262 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Nov. 1, 



THE THOUSAND ISLANDS. 



THE business of this great, democratic summer resorl is 

 now af hiitii tide. Saturday nigbl theCrosaiaan House 



1 ■lined away lilt v people, and the Thousand Islands House, a 

 larger caravansary, had no accommodations after taking (he 

 moms of He- help to make places for the guests. Every 

 State in the anion and mam countries of die world are rep- 

 resented. The loutist, awed by the majesty of the Falls of 

 Niagara, gets that impression mollified at a sight i.>i' the deep 

 and gentle How of the same great waters amid the Thousand 



islands of the St. Laurence. 



Their natural beauty is well described bylsa&C Wil'i. a 

 young Irishman, seut out by !t. Hoard of Emigration al Dub- 

 lin to view the New World, m his journal published in Lon- 

 don in 1?!)!): 



"About eight o'clock Hie next and eighth morning of 

 our voyage, we entered the last lake before you come to thai 

 of Ontario, called the Lake of a Thousand Isles, on account 

 of the multiplicity of them which it contains. Many of 

 the.-- islands are scarcely larger Ihan a b.dleau. and none of 

 then, appeared to contain more limn fifteen English acres 

 e-ieh. They an' all covered with wood, even to tin 

 very smallest. The trees <m these last are stunted in 

 growth, but the larger islands produce as line timber as 

 is to be found on the main shores of the lake. Many 

 of these islands are situated so closely together that it would 

 he easy to throw a pebble from one to the other. Notwith- 

 standing which circumstance the passage between them is 

 perfectly safe and commodious for batteaux. and between 

 some of them is wall t sufficient for a frigate. The water is 

 uii.ommonl\ eh-ar Tin- shines of all these islands under 

 our notice are rocky; most of ihem rise very boldly, and 

 some ol them exhibit perpendicular masses of rock twontj 

 I'd high The seenery presented to view in sailing between 

 these islands Is beautiful ra the highest degree. Sometimes 

 alter passing through B narrow snail you find yourself in a 

 bfl&io, land-locked on every side. that appears to have no 

 Communication with the lake except by the passage through 

 widen you entered; you are looking about, perhaps, for an 

 outlet lb enable you to proceed, thinking al la.-l to see some 

 little channel which will just admit your batteau. when un 

 expanded sheet ol « i,!cr opens upon von. whose boundary is 



the horizon alone: again in a few minutes vou And yourself 

 landlocked, and again a spacious passage sb suddenly pre 

 scuts itself: at other times, -when in the middle of one of 

 these basins bet ween a cluster of islands, a dozen, different 



channels, like so many nobis rivers, meet the eye perhaps 

 equally unexpectedly, and on each side the islands appear 

 regularly retiring till they sink from sight in the distance." 

 To-day collages and hotels of all degrees of expensiveness 

 IJne the forty-mile route of the Steamer Island Wanderer. 

 At night their thousands of colored lights — red. blue, green 

 and while- arc reflected from her pathway like ihc phosphor- 

 escence ol tropical waters. This month a harvest moon vies 

 successfully with these. Coming down the river from ('lay- 

 ton, Governor's Island, the piscatorial retreat of ex-Governor 

 Alvord. Stems the Hood with its high bluff- "Old Salt" re- 

 ligiously salutes the steamer with a cannon every night of bis 

 sojourn". Further down. Round Island Park, retreat ol 

 the Methodists, whose doings are after the manner of the 



Chautauqua Literary Circle's. Westminster Park, a Ptesbyte- 

 rian retreat, are stopping placeB of the steamer. In this dis- 

 tance the island cottages of "Palace Car" Pullman. II. II. 

 Waruer, Safe Kidney and Liver Cure man. Judge Donahue, 

 Judge. Spencer. E, Anthony, of New York, aid many Others 

 have been passed. Below, in view of the high piazzas of the 

 hotels here, is liunniccasllc. owned b\ the family of the late 



Dl\ Holland, a ••roupde ninaicd "Fairy Land." property of 



the Haydyns of Columbus, Ohio, and Sport Island, belonging 

 to the sons of the late Judge Packer, of the Lehigh Valley 

 Railroad, Spoil Island is- graded, lighted with gas, bas-a 



sea wall, extra cottages for Servants and guests, billiard 

 house, pavilions, boat houses, lawn tennis, etc. An iron 

 bridge built at an expense of JU.OOQ connects it with a neigh 

 boring island. 

