LOST TREASURE

            The town of Plymouth (Washington County) has had more than its share of legends of buried treasure. The following story appeared in Norfolk: The Marine Metropolis of Virginia and the Sound and River Cities of North Carolina by Geo. I. Nowitzky, published in 1888.

            “Black Beard, the notorious pirate who made Plymouth a frequent resort, it was generally presumed, buried a great deal of his quickly acquired wealth within the limits of the town to keep it from being as quickly lost; and about the time that everybody concluded it was buried beyond all hopes of being found the Civil War came, and with it not alone the army, but also more reports of secreted treasures.

            “Among the many stories of this nature, and the one most generally believed, is that a sutler (a person who followed an army and sold provisions to the soldiers) who sold the Federal army very few goods for a great deal of money, fearing that the soldiers would sometime raid his premises, concluded to secrete his gains in the quaint old grave-yard, and before he found use for it or thought it wise to recover it, he was taken sick, died and was also consigned to a grave-yard.

https://www.islandreal.com/blog/scavenger-hunt-anna-maria-island/buried-treasure/

            “This led to one of the most stirring episodes connected with the history of this historic town. Two gentlemen, well known as able jurists and statesmen, concluded that they had discovered a clue to the whereabouts of the sutler's buried treasure, and naturally concluding that it was doing no good where it was, and brought to

light might be made useful, with the assistance of a mate of a steam-boat which made Plymouth one of its landings, organized themselves into an expedition for the special purpose of unearthing this treasure, which they had reason to believe was buried in a part of Grace church-yard which at that time was not used for cemetery purposes.

            “The night selected was dark and dismal, and as they walked down to this resting place of the dead and alleged safe of the sutler, the only way they could keep up their spirits was by reflecting what a vast amount of good the money, now useless, would do by relieving the wants of the poor and distressed, and educating worthy fatherless children; and, to their credit, be it said, that each made a firm resolve that half of the restored wealth should be used for these purposes.

            “No time was lost, for as soon as they reached the little cemetery the digging commenced. It must have been a weird scene; the light (all that could be forced from an ordinary stable lantern) had just sufficient illuminating power to shed a faint, ghastly glimmer on the time-honored tombstones and vaults; a fitting one, however, to act as an accompaniment to the dull but continued thuds of the pick. It is generally believed that the same dim substitute for the sun never had its rays forced back by the reflecting force of the sutler's hoarded gold.

            “But this appears to be the only effort in which this party has ever been unsuccessful; for one of these gentlemen has been Governor of the great North State, is loved by all her people, and to-day worthily represents the greatest nation on earth (ours) at an imperial court, vested with unlimited power, as the rank Minister Plenipotentiary signifies. The other is also well loved and trusted by the people, for having represented his District in Congress once, his constituents urged him to accept the position again, and his return by an overwhelming majority proved his popularity. As for the mate, the last time I heard of him he was still treading the deck of a steamer that displaces the waters of Chesapeake Bay, the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal and legendary Roanoke River.”

[Taken from  Norfolk: The Marine Metropolis of Virginia and the Sound and River Cities of North Carolina by Geo. I. Nowitzky: 1888.]

BERTIE BEAMS.

_______

Ancient—Cashie River—Natural Beauty—An Appropriation Needed—Bertie Railroad—Harding Manufacturing Co.—What the South Needs

[By Our Special Reporter.]

Windsor, Bertie Co., N. C.

Nov. 1^st, 1879.

            Your reporter reached this ancient town on Sunday last, 26^th ultimo.

            Steamers run on the Cashie (River) between here and Plymouth (Washington Co.) daily. The Cashie is a very deep, narrow river, being about 20 feet deep at the wharf here. It is impossible for the pen, or the brush of the painter, to do justice to the autumnal gilded foliage of the trees, which consists of every variety known to this climate, which so densely grow in their primeval wildness on the banks of this deep, dark and currentless little river. The river is very narrow from here for some eight miles below, and being very crooked, the overhanging limbs and fallen trees render navigation tedious and difficult in the extreme. An appropriation of $3,000 would be sufficient to cut away the limbs and trees and make navigation safe. The member of Congress from this district should attend to this matter as soon as possible and secure the above appropriate from congress. The people of Bertie pay their proportionate part of the governmental taxes, and their wants are entitled to substantial consideration. If Mr. Martin will not or cannot effect anything, perhaps some of his more energetic democratic colleagues may.

