Newspapers / The Pinehurst Outlook (Pinehurst, … / March 2, 1912, edition 1 / Page 8
Part of The Pinehurst Outlook (Pinehurst, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
ouilook" 1 THE FINEHURST the HOiiiiY ifiTi FAMOUS AVOCA SHAD FISHERY PINEHUBST, N. C. I -- , 1 in I I ft riSr. ft strfM ;:,pri afl W Ml d " iWlfflWiiiWnnLJiu "It 'Tl aw-" " sv'- 3 V;4: - v.r- The Holly Inn is one oC the most attractive hotels in the South. Since it was built in 1895 it has been necessary to enlarge it several times to meet the constant ly increasing demand. The interior is elegant, cheerful and tasteful. No modern convenience lacking. There are many suites with private bath, steam heat in all rooms and open fireplaces in foyer and parlors. Music is furnished for concerts and dancing and the Holly Inn ball-room is one of its attractions. The cuisine and service excel. White girls from the North are employed as waitresses. The Holly Inn offers an attractive home to pleasure seekers from November to May. A. I. CREAMER. Manager. The Harvard, PINEHUBST, N. C. "PiNEJ-iURST TiC A nomeiiKe notei, moaern in every respect, uavmg electric lights, steam heat and several suites with bath, and with its cottage annex accommodating seventy-five guests run in connection with The Berkshire. F. C. ABBE, Manager. gm&m'm v&&sbr HOTEL ROYAL PAUiM, Port Myers, Pla. BOATING. FifiuiNA. eunnTiNr. r.m r. Those wishing to enjoy the mobt tropical si oi in Florida, ebould iMt this winter reiroat, beau V 'V.V"ICVA . f " "ujug v-aiooeaiiaicnte iwentv miles irtm tLe UMJ tl AltMio. Hotel Royal Palm is one of the moBt atti at tle ard palatial lotels in eoutb Floiida. Cuisine unsurpassed, yachts, power and house boats, automobiles, livry, coif, and also affords a music room, sun Darlor. dutch room and ha nnv hnnHrt r J- ..v. t i .v. Excellent fishing. Finest Section in the state for shootlnjr. F. H. ABBOTT, Manage Intvreming- Fact Concerning- tfn oi IVorth Carolina' 3raln.t Industri FOR OVER a century the beach which forms the western boundary of Albermarle Sound has been noted for its shad and herring fisheries,one of which, Avoca has for more than eighty years, been operated by three generations of the Capehart family. Be fore 1820 most of the work had been done with seines only a few hundred yards in length,but then it was found practicable to use far longer ones, these being taken out on flatboats, which at first were operated by sweeps, long and heavy oars, pulled by slaves, but only a few years later small and specially built steamboats, side-wheelers, replaced the less easily handled craft. When this improvement was made it was the last work in this part of the develop ment of the fishery, for the plan has ever since been followed. Tt is also made pos sible the use of seines more than a mile in .lengtn, oy iar ine largest in me world. Rivers pour into Albermarle Sound, which is the largest body of fresh water in the United States, except the Great Lakes, coming from far up-country, some through Virginia, one, the Roanoke, draining a water-shed of ten thousand square miles, which is some seventy-five miles or more in length, keep it full of fresh water and give it a muddy color. It is the place of all places best liked by the shad. It is separated from the ocean by a narrow ana low sana Darner or reer and to the southward it connects with sounds which presently become salty. In this Sound there are no luna, but only wind tides. The color of the water much resembles that of the Mississippi river at ordinary stages, but when the sun strikes it there is a golden glint very beautiful to see. Every condition favors the shad, which comes apparently from the ocean depths ; in fact no man knows where, since the greater part of shad life is a mystery. It is at this season that the beginning of the fishery draws attention to Avoca, for it is the great supply point for the northern and western markets. When once the operation of the seine is begun it is incessant until the end of the season and every four hours, day and night, a haul is made. A journey to Avoca from Edenton is full of interest. Gas boats ply between the stately old colonial town, so wonder fully preserved and so full of memories as to make it one of the most attractive places in the south. Near the fishery is the Capehart mansion, built nearly a cen tury ago; always a stately home and noted for its hospitality. It was in Eden ton that King William the Fourth, then a midshipman, danced with the belles of the town in the ball room on the second floor of the courthouse, which was built in 1750, and which still stands without the slightest alteration. Perhaps at no place is there more strict adhesion to the old forms of southern life, than at Avoca for there life goes on almost as placidly as in 18G0. Negroes are seen everywhere and three generations are in service, the eldest being grey haired and once slaves of the family to which they have always been devoted. George W. Capehart es tablished this fishery and his son, Wil liam R. Capehart, succeeded him. the present owners being William Capehart, his mother and his sister. As one approaches the fishery the first view is of an enormous shed, which has been used since 1820 and under which the fish are handled. The beach is nearly straight, slopes very gently, is of clean sand and upon it the water, everywhere shallow, comes and goes in gentle wave lets. The shed is black with age and its great cypress shingles are rich green with moss and lichens, the front projecting over the water line, like a hood. Along the front are hinged boards which can be either let down ilush with the beach or raised after a haul of fish is made, so as to prevent the fish from gettiDg back in to the water. The seine, in two great masses, had been piled upon the stern of the two little sidewheel steamers, very flat and low, which lay with" their noses against the shore. Suddenly these backed out, swung side by side into the Sound to a point half a mile from the beach. One went north and the other south, each dropping the seine as it moved, and then turned and headed for the shore, having paid out the enormous seine, which is twenty-two hundred yards long and to which is attached two thousand yards of rope, the whole costing 4,000. The boats then came in slowly towards the land and the seine formed a great arc of a circle. As soon as the boats touched the shore the end of the rope at each end of the seine was attached to a drum, run ning perpendicularly and operated by a steam engine, on each flank of the great shed. The engine started and the hum ming noise of the winding ropes fol lowed. For some time movement of the seine was not visible from the shore but presently the end of the seine came in sight and as the crescent grew smaller and smaller, interest became intense, for the hauling in has all the excitement of a game with high stakes. No matter how many hauls the old stagers may have seen, there is always interest in the last one, guesses at what the catch will be, etc. Men wade out into the water and hold down the inner ends of the seine, so as to be sure the leads at its bottom are resting on the sand. The line of corks rullles the water, as with steady pull the drums wind in. Women, intenselv black, great of girth, and broad of face, fishwives allr with knife in hand, gather under the shed and everything is in instant readiness. The stretch of water within the curve of the seine begins to be wrinkled by the anxious fish. The line comes up very close to the shore, the strapping black fishermen wade out and lay hold upon it and with a peculiar heave, turn and roll bring it in, fold by fold, up the slope and over the boards. Up come the hinged n
The Pinehurst Outlook (Pinehurst, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 2, 1912, edition 1
8
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75