Reading the Rivers of America

"The Connecticut" by Walter Hard

2011-12-30T17:40:00.000-08:00

Really nice read....do this one sooner rather than later....relatively easy to find.....interesting stories about "Yankee Wit" which does exist but you don't read about too often and about "Yankee Traders" who traveled the river roads with news and things like hardware and tools on a cart....Route 5 is the Route 66 of this River and deserves some time.....

Picking up....saw the Rio Grande in Albuquerque

2011-02-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

I am going to read "The Connecticut" by Walter Hard next

The James River

2009-06-02T05:14:00.000-07:00

My father-in-law gave me a copy of The James by Blair Niles.....very interesting and evocative book. This is the older edition that does not include discussion of the long section of the James above Richmond.....a very different take on race than you would find today...somewhat reminiscent of the scenes on the plantation discussed in "Suwannee: Strange Green Land"....very good and interesting drawings.

The Tidewater James is its own estuarine environment, kind of like a mini Chesapeake Bay.....flat as a pancake but still not the friendliest place for boats...subject to sudden thunderstorms....beautiful tidal creeks and tributaries like College Creek near Jamestown....long views can be had from its banks around the bends of the river...

Much of the Tidewater James looks as it might have looked when Blair Niles wrote, or even much further back in itme

Marietta

2008-08-08T07:03:00.001-07:00

is on the "upper ohio" but still some distance from Wheeling

shipbuilding in Marietta 1800-1812

2008-08-08T06:59:00.001-07:00

Ohio River photos near Marietta

2008-08-08T06:57:00.001-07:00

Ohio River Front, Marietta, Ohio - Travel Photos by Galen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin

"The Ohio" by R.A. Banta

2008-08-07T14:19:00.001-07:00

Anoother BIG book, tries to do everything and often succeeds. Great chapters on the prehistory of the river, great and balanced account of the exploration and settlement, including very sympathetic accounts of the Native displacement and the various abrogations of treaties. In the case of the Ohio Native Americans were used by the French and then the British as proxies for colonial war-fighting.

When you read "The Ohio" you realize how much newer the rest of the country is compared to the eastern seaboard.

Crossing the Potomac

2008-08-03T18:37:00.001-07:00

at its mouth you may very well be out of sight of all land for a while, like being on an inland sea

The Potomac

2008-08-03T18:16:00.001-07:00

is really really wide ar its mouth like 12 miles or so....amazing

North part of the Fraser today

2008-07-24T11:09:00.001-07:00

From the wiki. Wiki at the moment has little of the historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraser_River

The Fraser

2008-07-24T10:51:00.001-07:00

Another book full of wild adventures and life-and-death struggles. I have been to Vancouver, which is incredibly beautiful, but knew little of the history of this region or the very important role of the Fraser in the history of both the US and Canada. A very worthwhile read. Very interesting discussion of the Fraser's "Gold Rush" of the 1850's

Brandywine River Museum

2008-07-15T10:00:00.001-07:00

http://www.brandywinemuseum.org/

Be sure to visit if you are ever in the vicinity of the Brandywine valley. Many people go to Longwood and Winterthur but don't stop at this excellent museum.

2008-07-15T09:56:00.001-07:00

A 1975 watercolor by Andrew Wyeth, "Wolf Moon", showing the farm in Chadds Ford PA. Note the beautiful snow, evanescent.

Andrew Wyeth official website is http://www.andrewwyeth.com/

The Brandywine by Henry Seidel Canby

2008-07-15T09:50:00.001-07:00

Great book, really enjoyed it, I think the illustrations by Andrew Wyeth are fantastic and set moods beautifully. My favorite is at at the beginning of the chapter "Indian Finale" showing a lone Lenni Lenape on an outcrop overlooking the middle Brandywine, in Wyeth's trademark thin covering of snow with grass coming up through it. Very beautiful. Canby handles the rise of the Brandywine flour industry, and the subsequent rise of the DuPont powder mills, with alacrity. A great read.

