THE

NORTH-CAROLINA READER.

PART I.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF NORTH-CAROLINA.

LESSON I.

THE ALBEMARLE REGION.

YOUNG people generally like to travel.

All classes and all ages are fond of novelty and variety; but we may often travel hundreds of miles without finding much of either. There is, however, in the American Union, a certain State in which it is impossible to go far, in any direction, without meeting with something new and interesting in the aspect of the country, and in the character and pursuits of the people.

Its interests are very diversified; and the manners of the people change with every change of pursuit. The productions of the soil are numerous: there are many and extensive fisheries, mines of gold, silver, copper, lead, and iron. The face of the country, too, is marked by a pleasing variety; and every kind of grand and beautiful scenery and of desirable climate is there found. This State is North-Carolina; and to travel over it from the swamps and lakes and pine-forests of the east, to the high mountains of the west, would be a delightful and profitable pastime.

Now, this is what we propose to do; and if our young friends will follow us attentively through these pages, we will give them a jaunt over a beautiful country, without cost and without danger. We will start in the east: population has always traveled from the east towards the west.

The first settlement made in North-Carolina was in the east. ROANOKE ISLAND.-If you will look upon the map of NorthCarolina, you will see three great sounds along the eastern borders of the State. These are Currituck,* Albemarle, and

Coratuc.-Indian.

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Pamlico Sounds; and between Albemarle and Pamlico is Roanoke Island.

It is just east of a peninsula called Croatan, and in Albemarle Sound; and on it the ships sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh, from England, in the year 1585, left a colony.

Here was laid the foundations of a city called the city of Raleigh; and here came into the world the first English child born on American soil.

Her mother's name was Eleanor Dare; and as all this country was then called Virginia, the child was named Virginia Dare. A fort was built on this island; and it was the seat of many pleasant and romantic incidents.

The colony left upon it all perished, or straggled off and mingled with the Indians; and a melancholy interest, therefore, attaches to the place.

It was the first spot, on American soil, pressed by the foot of an English woman; and it was the first spot cultivated by the hand of an Englishman.

The ruins of the old fort are still to be seen; and nature here still wears that serene aspect which so charmed the first civilized people who visited this region.

DURANT'S NECK.-The first permanent settlement made by the whites in North-Carolina was on Durant's Neck. This is a tongue of land on the north side of Albemarle Sound, between the mouths of Little River and Perquimmons River, and in what is now the county of Perquimmons.

These settlers came from Virginia, some of them having been driven off by religious persecutions: and George Durant was one of the leading men among them.

The reader will see that there are several necks along the northern shore of Albemarle Sound; and he will observe that wide creeks, rivers, and estuaries divide the country into narrow strips of land. The waters are, therefore, the highway for every thing people travel on them from house to house, and every body knows how to handle an oar and manage a boat.

Fish abound in these waters; and a man, with a single hook, might support himself the year round.

The swamps were filled with grass and nutritious weeds; and hence it was a great place for hogs and cattle.

They contained also immense forests of juniper and cypress trees; and this kind of timber has always been valuable for boards and shingles.

Thus the early settlers had an easy life; and time has served only to develop the great resources of that region.

NAG'S HEAD.-Between Albemarle Sound and the ocean,

and just east of Roanoke Island, is a long strip of sandy land; and this, or a part of it, is called Nag's Head. The coast along here is dangerous; and on the sand-banks between the sounds and ocean live a hardy race, who are mostly engaged in saving the crews and cargoes of ships wrecked on the coast. They are, therefore, called wreckers; and though they are a wild, uncouth race in manners and appearance, they are kind and brave, and generally honest.

An old man, it is said, used to decoy vessels on shore by false lights; and these he would fasten to the head of his horse, tether him, and let him walk upon the beach. A ship at sea, seeing the lantern moving up and down with the horse's head, would take it for the light in a sailing vessel; and would, therefore, in a heavy wind, sail nearer the coast, thinking there was no danger.

Thus it would be wrecked upon the shoals; and probably from this circumstance, the name of Nag's Head was applied to that part of the coast.

As the shore is shelving for some distance, it is a fine place for sea-bathing; and it is now a fashionable resort in the summer. Nothing can be more grand and beautiful than the views about Nag's Head. On one side is the wide ocean, with here and there a snow-white sail glimmering in the distance; on the other, the naked sands, drifted, in some places, into high hills, and by their wild and desolate appearance, adding to the grandeur and majesty of the scene. A long line of white foam fringes the margin of the waters; and here, of a summer's afternoon, are lively parties, of all ages and sexes, promenading on the beach and frolicking in the waves.

Their summer-houses make quite a town at Nag's Head; and as the air is tempered by water on both sides, there can be no more healthy or pleasant place to spend the summer months.

LESSON II.

NAG'S HEAD OR ROANOKE INLET.-Directly east of Roanoke Island, there is a level space, between various high sand-hills; and here, fifty years ago, was an inlet from the ocean to the sound, half a mile wide, and deep enough to float large merchantships. It is believed that this inlet can be reopened and made a commodious and safe ship-channel; and if it were so improved, an immense commerce would find through it an outlet to the

ocean.

It is properly an object of national concern; and if the General Government were disposed to be as partial to North Carolina as it is to some other States, this important work would be immediately attended to. This region of country is generally called the Nag's Head interest; and it is one of the most fertile in the world. It may be properly termed the Egypt of North-Carolina; and perhaps no other country in the world, of the same size, produces an equal amount of corn. The little county of Pasquotank alone exports about six hundred thousand bushels; and Camden, Perquimmons, Chowan, Bertie, and the neighbouring counties, are all extremely fertile.

The country, like all Eastern Carolina, is entirely flat; and it abounds in swamps, which, when cleared and drained, are extremely rich. The whole region is productive, and the farms present the appearance of gardens.

Deep, wide ditches, like canals, run around every field; and nearly every farmer is his own shipper: the deep creeks, rivers, and bayous affording means of sloop navigation through the whole country. Immense quantities of fish are also caught; and the cypress and juniper trees furnish another source of wealth.

DISMAL SWAMP CANAL.-North of the Nag's Head region, partly in North-Carolina, and partly in Virginia, is the great Dismal Swamp: it is an almost impenetrable bog, about 30 miles long and 15 miles wide.

Near the centre of it is a beautiful lake, about seven miles long and five wide, called Lake Drummond, after the first governor of North Carolina. It is a deep as well as broad sheet of water, and has no outlet or inlet. From the Pasquotank River, which divides the counties of Camden and Perquimmons, to the waters about Norfolk, is a canal; and this canal goes nearly through the centre of the great swamp which gives it its name. It is twenty-two miles long, and the earth taken from it forms an excellent toll-road along its banks, and belonging to the same company About midway of this road, just on the North-Caro