The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-07-12
SUMMER sAUNTERINGs
On the Eastern Shore of Lake Michigan The
Attractions of st. Joseph.
Correspondence Of the Indianapolis Journal.
70. for a lodge in some vast wilderness.

Every man, my friend says to me, 'has in
him something of the INDIAN And guess it
is true. Who is there whose thoughts do not
now, if at no other time, turn often to green
woods and babbling brooks. This instructive
longing for personal freedom takes the form of
a set of queries such as this; Where shall l
spend my summer vacation2 How much time
have u What fundsl How can 1 get the full
est returns for my painsl To the average in
habitant of Indiana should answer, try ST. Jo-
seph.
st. Joseph situated on the southeastern coast
of Lake Michigan, and in the State of that name,
presents several features of interest to the sum
mer tourist Built on a high bluff this village
enjoys air as clear, sweet, as vitalizing, as
any breath that this mundane sphere can afford.
And the view, as saunters along the park
that skirts the brow of the hill-this view is not
surpassed in this Western country, At the point
in front of the Lake View Hotel one may com
mand an outlook embracing water horizon of
two-thirds of the circumference of the sky line.
From this elevated spot let the eye wander
along league after league of this horizon, and
you will find it easy to convince yourself that
you are out of sight of land; and such sensa
ton is novel one for the average inhabitant of
Indiana. The people of our State have made
all reasonable effort to discover pleasant sum
mer resorts within its borders We believe that
if they will now try the near margins of the
great lakes, they will find the natural attractions
of such places quite superior to anything near
the smaller bodies of water. An indefinite sup
ply of the aqueous element is about the only
thing that will inspire most people with the idea
that they are at genuine summer resort; at
any rate it is so with me. The few acres of
shimmering duck-pond that were once delight
to my soul are now no longer fair in my eyes,
because forsooth, have learned that very
slight additional expense will afford me the adj
vantage of the stiff breezes of Lake Michigan,
single inhalation of which is more lnvigorating
to the human fame than are all the airs that
sweep Ger all the swamps of our beloved State
1t is not in our heart to speak slightingly of our
swamp lands. We understand as we'll as
another that the time is not distant when these
lands will be the richest belt in the north tenn
perate zone. But we doubt whether any one
could persuade us that they ever will make de-
sirable summer resorts.
When we say that the advantages of the great
lakes can be secured for only slight advance
over the cost of other places, we refer only to
car-fare; and this advance, for all except the
most remote. will amount to something less than
$40. Day board, wholesome, so far as have
seen is furnished by the hotels at 81 per week,
and good rooms are to be had at prices
ranging from 81 to $3.50 per week
This is cheaper than most people can live at
home. To be sure one would not go to St Joe
for the sake of finding something to eat; and if
he should, it is not unlikely that he would be
disappointed. But if one should go for the sake
OF cool fresh air and inspiring scenery that will
compel him to forget care or for plying the
anglers noble art or for snipe shooting, or for
sailing on the lake, or a pull in the river or
merely for some quiet retreat far from the
madding crowds ignoble strife"--if any or all
such be the desires of his soul. he will leave this
place happy and contented man, happier than
h he had expected to be, and well contented that
( you will find that he has resolved to return soon
Fish, Yes, indeed. Sit out on the end of the
pier about o'clock in the evening, and you will
catch white bass as fast as you bait your
hook: and if you have two hooks on your line
you will frequently catch two at once; and if
three hooks, three at once One little fellow by
my side pulled out five all dangling from the
same line, and it did not seem to excite much
surprise among those standing about This fish
runs about the size of the ordinary black bass
In the evening and the morning you meet men
and boys with strings of thirty or forty. A lit
tie better fun, however, is to have man row
you up the river as far as the mouth of Pawpaw
creek. For $l25 he will take you back and
forth, back and forth, from side to side up and
down, all day long; he Will cross every fishing
hole in the river, SO that few of those large
\ gamy fellows that can be taken only with
spoon hook, are yours, if you so elect As
we were walking along the bank, we met a
man in boat He held up fish which he said
weighed thirty pounds. It was muskallonge
and had just been taken by trolling. met the
fellow afterwards in town and he was rejoicing
over having found sale for the monster. He
had received for it fifty cents. Black bass are
abundant in the harbor
have been told that a little later the hunting
fcn af ne a.
ployer and duck being very common. | no
ticed that the reedy margins of the river were
full Of what the natives called rice-hens, but
what looked to me like the purple gallinule a
NIGH finer bird and far more savory.
Sall-boats and row boats are to be had for a
trl1ess pleasant diversion in this line is to
step aboard The John A. Dix any evening af
ter supper, and 60 over to Chicago. The dis
tance is sixty miles, and the time consumed in
transltu flom four to five hours One can have
almost ful day in the city for business or pleas
ure. and then return in the evening The John
A. Dix is fne old steamer, built by the gov
ernmentduring the war for use on Lake Erie Its
machinery alone cost $4,000 1t is now owned
by private parties.
Personally. am not much in the fishing line,
and cannot stand it long at time. And that is
the reason why prefer this place for a vacation
rest Camping out and canoeing and all that
sort Of thing have tried and they do not COM
pare with this When the seat on the pier be-
comes intolerably hard can saunter up to the
hotel roll off the flannel shirt don what dear
old Artemus was wont to call "a clean boiled
rag and stroll down by the brow Of the hill
Seated on ono Of the plain wooden benches under
the trees one can pleasantly forget the traditions
of Isaac Walton and his tribe and lose himself
in White Wings or some other volume of
Blacks inimitable water sketches Or YOU NAV
throw your head back in your hands while you
rest your eye on the parti-colored ribbon where
che pale tints of the lake meet the faint blue Of
the sky, and thus yield yourself to sweet revery
When one wakes to more active thought, lie
cannot fail to drop into very serious mood, as