Nov. s, 1904.] 
880 
Officers of A. C. A., 1904. 
Commodore— C. F. Wolters, 14 Main St. E., Rochester, N. Y. 
Secretary-Treasurer— John Sears Wright, 519 West Ave., Rochester, 
N. Y. 
ATLANTIC DIVISION. 
Vice-Commodore — W. A. Furman, Trenton, N. J. 
Rear-Commodore — Frank C. Hoyt, New York. 
Purser — Chas. W. Stork, Trenton, N. J. 
Executive Committee— Louis C. Kretzmer, New York, N. Y. ; 
Edward M. Underhill, Yonkers, N. Y.; J. C. Maclister, 
Philadelohia, Pa. 
Board of Governors— R. J. Wilkin, 164 Montague St., Brooklyn, 
N. Y. 
Racing Board— H. L. Quick, Yonkers, N. Y. 
CENTRAL DIVISION. 
Vice-Commodore— H. W. Breitenstein, 511 Market St., Pittsburg, Pa. 
Rear-Commodore — Frank D. Wood, Buffalo, N. Y. 
Purser — Frank C. Demmler, 526 Smithfield St., Pittsburg, Pa. 
Executive Committee— Jesse J. Armstrong, Rome, N. Y. ; 
H. C. Hoyt, 26 S. Goodman St., Rochester, N. Y. 
Board of Governors — C. P. Forbush, 164 Crescent Ave., Buffalo, 
N. Y. 
Racing Board— Harry M. Stewart, 85 Main St. E., Rochester, N.Y. 
EASTERN DIVISION. 
Vice-Commodore — Henri Schaeffer, Manchester, N. H. 
Rear-Commodore— H. M. S. Aiken, 45 Milk St., Boston, Mass. 
Purser — Edw. B. Stearns, Manchester, N. H. 
Executive Committee— B. F. Jacobs, Jr., West Medford, Mass. ; 
D. S. Prate, Jr., Wellesley Hills, Mass.; Marcus Butler, 
Lawrence, Mass.; William W. Crosby, Woburn, Mass. 
Board of Governors— Paul Butler, U. S. Cartridge Co., Lowell, 
Mass. 
Racing Board — Paul Butler, U. S. Cartridge Co., Lowell Mass.; 
H. D. Murphy, alternate. 
NORTHERN DIVISION. 
Vice-Commodore— Chas. W. McLean, 303 St. James St., Montreal, 
Canada. 
Rear-Commodore — J. W. Sparrow, Toronto. 
Purser — J. V. Nutter, Montreal, Canada. 
Executive Committee — C. E. Britton, Gananoque, Ont. ; Harry 
Page, Toronto. 
Board of Governors — T. N. MacKendrick, Gait, Ont. 
Racing Board— E. J. Minet, 125 Vitre St., Montreal, Canada. 
WESTERN DIVISION. 
Vice-Commodore — Burton D. Munhall, care of Brooks Household 
Art Co., Cleveland, O. 
Rear-Commodore — Chas. J. Stedman, National Lafayette Bank 
Cincinnati, O. _ 
Purser — Geo. A. Hall, care of Bank of Commerce, Cleveland, O. 
Executive Committee — Thos. P. Eckert, 31 West Court St., Cin- 
cinnati, O. ; Dr. H. L. Frost, 10 Howard St., Cleveland, O. 
Board of Governors — Henry C. Morse, Peoria, 111. 
How to Join the A. C. A. 
From Chapter I., Section 1, of the By-Laws of the A. C. A. : 
"Application for membership shall be made to the Secretary, 
and shall be accompanied by the recommendation of an active 
member and by the sum of two dollars, one dollar as entrance 
fee and one dollar as dues for the current year, to be refunded 
in case of non-election of the applicant." 
In Canoe and Camp. 
BY C. E. NOXON. 
