The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-11-06
LIFE IN A HOUSEBOAT.
NEATNESS AND COMFORT IN FLOAT
ING HOMES IN THE WEST.


the broad bosom of the great Father Of
Waters are moored number Of small
boats, which are literally floating homes
and invite no small amount of curiosity.
This new Venice Is located near thu
east end of Robert street bridge, and L
popularity set down as tough village.
Standing upon the bridge. IS or 10C
feet above the water and fats. and look
ing down upon these unique homes, you
see desolate stretch of shore line broken
by rock piles. decaying skiffs. irregular
stacks of bark and driftwood. fragments
OF tin roofing, rotten seines, broken bar
rels in al stages Of hoopless disintegra-
ton. and all the other hotsam and Jet
sam incident TO the beach of waterway
! with tides or varying volume of water
| In the foreground, and surrounded by
this Rbomination of desoiation, are
moored the string Of boat homes.
All are small, but some are larger
than others From the altitude of the
bridge they look like chicken coops. or
the residences of ultra-fashionable swine
! Descending from Robert street to the
fats by means of long fight Of steps.
the first boat approached is small I'M
painted affair, stranded upon a stony strip
of real estate temporarily loaned by the
river. The windows are curtainless and
dirty. no smoke curls upward from the
stovepipe on the roof, and you conclude
that it is untenanted There is a win
dow in the door. and a climb to the deck
lays bare a bachelors home, confessed
in the comfortless interior
A THRIFTY COUPLE
The next boat was quite elegant In
comparison II was about thirty feet
long, painted dark lavender, and had a
latticed porch or veranda, without a
roof, extending around three sides A
shallow fight of steps led from the
ground to this porch on the deck, and
pretty rustic flower pots and hanging
baskets adorned the steps and hung from
the lattice work. On the back porch a
line full of baby garments huttered in
the breeze, and a big black dog snooz-
ing in the sun kept guard over all The
owners of this boat are Danes or Nor
wegians
The husband is turner. and many or
namental pieces of his handiwork can
be seen about the boat His wages are
$3.50 per day, and with no rent, taxes
or assessments, street sprinkling or water
tax to pay, and with an industrious. eco
nomical and tidy little wife, this young
man is much better fixed for saving
money and enjoying life than olse-haR
of the men who get double his salary.
Following along the path the third
boat is reached. and the young couple
who live here are cousins Of the turner's
family. Such perfection Of neatness in
every detail of the small household it
has probably never been your good fort
une to see outside of New England
home. The kitchen floor was as white
as soap and honest scrubbing could
make it; the round breakfast table was
covered by bright Turkey red table
cloth; the small cook stove shone like a
mirror, and every cooking utensil in
sight was bright as a new dollar
The second room was a bedchamber.
and the same neatness was manifest in
the whiteness of the spreads and pillow
shams, the worked splasher and shining
toilet set. Not a speck nor a spot any
where. II you are astonished into re-
marking upon this high state Of cleanli-
ness the housewife, who cannot speak
English readily, will point with smile
TO the oceans of soft water just outside
ho o,,1 NlDon fa
plete, although you leave that house
with your respect for the Scandinavian
housekeeper raised several degrees.
NEAT INTERIORS.
The rooms of this boat are all neatly
papered with a small patterned Asnt
paper and bright border of good width.
The floors of the sitting room and bed
room are covered with a pretty square
patterned oilcloth which looks not IN
like thing, and over this is spread a
strip Of bright, new ingram carpet for a
rug In the sitting room stands hand
some hardwood swinging crib, finished
to resemble antique oak, and the work
of the turner next door, who is second
cousin to the month old owner Of the
crib. Nottingham curtains as white as
the bed coverings are up at the win
dows and looped back with bows Of rib
bon.
A rustic stand and flower bowl, as ar
tistic as many which adorn Summit ave-
nue. lawns, holds a healthy species Of
palm, and rustic baskets filed with deli
cate vines fill the windows and lend an
air of refinement TO the room, which is
strangely homogeneous because Of that
picture Of outer denominations that is
upon the retina Of your eyes-
In the fourth boat lives a young
couple who are just beginning life
They are Danes. and have only hved Oh
the river for one year
Their boat also contains three rooms,
but owing 70 limited resources they !
were unable to TT them up rs nicely "a
might be desired. but the same scrupu- |
Ious neatness was over everything. The I
owner Is building another boat. which I
IS 70 be forty feet long and have four /
rooms when completed A boat Of this |
NE, If built by himself. Will cost the 1
1wner IN the neighborhood Of 800. The /
boat now occupied by this couple was
built by the man at odd times at cos
of SIS
This man, who Is the jauitoT Of a 4
Seventh street building, has lined the /
walls and ceilings with thick paper, and
the house Is snug in the coolest weather.
The small hold In the bottom Of the
BOAT has more or less water in il. and IN
summer II makes a very good milk
house. while IN winter they can keep a