One other thing before leaving the Suwannee

2008-07-10T09:29:00.001-07:00

In 1923 there was a horrible race riot and massacre in the town of Rosewood, close to the mouth of the Suwannee and not far from Cedar Key. A group of whites attacked and burned an independent black settlement, killing a number of African-Americans in the process and intimidating the survivors into abandoning their hometown. You can read about it Remembering Rosewood - The Most Thorough Site

and also look at the wiki

Rosewood massacre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One thing that is interesting about this terrible event is that it was almost totally forgotten in the consciousness of the state and nation for a long time. The state put a marker there recently, and the state compensated the 9 survivors recently. My guess as to why it was not mentioned in the book (it should have been) was that somehow Matschat in spite of all her dedication and interest simply wasn't aware of it.

Alexander Key

2008-07-10T09:05:00.001-07:00

The illustrator of "The Suwannee: Strange Green Land"

The Pure Water Wilderness

2008-07-10T08:53:00.001-07:00

A project to protect and promote the natural areas of the Suwannee and Steinhatchee Rivers

http://www.purewaterwilderness.com/

kayakers on the Suwannee

2008-07-10T08:50:00.001-07:00

Horses on a nature trail

2008-07-10T08:47:00.001-07:00

crossing the Suwannee on an old rail trestle

Gilchrist county river access

2008-07-10T08:42:00.001-07:00

Here are some places where you can access the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers. Swimming in the springs (briefly mentioned by Matschat) looks like fun, as does the bike trail and canoe trail

http://www.gilchristcounty.com/thingstodo.shtml

Facing the legacy of slavery

2008-07-10T08:33:00.001-07:00

Matschat proceeds down the river intending to take a look at "the negro plantations". What the heck is up with that? Well it turns out to be one of the really interesting and challenging parts of the book, as there are groups of African-Americans living on former plantations, keeping up some very old ways of life and making some incredible dishes, including "pork pie" which Cecile loves and sounds delightful. It is very similar to some pies made in the 18th century kitchens in Williamsburg VA, and features oysters in addition to the pork. It is topped with sweet potato biscuits which sound really fantastic.

She attends a kind of pageant, complete with songs, dancing, and skits. There are some mournful, even macabre "ancients" (very old songs) sung by an old man and an old woman is a kind of mystic. She stays in the very spooky (lots of bats) crumbling old main house, which is inhabited by a ghost, the "rose lady of El Rio".

In addition to the post-Reconstruction desolation and isolation there is a lot of old pain going around, which the comfort food and "celebrations" don't quite make up for. A remarkable portrait. Oh yes almost forgot, two memorable characters named Gasoline and Kerosine.

Alexander Key info

2008-07-09T14:00:00.001-07:00

Delightful illustrations throughtout the book by Alexander Key. There is a page dedicated to him with info on his other books etc. http://www.utahsf.org/key/books.html. Alexander Key wrote the book "Escape to Witch Mountain" which became a popular movie.

He is very familiar with the river having lived on it for 6 years, so was a great choice to illustrate "Strange Green Land"

son of Snake Fight

2008-07-09T13:39:00.001-07:00

Ok, my jaw is on the floor. A scene in which there is a fight between wild hogs "piney woods rooters" and a number of gators....the bull gator is later killed by a very large very old gator.....this would be Jack London "Nature in Tooth and Claw" stuff

Suwannee River interactive map

2008-07-03T12:01:00.001-07:00

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/suwannee/

Wow a lot of information and interesting stuff about the Suwannee here...go to the Map!

Cedar Key FL

2008-07-03T10:56:00.001-07:00

mentioned prominently at the end of "Strange Green Land" Cedar Key is an interesting and very beautiful place today. Definitely off the beaten track, no big resorts, just a small town and nice friendly people. Recommended to visit.

