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A Chronology of the Cape Fear…

Cape-FearNavigation Company.

------ THE Directors of the Cape Fear Navigation Company, having in discharge of the duties of their appointment, provided Boats, Flats and all necessary fixtures to enable them to carry into effect the provisions of their Charter, and having nearly expended in the purchase of young prime negroes, the balance of the first Instalment on the Stock, are compelled to call on the Stockholders for an additional payment on their respective Shares. They trust, that with the aid of the present requisition, they will be enabled to make not only a profitable advance, towards the clearing of the North West Branch of Cape Fear, from Fayetteville to Wilmington, but such an one as will insure the patronage and interest of the Public at large. The little, that the shortness of the time since they prepared for work, has permitted to be done, justifies ### ### to the Stockholders that the result of their exertions will be beneficial. They therefore give NOTICE, That an instalment of Ten Dollars on each and every share held in the Cape Fear Navigation Company, will be payable to the Treasurer in Fayetteville, on the first Monday in November next, who will on the receipt thereof issue the necessary Scrip. The STOCKHOLDERS will observe that a forfeiture of Shares is provided for by Charter in case of non payment agreeably to Notice.By Order of the Board of Directors,

J. W. Wright, Treasurer.Fayetteville, Sept. 28.

34 5

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Stock for Sale.Cape-Fear Navigation

Stock, offered.Enquire of the Printer.

October 10, 1816 35tf

[The American – Fayetteville, N. C. – Thursday October 17, 1816]

Notice to Flat Builders------

AT the Town House, on Monday the 25th

inst. At 4 o’clock, P. M. will be let to the lowest Bidder, the building of Two Flats for the use of the Cape Fear Navigation Company, of the following description:

48 feet long,10 feet wide,10 feet rake,

Sides 2 feet high, to be made of one piece, or two securing them with wagged bolts. Three Kelsons, each 12 inches wide and 6 inches thick. To be plank’d across with 2 inch plank, and lined fore and aft on inside with 1 ¼ inch plank. Sides to be 5 inches wide on the gunwale, and the ends banded in a sufficient manner with iron. ALSO, the building of two other Flats, on the following description.—

30 feet long,6 feet wide,6 feet rake,

Sides 1 ½ feet high, 3 inches on the gunwale. One Kelson, 5 by 10 inches. To be planked across and lined with 1 1-2 inch boards, inside. Ends banded with iron.

J. W. Wright, Sec’ry.Fayetteville, Nov. 14. 1w

[The American – Fayetteville, N. C. – Thursday November 21, 1816]

W. F. & B. SALTER,Hay-Street,

Opposite Mr. John MacMillan’s,Are receiving by Mr.

Mitchell’s Boat,11 Hhd’s West-India and

Northern RUM15 Bags of COFFEE

SUGARSwedes IRONWindow GLASS.

They are selling their STOCK of Silk, Cotton & Woollen GOODS, at New-York Auction prices.

Fayetteville, Nov. 21. 41tf

[The American – Fayetteville, N. C. – Thursday, December 5, 1816]

Notice. THE Public are respectfully requested to take notice, that in carrying Merchandize or Produce between Wilmington & Fayetteville ### to or from either place, the subscribers will not in future be liable to any of the rules applicable to common carriers, nor be responsible for any loss or damage happening to property placed on board their Boats, unless occasioned by the want of ordinary care and diligence in the commander and crew.

Duncan Thompson,Clark & McNeill,John MacMillan, L. Newby,H. Branson, P. I. Tillinghast, jrWinslow & Huske, James Mitchell,Norman McLeod, Sam’l Pearce &

Co.,James Baker, Will. H.

Bowen,Campbell & Waddill, Kelly &

Evans,McNeill & Kirkland, Yarbrough & Hart,Alexander Campbell.

Fayetteville, Jan. 30, 1817.

[The American -- Fayetteville, N. C. -- January 9, 1817]

Lots for SaleIN HAYWOOD.

THE Cape-Fear Navigation Company having commenced the improvement of the river above Fayetteville, invite the attention of Merchants and Mechanics to the town of Haywood. The lands on which the town is laid out were purchased by the company several years ago, and part of the lots were then sold in considerable number of the residue of the lots will be exposed to sale on the premises, on the 4th and 5th of September next, on a credit of six and twelve months. This town is situate near the centre of the state, at the confluence of the Haw and Deep Rivers, convenient to the greatest part of the tobacco and wheat country which have trades to the Cape Fear. The company expect that within less then two years, a commodious navigation will be opened to this town for boats carrying fifty hogsheads of tobacco. They assure the public that no exertions will be spared on their part to effect this object. Preparations are now making by sundry individuals to erect bridges across the rivers, and to establish extensive Brick Yards at this place. Several Carpenters are about to settle themselves in the town, and the Company hope that persons disposed to establish themselves there will meet with no difficulty in procuring either materials or workmen.

H. BRANSON, President.July 10, 1818 24 7t

[The American -- Fayetteville, N. C. -- Thursday July 23, 1818]

STEAM-BOAT NOTICE,[BOAT IMAGE]

CAPE-FEAR RIVER. THE following arrangement has been adopted for the transportation of produce and merchandize by the Steam-Boat Henrietta, between Fayetteville and Wilmington. Produce will be received on board the Henrietta at Fayetteville, and landed at the Steam-Boat Wharf in Wilmington, free of wharfage in both places—And , if required,

will be received in the Steam-Boat Warehouse in Wilmington, free of storage for the first week; subject, afterwards, to a charge of half the usual rates of storage. Merchandise will be received on board the Henrietta at the Steam-Boat Wharf in Wilmington free of wharfage. Merchandize received at Wilmington, and intended to be forwarded by the Henrietta to Fayetteville, may be landed at the Steam Boat Wharf, and will be received in the warehouse free of charge for wharfage and storage.

RATES OF FREIGHT,INCLUDING TOLL.

Down.Cotton, per Bale, 55Tobacco, “ Hhd., $2 40Flour, “ Bbl. 33Flaxseed, “ Cask, 73

Up.Salt, coarse, per Bushel, 12Ditto, fine, “ do. 10Sugar, over 1250 lbs. Hhd. 325 “ under 1250 “ “ 275Molasses, per Hhd. 275Rum, “ “ 275Iron, “ Ton, 450Boxes and bales, “ Cubic foot 15

JAMES M’KAY & CO. Fayetteville, } TIMOTHY SAVAGE, Wilmington. } AgentsFayetteville, N. C. Nov. 7, 1820. 38 tf The editors of the New York Evening Post, and Charleston Courier are requested to give the above four insertions in their respective papers and forward their accounts to this office for collection.

[Fayetteville Gazette – Wednesday November 22, 1820]

Cape Fear Navigation Company.

PURSUANT to the Provisions of the Act of Incorporation, notice is hereby given, that the Annual meeting of the Stockholders of the Cape-Fear Navigation Co. will be holden at the Town House in Fayetteville on Monday

the 3rd. day of June next, at which time presence of the Proprietors, on {or} their Representatives, is requested.

ROBERT STRANGE, Pres’t. Fayetteville May 1,

[The Gazette -- Fayetteville, NC -- May 29, 1822]

COMMERCIAL REPORTS. ARRIVED—On Sunday, Steam Boat North Carolina, with 29 hhds. molasses; 14 hhds. and 5 bbls. sugar; 6 hhds. and 18 bags coffee; 2 hhds. and 42 bbls. rum; 6 bbls. oil; 6 bags spice; 125 ps. pot metal; 395 bars iron; 80 bundles steel; 296 share moulds; 3 hhds. 8 casks, 221 bbls. and 44 boxes sundries. Tow Boat Eliza Neal, with 1350 bushels salt; and Tow Boat Gen. Jackson, with 1500 bushels salt. The Henrietta departed on the 23d, but we could not obtain the list of freight.

[Carolina Observer – Thursday Morning, March 31, 1825]

We participated, on Tuesday last, in one of the most agreeable parties of pleasure which it has ever been our good fortune to enjoy. Capt. Rush, of the Steam boat Henrietta, had politely invited a number of ladies and gentlemen to take an excursion in the boat about 12 miles up the river. The boat left the wharf a little after 10 o’clock, when about forty ladies and gentlemen had assembled. There being fine music on board, the younger part of the company commenced dancing, in which delightful amusement they were engaged, with such intermissions as pleasure suggested, till the boat returned, at 7 o’clock in the evening. Refreshments, of the best kind, were provided in the greatest profusion. All was enjoyment, all was happiness, no single accident or circumstance occurring to cast a shade on the brow or leave an unpleasant emotion on the heart of any.

We take this brief notice of the excursion, for the purpose of returning the thanks of the company to Capt. Rush, for the very polite and gratifying attentions which they received at his hands.

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COMMERCIAL REPORTS. ARRIVED—On the 1st. inst. Steam Boat Henrietta, with 15 hhds. and 2 bbls. sugar; 27 bags coffee; 2 hdds. and 1 bbl. molasses; 25 bbls. whiskey; 40 bbls. rum; 547 bars Iron, and 3 bundles chains; 201 hides; 30 pieces bagging; 11 rolls leather; 4 crates and 1 cask crockery; 83 boxes, 15 casks, 5 bales, 12 barrels and 19 trunks sundries. Tow Boat Commodore Perry, with 2409 bushels salt and 2 hhds. molasses. DEPARTED—On the 1st. inst. Steam boat North Carolina, with 25 hhds. and 35 kegs tobacco; 247 bales cotton; 299 barrels flour; 14 boxes; 15 barrels; 3 hhds.

[Carolina Observer – Thursday Morning, April 7, 1825]

Labourers WantedOn the CAPE FEAR RIVER, between

FAYETTEVILLE AND WILMINGTON.IT is my intention to recommence the works for the improvement of the Cape Fear river, between Fayetteville and Wilmington, as early as the season will admit. Any number of laborers who choose to apply will find immediate employment. Owners of Negroes will do well to embrace this opportunity of engaging them in a work where the wages are liberal and promptly paid, the provisions are wholesome and abundant and every attention will be paid to their cleanliness and health.

HAMILTON FULTON. March 9.--tf State Engineer

[Carolina Observer – Thursday, June 2, 1825]

MARRIED. In this town, on Tuesday evening last, by the Rev. H. M. Mason, Mr. Doyle O’Hanlon, of Wilmington, to Miss Margaret Mary MacRae, daughter of Duncan MacRae, Esq.

[Carolina Observer – Thursday Morning, October 13, 1825]

The Cape-Fear Navigation Company.—This body held its annual meeting in this town during the last week. The former officers were re-elected, and a dividend of 4 per cent. Payable on the 1st of October next, was declared. We understand, with regret, that the Board of Internal Improvement, ahs as yet, obtained the services of no Civil Engineer, since Mr. Fulton resigned.—Without wishing or intending to impute any possible blame to the distinguished gentlemen who now compose the Board, towards all of whom we entertain the highest respect, we must be allowed to express our fears, that on account of the absence of an Engineer, the affairs of this Company are likely to fall into the same disorder and ruinous state as they were some years ago. It is understood that the Dredging Machine is at work below Wilmington, that two persons are engaged at a salary of $1,000 each, to superintend working hands on the river above Wilmington, and that one hundred labourers are or will be engaged to work under them, and the whole of this work, and all this expenditure, is going on without any Engineer to direct the operations. Will no experience teach us wisdom? Are the resources of the State and the Company always to be frittered away in expenditures which avail nothing? If the Board of Internal Improvement are unable to procure the services of a competent Engineer, it would be much

better, we think, to suspend all work on the river until they can do so, than to employ men who are not Engineers and who will probably do more harm than good.—We are recollect how many thousand dollars were expended on the river while Messrs. Abernathy, & Co. were the superintendants, but none of us can point out any benefit from their work. The truth is, that civil engineering is a science not to be learned in a day, and it is worse than folly to be employing men in that department who know nothing about it. It cannot be denied that the spirit of internal improvement has suffered a retrograde motion in this State. This has been ascribed to the want of success in the works heretofore begun. But is a failure in the beginning to operate as a perpetual bar to further effort? Because complete success has not attended our first designs, are we to retire from the work and abandon it in despair? Will not the example of other countries, and of other States in our country, animate us to further and to higher efforts? Shall we shut our eyes to the splendid example of New York, to what Ohio, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware are doing? Is North-Carolina always to be in the rear of the march towards wealth and improvement? With a hardy, industrious, and patriotic population, with a climate as salubrious as any in the world, with a soil naturally good, and highly susceptible of improvement, with numerous rivers and water courses which might be made navigable, and with a rich treasury, shall we not diligently improve those means which a beneficent Creator has bestowed upon us? Shall we be contented to see our population gradually decreasing by emigration to the Westward, to see our produce waggoned to the neighboring States to build up their towns, or to see it sent to their cities to swell the amount of their exports? If no feeling of personal convenience will animate, us, shall we be insensible to state pride? What North-Carolinian is there who does not feel the glow of mortified pride when he is told that the little State of Maine exports domestic produce, annually, to the value of $964,664,

while our exports are only $553,390? And that Alabama, of yesterday’s growth, exports upwards of $138,500 more than we do? We shall resume this subject again soon.

[North Carolina Journal – Wednesday, June 7, 1826]

In our number of June 7th, in speaking of the Cape-Fear Navigation Company, we expressed our regret, “that the Board of Internal Improvements had not employed a Civil Engineer, and our fears, that for the want of one, the affairs of the Company would again fall into disorder; that two persons, as we understood, were engaged at a salary of $1,000 each to superintend hands working on the River, and that 100 labourers were or would be engaged to work under them.” The information, respecting the superintendants and the labourers, was obtained from a gentleman of the highest respectability, who is a Stockholder in the Company, and was present at the meeting. The matter was openly spoken of both in and out of doors, and formed, we believe, the subject of a memorial or remonstrance from the Company to the Board of Internal Improvements. But the Editors of the Register say that it is “not correct,” that two superintendants of the work on Cape-Fear are engaged at a salary of $1,000 each.” As, we presume, this is semi-official information, we must consider it as correct, though it is a matter past controversy, that the Cape-Fear Company, at their late meeting, believed that Hinton James and Otway Burns, Esquires, were engaged as superintendants at $1,000 each, and that each was to have the charge of a gang of 50 hands; and under the influence of this belief, and of the “fears and apprehensions” of the fallacy of this policy, they unanimously adopted a resolution instructing their Board of Directors to “memorialize the Board of Internal Improvements upon the necessity of procuring a Civil Engineer as soon as practicable, and to represent to them, the probably ruinous consequences to the

interests of the Company, and the cause of Internal Improvements at large, of expending any money in opening the river until a suitable Engineer is employed.’ Thus you see, gentlemen, that “fears and regrets” were not confined to our bosoms, but were felt by all those most immediately interested in the navigation of the Cape-Fear. That the public may understand why the Cape-Fear Navigation Company deemed it expedient to memorialize the Board of Internal Improvements on this subject, it may be necessary for us to state, that in the Session of 1823, the General Assembly passed an act authorizing the Board of Internal Improvements to subscribe, on behalf of the State, the sum of $25,000 to the capital stock of the Cape-Fear Navigation Company, on condition that the Stockholders should give their assent to a reduction of the Capital Stock from its nominal value of one hundred dollars for each share, to a sum not exceeding fifty dollars per share, and that “the President and Directors of the Company shall consent, in writing, that the Board of Internal Improvements shall have the sole and exclusive direction of the operations of the works, the making of contracts for the same, and all the improvements to be made on the River.” Be it remembered, that at this time the State had in its employment an Engineer who stood high in public confidence, and there was every expectation that he or some other Engineer would continue to be employed, until the great work of Internal Improvement was effected.—Under these views, and with these expectations, the Stockholders of the Company did, in February, 1824, accept of the proposition of the State, and upon the required terms; so that from that time, to the present, the Board of Internal Improvements “have had the sole and exclusive directions of the operations of the works, the making of contracts for the same, and all the improvements to be made on the River. “ The Navigation Company know, by dear bought experience, how idle, how worse than idle, how ruinous it is to have “superintendants” working on the river with

a gang of hands under them, unless their operations be directed by a skillful and competent Engineer. Year after year had they ried the experiment, and although their “superintendants” were industrious, and as “intelligent,” and as “efficient” as any which are now employed, it always resulted in abortion and loss—thousands of dollars were spent, and for want of the requisite practical skill, the navigation of the river, instead of being amended, became more dangerous and troublesome. Hence they could not perceive, without regret that the Board of Internal Improvements, even without the lights which their experience had shed upon them, were pursuing the same path which always had led to disappointment and loss. But, say the Editors of the register, “the Board have acted wisely not to engage, at present, a Civil Engineer in the place of Mr. Fulton,” as “neither the affairs of the Cape-Fear Company, nor those of any other Company, will suffer for the want of such an officer—for the following reasons: 1st, Because our last Legislature was decidedly opposed to the employment of an engineer. 2d, Because there is no object at present which calls for the services of one.” In these two reasons we behold a virtual abandonment of the cause of Internal Improvement; and when the Secretary of the Board, who is supposed to speak an official language, justifies the non-employment of an Engineer on the ground “that there is no object at present which calls for one,” well might a Virginia editor exclaim “that North-Carolina had abandoned the subject of Internal Improvements in disgust.” What! Are we to be told that because the last Legislature were opposed to the employment of an Engineer, that therefore the interests of Improvement will not suffer for the want of one? Yielding to this body all the respect due to them, we ask, are they infallible? Is there every act formed in the depths of wisdom?—But if the next Legislature should not be opposed to the employment of an Engineer, will it then be expedient to employ one? Why this versatility of opinion? Why should the march of public improvement be

thus interrupted and disordered to answer temporary purposes? Besides the shock thus given to this all-pervading interest, we conceive that the Stockholders in the Cape-R{F}ear Navigation Company are, by the non-employment of an Engineer, injured in their essential rights; for we state unhesitatingly, that a principal inducement with them in surrendering to the Board of Internal Improvements, the exclusive right of directing the operations on the Cape-Fear River, was the well-grounded expectation, that those operations, and all the contracts for them, would be made and conducted under and by a “competent and suitable Engineer.” In the second reason assigned by the Editors of the Register, why a Civil Engineer is not wanted, we would give, as a sufficient answer for the present, the resolution of the Stockholders of the Navigation Company, before quoted. We have already occupied so much space, that we must defer what we have to say on this point, to another time.

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Freshet.—On Monday last the waters of the Cape-Fear rose ten feet in height, but have fallen so rapidly since as to render the passage of Steam-boats, for Wilmington to this place, still difficult if not impracticable.

[North Carolina Journal – Wednesday, June 21, 1826]

Married, In this Town, on Wednesday the 6th inst. By the Rev. Mr. Hamlin, Mr. JOHN WILKINSON, to Miss ANN MCKENZIE, daughter of Mr. John McKenzie,…

[North Carolina Journal – Wednesday, July 12, 1826]

NOTICE.

AT the annual meeting of the Stockholders of the Cape Fear Navigation Company, in June last, a Dividend of 4 per cent. On the Capital Stock of said Company was declared; which dividend will be payable on the 1st day of October next.JOHN CRUSOE, Treas’r.

Fayetteville, N. C. Aug. 9th, 1826-t21***Editors of the Raleigh Register will please insert the above 9 weeks and forward their account to the subscriber for payment.J. C.

[North Carolina Journal – Wednesday, July 12, 1826]

The Board of Internal Improvements met in this town on Friday last, and the Cape fear Navigation Company also held a meeting on the same day; and after finishing their business, the Members of the Board proceeded, on Saturday morning, in the steam Boat Henrietta, for Wilmington, for the purpose of viewing the river and the work carrying on below Wilmington, and, also, the operations of the dredging machine. Measures were taken for resuming the exertions of the Navigation Company to remove any obstructions which may yet remain to a free navigation between this town and Wilmington. We are informed by the Raleigh Register, that the Board intend visiting the Club Foot and Harlow Creek canal before they return, which they are required to inspect and report on, before the Public Treasurer is authorized to advance the $12,000, loaned to that corporation by the Legislature; and as this tour of examination will detain the Governor from the Seat of Government two or three weeks, persons having business with him can make application to him on his route, or, should the business be urgent, and it not convenient to meet him, they can make application to his Private Secretary at Raleigh, who will dispatch an express to him.

[North Carolina Journal –March 28, 1827]

The Weather.—A great deal of rain has fallen within the last ten days. Serious apprehensions are entertained for the safety of the wheat crops. Accounts from different parts of the country, represent the prospect as rather discouraging. The Cape Fear is now in fine boatable order. The Steam Boats Henrietta and Cotton Plant arrived here on Sunday night.

[North Carolina Journal – Fayetteville, N. C. – May 30, 1827]

JUST RECEIVED,BY THE HENRIETTA,

6 BARRELS JAMISON’S FRESH CRACKERS1barrel fresh Lime JuiceFor sale by

DAVID SHAW.May 27, 1827.—55-3t57

[North Carolina Journal – Fayetteville, N. C. – June 13, 1827]

Wilmington Sept. 23.

Launch.—On Wednesday last, was launched from the Wharf of Mr. John K. McIlhenny, a Steam Boat named the Enterprise, the property of Genl. E. B. Dudley and Mr. J. K. McIlhenny. She is intended to run as a packet between this and Fayetteville; it is contemplated that with all her Machinery on board, she will not draw more than from 20 to 24 inches water, in which case she will be able to run nearly the whole season, we hope that the proprietors will be amply compensated for their ENTERPRISE. Mr. John K. McIlhenny has the greater part of the work finished, for a Machine to beat rice, to be attached to his Steam saw Mill. Messrs. William G. Beatty and Jas. S. Green, are about to erect a Steam Rice Machine to the south of the one already in operation,

owned by Mr. Beatty. When these two get into operation we shall have nine Steam Machines: five Saw Mills, three Rice, and one Grist Mill, in this place.

Reporter.

[Carolina Observer – Thursday Afternoon, October 2, 1828]

DIED,In Chesterville, S. C., on the 9th inst. of a kick from a horse, Mr. JOHN WILKINSON, lately a resident of this town. By this sudden stroke of Divine Providence, an affectionate wife is bereaved of a devoted husband, and two small children of a kind father. He was fully sensible from the reception of his mortal hurt, that he could not survive but a short time. He spoke, being in his senses to the close of life, with composure of his future prospects of happiness. He had been for several years a regular communicant in the church. May this unexpected loss be abundantly sanctified and blessed to all the bereaved!--[Communicated.]

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Steam Boat HENRIETTA.[steamboat image]

THE Subscribers having been appointed Agents for the Henrietta Steam Boat Company, give notice to the Merchants of this place and in the Country, that the Steam Boat is in fine order; the Lighters are good and sufficient, and kept always ready in case of low water. Warehouses at Campbellton are provided for the reception of goods and for the storage of cotton. They assure the public, that every attention and facility will be afforded to render these Boats worthy their patronage. The Subscribers will attend to the receiving and forwarding of Goods to the interior, and to the shipping of Cotton or other produce.

WILLKINGS & CO.October 2, 1828. 91-2m.

[Carolina Observer - Thursday afternoon, Oct. 23, 1828]

COMMERCIAL.-------

Arrived, last evening, the Steam Boat Henrietta, Capt. Rush, with the boat James in tow, to Wilkings & Co., Agents, with a full load of Salt, Sugar, Coffee, dry Goods, &c., to Whitehead & Fuller, C. T. Haigh, James Kyle, H. G. Nelson and others.

------- Departed, Feb 28, Tillinghast’s Boat Eliza, Capt. M’Laughlan with a full load of Wheat and Flour for R. F. Yarbrough, Saml. W. Tillinghast and owner. March 4th, Tillinghast’s Boat Commerce, Capt. Tootle,, with a full load of Flour, Flax seed and Tobacco, for Saml. Tillinghast and owners.

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STEAM-BOAT[steamboat image]HENRIETTA.

THE subscribers having been appointed--Agents for the

Henrietta Steam Boat Company,Give notice to the Merchants of this Place and in the country, that the Steam Boat is in fine order, the Lighters are good and sufficient, and kept always ready in case of low water; Warehouses at Campbellton are provided for the reception of goods and for the storage of Cotton. They assure the public that every attention and facility will be afforded to render these boats worthy of patronage. The subscribers will attend to the receiving and forwarding of goods to the interior and to the shipping of Cotton and other Produce.

WILKINGS & CO.Fayetteville. Sept. 29, 1828 – 25t52

[North Carolina Journal – March 4, 1829]

Married, On Tuesday evening, the 7th inst. At the residence of Mrs. Martha Newberry, in this county, by the Rev. Benjamin Hoskins, Mr. Augustus J. Erambert, of Fayetteville, to Miss Martha Newberry, daughter of the late Isaac Newberry, Esq.

[North Carolina Journal – April 15, 1829]

COMMERCIAL.-------

Arrived on the 11th inst. Steam Boat Henrietta, Capt. Rush, from Wilmington, to Wilkings & Co. (agents,) with Dry Goods, Groceries, Iron, &c. to Horton, Hutton & Co., Jas. Kyle, K. T. Morgan, H. G. Nelson, Wilkings & co. and others, of Fayetteville, Caldeleugh & Dusenbury, of Lexington, # Torrence & Co. of Salisbury, J. C. Hunt, of New Castle, Wm. Lindley, of Cane Creek, W. & T. Carter, of Chatham, and others. Departed, on the 12th inst. Steam Boat Henrietta, Capt. Rush, for Wilmington, with a load of Cotton, Flour, Tobacco, Bacon, &c.

ARRIVALS FROM HAYWOOD. Boat, Clara Fisher, owner Jno. Haralson, with thirty Bales of Cotton, consigned to Jos. Baker. Boats, Polly Hopkins & Pocahontas, owner James Mebane Esq. with 90 Bbls. Flour and 9 Bales of Cotton.

[North Carolina Journal – May 13, 1829]

COMMERCIAL.-------

Arrived, on Friday, the 22d inst. Steam Boat Henrietta, Capt. Rush, with the boats Jackson and Eliza Neal in tow, to Willkings & Co, agents, with Salt, Sugar, Coffee, Groceries, Dry Goods, &c. to C. T. Haigh, Jno.

Huske, Horton, Hutton & Co, K. T. Morgan, Jno. M. Dobbin, Jas. Baker, G. W. McDonald, J. W. Baker, Wm. Nott, Jordan Howell, Henry McLean and F. Smith—also, Turner & Philips, Hillsborough, Johnson & Hargrave of Orange county, J. Small and G. Warmoch, of Pittsborough, and M. Buie. Departed, on the 24th inst. Steam Boat Henrietta, Capt. Rush, with the Eliza Neal in tow, with Cotton, &c.

ARRIVAL FROM HAYWOOD Arrived, on the 26th boat Clara Fisher, belonging to Jonathan Harralson Fl### with Cotton, consigned to Joseph Baker Esq.

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NOTICE. ON Thursday the 28th inst. Will be sold at Public Auction at the Town House in Fayetteville, for Cash, Thirty Four Shares of Cape-Fear Navigation Stock. For further particulars apply to

JOHN CRUSOE.Fayetteville, May 16.—tds.

[North Carolina Journal – May 27, 1829]

COMMERCIAL.-------

Arrived on Friday evening, May 29th, the Steam Boat Henrietta, Capt. Rush, with the Boat James in tow, to Willkings & Co. agents, with Salt, Molasses, Coffee, Crates, Nails, Rice, Sugar, Dry Goods to Tho. J. Curtis, W. Whitehead, Horton, Hutton & Co. L. J. Pardee, Hall & Johnson, R. F. Yarbrough, John M. Dobbin, Thos. Fuller, C. & P. Mallett, Jo. Baker and C. T. Haigh, of this place, Caldeleugh & Duzenbury of Lexington, Jno. Murphy of Salisbury, and Jo. Gales & Son, of Raleigh. Departed, on the 27th ult. Tillinghast’s boat Commerce, with Cotton, Flour, Wheat and Tobacco. Departed, on the 30th ult. J. Waddill, jr’s. boat Post Boy, with Cotton for O. P. Stark;

Flour and Cotton for owner, and Cotton for C. T. Haigh. Departed the Steam Boat Henrietta on Sunday morning, 31st ult.

[North Carolina Journal – June 3, 1829]

Notice.AT a meeting of the President and Directors of the Cape Fear Navigation Company, holden in Fayetteville, on the 21st day of November last, (pursuant to a Resolution of the Stockholders of said Company, passed at their last annual meeting) it was Resolved, that a Dividend of two per cent. On the original capital stock, and on the amount expended by the Board of Internal Improvements, between Fayetteville and Wilmington, be, and the same is hereby declared, payable at my Office in Fayetteville, on the first day of February next.

JOHN CRUSOE, Treas’r.December 14, 1829. 54t1F.

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Take Notice.WHEREAS, persons owning lands on the banks of the Cape Fear River do frequently, and contrary to law, fall timber into the said river, and thereby obstruct the navigation, and involve the Cape Fear Navigation company in considerable expense in removing the same—Therefore, this is to give notice, that from and after this time, the said company are determined to prosecute to the uttermost extent of the law, all persons so offending; and reward of Five Dollars will be paid, on conviction, of any person giving information of the same to the Subscriber. By order of the President and Directors.

JOHN CRUSOE, Agent.December 17, 1829. 54-2m.

[Carolina Observer – Thursday Morning, December 24, 1829]

----------INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT.

----------REPORT

Of James Mebane, Esq., concerning the Works on the Cape Fear River, for the year 1829.

-------To the President and Directors of the Board

For Internal Improvements in NorthCarolina.

GENTLEMEN: As Superintendent of the public works on the Cape Fear River during this year, it has become my duty to give you some account of the progress made in that work. I would in the first place remark that the difficulties we have had to contend with, have been greater than we had anticipated. The first and not the least of these, I would mention, was that of obtaining and keeping in the service good hands. Having learned by the experience of last year, that it was very difficult to have employed, at all times, a sufficient force of good able hands, by hiring them monthly, and that it was very difficult to keep white hands under proper discipline, I made an effort to hire negro men by the year; and for that purpose got agents to attend the negro hirings in most of the counties near the works; but had the mortification to learn, that guardians and owners would not hire their hands to work in the water, and was then compelled to hire such hands, and for such periods of time, as I could, but in no instance for less than one month. Hence it happened that we had many very indifferent hands, and their time would often expire and they leave us by the time they would become much skilled in their work; and if they could learn that we considered them as good hands, and the work was pressing, they would demand an increase of pay, or leave us. Another serious obstacle to the progress of our work, was high freshets in the river, which prevented the hands from working for

many whole days, and some weeks, during the spring and summer months. This was accompanied by sickness, which prevailed among the hands at one time, to an alarming degree; so much so, that several of them forsook the works. We lost two by sickness, and had the misfortune to have one drowned. But notwithstanding these difficulties, I trust it is not going too far to say, that very important improvements have been made during this year on the Cape Fear river between Fayetteville and Haywood. Indeed we have a tolerable good navigation the whole distance between these two places, which is probably by water near sixty miles. For although much remains to be done before the navigation is as good as it can and ought to be made for boating, but especially for rafting; yet all those places in the river, which have formerly been viewed as the worst, or so bad that they could not be rendered navigable, are completed, and can now be safely passed in boats either down or up stream. And what remains to be improved, are very many places, which although not near as bad or difficult to improve as those which have been completed, will yet require a great deal of work. It is doubtless very well known to your honorable Board, that the lands on and near the Cape Fear river and its branches, are covered with an immense quantity of the most valuable timber, and that for many years great quantities, both in plank and scantling, as well as in tun {??} timber, from near and below Averasborough, have been rafted to Wilmington. Very few have ever attempted to descend the whole of Smylie’s Falls on rafts; and of the few that have made the attempt, all have done so at the risqué of their lives, and frequently with the loss of their rafts. I have not heard that any have ever attempted to descend Buckhorn Falls on rafts. Hence it has so happened, that those people who live below these Falls, have enjoyed the advantage of sending their lumber to Wilmington by water, such as reside above them, have been entirely cut off from this market. There is no obstruction

to the passage of rafts down any part of the Cape Fear in time of high water, but what is called Smylie’s and Buckhorn Falls. These obstructions are numerous large points of rocks, which project above the water at its common height, in some instances six or eight feet, but gradually less. They appear in different places for some two or three miles in Smylie’s Falls, and probably for one fourth or one half a mile in Buckhorn Falls. Rafting in Cape Fear is never attempted above Fayetteville but in time of high waters and all that is necessary to give the rafts a safe passage over these Falls will be to blast off the tops of these rocks level with common winter water, in a proper direction, so as to form a clear passage of something more than one hundred feet in width. Some of the raftsmen say that the sluice should be so wide that a raft, when the foremost end happens to strike a rock, should have sufficient space to wheel quite round, for they cannot be stopped in these rapids; and if in wheeling the other end should also strike a rock, the raft must be destroyed or broken, and the lives of the hands endangered.-- It has been found on examination, that these projecting rocks are generally surrounded by deep water, so that after they are shattered by a proper use of gunpowder, they can, by means of iron crowbars, be easily thrown into the water, where they will be entirely out of the way. This work can be done when the weather is too cold and the water too deep to work in the boat sluices, and when the hands could not be otherwise well employed.—On this account many of the projecting rocks in Smylie’s Falls have been blasted off during the past season. And it would seem, that for this reason, as well as for the great importance of the work, a raft as well as a boat navigation should be made on this river. But it is believed, that although the balance of the funds now on hand may be sufficient to complete the boat navigation to Haywood, it will not be equal to the expense of making a raft navigation also. Whilst speaking of what remains to be done on this river, I hope it will not be considered as going beyond my

province, if I solicit the attention of the Board to the branches of the Cape Fear above Haywood. It seems to be admitted generally, that the Cape Fear is one of the most important rivers of our State, and has justly, heretofore, obtained the first attention of our Legislature; and that although much money hath been wasted by unskillful and badly directed measures yet that, at this time, it is in a progressive state of improvement, which promises, at no distant day, to realize the hopes of the friends of Internal Improvement in our State; and to make it what it seems by nature to have been intended for, the great thoroughfare, through which all the produce of the middle, and many of the western counties of this State will be conveyed to the Atlantic. From Wilmington to Fayetteville, we have an excellent navigation for vessels properly constructed, and from Fayetteville to Haywood, enough has been done to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt to those who will take the trouble to inform themselves properly, that, as good a descending, and not very inferior ascending navigation will soon be had for the kind of boats suited to such rivers.—Above Haywood we have the Deep and Haw rivers, and New Hope creek; all of which are capable of being made navigable for many miles. The Deep river, in its course, approaches the Yadkin and affords, probably, the most convenient route through which to turn the products of the country bordering on that stream to a market within the State. The Haw river is a rocky stream, but will, at no great expense, afford a pretty good sluice navigation for many miles. The New Hope creek is a deep flat stream, with very little fall, with no obstructions to the passage of boats for a great part of the year, but logs which have either fallen or been thrown into it, and a few mill dams, and can easily be made navigable to a spot within nine miles of Hillsborough. One powerful inducement to improve this stream, is the immense quantity of excellent timber which grows on and near its banks, especially of white and red oak of the best quality for staves. The people living on and

near this stream, encouraged by the certain prospect of good navigation from Haywood to Fayetteville, have lately held several public meetings, with a view, in some way, to effect its improvement; but it is doubtful whether they will be able to complete so large and important a public work without the aid of the Legislature and the Board of Internal Improvements. It is well known to your Board that these streams are all included within the charger of the Cape Fear Navigation Company; and it is equally well known that that company has not the improvement of the river under its control, and that its funds are by no means equal to its completion. Would it not, then, be best that it should be called upon to surrender these branches of the river either to the State, or such other companies as the General Assembly may incorporate for their improvement? Or that instead of dividing the tolls collected on the river among the Stockholders, they apply them to the improvement of the several branches thereof, under the direction of your Board? But before this can be cone, the General Assembly must consent that the dividends accruing to the State from stocks held in this company, and now appropriated to the Literary Fund, may be applied to his subject also.--But I must leave this subject to those who have entrusted to them the power of providing the ways and means of promoting the internal improvement of the State, and proceed to give you a more particular account of the work done on the river this year. On the 17th day of January, Mr. Keen, the overseer of this work, arrived at Buckhorn Falls, with his family, and about the 21st

commenced building cabins for the hands, and a smoke house to preserve his provisions. By the last of January, we had about twenty-five hands, and the number fluctuated from twenty to near forty; but we usually had about thirty. As soon as the necessary houses were built, they began to get timber for the locks, and to excavate the lock pits and basins. The following is an

account of the work of different kinds: Excavated 3 lock pits, 98 feet long and twenty-five feet wide; the upper one 4 feet deep; the middle one 8 feet deep; and the lower one 8 feet deep likewise. Nearly all this excavating, as well as that of the basins, was done in a very close, compact white flint gravel, which nothing but a sharp pointed pick would penetrate. Some part of the middle lock, and 4 feet of the lower one, for the whole length, had to be blasted through very hard rock. From the lower lock to the river on Buckhorn creek, blasted 3 feet deep, 13 feet wide, and twenty-five feet long. Excavated 2 basins; the one extending from the upper end of the lower lock to the lower end of the middle one, is 32 by 28 yards. The upper basin, at the entrance of the upper lock, is 34 by 25 yards. Thirty-six feet on one side of this basin, and cross the old canal, is secured by a stone wall of solid masonry thirty-six feet long, well puddle in front. Likewise made an embankment on the upper side of the locks, level with the bank of the canal, which extends towards the river 60 yards, and up the canal forty yards, protecting the locks from any freshet that may overflow the low grounds between the canal and the river. The canal was nearly full of drift wood, which with the great quantity of mud and gavel that had washed into it for the fifteen years that have passed since it was dug, was cleared out for 700 yards, and several hard rocks, that had been left when this canal was first made, were blasted, and with many loose rocks, taken out. Built three locks 98 feet long, ten feet wide and ten feet high, having about four feet left each, so as to overcome a fall of 15 feet, all the posts, plates and gate frames of the locks are of good lightwood, and all the plank of the best heart pine, without sap, well kiln dried, and nailed on with twenty penny nails. Besides this, there has been a considerable quantity of work done at [at – repeated] Buckhorn Falls, in repairing the dams across the Buckhorn creek, the many sluices that make into the river, and the dam that extends across the river, to one end of which was added 30 feet. Since the locks were

completed covered boats have passed through them both up and down, and they promise to answer the purpose for which they were intended very well. After the locks were completed, the hands were removed to Smylie’s Falls, near Averasboro, where they had in the first place, to erect a house for Mr. Keen’s family, a smoke house and kitchen; and then, whenever the water was low enough, they were engaged in blasting rocks, and making sluice dams, &c. The following is an account of the work done on that part of the falls called Stewart’s Stand, or Hodge’s Falls: Built one towing wall of stone, 252 feet long, 4 feet high, 6 feet wide at the bottom and 4 at top, laid in rough masonry. One wing dam on the left hand, 36 feet long; one on the right hand, 52 feet long; two left hand do, one 194 fee long, and the other 50 feet do. Blasted and cut out a channel 200 yards, 50 of which was done last year. Blasted down, at the same place, three large ledges, and some points of rocks for raft navigation. One of these ledges was eight feet high, 50 feet long and 20 feet wide. At the place called Harralson’s Landing—Built one towing wall of stone, 342 feet long, six feet wide at bottom and four at top, laid on rough masonry; one side wall, averaging three feet wide and three feet high, 605 feet long, built of the same materials, and in the same manner; blasted a channel through hard stone, 300 feet long and 12 feet wide, averaging two feet deep; cut and quarried through a soft rock and gravel, 300 feet long, averaging two feet deep and 12 feet wide; blasted down one ledge, 60 feet long 30 feet wide and 3 feet high, for rafts. One day’s work with 27 hands, blasting and removing large stones and pulling up fish stands and dams. At Shaw’s Falls—Built one towing wall, 204 feet long, 6 feet wide at bottom and 4 as top, and five feet high; one side wall, 50 feet long; cut out a channel in soft rock, 15 feet wide, 204 feet long, averaging two feet deep; blasted down 3 large ledges and some points of rocks for raft navigation. Having

now completed the last very bad place in Smylie’s Falls, the hands were removed to a fall near Norrington’s mill, where they made 1 set wing dams, 6 set hand dams, 100 feet long; eight hand dams, 40 feet long; one side dam, 42 feet long; one do. 164 feet long; one check dam, 155 feet long; one ledge about 3 feet long and 10 feet wide. Blasted through the Harmon rock ledge, 12 feet wide, 12 inches deep and 15 feet long; and removed some gravel, logs and promiscuous rocks, by blasting, for one half mile. Soon after the work at Norrington’s mill was completed, it became necessary to dismiss the hands, for this year, on account of the sicknessof Mr. Keen, the overseer. I have now, gentlemen, given you a general description of the work done on the Cape Fear this year, although many small pieces of work are omitted. The amount of expenditure, including about five hundred dollars expended the last year, and for which vouchers had not been obtained previous to my settlement with the Board in November, 1828, is $4,759.45, exclusive of one or two small sums for which I have not had it in my power to procure vouchers, and which, when obtained, will be very inconsiderable. I flatter myself that the work done has been both well planned and executed, and that it is in a great degree proportionate to the expense. For whatever success may have attended the labors of this year, we are much indebted to the practical knowledge, persevering industry and integrity of Mr. Keen, the overseer. All the boats and canoes belonging to the Company, are secured in the basin, at the entrance of the locks; and the tools, tents, iron, steel, gun-powder and provisions, on hand when the hands were dismissed, are carefully put away in a secure house at Buckhorn Falls, and will be ready for use whenever the works may be resumed. I remain, gentlemen, most respectfully, your obedient servant,

JAMES MEBANE, Superintendent.

[North Carolina Journal – Fayetteville, NC – January 6, 1830]

Duncan G. MacRae,Steam Boat Agent, Wilmington, N. C.

Has a large Wharf with convenient Ware Houses, for the storage of cotton and other produce.December 16, 1829. 55-4w

[Carolina Observer – Thursday Morning, January 7, 1830

TAKE NOTICE.THE Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of the Cape Fear Navigation Company will be holden in Fayetteville on Friday the 4th day of June next, at which time and place, the Stockholders are requested to attend either in person or by proxy.

JAMES MEBANE, President. April 28th, 1830. -t’12

------- A meeting of the President and Directors of the Cape Fear Navigation Company, will be holden in Fayetteville, on Thursday, the 3d day of June next.—Members of the Board are particularly requested to be punctual in their attendance. By order

JOHN CURSOE, Sec’y. April 28th, 1830. ***Editors of the Raleigh Register will insert this and send a paper to Jas. Mebane, Esq. Mason Hall, Orange County.

[North Carolina Journal – Fayetteville, NC – May 12, 1830]

The Cape Fear Navigation Company had their annual meeting in this Town last week. We understand that the Stockholders determined to declare no Dividend for the last twelve months.

All the officers of the Company, of the last year, were re-elected, except John Crusoe, Esq., Agent and Treasurer, who declined re-appointment. George McNeill, Esq., was appointed in his stead.

[North Carolina Journal – Fayetteville, NC -- June 9, 1830]

Cape Fear Navigation Company.------

COLLECTION OF TOLLS.WHERAS the Cape Fear Navigation company at a general annual meeting of the Stockholders, held in Fayetteville, July 1819, proceeded to establish, in conformity to the provisions of the charter, the following Rates of Tolls upon commodities transported on the Cape Fear, between Fayetteville and Wilmington, of which public notice was at the time given. All persons whom it may concern, will therefore[pointing finger image>] TAKE NOTICE, That from and after this date, agreeable to a Resolution of the President and Directors of said Company, the lower edge of Tillinghast’s Landing, on the Cape Fear River, at Campbellton, is fixed on as the point at which all Boats ascending and descending the river between Fayetteville and Wilmington, shall pay the Tolls levied by the Ordinance aforesaid. The amount of Tolls estimated at the annexed Rates, will be required to be paid to the Agent and Collector of the Company by the master or owner, before the boat will be permitted to pass. And in order to facilitate the collection of the tolls, and prevent delay of the boat, it is required of the Skipper or owner of the boat, to keep a correct list of the freight taken on board, a true transcript of which must be delivered to the Agent and Collector at the point designated. On failure to comply with these requisitions, the boat will be subject to detention, and the expense of the examination will be a charge against the owner of the boat, to be collected with the tolls. The following section of the charter will

be rigorously enforced against every oat attempting to pass without paying the tolls, to wit: “And if any vessel shall pass without paying the tolls, then the said Collectors respectively, may lawfully seize such boat or vessel, and sell the same at auction for ready money, after advertising the sale at least ten days; the money arising from which sale, so far as is necessary, shall be applied towards paying the said tolls and all expenses of seizure and sale, and the balance, if any, shall be paid to the owner; and the person having the direction of such vessel shall be liable for such tolls if the same is not paid by the sale aforesaid.”The following are the Rates of Tolls established by the Company, to wit:RATES OF TOLL DOWN THE RIVER.On each and every hhd. Of Tobacco, 20 cts.

bale of Cotton, 10barrel of Flour ,

3bushel of Wheat, 1bushel of Corn, 1barrel of Spirits, 5cask of Flaxseed, 7

All other articles 10 per cent. On the amount of freight, to be established from the printed Rates of the 7th August, 1825.RATES OF TOLL UP THE RIVER.On each and every bushel of Salt,

1 ct.On each and every pipe or hhd. of Spirits

} Sugar, Molasses, Crockery, Hardware,

} 25 Dry Goods, or other articles, }On each and every ton of bar Iron,

20barrel of Merchandize, 5tierce of ditto, 10tierce of Lime, 5

Dry Goods and other packages of Merchandize on articles not enumerated, 10 per cent. On the amount of freight, by the printed Rates of the 7th August, 1825. By order of the Company,

GEO. McNEILL, Agent.September 16, 1830. ||94-6w.||

[Carolina Observer – Thursday Morning, September 23, 1830]

MARRIED. In this vicinity, on Sunday evening, the 26th ult., by Rev. Mr. McInnis, Capt. BENJAMIN RUSH to Miss ETTA K. MOONEY.

[Carolina Observer – Tuesday Evening, July 5, 1831]

To Country Merchants and Planters.[steamboat image] THE Proprietors of the Henrietta Steamboat Company having large and commodious Wharfs and Ware Houses in Campbellton, their Agent in Fayetteville will receive and forward Produce to Wilmington, and Goods from Wilmington for Country Merchants and others free of Storage, Wharfage and Commissions, if shipped in the Company’s boats. All Goods and Produce landed on the Company’s Wharf in Wilmington, and shipped on board the Company’s boats, will be free of wharfage and storage. Produce stored in the Company’s Warehouses, and not shipped by their boats, will be charged two thirds rates.

JOHN CRUSOE, Fayetteville,JEREMIAH LIPPITT, Wilmington,

Agents.Fayetteville, 22 August, 1831.

42-2m

[Carolina Observer – Fayetteville, NC – Wednesday Morning, August 24, 1831]

A new steam boat, called the John Walker, was launched at Wilmington, (N. C.) on the 10th inst. She is a large boat, and is intended to ply between that place and Fayetteville, and occasionally tow vessels to sea.

Charles. Gaz

[Carolina Observer – Fayetteville, NC – Wednesday Morning, November 23, 1831]

Notice. ALL Persons are hereby notified, that we the Subscribers, Proprietors of the Henrietta Steam Boat Company, have given a general Power of Attorney, to Mr. John Crusoe, to settle the affairs, and to act in future as our Agent to manage the concerns of said Company.

BENJAMIN RUSH,SAMUEL F. NELSON.

Fayetteville, August 4th, 183140-tf

[Carolina Observer – Fayetteville, NC -- Wednesday Morning, December 14, 1831]

The new Steam Boat John Walker, Capt. Patrick, from Wilmington, made her first appearance here, on Saturday last. We had ### to pay her a visit, but it is agreed on ###nds that she is calculated to make a valuable addition to the means of communication ### our sister town. She departed on Monday for Wilmington.

The Henrietta, Capt. Taws, which arrived Monday forenoon, brought goods which had been shipped from New York only five days before. She unloaded nearly a full cargo, and ### again on her way to Wilmington the same ###ng, having been stopped here only about ###n hours. We hope Judge Seawell will #### himself of these facts, when he makes his next speech on the subject.

[Carolina Observer – Fayetteville, NC – Wednesday Morning, December 21, 1831]

Notice.

THE Boat ELIZA NEAL and FURNITURE, attached to the Steam Boat John Walker, and used as a tender for the conveyance of freight, having been seized by the Cape Fear Navigation Company, agreeably to the provisions of its charter, for a forfeiture incurred by a refusal to pay the Tolls due theron, the said Boat will be exposed to sale at the Campbellton Landing, on Saturday, the 21st inst., at 12 o’clock, to satisfy the debt due to the Company. Terms of Sale cash.

GEORGE McNEILL,Agent of the Cape Fear Nav. Company.

January 11, 1832. 63.

[Carolina Observer – Fayetteville, NC – Wednesday Morning, January 18, 1832]

NOTICE.ALL persons are hereby notified, that I the Subscriber have given a general power of Attorney to John Lippitt, to act in future as my agent.

SAM. F. NELSON.December 31, 1831. 61 3m.

------

Notice is hereby given,THAT the power of Attorney appointing John Crusoe Agent of the Henrietta Steam Boat Co., and signed by Benjamin Rush & S. F. Nelson, proprietors of said Company, is revoked as far as respects the Subscriber’s interest in said Company.

SAM’L F. NELSON,Per JOHN LIPPITT, Attorney.

January 3, 1832. 61-tf.

------

[pointing finger image] NOTICE.—The public are hereby notified, that Mr. John Crusoe is the sole Agent of the Henrietta Steam Boat Company, and that he is alone authorized to make contracts, and receive payments for freights. Persons having

transactions with the Company, will please govern themselves accordingly, as no other agency, or authority will be recognized as valid.

BENJAMIN RUSH,For the Henrietta Steam Boat Company.

Fayetteville, Jan. 4. 62-tf.

[Carolina Observer – Fayetteville, NC -- Wednesday Morning, January 25, 1832]

STEAMBOAT STOCK for sale.[steamboat image] On Monday, the 2d day of April next, will be sold at Public Auction at the Town House in Fayetteville, on half of the HENRIETTA STEAM BOAT, her three Tow Boats, CLARENDON, ONLY SON, and MESSENGER, and the Flat SPIDER, being one-half of the Capital Stock of the Henrietta Steam Boat Company, incorporated in 1827 and 1828, for twenty-one years. The above Stock will be sold in any number of Shares to suit purchasers. The Henrietta has undergone a thorough repair last Fall, and the Tow Boats are all nearly new and in good repair. Any information required can be obtained by application to the Subscriber. Terms made known at sale.

JOHN CRUSOE, Attorneyof B. Rush, Proprietor.

Fayetteville, February 6, 1832.66ts.

------

[pointing finger image] NOTICE.—Persons having claims against the Henrietta Steam Boat Company, will please present them to the Subscriber on or before the 15th day of March next.

JOHN CRUSOE, Ag’t H. S. B. CO.Fayetteville, February 6, 1832.

66ts.

[Carolina Observer – Fayetteville, NC – Tuesday Evening, February 7, 1832]

Important Decision. – At our Sup’r Court now in session, Judge Norwood presiding, came on the trial of an Indictment, State vs. the Captain and Agent of the John Walker Steam Boat, for an Assault and Battery, alleged to have been committed by them on a person employed by the Agent of the Cape Fear Navigation Company, in assisting him to enforce the collection of Tolls, by a seizure of the Boat. A verdict was rendered for the State subject to the opinion of the Court, on a case agreed. The facts, so far as we could gather them, were these:

The Collector of the tolls, who is also the general Agent of the Company, had demanded the tolls due by the Boat, on merchandize brought up the river from Wilmington to Fayetteville, at a point below Campbellton Landing, which had been designated by the Company as the place where tolls should be collected, and which was well known to the Captain of the boat. The boat refused when hailed to come to, but proceeded on her voyage, until she arrived at the wharf, her usual place of discharging her cargo. The collector went on board the boat immediately, the next morning, accompanied by force, he again went on board to enforce the collection, by a seizure with intent to sell the boat for the dues then unpaid. He was resisted by the Defendants, and the assault and battery was committed which was the subject of the Indictment.

The case turned principally upon the Constitutionality of that part of the charter, which gives to the Company the right of enforcing the collection of the Tolls by a seizure and sale of the Boat. A variety of questions arose in the progress of the cause, involving the true construction of the act of 1815 (the act incorporating the Company;)

and whether if the Legislature had a right Constitutionally to grant such a power, the authority had been regularly exercised. For it was admitted that if the Legislature had power to pass the Act, and the provisions contained in it, had been strictly pursued, the Collector was justified in his entry upon the Boat, and the Defendants would be Guilty.

It was contended on behalf of the Defendants, among other things, — that the Boat could not be seized for the tolls due on the merchandize conveyed in her: — that the right to exact tolls accrued to the Company, only from the use of the Canals, Locks, and Sluices, and as there were no artificial constructions of this description on the Cape Fear, between Fayetteville and Wilmington, tolls could not be demanded for using the ordinary navigation of the river: — that if the seizure was not made before the boat passed the point designated for the collection of tolls, she could not be seized after she had been suffered to pass, and had arrived at her place of destination: — and that as the Act incorporating the Cape Fear Navigation Company, had copied certain sections, and re-enacted them, of the Roanoke Charter, and in the clause of that Act authorizing the collection tolls had designated “a point at or near the Falls on Roanoke” and no other, the Cape Fear Company was confined to that place, and would be held to a strict construction of her powers, as to the time, place, and manner, in which the franchise granted to her, should be exercised.

On all these points, his Honor Judge Norwood was against the Defendant. But on the main question, whether the act of incorporation, as to this remedy given for collection, did not contravene the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, he agreed with the Defendants, and gave judgment in their favor. His Honor remarked, that in his opinion the Legislature had transcended their authority, in conferring on the Company a power to collect their tolls by a seizure and sale, as it

had the effect of constituting them Judges in their own cause, and enabled them to ascertain for themselves the amount of their demand, and issue execution for their debt, without affording to the other party an opportunity of controverting their claim, or contesting its lawfulness, either as to the sum demanded, or the manner of enforcing it. — That he had no doubt that it was competent for the Legislature to have directed a seizure of the Boat, on a failure to pay the tolls, if it had taken care to have secured to the Boat owner some mode by which he might have had his defence heard and passed upon. If for instance, it had allowed the party whose property was seized to replevy , and upon giving security at appear to the County Court, where he might have an issue made up, and tried by a Jury, before he was divested of the possession of his property, it would have clearly been within the constitutional scope of the Legislature. But as by this summary made of proceeding, the right of Trial by Jury had been in fact, and virtually denied to the defendants, the Law, so far as this particular remedy was concerned, was unconstitutional, and therefore void. The Judge also noticed argument which had been urged for the prosecution, that the State , being largely interested as a joint corporator, and having assumed to herself by the act of 1823, the entire control and management of the improvements on the river, and deriving from it a considerable revenue for the support of Government, might direct the mode in which that revenue should be collected, in the same manner, as she enforces any other branch of taxation. But in reply, he denied that the State had any right to delegate her sovereignty in this particular to any individuals, — that she could not authorize any corporation, whether public or private, to collect money to be expended upon other than public purposes; — and that her interest in the Company constituted her no more than an individual private corporator.

We do not pretend to give any thing more than a mere outline of his Honor’s argument. The case, we understand, will go up to the Supreme Court, and its final decision will settle the law upon a point, which it is important to the rights of the Company which it is important to the rights of the Company and the Boat owner, should be clearly understood.

[Carolina Observer – Tuesday Evening, May 15, 1832]

Wilmington, Aug. 11, 1832.[steamboat image] THE Subscriber returns his thanks to all those that have given him freight between Wilmington and Fayetteville of their own free will and accord. The Fall Goods are now coming on—the Steamer John Walker has started this day and will continue to run while the water holds up. Every exertion will be used to take the freight up, as it is a known fact the injury to goods lying in boats on the river, is not only a great risk to the owner of the Goods but a serious loss on account of the delay, and my opinion is, that the goods are more safe lying in the ware house than tied up in a boat lying on the river that cannot stem a freshet. I offer you a new Boat, with a skilful Captain, that does not draw but 36 inches with a common load in, and with her hold full and a deck load on, does not exceed four feet. I hold myself responsible for the good condition of my boats as well as the good conduct of her officers, every thing connected shall be properly attended to, dangers of the river excepted. No distinction will be made about freight, light or heavy—it will be taken as it comes, without any Jockeying; for hereafter to obtain freight. I hereby feel it a duty to state to shippers of Cotton, I care not who it comes to, who it came from, or in whose boat it came down, it is notorious that it lays on the wharves in Wilmington taking in the rain to the injury of

the grower, the owner and the market that the article goes from. I am preparing to put up suitable sheds for the protection of this valuable article from the weather: the advantage to be derived from this plan the Country Merchant is as well aware of as I can inform him. The Agent for the Steam Boat Mr. D. G. MacRae will receive and ship at the same rates as other consignees are in the habit of doing, it matters not whether it comes in my boats or others, the business will be promptly and effectually attended to. Opposition is the life of trade and I like a fair one, I cannot afford to work for nothing, neither can my agents. Another important question—but I am the principal in this; about the payment of freight—some of my acquaintances have been very slack in stays—they will take due notice, I am to be paid for freight on its being called for, as soon as the bills can be made out after delivery. Rates of freight the same as published in April last. For the faithful performance of what I promise I refer all that want information to

GEN. E. B. DUDLEY, P. K. DICKINSON,J. K. McILHENNY, A. & J. MACRAE.

DOYLE O’HANLON.

August 27. 96-2m.

[Carolina Observer – Fayetteville, NC – Tuesday Evening, October 9, 1832]

Cape Fear Navigation Company. THE ANNUAL MEETING of Stockholders in this Company will be held in the town of Fayetteville, on Friday 29th inst., (May.)

JAMES MEBANE, Pres’t.May 5th, 1835. 35-6w

------

NOTICE. A MEETING will take place at Haywood, on Tuesday 26th May, 1835, with the view of forming a new Company to render the Cape Fear River and its tributary streams

navigable above Fayetteville. Such persons as feel an interest in effecting the same, are requested to attend said meeting.Haywood, 24th April, 1835. 34-tw.

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday Evening, May 19, 1835]

Notice to Merchants and Consignees.

WHEREAS, difficulties have arisen on the subject of the delivery of Goods at the Fayetteville Boat Landing, the undersigned, engaged in the transportation of Goods, in boats of various descriptions on the Cape Fear River, deem it proper to remind all whom it may concern, that their undertakings in transporting Goods from Wilmington on the River extending farther than the Fayetteville Boat Landing. We therefore give this Public Notice, that after the delivery of Goods the regularly licensed Town Wagons, Drays and Carts, and to all other vehicles used commonly for the transportation of Goods from the Fayetteville Boat Landing to the Town, that our undertaking is fully completed. Furthermore, we invite all persons who do not approve of this disposition of their Goods on their arrival at the Boat Landing, to come forward by themselves or by other persons whom they may authorize, and receive their Goods in person at the place of discharge. We hereby express our willingness to adapt any other plan for the delivery of Goods which Merchants and Consignees may think proper to adopt or suggest, so that the same may operate generally, and accomplish the desired end with the most beneficial consequences to all concerned, provided that no further burdens or inconveniences are thereby imposed upon us, to extend beyond the undertakings we are lawfully bound to perform, in the prosecution of the boating business on the Cape Fear River. After this Notice we ##### the trouble of hunting up Goods which have been our #####ed in ###### #### our

willingness to give such information as all times our Books may afford.

DOYLE O’HANLON,#. #. TILLINGHAST,HALL & JOHNSON.

October 12, 1835. ####

[Fayetteville Observer – October 13, 1835]

Take Notice.THE public are hereby notified, that we the Subscribers, Proprietors of the Capital Stock of the Henrietta Steam Boat Company, have nominated, constituted, and appointed James Hart and A. W. Horton, Esquires, our true and lawful Attorneys for us, and in our names, to receive all moneys due said Company, and grant #### for the same, and to pay all moneys due by said Company. All persons having claims will please present them at as early an opportunity, as possible, to those gentlemen.

BENJ’N RUSH,JOHN CRUSOE.

January 9, 183519tf.

------

Cape Fear Navigation Company.A DIVIDEND of ONE DOLLAR per share on the capital stock, will be paid on the 1st

September at the Office of GEO. McNEILL, Treasurer.

July 7, 1835. 44tf

[Fayetteville Observer – October 27, 1835]

COMMERCIAL RECORD.-----

ARRIVED, Jan. 31st. Steamer Wilmington, of the New York line, with lighter Peter Ross in tow, with Molasses and Salt, for Wilkings & Belden, and others. Also, Jan. 28th, Steamer Henrietta with Messenger and Only Son, in tow, with Goods,

for sundry persons of this place and the interior.

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday, February 2, 1837]

COMMERCIAL RECORD.-----

ARRIVED, Feb. 2d, Steamer Clarendon, with Passengers; and goods, for C. J. Orrell, Thos. J. Jordan, Willkings & Belden, Geo. McNeill, Beverly Rose, and James Sundy, of this place, and for J. Small, W. & A. Stith, Thos. Hill, and f. J. Swann, of the Interior.

-------

SACK SALT.1135 SACKS of Liverpool Salt now landing from the Steamboat Wilmington,

for sale byWILLKINGS & BELDEN.

Dec. 28. 21-tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday, February 9, 1837]

STEAMER CLARENDONAnd Tow Boats.

FOR FREIGHT OR PASSAGE,Apply to

C. J. ORRELL, Ag’t.Feb. 22, 1836 29tf.

-------

Steamer Cotton Plant.[steamboat image] THE new Steamer Cotton Plant, in connection with suitable Tow Boats, will commence operating on the Cape Fear River in fifteen or twenty days. The Proprietor is now constructing on the River bank a commodious Warehouse, where Goods and Merchandise, to and from the Interior, may be stored, free of charge and in comparative safety from the danger of Fire. Such fixtures will be connected with the Warehouse as to land goods in better order than formerly, and without incurring the expense of drayage. The Cotton Plant is entirely new, with a draft of water adapted to the River navigation, and offers to the public the surest and most convenient mode of Transportation. Goods and Merchandize will be received and forwarded at the customary rates by

DOYLE O’HANLON.Agent at Wilmington, N. C.

THOS. SANDFORD & CO.Agent at Fayetteville, N. C.

Fayetteville, March 10, 1837.32tf

The Charlotte Journal, Salisbury Watchman, Lincolnton Transcript, Rutherfordton Gazette, Greensborough Telescope, Hillsborough Recorder, Raleigh Register, Salem Scrap Book, Ashborough Citizen and Wilmington Advertiser will insert the above 3 weeks.

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday, March 16, 1837]

We are much gratified to learn, that arrangements are in progress, for placing a small Steam Boat on our River, to run

regularly between this place and Wilmington, in connection with the Steamer Boston, from Wilmington to Charleston, and the Wilmington and Roanoke Rail Road. She will be of such light draught of water as to run in the driest seasons, three times a week each way, and calculated only for passengers.

