The following evening "as we were in the midst of the Sound, which is a little sea between the downs of the Ocean, we struck a sand bank and the ship made such a crash, that we believed she had split in two, and were greatly frightened; however, she did not go under, we accordingly took courage and made great efforts to get away from that bank, but our greatest fear was that when at last we should get off, then we should feel the effects of that bad collision, and that, the ship being free, the crack would gap asunder, and should certainly go under; but, by a special grace of the Almighty, there was no such accident, and when the tide came in, and the wind was somewhat more favorable, we crowded all sail, and got loose with some trouble, and thanked our good God to have delivered us from such great danger."

Once free of the sand shoal DeGraffenried's sloop ran into an oyster bed "where we had a half day's work to get away" having to await high tide.

Hazards lurked upon the sounds and the ocean. One Peleg Greene the master of a vesael plying between North Carolina and the West Indies, wrote of a storm at Ocracoke in April 1774, so terrific that there were fourteen sail of vessels drove on shore, and five of which will be entirely lost, and one drove over the South breakers and gone to sea and every soul perished"

A diarist's trip from Williamston on the Roanoke River to Ocracoke in 1832 demonstrates the difficulty and hazard of travel by sail upon the North Carolina sounds.

Embarking was delayed a day and a half by contrary winds. Upon arrival in Williamston the diarist and his party went on board the Cinderella, a pretty sailing vessel which left the wharf about noon the second day. Shortly afterward the schooner was overtaken by the steamboat Bravo which sought to carry her to the mouth of the river. Instead of helping, the steamer ran the schooner aground. It was explained the steamer was too light to tow loaded vessels. The steamer proceeded on her way, and after a little heaving with an anchor the schooner was pulled off. Since night was approaching it was concluded to lie at anchor until morning.

By morning a headwind was blowing almost a gale. The diarist said, "My flesh felt almost paralyzed by the downy bed we reclined on during the night." The schooner arrived at the Albemarle Sound about one o'clock and faced high seas. Two of the party were taken with chills and others became quite seasick.

The schooner entered the sound in company of a sloop bound for the West Indies. In going about once the former came very near running into the latter which would have torn the mainsail all to pieces and probably run the schooner aground, explained the diarist. The Cinderella beat down the sound about ten miles. With the weather threatening and night approaching it was decided to put into Edenton Bay.

Morning found the wind northerly and favorable. The diarist said, "We weighed anchor and proceeded down the sound in company with another schooner, which we soon left." Next day "We ran down the sound real fast and reached Crotan an hour or two by sun. We went down Crotan very handsomely for a few miles having struck the

shoal two or three times until finally we grounded fore and aft. The tide being very low, much lower than usual. After sounding, found no prospect of getting over the shoal, put out anchor for the night. We have run about 75 milels today.

"This morning made an attempt to get across the shoal. The wind was blowing almost a gale from the northeast. After trying with sails for an hour or two we found ourselves still aground fore and aft and the water about one foot less than necessary, we lowered our sails and lay on the shoal with the wind beating the waves violently against our stern.

"The Cinderella remained on the shoal all day while "We were considerably perplexed for the want of fires, the wind blowing so hard we could not keep any in the stove.

"Considering the violence of the wind it is perhaps fortunate that we ran aground, for there could have been a strong possibility of our seeing rough times last night if we had got into the wide lower sound. So that we might consider ourselves well situated, were it not that we are continually annoyed by the waves thumping us in the stem so violently as to make the tabin an uncomfortable situation."

Next day with full sails and after rubbing and squealing for some time the Cinderella was floated. She had been aground two days, a boring stay for the passengers.

Once free, "we ran down the marshes about 12 miles and anchored. Some of our party went ashore but failed in killing anything although large flocks of ducks and geese may occasionally be seen flying over. We anchored nearly opposite the lighthouse, where the crew and some of the passengers went ashore." Some milk "and two ducks were procured from the keeper who had killed 11 ducks at one fire.

About sunset the Cinderella ran about a mile across the shoal preparatory to going down the sound. Beginning about 11 o'clock she ran the balance of the night. Soon after day the lighthouse at Ocracoke came into view. "We skim down the sound handsomely. About 10 o'clock we crossed the swash. The pilot having come on board, we took the pilot boat from the vessel and landed at Ocracoke and took lodgings at Capt. Pike's.