There were seven of us in the party originally, as we 
discussed the matter during the chill and bleak months 
of the winter, and each one promised, with all the 
seriousness of candor, that he would surely be a mem- 
ber on the projected trip. But Beck and I, who had 
brought the subject before our friends, had come to 
have a pretty fair understanding of the promises that 
spring so effusively from exuberant youth, and so were 
not surprised to see, as the summer dragged along, 
that the gentlemen who were so lavish in their assur- 
ances several months previous, began quietly to steal 
away, until there was nothing left of the party except 
the promoters. We were disappointed, but not dis- 
mayed; and according to schedule, we stepped aboard 
the steamer at Charlotte one beautiful morning in the 
month of August, bound for the Kawartha Lakes in 
Canada. On the boat we ran across an old friend, Fred 
Farber, who was making for a haven of refuge far from 
the madding crowd and the torments of hay fever. We 
unfolded our plans, and enlisted him on the spot. At 
Young's Point we found the guide, Elliott Robinson, 
in waiting with two canoes and a complete camping out- 
fit, which consisted of a tent, 7 by 7; ridge ropes and 
stakes; one rubber blanket 6 feet square, two small 
flannel blankets and two heavy blankets, a lantern, two 
small axes, a frying pan, two cooking pails, an assort- 
ment of tin dishes, knives, forks and spoons for four. 
Our provisions, which we secured at . the store in 
Young's Point, I copy exactly as it came from the 
grocer: pecks potatoes, 4 pounds lard, 3 pounds 
butter, salt and pepper, 5 dozen eggs, y 2 dozen boxes 
sardines, 1 pound black tea, 4 pounds sugar, 1 cake 
soap, 3 boxes soda crackers, 2 cans pork and beans, 
2 loaves bread, 10 pounds bacon. 
In addition to the above, we each carried a rain coat 
and a supply of clean clothes in two rubber duffle bags. 
On the following Monday morning we put the canoes 
and supplies aboard the steamer Majestic, and were 
soon bowling along the beautiful sheet of water known 
as Clear Lake. It was a most auspicious day for the 
star t — not a cloud in the sky. and the sun shone clear 
and warm. At McCrackeu's Landing we disembarked, 
loaded the canoes, and in a few moments dipped our 
paddles for a ten-mile pull up Stony Lake to Eel River, 
our first camping place. Too much cannot be said in 
praise of the scenery of Stony Lake. It is a counter- 
part in miniature of the vast and beautiful Thousand 
Island region. The lake, circular in shape, is studded 
with hundreds of islands of all sizes, from the little 
granite rock bare of vegetation, to the large boulders 
of earth and rock from whose freckled bosom springs 
the stately spruce; magnificent timberlands stretch 
^lors the eastern borders of the lake; off to the north 
as" far as the eye can reach, rise the hazy heights of 
the Blue Mountains, while nearer by on the western 
shore towers the verdure-clad Mt: Julian, at whose 
base, nestling in a beautiful valley that slopes gently 
to the water's edge, lies "beautiful Viamede," a favorite 
resort of American tourists. 
In between the islands we shot the canoes, stopping 
here and there to marvel at the wonders of the great 
rocks and imposing cliffs, or pausing under the shadowy 
branches of some overhanging tree to rest and smoke. 
At length the guide, who was laying the course, made 
a sharp turn under the lee of an island, and in an in- 
stant we opened up a little reach of water bewitchingly 
lined on either side by great drooping trees, whose 
splendid foliage canopied the stream, and made a de- 
lightful retreat from the burning rays of the sun. Idly 
paddling along the sylvan stream, we soon came to a 
little cove, into which leaped the waters of Eel River, 
sending the spray 111 all directions. Here we disem- 
barked and unpacked our duffle. The guide soon had 
a rousing fire going, and in a short time we sat down 
to a dinner of fried eggs, bacon, boiled potatoes, bread, 
butter and tea. A few peaceful moments with the after- 
dinner pipes, and then we proceeded to stretch the tent 
in a delightful pine-embowered spot only a few yards 
from where the river plunges over the rocks in its 
tumultuous course to Stony Lake. Then Beck and the 
guide paddled out into Stony for an afternoons 
fishing, while Farber and I remained in the cove to try 
our luck. About as fast as we threw in the lines, those 
ravenous little sunfish, that are to be found everywhere 
there is water, would grab the bait and make off with 
it. and finally becoming tired of feeding to these under- 
sized specimens worms that we had lugged all the way 
from Young's Point, we were on the point of going 
ashore, when some monster of the deep took my hook 
and started for home with a rush that nearly upset the 
canoe. Instantly all was excitement. I gave out the 
line, while Farber gave out instructions. 
"Keep a tight line on him," said he; "don't let him 
double on you. I guess we don't eat to-night, eh?" 
