Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 1.djvu/127

 minds of the more cultivated and refined members of the band. The dogwood was then in bloom and in itself was sufficient to decorate the long aisles of the prim&aelig;val woods; there were a thousand other wild flowers to mingle their varied hues with the deep verdure of the trees, but of these flowers, the violet and the rose were among the few mentioned by name in the early narratives, although there must have been many species familiar to English eyes. The briar, honeysuckle, and alder were doubtless as numerous then as they are now, as well as other varieties equally well known in the present age.

One of the most striking features of the prim&aelig;val forests of Virginia was the number of brooks flowing through them. Immediately upon the first landing at Cape Henry this characteristic was observed, the charm of the clear and copious streams in that vicinity, which found their way through the woods to the sea, being described as ravishing, the delight they excited in the adventurers being all the keener because a long voyage had just been brought to a close. In that age the drinking water of ships was a very frequent cause of pestilence among the passengers, owing to the inferior contrivances for keeping it wholesome. It is an interesting fact to recall that the spot where the excellence of Virginian water was first recognized by English-speaking people was near to the famous Drummond Lake in the Dismal Swamp, which for so long a period enjoyed a special reputation among mariners on account of the length of