The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-08-27
Features Of Life
at Block Island

You good people who have never
visited Block Island have certainly
missed much. After the fiat and mon
otonous Jersey coast so familiar to
most dwellers in this region, the in
finite variety of this gem of the sea is
something that age cannot wither nor
custom stale. OF course the sea is
never monotonous and the waves of
the Atlantic come in with a mghtier
roll on the Jersey shore than even here.
where the noble cliffs and the frown-
ing rocks rise unending stretches Of
picturesque beauty. But there is some
thing in this irregular, deeply iudented
isolated spot of earth green as old Ire
land that holds fascination impossi-
BILE to describe.
Block Island is unique. The inter-
mingling of the old and the new con-
stantly appeals to the visitor. For in
stance, there is the New Harbor,
spick, span, clean and up-to-date, with
its long pier and mass of carriages and
docks nearly always occurred by the
Shinnecock or another of the big
steamers of the New York or New Lon
don lire, brave, with pennants and
flags. The Old Harbor is far more in
teresting, crowded with cat boats and
other craft big and little. Upon the
wharfs sit groups of bronZed fisher
men with the mystery of the sea in
their eyes and the marks of wind and
tempest on their battered faces. Lob
ster crates. wrecked boats, the long
fishing pier, the great stone break
water and the bluffs beyond form a
picture that one cherishes dear and
sweet in memory.
But if one is to begin telling of the
picturesque scenes on Block Island the
limit will be hard to reach. FOR the
views from every point are exquisite.
A favorite point of interest is the old
mill, where for more than one hundred
and fifty years the grain was ground
for the islanders. 1t is a good example
of the old Dutch mill. shingled from
top to bottom, with the sails broken
and one arm standing out lonely.
stripped of its bars and pointing for
lornly. like a prophetic finger, to the
graveyard on the hillside, where the
rude forefathers of the village sleep"
This old mill has been deserted Cor
| years. One of the stones lies under a
corner where the shingles are dropping
one by one. Within, the rickety stairs
| lead to the second floor where the
| empty hopper and the lonely wheel
| above tell of the distant past. The en-
| tire roof turns about with the wind
| which sets the sail, and its hooded
| front droops down pathetically, as if it
| would shut out from view the invasion
OF the new life of the outside world.
The entrance to the mill has been
! barred, hut a succession of enterpris-
ing tourists have made an inadequate
| aparature where very indefatigable
sight-seers may climb through with in
finite discomfort and remarkable con-
| tortions. The other day a party had
| climbed the second pair of stairs and
after an exhaustive view of the queer
interior had painfully emerged from
| the said aperature-all except one-a
| fair maiden. Now the exit is made
with far more difficulty than the en-
trance, for it must be accomplished
feet foremost. The pretty girl had put
one foot forward-probably her best
when her companions outside
screamed, Don't come out! There's a
camera man fixing to take you She
struggled to adjust herself for a more
conventional pose and that wretched
camera man calmly inquired, Would
you like to have the picture taker
with one foot out that way or do you
prefer BOTH" The feelings of thu
squirming young woman, vainly en-
deayoring to cover an expansive ex'
tent OF tan stocking with her skirts
and unable to get at or even see hel
prosecutor, may be imagined.
The camera fiend surely never haC
such a paradise of opportunities as a
Block Island. for there is no one t
molest or make him afraid. There ar,
no regulations, no orders of any sort
so he goes about blissfully swapping a
everything and everybody, and the vic
Tins in bathing suits and other un
aesthetic attire and conditions seem I,
recognize the futility of protests.
The beautiful rock coast is a limit
less delight. "Pebbly" beach, with il
strand thickly strewn with stones o
the richest hues and lovely specimen
of sea-weed, and with its huge bould