River Dee

“ Nothing had been done for days in any of the Ballater waters, or indeed in any part of that brawling river Dee. The few anglers who had gone out had religiously kept to the orthodox salmon rod, salmon gut, and big flies, and had caught nothing. When I got out of the dogcart and put up my little rod I noticed a smile upon the river keeper's face, but nothing daunted thereby, I followed him down the slopes to a beautiful pool below. ”

“ And in a moment the Dee Water and its memories of malice were blotted out. The ripples played instead over the River that flows from about the Throne of God. I saw all the warrings of earth, the heart-burnings, the strifes, the little days and evil nights washed away in a broad flood of grace and mercy.
I was ready to go I knew not whither. It might be that there was a work greater and more enduring for me to do, my pilgrim staff in my hand, among the flowe-mosses and peaty wildernesses of the South-west than here in the well-sheltered strath of Dee. ”

“ This picturesque village is situated upon the great road from Shrewsbury to Holyhead, and about a quarter of a mile from the banks of the river Dee, in the county of Merioneth. It is seated art the base of a bold rock, a projection of the Berwyn mountains, against which the white tower of its church is well relieved, and forms an imposing feature in the beautiful landscape which the valley of the Dee presents at this place. It is an inland town, possessing the advantages of a market and good inn, but without any trade or manufacture ”

“ The Dee has finally emerged from the mountainous country when it flows, with many a sharp bend, and long, glittering loop, between the grounds of Chirk Castle and of Wynnstay. It is shortly to become a river that is English on the one side and Welsh on the other, and already, except in the distance, we have seen the last of the characteristic scenery of North Wales. The Dee now courses through a country of wide plains. Offa’s Dyke runs in a straight line through the grounds of Chirk Castle, almost to the point at which the stream is crossed by the railway viaduct. ”

“ This wonderful aqueduct reflects great honour to the undertakers of so admirable, as well as valuable enterprize; and, should their hazardous scheme succeed, the whole nation must indubitably reap great advantages: several columns must still be erected, before the level can be accomplished. It is forming over the most beautiful and romantic part of the river Dee; a bridge likewise, not far from this spot, adds considerably to the beauty of the scene. Wood, water, and sloping hills, all combine to render this vale interesting ”

“ Leaving Wynstay on the right, we were conducted along the banks of a beautiful canal (the same that crossed the valley at Chirk) which was here planted with larch and hazel in pleasing variety on either side. On a sudden, an opening in the foliage presented us with a splendid view of the vale of the Dee, with the grand aqueduct stretching from hill to hill and the waters of the river making their way among broken rocks, amid embowering trees, and rolling under the arches of the aqueduct, with that delightful sound which is only heard in mountain scenery. ”

“ On the quiet little river Pee Dee, glides first one and then another canoe paddled by negroes, and it is only by the steamboats which now and then swing their tails of smoke over the river Wackamow, beyond Pee Dee, and by the sailing vessels which one sees on their way down to Cuba or China, that one observes that here also one lives in this trading and trafficking world. ”

“ DEE, a river in the south of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, pursuing a generally easterly direction from its source in the extreme west of the county till it reaches the North Sea at the city of Aberdeen. It rises in the Wells of Dee, a spring on Ben Braeriach, one of the Cairngorms, at a height of 4061 ft. above the sea. It descends rapidly from this altitude, and by the time that it receives the Geusachan, on its right bank, about 6 m. from its source, it has fallen 2421 ft. From the mountains flanking its upper reaches it is fed by numerous burns named and unnamed. ”

“ The river Eske runs through the town, rippling over a rocky bed of limestone like the Dee at Llangollen. Mountains arise on every hand, some in the foreground, green and pleasant, backed by sterile ranges having serrated summits, dark and frowning. ”