------

COMMERCIAL RECORD.{partial listing – first for Cotton Plant}

…. Also, May 4, steamer Cotton Plant, from Wilmington, to Thos. Sandford & Co. (Agents) DEPARTED. May 8, steamer Cotton Plant, for Wilmington, with passengers and freight.

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday Evening, May 10, 1837]

Cape Fear Navigation Company.THE ANNUAL MEETING of the Stockholders will be held on Friday, 2d June next, in the Town of Fayetteville.

JAMES MEBANE, President.May 15, 1837 41tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday Evening, May 17, 1837]

MOLASSES At Auction.ON arrival of steamer Cotton Plant, will be sold, without reserve, for cash, at our Auction Store, 23 Hhds. Good Cuba MOLASSES.

THOS. SANDFORD & CO.June 6, 1837 44-tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday Evening, June 7, 1837]

Administrator’s Sale.

WILL BE SOLD, on Monday the 10th day of July next, at Public Auction, in the town of Wilmington, N. C., on a credit of six months, all the perishable property belonging to the Estate of William Dougall, Esq., dec’d, viz:--2600 Bbls. TURPENTINE, (or thereabouts,)

on the Wharf, in shipping order,17 bales Cotton,25 hhds. Molasses,57 bags Coffee.

ALSO, Sugar, Salt, Household and Kitchen Furniture, Stock of Ship Chandlery, &c. &c.--ALSO— Schooner CAROLINE, 3 years old, coppered and copper fastened, 189 tons, high deck, built in this State of the most durable materials—is a fast sailer, and in every respect a first rate vessel, well found in every particular, and ready to receive cargo, draws 10 ½ feet, deep loaded. Schooner CALEB NICHOLS, 4 years old, 163 tons, high deck, built also in this State, and of same materials as the Caroline—carries and sails well, is well found and in first rate order, draws 10 feet, deep loaded. Steamer WILMINGTON, not twelve months old, built also in this State, and of very best materials, 125 feet long, 24 feet beam, 7 ½ feet hold, with promenade deck, draws only 3 ½ feet light, has a horizontal high pressure Engine of (80) horse power, 19 ½ inch cylinder, 7 feet stroke, 5 wrought iron boilers of 24 feet length of 30 inches diameter, working Jno. Kirkpatrick’s patent valve. This Boat was built expressly for the shoal waters of the Cape Fear River, and is well calculated for any trade where large cargo, very light draught of water, speed and power, are required. She has proved to be a first rate tower. Tow Boat PETER ROSS, 98 feet long, 16 feet wide, 3 ½ feet deep, draws 10 inches light, six months old, and carries over 100 tons. Tow Boat FAYETTEVILLE, 88 feet long, 16 feet wide, 3 feet deep, draws 6 inches light, about 4 months old, and will carry equal to 80 tons. Both these boats have complete sets of Tarpaulins.

Also, and open FLAT, intended for very shoal water. At the same time will also be Hired, a number of NEGROES, for the balance of the year. ALSO, in Fayetteville, on Saturday the 15th

July, a quantity of Molasses, Sacks Salt, &c. Bonds with approved security will be required, before the property is changed. The Sale will be continued from day to day until all is sold.

O. G. PARSLEY, Administrator.Wilmington, N. C., June 15, 1837. 46-ts

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday Evening, July 5, 1837]

COMMERCIAL RECORD. ARRIVED, July 18, Cotton Plant’s tow boat Lady of the Lake, with a full load of materials for the U. S. Arsenal, to Capt. Bradford.


NOTICE.THE subscriber gives notice to all whom it may concern, in shipping, receiving, and paying freights on the Cape Fear between Wilmington and Fayetteville, that he is compelled to raise the price or lay up his Boats. By a careful examination of the business of the steam boats on our river, the Proprietors all agree, that there is nothing made at the prices of carrying. The expenses of the Boats are paid monthly; the Tolls increase to an enormous amount and must be paid. After working twelve months, by the most rigid economy the Boat Owners are satisfied by fair experiment, they cannot make a surplus sufficient to repair the boats. This is the season that the merchant is preparing to go North to purchase his Goods, and I consider it the proper time to advise him, at what rate I will agree to bring his freights up. I am well prepared to do a part of the carrying trade of the river, having a

good Steam Boat, sufficient Tow Boats, convenient Warehouses on the bank of the river, and will receive and forward up and down, freights at the following rates: 25 per cent. on the amount of the freight bill, the bills to be paid when the Goods are delivered—all payments in North Carolina notes. A well qualified Agent will attend in Fayetteville, to all business of the concern. I wish those persons who suffered by the loss of the John Walker, to observe this notice particularly, as it would be a matter impossible to pay them that loss, without an increase on the rates; also, those persons that have given me the Agency of their Goods, as pay day, twenty-five per cent., exclusive of the tolls, and cash payment, may change the character of our understanding. All now have due notice; ship where you please. I offer no reference, as I have always done a straight business and intend to pursue my old track. Goods will always be forwarded by the first boat.

DOYLE O’HANLON.July 5, 1837. 48tf.


DIED In this town, on Sunday, 6 inst., MARTHA ANN, youngest daughter of A. J. and Martha Erambert, aged 9 months 28 days.

‘Tis done! Grand Mother! Now I needNo more thy kind supporting arms,

To soothe my pains, and lull my head,I’m going far from earthly harms.

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday Evening, August 23, 1837]

BOATS For Sale.THE Subscriber offers for sale, FIVE POLE BOATS, on the Cape Fear river, now lying at the Fayetteville Landing, either and all of which may be fitted for immediate use at

trifling expense, to wit: The Eliza, Commerce, Packet, Anna Pink and Water Witch, carrying from about 20 to 55 tons weight each. The four first are decked and fitted with hatches, the latter open, and has been found to answer the purpose of a Lighter on the lowest water, to relieve other loaded Boats whenever there was sufficient water to use a ferry flat. Three of the decked Boats draw when loaded, from two to three feet water, but with a full ordinary freight of Dry Goods and some deck load, will only draw from 20 to 24 inches. The largest boat, the Eliza, will draw with an ordinary heavy freight, about four and a half feet. These Boats are all well constructed for the navigation of the Cape Fear river, and are well known to run well under Poles or in tow of a steamer, having been used in both ways. The four lesser Boats would suit Planters on the river above or below, in conveying any kind of Produce to market, being prepared to convey grain in bulk. Reverence for further particulars, to Mr. William O. Jeffreys, at Wilmington, or to the Subscriber, or Messrs. Thomas Sandford & Co. at this place. Very low prices will be accepted for these Boats, and ample time allowed for payment, upon good paper.

P. I. TILLINGHAST.Fayetteville, August 28, 1837. 56tf


STEAM BOAT[steamboat image>]

For Sale at Wilmington.-------

THE Steamer CLARENDON, and her TOW BOATS, Jack Downing and Henry A. Wise, will be sold at Auction, on Monday the 12th day of March. The Steamer was built in 1833, of best Carolina materials, say live oak, red cedar, and yellow pine, coppered and copper fastened.

Her length is 103 feet; beam 18 ½ feet, depth of hold 7 ½ feet; her engine is high pressure, 40 to 50 horse power, vertical and constructed by Watchman and Bratt, of Baltimore; her speed is fair, and for strength and durability, she has no superior.

The TOW BOATS,Are well adapted to river transportation, new and substantial. Terms, 6, 12 and 18 months credit, with approved paper. They will be sold positively and without reserve. Purchasers to pay for necessary papers.

WILL. O. JEFRFREYS, Auct’r.

The Tow Boats, it is presumed, are well known on the river as new, substantial Boats, of great capacity for carrying, and of light draft of water. Any further information may be had on application to John P. Brown or W. O. Jeffreys.February, 1838. 81 ts.

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday Evening, February 21, 1838]

BOAT ELIZA, at Auction.ON Thursday the 15th March, at 12 o’clock, M. will be sold before our Door, at Public Auction, the Boat ELIZA, together with a good supply of Tarpaulins, some Poles and Oars, and good Row Locks, belonging to her: This Boat has been lately fitted up for immediate use, and is now ready for Cargo. Persons interested, are requested to view the Boat and examine the Furniture above mentioned, when all necessary information will be furnished.

THOMAS SANDFORD & CO.

March 5, 183883 2w

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday Evening, March 7, 1838]

CAPE FEAR NAVIGATION COMPANY.

This Company held its Annual Meeting on the 1st inst. The following persons were elected Officers for the next year:--

EDW’D L. WINSLOW, Esq , President.JAMES MEANE, }NATHAN MENDENHALL, } Directors,JOHN H. HALL, }C. J. WILLIAMS, }

Geo. McNeill was reappointed General Agent of the Company. James Mebane, Esq., the former President, having declined a re-election, the following resolution was unanimously passed: Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be tendered to James Mebane, Esq., for his long and faithful services as President of the Cape Fear Navigation Company. The following articles were transported on the River the year ending 1st May last:DOWN.

8,838 bales Cotton,4,625 barrels Flour,255 hhds. Tobacco,35 barrels Spirits,4,981 bushels Grain,967 casks Flax Seed,$552 01 freight on articles not

enumerated.Tolls, $1,245 53UP.

41,737 bushels Salt.2,116 Hhds. And Pipes,2,747 Barrels,374 Tierces,318 ½tons Iron,569 casks Lime,$8,235 45 freight on articles not

enumerated.Tolls, 2,635 71

----------$3,281 24 Gross.

Being a decrease in Tolls, compared with the previous year, of $868 94, (and about $2000 from the highest point the Tolls ever attained.) This no doubt may be attributed mainly to the general depression of trade. The decrease in the Imports. There is an increase of Exports in the article of Cotton 971 bales, and Flour 2046 barrels, and in the

amount of Tolls on Exports $128 03, which shows that we are getting right—that is, that we have sold more and purchased less than usual the past year. Owing to the extra expenses in removing the obstructions carried into the River by the great storm in August last year, and to the decrease in the amount of Tolls, the Company did not make a dividend as usual 1st March last.

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday Evening, June 6, 1838]

Notice to Merchants.THE Subscriber is about to resume the BOATING BUSINESS on the Cape Fear River, and is now repairing among others the light draught boat Commerce, which will be in readiness in a few days for the transportation of merchandise.

D. G. McRAE.August 28, 1838

7 2w


{Fayetteville Observer advertisement regarding Thomas Sandford, moving to Vicksburg, MS about the 1st of October, 1838. Formerly in business as THOMAS SANDFORD & CO. with S. W. Tillinghast.}

Cape Fear Navigation Company.THE Annual Meeting of the Stockholders will be held in Fayetteville, on Friday the 31st

inst.E. L. WINSLOW, Pres’t.

May 11 11-tf

[The North Carolinian – Saturday May 11, 1839]

[COMMUNICATED.]CAPE FEAR NAVIGATION COMPANY.

The Stockholders held their Annual Meeting on the 31st May. From the Treasurer’s report it appears that the following articles were transported on the river the year ending 1st May, 1839.

DOWN.4,279 bales Cotton,7,654 barrels Flour,118 Hhds. Tobacco,2 barrels Spirits,6,229 bushels Grain,1,639 Casks Flaxseed,$977 66 freight on articles not

enumerated above.UP.

69,309 bushels Salt,2,273 Hhds. And Pipes,3,225 barrels,441 Tierces,356 ¾tons Iron,1,856 casks Lime,$14,629 09 freight on articles not

enumerated. Being a decrease in Cotton of 4,659 bales, and an increase in Flour of 3,627 barrels, and Flaxseed 672 casks, and shewing an aggregate increase of up freight of 50 per cent. compared with the previous year, (the year of general depression.) The Stockholders have placed Cotton Yarn among the enumerated articles, and fixed the Toll at 5 cts. Per bale. The Officers were all re-elected, to wit:

E. L. WINSLOW, Esq. President.James Mebane, }Nathan Mendenhall, }Directors.John H. Hall, }C. J. Williams, }G. M. McNEILL, General Agent,

Treasurer, &c.

[The North Carolinian – Saturday June 15, 1839]

MARRIED.

In this town, on Thursday evening, by the Rev. Mr. MacNair, Mr. A. P. HURT, and Miss MORGIANA C. ERAMBERT, daughter of Mr. Henry Erambert, all of this place. The printers acknowledge the receipt of the customary present, and wish the donors a pleasant journey through this life, and a happy union in the next.

[The North Carolinian – Saturday Morning, November 21, 1840]

Cape Fear Navigation Company.THE Annual Meeting of the Stockholders will be held on Friday, 2d June, 1843, in the Town of Fayetteville.

E. L. WINSLOW, Pres’t.May 19, 1843 55tt

The Raleigh Register will copy.

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday, May 24, 1843]

Cape Fear Navigation Company.THE Annual Meeting of the Stockholders will be held on Friday, 31st May, (inst.) in the Town of Fayetteville.

E. L. WINSLOW, Pres’t. May 17, 1844

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday Morning, May 22, 1844]

FOR SALE.------

The Cotton Plant Line of SteamBoats and her Pole Boats.

------THE Proprietor, finding his health not adequate to the task of keeping up the Line, is determined to sell. The Line consists of the TWO STEAM BOATS, the Cotton Plant and the Wm. B. Meares. The latter is a New Boat, of 200 tons, built of the best materials, draws when

light 28 inches, and 3 ½ feet when loaded. The character of these Boats is so well established, that further description is unnecessary. In addition there are FOUR POLE BOATS, two of them new and two second hand. These are quite sufficient to serve as Lighters, and make the Line complete, and fully adequate to the wants of the River, either in high or low Water. If not disposed of by the first day of June, they will be offered for Sale at Public Auction on that day, at the Market House in Fayetteville, on liberal terms, to be made known at the sale. The Books and accounts of the Line are at Mr. John Waddill’s Store, and may be inspected by persons wishing to purchase, and will show the value and profit of the Business. Applications can be made to the Subscriber at his residence, or to the Auctioneer.

DOYLE O’HANLON, Proprietor.E. W. WILKINGS, Auctioneer.

May 14, 1845. 58-ts

------

Cape Fear Navigation Company.THE Annual Meeting of the Stockholders will be held on Friday, 30th May, 1845, in the Town of Fayetteville.

E. L. WINSLOW, Pres’t.May 10, 1845 58tm

The Raleigh Register will copy.

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday Morning, May 14, 1845]

DIED. In Baltimore, on Thursday morning last, DOYLE O’HANLON, Esq. of this place, aged forty-five years. Mr. O’Hanlon was a native of South Carolina, but for about 25 years past had resided in this place. His whole life was a model of enterprise, energy, industry, and perseverance under all circumstances, whether of prosperity or adversity, sickness or health. Of ardent temperament, he was

remarkable for the warmth of his friendships, and the extent to which he would go to serve a friend, or indeed any one in distress. Many years of sickness and suffering worked no change in these prominent traits of his character, though they served to soften and chasten his naturally indomitable spirit. He had gone as far as Baltimore in search of Medical advice, when his journey was arrested by the hand of death. There he was attended, not only by his devoted wife, but by warm friends, who “smoothed his pillow of affliction and softened his path to the grave.” These friends were once strangers here, sick and in distress. With characteristic generosity, he ministered to them, and they have sought at home to repay the debt of gratitude thus incurred. One of them writes, “I was with him at his last moment, and so easy was the departure of his spirit that it was some time before the watchers at his bed-side could convince themselves that it had fled.” His remains were brought to this place on Sunday last, and were followed to the grave on Monday by a very large concourse of citizens, and interred with Masonic honors.

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday Morning, July 16, 1845]

RAIN. We see by our exchanges that many parts of the country which have suffered from the late severe drought have at length been visited by copious showers. Here we have had abundance of rain for nearly a week. The River rose about 10 feet on Thursday last, but afterwards fell. It is now rising, with plenty of water for Steamboats. The Steamer Henrietta arrived on the 5th, with Goods for numerous merchants of this place and the interior. We have not room to publish the list of consignees. A large number of Rafts have gone down.

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday Morning, August 6, 1845]

Communication.------

FOR THE OBSERVER. Mr. Editor: Permit us a small space in your paper, to correct a misrepresentation contained in a communication in the Observer of last week, under the signature of “One of the Sufferers.” He says, “I would ask is there not enterprise enough in the community to establish a communication between this town and Wilmington, in the forwarding of goods upon our river, that would insure an effort to get the goods forward in the low state of the river at this season of the year? Or must they remain stored in Wilmington at the risk of fire, to have sufficient water to run a steamboat drawing six feet water, that it may be more profitable for the owners of the chartered line of oats? This has been the second season we have been left without any effort to get goods up on a low state of our river.” We will now state a few facts, leaving the public for the present to draw their own conclusions in regard to the correctness of the statement of “One of the Sufferers.” For years past the Henrietta Steamboat company has owned, and kept constantly employed, in low water, five of the best class of Lighters on the river, and during the present season, two of them have been employed between Wilmington and the cove, the other three between the cove and this place; two of the Lighters draw, when light, but five inches water, and will carry, one 100, the other 170 bales cotton in 18 inch water. We have during this season, employed all the hands that could be procured, and have had from 20 to 40 men in these boats at a time. During the month of September, when the water has been as low as it well could be, we have delivered at our landing, one hundred and ninety-five wagon and dray loads of goods, among which there was over 60 hhds. Molasses for one article. We can say that we have used all the energy and exertions in our power,

and have spared neither trouble nor expense to forward the goods. In regard to the goods shipped on the 9th

Sept., they were taken with the full knowledge that there was a large cargo in advance of them, and that they would have to take their course in turn.

HALL & JOHNSON,Agents Henrietta Steamboat Co.

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday Morning, October 8, 1845]

COMMUNICATION.------

FOR THE OBSERVER. Mr. Editor; I would not have again troubled you, but for the communication of last week signed Hall & Johnson, Agents Henrietta Steam Boat Company, which they say is to correct a misrepresentation under the signature of “One of the Sufferers.” Now in writing the article alluded to, I had no desire to misrepresent those gentlemen or the Henrietta Steam Boat Company, but simply to state what I believed to be a fact, that on a low state of water they did not give that dispatch to goods shipped by their boats which they were bound to do by their own interests, being public carriers, and the interests of their patrons. This fact I believed would be attested by many in this community. The other circumstance, of goods shipped by Boat Odd Fellow on 19th, and delivered on 27th ult., while goods shipped by their Boat on 9th ult., were still on the river, which goods they say were taken with full knowledge that there was a large cargo in advance of them, and that they would have to take their course in turn; of which I must say I was not apprized. I would ask how many of those goods in advance had been delivered between the 9th ult. And 7th inst! I know of only tow open Flat loads. Of this I complain, and in regard to the 60 hhds. Molasses brought up last month, but few can flatter themselves thus favored. I hope that

with the new Steam Boat Company recently formed, and the long standing of the Henrietta Steam Boat Company, together with the private Boat Owners, that we shall have a fair and honorable competition on the river, that will insure despatch, and that we shall none hereafter

SUFFER. Oct. 8, 1845

------

THE RIVER—is at last in a navigable state, from which appearances lead to a confident hope that it will not again recede during this Fall and winter. It rose on Saturday and Sunday upwards of 20 feet—more rain having fallen from Saturday morning to Sunday morning than, we think, fell during any month for the last 18 or 20. A very large quantity of goods for this place and the interior may be expected up in a day or two. We ought heretofore to have stated, that the Steamer Wm. B. Meares, and three Lighters, belonging to the estate of the late Mr. O’Hanlon, were sold at auction some days ago for $11,100, and were bought by a company of our most wealthy and enterprising merchants, whose arrangements are already made to run them on this river. A new Steamer, of very light draught of water, built by the Henrietta Company, was launched by the rise of water on Sunday night. She is intended to ply on this river, and will be a material accession to the line, especially in periods of low water.

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday Morning, October 15, 1845]

THE NEW STEAM BOAT.—The Evergreen, the new boat just put upon our river by the Henrietta Steam Boat company, is unquestionably the desidera’um, so long desired, and so necessary to the prompt and cheap transportation of goods and produce on our waters. We are told that previous to

the late rise of water, she came up from Wilmington on less than two feet of water, having four loaded boats in tow, and that she did not once touch bottom at the worst shoals. With such boats we hope that our boat owners will not only regain all the freight which they have lost lately in consequence of low waters, but that low rates and expedition will attend to them business which has heretofore taken other directions. By the way, a gentleman who formerly owned and run a pole boat for eight years on our river, informs us, that during all that time he never had ten dollars worth of freight for a merchant in the interior. All that kind of business has resulted from the improvement of the river by the Navigation Company, and the consequent navigation by Steam Boats.

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday Afternoon, December 30, 1845.]

Our Steam Boat Landing presented an animated spectacle on Thursday last. For the first time, we believe, there were five Steamers up at once, all busy delivering or receiving freight, whilst the river itself was rising with almost unparalleled rapidity. It rose 25 feet in less than 24 hours.

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday Afternoon – January 13, 1846]

The new Steamer Evergreen arrived from Fayetteville on Sunday, and takes her station in the Henrietta Steam Boat Line, now consisting of three Steamers, the Henrietta, Fayetteville, and Evergreen, and six lighters. The Evergreen is built mainly of juniper, is 121 1-2 feet long, 22 feet wide, 6 ft. 5 in. deep, and draws with wood and water on board only 18 inches. She has a double engine of 60 or 70 horse power, and measures 160 78.95 tons. This light draft boat will add very materially to the facilities of transportation on the Cape Fear, and it is

to be hoped that hereafter the merchants of the interior will not be subjected to the delays and expenses which have heretofore been necessarily incident to a low stage of the river. The Steamers Cotton Plant and William B. Mears are likewise running regularly on the river, each having a supply of lighters, so that the means of transport for goods are ample.

Wilmington Chronicle.

------

GREATER“Reduction in the expenses of getting goods by the way of Wilmington and Fayetteville, to

the interior of North Carolina.”------

THE MERCHANTS’Steam Boat Company,

Of Fayetteville, N. C.,TAKE this opportunity to inform Merchants and others shipping goods by the way of the above named places, that they have made arrangements in Wilmington, to have all goods addressed to their care in that place, forwarded through FREE OF ALL CHARGES FOR STORAGE, DRAYAGE, WHARFAGE AND COMMISSIONS, when the funds are in hand to pay freight to Wilmington; when not, 10 per cent. On the freight bill will be charged. And they further inform the public, that having spacious Warehouses on the bank of the river at this place, they will receive, and forward all goods through, that may arrive by this line, FREE OF CHARGE OF COMMISSION. Goods can be stored at the river at a considerable saving of drayage, or up town, as shippers may wish. This Company mention in connexion with the above, that this line of Boats has been long and favorably known as safe and expeditious carriers on this river, and they hope to be so known for a long time to come. And they remark further, that this Company’s freight, alone, is sufficient to pay the expenses of running their Boats, and that they, consequently, ARE PREPARED, AND WILL FOLLOW UP, all and every concession

made to the shipping public by any other company on the Cape Fear River. The Merchants of this town can avail themselves of the arrangements in Wilmington, as they are intended alike for them as for Merchants of the interior. Address all goods and letters to The Merchants’ Steam Boat Co., at Wilmington and Fayetteville.

THOS. S. LUTTERLOH,E. J. LILLY,J. WADDILL, Jr.,HENRY LILLY,J. D. WILLIAMS,H. L. MYROVER,

Merchants’ Steam Boat Company.March 10, 1846. 1-

tf Salisbury Watchman and Greensborough Patriot will publish 3 times, and send bill to this office.

------

Agency Cape Fear Steam Boat Company, }March 11, 1846. }

THE CAPE FEAR STEAM BOAT COMPANY, having thoroughly placed in order the favorite Steamer, Cotton Plant, and being now building Lighters of the most approved style, peculiarly adapted to the low stages of the River, are prepared to give despatch to Goods to Fayetteville, and the interior, on the most favorable terms. The keel of a new Steamer has been laid, which will soon be completed, of such light draught of water, as to suit all stages of the River, and which in lightness of draught, WILL NEVER BE SURPASSED. Goods will be received, and forwarded promptly, through Wilmington, free of all charges for Storage, Drayage, Wharfage, and Commissions; and will be attended to at Fayetteville, free of Commission. Goods can be stored there, up town or at the river, as shippers may desire. The Cape Fear Steam Boat Company are determined to carry Goods on as favorable terms as any other Company; and from the

long experience of their agents at Wilmington and Fayetteville, have no doubt of giving their friends entire satisfaction. Letters addressed to the Agents, at either Fayetteville or Wilmington, will meet with prompt attention.

E. W. WILLKINGS,Agent at Fayetteville.

ROBT. G. RANKIN,Agent at Wilmington.

2-3w

[Fayetteville Observer - Tuesday Afternoon - March 17 1846]

STEAMER EVERGREEN,DRAWS 17 inches water, carries 750 bales Cotton. Shippers will do well to remember this, as low water may soon be expected.

------R E D U C T I O N

In the expenses of getting Goods by the way

Of Wilmington and Fayetteville to the Interior of North Carolina.

THE Agents of the Henrietta Steam Boat Company take pleasure in informing the merchants of North Carolina, that they have made arrangements (where funds are in hand to pay the freights to Wilmington,) to receive and forward through that place, all goods entrusted to their care, FREE of charges for storage, drayage, wharfage and commissions, but when no funds are in hand, 10 per cent. On freights will be charged. The facilities of the Henrietta Steam Boat Company for the transportation of Merchandize on the Cape Fear River, are greater than ever before possessed by any Company running Boats on this river and very far superior to that possessed by any other Company now running boats between Wilmington and Fayetteville. This Company have three Steamboats in first rate order, one of which draws but 17 inches water, and will carry freight equal to 750 bales of cotton. The Company have, in addition to the boats above named, six

Lighters, suitable for low water, and to run in connection with the Steamboats. We would respectfully invite all who desire to get their goods forward to Fayetteville expeditiously and safely and at very little expense, to consign their goods at Wilmington to

HALL & JOHNSON,Agents for the Henrietta Steam Boat

Co.March 30, 1846.

4tf All letters directed to Hall & Johnson at Wilmington or Fayetteville, will have due attention. All who desire to do so may consign their goods to Hall & Johnson, Wilmington and Fayetteville, and due attention will be given them.

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday Afternoon April 21, 1846]

CAPE FEAR NAVIGATION COMPANY.THE Annual Meeting of the Stockholders will be held in Fayetteville on Friday, 29th May.

ED. LEE WINSLOW, Pres’t.May 16, 1846. Raleigh Register copy.

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday Afternoon – May 19, 1846]

[boat image] [boat image]HENRIETTA EVERGREEN

[boat image]FAYETTEVILLE

THE attention of the public is called to the Great Reduction in the expenses of getting Goods by way of Wilmington and Fayetteville to the Interior of North Carolina. And also the great facilities for the transportation of Goods and Produce on the Cape Fear River by the

HENRIETTA STEAM BOAT COMPANY. All Goods consigned to HALL & JOHNSON, Wilmington, N. C., (with funds in hand to pay

Freight.) will be forwarded through that place Free of Charge for Wharfage, Storage, Drayage, and Commissions. And if consigned to Hall & Johnson, Fayetteville, with funds in hand for expenses, will be forwarded free of charge for Storage and Commissions. This Company are running on the Cape Fear River three Steamers and six Lighters. One of the Steamers draws but 17 inches water, and will carry equal to 750 bales of Cotton. With these facilities, and a full determination to spare no pains in the speedy Transportation of Goods on the River, they confidently ask the patronage of the public, and pledge themselves to use their best efforts to promote the interest of their patrons, and may add, that Goods by their Line will come as low as by any other. Produce from the country will be shipped at Fayetteville and Wilmington free of Commission. All letters addressed to HALL & JOHNSON, at Wilmington and Fayetteville, will have due attention.

------JOHN H. HALL Surviving Partner of Hall & Johnson, has been appointed Agent of the Henrietta Steam Boat Company, in the place of Hall & Johnson, as in their Circulars. The Subscriber gives notice, that all business matters, as per annexed Circular, will have the strictest attention; and he pledges himself to use all possible exertion to promote the interest of all such as may entrust their business to his care. All letters addressed to Hall & Johnson, or to myself will meet with proper attention.

JOHN H. HALL, Ag’t.Henrietta Steam Boat Co.

Nov. 2, 1846 35tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday afternoon, January 12, 1847]

[boat image]GREAT

REDUCTION IN FREIGHT,

ON THE CAPE FEAR RIVER.Comparison in a few articles of the former and present rates:

Former. Present.Box Goods, cubic foot, 8 7Salt, sack, 30 25Salt, coarse Liv., bus., 10 8Iron, ton, 3 00 2 50Coffee, per sack, 30 25Sugars, per 100, 17 ½ 15Castings, per 2000 lbs., 5 00 4 00 We continue to run our usual number of Boats. The Evergreen lost but one trip during all the last dry season. She is unquestionably the lightest draught of water (17 inches) running on the river. Our present terms for receiving and forwarding goods, as follows: Receiving and forwarding in Wilmington free of commission for the same. All goods consigned to us in Fayetteville, on freight up the river, 15 per cent. We have five safe Warehouses at the river, where they may be stored, so as to save one-half the hauling. Produce down the river shipped free of commissions. Passage, $3 up and down. This arrangement to take effect after 20th

inst. Thankful for past favors, we solicit a continuance of public patronage.

JOHN H. HALL, AgentHenrietta S. B. Co.

Jan’y 18, 1847.46tf

Salisbury Watchman, Greensborough Patriot, and Charlotte Journal, copy 3 times; and send paper; and accounts to this Office.

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday afternoon, January 19, 1847]

CAPE FEAR[boat image]

Steam Boat Company.

THE proprietors of the Cape Fear Steam Boat Company have put on the river the new Steamer GOV. GRAHAM, to run regularly between Wilmington and Fayetteville, at the late reduced freights. She draws but 20 inches water having two engines and locomotive boiler, with superior accommodations for Passengers. All Goods consigned to J. & W. L. McGary, Wilmington, will be forwarded up the river free of commissions. All Produce from the country will be forwarded down the river and to its destination free of commissions. We are now building two tow boats, which will be completed before the Fall freights begin. Communications addressed to J. & W. L. McGary, Wilmington, and W. L. McGary, Fayetteville, will have attention.

W. L. McGARY, Agent.April 15, 1848 11-Y

The undersigned is also building a large warehouse at the river, where he will receive and forward all goods sent to his address, at the usual charge, saving one-half the up-town hauling.

W. L. McGARY.

------

[boat image]MERCHANTS’

Steam Boat CompanyOf Fayetteville and Wilmington.

------ The Boats comprising this Line areThe New Steamer ROWAN, (low water Boat)“ “ “ W. B MEARES,“ “ “ COTTON PLANT,

Tow Boat ODD FELLOW,“ “ MIKE CRONLY,“ “ BEN BERRY,“ “ WASHINGTON,“ “ READY MONEY,“ “ T. J. CURTIS,“ “ MARY ELIZA.

THE above line of Boats continue to run regularly between this place and Wilmington,

at the reduced rates for Freights and Passage established by this Company, in connexion with the Henrietta Steam Boat Company, in January 1847. Flattered by the very liberal patronage from the shipping and traveling public, this Company has recently paid out several thousand Dollars Building, refitting, and repairing Boats, and can now say with confidence, that they are prepared to do the Freighting business of the approaching season with as much dispatch as is can be done by any Boating concern. Terms as last year, viz: All Goods shipped to care of this Company, or to the Agent at Wilmington, will be forwarded through that place free of commissions; all other charges to be made to shippers. The undersigned will forward all Goods shipped to care of the Company at this place, on his individual account, at the usual commissions, viz: 15 per cent. On Freight up the River Passage each way $3. Address all letters to J. C. Latta, Agent Wilmington, and to the undersigned at this place.

J. D. WILLIAMS,Agent Merchants’ Steam Boat

Co.Fayetteville, Jan. 29, 1848. 100-tf

------

FALL TRANSPORTATIONVia Cape Fear River.

[boat image] [boat image]HENRIETTA

Steamboat Company’s Line.THE Steamers Henrietta and Evergreen having been thoroughly repaired, are now ready to carry Freight up and down the River with dispatch. Thankful for former, we solicit a continuance of patronage. This Line will carry Freight and forward as low as any Line on the River.

DANIEL JOHNSON, AgentHenrietta Steamboat Co.

Fayetteville, August 1, 1848 26tf

NOTICE TO SHIPPERSBy Henrietta Steamboat Company.

JOHN H. HALL having sold his interest in this Company, has nothing to do with the Agency at Wilmington or Fayetteville, either individually or as surviving partner of Hall & Johnson. Shippers designing their Goods to the care of our Company, will please fill up their Bills Lading and mark their Packages, Care “Agent Henrietta Steamboat Co., Wilmington and Fayetteville.” All Letters addressed as above will have prompt attention.

DANIEL JOHNSON, Agent.

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday January 2, 1849]

[boat image] [boat image]Spring Goods Expected.

------Henrietta Steamboat Company’s

Line.------

AS the Spring Trade will soon commence, this Company take this method of informing Shippers via Cape Fear River to this place and the interior, that we have the Steamers Henrietta and Evergreen, Boats Ben Rush, Nelson, Diligence and Henry Clay. All of said Boats are in good order and condition, having been recently examined and repaired. The Steamer Fayetteville is used as a Receiving Boat at Wilmington. We are thankful for former patronage, and solicit a continuance of our old customers and a large increase of new patrons, pledging ourselves to use our best endeavors to give satisfaction. We have heretofore, in our “printed Circulars,” said that we would carry and forward Goods on as favorable terms as any Company on the River.—this offer is still in force, and will be complied with.

DANIEL JOHNSON,Agent Henrietta Steamboat Co.

Fayetteville, Feb’y 20, 1849 55tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday February 20, 1849]

HALL & HALL, Grocers, Commission Merchants, and Forwarding Agents, are prepared to attend to all business entrusted to their care. Particular attention will be given to the sale of Produce, and the purchase of Groceries. Having commodious Warehouses at the River and up town, they will receive and forward all goods consigned to their care with prompt attention, and upon as reasonable terms as any House in the place.

Fayetteville, August 7, 1848 27-t

------

THE Subscriber has no interest in the Henrietta Steam Boat Company; is thankful for past favors from the public, and will add that any Goods consigned to him individually, at Wilmington, will have attention, and will be forwarded through this place by Hall & Hall.

JOHN H. HALL.Fayetteville, August 7, 1848 27-tf

------

DIED. In Wilmington, on the 20th inst., after a lingering illness, Mrs. ELIZABETH RUSH, wife of Capt. Benj. Rush, of this place, aged 36 years.

------

To Shippers by the CapeFear River.[boat image]

The Merchants’ Steamboat Co.BEG leave to say to their patrons in the back country and the public generally, that the Boats of their Line are all in order for the Spring business, so that patrons of this line can and shall be as well served, both as to expedition and price, as by any other line of Boats on the River. Bills of Lading should be filled up, “deliverable at the Merchants’

Steamboat Co’s Wharf, Wilmington,” which will save wharfage to shippers.

JNO. D. WILLIAMS, AgentMerchants’ Steamboat

Co.Feb’y 26, 1849

56tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday March 27, 1849]

To Shippers of Goods and Produceupon the Cape Fear River.

THE Henrietta Steamboat Company, by Circular dated 13th Dec’r 1847, made known the Rates of Freights and the charges for Forwarding, as established by the former owners with the other Company on the Cape Fear.—also asserting that they would Freight or Forward as low as any other Company or Firm. Having information that other Companies have made private offers to particular houses (or firms) that have usually shipped by our Line, which is a reduction upon our former rates of Freight, we hereby inform our patrons and friends, and also all others disposed to favor us with their business, that the Company will make a deduction of 10 per cent. Upon all freights from Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, to Wilmington. The receiving and forwarding in Wilmington to be free of all Commissions. Shippers by our Line since the 1st Jan’y 1849, whose bills have been settled, will be entitled to the 10 per cent.; and those unsettled will have that amount credited to their accounts upon the Company’s books. To all shippers upon the Cape Fear, the Henrietta Steamboat Company take pleasure in saying, they have good Boats in good order, and possess such facilities as will insure to those who patronize the Line a speedy transportation of all Goods and Produce committed to their care. Goods intended for the Henrietta Co. should be plainly marked, and the Bills of Lading fitted up –“To be delivered at the Company’s Wharf, Wilmington, N. C.”

GURDON DEMING, Pres’tHenrietta S. B. Co.

Fayetteville, May 20, 1849 68tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday May 29, 1849]

[boat image]TO SHIPPERS ON THE CAPE FEAR RIVERTHE undersigned having become the sole proprietors of the Cape Fear Steam Boat Co., are now running the Steamer Gov. Graham, together with her Tow Boats, and are prepared to forward Goods and Produce with great dispatch, and on as good terms as any other Line. All goods sent to our address in Wilmington, will be re-shipped free of commissions, and if requested by the shipper, will be shipped by any other Boat if ours is not ready to sail. We have a commodious Warehouse near the landing in Fayetteville, where we will receive and forward goods for the usual commissions. A share of the patronage of the public is solicited.

DIBBLE & BROTHERS.Fayetteville, August 20, 1849.

81-tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday, August 21, 1849]

DESPATCH LINE for WILMINGTON.FOR the accommodation of Delegates going to the Convention at Wilmington, on Monday the 11th instant, the Steam Boat Gov. Graham will leave her wharf at Campbelton on Saturday the 9th inst., at 1 o’clock precisely, and will be at Elizabethtown during the night, giving passengers from that place an opportunity to take Boat on the morning the 10th, and will stop at Whitehall at 8 o’clock. A. M. and at the other landings on the river during the forenoon, on her way down. The Boat will leave Wilmington for this place, without a Tow, on the adjournment of the Convention.

JNO. D. WILLIAMS,Ag’t Cape Fear Steam Boat Co.

Fayetteville, Monday, March 4, 1850.—9

------

In time—for the Convention to be held inWilmington 11th instant.

Steamer HenriettaWILL leave this place on Saturday the 9th

instant, at 9 o’clock A. M., stopping at Elizabeth to take Passengers on board. Proceeding down, will expect to stop at White Hall to take in Passengers same day, and arrive at Wilmington next day.

DANIEL JOHNSON,Agent Henrietta Steam Boat Co.

Fayetteville, March 4, 1850. 1w

------

For Wilmington.THE Merchant Co’s Steamer, ROWAN, Capt. Hurt, will be in readiness on Saturday next, 9th instant, to receive Passengers for the Wilmington Convention, and will stop at every point on the River where Signals are held out.

JOHN WADDILL, Jr., Agent.

Fayetteville, March 5, 1850. 1w

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday, March 5, 1850]

A CARD.MR. LORING; My attention was called by a friend, this morning, to a Card which appears in your paper, signed by Messrs. London, Reid, Baker, and other gentlemen of Wilmington, which , in effect, charges me with gross neglect of my duty to the traveling public, and all indifference to the property of freighters committed in my charge. These are very gross offences in one of my calling, and if I am guilty of them, are calculated not only to destroy the public confidence in me, and thus take away my

present means of obtaining an honest living but also to compromise the interest of my employers. I am constrained therefore, however unwilling, to intrude myself upon the public, and to beg that they will not condemn me unheard. These charges could not well be more loose and general. They cover indeed almost every species of delinquency of which as an officer of a Steamboat line, I could be guilty, but I am persuaded that the only occasion which I have given these gentlemen for their wholesale denunciation of me, through the public prints, is the fact, that they happened to have been left at Elizabethtown last Saturday, after the Henrietta passed that place, on her way down to Wilmington under my command. How far I am responsible for this accident, the public can better decide , when they learn, that notwithstanding the inference which may well be drawn from the suppositions of the “Card,” no one of these gentlemen did present themselves upon the landing, and desire transportation upon the boat, nor did I learn that they had any such intention, until my arrival in Wilmington. As soon as the circumstance was brought to my notice by the Agents here, (Messrs. Carroll & Fennell) I expressed my regret, for I would not willingly disoblige them, or any one, and although it would have been lightly inconvenient in the swollen state of the river on Saturday morning, to have obtained a landing at Elizabeth, and I had not on board any freight, nor had I any other occasion for stopping there, the fact that Messrs. Reid, Baker, London and M. B. Smith, were in the town, and might desire transportation to Wilmington, would have been sufficient to have induced me to stop the boat for their accommodation, but so far from the truth being that they of either of them, or any other gentleman, were on the landing and hailed the boat and desired a passage, as might be inferred from the ambiguous language of their Card. I did not even know they were in the town, or in the vicinity. I cannot well understand, what these gentlemen mean, by there being “ a general and almost universal sentiment,” (of

dissatisfaction, I presume against me; if an earnest desire to discharge my duty, so far as my poor ability goes, to my employers and the public, deserves condemnation and reproach, then indeed am I guilty, but I am indebted to them, and to the circumstance of their unfortunate detention, for this information. I have been for two years and better, in the employment of the Henrietta Steamboat Company, and it is certain that neither my employers or my friends or myself, have known it before. And I cannot but complain that without giving me an opportunity for explanation or apology these highly respectable gentlemen should have suffered their names to be used for the purpose of injuring an unfortunate young man, whose sole crime is, that he has unintentionally and innocently provoked their displeasure. And being it is true but a poor and humble citizen, had they not deemed it necessary to have demanded from me an explanation, there are those here, who would I think have satisfied them, that I am not ordinarily so unmindful of my own interests or those of the Company as to have voluntarily given them or any others just cause of offence, and that on the contrary, they might have been reminded, that on quite a recent occasion, upon being notified by Mr. Reid, that two of their number, (Messrs. M. B. Smith and London.) were in town, and probably disposed to take passage on the boat, I waited some time, perhaps twenty minutes after discharging all my freight, for their appearance at the landing.

Respectfully,WILLIAM T. EVANS,

Capt. Hen. S. B. Co.

April 11. 1w

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday, April 16, 1850]

For Wilmington Steamer “Henrietta,” Capt. W. T. Evans, will leave her wharf at Campbellton on

Tuesday next, at 6 o’clock A. M. For freight or passage, apply to

DANIEL JOHNSON, AgentApril 23, 1850.

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday, April 23, 1850]

STEAMER FAWN,WILL ply regularly between Wilmington and Fayetteville, leaving Wilmington at 6 o’clock every Monday morning, touching at Elizabethtown and other landings en route. Returning, will leave Fayetteville at 6 o’clock every Wednesday morning for Wilmington, stopping at any of the landings for passengers or freight. For freight at passage apply on board.

DAVID SCOTT, Master.May 11, 1850. 19tf

------

Cape Fear Navigation Company.THE Annual Meeting of the Stockholders will be held on Friday, the 31st May, in the Town Hall, in Fayetteville.

EDW’D LEE WINSLOW, Pres’t.May 8, 1850. 19

------

To Stockholders in the Cape Fear and Deep

River Navigation Company.THE Fourth Instalment of twelve and a half per cent. Per share on the Capital Stock of said Company, will be due on the 15th of June next.

B. I. HOWZE, TreasurerC. F. & D. R. Nav. Co.

May 14 19-4w

------

NOTICE TO DELINQUENT STOCKHOLDERS

In the Cape fear and Deep River

Navigation Company.THE Treasurer of the above Company has been instructed by the Board of Directors thereof, to notify “all present delinquent Stockholders to make immediate payment, or on failure to do so, that their share or shares will be sold at public auction,” according to the provisions of the Charter. Notice is accordingly hereby given to all such Stockholders, that unless they make payments of or before the fourth day of June next, their share or shares will, on that day he sold at public auction, in the town of Pittsborough, between the hours of 11 A. M. and 5 P. M.

B. I. HOWZE, TreasurerC. F. and D. R. N. Co.

April 24, 1850. 17-1m

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday, May 21, 1850]

THE STEAMER FAWNIS taken off the regular line between Wilmington and Fayetteville, on account of low water.

J. & D. SCOTT, Proprietors.June 20, 1850, 25-4w

------

Notice to Stockholders.THE next Annual meeting of the Stockholders on the Cape Fear and Deep River Navigation Company, will be held in Pittsborough, on Thursday the 18th day of July next. It is confidently hoped that the great importance and present progression of this improvement, will draw together a large attendance of Stockholders and visitors.

S. MCCLENAHAN, Pres’tC. F. & D. R. N. Co.

Pittsborough, June 17, 1850. 25-4w

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday, July 2, 1850]

Cape Fear and Deep Rivers. The Raleigh Register learns from the President of the C. F. and D. R. N. Co. that “the work around Smiley’s Falls, looked upon as the greatest impediment, is completed, and answers the most sanguine expectations.”

[The Weekly Communicator – Fay., N.C. – Friday Morning December 13, 1850]

A new Steamer, called “The Brothers,” has been placed upon the Cape Fear, by Messrs. John and David Banks, of Wilmington. She is small and of light draft, and is intended mainly as a tow boat. This makes seven steamers now running between this place and Wilmington, and the increasing business and travel will, we hope, amply reward them all.

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday, January 21, 1851]

REGULAR LINE.[boat image]

THE Cape Fear Steamboat Co’s Steamer CHATHAM will run regularly between Wilmington and Fayetteville, commencing on Monday the 27th instant.—leaving Fayetteville every Monday and Thursday at 9 o’clock A. M. and arriving at Wilmington same evening giving Passengers going north an opportunity to take the cars next morning at 9 o’clock. And leave Wilmington on Tuesdays and Fridays at 2 o’clock P. M. giving passengers by the cars, which arrive at Wilmington at 1 o’clock daily an opportunity to take the Boat to Fayetteville. The Steamer GOV. GRAHAM, with the Tow Boats belonging to the Line will run in connexion with the Chatham, making one or more trips a week as circumstances may require. Passengers and Freighters may rely upon the above arrangement. It is hoped that the

necessary expenses to be incurred by this arrangement will be rewarded by an increased patronage: otherwise a loss will probably be sustained by the company, which will lead to a discontinuance of regular time of running.

JNO. D. WILLIAMS, Agent.Cape Fear Steam Boat

Co.Fayetteville, Jan’y 20, 1851. 55tf

------

FOR SALE.—A second-hand ENGINE of fifteen horse power, in good working order. For further information, apply to the subscribers at Wilmington.

DIBBLE & BROTHERS.Jan. 16, 1851. 55-3wpd

------

HENRIETTA LINE OF[boat image] [boat image]

S t e a m a n d F r e I g h t B o a t s ,ARE all in excellent order for business. Our Tow Boats have been recently repaired and made good as new. We have also added a new Flat for low water, and well adapted to the service. She will carry 700 bbls. merchandize, and draw only 20 inches water. Those favoring us with their patronage, may expect as prompt and cheap service in every particular as any other Line can offer.

G. DEMING, Pres’t.R. M. ORRELL, Agent.

A. D. CAZAUX, Agent at Wilmington.Fayetteville, Dec. 21, 1850. 50-tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday, January 28, 1851]

MERCHANTS’ LINE.[boat image]

THIS LINE OF BOATS is still in successful operation on the Cape Fear River, and continue to offer many facilities to the shipping public.

Persons patronizing this Line, may rest assured that their Goods will be brought up with dispatch, and at the very lowest rates of freight.

A. W. STEEL, President.T. S. LUTTERLOH,

Agent at Fayetteville.

Feb. 15, 1851.59tf

[Fayetteville Observer – February 15, 1851]

We are grieved to state that the Steamer Fanny Lutterloh was sunk last evening by coming in collision with the Steamer Gov. Graham. The boats met a short distance below Mrs. Owen’s plantation, and owing it is supposed to some misunderstanding of each others intention of passing to the right or left, the Graham struck the bow of the Fanny and sunk her in three minutes. There were 40 or 50 passengers on board, mostly Delegates to the Wilmington Bar Convention, (among them the Junior Editor of this paper) but including several ladies and children, all of whom were saved, but wet, and with the loss of all their baggage, which floated out of the boat. It is feared that one Negro man, the property of Capt. Stedman, was drowned, as he was missing when our informant left. The collision occurred before dark. If it had been half hour later it is thought many would have been drowned. We learn that the passengers generally went to the house of Isaac Wright, Esq., where they were no doubt hospitably entertained during the night. It is probably that some of the passengers will return to town on the Graham, and we learn that Mr. Lutterloh will engage the Sun to go down for the others. When he left the Fanny’s smoke stack was lying across the Graham’s deck. It is surprising that some understanding does not exist on our river as to the direction which boat shall take when they meet, either to the right or the left.

There was imminent danger of a similar collision on Tuesday morning last, when the Senior Editor of this paper was coming up on the Sun, but for the presence of mind of Capt. Rush, who, as always, was at his post, and made a signal to the down boat as to the direction to take.Fayetteville Observer, 25th inst.

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday Evening, May 25, 1851]

Above: I did not record the above from the microfilm. This was an article transcribed to the Cumberland

Genealogical Society’s Newsletter.

BROTHERS LINE.THE Steamer BROTHERS, and Tow Boats Stevenson, David Lewis, and James Cassiday, are prepared to forward with dispatch all goods consigned to the Proprietor. The Steamer Brothers is of light draught, and well suited to run in low water. She possesses power and speed, and is admirably adapted to towing, and can accommodate about 20 passengers. The Proprietor contemplates running the Boat himself, and will give special attention to way freight and naval stores; to towing, and will also attend to the comfort and convenience of Passengers. From his long experience as Agent in Wilmington of the several Steamboat Companies, he thinks he can give satisfaction. To Merchants in the interior he would say, that all Goods shipped by him, will be delivered to their Agents in Fayetteville. His Agent in Wilmington is DAVID BANKS, to whom all communications may be addressed, as Agent of the Steamer Brothers.

JOHN BANKS, Proprietor.Wilmington, Feb. 4, 1852. 63tf

[Fayetteville Observer – February 4, 1852*verify]

[boat image] The Steamer Chatham will resume her semi-weekly trips between this place and Wilmington, on Monday the 16th inst., leaving Fayetteville every MONDAY and THURSDAY thereafter, at 7 o’clock A. M., and running through the same day.—Leaving Wilmington every TUESDAY and FRIDAY, after the arrival of the cars from the North. The Steamer Gov. Graham, with as many Tow Boats as may be necessary, will run in connexion with the Chatham, as often as may be necessary to carry all Freights that may ##fer. The addition of another large Flat (the Gen’l McRae,) to this Line, affords increased facilities for the shipping public. Goods shall certainly have as quick transit by this Line as any other.

JNO. D. WILLIAMS, Ag’tCape Fear S. B. Co.

Feb’y 9, 1852. 63tf


New Steamboat. – We notice at our wharves this morning a new stern-wheel steamer, of light draft, called “Southerner,” but built at Fayetteville for the Henrietta Steamboat Company, and intended to run on the Cape Fear River between that town and Wilmington. She is 112 feet long, 17 ½ feet wide, has 3 feet depth of hold, and has berths for thirty passengers, and with her light draft and great power in proportion to size, (40 horse) she will no doubt be chiefly employed as a passenger boat. She is quite creditable to our Fayetteville friends.

Wil. Journal

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday. April 27, 1852]

Henrietta Steam Boat Co’s New Steamer,SOUTHERNER,WILL be in order to take her place in the line in a few days. She is one hundred twelve feet long, seventeen feet beam, and four feet hold: and draws not exceeding twelve inches water. The Company confidently expect that with this Boat, in addition to their other Steamers and tow boats, they will be in a condition to transport all freight sent by their line with as much certainty and despatch as any line upon the river. The Southerner being of such light draft of water, she will be enabled to run at all times.

G. DEMING, Pres’t.R. M. ORRELL,

Agent. Jan’y 28, 1852.

60-tf


STEAMER SOUTHERNERWILL leave Fayetteville every Wednesday and Saturday at 7 o’clock, A. M. and arrive in Wilmington at 7 o’clock P. M. And will leave Wilmington every Monday and Thursday, at 12 o’clock, M., and arrive in Fayetteville next morning.

R. M. ORRELL, Agent. April 26, 1852. 85-tf


The Zephyr. Tuesday afternoon we paid a visit to the new steamer by the above name, which has just arrived from Wilmington, Delaware, and

is intended to run as a passenger boat between this place and Fayetteville. She is 129 feet in length, 21 ½ feet beam, 5 ½ feet hold, -- has two inclined engines, the combined power of which is over one hundred horse; the engines capable of being uncoupled, and acting separate; when tried on the Delaware river, she attained a speed of fourteen miles an hour. She will not draw, with all on board, more than eighteen inches. From the above dimensions, power and speed, it will be seen that the “Zephyr” is a larger and more powerful class of boat than has heretofore been used in this business, at the same time that her draught of water is graduated expressly for the trade of the Cape Fear River. She is fitted up in the most beautiful and convenient style, with all the modern appliances, and is equal in every respect to the Delaware or North River boats of a similar class. Her saloon is 48 feet in length.—the ladies’ portion divided from the rest by handsome curtains; the woodwork painted white, and the panels ornamented with gilding, and decorated with papier mache scrowls, also gilt. The windows between the saloon and the deck are fitted with stained glass. Being intended as a day boat, she has no berths. It is calculated that she will make the run up in about fourteen hours; that down in about ten hours. Upon the whole, her appearance and general arrangement reflects credit upon her builders, Messrs. Harlan & Hollingsworth, Wilmington, Delaware and she promises to be a valuable addition to the trade of this place and Fayetteville. We hope that she will receive the patronage which the enterprise of her owners, Gen. McRae, Col. John McRae, Capt. R. McRae, and it may be one of two others, richly deserves. We believe that her cost has been about sixteen thousand dollars. We think our Fayetteville friends will be equally pleased with her.

------

SALE OF FERRIES.—On Monday the Causeway and Ferries over Eagle’s Island, immediately opposite town, the property of

the Wilmington & Manchester Railroad Co., were sold at auction for $3,450.—on credit of one, two and three years. Martin Schulken & Co., were the purchasers. There were one or two reservations connected with the sale, but it is unnecessary to relate them.—Herald.

[Wilmington Journal – Friday, December 17, 1852]

[steamboat image]THE New Iron Steamer Zephyr will leave Fayetteville every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning at 7 ½ o’clock. Returning, will leave Wilmington every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning at 7 o’clock. For freight or passage, apply to Captain R. McRae on board, or to

T. S. LUTTERLOH, Agent at Fayetteville.J. & D. McRAE & CO. Agents at Wilmington.

January 10, 1853. 58tf

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[steamboat image]The Brothers’ Steamboat Company,

OR BANK’S LINE,IS prepared with Steamers “Brothers” and “Douglass” and a complement of Tow Boats, to carry with dispatch all Freights shipped by them, between Fayetteville and Wilmington, or to any intermediate landings on the River.

JOHN BANKS, Ag’t. Wilmington.D. & W. McLAURIN, Ag’ts. Fayetteville.

Sept. 18, 1852.28-6m

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[steamboat image]A CARD.

THE return of low water renders it necessary that the Steamer Chatham should be employed as a tow boat. She will not therefore run as heretofore, on any regular days, until further notice.

JNO. D. WILLIAMS, Ag’t Cape Fear S. B. Co.May 12, 1852. 90-tf

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[steamboat image] THE Steamer FANNY LUTTERLOH will in future leave Fayetteville on Tuesday and Friday mornings, at 6 o’clock, and Wilmington Wednesdays and Saturdays at 12 o’clock, and run regularly,

carrying freight and passengers with dispatch.

T. S. LUTTERLOH.July 22, 1852. 8tf

[Fayetteville Observer, Thursday, January 20, 1853]

Steamboats at Auction.ON THURSDAY the 10th of February next, will be sold at Public Auction, at the Market House in the Town of Fayetteville, at 12 o’clock M., all the STEAM and TOW BOATS belonging to the “Henrietta Steamboat Company.” Viz: The Steamers Evergreen and Southerner and tow Boats Henry Clay, Ben Rush, Lady of the Lake, Averasborough, and Chapel Hill. Terms – Three, six, nine and twelve month’s credit for approved Notes. Sale positive.

J. H. COOK, President.

Jan’y 22, 1853.62ts

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday, January 25, 1853.]

MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT.—We regret to learn that Captain Wilkinson, of the Steamboat Southerner, running between this place and Fayetteville, was accidentally drowned on Thursday night last, by falling from the deck of the boat, somewhere above Elizabethtown, on her way up. Mr. Wilkinson was a young man in the prime of life, recently married, and with every prospect before him of future life, happiness and usefulness. His sudden death is deeply to be regretted.

[Wilmington Journal – Monday, January 31, 1853]

MELANCHOLY CASUALTY. – We regret to learn, that on Thursday night last, Capt. James Wilkinson, of this town, was lost from the Steamer Southerner, of which he was the Captain, whilst on the way up the river, about 2 miles above Elizabeth Town. Passing along the boat’s guards, he is supposed to have slipped upon the ice which had formed there, and plunged into the river.— The boat was immediately stopped, and every effort made to rescue him, but he was neither seen nor heard, probably having passed under the boat, or been struck by the wheel. The night was intensely cold. What adds to the sadness of this calamity, is the fact that he had been married only a few weeks ago; and further, that he was the only surviving child of his widowed mother.

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday, February 1, 1853.]

Marine IntelligenceArrivedFeb. 1 Steamer Maj. Wm. Barnet, McLaughlin, from Philad., to E. J. Lutterloh

[The Wilmington Journal – Friday, February 4, 1853]

New Steamer. --We have a new steamer in the Merchant's Line between this and Fayetteville, called the Maj. Wm. Barnet. She is a very fine vessel; her saloon is 38 feet by 13, and handsomely fitted up for the accommodation of passengers. The Boat is 115 feet long, 132 including wheel, and 32 feet beam, including guard, and 4 feet depth of hold, draws 14 inches water, ligt: has 2 engines, 14 inch bore, 5 feet stroke; the two supposed to be 100 horse power. She was built in Camden, N. J.-- Wil Commercial.

-----

It was reported in this place on Thursday that the body of Capt Wilkinson had been found;

but it appears to have been a mistake. The body has not yet been recovered.

-----

Cape Fear & Deep River Navigation Company

We learn that Col. Alexander Murchison of this county has accepted the Presidency of the above company, (made vacant by the resignation of J. N. Clegg, Esq.,) with an annual salary of $2,000. His well known energy of character will afford an ample guaranty that this work will be pressed with the greatest vigor. Capt. Clement Smith has been appointed an engineer of the Company with a salary of $1,500 per annum. We learn that at the meeting held on 22d ult. at Summerville, and subsequently, about six thousand dollars have been subscribed to the capital stock of the Company, which added to the amount obtained by the recent meeting in Wilmington ($30,000) leaves only $4,000 to be raised to secure the $80,000 appropriation made at the late session of the Legislature.

[The North Carolinian - Fayetteville, N.C. - Saturday, February 5, 1853.]

Marine IntelligenceArrivedFeb. 6 Steamer Maj. Wm. Barnet, Barber, from Fayetteville, to E. J. Lutterloh

[The Wilmington Journal – Friday, February 11, 1853]

FREIGHTING ON THE CAPE FEAR.

THE subscribers having purchased the Steamers Evergreen and Southerner and Tow Boats, lately the property of the Henrietta Steamboat Company, are now prepared to forward with despatch, between

Wilmington and Fayetteville, all freights or goods entrusted to them.

F. N. & J. H. ROBERTS.Fayetteville, Feb’y 14, 1853.68tf Carolinian copy.

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday, February 15, 1853]

THE ZEPHYR.—We had the pleasure during the last week of making a trip on this delightful Boat to our sister town of Wilmington and back. We started from this place at half past 7 o’clock. A. M., and reached Wilmington about 8 o’clock, P. M. Returning we left Wilmington at 7 A. M., and reached Fayetteville at about 9 P. M.—thus performing each trip in a day.—The Zephyr is an elegant, commodious, comfortable and fast running boat. She has added very greatly to the traveling facilities of the River, and deserves encouragement at the hands of the public.

North Carolinian.

------

Sale of Boats. On Thursday last, the Boats belonging to the Henrietta Steamboat Company were sold at auction for $13,340. There were two Steamers viz: the Evergreen, and Southerner, and 3 pole boats, viz: the Ben Rush; Lady of the Lake, and Averasboro. The purchasers are Messrs. F. & J. N. Roberts, who will proceed to put the new line into operation under the name of “The Frank & Jerry Line.” The energy and business qualifications of the proprietors will we doubt not, secure for this line a large share of the public patronage.—N. Carolinian.

[Wilmington Journal – Friday, February 18, 1853]

STEAMBOAT COLLISION. – On Friday last, the Southerner coming up, and the Fanny Lutterloh going down, came in contact. Both sustained injury – the Southerner very considerable, we understand.

[Fayetteville Observer – Tuesday. February 22, 1853.]

INQUEST.—Coroner Conoley held an inquest on Monday last over the body of J. F. Stidham, an Engineer, who fell into the River from the steam Boat Spray some two weeks ago and was drowned. Verdict of the Jury “accidental drowning.” The deceased was but a short time in this place; he is said to have been a man of unexceptionable integrity—much respected by those who knew him.—Wilmington Herald, March 2.

[The North Carolinian – Fayetteville, NC – March 5, 1853]

TOW-BOAT BURNT AND A LIFE LOST. The tow-boat Lady of the Lake, belonging to Messrs. F. N. & J. H. Roberts, of this place, was entirely burnt on Tuesday evening last at about 9 o’clock. She was not freighted at the time. The loss is about $700. There was some loose rosin in the bottom of the boat, and it is thought that fire was accidentally communicated to it. There were two hands on board at the time—one of whom escaped—the other, an Irishman by the name of Jerry Hays, is supposed to have perished in the flames.

[The North Carolinian – Fayetteville, NC – March 12, 1853]

Another Boat,--A steamer, built after the model of the Ferry Boats at the North; we learn, will be launched to-day, from Mr. Cassidey’s shipyard. She was built for the Wilmington and Manchester Rail Road to

convey passengers from the terminus on the other side of the River to the Depot of the W, & R. Rail Road Company.

Wilmington Herald.

[Fayetteville Observer – Monday, March 14, 1853]

STEAMER “SPRAY” FOR SMITHVILLE,THE Steamer “SPRAY,” Capt. J. W. Sterett, will leave for Smithville, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday mornings, at 9 o’clock. Returning same days, will leave Smithville at 3 o’clock, P. M., landing both ways at Orton wharf. Passage 50 cents in all cases. Freight 25 cents per barrel, other articles in proportion. Apply to Capt. Sterett on board or to

A. H. VANBOKKELEN,No. 2, South Wharves.

February 16th, 1853 139-ly

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THE STEAMER “SPRAY,” commanded by Captain STERETT, well known to this community as a most skilful seaman and polite gentleman, is now making regular tri-weekly trips between this place and Smithville. The “Spray” is a handsome and swift boat. A Smithville correspondent speaks of her as follows: “As far as the traveling public between this place and Smithville is concerned, we commend them to the steamer Spray, and its polite and skilful Captain, and we sincerely wish we could procure for it, the transportation of the mails.”

