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SOUTHERN AND WESTERN

REVIEW.

ESTABLISHED JANUARY 1, 1846.

GEOGRAPHY, TOPOGRAPHY AND HYDROGRAPHY OF NORTH CAROLINA-SOIL, PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, STATISTICS, POPULATION, TRADE, INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS, EDUCATION, RELIGION, GEOLOGY, &C.

[The present paper on North Carolina is made up from the best sources of information, and although some of it is not so late as to satisfy us of its entire correctness now, we yet believe the errors, if any, are unimportant. At all events, we shall be thankful to any citizen for correcting them. When Dr. Hawkes' History is published, we shall review the whole field again.

Our series of papers upon the states now includes MASSACHUSETTS, NEW-YORK, MARYLAND, VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, TEXAS, LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI, FLORIDA, CALIFORNIA, KENTUCKY, OHIO, ILLINOIS, and INDIANA. We shall soon follow with ALABAMA in review of Col. Pickett's work; with TENNESSEE, which we shall visit this summer, and with ARKANSAS. For other papers on North-Carolina, the reader will consult our volumes, Vol. V., 381; VI., 285; IV., 256; VII., 544; X., 354.]—ED.

THE entire coast of North Carolina is bordered by low, narrow beaches of sand, which are broken through at intervals, forming a communication between the ocean and the lakes, or lagoons, situate between the sand-banks and the main land. South of Cape Lookout these breaks are numerous, and the lagoons narrower; north of that cape the converse is the fact. Beyond the banks lie extensive shoals, all which, taken together, render the coast of this state more dangerous to navigators than any other on the Atlantic. Within the lagoons, sand-bars are constantly forming, and as constantly changing their position. Furious gales, too, prevail; so that it is difficult even for a skilful pilot to conduct a vessel through the inlets, and over the lagoons, without the occurrence of some accident. Ocracoke Inlet is now the only navigable pass north of Cape Lookout: it is full of

shifting sand-bars, and, at low tide, even in the main channel, contains only six feet water. Roanoke Inlet, opposite the island of that name, is now obstructed; but measures for reopening it have been put into operation. To the northward, between the main land and the narrow beach, stretching down from Cape Henry, lies Currituck Sound, fifty miles long by from two to ten in breadth. West of this, running some distance inland, is the Sound of Albemarle, sixty miles in length from east to west, and from five to fifteen broad. Its waters are fresh, and not subject to rise and fall from the influence of the tides, though they are affected by particular winds. These two sounds communicate with the Sound of Pamlico, which lies south of Currituck, and is 86 miles long, by from 10 to 20 in breadth. Its depth in general is 20 feet, but shoals abound. It opens on the sea by means of Ocracoke Inlet, and is somewhat affected by the tides. Cape Hatteras forms the headland of the dangerous beach which separates Pamlico from the ocean-a beach so barren and desolate as to be inhabited only by fishermen and pilots. For a distance of from 60 to 80 miles from the sea-coast the country is perfectly level, traversed by sluggish and muddy streams, and abounding in swamps and marshes. The soil is sandy and barren, except along the banks of the streams, where it is often fertile. The natural growth of this region is the pitch-pine, which attains a fuller development here than in the states further north, and yields vast quantities of tar, pitch, turpentine and lumber.* The swamps, so numerous in this section, are estimated to occupy about 3,000,000 acres of the 30,720,000 contained in the state. Of this land a considerable quantity may be drained or reclaimed by embankments, by which means it would become fitted for the production not only of rice, but also Indian corn, (maize,) cotton and tobacco. The Great Dismal Swamp, partly in this state, and partly in Virginia, is 30 miles long and 10 broad, extending over a surface of 150,000 acres. It is covered in some places with a dense forest of cedars, pines and cypresses; in other places, it is occupied by tall grasses and reeds, almost impervious. In the centre is Lake Drummond, 20 miles in circuit. The soil is covered knee-deep with water: it is firm in some parts, but in most it consists of a soft yielding bog, into which a pole may be thrust for some distance. The swamp furnishes yearly a large supply of scantlings, which are borne out, on log causeways, to small receiving vessels that come up for their loads by means of canals. Similar in its character, and nearly as large, is Alligator, or Little Dismal Swamp, between the sounds of Albemarle and Pamlico; parts of which have been drained, and make valuable rice-fields and wheat lands. There are other swamps further south (Catfish, Green, etc.) usually overgrown, like those spoken of, with cedar and cypress, intermingled with the maple, the poplar, the white oak, and having an impenetrable undergrowth of reeds, vines, briers, &c.

As we advance into the interior of the country its aspect becomes more and more changed. "At a distance of 60 or 70 miles from the

See July No. 1851.