Down the Wild Cape Fear: A River Journey through the Heart of North Carolina

by Philip Gerard

In Down the Wild Cape Fear , novelist and nonfiction writer Philip Gerard invites readers onto the fabled waters of the Cape Fear River and guides them on the 200-mile voyage from the confluence of the Deep and Haw Rivers at Mermaid Point all the way to the Cape of Fear on Bald Head Island. Accompanying the author by canoe and powerboat are a cadre of people passionate about the river, among them a river guide, a photographer, a biologist, a river keeper, and a boat captain. Historical voices also lend their wisdom to our understanding of this river, which has been a main artery of commerce, culture, settlement, and war for the entire region since it was first discovered by Verrazzano in 1524.

Gerard explores the myriad environmental and political issues being played out along the waters of the Cape Fear. These include commerce and environmental stewardship, wilderness and development, suburban sprawl and the decline and renaissance of inner cities, and private rights versus the public good.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, History, Civil War, American History

276 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 2013

About the author

Philip Gerard is the author of 13 books, including The Last Battleground: The Civil War Comes to North Carolina. Gerard was the author of Our State's Civil War series. He currently teaches in the department of creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Reviews

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling narrative sewn together by the river's course. Gerard combines history, biology, geology, politics, economics, and philosophy into the life of the Cape Fear river in a fascinating way. I learned more about the 1898 riots in Wilmington, the Titan concrete plant, and the ecology of southeastern NC in this one book than I have form all other sources combined.
Now that I've read Down the Wild Cape Fear, I'm extra-serious about doing a kayaking trip down the Cape Fear one of these days... Lillington to my house, anyone?

[Erich H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Largely enjoyable, informative, and a quick read. I enjoyed much of it and learned a lot, but two issues/errors really bugged me:

1 - really could've used a quick review by any of the state's herpetologists/herp experts. Reading about a "six-foot" "black water snake", "poisonous" snake bites, or other wrong IDs/info when so much thought goes into accuracy of the bird names/descriptions and other taxa pulled me out of the writing almost immediately. I get it's creative non-fiction and that not everyone cares about NC's snake fauna, but for someone that does, reading anything that is clearly incorrect or exaggerated makes me question the accuracy of the many other things in the book that I was learning about.

2 - Multiple times the author attributes a quote to James Sprunt about the origins of the name Cape Fear ("...bleak, and threatening, and pitiless..."). This is not James Sprunt's writing. Sprunt republished George Davis's "An Episode in Cape Fear History" in his 1916 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River, which he notes at the start of the "Exploration and Settlement" chapter:

"Mr. George Davis subsequently took the opposite view [that the name was originally Fear, not Fair] in his valuable contribution entitled An Episode in Cape Fear History, published in the South Atlantic Magazine, January, 1879, which I here reprint under the above title [Origin of the Name, Cape Fear]."

Overall though, happy I read the book.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second time reading a book centered around a journey by canoe or rowboat, and I've reviewed both thoroughly. This book is steeped with so much history, politics, economics, and environmental education related to the river I grew up by, and it felt personal. There's so much information packed in here, it was definitely a slow read. I think I started two years ago. But it keep pulling me along.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read! This book should be recommended for anyone new, or anyone who wants to know more about the area.

[Liene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interweaving history with the natural world to describe the Cape Fear River and one man’s journey from the beginning to its outflow into the sea.

[Jeff Garrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cape Fear is the only river basin wholly contained within North Carolina and the only river in the state that directly empties into the ocean, the others spilling out behind barrier islands. Philip Gerard, the director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, sets out to explore the length of this river near his adopted home. Traveling by canoe, kayak, johnboat, powerboat and freighter, he covers the entire length of the river from the confluence of the Deep and Haw Rivers to Baldhead Island on the Atlantic. As he tells of his journey, he provides insight into the river’s history. The river has long been an important one. Native Americans lived along the its banks, French and Spanish sailors explored the river, and the tidal waters became a hangout for pirates all before the first British settlers arrived in the 17th Century. The river would go on to play a role in both the Revolutionary and Civil War and was a site for shipbuilding during both of the World Wars. The river has also seen its share of tragedies and atrocities, from drownings to a racial massacre. The story of North Carolina is entangled with the Cape Fear.

Gerard is at home on the river and a love for the water comes across in the stories that he tells. Before setting out on this trip, he had explored much of the upper river in kayaks and the lower part of the river in his sailboat as he sought safe haven for his boat as a hurricane approached. He laments how towns along the riverâ€â€Lillington, Fayetteville and Elizabethtownâ€â€who once faced the river and depended on the water for transportation and communication, have turned their backs on it. Only Wilmington has a “river walk,†with upscale shops and restaurants, but this is relatively new, having developed since I moved from the region three decades ago.