------

“STEAMER ZEPHYR.”—We have heretofore noticed the Iron Steamer Zephyr, commanded by Capt. R. McRae. All who have seen the boat can but admire her. It affords us pleasure to notice the rapid increase to her passenger list. On her last trip down, we learn, she brought fifty

passengers. She has fulfilled her engagements with unprecedented punctuality, often coming down from Fayetteville in 7 ½ hours, running time. She is now making semi-weekly trips between this place and Fayetteville.

[Wilmington Journal – Friday, March 18, 1853]

The Zephyr on her last trip from Fayetteville, came gallantly to the wharf with 50 passengers on board.—1b. {from the Wilmington Journal}

[Fayetteville Observer – Monday, March 21, 1853]

The body of Capt. James Wilkinson of this place, who was lost overboard from the Steamer Southerner, which he commanded, on the night of the 27th January last, was found in the river on Monday night last, taken on board the Steamer Chatham, Capt. Evans, and arrived here yesterday morning. It was consigned to the grave yesterday afternoon, attended by the Independent Company, of which he was a member, and a large concourse of friends of himself and his family. We understand, that notwithstanding the long period since his death, the body was but little defaced, and that in his pocket were found his money, notes, and papers, (including a note written to his young wife just before starting from Wilmington, which something prevented his sending,) all in a good state of preservation.

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday Evening. March 24, 1853]

BODY FOUND.—The body of Capt. James Wilkinson; late of the Steamer Southerner, was found last Monday, about 20 miles above this place in the Cape Fear River. The body was identified from the clothes and

papers found upon it. His pocket book contained about $100, and a note of $100—and other papers, which were but slightly defaced. Capt. Wilkinson was lost on the night of the 27th January last, from off the Steamer Southerner which boat he commanded at the time, and was running between this place and Fayetteville.

[Wilmington Journal – Friday, March 25, 1853]

[pointing finger icon>>] The Steamer “Zephyr” arrived here from Fayetteville last Monday afternoon, at fifteen minutes before 5 o’clock. This is the quickest trip which has ever been made between the two places, being only ten hours including all stoppages.

[Wilmington Journal – Friday, April 22, 1853]

EXCURSIONS TO OAK ISLAND.STEAMER “SPRAY” will make excursions every [<<sailing ship image] Saturday during month of May to Oak Island, visiting Fort Caswell, and landing at Smithville and Orton. Tickets $1; children under 12 years, half price. May 5th, ’53.—[206-tf] A. H. VanBOKKELN.

[Wilmington Journal -- Friday, May 6, 1853]

NOTICE. THE 4 Flat Boats or Lighters belonging to the Bladen Steam Boat Company, will be sold on the 1st Monday of August next, at the Elizabeth Town Landing. The Boats are of good material, and in running order. Terms, 90 days negotiable note at Bank.

GEO. CROMARTIE, Sec’y.July 12, 1853. 14*ts

[Fayetteville Observer -- Monday Evening – July 18, 1853]

The Annual meeting of the Stockholders of the Cape Fear and Deep River Navigation Company was held at Summerville on the 21st ult. Reports by the President and Directors and the Chief Engineer were submitted, accepted and directed to be published. Col. Alex Murchison was unanimously re-elected President. Messrs. Jno. H. Haughton , A. S. McNeill, L. J. Haughton, Peter G. Evans, and Elias Bryan, were elected Directors. The next Annual meeting will be held on the third Thursday in July 1854.

[Fayetteville Observer – Monday Evening -- August 8, 1853]

[steamboat image]Notice to Merchants.

THROUGH BY DAY LIGHT.THE swift and commodious Steamboat Alice, Capt. Sam’l Beery, will commence her regular semi-weekly trips between Fayetteville and Wilmington in a few days. Those who desire their goods with certainty and dispatch will obtain them by shipping by her. Due notice of days and hours of departure from each place will be given. Goods consigned to J. R. Blossom, Agent, will be promptly and carefully forwarded, as usual.

August 1853. EJL 18tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday Evening – August 11, 1853]

EXPLOSION ON THE CAPE FEAR.—We regret to learn that the Steamer Chatham burst her boilers on Saturday morning last, on her downward trip, about 15 miles above Elizabeth. The Captain, who was standing upon the upper deck, immediately above the boilers, was blown into the river, scalded, and

otherwise injured. The fireman, a free negro named Dick, is missing, and is supposed to have been killed. One of the hands also, was seriously injured. The boat sunk immediately. The Chatham is owned by the Cape Fear Company.

[Fayetteville Observer – Monday Evening – August 15, 1853]

Steamboat Accident. We learn that the Steamer Chatham, belonging to the cape Fear Line, running between this place and Fayetteville, burst one of her boilers on Saturday last, when about thirty miles below Fayetteville, on her way down. She sank in seven feet water. A negro fireman was killed by the bursting of the boiler. The Captain was knocked overboard and another person slightly injured. Loss not known. We presume the Chatham can be raised and put again in order.

[Wilmington Journal – Friday, August 19, 1853]

STEAMBOAT BLOWN UP. On Saturday evening last our citizens were startled by the announcement that the Steamer Chatham, on her downward trip, about thirty miles below this place, had met with a serious accident by the explosion of her boiler. We understand the explosion was caused by allowing the water to get too low in the boiler and then pumping in cold water while it was in a heated state. The boiler was bursted all to pieces, throwing the smoke-stack a considerable distance on land and shattering the boat so badly that it sunk in six or eight feet water. Capt. Evans was knocked into the River and narrowly escaped drowning, the Boat floating over him. It was reported that his arm was

broken, but we learn that his injuries are not as serious as at first supposed. A free man of color, named Dick, from Newbern, who acted as fireman, was killed. A negro man by the name of Fred, belonging to Mrs. Martin of Moore county, we understand was seriously injured. The Chatham, never having complied with the steamboat law, did not carry passengers. Her freight consisted of Spirits Turpentine, Sheeting, and Printing Paper from the Mill of David Murphy, Esq. We suppose it will nearly all be saved in a damaged state. The Boat, we believe, was owned by the Cape Fear Company, and was only insured against fire.

[The North Carolinian – Fayetteville, NC – Saturday, August 20, 1853]

STEAMERS ON CAPE FEAR.—Messrs. Rush & Orrell, of this place, have built a new Steamer—“The Sun”—for the Cape Fear River. The Sun is propelled by 2 engines, 32 horse power each, will run in 13 inches water, is 118 feet long, 18 feet beam, and 4 feet deep, in the hold. Whole length 128 feet—breadth, 28 feet. Mr. Lutterloh has refitted the “Barnett,” and changed its name to the “Alice,” now making regular trips between this and Wilmington. For particulars, see advertisements in this paper.

[Fayetteville Observer – Monday Evening, September 12, 1853]

STEAMER HENRIETTA,THROUGH from A. Wessell’s wharf in Wilmington, to her old wharf in Fayetteville, with a sufficient number of Flats to accommodate those wishing to ship through or way freight. R. M. ORRELL,

Agent at Fayetteville.

Sept. 9, 1853. 27tf

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THE STEAMER “SUN.”THIS new and very light draught Steamer has commenced running, though not quite finished. She is taking freight, drawing only 13 inches water. She possesses superior advantages for low water service.—She has also a large amount of warehouse, shed and wharf room, where Naval Stores or other freight may be stored with safety.

R. M. ORRELL, Ag’t.Sept. 10, 1853.

27tf

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THE STEAMER “ALICE”WILL commence her regular trips on Wednesday, 31st August: will leave Fayetteville WEDNESDAY and SATURDAY mornings at 6 o’clock, and Wilmington on MONDAY and THURSDAY mornings at 6 o’clock. She has superior accommodations for passengers.

T. S. LUTTERLOH, Agent at Fayetteville. J. R. BLOSSOM,Agent at Wilmington.

August 29, 1853. 28-1m

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday Evening – September 15, 1853]

Frank & Jerry Steamboat Line. The undersigned having added three new boats of large capacity, to their before efficient Line, now offer their services to Merchants, Naval Store Shippers, and all other persons that have freight to ship.

F. N. & J. H. ROBERTS.Jan. 11, 1854 1-tf

[North Carolina Argus – Fayetteville, NC – Wednesday March 1, 1854]

A CARD.THE undersigned have associated themselves together for the purpose of doing a general Boating Business on the Cape Fear River. They would therefore give notice to the public, that they are now prepared to accommodate them at all times with a Steam Boat at both ends of the Line.

JAMES E. METTS. M. J. RAMSEY.N. A. RAMSEY. FRED’K C.

METTS. Oct. 16, 1854 41tf

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A Boat and Several Building Lots.THREE and one-tenth acres of Land in Cambellton, and the Pleasure Boat which was exhibited at the County Fair, for sale. Apply to

F. N. & J. H. ROBERTS.Dec. 13, 1854 57-tf

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TO PASSENGERS.THE Steamer SUN will leave this place every TUESDAY, at 12 o’clock, with Passengers and Freight.

R. M. ORRELL, Agent.Fayetteville, May 31, 1854. 1-tf

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LUTTERLOH & CO.THE undersigned having on the 20th May last formed a Copartnership under the name and style of “LUTTERLOH & CO.” for the purpose of transacting a general Boating business on the Cape Fear River, the Steamer Fanny Lutterloh has been repaired, and is now in superior order for freighting and carrying passengers. She will make regularly two trips a week, leaving Fayetteville Mondays and Thursdays at 15 minutes after Sunrise, and Wilmington Tuesdays and Fridays at 10

o’clock. The Steamer Rowan with a full complement of Flats will make one trip or more a week, as circumstances may require. The Boats of this line being of very light draft of water, shippers may rely on dispatch. The Steamer Fanny Lutterloh has made two trips a week, for the last twenty-two months, up to the 20th May, during the lowest state of the River. Shippers by our line may rely with certainty on dispatch.

W. P. ELLIOTT, Agent Wilmington.J. F. MARSH, Agent Fayetteville.

T. S. LUTTERLOH,H. B. ELLIOTT,J. F. MARSH,W. P. ELLIOTT,J. B. TROY, Jr.

July 25, 1854. 17tf

[Fayetteville Observer – January 1, 1855]

THE DEEP RIVER IMPROVEMENT.—We find in the Wilmington Journal the very remarkable Report of F. A. Douglass, the Engineer employed by the Deep River Company to examine their works. It is dated at Philadelphia, Nov. 13th, 1854, and we suppose has been presented in the Legislature. Of that, however, we are not certain; for we cannot procure the documents printed by order of the Legislature, except when the courtesy of a member or two induces them to send us one. When this session commenced, we authorized a friend to order for us, and pay for, every printed document, bill, and report and in pursuance of the arrangement he made with the State printer, we received one small parcel only. The legislation of the State is but poorly understood by the people when even the newspapers cannot obtain a sight of the information on which it is founded. But to return to this remarkable Report. Mr. Douglass says,-- “The gentle declivity of the Cape Fear and Deep Rivers, averaging only about two feet per mile, together with the high banks on

both sides, extending throughout the whole distance from Fayetteville to the head of your works, renders the improvement by slack water navigation, as adopted by your company, peculiarly applicable to those Rivers; and is the best that could be devised. Its failure (if it can be so characterized) may be attributed to three causes. 1st, defect in the plans of the different parts of the work; 2d, careless and unfaithful execution of the same; 3d, the unfinished and unprotected state in which the work has been left.” “From information derived from others, and from my own observations, I am induced to believe that it would be much better for the shipping port of Fayetteville if the Cross Creek lock and Dam was located some miles lower down the River. In connection with this I will remark that I am inclined to believe that the River between Fayetteville and Wilmington can, at a moderate expense, be improved so as to admit of the passage of crafts of at least 300 tons burden, at all stages of water. If this can be done without incurring too much expense, it would be of vast importance to Fayetteville and the country bordering on the River above that place to have it done.” Mr. Douglass says that the base of the dams, instead of being only double their height, should have been three or four times the height, with a slope on the lower side of three or four base to one perpendicular. The materials in the Locks have not been put in the right shape. The packing has been badly done, the stone having been thrown in loose. Most of the mechanical work has been “passably well executed.” “The Dams at Jones’ Falls, Silver Run, Red Rock, and Gulf, are built on rather treacherous foundations, and have become a good deal undermined from the action of the water falling over them. To secure these Dams it will be necessary to increase the base about 30 or 35 feet, and build the addition in deep water below the Dam, and give it a slope down stream of about four base to one rise, and covered with timer six inches in thickness, well secured with bolts and treenails.” &c., &c.

Reeve’s Dam and Farrish’s Fish Trap Dam are located in short bends of the River, so that it will be difficult or impossible for boats to enter them, especially in high water. He therefore recommends that they be abandoned, and the two dams below them raised, so as to flow the water higher. The cost will be $3,769. The old mill dam at P. G. Evans’s is condemned as insufficient, and another below recommended. “The Locks at Silver Run and Red Rock, are so much impaired that I am apprehensive that it will be difficult to make them stand a length of time without incurring a large expense, and then they will be quite imperfect. I would therefore recommend securing them temporarily by bracing and cribbing, and proceed as soon as practicable to rebuild them in a more permanent and substantial manner. “The Lock at the Gulf is placed in the pool above the Dam, and the pressure of the water from the outside has pressed in the side about one foot, and burst off the planking. In order to secure this, there will have to be a crib built outside of the Lock in the pool about 12 feet distant from the Lock, and the wall brought back to its place and secured with long sure bolts to the crib, and the space between the Lock and crib filled with good pudling. “All the other Locks can be secured by constructing cribs on the river side to prevent them from being undermined, and by supporting the walls with braces and buttresses. I would recommend that in all cases where the Locks are not completed, that an alteration be made in the head of the Locks, so as to place the gates on a level with the top of the breast wall, and a stepe gate be placed at the head of the Locks, and wing cribs constructed both above and below all the Locks. I will further suggest—building the Lock at Cross Creek, and these to be rebuilt at Silver Run and Red Rock, of rubble masonry laid in cement, and as fast as the other Locks require rebuilding, to build them in the same manner, and make them 24 feet in width. The additional cost with the aid of

the navigation to transport the materials will not exceed $3,000 each Lock. I would also recommend that the depth of water be increased to five feet instead of three feet eight inches, the present depth. The additional cost will not exceed $10,000.” The above are the principal recommendations of Mr. Douglass. He appended estimates, but the Journal has not published them, nor have we seen them.

------ Dobbs, having read very attentively the report of Mr. Douglas the Engineer, concerning the present condition of the Deep River Improvement, and ascertained that for the most part the works will have to be done over again, expressed his concurrence in the views of the Engineer after this expressive fashion “DEEP RIVER BE DAMNED.”—Wil. Herald.

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday Evening – January 11, 1855]

To the Freighting Public.THE Brothers’ Steam Boat Co. is now prepared with the following boats: Str. DOUGLASS, Str. BROTHERS, Tow Boat STEVENSTON, D. LEWIS, ALFRED ELLIS, JAS. CASSIDEY, KINSBURY, and

ELIZA McDANIEL,To transport all Naval Stores, Produce and other Freight intrusted to their care, with as much dispatch as any other line of Boats on the River. They are provided with suitable Wharf and Ware-House accommodations to do a general business, and hope by strict attention to the interest of shippers, to meet a share of public patronage.

J. S. BANKS, Ag’t,Fayetteville.

JNO. BANKS, Ag’tAt Wilmington.

Sept. 19, 1853. 29tf


Express Steam Boat Line.

STR. SOUTHERNER,FAIRY,

for passengers and Freight:

Str. EVERGREEN, andELIZA,

for Freight only.

Lighters – J. R. BLOSSOM,ELIZA McDUGALD,F. FRIES,RED FOX,GOV. MOREHEAD,EXPRESS,NORTH STATE,A. B. CHESNUTT.

RAMSEY & BRO., } {W. H. McRARY & CO., Ag’ts at Fayetteville } { Ag’ts at Wilmington.

All goods sent to the care of the “EXPRESS STEAM BOAT LINE” will be taken on Freight, and forwarded with the greatest despatch. As our facilities for accommodation are greater than ever before known on our River, it will be our greatest pleasure and effort to give still the more satisfaction.

JAMES E. METTS. M. J. RAMSEY. N. A. RAMSEY FRED’K C. METTS. Oct. 16, 1854. 4xtf


REMOVAL.

THE Office of the Brothers’ Steam Boat Company is removed to the Huske Building, on Green street, next door to P. Taylor’s.

J. S. BANKS, Ag’t.Nov 6, 1854 46tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday Evening – April 12, 1855]

We understand the Cape Fear River is completely beside itself. It is running around the eastern end of the Cross Creek lock-as hard as it can tear.

[North Carolina Argus – Fayetteville, NC – Saturday January 5, 1856]

FREIGHTING ON CAPE FEAR RIVER.AT a meeting of the Boat owners interested in navigating the Cape Fear River between Fayetteville and Wilmington, On motion, D. McLaurin was called to the Chair, and R. M. Orrell was appointed Secretary. On motion of James F. Marsh, Resolved, That from and after the 1st day of January, 1856, will carry Guano from Wilmington to Fayetteville at 10 cents per bag; Lime at 25 cents per cask, and ground Plaster at 30 cents per cask, and that a reduction of 20 per cent, from the printed and established rates on all other articles will be made from and after that date, all Cartage and Drayage being paid by the shippers. On motion of James Banks. Resolved, That the foregoing be published in the Town papers.

D. McLAURIN, Chair’n. R. M. ORRELL, Secretary.

Dec. 24, 1856. 104-tf

[North Carolina Argus – Fayetteville, NC – Saturday January 26, 1856]

The meeting of the ‘stockholders in the Cape Fear and Deep River Navigation Company will be held at Haywood on the 17th

inst.

[Fayetteville Observer – April 14, 1856]

CAPE FEAR AND DEEP RIVER NAVIGATION COMPANY.—From the Wilmington Herald we learn that the Stockholders met at Haywood on the 17th inst., Hon. Hugh Waddell presiding, and Messrs. H. A. London, D. E. McNair, and John Manning, Secretaries. Seth B. Jones, Esq. represented the State. The Reports of the President, Engineer and Treasurer were read, received and ordered to be filed. Nathaniel Clegg, Esq., offered the following preamble and resolutions, viz: WHEREAS, By a resolution passed at the last annual meeting of the Stockholders of this company, requesting the Directors to secure the services of E. A. Douglass, Esq., of Pennsylvania, or some other competent engineer, to superintend the work on the Cape Fear and Deep Rivers; and in compliance with which the Directors did employ said Douglass for the sum of $5,000 per annum: Resolved, That though we have the utmost confidence in the skill and ability of said Douglass, we are of opinion that he has not devoted that time and attention to our work which the salary given him would justify and demand. Resolved, That if said Douglass cannot devote more of his time and talent to our work, that the Directors are hereby requested to reduce his salary or to discharge him. Which resolutions, on motion of M. Q. Waddell, Esq., were laid on the table. M. Q. Waddell, Esq., offered the following: Resolved, That no portion of the $300,000 appropriated by the Legislature of 1854-‘5 shall be applied in payment of any interest or

preferred stock until the completion of the work on the Cape Fear and Deep Rivers. On motion of Isaac Clegg, Esq., this resolution was indefinitely postponed. M. Q. Waddell, Esq., offered the following resolutions, viz: Resolved, 1st., That the balance of the $300,000, be kept by the Treasurer of the company, for the purpose of paying the interest upon preferred stock. Resolved, 2d., That it was unwise and impolitic in the Directors of the Company to fritter away the funds of this Company, in holding their meetings at so many different places in the state, involving an expense in traveling, by the payment of the per diem of each member of the Board, wholly useless and at war with the best interests of the company. [Unanimously rejected.] M. Q. Waddell, Esq., then offered the following resolution, viz: Resolved, That the Directors of this Company have delayed this work unnecessarily, by refusing to accept bids for the work on Deep River from persons who were responsible, and offered to take the work and run the chance of getting their pay out of any funds remaining after the Cape Fear River should be finished; and, finally when the work on Deep River was let out, they let out only a portion of it, greatly to the detriment of those residing and owning lands above the points, to which the work is now only to be finished. Adopted by a majority of 21—the State voting no. John H. Haughton, Esq., offered the following: Resolved, That the President and Directors shall put to contract all the remaining work on Deep River, or so much thereof as the means of the company will justify, having a due regard to the completion of the Cape Fear, as contemplated by the resolution of the last general meeting at Wilmington on this subject; and that, in carrying out this resolution, said Board are hereby authorized to employ the slaves of the company, or to sell them, and apply the funds thereof, as in

their discretion they may deem best for the speedy consummation of the object herein expressed; and that the resolution of last Wilmington meeting, or so much thereof as is in conflict with this, be rescinded. Resolved, 2d., That the work Deep River be done on the most economical plan upon which the Chief Engineer can have the same executed, having a due regard to a good navigation. [Adopted.] Col. John McRae offered the following resolution: Resolved; That the President and Directors of this Company be and are hereby authorized and requested, if in their opinion they shall deem it advisable, to enter into an agreement with some private individuals or companies, for putting on boats and transporting produce and merchandize over such portions of the work as may or shall be completed; and that, in making any such arrangements, they shall fix the rate of tolls to be paid on such produce and merchandize, and a maximum rate of freight to be charged by such individuals or companies. [Passed.] The following preamble and resolutions were offered by Col. McRae: WHEREAS, It is an essential feature in the operations of any Corporation or Company, that there be some head man possessing suitable qualities, who shall be responsible for the successful prosecution, and management of its operations, and whereas, in the prosecution of the enterprise, undertaken by this Company, the suitable qualifications required, are skill and experience, such as we believe to be possessed by Mr. E. A. Douglass, the gentleman chosen by the Directory as Engineer, with the approbation of this Company. Therefore Resolved, That while we hold him responsible for the success of his plans adopted by our Directory, it would be manifestly unjust, that they should be changed, or that he and his agents should be interfered with, in the execution of them, without his consent. Which were adopted.

Col. Alex. Murchison was re-elected President, and Messrs. Haughton, McNeill and Cassidey, Directors. On motion of H. A. London, it was Resolved, That the Treasurer of the Company be authorized to receive subscription for preferred stock and the first moneys raised by said subscription be used by him, first to pay off John C. Smith and Henry Elliot, and after that Alex. Murchison and all others. On motion of John A. Moore, it was Resolved, That the President and Directors be instructed at as early a day as possible to raise from the preferred stock, any deficit that the contemplated alterations in the work may not meet, for the completion of the work at the Gulf, and at P. G. Evans’. Provided, however, that this resolution be understood as applying to the work only so much of said stock as may not be necessary to pay old debts against the Company. On motion of N. M. Clegg, it was Resolved, That the President and Board of Directors be and are hereby authorized to make such an arrangement with the Trustee for the use of the steamboat J. H. Haughton by the Company as may be to the best interest of all parties. The following Preamble and Resolutions offered by Dr. S. McClanahan, passed unanimously, viz: Whereas there is now pending before the Military Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, a resolution of enquiry as to the propriety and expediency of establishing on Deep River a National Foundry and Armory, and whereas such a work would not only add greatly to the value of the Coal region and to that of the Agricultural interests of the surrounding country by furnishing a large home market for all surplus produce, but to that of the State of North Carolina at large. Be it therefore Resolved, That a committee of six persons be appointed by the President of this Convention who shall memorialize Congress on this subject and visit Norfolk and Charleston if deemed proper, at which points

there are Navy Yards interested in this subject and procure their aid and that of their Representatives in Congress in obtaining for the State of North Carolina, the benefit of the foundry and armory. On motion of J. C. Smith, the president of the Convention was added to the committee. The Convention then adjourned.

------- Mr. Cassidey, one of the Directors of the above Company, has published a card in the Wilmington Herald, stating that Messrs. Dugan Cartwright & Co., had submitted a proposition to the Directors, to take the entire work on Deep River, and complete it in August next, at the Engineer’s estimates, and according to his plans and specifications; and not to be paid for, until all the work on the River below was completed, and then if our fund fell short (the $300,000) they would take (if necessary) to the amount of $25,000 of preferred stock as payment.” This proposal, says Mr. C., was rejected: For it, Messrs. John H. Haughton, and James Cassidey. For rejecting the proposi{ti)on, Hon. A. Rencher, J. J. Jackson, R. E. Rives. Col. A. S. McNeill absent.


NOTICE.FROM and after this date the Brothers’ Steam Boat Company, will not be responsible for any damages or loss on way Freight, unless the consignee or his agent, is on the river bank when the goods are delivered, to make his objection or claim.

A. D. CAZAUX, AgentBrothers’ Steam Boat Company.

Jan. 10, 1856. 105-tf

------

WILMINGTON ANDFayetteville Passenger Line.

THE NEW STEAMER “MAGNOLIA” will leave Fayetteville Tuesdays and Fridays at 15

minutes after sunrise, and Wilmington Wednesdays and Saturdays at o’clock. Passage $4.

T. S. LUTTERLOH.June 14, 1855 77-tf

------

Freight and Passenger Line between Wilmington

and Fayetteville.------

STEAMER MAGNOLIA,Leaves Fayetteville on Monday and Thursday mornings, 15 minutes after sun-rise. Leaves Wilmington on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Steamer FANNY LUTTERLOH, leaves Fayetteville on Tuesday and Friday mornings, 15 minutes after sun-rise. Leaves Wilmington Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Both carrying Freight and Passengers. Steamers ROWAN, with full sets of Lighters, runs regularly, carrying Freight only. The regularity of our Boats on all stages of the River, and the dispatch and promptness in delivering goods, are too well known to require comment. To our patrons we tender our thanks for the very liberal patronage heretofore bestowed, and can assure all shippers that no effort will be spared in future, and feel confident that our facilities for dispatch are equal if not superior to any line on Cape Fear River.

W. P. ELLIOTT, Agent for Lutterloh & Co.

Fayetteville, Oct. 1, 1856 146-tf

[North Carolina Argus – Fayetteville, NC - Saturday, April 25, 1857]

ASSIGNEES’ SALE.[boat image] BY VIRTUE of a deed of trust made by John and James Banks, to the undersigned, on the 3d day of March, 1857,

we will proceed to sell at public Auction in front of the Custom House, on 20th May, at 11 o’clock. A. M., the Steamer BROTHERS AND 4 LIGHTERS. Terms made known on day of sale.

JAS. T. PETTEWAY, }JESSE T. WARDEN, }

Assignees.Wilmington, April 25. 2-tf


STEAM BOAT NOTICE.THE Steamer JAMES R. GRIST, with Lighters, having changed owners, will continue to run between Fayetteville and Wilmington, stopping at intermediate Landings. Prompt personal attention will be given to all freights entrusted to my care.

PETER P. JOHNSON, Agent.April 14, 1857 172-2n

[North Carolina Argus – Fayetteville, NC – Saturday May 15, 1857]

W. P. ELLIOTT,Commission Merchant,

Fayetteville, N. C.,Agent for Lutterloh & Co.’s Steam Boat Line.Will attend promptly to all business intrusted to his care.

October 21, 1856 146-tf

[North Carolina Argus – Fayetteville, NC – Saturday August 15, 1857]

The steamer J. H. Haughton, which left here for Lockville, on the 26th inst., took up with her a quantity of merchandize, and also a lot of materials for the Deep River Improvement. We learn that the work in the Egypt Coal mines is going on rapidly, and that, from present appearances, coal will soon be ready for delivery.

Wilmington Herald.


A TERRIBLE STEAMBOAT ACCIDENT!MANY LIVES LOST!!

Our community is intensely shocked this morning by intelligence that the Steamer Magnolia, Captain John M. Stedman, burst her boilers and sunk in deep water, near Whitehall, on the Cape Fear River, yesterday morning. A brief letter from one of the passengers sent by private hand to Mr. W. H. Lutterloh, gives us all the reliable news as yet received. The letter is dated Wednesday 1 o’clock, and at the time of writing the bodies of seven persons had been found. The only names mentioned among the killed are those of Captain Stedman and a negro man Charles, one of the boat’s crew, belonging to Mrs. John Murchison. Thos. S. Lutterloh, Esq., the owner of the Magnolia, was on board and severely hurt. It is supposed, from the location of the disaster, that there was, as usual, a number of way passengers; and it is feared that some, ladies and children among them, went down with the boat. Capt. Stedman leaves a large and helpless family, (his wife the daughter of the late Judge Potter.) We learn that he had a Life Policy of $2000 in the Greensborough Mutual Company. In addition to the above particulars, we have seen a letter from the Rev. A. Paul Repiton, of Wilmington, who was a passenger on the Magnolia, and who writes from the W. & M. Rail Road, (9 miles from the scene of the disaster,) which he had reached on his return to Wilmington. He says,-- “By request of Mr. Lutterloh, of your place, I write to inform you that the Magnolia burst her boiler last night about 12 o’clock. Some 12 or 15 passengers are dead. Capt. Stedman is also among the missing, and had not been found up to the time I left White Hall, where the accident happened. Mr.

Lutterloh has sustained no injury except in his left shoulder, which it is thought may be dislocated. I left him at White Hall, where he requested me to write from this point for the sake of his family.”

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday Evening, February 18, 1858]

FATAL STEAMBOAT ACCIDENT. We learn that about midnight of Tuesday last, the Steamer Magnolia of the Lutterloh line, which left this place on the afternoon of the same day, stopped at Whitehall landing, Bladen county, some forty-nine miles from Wilmington, to put a passenger ashore. While at the landing, her boiler exploded, making a complete wreck of the boat, and killing and wounding a number of persons. The following are all the particulars of the loss of life that we have been able to learn.

White Persons Killed. – Capt. Stedman, commander of the boat, Dr. Fellows, a young gentleman from Philadelphia, said to have been raised in Sampson; Mr. Tyson; a female from Wilmington, and boy about eight years old, -- neither names known.

Colored Persons Killed. -- Simon, the cook; Charles, the Pilot, and two or three others. – names unknown. A colored man named Carver, or Carter, was mortally wounded, and another colored man badly hurt, although he may possibly recover.

Mr. T. S. Lutterloh of Fayetteville, was pretty severely injured in the shoulder, but his situation is not supposed to be dangerous. It is proper to remark that the body of Captain Stedman has not been found, but no doubts are entertained of his death. It is believed that some fifteen persons were killed, but our accounts are very meager. Rev. A. P. Repiton, of Wilmington, was on board and made a narrow escape. There were some thirty

passengers aboard. The boat was valued at $10,000 . No insurance.

P. S. -- We learn that a man named George Payman, or Pearman, from Wilmington, was aboard, accompanying a corpse, which he was carrying up to Fayetteville for interment. The coffin and what it contained were blown to pieces, and the many has not been heard of, so that there is too much reason to fear that he also has been killed.

[WDJ Thursday Evening, February 18, 1858]

THE EXPLOSION ON BOARD THE MAGNOLIA.—The only additional particulars of this melancholy affair that we have received, are contained in the communication of our attentive correspondent “Bladen,” who has our thanks for his courtesy. We would also call attention to the advertisement of Mr. Sikes, who seeks an owner for one hundred and twenty-two dollars in gold found in a buckskin purse, hanging to an oak near the scene of the accident. The scene must, indeed, have presented a melancholy and pitiable sight, as described by our correspondent, and the news will carry wailing and distress to many a fireside.

-----

For the Journal.WHITE HALL, Feb. 17th, 1858.

MESSRS. EDITORS: An awful and heart-rending scene is presented here this morning.

On last night, (Tuesday, the 16th inst.,) at 12 o’clock, the steamer Magnolia, Capt. Stedman, while delivering passengers and freight at this place, exploded her boilers, scattering wreck, ruin and death around. I have only time to state a few of the particulars.

Among the whites we have found Captain John Stedman, killed. Dr. Milton Fellows, of Bladen, killed. Thomas J. Tyson, of Cumberland, killed. James O. West, of Bladen, on the boat, not found.

Susan E. Larry, (or Leary,) formerly of Marion C. H., S. C., late of Norfolk, Va., on the boat, not found.

A small boy named Andrew Bell, on the boat, not found.

Negroes. -- Five dead bodies found.

It is though that from five to ten others, white and black, are lsot.

Badly Hurt. – T. S. Lutterloh, arm broken, doing well; Geo. Peaman, Wilmington, badly scalded and otherwise injured; Archibald McRae, son of John McRae, of Harnett county, badly burned; together with several others.

The boat is a total ruin. Parts of her hull, machinery and apparel cover the shore for two hundred yards around.

Harrison Driver, the mate, after being blown overboard into the river, swam to the flat lying at the landing, and was instantly active and efficient in rendering relief. Driver’s conduct merits much praise. The sufferers are being well attended to.

Those of the whites, not here named, who were known to have been on the boat, are saved.

The most melancholy and pitiable sight is presented here. Frightful and horribly distorted corpses lie scattered around.

Yours in great haste,BLADEN.

[Wilmington Daily Journal – Friday Evening, February 19, 1858]

THE WHITEHALL DISASTER.—Nothing positive has been added to the statement published in the last Observer, except the names (in part) of the killed and wounded. We have been unable to obtain a list of those on board the Magnolia, (supposed to number 35 to 40) at the time of the explosion, or a complete list of the saved. Eleven persons are known to have been killed, and one of the wounded negroes has since died. From five to ten other negroes are reported among the missing, and are believed to have been killed. The fullest statement we have seen is contained in the annexed letter, which from its date, should have reached us in time for the last Observer, but only came to hand by yesterday’s (Sunday) mail. The general opinion here as to the cause of the disaster differs from that entertained by our correspondent’s informants. It is most commonly supposed that the explosion was caused by the rush of cold water upon the heated and exhausted boilers; not by a head of steam too large for their capacity. We have heard that the Magnolia was permitted by the U. S. Examining Officer to carry 125 lbs., and that there were not on board weights to enable her to carry more. But all these matters will of course be investigated, and it is proper in the meantime that the views of those on board should be made known, as they are by our correspondent, that if erroneous, they may be rectified. Mr. Lutterloh, as soon as he recovers, intends, as we hear, to make a thorough investigation. Letter to the Editors of the Observer, dated,ELIZABETHTOWN, Feb. 17, 1858. MESSRS. EDITORS: The citizens of this community were called upon, on yesterday, to witness the most melancholy and awful scene perhaps ever exhibited within the borders of our State. The steamer Magnolia, Captain John M. Stedman, while lying at the wharf at

Whitehall, on Tuesday night the 16th inst., exploded her boilers, scattering wreck and death on every hand! From all the information which I could gather in the hurry and confusion incident to this accident, it appears that the boat had been running under unusual pressure of steam, which was not permitted to escape after she was stopped to deliver a passenger and a few articles of freight. The fire in the furnace was very high, steam was fast generating, and an additional weight having been applied to the lever which commands the escape at the safety-valve, no change was given it to expend its force, save in the way it did. At about the hour of 11 o’clock “there came a burst of thunder sound,” shaking, jarring and blowing into a million of atoms the hull, apparel and machinery of the boat, and burling for hundreds of feet on every side human bodies, fragments of iron, wood and clothing, strewing and lining the shore so completely with particles of the wreck that one could scarcely have escaped unhurt had he been standing a hundred feet away on any side. The report of the explosion was heard for nine miles so distinctly as to awaken persons from sleep. The boiler, weighing two or three thousand pounds, was blown at least three hundred feet over a store-house some 30 or 40 feet high, striking in its flight and breaking a stick of ton-timber 16 inches square, upsetting two others, and cutting off two trees at least eight inches through! Of the immense force exerted in this explosion, I can give you no adequate idea. Description is too meager to convey a commensurate sense of it. Bolts and bars of iron were cast as mere playthings from its giant blast. The tree-tops round about are hung full of great sheets of the deck, and articles of clothing flutter from the branches as though they had been vomited from her boiling cauldron and hung there to dry.* A portion of a door, with the lock attached, was found at least six hundred feet from the wreck!

The hull of the boat is torn to fragments, and presents the idea of a huge mastodonic skeleton exhumed, with its big ribs alone remaining to outline its form! One can hardly conceive that so much force and power could possibly be shut up and confined in so small a compass. In short, sirs, the Magnolia is a total wreck. Her furniture, machinery and fixments generally are torn into fragments. Had natural and artificial force combined to despoil her of her fair proportions, they could not have succeeded more effectually in accomplishing her end. I am not, at this time, sufficiently quiet in feeling to give you a particular account of all that this scene presented. I have not been accustomed to look upon death in such hideous and distorted shapes as there seemed to mock the observer. Here and there lay the dead, bruised, blackened and mangled; ghastly wounds, exuding blood, shocked me on every side, and my tears were dried up in their very fountain by this sirocco of death! May it never blow in our midst again! Among the whites killed the bodies of the following persons have been found: Capt. John M. Stedman, dreadfully torn and disfigured; Dr. Milton Fellows of Bladen, (a bar or bolt of iron entered his throat just under his chin, and passed out at or near the mould of his head); Thomas I. Tyson, Cedar Creek, Cumberland. In addition, the following whites are thought to have been killed,--(they were known to have been on the boat and have not since been heard from)—James O. West, Bladen; Susan E. Leary, formerly of Marion Court House, S. C., late of Norfolk, Va.; Andrew Bell, a small boy, in company with the above. Among the negroes, have been found the bodies of five. It is believed that from five to ten others are lost. Wounded.—Mr. Lutterloh, arm broken and bruised—doing well; Arch’d, son of John McRae, of Harnet, badly scalded; George Pearman, Wilmington, slightly scalded and

otherwise injured; several negroes, one mortally.

------ Mr. John W. Sikes advertises in the Wilmington Journal for the owner of $122 in gold, found in a buck-skin purse hanging to an oak near the scene of the disaster.—OBS.

It is thought that at least thirteen lives have been lost by this explosion. It is not for me to say how it occurred. No one can tell positively where the blame, if any, should lie. I have been told that one of the Captains of the boats on the River gives it as his opinion that the boiler exploded from gas; that the boiler was perfect and capable of resisting a pressure of one hundred and sixty pounds of steam without danger, if properly supplied with water. Persons who were on the boat, however, generally believe that she was carrying too much steam. Great credit is due to Harrison Driver, the mate, for his very prompt and efficient services in rendering relief. Driver was thrown overboard into the River, but, with great presence of mind, he swam to the ferry flat with which he was instantly active at the wreck. There is a sad and poignant regret in the death of poor Fellows. He had labored hard and sedulously against opposing circumstances in life to acquire a place in the Medical profession, and was just returning from Philadelphia, ‘bouyant and happy, to his home and friends, when, alas for human hopes and promises! he was cut down at the very threshold!

------“Earthly things Are but the transient pageant of an hour, And earthly pride is like the passing flower That springs to fall, and blossoms but to die.”

In a hasty and random way I have noted some few incidents of this calamitous mishap. It came upon us “as a thief in the night.” Let us hope that our eyes may never look upon its like again, and that God may so comfort the heart of the widow and the fatherless, as ere long sunshine and joy may take the place of sadness and sorrow.

P. S. Driver, the mate, testified before the jury of inquest that the boat had been running for several weeks without the services of the steam-guage,--by guess. The guage was out of fix. The community should have known this, or the boat should have been taken from her work. Yours, &c. BLADEN.

Just as we are going to press, we learn from Mr. T. S. Lutterloh, that the statement as to the Steam-Guage is entirely without foundation, as he knows from personal examination.

------ The remains of Capt. John M. Stedman, of the ill-fated steamer Magnolia, were followed to the grave, on Friday afternoon, by the Order of Odd Fellows, the Independent Company, and a large number of citizens. A tribute to his memory, handed us this morning by one who knew and loved him well, we are compelled by press of matter to postpone till Thursday.

[Fayetteville Observer – Monday Evening, February 22, 1858]

ARRIVAL FROM THE DEEP RIVER.—The Steamer John H. Haughton arrived on Tuesday morning from Haywood, with one hundred and thirty-five bales of Cotton, five hundred barrels of Flour, &c., on board. With the exception of a small quantity of Flour consigned to Wilmington by the owner, the Haughton’s freight was sold here.

------

FOR THE OBSERVER.

MESSRS. HALE:--Gentlemen: Will you kindly allow me space in the Observer for a brief tribute to the memory of Mr. Fellow, medical student, on the Magnolia at the time of the explosion. He was indeed a worthy young man: for a stranger to know him was to respect and admire him; for friends to be associated with him was to love him. John

Milton Fellow is lost to us,--struck down in the dawn of usefulness to his countrymen, of honorable advancement to himself,--one likely to have proved an ornament to any community, an undoubted credit to this his native State. Again we are invited to repeat the poetic sentiment—alas, too often realized!—“Death loves a shining mark.” Again we are summoned to bow, mutely resigned, beneath the weight of an inscrutable dispensation of Providence. We are smitten—we are smitten with the rod of affliction; but let us not presume to murmur, let not the bereaved mourn us those without hope—without Heavenly Consolation.

“Judge not the Lord by feeble sense;But trust Him for His graceBehind a frowning ProvidenceHe hides a shining face.”

SENEX.Mt. Zion, South River, 8th March.

------ An Incident.—A friend sends the following: When the Magnolia exploded on the Cape Fear, an old negro man, the cook, was fatally injured. Being found horribly scalded he seemed cheerful and happy, and exclaimed “Glory to god. I am going home to heaven.” It was astonishing to observe the difference in death, between the triumph of this poor old negro, and others whose tortures did not appear to be alleviated by the Christian’s faith. “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.”

N. C. Christian Advocate.

Poor old Simon! For about forty years he was a faithful steward, mostly on one boat—the old Henrietta—on the Cape Fear. He was faithful in life, and was not without Hope in his death.

[Fayetteville Observer – March 15, 1858]

ANOTHER ARRIVAL FROM DEEP RIVER.—The John H. Haughton arrived at this place on Tuesday last, heavily freighted with Cotton and Flour from the Deep River country.


CONDITION OF THE RIVER.—We learn that a quantity of goods which had been shipped from the North by Wilmington, for Fayetteville and the back country, have been diverted from this place after their arrival in Wilmington, and sent on the N. C. & W. & M. roads. This must have been owing either to misapprehension or misrepresentation as to the condition of the river. We refer to our columns for evidence of the fact that the steamers have at no time this season failed to make regular trips to and from Wilmington. Several of the boats, (and more indeed than are reported in the Observer, for we can’t get all the agents to attend to the matter,) have been running regularly, and are now running regularly, and intend to run regularly; and people who want goods to come this way, may rest assured of their prompt transportation. The two last trips of one of the boats brought larger freights than any the owners have ever had. Let no credit be given to interested reports to the contrary.

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday Evening, September 30, 1858]

BOAT SUNK.—We learn that on Saturday last the steamer Rowan, on her down trip about 30 miles from Wilmington, struck a snag and sunk. As the river is low and the freight of a kind not easily damaged, we presume the loss is small, and that the boat will soon be running again.

[Fayetteville Observer – Monday Evening, October 4, 1858]

Cape Fear and Deep River Navigation Co.:-- The River Opened ! !---Steamer Enterprise

And Barges Pioneer and Perseverance enroute For the Coal Fields with Merchandise And Machinery!!!---Success at Last!!!! It is with great satisfaction that we announce to our citizens and the State at large, that on yesterday afternoon the steamer Enterprise and barges Pioneer and Perseverance left this port with merchandise and machinery for Egypt, on Deep River, and all intermediate landings above Fayetteville. The shippers were Messrs. Hathaway & Co., T. C. & B. G. Worth, Wm. Neff & Sons, T. H. McKoy & Co., Wm. K. Covell, DeRosset & Brown, Wm. H. McRary & Co., Keith & Flanner, Henry A. London, L. A. Hart, L. N. Barlow. The indefatigable and very efficient president, Mr. Cassiday, who accompanies the Enterprise and barges to the mines this trip, informs us it is his intention to take in a full cargo of Deep River coal, direct from the mines, and land it some time next week upon the wharves of our town.—Wil. Herald. [The barges above mentioned (but not the steamer) arrived here on Friday night, in tow of the steamer Rowan, of Lutterloh’s line of Fayetteville boats] –OBSERVER.

[Fayetteville Observer – December 6, 1858]

THE BARGE PIONEER—JONES’S LOCK, &c.—The Wilmington Herald, in the exuberance of its joy over the annexed letter, perpetrates some rare witticisms, such as that the salute to be fired in Wilmington, on the arrival of the “barge Pioneer,” would, “if it were heard in Fayetteville, make its [the Observer’s] pet, the George McNeill, unquestionably jump the track and take to the woods in pure terror and dismay.” Now that would be an achievement worthy of the occasion of a salute of 100 guns for making a trip to Deep river in FIFTY DAYS! Better let your “barge” take to the woods. We have had many tons of Deep river coal here in Fayetteville, in two days from the mines, by those woods boats commonly called wagons, at a far less cost

per ton than that which will go to Wilmington by the “barge Pioneer.” The Herald has no right to call the Observer “the worst enemy in the world of the scheme,” though if it were, it would be justified by the benevolent motives of some of the projectors of the scheme, viz: to obliterate Fayetteville from the map. The pretext for so speaking of us is a statement in the Observer which the Herald does not pretend to question. And that statement we made to give the truth as to certain news items which we felt bound to copy from the Wilmington papers. Are we the worst enemies of the scheme because we tell the truth about it? We never opposed the scheme: our members voted for all the appropriations it ever had, and with our full and often expressed approval. We are opposed to humbuggery, such as that now uttered by the Herald about “the success of the great scheme for the development of the vast mineral resources of North Carolina.” The idea that the arrival of one old boat, (newly christened a “barge,”) after a fifty days’ trip, with repairs to be made at nearly every lock before she could get through, is a “success of the great scheme,” would be laughable if it were not worse. Go to work like men: ask the Legislature for a million of dollars: add you own money to that: put in locks and dams that will “support their own weight,” and you will find the Observer bid you all speed. But to the letter:--

BARGE PIONEER, }JONES LOCK, Jan’y 13—8 P. M. }

When I arrived here (as I wrote you,) I found three of the gates broken out and gone, so I determined at once to make a lower gate and work stop plank above to enable us to pass our boats, which I hope to do by Sunday. I have employed help at Cross Creek that I may not be detained at that lock; and if nothing more takes place to prevent, I hope to see you soon.

JAS. CASSIDEY, Pres’t. P. S. We are informed that the “barge” is still on the wrong side of Jones’s Lock, this morning. The river rose 10 feet yesterday, which will delay the repairs.

[Fayetteville Observer – Monday Evening – January 17, 1859]

DEEP RIVER.—We copy the two following paragraphs from the Wilmington papers of Tuesday last. We wish to give every one his due, but it is certainly hard to get reliable information from the rivers above. Here are the Wilmington papers expecting the boats yesterday, with guns charged to salute them; whilst our information is, that the aforesaid boats were yesterday lying at Jones’s Lock, 8 miles above this place, unable to get past it, for the reason that the gates of the Lock had been washed away during the late fresh. Then a few days ago the same Wilmington papers announced the arrival there of a boat from Haywood, “after passing through ten Locks,” as they said; which must have been the most marvelous boating feat on record, since the said ten Locks were, according to our information, from thirty to forty feet under water. The Boats from Deep River are expected here tomorrow with Coal, and we learn that our citizens are making arrangements to greet them on their arrival, with a salvo of 100 guns.

Wilmington Herald.

Deep River.—We have just seen Mr. Jesse J. Cassidey, who arrived here on Sunday, from the Deep River work, where he left his father, James Cassidey, Esq., President of the Company, on Friday last, about ten miles above Lockville, with the steamer Haughton, and a large Flat in tow; said Flat being loaded with Coal, Iron and Copper Ore, Soapstone, Wheat, Flour, Cotton, Dried Fruit and country produce generally. Mr. Cassidey looks for his father here to-morrow or next day, with the products. His arrival should be hailed by the people of Wilmington as an auspicious event, establishing the existence of a communication, however imperfectly constructed, with the Mines.

Mr. Cassidey also informs us that he has received from the lock-tender at Silver Run, a letter dated on the 4th inst., stating that the late freshet had done some damage to the lock at that place, but none that could not be repaired in a day. He had heard of no damage at any other point. It is probable that some mistakes were made, owing to the fact that a good quantity of dressed timer had been placed on the bank of the river in the vicinity of Red Rock Dam, and this timber floating off and down the stream, naturally gave rise to the impression that a considerable portion of the works had been carried off. We may make our Fayetteville cotemporaries unhappy by stating this fact, but we can’t help it.

Wilmington Journal.

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday Evening, January 18, 1859]

From the Wilmington Herald.ARRIVAL OF THE STEAMER HAUGHTON,

AND BARGE PIONEER.FROM DEEP RIVER.

With Coal, Iron Ore, Copper Ore, Soap Stone, Flour, &c.—The flags of the shipping displayed in honor of the event.—The Boats Welcomed amid the roar of Cannon, and the enthusiastic Cheers of the crowds upon the Wharves.—The Deep River Navigation a Fixed Fact! Yesterday afternoon, between two and three o’clock, the cannon stationed at Point Peter announced in thunder tones the approach of the long-looked for steamer and barge direct from the Coal Mines on Deep River. Scarcely had the report died away, ere it was answered by the big gun on one of our wharves. Our citizens being on the qui vive, immediately flocked en masse to the wharves and docks, which soon presented and unusual scene of excitement. Away up the river, turning and twisting through its tortuous course, could be seen the approaching boats, bearing on board the first instalment {Word, installment, misspelled.} of the precious deposits which had so long lain dormant and useless in the mother

earth, and now for the first time thrown open for the use of mankind. An unusual degree of pleasure and satisfaction was visible in the faces of all; many jumped aboard a tug boat and proceeded to meet the steamer, and extend to Mr. Cassidey a hearty welcome; the flags of the shipping in port were displayed; and, as the boats passed Market dock, the cheers from the excited crowds on shore rent the air, the cannon firing from two points was kept up in rapid succession, and everybody seemed to recognize fully the realization of their hopes, and to pay a slight tribute to our townsman, through whose untiring zeal and energy this, the first cargo of North Carolina coal ever brought to market, has been landed on our shores. To our young friend, F. A. L. Cassidey, Esq., much praise is also due. In energy, industry and perseverance he has shown himself to be a genuine “chip of {off} the old block,” and his exertions have contributed not a little to the success of the great event which we now chronicle with so much pleasure. If is a singular coincidence that the arrival of the boats here should occur the same day that the news of the passage in the Senate of the Coalfields Railroad bill, the reception of which was greeted with so much satisfaction by our citizens generally. Both these schemes for the development of the vast resources of the State should meet with a hearty endorsement from all true North Carolinians; and we cannot see how any many with the least State pride can have a word to say against either of these truly great Sate works, identified as they are with the best interests of the State and her people. The Legislature has shown its sense and patriotism in killing off the Danville connection scheme.—a Virginia project, aimed at the best interests of the gold old State, by preventing the very objects of the true State works now in operation and contemplation. We therefore hail with pleasure the announcement above made. The Deep River Improvement has been found to be practicable; let not the fostering hand of the state be turned from it, or the Coalfield Road,

and a new era in the history of North Carolina commences from to-day.


BUSINESS UPON THE CAPE FEAR.—Some years ago there were ten or twelve steamers, with proper complements of tow boats, plying between this place and Wilmington. The freight subsequently decreased so far as to render the business unprofitable, and ## number of boats was reduced. We are happy to say that for the past year or two the trade of Fayetteville has revived, and that the boat owners ever ready to meet the wants of the trade, as extending their means of transportation. There are two steamers and four tow boats in progress of construction at the Fayetteville wharves, which, with the present fleet, will probably suffice till the Western Railroad reaches the Coalfields, when another large addition will be required. The following list will give our readers a correct idea of the present and prospective freight and passenger facilities. The Cape Fear Line—Messrs. Worth & Utley, Fayetteville—Has the fine passenger and freight steamer Flora and two tow boats. Is building a tow boat of large capacity and light draft. Lutterloh’s Line—T. S. Lutterloh, Esq., Fayetteville—Has the passenger and freight steamer Fanny, freight steamer Rowan, and three tow boats. Is building (nearly ready) a very large passenger and freight steamer of light draft, and a tow boat. Rush & Orrell, Fayetteville—Have steamer Sun and two tow boats. Orrell & Daily, Fayetteville—Have recently bought the steamer Southerner, and are building a new steamer and two tows. Petteway & Prichett, Wilmington—Have steamer Black River and three tows. John Dawson, Wilmington—Has the new steamer Dawson, steamer Douglas, and three tows.

W. P. Elliott, Wilmington—Has steamer Enterprise, which is employed mainly below this place. Capt. Peck, Wilmington—Has the steamer Hattie Hart. If we could only persuade the Agents of all these lines to report consignees by every arrival, it would make much more of a showing of business than we can now make. Some of the steamers come to the wharf, discharge, load, and return, without any opportunity of the public to know that they have ever been here. If their proprietors had a little of yankee enterprise and shrewdness, they would report themselves regularly, if not for the public benefit at least for the sake of the advertisement. Every mention of a boat under our commercial head is a gratuitous advertisement.

-------

[steamboat image>]NEW LINE.

I HAVE associated with me, in this line, Mr. John K. Dailey, and will style the firm ORRELL & DAILEY. We have purchased the Steamer SOUTHERNER, and in a few days, will have a New Flat employed with her. Those favoring us with their patronage may rely upon prompt despatch, by applying to Mr. Dailey on board, or to me at my office.

R. M. ORRELL.-------

R. M. ORRELL. JOHN K. DAILEY.March 26, 1859 800-tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Monday Evening, March 28, 1859]

FOR WILMINGTON.STEAMER HATTIE HART.---CAPT. PECK.

[steamboat image>] WILL leave this place regularly every WEDNESDAY and SATURDAY, at 8 o’clock, A. M., and arrive at Wilmington same evening. Will also leave Wilmington at

9 o’clock, A. M., every MONDAY and THURSDAY, and arrive at this place next morning early. [pointing finger>] For light freight, or passage, having good accommodations, apply on board, at Rush & Orrell’s wharf.

April 135-2m

Carolinian copy.

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday Evening, April 14, 1859]

SALE OF THE DEEP RIVER WORKS.---We learn that the sale of the property and franchise of the Cape Fear and Deep River Navigation Company was made at Pittsborough on Saturday last, by Henry A. London, Esq., as Trustee, under the resolution of the Stockholders. The first bid was by Maurice Q. Waddell, Esq., of $300,000, (Mr. W. remarking, we understand, that that was all the money he had.) The State, by Graham Daves, Esq., the Governor’s Private Secretary, then bid $365,000. N. A. Ramsay, Esq. followed with $400,000, at which the property was knocked off. Mr. London thereupon demanded the $400,000, the terms being cash. Mr. Ramsay desired him to call at his office at 2 o’clock and he would settle with him—it was then about ½ past 12. This did not meet the views of the Trustee, who forthwith put up the property again—Mr. Ramsay forbidding the sale. Mr. Waddell again started it at the amount of his “pile.” The State again bid $365,000, and was declared the fortunate purchaser—Mr. Ramsay protesting his determination to bring suit to maintain his purchase. Whether this was all in jest, like Mr. Waddell’s remark, or sober seriousness, we know not; but suppose that Mr. R. could have no claim till he tendered the purchase money. The act of the Legislature authorized the Governor to purchase at not exceeding $450,000; but the difference between the

$365,000 and that sum will be required to pay off prior liens. There were very few persons at the sale, and not enough of the Directors present to hold a meeting of that body.

-------

SUPPOSED TO BE DROWNED.---A man named Sessoms, a passenger on the Fanny from Wilmington on Wednesday last, was missing when the boat arrived at the Old Ferry Landing, nine miles below this place, and has not since been seen or heard of. The Captain of the Fanny last saw him at Elizabeth, when Sessoms asked to be landed at the Old Ferry. There is scarcely a doubt that he walked or fell overboard and was drowned.

[Fayetteville Observer – Monday Evening, April 25, 1859]

BODY FOUND.--- The body of ----- Sessoms, who was supposed to have fallen overboard from the steamer Fanny, on the 20th ult., (as mentioned in the Observer of the 25th ult.,) was found in the Cape Fear near Elizabeth and buried at Waddell’s Landing on the 4th inst. The Coroner held an inquest the result of which was a verdict of accidental death. About $60 in cash were found in his pockets.

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday Evening, May 12, 1859]

THE CAPE FEAR AND DEEP RIVER WORKS.---Yesterday’s Standard contains a long Report of Ellwood Morris, Chief Engineer, to the Governor, of an examination of the rivers, from Fayetteville to Evan’s dam in Deep River, 95 miles, made in a bateau between the 6th and 11th inst., at the rate of 15 to 25 miles a day. In this trip and in these five days, the Engineer “examined briefly,” as he says, “every work upon both rivers,”

and he enumerates the works as follows: 19 dams, 19 slack water pools, 24 locks, 3 canals, each about half a mile in length, and a swing bridge at Lockville. The works overcome a life of 125 feet in Cape Fear, 58 miles, and 80 feet in Deep River, 42 miles. The two upper locks, (Gulf and Evan’s,) have never been entirely finished nor connected with the dams, (says Mr. Morris,) nor had their gates in place; and no steamboat or barge has ever passed above the Gulf, which place, 81 miles above Fayetteville, has heretofore and may still be regarded temporarily as the head of navigation. Both locks and dams are built of wooden cribworks filled with stone—a kind of work very durable and appropriate for dams or works under water, but not at all so for locks on rivers like these. OF THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE WORKS. 1. Cape Fear River Works.—The dam at Cross creek appears to be in a fair condition, but will need some hard stone filling and some slight repairs, and the same may be said of the lock at this place. These being the latest works constructed, are less decayed and in better condition than the others. The 3 dams next above Cross creek, (Jones’ Silver Run, and Red Rock,) standing upon soft rock bottom, their cribs filled with perishable stone, and already partially undermined, must be regarded as standing in a rather precarious condition; but they may, and I hope will, stand for some years, or until they can be secured. The other 2 dams, on the Cape Fear river, standing as they do on hard rock foundations, seem to be good works—they promise extended durability—the immediate repairs needed by them will not be serious; and with moderate additions to some of them in the future, when properly secured by cemented stone abutments, solidly connected with the land, they may fairly be regarded as permanent works. The 14 wooden cribwork locks on Cape Fear river, above Cross Creek dam, (some of them filled with perishable stone, and all

fastened with tree-nails only,) are all more or less dilapidated by decay and weakness—the side walls never were of adequate strength, in many cases they were badly founded, and as a necessary consequence they have yielded in every direction--some

{unfinished transcription}


A NEW STEAMER FOR THE CAPE FEAR.—The Norfolk Day Book of the 7th inst., says— The stern-wheel steamer “Hurt” from Wilmington, Del., bound to Fayetteville, N. C., put in here Saturday. She is constructed for the cotton trade and is well provided for passengers.” The boat mentioned is an iron steamer, owned by the Cape Fear company, and has recently been built at Wilmington, Delaware, under the superintendence of Capt. Hurt. We have not yet heard of her arrival here.


We noticed the arrival at our wharves yesterday afternoon, from Wilmington, Del., of a new iron sternwheel steamer called the A. P. Hurt, after her worthy commander, Captain A. P. Hurt, under whose supervision she was constructed. The A. P. Hurt is intended as a passenger and freight boat between this place and Fayetteville, and from her light draught of water, handsome finish and roomy accommodations, we should think her owners would find her adapted to all the demands of the trade. Her dimensions are as follows:--Length 118 feet, exclusive of wheel; breadth of beam 18 feet; depth of hold 4 feet. She draws 17 inches when light, and is of 125 tons burthen. On her upper deck are the saloons and berths; she has 36 berths in all. There are six state-rooms with three berths in each—a saloon and dining

apartment, a social hall for way passengers, and where gentlemen may smoke --a room, the last aft, for ladies traveling with children. All these are fitted up in good taste and excellent style. The Hurt was built by Messrs. Pusey, Jones & Co., of Wilmington, Del., for the Cape Fear Steamboat Company, and will run in connection with the Flora McDonald in the Cape Fear Steamboat Line, for which Messrs. T. C. & B. G. Worth are agents in Wilmington, and Mr. J. A. Worth in Fayetteville. The fact that the boat was built under the personal supervision of Capt. Hurt, and that she will be commanded by him is sufficient guarantee for the character of the craft and her management. Her engines, we had almost forgotten to mention, are very powerful, and sufficient to drive her at almost any required rate of speed.

Wilmington Journal. We are happy to announce the arrival here of this elegant boat. She left Wilmington yesterday at 11 A. M. and arrived here at 5 A. M. this morning. She cost $16,000. Her proprietors have our best wishes for her complete success.


Moonlight Excursion. It has been a long time since we have had a really good excursion down the old Cape Fear by moonlight, and we take pleasure in announcing to our readers that the fine and commodious steamer Flora Macdonald will leave here to-morrow night for the above purpose. We are requested to state that two bands will be in attendance, one a full brass band, for the benefit of every one, and the other a string band, so that all who feel disposed can add to the pleasures of the trip by dancing.

[Wilmington Daily Herald – Wednesday Evening , May 30, 1860]

A SAD DISASTER.—We are pained to announce another fatal steamboat explosion on the Cape Fear. The boiler of the Kate McLaurin, a new and handsome freight and passenger boat, exploded on Tuesday morning last about 4 o’clock, at the Little Sugar Loaf, about 50 miles below this place, by which Capt. Wm. T. Evans and three hands lost their lives. Capt. Evans is supposed to have been thrown 75 or 100 feet into a cane-brake, which being overflowed in the high state of the river, his body was not found when we last heard. Charles, a free boy of color, is supposed to have been thrown into the river. William, a negro man belonging to Mr. Duncan McLaurin, was blown over the top of the new steamer A. P. Hurt, which was delivering goods at a landing near by. Capt. Hurt very promptly had him picked up, alive; he was brought to town in the Hurt, but died before he could be landed from the boat. The third boat hand lost was a free boy named John Henry Hayes, who was unhurt by the explosion, but was drowned in attempting to swim ashore. At the time of the explosion the Kate was just in rear of the A. P. Hurt; both boats were stationary—the Hurt had stopped to land a box, the Kate came up and made an effort to pass, but not finding sufficient room had backed down a few feet. Great credit is awarded to Capt. A. P. Hurt for his kindness to the crew of the ill-fated steamer. The Kate drifted about 33 miles down stream and was then tied up by the men who remained on board. Most of the cargo was insured—all of it ought to have been. The boat is supposed to be not very greatly injured, and nothing in a pecuniary view distressing about it, in comparison with the sad loss of life. The Kate McLaurin belonged to Messrs. Orrell & Dailey, cost perhaps $6,000, and had been running less than six months.


The Explosion of the Kate McLaurin. We have received but little additional intelligence of this melancholy disaster beyond a few items from the Fayetteville Courier of yesterday. The new steamer Hurt was about twenty rods above the Kate, but sustained little or no damage from the explosion. Captain Hurt says he saw two or three objects in the air shortly after the explosion, and thinks they must have been the lifeless bodies of Capt. Evans, and the negroes Hayes and Jenkins. Capt. H. made a thorough search for their bodies, but as the water was all over the low grounds he was unsuccessful. A negro fireman named Chester belonging to Major J. T. Gilmore, was seriously injured. Others of the crew were slightly injured. The Pilot had the wheel which moves the rudder blown out of his hands. He sustained no injury. Captain Hurt, by his manly exertions, succeeded in saving several of the hands from a watery grave. He did all within his power to keep the Kate from sinking, but the largest hawsers with which he fastened her to his boat were not sufficiently strong. The upper works of the boat was blown into atoms; her hull is also badly damaged.

