The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-05-19
AUSTIN's LAKE.
WE DON'T KNOW HALF IT WILL DO
FOR US.
An Interesting Sketch of How Lake Chaut-
auqua Grew Into Prominence and
Pointing Us a Very Good
Moral.

| To the Statesman
Will you permit q few words on a
subject that ought to interest every
citizen of Austin-!he rapid approach
of the time when the navigation of
our peerless lake will put us in posi-
tion unique among the cities of the
Southwest, as the possessors of the
only inland navigation in all that
vast region between the Gulf and the
Pacific?
There seems to be q sort of
haZy, underlined notion that
it will be a ''good
thing" but as to what an enormous
factor in the advertisement, growth
and development of our city it is cap.
able OF being made, and what a bo-
nanza the owners Of the lake steamers
are likely to have, few seem to have
any conception.
Most people have heard of Chau-
tauqua. How many would have heard
of 1T had it not been for Lake Chau-
tauqua? Perhaps brief sketch OF its
development may be Of interest, and
as an object lesson, possibly of value
to our citiZsns.
Thirty years ago the writer took
passage from the rotten wharf at the
sleepy little village of Mayville on the
Water Witch over Lake Chautauqua
to Jamestown. She could accommo.
date about 400 passengers, but 20 to %
was an average load-ten to twelve
thousand per season, including excur-
sions, her captain informed us. The
lake was like glass, and the fields on
each side rolling back in pillows of
green to the tree crowned hill tops
in the distance, gave much of
quiet beauty, but little of variety
and nothing of grandeur to startle
the eye or awaken the Imagination.
Peaceful farm houses were the only
buildings, not hotel, summer board
ing house, camp ground OF other evil
dence of the worlds interest on either
shore.
The next winter ''crank with more
money than brains,n as the villagers
said, put $25, 900 into the G. G. Dennis,
a steamer of about 500 passengers ca
pacity, and the result was that the
"crank," who knew how to advertise,
had raised the travel to 10000 per sea-
SOIL and had a financial "picnic.n
Two years later another steamer en-
tered the lists and Lake Chautauqua
began to have more than local fame
AS a result of this travel the railroads
wanted to get at it, and sleepy old
Mayville woke up one morning tt
find themselves connected by raj
with Buffalo and Pittsburg. Their
the spreading fame of the lake at
tracted the "Chautauqua assembly,
and let me say here that the assembly
owes more to the lake and its attrac
tions than the lake does t.
the assembly. Put the assembl,
at mere railroad station
without the attractions of lake navi
cation and it would die natura
death in five years.
Three-fourths of their visitors ar,
by the water route, and in the season
1900 people get on and off at her busy
wharves.
The lake now has fleet of twenty
good boats, and the records of the Rec
{ Stock line show that over 1,250,0 0|
passengers traversed the lake in 1901
Mammoth hotels occupy almos
every mile of either shore Every
citizen of the county has shared il
the prosperity due to this flood {
travel, and the butter, eggs, vege
tables, milk and poultry OF the farmel
are in as good demand as the labor o
every artisan and the goods OF every
merchant in reach of it's influence.
ALI these results are dependent OF
the lake as the sole attraction. At it,
head was sleepy county seat o
say 200 inhabitants and at it