All the time the fish was fighting like a savage; the 
reel wouldn't work; the line had become tangled, and 
in the general confusion, we were in imminent danger of 
a capsize. I shifted my position slightly to steady the 
canoe; the line slackened, and the bass shot two feet 
in the. air. It was certainly a beautiful specimen, and I 
redoubled my efforts to land him. Again he broke 
water, and again Farber shouted his admonition to 
play, him carefully. Swish, swish, first this way, then 
that, the bass darted around in a frantic endeavor to 
shake the hook; but slowly and surely I was working 
him nearer to the boat. We had no landing net, but 
Fred volunteered to gather him in with his cap, and 
was just reaching over the side to see how it would 
work, when there was an extra vicious tug. and the 
line parted. I stared helplessly at my companion, while 
he became suddenly interested in the scenery. I waited 
for him to uncork- the vials of his wrath, but with a 
resignation worthy of a better cause, he only sighed and 
said, "Too bad," although I knew he had it in his 
heart to annihilate me then and there. We paddled 
ashore and rigged up another pole, but got no more 
strikes that day, and Farber's hopes for a fish fry were 
fast ebbing away, when our camp mates came in with 
a couple of three-pounders. 
After supper Beck and I shouldered the axes and 
despoiled about a score of fine spruce trees of their 
umbrageous adornment for the more comfortable re- 
pose of our weary bones. We first p;led the boughs 
to the depth of a foot or so on the ground in the tent, 
over which was spread the rubber blanket; on the lat- 
ter we laid a couple of flannel blankets, and over these 
as a covering for ourselves, we placed a large thick 
hunting blanket. This arrangement afforded us ample 
protection from any dampness of the earth or sudden 
cold wave during the night, while the boughs offered a 
resiliency refreshing and restful alike to the tired body. 
Farber kicked a little the next morning, on the mat- 
tress, sarcastically remarking that somebody had been 
a bit' too enthusiastic in clipping off boughs and cut 
down a young tree, for it lay athwart his back all night. 
For pillows we used the kneeling cushions from the 
canoes thrown over the duffle bags. The lantern was 
suspended from the ridge rope, and this completed our 
work of putting the house to rights for the night. 
Then we stirred up the fire, grouped ourselves 
around it, and with the pipes drawing well, stories pis- 
catorial and otherwise were reeled off, until it seemed 
that conscience itself had abdicated. At length as the 
embers burned low and the night air became more chill, 
we crawled in under the blankets, to be wooed to pleasant 
slumber by the aromatic odors of balsam and the 
ceaseless murmuring of the tumbling waters. 
We arose early the next morning, and after ablutions 
in the rapids and a hearty breakfast, we portaged over 
the rocks to an upper reach of Eel River, and thence 
paddled through three or four miles of wild and deso- 
late region to the foot of High Falls. It was a dull, 
gray morning, and a drizzling rain seemed imminent- 
conditions, which only heightened the bleak and forbid- 
ding aspect of the scenery. There was hardly a sound 
to break the morning stillness, except the occasional 
knocking, of the- paddle against the canoe, or the faint 
screeching of a crow far off in the distant woods. The 
water of the stream seemed black as ink, as we glided 
over jts waveless surface, our trolling lines out for 
some unsuspecting 'lunge,, an insult in itself to think 
lie would inhabit such a murky stream. After portag- 
ing three times over rocks and through marshes that 
seemed to bid defiance to our labors, we finally arrived 
at the falls. Here the river makes a long and rocky 
descent of some six hundred feet, forming a beautiful 
cascade, and the view more than atones for the trouble 
and time spent in reaching it. We put in an enjoyable 
hour of rest, and then paddled slowly back to camp, 
shooting some small rapids on, the return by way of 
diversion and devilment. As it still lacked several 
hours of dinner time, Beck and I decided to try the 
lateen rig, which had not yet been used. We spread 
the sail out on the grass, and it looked large enough 
for a half-rater. We had been used to knocking around 
with a bat wing, but this big three-cornered rig seemed 
like a spinnaker. However, we were not to be balked 
in our determination, and forthwith put on our bathing 
suits. Then we clamped on the crossbar, which fitted 
on the gunwales just forward of the first thwart; on 
either side were suspended the iron leeboards, fastened 
by kingpins. Then we stepped the mast. On the top 
of this there is a pin which is clutched by a ring in the 
gaff of the manisail, while on the main boom there is a 
jawhook which fits around the mast, thus holding the 
sail firmly to the spar. To douse the sail, all that is 
necessary to do is to pull aft on the main sheet, the jaw 
slips, the mast and the whole canvas is scandalized in a 
second. We went through a preliminary drill in the' 
cove, with Beck as skipper and myself as crew. Elliott 
said there was a store on the other side of Stony, and 
we decided to sail over and get some milk. We pad- 
dled out into the lake for a battle with the elements. 
