USA > Virginia > City of Norfolk > City of Norfolk > History of Norfolk County, Virginia and representative citizens, V.1 > Part 24
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Lafayette Haughton.
William E. Coleman, John J. Cummings, Robert H. Herndon,
William L. Heard.
Frederick W. Dodenhoft, Robert K. Eckles, John C. Hill.
Anthony L. C. Hill, Rubie A. Hord.
Frank G. Story, Jr., William A. Seddinger,
William T. Howland,
Albert G. Huine,
Joseph H. Sherrard, Angustine L. Sherwood,
Charles E. Sheppard.
William S. Smith,
Sidlo M. Ilolloman.
Richard H. Humphries, Edward Jack. Joseph E. Kevill,
Ruby L. Lash. Henry H. Lash.
Frank G. Skinner,
James E. Parsons.
Harry V. Welsh,
Raymond H. Walker, Allen O. White,
Julius T. Lansberg.
Thomas E. Lewis.
Garent Waller.
Clarence P. Linn,
James B. Warwick,
Harry Monday.
Walter Walker,
Dempsey Morrisett,
Miles W. White,
George F. McGuire,
John G. Wilson.
John McRorie, Jr.,
Jamies E. Waterfield,
Louis B. Montague, Jr.,
Bert A. Williams,
Edgar A. Moore. Jr.,
John A. Wolf.
Harry L. Morris,
LEE RIFLES.
COMPANY A, FOURTH REGIMENT VIRGINIA INFANTRY, U. S. V.
This company was mustered into the United States service May 14. 1898, and was mustered out April 27, 1899.
Captain. Henry H. Sheen. Ist lieutenant, William C. Hill. 2nd lieutenant. Vincent C. Burrow. Ist sergeant. William G. Sturdivant. Quartermaster sergeant, Whitney S. LeCompte. Sergeants, Frederick L. Curdts, William H. Har- rison. Granville MI. Tilghman. James T. Shackelford. Corporals, John W. Creekmore. Samuel P. Butt, Collins Hill, Oscar V. Sessoms. Wade H. Hayes, Ed- ward M. Curdts.
Musicians, Charles A. Bender. Andrew L. Jones, Luther W. Sykes.
Artificer, Charles T. Sykes. Wagoner, William Woodward.
Privates.
Aubrey W. Allen, Benjamin E. Edwards,
William M. Baker, Percy Etheridge.
Archie C. Bates. William T. Fritzinger,
Clyde L. George,
Archie M. Beattie, Leonard C. Billings,
John P. Graves.
Roswell F. Caffee. Charles G. Greaves, Gilbert C. Cole. Henry Harwood. Thontas S. Jackson. Zella L. Daniels. Moses Jacobs, John Jones,
-- George Christian, Clifton H. Dodson.
John P. Dougherty. Charles H. Dixon, John H. Eaton,
Daniel A. Lassiter. John E. Milow. Frank A. Milton,
Frank L. Koerner.
Arthur G. McCoy,
Oscar G. Scott,
Frank MI. Morgan,
Washington M. Spence,
Thomas L. Nunnelly,
Edward N. Waddy.
Ernest L. Lightfoot,
Harrold Soul.
Charles H. Pettus,
William W. Toole,
Samuel T. Schaffer.
C. T. Long,
Joseph . J. Hennelly,
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
John . E. Morris. John A. Morrisey,
Edgar L. Sweezey, Oscar L. Shipp,
-
John L. Reynolds, George P. Thompson,
Major F. Moore,
William L. Thomas,
Robert J. Russell,
Littleton B. Tucker,
Edward W. Moore, George B. Sheppard,
Edgar N. Mallone,
John J. Walsh,
Philip L. Seay,
Claude Vaughan,
Theodore Seed,
George W. West,
John E. Taylor, William H. Williams,
John H. Toomer,
Bayless Welsch,
Robert L. Taylor, Fernando J. White,
Thomas E. Tucker,
Wilbur Waldrop.
SECOND REGIMENT VIRGINIA INFANTRY, U. S. V.
PORTSMOUTH RIFLE COMPANY.
COMPANY L, SECOND REGIMENT VIRGINIA INFANTRY, U. S. V.
This company was mustered into the United States service May 19, 1898, and mustered out December 19, 1898.
