For the Benefit of City Nimrods 



them and their profession. Your trip will probably cost 

 you less if you listen to their advice, than if you try to 

 become a "Buffalo Bill" or "Kit Carson" through 

 unadvised personal experiences. 



The canoe fills a very natural place in the life of the 

 great American public, both north and south of the 

 international boundary. Its light weight, speed, sea- 

 worthiness, and shallow draught were qualities evolved 

 from the topography and hydrography of this continent. 

 It was the original Indian craft. It is still, and always 

 will be, typically American. They are now so universally 

 in use at summer resorts, as well as for business and 

 pleasure in the wilds, that it is a wonder the public 

 does not know more about the proper use of them. 

 One can hardly pick up a paper during the summer season 

 but there will be an account of a drowning accident due 

 to the capsizing of a canoe. It is unfortunate but true 

 that a large percentage of city-trained young men with 

 little experience in canoe handling will invite their best 

 girls out paddling. The very trickiness of the craft seems 

 to incite a desire to pick that particular vehicle for 

 showing off before the fair sex. 



While talking to the manager of a canoe " livery," 

 situated on Toronto Island, we interestedly watched 

 the embarkation and immediate saturation of a young 

 Hebrew gentleman and his henna-haired vis-a-vis. The 

 canoe was carefully held with its port side to the float 

 by an attendant, while Solomon handed his Sheba Queen 

 to her luxurious throne among the cushions. Then, 

 grandiloquently waving aside the attendant, Sol picked 

 up the paddle and placed his right foot in the stern of 

 the canoe, preparatory to sitting down. His plan worked, 

 but he did not sit exactly where he had intended. As 

 the attendant had obediently left the canoe to its own 

 resources, the instant Sol's right foot came to bear on the 



53 