The elements were there all right. We got a broadside 
from old Boreas that laid us over in jig time. It didn't 
quite upset us, but we were just as scared as though it 
had. Beck quickly shot the canoe up into the wind, 
and we lay to for a council of war. After getting our 
bearings, we concluded to lay the course on a diagonal, 
which would necessitate a buck into the wind, but which 
would be much safer than reaching, and we were in 
no hurry — to get wet. After a while, becoming more 
accustomed to the working of the sail, we became ab- 
solutely reckless, and more than once escaped a tip- 
over by pig-headed, unalloyed luck. When we got 
back to camp, Farber, who had been watching us from 
a distant island, remarked that in his opinion we were 
but one degree removed from downright idiocy; that 
he had never before seen such crazy sailing. We told 
him it was the most exhilarating sport yet, and invited 
him to go out with us in the afternoon. He declined 
the. invitation with sulphuric emphasis, and said he 
wouldn't chance our seamanship in a swimming pool 
10 by 15 feet in an airtight building. 
After dinner that day there was little doing. We 
loafed around camp, smoked, played cards and slept. 
About 5 o'clock the guide and Beck went out after bass, 
while Fred and I amused ourselves catching minnows 
on a line. That evening as we were sitting down to 
supper, a skiff glided into the cove poled by a middle- 
aged, white-haired man, nattily gotten up in white 
ducks, white negligee, white hat and white canvas shoes. 
If he had come in after dark, he probably would have 
received a fusilade of bullets, so ghost-like did he ap- 
pear. But as he did not, he was welcomed with that 
urbanity so characteristic of our camp. He was the 
owner of the island and cottage at the mouth of Eel 
River in Stony, and said his name was Grabbe. He 
and his wife occupied the cottage alone, and he had 
come over to invite us to spend the evening with them, 
and added, that he thought it would be worth our while. 
That "worth our while" was what caught Farber, and 
on behalf of the company he accepted the kind old 
gentleman's invitation, and said we would be over after 
supper. Farber went into the tent, and after rummag- 
ing around for a few minutes, dug up a collar, not ex- 
actly — well, it was linen anyway, and he straightway 
put it on. Beck combed his hair, while Elliott and 1 
made- no attempt to conceal our identity. 
Arrived at the cottage, Mr. G. presented us to his 
wife, a very gracious and entertaining lady. We ranged 
ourselves on the porch and passed on from such pleas- 
ant topics as the weather and beauty of Stony Lake to 
the more dignified and intellectual subjects of home 
rule and the speed of automobiles. We lingered a 
while and then, thanking our hosts profusely, departed 
into the great solemn night. After arriving at the 
camp, Elliott dragged out a half dozen big pine 
stumps, piled them high one on the other at the 
water's edge, and in a few moments the heavens were 
red with the glare of the blazing knots We got out 
the cards and played a few games of pedro on the 
rocks, and then silently sought our respective resting 
places on the balsam twigs. 
But somehow I could not sleep. Try as I would, I 
could not woo. the goddess of slumber a little bit. I 
tried lying on my right side, and then on my left, and 
at every turn uncovering my immediate neighbor and 
incidentally some fierce invective. Even the musical 
notes or" the laughing water and the lay of the whip- 
poorwill failed to cast the magic spell, and at last, ex- 
hausted by. my efforts and stifled by the close air of the 
tent, I arose quietly and stepped outside. I sauntered 
down to the water's edge, sniffing with keen delight the 
exhilarating ozone and contemplating with enraptured 
eyes the solemn splendors of the night. Save for the 
melody of the gurgling waters and the occasional notes 
of the nightbirds, all was quiet. The stately pines 
reared their tapering heads against the sky sombre and 
still, unmoved by the slightest breeze; the graceful 
contour of the cove was marked by the silvery sheen of 
the moon, while the foam-crested ripples of the rapids 
glinted and gleamed in a rhapsody of color. I lit my 
pipe, and sitting down beside the water, I thought of 
other days, of the days, when untrammeled by law, the 
red man was wont to roam the forest and paddle' the 
streams. And in my imagination I Avas carried back 
far beyond the pale of an enlightened age, back to the 
time when the great forces of civilization wpre yet 
unknown. Touched by the magic wand oi fancy, the 