 

Cashie River: http://www.wandringagain.com/index.php/2016/12/03/dismal-swamp-state-park-part-two/

            Bertie has a Narrow Gauge Railroad below here, which runs from the Cashie for five miles back to the highlands. This little road is owned and was built by Greenleaf Johnson & Son, of Baltimore, for hauling logs to the river, where they are made into rafts and tow boated to Norfolk and Baltimore.

            The Harding Manufacturing company are putting more machinery in their factory, preparatory for making “ply twist.” “Ply twist” is worth 20 cents per lb. in New York. It would take half dozen more such mills as this to fill the present orders. This factory has two Clement Attachments*, 612 spindles, uses about a bale of cotton per day turning out 300 lbs. of spun cotton from 1,000 pounds of seed cotton. All the waste cotton and cotton seed find a ready sale. The seed cotton is first put through a patent cleaner which thoroughly frees it from all dirt, is then placed on rolling tables which carries it to the “Attachments” from whence it comes out ready for the spindles. This factory cost, complete, $12,000. Mr. Hardin, the President of the company, says the enterprise is now paying 20 per cent. Less politics but more cotton factories is what the South needs.

[The Tarborough Southerner (Tarboro, NC) 6 Nov 1879, p. 3]

__________________________

            Mr. Hardin, President of Harding Manufacturing wrote to Mr. J. R. Adams of Montgomery, Alabama in June 1880 describing his experience with the Clement Attachment:

            “We started last June, and have been running smoothly ever since. We are pleased with our mill and have already enlarged it, and are going to enlarge it to double the size it is in the fall. We are now running two attachments, 612 spindles. Our mill cost $11,000 as it now stands. We are averaging three hundred pounds of first class yarn per day. Our mill is paying 35 per cent on the investment, and we expect to make it pay 45 per cent as soon as our hands become expert. We have not got a hand that ever saw a mill before. We have met with no reverse, and had no mishap to stop the mill a day since starting. There is an unlimited demand for our yarns. We get the highest market price for our goods.”

[The Weekly Star (Wilmington, NC) 4 Jun 1880, p. 1]

Gin with Clement Attachment: Chicago Tribune(Chicago, Illinois)10 Jan 1880, Page 16

          *The Clement Attachment was invented about 1874 in by a Tennessean named Clement. He lived in Memphis where he had a small shop. He proposed to manufacture his attachment, but died shortly after making his invention, passing it to his heirs. Mr. F. E. Whitfield of Corinth, MS bought ½ interest from the heirs and built , patented and put it into operation. 

          Cotton bolls contain seeds that must be separated from the fiber before it can be used. Before Eli Whitley invented the cotton gin in 1794, this was done by hand. An average worker could only remove seeds from about a pound of cotton per day.

           The cotton gin—the word “gin” was derived from “engine”—had hooks that caught the cotton fiber and pulled it through a mesh too fine for the seeds to go through. Small gins were cranked by hand and larger ones were powered by steam engines. The hand-cranked machine could process 50 pounds of cotton per day.

            The Clement Attachment was explained by its owner F. E. Whitfield:

            “To convert an old into a new process cotton mill, little else is necessary than to get a cleanser of seed cotton…cost from $75 to $100, and to substitute an attachment, costing about $175, for the lickerin and feed rollers on each card.” As the cotton passes through the cleanser, dirt, dust and most motes, trash, etc. are removed. It is then carried by a revolving apron into the attachment where the lint is removed from the seed. As the filaments pass through the attachments, any remaining trash is removed and is combed out so that the filaments are delivered to the card and converted into yarns.[1]

---

[1] Our country’s wealth and influence, by Linus Pierpont Brockett and Henry Barnard: 1882; page 169.

[ From Semi-Weekly Standard (Raleigh, NC) Mar 2, 1853 

Railroad to Roper?

             The grading on the road from Williamston (Martin County) to Plymouth (Washington County) has been completed and track laying is being done as rapidly as possible. All the trestles have not yet been built, but it is thought that the road will be finished and trains will be running on it before October. The terminus of this road will be at Roper City (Washington County), six or eight miles below Plymouth, where there is plenty of water front, and it is generally believed that a line of steamers will be put on from this point direct to Baltimore. It is thought that trains will be run direct from Weldon (Halifax County) to Plymouth and Roper City in connection with the steamers to Baltimore. It is also rumored that a road will be built from Roper City to some point on Pamlico Sound (Hyde, Dare, and Pamlico Counties).—Roanoke News

            The above paragraph from the News is right so far as it speaks of the Railroad being pushed forward to completion, but, it must be wrong when it says that the terminus will be at Roper City eight miles below Plymouth. In the first place there is no water front at said town. It being situated on McKensey creek, one of the most crooked streams we ever saw, and is not navigable only by small boats.