Cedar Key Chamber of Commerce - About Our Island

A loggerhead in its normal habitat

2008-07-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

great picture of a loggerhead at turtles.org

Loggerhead turtle page

2008-07-02T13:45:00.001-07:00

from NOAA's protected species files. Loggerheads are amazing crittersLoggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) - Office of Protected Resources - NOAA Fisheries

St. Mary's river map

2008-07-02T13:36:00.001-07:00

Image:Stmarysflrivermap.png - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St. Mary's River Canoe trail

2008-07-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.floridadep.com/gwt/guide/regions/north/trails/st_marys_river.htm

St. Mary's River photos from a canoeist

2008-07-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.geocities.com/joelshiver/stmarys2.html

The St. Mary's River

2008-07-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

flows from the Southeast corner of the swamp to the Atlantic. Cecile Matschat describes taking a boat to the Atlantic beach, watching loggerhead turtles come in and lay their eggs. She describes the turtles and the egg laying (the pits they make for the eggs are called "Crawls") beautifully, and she is disappointed when after all the effort the turtles make her host systematically scoops all the eggs up, leaving none.

I remember going as a young child living in Florida to Riviera Beach to watch this, and I remember encountering loggerhead turtles at the beach....it is really quite a sight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Marys_River_(Florida-Georgia)

the swamp stamp

2008-07-01T11:35:00.001-07:00

A stamp done in 2007 to commemorate the Okefenokee

Okefenokee map

2008-07-01T11:31:00.001-07:00

Here's how to get to the Okefenokee

Ivory Bill Woodpecker search in Okefenokee

2008-07-01T08:59:00.001-07:00

This is a page from the Okefenokee Wildlife League site describing a recent thorough and unsuccessful search for the Ivory Bill Woodpecker. There are references to the "Good God" woodpecker in "The Suwanee: Strange Green Land" and a drawing of one by Alexander Key. Did Cecile see one? I don't think so.

The Okefenokee Wildlife League News

river and swamp from the park facts page

2008-07-01T07:29:00.001-07:00

The Suwannee River is the principle outlet of the swamp. The Suwannee flows from the west side of the swamp and empties into the Gulf of Mexico near Cedar Key, Florida. The Suwannee River is 280 miles long.

A small area of the southeastern part of the swamp is drained by the St. Marys River. The St. Marys River empties into the Atlantic near St. Marys, Georgia. The St. Marys River is 190 miles long.
The Okefenokee Swamp derives its name from Choctaw Indian words meaning "quivering earth" or "Land of the Trembling Earth."
The dark tea color of the swamp water is due to tannic acid, derived from dissolved vegetative material and peat.
The entire swamp is covered with peat beds which overlay the sand floor. Peat is organic material formed by the decomposition of plants in water. In the Okefenokee Swamp, it takes about 50 years for one inch of peat to form at the base of the swamp. The peat ranges in depth from thin layers at the edges of the swamp and islands to more than 15 feet in places. The average depth of the peat is 5-10 feet. Unstable peat masses will tremble, giving the Okefenokee its name "Land of the Trembling Earth."
Average annual temperature is 68 degrees F. The average annual rainfall is 60 inches.
Rainfall accounts for approximately 95% of the water in the Okefenokee Swamp. 80% of the rainfall is returned to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration, leaving only 20% to find its way down the Suwannee and St. Mary's Rivers.

Alligator forecast

2008-07-01T07:20:00.001-07:00

Looks like if you visit the wildlife refuge today you will see an alligator or two. Interesting to note there was a big fire last year, most of the swamp burned, but people seem to think it was a normal part of the natural cycle

Okefenokee Swamp Alligator Guide - The Alligator Forecast

Okefenokee today

2008-07-01T07:15:00.001-07:00

The heat index is 7 on a scale of 1-10 and the bug index is 7.

Okefenokee Pastimes News - Weather from the Okefenokee Swamp describes ways to see the swamp today...a range of accomodations are available.

