Show ire I 1 LN 4 41 4 windmills help drain En england glands s Feni fenlands ands prepared by the national geog aehle soc see ety wash nato D C J 1111 seasoned sa tra traveler Neler a large adoor part of england is as an open door agencies and steimel ip compan es have hane so fam I 1 1 ir ar zed him with the places of interest in the north an I 1 w m est that it seems son e what of an anomaly to d scon scover er a reg on wl ich tell has been almost ent rely neglected let the country of eist angi angl i a is by no means deno davod d of fin and contains many features wl ch will appeal particularly to stu dents ot history indeed tl if e fen country I 1 as been desat bed as tl if e cradle of tl it e eng race II 11 a r marched roman lesions to the enquest lonquest un quest of british tr bes I 1 ther tiler retreated boadicea before tl if e advance of Sueton Sue tonius fus ditl er came the danes to plunder and destroy at the sum mit of the hill lead ng out of cam bridge arose tl e norman castle wl wi ich was seized later by rebellious barons along the still existing poman I 1 agh way marched in 1381 the mob of peasants under albat ft at tier and ii li 1643 the disciplined troops of crom well uell a truly memorable pageant of events nally the whole land was a forest of oak ash fir and nut trees tien tl en in the second century tl if ere NN as an earthquake and tl it e sea submerge I 1 this forest N W hen tl it e romans d scoured ered ho v fertile the land was tl ey stained to recia in the dietr acts dro ened by river floods tl TI ey b i it d I 1 es Ps ind and ambani rients and even enen checked the inroads of tl it e sea after tl e d s saxon din dan sl and norman ra n ds much of the re cli cla mation worl per sl ed I 1 tl e monts took tool up the tak task tl TI en ell aher ever a mop monastery astery cry rose tl e slow steady labor proceed ld d As tl e r 0 pitfalls it falls be came el doled ol 01 ed up I 1 0 i lever ever the natu r I 1 drans draus decided and the fei lancers d d en evereth er th ng p s q b e to prevent the ther r repa r f fr r they bel en eved ed tl at dri dra nage N ser 0 iriv with the r fiba ri na ind and fowl ng Ver bu du it canals C filially cromnell Crom vell p t doan doa all op pos tion I 1 y force and enlisted I 1 1 the sei set N ce of cornel ornel s A ermul den 1 i I dutch eng neel Ver cut a few MR n v aberco h tl if e I 1 Is s tr ct et w with ith I 1 lynn as the r ch ef outfall and at tit r gl t angles to tl it ese i a num her of hort short canals water t f om tl it aril arsi e m was as pi pt need it 11 to tl it ese canals by winan its to be can cart ed it turn to the he ri ers an I 1 finally to tl if e se sea bo so m I 1 ere er one zoes in feelan I 1 one w u 11 see vast nast acres of recia med marsh intersected by drains and w th a wind m 11 or steam pun plin p every enery few miles but it Is not only tl tie e lard di lined by livers rivers tl it las been le ie claimed ever ene since koman roman daa bivs s attempts tempts it I 1 ai ave e been bell mide made to v n m bick back the silt salt marshes at the pre present split time tl it ere Is a scheme on foot for dri dra ling ning tl it e wl 1 I ole of tl if e wish and i I 1 I 1 ri tl ti ere by to england tl ausin 1 of acres of sone some so ne tie tl e finest cult nil soil 11 in the world lo 10 esi exi lore tie hlll and b hv maas oftie of tl e beilan 1 one will and it conven connen ent to traN traverse erse first tl it e N a devani devana that roman road wl id lei runs rung tl ro agh Ca mbride and on to go I 1 manchester just below 11 ting lo 10 where the via devana co neets nit fr tie street the great poman higl wiy way from london to the north one sl turn nto a narro v track thit that lea Is tl rough mil y small v to to beirith bridge here two of len ten s cl ef am ant els PIS the old I 1 adf rd and ne v fe pe ifor i rivers flo alov v side I 1 v ade s de for 40 30 n los les across tie tl e plan pla n ant an 1 tie tl e or nil I 1 ivr ouse from m alich I 1 ich the i iter ter f r tt tie e rew channels innels ch wis was drann annl an became in cons quer ce so choked chol ed with weeds as to be useless forr meanders round by wiy way of stretham Str etham fly and I 1 ittle pol t p el ck ing up numerous tr autar es en ell ro te to finally at salter q I 1 0 ie le it tin tes with Ver s streams to flow in one t adil d it watercourse ater course to tj tie e sea I 1 short sport d stance beyond the bri le ie Is a rough I 1 e cart track con covered ered with bunales bund es of meeds v eeds nettles ant an 1 rank grass high faatea bite lead to p