Entered as second-class matter, June 1. 1933. at the Postonice at Raleigh. North Carolina, under the Act of March 3. 1879.
View of Ihe Dismal Swamp Canal near South Mills, Camden County.
The Great Dismal Swamp
II is still one of the wildest places in the
eastern part of the United States, and
there are some sections that never have
lieen explored by man.
By EARL DEAN
WHILE you could hardly call
the Great Dismal Swamp
one of North Carolina’s best
vacation spots, that vast 750 square
mile area of wilderness up in
northeastern North Carolina isn’t
quite as forbidding as its name.
George Washington, for one,
didn't think it was such a bad
place, for he was a frequent visi¬
tor to the Great Dismal, camped
out on the shore of beautiful Lake
Drummond, and referred to the
swampland around it as "a glorious
paradise" in his correspondence 164
years ago.
So vast, trackless and hard to
move about in, however, the Great
Dismal Swamp, parts of which have
never been fully explored, is per¬
haps best known as the habitat of
a lot of imaginary terrors. Stories
of ghosts, huge, venomous serpents,
noxious vapors, moonshiners and
fugitives from justice that shoot to
kill on sight, great grizzly bears and
ferocious wildcats have all led to a
feeling of fear most people experi¬
ence whenever the Great Dismal
Swamp is mentioned.
A Naturalist’s Paradise
Actually, the Great Dismal
Swamp is not quite as sinister as
you would think. For the naturalist,
the hunter, the bird lover, and the
fresh-water fisherman, the great
swamp is a paradise enchanting and
alluring as well as the greatest wild
game preserve in the eastern part
of the United States.
In the spring and summer, jas¬
mine, honeysuckle, fragrant wild
flowers and feathery cypress grow¬
ing back in its jungle-like fastness
make it a restful, naturalist's para¬
dise. In fall and winter the inner¬
most parts of the great swamp teem
with wild game — bears, deer, and
smaller game are enough to send
any sportsman home for his dogs
and gun.
The rich, amber-colored juniper
water in beautiful Lake Drum¬
mond far back in the swamp, yet
easily reached by a 30-foot wide
"feeder ditch" from Arbuckle’s
Landing, caused Sir Thomas Moore.
( Continued on page 1 7 )
THE STATE. July 30. 1949
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