FOREST AND STREAM 
350 
disposal of waste is a serious problem. Fur¬ 
ther south, in the waters of the Manasquan and 
Shark Rivers and other places, primitive yet cosy 
houses are not infrequent. Up along the shores 
of the Sound, and the Long Island and Con¬ 
necticut coasts, “the house on logs” is frequently 
to be observed. Where only a few boats were 
to be seen five years ago, to-day there are 
scores; showing that the fad, if the sport can 
be so called, is growing rapidly. The Hudson 
opens its entire length for the houseboat with or 
without engines or sails, and the houseboat turn¬ 
ing its prow up the Hudson may “hit the long 
trail” across the canal to Lake Champlain, wan¬ 
der on into the St. Lawrence, and bring up in 
the far-off Fundy. Such a thing has been done. 
But this, like the outside cruising off the Flor¬ 
ida Keys, is venturesome houseboating—house¬ 
boating Americanized, so to speak. 
The houseboat as a pleasure craft has many 
advantages over any other style of vessel. The 
most important considerations are those of cost 
and danger, either of which, as compared with 
the like on the steam yacht, is infinitesimally 
small. Only the millionaire—and the multi¬ 
millionaire at that—can afford the extravagance 
of a well appointed and properly manned steam 
yacht of any size, and in no other kind is it 
safe to venture out to open sea. Unlike the 
yachtsmen, the houseboatman is not at the mercy 
of a crew. He is his own captain and his own 
navigator, and if needs be his own cook. He 
is the most independent man on the face of the 
waters. His staunch little houseboat can push 
in where the most seaworthy yacht could not, 
and would not dare to venture. 
Perhaps one of the reasons why houseboating 
is becoming popular is the opportunity it affords 
the feminine part of a man’s family to join him 
in his outing. The cramped quarters of the ordi¬ 
nary yacht or sailing vessel do not permit of 
much comfort to a woman. But in a houseboat 
she is at home. The roof gardens that adorn 
many houseboats afford the women of the fam¬ 
ily ample opportunity to potter among the flow¬ 
ers and plants, always so dear to one of domes¬ 
tic tendencies and tastes. It is, after all, a 
matter of fresh paint, gay awnings, rattan deck 
chairs and flowers, for a houseboat is not the 
place for restraint in color. The little fem¬ 
inine touches here and there, the housekeeper’s 
careful supervision, and the presence of woman 
herself, go far toward making it so thoroughly 
attractive, and altogether an ideal life. 
One of the greatest charms of life on a house¬ 
boat is its complete freedom and independence. 
If the owner so wills, he can cut himself and 
his family off from civilization as completely as 
does the hunter and angler who plunges into the 
deep woods and travels afar, simply to avoid the 
crowd and to be alone with nature. The disciple 
of houseboating has many advantages over the 
man who seeks the woods and mountains. A 
comfortable habitation with a tight roof and a 
dry bed is always at hand. Plenty of supplies 
can be carried without any extra labor, which, 
supplemented by fresh meat and poultry and 
vegetables from the market or farmhouse a few 
miles away, will feed the houseboatman like a 
king. He may take his entire family away with 
him for months—something that is hardly practi¬ 
cable for the man who is camping out. In these 
days the average American is so used to certain 
conveniences of the city that he sadly misses 
them when sojourning in the woods; nearly all 
of them can be carried along on the trip of the 
ordinary houseboat. 
To the person who means to take a clear two 
months’ vacation, to the business man who wants 
a “week-end” house and amusement and to the 
ordinary autumn holiday-maker, the houseboat of¬ 
fers probably more change and refreshment than 
could be obtained by spending an equal sum on 
any other means of living, accommodation and 
amusement. Only one thing must be taken for 
granted or made a condition. The life ought 
to be more or less a lazy one. There can be 
no “energies and activities” of a very positive 
kind; very little entertaining, and in almost every 
case there must be a certain foregoing of very 
cherished household customs obtaining on land, 
which must not be expected on the water. Meals 
A Georgian Bay Houseboat. 
cannot very well be so elaborate. Rather early 
rising will be the rule, as it is on board a yacht; 
and there cannot be much entertaining because 
for houseboat life a minimum of servants is es¬ 
sential. Servants are a difficulty always, as they 
hate not to have all their usual apparatus round 
them. 
Here is a plan by which from three weeks to 
three months may be spent delightfully. It is a 
practical scheme, and if a party can be arranged 
with all members congenial, it can be made a 
red-letter year in the commonplace recreation 
record. At a cost astonishingly small many 
charming points of interest are available; and 
if the members of the party are inclined to artis¬ 
tic or literary tastes the time and material to 
indulge them will be furnished daily from the 
varied itinerary. It is a trip by canal boat, re¬ 
constructed into a houseboat, and includes a tour 
through the Hudson, Lake Champlain, the St. 
Lawrence, Ontario, etc., with side excursions to 
Saratoga, Lake George, the Adirondacks, Mon¬ 
treal, Quebec, Niagara Falls, and the cities of 
central New York. 
Near South Ferry, New York, is found an old 
landing place for the canal boat pilots. There 
are hundreds of canal boats there, and they come 
from many points of the north and west as far 
as the Great Lakes. For the most part these 
boats are commodious and well built, and as they 
are usually occupied by their owners, they are, 
naturally, very particular about the kind of 
freight they carry, their families living on the 
boats, the barques are kept in a fine condition 
and in worthy trim for human habitation from 
end to end. 
These craft can be turned into houseboats for 
the accommodation of from six to fifteen holi¬ 
day seekers for a summer’s cruise at an ex¬ 
pense not exceeding five to fifteen dollars per 
week each. The interior can be painted, car¬ 
peted with rugs, small partitions of wood or 
compo board made, cots put up, and conveniences 
for both men’s and women’s comfort provided. 
A library may be installed, cases and chests for 
cameras and fishing paraphernalia, a piano, and 
folding tables. It could not only be made a 