            The terminus of this road will undoubtedly be Plymouth as the company is now at work building the depot, elevators, etc. After the road is completed to this point, it may then run a branch road to Pungo river, unless Mr. Roper can be persuaded to connect his road to this place, which it is quite likely he will do.

            The R. R. R & L Company will run their road to Washington, making this the northern terminus. As to water front, no town can offer better.

[Roanoke Beacon (Plymouth, NC) 9 August 1889

Smallpox in Williamston

       

     “The report of a case of smallpox has been confirmed. William Hoell, son of Alsala (?) Hoell, is said to have gone to New York and returned by sea. It is supposed he contracted the disease while in New York. The village has been thrown into great excitement. Several families have left and more will leave, perhaps in a day or two. Business is at a standstill. The school in the academy has come to a close two months sooner than planned, and the teacher, Mr. Matthews, his wife and son expect to leave this week for their home in Maine. The sick man, Hoell, has been carried about one and one-half miles from town to a school house near Samuel L. Whitley’s where he is to be attended to by a nurse, and no one else but the physicians is to visit him.”

[From the diary of Elder C. B. Hassell published in Martin County History, Vol. I, 

by Francis M. Manning and W. H. Booker, 1977]

Cushing Biggs Hassell was born in Martin County in 1809. His father died when he was 15. Prior to that time, he had attended school intermittently, but after his father’s death, he became the breadwinner for the rest of his family. He worked in Williamston, Halifax (Halifax Co.), and Plymouth (Washington Co.) and joined the Skewarkey Primitive Baptist Church near Williamston in 1828.

He went into partnership in a store with Henry Williams in Williamston in 1831 and later formed a partnership with Henry’s brother, William. He also became a deacon of the church in 1833. He was ordained in 1842, serving as pastor for Skewarkey and Spring Creek churches. In 1859, he became moderator of the Kehukee Association, the oldest Primitive Baptist association in America, and he served in that capacity until his death in 1880.

Mr. Hassell kept a series of diaries from 1840 until his death in 1880. These diaries are in the UNC library.

Skewarkey Primitive Baptist Church
By Ser Amantio di Nicolao (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)],
via Wikimedia Commons

COTTON LOST TO FIRE

Weldon News:—We learn from a gentleman from Scotland Neck, that at Edwards’ Ferry* a few days ago, one hundred bales of cotton were burnt. The cotton had been placed there for shipment. It belonged to different parties, all of whom, we hear, had bills of lading from the Roanoke Transportation Company.

[Taken from The Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, NC) 6 Dec 1879, Page 1]

REFUSES TO PAY THE LOSSES. —The transportation company plying boats between Norfolk and landings on Roanoke river has refused to pay owners for cotton which was burned at Edwards’ ferry about six weeks ago. The company offered to compromise on paying fifty per cent. The owners of the cotton refused to accept it, and the company the offered to leave the whole matter to five arbitrators. This was also refused. We learn that the losers by the fire will bring suit against the company to recover the value of the cotton. There are several lines of steamers on the river, but we do not know which one suffers the loss.

[Taken from The Roanoke News (Weldon, NC) 8 Jan 1880, Page 3]

*Edwards' Ferry is where the iron-clad Confederate ram Albemarle was built.

Roanoke Beacon (Plymouth, Washington County,  NC) 27 September 1889

ARTHUR SPRUILL INSANE.

__________

His Strange Conduct Accounted For.

_________

            A young man named Arthur Spruill located in Snow Hill somewhat over a year ago for the purpose of practicing law. Coming well endorsed, of pleasant address, he soon gained the confidence and esteem of all good citizens. Reports damaging to his integrity have recently gained circulation and among these was a charge of forgery. Soon after, Mr. Spruill disappeared from Snow Hill, and nothing was known of his whereabouts until the following item appeared in the Washington Progress of last week: 

An Insane Man Captured.