[Wilmington Daily Herald – Thursday Evening, May 31, 1860]

{finger pointing>} The Excursion last night was a pleasant one. Instead of going down the river, the boat went up, as far as the Magnolia, on Cape Fear, and then quietly turned round and came back to town, where she arrived all safe and sound, at the “wee hour” of 12, in the night. In spite of the protestations of the clerk, of the weather, who affirmed that it would certainly rain, the

night was a fine one, and we believe all who went came back well pleased with their trip.

[Wilmington Daily Herald – Friday Evening, June 1, 1860]

For the Courier. RICHMOND, Va., May 26, 1860. Editor of the Courier:--I left Fayetteville on Monday morning on board of the Kate McLaurin, Capt. Evans, whose politeness and attention is commendable to all who travel with him. The Cape Fear River reminded me of the stories I have heard of streams in tropical regions, the banks of which were lined with a rich luxuriant foliage almost reaching over the stream. It was to me a curiosity; exceedingly crooked and sufficiently narrow to enable a person to converse with others on the banks, and yet scarcely a habitation to be seen the entire distance, 120 miles; but to suffice it to say the Kate arrived about 10 o’clock, while I was sound asleep, and when I awoke the next morning I saw a flat country on one side of the river, on the other a gentle sloping upward, on which the mansions of refinement and taste were erected. Some I saw would compare favorably with any I have ever seen in any of the great cities of the North west. Being unwell I did not move about much, I looked around the shops of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad Company and saw plainly that the work of renovation was going on both in road bed and rolling stock, but I am sorry to say that some of the passenger cars looked as if they had been recently painted and varnished on the out side at the same time the inside was exceedingly filthy, a thing that should never be allowed on a well conducted trunk line like the Wilmington & W. Railroad. The question occurred to me whether the man—that is the Fremont that “Graely” said was a Catholic in 1856, was not the great I am on the road—endeavoring to be everything instead of managing the transportation and assign the Locomotive and Car departments to complement men and hold them

individually responsible for the proper administration of their respective departments. The completion of the W., C. & R. R. must add largely to the business of Wilmington, and will have a tendency to take from Fayetteville some of the trade now centering there, and I think it will be to your interest to construct a branch from Fayetteville to the nearest point on the North Carolina Railroad. I left Wilmington at 2 o’clock and arrived at Weldon about 10, where I stopped for the night to recruit. Along the whole line there seems to be a spirit of improvement. At one o’clock on Thursday I left Weldon for this place, there being a marked change as I neared Petersburg and Richmond in the cultivation of the soil and diversified character of its surface. I shall look around to-day, and give you my impressions of the place where the seceding Democracy are soon to assemble for deliberation.

Yours, truly, IAGG.

[The Weekly Courier – Fayetteville, N.C. – Saturday, June 2, 1860]

EXPLOSION OF THE STEAMER KATE MCLAURIN.

The Captain and three of the Crew Killed. The Steamer Kate McLaurin of Orrell and Dailey’s Line, which left Wilmington for this place, collapsed her flues at Little Sugar Loaf about eight miles below Elizabethtown, between 3 and four o’clock on Tuesday morning last, killing Captain William T. Evans, her Commander, and two free negroes named Charles Jenkins and John Henry Hayes, and a negro man named Charles Beebee, belonging to Messrs. D. & W. McLaurin of this place. The Steamer A. P. Hurt was discharging freight about twemty {misspelled} yards above the ill-fated Steamer, and strange to say, she and her crew sustained very little damage. The Captain of the Steamer Hurt saw two or three objects in the air shortly after the explosion, and thinks they must have been

the lifeless bodies of Capt. Evans and the negroes Hayes and Jenkins. Capt. Hurt made a fruitless search for their bodies, as the water was all over the low grounds where they are supposed to have fallen. The fireman, a negro boy named Chester, the property of Maj. John T. Gilmore, was seriously injured. Others of the crew were slightly injured. The Pilot had the wheel which moves the rudder blown out of his hands. He sustained no injury. Captain Hurt by his manly exertions succeeded in saving several of the hands from a watery grave. He did all within his power to keep the Kate from sinking, but the largest hawsers with which he fastened her to his boat were not sufficiently strong. She drifted several miles down the river where it is supposed she would lodge in a cove. The upper work of the boat was blown into atoms; her hull is also badly damaged. Captain Evans was a clever gentleman, who by his affability and attention to his passengers won for himself an enviable reputation. His sudden and untimely death is greatly deplored. The Kate McLaurin was built in Lower Fayetteville, under the supervision of R. M. Orrell, for Messrs Orrell and Dailey, and was one of the best and most handsomely finished boats upon the Cape Fear. She was valued at between $8,000 and $9,000. At the time of the explosion she had on a cargo worth between fifteen hundred and two thousand dollars.

[The Weekly Courier – Fayetteville, N.C. – Saturday,June 2, 1860]

Recovery of the Body of Capt. Evans.—The body of Capt. Evans , of the steamer Kate McLaurin, and that of one of the negro deck hands, was found by some raftsmen on Friday evening last about 5 miles below Whitehall, and 30 miles this side of the scene of the disaster. There were no bruises on the person of Capt. E. to indicate that he had

died from the effects of the explosion. It has been supposed that he was stunned, and while in that state was drowned. The body, when found, had upon it some $45.00 in money, and a gold watch, besides other articles of light value. It was put on board the steamer North Carolina and sent to Fayetteville.

[Wilmington Daily Herald – Monday Evening, June 4, 1860]

BODIES RECOVERED.—We learn that on Friday last the body of Capt. W. T. Evans, late of the Steamer Kate McLaurin, was found at Elwell’s Landing, on the Cape Fear River, about twelve miles below the scene of the fatal explosion by which Captain Evans lost his life. Captains Hurt, of the A. P. Hurt and Barber, of the North Carolina, paid the last sad respect to the remains, which could not be removed, but were buried near to the place where found. There were no indications of any blow or other severe injury. The bodies of the two deck hands have also been recovered and buried.

[Wilmington Journal – Thursday, June 7, 1860]

The body of Capt. William T. Evans, who was killed by the explosion of the Steamer Kate McLaurin, on Thursday of last week, was found on Friday last about seventeen miles below the place at which the disaster occurred. A friend has just handed us a brief obituary of the deceased.

-----

For the Courier.THE LAMENTED CAPT. EVANS.

Though we must all die and “ are as water spilt upon the ground, which cannot be gathered up, “ – and though we are all

hastening to our long home, yet it is impossible for man to contemplate the sudden and unexpected extinction of life without concern. To perish in a moment, to be instantaneously hurried into the presence of the Supreme Judge, has something in it inexpressibly awful and affecting. Such has been the fate of our lamented young townsman, Capt. Wm. T. Evans, whose untimely death has cast a heavy gloom over our whole community, and pierced the heart of many, many warm friends. The universal expression of sorrow in our midst at his loss attests well the high esteem in which he was held by all who knew him. He was an accomplished gentleman and a generous friend, ardent and vigorous in his vocations, yet, discretion and a thorough knowledge of his business, combined with noted urbanity of manners, made him a favorite with those who ever took passage on his boat. Capt. Evans was in the very prime of manhood and usefulness, warmed with bright hopes for the future; fondly attached to the innocent pleasures of this life, as he was, yet we have reason to believe that a heart so noble, so kind, found favor with God. His preparation for eternity was not a death-bed repentance. He though much of death, and talked of eternity when in health, and with his bosom friend none knew him better, or loved him more than the writer of this brief notice. He leaves no parents to mourn for him, no children to grieve after him, no wife to weep and sorrow, but, he does leave those who weep in the bitterness of despair, and like “ Rachel refuse to be comforted, because he is not “ -- He was an only brother.

“ The Lord will not cast off forever. “ “ But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. “

[The Weekly Courier – Fayetteville, N. C. – Saturday, June 9, 1860]

The wreck of the steamer Kate McLaurin arrived here yesterday. She seems badly torn up from the effect of the recent explosion. She has been sent to Mr. Cassidey’s shipyard for repairs. The amount of damage is not yet ascertained.

Wilmington Herald.

[Weekly Courier -- Saturday Morning -- June 16, 1860]

MILITARY EXCURSION.—On Friday last the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry gave a Steamboat Excursion and Target-Firing, complimentary to their brother-soldiers of the Lafayette Light Infantry. We regret that press of business prevented us from being present, but learn that, barring the extreme heat of the weather, every thing passed off well and to the entire satisfaction of all present. The full ranks of the two Companies indicated the interest felt among the members; and soon after nine A. M. the new and beautiful Steamer A. P. Hurt, commanded by that favorite Steamboat Commander, Capt. A. P. Hurt, was under way for Cedar Creek, where a beautiful spot had been selected for Target exercise, near the residence of J. C. Blocker, Esq. The firing being over, the Military, with a large number of civic guests, sat down to a sumptuous repast provided for the occasion, and mirth and hilarity prevailed. We have been furnished with the following account of the firing: Lafayette Light Infantry—No. of balls fired 147; No. of shots in Target 102. Best average shots, Serg’t B. Rush, 5 41-48; second best, Ensign Geo. Sloan, 6 inches; third best, Private Enniss, 6 1/3. Best single shot, Private Neubury, 1 ¼; second best, Private J. R. McDonald, 1 5/8; third best, Private hall, 2 inches. Independent Company—No. of balls fired 137; No. of shots in Target 118. Best average shots, Private Jas. Wemyss, 3 ½; second best, Capt. Wright Huske, 3 ¾; third best, No. 32, 5 ½. Best single shot, Private

John H. Anderson, ¼ inch; second best, Private James Wemyss, 1 3/8; third best Capt. Vann, 1 ¾. After the Target exercises were concluded, an impromptu firing was gotten up between some of the elderly gentlemen present, and Mr. Wm. Lumsden, Sen., once of the three survivors in the Independent Company in the War of 1812, was declared the victor. The Companies returned to town about sun-set, and the Prizes were awarded in front of the Fayetteville Hotel, by Neill McKay, Esq., prefaced by some neat and appropriate remarks. The first Prize, a beautiful silver Goblet, lined with gold, and provided by the Independent Company, was awarded to Private Wemyss. The second Prize, a very handsome silver Cup, was awarded to Capt. Wright Huske. This Prize was presented to the Independent Company (to be contended for by its members alone,) by some of its warm friends (not members) connected with the establishment of A. A. McKethan, Esq., which, by the way, always furnishes its full quota of good and true men to swell the ranks of the Old Company.

[Fayetteville Observer – Monday Evening, July 2, 1860]

Cape Fear Navigation CompanyTHE Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held in the town of Fayetteville on Friday the 30th May.

D. A. RAY, Pres’t.May 1, 1862 22*tm

[Fayetteville Observer – Monday Evening, May 19, 1862]

APPLICATIONWILL be made to the Cape Fear Navigation Company for the renewal of Certificate of Stock No. 42, for one share of stock in said Company, issued to Paris I. Tillinghast, Sr., and for the renewal of Certificate of Stock

No. 43, for one share, issued to Cyrus P. Tillinghast, the originals having been lost.

June 2. 31-2t

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T. C. & B. G. WORTH,Commission and Forwarding Merchants,

WILMINGTON, N. C.Jan’y 28, 1861

84tf

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CLARK & TURLINGTON,COMMISSION MERCHANTS,

WILMINGTON, N.C.WILL give special attention to the sale or shipment of all Naval Stores, Cotton, Flour, Timber, and other country produce. Dealers in Lim, Plaster, Cement, Hair, &c., and

AGENTS FOR STEAMERS KATE McLAURIN AND SUN.

Refer to H. R. Savage, Cashier Bank of Cape Fear Wilmington; Jno. Dawson, Pres’t Wilmington Branch Branch North Carolina: W. H. Jones, Cashier Raleigh Branch Bank of Cape FearDec. 14, 1860 79-tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Semi-Weekly, Monday evening, June 9, 1862]

The late Steamboat Disaster.FAYETTEVILLE, Dec. 24,

1862. Messrs. Hale & Sons: As rumors have gained circulation calculated to rest very unfair blame upon Capt. E. O. Dailey, of the unfortunate Stm’r Kate McLaurin, permit us to correct them; statements made by the entire crew, in point of fact, it seems that a deck passenger had, in trying to make himself a more comfortable bed, moved a

trunk until it fell overboard. Being discovered, Capt. Dailey ordered his boat to back and pick it up, which was done. Performing this, however, they encountered as a matter of course the waves made by the boat as she came up, then forwarding again they met the waves made by backing, which waves broke over the deck, (the boat being down to the guards ) A deck passenger gave an alarm that “a man was overboard,” “the boat is sinking,” &c., which of course excited the passengers in the cabin, causing them to rush to the side of the boat to ascertain if cause for the alarm existed. This on their part listed the boat sufficient to throw the water still more upon deck. Capt. D. in the meantime had ordered the boat ashore, and after a line was thrown out and made fast, two of the crew (though colored) whose statement can be relied upon, say that they went into the hold of the boat, through the after hatchway, to ascertain where the water came in, but say that there was no water on the ceiling aft. As for “the boat leaking and the pumps not working,” the assertion was made by some on perhaps who did not trouble himself to examine, or he would not have made such a declaration. Grievous as our misfortune is, we cannot but indulge the opinion that all look upon it but with regret and deep sympathy for us. One of our unfortunate partners has a young family to provide for and is at this time exposing his breast to yankee bullets at Goldsborough, and sinks overpowered by fatigue at night upon the frozen ground to repose and refresh, feeling that the “winds will be tempered to the shorn lamb” by a generous people; while the unfortunate Captain and the other partner exposed their little handful of property to the four winds and served their term in the tented field. All the parties connected with this feel that they have discharged faithfully their duty to their country and towards their fellow-men, and feeling that there is no cause, cannot indulge the belief that any one would use unfair means knowingly to prejudice the patronizing public against their all.

It is but fair, however, in conclusion, to say, that Capt. Dailey protested against so much freight being put upon his boat, said it was unsafe and he would not take the responsibility; but found, while his attention was directed to one point, freight was thrown, not taken, on his boat at another,--giving reasons for so doing which it is thought best not to mention here. This is, however, a very prolific fault-finding age. Our most scientific Generals in the field don’t meet our expectations, and all of us think we could have done better.1tf ORRELL & DAILEY.

[Fayetteville Observer – Semi-Weekly – January 1, 1863]

THE STR. NORTH CAROLINA WILL leave Fayetteville and Wilmington until further notice, on the following days: From Fayetteville on Tuesdays and Fridays at 8 ½ A. M., and from Wilmington Wednesday and Saturdays at 2 P. M.

T. S. LUTTERLOH.Jan’y 29. 8-

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday Evening, January 29, 1863]

STAR FOUNDRY.THE subscriber very respectfully informs his friends and the public generally that he has now in his employment competent workmen, and is fully prepared to ### any kind of WORK in his line at the shortest notice and on the most reasonable terms such as: Car Wheels, Driving Wheels, Green and Dry Sand work, L### work, Blowing Cylinders, Steam Boat work, Salt Pans and Grate Bars, &c & c.

M. A. BAKER.Fayetteville, N. C. Jan’y 11, 1864 97tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Semi-Weekly, January 25, 1864]

[pointing finger icon >] From and after thisdate the Steamer A. P. Hurt will leave at 8 o’clock, A. M., on Monday and Thursday.

JOS. A. WORTH,April 6 – 17tf Ag’t. C. F. Steam Boat Co.

[Fayetteville Observer – Semi-Weekly, March 3, 1864]

CAPE FEAR NAVIGATION CO.PAY YOUR TOLLS!

COLLECT YOUR DIVIDENTS!!NOTICE is hereby given to all persons indebted to the Cape Fear Navigation Company to make payment before the 28th

inst., as the present currency will not be received at par after that time. All persons who have not collected their Dividends are notified to come forward and receive them before the 28th inst., as all funds belonging to the Company will then be funded in 4 per cent. Bonds, and payments will be made in the same thereafter of all Dividends now due. By order of the Board of Directors.

W. N. TILLINGHAST, Sec’y & Treas’r.March 9 13-

t28M

[Fayetteville Observer – Semi-Weekly, Monday Evening, March 14, 1864]

D. G. WORTH. N. G. DANIEL.WORTH & DANIEL,

[SUCCESSORS TO T. C. & B. G. WORTH.]Commission & Forwarding Merchants,BROWN’S WHARVES, SOUTH WATER ST.,

WILMINGTON, N. C.-------

WILL give strict personal attention to sale or shipment of Cotton, Naval Stores and General Produce. Also, to receiving and forwarding Goods.

Agents for Cape Fear Line of River Steamers to Fayetteville, and Sail Lines to New York and Philadelphia. Dealers in Cotton, Bagging, Rope, Lime, Plaster, Guano, Ford’s Fertilizer, Salt, Coal, &c.

Nov’r 16, 1865.216m3mpd

[The Daily News – Fayetteville, NC – Thursday, November 16, 1865]

THE STR. "GOVERNOR WORTH."-- This elegant and commodious steamer, built in Wilmington, Del., under the superintendence of Capt. A. P. Hurt, expressly for the Cape Fear reached here on Saturday afternoon. We have not had the pleasure of seeing the "Governor Worth" yet, but are informed that she is the most splendidly appointed Steamer that was ever on this River.It has been told us that the Governor at Raleigh will be down to see his namesake, when it is said that there will be such an excursion as was never heard of before in these parts.

[The Fayetteville News - Tuesday, May 8, 1866]

DROWNED.--- A negro pilot, on the Str. North Carolina, fell overboard and was drowned in the Cape Fear river, below this place, one day last week.

[The Fayetteville News – Tuesday, May 15, 1866]

CAPE FEAR NAVIGATION CO.—The annual meeting of the stockholders of this Company takes place on the first day of June next. See advertisement.


… I see no way to leave my business. The boating requires the closest attention and at that will not pay much profit. The Host {Hurt?} is under repairs now and will cost from 3 to 4 thousand dollars to get it done. The Governor is doing as much work as all the rest of the Boats, but the price of freight is so low she cant’ make much money. I was compelled to give in the tax for the State on the whole amt. of the income or dividends. I suppose you understood that and did not give in your dividend. If so you did wrong. All the taxes of the Company have been paid by the Agents. When B. G. gets here we will consolidate the two boats into one company. ..”

[The Correspondence of Jonathan Worth, Vol. 1 - From Joseph Addison Worth. Fayetteville, June 14th, 1866]

ARRIVALS OF NEW GOODS.--- Since Saturday afternoon, at 2 o’clock, three steamers have reached Fayetteville, notwithstanding the low state of the Cape Fear river, bringing new stocks of Fall and Winter Goods. The bustle and stir attendant upon these fresh importations, and the formidable array of boxes and barrels which line the side walks are quite grateful to the eye after the late stagnation of trade. Our country readers will perceive by reference to our advertising columns that different Houses on Hay St. are already prepared to supply all their wants, having received all kinds of furnishing goods, fancy articles, groceries, &c &c, calculated to attract custom. Several of our merchants are still in New York, making purchases, and others intend going on in a few days. The people in the surrounding counties will now find it greatly to their advantage to bring in their produce, in exchange for which they can receive every description of goods of which they stand in need.

[The Fayetteville News – Tuesday, September 25, 1866]

THE BOATING BUSINESS ON THE CAPE FEAR.--- The Cape Fear Steamboat Co., some months ago, got through with the repairs on the steamer Hurt, and she is now running as good as new. And the same company built and launched, a week or two ago, a large flat, which they call the Bladen, of a capacity for 13 or 1400 barrels, to which we may add that Mr. C. B. Mallett, has his steamer, the Reindeer, now undergoing repairs, and will soon have her better than she ever was, and ready for business again. And we learn from Mr. T. S. Lutterloh, that he contemplates putting a new steamer on the river very shortly, and last but not least, Mr. R. M. Orrell has now under construction, a new steamer for the trade between this town and Wilmington. With the energy and enterprise of the parties engaged in this particular branch of business, we think the publick are assured of facilities for the transportation of all freight offering at all times.

[The Fayetteville News – Tuesday, October 23, 1866]

NEW STEAMBOAT.—We are glad to learn that C. B. Mallett, Esqr., has at length completed his new steamer, the Marion, which started on its first trip to Wilmington, last Wednesday. She is well fitted up. Admirably arranged, as we have been informed, and is in every respect worthy of patronage. Mr. Mallett, in the construction of his boat, adopted a new and very good idea, and one which common humanity should have suggested to steamboat lines long since—that of furnishing the lower-deck with berths for the accommodation of colored people. Hitherto they have been entirely without this comfort, and this improvement will be appreciated.

-----

FRESHET.—The recent heavy rains have greatly swollen the streams in this section. The Cape Fear river has been higher than at any time in the past ten years, with the exception of the spring freshet of 1865, when it rose above the bridge at Blounts’ Creek Factory, and inundated the yards and premises in the neighborhood. Fortunately, so far as we have learned, this high water has been unattended by the usual damage along the banks of the river, as the season is not sufficiently advanced for the risk of great injury to stock and produce. But we regret that mill owners on Robinson creek have been considerably damaged, the dams of Messrs. Vann, Cameron and McDaniel, being broken. This misfortune, while it subjects them to trouble and expense, affects this community in no slight degree, by the temporary stoppage of the ordinary supplies.

[The Fayetteville News – Tuesday, March 12, 1867]

NEW BOAT.—We are pleased to learn that our enterprising and thorough going friend and townsman, Major R. M. Orrell, is getting on rapidly with his new steamer for the Cape Fear. Under great disadvantages, and contending with difficulties which, in the very beginning of such an undertaking, would have checked many a man, he has progressed steadily and energetically, and is now rapidly putting in his machinery. Nearly all the upper and wood-work is finished. The whole work is being done here, with our own material and our own mechanics, and we can only wish it the success of the “Orrell,” which was built by Major Orrell soon after the close of the war, and is now doing good service on this river.

[The Fayetteville News – Tuesday, August 20, 1867]

NEW RIVER STEAMER.—Maj. R. M. Orrell, of Fayetteville, is now building a new steamer for the Cape Fear trade. The boat is nearly completed, and will, probably, make

her first trip about the 15th proximo. She is to be a first-class steamer, having all the essentials for both freight and passengers. The machinery is that formerly used in the old favorite, the “Kate McLaurin,” and is almost as good as new. We wish Major Orrell all that success he so richly deserves. In the face of obstacles that would have appalled a man of less energy, he has built two boats, since the war, doing all the work at home, and thus setting an example of enterprise worthy to be followed. As soon as the new steamer is “ready for action,” the little steamer “Orrell” will give way to her consort, and be laid up for repairs.

[Wilmington Evening Star – Monday Evening, September 23, 1867]

THE STEAMER HURT.—This favorite steamer, commanded by that prince of steamboatmen, S. W. Skinner, moved gaily up to her wharf, last evening, with a heavy freight and full passenger list. An unusually large number of ladies graced her decks, and made the air resonant with their joyous laugh. It was a nice place to be, last evening—down near the steamer “Hurt.” Captain, literally, “had his hands full,” for several minutes; for, with his usual gallantry, he was busy in assisting the ladies down the gangway to the wharf, and in trying to make everybody comfortable around him. “Fifth and Orange” was around, in the persons of some of its fairest daughters, to say nothing of its rougher representatives who went down to look after the luggage and the babies. We remark again, it’s a nice thing to be down at the “Hurt’s” wharf when she comes in DECKED with ladies. They look like so many “beautiful STARS;” and the, it makes a young man feel better just to look at ‘em. But the clock strikes twelve, and we go to the arms of “tired nature’s sweet restorer,”

to dream of the merciless Fate that consigns us to the fortunes of a daily newspaper.

[Wilmington Evening Star – Tuesday Evening, September 24, 1867]

FROM ABOVE.—Three Fayetteville steamers, the GOV. WORTH, ORRELL, and NORTH CAROLINA, arrived last night, and one this forenoon (the MARION), with good cargoes of naval stores. They bring no news of moment. The river is now in fair boating order, the largest steamers making their trips without detention.

[Wilmington Evening Star – Wednesday Evening, September 25, 1867]

ARRIVED.—The Fayetteville steamers NORTH CAROLINA and ORRELL arrived last night with full freights. We have tried our “level best” to corkscrew an item out of Orrell and Green, both, but we can’t do it. Everything keeps “kam and serene” in the Fayetteville section; nobody gets murdered or drowned; and this Local is miserable.

[Wilmington Evening Star – Saturday Evening, September 27, 1867]

EXTENDING THE WHARVES.—The three wharves on South Water St., now occupied by Worth & Daniel, Robinson, Smith & Co., and Williams & Murchison, are to undergo extension of some eight or ten feet, which will add much in the way of wharf room, and give the vessels greater depth of water.

------

STEAMER LILLIAN.—The steamer LILLIAN, sunk some time since, has been overhauled and repaired, and started for Fayetteville this forenoon.

[Wilmington Evening Star – Wednesday Evening, October 9, 1867]

NEW STEAMER.— Major R. M. Orrell has just completed his new steamboat, the “Halcyon,” and has already very successfully made one or two trips between this place and Wilmington. The Halcyon is a very trim and pretty passenger and freight steamer, with accommodations for 30 first-class passengers. She is tastefully and elegantly fitted up with every comfort and convenience. Her length is 112 feet, beam 19 feet, hold 4 ½ feet, and tonnage between 600 and 700 barrels. She runs easily and with very good speed. We cannot omit to notice here the enterprise displayed in the building of the Halcyon. Maj. Orrell has had great difficulties to overcome, but with his accustomed energy and perseverance he has obviated them all. His boat was built here on our banks, the workmen being employed in our midst, and their wages being expended for our benefit many a man would have waited for “capital” and “resources;” Maj. Orrell made both by industry and hard work.

[The Fayetteville News – Tuesday, December 31, 1867]

MARINE INTELLIGENCE.PORT OF WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

ARRIVED.

13 – Steamer North Carolina, Green, from Fayetteville, to Williams & Murchison; with 123 bbls rosin, to Moffit, Bro & co; 11 do turpentine, to A Alderman; 23 do rosin, to A Johnson & Co; 13,000 shingles, 1,000 staves, to B F Pridgen; 159 bbls rosin, 2 do dried fruit, to Williams and Murchison. Steamer Halcyon, Johnson, from Fayetteville, to A Johnson & Co; with 104 bbls spirits turpentine, 377 do rosin, 4 boxes tobacco, to Birdsey & Robinson, Worth & Daniel, A Johnson & Co, Williams & Murchison, A McKimmon & Co.

Schr Montana, Bearns, from New York, to Worth & Daniel; with mdze.

CLEARED. 13 – Steamer North Carolina, Green for Fayetteville, by Williams & Murhcison. Steamer Halcyon, Johnson, for Fayetteville, by A Johnson & Co. Steamer Gov Worth, Hurt, for Fayetteville, by Worth & Daniel. Steamship Mary Sanford, Moore, for New York, by Worth & Daniel; with 428 bbls spirits turpentine, 584 do rosin, 259 bales cotton, 30 bushels peanuts, 4 bales rags, 100 hides, 8 pkgs mdze. Schr Adeliza. McWilliams, for Arroyo, Porto Rico, by O G Parsley & co; with 15 bbls tar, 5 do pitch, 154,000 feet lumber.

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THE DIVERS AGAIN. -- Yesterday the divers, in their submarine armor, prosecuted their work towards the recovery of the sunken ore with but little success. This was owing to some derangement of the air pump, preventing the diver from remaining under the water but for a few moments. The river, too, was exceedingly rough, which, though not interfering materially with the work under the water, was a source of considerable hindrance to those above. About two hundred and seventy bags of the ore have thus far been recovered.

[WDJ Thursday, May 14, 1868]

BOILER FOR SALE.WE OFFER AT GEORGETOWN, S. C., a good Steam Boat Boiler, 12 feet long 4 feet diameter, with flues, will take a pressure of 120 lbs., is in first rate order and will be sold very low for cash or approved paper. Apply to

WORTH & DANIEL.

[Wilmington Daily Journal -- Sunday, May 17, 1868]

C. F. Navigation Co.THE annual meeting of the Stockholders of the Cape Fear Navigation Company, will be held in the Town Hall in Fayetteville, on Friday, May 29th 1868, at 12 o’clock M.

W. N. TILLINGHAST,Gen. Agt. C.

F. N. Co.May 19, 11-tm

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NOTICE.OWNER WANTED for a BOX shipped on Steamer North Carolina, in December last. No mark. Supposed to belong to some raft men. About three feet long, secured with good lock. Will be sold to pay charges if not called for in 30 days.

T. J. GREEN, Capt., Str. No. Ca.May 12, 11-2t

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STEAMER A. P. HURT,CAPT. SKINNER.

FROM and AFTER this date this quick and fast iron steamer will leave her wharf at 7 a.m., on Mondays and Thursdays.

JOS. A. WORTH, Agt.May 12. 110-tf


====================NEW ADVERTISEMENTS.

====================Excursion to Smithville.SATURDAY, JULY 4, 1868.

[steamboat image]THE Steamer GOVERNOR WORTH will leave her wharf between Dock and Orange streets, for Smithville, Saturday morning next July 4th, at 8 o’clock precisely, returning to the city at 6 o’clock P. M. same day. A

Band of Music will be on board.—Tickets $1.50 each; Children half price.—Tickets can be procured at the office of the undersigned.

je30-237-5t} WORTH & DANIEL, Agents.

[ ? – June 30, 1868]

THE TRIP OF THE GOV. WORTHFOR SATURDAY. -- Messrs. Worth & Daniel, owners of the above steamer, with the liberality ever characteristic of them, have placed in the hands of H. B. Eilers, Esq., a number of tickets for the excursion to Smithville on the Worth, and have donated to the Lutheran church a large percentage of the amount which may be realized from the sale of them by Mr. Eilers. We advise all who intend taking advantage of this opportunity to enjoy the salt breezes, to purchase their tickets from Mr. E.

[Wilmington Star – July 2, 1868]

RECEIPTS.Per River Steamers.

Str Gov Worth – 292 casks spirits, 568 bbls rosin, 17 bbls tar, A MCKimmon, Worth & Daniel, W H Lutterloh, Harris & Howell, A Johnson & Co., Russell & Ellis, Williams & Murchison, H B Eilers, C Parmelee.


--- The steamer Oldham carried down a large party of colored people to Smithville, on the Fourth. As they passed our office they were waving the U. S. flag, with the ban playing Dixie! At its utmost strain.

--- The Waccamaw did not go down the river on Saturday, consequently only three excursions of this character came off.

---

The Excursion to Smithville.---

[SPECIAL REPORT FOR THE STAR]

Those Wilmingtonians who omitted to register on board the steamer Gov. Worth, Capt. Hurt, on the 4th of July, may well lament the sacrifice of pleasure they made thereby. The parties for the Black Fish Ground, the Lake, and the Sound, departed at an early hour, but at 8 o’clock a numerous company of ladies and gentlemen were assembled on the decks and in the parlor and other rooms of the trim and well furnished steamer aforementioned. A spirited air from the Rose Bud Brass Band, under the leadership of Allen Evans, proclaimed the hour of departure, and the “Worth,” released from her wharf, moved off for Smithville in gallant style.

But, the festivities of the day were not fully inaugurated until the famous Dram Tree had been passed and different groups had heard the legend which runneth that the name was bestowed on the venerable stump because the English, during the first American revolution, made it a point, whether passing up or down the Cape Fear, to appease their thirst, spiritually, when on a water line with it.

When the story was concluded, however, stringed instruments summoned dancers to their places, and the gay multitude thenceforth till the Government wharf at Smithville was touched, indulged in cotillions and waltzes with the spirit and grace peculiar to Southern belles and beaux.

The steamer was securely fastened to the wharf and numbers of the excursionists went ashore, some to visit acquaintances or friends, others to find wherewithal they could be fed, and a still stronger party (numerically, of course,) to ramble through the town. Sailing clubs, too, were formed,

and let me say, en passant, that while their male companions were far from supplying a modern Adonis, our townswomen looked every inch Queens and made a gallery of beauty that might have inspired any mere dauber with genius of the true painter.

Besides these things, a regatta came off, and though strangers to the contestants, our company were much interested in the race and cheered the rival oarsmen vociferously as their success alternated, tigering the finishing dashes of the wooden-propellers which decided the issue.

At 12 o’clock, a salute (once worthy the prefix “national”) was fired by a detachment of troops in garrison at Smithville, Company I, 6th Infantry, recently on duty here. But to me it savored too much of Nero’s fiddling and I hurried off to drown the mocking echoes in the clangor of Mrs. Steward’s knives and forks, cut-glass and crockery. And the plan was a success – hungry men on such a dinner would have been almost oblivious to actual bombardment of their domicil. At the table were a platoon of fair ones from Wilmington, who are spending the summer months in the town. This is wise in them. They are within a few hours steaming of home, and yet receive the benefit of as delightful sea breezes as ever wing their way from old ocean. Not only so, but they can see the broad-breasted billows as they leap and roll in from far beyond their haven. The wonder to me is, that some enterprising company has not been formed, long ago, to erect suitable buildings at Smithville and open there a regular summer resort. Such an establishment would soon become so popular as to yield enormous profits on the capital invested.

The hilarities and inspection in the town and on the water beyond it, closed at 3 o’clock, and belling the excursionists aboard, the steamer was loosed from her moorings and moved off homeward. The dancing was resumed and carried on with full forces; but time enough was found to revive the

memories associated with the different localities that dot either shore. On the right, Fort Fisher, Battery Buchanan, old Marine Hospital, Sugar Loaf Bluff, and on the left, Big Island, Orton, Fort Anderson, and Old Brunswick Town. These appearings were scanned with intense interest, and while some of them freshened old regrets and revived past sorrows, no one could have felt otherwise than proud of the history each and all of them supply to the living.

Soon, however, contemplation, retrospect, and dancing were terminated. Church spires, then masts from the shipping, and soon massive piles of brick and mortar, were before the returning excursionists, and in a twinkling the happy throng were at “home again.”

Eulogy of the trip is useless. The weather was fine, the river placid, the company refined and social, the men gallant, the ladies charming, the music excellent, and the fare sumptuous – including, of course, under the latter head, the ice cream, lemonade, cakes, and delightful confections supplied by Mr. C. R. Banks, of this city, without an iota of advance on ordinary prices. Indeed, Messrs. Worth & Daniel deserve the thanks of all participants in this excursion, a brief season of genuine, uninterrupted enjoyment. Our hope is that the dose will be often repeated.


A MOONLIGHT TRIP. -- In accordance with a kind invitation extended us by Mr. R. P. Paddison, the owner of the diminutive steamboat Mary Eleanor, which makes regular trips between this port and Point Caswell on the North East, carrying both freight and passengers, we proceeded on Monday night to the wharf of Messrs. Petteway & Moore, near the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad depot (we didn’t go alone, kind reader) and duly embarked on board for

a ride. As soon as all of the excursionists, consisting of about twenty ladies and gentlemen, had assembled, we left the wharf and steamed rapidly up the North West river. The deep bed of the river reflected brightly the face of the full moon and many a fairer face besides, peering with sparkling eyes over the railing of the boat. We speedily passed the ruins of the rice mill at Lyrias, the flats, piling, &c., of the Bridge Company at Meares’ Bluff and Riverside, until finally the broad front of Mt. Misery loomed up in the distance. Of course some horror was manifested by the ladies at nearing so unromantically a named place, but we passed by, turning around a mile or two beyond and starting on our homeward voyage. The return was, if anything, more pleasant than the trip up. Wilmington was reached about 1 o’clock, the whole party professing themselves highly pleased with their excursion. Ms. Paddison’s kindness and attention was highly gratifying and we take pleasure in commending him and his boat to all parties wishing to take moonlight trips.

[Wilmington Star – July 8th, 1868.]

THE STEAMER HALCYON. --- We learn that the cylinder cast in Wilmington, Del. For this new and snug little steamer, has arrived, and will be put in some time next week. With her machinery in good repair, the Halcyon will be able to run with any steamer on the river. Friend Orrell’s indefatigable energy deserves to be rewarded, and we bespeak for him an increased share of the public patronage.

[Wilmington Star - July 19, 1868]

A MOONLIGHT EXCURSION FOR NEXT WEDNESDAY.

– We have neglected heretofore to notice the existence in our midst of the “Dixie

Pleasure Club,” and organization formed by our gayety loving young gentlemen, last June, for the purpose, as the preamble to the Constitution declares, of providing such amusement by means of moonlight excursions, dances, &c., throughout the summer and coming winter as might seem desirable. The officers of the Club are: President, Jno. C. James; Vice-President, A. D. Black; Secretary, J. A. Mebane; Treasurer, T. D. Meares, Jr.; Executive Committee, J. C. James, Chairman ex officio, Jno. M. Walker, Jr., C. R. Arey, Wilkes Morris, and W. B. Meares.

The club intended having an excursion last moon, but were prevented by unforeseen circumstances. They have, however, fully resolved upon having one next Wednesday, and preparations are being made to carry out the design. The steamer Gov. Worth will be secured, and a pleasant time is anticipated.

---

--- Mr. R. P. Paddison intends having another moonlight excursion on his little boat, the Mary Eleanor, next Tuesday. The last one which we attended, was exceedingly pleasant, and we doubt not this one will be likewise. The boat carries twenty or thirty persons very conveniently. Any gentleman wishing to go can make arrangements with Mr. Henry McQueen at Petteway & Moore’s.

[Wilmington Star – August 1, 1868]

--- Despite the threatening appearance of the weather, the steamer Gov. Worth started down the river last night, with a considerable party of pleasure – seeking lassies and ladies. We have no doubt they enjoyed themselves.

[Wilmington Star – August 5th, 1868]

THE MOONLIGHT EXCURSION OF TUESDAY NIGHT. -

- All of the excursionists, without exception, acknowledge the excursion down the river, last Tuesday night, by the Dixie Pleasure Club, to have been one of the most pleasant affairs of the kind which has ever taken place in Wilmington. In spite of the threatening looks of the weather, and although a number of families are absent from the city, a large party had assembled on board the Worth by 9 o’clock, the hour appointed for starting. A few moments thereafter the last whistle sounded, the bell was rung, the Brass Band struck up its most inspiring music, and casting off her moorings, the steamer began her journey. Soon after passing the Dram Tree, the dancing commenced, continuing with very little intermission until the return. The party proceeded as far as Fort Fisher, turning round in the river just opposite that point, about 11 ½ o’clock. The return trip was made in two and a half hours, the whole of the excursionists having probably reached home by 2 ½ o’clock. The refreshments on the occasion were served up by Mr. C. R. Banks in his usual elegant style.

The Gov. Worth is a fine steamer for such excursions, and parties desiring her will find her owners and her officers equally courteous and obliging.

[ Wilmington Star – August 6th, 1868]

A MELANCHOLY AFFAIR -- FATAL SHOOTING. –

From gentlemen arriving in this city by the Fayetteville boats, we learn of a melancholy affair in which Mr. Thomas C. Lutterloh, son of Mr. Thomas S. Lutterloh, was shot and fatally injured by a young man named Bryant Gilbert, at Willis' Creek, 19 miles below

Fayetteville, and 101 miles above this city, on Sunday night last. Mr. Lutterloh, it appears, is proprietor of a turpentine distillery at Willis' Creek, and rents his premises from a Mr. Wright, and uncle of Gilbert's. This young man, together with his cousin, young Wright, had engaged Mr. Lutterloh's distiller to cook them supper, and, being in a state of intoxication at the time, became involved in a quarrel with the negro, who was shot at by Gilbert twice, with no effect, however. This was about twelve or one o'clock, and some of the other negroes called up Mr. Lutterloh, who endeavored to stop the disturbance, and finally succeeded in taking Gilbert's pistol from him. Wright then threw Gilbert his pistol, crying out, "take it and shoot him." Gilbert then seized Wright's pistol and fired at Mr. Lutterloh without effect. Mr. Lutterloh still persisting quietly in the attempt to gain possession of the pistol, Gilbert fired at him a second time, the ball then taking effect in the abdomen, inflicting a fatal injury. Mr. Lutterloh lingered in much suffering until about 1 o'clock the following day, when he expired. Gilbert has been arrested by the authorities, and is now in jail.

The victim of this abominable act was a young man of most estimable character and upright habits. From a long personal acquaintance with him, amid the temptations of camp life, we can ourself bear testimony of this fact. He was generally esteemed by all his friends. Gilbert was, previous to the war, a school boy in this city, and of an exceedingly turbulent and violent disposition.

Daily Journal, 5th.

[Wilmington Journal EXTRA August 7, 1868]

THE “ A. P. HURT. “

This favorite steamer still maintains her old reputation as one of the safest and

fastest boats that has ever been placed on the Cape Fear. Under the efficient and obliging Skinner, she is all that the traveler can desire. Those who seek business or pleasure up the river cannot take passage on a better steamer than the A. P. Hurt.


--- Mr. James S. Evans, the energetic, enterprising and indomitable second officer of the steamer A. P. Hurt, is authorized to receive subscriptions for the Carolina Farmer. Amongst the “wimmen” Jeemes is absolutely invincible, and we confidently rely on him to secure the name of every good-looking widow who cultivates an acre of sorghum anywhere in the Cape Fear region. Jeemes is an indispensable appendage of the Hurt. Skinner could no more get along without Evans than he could cross the bar at Elizabeth on the millionth part of an inch of water. “Lord ! Jane, hain’t he got purty eyes ?”


--- The little steamer of Capt. Paddison’s, the Mary Eleanor, which carried a party of gentlemen from here yesterday to Point Caswell to attend the grand barbecue, which comes off to-day, was gaily and handsomely dressed out for the occasion with Seymour and Blair flags, banners, &c. She also carried up a full band of music. Col. Waddell is to be one of the speakers to-day, we are informed.


STEAMER A. P. HURT,CAPT. SKINNER.

FROM and AFTER this date this quick an fast iron steamer will leave her wharf at a. 7 m., on Mondays and Thursday.

JOS. A. WORTH, Agt.May 12

110-tf

[The Eagle – Semi- Weekly – Thursday August 27, 1868]

Messrs. Skinner and Wright have for some time been building a Boat 20 miles above here which is well nigh completed—and arrived here yesterday with cargo of 200 Bbls. Rosin. This boat is intended to ply between this place and Averasboro, and has promise of plenty of freight.

[The Eagle – Thursday, September 3, 1868]

THE FAYETTEVILLE DELEGATION. -- At 2 o’clock yesterday afternoon, the larger portion of the New Hanover Delegation left on the steamer Gov. Worth for Fayetteville, where the District Convention meets. The steamer was gaily decked with Seymour and Blair flags, and a large one floating from the pole over the pilot house. -- A fine band of music was in attendance, and patriotic airs were played to add to the enthusiasm, which was already very high. The delegates, visitors and the Howard Fire Company, which attends the Convention in a body by invitation, made in all about one hundred and fifty passengers. -- The little gun “ Brick Pomeroy “ took quite a prominent position in the bow of the boat, with Capt. McIlhenny in command. Mr. Blossom had furnished several rockets from his Fire Works Manufactory in this city, which were discharged also as the Steamer got under way. Admiral Hunter of the Steamer Fairbanks honored the delegation with a salute from his port gun. – Old New Hanover, as usual, was well represented, and will maintain the position she has so long held as one of the leading counties in the glorious cause which the Democracy of the State has espoused. -- Active preparations have been made in Fayetteville for the reception of the visitors, and we feel assured that all parties

will return gratified with their trip, and strengthened in their determination to succeed in the coming election. Two other steamers left in the forenoon, but were lightly loaded, as they propose to pick up such delegates as might wish to go from different points along the river. Three cheers and “ a tiger, “ given with a hearty good will, were raised for the delegation as the boat left her wharf.

[Wilmington Daily Journal Wednesday, September 9, 1868]

COLLISION. – A slight collision took place on Friday night last, about 11 o’clock, at a point on the river some thirty miles above this city, between the steamers Halcyon and Marion. It seems that the Halcyon was coming down and the Marion going up the river.

When they approached each other, the whistle of the Halcyon was blown to indicate which side of the river would be taken, but the rudder of the Marion having become clogged or disabled in some way, it was impossible to avoid a collision. Fortunately on a near approach the Halcyon commenced backing, and the force of the blow upon the Marion was lost. The latter boat was struck about midway the gunnel, which was considerably broken up – otherwise no damage was done and only a heavy shock experienced. Both boats then proceeded on their respective voyages.

[Wilmington Daily Journal Sunday Morning, November, 29, 1868]

STEAMBOATS.—We learn that several of the steamboats that ply between Fayetteville and Wilmington are aground at various points in the river. The Gov. Worth is grounded at “Cypress,” the Hurt at Elizabethtown, the Lee and Halcyon a few miles below Fayetteville.

Old river men pronounce the Cape Fear to be lower than it has been for several seasons, and unless a change takes place we may consider ourselves estranged from river intercourse with Fayetteville until next Fall, when the plentiful Autumn rains shall have again raised the Cape Fear to the dignity of a navigable stream.

[?? – July 15, 1869]

---- No steamboat from Fayetteville has arrived in this city for nearly two weeks. The Gov. Worth was the last to reach this port, and it did not come from Fayetteville, having attempted to go no farther than Kelly’s Cove, and then return. We must again express our regret at the exceedingly low stage of the water in the river.


GOOD NEWS.—THE STEAMBOATS.--- We are glad to say that the water in the river has risen three feet, and is now sufficient to float the steamers that ply between Wilmington and Fayetteville. Yesterday the Gov. Worth, A. P. Hurt, Marion and R. M. Orrell, all arrived at this port, bearing respectable loads of freight, the sight of which caused some of our commission merchants to smile in self-satisfaction as they glanced at the rows of barrels of naval stores ranged along their wharves.


----- The Sentinel says: A new Boat, called the Worth, has been placed on the river between Wilmington and Fayetteville. The above paragraph is not Worth much, from the fact that the new boat is not called the Worth. Her name is the Juniper, and her

captain’s name is Worth. We have a boat called the Governor Worth, about two years old.

[Wilmington Star – October 5, 1869]

A NEW STEAMER – Observing a fine new steamer lying at the wharf in front of Messrs. Williams & Murchison’s, yesterday, and knowing from her name which flaunted gaily from her flag-staff, that she was a stranger in our waters, we made some inquiries and were favored with an opportunity, by her obliging commander, Capt. Green, of a thorough inspection of the splendid craft, and with the following particulars concerning her, which may be of interest to our readers. Her name is the D. Murchison, in compliment to a prominent gentleman of that name in Fayetteville and father of Capt. D. R. Murchison, of the firm of Williams & Murchison of this city. She is 120 feet in length; is 20 feet in breadth of beam; has two inclined engines, with 5 feet stroke, and her cylinder is 15 inches in diameter, and works with link motion and the latest improved slide valve. She has superior accommodations for thirty six passengers, and also has comfortable state rooms, fitted up with special reference to the accommodation of families. This beautiful steamer was constructed at Wilmington, del., by Messrs. Pussey, [Pusey – name misspelled] Jones & Co., is designed for the Wilmington and Fayetteville Express Company’s Line and, we suppose, will commence her regular trips immediately. She will be commanded by Capt. T. J. Green, formerly of the steamer R. E. Lee, of the same line, in which capacity he gained many friends, who will be pleased to congratulate him on his promotion to the command of so fine a steamer as the D. Murchison. In her trip to this place, where she arrived this morning, she made about 10 miles an hour.

[Wilmington Star – November 2, 1869]

(Correspondence of the Eagle.)NEW STEAMER.

------ The new and elegant iron steamer “Duncan Murchison,” arrived at her dock in Campbellton on Thursday last from Wilmington, Del., via Wilmington, N. C., making her trip around, outside and to this place without the least mishap. She will no doubt prove a splendid acquisition to our already large fleet of passenger and freight steamers now plying between this place and Wilmington. She is 129 feet long— 20 feet beam—5 feet depth of hold – and is driven by two splendid link motion engines of 69 horse power each attached to a stern wheel of large dimensions. She draws 17 inches of water light, and 4 feet loaded to her full capacity—which is 750 to 809 bbls. of naval stores. It is thought she will make the trip from this place to Wilmington when fully prepared for the waters of this river, in 8 to 10 hours.

She floats like a feather,In all sorts of weather.Whether it be murky or clear.

On the bosom of the noble Cape Fear.She speeds like a Roe.Be the tides rapid or slow.Or the bottom be near

To the bosom of the noble Cape Fear. On the main deck, are her boiler, a ### #### “doctor,” engine room and galley—also a pump and nose to be used in washing down the decks, and in case of fire. Her boiler and engine room are supplied with all of the latest improved water and steam gauges and patent safety valves. On the upper deck are first the Captain’s office, furnished with a neat deck lounge, chairs, etc., where all ### ### ### walk up and settle when ### ### rings” –next is a very pleasant gentleman’s sitting and smoking saloon, with neat oak chairs and the floor covered with oil cloth—still aft of this is the gentleman’s berth cabin with accommodations for 12 passengers with berths running “athwart ### adjoining this

are two state rooms on either side of a small passage which leads to the dining saloon. T#### of the state rooms have three stage berths the others—one single and one double berth, the latter are intended for new married couples and #### are all carpeted with ##### carpeting, and furnished with everything that could be desired. Adjoining these rooms is the dining saloon which is capacious enough to seat all who wish to take first-class passage, except on some “extra occasion”—the floor is covered with the same pattern of oil cloth as spoken of before, the furniture is of black walnut of elegant design and finish—upon which we noticed some beautiful wine bottles, cut wine glasses, wine goblets, elegant silver castors, pitchers, coffee urn, &c., all of which lead us to believe the inner man would “be fortified” at the proper time. Last but not least is the ladies’ saloon with berth accommodations for 12, provided they should not wish to take state rooms. This is a rosey little place—the floor is carpeted with Brussels carpeting; elegant rocking and sitting chairs of modern styles, berths with d#### s### and a good supply of things the ladies always delight to look into mirrors. The painting throughout is all as white as the driven snow. The arrangement of the saloons, state rooms, &c., is such that in the summer seasons of the year—a fine draft of air can be obtained throughout the whole extent of her upper apartments, which is a great luxury when traveling upon our river. She was built by Messrs. Pusey, Jones & Co. of Wilmington, Del., (who have an extensive reputation as builders of iron boats and engines, for the Messrs. Williams & Murchison of this place and Wilmington, at cost of $24,000 for the steamer, and $2,000 for the furniture delivered here. Taking her in all her apartments she is decidedly the finest stern wheel steamer we have ever had upon this river. They deserve and no doubt will receive a large amount of the travel and freight for their very commendable enterprise and large outlay. They have shown to all, that energy and enterprise have not as some would make others

believe, departed entirely from our good old town. The name which she floats from her #### is one familiar to all of our people and is synonamous of energy, industry and enterprise. If she purposes her avocation with one-half the assiduity and success of the gentlemen after whom she is named, her owners may look for large dividends. She will be commanded by Capt. Green—the former gentlemanly commander of the Lee. We congratulate him upon his promotion, and as Bernard would say Green may his age ever be. She will run in the Express steamboat line in connection with the General Lee.

TRUNKLE BIT. [The Eagle – Fayetteville, N.C. – Thursday, November 11,

1869]

SEVERE DISASTER.—LOSS OF THE STR. HALCYON ON THE CAPE FEAR, 35 MILES ABOVE WILMINGTON.—Last Monday evening, 29th ult. The steamers Halcyon and Gov. Worth were on their way up the river from Wilmington to Fayetteville. The boats passed each other alternately, and about 9 o’clock, when 35 miles from Wilmington, while the Worth was passing ahead, the Halcyon turned across the river by some mismanagement, making collision with the Worth. The Worth was not damaged, but the prow of the Halcyon was so shattered and damaged, that she commenced leaking and sunk in a few minutes in 15 feet water with most of her cargo. The boat’s crew, passengers, baggage and some of the freight were saved and transferred to the Worth, which came back to the rescue. The Worth had a flat boat in tow, or the loss of life and property on the Halcyon would have been greater. The Halcyon on becoming disabled, floated at once along side the flat by which a speedy escape was afforded to those aboard. The Halcyon had on 300 sacks salt, consigned by F. W. Kerchner, Wilmington, to Col. J. B. Starr here,

10 barrels sugar for W. A Whitehead & Co., iron for Charles Glover, 1 box Millinery goods for Mrs. I. Dodd, and other goods we are unable to state, all lost. One box of card clothing, &c., for Beaver Creek Co., was saved in damaged condition. The entire cargo was worth some $1,500, all lost except the box of card material worth some $250. The boat was not insured we learn, and indeed we hear none of the boats on our river are insured. We suppose the marine insurance on the goods lost extended no farther than Wilmington. The Halcyon was owned and run by R. M. Orrell & Co., and built by them here in 1865-‘6, and cost, probably, some $12,000 or $15,000. This was a light, fast boat, well built and in good order. The engine and machinery had been used before, but had been repaired and refitted into the Halcyon. This is a heavy loss and we hope the boat may be recovered, fitted up and again go on her regular trips. It will cost probably $1,000 or more to recover the boat, and as much more, no doubt, to repair her, while the cargo and furniture are a total loss. We hear that blame attaches to the pilot for the misfortune. Right here, we would say that all our boats need better management and more rigid regulations.

[The Eagle – Fayetteville, N.C. – Thursday, December 2, 1869]

--- Capt. Alonzo Garrison, late of the Steamer Robert E. Lee, has been transferred to the command of the D. Murchison, vice Capt. T. J. Green, resigned. Capt. Green goes to Fayetteville to superintend the building of two steamers for the Company recently organized. Capt. Wm. Skinner succeeds Capt. Garrison in command of the Lee.

[Wilmington Star – December 19, 1869]

Boats and Navigation on theCape Fear River.

------ Our river transportation is becoming more active and extensive. This, with the continued large production of Naval Stores, and the very large increase in cotton farming, shows plainly that the substantial business of this section is improving. The Cape Fear Navigation Company now reorganized is to open out the river, and keep it in better navigable order. There are now two new boats building, another in contemplation, three lines of steamers, and three other separate boats, as follows: The Cape Fear Steamboat Company have two boats, the Hurt, run by Capt. Sam. W. Skinner, and the Gov. Worth, run by Capt. A. P. Hurt. The Hurt makes two trips to Wilmington a week and the Gov Worth about three trips in two weeks—both excellent boats for passengers and freight. This company embraces the Messrs. Worth, Lilly, Hurt and others. The Express Steam boat Company have two boats, each making two trips a week, the R. E. Lee, run by Capt. Wm. Skinner, and the D. Murchison run by Capt. A. Garrison. Both are new and fast going steamers and do a large business. This company embraces Messrs. Williams, Murchison, Lutterloh, &c., we believe. The Peoples’ Line is a new company recently organized embracing F. W. Kerchner, Adrian & Vollers, Smith & Strauss, W. A. Whitehead & Co. Capt. T. J. Green and others, as we learn. This company has the Marion run by Capt. Phillips, and which was formerly owned by the Messrs Mallet, Capt. T. J. Green, formerly of the R. E. Lee, is superintending the business of the company, and they are building a new boat at Fayetteville, which is expected to be in use by May next. The capacity of this new steamer will be about 700 bbls. and 36 passengers, and will be some larger than the Hurt. The People’s Line Company (capital of $25,000) expect to build another boat during the year perhaps, and with the three, they may accept mail contract and also connect with the Rail Road, both ways, three times a week.

The Juniper also a light new boat is run by Capt. A. Worth, but not on regular schedule. This boat is owned and used by the Messrs. Bullard, Willard Bros. & c., and some week or two ago went up to Averasboro during a freshet, and received there a heavy load of naval stores, and could not return until the freshet yesterday. The Halcyon has been repaired and is again on her regular trips, run by Capt R M Orrell. There has been some proposition by the People’s Line to purchase this steamer. The Orrell, a light boat is in damaged condition, and we hear is to be repaired and used for freight transportation—perhaps above Fayetteville. Capt. Samuel W. Skinner is also building a small light steamer, the Little Sam, for use as we hear, on Waccamaw river to Georgetown in S. C. It will be finished in a few weeks. Thus we see there are seven steamers actively and profitably engaged in our business now—half of them new and all in good condition, besides three more to be in use on the river during the year. With such facilities for cheap water transportation, Fayetteville can certainly receive the products of central North Carolina and furnish supplies in return, on better terms, than any other town in the state. We think arrangements might be made soon for travelers from Raleigh to Wilmington to come this way and spend the night on the boats—all within 24 hours either way, and for eight or ten dollars.

[The Eagle – Thursday, January 20, 1870]

NOTICE TO TRAVELERS.-----

THE EXPRESS STEAMBOAT CO.WILL run the following Schedule between Fayetteville and Wilmington: The New Iron Steamer DUNCAN MURCHISON, Capt. ALONZO GARRISON, will leave Fayetteville at 8 o’clock A. M. every Tuesday and Friday. Returning, leave

Wilmington every Wednesday and Saturday, at 2 o’clock P. M. The Steamer ROBERT E. LEE, Capt. WILLIAM SKINNER, will leave Fayetteville at 8 o’clock A. M. every Wednesday and Saturday. Returning, leave Wilmington every Monday and Thursday, at 2 o’clock P. M. The EXPRESS STEAMBOAT COMPANY offers to the public both security and comfort in the above Boats, and asks for a share of the travel on the Cape Fear.

J. D. WILLIAMS & CO.Agents,

Fayetteville, N. C.WILLIAMS & MURCHISON,

Agents, Wilmington, N. C.

Dec 30, 1869. Tf

[The Eagle – Thursday, February 24, 1870]

Correspondence of the Eagle. OFF TO THE SPRINGS, Feb. 1870. Old “Squi Bob” is now afloat again after a retirement of nearly two years—still his vigor is the same, tho’ oft repeated misfortunes have befallen him in his peregrinations in this elaborately curled up world of ours—which a man of more nerve and determination would have “caved in under.” I must here tell you what a terrible mishap befell that trusty old friend of mine the Carpet Bag, just on the point of my leaving that always happy and desirable place which you know nothing about –home. You know when any great personage is making his extensive arrangements for a long journey, there is a great amount of assorting, packing, sewing on buttons, starching collars, darning socks, which causes a great deal of excitement and bustle about the house. All know just what you want and must get it for you and it finally proves to be the very thing you do not want. But all both great and small must have something to do with packing. Squi’s little daughter who is very smart, willing and

anxious to lend a helping hand, must volunteer her services to bring the said carpet bag, partly filled down from the second story, when lo! Such a rumbling, tumbling and tearing away as was heard.—When Squi looked around to discover the cause of this tumultuous uproar, here came daughter, carpet bag, collars, cravats, socks, combs, unmentionables all in glorious confusion. Sometimes carpet bag “top rail,” then daughter “top rail,” and when all reached the lower floor you could hardly have told daughter from the other dry goods, so perfect was the mixture. The result was carpet bag mashed—stove in—lock gone and a goose egg protuberance on said daughter’s head. I can assure you, your ‘old friend “Squi” felt his breath pass easier when the extent of the catastrophe was ascertained, because this little individual is the only female boy of any #iz# “Squi” ###. It was a dark and stormy morning the clouds were low and murky. The winds blew cold and bleak, The mud was very soft and deep, when your humble correspondent left the town of magnificent distances with all the valuables which years of toil and anxiety had placed under kind protection, upon one of those vehicles which transport merchandise to and from the town, just one mile from the river, and myself upon another with a small box 2 by 3 that contained slight mementoes to friends in “furren lands.” The Capt. of the D. Murchison had been waiting for my august body ever since the day before, and it would have done your soul good to have seen that kind and genial smile which pervaded his countenance as he saw me drive down to the gang plank with my beautiful caparisoned steed and equipments. He says, “Squire,” I am very glad to see you, for we have been anxiously waiting for you. At the same time he remarked, I suppose you intend taking a long trip by the magnitude of your baggage. This I thought a gratuitous compliment therefore paid no attention to it.

We are now off, and down the Cape Fear we are speeding our way towards the sea. While it is cold without, we are comfortable within this snug and coy little cabin. Old Sol keeps his face in obscurity for the present so that when he shall conclude to cast upon us his effulgent rays, we may, more fully appreciate his revivifying power. There is nothing of interest, which I have seen in our voyage but what all of your readers have heard and seen before, still all have views different from each other that an interchange might produce some good result. In passing along this river, all I have no doubt, have noticed the large amount of marl which has lain in its present bed for thousands of years and may continue so to do thousands of years more, if the hand of men should not be raised to take it from its present resting place. Those that are good judges have pronounced some of these marls equal to the “Green sands” of New Jersey. This being the case why not dig them and apply them to the lands along the Cape Fear, in preference to paying the exorbitant prices asked for imported and domestic manipulated fertilizers. Some of which have a good portion of snuff colored clay found in almost inexhaustible quantities in the New England States and Pennsylvania mixed with them. These marls could be easily transported on flats up and down the river at a small cost. And when prudently applied to land after being composted, for years cotton and corn are stimulated by them to produce abundant yields and no deleterious effects remain after their stimulating qualities are gone. Night approaches and I must put up paper and pencil for the very agreeable task of destroying a few refreshments prepared by our hospitable captain. Yours, SQUI BOB.

[The Eagle – Thursday February 24, 1870]

--Says the Eagle: A dangerous collision with two of our steamboats occurred last Friday evening, the 4th inst., some 20 miles above Wilmington. The Steamer D. Murchison going down the river, while turning one of the short curves in that part of the river, ran into the Gov. Worth which was coming up. The Worth has side wheels and one of these was completely crushed and disabled, and the adjoining upper portions of the boat were badly damaged. A negro woman on the lower deck of the Worth was severely and perhaps fatally wounded. Fortunately the Worth was not damaged below the water’s edge, and by the use of one wheel reached Fayetteville Saturday evening. The Murchison was not seriously hurt. The Gov. Worth is now being repaired and will be on duty again perhaps in a month.

[Wilmington Star – March 12, 1870]

NEW BOAT LAUNCHED. – From the Eagle we learn that the new boat now being constructed at Fayetteville for the People’s Line was launched last Tuesday. Some of the machinery has arrived, and the cabins and upper deck, &c., will soon be finished, and then we will have another splendid steamer for passengers and freight on the Cape Fear – 8 boats in all. The name of the new boat is not yet announced.

[Wilmington Star – April 2, 1870]

STEAMER D. MURCHISON. – The Steamer D. Murchison came in on a flying trip from Fayetteville, having left that place at 7:04 A. M., and reached Wilmington at 4:08 P. M.; making the trip in nine hours and five minutes, including two stoppages. The late fast trip of the A. P. Hurt was made in nine hours and forty-five minutes, including four stoppages.—There is evidently but little difference in the trips; but we think the

Murchison has the advantage by a few minutes. There is no telling what our Fayetteville boats may accomplish. Soon, no doubt, passengers will take breakfast in Fayetteville, and dinner in Wilmington. For the benefit of parties at a distance we will add that the distance from Fayetteville to Wilmington, by river, is 120 miles.