pi vate nate anbe ce do s see seel to cl a ale aie ie the li it tru ler v biti ill out f artl er fi it at lengal appears a clu tei ter of cottages ai at d sa e for tl it ese one acerni to I 1 e in a w iden ess of culli I 1 nation far as the eye can reach stretches a multicolored panorama of wheat and barley felds interspersed with d kes while on the I 1 orizon ap pears a s iver I 1 ne tie betokening the great ouse hamlet named cal fornia yet this deserted hamlet rejo ces in tl if e nime name of cal fornia stand ng by tl e post box one can gaze over oner this fertile country and p the dif faience fei ence which dra nige nage has made formerly tle tl e v 1 ole area was a vast swamp wrose wl ose binl ab tants were con tortured by ag ague u e and rl cuma told arthritis to alleviate alleNia te the pan pa n they resorted to op um and other vio lent narcotics anen today one occa s anally finds an id fen landet who Is addicts I 1 to tl it e opium habit but such cases are exceed angly tare from california the explorer passes over a wide area of reclaimed marsh to wisbech in this d strict every village N I 1 as its feast day NN alich I 1 ich Is held on tl e date of the dedication of the church A procession marches around tt it e boundaries a religious service Is held and there la Is a collection for cl arity some years ago singlestick a kind of duella with wooden staves was anas a great attraction but nowadays the villagers are condei t with wres aling eions and all the fun of tie fair stand ng one can still see it at the fair such quell a conte t as that pro N de I 1 by the men of and those of 0 ild competitors stand opposite each other in lines with ith eyes axed on their opponents feet at a given signal eich each man se aes h s rival near the chest with both hands try ng it at tl it ime time to ick h in on tl if e sh ns the art con its in br n nging ning ing ones one s opponent to his I 1 nees in tl e shortest poss pm me ble time tl TI e pr ze is a copper kettle A I 1 atle farther on lies ties parson drove drone where there Is an interesting sur survival NiNal of tie past in the shape of a m 11 na voad oad grows to a height of s x feet an I 1 has i I 1 bh bit e green leaf with a yellow flower it Is gathered in the fl aids ads and crashed cr dished by ma cl el nory to brou prou u ice a splendid lye wh wb ch ell wis was used by ancient br tons for stain ng tl air bod es blue soon tl it e towers of crowland ap pear in the d stance here it the en ell I 1 of if tie e se seventh anth century came st kt U that per od the island was the mo t remote of tl if e whole arel pelago ant an 1 possessed by devils A legen I 1 narrates I 1 low ow after being mere lessly tort red conquered tl e devils and compelled satan to I 1 r ing n the stone for the foundation of his oratory in olden days the Vv welland elland used to flow ih tl if e ma n street of crow land and in the market place Is a curious triangular ard br de e over dry ground it consists of three segments of a circle which meet at a point in the center st ange dick duck di ck decoy A in ie le or t no bartl er Is one of the fe v duel decoys left in the fen coin in tra tr it stands some f e in les from any I 1 al titi n and is approach ed by a long avenue of lime time trees A pith path leids leads to tl it e entrance gate which ad nuts to whit what at first looks ill e a w wood in the center is a pond full of weeds and water il 11 es with numerous nume num ious cious fro t ro montor ea and rocks 0 it of it lei lq I 1 eight large pipes one for each direction of tie tit wind they are in cl se I 1 I 1 v i ets fastened to continuous fences of stakes on the banks when a ill anve IN e tal tiles es place ta tie e ducks which hai have e flow town n from it tie e netherlands and bottled on the pon I 1 are enticed up one of tl ese i ipes lipes A trained dog runs abo choit it and dr arves es tame due duels s to the trai entrance wl lie the kepi keel ers hide tilde in the busl es at tl it e f fir ar end at length scores of w id fowl fol low the decors s into tl e net and sw tin to ard tl if e far end ima r tl a net la Is dropped over the opening aid ai d the I 1 eipers til vit e out the b ads rd ne tie by one and wring ring their ned s As many as are sor sol betimes disposed of in a day dan the season lasting from august to march I 1 roni rem I 1 ere one can an see far over oner tie tl e marshes tie tl e noble proportions of i lati edral near are the bulb plantations wh ch ell constitute a n ost li it industry I 1 mt cally every f firm irm den devotes oreb act es to he culli of |