Abstract:
The muddy water of the Tar River in Edgecombe County near Tarboro moves sluggishly between the ready, oak-shadowed banks as slowly and sullenly as it did centuries ago. The grist mill that once stood on the curve below the dam is gone and no sign of the dam remains. But on misty August nights when the yellow moon tilts on end and the rain crow calls for rain, the cry of the banshee that haunts the river splits the mist in a shrill, wild scream that echoes from bank to bank.