“ Human effort was powerless against it. What could be done with a flood which rose, as was noted at Ballater, not less than one foot in ten minutes? The ravages made have long ago been repaired. At Linn of Dee there is now a handsome white granite bridge, which was opened by the Queen as long ago as the year 1857.
LOCHNAGAR.
It is odd that the poet of this essentially Highland river should be an English bard; for if we turn to see what our literature has to say of the Dee, we must turn to Byron. Yet Byron was, as he says, “half a Scot by birth, and bred a whole one.” ”

“ Returning to the Dee,—about a mile below the Linn, the stream of the Lui forces a passage through the steep banks and joins the river. We enter the glen from which this stream flows by a narrow rocky pass, through which the trees of the Mar forest struggle upwards. As we proceed, the trees gradually become more scarce, the rocky barrier is left behind us, and we are in a long grassy glen shut out from the world. This is Glen Lui. A better introduction to the savage scenery beyond, for the sake of contrast, there could not be. Every thing here is peace and softness. ”

“ THE SEVERN, though a much longer river than the Dee, for it is the second [1] in Britain, is born among less striking scenery. The latter issues from an upland lake, enclosed by the peaks of the Arans and the craggy slopes of the Arenigs. But south of Cader Idris the mountains become less striking in outline, the cliffs fewer and lower, the summits tamer. It is a region not so much of mountains as of great hills, which stretch away into the distance, range after range, like rollers on the Atlantic after a storm. ”

“ Possessing as it does a greater depth of water over the bar than the Mersey, and provided with ample railway communication with the great industrial centres, it is probable that the Dee may ere long become a far more important river as a vehicle of commerce than heretofore. Of still more importance to Hawarden is the establishment of direct communication with Liverpool already referred to, in place of the present circuitous route by Chester and Runcorn. By the new Swing Railway Bridge across the Dee, direct access will be given to Birkenhead and Liverpool by the Mersey Tunnel across the Wirral ”

“ The mazy windings of the Dee, embellished as its banks are with the fresh green shrubs and plants, which flourish there in great luxuriance, afford a very delightful walk, independent of the great amusement to anglers for which this river has ever been so famous. The trout p. 74are as fine as any in the kingdom, and are very plentiful. Many men obtain a livelihood during the season, by fishing in this beautiful river, which they contrive to manage in their little coracles; a large kind of round basket, covered with skins or tarpawling, and with a board across the centre for a seat. ”

“ The hills are round, and somewhat tame, though beautifully clad with heather. The Dee, which is the great river of the district, into which the Clunie runs, is very pretty, and indeed beautiful, three miles higher up. And the mountain excursions still farther off, in the region of Benmacdhui and Cairngorm, will I dare say prove satisfactory. The kirk to which we went this morning is fairly administered, but not very much attended. I fancy more go to the Free Kirk; and there is also a Roman Catholic Chapel in the village, and a good many of the poorer folks are Papists. ”

“ These lighters were loaded at the rice-mill and taken up{28} the Pee Dee River, to the railroad bridge near Mars Bluff, to Society Hill, and sometimes to Cheraw. It was a long, hard trip, and when the freshet was up it seemed sometimes to be impossible to carry a loaded barge against the current, by hand—but it was done. At such times the only progress was made by carrying a line ahead, making fast to a tree on the river-bank, and then all hands warping the boat up by the capstan; then make fast and carry the line ahead again. The crew were all able men. ”

“ Then the Dee flows on through a straight channel for six miles to its estuary, which broadens among treacherous sands and flats between Flintshire and Cheshire, till it falls into the Irish Sea. Many are the tales of woe that are told of the "Sands o' Dee," along which the railway from Chester to Holyhead skirts the edge in Flintshire. Many a poor girl, sent for the cattle wandering on these sands, has been lost in the mist that rises from the sea, and drowned by the quickly rushing waters. ”

“ You wouldn't be at all surprised to see a camel train in the chalky dust of the dry river bed, but instead, it's just another procession of little donkeys carrying goods to market in their straw saddlebags, driven by men hiding under huge hats from the burning sun. ”