 People here dale the beginning of the present prosperity of 



the Islands only as far back as 1872. For inae\ yea.- before 



a few persons, some of them men of note. Gov. Seward, 

 Martin and John Van Btfren, Silas Wright, Prank Blair, 

 Preston King and Gen. Dick Taylor, fished away then- 

 vacations here. In 1872 Grant visited Pullman On bis 

 island, ll was an electioneering trip and attracted thousands 

 of people, including many journalists. President Arthur's 

 quiet fishing excursion to the Islands last September, gave 

 them additional notoriety. Charlevoix, Jesuit priest and 

 historian of Canada in I lie early part of the last century, 

 states that the sovereignty of Grenadier Island, om of the 



largest, was sold by an Iroquois lor four pols Of brandy. L'p 

 to 1872 the Islands were held at $i>il a piece. This year an 

 island not half an acre in ana. favorably located, fetched 

 $l,t<00, and prices are rising, if anything. 



The Islands were undoubtedly formed by a mighty labor 

 of the earth which thrust to the surface the oldest time rocks 

 known to the ircoluidsl. They have given a name u, ^system 

 of the Archaean period- -the Laurcntian. Any one who hasan 

 interest in the veritable hones of the earth can view them 

 here They are gneiss.and granite and contain no trace qf 



lite. The Mriar of the glacial drift are here seen to as -real 

 advantage as anywhere. The grOOVOS arc in many places a 

 Foot deep and many in length. Til" rocks are painted ill 

 bright colors, red, Yellow, brown and all tin- hematilic hues 

 by the iron they contain. 

 This is a classic region The St. Lawrence has been a 



llighwaj from Gael tQ "est lor many races of men. The 

 canoes of the Iroquois, ihe liatieativ, of the French mission 

 ariea, discoverers and voyageurs, the boats of the English and 

 Americans have passed up and down amid the islands, (ian- 

 uuoque, the nam. ol an Indian village on the Canada shore 

 Opposite Clayton, is Huron, faint landmark ol tie- itivni 

 tribe whose light the abler five Nations put out. Jacques 

 Cat tier supplanted i Ik: Indian name of the St. Lawrence— 

 Caroqui— with thai of a Catholic saint— St., Lorenzo- -whose 

 day fell in August, on which he discovered the gulf in 1534. 

 Chaniplain pa--ed by on bis journey of exploration to the 

 Niagara. Sieur dc la Salle, who-,- name Packman has made 

 romantic, journeyed up and down before he found the 

 newer land of the Mississippi in 1680. Frontenas, the proud 

 and vigorous governor of Canada, made camps on 

 Uarttan Island. Charlevoix slates in bis history 

 of the time thai there were as many as five hun- 

 dred of Mille Isles, as he calls them, lb- Was 



right. Th£ commissioners who ran the Due between British 

 and United States possessions in accordance with the treaty 



of Ghenl reported that thei 



than the author ol "l.es A' 



— must have had his poe 



landscape. For munv years he was a mi 



the Sulpitiau order among the Indians in tli 



1,096. No less a personage 

 - de Telemaque"— Fcnelon 



satisfied with this unique 



vas a missionary priest of 



Cafl- 



Thn 



ton Island is sometimes called Cliimne\ 1st 

 chimneys, remnant of seven, which mark the site of an old 

 fort erected by the French in 17o$, are still standing. 

 Anows. French weapons and English coins and buttons have 

 be.ti there picked up. flic island was so named in honor of 

 Sir Guy Carlton, firsl English governor of Canada. The 

 first act ol' the war of 1812 is said to have there taken place. 

 Arthur Hubbard, a revolutionary soldier, on hearing of t|„. 

 dcelaratiOU, put out in a small boa! with his son from tie- 

 American shore and captured the fort, then held by the 

 British ll was garrisoned by a sergeant, uvo invalid men 

 and a woman. Wilkinson's expedition against Montreal was 

 storm-stayed on Grenadier Island, and then went on to.de- 

 ' l.ryslrrs Farms, near the Long Sault. 

 In IS8tj, "Bill" Johnson and a band of hot-headed patriots, 

 disguised as Indians, binned the Canadian steamer Sir Bobt. 

