virtties come from the vast quantity of juniper roots and juniper berries that have been soaking for ages in the recesses of the great Dismal Swamp. This water is of a light brown color, pleasant to the taste and keeps for years.

Its virtues were known long ago to the toilers of the sea and for more than a hundred years it has been in much demand for "ship's use" on account of its health-giving and long- keeping qualities.

The juniper water is here in immense quantities and fortunes are awaiting the men who will put it on the market and ship it all over the world. Capital and enterprise have long overlooked this wealth given us so prod- igally by nature, but the day will probably come when our juniper water will take its rightful place among the great medicinal waters of the world.

The excavations for the canal through the swamp showed varied material, but it consisted chiefly of hard clay mixed with sand. The deepest excavation extended to a depth of 171/2 feet below the normal surface of the water. It is interesting to note that at this depth a large number of fossils and oyster shells, together with coral and other calca- recus matter, were brought up by the dredges. "The specimens belong to a deposit of the Miocene age, and include ovster shells weigh- ing as much as five pounds apiece and fully 12 inches in length." There are many very productive farms on the peninsulas in the Dis- mal Swamp, but perhaps the finest is the Dover farm, which is almost a square block, em- bracing a thousand acres of cleared land and reaching nearer the lake than any other culti- vated land. The agricultural resources of the

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Dismal Swamp are just beginning to be ap- preciated. The chapter is concluded with the following interesting article on the Dismal Swamp, by Nathaniel Southgate Shaler, taken from the tenth annual report of the United States Geological Survey :

GEOLOGY.

The Dismal Swamp is the northernmost part of the characteristic swamp country which borders the southern Atlantic Coast. It belongs altogether to that group of inun- dlated lands where the lack of drainage is due to an original deficiency of slope, combined with the flow-retarding influence of vegeta- tion on the movement of water from the land.

Although swamps of a similar character are imperfectly developed in the region north of the Potomac, they do not take on a con- spicuous aspect until we pass southward of that stream: and this for the reason that the surface of the country north of it is consider- ably higher than in Southern Virginia and the Carolinas and has developed a stronger topog- raphy. The streams are sufficiently incised to permit almost everywhere the ready drainage of the water despite the obstructing effect of vegetation. Moreover, in the region north of the Potomac the ordinary cane and other plants which obstruct drainage make but a scanty growth.

The principal determining cause which has led to the formation of the Dismal Swamp is found in the character of the surface on which the marsh accumulation rests. The whole of this coast from New York southward has the form of an ancient sea-bottom more or less modified by river action, the measure of the modification being determined by the average height to which the sea-floor has been elevated above the level of the ocean and the steepness of the slope toward the sea. In New Jersey the plain is tolerably elevated and the slope from the interior toward the shore is steep enough to insure a swift discharge of the wa- ter. In Northern Virginia the height of the

plain is somewhat reduced and the slope pro- portionately diminished. From the James River southward the elevation of the plain at equal distances from the shore is still further lowered, the incisive action of the streams hay- ing yet further reduced it, leaving parts of the surface in the form originally belonging to the sea-bottom. In this condition the surface for a considerable distance from the coast rises at an average rate of about 18 inches to the mile. It is not a perfect inclined plane, for it is cast into slight elevations and depressions in a manner that reminds one of the ocean after a time of great storm, when the waves have fallen to a height of two or three feet. re- taining at the same time their original hori- zontal amplitude. Within the limits of a square mile the variations of the surface of this inclined plane amount to not more than two or three feet. There is no distinct order in the elevations, but in general their major axis seem parallel to the existing and former shore lines.

Turning to the field in which the Dismal Swamp lies, we find that on the west, in the Dismal Swamp district. this billowy plain is sharply bounded by an escarpment formed by the sea when the surface of the continent was about 28 feet below its present level. This old sea-bench, to which I shall give the name of the Nansemond shore-line. extends from near Suffolk, Virginia, where it is rather ob- scurely indicated, having been somewhat effaced by erosion, southward with extreme distinctness of front to Albemarle Sound.