           From Mr. W. S. Dickinson, who resides in Chocowinity township [Beaufort County], about six miles from town, we gathered the arrest and confinement of Mr. Arthur Spruill, a young lawyer from Snow Hill, Greene county. Mr. Dickinson was in his field at work on Friday last, when he heard a voice calling in pitiful accents to an imaginary friend to come back and not leave, then pleading with a supposed enemy, begging not to be shot, that he would surrender. Mr. Dickinson’s curiosity was aroused and he proceeded to a piece of woods from whence the sounds proceeded, and there found a man acting so strangely as to leave no doubt of his being insane. The stranger wrote his name, Arthur Spruill, and from his incoherent talk, it was learned that he had been practicing law in Snow Hill. It was also surmised that a slander suit recently tried in Greene county was the cause of his present demented condition. Mr. Dickinson cared for the maniac at his house Friday night, and on Saturday morning brought him to this town and lodged him in jail. We believe Mr. Spruill originally came from Washington county, and is connected with the best families in that section.—Washington Progress.

[Taken from Goldsboro Messenger, (Goldsboro, NC) 3 May 1886 and The Daily Journal  (New Bern, NC) 30 Apr 1886]

1864

PLYMOUTH

  Sixteenth Connecticut Volunteers

          B. F. Blakeslee wrote the History of the Sixteenth Connecticut Volunteers” (1875) which told about the Connecticut unit’s service during the Civil War, including time spent in North Carolina. The following is one of the stories from that book:

           

In January 1964, several companies of the Sixteenth Connecticut Volunteers boarded the steamers S. R. Spalding and Vidette in Portsmouth, VA on their way to Plymouth, Washington County, NC.

            “The weather was very fine and we had merry times and a fine sail around Cape Hatteras, reaching Morehead city on the morning of the 23^rd and proceeded thence by rail to New Berne. We left New Berne at midnight on the “John Farron” for Plymouth, and arrived there at midnight on the 24^th.” The Connecticut volunteers conducted several raids in the area of Plymouth “which the men enjoyed very much, as they had exciting times in breaking up rebel cavalry camps and capturing and burning up large quantities of cotton and tobacco, besides taking a number of prisoners.” The Union troops conducted “such fine dress parades that it called forth the entire town every evening.”

Plymouth 1864
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 14 May 1864 Page 116

            Blakelee included in his chapter about Plymouth the following story that was first written by Serg’t Maj. Robert H. Kellogg:

            “There;s one thing, at least, to be said in favor of Plymouth. It was the home of a few ‘true blue,’ loyal Southerners—a very few, however. They were hard to find, and I fear they are yet. The loyal men before spoken of, and some who were not loyal, were blessed with numerous daughters, fair to behold, but apt to hav a few little weaknesses, such as ‘dipping snuff’ and smoking corn cob pipes. One of these men lvied in a small house half way between the camp of the 16^th and the western or left end of the town, and was blessed (or cursed, I doubt if he knew which at times,) with three daughters, and pretty ones they were. ‘The prettiest girls I’ve seen yet!’ was the emphatic declaration of each succeeding man who was lucky enough by dine of long watching or shrewd stratagem to get a peep at them. For be it know, the father was as watchful over these fair scions of his house, as any ogre, read of in fairy tales, could possibly have been over his captives. Perhaps he had read some sensation tale of ‘excesses of a brutal and licentious soldiery,’ and thereupon resolved to keep his household uncontaminated from the least approach of such an insidious foe. I can not think he had taken a good square look into the honestfaces of the 16^th men, nor heard Chaplain Dixon preach to his crowded audience of boys in blue, every Sunday. At all events he seemed determined that no officer or soldier should form the acquaintance of his girls. On the other hand, or boys were quite as determined that they would become acquainted with them. But how was it to be done? That was the question which was presented to the mind of many a one who had cast ‘sheep’s eyes’ at that humble dwelling in the hope of getting a glimpse at its fair inmates. Many and various were the plans which were made, but alas!

‘The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men,

Gang aft a –gley,

And Lea’e us naught but grief and pain,

For promised joy.’