-----We regret to learn that Mrs. Morgiana C. Hurt, wife of Capt. A. P. Hurt, of the steamer Gov. Worth, died in Fayetteville on Monday last, aged 50 years. Mrs. H. was a daughter of the late Henry Erambert, of Fayetteville.

[Wilmington Star – May 6, 1870]

RIVER AND MARINE NEWS.-----

FRIDAY, May 27. -- We learn that the North State, the new steamer for the Peoples’ Line, is expected to commence her regular trips on the river in a few days. Her boiler is now undergoing the process of covering with Captain Brain’s Non-Conductor. Capt. T. J. Green, formerly of the North Carolina, Lee and Murchison, will, we understand, take command of the North State.


--- The venerable Capt. Hurt has retired from the command of the Gov. Worth, with the intention, we learn, of permanently abandoning active life upon the Cape Fear. He is succeeded in command of the above steamer by Capt. Albert H. Worth. Capt. Hurt, we hear it stated, will hereafter devote his attention to the work of improving the navigation of the river, which is being carried

on under the auspices of the Cape Fear Navigation Company.

[ ? – May 28, 1870]

The New Steamer. Yesterday the new steamer for the “People’s Line,” the North State, glided gaily into our waters for the first time. Immediately upon her arrival a large number of our citizens repaired on board to take a look at the beautiful steamer, and she was pronounced on all hands to be a most magnificent craft, provided with excellent arrangements for the convenience and accommodation of passengers. A personal inspection of her various apartments convinced us that the high encomiums passed upon her were by no means extravagant, but fully warranted. The North State was built at Fayetteville, under the immediate supervision of Capt. Thos. J. Green, her polite and accommodating commander. The carpenter’s work was done under the superintendence of Mr. A. G. Black, Master Carpenter, a skillful and experienced workman, and the painting by Mr. Thomas Wright, an adept at his business. In dimensions she is 118 feet in length, 18 feet breadth of beam and 5 feet depth of hole, has a carrying capacity equal to 800 barrels of naval stores, and accommodations for 36 passengers{.} She has two inclined engines of 13 inches bore and 5 feet stroke. The ladies’ cabin contains 12 berths, and the gentlemen’s the same number; besides which there are two state rooms containing double berths, convenient for ladies or for small families. These state rooms are so constructed as to be made strictly private and communicate with the ladies’ cabin, which is neatly arranged, and handsomely furnished and carpeted. There are also two state rooms for gentlemen, opening from the outside, a gentlemen’s sitting room and other conveniences.

Her boiler, pipes, &c., are being covered with the “Non-Conducter,” manufactured by a company in Norfolk, of which Capt. John C. Brain is President. All the different apartments have an air of comfort and elegance which is really charming, and when another coat of paint is added, the windows properly curtained and other little necessary touches placed upon her, which will be done without delay, the North State will be one of the handsomest steamers that floats upon the Cape Fear. We congratulate the People’s Steamboat Company upon this new and beautiful accession to their line, and also Capt. Green, who has cause to feel proud of the noble and majestic craft that “Walks the waters like a thing of life.”

[Wilmington Star – June 8, 1870]

THE STEAMER “ NORTH STATE ” returned from her trial trip and excursion to Wilmington last Friday, 10th inst., and all concerned were well pleased at her success. She carried a large freight to and from Wilmington also several passengers and excursionists. On Thursday the proprietors of the new boat gave a brilliant entertainment, when champagne #### and many good things were said and enjoyed. The North State is not yet announced on a regular schedule, but we learn she is to make regular trips. She will carry freight and passengers.— Another boat is to be built for the People’s Line resigned for freight and then the North State can be a regular passenger boat with quicker trips. The North State cost about $12,000, and displays as good workmanship and skill as any boat built at Fayetteville heretofore. Her furniture cost $950, and not yet complete. Fine walnut bureaus, tables, cup-boards, &c., with ornamental window lights, and fine carpeted saloons, mirrors, &c., fill the apartments of the upper deck, and impress you with an idea of comfort, luxury and splendor. The boat can carry 700 or 800

bbls. of naval stores or proportionate amount of other freight. The stockholders of the People’s Line are Capt. J T Green, W A. Whitehead & Co., A H Slocomb and A W Steele of Fayetteville; and F W Kerchner, Adrian & Vollers, Smith & Strauss of Wilmington. Some others may own small amount of stock.

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ANOTHER SUNDAY SCHOOL EXCURSION (of the children of the Baptist church here) went down the river yesterday in the Steamer HURT. About 100 of the scholars turned out under charge of Capt. J. F. Marsh, the Supt., and with a number of ladies and gentlemen left on the steamer about 10 ½ A. M. and reached Cedar Creek, 12 miles, by noon, where they landed.—The clouds had cleared away and the day was beautiful, and the scenery cheering. The party retired to the Baptist Church near the landing, and enjoyed a most sumptuous and bounty- which they had brought in baskets.—The excursionists remained some three hours, much of which time was devoted to singing sacred music by the large crowd. About 3 ½ P. M. they left the oak groves, cool springs and scenes of this pleasant visit and returned home, arriving here all save and happy by 4 ½ P. M.

[The Eagle – Thursday, June 16, 1870]

The new iron steamer Wave, one of the four boats intended for the Peoples Daily Line between Savannah and Augusta, is now ready to leave Norfolk, Va. The Clyde, the second steamer of this line, will be ready to leave Norfolk, about the 20th inst. Two more boats, which are unnamed, are on the stocks at Norfolk, and by advices received will be ready to leave Norfolk about the middle of August next. The stockholders of the line are prominent merchants of Augusta and Savannah. M. A. Cohen, Esq., is the

President of the Company, which is a chartered one.

[DAILY CHRONICLE & SENTINEL – Augusta, GA – July 6, 1870]

We are glad to learn that the new iron steamer Wave, for the People’s Line, has just been completed, and was to have left Norfolk, Va., on Saturday. Three more iron steamers are in the course of construction in that city for the same line, and when they are completed will form a daily line between Augusta and Savannah. The river measured four feet and nine inches at the toll-bridge yesterday.

[DAILY CHRONICLE & SENTINEL – Augusta, GA -- July 14, 1870]

A New Steamer. We were informed yesterday that the new boat in course of construction at Fayetteville, for the “People’s Line,” is rapidaly {misspelled} approaching completion. The hull has been finished and work commenced on the cabin. It is estimated that she will be ready for launching by the second week in December. She is very strongly built and it is said that she will be the best wooden boat ever built on the river. She will be furnished with new machinery out and out and her speed is expected to equal any boat on the Cape Fear. Her dimensions are 115 feet long and 20 feet beam, with a capacity of between six and seven hundred barrels. She will also be provided with excellent cabin accommodations. Capt. Kenan Phillips will command the new boat.


Some time ago we gave an account of the organization of a steamboat company, under the title of The People’s Daily Line of

Steamers, whose stockholders are among our most prominent merchants. The Swan, Katie and Carrie, well known steamers in our waters, will run in conjunction with the four new steamer now nearly finished, the Wave, Clyde, Isis and Vestra, making ten trips each week between Savannah and Augusta. A large floating warehouse will be provided for convenience in discharging freight in bad weather, and which will afford facilities with railroads in housing and delivering all goods intact. The aggregate capacity of the steamers is 1,300 tons weekly, which, with the reduced rates of the freight, and other considerations, offers greater facilities to the merchants of this city and the interior than they have ever had on our river. The facilities for carrying passengers are ample, and everything has been done that will conduct to their comfort.

[DAILY CHRONICLE & SENTINEL – Augusta, GA – August 27, 1870]

PEOPLE’S LINE.------

Change of Schedule. ON and after the 2d of September the Steamer North State will leave her wharf at Fayetteville at 7:30 A. M. Tuesdays and Fridays.

sep 1-tf J. B. STARR, Ag’t.

------

Steamboat Notice.------

FROM this date until further notice the Steamer Robert E Lee will run to accommodate the freighting business, but will carry passengers that may find it convenient to go her. She will have no fixed day of departure either from Fayetteville or Wilmington. The Steamer D. Murchison will continue to run the schedule heretofore published, viz:--

Leave Fayetteville at 7 o’clock A. M. every Tuesday and Friday, and Wilmington every Wednesday and Saturday at 2 o’clock P. M.

J. D. WILLIAMS & CO., AgentsFayetteville, June 15, 1870 Express Steamboat

Co.June 16 dec 30-tf

[The Eagle – Weekly – Thursday, September 29, 1870]

THE STEAMER GOVERNOR WORTH is not just now engaged in the river shipping. This elegant boat, the largest on our river, has been at our wharf some time undergoing slight repairs, painting, &c. The boat belongs to the Cape Fear Company, and we learn negotiations are pending to sell or lease it to parties for use between Savannah and Florida. Terms are not yet confirmed, but is very probably that in a month the Gov. Worth will be transferred to the inland trade along the coast of Georgia and Florida. The boat, fixtures, furniture, &c., cost $40,000, some four years ago when prices were higher than now. $30,000 might be fair value for this boat now, after 4 years use, though all the machinery, materials, &c., is no doubt as good as new. -- Well made boats built at the North with best material and workmanship, like the Gov. Worth, last 20 years or more. Boats built here at half this expense but seldom last half as long.

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THE CAPE FEAR NAVIGATION COMPANY now represented by and chiefly owned by two steamboat companies, is operating in our river and making thorough improvements. Some 10 or 20 hands and three large flats or lighters, with axes, chains, saws, hooks, &c., have been actively at work for two or three months. They cut out stumps, logs, snags and obstructions, and remove threes projecting across or into the river from the banks. Large logs and pieces of timber sunk to the bottom, also trees with roots or limbs are carried down in

freshets, and when the changing channel shifts or washes out for itself a new course, these timbers become exposed, perhaps across the new channel, or, one end by some means may become elevated with the other embedded in the sand and thus present dangerous snags and obstructions. Our river being lined with forests, and as vast quantities of timber are transported by it to market, the work of keeping navigation open in a changing sandy channel is no easy task. The Navigation Company have been able to do but little to the river for several years, and every boat has had to “paddle its own canoe,” and no tolls have been collected recently. Many years ago this company was chartered with a number of individual stockholders, while the State was the largest stock holder. The State gave its interest to the Literary Board. Since the war the Literary Board sold its interest to the Express Steamboat Company and the Cape Fear Steamboat Company. These companies have bought also individual stock, so they now have a large majority of the stock. These two companies by authority of the charter of the Navigation Company are at work, and their designed improvements are nearly completed. The Company will now charge tolls on all boats on the river. Boats not owning interest in the Navigation Company may dispute the payment of tolls, and claim a lapse or forfeiture of charter for non-performance of conditions. But the rights secured by special charter are not easily denied, and positive proof and much direct damage, and perhaps a perversion of the charter, will probably be necessary to show cause for forfeiture of the charger. The river has been navigated all the while, and perhaps not much damage has actually resulted to boats. The present representatives of the Navigation Company have done work and entitled themselves to get pay for it, and thus keep the charter in full effect. So the only question, it seems, would be whether their predecessors had kept the charter in full effect. But legislation can yet be amended and enlarged on the subject.—Any how, tolls or

no tolls, monopolies or what else, we hope a responsible party will have the duty of keeping the river in good navigable order. All logs, obstructions from land slides, &c., have been removed for a distance of 15 miles from Fayetteville, and from there the most dangerous snags, timbers, &c., are out, down to a few miles below Elisabethtown. The workmen are there now, and will move on with the work until the high winter water will stop them. It is thought the entire work can be finished up thoroughly during the low water season next summer. It is intended to erect jettees or low side-dams at a few shallow or shoaly places, and thus increase or collect more volume of water in the main channel. Piling, of long plank or poles, driven in a line edge to edge, or else rock piled up, serve as the dams. In removal of logs, as at present, they are pulled up so as to be cut or sawed, and then put singly or in small piles on the ground at the water’s edge, and long stakes are driven firmly in the ground on each side of the log with the tops of the stakes crossing or lapping over them. Holes are bored through stake and log and both pinned together. This is necessary to keep logs from floating back into the river, and it is less expensive than to carry them far out on land. Capt. A P Hurt was first in charge of this work, but he has decided to quit river life, is disposing of his boat interest and preparing for other business, and Capt Jack Evans is now carrying on the Navigation work. The cost of material, tools and implements for the work was about $6,000, besides the expense of 10 to 20 hands, and the constant purchase and repair of tools, &c.

[The Eagle – Thursday, October 6, 1870]

We learn from the EAGLE that the steamer which has been building in Fayetteville for the People’s Line and heretofore referred to by us, was launched last Tuesday evening. The new steamer is to be called THE

CUMBERLAND, and to be run by Capt. Kinnon Phillips. This boat is 115 feet long, 20 feet wide in the hold, and 26 feet on lower deck, and can carry 800 barrels. The machinery is not yet put in, but is to be all new and of the best. The upper decks, rooms, etc., are not yet finished. It is expected all the work will be done in a month or less. Mr. A. G. Black, of Fayetteville, is the builder, and very well has he done his work. THE CUMBERLAND will be about same size, shape, capacity and accommodations as the NORTH STATE, and will carry freight and passengers. At present only the hull and unfinished decks and sides lie floating easily on the water.

[Wilmington Star – December 17, 1870 BRC]

At a meeting of the People’s Steamboat Company, held at their office in this city, Mr. F. W. Kerchner was elected President, and Messrs. H. Vollers, T. H. McKoy, A. H. Slocomb and F. W. Kerchner, Directors, and A. Johnson, Jr., Secretary and Treasurer.

This Company will have the elegant and commodious steamer CUMBERLAND, now building in Fayetteville, on the line by the 20th of the present month.

[Wilmington Star – February 1, 1871 BRC]

THE PEOPLE’S STEAMBOAT COMPANY.—At a meeting of the People’s Steamboat Co., held at their office in Wilmington, Mr. F. W. Kerchner was elected President, and Messrs. H. Vollers, T. H. McKoy, A. H. Slocomb and F. W. Kerchner, Directors, and A Johnson Jr., Secretary and Treasurer.

[The Eagle – Thursday, February 9, 1871]

Good Time on the Cumberland. In accordance with an invitation extended by the People’s Steamboat Company, a large number of our citizens assembled on board

the new steamer Cumberland, yesterday morning, to partake of a bountiful collation prepared for the occasion. The repast was of the most sumptuous character, being unstinted in quantity and quality, and was enjoyed to the fullest extent by those present. After ample justice had been done to the substantials, the fluids were circulated and the success of the beautiful boat and her enterprising owners was drank in foaming bumpers of champagne. The pleasure of the occasion was heightened by music from the band, which was stationed on the “hurricane deck” and played several beautiful airs. Every body seemed to be well pleased with the “feast of reason and flow of soul” in which they had participated and were evidently in the humor to wish “many happy returns.” The Cumberland, with the excursionists on board, left for Fayetteville yesterday afternoon.


For the StarThe Cumberland – Excursion to

Fayetteville. Left Wilmington at 5 o’clock on Friday, and was accompanied up as far as Sugar Loaf by some of Wilmington’s fairest daughters; also some of the belles of Bladen; who “pitched in” and had a gay time generally. Danced at intervals all the way up, dancing the last set as we “tied up” at Fayetteville. Capt. Phillips is one of the best hands to conduct such an excursion that we have ever seen, himself participating in all the amusements of the day, and “tripping the light fantastic toe” as much so as the youngest of the crowd. He was certainly “the right man in the right place.” He was the subject of conversation b the people of Fayetteville Saturday and Sunday, for each and every one had to tell their families and friends what a nice time we had, and what an amiable and accommodating captain we had, &c. And now I can fully sanction one of

the toasts of Mr. O. G. P., on the boat in Wilmington on Friday, viz: that the people of Fayetteville, whenever they come to Wilmington in the future, will always “Cum(by)berland,” under the immediate care of the affable Capt. Phillips. The Cumberland is second to no boat on the river, either in speed, steadiness of movement or easiness of management, for she certainly rounds the points (and the Cape Fear is noted for its crookedness) better than any boat it has ever been our privilege to travel on in this river. On our return trip we left Fayetteville at 8:30, and stopped at several landings and took in freight; but the most precious freight was that which we took in at Sugar Loaf – in the shape of the fair ladies (or a portion of them) whom we had left on our upward trip – all save one, who lives there and had gone up with us, and she, as the boat left, could only wave us an adieu with her handkerchief. She was what might be termed the “Bladen belle.” She has our best wishes.


-- The new Steamer Cumberland made good time to-day. She left Fayetteville at 7 o’clock and reached her wharf in Wilmington at half past 5 o’clock, stopping one hour and 48 minutes on the way. Actual running time 8 hours and 52 minutes.


ACCIDENT TO STEAMER HALCYON.—On Wednesday evening last, on the arrival of the steamer Halcyon, Capt. Jno. M. Clark, at Pee Dee Bridge, on the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad, through some derangement of the machinery or fault of the Engineer, the boat ran against the bridge. The hurricane deck was completely shattered as far back as the smokestack. No damage of any consequence to machinery.

Col. W. S. G. Andrews, of Wilmington, had his leg broken, another passenger was treated to a ducking, and we were considerably demoralized. We made the best time getting off of that boat that we have made any time since the close of the war. No blame attaches to Cap. Clark for the accident.—

Marlborough Times.

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The daily arrival and departure of the Steamers, and the increased activity in the movement of naval stores give a decided air of business and life at our River wharves.

[The Eagle – Fayetteville, N. C. – Thursday, April 27, 1871]

RIVER AND MARINE NEWS.Tuesday, May 9th. -- The steamer Murchison, Capt. Garrison, which arrived here at about half-past 5 o’clock this afternoon, having left Fayetteville about 5 minutes after 7, stopping some ten or twelve times, reports that the river is now in good boating order, though it is rapidly falling at Fayetteville.

[Morning Star – Wednesday, May 10, 1871]

A COLLISION.—The Steamer A. P. Hurt, on her way from this town to Wilmington, and the Steamer R. E. Lee, on her way from Wilmington to this place, collided at a point about 25 miles from Wilmington, on Monday evening. But little damage was done to either steamer, both having made their trips as usual.

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CAPT. GEO. II. ELLIOTT, U. S. Engineers Corps, who has been assigned the duty of

the survey of the Cape Fear river, left yesterday afternoon on the steamer North State, for Fayetteville, from whence he will proceed to Haywood, in Chatham county, at the confluence of the Deep and Haw rivers,, the two tributaries of the Cape Fear. The survey will be begun in a few days, and as soon as the necessary means can be provided.

—Wil. Journal. Capt. Elliott was in this town Tuesday on his return from Chatham.

[The Eagle – Fayetteville, N. C. – Thursday, May 11, 1871]

We were informed yesterday that Mr. John A. Moore had purchased four Savannah River boats. The boats are the Wave and the Clyde – both new boats, which have been on the river a short time – and two boats now at Wilmington Delaware, which have not yet been brought to this city. The price paid was forty thousand dollars. The boats are all light draft vessels, built to do business on the Savannah in summer as well as winter. They were constructed for a stock company composed of merchants and planters living in this city and between here and Savannah, Messrs. Branch, Sons & Co., of this city, were the largest stockholders in the Company.

[Daily Chronicle & Sentinel – Augusta, GA – June 2, 1871]

RIVER DISASTER. Yesterday evening, about 8 ½ o’clock, as the steamer Cumberland was on her downward trip, and when about six miles from this city, one of her cranks suddenly gave way, causing the piston to carry away both heads of the port engine, rendering it entirely useless, and causing a delay of about one hour and a half in reaching the city. Capt. Phillips informs us that the engine is an entire wreck and the steamer will probably be laid in for repairs about four or six weeks. The accident is entirely

attributable to imperfect work in building the machinery, a flaw being plainly perceptible in the crank where the breakage took place. The accident resulted in no injury to any one, beyond a slight scald one of the men received on his arm, though of course a little commotion was caused at first before the extent of the injury was ascertained.


The Excursion to Smithville, &c. The steamer Waccamaw will leave market dock this morning, at 8 ½ o’clock. We learn that some seven or eight hundred tickets have been sold for the grad family excursion to Smithville and the forts below. A very pleasant trip is anticipated and we hope nothing may occur to mar in the least the enjoyment of the occasion.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Tuesday, July 4, 1871]

Steamer Waccamaw.[steamboat image]

W. J. POTTER, Master. WILL IN ADDITIONTO HER REGULAR Daily trips, make an Excursion Trip on Tuesdays and Fridays of each week, leaving Wilmington on those days at 9:30 A. M., and returning at 4 o’clock, P. M. Any part purchasing not less than fifty tickets may have music carried free and have control of the promenade deck by communicating with the Secretary a day in advance. The excursions may be made by due notice to the Secretary and a guarantee of the sale of fifty tickets. Fare for the round trip $1. Children half price. The Company reserves the right to exclude objectionable persons. On Sundays the boat will leave Wilmington for Smithville at 7 o’clock A. M.,

and returning leave Smithville at 4 ½ o’clock, P. M. Fare as usual. No disorderly or improper conduct allowed. Parties who have no other opportunity to reach the sea shore may be assured of a quiet trip.

REGULAR SCHEDULE.Leave Wilmington, daily, at… 5 o’clock, P. M. “ Smithville, “ at… 6:15 “ A. M. Meals furnished on board at the following rates:Dinner,………………………………………..75 cents.Breakfast or Supper,…………………..50 “

For further information apply toT. D. MEARES, Jr.

Secretary and Treasurer,

S. L. FREMONT, President. July11:tf

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Cape Fear and Black Rivers.-------

THE STEAMER LITTLE SAM,[sidewheeler steamboat image]

Capt. R. P. PADDISON. IS now running regularly between Wilmington and Point Caswell, leaving Wilmington Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, at 7 ½ o’clock A. M., and Point Caswell Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 ½ o’clock, A. M., touching at all intermediate landings of passengers or freight. Fare, $1—meals extra.Freight charges very moderate.For freight or passage, apply to Captain on board.

[sept 21-S&F tf]

-------

Stmr. Waccamaw,[sidewheel steamboat image]W. J. POTTER, Master,

WILL LEAVE WHARF in front of Messrs. James & Meares Auction Room, on Sunday morning next, for Smithville, at 7 ½ o’clock, and returning leave Smithville at 5 o’clock P. M. [pointing finger image>>] Passage as usual. No interference with regular trips.

T. D. MEARES,July 6-3t Secretary.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Friday, July 14, 1871]

BOAT SCHEDULEBETWEEN

Fayetteville and Wilmington.(120 Miles by River.)

------Leave Fayetteville at 7 A. M., arrive at Wilmington same day at 7 to 10 P. M., (except that Steamers of People’s Line leave now at 5:30 A. M.)

LEAVE FAYETTEVILLE. MONDAY—Steamer Hurt, Capt. S. Skinner; Str. Cumberland, Capt. Phillips. TUESDAY—Str. D. Murchison, Capt. Garrison, Str. North State, Capt. Green. WEDNESDAY—Strs. R. E. Lee, Capt. Wm. Skinner; Str. Juniper, Capt. A. Worth. THURSDAY—Steamers Hurt and Cumberland. FRIDAY—Strs. Murchison and North State. SATURDAY—Strs. R. E. Lee and Juniper.

------Leave Wilmington at 2 p. m., arrive at Fayetteville next day at 6 to 9 a. m.

LEAVE WILMINGTON. MONDAY—Steamers R. E. Lee and Juniper. TUESDAY—Strs Hurt and Cumberland. WEDNESDAY—Strs. D. Murchison and North State. THURSDAY—Steamers R. E. Lee and Juniper. FRIDAY—Strs. Hurt and Cumberland. SATURDAY—Strs. D. Murchison and North State.------ FARE—including state-room and meals, $3. Deck passage $1.

The Steamers Hurt and Juniper are of the Cape Fear Steamboat Company—J. A. Worth Agent at Fayetteville, Worth & Worth Agents at Wilmington. Steamers Lee and Murchison are of the Express Steamboat Co.—J. D. Williams & Co. Agents at Fayetteville. Williams & Murchison Agents at Wilmington. Steamers Cumberland and North State are of the People’s Line—J. B. Starr Agent at Fayetteville, A. Johnson, Jr. Agt. At Wilmington. The Hurt carries the United States mail each trip. By above schedule, steamers on downward trip from Fayetteville, pass Cedar Creek about 8 1-4 a.m.; Willis’s Creek 9 1-4 a.m.; Elizabethtown 12 M.; White Hall 2 1-2 p. m., Railroad Bridge 7 p. m., arriving at Wilmington in time to connect with 9 p. m. train going north. On upward trip from Wilmington, they pass Railroad Bridge (4 miles) about 2 1-2 to 3 p. m., (at which time and place the boats may connect with Wil. Charlotte & R. R. R. and with Wil. Columbia & A. R. R.); White Hall 9 p. m.; Elizabethtown 12 1-2 a. m.; Willis’s Creek 4 a. m.; Cedar Creek 6 a. m. reaching Fayetteville generally in time to connect with Western Railroad, 7 a. m.

[The Eagle – Fayetteville, NC – Thursday, July 27, 1871]

Excursion to Smithville. The prospect is that the regular Wednesday excursion to Smithville, this week, on board the steamer Waccamaw, will be decidedly the most agreeable trip yet made to the seashore this summer. The temperature of August in this latitude has a provoking tendency to overcharge “sons of guns” with heat and drive inhabitants inland into the very jaws of old ocean. Those who go down to the sea in the Waccamaw, will not only enjoy the bathing at Smithville, but be taken to Fort Caswell and probably a short distance out to sea. No doubt a large company will honor the trip with their presence.

[Wilmington Morning Star - Tuesday, August 15, 1871]

Fatal Accident. Yesterday morning, about half past 9 o’clock, at the wharf of Messrs. Williams & Murchison, at the foot of Orange street, a colored man by the name of Stephen Jones met with a fatal accident. He was employed on one of Mr. Orrell’s flats, being a green hand just engaged that morning. The flat was loaded with rosin and ######, with another man, was in the act of pushing the flat from the wharf when his pole slipped and he fell between the flat and the wharf. In falling he caught hold of the bow of the flat with the view of pulling himself out, but before he could effect his purpose he became jammed in between it and the wharf. The witnesses of the accident saw the peril he was in and called out to him to let go and drop into the water, knowing that the flat would thus pass over him, and, as he was a good swimmer, there would have been little danger of his drowning; but the suddenness of the accident seemed to have deprived him of all presence of mind. Assistance was at hand as soon as possible, and the unfortunate man was taken into the flat and thence removed to Mr. James Anderson’s shed, where he died in about fifteen minutes after the accident occurred. A physician was summoned, but it was found impossible to do anything for him, as the pressure on the chest had been so great that the very life had been crushed out of him, although, strange as it may seem, not a bone was broken. He also received injuries about the head. Deceased was a man of powerful frame, and was seemingly about 30 years of age. He formerly lived at Point Peter, where, some time previous to the last session of the Superior court, he got into a difficulty with a fellow workman by the name of Mingo Moore, during which blows passed between them. For this they were arrested and lodged in jail, where Moore, who was sort of

half-witted, was taken sick and died just before the assembling of Court. Jones stood his trial and was acquitted. Deceased leaves a wife and children, who live at the Young place, near this city. Coroner Hewlett summoned a jury and held an inquest over the body, a verdict of accidental death being rendered.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Wednesday, August 16, 1871]

The river is still so low that loaded boats cannot run.

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TERRIBLE DISASTER.------

Just as we go to press, we learn the steamer R. E. Lee bursted her boiler some miles below here this morning. We have only time for the following: As the Steamer Lee was on her way up at 2 o’clock this morning, as she was crossing at Tim’s Shoals, she blew up, killing Wm. Gilmore, Sam McKee and Alex. Jackson, all colored. Gilmore has not been found. The injured are Capt. W. Skinner, seriously; slightly, Gif. Chance, Zac. Roberts, Jack Hogans, colored, and one other name not recollected. The cause of the accident cannot be accounted for, as the fireman attests that the glass on the boiler indicated 8 inches water on the crown sheet. A colored woman is injured seriously. Mr. Wilson, formerly a citizen of Fayetteville, in company with his daughter, was slightly injured, ### his daughter and family, Mrs. Vanorsdell, are not hurt. The dead and wounded are on the way up on board of the Hurt. The boiler went up and fell back on the upper cabin nearly demolishing the whole upper works, and then fell off into the river. The hull of the boat is not injured at all. All goods on board are safe.

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People’s Steamboat Company, ON and after to-day the Steamers of this line will leave promptly at 5:30 A. M. NORTH STATE, Capt. Green,

TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS. CUMBERLAND, Capt. Phillips,

MONDAYS AND THURSDAYS.Returning – Leave Wilmington Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 2 P. M.

June 1-3m J. B. STARR, Agent.

[The Eagle – Fayetteville, NC – Thursday, August 17, 1871]

The Excursion Yesterday. A large number of persons, both male and female, embarked on the Steamer Waccamaw yesterday morning, for an excursion to the seashore. An excellent band of music accompanied the excursionists, and as the boat steamed gaily down the beautiful Cape Fear, the dangers commenced their pleasant and enjoyable pastime. This was kept up with slight intermissions throughout the trip and formed an important feature, with many, of the day’s enjoyment. Arrived at Fort Anderson, a stoppage was made to allow those who wished to do so an opportunity of landing and examining the ruins of the fort and Old Brunswick Church, located at that point. A landing was next made at Smithville, and Fort Caswell, where the party landed and spent some time in inspecting the ruins and enjoying the breezes wafted from the ocean which was spread out to all its grandeur and beauty before them. Returning, the boat again touched at Smithville, after which her prow was turned homeward, arriving at her wharf about 8 o’clock. Ample provision was made to ensure a pleasant trip and to afford every accommodation necessary to make the excursion a great success. How far this was the case is sufficiently demonstrated by the fact that the desire was almost universally

expressed to repeat the excursion at an early day.

[Wilmington Morning Star -- Thursday, August 17, 1871]

The Late Explosion. The latest intelligence from the steamer R. E. Lee, the boat that exploded her boiler near Fayetteville on Thursday, represents her as still lying at the place where the disaster occurred, about thirteen miles from the town. Another of the hands employed on the boat, a colored man by the name of Jack Hagans, who was badly injured by the explosion, died at his home in Fayetteville on Saturday last. This makes four (all colored) who have died from the effects of the accident, the other three having been killed outright. We are glad to learn from a private letter received by Messrs. Williams & Murchison, agents of the Lee, that the physician in attendance upon Capt. Skinner, the unfortunate commander of the boat, says he is improving and will eventually recover from the injuries he received.

[Wilmington Morning Star -- Wednesday, August 23, 1871]

THE STEAMER R. E. LEE.—In our last we gave account of the terrible steamboat accident of last Thursday at the Shoals near Thames’ Landing 13 miles below Fayetteville. The Steamers Hurt and Lee were coming up the river from Wilmington, the Hurt about 100 yards ahead, and about two o’clock Thursday morning in pitch darkness and very low water, the Lee in struggling from one eddying channel to another along the sandy shoals. Burst her boiler killing and wounding several, and shattering the upper works of the boat, as briefly stated by us last week. All our steamers have the boiler, engine and machinery on the lower or open deck,

and the cabin, rooms, saloons, office & c. are all above or on the second story. The boiler is in front and engine in rear of the boat and the steam passes from the boiler through the long space from end to end of the boat in a tube or pipe to the steam chest of the engine. The cause of the explosion on the Lee seems not to be fully known. Our river is very low, and a boat is so impeded in getting over sand banks and stopped so much when dragging on the bottom that the steam cannot work itself off. The machinery must stop too and the steam is not worked off like it would be in deep water with full motion. If heat is applied the steam continues to increase whether machinery moves or not, and close attention is required to test the steam continually and let it off through the valves. The pump pipes when filled from muddy shallow water so near the bottom often becomes obstructed with mud, and water is not forced in at the rate indicated by any measurement attached to the machinery. Thus the boiler does not always have in it the regular proportion of water, and if the water gets very low the boiler becomes hotter, and then if fresh water be thrown in rapidly an explosion may occur.{The next 14 or 15 column lines are mostly to partially torn and missing leaving a partial record of the article at that point.}The boil ###good by ###### much changed o###as above indicatedengineer could have kno###not, we will not now undert###We do think a good ###machinery is good ###ought always to kee##informed on the real ###steam, of the heat, and ####ing capacity and deficien###pipe, valve and pump in ###trol and directly dependent on the movement of his steam. We hear so far no blame attached to any one for this unfortunate accident, and probably no blame is due.

The boiler, some 10 feet long by 4 feet in diameter, was much larger than was necessary for use on this boat, and the tremendous sound from its explosion shows it to have been strong. It seemed to rise upward, and moved endways towards the rear of the boat. In doing so it tore up the upper floor, and in its slanting upward course at lightning speed it passed centrally through the sleeping berths, the dining room and other apartments, smashing and bursting like a huge shell. In one apartment the middle berth was shattered and carried forward in splinters while the upper and lower berths in the same room were untouched. The boiler was thus thrown up and through one side of the boat from end to end, and all upper works on that side were knocked to pieces, ###### along the other side were only jostled. The posts and walls being so knocked away, the remaining side slowly keeled or tumbled over and rested in a slanting position on the engine, broken timers, tables, rods, &c., that were now crowded on the lower deck. A lady passenger, Mrs. VanOrsdell, of Wilmington, and two of her children were asleep in these rooms that were left standing an that fell over into the vacant space caused by the boiler. Mr. Wilson, of Wilmington, father of Mrs. VanOrsdell, was asleep in one of the bunks directly in the course of the boiler on the side of the boat that was knocked away. The boiler carried Mr. Wilson, bunk and all, with it, and Mr. Wilson, we hear, knew nothing of the situation until he awoke out in the river several feet from the boat. The water being shallow he was able to wade and get out easily. The boiler did not leave the boat, and its force was so checked by the many objects it came in contact with that it stopped at the rear end of the boat, and, the timbers being shattered or loosened, it fell and rolled down into the engine room, and then tumbled off the edge of the boat into the river. John Martin, the engineer, reports, so we hear, that he distinctly heard the boiler in its course, and when it began to fall down, he ran out of the engine room and escaped

being crushed. Just as he ran towards the other end of the boat, the portion of the upper rooms that had been left standing began to fall or tumble over into the opening made by the boiler. He then saw one of Mrs. Van Orsdell’s children falling through the shattered floor and timbers and caught it before it fell to the lower deck, and thus saved its life. On account of low water the freight was nearly all on a flat boat fastened to the rear by a long rope. Some four hands were on the flat and they and the goods were all safe. The casualties are, killed: Alex Jackson, pilot; Wm. Gilmore, and Sam McKee all colored; wounded, scalded, &c., Jack Hagins, (since dead,) Zack Roberts, (will probably die,) Griff. Chance, another man and one woman, all colored, badly hurt; and Capt. Wm. Skinner badly bruised, cut and scalded. He is recovering. Mr. Wilson was slightly hurt in the foot, and some others were slightly wounded. Mrs. Van Orsdell and children escaped unhurt. Capt. Skinner was sent headforemost 50 yards up the river and into the water, and was not conscious of the situation until his head struck the bottom of the river, where he slided along the bottom several feet. On making effort to swim he found himself in water only two or three feet deep and stood up. Capt. Sam. Skinner, a cousin of Capt. of the Lee, was in charge of the Hurt, and just after the explosion, all hands on the Hurt at once jumped into the water and went to the aid of the Lee. They waded along easily in the shallow water, and very soon came up with Capt. Wm. Skinner in the darkness and rescued him. Had not assistance come to him so soon he would probably have drowned, as he was so exhausted by the shock and bruises. It was a mere accident that the Hurt was near, and had this not bee so the loss of life and property must have been much greater. Altogether this was the most frightful, destructive and remarkable explosion that ever happened on our river. The R. E. Lee was owned by Williams & Murchison and belonged to the Express Line. This boat was built here in 1866-’67 of

excellent material, and was still in good order. It was sold to the present owners about last of 1868 or first of 1869 for about $11,000, and had more than paid for itself, we learn, up to the time of the accident. The machinery, boiler and engine of the Lee are the same that were used on the steamer North Carolina which had been used several years before the Lee was built. The boiler was made new for the North Carolina, and the same engine and machinery now on the Lee was used on the ill fated Magnolia that blew up near White Hall in 1858, when Capt. J. M. Steadman and others were killed. The Lee, first designed for light freight boat, was enlarged and refitted last year for passenger accommodation, and was worth, perhaps, $6,000 or $8,000.—Wooden bottom boats like the Lee cost from $10,000 to $15,000 and will do service 6 or 8 years, and the Lee has paid for herself in about half this time{Remainder of article missing because page is torn. Appears to have been no more than about 12 lines missing.}

[The Eagle – Fayetteville, NC – Thursday, August 24, 1871]

The Late Explosion of the SteamerR. E. Lee—Further Particulars. Owing to the lowness of the river and the consequent irregularity in the arrivals and departures of the river steamers our means of obtaining full and accurate particulars of the recent explosion of the boiler of the R. E. Lee have been very limited. From Capt. S. W. Skinner, of the steamer Hurt, which boat arrived here on Tuesday night, we are at last able to give the particulars of the disaster more in detail. The explosion occurred at Thames’ Shoals, about 13 miles from Fayetteville (as previously stated by us) about 2 o’clock on Thursday morning. It seems that the steamer Hurt was on the shoals on the opposite side of the river, endeavoring to get over, when the Lee came up and stopped. The Captain then went over to the Hurt to sound the channel in order to

find the best water for crossing the shoals, and was engaged to this task for about half an hour. At the expiration of that time he went back to his boat and started her over the shoals immediately in the wake of the Hurt. The instant almost that that she was started ahead her boiler exploded with a tremendous crash, being removed bodily from its position, going through the Captain’s office and gentlemen’s cabin, carrying away the wheel house on the upper deck, and the, in its descent, falling into the lady’s cabin, carrying away about one-third of the same, falling on the starboard engine, breaking that pretty badly, and thence going overboard all the berths in the gentlemen’s cabin with but one exception, were carried away, making a complete wreck of that apartment and the sitting room. In fact, only two rooms in the boat were left uninjured. Of the passengers, Mrs. VanOrsdell, wife of Mr. C. M. VanOrsdell, of this city, with two of her children and a little child of Mr. H. H. Munson, who was in her charge, were sleeping on the port side of the ladies’ cabin, and were uninjured, with the exception that Mrs. V. received a slight wound on her arm from a splinter. The father of Mrs. VanOrsdell, Mr. Wilson, of Fayetteville, together with one of Mrs. V.’s children, was in a berth on the starboard side of the cabin. The boiler passed on that side of the cabin, carrying away the berth in which Mr. Wilson and the little child were sleeping. The child was subsequently picked up on the deck of the boat, where it had been thrown by the force of the explosion, while Mr. Wilson was thrown into the river, from which he afterwards was rescued. Mr. Wilson and the child were found to be very slightly injured. One colored woman, who was in the gentlemen’s cabin at the time of the accident, was, strange to say, entirely uninjured. Capt. Skinner, of the Hurt, was standing on his boat and witnessed the explosion, when he, together with five of his men, jumped into the river and waded across the shoals to the Lee, the water only being about waist deep. They picked up the Captain of

the ill-fated steamer about half way between the two boats, who, with the rest of the passengers, together with the wounded and dead, were placed on a flat. Dr. Lesesne, who resides not far from the scene of the disaster, was then sent for and arrived in about three quarters of an hour, after which the Hurt proceeded to Fayetteville, arriving there just about dark the same evening. Capt. Skinner’s wounds were very severe. His right cheek, from the ear to the nose, was cut open to the bone, the right side of his cheek and back of the head badly scalded, and his right arm, shoulder and side also badly hurt. Every particle of his coat, with the exception of one sleeve, which adhered to the arm, was blown from his body. Notwithstanding the severity of his injuries, however, his physician expresses confident hopes of his ultimate recovery. Mr. Frances Moore, who embarked as a passenger on the Lee at this place, got off at Elizabethtown and took passage on the Hurt, to which freak of good fortune he may possibly be indebted for his life. Mr. E. E. Hewes, local inspector of boilers, who went up on the Hurt yesterday, for the purpose of instituting an investigation into the cause of the explosion, has, we learn, given instructions to the various Captains and owners of steamers within his jurisdiction, that an engineer must never be permitted, under any circumstances, to be away from his boiler more than ten minutes at a time.

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RIVER AND MARINE NEWS. -- Capt. Jno. K. Dailey, second officer of the Pee Dee steamer Halcyon, went up the Cape Fear yesterday on a short visit to his friends at Fayetteville. -- The passengers of the ill-fated steamer R. E. Lee speak in the highest terms of the services of Capt. Saml. W. Skinner, rendered immediately after the explosion. He commands the Hurt which, it will be remembered was within a short distance of the Lee when the accident occurred. “Old

Reliable” is as gallant a steamboatman as ever walked a deck. -- There has been a rise of a few inches in the Cape Fear below Fayetteville; but above that point no rain has fallen recently. We can have no certain navigation until there is a freshet in Deep and Haw rivers. -- The steamer Hurt arrived from Fayetteville Tuesday night. She started on her upward trip at 1 P. M. yesterday. -- The two small vessels capsized off Smithville during the gale on Saturday last, one loaded with naval stores and the other being a fishing smack, have been gotten up. But we learn that the cargo will be an entire loss.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Thursday, August 24, 1871]

RIVER AND MARINE NEWS. -- The steamer D. Murchison and Cumberland arrived from Fayetteville Wednesday night. Both cleared for the upper Cape Fear about 2 ½ P. M. yesterday. The Murchison was heavily loaded in anticipation of a big river. -- Up to yesterday evening no material change had taken place in the condition of the river. But we are glad to announce that a heavy rain fell at Fayetteville Tuesday, with indications, also of rains above that place. The prospect for a rise is more encouraging now than it has been for some weeks. -- The Little Sam, Capt. Paddison, returned to Point Caswell yesterday with the excursionists who paid a visit to our city on Wednesday. They appeared to be well pleased with their trip.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Friday, August 25, 1871]

RIVER AND MARINE NEWS. -- The steamer Cumberland arrived yesterday afternoon, from a point about two miles above “Big Cypress.” She reports the river again falling, which is not encouraging.

Until we hear of heavy and long continued rains in the Haw and Deep river sections, we need not look for a “big river.”

[Wilmington Star – September 3, 1871]

Notice.-------

THE STEAMER CASWELL[sidewheel steamboat image]

WILL be ready to resume her regular trips on Black River on the 10th of October.

On the same day the Steamer LITTLE SAM will be put on North East River between Wilmington and Hallsville.

Sept 16-S&F1m R. P. PADDISON.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Friday, September 29, 1871 ]

RIVER AND MARINE NEWS.-- The steamer Hurt, Capt. Skinner, arrived here from Fayetteville Thursday night, having left that place on Monday. She passed the steamers Murchison, Juniper, Cumberland and North State all aground on Morehead Shoals, 37 miles this side of Fayetteville.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Sturday, October 7, 1871]

A new steamer arrived here yesterday morning from Savannah, and created some little excitement among the river men and boat men. The steamer, called Governor Worth, is a brand new vessel. She is a small craft well adapted to the shallow stream of the Savannah. It is beautifully made, and seems to be stout and serviceable. We understand that she will ply regularly between this port, and the village (sic) of Savannah during the fall and winter.

[Daily Chronicle & Sentinel -- Augusta, GA -- October 17, 1871]

To Merchants and Shippers of Cotton: The light draught Iron Steamer Governor Worth, Capt. Worth commanding, will run in connection with the steamer Rosa, Capt. Philpot, leaving this city every Tuesday morning at 6 o’clock, and Savannah every Friday morning at 11 o’clock. The steamer Rosa will leave Augusta every Saturday morning at 6 o’clock: Savannah every Tuesday evening at 4 o’clock. Merchants will please bear in mind that goods from New York by steamships Gen. Barnes and H. Livingstone, marked to our care, are forwarded free of drayage.

(Signed) – W. J. OWENS, AgentAugusta, Ga.

[Daily Chronicle & Sentinel -- Augusta, GA -- October 18, 1871]

Local Dots. -- The steamer Wave, of the Express Line, is on her way here from Augusta. She will probably arrive in a few days.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Wednesday, November 1, 1871]

The steamer Wave, formerly plying between Augusta and Savannah, on the People’s Line, having been purchased by the Wilmington (N. C.) Express Steamboat Company, arrived in Savannah Friday on her way from Augusta to her point of destination.

[Daily Chronicle & Sentinel – Augusta, GA – November 5, 1871]

RIVER AND MARINE NEWS.

--- The steamer Wave, purchased for the Express Steamboat Company to run regularly between this city and Fayetteville, arrived here yesterday. The Wave is a new iron hull, stern wheel steamer, having only run for three or four months on the Savannah river before she was purchased by the above company. She will be in command of Capt. W. W. Skinner. Her carrying capacity is 300 bales of cotton or 600 barrels of rosin.


THE CAPE FEAR RIVER is still high, though the freshet has abated. ‘four boats, The Wave, North State, Governor Worth and Cumberland, have been up to Averasboro, 26 miles above here, and have brought down all the produce and naval stores ready for shipment in that section. An immense quantity of rosin is thus thrown into market that has been awaiting shipment. We still hear of much loss from timber floating away. Persons from here have gone down the river to tide water region and near Wilmington to gather saw timber that has floated off. There is said to be much profit very often in recovering rafts and parts of rafts of timber that thus get scattered along the banks and swamps in the low country.

[The Eagle – Fayetteville, N. C. – Thursday, February 22, 1872]

The steamer Gov. Worth has been repaired, and resumed to-day regular trips on the river. Comfortable berth room is afforded for 36 passengers.—The Gov. Worth is to carry U. S. mail in place of the Hurt which is now undergoing thorough repairs.

[The Eagle – Fayetteville, N. C. – Thursday, March 28, 1872]

Some of the steamboats on the Cape Fear have been tied up to await a “rise” which is reported as slowly coming.

[The Eagle – September 28, 1872]

Cape Fear river rose five or six feet yesterday, and will probably get much higher from the abundant rains of the last two days. We learn all our boats are getting off with large loads.

[The Eagle – October 26, 1872]

Our river is now well up, and all the boats are on their regular trips, well loaded too.

------

The river now being in good order for boating all persons wishing to attend the Wilmington Fair can do so easily. As the Fair will end Friday the Steamer R. E. Lee will remain over until 12 o’clock that night.

[The Eagle – Semi-Weekly – November 12, 1872]

CAPE FEAR RIVER.------

Spring and Summer Schedule.------

The following schedule will be run by the “Express Steam Boat Company,” commencing on Saturday, 27th inst., and continue thereafter until further notice: The Steamer Wave, Capt. W. H. {middle initial incorrectly listed as “H” instead of “W”}Skinner, will leave Fayetteville every Wednesday and Saturday at 7 o’clock a. m., and Wilmington every Monday and Thursday at 2 o’clock p. m. The Steamer D. Murchison, Capt. A. Garrison, will leave Fayetteville every Tuesday and Friday at 7 o’clock a. m., and

Wilmington every Wednesday and Saturday at 2 o’clock p. m. The above are both substantial iron boats, recently repainted and refurnished and offering the best accommodation to travelers. The proprietors tender their thanks for the very liberal patronage extended to their line of boats and beg leave to assure the public that the comfort of the patrons of the line in the future shall be a speciality {misspelled in article} on the part of the commander of each boat.

J. D. WILLIAMS & CO., AgentsFayetteville, N. C.

WILLIAMS & MURCHISON, Agents

apl 25 nov 9-tf Wilmington, N. C.

[The Eagle – Semi-Weekly – December 10, 1872]

The Cape Fear. When the Governor Worth left Fayetteville on Friday last the water had fallen at that point about twenty feet, and was still falling. Boatmen, however, feel no apprehension of further difficulty on account of the want of water during the season, as it is now about eight feet higher than during the summer months. During her last trip the Worth went as high up the river as McNeill’s Landing, after freight; and could have gone considerably further if it had been necessary. People in that direction only ship their produce once or twice a year, as the water is generally so low that boats cannot go beyond Fayetteville even when they reach that point.

[Wilmington Star - January 14, 1873]

Our boats are about to be consolidated in two lines. The Cape Fear and People’s Lines are to go in one with three boats, and the Express Line to unite with Capt. Sam. Skinner of the Lee, with three boats, leaving two

boats, one of Cape Fear, and one of People’s to be sold or run elsewhere.

[The Eagle – Semi-Weekly – January 28, 1873]

The steamer Cumberland on the up trip yesterday morning, we learn, rescued three men from a very perilous situation some miles below here. They had landed from the Murchison a few hours before. The river was so high they could not be put out at the place where they wanted to go, but were put on the opposite bank. In attempting then to cross the river in a canoe, they were upset, but held on to limbs of trees and kept above water until the Cumberland came along. The captain had a small boat at once sent to them. As it got near, one of them jumped in so hastily and violently, that he upset the boat and things were again “at sea.” But by diligent effort the steamer backed down to a convenient position and ropes were thrown to the men, and they were thus drawn aboard, and saved. One of the men had a tickler of of {repeated in article} “old rye” in his coat pocket which he had kept safe through all his troubles and dangers.

[The Eagle – Semi-Weekly – February 11, 1873]

Recent freshets have enabled our friends in Harnett and Sampson to get off their timer rafts. The timber business is very profitable. A good, large raft brings $500 to $800, and one half of this in clear money. A good many men send off ten or a dozen rafts a year, besides their crops of turpentine.


THE RIVER still continues high. We expect that much damage has been done to rafts and low grounds during the freshet. We are not able to give casualties as yet, but

when water subsides will compare notes, prepare reports, etc.


UNDER REPAIRS.— The Steamers Hurt and Juniper of the Cape Fear and People’s Line are laying at their wharves under repair.

[The Eagle – Thursday, March 6, 1873]

THE Steamer D. Murchison of the Express Line is laid up for repairs and painting. The Steamer Wave of the same line went up river yesterday after naval stores which are said to be in abundance about Averasboro awaiting shipment.

[The Eagle – Fayetteville, NC – Semi-Weekly – March 22, 1873]

THE STR. GOV. WORTH—UNDER REPAIR.—We learn from Capt. D. M. McDonald that this elegant and commodious river steamer is at the wharf for repairs. Captain McDonald says that a new deck will be made for the Worth, and that she will be thoroughly painted. This work will consume several weeks.

[The Statesman – Fayetteville, N.C. – April 12, 1873]

CAPE FEAR AND DEEP RIVER NAVIGATION COMPANY.—By appointment of the Governor, Messrs Thos. S. Lutterloh, K. Murchison, A. R. McDonald, and --------- --------, have been made managers of this company. The Managers met at Lockville on Tuesday last and elected Col. K. Murchison, President and H. A. London Esq., Secretary and Treasurer. A resolution which passed directed the Treasurer to look up the property of the

company and take it into possession. The board of managers then adjourned to meet in Raleigh, on the 2nd Tuesday in June next.

[The Statesman – Fayetteville, N.C. – April 26, 1873]

STEAMER WAVE of Express Line goes off this morning (Saturday) for Wilmington on first trip after having been thoroughly repaired, repainted and generally overhauled. She presents a very fine appearance in her new dress and does much credit to her gentlemanly commander.

[The Eagle – Fayetteville, NC – Semi-Weekly – May 17, 1873]

BODY DISCOVERED.—The body of Dennis Gill, the colored boat hand who was drowned off the Steamer North State on the 30th ult., about 12 miles below Fayetteville, was discovered a few days since, by passengers on the same boat, tied to a bush on what would be the banks of the river were they not overflowed to such an extent. It is supposed that the body was found by some person passing in a canoe and tied there until some one should appear to perform the rites of burial. The boat would have been stopped and the body buried at the time we allude to, but there was no possibility of landing on account of the flood.

Wilmington Star.

[The Eagle – Fayetteville, NC – May 20, 1873]

IMPORTANT SALEOF

PUBLIC PROPERTY.-----

At a meeting of the Board of Managers of the Cape Fear and Deep River Navigation Works, at the Executive office in Raleigh, on the 3d of June, 1873, the following resolutions were passed:

1. Resolved, That in accordance with the Act of the General Assembly, 1860,-‘61, chapter 122, it is deemed advisable to sell the interests of the State of North Carolina, in the Cape Fear and Deep River Navigation Works. 2. Resolved, That the same be sold in two sections, viz: 1st, from Fayetteville to Sharp’s Field Dam. 2d, from Sharp’s Field Dam, including the same, up the Cape Fear and Deep River to the limits of the original charter. 3. Resolved, That the respective purchasers shall pay one-third of the price of their purchases in cash, and the remainder in one and two years from day of sale, with interest from said date, and that the same be secured by satisfactory bond, and a lien on the interests purchased. Title not to be made till payment in full. 4. Resolved, That the sale be upon the expressed condition, that the respective purchasers shall complete and put in operation, according to the terms of the charter the portion purchased as follows, viz: from Fayetteville to Sharp’s Field Dam within 5 years from day of sale, and from Sharp’s Field Dam, including the same to Tysor’s Mill in Moore county within 3 years from said date. 5. Resolved, That H. A. London, Secretary, and B. I. Howze, Attorney of the Board, be authorized to make said sale at Lockville, in Chatham county, on the 8th of July, 1873, and that they give notice of the same in the “Era” and “News” in Raleigh, the “Eagle” and “Statesman” in Fayetteville, the “Star” and “Post” in Wilmington, until day of sale and by posters. We shall offer the above property for sale according to the above resolutions.

H. A. LONDON, Secretary.

B. I. HOWZE, Attorney.June 7-10 tds

[The Statesman – Fayetteville, N.C. – June 7, 1873]

The Cape Fear River is getting very low, but the boats continue to make their regular trips.

------

STEAMBOAT ACCIDENT.—On up trip of the steamer “Cumberland,” of the Cape Fear and People’s line, Sunday morning, when within, about 16 miles of Fayetteville, she broke her shaft, which rendered her unable to travel, and she is now anchored near where the accident occurred. The “North State” will tow her up to-day.

[The Eagle – Fayetteville, NC – Thursday, June 24, 1873]

Today’s Headlines:

FIRE ABOARD SHIP On Monday morning last, as the steamer “North State” was lying at the yard of Messrs. Williard Brothers, opposite this city, she caught on fire somewhere in the engine room, and the flames leaped up several feet above the deck. Fortunately the fire was discovered in time and extinguished.

[?? – August 13, 1873]{Unknown Original Source – Bill Reaves Collection

BOAT HAND DROWNED.-- On Monday after-noon a colored hand named Rufus Thomas, on the steamer R. E. Lee, fell off the boat about Indian Wells, and was drowned before assistance could be rendered. He was playing with another negro – striking at him – and losing his balance, fell over board.

-----

IMPROVEMENT.-- Capt. A. P. Hurt has refitted his store, on Hay St., very tastefully, and now has on hand a large and complete stock of boots and shoes.

-----

ON THE CAPE FEAR.-- We paid a business visit to Wilmington this week. After we boarded the “ Hurt,” M. J. McSween, Esq., of the Eagle, came alongside. When Capt. Worth saw we were both going to Wilmington, he seemed to be very much worried and troubled in his mind. He asked us what we wanted to go for any way, and then he said a steam-boat captain’s life was a hard, hard, unsatisfactory one, and that he almost felt as if he could leap over into the cold, cold waves, and end his sorrows in a watery grave. He told the passengers not to be uneasy – that he would not allow us to annoy or injure them; and then he directed the engineer if he found the boat getting too

full of gas and steam, to put her nozzle to the shore, and hold her there until we got off. But, we did not create much disturbance. We asked a great many questions -- enough to make us very wise, if we should remember the answers to one-half of them -- and we interviewed a great many people on the subject of Jay Cooke and the Balloon and the crops. The accounts from the crops all along the river are very generally the same for all sections: Cotton badly damaged by heavy rains – not only cut short in quantity, but injured in staple – and a good deal of low land corn swept away by recent freshets. A portion of the hay has been lost, and some fodder; but a large quantity, of very fine quality, has been harvested. Farther away from the river grain is very favorable, and farmers will secure a more bountiful harvest than for several years. We secured a good many new subscribers on the boat, at the landings along the Cape Fear, and in Wilmington; and every where our innate modesty was put to a severe test by hearing the GAZETTE spoken of in terms of the highest praise. Many business men in the city of Wilmington declared it to be the best weekly newspaper in North Carolina, and subscribed for it for the benefit of their families. Our trip was very pleasant; the “ Hurt “ is one of the best steamers on the river, and her commander, Capt. A. H. Worth, has no superior any where as a captain. Ever watchful of the interests of his company, he omits nowhere the slightest iota of duty; is cautious, cool and deliberate; and gives passengers a feeling of security by the ability with which all his orders are given, and the promptitude with which they are executed. Nothing is left undone which can add to the comfort of travelers, and render the ride from Fayetteville pleasant.

[North Carolina Gazette – September 25, 1873]

COLUMBUS COUNTY AND THE LOWER CAPE FEAR.—Last Monday, 22nd September,

we left here for Superior Court at Whiteville, Columbus county. We went down the river on the steamer Hurt, which is now in charge of Capt. A. H. Worth, one of the most gentlemanly and obliging captains that has ever been on our river. He understands his business well and is a favorite with the people along the river. Through freight and travel between Fayetteville and Wilmington is not so large now as formerly, but way freight and travel have increased. For the whole 112 miles of river and country fro several miles on each side, the merchants, farmers and people have no other way of shipment or channel of trade except these river steamers. At all the landings freight is put on or off once or twice a week or oftener. Each steamer gets from one to a dozen passengers each trip at way stations. Very often, too, there is a large number of through passengers. At least 50 turpentine stills and 50 country stores along in this river country ship by these steamboats. Freight charges have increased somewhat too since the steamboat lines have been consolidated. Nearly all the rosin, spirits and cotton bought in the Fayetteville market are sent by the boats. There are now eight steamboats on this river running to Fayetteville and owned by Fayetteville men, viz: the Hurt, North State, Murchison, Governor Worth, Wave, Lee, Cumberland and Juniper. The last two are now undergoing repairs and will not be running for a few weeks. Heavy groceries for this town and vicinity still come by the boats, but most of Fayetteville goods and travel is now by the railroad to Raleigh and North. Merchants here who are large stockholders in the boats ship by the river, and the freight by this route is said to be cheaper but takes one or two days longer. These eight steamers cost $150,000 or more, averaging near $20,000 apiece. Some of them cost $30,000 while others cost $12,000. The boats make each two trips a week from Fayetteville and back at a cost of $75 to $100 per trip. The time usually 12 to 16 hours from here to Wilmington, 112 miles, and fare $4, including bed-room and meals.

Altogether this is the most delightful and cheap route of travel in North Carolina or in the Southern country. The boat officers are very polite and the table fare is good. Columbus county is low and swampy and thinly settled. The recent immense rains have flooded the country… {The majority of the rest of the article is about Columbus county, Whiteville, its people, businesses, Scuppernong wine, politics, and railroads, etc.} We came up Thursday evening on the steamer North State, Capt. T. J. Green commanding, and there is not a more pleasant boat on the river. It has most obliging officers and certainly affords first rate accommodations of every kind. To pass off the time we beat an influential Methodist friend of ours the best two out of three at euchre.

[The Eagle – Fayetteville, NC – Semi-Weekly - Saturday, September 27, 1873]

DROWNED.—The Wilmington Star of the 24th has the following: In our paper yesterday morning we published a brief paragraph announcing that a colored deck hand had been drowned off the Steamer R. E. Lee near Kelly’s Cove. This is a point about forty-two or forty-three miles above this city. The name of the deceased, who was only about 19 years of age, was Rufus Biner, and he belonged in Fayetteville. It seems that about sunset on Monday evening deceased and another boy by the name of Joe got to “skylarking” on the deck. Joe had a small switch with which he had struck Rufus, when the latter endeavored to snatch it from the other, but in doing so he lost his balance and fell overboard. The steamer was almost immediately stopped and a small boat lowered, but before assistance could reach the boy he had disappeared beneath the treacherous waves and was seen no more. It is a little singular how few escape a watery grave who are once plunged into the depths of the Cape Fear, where the immersion is caused by accident. The increasing

frequency of these accidents on the river boats suggests the propriety of having it so arranged that a small boat can be lowered at an instant’s warning.

[The Statesman – Fayetteville, N.C. – Saturday, September 27th, 1873]

STEAMBOAT ACCIDENT.-- The Steamer Hurt, Capt. Worth, was detained an hour or two at her wharf, by a portion of the stove pipe blowing out. The accident amounted to nothing -- very little damage and a short detention -- but a negro hand became very much frightened, and jumped into the river.

[North Carolina Gazette – Second Edition – Thursday, February 26, 1874]

ON and after Monday next the Boats of the Cape Fear & Peoples’ Steamboat Company will leave this place, for Wilmington, at 7 o’clock, A. M.

J. A. WORTH, Agent

[The Eagle – April 2, 1874]

---The steamer D. Murchison is to be laid up for repairs the coming week, and the steamer North State will take her place on the river.


“ NORTH STATE.” -- Mr. J. A. Worth, Agent of the Cape Fear Steamboat Company, invited us last Saturday to make a visit to the Steamer “ North State,” recently overhauled and refitted, and a small party of us were carried on a trial trip down the river. The steamer runs well, as she made on that occasion six miles in 28 minutes. The “

North State” is very comfortably furnished, her ladies’ cabin tastefully fitted up, and with her kind and efficient master, Capt. Green, she will be one of the pleasantest boats on the river. She now takes the place of the “ Hurt,” which rests for a while for repainting, &c.

-----

Steamboat Notice.ON and after the 16th February instant the agents of the Cape Fear and People’s Steamboat Company at Fayetteville and Wilmington are instructed not to deliver any goods until the freight and charges on the same are paid. By order of the Directors.

F. W. KERCHNER,feb 12 3m Pres’t C. F. & P. Steamboat Co.

------

NOTICE!ON and after MONDAY 6th of April the boats of the Cape Fear Steamboat Co.’ Line will leave their Wharves at Fayetteville, at 7 A. M., instead of 8 A. M., as heretofore.

J. A. WORTH, Agent. april 9 1 m

TURPENTINE STILLS.15 BARRELL STILLS properly made for FOUR HUNDRED and FIFTY DOLLARS.12 BARRELL STILLS properly made for FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS, by

M. A. BAKER,april 2 1m Fayetteville, N. C.

[North Carolina Gazette – First Edition – April 23, 1874]

THE “ HURT.” -- The steamer A. P. Hurt, Capt. A. H. Worth, always one of the best boats on the river, has recently been undergoing a general refitting and repainting, under the superintendence of Mr.

Lewis Worth, a genuine artist in the work. With her red, white and green blending of colors, the steamer is a beauty; and her accommodations and comforts are not inferior to her appearance. She made a short trial trip down the river last Saturday evening, giving perfect satisfaction.