Snake Fight

2008-07-01T06:45:00.001-07:00

An absolutely riveting and in many respects horrifying description of a snake fight. Maybe she could have called it "Saturday night in the swamp"... The Snake Woman, who has outlived 2 husbands and 10 children, now has a domesticated King snake which she keeps in a basket by her bed and feeds warm milk and honey to twice a day. The neighbors bring over a rattlesnake (there are snakes everywhere, make mouse noises to lure the thing into the right spot and watch as the King Snake kills the rattler, I believe by constriction....just mortifying but riveting at the same time. Can't imagine what it would have been like to be Ms. Matschat during that little episode. She is a brave woman.

Frederick Jackson Turner

2008-06-30T08:43:00.001-07:00

had a significant influence on the series, and offered encouragement to Constance Skinner as she developed the project.

Cecile Matschat Wiki

2008-06-30T08:31:00.001-07:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecile_Hulse_Matschat

as you can see

2008-06-30T08:29:00.001-07:00

I picked up "The Suwannee: Strange Green Land" by Cecile Matschat and I couldn't put the thing down.....so I will get back on "Shenandoah" later...

2008-06-30T08:22:00.001-07:00

The Suwannee: Strange Green Land

2008-06-30T08:11:00.001-07:00

Is the best book you've never heard of! Wow! Beautiful general description of the river, which starts in the Okefenokee swamp and makes its way to the Gulf of Mexico, and then we have the story of the brave author's encounter with the swamp inhabitants including cottonmouths, aliigator gars which are ferocious large fish that prey on gators....this is very amazing writing and the author is about as brave as anyone I could imagine. Amazing scene with her visiting a still in the swamp in 1935 or so. The people who live in the swamp are very kind to her and her descriptions of the flora and fauna are breathtaking. Find this book and move it up your list! Go Plant Woman (how the author refers to herself)....

Next: The Shenandoah

2008-06-28T11:26:00.001-07:00

I will be reading a reprint with text by Julia Davis and photos by a German photographer, really beautiful.

Point Lookout

2008-06-28T11:21:00.001-07:00

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/ptlookouthistory.html

On the very tip of the Maryland shore of the Potomac. Well worth a visit. Very beautiful in any season. The Potomac is very wide here, and the Bay is quite deep off this point.

Startford Hall gardens

2008-06-28T11:17:00.001-07:00

http://www.stratfordhall.org/gardens/gardens.html?PRESERVE

A photo of Stratford Hall

2008-06-28T11:10:00.001-07:00

Stratford's Great House

Tidewater Tobacco civilization

2008-06-28T11:08:00.001-07:00

Pretty thorough discussion of the Tidewater plantation culture of the 18th century in this book.....apparently parties were really important....I highly recommend visiting both Washington's Birthplace National Park and Stratford Hall which is close by on the Northern Neck to get a feel for the Potomac of the late 17th Century...they are both beautiful

Couple of Important Points about the Civil War

2008-06-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

which Gutheim's book made me think about....he claims that the Confederate army push north into Pennsylvania through Maryland, which culminated in the major battles at Antietam in 1862 and Gettysburg in 1863, was partly based on the expectation that Maryland would take up the Confederate cause....with Maryland helping the Confederacy, and with the Potomac in Confederate hands rather than a border between North and South, Washington would be very isolated and the South could survive.

I thought I had read a fair amount on the War. I have explored the battlefields of Antietam and Gettysburg...I highly recommend everyone do those two, but it didn't make sense to me why lee's armies were in Pennsylvania until I read Gutheim's book. Now I am beginning to understand.

Gutheim also asserts that Maryland by the mid-19th century was less agrarian and more industrial with its developed railroads, manufacturing around Baltimore, and mining in the western part of the state, even though Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore remained agrarian. The are numerous tragic stories of families split by the war, brother taking arms against brother etc.

