20 



RECREATION. 



ment and as I had neglected to waken ear- 

 ly I had to rush my breakfast. I made 

 the canoe ready while the fire was getting 

 up; then put the oat meal to cook on 

 the crossbars, with the coffee pot hanging 

 over it. I had a small fire but it was 

 burning well and was hot. All was ready 

 but as I took the coffee pot from the 

 hook it slipped from the end, made one 

 half turn and landed top side down in the 

 oatmeal pan, w T hich also turned over, put- 

 ting out the fire. I was 20 minutes late 

 keeping my appointment, but I had my 

 breakfast. 



Almost every day someone would pass 

 the camp and ask, "Are you not lone- 

 some here?" I became so tired of the 

 question that I made a sign on a strip of 

 birch bark, "I am not," to which I pointed 

 when the question was asked. 



August 30th the farmers held their an- 

 nual picnic, and as I was on the edge of 

 the picnic grounds my camp was one of 

 the attractions. I knew I would be both- 

 ered by the farmers' questions, so I built a 

 fence of grape vine around the camp, and 

 along the top of the fence I twined some 

 running thorn vines. It was amusing to 

 see the people come up to the fence, start 

 to lean on the top and then find it was 

 heavy. 



I had some friends at camp that day, 

 for a dinner of roast corn and flapjacks. 

 While I was cooking the dinner a crowd 

 lined up along the fence. They had never 

 before seen the flapjacks flip, and were 

 greatly interested. 



One day I had Mr. and Mrs. Lyons, 

 from the boat house, with some friends, 

 at camp for a fish dinner. They had never 

 eaten fish baked in mud in a camp fire. 

 They pronounced the fish and roasted corn 

 "the best ever." 



I had several campfire parties, and every 

 one greatly enjoyed them. I built the 

 • regular camp fires with the back log 8 

 feet long and 5 feet high ; and the fire was 

 grand when well under way. During the 

 evening I served roasted corn, hot choco- 

 late and watermelon. There was always 

 a rush for the Morris chair, and it was 

 seldom unoccupied. 



To make that chair I cut 2 birch sap- 

 lings 2 inches in diameter and 8 feet long 

 and sharpened one end to drive in the 

 ground at an angle of 25 degrees, or at 

 any angle the chair is to be placed. Then 

 I drove 2 crotched sticks well in the 

 ground 3 feet, on the ground, from the 

 long saplings, and slanting out, the ends 

 of the crotches extending 4 inches above 

 the long saplings. I placed a strong stick 

 across the top of the extending crotches to 

 support the seat. 

 I made the seat by twining strong grape 



vine in and out from side to side. I held 

 each end in place by the next vine I put 

 on. The vines soon shape themselves to 

 the body and are exceedingly comfortable. 

 A blanket thrown over the chair softens 

 sharp edges and points. I made a foot 



THE MORRIS CHAIR. 



rest by driving a crotch in the ground on 

 each side and placing a heavy stick on the 

 top. 



Just before I left the lake, a number of 

 my friends from the city came up one 

 Friday to spend Sunday and took a fur- 

 nished cottage on the other side of the 

 lake. Saturday morning it rained, so we 

 all had to come in from fishing and enjoy 

 ourselves as best we could. One of the 

 boys had 2 reed poles out from the dock 

 baited with frogs, while he sat on the 

 porch out of the rain and watched the 

 lines. He was talking and forgot all 

 about fishing, until someone said: 



"Great Scott ! Look at that pole !" 



There it was, going out toward the 

 middle of the lake, against the wind. The 

 way that fellow went down the path to 

 the dock was marvelous. He jumped into 

 a boat, nearly falling out he was so excited, 

 tried to get the oar in the oarlock, but 

 could not ; so he took the oar and pad- 

 dled, half the time the wrong way, till he 

 was up to the pole. 



In the meanwhile the fish had jumped 

 nearly 2 feet out of the water, in plain 

 view of the people in the 2 cottages, and 

 its weight was estimated at 4 to 8 pounds. 



As the man put down the oar and walked 



