FIRST SETTLERS: INDIANS, SNAKES, AND WOLVES; THE REVOLUTION

When the writer was a small boy there were many startling yarns told, and had been told to many generations before, of the ups and downs of the first white settlers of this Island contending with Indians, bears, wolves, wildcats and numerous reptiles.

This Island in its first settlement by the white race, was peopled by the English from London and Liverpool, that is, they emigrated from these two cities. The writer's family from what he has been able to glean from tradition, came from London. Mrs. Aye, born Jarvis, and English woman from London, told him that his family name was plentiful in that city. These emigrants from London brought with them its local historical tales, the pivot point of which was London Bridge that spans the river Thames, connecting the older part of that city with its southern neighbor; this was the old London Bridge, that once gave rise to so many tales and riddles. A few of these old time tales of the Island's first settlement must suffice here for the amusement of the young only, for the writer takes little stock in such improbable yarns, as he when young had often heard.

The writer does not believe there were ever many bears or panthers on this Island, but there were once wolves in plenty there, for when a boy he saw many holes like half-filled cow-holes, but they certainly were not cow-holes for they were found in the woods and on very high land. The old people said these holes were once wolf-pits which their forefathers had made to entrap the wolves, and did so to their extermination. There was one near the Joshua Beasley tract and southeast of Nat. Dudley's field, there was another on the old school play-ground, there were many others in the high woods.

WOLVES

It was said, when husband was away and his family-wife and children were alone, the audacious wolves would often appear and approach the home; then the doors would be shut and the family through peep-cracks could see the the ravenous, blinking orbes of the intruders searching for blood. Night falls; the husband has not yet come; the wife and children go to bed; the lightwood knot casts its last flickering rays and the shadowy light in the one room house; soon in the spirit of the haunted night, the lonely family could see in their dreams the wolves and wildcats having a ghost dance in the dim shadows; and they would awake trembling with fear.

INDIANS

It was said wild turkeys and treacherous Indians were plentiful on this Island, at the time of its invasion by the whites. When the white man went out to hunt the turkey; the Indian would precede him, get into the hollow of a large tree and gobble; the white man would creep up to kill the turkey, & when close enough the Indian would let fly his arrow and procure another scalp.

SNAKES

A certain family had built a new log house with a clay fire-place, and unluckily this fire-place had been built over a den of snakes; the family went to bed leaving a hot fire in order to dry the clay; the next morning this family were found all dead and swollen to a puff and snakes in the room a foot deep.

The hoop snake too was a dangerous reptile. This snake when any living animal appeared near, would round up in hoop-shape, give swift chase to the unfortunate subject and over taking it would drive its stinging tail into the pursued man or beast; death followed instantly.

Sometimes a man chased by this snake would get behind a tree for protection; in such case the sting would be driven into the tree, which would at once wither and die. The snake not being able to extricate himself from the tree, and thus it would be killed.

This snake I'm sure is a fiction snake; yet, now and then, in my youth, I heard some knowing ones say they had seen and killed this snake. There are swamps, knolls and marshes on the margin of this Island, and even now there are abundance of moccasins and other snakes therein; but these are scattered over thirty-square miles; I doubt that there are over a cord of snakes in this area.

The first settlers of this country no doubt had to undergo some hardships; but if any people had a good place it was those who settled on this Island. Fish, oysters, turkeys, ducks, geese and other birds to replenish the tables of the new comers with all necessaries except bread; and soon the corn and sweet potato patches made that wantless. There were millions of acorns and chinkapins, and even if wolves destroyed one half of their hogs, still it required no great effort to have many fat ones.

THE REVOLUTION

Now I will leave the snakes and ravenous wild animals and spin a revolutionary story based on facts, happening on this Island.

There were in past days on this Island many short strawed pines so thickly limbed & strewed that the eye could scarcely penetrate them. The English in that war could not get their large ships through Currituck Inlet, but would come through with yawls loaded with armed marines and ransack the Island, taking and destroying whatever came to hand.

So the people were driven to all manner of devices to save their property, and would often put beds and other valuables in the thick-foliage of these trees; and some even were driven to put their wives and children on these beds.

Eventually, Captain Shipp, to stop this worry and havoc, determined to fight. He ordered out the militia, that was still left on the Island, for this purpose, and down to the South End of the Island they went armed with war weapons as they had. The company was placed near the shore, where these marauders usually landed, to await their coming. It was not long before the yawls were seen approaching. In coming towards shore they espied some of Shipp's men behind the shore fences. They stopped, came no nearer to shore but made all manner of vulgar gesticulations in derisions and contempt.

Shipp intended to get them on shore and kill or take the whole party. There was one old negro in a fencelock, who got so mad in viewing the vulgar behavior of the British that he took deliberate aim at the coxswain astraddle of a boat's tiller and fired; his home made ball struck home & Overboard the Britisher went. His comrades hastily drew him in, then lay low, skeedaddled back to their ship, and returned no more. If I remember aright, this old negro was named Paddlefoot. Negroes bore arms on the Island in those days.

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