The eastern boundary of the swamp dis- trict is determined by certain low elevations, apparently dune-like in their nature, which lie in the county of Princess AAnne, east of the railway extending from Norfolk to Elizabeth City. This latter system of elevations, which attain a height of only a few feet, serve in a measure to retain the swamp waters upon the surfaces on which they lie. They are, how- ever, of relatively small importance compared with the effect produced by the vegetation of this district. Although a large part of the

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area occupied by the swamps of this section of the shore is without distinct marks of sub- aerial erosion, the surface is considerably divided into the region next the sea by the curious, fiord-like indentations which char- acterize the whole of our southern coast, but which are more marked in Virginia than else- where. These indentations extend for some distance into the inundated areas, where they terminate rather abruptly within the wide field of swamp deposits. These streams are deeper in most instances than the open waters of the great bays into which they discharge. Thus, in Albemarle Sound the water is in most cases not lialf as deep as it is where the branches of the sound penetrate into the swamp district.

It is difficult to obtain any satisfactory in- formation concerning the beds below the level of this district for the reason that the unac- cented topography fails to reveal good natural sections and the artificial cuttings, such as wells and ditches, extend only to a trifling depth. On the northern border of the swamp deposits composed of stratified sand, contain- ing occasional beds of shells, are exhibited from point to point. The following species determined by Dr. W. H. Dall, paleontologist of the United States Geological Survey, indi- cate in a general manner that the beds are of Pliccene age. Of the 29 species which appear in my collection, a list of which is given be- low. 24, according to Dr. Dall, belong to liv- ing forms, and five are extinct. The extinct species are found in the so-called Pliocene of Florida and South Carolina and Virginia. There can be no question that the deposit is of preglacial age.

LIST OF SPECIES FOUND IN BEDS EXPOSED BY A ROAD-CUTTING NEAR THE JERICHO CANAL, TWO MILES EAST OF SUFFOLK, VIRGINIA.

1 Crepidula convexa, Say. Turritella apicalis, Hp. (var.) Scalaria clathratula, Adams. Eulima sp. Turbonilla interrupta. Totten. Liomesuis Stimpsoni, Dall. Anachis avara, Say. Ethalia sp. fragm.

Cadulus carolinensis, Bush. Ostrea virginica. Gmel. Pecten eboreus, Conr.

Arca incile, Conr. Cardium islandicum, Lin. Crassatella undulata, Say.

Eriphyla lunata, Conr. Mactra congesta, Conr.

Abra aqualis, Say.

Tellina tenta, Say. Tellina modesta, Verrill.

Lucina crenulata, Conr. Gouldia cerina, Ad. Callista convexa, Say.

Pecten exasperatus, Sby.

Leda acuta, Conr.

Yoldia limatula, Say. Nucula tennis, Mtg. Chione albida, Gmel.

Dosinia elegans, Conr.

Balanus sp.

Traces of this same deposit occur for a few miles south of Suffolk and I suspect the exist- ence of similar beds near Elizabeth City From certain comminuted fragments taken from the bottom of the main Dismal Swamp Canal, it seems to me not improbable that the beds were touched at several points in making that excavation. I am, therefore, disposed to believe that the foundation rocks beneath the swamp district consist mainly of the beds indi- cated by the foregoing list of fossils.

It is evident that the strata of Pliocene age which underlie the swamp were accumulated in shallow but quiet water. This is shown by the character of the species as well as by the fact that many of them are delicate forms. vet have suffered no wear from the action of currents. The deposit in which these fossils occur has apparently suffered no other dislo- cation than that which attended its elevation above the ocean, which has brought it to a height of about 35 feet above the present sea- level. As the species are of a littoral nature, we may assume that the total elevation re- quired to bring them to their present position may not have exceeded 100 feet. It may have been somewhat less. It is evident. however. that the surface of these beds was for a time at a higher level than that to which they now attain, as is shown by the fact that they are deeply incised by streams which have created

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a tolerably accented topography, the elevations of which have been obscured by subsequent accumulations.

This irregular form of the surface of the Pliocene strata is only proved for the region about Suffolk. Faint traces of the same series of beds at other points lead me, however, to the conclusion that it is probably character- istic of the whole field. The character of the surface must have been given to the Pliocene beds at a time when they were more elevated above the sea than they are at present. After the erosion of this surface came the subsidence which formed the terrace in which the Nanse- mond bench is excavated, which lies consider- ably above the level of the Dismal Swamp. This requires a subsidence of more than 50 feet after the Pliocene deposits were carved by streams. The bench on which the Dismal Swamp deposits lie was afterward formed dur- ing another period of elevation when the sea lay at about 30 feet above its present level. The sands worn from the escarpment which I have termed the Nansemond bench were dis- tributed over the new sea-floor in such fashion as to level off the inequalities brought about by subaerial or marine erosion.