Relevant Books 1

2008-06-27T09:01:00.001-07:00

Here is the first of many plugs for Mike Tidwell's book "Bayou Farewell: The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana's Cajun Coast....about south Louisiana. Written just before katrina, Katrina made it even more relevant. Tidwell has lots to say about Rivers, wtercourses, and the Army Corps of Engineers....READ THIS BOOK.

Bill Moyers Journal . KATRINA REVISITED: MIKE TIDWELL AND MELISSA HARRIS-LACEWELL ON THE AFTERMATH | PBS

what is a Book of Commonplace

2008-06-26T12:39:00.001-07:00

a better description is http://notesaboutnotes.com/Notes/CommonplaceBook.html

The Potomac

2008-06-26T12:35:00.001-07:00

by Gutheim is the one I am just finishing up.

Lyrical, stylish, evocative. It is about the closest to me. I have been out on it a number of times, sailing, paddling, fishing, floating. Read this one please, it is well worth it. The last 40 pages is a very interesting history of the capital city....very helpful and interesting

The list of books

2008-06-26T12:32:00.001-07:00

The wiki is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivers_of_America_Series

They are not easy to find.

Books in the series

PUBLISHED BY FARRAR & RINEHART (1937-1946)

1. The Kennebec: Cradle of the Americans Robert P Tristram Coffin 1937; Illustrated by Maitland de Gogorza

2. The Upper Mississippi Walter Havighurst 1938; Illustrated by David Granahan and Lolita Granahan

3. The Suwannee: Strange Green Land Cecile Hulse Matschat 1938; Illustrated by Alexander Key

4. The Powder: Let 'er Buck Maxwell Struthers Burt 1938; Illustrated by Ross Santee

5. The James Blair Niles 1939; Illustrated by Edward Shenton

6. The Hudson Carl Carmer 1939; Illustrated by Stow Wengenroth

7. The Sacramento: River of Gold Julian Day 1939; Illustrated by J. O'Hara Cosgrave II

8. The Wabash William E Wilson 1940; Illustrated by John de Martelly

The Wabash William E Wilson 1940; Illustrated by John de Martelly (Signed - Limited)

9. The Arkansas Clyde Brion Davis 1940; Illustrated by Donald McKay

10. The Delaware Harry Emerson Wildes 1940; Illustrated by Irwin D. Hoffman

11. The Illinois James Gray 1940;

12. The Kaw: Heart of a Nation Floyd Benjamin Streeter 1941; Illustrated by Isabel Bate and Harold Black

13. The Brandywine Henry Seidel Canby 1941; Illustrated by Andrew Wyeth

14. The Charles Arthur Benson Tourtellot 1941; Illustrated by Ernest J. Donnelly

The Charles Arthur Benson Tourtellot 1941; (Boston Edition - signed limited)

15. The Kentucky Thomas D. Clark 1941; Illustrated by John A. Spelman, III

16. The Sangamon Edgar Lee Masters 1942; Illustrated by Lynd Ward

17. The Allegheny Frederick Way Jr. 1942; Illustrated by Henry Pitz

The Allegheny Frederick Way Jr. 1942; (Pittsburgh Edition - signed limited)

18. The Wisconsin August Derleth 1942; Illustrated by John Steuart Curry

19. The Lower Mississippi Hodding Carter 1942; Illustrated by John McCrady

20. The St Lawrence Henry Beston 1942; Illustrated by A.Y. Jackson

21. The Chicago Harry Hansen 1942; Illustrated by Harry Timmins

22. Songs of the Rivers of America Carl Carmer 1942;

23. The Twin Rivers: Raritan & Passiac Harry Emerson Wildes 1943;

24. The Humboldt Dale L Morgan 1943; Illustrated by Arnold Blanch

25. The St Johns Branch Cabell 1943; Illustrated by Doris Lee

26. Rivers of the Eastern Shore: Seventeen Rivers Hulbert Footner 1944; Illustrated by Aaron Sopher

27. The Missouri Stanley Vestal 1945;

28. The Salinas Anne B Fisher 1945;

29. The Shenandoah Julia Davis 1945; Illustrated by Frederic Taubes

The James: from Iron Gate to Sea Blair Niles 1945; (Expansion of the 1939 edition which focused on the Tidewater area of the James River basin only.)

