890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15. 



most in the horizon, that I had made since I 

 started, it seemed almost incredible, and I 

 thanked God again for the invention of the 

 wheel. I passed the night at Old Mission in 

 Grand Traverse Co. Here are some more 

 beautiful resorts ; in fact, the summer cottages 

 made a beautiful little town, but it was a dead 

 town at the time of my visit, for the resorters 

 had all gone away to stay till another season. 

 At Old Mission I asked a man what he would 

 charge to take me over to Elk Rapids with 

 his gasoline-launch. He said if there was a 

 load he would take us for 40 cts. apiece ; but 

 he could not make a trip for one passenger 

 alone short of S2.50. So I decided to make 

 the trip going around the bay. If you will 

 get your atlas and turn to the State of Michi- 

 gan you will get a good idea of these wonder- 

 ful peninsulas in this Traverse region. At 

 one point in my trip I asked the question of a 

 man I met if I could not save several miles by 

 following the shore around through the woods. 

 He said I could, but the road was so sandy no- 

 body could ride a wheel far. I felt so well, 

 however, and also wanting a little adventure, 

 I decided to try it, and I found an abundant 

 use for all the muscle I could scrape up, I as- 

 sure you. Had it not been for my lessons in 

 chopping I think I should have played out ; 

 but I took it leisurely and walked where the 

 sand was worst. Sometimes where there was 

 hard ground most of the way, and brief 

 patches of sand intervening, I would get up 

 momentum enough to plow through the sand 

 and reach solid ground. At one such spot the 

 sand was worse than I had anticipated. My 

 wheel slewed, and I went headlong over into 

 the bushes. Before I struck the ground, how- 

 ever, I caught a glimpse of some beautiful 

 red berries plentifully sprinkled amid a vivid 

 bright green. After I rolled down among 

 them a familiar perfume gave me a happy sur- 

 prise. The ground was covered with winter- 

 greens as thick as you ever saw clover in a 

 clover-field ; and these wintergreens were cov- 

 ered with bright-red luscious berries, some- 

 times half a dozen berries in a cluster. I left 

 my wheel lying in the sand, and just sprawled 

 myself out and had "rest and refreshment." 

 Then I gathered a. beautiful bouquet of win- 

 tergreens and berries, and brought them home 

 to my good old mother in Ohio. After my 

 refreshment the woods began to look a little 

 more open, and pretty soon I saw a footpath 

 that seemed to lead somewhere. Oh how I 

 do love to see a footpath when I am wander- 

 ing in the woods ! It soon led me to a well- 

 traveled highway. Toward noon I came into 

 a little town where there was no hotel ; but 

 somebody said he thought I could get my din- 

 ner at a certain house. I stated my case to an 

 old gentleman whom I foiind in the yard. 

 Pretty soon I overheard at the other side of 

 the house something as follows : 



"There is an old man out here, and he 

 wants to know if you can give him his din- 

 ner." 



" What sort of man does he look like? " 



"Oh! he's quite respectable - looking. I 

 guess he is quite a gentleman." 



" Well, bring him along." 



We had beautiful bread for dinner that day, 

 just as we always do in the Traverse region ; 

 and then there were canned black raspberries. 

 Why ! every spoonful of those berries was a 

 happy surprise. And then we had some to- 

 matoes with sugar and vinegar. You know I 

 have been one of the dyspeptics that could 

 not bear to use vinegar ; but I can not remem- 

 ber that I ever ate any tomatoes so wonderful- 

 ly delicious before in my life. It set me to 

 thinking that the tomato is a wonderful gift 

 from God that has never been half appreciat- 

 ed ( can somebody tell us right here how many 

 million cans of tomatoes are put up in the 

 United States every year?). 



After another nap such as only farmers and 

 wheelriders can appreciate I went on up hill 

 and down until I came to Elk Rapids. About 

 three miles this side of the city I saw a lake 

 perhaps a mile long and half a mile wide. A 

 deep dredge canal that went away down into 

 the earth so far it almost frightened one to 

 look at it was emptying the inky waters of 

 this lake into Traverse Bay. Where I took 

 dinner they informed me that this lake bottom 

 was a bed of marl. Nobody knew just how 

 far down it went. Not only the bottom of 

 the lake, but the meadows adjoining, were al- 

 most pure marl just below the surface. A 

 great syndicate had discovered it and bought 

 the lake. Just before reaching Elk Rapids I 

 saw a great crowd of men at work on some 

 beautiful buildings. I knew it was some 

 enormous manufacturing plant, but did not at 

 once connect it with the deposits in that lake. 

 It is to be the largest cement- factory in the 

 United States. Ste m and electricity, and 

 every known force, are to be employed. There 

 are underground passageways, tracks and side- 

 tracks, pipes and cables, monstrous cranes 

 and elevators, and every thing necessary for 

 a fully equipped manufactory up with the 

 present times.* Then I visited an immense 

 plant for the manufacture of charcoal iron. 

 The ore comes from up along the lake, but 

 the charcoal is burned right there on the 

 ground. Everybody has heard of charcoal 

 iron and its superior quality. It is thus term- 

 ed because they use charcoal in its manufac- 

 ture instead of coal that comes from the 

 mines. Here at Elk Rapids, as well as at 

 Traverse City, they have water power to run 

 all their mills and factories, and a great sur- 

 plus is constantl)' going to waste because there 

 are as yet no enterprises or industries to util- 

 ize it. 



From Old Mission, where I started in the 

 morning, around the bay to Elk Rapids, is 



* A beautiful object-lesson, demonstrating the value 

 of this deposit of marl, is found on a piece of road 

 near the lake, about a mile in length. This cement 

 road is almost like an asphalt pavement. When it is 

 a little damp it looks as if somebody had not only 

 graded it off, but smoothed the surface down with a 

 putty knife, very much as you would spread putty ; 

 and it is so hard that the wheels of a vehicle make 

 scarcely a visible impression on it. This same marl is" 

 largely used for making cement roads through Trav- 

 erse City, so I am told. There is no stone flagging to 

 be found in any of these northern cities ; hut they have 

 a most beautiful artificial stone for walks, made of 

 this "home-made" Portland cement, and it seems to 

 stand storms and severe freezing during winter, with- 

 out any damage whatever — that is, wherever the work 

 is properly laid on sufficient foundation. 



