Show arhe mie cism dismal d swamp CA J Z N e mr I 1 lk 0 A K A k A A hunter of the dismal swamp prepared by national society washington D C Q service LIEN the eastern hunting WUEN season Is at its height the usual quiet of the dismal swamp one of the famous hunting bunting grounds of the eastern seaboard Is broken by the crack of sportsmens sports mens guns since it was first explored dismal swamp has remained a mystery mystery place its last indian disappeared around the but in its depth it Is almost as wild today as it was then neither fire nor ax as has tamed it though it has yielded about a third of its original area to the plow much of the remainder Is an unbroken wilderness on the virginia north carolina border george name Is permanently manent ly linked with dismal swamp and lake drummond soon after the french and indian war washington and others attracted by the wealth of juniper in this region obtained a grant of land and organized the dismal swamp land company washington made at least six visits to the great wilderness to which he refers to in correspondence as a glorious paradise one of the six ditches connecting ate D drummond with the outer world t 11 iv is name it extends five and a clites ills from the northwest shore of the like to a point on the white marsh road and was dug to get timber from the swamp to the nansemond river near dear suffolk thence the timber went by ship to its destination some went to england A hamlet known as dismal town grew up at the white marsh road end of the ditch it has disappeared completely and the roads course has been slightly changed in his bis will washington valued his acres of dismal swamp holdings at about today to all except a very few the swamps interior Is as much of a mystery as yucatan men are born live nod and die in towns that touch dismal swamps very edges without ever having entered it has a bad reputation the name given to the swamp by col william byrd in 1728 stories of the ghosts of lake drummond of TeDO venomous serpents and polso poisonous ous plants of savage descendants of runaway slaves still roaming its depths of fugitives hiding out and in recent years of moon shiners that kill on sight eight of wild beasts and the noxious vapors that infest the air all have created a feeling of fear that has contributed tributes tri buted to the grim atmosphere that en shrouds great dismal there are miles of dry forest around lake drummond but here bore and there along the west nest shore are holes that would mire you to the waist aalst near the headwaters of Pasquo pasquotank tank river are holes that would engulf you son also all over the peat areas are deep fire holes when the swamp Is full of water and covered with vines travel Is difficult and dangerous dismal swamp canal connecting Hain ampton roads with pasquotank Pasquo tank river and albemarle sound begins at the village of deep creek six BS miles southwest of portsmouth it Is 50 feet wide and navigable for vessels alv a seven foot draft however forbidding many people regard dismal swamps exterior few can view the mouth of the feeder ditch from the george washington highway without It hout becoming enthusing enthus enthusiastic ins while it passes through the wide reedy treeless and nine ine matted expanse the feeders banks are lined with stately trees for most of its three miles J f in springtime there are jasmine and other fragrant flow ers it in places it resembles n sylvan tunnel as enchanting and alluring it runs straight as an arrow into the mysterious and romantic depths toward lake drummond otter slides along the banks and bear trails where old bruin sims the canal in passing from open space to open space arld add zest to tile the journey Journ py in summer the lops logs and roots that lut jut from the bunks and often ile hie overhanging hibbs swarm with wilh snakes most of them harmless harrr ess however the feeder fedler Is 30 feet wide clogged with debris from years of to los raft ing ahe atie former seven foot font norma normal I 1 sl age has dwindled to three and with nith low water the ditch Is almost impassable the so called juniper water of 0 the feeder ee er and lake drummond la Is tn in reality a blend of the teachings leach ings of water from gum cypress maple and juniper southern white cedar pe pentland atland which covered several hundred square miles the occasional visitor to dismal swamp cannot distinguish between the various waters or the blends but a small amount of juniper teachings Is required to make other swamp waters palatable pure gum water Is dark in color and causes a feeling of distress after drinking cypress water Is palatable and of a lighter color and will keep longer than gum water which will viii not remain sweet an entire summer pure juniper water however Is smooth healthful and palatable it Is i of a beautiful sparkling color between rich chrome yellow and orange given tile the same kind of food timber vor workers kers who drink other swamp waters never look as healthy as those who work in the cedar forests and dr drink pure juniper water formerly juniper tea made from steeped cedar straw was a standard beverage in swamp lumber camps journeying up the feeder in seasons of low water where underlying roots are exposed the traveler gets an idea of the source of the swamps rich amber colored waters there are places in the cedar arid and cypress growths where roots logs limbs stumps and snags are lapped and tied and twisted to a depth of 17 to 20 feet such a natural laboratory will ivill produce juniper or cypress water for years jungle hard to conquer the ax means little to great dismal it was wild before the lumberman came and after he fie passes it reverts to its former state the jungle with its claws and thorns returns and the bear the deer the panther i th the e raccoon again come into their own one lumber company operates more than SO 30 miles of narrow gauge log railroad in the section lying southeast of lake drummond and extending well into north carolina there Is little high grade timber left the greater portion lies iles south of lake drummond there are immense areas of hardwoods in which most of the trees are worthless still others where the never falling cedar will appear and the slow growing cypress and miles of scorched standing timber of all kinds unfit for any use except firewood then there are the square miles of scattered clearings where in places the peat has burned eight and ten feet down to the san dand clay the only permanent human habitation in the lake drummond wilderness Is the house of the government employed lock tender at the waste weir clearing two and three quarter miles west of dismal swamp canal and a quarter of a mile from lake drummond six gates or wickets regulate the flow front from the lake until the government obtained possession in 1929 1029 the feeder and canal were privately operated now the take lake and canals are controlled by the united states army engl engineers whose orderly methods are bringing a new day to dismal swa swamp mp indian relics on sand bars during the abnormally low water ot of the winter of 1030 1930 31 many sand bars were exposed along the shores of lake drummond in places the water receded more than a thousand feet one can find indian arrowheads arrow heads hammers and other weapons and implements along the north shore where the indians had hunted and fished for generations few indian relies relics are ever found ashore they wire were soon covered by the decaying vegetation that forms the peat while acids in some of the woods disintegrate the very bones of men and animals only three of the swamps many canals and ditches are now in use dismal swamp canal the feeder and the albemarle and chesapeake canal all tile the rest have been abandoned many of bliwn were dug by slaves the jericho canal for or the most part passes through clearings near the lake its hanks banks are lined with stately trees whose tops lean jean inward last kast of the jericho ditch deer abound |