The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1895-06-21
The Story of a Picnic.

day and dreamed OF 1t at night 80
1ured by the magic of the word, we SAILED
forth on Saturday last to attend, b,
special invitation, the picnic of thu
Holmes c. L. S. Circle, which was indef
initely announced to be held i'll the vicin
ity OF the far-famed cred Pump"
After giving vent to a series of yell
that might have made Comanche indiai
turn green with envy, we were rewarded BY
the appearance of an aged patriarch who
came out to'give us directions, as to thu
course we were to pursue in order to reach
the happy hunting grounds, and while
listening to his incoherent melange We
plainly discerned a number of sylph-like
forms and shy maiden faces peeping from
behind the half closed door. In the
course of a half-hour or so, we made ou
what the Patriarch" meant by: "going
on till you come to house with the end
to the road, an turn to the left an you'll
come to tree as has been 'struck'-ifit's
still standin'-you'11 turn to the right,
sc. The party who came behind us were
more explicitly directed by the Patriarch
to "keep out Ridge Avenue until you
come to Omaha street, follow that street
until you come to Pixies Peak" &c. The
Patriarch evidently thought it a fine
opportunity to get in little satirical
, streak, and so improved it. So on we
went, and ''the house with the end to the
road' had just doomed in sight, when we
met man and asked of him if we were
on the right road to Mt. Pleasant where
there was picnic. "Why you ought to
have turned in at the bars" was the start
ling reply. Now, the Patriarch had said
nothing about bars; but we turned and
after going back about half a mile came
to the "bars'-there were only three
pairs of them, placed at irregular inter
walls, and wedged at that,-just inside the
third and final pair was woodman with
his axe, evidently trying to block our
further progress by strewing the way with
pawpaw bushes. But we piled him with
all our smiles and graces, and he SUR
rendered, of course, and graciously let
down the bars and led our horse through
the litter of bushes, and shortly we were
all on the picnic grounds. And what a
beautiful spot it is, to be sure A high
bluff, at the foot of which flows the
romantic Octoraro; from this rugged EN-
1&.- okol,a t,,nn at1f
panorama of wooded hills and fertile
fields. Eastland, Penn Hill, Fairfield
and far to the north cloud of blue mist
tells were Lancaster is located, and on a
clear day, we are told, the church spires
of that ancient Dutch town are plainly
visible
Up the winding stream at the foot of
the encircling hills stands Lees mill, and
stretching down the Lancaster county
shore of the creek is the fine farm of
Abner Carter. Further west, among
tangled growth of young timber, are the
once celebrated Carriers chrome banks.
The beautiful view was thoroughly en-
joyed by the picnicing Chautauquans,
who with their invited guests numbered
about forty.
The program had been forgotten and
left behind by the member who had made
it out, but fortunately the dinner had not
shared the fate of the program. 1t was
soon spread upon the ground, and the
"touch of nature which make us all akin"
soon manifested itself. A number of
juvenile inhabitants, natives of this wild
region, now. came trooping out, to view
the picnic" accompanied by drove of
lank, hungry looking CANNES, which
were with difficulty restrained from jump
ing on the improvised tables and making
short work of the feast.
One of these measly looking ours,
proved the force of character in striking
manner. He was brindle bull dog, his
appearance rugged and unkempt, like the
region and its inhabitants His name was
"Bil'' and ere the close of the festivities
he had ingratiated himself into the favor
of every one, offering his paw to shake,
and smiling good naturally up in the
faces of those who accepted it. Ofcourse
he got the bull dogs share of the frag-
ments of the feast. To be sure, the sup
ply of fragments was not large, after the
Junior editor had sampled the pies and
cakes.
We never saw a dog enter more into
the spirit of a picnic than did "Ril," and
we never saw more picnic dinner enter
into Junior editor, at one time
Dinner ended, we sought the shores of
the creek, by descending steep hill; i'll
fact, hill that was almost perpendicular,
accompanied by the juveniles and "Bil."
Several hours were spent in boating,
vaulting, &c. The Junior editor proved
that he could not only eat the most pie
and cake, but that he could jump further
and higher than any masculine in the
Circle. "Bil" proved that he could swim
further and faster than any dog in the
crowd; in fact "Bil" and the Junior editor
were the life of the picnic.
The President of the Circle had brought
with him his camera and took two views
of the assembled" one at dinner, and
the other while lounging on the creek
shore, under the umbFageous shadnws of
huge oak. The juvenile natives were
evidently very anxious to be In the pic
ture, and "Bil" seated himself sedately
beside his tow-headed master as though
he knew all about what was going on,
and fully realized the importance of the
occasion.
The return trip, including the climbing
of the hill, was of course perfectly en-
chanting to those who had to be helped
up the steep incline, and to those who
did the helping act, but to those of us who
had to go it alone it was not so enchant-
ing, far from it
| The bars were all IN and secured with