rieties of the grape growing
wild on the shores of Albemarle Sound, all of which are called
Scuppernong,--the legitimate Scuppernong being a white grape, sweet and
large, and producing a wine said to resemble somewhat in its luscious
flavor the Malmsey made on Mount Ida, in Candia.

The repairing of the outrigger detained me until nearly noon of the next
day, when the canoe was got under way; but upon rowing off the mouth of
Coanjock Bay, only four miles from Currituck Court House, a strong
tempest arose from the south, and observing an old gentleman standing
upon Bell Island Point, near his cottage, beckoning me to come ashore,
I obeyed, and took refuge with my new acquaintance, Captain Peter L.
Tatum, proprietor of Bell Island.

"The war has left us without servants," said the captain, as he
presented me to his wife, "so we make the best of it, and if you will
accept our hospitality we will make you comfortable."

Captain Tatum drew my attention to the flocks of swans which dotted the
waters in the offing, and said: "It is hard work to get hold of a swan,
though they are a large bird, and abundant in Currituck Sound. You must
use a good rifle to bring one down. After a strong norther has been
blowing, and the birds have worked well into the bight of the bay, near
Goose Castle Point, if the wind shifts to the south suddenly, gunners
approach from the outside, and the birds becoming cramped in the cove
are shot as they rise against the wind."

More than forty years ago old Currituck Inlet closed, and the oysters on
the natural beds, which extended up North Landing River to Green Point,
were killed by the freshening of the water. Now winds influence the
tides which enter at Oregon Inlet, about fifty-five miles south of the
Court House. The difference between the highest and lowest tide at
Currituck Court House is three feet. The sound is filled with sandy
shoals, with here and there spots of mud. The shells of the defunct
oysters are everywhere found mixed with the debris of the bottom of the
sound. This is a favorite locality with northern sportsmen. The best
"gunning points," as is the case in Chesapeake Bay, are owned by private
parties, and cannot be used by the public.

Thursday, the 10th of December, was cold, and proved as tempestuous as
the previous day; but the wind had changed to the north, and I embarked
amid a swashy beam-sea, with the hope of reaching Van Slyck's Landing at
Currituck Narrows. The northe