“ On the hillsides, grapes are grown to make wine, or silvery-green olive trees make groves against the red earth. This is a region of horses and good horsemen. Here big ranches stretch along the river banks and huge black bulls are raised.
The people of Andalusia are full of music, dancing and the love of life. They live in white houses built around courtyards full of flowers, with windows covered with designs in black wrought iron. Black-haired Andalusian women wear black lace mantillas draped over their heads, a kind of veil and shawl. ”

“ Not far away is Hawarden Park, “not exceeded in beauty by any demesne in the world,” says Dean Howson. After these eight miles of artificial waterway have been traversed, the Dee suddenly broadens out into a wonderful estuary, which, according to the state of the tide, separates England from Wales by wide stretches of water, or by still wider stretches of sand. We pass the Castle of Flint on our way downwards, with one huge round tower dipping its base into the Dee. ”

“ After the last buffet Dee took refuge in the barn and the society of Dick and the horses. His father would not have approved of it, but his father was not at home. Coming in at dusk, the boy stole up stairs on tip-toe and peeped into his sister's room. The sun was fighting bravely with the bank of clouds on the horizon, and the world was bathed in lurid mist. By this flushed fogginess Dee could see Flea lying in a sort of crumpled heap on the floor by the window. ”

“ The whole water of the Dee in the dry season gurgles here through a passage not more than four feet across, which, however, is evidently profoundly deep, as the water is as dark as pitch. If the thief ever took the leap he must have taken it in the dry season, for in the wet the Dee is a wide and roaring torrent. ”

“ What's happened?"
"It's just Dee, deedling," called out Dum. "I shot the deer and now Dee's breaking her heart."
"O—h, O—h, but he recognized me just before he died!" sobbed Dee. "I could tell by the way he looked at me."
"It was a good thing he did 'recognize' you," grinned Jo Winn. "If he had not, he might have gored you. An injured buck is a right dangerous thing to fool with."
We comforted Dee as best we could and praised Dum for her shot. Soon we were gathered around our campfire, and then Uncle Peter and I came in for our share of praise for the good dinner we had cooked. ”

“ Dee’s own invention? And has he compiled it for the deception of posterity? I do not believe it. It is my firm conviction that he recorded in perfect good faith—though I own my opinion is not very complimentary to his intelligence—the extravagant rigmarole dictated to him by the arch-knave Kelly, who, very possibly, added to his many ingenuities some skill in the practices of the ventriloquist. No great amount of artifice can have been necessary for successfully deceiving so admirable a subject for deception as the credulous Dee. ”

“ All around is a panorama of beauty.
Jefferson Davis at Dells
In pioneer times, before the day of the tourist, with each returning vernal season a procession of rafts passed through the Dells. There was no dam below in those days and the surging waters carried more than one raft to destruction and more than one raftsman to his doom. Among the first timbers to be floated through the gorge was lumber for the building of Fort Winnebago at Portage, cut on the Yellow River by Jefferson Davis and a detail of soldiers. ”

“ Two steep banks, richly clothed with woods that dip into the torrent’s bed and wave upon either side, form a long vista of inexpressible grandeur. The winding Dee here pours her rapid flood along with awful murmurings and at a fearful depth, then throwing herself headlong into a deep dark pool, seems to rest, as if exhausted with the violence of the efforts by which it was attained. This grand p. 84picture forms but the foreground of an extensive landscape, wherein the middle distance is occupied by the happy scenery of Llangollen, and the remotest filled by the British Alps. ”

“ Paul Railroad, to view and photograph the truly marvelous scenery and whimsically erratic formations that characterize that section of the river known as the Dells. The river is deep, but at places so tortuously narrow between projecting elbows of the limestone walls that only such a dimity and fairy-like steamboat as the Dell Queen can thread a passage, and we accordingly committed ourselves to this frail little craft for the trip which is made by tourists first to the Upper Dells, eight miles above the city, and then to the Lower Dells, which are three miles below. ”