Impressions of 96 Years Ago
And these impressions, incidentally, were
anything hut flattering so far as the
scenic attractions of North Carolina are
concerned.
JW BOUND volume of all issues
дА
of Gleason's Pictorial Draw-
“im/ Room Companion for the
six months from July to December.
1853. has come to our hands of
late. It is the property of Ed Lyon,
who says the book was found in
the attic of an old building at High
Point some years ago.
Gleason's Pictorial Drawing
Room Companion was published
by F. Gleason. Boston. Mass., and
was rather elaborately and ex¬
pensively printed, with a generous
contribution of hand drawn
sketches and wood cuts. The print
is clear and the style of writing
is rather ornate and elegant,
characteristic of the period. The
subject matter runs all the way
from love stories and essays on a
variety of subjects, to travel and
general reporting. It is an interest¬
ing publication, and one story has
to do with Wilmington. North
Carolina, which at that time was
the largest city in the Tar Heel
state. We quote as follows:
"Wilmington, the chief town of
North Carolina, is situated at the
confluence of two principal
branches of the Cape Fear River,
35 miles from the sea, 148 miles
southeasterly from Raleigh, and
365 miles from Washington. The
first settlements on the Cape Fear
were at Fayetteville and Bruns¬
wick -the former above and the
latter some 15 miles below Wil¬
mington. Brunswick was the prin-
By O. L. MOORE
Publisher The Laurinburu K.rrhnnup
cipal town and seaport of North
Carolina until the settlement of
Wilmington, which first, from its
superior location, became its rival
and then its grave digger.
"Nothing now remains of the
once proud seaport of the state,
but the verdure covered ruins of
the old church, and the founda¬
tion of the palace erected and oc¬
cupied by Tryon. while colonial
governor. There is nothing attrac¬
tive to the tourist in traveling
through the state of North Caro¬
lina; its sandy soil and monotonous
scenery affording but a tiresome
prospect and any change being wel¬
come which relieves the intermin¬
able pine forests.
"Of the western section we can¬
not speak with so much accuracy:
but on a recent trip from Weldon,
on the northern boundary of the
state, to Wilmington, a distance of
162 miles, we were struck with the
unchangeableness of the scene.
There was little to relieve the mo¬
notony of the interminable pine
forest’s and cypress swamps, except
an occasional log cabin, with its
rude inmates, or an occasional col¬
lection of huts with a water tank,
collectively dignified with the high-
sounding name of Washington.
Warsaw, or some other euphonious
title. This immense tract, however,
furnishes the staple commodities
of the state, viz: tar, pitch and
lumber.
"Wilmington although it presents
nothing to attract the attention of
the visitor is a rapidly growing
and healthy place. Its numerous
turpentine distilleries have served
to keep off the epidemics which
might otherwise have been looked
for from its near location to
swampy lands, and for consump¬
tives no atmosphere could be more
beneficial. The accompanying view
is taken from Point Peter (this re¬
fers to a sketch of the Wilming¬
ton waterfront of that day) op¬
posite to the town. In the fore¬
ground is seen the timber pew of
the Point Peter sawmills, while in
the stream are seen a timber raft,
a flat boat with bales of rice straw,
a dugout. or canoe dug out of a
solid log. and other characteristics.
The harbor of Wilmington has a
dangerous shoal at its entrance,
but will admit vessels of 200 tons.
There are two islands, enclosed by
different channels of the river, op¬
posite the town, on which are some
of the finest rice fields of the South.
Wilmington is at the terminus of
the great series of southern rail¬
roads extending from New York,
and branching in various direc¬
tions from the main route."
(Note. — The foregoing article is
from Gleason's issue of Saturday.
July 16. 1853.)
HOW THEY DIVIDE THE BEAR
By BILL SHARPE
Sportsmen participating in or-
( aimed bear hunts in North Caro-
ina often encounter for the first
time the ancient and accepted sys¬
tem of dividing the spoils.
Sometimes a party of 15 or 25
will bag only one or two bears. At
camp, the beast is butchered on the
spot and the meat piled into fairly
equitable lots, one lot to each hunt¬
er. Since some cuts are more de¬
sirable than others, the matter of
distribution is left to chance.
One member of the party is
blindfolded, or merely turns his
back to the piles of bear meat. An¬
other member of the hunt goes
along the row. and. pointing to a
pile of meat chosen at random,
asks: "Who's bear meat is this?”
The blindfolded member sings
out: "John Smith's!" or the name
of some other member of the hunt,
and that pile becomes the meat of
the man so named. And so on un¬
til all the bear meat is divided.
The hide always belongs to the
guide. But since guides usually
have more fur than they want, the
pelt often is put up at auction and
sold to some member of the party,
the money, of course, going to the
guide.
Bear meat is not palatable to all
people, but in the bear country
mountain housewives usually have
recipes which make it tasty. Some
housewives can it. just as they do
pork, and serve it the year around.
It is also cured, but in this form
it is pretty strong for the average
cafe stomach.
THE STATE. AllOUIT 27. 1949
20