 Peel, at her wharf on Wells Island, in revenge for the affair 

 of the Caroline on ihe Niagara. Johcson was a refugee 

 among the islands for years in consequence. He was aided 

 by his daughter Kate, who, disguised as a boy, conveyed to 

 him in., boat provisions and news. She was beautiful, and 

 acquired fame as "the Queen of the Isles." Johnson, arrested 



and escaping iw - three times, was finally unmolested, and 



appointed keeper of the Rock Island light by President 

 Pierce. His light shone on the spot where he burned the 

 Peel. Cooper laid scenes of "The Pathfinder" among the 

 islands. Chapter XIX. relates bow the "Scud" found the 

 station on one of them. Tom Moore, during his long jour- 

 ney in America in 1803 and 1804, voyaged up the Si. Law- 

 rence, and is said lo have written while in camp on Hart's 

 Island, opposite Alexandria Hay. his well-known Canadian 

 boat song, beginning: 



•■Faintly as lulls I lie evening chimes." 



Doubtless the voyngeurs sang for his inspiration their pen 



sive air, "A In cliiire Fontaine," the rendition of which in 



honor of the Prince of Wales on his visit to America has 



made it national in Canada. 



The Thousand Islands are better known for the fishing to 

 be had about them than anything else. Basy-going fisher- 

 men have reported that their day for lishing has gone by. 

 This is a mistake. The gamv black bass, the sluggish pick 

 Ere] and the fierce nmscalongc are as plentiful -is ever. An 

 independent, hard-working native handler of the rod like 

 President Arthur for instance, knows that at the fool of that 

 ripple, where the water eddies back on to the sedge grass 

 near the bank, the red hackle may lie east successfully. Let 

 one of the sleepy, keen-eyed, country-looking boatmen see 

 that you understand your business, and mean it, and he will 

 put you where the large and small-mouth black and worth- 

 less rod; bass will rise to your specious invitation. 



The air of the islands is remarkable for its dryness. A 

 cottager i mi kes the astonishing statement that the humidity 

 of the atmosphere barely exceeds that of Denver, and refers 

 to meteorological reports to corroborate his statement. The 

 licaltlitulness of the place is indisputable. The odor of the 

 resinous trees is healing to consumptives. 



There is plenty of suggestion here for the poet. Caleb 

 Lyon, of Lyonsdale, to fame unknown, is the author of au 

 appreciative poem on "The Thousand Islands." Here is a 

 si an/a : 



"The Thousand Isles, the Thousand Isles. 



Dimpled the wave around theui smiles; 



Kissed by a thousand red-lipped flowers; 



Genimed by a thousand emerald bowers : 



A thousand birds their praises make 



By rooky gtade and plumy brake; 



A thousand cedars' fragrant shade 



Falls where the Indians' Children played] 



And fancy's dream my heurt DBguilGs, 



While singing thee, the Thousand Isles." 

 Mr. William A. CrotTut has caught their spirit in the fol- 

 lowing lines: 



••The sky of summer shines serene 

 And sapphire rivers iI.av between 

 The thousand hosky shields of green, 

 "M3 waodoringsoul Is satisfied; 

 Ai rest when- blOpfatng islands ride 

 At anehor on the li-anquil tide." 

 Alkxandria Bay, Aug. 18, 1883. C. 



WAS IT UNSUCCESSFUL? 



I^lli: other morning at breakfast. 1 said to my wife and 

 commandant: "The l'oUi>l ami Si ki:am W am- people 

 lo w rile of I heii unsuccessful expeditions, and lam minded 

 to give n sonic account of my last." "Thai is odd," said 

 si,." ■•Wouldn't it be like the'nian in the nursery talc, who 

 first went Out and then went in again'.'"' "Not precisely," 

 said 1 "1 havCn't said much as vet about that trip, but - 

 well' I never bet. but 1 will bet you five dollars thai I will 

 write ii up. and that lliey will publish the writings." "Give 

 me Ihe live dollars." said' she, "arid I will see." 



ll wttS a still October afternoon, one day last week, that 

 I, feeling the need ol a little exercise and chaiiev ol seen. 



proceeded to stow the Kelpie with a small but well-assorted 

 cargo, and lo provision her for a short cruise upon theiippcr 

 lakes of the Intermediate Cham. The old ninety-wghl pound 

 ■poodle' sat solemnly by. Poor old fellow, he knew be 

 couldn't go. A solitary heron, winging his way northward. 

 led Ihe way. and Stepping into ihe boat, I followed him, but 

 soon he ■vanished far in the liftts blue wale,'' and the Kel- 

 pie missed her guide. 