            “None had been successful until at last one day two members of Co. ‘A’ walked coolly and boldly into the forbidden cottage. First et me give the names of the ones who did it, then I’ll tell how they did it. The persistent and successful schemers were Corporal Sam Belden, (remembered by every one of his surviving comrades toay and by many friends in this vicinity,) and Private John Quinn. And this was ‘the way the fort was taken.’ After much polishing of buttons and brushing of uniforms, they obtained possession of the Company Clothing book and another volume of similar size, which they fond in the Orderly Sergeant’s tent’ and on a pleasant afternoon quietly left the camp, unnoticed, and proceeded to the scene of interest. A modest knock at the door brought out ‘pater famlias’ or ‘old tar heels’ as the unsuccessful besiegers spitefully termed him. Corporal Sam coolly informed him, with that imperturbable gravity of countenance and manner for which he was celebrated, that they were deputed by General Wessells, who was in command of the Post, to take the census of the town. There was no getting around that, for an order emanating from such a source was not to be lightly disobeyed; so they were rather ungraciously admitted to the heretofore unvisited house—couldn’t call it a mansion by any stretch of the imagination. Once seated inside, Corporal Sam as spokesman, commenced a series of questions which the U. S. Census commissioners would have hard work to equal, private Q. jotting down the replies of the blushing and confused girls, and of the astonished father. Of course, by this cool and ingenious method they obtained the names of all, their ages, and other interesting information, and moreoever they did it all with such suavity, and conducted themselves with such gentlemanly deportment, that from that day they were invited, happy, envied, and regular visitors at the forbidden house.”

[Taken from History of the Sixteenth Connecticut Volunteers, (1875) by B. F. Blakeslee . The book was found at https://archive.org/details/01596863.58826.emory.edu ]

N O T I C E .

     Thanking my many friends for their kind patronage since I have been in the Livery and Sale business, I ask a continuance of the same. Over a year ago I purchased from Mr. Joe Skittletharpe his livery, trade and good will in this place. I have served my friends and the people faithfully by square and honest dealings.
     My business has at all times my personal supervision; my stables are nicely situated on Main street nearest hotels and boarding houses. They are not a "Palace," but nicely kept with comfortable box stalls and are free from dangers of fire. My horses are no through-bred, but are reliable, prompt drivers, with head always up and heels always down. My buggies and wagons are nice and comfortable.
     I respectfully solicit a continuance and large share of the public patronage by square, honest dealings and not by blowing and misrepresentation.
     My prices shall be as low as any one elses. My business is run by myself and polite, social drivers, well acquainted with this whole section and all the merchants at every point, and not by street bummers to falsely represent and delude the traveling public. My horses, buggies and prices will speak for themselves. I am receiving new horses every week and will keep 20 or 30 head of horses and mules during the coming season for sale for cash or on time.
     I am making arrangements to keep a buggy and harness depot. Can sell top buggies at $57.50 open buggies for $32.00.
     Call and examine stock before going else where is all I ask.

Respectfully, B. F. Owens, Agt.

[Roanoke Beacon Newspaper (Plymouth, NC), August 2, 1889 Page 3]

Stories With Humor

Tyrrell and Washington Counties, NC

I

“Years ago people in Gum Neck went by water. They ordered groceries, sold their crops, and killed and shipped their meat by boat from Cherry Ridge Landing. A story was told about a man named Fred Armstrong. He killed and dressed his hogs and sent them by boat to Elizabeth City. A few days later he received a note back saying that due to the fact that your hogs were not well dressed, we couldn’t pay you but 3.5 cents a pound. There was nothing he could do so he said, ‘Well, I knew they weren’t well dressed because they didn’t have anything on but a burlap bag.’”




II

“This story was told about a man by the name of Paul Jones who ran a store. About one-quarter mile down the road there lived a preacher. One day this preacher told his son to go down to Mr. Paul Jones’s store before church to get some cheese and eggs, then come on back to church. So the boy did what his dad said. When he got to church his dad was preaching on the apostle Paul and said: “What did Paul say?’ Then he said it again louder, hitting the pulpit with his fist: … ‘What did Paul say?’ His boy, thinking his dad was asking him, stood up and said, ‘Mr. Paul said you couldn’t git no more until you paid for what you is got.’”

Buddy Brickhouse

III

“A minister went to see an elderly, bed-ridden patient. As they were talking he noticed a bowl of peanuts on the bedside table and reached over and got a few and ate them. Then he said to the sick woman, ‘These are really good peanuts, aren’t they?’ She replied ‘I don’t know about that, but the chocolate on them was delicious.’”

Source: Some of the Blue Hens Chickens: Tyrrell and Washington County Folk Culture. Collected by local residents in July 1997 and published by the Humanities Extension/Publications Program at NC State University in September 1999.

Noah White's Cannonball

My great great grandfather Noah White purchased two tracts of land in Washington County, [North Carolina] in 1840 and moved there from Chowan County [NC}. The land was located on the Albemarle Sound east of Chapel Swamp and west of Holly Neck Road. Noah and Sarah Parker White raised 8 children, 7 boys and 1 girl. The family was a staunch supporter of the Confederate cause and the women did a great deal of sewing and knitting for the soldiers.