Captain. E. W. Owens.
Ist lieutenant, John W. Leigh.
2nd lieutenant. William R. Parrish.
Ist sergeant, James L. Busby. 2nd sergeant. William L. Dilsbury. Sergeants. Charles E. Slote, Leroy F. Vaughn, Will- iam H Brown. Richard A. Alexander. Corporals, John A. Nobrega, Charles T. Rudd. Harry Davis, Jesse L. Duffee, Amos J. Weston, Henry A. J. Smits.
Drunummer. George HI. Lamar.
Bugler. John W. Hodges. Artificer, Harry E. White. Wagoner, Elijah Rickets.
Privates.
Louis Banks. Joseph Lane.
John M. Barnett. Samuel A. Lecroy.
Charles E. Connell, Ignacy A. Langewicz,
Patrick Cox. Peter Lynch,
George O. Diggs. James. J. Murphy.
Walter MI. Duffee,
William H. Martin.
Joseph M. Davis,
James W. Miller. Jr ..
Prince A. Fox.
William H. Miller.
Nicholas Grootewall.
Fck McDearmon.
John W. Green, James L. Gray.
Clifford L. Parker,
John C. Gallager.
Ernest Pendleton.
Henry L. Culpepper,
Hugh S. Martin,
Benjamin F. Godwin,
William B. Perry,
Walter H. Cramer,
Pete V. Majette,
Albert Gay.
George A. Hawes,
Richard T. Powers,
Fred Hans01.
Carrington J. Rhodes.
John J. Hunt.
William A. Rouse.
William R. Hill.
Enoch J. Harlow, William M. Harris,
John E. Jarvis.
Arthur Ketcham,
I.ce B. Hodges,
Henry F. Housch, Tolin T. Hughes. Eustace B. Hundley,
Charles H. Perry, Walter Quillin.
--
Louis Myers, Janics' C. McGinnis.
Ben. T. White. Caudius L. White, Henry J. White, Frank W. Walker,
Henry W. McDermott. William H. Nelson,
William H. Williams,
James A. Potts.
Ernest F. Wilkins,
William Powell,
Harry E. Williams,
Jeremiah Perry, Isaac F. Wilkinson,
Hunter Wing.
Constantine Politicari, Peter Rokos. Richard E. Riddick,
Edward F. Wilson,
George H. Worrell.
Benjamin Rippi,
OLD DOMINION GUARD,
COMPANY L, FOURTH REGIMENT VIRGINIA INFANTRY, U. S. V.
This company was mustered into the United States service May 21, 1898, and was mustered out April 29, 1899.
Captain. George A. Brooks. ist lieutenant, Albert G. Epes.
2nd lieutenant. William H. Dunn, ( Resigned No- vember 22, 1898.)
Ist sergeant, George S. Hutchins. ( Promoted to 2nd lieutenant.)
Quartermaster sergeant. Walter R. Bennett.
Sergeants, William W. Wright. Jr .. Thomas E. Munds. Benjamin H. Lassiter. James C. Hutchins.
Corporals. Claude N. Markham. Kenneth J. Griffin, Lewis L. Bilisoly. William B. Burton, George MI. Job- son. Nathaniel O. Williams.
Musicians. William H. Journee. Harry P. Lane. Artificer. George R. Myers.
Wagoner, George E. Whitehurst.
Privates.
Thomas Allen. Isaac D. Jones,
Frederick V. Abbott,
Frank J. Keller,
Harry L. Belote. Cornelius Borum.
Geo. E. Kramer. Charles A. Lewis,
William E. Calvert.
Charles H. Lassiter, Charles Linn. Louis N. La Touche,
George B. Madison. Addis McCullev.
William II. Dorn, Harry Fields, Charles Grant,
William T. McCloskey, Harry C. Mattis.
George H. Morisette, .
William J. Miskill. William L. Marshall,
Joseph Nicholson, Aaron Porter.
Robert Snodgriss. Patrick J. Sheehy,
Louis Shacklock.
Milton H. Porter,
Lloyd A. Kay, James Kilgrow, George F. Keough, Treville Latouche.
Joseph T Sullivan, George V. Smith.
William Ricketts,
Ambrose P. Tyler,
William T. Roberts,
Robert C. Vaughan,
Henry O. Russ. John Starke.