Up the stream we glide, and soon reach Cedar Lake, tats 

 is a small sheet of water, nearly round, and is the eighth 

 from the source of the chain of which Central hake, seven 

 miles long, is at the foot. (There are six more lakes below, 

 hut these do not form a part of, though communicating by 

 river with, what is known as the Intermediate Chain.) The 

 long strokes of the oars soon bring us to the "narrows, "ana 

 up through Hanly's Lahewe pass, and leave behind the clear 

 ings near. In. village. 



Still and cloudy is the afternoon, the southerly wind jusl 

 rippliug the water and causing the ripened leaves of birch 

 and maple •" Beck its surface With their beauties. No fro.'-ts 

 touched our forests or gardens along the lake until after the 

 first of October, and the magnificent foliage is at the height 

 of its autumn splendor. 



On we "•o, over beds of moss and the waving masses ol 

 snakeweed, whose tuberous root is the "white potato" of the 

 liapp.r and the Indian. Now wc pass a bed of wild oats 

 Croni which arise in muffled t bunder hundreds of blackbirds, 



' which settle in the black ash trees along ihe lake. Fifty 

 I loaded shells and a leu-bore double barrel lie within reach of 

 my hand: but for the birds, "I harm noi God's creatures so 

 tiny a i they." Forever cursed be toe memories of the black- 

 guard shootem who paddle the lakes ami tramp the woods 

 with no thought except to blaze at every fnrred or feathered 

 creature they may see, or to brag at evening, over their grog 

 and greasy cards, of the bushels" of fishes they have caught. 

 I have seen numbers of such fellows, of an ag"c which should 

 have brought them better sense, who would have liivd at 

 those birds, "just 10 SI <■ how many they could knock down. 



And now we reach the mouth of Sissoh's River, The 

 silvery minnows sparkle through Ihe eddies and whirls, and 

 over t'he yellow sands. Here ar.- bushels of clams, and the 

 while .shells which •rleam in the beds of moss amid the 

 masses of fern along The banks, tell that the nmskrata live 

 here too. Here, loo, are dense swamps of ash and cedar, 

 tangled with the wild vines of the grape, above which glows 

 the scarlet iruil of ihe vihuniuin. The pale purple of the 

 milkweed was long since replaced by Ihe brilliant cardinal, 

 and this has been succeeded by berries, crimson. .. 

 blue. The white pond lily and ils yellow friend have van- 

 ished, and the cat-tail and the cephalantiius. though they 

 make brave show in point of numbers; can hardly distract 

 the eve from its contemplation of the brigbt-hucd birch above 

 the deep, still pool., where slumber giant bass or maskalonge. 

 Hut hold, what have we berev Out of the forest oomel'n a 

 boat; verily, it is of primitive construction; and who are ye, 

 tall riders of the wave, that onward speed its .ours. • fife 

 thinks 1 should know Ihciu: and lo, they are oi Ihe tribe of 

 Willsoii: their craft ;: dug-OUt, their lading I ill rl let I pears, 

 ripe, large and juicy. Fruits pass, courtesies are exchanged, 

 and the Kelpie speeds her way. What snith tin. Yikiugahalk 

 of ihe mighty Frilhiof? 

 •If a merchant sails by, spare, his ship, to the weak 1(51 a tribute for 



safely be told; 

 Thou ait king on thy waves, he a Slavs In his griiii, and iliy sieel is as 

 good as Ms gold." 



Out of the river and into Benway's Lake A family of 

 that name (or more correctly Ih'iioiii liv.son ils bank. I 

 look backward at the rustic bridge— a pretty "bit." which I 

 have often thought to sketch— and pull for the tall pine tree 

 that stands, lone warder, on a point of land which juts into 

 the lake, a favorite haunt of Indians in their day. as attested 

 by lie relies they have left, Good camp ground this; a 

 brook Hows near, and on it is Betrway's mill.' When 1 first 

 saw his barn it was adorned with the shaggy hide of B huge 

 brown bear. 



On through the lake, anil into a waste of reeds we pass, 

 and stem the current which flows (torn Willson's Lake. 