[North Carolina Gazette – Second Edition – May 14, 1874]

The Steamer Governor Worth. We learn that the steamer Governor Worth, now at Fayetteville for repairs, is being thoroughly overhauled and remodeled, with the view of adapting her to the purpose of excursions on the river; not with the intention, however, of course, of confining her to that business altogether. She will be furnished with new beams from stem to stern, new upper works, and new wheels, the latter to be constructed so as to give them about eight inches more dip than those now in use, with the view of increasing her capacity for speed. The steamer Juniper will take up a lot of lumber to-day, to be used in the work of reconstruction, and when the Worth again makes her appearance in our waters, which will probably be about the 1st

of July, at the furthest, we may expect to see a wonderful improvement in her appearance, as well as in her adaptability to the purpose for which she will be in part used—that is, excursions.

[Wilmington Morning Star – May 15, 1874]

STEAMBOAT EXCURSION.— The Baptist Sunday School, Superintendents, teachers, pupils and guests, indulged in a pleasant pic-nic excursion down the Cape Fear to Cedar Creek, on yesterday. The safe, commodious and comfortable Steamer, “ A. P. Hurt,” Capt. Worth, was engaged for the occasion, and the trip was greatly enjoyed.

[North Carolina Gazette – Second Edition – May 28, 1874]

A PRIVATE excursion party went down the river yesterday to Owen Hill, Bladen county, of young ladies and gentlemen. Dancing on the boat was one feature of the occasion. Many of our young people went, and we hope they will have rare excitement on their trip.

[The Eagle – June 11, 1874] RIVER PICNIC AND EXCURSION.—A party of ladies and gentlemen, married and unmarried, fled from the hot brick walls and the sultry summer atmosphere of Fayetteville yesterday evening; and, with many a choicely freighted basket, took refuge on the pleasant, nicely fitted up “ Str. Hurt,” which conveyed them down the river thirty-four miles to Owen Hill, where they were received by Mr. C. P. Mallett. The party were conducted to his residence where a picnic supper, dancing, &c., were the amusements nearly all night. The return trip was then commenced, the steamer making the wharf about 5 o’clock. Owen Hill is a beautiful country mansion, the former residence of Col. Guion, with grand old staircases, spacious rooms, and cool, airy piazzas; it is situated on a splendid elevation, overlooking the Cape Fear, is surrounded by lovely grounds, and is approached by a broad, smooth, shaded avenue. Several gentlemen and fair ladies from the neighborhood made a very pleasant addition to the party, and the genial, hospitable lady and gentleman, of whom the excursionists were the guest, added much to the pleasure of the occasion. The down and up rides on the river were delightful; the promenaders who thronged the avenue in slow-moving, soft-whispering couples, seemed to be at the acme of human felicity – to us, who sat and smoked and nodded on the front porch; the torch-light procession of a long cavalcade arm in arm, over bridge, hill and ravine, on the way to the boat at 1 o’clock at night, was conducted with great mirth and hilarity; Capt. Worth, by

his politeness a watchful care, is the very captain for an excursion; and the party unanimously pronounced the pic-nic the pleasantest recreation of the season. The dawn, which found the party on the river, lifted the pall of darkness and replaced with the gray, misty veil of uncertain day over forest and rushing stream, and its increasing light found no listless pallor on fair cheeks, but a good deal of sleepiness on heavy eyelids and in nodding heads. The most of those excursionists won’t read this paper till supper-time.

[North Carolina Gazette – Second Edition – June 11, 1874]

--- The steamer D. Murchison, which has been laid up at Fayetteville for the past six weeks, undergoing repairs, will resume her trips on Tuesday evening next.


THE STEAMER MURCHISON.— Capt. Garrison’s splendid steamer, the Murchison, has recently been receiving some very handsome improvements; and last Saturday afternoon Capt. A. B. Williams, with a small company of ladies and gentlemen , visited the Murchison at her wharf, and were carried down the river about fifteen miles, on a short trial trip. The LaFayette Cornet Band were among the invited guests, and gave sweet music during the ride, and also for a dance on the lower deck. The ladies and gentlemen were full of life and gaiety, refreshments were served, and the excursion, though short, was delightful. The Murchison is now in capital trim, and, with her popular commander, offers every comfort and facility for a journey down the Cape Fear.

[North Carolina Gazette – Second Edition – June 18, 1874]

A Reminiscence of 1865. After the occupation of Fayetteville by the Federal troops, every one will remember the great scarcity of provisions which prevailed here. Every thing had been eaten up, or swept away. The Rail Road was cut off—the Steamboats captured and detained at Wilmington—and the war was not yet over. What was the destitute people to do for sustenance? In this emergency, six citizens of Fayetteville, four white, and two colored, volunteered their services to the town authorities to go to Wilmington and endeavor to get supplies. The four white citizens were Col. John A. Pemberton, Major Robert M. Orrell, Capt. A. P. Hurt and Ralph P. Buxton. The two colored men were Isham Sweet and John Dunston. Their offer of service was accepted by the Mayor and Commissioners. Major Archibald McLean was at that time Mayor. Having hastily constructed a common Batteau they proceeded in it down the River under a flag of truce, reaching Wilmington the third day. They were kindly received by the Federal authorities. General J. C. Abbot being in temporary command, during the absence of Gen. Hawley, and were promised assistance upon his return to the city. When Gen. Hawley returned, they delivered to him their letters from the Mayor and Commissioners, and laid before him the state of things existing in Fayetteville, and solicited aid. Unfortunately for their application, news had just reached Wilmington of the assassination of President Lincoln, and the rejection of the Sherman Johnston treaty, which immediately followed. The Fayetteville delegation were informed that hostilities were renewed, and that they must leave the Federal lines at once. At the earnest entreaty of Mr. Buxton, who begged to be allowed to remain in Wilmington, on any terms, even, to being placed in confinement, he was allowed to remain—his purpose being, if possible, to procure some relief for the sufferers of Fayetteville. The other gentlemen were required to leave at

once which they did in the same Batteau in which they had gown down, and rowed their tedious way back to Fayetteville. In a day or two the war cloud passed away, Gen. Johnstone surrendered, and peace followed. Mr. Buxton, who had remained in Wilmington for the purpose, immediately renewed the application for supplies with increased earnestness, and General Hawley placed at his disposal a Steamboat freighted with brad, flour, meat, fish and other provisions, all donated as supplies to Fayetteville. The Steamboat reached the wharf at Fayetteville the very morning his weary associates had landed their Bateau at the same place. On the same Steamer, the “Hurt,” returned to Fayetteville many refugees, citizens, who had been absent from their homes a long time. The Boat load of provisions was turned over to the Mayor and Commissioners, and was by them properly distributed among the suffering citizens of the town. These things are well known to the people of Fayetteville, but are now placed on record for the first time.

[The Statesman – Saturday, July 18, 1874.]

Rejuvenated. The steamer Wave, which has recently been undergoing repairs, has been changed into a strictly freight boat, the cabins and other accommodations for passengers having been removed. She has now commenced running regularly again under command of Capt. Robeson.


An Old Acquaintance in a New Dress. The steamer Governor Worth, after a long absence from our waters, put in her appearance again yesterday so greatly transformed by the hands of the carpenter and painter that it was difficult to realize that

it was the same boat. She will take the place of the A. P. Hurt for the present, which will be laid up for repairs, and will be commanded by Capt. A. H. Worth, of the latter steamer. She is not yet quite ready, but will be in a few days, to commence her regular trips on the river.


Extensive Robery on a Steamboat—Part of the Money Recovered—Ar-rests on Suspicion. We have known for a day or two past that quite an extensive robbery had occurred on the steamerer [steamer – misspelled] D. Murchison, while on the trip from this place to Fayetteville, on Wednesday last, but have withheld the facts for prudential reasons. It seems that the boat was stopped at some point on the river for the purpose of landing a lady passenger, Capt. Garrason accompanying her some distance. In the meantime the hands were directed to gather moss on the shore, and it was during this interval that some person or persons of those remaining on the boat went to the Captain’s desk, got the key of the safe, unlocked it and took therefrom a package of money amounting to $5,000, which had been forwarded by Messrs. Williams & Murchison to some party in Fayetteville, after which the safe was relocked and the key returned to the desk. They money was not missed until the boat arrived at Fayetteville, when circumstances which came to the knowledge of Capt. Garrason led to the arrest of Perry Cotton, Assistant Pilot, and the fireman, known on the river by the appellation of “Big Allen,” who were lodged in jail. A colored boy employed on the boat was also held until the examination came off. Subsequent to the arrest of these parties a portion of the missing money, amounting to $2,500, was found secreted in what is know as the “dome house,” which would lead to the impression that there were two persons concerned in

the robbery and that the money was divided between them. The trial of the parties mentioned was to have taken place at Fayetteville on Friday.


The Late Robbery on the SteamerMurchison. The examination into the case of Perry Cotton and Allen Gilmore, or “Big Allen,” as he is generally termed, both colored men, who were arrested on suspicion of having appropriated the $5,000 which was stolen from the safe of the steamer D. Murchison on Wednesday of last week, mention of which has been made in the STAR, came off in Fayetteville on Monday. The evidence was entirely of a circumstantial character, and, not being deemed by the Magistrate sufficient to convict, the defendants were discharged. It will be remembered that $2,500 of the stolen money was recovered a day or two after the robbery, having been secreted on the boat.


Passed Through. The steamer Gov. Worth was on Tuesday on her way to Smithville, piloted through Snow Marsh’s channel by Capt. F. W. Potter, being the first steamer besides those that have been engaged in the bar improvements that has successfully gone through. The channel is 90 feet wide and 9 feet deep.


Death of Capt. Dailey. Capt. Jno. K. Dailey, so well known as an old steamboat man on the Cape Fear River, died of consumption at Mrs. Pickett’s boarding house, in this city, on Friday night,

aged about 36 years. Capt. Dailey was well known throughout this section. In his last hours he received the kind ministrations of those around him and several old acquaintances and friends in this city. His remains were yesterday sent to Fayetteville, his home, on board the steamer D. Murchison, being escorted from the house to the boat by Capt. W. M. Parker and several other former members of the LaFayette Light Infantry, of which organization Capt. Dailey was a member during the war.


Stolen Watch Recovered.

Some time last August, Capt. T. J. Green of the Steamer North State, was so unfortunate as to lose a fine gold watch, which was stolen from his room at home in Fayetteville by a burglar. The Captain immediately set to work to recover his faithful and valuable time piece and as the result of his labors his watch was returned to him a few days ago, having been found in the hands of a party who had bought it in Elizabeth City.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday, July 9, 1875]

A Notable Instance of Gallantry.

We heard of a circumstance yesterday, connected with the captain of one of the Fayetteville boats, which we think too good to be lost, and of such a highly creditable nature withal that we give the name of the individual as Capt. Green, of the steamer North State. It seems that a young lady from Sampson embarked on his boat a few trips since with the view of visiting some of her relatives in Bladen county. It was the understanding that the young lady was to get off at a certain landing, where some of

her friends were to meet her, but upon the arrival of the boat at the landing in question there was not a soul to be found to whose protection the fair passenger could be confided. Finally Capt. Green decided to take the young lady to the next landing, a mile and a half further up, where he expected to find a gentleman of his acquaintance who would cheerfully see her to her destination; but upon stopping at the place designated he found that also deserted, no one being present but a colored man, with whom he was not disposed to trust his passenger, whereupon, rather than see her disappointed or confide her to an irresponsible party, Capt. Green actually tied up his boat and trudged three miles and a half, climbing fences, fording branches and jumping ditches, saw the young lady safely to the home of her relatives, and walked back again to his boat, altogether a distance of seven miles, and proceeded on his trip to Fayetteville. Now, there is an instance of gallantry for you worthy to be compared with the most famed of ancient or modern chivalry.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday, October 22, 1875]

A New Steamer.

Another new steamer has been added to the fleet which frequents our waters in the shape of the handsome Little Adrian, from the upper Black River, owned and commanded by our old friend, “Commodore” Charles Howe, of Franklin Township (formerly constituting a part of New Hanover, but now in Sampson county). The Little Adrian is named in compliment to our enterprising townsman, Mr. Aldrich Adrian, of the firm of Adrian & Vollers. In dimensions she is 85 feet long and 35 feet in width of beam, and her workmanship is of a substantial character. We hope her success may prove all that can be desired.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday, November 19, 1875]

A SERIOUS RIVER ACCIDENT.

Sinking of a Lighter Loaded withSalt – Narrow Escape of the Men

on Her, &c.

An accident quite destructive in its results occurred at the wharf of Messrs. Kerchner & Calder Bros., yesterday, about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. It appears that a lighter, or flat, belonging to Mr. John M. Robinson, had been loaded with about five hundred sacks of salt, and, as the hands were in the act of pushing her from the wharf, the side of the lighter next to the wharf seemed to drop from some projecting log upon which it had probably rested, when she careened over and went down. So sudden and unexpected was the accident, and so rapidly did lighter and cargo sink beneath the waters, that it was with considerable difficulty that the men on her at the time, six in number, were enabled to escape from being carried down with her, some of them being seized and pulled upon the wharf after the water had reached to their waists. Immediately upon sinking the lighter went to pieces, and will therefore prove a total wreck; while, of course, not a sack of the salt could be saved. Several colored men were engaged in dragging for it soon after the accident occurred, but succeeded only in recovering a number of empty sacks.

The salt belonged to Messrs. Kerchner & Calder Bros., and was valued at about $1 per sack or $500 for the entire load. The lighter, which, as before stated, belonged to Mr. J. M. Robinson, was a new one, just completed, and was valued at about $350.

The affair created considerable excitement on North Water street and a large number of curiously disposed flocked to the scene of the disaster, some of whom could not refrain from perpetrating the joke, although on such

a serious subject, that “fish that may be caught in the river for some days to come will be already corned.”

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday, December 3, 1875]

River News.

The boats arriving from Fayetteville yesterday report a sudden rise in the river at that place of from 34 to 40 feet, caused by a heavy rain on Wednesday night. It is presumed that the freshet extends to the other rivers, in which case we may expect quite an influx of naval stores which have accumulated during the prevalence of low water. The boats report heavy fogs on the river. The steamer Wave broke her eccentric on the downward trip, which delayed her arrival somewhat.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Saturday, January 1, 1876]

Local Dots.

--- The steamer D. Murchison reports a very heavy freshet in the river, the rise at Fayetteville being at least 40 feet when she left.

------

--- The revenue cutter Colfax collided with the D. Murchison in the fog yesterday morning, causing some unimportant injuries to the latter.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Sunday, January 2, 1876]

For Smithville,CHANGE OF SCHEDULE.

AFTER THIS DATE, STEAMER “DIXIE”Will leave our wharf at 9 A. M.Returning, leave Smithville at 2 P. M.N12-tf O. G. PARSLEY & CO.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Sunday Morning, January 2, 1876]

Election. The Cape Fear and People’s Steamboat Company, at their annual meeting in this city Tuesday, selected the following stockholders as officers for the ensuing year:

F. W. Kerchner, President.D. G. Worth, Secretary.B. G. Worth, F. W. Kerchner, A. A.

McKeithan, H. Vollers, D. G. Worth Directors.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Thursday, January 13, 1876]

Local Dots.--- It is now stated that Capt. Jas. Smith will go out to Florida in command of the steamer Cumberland, instead of Capt. Albert Worth, as heretofore announced.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Friday, January 14, 1876]

Hath Left Us. The steamer Cumberland, formerly connected with one of the lines of steamers between this port and Fayetteville, left yesterday after noon for Fernandina, Florida. She is under command of Capt. James C. Smith and is expected to run, in the interest of the owners in this city, between Fernandina and St. Mary’s, on the St. John’s River. Mr. T. G. Smith goes as Engineer and Mr. John H. Marshall as Pilot.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Wednesday, January 19, 1876]

Express Steam Boat Company.------

THE STEAMERS of this line will, until further notice, leave Fayetteville as follows:Steam. MURCHISON, Tuesdays and Fridays, at 8 A. M.Steam. WAVE, (for freight only) Mondays and Thursdays, at sunrise.

Dec ### J. D. WILLIAMS & CO.

[Carolina Gazette – Thursday, January 20, 1876]

CORRESPONDENCE.=====

FOR THE GAZETTE.A VOYAGE TO FLORIDA.

------FERNANDINA, FLA., }January 30th, 1876 }

MESSRS. EDITORS:--The Steamer Cumberland, under command of Capt. James C. Smith, left her moorings at the wharf in Wilmington on the 19th, and steamed bravely towards old ocean, en route for Fernandina, Fla. It was deemed a hazardous undertaking for a slight craft like ours to make the venture at this season, and many forebodings from “old salts” and knowing ones followed us out to sea. We started from Wilmington with a stiff breeze, which raged itself into a perfect hurricane before we reached Smithville, compelling us to take refuge at the river wharf at that point. We left Smithville at 12 o’clock at night, and were soon rocking on the broad Atlantic. The winds seemed to lull and the waves to sleep for our especial benefit; a shinning moon rested on the ocean to greet us, and then rose to light us through the wilderness of water, as we glided along smoothly and safely, conveyed by myriads of stars. A run of nine hours, without the slightest accident or apprehension, brought us to the bar at Georgetown.

The muddy waters of the Pee Dee reach far into the sea at this point, beyond the sight of land—a comforting home signal to mill-pond mariners like ourselves. On the trip we coasted as far as eighteen miles from the shore; and, despite the fair weather, several of our Fayetteville party made their acknowledgments to salt water in good style. We arrived at Georgetown twenty miles from the bar at noon, and waited on the weather until next day. A revenue cutter followed us in, but a squint at our name and humble origin was enough to turn her back without hailing us. Georgetown is a sorry looking place, swarming with lazy, lounging negroes. I saw no signs of trade or traffic, except an old saw-mill; it claims, however, to have a considerable source of business from turpentine. A dingy-looking steamboat, exploring the river as far up as Cheraw, represents its shipping—but it could hardly be otherwise in South Carolina. From Georgetown we turned back to sea, and took the ocean track for Charleston—seventy miles. A long sandy shoal obliged us to part with the sight of land for fifteen miles, but our path was as smooth and enjoyable as at the start; the vast blue expanse before, behind and around us was undisturbed by a single ripple, a gentle swell being the only reminder of our dangerous experiments. We sighted Charleston early in the afternoon, obtaining a splendid view of the harbor, and passing, besides other interesting points, Sullivan’s Island and Fort Sumter, upon which latter we noticed a number of workmen with carts engaged at some sort of labor—possibly putting it in Spanish condition. Sullivan’s Island is now a group of attractive dwellings , street-cars run the length of the island, and many handsome residences occupy the old camping-ground of our troops during the war. Charleston wears the same old dismal, antiquated look the natives love so well; nothing stirring or fresh helps its appearance, and the pitiless storm that bowed its proud head still broods over its fortunes. Many of the merchants, however, believe that a restoration of the old prosperity is not far distant. I counted about

a hundred vessels in port – mostly barques. We spent two days at Charleston and “did” the city to the best of our ability. Charleston is sadly wanting in the one great charm of any city, town or village—that is, pretty women. The few I saw would make a Mormon shudder. Our inland route commenced at this point. Heading up Cooper river a short distance we entered a small inlet, which gradually narrowed to about the width of the boat, and was crooked enough to paralyze a county surveyor. We circled about in a waste of marshes all day, and finally ploughed through the mud into Stone River—a broad stream which tided us fifteen miles to a safe anchorage thirty miles from Charleston. Here some of the crew went ashore in search of palmetto cabbage, so they said, while the remainder went after crabs and oysters, both of which they found in abundance. The next day found us navigating the same interminable savannahs, our objective point being Beaufort. We ditched along this course until the retiring tide left us a solid foundation in the mud, where we stuck until we could hear from headquarters outside. It was morning before the tardy and unspeakable relief came; and chunking in our last cord of wood, we steamed into the loyal port of Beaufort. A regiment of dusky voters heralded our approach, and guessed everything about us except ‘pirates.’ What I have said of Georgetown can be said also of Beaufort—only more so; it is so near a counterpart that a description of either town would make a common photograph, except that the latter brags of a custom-house and steam fire-engine. It is also the peaceful abode of Judge Whipple. We made the purchase of ten cords of wood at Beaufort, and gave the town an opportunity to start a bank. Our inland route continued from this place to Savannah, distant sixty miles. We passed numerous plantations on this part of our journey, which yielded princely revenues to their owners before the war, but which are now nearly abandoned. We were carried on

through a number of sounds and inlets with strange names, making Port Royal and Tybee Island on the way. The latter was a naval strategic point during the war—which meant a recruiting station to make Yankee soldiers out of all the niggers in the neighborhood. Port Royal is the present rendezvous of a considerable war fleet; we passed and saluted six or seven armed vessels sand one monitor, with several others in sight. It must mean Cuba or Whipple. We took the next day to make a fresh start, and crossed into the Savannah River at its mouth, 21 miles from the city. We spent two days at this port, shipping our last supply of wood for the trip. Savannah is a lovely city; situated on a high bluff, it overlooks a wide range of the surrounding country, commanding a most charming view. It has a bustling air of business, in marked contrast with its sister sea-port towns. Over six hundred thousand bales of cotton were received here the past season. Its shipping interests are far in advance of Charleston. You see the change at once in leaving South Carolina; a spirit of energy and thrift pervades everything in Georgia that has no existence in Carolina. The police in Savannah are distinguished by a grey uniform; they are the most gentlemanly-looking men I ever saw on such duty. The market house here eclipses any like building in the South or even in New York. A number of elegant restaurants constitute its foundation, leaving the second floor for legitimate business. Foreigners form a large part of the the [word typed twice] business element of the place. The last stretch of our journey—and by far the most interesting, unless I except the outside trip – we made from here. We had no ditches, shoals or mud to encounter; beautiful bays and broad rivers led us the whole way through. The scenery and surroundings were all strikingly different as we approached our destination. Vast flocks of ducks were constantly in sight, while countless sea birds kept us company. We sighted the ocean and heard the thunder of the surf a number of times while passing

through the numerous sounds on the route, making us sensible of its indulgence upon our first acquaintance. Darien and Brunswick were on our watery road --both neat and thriving little towns. At dinner time we entered St. Mary’s Bay, and the Land of Flowers lay before us, its gleaming bench and summer breath bidding us a pleasant welcome. An hour more of our journey, and the lines of the Cumberland were on the wharf at Fernandina. Altogether the trip has been simply delightful. It is due to the officers of the boat to say that it was in capital hands. The unflagging vigilance of the captain, his discretion and careful foresight, left no room for accident. Capt. J. H. Marshall was our pilot, and we cannot value his services too highly. His knowledge of the coast and all the intricacies of inland navigation was wonderfully perfect; every bearing or current or inlet or landmark at sea, and every river, bay, creek, and harbor seemed to be mapped on his wheel, and to it all was joined an unerring knowledge of the signs of the weather. We had a faithful and efficient ocean chief as engineer, assisted by Mr. Elliott as river chief. In their keeping and management the Cumberland had full trust in her engines, and so declares most gratefully. And now I will close my communication by subscribing myself. W.

[North Carolina Gazette – Fayetteville – Thursday, February 10, 1876]

Steamboating. The Milton Mercury learns that Capt. Skinner, of Fayetteville, will visit that town some time during the next month for the purpose of taking a survey of the Dan from that place to Barksdale’s and to Danville, with a view to running a steamboat to and from the two places. Our contemporary thinks the proposed enterprise a very feasible one, as “the town must either have the steamboat or a railroad.”

[Wilmington Morning Star – Wednesday, March 1, 1876]

CORRESPONDENCE.

FOR THE GAZETTE.FLORIDA NOTES.

------Fernandina—The St. Mary’s River—North

Carolina Tourists Fishing and Prospecting-Lemon

Groves and Orange Plantations.------

FERNANDINA, FLA.,}Feb. 38th. }

MESSRS. EDITORS:--Fernandina is an island city, lying directly on the ocean. It is most beautifully located, fronting a broad bay which extends nearly to the bar, and is girdled by a magnificent beach, as firm as a turnpike, with a shining border on all sides as grand a stretch of shimmering sand and dashing wave as earth and ocean ever fashioned, a broad shell-road connecting it with the city, the road being a beautiful avenue of myrtle and orange nearly the whole distance. The streets of the town are regular, and, except the thoroughfares of business, are adorned with elegant dwellings and cottage-like mansions, all embowered in tropical shrubbery of every description. A large shipping belongs to the place: hundreds of foreign and New England vessels seek this port for cargoes, and a line of magnificent steamers carry on a traffic with Savannah, New York and other ports North. Its fine harbor and location mark it as the great future outlet and principal sea-port of Florida, while it has railroad communication with all parts of the State. Fernandina is free from epidemics, and is remarkably healthy; but it suffers from one drawback—negro domination. The St. Mary’s River is the principal channel for the local trade of the place; it is the navigation of this river, together with Brunswick and adjacent

points, which makes up the employment of the steamer Cumberland. The St. Mary’s is navigable one hundred and twenty miles from its mouth, and is a wide, deep stream for a long distance, fringed by broad marshes and savannahs, within whose black depths numberless alligators have their haunts, and evince a “shocking tameness.” Higher up the river we get into a well-settled and finely-timbered country. Numerous saw-mills at different points make up the vast lumber business of this section, and a great number of schooners and larger vessels are constantly loading with the commodity. Every enterprise of this sort appears to be in the hands of Northern men, mostly from Maine and Canada; from the former, especially a great many are now cutting and rafting timer on this stream. If it pays in North Carolina to get oak timber and haul it for miles, and then raft it a long distance to Wilmington, it must be profitable business here, where you find the trees in sight of a landing and a market right to hand. That the business constitutes an immense interest may be gathered from the fact that I have seen rafts on the St. Mary’s more than a mile long, secured by a single chain or rope, and under the management of one man: they seem to be turned loose with the tide, to pilot themselves to their stopping-places. The trading-points on this river are more numerous than they are on the Cape Fear, and although it is not quite so extensive a field for naval store operations, the opportunities for the business are the finest in the world. Virgin land of the first rank both for timber and turpentine can be purchased at from 40 cents to $1 per acre. Many interesting signs of the early settlement of the country are to be seen along the banks of the St. Mary’s: there are mill-sites and old fields once owned and cultivated by Spanish inhabitants; a clearly defined road from St. Augustine to King’s Ferry, opened in 1769 by Spanish emigrants, is used at the present time as a mail route; and many Indian mounds can be plainly seen in passing.

The woods everywhere in this section of Florida abound in game, and there is no end to the fish in the creeks and rivers. I have become tired of the sport, owing to the excessive population of the limy tribe.” While agitating the fish subject I will give you an account of an ocean “minnow” caught recently at Fernandina. It was a monster Devil fish, and was estimated by moderate guessers to weigh seven or eight tons. It measured twenty-two feet in width, its length being a trifle less, and it filled a depth of eight or ten feet. Its arms and legs resembled those of the Cuttle fish, and were “too numerous to mention;” possibly it had nothing but arms, as legs are a rare thing in fish, especially mermaids. The monster was killed after a vigorous assault from the whole town. My authority for this fish story is Mr. W. J. Woodward, who was an eye-witness of the capture, and who is very cautious in his statements about fish. The most interesting feature of Florida to me is the common and exuberant growth of oranges and other fruits. The former appear to be in universal cultivation; hardly can you see a garden or inclosure which fails to contain more or less orange trees. The yield of a fully-matured tree is astonishing; an old grower of the fruit assured me that from four to five thousand oranges were the usual production of a single tree, and you would not think the estimate large were you to see one in full bearing. A more beautiful sight can hardly be conceived than a grove of these trees full of their golden fruit. Not more than one-fifth of the oranges grown in Florida are offered for sale, and the owner of a two-acre orchard can have an independent income. I wonder that the business of orange-growing is not as common and popular as making rosin, for it is certainly a more profitable and engaging vocation: I think I shall be an orange planter—or lemon. This part of the State does not possess all the tropical features of Florida, being the most northern portion; Jacksonville and Palatka on the St. John’s River seem to possess more attractions for the traveling public. The former place is altogether a

Northern town in the character of its population. Our Northern brethren enjoy the idea of having a tropical climate of “our own,” and being independent of Cuba and the Sandwich Islands. It never seems to them that it was ours before the advent of Sherman and negro equality. When they can perfect Northern civilization out here so they say the future of Florida is assured. But I am spinning my letter out too long though I would like to add a mention of the visit of your two townsmen, Messrs. S. and S., both of whom declare themselves pleased and even delighted with this country. The “Cumberland” took a special cruise for their benefit, making a trip to Brunswick and Stilla rivers in Georgia, and St. Mary’s and other points in Florida thus affording an opportunity for both investment and pleasure. An incident in the excursion to Brunswick was particularly interesting to Mr. S. Our route lay through St. Andrew’s Sound, twenty-five or thirty miles in width; and on our return trip we were unexpectedly confounded in a very dense fog. Our pilot was no less befogged than the rest, and made his reckoning for Liverpool or China instead of Fernandina. At any rate, we found ourselves at a late hour ploughing through the ocean instead of being safe in port. Mr. S. enjoyed the thing hugely at the start; he was enchanted with the scenery, infatuated with the porpoises and ducks, sung “Life on the Ocean Wave,” and smoked his pipe in a frenzy of happiness. The boat was not big enough for his enthusiasm until the stunning fact was announced that we were out at sea and “breakers ahead.” Cheap land in Florida now developed into a fabulous price, if he could only see it; one pine tree; if only in sight, would meet all his speculative views on timber; all grades of rosin were at once reduced to a floating valuation, regardless of quotations. Even the porpoise played circus around the boat unnoticed, and North Carolina grew suddenly into a vision of heaven. In truth, we were in great peril; enveloped in a fog of midnight blackness, amid unknown breakers ours was not a pleasant

situation. It was too much excursion for Mr. S., and he said so. Fortunately, we discovered our danger in time to escape disaster, and, after much tribulation, we recovered our course. Then everyone found out that he wasn’t scared worth shucks, and thought it was funny. I was particularly struck with the sailor-like qualities of Mr. S. after we got on land. The “Cumberland” contemplates a trip to St. Augustine and other points soon, and I may send you some items if you wish. In the meantime I remain,

Yours, &c.,W.

------ Without wishing to discredit any statement of our correspondent, we think it only right to state at a gentleman just from Florida declares that “W.” was known down there as the “North Carolina Fisherman;” that he was always off fishing except at grub and grog times—when he would contrive to be present though known to have been only a few minutes before at least twenty miles off – and the aggregate results of his piscatorial efforts were three small “eats.” He now goes by the soubriquet of “kitty.” “A gentleman from Florida, “states the dimensions of this “Devil” fish at fifteen feet long and sixteen wide.

[North Carolina Gazette – March 9, 1876]

Local Dots.

The steamer D. Murchison is to go on Messrs. Cassidey & Ross’ ways for repairs.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Thursday, March 9, 1876]

Our River Steamers.

The steamer Juniper, Capt. Skinner, formerly run by Messrs. Vick & Mebane, has been purchased by the Cape Fear and

People’s Line, and will hereafter be run in connection with that line. The United States mail, between this city and Fayetteville, heretofore carried by the Juniper, will from this date be transported by the steamer A. P. Hurt.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Tuesday, March 14, 1876]

Local Dots.

-- The steamer Dixie goes on the ways to day for slight repairs, and is expected to resume her trips in a few days.


Local Dots.

-- The steamer J. S. Underhill will take the place of the steamer Dixie, temporarily, to run between this city and Smithville. The latter, in the meantime, will be repaired, repainted, &c.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Sunday, March 19, 1876]

Colored Man Drowned.

Yesterday afternoon, about 1 o’clock, as the steamer North East , Capt. Paddison, was proceeding to one of the wharves in the lower part of the city, and when opposite Messers. Cassidey & Ross’ ship yard, a young colored man by the name of Wash Watkins, aged about 18 years, accidentally fell overboard from a flat attached to the steamer, and was drowned. At the time of the accident he was engaged in helping another one of the flat or lighter hands in removing a gangway, one end of which had been resting on the railing of the steamer, and the other on the flat, Wash, waling

backwards, when one of his feet came in contact with an oar, which caused him to stumble, when he dropped the gangway, staggered backwards, and was precipitated into the river. When he rose to the surface he was about thirty or forty feet from the steamer. He splashed about in the water for a few moments, his friends on the steamer and flat shouting “Swim, Wash, we are coming to save you!” but he seemed to have utterly lost his presence of mind, and in a minute, or perhaps less, from the time he came to the surface he threw up one hand in a despairing way and went down to rise no more. In the meantime a boat had been quickly lowered from the steamer, and Capt. Paddison had seized an oar and a life preserver, but before any further steps could be taken the unfortunate boy was drowned. A boat also put off from the Revenue Cutter Colfax, which was near the scene of the accident, but could be of no assistance.

Deceased was a resident of Point Caswell, where he leaves a number of relatives to mourn his sad fate, and was esteemed an excellent, trustworthy hand by his employers.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday, April 21, 1876]

Body of a Drowned Man Found Floating in the River – The Inquest.

The body of a colored man was found floating in the river, near the “Dram Tree,” late Friday afternoon. The party who discovered it made the body fast to a stake when he came up to the city and notified Coroner Hewlett of the circumstance. The Coroner had the body brought up and landed on the beach near the Cotton factory, yesterday morning, when he proceeded to hold an inquest. There was no one present to identify the remains, which were apparently those of a young man about 18 or 20 years

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of age. There is scarcely any doubt, however, that the body is that of Wash. Watkins, who was drowned off a flat attached to the steamer North East, on Saturday of last week, opposite Messrs. Cassidey & Ross’ ship yard.

The jury returned a verdict that deceased came to his death by drowning.


DIED.

Obituary notices must be paid for in advance. The first ten lines are inserted free. The excess over ten lines are charged for at the rate of ten cents per line. Correspondents can ascertain what an obituary will cost by counting eight words to a line, and multiplying each line by 10 cents.

----- After an illness protracted through many months, on the 23d of March, 1876, Mrs. VIRGINIA E. CARTER, wife of Mr. Archibald Carter, of Fayetteville, N. C., in the 45th year of her age. Before the war the deceased belonged to the Wilmington Presbyterian church, and was much attached to its pastor and membership. Removing to Fayetteville, she identified herself with all the interests of the Presbyterian church in that place. While ability was given, she was disposed to co-operate in all measures for promoting its welfare. She was a woman of impulsive disposition, warm affections, and active mind. Tenderly attached to her children and family connection, she labored for their good with an energy that evertaxed her failing strength. Wasted by lingering disease, for a time she flattered herself with hopes of recovery, and dreaded the sundering of earthly ties by death. But God’s grace

wonderfully sustained her under trial, sanctified her afflictions, and transformed her character. She bore loss and pain without murmuring, ceased to dread dissolution, and passed through the valley of the shadow of death, leaning on the arm of a loved and trusted Divine Saviour. Her surviving husband, children, relatives and friends, have much consolation and hope in her death, and should strive like her to “depart in peace,” their eyes having seen God’s salvation. H. G. H.

[The Presbyterian – Wilmington, N.C. -- Wednesday, May 24, 1876.]

OVERBOARD.—A passenger on the steamer Wave, last Saturday night, fell overboard while the boat was in motion, and was drowned before help could be given him. He was a Mr. Porter, of Bladen County, and lived near Little Sugar Loaf.

[North Carolina Gazette – Fayetteville – Thursday, June 1, 1876]

A Sad Case of Drowning.

A young man by the name of Alexander M. Porter, aged about 22 years, was drowned off the streamer Wave, on her upward trip on Sunday morning last, about one o’clock , near Kelley’s Cove, some fifty miles up the river. Mr. Porter, who resided at Little Sugar Loaf, Bladen county, where he kept a little store in connection with his farm, had been in Wilmington on a trading expedition. He had been drinking considerably during the day, and soon after dark lay down on the deck and went to sleep. At the hour mentioned, he got up and commenced walking about, when, dazed and bewildered, as he probably was at the moment, after waking from a sound sleep, he unconsciously walked overboard. The fireman, who was standing nearby, clutched at this clothing as

he fell, but could not retain his grasp, and the unfortunate man immediately disappeared in the darkness and was seen no more. Capt. Robeson backed his boat and made every possible effort to find and rescue him, but without avail. His body was recovered Tuesday morning, and from a severe cut on the head, it is evident that he must have gone under the wheel and been struck by the boxes, in which case he was so stunned that his death was no doubt almost instantaneous. Deceased was well known among business men here, and was generally liked by those with whom he was in the habit of trading, and he is also said to have been much esteemed in the neighborhood in which he lived. He leaves no family.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Thursday, June 1, 1876]

Accidental Drowning.

A colored man by the name of Daniel LaGrand, aged 23 years, was accidentally drowned off a flat some 15 miles above this city, on the Cape Fear River, on Thursday about 12 o’clock. There were only two men on the flat at the time, and his companion says that Daniel had struck his pole against a log and was bearing his whole weight upon it in pushing when it suddenly slipped, sinking into the deep water with such rapidity that the unfortunate man could not recover himself and plunged face downwards into the river. His companion further states that he never rose to the surface, as he watched intently for his reappearance but never saw him any more. The two were engaged in freighting crossties from a point some twenty miles up the river and were on the upward trip at the time of the accident occurred. Deceased, who had sustained a good character in the community, was the only brother of Lewis LaGrand, the well known porter in the establishment of Messrs. Cronly & Morris, and lived with him on Second, between Wright and Dawson streets. Six

men went up yesterday on the steamer Governor Worth with the necessary appliances for dragging for the body.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Saturday, June 3, 1876]

BAPTIST PICNIC.—The Baptist Sunday School and invited guests made an excursion down the Cape Fear yesterday, halting at Cedar Creek and taking dinner in picnic style. The fine steamer Worth, with its best of Captains for all sorts of trips—Captain A. H. Worth—was engaged for the excursion. The crowd reached home late in the day, voting the holiday in every respect delightful and full of pleasure. We attended the picnic by the cordial invitation of the managers, and were delighted with all the enjoyment and pleasures of the day. We never saw happier, more gleeful crowd; and at Cedar Creek the dinner set out is beyond our powers of description, but those who watched as while we helped the rest of the 256 to clear off the table will bear witness to our powers of appreciation.

[North Carolina Gazette – Fayetteville – June 8, 1876]

MAN DROWNED.—A negro boy named Daniel LeGrand was drowned on the 8th inst., about 15 miles above Wilmington, by falling from a flat. Another negro named Abram Fulton, who was with him on the raft, was arrested on suspicion of having been concerned in his death.

[North Carolina Gazette – Fayetteville – June 15, 1876]

--- The steamer Wave, while on the way up the river Tuesday night, struck on a stump, which went through her bottom. Capt. Robeson, getting clear of the dangerous projectile, placed a blanket in the hole made

by it and returned to Wilmington. He then discharged his cargo, and yesterday the steamer was hauled upon Messrs. Cassidey & Ross’ ways to undergo repairs.

[? – June 27, 1876]

The Excursion on the Steamer Governor Worth.

The excursion to the sea shore on the steamer Governor Worth, on the 4th, under the auspices of the St. George and St. Andrew’s Athletic Club, was no doubt one of the most pleasant and enjoyable events of the day. The boat left Messrs. Lemmerman & Coney’s wharf about 9 o’clock A. M. The crowd, under the wise management and foresight of the committee, who had previously intimated the course they intended to pursue in this respect, was just large enough to secure to those who were on board the comfort and convenience which are so essential in excursions of this character. The boat made the run to Smithville in very good time, arriving there about 11 o’clock, and those of the excursionists who did not join in the dance, some of whom had never been down the river before, engaged in the inspection of the very pleasant scenery on both sides of the Cape Fear and enjoyed the splendid breeze which prevailed. We have seldom seen a day more favorable in every respect for an excursion to the sea side.

Arriving at Smithville, in the harbor of which lay at anchor the revenue cutter Colfax profusely decorated with flags, and a fleet of handsome pilot boats also flying their flags and streamers, altogether presenting a very gay and animated appearance, the excursionists were notified that the boat would stop there a half hour and then proceed to Bald Head, returning in time to witness the races which would then be arranged. The crowd then landed visited the

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garrison where they were politely received and met with courteous attentions, and strolled about the town generally, enjoying the excellent sea-breeze with which this pleasant seaside town is always blest, and which renders it such an agreeable summer resort, after which, at the expiration of the half hour, many embarked on the

TRIP TO BALD HEAD,

While others remained and passed interval in a pleasant dance at the Academy, in visiting friends, &c. The run to Bald Head, in the teeth of the stiff sea-breeze blowing, was intensely enjoyed; and upon landing at the beach the male portion of the crowd, numbering near a hundred, quickly selected a suitable spot, divested themselves of their clothing, and plunged into the briny waters of “Old Ocean,” where they indulged in the luxury of serf-bathing to their hearts’ content, than which there is not a better locality for such a healthy, invigorating and exciting sport on the whole Atlantic coast. One of the swimmers, who ventured rather too far out, was seized by the under-tow and in imminent peril of being carried beyond the reach of safety from his own exertions or assistance from his comrades, but luckily help was close at hand, and with a little assistance he was enabled to stem the treacherous current and come out of the dilemma unscathed. While the others were bathing a few of the excursionists repaired to the lighthouse, from the top of which a very fine view of the surrounding scenery is had.

After stopping here the necessary length of time – from a half to three quarters of an hour – the boat returned to Smithville, where the crowd again landed and enjoyed themselves in a manner best suited to their inclinations until the

BOAT RACING

was announced. After consultation, it was decided, for various causes, to have only one rowing race, with four oars. The boats

entered were as follows: Captain C. C. Morse’s, with Pepper, Weeks Newton, and Junius Newton, as crew; Jacob J. Thompson’s, with Thompson, Polley, Davis and Benson as crew; Rankin Craig’s, with Craig, Melvin Craig, Chesley Craig and Atkins as crew; George Piver’s, with Piver Haskins, Owens and Williams as crew. Capt. Morse’s boat won the first prize, one pair of bracelets at $10, and Mr. Piver’s boat the second prize, a pair of sleeve buttons valued at $5.

OTHER EXCURSIONS

The arrival of the Governor Worth’s party at Smithville was soon followed by that of the steamer Waccamaw, with the Cape Fear No. 3 firemen and a number of other colored people; and later by the steamer Douglass, which left Wilmington at 4 A.M. for the Blackfish Grounds. The party on the latter boat caught quite a number of fine fish, but the most of the excursionist got sea-sick on account of the roughness of the water.

HOMEWARD BOUND.

The Gov. Worth started for home shortly after 4 o’clock and arrived at her wharf soon after 6, the excursionists being well pleased with their trip. The dancing was kept up until the boat touched the wharf.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday July 7, 1876]

--- The steamer Gov. Worth, Capt. Worth, while on her way to Fayetteville, and when about twenty miles above this city, on Wednesday night, had the misfortune to lose her rudder, which became detached from its position in consequence of the worn and dilapidated condition of the rivets and other fastenings. The rudder was secured, placed upon a flat, and brought to this city for repairs, reaching here yesterday evening. In the meantime the Worth will remain tied up at the point where the accident took place.

It will take but a short time to complete the repairs necessary.


The Western Excursionists – A Trip Down the River – The Return to the

Mountains.

The excursionists from the mountains, who came down on the double excursion train under the management of Mr. Tomlinson, took their proposed trip down the river, yesterday, on the steamer J. S. Underhill. They had an excellent day for it, and we learn that they enjoyed the trip very much, which can well be imagined when it is probable that many of them had never seen a steamboat or large vessel before, or even a sheet of water of any considerable dimensions. The boat went a short distance outside, and a few of the party got sea-sick. A considerable stoppage was made at Smithville, where some indulged in a bath, while all enjoyed the splendid sea breeze.

A number of the ladies, accompanied by gentlemen, paid a visit to the Revenue Cutter Colfax, which was at anchor in the harbor, and the officers took much pleasure in showing them around, even firing a salute for their benefit. One of the young ladies from Davidson College, we learn, expressed the opinion that they (the officers) were “the best housekeepers she had ever seen.”

The boat, with its happy freight, including a goodly number of “city folk,” returned late in the afternoon.

The excursionists, which will include quite a number from this city, will leave on the double excursion train for the West this morning at 6:45 o’clock. Among the

managers of the grand ball to take place at Hickory Monday night, are Messrs. J. W. Gordon, A. T. London, Wm. L. Smith, Jr., J. H. Hardin, Jas. W. Lippitt and A. H. Kelley, of this city.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday August 4, 1876]

Excursion by Moonlight and Otherwise.

We learn that it is the intention of Mr. J. S. Tomlinson, of the Hickory Press, who recently got up the grand double excursion, to give another excursion from the mountains to the seashore at an early day, probably during the latter part of this month, at which time Capt. Latham, of the steamer J. S. Underhill, proposes giving a grand moonlight excursion for the benefit of our visitors from the up-country and others who may wish to participate.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday August 11, 1876]

SERIOUS COLLISION.—The steamer North State collided with a vessel being towed by the Waccamaw, near Wilmington a few days since, and had her upper work badly smashed. We regret to learn, too, that Capt. Green was painfully injured during the collision.

[North Carolina Gazette – Fayetteville – January 4, 1877]

-- The steamer A. P. Hurt has temporarily taken the place of the steamer North State, running between Wilmington and Fayetteville.

[Wilmington Star – January 6, 1877]

A Colored Man Drowned.

On Thursday night about 8′oclock, while the steamer A. P. Hurt, Capt. Worth, was on her way from Fayetteville to this city, and when at a point on the river known as “Indian Wells,” about thirty-seven miles above this city, a colored deck hand by the name of Sim Council fell overboard and was drowned. It appears that the boat stopped at the place mentioned to change the mail, and as the wind was blowing very hard at the time the boat swung round crosswise the river. Council had hold of a rope, a turn or two of which had been taken round a post, and was engaged in trying to force the boat into her proper position in the stream, when by some means he accidentally fell into the river. He was not able to swim a stroke, and was not seen to rise to the surface of the water after his unlucky plunge, hence the efforts made to rescue him were altogether useless. Capt. Worth remained at the spot about two hours, but failed to recover the body.

Deceased, who was about 30 years old, was formerly a resident of Bladen county, but had been living in Fayetteville for some time past, and was, Capt. Worth says, the best hand he ever had in his employ. He was unmarried and childless.

[Wilmington Weekly Star -- Friday, March 16, 1877]

Body Recovered.

The body of Sim Council, the colored man who was drowned off the steamer A. P. Hurt on the 8th inst., an account of which appeared in the STAR at the time, was recovered on Saturday last, about two miles below Indian Wells, the scene of the accident, by a colored fisherman, and an inquest was to have been held over the body

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=103348834994198981631.00045c4859ee334636242&t=h&ll=34.416115,-78.3284&spn=0.01933,0.045276&z=15&iwloc=lyrftr:msid:103348834994198981631.00045c4859ee334636242,00045c49e491a2d161810,34.415265,-78.328314,0,-32



yesterday. The body when found was in an upright position.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday, March 30, 1877]

(excerpt from Fayetteville GAZETTE) – Captain Skinner sold the steamer CUMBERLAND in Savannah; she will probably run between that city and Augusta.


More Effects of the Late Storm.

“… The steamer J. S. Underhill, the Wilmington and Smithville packet, had her rudder disabled and was towed up to this city yesterday morning by the steamer Waccamaw.”

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday April 20, 1877]

A New Steamer.

The new steamer Colville, built at Messrs. Colville & Co.’s mill for Capt. Henry, formerly of the steamer Caswell, and intended to supply the place of that boat on the line between this city and Bannerman’s Bridge, on the Northeastern Cape Fear, made her trail trip on Monday afternoon. There were about twenty-five persons on board, and the boat behaved very handsomely, the machinery working as smoothly as could be expected. The Colville, named in honor of the

senior proprietor of the mill, is a very neat and staunch little craft, evidently well adapted in every way to the purposes for which she is to be used.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday May 10, 1877]

MOONLIGHT EXCURSION.

The steamer NORTH STATE took a party of ladies and gentlemen down the river last evening, starting about a quarter to 6 o’clock, with the view of giving them an excursion by moonlight. The Cornet Concert Club was along to furnish the music for the occasion. It was doubtless a delightful trip.

[Wilmington Star – May 29, 1877 BRC]

A Drowned Man Discovered Floating in the River.

On Monday, while the steamer Gov. Worth was on the way to this city, and when at a point between Willis’ Creek and Prospect Hall, about twenty miles this side of Fayetteville, the body of a drowned man was discovered floating in the river. The remains were evidently those of a colored man, somewhat advanced in years, his hair being sprinkled with gray, but no one, along the river in that neighborhood seemed to have any idea who the deceased could be, no person to their knowledge having been missing. The man was in his shirt sleeves and had apparently been in the water about a week.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday June 8, 1877]

The Drowned Man Again.

The body of the drowned man, reported to our paper of Wednesday last as having been found drifting in the river about twenty miles this side of Fayetteville, on the downward trip of the steamer Gov. Worth, on the previous Monday, was subsequently taken from the water and an inquest held over the same. It is now understood that the remains are believed to have been those of a white man. A watch found on the person of deceased had the name of D. R. McLean engraved upon it.


Excursion on the Colville.

Our Pender friends had a delightful excursion, a few days since, on the new steamer Colville, on the Northeast river, which was followed by dancing, refreshments, &c., at Mr. G. Z. French’s landing. At a subsequent meeting on board of the steamer over which Mr. James H. Moore presided, Mr. J. P. Murphy acting as Secretary, resolutions of thanks were voted to Capt. R. C. Henry for the great pleasure afforded them, and also to Mr. French for the accommodation furnished for dancing, &c. Mr. W. T. Bannerman and Dr. H. F. Murphy addressed the meeting and spoke in very complimentary terms of Captain Henry.


THE STEAMER “ WAVE. “-- Capt. W. A. Robeson’s Steamer, “ The Wave, “ of the Express Steamboat Co.’s line, swung loose from her wharf last Monday morning, and glided down the river – as handsome a craft as has rested on the bosom of the Cape Fear

in many a long day. The “ Wave “ was formerly run entirely as a freight-boat, but for the past few weeks she has been on “the ways,” being repaired and re-modeled; and now, with a bright dress of paint and new cabins and state-rooms, presided over by the clever and courteous captain , the “ Wave ” can offer as pleasant accommodations to the wayfarer between Fayetteville and Wilmington as any of its popular competitors for public favor on the river.

[North Carolina Gazette – Thursday, June 21, 1877]

RIVER EXCURSION.-- There was a very pleasant excursion down the river last Friday on Captain Green’s steamer, the North State. The picnic was complimentary by Miss Fannie Green to Misses Maggie and Mamie Johnson, of Wilmington, and was very much enjoyed by all, the dancing being pleasant and the return trip to the wharf delightful.

[North Carolina Gazette – June 28, 1877]

FOR THE GAZETTE.EXCURSION TO SMITHVILLE.

----- MESSRS. EDITORS:-- It is to be regretted that more of the citizens of Fayetteville and surrounding country did not avail themselves of the opportunity offered them last Thursday of taking a trip to Smithville and the Forts on the Cape Fear river. These little excursions cost but a small amount of money, and are extremely pleasant this hot August weather. As I hear there will probably be another such excursion shortly, I have concluded to write a short account of the Odd Fellows’ excursion, in hopes that others may be induced to take advantage of the next opportunity offered them. A short notice only having been given, some 25 or 30 of our citizens embarked on the fine steamer Gov. Worth, commanded by that genial gentleman and clever host, Capt. A. H.

Worth, on last Thursday morning, for a trip to the Forts. Shortly after 8 o’clock the whistle blew, the gang planks were taken in, the wheels began to turn and we thought we were off, but alas for our expectations; we had not gone more than 100 yards when bump, and our boat was on the ground. Here we pulled first one way and then another for some time, and finally we “got off” fairly on our way. The water being very low, we went along very slowly, for the first thirty miles the rain pouring in torrents, preventing us from gaining any accessions to our crowd. We expected at Elizabethtown to get quite a number, but as before remarked it was raining, raining, and no one put in an appearance. A trip down the river, as you know, Messrs. Editors, is monotonous, but with pleasant companions you can always make the time pass rapidly. Your time, too, can be occupied watching the various turns of this beautiful river, with its willow and ash, elms and tall sycamores casting long, varying shadows into the water as the mighty stream glides on to meet the waving billow. It is curious, too, to watch with what dexterity the jolly boat hands handle the barrels down the long slide, or roll them up the steep banks. There are no persons who seem to enjoy live more or take more pleasure in their work than these hands on the Cape Fear. With frequent stoppage to put out the mails, we proceed very slowly, and night caught us a long way from Wilmington. What took place then your correspondent knows not. He heard next morning that the boat ran into the bank during the night and broke her rudder chain, but this is only hearsay, as he was too much engaged to know what was going on then, and knew nothing more till the “music from the entire band” aroused him as we reached the “city by the sea.” Here we found quite a number of persons, including many ladies, waiting for our arrival. After some delay the boat steamed to the foot of Market street, took on our passengers and started on the most pleasant part of our journey. As we pushed out into the river the band gave us some of its finest music, which

was echoed back by the shout from the shore. And then commenced our pleasure. The lower deck was cleaned and swept, and you heard above the noise and splash of the water the cry “partners for the first set!” The younger portion of the crowd commenced in earnest to “trip the light fantastic toe.” Ahead of us was spread the majestic river, now widened and deepened by the action of the tide, and sparkling like a sea of glass. The wheels of our gallant bark were beating time to the music of the waves, and gay young men and beautiful women were whirling in the mazes of the dance. But your correspondent desired to look upon some of the scenes enjoyed (?) by him in other years, and repaired to the hurricane deck to get a better view. On the right as you passed along frowned Battery Anderson, its mound once covered with bristling bayonets and sullen looking guns, now overgrown with bush and brier. On the left, high above the other shore was Sugar Loaf hill whereon he stood, and intently watched long ago the desperate attack on “Anderson” opposite, when the iron-clad monitor ran up to the walls of the fort and poured her deadly missiles into it, and the shot from the fort had no effect on her, but struck and rebounded as if they had been made of rubber. On the left, a little farther on, was the famous “Fisher,” now dismantled and overgrown. After we passed the “mound,” we ran along to the opening of New Inlet, where the government boats are at work filling up the inlet with rock. Here our boat rolled and tossed about, and your correspondent thought it the better part of prudence to get down to where the boat was steadier, so he left that deck; when he reached the lower deck he found that the dancers, too, had stopped, probably concluding that they could not worship Terpsichore and bow to old Neptune at the same time. There you could see more than one of our party looking pale and haggard, and I was particularly struck with one who had taken the wood-pile, he said, to rest. After we passed the inlet and the water became smooth, dancing was commenced

and continued till Smithville was sighted on our right. Here the Revenue Cutter Colfax lying in the stream gave us a salute, which we returned, and as our boys “wanted to get to the surf” we stopped only a short time, and then started for Caswell, which we reached in a short space. The tide was running out and the boat could not get near the shore, but our gallant captain was equal to the emergency. He placed benches in the shallow water with boards on them from the boat to the bank, and soon we were getting off in single file – one or two falling in – not being too steady. Here the party divided, some walking on the beach and others in the fort – some gathering shells and sea-weed, while others were bathing in the surf. In the latter could be found most of the “up countrys.” Caswell was a strong fort, but is now dismantled and mouldering away. The guns used by us are still there and regularly pointed, but the carriages are falling to decay; and herds of goats now roam where not long since the tread of soldiery was heard and the warlike men were waiting for the fray. What a sad looking thing a dismantled fort is! Years of work and toil and thousands of dollars thrown away! After enjoying the beach for an hour or so the whistle sounded for our return. On our way back we stopped at Smithville for a short time and walked about that old town. It must be a pleasant place to spend a summer in, with its grassy streets and beautiful oaks. It is a great mistake to suppose (as some do) that is a hot, sandy place. Such is not the fact; it looks cool and shady and quiet. While here an oar boat from the Colfax came over and took the band, our Mayor and some others to it, the band playing that sweet tune “Annie Laurie” as it was rapidly borne towards the cutter. Over there they were feasted by the officers, and found our Congressman, Hon. A. M. Waddell, rusticating for a few days. But pleasure cannot last always, and the shrill whistle of the Worth called them back. “All aboard!” was sounded, and we started

back for Wilmington. Up the river now we are steaming; dancing again commences, and gaiety is kept up as we pass back by Fisher, by Sugar Loaf, by Battery Anderson, to the city. Here we leave the largest part of our crowd, and at half-past ten start for home again. The party were tired – most of us desired to sleep – but the young ones would not permit it; what with singing, playing, dancing and noise-making generally, little sleep was had that night. But next day we took things quietly, and in good time reached home, all having enjoyed the trip and wishing to go again. The only regret was that the excursion was not patronized as it ought to have been, it having been gotten up for the benefit of a benevolent order in our midst.

O. F.

[North Carolina Gazette – August 9, 1877]

PICNIC AT BLADEN SPRINGS.-----

Trip on the River – Pleasant Company – Commodore Tatnal

– The Bladen Springs – A BeautifulCountry – A Dance –

Homeward Journey, &c.

-----

In accordance with a courteous invitation from the committee of arrangements, we attended a picnic held at Bladen Springs, near Whitehall, Bladen county, last Friday, 17th inst. Everything seemed to combine to render this little jaunt of ours an occasion of unalloyed pleasure. Taking the steamer Worth on Thursday, and having under one escort three young ladies of Fayetteville, we had the good fortune to find assembled on board a very pleasant party, composed of

ladies going to Wilmington and others whose destination, like our own, was Whitehall. The river was low, and the Worth seemed to crawl rather than run, while her whistle was constantly engaged in the effort to clear away its hoarseness by screaming at a hundred different landings, all of which wanted a little room for a few rosin barrels. But we were content: what mattered it {is} that the stream was sluggish and the pulling steamer lazy? our mood was in unison with the lazy sunshine, and the bending willows, and the sleepy cranes which seemed to mock us with their drawling, drowsy flight along the banks. Never have we spent a more delightful day on the Cape Fear – a congenial coterie which seemed to extract a pleasing incident from everything; the skill of the boatmen in shifting freight from landing to gangway; the charms of conversation, the pleasures of a game of whist, a little mixture of frolicking – and when Whitehall was sighted our hearts were torn between the anticipation of the enjoyment in store for us there and regret at bidding good bye to our Wilmington friends. At Whitehall the shore was crowded with persons in waiting; to receive us, while upon the bank was a great illuminated banner, bearing the kind greeting, “WELCOME!.” Here we found that the committee had made their arrangements perfect: our crowd, consisting of eighteen or twenty from Fayetteville and Cumberland county to other, was divided up into small parties, and sent off to different residences in the neighborhood, amid much mirth, merriment and laughter. That night we stayed at Whitehall, the guest of Mr. James Evans, where we were nicely entertained and enjoyed a good night’s rest. Here we made the acquaintance of Commodore Tatnal, to give him his official title, though he is known to the masses as “Jim Ferryman.” As we sat in the piazza overlooking the Cape Fear, listening to the fast receding paddles of the North State, sounding like the beats of some great heart in mortal struggle (has some other great brain evolved this idea from its inner consciousness?), there came a call

from the other bank, so clear, so shrill, that it seemed to cleave the sheeny moonlight as a sharp dinner knife would make its way through fresh cream cheese – “Hallo! ho!! hallo!!!” “Dat’s Bill Simpson. I jess know!” exclaimed a great ragged creature who had been lying at my feet, rising and stretching his remarkable length before me. Then he strode off, and soon I heard the plash of the waves, the reverberating sound of the pole thrown on the flat, and the ferry-boat was ploughing its way across to the other shore.

“Old massa give me holiday.I wish he’d give me more;I thanked him very kindly

As I rowed my boat from shore,And down de riber floated,

Wid a heart so light and free,To de cottage of my dearest May

I longed so much to see” –

Sang the Commodore, as he bent his tall, gaunt form to the guiding pole, while the moonlight fell on his broad slouch hat, and trickled down over his matted beard like molten silver. “Ah! yes, you nigger! if I was behind you I’d teach you ‘dearest May!” Come ‘long back heah wid dat boat, you old fool, and go to bed!” – screamed a strident female voice from the door of a cabin on the bank to the right of me. “Such is life!” mused I; “even the Commodore must come down off his ‘high horse’ when the domestic broomstick is brandished aloft, and the romance of the ferryman’s life wilts before the blighting influence of his practical fireside.” “Jim Ferryman” is as honest, and faithful as the day is long, and there is not a man on the river who would not trust him with any amount of money. All honor to the old fellow, rough thought his exterior and untutored be his mind! A fearful thing happened the night we reached Whitehall; we shudder every time the recollection of it comes across our troubled soul. A trunk, which was intended to be taken off there, was accidentally carried on by the Worth; in that trunk was a

vest, a pair of pantaloons (if we may be pardoned the expression), a shirt (still asking for pardon), and a cravat; these articles of apparel were intended to adorn the rather lofty person of the chairman of the committee of arrangements, Mr. Jas. Evans, and the world is left to conjecture what would have been the effect on the fair sex at that picnic if the Worth hadn’t carried that trunk to Wilmington. He raised old Cain round Whitehall when he found out what had happened, and rejected with scorn a proposition of ours to lend him a suit. However, he took the matter philosophically at last, lay down saying something about “spilt milk,” and we think he snored that night just as loud as if he had been arrayed like Solomon in all his glory. Friday, the picnic day, was bright, balmy and cloudless, and with a large party of ladies and gentlemen we set out for the springs. Along the main road and from every cross-road poured streams of wagons, carriages, buggies, horsemen and pedestrians, preparing us to believe what had been told us – that this would be the biggest picnic we had ever seen. Bladen Spring is situated about two hundred yards from the main Wilmington and Fayetteville road, near the splendid residence of the late lamented Mr. Russ. It is a great basin of about 100 gallons capacity, the water of which is as clear as crystal, as cold as ice, and possessed of fine medicinal virtues. We thought we could detect both iron and sulphur, but we were not under favorable circumstances for exercising our chemical knowledge while we drank – for eyes deeper and clearer than this great bubbling fount of nature were looking into ours, and on the pellucid surface of this noble spring was mirrored a form as full of grace as that of any naiad that ever tripped from wold or dell to lave in rippling stream in days of yore, and crowned with that chiefest glory of woman – a wealth of golden hair which caught every shifting ray as it danced on the woodland leaves and the ripples of the limpid stream. The scene of the picnic was a large grove, garlanded and festooned in moss with a

beauty that no art could rival, imparting a picturesque, ancient look which was charming. Every tree seemed to us to have its history, and we could almost imagine that as their majestic forms towered over us, and their gnarled and knotted limbs swayed to and fro above our heads, they were whispering of other days, when tired invalids knelt at their feet and drank the sweet waters which God has given his creatures; when the silence of their peaceful realm was startled by merry laughter; when lovers lingered where the stillness and the shades were deepest; when the fathers and the mothers of the young men and women gathered there that day were as gay and fair as they – but the sturdy oaks and the gray old moss have outlived the soft cheeks, bright eyes and graceful forms which have fallen away into the dust! At one end of the grove is a vacant house, where we soon heard the familiar sounds of tuning fiddles and scraping bows. In a few minutes a set was formed, after which we became forgetful of the programme until a messenger came to tell us that the crowd was ready for the speech; it required some little force on the part of the committee to drag as out, as we were dancing with a very pretty girl, but we made our appearance at the stand, around which the people were thronged on benches, on the ground and in carriages, and did the best we could for them in the way of an address for 58 minutes by the watch, after which Mr. Allen, of Duplin, and Dr. Devane, of Bladen, responded to repeated calls which had been made upon them by brief but pleasing remarks. We cannot describe the dinner to which we were invited at 1 o’clock. It was an avalanche of beef, fat mutton, old ham, chickens, ducks, &c.; it was a deluge of cake, pies, tarts, puddings, &c.; it was a flood of pickles, fruits, jellies and sweet meats; it was a glut of all sorts of good things; it was a feast tendered to bounteous hospitality, overflowing in good will and generosity – the offering of a liberal, whole souled people. The remainder of the day was devoted to dancing, promenading and conversation, and

sunset closed the Bladen Spring picnic, the road being alive for an hour after with homeward bound parties. There were hundreds present from every direction, and the counties of Bladen, Duplin, Pender, New Hanover, Brunswick, Columbus, Sampson, Robeson and Cumberland were represented on the grounds. The hospitality of that section and people were lavishly offered to us, but we wish for ourselves and the ladies in our charge, to thank the families of Mrs. Wooten, Dr. Graham and Mr. Gilliam, and Mr. Evans, for many kindnesses. It required some care on our part to keep the Fayetteville girls from being purposely left by the up boat, as they wanted to stay still another day, and were strenuously urged to do so by their Bladen friends. We boarded the Worth about 9 ½ o’clock on Friday night, and reached home Saturday at noon. Not the least pleasant part of our trip were the rides down and up on the Worth; it is an admirably managed steamer – good fare, clean berths and nice state rooms – and its captain is not only a good officer, but a pleasant companion, ever attentive to the wants and pleasure of his guests. Crops are generally good in Bladen, though cotton has rather a bad stand in some parts of the county. The people speak cheerfully, and hopefully, and look forward to the future, cherishing a bright anticipation of the restoration of their former thrift and prosperity. Mr. Allen, in his speech the other day, spoke of Bladen county as a “land flowing with milk and honey.” This is ought to be, literally as well as figuratively; much of its soil is almost inexhaustible in fertility, while it possesses upon the banks of the river, at the doors of many of its farmers, vast beds of marl which is invaluable for the restoration of impoverished land. It is also admirably adapted to sheep husbandry, and we found the people down there almost unanimous in the determination to join us in our struggle for the protection of this important agricultural interest.

