all this artificiality.” He’s going to 
“gaze” out over the forested hills from 
the mountain tops—to go to the river’s 
end and when he gets there to keep on 
going etc., etc. ... ad infinitum. 
Well I begin to get the spirit and we 
mortgage our past and our future and 
cook up a trip up into Quebec—up to 
Hudson’s Bay. We’d cover 1,000 miles 
by canoe before we got down to Mon¬ 
treal up three rivers and down three 
others and through about 100 lakes. 
Routes, maps, schedules, lists of g'rub 
and equipment, flies, 
guns, and things pass 
back and forth ’til the 
guy that brings me my 
pink letters asks me 
if I’ve gone into the 
mail order business. 
Well, time drags 
along like a truck go¬ 
ing up hill with sticky 
valves, ’til the middle 
of the month where 
you begin to spoil a 
shirt and a couple of 
collars every d a y— 
June, they call it. 
Anyway, I spent the 
days buying canvas 
and sewing up a 
waterproof pack, and 
the evenings studying 
the old issues of Forest 
and Stream for sug¬ 
gestions on “going 
light” from the great 
old clan of master 
woodsman who keep 
the traditions of Ness- 
muk alive. 
Then Friday morn¬ 
ing three of us hit the 
state road headed 
north. By the way, 
did you know that no 
more rapid, inexpens¬ 
ive and interesting 
mode of travel can be 
found than “bum¬ 
ming?” Just doll up in 
a white negligee shirt 
open at the throat, a 
vvith them at the lake. A refreshing 
swim, a humdinger supper, a bully ses¬ 
sion about camps and trips, hunting 
and fishing and then the sheets, the 
last for over two months. 
The next morning the world looked 
bi ight and the road inviting. Time and 
space flew by and at noon we blew into 
Saratoga in an open Hudson. We 
found it a city of imposing hotels and 
foul tasting springs. We sampled 
them all and then bought some cheese 
and sardines, and sped out of town. 
MAP SHOWING ROUTE TAKEN 
pair of breeches- and golf socks—yes, 
and a pair of shoes, of course, and all 
the usuals—then even the Queen of 
Sheba herself will stop her chariot and 
ask you to sit upon the leather throne 
with her. Speedy? Indeed! Aristo¬ 
cratic? Well, rather! Interesting? 
Say! 
We raced through Albany, and on the 
outside of Schenectady a Franklin 
steamed up behind us with five young 
engineers who had their names on the 
pay-roll of the General Electric at 
Schenectady. They spent their week¬ 
ends at Balston Lake, and a mile later 
we were invited to spend the night 
Page 5.55 
Evening caught us up near Paul 
Sn ith’s Inn, outside of Saranac Lake. 
Expensive? Wow! So we passed the 
night very comfortably on the folded 
aisle runners of a little white church 
on the hill, and left “four bits” in the 
collection plate to ease our consciences 
and to start the collection for the 
morrow. 
On the road we met a Federal truck 
carrying a piano to Lake Placid. Up 
on top we made ourselves at home—it 
was like a ride to Coney Island or 
Chinatown on a “rubberneck” bus. 
Miles flew past as we plunged into val¬ 
leys and climbed hills along the smooth 
ribbon of asphalt, threading its way 
through the Adirondacks. Wonderful 
roads—wonderful country. Thunder¬ 
ing down into some of those thickly 
pined gorges was like sinking into a 
bed of balsam pillows—only more so. 
You have felt that heavy perfume of 
the pines fill your lungs; you breathe 
deeper and deeper, only breathing out 
that you may breathe in again. 
We invade the Royal Domains with¬ 
out trouble. Two summers before we 
had been held up by the immigration 
Officials and asked the 
exorbitant entry bond 
of 100 iron men each. 
At the end of that 
summer we had writ¬ 
ten to Ottawa in com¬ 
plaint. This time we 
slid through like lard 
on a hot frying pan. 
No trouble at all, I as¬ 
sure you. The St. Law¬ 
rence waters were of an 
emerald pureness which 
lay in an unbroken, 
transparent sheet 
ahead and piled in del¬ 
icately green tinted 
waves in the wake of 
the ferry. 
We pulled into Ot¬ 
tawa that evening, just 
three days from New 
York, having ridden in 
everything from the 
luxurious Packard to 
the determined little 
Ford—with everybody 
from a bricklayer go¬ 
ing - home from work 
to a patent medicine 
millionaire of Buffalo, 
just out for the ride. 
Next day we looked 
up the wholesale gro¬ 
ceries, and bought 500 
pounds of proteins, 
carbohydrates fats, and 
BEANS. The menu 
figured up like this: 
flour, 75 lbs.; corn- 
meal, 40; oatmeal, 40; 
barley, 15; rice, 50; beans, 65 ; peas, 
50; that was our larder. Then we 
stocked up on dried fruits that proved 
to be as good as a doctor in the crowd 
—besides making very acceptable des¬ 
serts until we got into the huckle¬ 
berry season. We had raisins, 20; 
prunes, 25; apricots, 20; peaches, 15; 
apples, 20; then we lined up 30 pounds 
of bacon, 25 of salt pork, 15 of lard, 
8 of salt, 10 of Klim, chocolate, 20; 
baking powder, 5; a dozen cans of 
Mazola, a small bottle of vanila, a box 
of allspice, coffee, tea, and ten pounds 
of dried vegetables, including potatoes, 
(Continued on page 578) 
