Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-09-28

! Our expedition began at Hantsport, one
Of the basins south shore twice-a-day
seaports, where we left the railroad
| train in light marching order to take
| small steamer which was advertised to run at
hlgh tide TO Parrsboro, on the other side of the
! basin We found our steamer, the Hiawatha
! resting on the dry beach at the end OF it's
wharf. Inc water line was some distance out,
| but creeping steadily nearer. A number of
| other vessels occupied what Washingtonian
would be tempted to call the Minas or Hants-
| port flats. The only other indication of
! activity IN Hantsport was the skeleton of a
wooden ship in course of construction SINH
| lar skeletons were seen at the other Minas vii
lagos. But the once hourishing industry of
! ship-building has shrunk almost to nothing
| since the decadence of the wooden ship and
the decay Of trade with the United States under
the Dominion policy OF protection. We de-
scended into the Hiawatha from the wharf by
means of steep ladder and very soon climbed
back again A search for information devel-
oped certain facts which caused this sudden
retreat We could allow only two DAYS for the
tidal-wave trip. 1t would be necessary to cross
the basin at high tide OF one day and return at
time which would enable the steamer to run
into the temporary seaports on the south shore
at high tide on the next day. The ladies failed
to discover IN this prospect anyopportunity to
observe tneir monster wave so we scrambled
| up the ladder, with the intention of going bv
another boat to a village near Cape Blomidon
/ on the south shore, and of visiting the cape the
! next morning at high tide by means of a car
riage. Thus fate turned our steps toward
| THE ACADIA, A MICROSCOPIC STEAMER,
which we discovered after some search hidden
in the mud behind one of the wharves. The
! Hiswatha is small, but she is so large that she
| is compelled to run straight across the basin at
/ high tide, and can waste no time in visiting on
the way. The Acadia. however, can float and
| run IN moistened gutter, and therefore skirts
| the whole south shore of ths basin, stopping at
the various villages, before she crosses to the
| north shore. She is manned by three men
| The captain is the Pooh Bah Of the shin serving
also as pilot, purser and deck hand As we
| were about to descend into the Acadia the
| consolidated captain and crew aforesaid re-
! quested US to wait few minutes
| We discovered that Hantsport dock
can get up a strike as well as the docks at Lon
| don. 1t seems that the Hiawatha and the
Acadia, the only steamers on the basin, belong
| to the same owners, and the engineer of one Of
them had just begun an obstinate and de-
termined strike. Unless an amicable settle
lnent could be effected only one of the steamers
| could make its trip, and we were advised to
| save ourselves the descent into the Acadia
| until We were sure that she would leave the
wharf. The officers and crews of the Hiawatha
\ and Acadia. to the number of at least a half
/ dozen persons. gathered in an excited group
Cd the wharf and discussed the matter from
/ every point of view with a number of Hants-
porters as an interested audience, until the
| water began to creep under the Acadia
and she gave shiver and a wriggle pre-
/ hmiDary to floating. Then il was decided
to hold the Hiawatha and send out the Acadia,
| a decision which l suspect was somewhat in.
I huenced by the fact that our party furnished
/ three paving passengers for the Acadia whose
fares would be lost if she failed to make the
| trip. So We embarked and the Acadia steamed
haway from Hantsport over the fats with many
pufings and several hair-raising blasts from a
| fog-born whistle, the sound from which is
| many thousand times Larger than the Acadia
itself. We took possession Of the steamers
pilot house. and the captain pointed out to us
| the objects of interest as we sklrted the dyke
| meadows, passed the Gaspereau's mouth, the
| scene of the embarkation OF the Acadians and
| twisted up narrow, crooked channel through
the fats to the wharf at Woifyille At this
| point the steamer took on four or five addi-
| tional passengers and assumed the appearance
| OF an oyercrowded excursion boat After div
ing in and out OF several similar seaports we
| approached the one at which we we're to leave
| the steamer to make the land trip to Blonidou
Our conversation in the pilot house had placed
US on excellent terms with the captain, and al
| this juncture he upset our plans and caused us
to hold another council of war by urging tina,
| We cross the basin to place called Partridge
! Island whose attractions he painted in glow
| ing terms. instead of making the trip by car
| rage to Blomldon which, he predicted, would
be tedious and unsatisfactory journey.
Ho! FOR PARTRIDGE ISLAND.
The objection concerning the tides he me,
by stating that the Partridge Island hotel is a,
the very edge of the water. and that the ladies
could see the tide come in from the windows OF
their rooms in the middle of the night. The
objection that we we're starving and could moi
possibly wait until We bad crossed the basin he
fore getting something to eat was brushed
aside by his oder to provide us with q lunch
This argument carried the day The Acadia
is so small that 1t hardly seemed possible tina,
it could have an interior, but il really has and
in due course We descended into our ..lunch
room" II was small and close and the steam
from the boiler was blown by the wind directly
into it, until il seemed to US that We might a.
well have lunched in the boiler ITSELF For
lunch We had tea, without milk, in which
we stirred brown sugar with pewter spoons
large, hard crackers; huckleberry pie eaten
with knives, NO forks being among the steamer
furnishings, and uncooked hucklsberries. We
were hungry and ate the lunch II did MOI
cost much, and we had Turkish bath thrown
in gratuitousiy. Increasing to the north shore
of the basin we steamed close TO the side Of
Cape BiorIidon, which seemed to stretch
farther and farther in front OF Us the more OF
it we passed The dark mass OF the promoL
tory, the lighter wall-like layer along the upper
edge, and the trees projecting cannon-liks
above this vail give Cape Blomid0n the ap,
spearance Of fortress.