Thomas Saunders.
William H. Sebrel],
William M. Gray, John A. Green, Harry Gregg. Lewis J. Gorsuch. Clarence Hingerty,
Francis W. Nutter.
Patrick J. Campbell, Georg : W. Cherry,
John W. Percival.
Williaia TI. MeChanan.
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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
Henry S. Tyler, Ernest C. Walters, Emory B. Wood.
Henry J. Terrell,
Nathaniel Varney, Charles H. Wingfield,
lames Walsh, Farl H. Wright, James H. Young.
Henry T. White,
NAVY.
Lieut. Kenneth McAlpine, U. S. S. "Texas."
Capt. Wendell Cushing Neville, U. S. Marine Corps. Evan T. Hunley, Boilermaker, U. S. Navy, and many others whose names could not be obtained.
The following citizen sailors were on the "Maine" when she was blown up in Havana Harbor :
Charles Anderson, Norfolk. Robert Hutchings. Norfolk. Charles Rushworth, Norfolk.
Patrick O'Neil, Norfolk. James O'Rouke, Norfolk. James W. Allen, Portsmouth.
Thomas Kane, Portsmouth.
James T. Gordon, Portsmouth.
Robert White, Portsmouth.
Charles O. White, Portsmouth. Michael Flarherty, Portsmouth.
The hospital ship "Solace" came in the har- bor on July 16, 1898, and delivered at the U. S. Naval Hospital, 59 wounded Americans and 47 Spaniards.
CHAPTER X
THE AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES
GROWTH AND IMPORTANCE OF THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY-THE "FATHER OF TRUCKERS " -- THE CHIEF CROPS GROWN PROFITABLY HERE - TOBACCO THE DETHRONED KING --- EARLY REGULATIONS ON THE GROWTH OF TOBACCO.
"He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread" and Emerson says: "The first farm- er was the first man, and all historic nobility rests on possession and use of land." Why i, not the intelligent use of the hoe and plow as honorable as the plane of the carpenter, the file of the machinist, the hammer of the black- smith, the pen of the lawyer, the sword of the soldier? Agriculture is the basis of the Re- public's wealth. It is the unfailing source of prosperity for the people. The skilful culti- vation of lands not only brings material pros- perity, but makes attractive scenery which cheers the soul of man-the vines and olives of the hillsides of the Holy Land, the pastures and flocks of its valleys, the wheat and barley of its river banks were the re- sources which made Jerusalem beautiful. Rural training, practical gardening and farm- ing should be taught in the schools to impress the utility and glory of agriculture upon the young. The agricultural resources of Nor- folk County have already been great ; but will be far greater, when the vast areas of untilled ground are made to yield to the plow and hoe, producing their full capacity. Away from the salt water in the southern portion of the coun- ty, corn, cotton, Irish potatoes and grass are the principal crops-but the great agricultural
. business of the county is horticulture or : "trucking." The late Richard Cox was the first successful trucker of the county and was called the "Father of Truckers." He came to this county in 1844 from New Jersey and located on the Armistead farm near the mouth of the Western Branch, which farm he culti- : vated on shares, realizing in the first year $1.000 for the owner, who had offered to rent it to him for $200. Hugh Bates was the first : trucker who settled in Norfolk county and W. I. Bishop was the second,-both from New , Jersey. They preceded Mr. Cox two or three years but neither made a success of the busi- ness. So by right of prosperous achievements Richard Cox was the "Father of Truckers." having successfully introduced the agricultural pursuit which is the chief basis of the wealth of Norfolk County. He cultivated the Armi- stead farm until 1856 when he purchased a farm at the mouth of the Western Branch. Here he fully realized that "He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread." The first hot-bed ever made in this section was his work and is still on the old homestead adjoining Port Norfolk. The Census Bureau in I891 issued a bulletin on truck farming that is of much interest to truckers and shows its growth since the introduction 56 years ago. The
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twelfth census gives the value of the farm products in the entire 12 census districts of the State at $76,507,155. after paying freighits and commissions.
The same authority gives the trucking area of the Norfolk section as 45.375 acres, and a product value of $7,692,859. This is over 10 per cent. of the entire product.
