136 
March, 1920 
F O 
RUSSELL'S 
“NEVER LEAK" 
Thebuilt-for-hard-knocks 
boot that sportsmen 
swear by — soft, easy-fit- 
ting and as near water- 
proof as a leather boot 
can be. 
For Outdoor Sport or Work 
Duxbak and Kampit are primarily clothes 
for rough outdoor work or hard play in 
any kind of weather. They combine good 
sense, style, economy and service. 
D uxbak is rainproof ed. Kampit is lighter 
weight and UTICA - DUXBAK 
not rain- gt CORPORATION 
proofed. 
At any good 
Sporting 
Goods Dealer 
FREE 1920 
Style Book 
10 Hickory Street 
N. Y. 
KENNEBEC 
RE\!VE15EC Ci A. IVORS — Safest to Use 
The superiority of the KENNEBEC CANOE 
is due primarily to an ideal — the aim of the 
makers to create a new and higher standard in 
canoe building. Write for the Free Book today. 
Kennebec Boat and Canoe Co. 
•22 K R. Sq., Watery? lie. Maine. 
REST AND STREAM 
« 
BIMINI- ISLE OF MYTH 
A VISIT TO THIS SO CALLED SPORTSMAN’S PARADISE REVEALS 
THE FACT THAT ITS ADVERTISED ATTRACTIONS DO NOT EXIST 
By TOM CHADBURN 
HE Isle of North Bi- 
mini it one of the 
Bahama group situ- 
ated approximately 
forty-five miles east 
of Miami, Florida. 
The foregoing in- 
formation is set 
forth in a booklet 
supplied to prospect- 
ive members of the 
Bimini Bay Rod and 
Gun Club, but as far 
as the rest of the booklet is concerned 
the statements are mostly fiction. 
The promoters of the Bimini Bay Rod 
and Gun Club may be past masters in 
the art of word painting, but extrava- 
gant language and neatly printed litera- 
ture will never put the Isle of Bimini on 
the map as a “Sportsman’s Paradise.” 
Fish, fish-bait, and game are conspicuous 
by their absence on the land, and in the 
waters that surround the island, and a 
rude awakening awaits the sportsman, 
who, attracted by alluring statements, 
may invest in a Membership Certificate 
of this club and supplement his invest- 
ment by a visit in anticipation of sport. 
The writer of the booklet has indeed 
a most fertile imagination. Opening 
with a two page description of club fa- 
cilities the entire booklet runs riot with 
glowing pen-pictures that lead one to 
believe Bimini is already a complete ex- 
istant “Isle of Joy” for sportsmen. The 
description of the magnificent club house, 
said to contain 105 rooms with private 
baths, large lobbies, rest rooms, dining 
concourse with seating capacity for 300 
people, wireless service, and other mod- 
ern conveniences, winds up with a sweep- 
ing assertion that the building and equip- 
ment of the club is second to none in the 
United States, and conveys to the reader 
a picture of the joys that await him. 
As a matter of fact, the only available 
accommodations for members on January 
25, 1920, were limited to the comforts 
afforded by a few army tents. Artesian 
wells, tennis courts, golf courses, surf 
casting pier, club house, dining con- 
ocurse, commissary and all the other fea- 
tures that the booklet indicated were 
complete and ready to welcome the visit- 
ing sportsman were, as far as the writer 
could observe, invisible. 
Reaching Bimini, contrary to all state- 
ments, is far from being an easy matter, 
and the published assertion that the 
island is easily reached by all manner of 
large and small sail or power boats in 
from two to six hours presents a differ- 
ent aspect when the journey is under- 
taken. Forty-five miles in from two to 
six hours calls for something more than 
the average type of sail or power craft 
available for charter at Miami, is capa- 
ble of accomplishing, regardless of the 
fact that our old friend, the Gulf Stream, 
is usually in a turbulent state during the 
winter months, and the sportsman who 
has the temerity to essay a trip from 
Miami to Bimini, in the face of the pre- 
vailing East or Southeast winds, will find 
difficulty in inducing a boatman to under- 
take the journey. 
A N unquenchable desire to visit the 
Isle, of Bimini and participate in 
the wonderful fishing and hunting 
promised by the Bimini Rod and Gun 
Club literature induced the writer to 
procure a passport and to undertake the 
hazardous trip. For some reason or other 
the boatmen approached were averse 
to undertake the journey, but finally 
the founteen-ton auxiliary sloop, “The 
Stranger,” commanded by Captain Mal- 
loy, was chartered, and after a few days’ 
delay on account of unfavorable winds, 
the journey was begun at 3 P. M. The 
course set was toward Gun Key Light, 
(CONTINUED CN PAGE 154) 
The Government Administration Building on the Island of North Bimini 