After spending several days at Ocracoke the diarist and party took the "dirty and greasy Yankee schooner" Ariel for Washington. The journey from there to Williamston was made by stage.

Steamboat travel in northeastern North Carolina was safe when compared with other localities. There was only two boiler explosions which took eight lives while an act of nature, a cyclone or tornado, took seventeen more. The latter was the sinking of the steamboat Olive on the Chowan River in 1903.

The record was better than the Cape Fear and her tributaries. Over a period of nearly a century about thirty-six lives were lost in the eleven accidents which could be termed disasters. The accidents included eight boiler explosions, two sinkings and firing of a Wilmington wharf.

This was untrue for the country at large. During the first six months of 1852 no less than twenty steamers in the United States had accidents in which 428 persons lost their lives and many more were seriously injured. Although there was but one boiler explosion with loss of two lives during the first thirty-five years of steam navigation on the Cape Fear, a good part of those traveling by steamer seemed to harbor a dread of a boiler explosion.

The northeastern area had two boiler explosions. One was that of the Rotary, a 196 ton steamer so named because of its rotary engine, on May 10, 1872 while enroute from Murfreesboro, N. C. to Norfolk, Va., by way of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. The second was the canal company's small steamer Coinjock on November 11, 1865. According to a report in the Norfolk Journal of May 11, Engineer W. Walke of the Rotary paid with his life for having attempted to reach Norfolk with a defective boiler. Walke's wife, 18 month old daughter, and a sister also paid with their lives, drowning after being swept overboard. The engineer had said there was a small hole on top of the boiler.

Surveying the damages, Captain Johnson said that the forward head of the boiler was blown out. The freight house, engine house, pilot house, in fact, nearly every-thing on deck was blown off. The forward part of the boat was

literally blown to 'splinters. . . . Such was the force of the explosion that a yawl boat was blown over the bank 50 yards into the woods and pieces of timber were seen lodged in a tree 60 feet above the ground.

The crew consisted of Captain William Y. Johnson; the captain's son, temporary clerk; W. Walke, engineer; William Miller, fireman; and Isaac Hooper, deck hand.

The engineer's wife, and little girl were returning to their home on Ferry Point from a visit with relatives in Currituck County.

The Rotary was owned by Captain Johnson, who had bought her about a year earlier. She was insured for $4,000. During the war she was used by the Federals as water boat in the harbor and Hampton Roads.

The dead were placed in the stteamer I. A. Waters and sent to Currituck County, and the others were brought to Norfolk on the Lynnhaven.

Cotton bales and naval stores are credited with starting serious fires at Wilmington and New Bern. The Wilmington fire was one of the largest conflagrations residents of the city had ever known. On Sunday afternoon, February 21, 1886, the steamer Bladen arrived from Fayetteville with a cargo of cotton and naval stores. It was discovered in bales of cotton near the steamer's boiler, and immediately she headed for shore. Before she could reach the nearest wharf, that of the New York Steamship Company, flames enveloped her forward part and promptly climbed into her upper structure. Unfortunately the wind was blowing at near gale force whipping the flames to great intensity. They spread quickly to a lighter loaded with wood, then on to sheds, warehouses and office buildings. Oil, tar, rosin and spirits of turpentine fueled the conflagration. A schooner and steamer lying at wharf caught fire and were burned to the water line.

The burning of the steamboat Wayne at New Bern resulted from a chain of events that involved such cargo. The Wayne, attempting a night landing, struck another vessel rupturing a barrel of turpentine. The steamer's fireman put out this boiler fire by dropping live coals overboard. However the turpentine that had been spilled on the surface of the river ignited. The flames quickly set the Wayne afire burning her upper works together with an additional 23 barrels of volitile turpentine. As traffic upon the waters increased collision between steamers grew more numerous. One person was killed in a collision of the Fanny Lutterlah and the Governor Graham in 1854. The Black River, the Sun and the Hattie Hart were in a three way collision in 1860. The same day the Black River was damaged by a tornado.

Perhaps the greatest disaster ever to occur in northeastern North Carolina was the sinking of the steamboat Olive on the Chowan River on February 16, 1903, with loss of 17 lives when hit by a cyclone, a tornado. Captain George H. Withy, a veteran Albemarle Steam Navigation Company captain, was at the helm. He gave this first hand account of the sinking:

"I have been navigating eastern Virginia and Carolina waters ever since 1867, and have been master of the Olive for over eight years.

