The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-07-15

noticeable. In the first place they are the
rule, and in the second place they merely
harmonic with the other features of life at
this resort. The flashing equipages are not
occasional sights upon the broad drives; they
are seen almost every minute of certain pOr-
tlons OF the day, passing and repassing or
going almost In continuous procession. 81
take great interest in horses and eqqipages,"
said native of Bar Harbor the other day,
and you might think 1 would know every
team l am driving over these roads a
greater part OF the time and see great num-
per OF the teams every day; but know very
number of them. l see new ones every
hour" 1t Is not so difficult TO understand
TINS when 1t Is remembered that the term Bar
Harbor does not mean a simple village about
WnarI. IL means line of shore at least
eight miles long, from Hull's Greek TO Otter
Cove. Nearly every available portion of
TINS shore line is taken up for cottages and
tnelr grounds, while back from the shore
cross roads OF streets run mp the hills to a
distance OF three quarters of a mile or a mile.
Aud on the hills as well as on the shore the
space has been used for cottage estates. The
iarthest line OF cottage estates on the hills
IS continuous from Hulps Cove to Straw
berry Hill, a distance of about two and one
half miles. Therefore Bar Harbor Is a con-
siderable area of country. And this area is
taken up by cottages, not crowded but
thickly as compatible with their owners
desires for lawns or parks. Nearly all of
these cottages iare valuable, some of them
exceedingly so. No one in Bar Harbor
would risk an estimate of their number; but
one real estate agent knows that one hun
dred is far too small an estimate. A little
idea may be gained of their number and
spleDdor, when 1t is remembered that less
than dozen years ago the valuation of the
whole town was not over 200 while now
1t Is S560O0O0. And this Is undoubtedly far
below the actual selling value. As for the
wealth of the men who own these cottages,
who shall tell tit? Should England desire
TO pay her tremendous national debt she
could probably get the cash for a large slice
OF 1t by sending fleet to Bar Harbor at the
height of the season to capture for ransom
the mlllionaires who flock there.
Some OF these cottage estates are princely.
Take for instance that which George Van
derDilt has acquired and Is improving. They
say here that half million dollars Is not too
large an estimate ofswhat 1t will cost him.
But perhaps 1t would not be well TO take
Bar Harbor estimates. The price paid for
the land, and the scale of the improvements
may give an idea from which the reader may
estimate for himself. In the first place 1t is
said that Mr.. George Vanderbilt paid $780,
600 or $250.0O0 for the land and the buildings
on it. There may bs ten for fifteen or even
twenty acres In the lot, which borders the
sea and is therefore more valuable than a
mountain" lot. The history Of this lot for
the last quarter of century or more is an in
teIestlng illustration of the rise of values on
this island. A native" who has kept his
tory OF the land says that in 1852 Henry Pre-
vost conveyed 1t to N. A. Joy for $50. Six
years later Joy sold 1t to Priscilla Douglass
for $40, and undoubtedly thought he had
done well out Of the trade. In 1867 Priscilla
Douglass sold 1t to N. Gould and others for
S275. by this time it had dawned upon the
islanders that they were living in paradise,
for in 1868 we find Gould selling the Wander
bilt lot to G0uyereur Ogden for $500. The
beirs OF Ogden realized handsomely on it, for
In 1897 thpU cnld IN m Gaoroa Uandorhilf .
large price, believed to be 100000 at least,
and probably more. The location of this
land Is naturally very pleasant, bordering
upon the sea, with a fine lookout over the
water, and extending back for some distance.
Inc Ogdens had a cottage upon the land, but
had not made any very extensive improve
ments. 1t no sooner came into the hands of
Vanderbuilt than he began improvements.
Last year from early spring to November he
had fifty workingmen on the grounds alone,
and with the beginning of spring this year
they began work again. Considerable of the
land is covered with alders and small white
birches, growth familiar to Maine farmers
and not very highly priced by them. But
Mr. Vanderbilrs gardeners are showing
what can be made from such growth. 1t
would seem that every Individual birch and
alder mas their care and attention. The Wis
ltor Is surprised to find here and there ropes
emily lnexplicable fashion. These ropes are
to straighten the growth of the trees in
such ways that they shall drOOp over the
drives or add to the beauty Of the grove by
their straightness. The ground beneath the
trees has as careful attention. Where 1t Is
damp and uneven loan is hauled in and
graded; and upon this loan new grass aud
shrubs are made to grow. A dollar load is
the price Of loan at Bar Harbor, so it will
be seen that 1t Is no small expense for Mr.,
Vanderbilt to re-carpet his acres. or course
this work Is done on those parts of the es-
tate some distance from the cottage, or more
properly, mansion. Around that the ground
Is laid off for a long distance la the most
beautiful Of lawns. The Creation and later
physical changes of this part of the earth did
not leave the shore line TO suit Mr.. Wander
oilt, and he has been making some important
changes His men are digging out a large
basin, which Is to be small arm of the sea,
connected with 1t, but go separated that
bathing may be safe from the undertow.
This is to be bathing pond, and will supply
deficiency Of Bar Harbor. The natives
think that by the time Mr.. Vanderbilt has
finished his place to his tastes he will have
expended half a million dollars, and very
likely they are right. This Is doing pretty
well for summer home In which he remains
AT most hardly more than two months out of
the year. But those are two months Of
gaiety. The coming .of the Vanderbilts is
like the coming OF princes. Fifteen or
twenty horses and mules, and as many OF
more menservants and maidservants land