[North Carolina Gazette – First Edition – Thursday, August 23, 1877]

Colored Man Drowned.

A young colored man, by the name of Thomas Dudley, steward on the steamer Colville, Capt. Henry, running between this city and Bannerman’s Bridge, Pender county, was accidentally drowned off that boat on Monday night last. The accident was not observed by any one on the boat, and, in fact, the young man was not missed until the Colville had arrived at her wharf. He was last seen when the boat was about three miles from town, about half past 9 o’clock, at which time the crew were engaged in putting in wood from a flat, two of which were in tow, while Dudley was employed in cleaning up his supper dishes. It is usual for him to lay down and take a short nap after his labor is performed, while awaiting the arrival of the boat at her destination, consequently his disappearance was not noted. Upon reaching the wharf, however, which could not have been more than thirty minutes after he was last seen, Capt. Henry called him to get a match for some purpose, when it was found that he was tripped up in some manner by one of the ropes attached to the flats in tow and thrown overboard, when he was immediately sucked under by the Colville or one of the flats. Deceased was about 22 years of age and leaves a wife and one child at Bannerman’s Bridge, where he lived. He has been in the employ of Capt. Henry for about four years, and is represented to have been attentive to his duties and strictly honest and trustworthy in every respect, so much so that Capt. H. would not have parted with him for any consideration if he could have helped himself.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday September 7, 1877]

Body Found – Inquest.

The body of Thomas Dudley, the young colored man who was drowned off the steamer Colville on Monday night last, an account of which was published in Wednesday’s paper, was found yesterday just this side of Rat Island, a little over three miles from the city. The remains were brought to the neighborhood of Messrs. Blossom & Evans’ distillery, where Coroner Hewlett, who had been notified, held and inquest over the body yesterday afternoon, the jury returning a verdict in accordance with the facts as already stated by us.


The Drowned Man.

We mentioned a rumor in our last to the effect that a colored man had been drowned off a flat or raft between this city and Point Caswell a few nights previously. We since learn that the man’s name was Jones, and that he was employed on one of the flats belonging to Capt. Paddison, of the steamer North East. He fell off the flat at a place called Heading’s Bluff, about 37 miles above Wilmington. Deceased was a resident of Wilmington, and leaves a wife, the woman referred to in our last as having made inquiries for her husband.


Another Case of Drowning.

A young man by the name of Thaddeus Moore, aged about 25 years, a resident of Point Caswell, Pender county, was drowned

at Mr. O. G. Parsley’s wharf, between Dock and Orange streets, yesterday morning, under the following circumstances: he came down the river on a flat, a day or two since, and yesterday morning, between 3 and 4 o’clock, he went on board of the steamer North East, which had arrived during the night and landed at the wharf mentioned, accompanied by a friend by the name of Pridgen. Soon afterwards persons on the boat heard a splashing in the river between the boat and the wharf, a flat loaded with wood and shingles being between the wharf and one end of the boat, leaving an open space. It is presumed that he forgot the situation of the boat and flat and was under the impression at the moment that he was stepping from the boat to the wharf, instead of which he stepped into the river. Two or three parties rushed to the rescue, including his friend Pridgen, who, in the excitement of the moment, made the same mistake that Moore did, rushing to the side of the boat and plunging into the river. He was rescued, however, by the colored fireman of the boat, a man named Kelly, but only a glimpse of his more unfortunate companion was seen ere he disappeared under the flat, whence he was carried by the treacherous current, adding one more to the large number who have lost their lives by falling into the Cape Fear.

Deceased, whose body had not been recovered at last accounts, was formerly mate on the steamer North East, and leaves a wife and one child to mourn the untimely death of a husband and father.

—

The Late Drowning Case.

The brother of Mr. Thaddeus Moore, who lost his life by drowning on Tuesday morning last, arrived here yesterday to look after the body, and see that it is properly disposed of when recovered, intending to leave the matter in the hands of Coroner Hewlett. We learn from Mr. Moore that his unfortunate

brother could not swim a stroke, being always so afraid of water that he could never be prevailed upon to make an effort to learn. He not only leaves a wife and one child, as stated in our last, but a mother and other relatives at Point Caswell, besides the brother alluded to above, who resided at Burgaw.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – November 9, 1877]

— A correspondent at Dublin, Laurens county, writing to the Savannah Morning News, under date of October 29, says: “The steamer Colville arrived at our wharf early this morning. The boat is owned by a company of North Carolina gentlemen and a few of our people, and is to run between this town and the Central Railroad. As the pioneer of an important enterprise, the Colville has been an object of general and intense interest to our people all day, who are now signalizing the event with big guns and other fireworks, while the officers and owners of the boat are being entertained at the Troup House at a public supper. The Colville is the first boat that has ever come up the river on low water (and it is now very low), thereby proving the fact that a boat can run on our river at all stages of the water. We look to this as a beginning of a new era in the business relations of our town and county with Savannah and the outside world generally, and we hope it will receive the attention and co-operation from the Central Railroad and its Board of Directors which its importance to them will warrant. The work on the Oconee river begun by the company some weeks ago is progressing rapidly, and before long we hope the Colville will be making regular trips to and from the Oconee bridge, to the great delight of our merchants and the travelling public.” The Colville was built here by Messrs. Colville & Co. and was formerly on the line between this city and Bannerman’s Bridge, up the Northeast river.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – November 9, 1877]

Body Recovered.

We learn from Mr. E. Gause, one of the Smithville pilots, that the body of a drowned white man was found washed up on Snow’s Marsh, on the Brunswick side of the river, abreast of Federal Point and about four miles this side of Smithville, on Saturday afternoon last. There were eight dollars in money in one of the pockets of the deceased, together with a number of orders bearing the name of Thaddeus Moore, the unfortunate gentleman from Point Caswell, Pender county, who was drowned off one of the wharves of this city two weeks ago yesterday. Coroner Leonard, of Brunswick, subsequently held an inquest over the body, the jury returning a verdict of accidental drowning, after which it was interred on the Island, where it can easily be found by the family or friends of the deceased, who will no doubt wish to have it removed to Point Caswell.

The body drifted with the current full twenty-five miles, and Mr. Gause says that during his long experience as a pilot up and down the Cape Fear river he has never before known one to be carried such a distance. It looked fresh when first discovered and had suffered little or no mutilation.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – 1877]

A Young Man from Fayetteville Arrested on the Charge of Highway Robbery.

Chief of Police Brock received a telegram from Fayetteville, Thursday evening, signed by E. P. Powers, J.P., requesting him to arrest one John Williamson, charged with highway robbery, who would arrive here during the night on the steamer A. P. Hurt, with further directions to search the prisoner and send

him back to Fayetteville. Accordingly a look-out was kept for the steamer in question, and at 2 o’clock yesterday morning she landed at her wharf, near the foot of Mulberry street, upon which she was boarded by Sergeant Savage, of the police force, and the young man was arrested in his berth, where he was lying asleep. He aroused and dressed himself, asked no question as to why he was arrested, and was taken to the guard house, where he is held to await a requisition from the authorities of Fayetteville. The sum of twelve dollars and fifty cents was found on his person.

Williamson, who is a young man of prepossessing appearance and well dressed, stated in conversation with the Chief of Police, yesterday morning, that he talked with Mr. Powers, on the market square in Fayetteville on Thursday morning, just before the steamer left, and that nothing was said about the matter for which he is now under arrest, and that no effort was made to detain him; if there had been he would not have been here; that he had intended to get off at a point on the river, but finally concluded to come here, and had expected to return on the boat yesterday afternoon. He also requested the Chief of Police to send him back to Fayetteville as soon as possible, in accordance with the instructions from Mr. Powers, Justice of the Peace; but as he would have to be sent under guard it was thought best that an officer should come after him, and a telegram to that effect was sent to Mr. Powers.

We learn that young Williamson has a mother in Fayetteville, who is highly respected.

After the above was written, Capt. Albert Worth, of the steamer A. P. Hurt, received a telegram from Justice Powers, of Fayetteville, directing him to bring Williamson up, and accordingly he was placed in the custody of Mr. James E. Flowers, at Capt. Worth’s request, and delivered on board of the boat,

which left for Fayetteville between 2 and 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – December 14, 1877]

ACCIDENTALLY SHOT. – The steamer North State left her wharf last Saturday morning at the regular hour, and while on her way to Wilmington Capt. Green was shot under the following circumstances: A New York salesman, a Mr. Strauss, was examining his pistol when it was accidentally discharged, the ball passing through a wooden partition, a pair of pantaloons hanging against the wall, and lodging about an inch and a quarter in the fleshy part of Capt. Green’s leg, who happened to have his feet up on a table at the time. The North State was turned around and Capt. Green brought home, where an examination proved the wound to be not dangerous, though it has caused him a great deal of pain.


An Accidental Shooting – Woundingof Capt. Green, of the Steamer

North State – A Narrow Escape, &c. Capt. T. J. Green, of the steamer North State, met with quite a serious accident on Saturday morning last about 10 o’clock. The boat left Fayetteville for this place that morning, and had proceeded about fourteen miles in this direction, when one of the passengers, a drummer, took out a common brass-mounted pistol, the barrels of which would not revolve to suit him and was examining it, when suddenly the weapon exploded, the ball going through a partition which intervened between himself and the Captain’s office, which is located in the bow of the boat, also passing through the legs of two pairs of pants which were hanging up in the room, and entered the fleshy part of the

thigh of Capt. Green, who, at the moment, was sitting in a chair with his feet upon a table. Capt. G. immediately cried out that he was shot, and parties on board rushed to his assistance{.} The boat was then turned back and steamed with all haste to Fayetteville, where the wounded man could receive the necessary medical aid. The physician announced that the wound was not necessarily dangerous, though the ball had passed within about an eighth of an inch of an important artery, and that he had therefore made a narrow escape. The ball penetrated the flesh about two inches, and at last accounts had not been extracted, owing to its close proximity to the artery referred to. The patient, however, was doing as well as could be reasonably expected under the circumstances. The misfortune is more to be regretted from the fact that Capt. Green has on more than one occasion previous to this been the victim of an accident of a serious nature. The party who was the innocent cause of the accident appeared to regret the occurrence very much. He said he was not aware that there was a room or office located forward of the partition toward which he had the pistol pointed when it exploded. The steamer again left Fayetteville for this place at 3 p. m. on Saturday.


--- The steamer Wave is now at Fayetteville, where she is to be thoroughly overhauled. She will be supplied with new engines from the works of Pusey, Jones & Co., Wilmington, Delaware, and her cabins are to be enlarged for the accommodation of passengers. It is claimed that with her new engines the Wave will be the fastest boat on the river.


FOUND DROWNED. – We are indebted to the Coroner for the following facts: As the steamer Murchison was on her upward trip on Thursday, the 23rd inst., about four miles below this place, the deck hands discovered the body of a drowned person in the water, which was afterwards identified as that of Betsy Manuel, a colored girl, fourteen years old, the cook’s assistant on the steamer Hurt. She was missing on Saturday, the 18th

inst., and was last seen on the boat, playing with a bucket with rope attached, used for drawing water from the river; this bucket was found floating in the river, about half a mile below, a short time after. There were many rumors in circulation, and many opinions expressed, as to the fate of the unfortunate girl. Some supposed she had run away to marry a young man with whom she had been familiar; some thought she had been decoyed from the boat and foully dealt with; while others believed she had been murdered and thrown into the river. Owing to these facts it was deemed imperative that a thorough investigation of the case be had before a jury of inquest, in order that the guilty parties, if any, might be discovered, and that any upon whom unjust suspicion rested might be exonerated. After a post mortem examination of the body by Dr. W. C. McDuffie, and a careful sifting of the matter by the Coroner’s jury, they rendered a verdict that the deceased came to her death by accidental drowning.

[North Carolina Gazette – May 30, 1878]

--- The steamer Wave, which has been absent at Fayetteville for some weeks past, where she has been undergoing thorough repairs, has put in her appearance again in a new and handsome dress, which is decidedly becoming and sets her off to great advantage. Among her improvements is a handsome lady’s cabin, neatly carpeted and upholstered, a smoking room, and a general overhauling of the rooms in general, which have been put in fine condition. Her cabins

are also to be provided with new and handsome furniture. There are two state rooms, both fixed up in good style, a reading room, a promenade deck for the ladies, and other conveniences, besides which the promenades on either side of the upper deck have been considerably widened. She has been furnished with a splendid new engine, and newly painted throughout, white and yellow being the predominating colors. “Long may she Wave!”


Excursions To-Day.

The steamer Gov. Worth will take down a family excursion, under the auspices of the Hibernian Benevolent Association, visiting Smithville, Fort Caswell and other points of interest below. No efforts have been spared by the committee having the matter in charge to make the excursion a pleasant and agreeable one. There will be excellent music for dancing, and refreshments will be served at reasonable prices. Care will also be taken to preserve the utmost good order and decorum, and nothing intoxicating will be allowed on board. The boat will leave the wharf between Market and Dock streets promptly at 9 o’clock. The steamer Passport will make an excursion to Smithville, Forth Caswell, Fort Fisher and Bald Head, leaving her wharf at 9:30 o’clock. There will be music and refreshments. The Steamer J. S. Underhill will take a select family party down, visiting Smithville and other places, and there will doubtless be several other private excursions. The colored people have their excursions mostly by rail, one of the most important going to Goldsboro, and another to Columbia, S. C.

[The Wilmington Morning Star – Thursday, July 4, 1878]

THE GLORIOUS FOURTH.-----

Excursionists to Smithville, Bald Head,

&c. – A Fine Day – Pleasant Trips, &c., &c.

A large number of excursionists went down to Smithville and other points of interest on the seashore on Thursday. The number altogether is estimated at from one thousand to twelve hundred, including the colored firemen and others, who went down on the steamer Waccamaw. It was our fortune to be one of the large party who took passage in the fine steamer Gov. Worth, Capt. Watson, chartered by the Hibernian Benevolent Association. This boat left the wharf between Market and Dock streets shortly after 9 o’clock, and had a fine run to Smithville. After remaining there about twenty minutes she again shoved off and proceeded to Bald Head, where the most of the party landed, a large proportion of the males going up the beach for some distance and taking a bath in the “salt sea waves,” and others, including quite a number of the ladies, making their way to Bald Head light – house, going up the winding stairs leading to the summit of the tower, from which a fine view of the surrounding scenery is to be had, including the white – capped ocean as far out as the eye could reach, the various forts, Frying Pan Shoals, stretching far out into the billowy waste, Cape Fear, and last, but by no means least, the beautiful and romantic scenery on the island, one portion of which is covered by a perfectly impenetrable mantle of green undergrowth, which cannot be traversed except where narrow paths have been

cut, while through another portion of it Bald Head creek and other small streams meander through a perfectly level bed of green sward, which, viewed from the top of the tower, presents a spectacle as lovely as could well be pictured or even imagined. Several families reside on the island, and enjoy the full benefit of the ocean breezes, which here have full sway. The company partook of a drink of deliciously cool water from a well on the premises attached to the lighthouse, rested briefly from the labor incident to climbing the steep tower, and then returned to the boat, which soon afterward proceeded on the return trip to Smithville. Passing Fort Caswell a number of people were seen on the beach making signs for the boat to stop, but, owing to the condition of the tide at the time, Capt. Watson deemed it a dangerous experiment to stop for fear of grounding and having to remain there for an indefinite period. We afterwards learned that Rev. Father Gross and three or four sisters of Mercy, who were on a brief visit to the fort, were among those who signaled to the boat, and it was very much regretted by all that it was inexpedient to stop. While the bulk of the excursionists were indulging in the trip to Bald Head, a number of those from the Gov. Worth, joined by some of those from the Underhill, which arrived shortly afterwards, repaired to the academy, accompanied by the music from the former boat, where there was a pleasant dance during the interval of the departure and return of the Gov. Worth. As this steamer neared her wharf on the return from Bald Head, the steamer Underhill, with her party, was steaming off in the direction of Wilmington, and the Waccamaw, loaded down with colored excursionists, with a brass band on

board, was backing out from the shore to commence the return trip. The Worth remained at Smithville about thirty minutes allowing all an opportunity of taking a short stroll on shore, when she also turned her prow homewards, followed by the Passport, our party arriving at the wharf about 8 o’clock. As we arrived at Smithville a salute was being fired from Fort Johnson in honor of the day, and the town was gaily decorated with flags. The excursion, taken altogether, was an exceedingly pleasant one, and was greatly enjoyed by those who participated in it. The boat was roomy and provided with every convenience, and the committee in charge were attentive, courteous and obliging. The party on the Underhill, under the general supervision of the “Deacon,” ably assisted by the “Doctor” and one or two others, also had a good time, as we presume those on the other boats did.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Saturday, July 6, 1878]

-- The steamer North State, after an absence at Fayetteville for several weeks, where she has been undergoing pretty thorough repairs, repainting, &c., arrived yesterday morning resplendent in her new attire, and making a fine appearance.


River Flat for Sale, BUILT BY A FIRST RATE WORKMAN, OFBest materials, and in good running condition. Length 65 feet, width 12 feet, depth 3 feet. Apply to Capt. R. P. PADDISON,Sept 25 1t* Steamer “North East.”

[Wilmington Star - September 25, 1878]

DESTRUCTIVE CONFLAGRATION-----

Several Stores, Warehouses, Sheds and Stables and Two Steamboats Destroyed – Loss About $60,000 to $75,000. Shortly after our paper had gone to press on Tuesday morning, or about half past 3 o’clock, our firemen and citizens were again called upon to battle with the fiery element in one of its most spiteful and destructive moods. The flames were first discovered in the starboard quarter of the steamer J. S. Underhill, which has been laying up at Mr. O. G. Parsley’s wharf for some time awaiting repairs. The steamer was laying with her bow down the stream, and the fire is supposed to have been communicated to her by a spark from a fire on a raft, which was close alongside. The steamer North East, Capt. R. P. Paddison, running between this city and Point Caswell, was tied up at the stern of the Underhill, with a space of only about twenty – five feet between them. With an ebb tide and the wind blowing directly towards the wharf, it was found impossible to move her. The flames spread with great rapidity, and soon the wharf to which the Underhill was moored was, on fire, which was speedily communicated to the North East. Captain Paddsion’s family, together with quite a number of other passengers, were on board, and so rapidly did the flames spread, after once getting headway, that the passengers had to be hurried from the burning steamer. Captain Paddison’s private papers and about $100 in money were in his desk, and were consumed, together with his apparel, &c. The North East

burned to the water’s edge and sunk, while the wreck of the Underhill was towed to the west side of the river, in the neighborhood of Mr. C. W. McClammy’s distillery, where she was sunk, her smoke – stack being just visible above the surface of the water. In the meantime the devouring element, fanned by a brisk Southwest wind, was making rapid headway towards Front street, sweeping in its resistless course everything that came in its way. First the wood – yard of Mr. O. G. Parsley was swept by the flames, which thence communicated to the adjacent sheds and warehouses, destroying them and their contents, and finally taking hold upon the block of stores facing upon Front street, which were soon a mass of seething flame. Up to this time the Fire Department had been mainly endeavoring to stay the march of the insatiate fiend, and now, under the direction of their worthy Chief, they commenced an herculean effort to prevent the flames from crossing the street, or diverging from their hitherto straight course the to direction of Dock street, which in either case would have resulted in woeful disaster to our city. The steamer “Adrian” was broken down early in the battle and could not be made to work. It therefore devolved upon the “Little Giant” and the “Cape Fear” to stay as far as possible the progress of the flames, in which they were greatly assisted by the Hook and Ladder Company. In the meantime, the fierce wind wafted showers of sparks and cinders and tufts of burning hay over the entire width of the city, in an easterly or northeasterly direction, and parties had to be stationed on the shingle roofs, for squares from the scene of the conflagration, in order to keep the fire

from communicating to them. The danger was at its height when the flames burst forth from the warehouse on the corner of Front street and Muter’s alley, which as filled with hay and other combustible material, the flames almost lapping the residence of Mr. J. Loeb, on the opposite side of the street, while the showers of sparks were redoubled in their density, falling upon the buildings, in the yards and on the sidewalks like snowflakes, calling for the utmost vigilance on the part of those who were on the lookout. It was about this time that a burning brand fell upon the roof of Mr. T. M. Smith’s kitchen, on Market, between Sixth and Seventh streets, and set fire to it, which would have resulted in starting a fresh conflagration but for the vigilance of a near neighbor, who hastily procured a ladder and mounted the roof, when the fire was speedily extinguished after burning a hold about a foot square. The roof of the residence of Capt. W. M. Stevenson, on Fourth street, between Market and dock, also caught in the same manner. A large tree in St. James’ Church yard caught fire, and the flames were also communicated to the grass in the vacant lot corner of Third and Dock streets, adjoining the Catholic Church, and also to the grass plat in the middle of the street adjoining. By the almost superhuman efforts of the firemen and hook and laddermen, after the flames had communicated from Lippitt’s Block to Mr. C. Stemmerman’s store on the corner of Front and Orange streets, which was partially destroyed, the fire was finally gotten under control. Through the exertions of Messrs. Robinson & King (who had an office in the building on the corner of Orange and Water streets), Jimmie Smith, Martin Willard, and a colored man named Hankins, aided by the crew of the

Norwegian barque Frank, the large warehouse, filled with hay and spirits turpentine, and the adjacent wharf with tar, on the south side of Orange street, were saved, thus preventing an extensive spread of the conflagration in that direction, with great destruction of property. The losses and insurance, so far as can now be estimated, are as follows: The Steamer J. S. Underhill, the property of Mr. O. G. Parsley, Jr., was insured for about her full value, $3,000 in the Phoenix, of Hartford, represented by Mr. Norwood Giles, and $3,000 in the Connecticut, represented by Messrs. W. L. Smith & Co. The Steamer North East was valued by her owner, Capt. R. P. Paddison, at $3,600 and was insured for $2,000 in the Phoenix, of Hartford, Mr. Norwood Giles. Mr. O. G. Parsley, in addition to the steamer Underhill, loses seven hundred tons of coal, from four hundred to five hundred cords of wood, from two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand shingles; two engines on the wharf, tools, wheelbarrows, two or three carts and drays, &c., altogether valued at $7,000 or $8,000, upon which there was no insurance. Mr. J. E. Lippitt owned all but one of the buildings destroyed, and his loss upon the various stores, warehouses, sheds and stables amounted in the aggregate to about $17,000, upon which there was only $7,800 insurance. This is divided up as follows: $2,000 in the Phoenix, of Hartford, Mr. Norwood Giles; $1,000 in the Home, of New York, Mr. Norwood Giles; $2,400 in the Lancashire, Messrs. DeRosset & Northrop; $2,000 in the German – American, Messrs. W. L. Smith & Co., and $400 in the Petersburg, Metsrs. DeRosset & Northrop.

The brick building on the corner of Front and Orange streets, the property of Mr. C. Stemmerman, was insured for $4,000 in the Underwriters’ Agency, Messrs. DeRosset & Northrop. Mr. S.’s stock of furniture was also badly damaged, upon which there was no insurance. Messrs. E. Kidder & Son lose about $10,000 in molasses stored in one of the warehouses, upon which there was insurance for $5,000 on the Queen of Liverpool, Messrs. Atkinson & Manning. Mr. P. Cumming & Co., lost in hay, grain, horses and harness about $4,000, in which there was insurance in the AEtna, of Hartford, and North America, of Philadelphia, for $3,400. Messrs. Adrian & Vollers lost about $1,400 in salt and fish stored in one of the warehouses, on which there was insurance for $1,000 in the Howard, of New York. Mr. H. B. Eilers lost 800 barrels of rosin and had a small lot of spirits turpentine destroyed, valued at about $1,500. Insured for $2,000 in the Hartford, of Hartford, Messrs. Atkinson & Manning. Messrs. Robinson & King lost in office furniture $150. Covered by insurance in the Atlantic, of New York, DeRosset Northrop. They also lose some rosin, &c., amount not asceretained, which is covered by insurance in the London Assurance. Their books and papers were all saved, being in a safe. Mr. B. D. Morrill’s loss in stock, tools, & c., is about $800. Insured for $300 in the Wilmington Mutual, Mr. S. N. Cannon. The house on the east side of Front street, owned by Mr. W. G. Fowler, and occupied by Mr. A. Weill, was damaged to the extent of about $250 by water. Covered by insurance in a company represented by Messrs. J. W. Gordon & Bro. Mr. Weill’s furniture was

considerably damaged, which was covered by insurance with Messrs. DeRosset & Northrop. Messrs. Paterson, Downing & Co., had a small loss in naval stores, which was covered in the London and Liverpool and Globe, Messrs. J. W. Gordon & Bro. Messrs. Preston Cumming & Co. lost two valuable mules, Mr. Edgar Parmlee two horses and harness and drays, and Mr. O. G. Parsley a driving horse, all of which were burned in their stables, it being impossible to remove them.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Wednesday, December 25, 1878]

BLACK RIVER STEAMBOATAND NAVIGATION COMPANY.

The steamer Isis, Capt. S. W. Skinner, belonging to the above company is now being thoroughly overhauled and refitted. It is expected that she will be ready to commence running regularly between this city and Point Caswell on or about the 3rd of February. Capt. R. P. Paddison, formerly of the steamer North East, whose place the Isis fills, is the general agent of the company. We learn that the loss of the North East has caused considerable inconvenience to shippers, who are compelled at present to resort to the use of flats to move their produce. Fortunately they will not have to wait long before the line is again reopened, and a steamer running regularly.


Local Dots.

--- The Fayettevillians have been in the frigid zone for some time past. Captain Garrason, of the steamer Murchison reports not only good skating in that region, but miniature specimens of icebergs floating around, from Haw and Deep rivers.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Thursday, January 9, 1879]

Local Dots.

--- The divers found it too cold yesterday to begin the work of raising the wreck of the steamer North East. They made a preliminary examination of the situation of affairs beneath the river’s surface, and will do nothing more until the weather is warmer.


Local Dots.

--- Operations with the purpose of raising the steamer North East were not in progress yesterday, but Capt. Paddison will not easily abandon a project when he has entered heartily into it.


Up the Cape Fear – Condition of the River.

From Capt. Garrason, of the steamer D. Murchison, which arrived here last night about 9 o’clock, we learn that the river had risen 55 feet at Fayetteville, but had commenced to fall a few minutes before the Murchison left yesterday morning. Capt. Garrason reports that a good many cattle were drowned by the freshet, and that many more will probably be, as he passed several

herds on submerged islands, from which they would almost certainly be swept by the rapidity of the current.


Local Dots.

--- The first “down the river” of the new year, in the nature of pleasuring, was made on the steamer Passport Saturday morning. The party of ladies and gentlemen not only went to Smithville, but outside, and in spite of the little unpleasantness of “going to Europe,” in which the ladies reluctantly indulged, the trip was one of decided enjoyment.

[The Wilmington Morning Star – January 19, 1879]

The Sunken Boat.

Nothing was done towards getting up the sunken steamer North East yesterday, on account of the threatening weather early in the morning, but Mr. W. L. Beery informs us that operations will be resumed Monday morning, and that the hull will probably be brought to the surface on Tuesday.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Sunday, March 2, 1879]

Local Dots.

--- The work of raising the wreck of the steamer North East was progressing yesterday, but she had not quite reached the surface.


FOR THE GAZETTE.Down the Cape Fear – Early Rising –

AMorning Ride – A Merry Party on

the River, &c.-----

MR. EDITOR: -- When I think how often ye poor defenceless {misspelled} editors are overwhelmed by countless dozens of just such scrawl as the one I am about to inflict upon you, I must confess that I feel some compunction in regard to the matter. Charles Lamb says: “Epistolary matter usually comprises three topics: news, sentiment, and puns.“ Don’t, I pray you, look for either here. No, I only wish to tell you of our trip down the river to Wilmington a few mornings ago. Monday, Feb. 24th, found us up, not exactly at “six o’clock in the morning,“ but just at two-quarters past. After an early breakfast we set off on our ride of three miles to the river. The fresh, crisp morning air blew into our faces, putting more roses into the cheeks of the fairer portion of our party than they had known in many weeks before. We were a merry crowd, I assure you! How we laughed and chatted! How the jokes went round! How we all enjoyed them – all except one of our cousins, who would – very naughty of him, I’m quite sure – persist in keeping up the reputation he had somehow acquired of late of being “immensely sober and dignified.“ We bowled along at a rapid pace. “Those dreadful (?) girls“ had been so long getting ready we hadn’t more than time to catch the boat. Just at the foot of the hill, within half a mile of the market-house, one of the traces snapped. Such a time as we had fixing that trace, only to go a dozen yards and then break down again! Such was the pressure upon the good nature of our sober cousin that I’m very much afraid he regretted his inability to say a naught word then. The last time that trace broke was just opposite harness store. A new one was soon secured – no a new harness store, but a new trace – and in ten minutes more we were bowling along all right. We caught the boat – not just in the “nick of time“ – but fully an

hour and a half before she left the wharf! Now don’t think all the clocks in the house had run down, and all our watches had gone on a John Gilpin gallop. No, the boat had been under repair, and could not get off at the usual hour. We went on board, and for the first time I had an introduction to that clever, genial gentleman, Capt. Albert Worth. He is a prince of steamboat captains, and deservedly one of the most popular, if not the most popular on the river. He manages his boat with the skill and dexterity a finished young lady displays in the management of the ample folds of her voluminous train. There! is not that a comparison for you? At nine o’clock and twenty ### minutes there was the warning whistle, and those of our party who had only come to say “good-bye“ hurried ashore. Two minutes later the steamer Governor Worth, with “pennons gaily flying“ – there, what am I saying? – the colors were not up. I forgot – well, the Governor Worth steamed away from the wharf. We stood on deck, gaily waving our handkerchiefs to friends on shore, just as long as the white cloth (there’s another mistake! Mine had a blue border) was visible; then turned to watch the retreating roofs and spires of Fayetteville till a bend in the river shut them from view. Then Mr. McR. Our gallant and gentlemanly escort, brought chairs, and, seated on the upper deck, in full view of the “sounding waves“ – no, the murmuring waves; which is right, anyhow? – O, I have it now, the “ripple of the translucent water“ – bad again, the Cape Fear is too muddy! I’ll begin again: Seated on the upper deck in plain view not of the “banks and braes“ of “Bonnie Doon,“ but of “bonnie Cumberland,“ as they flitted by, we prepared to discuss “Mrs. Battle on Whist.“ She was a sensible old lady, don’t you think? But the book did not occupy us long. We preferred to use our eyes in another direction just then. It was the loveliest of days, not a cloud in the sky, and the blue of the most beautiful and vivid coloring. The Cape Fear is truly a winding stream. The trip down the river must be delightful in summer. Even at this season it

is quite enjoyable. There seems to be such dense foliage along the banks, such a mingling, like Joseph’s coat, of “many colors.“ Even now the trees are beginning to bud, while the cane and smaller undergrowth are displaying a generous leafing of vivid green. Five or six miles down the river the boat stopped at its first landing to take on some barrels of tar and ###n, ###rawsen,“ as Mr. Mc R. cautioned me I must pronounce it here in Wilmington. Now I must confess, as I had never seen the modus operandi before. I was all agog with curiosity to take in every detail. The steamer “rounded“ in handsome style, and lay alongside. Where in the world was the landing? Nothing but a steep bank full thirty-five or forty feet, all on a “down grade,“ and on the summit those “rawsen“ barrels, all in “grim array,“ waiting to be taken on board. Now how was it going to be done? I couldn’t understand it. A brilliant idea struck me; I would appeal to the Captain. “Now, Captain Worth,“ I said, “if you please to explain how you are going to get those rawsen barrels aboard, I shall be much obliged. You certainly are not going to tumble them down that steep bank. Why, they will either burst open or tumble into the river. And certainly the men are not going to tote ( that is a very expressive word of ours out in Georgia ) them down on their shoulders. Why, it will take them a month of Sundays, and we won’t get into Wilmington in time to attend the next 4th of July celebration!“ [These last are what our dear old sober-sided cousin would call “exaggerations of speech.“] The Captain didn’t reply to these eager questions; he only pointed to the bank, and said, “Look yonder!“ What did we see? Why, those self-same barrels, all in one nice, precise, exact row, one behind the other, like soldiers in a rank, like ducks in a file, coming gently yet swiftly “down grade,“ closely packed together, yet never encroaching one upon the other. No smashing, no bouncing, no getting out of order, yet coming with an exact precision to the hands outstretched to lift them on board. Yes, that was it exactly. But how did they get that first barrel in

place, and start the whole raft of them rolling? We determined to find out next time. We wouldn’t turn our back again, and waste so much time talking. “And now,“ said the Captain, “we will stop a few hundred yards below here and take on water.“ “Take on water?“ we echoed. “You surely don’t mean to swamp us. O, I dare say you mean water to drink. Now where are you to get it? Not out of the river, I hope. If you do, I shall decline with thanks.“ The Captain smiled again, and drew our attention to a clear, sparkling rill of water, coming with a rapid, graceful flow from out the mouth of a wooden spout some dozen yards ahead of us. I tackled the Captain with very nearly the same question I had in regard to the “rawsin“ barrels, “How are we to get it? “ “Lean over the railing and drink from the spout,“ he said, with a sly twinkle in his eye, “or catch it in your hand ## ### .“ “A very brilliant idea,“ we answered him, “but will you please be so kind as to get out a life insurance policy for us before we do the leaning.“ The boat moved in close to the bank and stopped; a plank was thrown across, a little negro boy leaped upon it and dexterously fitted a long pipe-like piece of canvas and rubber hose to the mouth of the water-spout, an, lo! The water flowed gracefully and freely into the vessels placed on deck to receive it. Now, I dare say, after all this, you are beginning to think your correspondent very much of a “land lubber.“ Well, although I have been many times out on the “broad Atlantic“ and had more than one “salt water bath,“ yet this was my first trip on board a river boat, and the experience was quite novel, I assure you. Many pleasing incidents occurred during the trip, but I have not time to tell you of them now. We had the pleasure of meeting on board Gen. M. P. Taylor, who is representing the Sun and the South Atlantic, of this city. We found him quite social, and decidedly entertaining in conversation. We expected to reach Wilmington that evening, but, owing to several delays along the river, the boat did not get in till seven

o’clock the next morning. Therefore we had to spend the night on board, but did not regret it, as we had most comfortable quarters and the best of attention. Our first impressions of Wilmington are most favorable. We will write you more anon. Yours truly, ANDY.


The Revenue Cutter Colfax.

The Wilmington (Del.) Commercial has the following in reference to the steamer Colfax: “The U. S. cutter Schuyler Colfax, which has been at the shipyard of Pusey, Jones & Co., of this city, since last July, undergoing extensive repairs, is now ready to leave, and in a few days will depart for Wilmington, N. C., where she will report for duty. This afternoon she goes out upon the Delaware for the purpose of adjusting her compasses, and will return this evening or tomorrow morning. The vessel has been lengthened twenty-five feet, midships; has a new cylinder, new boiler, new wheels – in fact all her fitting is new, and, with the exception of the hull, she is a new ship. She was built in 1871, by Dialogue & Wood, of Philadelphia. “The following are the officers of the Colfax: Captain, Frank Barr; First Lieutenant, Fred. M. Munger; Third Lieutenant, J. U. Rhodes; Chief Engineer, M. T. Chevers; Second Assistant Engineer, Eugene Webbar; Pilot, E. H. Cranmer.” The Colfax, we learn, has been detained on account of the discovery that a portion of her copper sheathing had been torn off by the heavy ice in the Delaware. She is now undergoing

repairs, and it is expected will leave for this port in a few days.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Friday, March 7, 1879]

Up at Last.

The steamer North East poked her nose out of the water yesterday and looked like she was ashamed of herself for lying abed so long. It was suggested that she could very properly be recorded as among the arrivals from below. Captain Dick Paddison was present when she made her appearance. The work of raising her will be completed to-day, we understand.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Saturday, March 8, 1879]

Local Dots.

--- The steamer North East was brought entirely to the surface yesterday.

[Wilmington Morning Star – March 9, 1879]

Local Dots.

--- There was a private excursion on the Passport last night, with moonlight and music on the waters.

-----

The Revenue Cutter Colfax, Capt. Barr, put in her appearance in our waters on Sunday last, after a somewhat lengthy absence at Wilmington, Delaware, where she has been undergoing extensive repairs, some mention of which has already been made in our columns. We welcome Capt. Barr and his beautiful craft back to this station.

[The Wilmington Morning Star – Tuesday, March 11, 1879]

RIVER AND MARINE ITEMS.

--- The new boiler for the steamer Wave has arrived, and the boat will be detained here for a week or two in order to have the old boiler removed and the new one placed in position. The capacity of the new boiler is nearly fifty per cent. greater than that of the old one.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Tuesday, March 18, 1879]

Local Dots.

--- The new boiler for the steamer Wave will be put in at the wharves of the W. & W. R. R., where it has been unloaded from the cars.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Wednesday, March 19, 1879]

RIVER AND MARINE ITEMS.

--- The steamer Wave has received her new boiler and has been overhauled and otherwise improved. It is expected that she will resume her trips on the river next Tuesday. It is now claimed that she will be the swiftest boat on the line between this city and Fayetteville.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Saturday, March 22, 1879]

River and Marine.

--- The steamer Wave left for Fayetteville yesterday afternoon with a full freight.

[Wilmington Morning Star – March 28, 1879]

RIVER AND MARINE.

--- The steamer D. Murchison, Captain Garrason, which left for Fayetteville at 2 P. M. yesterday, will remain at that place for two weeks from next Wednesday for repairs, repainting, &c.

[Wilmington Morning Star - Sunday, March 30, 1879]

CORRESPONENCE.============

FOR THE GAZETTE.Another Trip Down the Cape Fear – Parting with Friends – Good-bye,

Fayetteville – “ Homeward-Bound “ – Retrospective – Incidents of the

Journey, &c.-----

EDITOR GAZETTE: -- In the fair sweet light of the early morning the steamer “Murchison“ lies alongside of her wharf; the gang plank is thrown out, we step on board; the gallant captain hastens to meet us; we

make our way to the ladies‘ cabin, thence to the after deck, and stand there for a few moments to chat with friends. Then comes the parting we have dreaded for so many days. Once before we wafted a gay “good bye“ from the deck of the steamer “Worth“ for a jaunt down the river – a gay good bye, then, for we were coming back in a little while; but now this is a good-bye, it may be, like Enoch Arden‘s – “for years or forever,“ for though during the past few months our barque has many times drifted from its moorings, yet now it is “homeward bound.“ The ropes part; they are quickly drawn in; our steamer floats slowly and gracefully out to mid-river, then swings round under full steam, and with her monster wheel beating the waters into milk-white foam she heads away down the river. Good bye, Fayetteville, good bye: Noble old town! Though thy former glory has departed; though “the axe has been laid at the root of thy throne,“ though the old glad days of thy brightness are gone, and the pomp of they pageantry shorn; “yet thy people can still“ laugh from clear throats, “for their faith is ever-present with them – the faith of a near and bright future – when the phoenix, proud bird, shall spring from its ashes; when the shriveled beans, as in the beautiful legend, shall burst into life within the hollow of the empty gourd; when thine shall be not a mere sounding name, not a dead and buried past, but an every vivifying present. Farewell! To us, gazing with eager, ardent eyes, our own future lies bright and alluring before us. We are “homeward-bound.“ Away out among the bright green valleys and “red old hills of Georgia“ – in one noon where the sun seems never to forget to shine; where the cherry trees are now one mass of snowy bloom, and the song of the robins is heard all day long, nestles the dear home to which our heart has turned many times since we left it. Joyous will be the home coming. Eyes will grow brighter, hearts beat faster, the alabaster boxes of love spring wide open at our touch. Even now our lips quiver in eager anticipation. Yet there comes one sad, tender thought – a

thought of the present. We are standing now one the deck of a steamer, each revolution of its wheels bearing us further and further from the place which, for three months past, has been to us a second home – from hearts that beat for us, too – whose tender words make tender re-echoes within our own hearts, with whom we have lived, and mingled, and held communion for so long. Is it a wonder, then, that we bow our head with deep emotion as we murmur our last farewell; that up from our heart leaps into one deep, long sob of regret as our boat rounds the curve, and the last glimmer of the banks, the trees, the tops of the houses – the arches of the old bridge fade from our view?

“Sweet Innisfallen, fare thee well!May calm and sunshine long {be thine;}

How dear thou art let others tell,While but to feel how dear be mine. ”

Once more “good bye.“ If in the coming years our feet should never press thy soil again; if our eyes should never more rest upon they “banks and braes,“ yet memory will ever keep fresh and green within our heart a tender thought of they and of thy clever, whole souled people. Out on the great sea of life their barques and ours have drifted far apart – perhaps never to meet here again, yet we pray God each and every one of themMay find the same welcoming haven at last,And touch on the banks of the “Beautiful Shore.“ Our steamer glides along. We hastily brush the tears from our eyes, and turning our back – not our heart – upon the past, prepare to enjoy the present, to anticipate the future. Capt. Garrason, ever thoughtful, ever kind, brings chairs, and seated on the forward deck, with the soft warm sunshine falling in a happy flood around us, we give ourself up to dreaming. The air is so soft – so delicious – it is simply bliss to breathe it; all manner of “sweet smells“ are wafted to us from the banks on either side.

“For the spring has come secure,

Raining blossoms over all;And the woods, with blessings green,

On the earth-born children call.“

The cane looks brighter, the trees are more vivid in their coloring than they were three weeks ago. The water ripples as the light breeze stirs across it, then breaks into graceful curves, which emit tiny jets and sparkles as the sunlight plays upon it. The birds flit from tree to tree, or cleaving the air with long graceful downward dippings of their wings fly high above our heads, the joyous twitter, the merry trill, bursting forth from their tiny throats, and waking an echoing chord of sweetest music in our own heart. The morning wears on; the trees fling their long shadows across the stream – how cool and inviting the banks look! How the white sand glistens and stretches away on either side in great waves of gleaming light. Down among the trees, in the shadow of the o’er hanging cane-brakes, so near the river’s edge their long tails idly brush the water, a group of mild-eyed cows are lying, blinking contentedly in the sunshine. A sharp quick whistle arouses us from our reverie; the bell taps; the steamer “rounds to;” the plank is thrown across, and a lady her escort, and her trunk come aboard. How lightly she trips across! We can see nothing but a plump figure in a water proof cloak, with a palmetto hat trimmed with black velveteen perched jauntily to one side; but the manner in which she turns to speak to her escort, the laugh, the sudden pull she gives her hat, the way in which she holds her dress, all betray the rustic belle. She throws her head back to look up at the deck where we are standing. Our eyes meet. She bows and smiles – quite a rustic bow, it is true, but charming in its naïve simplicity. We bow and smile in return. That is sufficient. When she comes aboard she is not at all backward about cultivating our acquaintance. One cannot be stiff or formal on a steamer or in a railroad car. Directly we go back to our old nook on the forward deck and enjoy the sunning with all a turtle’s relish. Very soon

our attention is attracted by the cry: “Heigh ho! There!” We turn quickly. On the bank are a half dozen darkies in all the glory of holiday attire, three women and three men; and two more making their way across the river just in front of us, in a light canoe. If they do not mind they will be caught by the swell, or by the boat itself. The women on the bank seem to think so, too, for their loud cries of “Look out!” “Look out!” “Better get out of de way, dar!” come to us quite distinctly. But evidently the men have no fear, all too well assured of their skill as expert oarsmen to expect a collision or a swamping. As the boat runs near the bank one fat, good-natured old “mamma“ decked out in a flaming new print, and big white apron, her round ebony face fairly shining with delight, drops us a “courtesy.” “How d’ye do, Missus?” “How d’ye do, mamma.” Nodding and smiling, and just then thinking of our baby days – was it so long ago! When we used to cuddle down in the great, kind arms of our own dear old black “mamma,“ and with our head upon her bosom be lulled to sleep with the songs she used to crone. “What’s up, Auntie?” we questioned, with another nod and smile. “Gwine to a weddin at Rob’sons landing,” stooping down to brush off a bit of mud from her white apron. “O, is that it? Now, don’t forget to send us a bit of the cake, Auntie.” At this “Auntie“ stares, and as the steamer glides by we can just catch the tones of her voice shouting after us; “Whar? whar? whar send it to?” A half hour later comes the clear sound of the dinner bell, as it swings to and fro in the

###{paper damaged} be,” the polite and smiling {} We obey the call with alacrity, and at {}t of the well spread table, on which Aunt Chloe’s hands have arranged everything so temptingly, our mouth begins to water. Capt. Garrason takes seat {at} the foot of the table and pre {}es with all the {} uity and grace of an accomplished host. Su### Mrs. G. has had him in ### Among other things we have for {} twelve pounds. It is served up in “Uncle### s” best sytle, and we do it full justice.

As we get up from the table the whistle blows for Elizabeth Town, and Capt. Garrason, ever polite, ever attentive, and solicitous for our enjoyment, proposes our going ashore and taking a walk through the small but quite famous little town. There are many points of historical interest, which want of time only keeps us from visiting. Among other places we visit the celebrated Tory’s Hole – a deep and rather picturesque ravine – where it is said many Tories had concealed themselves for days, and even weeks at a time. One building in the neighborhood pointed out to us is over a hundred years old, and yet in a state of preservation. At the store of Mr. Mulford we are shown quite a curiosity in the shape of a huge bone, dug from an old marl pit, within a short distance of Elizabeth Town. It appears to be a part of the hip joint of some monstrous animal, and measures 12 inches across the widest point. On our way back to the boat Capt. Garrason finds and measures a huge grape vine, declared by the good people of Elizabeth to be the largest ever yet discovered. This monster vine measures 46 ½ inches in circumference. Just think of that! Three o’clock and fifteen minutes, P. M. when we come ### and steam away from Elizabeth Town ##### arm chair, on the forward deck, allure us once more. With a little sigh of restful content we thrown ourselves within it, our elbows on the railing, our hands supporting our chin, and go to dreaming again. The evening wears on In all the beauty of its picturesque windings stretches the Cape Fear before us; away out yonder the water breaks into little ripples, tiny waves, gentle undulations, which toy and sport like coy, sweet nymphs in their frolics; the boat breaks in upon their play## them with stormy breath into tossing surges, which dash away on either side, and climb high up the banks. “The charm’d sunset lingers low adown in the red west;” a golden, glow, delicious in its warmth and tint, lingers over land and sky, casting wavering lights and shadows on the gleaming sheet of foam below – glinting upon the stretches of white sand, while the maple, and elm, and pine

tops are sunset flushed. From out the cane-brake comes the low, soft piping of birds, the delicious fragrance of the yellow jessamines, and the amorous odor of the wild grape blooms are wafted to us from the depth of the green crown’d woods. One of the bow hands lies half across the capstan fast asleep, another is coiled up at his feet, his head serenely reposing against a pile of wood; from the stern of the boat comes a low, faint whistle, never getting an octave higher, but low, and to us almost as musical as the bird tri’l on the banks. Our eyes close, our head falls upon our folded arms;

“How sweet it were hearing the flowing streamWith half-shut eyes ever to seemFalling asleep in a half dream.”

Where are we? How far away are the “Happy Isles?” Are we drifting away to that land in which it seems already afternoon, where round the coast the languid air doth swoon; the land of the lotus blooms? An hour later when we come on deck again,

“The night already darkles;Holy star succeeds to star;

Dazzling lights and fainter sparklesGlimmer near and gleam afar.”

To-morrow morning when we open our eyes we will be one hundred and twelve miles on our journey and in Carolina’s “Queen City near the Sea,” Au revoir! “NAN MARIE”

[North Carolina Gazette – April 3, 1879]

Resumption of Trips.

The steamer Passport, having undergone thorough overhauling in her machinery, and looking bright, as the “dollar of our daddies,” will resume her regular trips tomorrow. Commodore Harper is still in command, and

midnight prowlers have not yet placed Frank Wilkinson hors du combat.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Thursday, April 10, 1879]

--- Capt. A. H. Worth, of the steamer A. P. Hurt, has been appointed mail agent on the route between Wilmington and Fayetteville. We are glad to make this announcement, as we are satisfied the mail service on the river will now be properly performed. Capt. Worth retains his old position also.


--- The Steamer D. Murchison, Capt. Garrason, after an absence of about three weeks at Fayetteville, where she has been undergoing an overhauling, arrived yesterday morning dressed out in a new spring suit, and presenting a very neat and handsome appearance. She left on regular schedule time (2 p. m.) and it was expected that she would reach Fayetteville by 3 a. m. to-day, being an hour in advance of her regular time.


FLAT SUNK. – The fine new flat belonging to the Str. Murchison and being carried with the Isis, Capt. W. A. Robeson, was sunk by “ snagging “ just about Kelly’s Cove Tuesday night. One hundred bales of cotton went into the river, but we learn that the loss will be slight, as the cotton can all be got out with slight damage, and the flat can be raised. The flat belonged to the Express Line, and the cargo was the property of Williams & Murchison.

[North Carolina Gazette – November 20, 1879]

--- The steamer D. Murchison, Capt. Garrason, from Fayetteville, came down on the freshet yesterday in quick time, making the run in 9 hours and 30 minutes, including stoppages. She arrived at her wharf in this city at 9.30 o’clock last night. Capt. Garrason reports the river as booming, with a rise of thirty feet at Fayetteville, and a prospect of more.


RIVER AND MARINE.---

--- Frank Williston, colored, of Fayetteville, who arrived here from Elizabethtown yesterday morning, reports that he left the steamers D. Murchison and A. P. Hurt at Morehead shoals, five miles above Elizabethtown, on Wednesday, trying to pull over, the former making her way up and the latter down. He went across the country to Abbottsburg, and there took the train for Wilmington. Up to the time he left Elizabethtown not a drop of the recent rains, so abundant here, had fallen there or anywhere in the vicinity. The steamer North State, which left here for Fayetteville Tuesday, cracked her cylinder head near Elizabethtown, and will, we learn, return to the city for repairs. No tidings of the Wave, which left Fayetteville for this place Monday.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Friday, July 2, 1880]

Family Excursion on the Fifth. It will be seen by reference to our advertising columns that a grand family excursion will be given to Smithville, Fort Caswell and the Blackfish Grounds on Monday next, the 5th inst., on the steamer Passport. The boat will leave her wharf at 8 A. M., and returning will leave Fort Caswell at 3:30 and Smithville at 4:30 P. M.

Refreshments will be furnished on board at city prices. Tickets can be had of Messrs. James Madden, J. Corbett, F. H. Darby, J. W. Reilly or L. Brown, members of the committee, under whose auspices the excursion will no doubt be an enjoyable one in every sense of the word.


Excursion Down the River. Our friends will not forget the grand excursion to take place on Monday, on the steamer Passport. The boat, as before stated, will leave her wharf at 8 o’clock. The Italian String Band has been engaged for the occasion, and will stop at Fort Caswell with the dancers, while those who prefer the trip outside are gratifying their inclinations in that respect. The excursion bids fair to be a very enjoyable one. It is under the management of a committee who will spare no pains to insure general satisfaction. Refreshments will be supplied on board at city prices.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Sunday, July 4, 1880]

Excursion up the River. A family excursion is advertised to take place on the new steamer John Dawson tomorrow, (Monday), to the Hamme plantation, the boat to leave her wharf foot of Princess street at 8 A. M. A good band of music will be in attendance, refreshments furnished at city prices, and no objectionable persons will be allowed on board. The Committee of Arrangements consists of James W. Monroe, D. B. Futrell, E. G. Parmlee and W. J. Smith. Thanks for an invitation to participate. The Hamme place is one of the favorite resorts of pleasure seekers.


The Excursion Monday. One of the most enjoyable and pleasant excursions of the season was that on the steamer Passport, Capt. Harper, on Monday, the 5th. The crowd was limited to just enough to make everybody comfortable, and it was altogether one of the most orderly and well behaved excursions we have ever participated in. The boat left her wharf at about half past 8 o’clock A. M., touched at Fort Fisher, stopped at Smithville a few minutes, and then steamed to Fort Caswell, where a large number of the excursionists, with the Italian String Band disembarked, while the remainder went out to the Blackfish grounds. Those who stopped at Caswell amused themselves by walking about among the ruins of the fort, in strolling on the beach, and in dancing in the building erected there for that purpose. When the boat arrived from the Blackfish grounds there was a rush to get on board, but the crowd were turned back, with the information that it would take fully a half hour to wash off the decks and cleanse the boat, which told a tale that it needed not the ghastly countenances and demure aspect of many of those who ventured out among the “rolling billows” to verify. On the homeward trip the boat stopped for an hour at Smithville, again touched at Fort Fisher, to take in those who had stopped at the rocks to fish, and reached her wharf at a very reasonable hour, the excursionists being delighted with their trip, much of the pleasure of which was due to the admirable arrangements of the Committee. The Passport was very handsomely decorated with flags in honor of the day and the occasion. Owing to the short notice given the excursion to the Hamme plantation, on the Steamer John Dawson, Capt. Sherman, was not as largely patronized as would otherwise have been the case, but about forty ladies and gentlemen embarked for the trip and enjoyed it immensely. Dancing was kept up all the way there and back, and also in the

building used for that purpose on the grounds. The boat returned to her wharf about half-past 4 o’clock, no untoward accident or incident happening to mar the pleasure of the voyage. The day was a very pleasant one for excursions.

-----

RIVER AND MARINE. -- There is no improvement in the river. There was a rise of about three inches a few days ago, but it has fallen off again. The boats are now refusing to take passengers on account of the delay they will experience in reaching Fayetteville.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Wednesday, July 7, 1880]

RIVER AND MARINE. -- A telegram was received from Fayetteville by Messrs. Williams & Murchison, on Thursday afternoon, stating that the river had risen ten inches, and another yesterday morning, from Mr. J. D. Williams, announcing a rise of about fifteen inches. The boats have been running very irregularly for the past two weeks on account of the lowness of the water.


NEW ADVERTISEMENTS.======

EXCURSION to the BLACKFISH GROUNDS, the FORTS and SMITHVILLE. The Ladies of the Fifth Street Methodist Church will give an Excursion on WEDNESDAY NEXT, 14th inst., on Steamer PASSPORT, to the above places. Refreshments served on board at low rates. Tickets 50 cents round trip, to be had at Heinsberger’s and Yates’ Bookstores, or at the Steamer on morning of Excursion.

Steamer leaves at 8 o’clock sharp. Jy 11 2t

-------------

FOR THE OUTER BLACK FISH GROUNDS and Rocks at New Inlet. The “PASSPORT” will leave Tuesday morning (13th inst.) at 5 o’clock for the above fishing points. Parties desiring having an all day’s fish at the Inlet, will have a nice opportunity. Fare to Black Fish Grounds $1.00 To Inlet and Return 50 cents.

JOHN H. HARPERJy 11 1t Master and Agent.


Local Dots. -- The Steamer Passport has been chartered by the C. M. Stedman Fire Company, for their excursion on Wednesday, the 21st inst.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Tuesday, July 13, 1880]

Moonlight, Music, & c. Capt. J. W. Harper, of the steamer Passport, advertises a moonlight excursion to come off Monday night, the boat leaving the wharf at 8 o’clock and returning promptly at 1 A. M. Only a limited number of tickets will be sold, good order will be enforced, and music and refreshments will be provided: The steamer will go as far as Fort Fisher. There’s your chance for a nice time.


=- Capt. Green, of the steamer North State, reports only twenty inches of water on the shoals at what is known at “The Cypress,” and says the water has not been so low before since 1866. No rain of consequence has fallen up the river recently.


Steamboat Notice.------

ON AND AFTER THIS DATE THE STEAMers of the CAPE FEAR AND PEOPLE’S STEAMBOAT COMPANY will leave their wharves as follows: GOVERNOR WORTH will leave Fayetteville Mondays and Thursdays at 7 o’clock a. m., and Wilmington Tuesday’s and Fridays at 2 o’clock p. m. NORTH STATE will leave Fayetteville Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7 o’clock a. m., and Wilmington Thursdays and Mondays at 2 o’clock p. m. J. A. WORTH, Agent.

April 29, 1880 2tf

------

CHANGE OF SCHEDULE.------

THE BOATS OF THE EXPRESS STEAMboat Company will run as follows from this date until further notice. Steamer D. MURCHISON, Capt. Alonzo Garrason, will leave Fayetteville every Tuesday and Friday at 7 o’clock A. M., and Wilmington every Wednesday and Saturday at 2 o’clock P.M. Steamer WAVE, Capt. W. A. Robeson, will leave Fayetteville on Mondays and Thursdays at 7 o’clock A. M., and Wilmington Tuesdays and Fridays at 1 o’clock P. M. connecting with the Western Railroad at Fayetteville on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

J. D. WILLIAMS & CO.Agents at Fayetteville, N.

C.April 29, 1880 1tf

[Fayetteville Examiner – Thursday, October 14, 1880]

RIVER AND MARINE.

-- A flat loaded with cotton, which was in tow of the steamer D. Murchison, ran on a snag near Kelley’s Cove, about fifty miles up the Cape Fear river, on Sunday afternoon last, and sunk. The steamer A. P. Hurt, which arrived here on Sunday, left that night about 12 o’clock to render assistance in recovering the cotton, and the steamer Wave, which arrived here yesterday morning, at 4 o’clock, left with the same purpose in view early in the forenoon. The steamer was bound for this city, and the flat had on it about 300 bales of cotton, the damage to which will probably not be material.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Tuesday, November 9, 1880]

RIVER AND MARINE.-----

-- The cotton which was sunk by the snagging of a flat at Kelley’s Cove, while in tow of the steamer D. Murchison, on Monday last, has been brought to this city by the steamers Wave, A. P. Hurt and Murchison.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Wednesday, November 10, 1880]

--- We have omitted to mention a matter of some moment in steamboating circles, and that is the recent resignation of Capt. Garrason, of the steamer D. Murchison, whose long and faithful services on the river had endeared him to his employers and won him a host of friends. He gives up his position, we learn, to engage in other business. He is succeeded in command of the steamer by Capt. Jerre Roberts, of Fayetteville, a gentleman of experience, and who, about twenty-five years ago, was one of a firm who run on the river, between this city and Fayetteville, what was known as the Frank & Jerre Line of steamers, being called after the brothers, Frank and Jerre Roberts.


Snow at Fayetteville. The steamer Wave reports three or four inches of snow at Fayetteville on Wednesday and Wednesday night. Some of the young people enjoyed themselves at sleigh riding to a limited extent, but the under crust was not of sufficient strength and durableness to render the sport altogether as pleasant as it might have been. The Wave brought quite a layer of snow on her upper deck, and appreciating the scarcity of the article in these parts, it was obligingly dumped upon the wharf, so that Wilmingtonians might luxuriate in the possession of imported snow.


RIVER AND MARINE.------

-- Messrs. Worth & Worth are in receipt of a telegram from Fayetteville announcing that the steamer Governor Worth was snagged and sunk at Council’s Bluff, about thirty miles this side of Fayetteville, on Wednesday morning last, while on her upward trip. A messenger was forthwith sent to Fayetteville to report the disaster, when the steamer A. P. Hurt was dispatched to the assistance of the unlucky steamer. Steam pumps will also be sent up from Wilmington to aid in raising her, which will not be a very difficult matter unless the thaw now going on among the snow and ice in the upper Cape Fear should precipitate a heavy freshet upon her before she has been brought to the surface. The cargo, which was a light one, was all saved.


-- The latest news received in regard to the Steamer Governor Worth is to the effect that she is now completely under water, owing to the freshet, in the river, and that it has been decided not to attempt anything towards raising her until the water subsides. She struck on the snag about five o’clock

Wednesday morning, or about an hour before day, and ran a mile or so after the accident before it was discovered that she was leaking so badly, it being a very common occurrence for the steamer to strike on such obstructions without damage. All the furniture and fixtures were saved. The boat is well secured and no apprehension is felt that she will sustain any injury from the freshet.

RIVER AND MARINE.-- A telegram was received by Messrs. Worth & Worth, yesterday morning, to the effect that there had been a rise of about twenty-five feet in the Cape Fear, caused by the great thaw of ice and snow going on up the river, and that the water was still rising.-- We learn that the steamer A. P. Hurt was under pretty good control when she arrived here yesterday morning, with not the slightest chance of her “cutting up any capers” to hurt, there being no less than five steamboat captains on board to keep her straight, to-wit: Green, Worth, Garrason, Thornton and Watson.


Lamp Explosion. A little excitement was created on the steamer John Dawson, just before her arrival here on Friday night, by the explosion of a lamp filled with signal oil, No damage, save the slight burning of the desk upon which it was standing and the momentary frightening of two ladies.