 Tins Willson hath a mill, and under ii a spring, its waters 

 mo-i superlatively good. 1 have sometimes thought lo emu- 

 late the performance of Mine. Fenimetic Van Hlarcom, who. 

 according lo ihe veracious chronicler. Washington Irving, 

 removed*! he spring from be- old homestead in Holland, and, 

 having brought if to the banks of the Hudson, set it down 

 near Wolfcrt's Hoost. where it may still be serai, to edif\ Ihe 

 minds and quench the thirst of those who doubt the story. 

 Willson was lost in the woods some- years ago, and in search- 

 iugfor the trail discovered this mill sile. it was long before 

 he could find it again, but having done so be built a mill 

 thereon, as he had planned when first he saw the spot. 



On and on, past the winding hills that ever open before 

 us new vistas of woodland beauty, and wc reach the mouth 

 Of another river mar Bob White's (."not that" Hob While, 

 "but the other" Bob White). The muskrats silently swim- 

 ming the channel, drop their freight of freshly gathered 

 reeds and scuttle homeward. A mink, with bright black 

 beady eyes, peers for an instant through Ihe fiinge of a 

 tussock on the shore. The kingfisher, watching from a 

 blasted cedar for his evening meal, drops into the water, 

 misses his supper, and gives vent to au uuu.siiajh .sonorous 

 .aiiic. .\id.ni i\ expressive of supreme disgust. 



Nub against ihe evening sky a lishing eagle sours, a harm- 

 less bird. Twb-were picked". Up last spring (April) in Torch 

 Lake, where they had wantonly been shot. I send you the 

 dimensions of one of these in the ■ •pen-wrUing" of the 

 finder: "Spred of Winges 841 Inches From Peak lo Tail ;16i 

 Inches Wait 10 Lbs." 



The next, known as "Bowers's Lake,'' rakes iisiiame from 

 old Ham r. a ( ierinan farmer who here sealed many years 

 ago. and still occupies his little while cabin on ihe border of 

 the lake. His neighbor, Gotham, dwells across, and further 

 down the shore. Vou can see his fruit trees peeling above 

 the tops of the western hills. These men are all thrifty, and 

 improve their condition from year to year. 



Steadily blows the white-ash breeze, and now and then, 

 from losr'or reed bed along the shore, the wild ducks rise 

 with their sharp, shrill scream at the Kelpie gliding pasi. 

 The sun has set and the clouds are darkening UMt, aaup 



between the river-bordering cedars we pull for St.. (lairs 

 Lake. A batCOmes flapping by, and remembering Thnlaba 

 amid the ruins of Babylon, 1 feel "the dangerous ground 

 before me 1 ' with my oar. 



Out through the nailing river weeds and the broad pond- 

 lily leaves, and up the dark, still lake. Hounding a poiut ft 

 light appears high on the fat hillside. It Is at St. ( 'lair's 

 house. (Some call him Sinkler. These transmogrifications 

 sometimes make one feel qneerish,) So far to the north- 

 ward, bid from the "ox bow" Ihe trend is southerly, through 

 Six-Mile, Scott's and Echo lakes, with their connecting 

 stream,. There is a good camp mound on the point south 

 Of >;. Chtir'S. The Kelpie UUdsthe landing in '.he dark 

 and the day's journey is ended. 



I -tep ashore, discharge cargo, light a fire, pitch tent, 

 brew tea, sup, light my pipe. and. standing on the hill- 

 slope above, gaze southwaid over Ihe vast, dim too sis and 

 the lonely lake, and mv thoughts leap forward to the com- 

 ingdays "when this region of the Intermedial.- shall be known 

 as the garden spot of the Norih. in land. 



Lonely is the lake indeed, but will it be so long? Even 

 now, on the south wind eometh the whir of wheels, which 

 "spin the iron thread that weaves our w.ti of towns." Not 

 without some feelings of regret do 1 look forward to the 

 day when the steed of steam shall shriek along this beauti- 

 ful" vallcv, rousing the surly bear and the timid deer with 

 the clanking of his irqn harness. 



And now the moon, wading through dark masses of cloud, 

 throws along lie glimmering waters a lainl and lili'ul light. 



The mists are gathering ta-t. and spectral forms float by, 

 their cloudy garments trailing on the wave. Whai were ye, 

 ghosts'; 



Wampuinedwarriorsof the wilderness.or steel-clad knights • 

 of France, who swept, sword-belted, through these shades, 

 in the night of the long ago? Vel ma so lung. Two lives 

 would cover all. The ghostly arms arise, and cloudy 

 weapons wave. "Weak is th.s shield ot clouds, treble dial 



