ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 25 



did the boys have there it was hard for us to go on, but hasten on we 

 did and at four, as we rounded a bend, we were met by the Lawrenceville 

 scouts, who had been there all day at "Camp Beanery" expecting us. 

 They had their tents and soon we were busy putting up ours. I don't 

 know what those Lawrenceville scouts thought of me as a scoutmaster 

 when I stepped out of the boat, barefooted, spattered with mud, with a 

 big straw hat on the boys had bought me at Ste. Marie, (for Arthur had 

 stepped upon my other one at Greenup), but soon they were all clustered 

 around me telling me all their scout happenings while I tried to shave 

 and hold a round mirror upon my knees at the same time. I sent one 

 boat down to Lawrenceville for water, milk and bread — the oil makes 

 the river water unfit to drink there and no well is near, while the scout- 

 master, who is deputy county clerk, rowed the second one down on an er- 

 rand. When the boats came back we had supper and I wish you could have 

 seen the picture ! Big sycamores with white tents gleaming here and there in 

 the moonlight, a dozen fires blazing, the big sand-bar in front, the boys 

 cooking or putting up tents. After supper we rowed and swam, sat around 

 the fires and told stories — while I wrote letters home by snatches. Camp 

 Comradeship I w r ould have called it and in my heart there will always 

 be warmly cherished those Law T renceville scouts and their scoutmaster, a 

 man of lovely character and of great ability. 



"The next morning we rowed down to the city and landed at the high 

 school campus. The building itself is on a high bluff while the lower 

 campus is a grassy meadow. Here we had a field meet with the Lawrence- 

 ville scouts. After a dinner with the scoutmaster at the circuit clerk's 

 home he took me through the courthouse and together we climbed up 

 into the old tower and he pointed out the smoke of Vincennes to me. 

 Then he came down to the boats with me to see us off and once more 

 we were on our way. That afternoon we saw many oil-wells and in places 

 the water was black with oil. Many of the trees and bushes had been 

 killed by the oil and the smell was sickening. 



"We knew we w T ere approaching the mouth because the river was 

 getting so wide and deep and the sycamores were to be seen everywhere. 

 We saw a forest fire raging, then passed an old barn, and ahead saw an 

 immense open space. The boys in the boat ahead had landed and were 

 waving branches of willow, not as a sign of rejoicing, but to keep off the 

 mosquitoes, which were in swarms in the willows on the bank. The boys 

 soon embarked again and together we sailed out into the Wabash. I 

 wonder if you can realize the thrill that came to us when we knew w T e 

 had really reached the mouth. The river seemed immense in the June twi- 

 light, but fearlessly we turned toward Vincennes rowing only a few mo- 

 ments and then landing to camp for the night. 



"I called the boys at four next morning and soon we were busy 

 packing and getting breakfast. We rowed only half an hour at a time 

 going up the Wabash as the current was so strong, but soon I saw at the 

 rate we were going we would miss our train so I called to a mussel-hunter 

 with a row boat with a motor in it and asked him to take us up to 

 Vincennes. Soon we were fastened to his boat and speeding through the 

 water. We stopped to visit his camp, passing house-boats and mussel-boats 

 by the dozens. At last we caught a glimpse of the spires of Vincennes, 

 and soon we were at our journey's end." 