The true measure of the inequalities which characterize the bed-rock surface of this dis- trict is not readily apprehended by an inspec- tion of the area within the field of the swampy districts; the peaty accumulations have un- questionably done much to destroy such topog- graphy as may have existed in the region. Even on the higher level of the upper Nanse- mond bench, which forms the summit of the old Nansemond shore, bounding the western mar- gin of the main Dismal Swamp, there are numerous original hollows now filled in with peaty matter of a consolidated sort on which ordinary forest trees have found a lodgment. I am informed by farmers that they frequently discover places in these fields which contain a peaty deposit many feet in depth. In some cases the accumulation is quite profound, per- mitting a sharp stick to be passed down to the depth of eight or ten feet. There may thus be

within the limits of the Dismal Swamp a num- ber of stream valleys which have been so en- cumbered by the accumulation of vegetable matter that they are no longer evident to the eye.

TOPOGRAPHY.

In its original condition, before this region had been affected by tillage, the area of in- undated lands in the Dismal Swamp district was considerably greater than it is at the pres- ent time. If we include in the swamp lands in this part of Virginia and North Carolina fields which have been won to the plow by ditching, the original area of the morass was perhaps one-third greater than at the present time. Near to its northern, eastern and south- ern boundaries the wetter parts of the swamp passed outwardly into fields where the inun- dations were less considerable, and in conse- quence the surface less incumbered by peaty matter. It appears tolerably evident that when the subjugation of the land began the swamp was extending its margin, taking possession of the lower land, the' swales between the bil- lowy elevations of the plain, and climbing up the gentle elevations between these low places. The process of artificial drainage went on rap- idly until the drainage power of the small canals, dug to unwater the surface, was lost as they were extended into the swamp. The greater portion of this peripheral drainage work was finished before the middle of the present century. The lands won from the margin of the morass and from swamps more or less distinctly connected with the main area, probably amounted to somewhere near 700 square miles ; the area of swamp lands remain- ing between the waters of Albemarle Sound and those of the James River probably amount to not far from 1,500 square miles. In the last century the Dismal Swamp Canal Company constructed a canal in a general north and south direction from the waters of James River, at Deep Creek, to the waters of Albemarle Sound, near South Wills, North Carolina.

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This canal was intended to afford a line of ship communication suited to the vessels of that age between the bay district of North Carolina and that of the Chesapeake. It was expected to furnish a passage for merchant- men and war vessels between these great sys- tems of inland waters, and this expectation was realized. It was designed, moreover, to provide a means of access to the vast and then untouched forests of juniper, cypress and pine which abounded in this field. This important waterway was one of the most considerable hydraulic works which had been undertaken in that century.

For the time when it was executed the Dis- mal Swamp Canal was a costly and well-con- trived work. For three-quarters of a century or more it was an important means of transit between Albemarle Sound and Chesapeake Bay. Of late its use for this purpose has been in the main superseded by another canal nearer the coast.

The effect arising from its construction through the swamp upon the general condition of the region has evidently been considerable. Its course is about at right angles to the gen- eral slope of the country. The first canal was originally designed to afford 12 feet of water and had a width of 50 feet or more; the amount of excavated material heaped upon the banks was considerable. As no pains were taken to provide channels of escape through the barrier for the swamp water coming from the west, the western dike of the canal serves to retain the waters in all that region, and at the same time to fend these waters from the region east of the excavation. The water has, no doubt, been retained in the part of the swamp lying west of the canal in order to keep the several ditches which feed the canal or which provide the ways of floating its tim- ber from the recesses to the navigable depth. By a system of locks which have a total lift of 20 feet the water in the canal is maintained at a little higher level than it had before the canal was constructed.

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History of Norfolk County, Virginia : and representative citizens, 1637-1900, Part 25

Author: Stewart, William H. (William Henry), 1838-1912 Publication date: 1902 Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1054

Author: Stewart, William H. (William Henry), 1838-1912
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1054