A cannonball was said to have been fired at the house Noah built just prior to the Civil War. The ball was solid and weighed 30 pounds. It was a fixture in the front yard for over 90 years. Fragments of other cannonballs have been found about a quarter mile southeast of the house, and one piece of one has been found embedded in a tree. The question is, "Did those 'low down, no good Yankees' shoot at a defenseless farmhouse, or was there a naval engagement on the sound with the cannonballs being simply a product of poor marksmanship?" We will never know.

The last family member to reside on this property was Sallie Cherry Davenport who died in 1955. Shortly after her death that old cannonball in the front yard jumped in the trunk of my car, and I have had it for the last 44 years. There never was a better doorstop.

Source: Some of the Blue Hen's Chickens: Tyrrell and Washington County Folk Culture. The stories in this book were collected by local residents in a July 1997 seminar and published by the Humanities Extension/Publications Program at North Carolina State University in September 1999.

John M. Smith—An Inventor

BELHAVEN MAN SAYS HE BUILT FIRST AIRPLANE

Retired Mill-Man, Now 80, Says His Invention Was Stolen From Him

John M. Smith, 80 years old, retired mill-hand of West Belhaven, [Beaufort County, North Carolina], says he feels sure he is the true inventor of the airplane, and that he built such a plane before he was 18 years old, during the administration of President Cleveland in the 90's.

"At that time I was working around a sawmill," Mr. Smith said, "and I had very little money so I could not get anywhere with it. If I had had enough money to buy me a motor, even a little one like they now use on bicycles, I know I could have made it fly.

"But they got it away from me, some men from New York by the name of Curren and Houston. They came into Pantego [Beaufort Co.] and stopped at Walter Clark's house which he ran near the railroad station. They looked over my model, and they told me it wouldn't work because the propeller was on the front end. That is the way now with most all airplanes.

"Some of the folks around here told me later that they believed these men had been sent down by the Wright Brothers, but I do not say so. I have no reason to believe so.

"But somebody did get my plane from me. But I can prove by Jay Bishop and other good men in Belhaven that I had such a plane. Why I even wrote to President Cleveland about it, but he didn't answer my letter. However, a man named George Gaskins who used to run on a boat told me he had hung around the White House and heard President Cleveland laughing about it and calling we North Carolina folks crazy to think we could fly."

Mr. Smith is jolly and healthy-looking. He lives happily with his wife, who was the former Annie May Midgett of Engelhard [Hyde Co., NC]. They have three sons: Capt. Clyde Smith of Port Arthur, Texas, and Roland and Sherman Smith of Plymouth [Washington Co.] employed on a tugboat of the Atlas Plywood Co. He says he was born March 11, 1875, at what was known as Pantego Swamp, but now called Wilkinson Station.

President Cleveland was first inaugurated in 1885, serving four years and was defeated. He was elected in 1892 and again inaugurated for term in 1893.

NOTE: Daniel W. Barefoot, author of Touring the Backroads of North Carolina's Upper Coast, wrote that Smith, who had little education and no access to outside sources of information, built his model airplane on the family farm when he was 14 years old. George Gaskins worked at the Philadelphia Naval Yard and realized the potential of Smith's model. He carried it to Washington and showed it to President Cleveland who said, "There is one fool in North Carolina, I know, who wants to put a propeller on the front of a ship, and any fool knows that if you put a propeller on the front of a ship, it would push the ship backwards."

Smith was a man of big ideas as the next story shows:

PIONEER NOW PREDICTS HEATING WITHOUT FUEL
——————

John M. Smith of Belhaven now states that he has an idea that homes will be heated without fuel before the passage of many years. A gimmick on top of the house will draw electricity from the air and this will provide all the necessary heat, says Mr. Smith. "I've been thinking about it some," he says, "but I'm too old to try to figure it out completely, and anyway, I reckon it would take about a million dollars, and I haven't got much money."

Mr. Smith is known for his experiments with an airplane in the 1890's. "If I had just had an engine, I know it would have flown," he says, "but you know there were no gasoline engines in those days."

SOURCES:

Coastland Times, Manteo, 9/23/1955

Touring the backroads of North Carolina's upper coast, by Daniel W. Barefoot, 1995

First in flight: the Wright brothers in North Carolina by Stephen Kirk, 1995