"We left Franklin on Monday morning and had been making good headway all day, notwithstanding a strong breeze from the southwest which was blowing, our regular landings were made and everything was coming along wen though I noliced that the wind was increasing.

"After darkness set in it began to blow a regular gale and when I passed Holly's Wharf at 9:45 the wmd had begun to blow so violently that I decided not to venture into, Edenton, but to turn where there was shelter from the wind.

"The boat was put about without much consideration and the little trip had been started when suddenly a horrible roar began to come towards us from the northwest.

"Everything became misty below and it was impossible to see a short length ahead. All at once I met with a mountain high layer of white foam beaming directly on my port side, and in another second the cyclone had us.

"It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. It was like heaven and earth had come together, only a thousand times more.

"The Olive stood up on her beam and water poured into her shattered windows and portholes in great volumes. Then she began to light and settle at the same time.

"I was caught in the pilot house and could not get out, but J. P. Murphy, assistant engineer who was off duty at that time managed to crawl up and help me force the door open. We made our way back along the top of the deck house which was already under water to where the life boats had been. Two had been carried away, but one, the large metal boat, remained. It was jammed tight against the smoke stack.

"From below we could hear the shrieks and groans of the passengers and crew who were pinned down with the water rushing on. them and the fact that we could not move a hand to save them made the matter only more terrible for us. . ."

Various survivors told of the pitiful cries of those trapped and facing certain death. Among these were a twelve year old girl and her grandmother.

"Oh, I could never forget the frightening cries of that poor little girl if my life was spared a thousand years," said Martha Barrett, the stewardess.

"'Grandmother, we are going to die,' shrieked the girl as the water swept into their narrow apartment. For two or three minutes her terrified cries could be distinctly heard. Then the water filled the berth below and her cries ceased."

From the saloon below could be heard the plaintive prayer that George White, a colored preacher, was shrieking to heaven for salvation. This minister evidently realized the death that awaited him, for he soon gave up his attempt to get out and began to pray with all the fervor of his being.

The minutes that followed were ones of terror for the people who were grasping for their lives to the uncertain footing afforded by the deck house roof.

Knowing the awful fate which fellow voyagers had just met and aware of the same fate staring them in the face, it was most maddening. Twelve people were holding to one lifeboat that remained of the three the steamer carried. The others had been swept away by the wave which dashed over the vessel when the wind first struck her. This, a metal boat, was the better of the three. Captain Withy and Engineer Conway made a careful examination of it as best they could in the pitch darkness. The Captain procured a wash bowl from the boat's cabin, and over an hour was consumed in bailing.

Captain Withy the colored sewardess and four colored passengers elected to remain with the Olive while Chief Engineer Conway and his assistant J. P. Murphy and some of the passengers favored putting out for land which they estimated about a mile away. The light of a tugboat, seen in the dilstance, soon disappeared.

More trouble was faced by those remaining on the Olive. Much of the steamer's rigging had been carried away and only one mast was left standing. Around this the survi-vors huddled and clung to each other for safety. Hours dragged by slowly, and the February cold tormented the wet group. All the while the wreck scene was cloaked in darkness.

After awhile the wind shifted and flitting moon beams gave a faltering look at the scene of death and destruction. Then gradually a pinkish glow spread over the entire skies, and just before the sun rose to view the lights of the

Norfolk and Southern steamer Marie Roberts appeared up the river, and she immediately came to the rescue. Meanwhile those in the life boat were saved by the tug Gazette.

Of the 31 persons aboard the Olive 17 were lost and 14 were saved.

The Olive was raised and returned to service under a new name, the Hertford.

The disaster earned for the steamer the reputation for a hard luck boat. About four years earlier, in sight of the place of her sinking, water was discovered pouring into her through a large seam that had opened and she sank just as Captain Withy got her out of the channel and into shallow water. Two years later she met with another accident and was repaired at, Elizabeth City.

The Olive/Hertford was a screw propelled vessel. Although more than 30 years old, she was regarded as one of the staunchest vessels of the years, at least in the inland passenger steamboat service in this section of the Atlantic group. She was built in Philadelphia in 1869, and after seeing complete service in waters northward was sent to Norfolk. For several years she plyed between Edenton and Franklin.

