The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-07-01

colony which a special correspondent at
Minneapolis says exists in northern
Minnesota:
One Of the most extraordinary colo
MES in the world is growing up far in
the depths Of dense pine forest country
near the northern border of this state.
There are five Lighthouses on the storm
| beaten beaches of Big Sandy Lake, with
nothing but the wide expanse of untrav
e1ed water before them, and fifty miles
of forest wherein but few white men
have ever trod behind In this camp
are thirteen men, of whom five are jour
nalists from New York, two of the same
profession from Chicago, three are Chi
cago board of trade men, and three
others are doctors. One Of the doctors
is making special observations of the
other twelve cases for DR.. Janeway, of
New York. The other twelve are neu-
raesthenic patients. The names of the
campers cannot be printed, but some of
them are men known all over the coun-
try by their writings. One is new
York specialist in diseases of the lungs,
and two are spectators whose opera
tons have more than once brought them
into national prominence.
ALL SEEM HEALTHY.
To all external appearances there is
nothing the matter with any of these
men. They seem as healthy as the rest
of mankind, except that they are
restless lot, given to incessant tramping,
and that few of them sleep as long as
an ipcessant tramper ought to sleep.
Every man in the lot is seriously i'll,
however, suffering from functional dis
order of the nervous system, due to
variety of causes, q hideous condition
scientifically called neuraesthenia. Sci
ence says that the sedatiVe influence of
a pine laden atmosphere is exceed
ingly beneficial in cases of nervous dis
turbance, and this Is true beyond the
shadow of a doubt, for hundreds of men
who seemed fit candidates for the Sc
clusion of an asylum have emerged from
a three months residence in the pine
wilderness perfectly sound and well.
DIR. Janeway has said that the only
practical method Of treatment for neu-
raesthenia, which means exhaustion of
the nervous system, is complete change
of scene, habit, trend Of thought and
occupation. The specialists in neurol-
ogy all over this country indorse this
statement absolutely and go a step fur
Their. They point to the trackless wilds
of the north, tell the patient to go as
far as he can, build a log cabin and
live near to natures heart. They as
sure him that in three months he will be
a very much improved man; that in six
he will be better still, but that in nine
he will emerge with a new nervous sys-
tenn, prepared to take up the battle
of life anew, without q trace of his
former disability, And these statements
enanate from the best specialists in the
+ West, men who are graduates of the
best colleges in this country and Europe.
Their confidence is begot of careful ex-
pertinent. What was but suspected is
about the matter.
NO EXPENSE ATTACHED.
|, The beauty of the thing Is that ex-
pense, once the patient reaches his goal
in the forest is practically eliminated.
The land is wild-virgin forest. 1t is
dotted at intervals of mile or two
by eXquisitely lovely lakes from a mile
to twenty miles in extent, and these
lakes are without exception the finest
fishing resorts in the world, only few but
Indians resorting to them. The pines stand
thickly for hundreds of miles, while the
ridges are covered with magnificent tim
her of other varieties, oak, poplar, beech,
tamarack. There are swamp copse,
dense underground rushing river and
thunderous waterfall. Such sounds as
break the silence are natures own. The
cataract thunders, but its thunder does
not Cypress the ear. The wind sings
through the pine tops, but the song is
lullaby. The waves crash on the shore,
but the effect is that of exquisite Or
chestration. Everything is grand har-
mony. Giant moose stalk in the dark
depths of the forest and are not afraid,
for they are hunted but five days in the
year, and mighty few sportsmen know
anything about the moose stalking.
There is game of all sorts Red deer,
black bear, caribou and the white North
ern hare are at home in this vast tract,
practically unmolested. The ruff1ed
grouse get up whiring out of the brush
at every other step. Thousands of quail
scuttle about undismayed at the sight
of man. And in this restful atmosphere,
laden with the odors of the pines, these
tired men from the centers of active life
have built their temporary homes.
HAVE SOME LUXURIES.
The services of a couple of lumber
Jacks were required in the construction
of log cabins. These are 16 by 20 feet
and five in number Each has an in
terror of trimmed logs, the floors are COW
cred with rugs, there are roughly con-
structed benches and hunks, over which
are scattered silken cushions in bright
colors, aud a lot more pretty things that
| do not properly go with the country. In
the corners and on the walls are fishing
rods, rifles, skins, roughly mounted heads
of game, skins of giant bass mounted
on rough boards for future submission
to the taxidermist. There are skins of
the lynx, wild cat beaver, nldrten and
bear And lying about ON the sunny
sand of the lake beach, with scarcely
any clothes on are the members of the
Bughouse club This is the title they
claim for their little organization, so
they have no right to complain Of its
use.
One very large man, writer of all sorts
of things for the New York press, is
stretched out fat on his back In a sort of
wallow, or hollow, scooped out of the
sand Janeway told him to do this, and
he has done it ever since the middle of
Nav When he struck into the woods he
was so badly unnerved that he could not
sit on the seat of the lumber wagon he
| had engaged to haul him to camp, so they
spread buffalo robes in the wagon bed and
jolted him over the stumpy forty miles
which the big man was confident he would
never survive. That same man today is
as sound as a new dollar. He hasn't
worn any clothes to speak of since he got
into camp. His arms, shoulders, back
and legs are burned by the sun to a ma l.
hogany color. For the last week he has
been walking twelve miles day through
a very difficult country, carrying a rife.
He looks the picture of rugged health.
The specialist in lung diseases is this
mans constant companion. They live in
one of the houses with another newspaper
man, whose speciality is joke writing, and
a board of trade man, who was dragged
into the camp early this spring on pony
litter in condition of utter collapse. The
writer of this article saw this quartette