The book begins with Philip and three friends on a two night canoe trip from Buckhorn Dam (just below the confluence of the Haw and Deep Rivers) to Fayetteville. This upper reach of the river, along the fall line, has some rapids and was the site of an attempt prior to railroads to create a canal that allowed shipping from the coast to the Piedmont. He returns to the river a few weeks later with another colleague and a 16 foot johnboat and they power down the river, taking a full day to run from Fayetteville to Wilmington. I was a little disappointed in this section for it was too fast as he covered the ninety miles and through three sets of locks and by one cable ferry in one day. In my mind, I could hear the motor hum in the recesses of my mind (at least it was a four-cycle motor, so a bit quieter than the older two-cycle outboards). Gerard breaks off at various points in his journey to share other stories such as the Revolutionary War battles and the history of steamboats and barges that use to run this section of the river. Gerard noted that barge traffic stopped a few decades ago, which made me feel rather old. When I was working a territory in Eastern North Carolina in the early 80s, I often would spent time waiting for evening meetings in Elizabethtown at Lock and Dam #2. Barges of fuel and chemicals were still being hauled to Fayetteville and occasionally those of logs were hauled downriver to Federal Paper in Riegelwood or to Wilmington. After arriving in Wilmington, Gerard covers some of the river’s history with the city. He also explores some of the other tributaries to the river, the Black, the Northeast Cape Fear and Holly Shelter Creek, all rivers that I paddled back in the 70s. From Wilmington down to Baldhead Island, Gerard travels in a larger powerboat. Gerard finishes his trip on the Cape Fear by starting on the Deep River and kayaking past the confluence of the Haw at Mermaid Point (which is now underwater) and on to Buckhorn Dam. As he tells of his trip, Gerard not only writes about the history, legends and nature, but also discusses the future challenges facing the river, from the deeper channels that funnels salt water upstream to a proposed super cement plant and mining operation along the banks of the Northeast Cape Fear.

Down the Wild Cape Fear is a delight to read. Although there are areas along the river I would have liked to see Gerard explore further, it would have been mostly for own personal interest. While in Wilmington last week, I had coffee with Gerard and joked that he’d written the book that I wanted to write. He encouraged me to go ahead, acknowledging there is room for more than one book on the river and how he could have gone on in this book for a thousand pages. To his credit, Gerard’s writing is crisp. I recommend this book to anyone interested in rivers, the history of North Carolina, or the environment. Gerard is also the author of Cape Fear Rising, an insightful novel on the 1898 Wilmington race riot.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished Paul Schneider's epic "Old Man River: the Mississippi River in North American History" last week. So it was with some trepidation that I dived into another non-fiction story about the history and folklore of a smaller American river, The Cape Fear River system in North Carolina.

All my concerns quickly disappeared as I began turning the pages of Philip Gerard's 2013 book "Down the Wild Cape Fear: A River Journey through the Heart of North Carolina". It is a wonderfully readable and informative rambling essay about all things related to the Cape Fear River, as it wanders through the Piedmont, over the "fall line" and into the tidal flats of the Atlantic coast, passing one major city, Wilmington, and then finally passing Bald Head Island and meeting the Atlantic's Gulf Steam.

Gerard writes in a journaling style, recounting his days camping along the river, joined by an interesting group of professors from UNCW (the University of North Carolina at Wilmington) who are very knowledgeable about the river ecosystem and the creatures that inhabit it.

He also digresses into riveting history related to the river, including a shocking story of racial violence in Wilmington during the reconstruction era in the 1890's.

Great work, Philip Gerard! An outstanding book, and highly recommended.

[Thomas Tewey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Thoreau in his "Week on the Concord and Merrimack River" and Twain in his stories about the
Mississippi this book is about a trip on a river but it is a whole lot more.
This is rare blend by a writer who is able to do history detective work, science journalism, nature writing, in a rich accessible personal narrative style that had me constantly reading between the lines. I kept looking at maps and thinking about my own journeys. It would be a good audio book and a digital version with map links would be great.
Should be a good read for any one to get a sense your place in your journey even if you don't live along the Cape Fear or in Carolina.

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick course in the history, environment and culture of the Cape Fear region. My husband, who likes a lot of action in his books also thoroughly enjoyed it. A must read for folks on the river!

[Rebecca Warfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this book. The history of the Cape Fear is interesting. But the writing was so bad, I couldn't take it anymore.