Norfolk County's climatic and topographic conditions are such as to indicate its natural adaptability for the profitable raising of gar- den truck. It is located on the Atlantic Coast in Latitude 36 degrees 51 minutes North, and enjoys the benefit of the tempering influence of the Gulf Stream. Its soil is a rich sandy loam, quickly responsive to fertilization and cultivation and gives abundant yields.
A. Jeffers, proprietor of the Cornucopia, or Southern Horn of Plenty, who keeps ther- oughly in touch with the agricultural develop- ment of this section, gives as his opinion that the increase of acreage and product since the 1890 census is fully 50 per cent : "The aggre- gate sales of market garden vegetables,-fromn the area embraced in a circle drawn 20 miles around this seaport,-have reached a point ex- ceeding $5,000,000 in a single vear. No other agricultural area in the United States, or in the world, can make such a good showing, and equal the output of this portion of Eastern Vir- ginia near the sea,-this portion of the middle Atlantic Seaboard."
At least 30 different crops are grown here extensively and profitably, such as asparagus, apples. berries, beans, beets. snap-beans, cab- bages, cucumbers, canteloupes, celery, kale. radishes, onions, potatoes (both Irish and sweet ), peas, lettuce, spinach, squash, turnips, tomatoes and watermelons and a large number of other market garden vegetables, also hay, oats, corn and other regular farm crops. The larger and more important crops are: Berries ( about 10,000,000 quarts per annumn), beans ( 200,000 half-barrel baskets ), cabbages ( 225,- 000 barrels), cucumbers ( 100,000 barrels and boxes ). kale ( 100,000 barrels ), lettuce ( 10 .- 000 baskets ), sweet potatoes (60,000 barrels) .
Irish potatoes (450,000 barrels), peas ( 100,- 000 baskets), radishes ( 50,000 barrels and baskets ). spinach ( 120,000 barrels), tomatoes (70,000 boxes), and watermelons (600.000).
Some of the early shipments of the pioneer truckers brought fabulous prices. Mr. Cox received $15 a barrel for green peas, Sio a barrel for tomatoes, and sold cucumbers for $45 and $50 a barrel. Mr. Bishop received Soo for the first crate of berries shipped to New York.
TOBACCO, THE DETHRONED KING.
Tobacco was king in the colonial days of Virginia and the staple crop of all the plan- tations. The laws not only regulated the in- spection and sale but also the planting and curing. It was the principal currency for nearly 150 years. Salaries, taxes and all man- ner of obligations were payable in tobacco. The yearly salary of the King's attorney was 1,000 pounds of tobacco and the sheriff 1,200 pounds. In order to prevent an inflation of the currency or excessive production the plant- ing was limited to from 1.500 to 2,000 plants per poll. Inspectors were required to view the plantations and make cath before the roth day of July that they had counted the plants : they were required to report to court the result of their inspection. If a planter exceeded the number of plants allowed by law he was re- quired to cut down his whole crop or be im- prisoned. Warehouses for better upholding the prices of tobacco were established by law in 1632, to which all producers were obliged to bring all of their tobacco before the last day of December, except enough for home con- sumption, to be repacked and inspected by : sworn officers. No tobacco could be paid or received in payment until inspected. All bad tobacco was burned and the planters prohib- ited from planting any more tobacco. The
law prohibited the planting or replanting of tobacco after the ioth of July. In 1639 to- i bacco, by reason of the excessive quantities produced, being so low in price that the plant-
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
.
ers could not subsist by it or be enabled to raise more staple commodities or pay their debts, a law was enacted that the tobacco of that year - be viewed by sworn viewers and the rotten, the unmerchantable and half of the good be burned, so the whole quantity made in the Colony would not exceed 1,500,000 pounds without stripping and smoothing. The next year 170 pounds of tobacco stripped and smoothed was allowed to be made per poll, which would make, in the whole, 1,300,000 pounds ; and all creditors were required to take 40 pounds for 100 pounds. The casks could only be purchased from coopers and the middle men were not permitted to speculate on cooper wares. A hogshead was required to be 43 inches long and the head 26 inches in di- ameter, with proportionate bulge. The pen- alty for manufacturing one of oversize was 3,000 pounds of tobacco, and a cask made of timber not well seasoned was required to be burned. A cask held 350 pounds and any cooper who worked timber not fallen and hewed three months forfeited 500 pounds of tobacco. In 1705 the law was that "Whoso- ever shall hereafter pack. or cause the same to be packed, any hogshead of tobacco, they pack or cause the same to be packed fairly, without deceit and equally good throughout as it ap- pears at the head." *
* * "And if any person or persons whatsoever shall pay away or put to sale any hogshead of tobacco which he hath deceitfully, or hath caused. or suffered to be deceitfully packed, by putting thereunto any stones or intermingling any dirt, sand, to- bacco stalks, stems, seconds, ground leaves or other trash whatsoever, shall forfeit for every hogshead so deceitfully packed 1,000 pounds of tobacco."