PUBLISHED BY RINEHART & CO (1946-1960)

30. The Housatonic: Puritan River Chad Powers Smith 1946;

31. The Colorado Frank Waters 1946;

32. The Tennessee: the Old River David Donaldson 1946;

33. The Connecticut Walter Hard 1946;

34. The Everglades: River of Grass Marjory Stoneman Douglas 1947;

The Everglades: River of Grass Marjory Stoneman Douglas 1947; (Florida Edition; signed limited)

35. The Tennessee: the New River David Donaldson 1948;

36. The Chagres: River of Westward Passage John Easter Minter 1948;

37. The Mohawk Codman Hilsop 1948; Illustrated by Letterio Calapai

38. The MacKenzie Leslie Roberts 1949;

39. The Winooski: Heartway of Vermont Ralph Nading Hill 1949;

40. The Ohio R.E. Banta 1949;

The Ohio R.E. Banta 1949; (Valley Edition; signed limited)

41. The Potomac Frederick Guthiem 1949; Illustrated by Mitchell Jamieson

42. The Saskatchewan Marjorie Wilkins Campbell 1950;

43. The Fraser Bruce Hutchison 1950;

44. The Savannah Thomas L Stokes 1951; Illustrated by Lamar Dodd

45. The Gila Edwin Corle 1951;

46. Salt Rivers of the Massachusetts Shore Henry Howe 1951;

47. The Monongahela Richard Bissell 1952;

48. The Yazoo Frank E Smith 1954;

49. Great River: the Rio Grande Paul Horgan 1954;

50. The Susquehanna Carl Carmer 1955;

51. The French Broad Wilma Dykeman 1955; Illustrated by Douglas Gorsline

52. The Columbia Stewart H Holbrook 1956;

The Columbia Stewart H Holbrook 1956; (Lewis & Clark Edition: limited signed)

53. River of the Carolinas: The Santee Henry Savage Jr. 1956; Illustrated by Lamar Dodd

54. The Merrimack Raymond P Holden 1958; Illustrated by Aaron Kessler

PUBLISHED BY HOLT, RINEHART & WINSTON (1960-1974)

55. The Minnesota Evan Jones 1962;

56. The Genesee Henry Clune 1963;

57. The Cape Fear Malcom Ross 1965;

58. The St Croix James Taylor Dunn 1965; Illustrated by Gerald Hazzard

59. The Cuyahoga William Donohue Ellis 1966; Illustrated by Kinley T. Shogren

60. The Yukon Richard Matthews 1968; Illustrated by Bryan Forsyth

61. The Allagash Lew Dietz 1968;

62. The Niagara David Braider 1972; Illustrations credited to Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society and the New York Power Authority

63. The Cumberland James McCague 1973; Illustrated by Charles Walker

64. The Hillsborough: River of the Golden Ibis Gloria Jahoda 1973; Illustrated by Ben F. Stahl, Jr

65. The American: River of El Dorado Margaret Sanborn 1974; Illustrated by Jerry Helmrich

Reading the Series

2008-06-26T11:56:00.000-07:00

This blog is essentially a Book of Commonplace for my current reading project, the Rivers of America series. I'm going to post thoughts on the books as I make my way through.

Probably ought to start by saying that "The Everglades: River of Grass" by Marjorie Stoneman Douglas is one of my favorite books and the book that has compelled me to seek out other volumes in the series.

There is a nice wiki on the series....there is a beautiful bibliography that I hope to get my hands on at some point.....I also hope to mention some similar books that I have recently read which are nice complements to the series.