-- The latest accounts from the river are to the effect that there has been about a forty feet rise, with a prospect of still more water before the freshet abates. The upper works of the steamer Gov. Worth, which was sunk near Council’s Bluff on Wednesday morning last, are also reported to be carried away by the torrent of water precipitated down the

river, and it is now apprehended that she will prove a complete wreck.


A Severe Fall.

Mr. John R Paddison, of Point Caswell, Pender county, left the steamer John Dawson, at the foot of Princess street, on Monday evening, to attend the temperance lecture at the Opera House, at which time the tide was so high that a person could step from the boat to the wharf or from the wharf to the boat without any difficulty. When he returned, after the meeting was over, the tide had fallen considerably, causing the boat to be some distance below the cap of the wharf, and he, not being familiar with the wharf or with the actions of the tide, attempted to step on board of the boat, when he slipped and fell a distance of about four feet upon the deck of the steamer, his head striking one of the fenders, by which he received a severe gash over one of his eyes, besides being badly shocked. A physician was called, who pronounced his injuries painful but in no wise serious.


--- The latest news received in regard to the Steamer Governor Worth is to the effect that she is now completely under water, owing to the freshet in the river, and that it has been decided not to attempt anything towards raising her until the water subsides. She struck on the snag about five o’clock Wednesday morning, or about an hour before day, and ran a mile or so after the accident before it was discovered that she was leaking so badly, it being a very common occurrence for the steamer to strike on such obstructions without damage. All the furniture and fixtures were saved. The

boat is well secured and no apprehension is felt that she will sustain any injury from the freshet.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – January 14, 1881]


-- Several pieces of the upper works of the steamer Gov. Worth, sunk at Council’s Bluff, about thirty miles this side of Fayetteville, were picked up in the neighborhood of the ferry, on the west side of the river, having been brought all that distance by the freshet now prevailing in the river.


Capt. Geo. L. Morton, Supervising Inspector of the Tenth Steamboat Inspection District, comprising the Gulf States and the Lower Mississippi Valley, in his report for the year ending December 31st, 1880, says that out of two and a quarter million passengers carried on steamboats in that district, there has not been a single life lost.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Saturday Morning, January 15, 1881]

A Sad Accident—Reported Loss of Life. It is reported that two young men, Messrs. Washington and James Autry, of Bladen county, lost their lives on timber raft, which was carried into Brunswick river from the Cape Fear, four miles above this city, about dusk Friday evening. There were five rafts in company coming down the Cape Fear, and all were carried into Brunswick river by the strong tide and a gale of wind blowing at the time. The men on four of the rafts managed to get ashore — several of them making narrow escapes from drowning in doing so; but the two young men mentioned remained

on their raft and have not since been heard of, although it, with the other rafts which were abandoned, was found yesterday in the neighborhood of the jetties below this city.



-- The steamer A. P. Hurt, which arrived here yesterday morning, reports only about twelve feet of water now on the shoals. The work of raising the steamer Gov. Worth is expected to be commenced to-day, under the supervision of Capt. S. W. Skinner, who has the contract for the work.


A Miniature Explosion. Yesterday, about a quarter past 12 o’clock, persons in the neighborhood of the wharf opposite Messrs. Hall & Pearsall’s store were startled by a loud hissing sound, which was followed by a shower of hot steam, which caused a general stampede among those on the wharf in that particular locality, as well as those on the schrs. Julia Elizabeth and E. Francis, which were tied up there. It was soon discovered that the cause of this unusual demonstration was an explosion on board of the steamer William Nyce, which had just run up alongside of the E. Francis, the outer schooner named above. The explosion amounted to nothing more than the blowing of a patch off the boiler, and slightly injuring the fireman, but it would have resulted much more seriously had there been any one close by, and at the same time in direct line with the volume of scalding steam which was blown through the aperture. Capt. Dicksey was standing just to one side of the door of the engine room, narrowly escaping the avalanche of steam, while Capt. Ingram, of the British schooner

Julia Elizabeth, was standing just outside of the line of the scalding vapor. Mr. John Sweeney, the engineer, was in an apartment adjoining the engine room, writing at the moment, and thus escaped a scalding. Several persons on the vessels were considerably spattered, but none hurt. The damage to the boiler was slight.


-- Capt. Robeson, of the steamer Wave, reports the river rising pretty rapidly, under the influence of late rains, with about twelve or fourteen feet of water now on the shoals. In consequence of the breakage of one of the heavy cross-beams of the steamer Governor Worth, to which a chain was attached and an attempt being made to get her up, she settled back to her old position in the river, and operations are now again temporarily retarded by the light freshet.


EXPRESS STEAMBOAT CO.------

STEAMER SCHEDULE.------

ON AND AFTER APRIL FIRST AND UNTILfurther notice. The Steamer D. MURCHISON, Capt. Jerry H. Roberts, will leave Fayetteville every Tuesday and Friday at 7 o’clock A. M. and Wilmington every Wednesday and Saturday at 2 o’clock P. M. The Steamer WAVE, Capt. Wm. A. Robeson, will leave Fayetteville Wednesday and Saturday at 7 o’clock A. M., and Wilmington Monday and Thursday at 2 o’clock P. M.

J. D. WILLIAMS & CO.Agents Fayetteville, N. C.

March 22, 1881 49tf

[Fayetteville Examiner – March 24, 1881]

--Through the efforts of Capt. Skinner and his associates the Steamer Governor Worth, which was snagged and sunk up the Cape Fear River, near Council’s Bluff, about thirty miles this side of Fayetteville, on the 5th of January last, has been finally raised to the surface, and is expected here for repairs in the course of a few days.


--The steamer Gov. Worth, which was snagged and sunk a short distance above Council’s Bluff, between twenty and thirty miles this side of Fayetteville, on the 5th of January last, while on her upward trip, and which was raised a few days since under the superintendence of Capt. Skinner, arrived here on Sunday last, between 12 and 1 o’clock, and was tied up at Messrs. Worth & Worth’s wharf. The hull and machinery of the steamer seem to be but slightly damaged, but the upper works have been battered and broken up very badly, and present quite a demoralized appearance. Some of the pipes are also bent to some extent. The hole snagged in her bottom, and which caused her to sink, is only about eight or ten inches square, and is located near the bows. After she was gotten up the leak was stopped as nearly as possible, when she steamed down to Wilmington without any assistance. She was expected to go on Capt. Skinner’s railway yesterday. The damage is estimated at $6,000.

-----


--The work of rebuilding the river steamer Governor Worth is progressing under the supervision of Capt. Sam’l Skinner, at his

ship-yard in this city. Her upper works will be entirely remodeled, and the space between decks increased to thirteen and a half feet, which will largely increase her stowage capacity for cotton.


RIVER AND MARINE.-- The repairs to the steamer Gov. Worth, which sunk in the Cape Fear some months ago, have been completed, and she is now only awaiting a sufficiency of water in the river to resume her regular trips. The work was done under the supervision of Capt. Sam. Skinner.


--- The steamer D. Murchison, Capt. Jerry Roberts, put in her appearance here yesterday, after an absence of about two weeks, in an entirely new and handsome summer suit, having in that time been thoroughly overhauled, repainted, etc. For a short time she will have as much as she can attend to, as the Wave will go on the ways on her arrival here to have her bottom examined, and undergo whatever repairs may be necessary.

[? – July 21, 1881]

THE RIVER FREE.—The Cape Fear Navigation Company received a few days ago from the U. S. Government a check for $10,000, the sum named in the act of the U. S. Congress, to be paid the company for the surrender of their rights in the C. F. River. The deed of surrender has been signed, sealed and delivered, and the river is now free to all navigators and all craft from a dug-out of the size of a horse trough to the Great Eastern. We are glad that the job is over. The next thing is to increase the depth of water, which practical men say can be done. It is not probable that any thing will be done in that direction until the season of low water, which may be expected during next summer.

[Fayetteville Examiner – Thursday, December 1, 1881]

River and Marine.

--- Capt. Roberts, of the steamer D. Murchison, which arrived from Fayetteville yesterday morning, reports about 20 feet of water on the shoals, showing a falling off of about five feet from the highest point reached during the present freshet, which was thirty feet. It was very blustery during the trip, and on Friday, about sixty files up the river, in the neighborhood of “The Cypress,” Capt. R. noticed that the atmosphere was quite thick with snow for a few minutes.

[Wilmington Morning Star -- Sunday Morning, January 1, 1882]

--- Capt. W. A. Robeson, for many years the popular commander of the Wave, has bought that fine steamer from the Express Steamboat Company, and will hereafter run her on his own account. Messrs. G. W. Williams & Co. will be the Wilmington agents. “Sandy” is one of the “institutions” of the Cape Fear river, and he has the best wishes of a host of friends. Long may he Wave.

[? – January 6, 1882]

TERRIBLE ACCIDENT.-----

An Old Citizen Has His Skull FearfullyCrushed by a Falling Block of Wood, &c.

Mr. A. G. Black, formerly of Fayetteville, but for the past two or three years an esteemed citizen of this place, met with a terrible accident yesterday morning, about 9.30 o’clock. It appears that Mr. Black, who was employed at Capt. Sam. Skinner’s marine railway, went to Wilson’s steam saw mill to get some large block, for use at the shipyard; and also to pay a bill which was due by Capt. Skinner to Mr. Wilson. He called at Mr. W.’s office, paid the bill and presented the order for the blocks, when he

was told that they would be sent as soon as possible. He said he would go and pick some out that he wanted for immediate use, and left the office for that purpose. Mr. Wilson supposed he had gone out into the yard where the blocks were usually piled up, but instead of that it seems he went around the mill to a point where blocks were being thrown from an upper window, and where he was immediately after hit by one, which struck him bleeding and senseless to the ground, where he was shortly afterwards discovered. He was taken with all possible dispatch to his home, above the store on the northeast corner of Front and Dock streets, and surgical attention procured, when his condition was pronounced a very critical one, his skull being badly fractured on the right side, near the temple, and his entire right side being paralyzed. He remained totally unconscious and speechless during the day. The only wonder is that he was not killed instantly, as the block, which was thrown from a window about fifteen feet high, was about seven or eight feet in length and ten by ten in its other dimensions, weighing about two hundred pounds. The place where he received the terrible blow was an unfrequented one, except by those employed on the premises; hence no look-out was kept or fear entertained of a possible accident. A large number of the friends of the unfortunate man called to see him during yesterday, and the attentions upon him were unremitting.

At 12 o’clock last night Mr. Black was still alive, but his condition was unchanged.

---

Local Dots.

--- The colored military company came down from Fayetteville on the steamer Hurt last night, to take part in the Decoration ceremonies to-day.

---

Local Dots.

--- Capt. R. P. Paddison came to town yesterday with the first ripe peach of the season pinned to the lapel of his coat. It made a nice button-hole bouquet. It belonged to the Amsden variety and came from Capt. Paddison’s orchard at Maultsby’s Point.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Tuesday, May 30, 1882]

River and Marine.

--- The little steamer Lisbon, Capt. Phillips, on the line between this city and Lisbon, Sampson county, was ashore at last accounts, near Newkirk’s Landing, in Black River, which is an evidence that the water is getting pretty low.

[Wilmington Morning Star -- Wednesday, May 31, 1882]

The Masonic Excursion Down the River – Dinner at the Hotel Brunswick, &c.

Contrary to the apprehensions of those who remained at home the excursion of our Masonic friends on the steamer Passport yesterday proved a very enjoyable one, and the visitors as a general thing expressed themselves as delighted. It rained here a good portion of the day, and also blew a gale. Down the river it blew a pretty stiff breeze, which reddened the faces of the excursionists as much as if the sun had shone; but the only shower of rain of any consequence very considerately came while they were at dinner at Smithville. The dinner, by the way, was an excellent one and was served by mine host of the Hotel Brunswick, which was opened for the first time, informally, for the reception of his Masonic guests. About one hundred and thirty persons went down on the boat, and over one hundred took dinner at the hotel.

In consequence of the stiff breeze and heavy sea the Passport did not go outside, but went close to the Bar, to give the visitors a good sniff of the salt breeze of “Old Ocean.”

The boat left her wharf at 9 A. M. and returned about 6 P. M.

---

Death of Mr. A. G. Black.

After lingering speechless and unconscious since meeting with the terrible accident at the steam saw mill of Mr. A. Y. Wilson, in this city on Monday morning last, the particulars of which appeared in Tuesday’s STAR, Mr. Archie G. Black breathed his last yesterday afternoon about 2 o’clock. Deceased came to this country from Scotland and worked in Wilmington for a number of years as a shipbuilder, having been the master builder in the construction of the North State, the Cumberland and other steamers running on the line between this city and Fayetteville. He removed to Fayetteville some time previous to the war where he resided until within the last two or three years, when he returned to Wilmington, and has been since employed at the marine railway of Capt. S. W. Skinner. He was a man of very industrious habits, of strict integrity and deep piety, being a consistent, useful and devoted member of the First Baptist Church. He leaves a large family to mourn their loss, but they are consoled with the reflection that he was prepared for the great change.

The remains will be taken to Fayetteville for interment, leaving on the steamer at 2 P. M. to-day.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Friday, June 2, 1882]

The Upper Cape Fear Improvement.

Capt. W. H. James, who has charge of the upper Cape Fear River improvement, informs us that he will probably take his boats up preparatory to commencing operations the latter part of this week, providing the river continues falling. Very little can be done towards cleaning out and improving the river while the water is high.

[Wilmington Morning Star -- Wednesday, June 7, 1882]

Cape Fear and Brunswick Ferries. Mr. M. H. Rouse, late engineer of the steamer D. Murchison, has leased the ferries across the Cape Fear and Brunswick rivers opposite this city, and will take charge of the same on Saturday next, the first day of July. He will put on a steamer of some sort in a few days thereafter and ascertain by actual experiment how a steam ferry will operate, it being his intention to inaugurate all the improvements possible for the benefit of the travelling public by that particular route.

[Wilmington Morning Star -- Sunday, June 25, 1882]

The Military Excursion on the Steamer Passport Yesterday. The military excursion yesterday turned out to be (as we expected) and exceedingly pleasant affair, and those who participated in it are to be congratulated that they had an opportunity of exchanging the heated atmosphere of the city, where the thermometer was ranging among the nineties, for refreshing and invigorating ocean breezes. There were more that two hundred persons on board, and a season of enjoyment, unmarred by a single untoward circumstance, was the verdict of all who participated in the excursion.

The most of the members of the Wilmington Light Infantry, under whose auspices the excursion was given, were not in uniform, only a color guard of about twelve or fourteen being required to attire themselves in military rig. The excursionists visited the forts and other places of interest below, and also went a short distance outside. On the way up the votes were counted to ascertain who had been “elected” as the most popular lady on board, and it was found that the honor belonged to Miss Hill, of Goldsboro, to whom the handsome floral tribute, in the form of a cross-bow, was awarded, Lt. E. A. Oldham, of the New South, making the presentation speech. Returning, the boat reached her wharf about 6 o’clock.

[Wilmington Morning Star -- Friday, June 30, 1882]

Accidentally Drowned.

At Whitehall, on the night of Tuesday, the 18th inst., between 1 and 2 o’clock, Walter Dobbin, about 18 years of age and a son of Monroe Dobbin, colored, in attempting to step from a flat to the steamer North State, with a torch-light in his hand, missed his footing, fell overboard between the boat and the flat, and was drowned. Search was made for the body, but at last accounts it had not been recovered.


Death of Capt. E. C. Skinner.

The Richmond State has this to say of this gentleman, a brother of Capt. S. W. Skinner, of this city: “Capt. Ed. C. Skinner, a well known and popular gentleman, died here yesterday at his mother’s residence of paralysis. Capt. Skinner was a native of Richmond, and the son of the late Capt.

Samuel Skinner. He was a gallant soldier in the Confederate army, and served with distinction at Gettysburg. For the past seventeen years he has been in the towing service on the James river.”

[Wilmington Star – September 29, 1882]

Flat for Sale,I WILL SELL A LARGE NEW FLAT AT A BARGAIN, built by Capt. S. W. Skinner last Spring. Capacity 45 Cords Wood or 500 Barrels Rosin. OCT 4 1t* R. P. PADDISON.

[Wilmington Star - October 9, 1882]

Messrs. C. S. Love & Co. have assumed the agency for the steamer Bladen, and she will hereafter run between Wilmington and Willis’ Creek, instead of going through to Fayetteville. She will leave the foot of Dock street every Tuesday and Friday.

[Wilmington Star – January 19, 1883] “Hysted.”—Two charming young ladies recently fixed the matrimonial noose about the necks of Commadant Mckethan and Private R. H. Tomlinson, of the Independent Light Infantry; and while the command was on parade the other day, their comrades finished the business by “hysting” them.

[Carolina Observer – Thursday, March 1, 1883]

DOWN CAPE FEAR RIVERFROM FAYETTEVILLE TO WILMINGTON

IN TWENTY HOURS.PICTURESQUE SCENES ENJOYED BY DAVID DAVIS

AND HIS BRIDE ON THEIR WEDDING JOURNEY.

WILMINGTON, N. C., March 17. – No one who has business in Fayetteville, N. C., should ever be in a hurry to get there or in haste to get away, for if anybody has gone there in that state of mind, or should go there expecting to arrive and get away speedily, he will be disappointed. A man in a great hurry there would be sadly out of place in one of the serenest villages on the footstool. No one ever is in a hurry there, and the only instance recollected of anybody’s getting away in a hurry is that of the departure of Gen. Joe Johnston with the rebel army, just 18 years ago. To get to it from the North one must travel on the Coast Line by way of Richmond and Petersburg to Weldon, and then change cars, proceeding by the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad in a very leisurely manner to Raleigh. There another change must be made to the Raleigh and Augusta Air Line in order to reach Sanford. At Sanford a halt must be made over night, for the connecting railroads do not find it convenient to arrange their timetables for the traveler. On the contrary, it is so disarranged that the Fayetteville-bound traveler gets to Sanford just after the arrival from Fayetteville of the only train each day from that place while he who wants to get away from Fayetteville reaches Sanford on his way North half a day before or after the departure of the only train. A merciful veil of darkness conceals the dreariness of Sanford from the eyes of the stranger who reaches it for the first time. A glimmer of light attracts him to the only hotel. Upon entering he finds the house to be mean and untidy, and the bed to which he will retire, in the fond hope of rest after a rough and tedious jolting over an uneven railroad in dingy cars, will probably be supplied with a husk mattress, into the stuffing of which a too liberal proportion of corn-cobs appear to have found their way. Daylight will reveal ceilings and walls of unpainted boards, a carpetless and not too clean floor, and primitive meagerness of furnishing unrelieved by neatness. If the traveler’s appetite be not ruined by the contemplation of his desolate quarters, and he rise in time, he may get a

breakfast. To the sound of a clanging bell he will be marshaled into a bare dining-room, in which are set several circular tables. Each table is made in two sections. An outer rim, a foot or two in width, is set with plates and their accompanying knives and forks. The inner section is movable, and when the traveler sits down at one of the plates, the movable section, as it is whirled about by persons accustomed to the contrivance, presents to him, on its edge, a panorama of breakfast, a “merry-go-round,” where the places of hobby horses and riders are occupied by plates of butter, bread, port scrap, scraps of beef fried brown and indigestibly hard, eggs, fried chicken, fried hominy, shortcake, and other variously larded things in which the palate of the native Tar Heel delights. As a linen cloth is impracticable on such a table, the viands are spread on oiled cloth nailed down. Fortunate is the man who can so time his efforts to pick as he prefers from the uninviting spread, for it is much more than probably that the novice who reaches for eggs will put his hand in the butter, or aiming for fried chicken will thrust his fork into the sugarbowl. The head will swim with the recollection of this waltzing breakfast-table long after the only east-bound train of the day has lazily pulled away from the row of squalid shops and bar-rooms that make up the hamlet and goes most leisurely puffing and thumping along toward Fayetteville. A good runner might begin at his breakfast and easily catch the train after he had seen it start. Going out of Sanford soon after 8, it clatters over an ill-ballasted track through pine forests full of withered trunks, past many trees tapped for turpentine, and many stacks of newly cut pine kindlings, and if no untoward accident prevents arrives at Fayetteville, 42 miles away, in about three hours, reaching that peaceful village some time before noon. To one who has time to look about Fayetteville in the Spring of the year, when, as now, the peach trees are in bloom, the birds singing in gardens and orchards, the laburnum, spirea, and flowering almond beginning to scatter their blossoms on the

ground, the jonquils, the hyacinths, and the narcissus brightening all the borders, and the trees putting on their garments of delicate green, a few days could be pleasantly spent. There are, too, miles of the old rebel works, raised to defend the place against the advance of the Union army, but these are worn down in places where roads have been broken through them, and nature and time are hiding them with grass and trees or washing them back into the fields from which they were raised by rebellious hands. The man who has not time to inspect these interesting works, or recall the stirring events of March, 1865, because he is impressed with the necessity of getting away, may yet find time to walk a few hundred yards to the spot where once stood the Fayetteville Arsenal. When Gen. Sherman was here he visited it, and when he left there was not one brick of the arsenal and its many outbuildings standing. He utterly destroyed it, and at the same time demolished several other buildings, and the ruins of the Observer, a newspaper which had not carefully regulated its abuse of Gen. Sherman, still stands on the principal corner, just as they were left, a black and moldy memento. Here and there one comes across a chimney standing in the midst of similar ruins. The colored people will all tell you when you ask what these ruins are, “Sherman done it,” and with a grin that conveys no suggestion of regret. “Were you glad to see Sherman come?” I asked of an old and grizzled black may out at Tokay. “Yes, mas’r; glad ter see um come, and glad ter see um go.” One may look long and fruitlessly for signs of that advancement upon which North Carolina is disposed to pride itself. They are not here. There is the dusty, unpaved road, common to all Southern towns. At the end of the main street is a quaint old brick building, once the Capitol of the State; now it is a market-house, and outside, drawn up close to the sidewalk, is a cart full of weather-beaten leather buckets and a truck of ladders, this collection of apparatus being the sole public protection against the spread of fire for a

town of 4,000 population. These primitive appliances are never housed, for fear delay might be caused, in case of discovery of a fire, in hunting for the keeper of the key. The visitor who dreads the way out of Fayetteville by rail may leave the place by boat. When David Davis was married here, on Wednesday last, he chose to make the first stage of his wedding journey in this manner, going down the Cape Fear River to Wilmington. The distance is 112 miles, and is traversed by steam-boats almost as antiquated as the fire apparatus which stands idly in the market-place. A boat leaves nearly every day from each end of the route. As the passenger traffic is light, no tourist ever choosing this route for pleasure, the boats are not built with much regard for beauty of outline, but rather with the object of carrying as much turpentine, resin, and cotton as possible, as fast as the usually shallow stream will permit. Most of the half-dozen boats are, therefore, dingy, old-fashioned craft, flat as to hulls, with their guards close to the water, with a capacious main deck and a saloon deck perched high upon the frailest-looking supports. As the stream has normally an average width of only about 200 feet, the channel being narrower, all but one of the boats are propelled by a large wheel at the stern. Your correspondent embarked on Thursday morning on the only side-wheeler on the river, the General Worth. A less attractive-looking object than this vessel probably never tied up to shore as a steam-boat. She had no more lines of beauty than a dry goods box, and from bow to stern was in evident need of repair, while her ancient coat of white paint was obscured by soot where it had not been scraped off by hard usage, suggesting the thought that General Worth {Governor Worth} had gone through a prolonged battle with the elements and been frequently under fire. Twenty-four hours before, David Davis had started with his bride and her friends on one of the stern-wheelers, the only one, by the way, that is tidy and comparatively comfortable for passengers. The General worth got away,

after much noise on the part of the negro deck-hands in shipping the last lot of cotton bales, at 8:30 o’clock, her high-pressure engines working with much thumping and wheezing and her steampipes snorting sterterously. As she gained headway, her nose plowed deep into the stream, rolling the water, thick with mud, in heavy swells against the steep and deeply steamed banks. The shad fishermen, who were at work with drift-nets, guiding them from long, narrow, square-ended skiffs, paddled hurriedly out of the steamer’s course and into out-of-the-way nooks to escape the wash. As the steamer sailed along she passed several landings, and inquiry having been made as to their names, the Captain produced a list two feet long containing the names of the 160 landings between Fayetteville and Wilmington. There were others not names, and if a man should have come down the steep bank at any point where the shore was not incumbered with fallen pine trees, and waved his hat to the negro pilot, the General Worth would have run her bow against the bank and taken him aboard. Old Ferry, nine miles from Fayetteville, was a type of all the other landings. Here the boat was slowed up against the red clay bank, before a steep hillside, in which there was a well-worn gully. At the top of the hill 30 or 40 barrels of resin were awaiting shipment. The way in which these barrels, each weighing about 350 pounds, were transferred from shore to boat was very simple, requiring the least possible exertion on the part of the negroes who did the work. The first barrel was swung head to the steamer, in the gully leading to the gangway. All the other barrels were rolled against this, in a long line. Two strong negroes, one at either side of the first barrel, just restrained it as it was forced down the hill by the weight of the barrels following, and when the head of the line touched the steam-boat’s guard the entire line was allowed to roll one by one upon the deck. There was no hurry about the work, and the throng of black men who performed it sang merrily, in a peculiar sort of style, one man

leading with such expressions as “Come ‘long yer,” or “She’m guine to roll now,” long drawn out as the sailor sings his “Heave ho!” the gang of roustabouts falling in with a harmonious but wordless refrain. The long afternoon was spent in making frequent landings, with short runs between, the stops being now for resin, again for cotton, and at regular intervals for wood only. There were few houses to be seen along this watery track through the pine forests. A half-dozen persons at a landing was a large crowd, and when so many human beings were seen together they would stare at the passengers on the General Worth as intently as if they had but then seen the first of a strange race of people. Curiosity, by the way, is not alone a Yankee weakness. I will defy anybody to produce men and women who possess greater capacity for concentrated staring than some of the people who are to be met in this same North Carolina. The scrutiny which strangers have to undergo, particularly ladies, would be offensive if it were not so laughable. It is not meant to be offensive, for the people meet you very kindly and treat you courteously, and the impression that they are suspicious wears away on very short acquaintance. Out of the recesses of a very dingy and greasy-looking cook’s cabin, hidden somewhere behind one of the cranks that turned the General Worth’s wheels, a dinner was early in the afternoon brought forth by the steward, and after its aroma had distributed itself among the hungry passengers they were summoned to eat it in the plain little dining-room. The group of strangers, three newspaper correspondents, and the wife of one of them, a lady who proved an excellent traveler and observer, found it good; a well-cooked meal, better in quality and in preparation than the meals at most of the North Carolina hotels, which are as a rule excessively bad. When night fell the boat was signaled from the shore by burning brands of pine, and as the vessel waited for more barrels of resin or bales of cotton the shouting negroes were lighted to their work by the same sort of illumination.

The scene at night was weird and picturesque in the extreme. The burning torches, the shadows of the negro deck-hands as they passed between the light and the wooded banks, the somber forest draped with gray moss that swung fantastically in the pale moonlight, the clouds of smoke and sparks rising from the steamer’s funnel, were all strange and interesting, and the songs of the roustabouts, still kept up, did not cease to be curiously amusing. During the evening, while the General Worth was steering carefully through some of the sharp turns in the river, the D. Murchison, which had carried David Davis and his bride to Wilmington, was met and spoken on her way back to Fayetteville. She had had a remarkably quick passage, having run to Wilmington in 13 hours, the only stops made being eight for “wooding up.” The General Worth stopped everywhere that freight offered, and did not reach Wilmington until 4:30 in the morning after she left Fayetteville, the trip being made in 20 hours, or at the rate of five and three-fifths miles an hour. That was a little faster than canal-boat traveling, but not much. Slow as it was, it was as expeditious a way out of Fayetteville to the North as that by rail through Sanford, and it was a welcome route by which to escape the dreary railroad ride through the pine forests and the dizzying revolving table at the Sanford Hotel, which every traveler to and from Fayetteville must sit down to contemplate or else go supperless to bed to pursue his journey fasting.

[The New York Times – March 19, 1883]


-- Capt. Smith, of the steamer D. Murchison, reports that there had been a rise of about twenty-five feet in the river up to the time he left Fayetteville Tuesday morning, and that it was still rising slowly.


Launching a New Steamer. The steamer alluded to a few weeks ago as being under process of construction at the yard attached to the dry dock, was launched on Friday, at 12 o’clock, in the presence of quite a large crowd, including a number of ladies, who had previously decorated the steamer with flowers, etc. The new craft, which was very appropriately christened the River Queen – as she is claimed to be the lightest draught steamer on the river, drawing only about ten inches – is 100 feet long, 21 feet width of beam and 4 feet deep. The machinery, which is all new, is now being put in position, and it is expected that she will be ready to commence her trips on or about the 12th of May. She is owned by Messrs. James Bagley and James C. Stewart, who design running her on the North East River and Long Creek. She was launched under the superintendence of Capt. B. W. Berry, the contractor and builder. She is a very neat and handsome boat. By the way, Messrs. Bagley & Stewart request us to extend their thanks to the ladies who so kindly manifested their interest, by contributing floral offerings on the occasion.

[?? -- May 4, 1883]

Express Steamboat Co.-------

STEAMER SCHEDULE-------

ON and after April 1st and until further notice the Steamer D. Murchison, Capt. J. C. Smith, will leave Fayetteville every Tuesday and Friday at 7 o’clock A. M. and Wilmington every Wednesday and Saturday at 2 P. M.

Steamer Wave, Capt. W. A. Robeson, will leave Fayetteville every Wednesday and Saturday at 7 o’clock A. M. and Wilmington Monday and Thursday at 2 o’clock P. M.

A. B. WILLIAMS & CO.

Agents, Fayetteville, N. C.April 12, 1883

10tf

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday, April 12, 1883.]


-- The schooner Katie Edwards, a regular visitor at this port, being on the line between this city and Onslow county, was sunk in Bear Inlet, at Brown Sound, between Swansboro and New River, on Wednesday night last. She was loaded with turpentine. No further particulars have thus far been received, but it is thought the cargo will probably be saved. The schooner Ray, Capt. Dennis, has gone to the relief of the unfortunate vessel. The schooner Katie Edwards is the property of Messrs. Hall & Pearsall, of this city.

[Wilmington Morning Star - Tuesday, May 15, 1883.]

Sudden death of Capt. A. P. Hurt. A private letter was received here yesterday announcing the sad intelligence of the death of Capt. A. P. Hurt, which took place suddenly in Fayetteville on Friday. It appears that he retired to his room in the Fayetteville Hotel about 12 o’clock, requesting to be called to dinner, and when a servant was sent to arouse him it was found that he was cold in death. Deceased was between 60 and 70 years of age. Capt. Hurt came here from Virginia about 1851 or 1852, and superintended the building of the steamers A. P. Hurt, which was named for him; the Governor Worth, the Flora McDonald, and other steamers. For many years he was a favorite captain on the river, known and respected by everybody who frequented the Cape Fear, and left the river about ten years ago, having achieved a

moderate competency, since which time he has been engaged in merchandizing. Deceased lost his wife many years ago, and leaves no immediate descendants; but a large circle of attached friends mourn the departure from among them of one who held a high place in their affection.

------

Excursion Next Thursday. Now then, if you would have a good time, go down on the Passport Thursday next on the excursion given by the ladies of the Front Street M. E. Church. Dinner will be served on board, and the ladies know how to get it up in good style. It promises to be a fine affair. Plenty of ice cream and good things generally.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Sunday, June 10, 1883]

The Steamer John Dawson. We learn that Capt. R. P. Paddison has purchased the interest of Capt. David Sherman in the steamer John Dawson, on the line between this city and point Caswell, Pender county, and that hereafter he will be the sole owner of the boat. Capt. A. M. Calvin is in command under the new arrangements.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Wednesday, June 13, 1883]

Moonlight and Music. We learn that arrangements are in progress for a moonlight excursion on the steamer Passport, under the auspices of Capt. J. W. Harper and Mr. Geo. N. Harris, on the night of Tuesday, the 19th inst., the moon being at her full on the morning of the 20th. It is proposed to make it a grand affair, the managers being determined that nothing shall be lacking on their part in the way of constituting it such. There will be music for dancing, of course.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Thursday, June 14, 1883]

SUDDEN DEATH OF CAPT. HURT. - Last Friday, at about dinner-time, the community was startled by the news that Capt. Hurt had been found dead in his room at the Fayetteville Hotel. About 12 m. Capt. Hurt went to his room to lie down, Mr. Chas. Glover, the proprietor of the hotel, handing him a paper to read as he passed. At dinner-time a servant went up to his room, but returned to the office and reported that he could not be roused. Mr. Glover then went to the room and found that Capt. Hurt was indeed dead, though his body was still warm. Physicians were summoned who pronounced it a case of apoplexy, and Dr. J. W. McNeill, the coroner, considered the cause of death so patent as to obviate the necessity of an inquest. The deceased was not a man of robust health but he was not an invalid, and was apparently as well as usual, talking with friends and acquaintances an hour or two before his sudden death. Capt. Hurt was for many years prominently identified with our boating interests, being one of the best known captains on the river and a large stockholder in one of the lines. A steamer now plies the Cape Fear, bearing his name. After the war Capt. Hurt engaged in mercantile business for a time, but of late years he has led a life of quiet and retirement, spending the summer in the mountains and the winter in Fayetteville. He was a Virginian by birth, and was about 73 years of age.

[Fayetteville Observer June 14th 1883]

WORK AT THE RIVER.—The work of extending the railroad track to the wharves of the Express Steamboat Company is being rapidly pushed to completion, and there will soon be every facility for receiving the river freight as it arrives.

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday, June 28, 1883]

-- The steamer North State, Capt. Green, arrived yesterday from the “Cypress,” having there exchanged cargoes with the steamer A. P. Hurt. The Wave is on the other side of the shoals.


-- The steamer North State, Capt. Green, arrived here yesterday, being the first Fayetteville boat here in several days. Capt. Green has had word from Capt. Worth, of the steamer A. P. Hurt, not to leave Wilmington again until he hears from him at Fayetteville. In the meantime, however, the North State will make a trip to “The Cypress” with a quantity of freight for that place, intermediate points, and Waddell’s Ferry and Elizabethtown. The freight for “The Cypress.” For Waddell’s Ferry, seven miles above, and for Elizabethtown, ten or twelve miles above, will be left at “The Cypress” and the persons notified by letter from the agents here to call and get their goods. The river was still falling at last account.

[Wilmington Star – August 4, 1883 BRC]

IMPROVEMENT OF THE UPPER CAPE FEAR. – In a conversation with one of our most intelligent and observant steamboat captains, recently, the reporter asked him if he had noticed any improvement in the river from the work which had thus far been accomplished under the late appropriation from the general government. His reply was that the only jetty put in and completed was as “They Cypress,” which had caused an improvement, in the way of deepening the bed of the channel, of not less than one foot. He thought it would amount to more than one foot, but to be entirely safe he would put it at that. As to the result of the removal of the overhanging branches of trees along the lower part of the river, the improvement had been more marked and noticeable than he

had thought possible. As to what may be expected when all the jetties are put down and the work completed, there can be nothing but conjecture, but the improvement so far is calculated to fore-shadow the best of results. – Wil. Star.

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday, October 18, 1883]

A Flat Loaded with Steel Rails Sinks. The steamer Wave, which left for Fayetteville yesterday afternoon, about half past 3 o’clock, returned no long afterwards with the information that one of her lighters, loaded with steel rails for the Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley Railroad, had struck a snag just above Point Peter and sunk. We suppose measures will be taken at once to recover the rails, which are probably not in very deep water.


Express Steamboat Line!-----

Freight and Passenger Rates Reduced!

[steamboat image]THE IRON STEAMER “WAVE,” WITH SUPErior Passenger Accommodations. Leaves Wilmington Mondays and Thursdays at 2 o’clock P. M. Leaves Fayetteville Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7 A. M. The IRON STEAMER “D. MURCHISON,” First Class in all her appointments, and having been recently overhauled. Leaves Wilmington Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 P. M. Leaves Fayetteville Tuesdays and Fridays at 7 A. M. Elegant Passenger Accommodations. Through Cabin Passage, including Berth and Meals, $3.00.

GEO. W. WILLIAMS & CO.,Agents, Wilmington,

A. B. WILLIAMS & CO.,jan 11 3t nac Agents, Fayetteville.


-- Capt. Thomas J. Green, so long in command of the North State, is now performing the same functions on the steamer Bladen, while Capt. Irving Robinson has assumed the command of the North State. They are both familiar with the devious windings and uncertain tide of the coquetish Cape Fear and know how to handle a steamboat under any and all circumstances.


Collision on the River. -– Saturday night, in rounding one of the bends on the Cape Fear, the steamers Murchison and Wave came into collision, but without material damage to either. On arrival at Wilmington the colored stewardess, Lottie Hollingsworth, was found dead in the cabin, but whether from heart disease with which she was afflicted, or in consequence of the collision, is not yet known here.

[Fayetteville Observer – Wednesday, January 23, 1884.]

Sudden Death on a Steamboat.

Lotta Robinson, the well known colored stewardess of the steamer Wave, dropped dead on that boat on Saturday night last, about 10 o’clock, while she was on her last down trip to this city. It appears that the boat stopped for a short time at Pridgen’s Landing, about thirty

miles above this city, to take in wood, and while the crew were performing that work the cries of some one in distress were heard, and, upon investigation, Lotta Robinson was found prostrated upon the upper deck, back of the ladies’ cabin, in the agonies of death. Every attention was paid to the unfortunate woman by the officers and crew of the boat, but she breathed her last in a few minutes. Heart disease is supposed to have been the cause of her death. Deceased, who was well known both here and in Fayetteville, was about 50 years of age. The remains were brought to this city, where they were prepared for burial, and then shipped back to Fayetteville, where they will be interred. She leaves five or six children.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday, January 25, 1884]

-- The river is still quite high, but the water is gradually falling. On Monday of last week the steamer North State took five hundred bags of guano from the Navassa Guano Works at this place to Red Rock, some twelve or fourteen miles above the bridge at Fayetteville, and on Friday the steamer A. P. Hurt took five hundred more bags for the same destination.

[Wilmington Star – February 1, 1884]

-- The steamer River Queen, Capt. Bagley, arrived here yesterday from Lillington, on Long Creek, in Pender county, which stream has lately been made navigable to the point named through the efforts of the workmen under Capt. W. H. James. Capt. Bagley says the

people of Lillington gave him a warm reception when he first reached there. The River Queen brings quite a freight and several passengers. Hereafter she will run alternately between Wilmington and Lillington and Wilmington and Bannerman’s Bridge.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – February 8, 1884]

Sale of a River Steamer.

The steamer North State has been purchased from Messrs. Worth & Worth by some parties in Georgia to run on the Altamaha and tributary rivers. She will be commanded by Capt. R. P. Paddison, who owns an interest in her. The North State has been long and favorably known as one of the most popular and successful boats on the river. She will leave for her destination about the latter part of the week. Capt. Paddison contemplates making no change in his boat on the Black river at present, and will not remove his family to Georgia. We are glad to know that we are not likely to lose Capt. Paddison permanently.


Found Drowned.

The body of a colored man was found floating in the river opposite the fish market yesterday, and it was subsequently conveyed into the basin, foot of Dock street. The remains proved to be those of an eccentric individual who always insisted upon wearing the name of Annie Gaston, and partly arraying himself in the garb of a woman. He

formerly lived at Dr. Anderson’s place on the Sound, where he was employed, but left there a year or so ago and went to the City Hospital, where he remained under treatment for some time. Since then he has been going as cook on some of the river boats, and following other pursuits. About two weeks ago he was missed from the house of Reuben McDonald, on Second street, between Market and Princess, where he was stopping at the time, and had not been seen or heard of since until his body was discovered in the river yesterday. His face was badly disfigured, but he was easily identified by his garb (particularly the apron, which he always wore) and the watch which was found on his person. Deceased was about 30 years of age, and said he formerly lived about ten miles from Fayetteville. The remains were interred last evening in Oak Grove Cemetery, at the expense of the county.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday, February 22, 1884]

OFFICE CAPE FEAR NAVIGATION COMPANY,

Fayetteville, N. C., June 28, 1872A COMPLAINT has been made to this office by a commander of one of the Steamers navigating the Cape Fear River, that Raftsmen are in the habit of connecting two rafts together and floating down stream abreast, thereby greatly obstructing navigation as well as endangering boats and passengers. Now this is to notify all such offenders, that in case of loss or damage resulting from the violation of the Navigation Law, as

complained of, said offenders will be held to a strict account in law.

J. D. WILLIAMS, Presidentof the Cape Fear Navigation

Company.


-- We learn that the steamer North State, Capt. Paddison, on her way from this port to Georgia, put in at Calabash, N. C., about two miles and a half this side of Little River, S. C., for a harbor from the gale on Saturday morning last.


Steamboat Inspectors.

The inspectors of steamboats for this district are here on business connected with their office. Mr. Peter Taglio, of Charleston, comes in the place of our venerable friend, Mr. Kirkwood, who has so long and faithfully filled the position, but who was lately retired on account of his extreme age, he being 84 years old Mr. Taglio is inspector of hulls, Mr. Hewes retaining his position as inspector of boilers.


MARCH RECORDS.--

Freshets in the Cape Fear River always occur between the 5th and 29th of March, &c. March 8th, 1865, was the great freshet, known as the "Sherman Freshet." Sherman arriving here on the 11th and being much delayed by high water. In 1882 there was a forty foot rise on the 15th of March. In 1883 a thirty foot rise on the 17th. Again last years, March 21st, we had heavy snow, also snow on the 26th. Easter Sunday last year the 25th of March was cold and sleety.

[Fayetteville Observer - Wednesday, March 19, 1884.]

-- We learn from Messrs. C. S. Love & Co., the agents here, that the steamer Bladen will undergo extensive repairs and improvements after she has made one or two more trips. She will be furnished with a steel boiler and heavier engines, and will be extended in length fully twenty feet. Besides, her cabins will be made larger and refurnished in a more elegant style. In a word, it is intended to make her a first class boat in all respects, and it is probable that her name will also be changed. The new boiler and engines are already here and ready to be placed in position. She will go on Capt. Sam Skinner’s marine railway.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday, March 21, 1884]

RIVER AND MARINE.------- The steamer Bladen, commanded by Capt. Thos. Green, which we stated a week or two ago was to be lengthened twenty feet, provided with a steel boiler, heavier engines,

and other improvements, is now up for the desired changes and her trips will therefore be suspended until she comes forth in her new dress and equipments.


-- Capt. R. P. Paddison, who left here some weeks ago on the steamer North State, for Georgia, after making a stormy and eventful trip, but going through without the slightest mishap, and making one trip, has returned home for a brief season on a visit to his family. He expects to return to Georgia next week. The North State is to run up the Altamaha river to the junction of the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers; up the Oconee river to Mt. Vernon and up the Ocmulgee to Abbeyville, making a distance of about three hundred miles. Doctortown is the terminus on the Altamaha river, and here the freight is transferred to the Savannah, Florida & Western Railroad. Capt. Paddison informs us that he has met with good success so far and the prospect ahead is very encouraging. He expected to leave for Point Cawell last evening.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – March 28, 1884]

-- Arrangements have been entered into whereby the steamer Gov. Worth, of the Cape Fear & People’s line of steamers, will hereafter be run between certain points on the St. John’s River, Florida. She will go out next week in charge of Capt. Thos. R. Payne, an experienced coast pilot and steamboat captain of Florida, and will make no more trips between this city and Fayetteville. The boat has not been sold.


RIVER AND MARINE.-- The steamer Governor Worth, which is hereafter to run on the St. John’s River, Florida, as stated by us a few days ago, was cleared at the Custom House yesterday and will leave for her destination to-day or to-morrow, in charge of Capt. Thos. R. Payne. It is like losing an old friend, the “Governor” has been so long on our river.


Death of Alexander Sprunt,of Wilmington, N.C.

The wires announced the death a few days since of Mr. Alexander Sprunt, of Wilmington, N. C., the father of Messrs. J. D. and T. E. Sprunt, so well known here, and who have the sympathy of our whole people in their loss. Speaking of Mr. Sprunt and exchange says: Mr. Sprunt was born at Viewfield, near Perth, Scotland, on the 28th of September, 1815, and was therefore in the 69th year of his age. He was educated in Edinburgh, and subsequently remained in Glascow for about two years. After leaving Glascow he proceeded to Port Spain, Trinidad, where he became a junior partner in the firm of Reed, Irvin & Co., merchants, and the same time held the appointment of Queen’s Commissioner at that port. He remained in Port-Spain for about fourteen years, when he returned to Scotland and thence came to Wilmington, reaching his future home in the year 1852. He has since been engaged in mercantile pursuits, being at the time of his death the senior in the well known firm of Alex Sprunt & Son. On the 31st of March, 1866, he received from Her Majesty’s Government the appointment of British Vice Consul at Wilmington - a position which he continued to hold up to the time of his death. He was one of the founders of the Second Presbyterian church of that city, has contributed largely to its advancement and success, and at his death was one of its ruling elders. He was also President of the organization known as the St. George and St. Andrew Society, and of the Wilmington Library Association, in both of which societies he took a deep interest.

[Advertiser and Appeal, Saturday Morning, April 19, 1884 - Brunswick, GA]

A New Steamer – Her Successful Trial Trip, &c.

The new steamer Excelsior, which has just been completed by Capt. Bowdoin, made her trial trip yesterday afternoon, and we are pleased to know answered every expectation of her owner. The peculiar character of her construction renders the Excelsior an object of interest upon our waters. She is about the ordinary dimensions of our river steamers, her propelling power being a screw, which is adjustable to any depth of water not less than thirteen inches, and by these means her owner claims to practically overcome the inconveniences of the low water in the Cape Fear and its tributaries. The guests on the occasion of her trip were splendidly feted, the honors being done by Capt. W. H. James, and they, with us, join in wishing the new enterprise all success.


A Mule Commits Suicide.

A mule was being led ashore from the steamer D. Murchison, yesterday morning, when he suddenly conceived a disgust for sublunary things and jumped overboard and drowned himself. The dead body of the animal was subsequently taken from the river in front of Messrs. Hall & Pearsall’s store, by some of the street force, and buried at the expense of the city. No inquest.


THE STEAMER WAVE.—In common with their numerous other friends, we regret to hear of Capt. W. A. Robeson’s and his brother’s loss by the sinking of their steamer near Wilmington last week. But we were glad to hear that it is thought the larger part of the cargo is saved, and that the boat can be raised without great expense. The reported drowning of the colored cook, Ned Beebe, is a sad feature of the accident. From the Wilmington Review of Monday evening we learn later particulars of the disaster, as follows: The steamer Wave, Capt. Robinson, capsized in the Cape Fear at Wanet’s Landing, at 5 o’clock yesterday morning, while on her way from Fayetteville to this city, and three of those on board were drowned. The circumstances were as follows: In coming round a curve in the river, near that place, the speed of the boat caused her to careen so that her outside guard was under the water. This caused the cargo, which consisted of between 400 and 500 barrels of rosin and spirits of turpentine, to ship to that side, the weight of which capsized the boat. Those drowned were Empie Hill, a passenger, Lucy Brewington, colored, a passenger, and Ned Beebe, colored, cook. The accident happened at an hour when all the passengers and those of the crew not employed were asleep in their berths, and all those came very near being lost. The other passengers were Messrs. Edward Lilly and E. D. Burkhimer of this city, Mr. Buchanan, of Charles-ton, S. C. and Miss Shepherd, aged about 14 years. Mr. Lilly was badly bruised and was saved with considerable difficulty. Messrs. Buchanan and Burkhimer came very near drowning and were saved only by super-human efforts. Miss Shepherd was in eminent peril, but she maintained the most perfect composure and coolness throughout the trying ordeal through which she was compelled to pass with an almost inevitable death staring her in the face. The door of her stateroom was locked and it was some time, and not until the water had reached above her waist, before she was rescued by the determined

efforts of Capt. Robeson. After the accident Capt. Robeson started and walked to this city, reaching here at about 1 o’clock yesterday afternoon, and gave the first intelligence of the disaster. The steamtug Wm. Nyce was immediately sent to the scene and returned about 10 o’clock that night with the passengers. The dredging boat was sent up this morning to render such assistance in raising the Wave and securing the cargo as may be necessary.

[Fayetteville Observer – Thursday, June 5, 1884.]


--- The body of Mr. Empie Hill, one of the victims of the Wave disaster, was found Wednesday night just below Turkey Point, and that of Ned Bebee has also bee recovered, having been found about half a mile from Wanut Landing. The steamer is now afloat and it is expected to get her entirely clear by this evening. Her wheel is now about a foot out of water.


TERRIBLE DISASTER.-----

The Steamer Wave Upsets on the River and Three Persons are Drowned—Narrow Escape

of Others—The Steamer Nyce Goes to the Rescue—The Survivors Brought to this City. On Sunday our community was startled by the announcement of the intelligence that the steamer Wave, of the Express Steamboat Company’s line, had met with a terrible disaster and that three persons were drowned; which number, by common report, was afterwards erroneously augmented to four. The news of the accident was brought by Capt. Robeson, Mr. Nick Carr and Mr. Bryant Watson, who left the steamer at the point where she went down. The steamer

Wm. Nyce got up steam and started about 5 o’clock for the scene of the disaster, arriving there the same evening about 8 o’clock, when the survivors were taken on board, with the exception of Capt. Jeff. Robeson and two deck hands, and brought them to this city. We first interviewed Mr. Carr, and subsequently talked with Mr. H. D. Burkhimer, from whom we obtained the following particulars. The steamer was rounding a sharp curve or point in the river, about twenty-two miles above this city, at or near John Wanut’s Landing, about half past 5 o’clock on Sunday morning, just as the sun had commenced rising, when she keeled over too far on one side, and the water began to pour in over her guards, when the freight, consisting of barrels of naval stores, boxes, crates, etc., was shifted from the starboard to the port side, which had the effect to turn her over. She rested on one side, with the upper part about two feet above the water, and the lower part apparently on the bottom, for a few minutes, when, being relieved of the greater part of the cargo, she gradually uprighted and settled down in about twenty feet of water, having one hundred casks of spirits of turpentine in her hold. In the meantime the stancheons had broken loose between the cabin and the main deck, and the former, with hurricane deck and pilot house attached, left the hull and settled down on the boiler and part of cargo of rosin at the side of the boat, a portion of the hurricane deck being out of the water. The passengers were mostly in their berths when the alarm was given. They consisted of Messrs. E. Lilly, N. Carr and H. D. Burkhimer and Miss Katie Shepherd, of this city. Mr. J. A. Buchanan, of South Carolina, Mr. Empie Hill, of Bladen, Mr. Bryant Watson, of Fayetteville, and Lucy Brewington, colored, of Fayetteville. The passengers got out as best they could, Mr. Lilly and Mr. Burkhimer both having some difficulty in getting their doors open. Mr. Burkhimer also got his hands badly cut in trying to escape by a window and when he finally succeeded in getting out by the door the water was up to

his waist. Miss Shepherd was rescued from her berth by Capt. Jeff. Robeson and placed in a position of safety on the hurricane deck. Mr. Burkhimer, upon reaching the deck, thinking the boat was about to go to pieces, jumped overboard, and himself, Mr. Buchanan and the colored steward were carried away from the boat about one hundred yards and landed among a parcel of rubbish, where they remained until Capt. Robeson sent a boat and took them off and put them ashore; Mr. Burkhimer sustaining himself with a spirits cask under one arm and a plank under the other and Mr. Buchanan clinging to a piece of the engine house. Mr. Burkhimer says that Mr. Hill was some distance lower down the river and he heard his call three times for help after which he threw up his hands and sank. The fireman, when he awoke, was completely submerged by the water. Mr. Lilly, who had jumped overboard in the first excitement and confusion, was assisted upon the hurricane deck by Capt. Robeson and others. As soon as possible the survivors were all landed on the shore and repaired to the residence of Mr. John Wanut, by whom they were very kindly treated. It was ascertained that Mr. Empie Hill, aged about 25 years, a nephew of the late Adam Empie, of this city; Ned. Beebe, the colored cook, aged about 50, and Lucy Brewington, colored, of Fayetteville, aged about 30, were drowned. It is a wonder, considering the number and quantity of barrels, boxes, rubbish, etc., that was drifting about, and among which many of the men were at one time struggling, that more lives were not lost. There was very little excitement among the crew and passengers, and the coolness displayed by all, and especially by Capt. Jeff. Robeson, was one reason why so many were saved. Among the few articles saved from the wreck were two boxes of eggs, and these served to help out in furnishing the large number with dinner and supper. In the meantime Capt. Robeson, Mr. Carr and Mr. Bryant Watson had started for the railroad station at Northwest, a distance of about five or six miles, hoping to meet the

train on the Carolina Central road, but reached there about ten minutes too late. They then started to walk to Wilmington and reached there about 12 o’clock, when they dispatched the steamer Nyce to the assistance of their shipwrecked friends and comrades, and she returned about 10 o’clock Sunday night with all of the passengers and crew except those named as staying by the wreck. Yesterday the dredging boat was sent up to see what help could be rendered. At last accounts the cargo of naval stores, or a portion of it, was drifting off. Mr. Lilly, who was quite badly bruised, lost his valise, pocket book containing about $50 and a gold watch chain. Miss Shepherd’s trunk drifted off, but was picked up by persons on a raft and was taken off by the steamer Nyce as she came up Sunday evening. Mr. Burkhimer was considerably bruised and cut by glass, and got a sprained ankle. This is the first accident of a serious nature that has happened on our river for a long time. The following is a list of the officers and crew of the Wave: Capt. W. A. Robeson, master; Capt. Jeff Robeson, engineer; Dallis Austin, assistant engineer; Ned Beebe, cook; Sam Williams, steward; Horace Williams, fireman; Sam Dunn, Charles McIntire, John Smith and two others, deck hands; Archie White, 1st pilot; Wm. Roberts, 2nd pilot. Archie White, colored, one of the pilots, was active in picking up those in the water and displayed much zeal and courage.

[The Wilmington Weekly Star – June 7, 1884]


--- The body of Mr. Empie Hill, one of the victims of the Wave disaster, was found Wednesday night just below Turkey Point, and that of Ned Bebee has also been recovered, having been found about half a mile from Wanut Landing.

The steamer is now afloat and it is expected to get her entirely clear by this evening. Her wheel is now about a foot out of water.

[The Wilmington Star – June 7, 1884]

-- The steamer Bladen, which has been off the line between this city and Fayetteville since the 25th of March last, undergoing certain alterations, improvements and repairs, has been launched from Capt. Skinner’s steam marine railway, and left for Fayetteville yesterday afternoon, the demand for freight room being such that it was decided to complete the work of painting her while running. The present trip is not considered a regular one. She will return next Wednesday night and clear on Thursday, and after the 1st day of July will run a regular schedule, leaving here every Tuesday and Friday and carrying the United States mail. She has undergone very decided improvement, thirteen feet have been added to her length, while she has been provided with new steel boilers and heavier machinery. Everything about her is new, including four nice state-rooms, saloons, &c., affording first class accommodation for twenty-passengers. Capt. T. J. Green, so long and favorably known as first officer of the steamer North State, is still in command of the Bladen, and will be glad to see his old friends and as many new ones as may be pleased to called upon him.


Steamer Bladen.

The Steamer Bladen has been thoroughly overhauled and repaired, indeed it has really been made a new boat of and has made its appearance on the Cape Fear in such improved dress that her old acquaintances

will scarcely recognize it. We welcome it back and hope that it may have a prosperous course among its sister boats on our beautiful river.

-----

Steamer Wave at Wilmington.

The Steamer Wave which met with such a severe accident two weeks ago on her down trip from this point to Wilmington, has been raised, and towed into the latter place where she will be pumped out and the necessary repairs added. The Wave is one of the smartest little boats that ever plied the upper Cape Fear. Her speed was never surpassed. Her owners deserve great credit for the enterprise, they have displayed in raising and getting her to Wilmington. The dispatch with which this result was accomplished was truly wonderful. We shall soon expect to hear her whistle at this wharf.

[The Sun – Fayetteville, N.C. – Tuesday, June 17, 1884]

--- Capt. Jeff Robinson and his carpenters came down on the steamer D. Murchison, yesterday, for the purpose of making necessary repairs upon the steamer Wave, which will be hauled up on Capt. Skinner’s marine railway to-day.


RIVER AND MARINE.--------

--- A letter received here yesterday from ten miles below Fayetteville states that the river is now very full from the recent heavy rains. When the steamer D. Murchison left Fayetteville Tuesday morning there were no indications of a freshet.

[Wilmington Morning Star -- Thursday, July 3, 1884.]

-- The steamer Lisbon, which has for some time past been on the line between this place and Lisbon, Sampson county, is now at Point Caswell, where she is being thoroughly overhauled, and will have twenty feet added to her length. She will also be refitted with new machinery. Mr. A. J. Johnson, her owner, informs us that she is expected to resume her regular trips on or about the last of August.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – Friday, July 11, 1884]

The pilot boat GRACIE and the schooner MARY WHEELER are on the ways at Capt. Skinner’s shipyard, for overhauling, and painting. Repairs to the hull of the steamer WAVE have been finished and she is now afloat, with carpenters busily engaged putting on the upper deck. The WAVE, by the way, was the first vessel taken out of the water on the marine railway after the completion of the work of reconstruction that had been in progress at the yard for about three months. During that time the railway was rebuilt from its foundation throughout, with new irons and cradles, and is now complete and substantial in every particular. A new house has been built over the engines and boilers, and other improvements have been made. We noticed a large lighter being built at the yard for the steamer BLADEN.

[Wilmington Weekly Star – August 1, 1884]

Carter, Augustus M. - 26th August, 1884

RIVER AND MARINE.--------

--- The river is very low and the water is still falling. So steamboatmen report.--- The steamer Lisbon has been thoroughly overhauled, enlarged and improved and started out on her first trip yesterday.--- The steamer Wave, which met with a serious disaster up the river some months ago, which necessitated extensive repairs, has now commenced her regular trips again having arrived here from Fayetteville yesterday morning, and lefton the return trip at 3 p. m. The Wave has been remodeled in a measure, being lighter and more roomy than before. The gentlemen’s cabin and dining room have been completed and workmen are now engaged in putting up the ladies’ cabin.She draws less water than before the accident and is believed to be a stronger and better boat in every way. The engine room is open, in accordance with the custom of steamers on many other rivers, instead of being inclosed as heretofore, and will remain so all summer, or as long as the weather will permit. The boat is being thoroughly repainted and will present a handsomeappearance when completed. She is commanded by Capt. Jeff Robeson.

River Improvements.

Under the supervision of the engineers in charge of the upper Cape Fear river improvements, the work of building a jetty at Fayetteville is now in progress, and when completed, will prove a great advantage in the matter of navigation, as boats can then go up to the wharf without any trouble or detention whatever. Heretofore the boats have often experienced much difficulty on account of the low water on the shoals there.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Friday, August 29, 1884.]

RIVER AND MARINE.-------

--- In coming up the river yesterday the steamer Passport broke one of the blades of her propeller. She will be detained here to day in order to put in a new propeller, and will resume her regular schedule Monday. The steamer Italian will take her place to-day, leaving at 5 o’clock this afternoon, and returning early Monday morning.

Steamer Passport.IN CONSEQUENCE OF A SLIGHT ACCIDENTin her machinery, the PASSPORT will not leave for Smithville today, but will resume her regular schedule Monday morning. For the accommodation of persons wishing to spend Sunday at Smithville, the Steamer ITALIAN will leave Wilmington at 5 P. M. to-day, returning early Monday morning.

J. W. HARPERCaptain

[Wilmington Morning Star – Saturday, August 30, 1884.]

Local Dots.

-- The steam launch Dudine, recently constructed for Capt. Bowdoin, is now at Seaside Park and ready to convey visitors to and from the beach.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Sunday, August 31, 1884.]


--- The main shaft attached to the wheel of the steamer D. Murchison has been out of order for some time past, and a new one has been ordered to replace it and will probably arrive in a few days, when she will be laid up for a short time andthe Wave will run her schedule.

--- On one occasion during the trip of the steamer Wave between this city and Fayetteville – the first since the late disaster – she made 14 miles in one hour and seven seconds. Her machinery is in perfect order, she runs smoothly, draws less water and makes better time than before the accident.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Tuesday, September 2, 1884.]

Arrival to Wilmington Port

-- Katie Edwards, Capt. Bell, from New River, with cargo of naval stores for “Hall & Pearsall”

[Wilmington Morning Star – Thursday Morning, September 4, 1884.]


-- The steamers Wave and D. Murchison arrived from Fayetteville yesterday. The latter was due on Saturday, but did not reach here until yesterday afternoon about 5 o’clock. It seems that she and the Wave got stuck on the shoals near Elizabethtown, and stayed on them about ten hours, finally getting off some time during Sunday, and then the Murchison had a good deal of trouble before she finally got over all the shoals. The steamer Murchison will not return to Fayetteville at present, but will go on the marine railway for a general overhauling and repairs, repainting, &c.;and in the meantime the Wave will run her schedule.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Tuesday, September 9, 1884.]

--- The low stage of water in the upper Cape Fear prevents the Fayetteville boats from running their regular schedules. The steamers A. P. Hurt and Bladen, due here yesterday, had not arrived up to last night.

[Wilmington Morning Star – Wednesday, September 10, 1884.]

--- The steamer D. Murchison came off the ways Thursday evening and yesterday started up the river on a trial trip, with a flat in tow, expecting to go as far as Elizabethtown. She has been in the hands of the carpenters, painters and machinists for some weeks past, during which she received a thorough overhauling, and is now almost as good as new. Particular attention has been paid to the improvement of the ladies’ cabin. Her wheels are also new, and much of the old machinery has been replaced. We congratulate Capt. Smith on the fine appearance of his boat and hope he will soon have plenty of water to test her in her new toggery.


--- Intelligence was received here yesterday to the effect that the steamer Wave had sunk near Whitehall, on her way down to this city. It is supposed that in consequence of the low stage of the water in the river she had run on a snag, which caused the accident.

[The Wilmington Star – December 2, 1884]


--- Capt. S. W. Skinner went up the river yesterday on the steamer Excelsior, with two steam pumps and a gang of hands for the purpose of raising and floating the steamer Wave, sunk at Whitehall. From Capt. Jeff Robinson, who came down for assistance, we learn that the Wave lies close in shore, with the freight deck out of water.


--- The steamer Wave arrived here early yesterday morning, and was hauled up on Capt. Skinner’s marine railway for repairs to her hull, etc.


DIED.

WILDER.--At the residence of his son-in-law, Mr. S. H. Morton, No. 720 North Fourth Street, at 5 P.M., December 15th, 1884, Mr. ABRAM WILDER, aged 72 years. Funeral from residence Wednesday afternoon, at 3 o'clock, thence to Bellevue Cemetery. Friends and acquaintances of the family are respectfully invited to attend.

[The Morning Star -- Wilmington, NC Tue, Dec 16, 1884.]

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