Act of Assembly, 1639:
It is thought fit and established that in and for the several circuits and precincts hereunder mentioned there be yearly chosen and appointed men of experience and in dignity for the careful viewing of each man's crop of tobacco. the viewers of this year being nominated and appointed by the Assembly are as followeth (viz). The viewers for the present year are hereunder named
(viz.) commissioners being joined to see the said exe- cution.
LOWER NORFOLK COUNTY.
From Captain Willoughby's to Daniel Tanner's Creek: Capiam Thos. Willoughby, William Shipp, Robert Jones.
For the Western Branch to Elizabeth River: Lieut. Francis Mason, Henry Camelyn. Thomas Wright. From Daniel Tanner's Creek, the Eastern Branch on both sides, Mr. William Julian, John Gates, George Fandon.
For the Southern Branch on both sides: Captain John Sibsey, Thomas Means, Robert Martin. For the Little Creek and Eastern shore: Henry Sewell, Robert Hayes, Christo. Burrows.
For the south side of the river. Mr. Edward Wind- ham, John Stratton, Thos. Keeling. *
The overproduction being so great as to glut all the markets, tlie legislature suspended tobacco planting from February 1, 1666, to February 1, 1667.
All tobacco for export was required to be shipped from a port designated by law and Norfolk was one of the places first designated. There were tobacco warehouses at Norfolk, Portsmouth and Great Bridge. Although there were thousands of acres planted in tobacco in the first century of the existence of Norfolk County, now at the end of the nineteenth cen- tury there is not an acre cultivated in the whole county. There are, however. in the cities of the county many flourishing manufac- tories, where tobacco leaves are rolled into de- lightful cigars. On November 18, 1785, two lots, Nos, 181 and 183. belonging to Thomas Veale, were selected as a suitable place for a tobacco warehouse in Portsmouth and the commissioners valued them at 120 pounds cur- rent money. On the 19th day of November, 1761, Malachi Murden, Gent., produced his commission from Hon. Francis Fauquier, Esq., under the seal of the Colony, dated the 12th day of November, as assistant inspector of tobacco at the public warehouse established in Princess Anne and Norfolk counties, took the oath and gave the bond for the office. On December 3, 1742, the court allowed Capt.
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.
Willis Wilson and his son Lemuel Wilson 10,000 pounds of tobacco for building a ware- house at Great Bridge. On the 17th of March, 1786, it was ordered by the court that Thomas Brown, William King and John Cowper meet and let out to the lowest bidder the building of a warehouse for the reception of tobacco in Portsmouth, -- 60 by 40 feet, with a shed on each side io feet wide, one funnel of brick and a wharf agreeable to law, -- and make report to the court. On April 2, 1787, Henry Brown, contractor, finished the warehouse for 419 pounds current money.
.
:
There was a large tobacco warehouse at Town Point in Norfolk Borough. On the 17th day of January, 1771, the court ordered that George Veale, Thomas Veale, John Portlock and Malachi Wilson view the warehouse built on Town Point and report their opinion, and on the 18th day of January the commissioners appointed to view the warehouse built on the Town Point land reported that they had viewed the same and were of the opinion that
:
the said house is very convenient and sufficient for a warehouse for the inspection of tobacco agreeable to Act of General Assembly and the court agreed to pay 127 pounds current money for the same at the laying of the next levy. with interest from the time when the key is delivered until payment, which the proprietor of the Town Point Company agreed to accept.
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 i 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 forni 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 above 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
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 swamp was surveyed by Washington at an : anguish :- "Its circle of silvery beach is 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 iniprove in health, appetite and general robustness. flooded 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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