The steamer was of 987 tons burthen. She was 120 feet long, 20 feet wide and the depth of her hold measured 7 feet.

Building of both sailing craft and steamboats was an industry of fair importance in North Carolina. While a fair number of vessels were built during the colonial period the number increased dramatically after the Revolution.

Shipyards were to be found, especially in the Albemarle. Sir Nathaniel Duckenfield, a wealthy planter of the region, possessed one on his estate in Bertie County. Thomas Macknight, a merchant, declared that on the North River between Currituck and Pasquotank counties, he had ''the most commodious and . . . best shipyard in the province."

A man of means might build a vessel beside his plantation, and at times two or more men joined in building the larger vessels. Invariably the launching attracted large crowds. Such was the case with the launching of the 460 ton steamboat Southern Star, largest steamboat built in North Carolina, at Murfreesboro April 16, 1857. Undetered by a cold and disagreeable morning, "men, women and children came flocking into the borough on every road, in almost every kind of conveyance that the country affords." The two female academies declared holiday.

Mrs. Jethro Darden describes the scene in her diary: "A goodly number of gentlemen went on board and as it moved off every one seemed to be huzzaing in a gay and lively tone, & just as the bottle was raised to be broken to sprinkle and name the boat, the underworks gave way. Fortunately little damage was done to the vessel. After a short while she was riding high upon the Meherrin River waters.

In some instances invitations were sent to friends and men of importance. For example, on May 18, 1805, one George L. Ryan sent word to Ebenezer Pettigrew that "I shall Launch my ship on the 23d of this month, I shall ask the favor of your company on that day, if you can make it convenient I shall expect you will do that pleasure also to take with you any friend you may think proper."

In many cases the hull of the vessel would be launched and the finishing of the cabins and decking accomplished while she was afloat.

Much like court days, the launching might attract horse traders farmers, peddlers and politicians. Families and other groups brought picnic dinners.

With ties with England severed, interest in ship building increased. Many advertisements of new vessels fur sale appeared in the newspapers. In Craven County alone apprenticeship papers show that during the years 1787-89 no less than seventeen boys were apprenticed to twelve different masters to learn the art of a "ship carpenter," or a "ship builder," of a "ship wright," of a "sail master."

Of the seventy-eight ships clearing Port Roanoke during the three months ending September 9, 1788, no less than forty-four had been constructed in North Carolina.

Vessels built in North Carolina were better than most, for in most instances they were made of live oak that grew near the coast.

Receiving goods from the West Indies at Murfreesboro in 1791 in locally owned vessels were Thomas Rhea, Joshua Stimson, Pat Brown, John Byrne, Fitt and Garvey, John Everson, Hardy Murfree, Edward Burges, Thomas Durant, Stephen Edes, Samuel Landon, Hugh Frazier, David Landon, Justin Foote, Joshua Skinner and S. Townsend.

The farmers and plantation artisans of the North Carolina counties along the Roanoke River and their families and friends were proud of the Ram Albemarle, affectionately called by them Old Ironsides. Their handiwork whipped Union naval forces at Plymouth and stood off a fleet of seven Union warships in Batchelor's Bay during the Civil War. Had its Achilees heel not been discovered by an alert and daring Union officer it probably would have immobilized Union naval strength in the Albemarle Sound.

Old Ironsides became woven into stories, each family proudly telling its own, and there came into being a rich collection of traditions which combined to create a saga as exciting as the recorded story.

Edwards Ferry was of no particular note until 1963 when a group of men from many North Carolina counties assembled in a corn field beside the Roanoke River belonging to the Smith family. Then began a story which gave it historic significance; for there began an unending clamor of saws, drills and hammers while the skeleton of a large and queer sort of boat took shape.

The ferry, located south of the Roanoke River at the present U. S. Highway 258 bridge between Rich Square and Scotland Neck, had been known as one of several river crossings since the Revolution. It bore the name of the Edwards family who operated it for three generations until it was sold to Thomas Hunt in 1722. Hunt, in turn sold it to William Ruffin Smith in 1836. Smith's son Peter E. Smith was in control of the ferry and the adjacent plantation during the Civil War, and he is credited with much of the supervision of the famous ram's construction.

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