The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1900-09-14
TOUR ON GREAT LAKES
Burnett Tells What He Saw,
Duluth to Buffalo,.
MINING INDUSTRY INCREASING
Endless Procession of Freight Steam
ers Through the $500 ''-Summer
= Resort Grounds.

w tOO'
miles from Duluth to Buffalo, travers-
ing the three lakes, Superior, Huron
and Erie and their connecting waters.
I have just taken the trip by way Of
the "Northland," which with her sis
ter-ship, "Northwest," are in the serv-
ice of the Great Northern Railway
company, of which Jim" Hill, the
transportation magnate, is president.
1t is a great experience, this trip
through the Great Lakes, and as one
sees the wonderful things along the
way, he says anew, ''This is a great
country"
As Good an Ocean Voyage.
Lake Superior alone is a 400 mile
stretch, and most of the time no land
is in sight. 1t requires three days to
go from Duluth to Buffalo, and after
a few hours there, during which we
visited Niagara eighteen miles away
we returned on the same boat. 1t
is a peculiarly restful trip, like an
ocean voyage in that respect. The
steamer was more than comfortable,
even palatial These boats are said
to cost S1,5O0,000 each. They are
1856 feet long, A feet wide and "a feet
deep. They are built on the lines
OF an ocean steamer, and so differ
from the Fall River boats, which are
side Wheelers and wider. To be frank,
this great lake trip is for the Well-to-
do, and the majority of the passengers
bear signs Of being even rich. They
find all the luxury on these boats they
could wish. The finest rOOTlS fltP o..
the upper deck. They have wi 1d0WS
(nOt port hOles); they have beds mot
5crthsJ, and some of them have bath
rooms adjoining with porcelain tubs.
But the state rooms on the deck below
are finer than any state rOOms,I ever
saw before. The port hole gives a
view of the lake-Ocean outside. There
is running water and room enough to
move about in, the berths are capa-
ciOuS and luxurious, and the decOra-
tons ornate in Il high degree. That
close, stuffy atmosphere that marks
many steamers is nullitied by forced
ventilation.
How Passengers Amuse Themselves.
The cabins, where passengers spend
much of their idle time, are regally
carpeted, and the furniture and fur
nishings fit for the salon of prince
The piano from time to time attracts
talent of high order among the pas
sengers, and on Sunday evening there
was singing of hymns. Most of the
time is, of course, spent on deck. Here
one may lounge in a steamer chair,
sleep or read or talk; one may play
shuttle board or toss rope rings over
posts. The hours are tolled off by
ships bells The dining room is a
most popular place, by reason of the
bracing appetite kindled by the fresh
lake breeZes. The walters are
French, as is the cooking, and ex-
Quisite, to the point that one may
readily believe the chefs hail from
the Waldorf Astoria. 1t is expensive
eating on board these lake ships, but
when one is off for vacation he must
not figure too closely, especially if he
gets his full moneys worth.
Favorite Place for Brides.
We saw brides and bridegrooms
without number. 1t is a favorite jour
ney for the newly-married. They
came to the docks of Buffalo, Cleve-
land and other points, some on foot,
some in hacks and one couple in an
automobile. Some were attended by
hilarious friends, who threw fun at
the couple bravely standing on the
deck as the ship pulled out, and many
trunks were dragged aboard deco
rated with white ribbons.
We passed two wrecks at Sea-nO
cynical allusiOn to matrimonial wreck
age designed. One showed two maSts
towering above the water with rig
ging attached. A ships officer said
it was the remains of a freight steam
er. 1t had been there in sight for the
past two trips of the "NOrthland."
a collision had scuttled the craft The
channel in the rivers connecting our
great lakes is very narrow. The cap
tain had sought to save his boat by
reaching the shadows, but he had only
half succeeded.
The other wreck we passed by night
1t lay out side the channel, not more
than seventy feet from our ship. 1t
was Il huge, long freight steamer, all
submerged except the ends Wash
ingtOn Irving has described the trag-
edy and pathOS of wrecks by sea so
effectively that no wise writer has
since esSayed the task. 1t is likely
in these cases that the crew eScaped:
yet there is Il mOurnful, romantic in
tereSt attached to the wreck of a
once strong and perhaps beautiful
vessel.
And the Great Lakes report great
numbers of disasters. The channel, as
| have said, is narrow in the $50 miles
of connecting rivers, and even in parts
of the lakes themselves, and one is
amazed at the body of commerce on
the lakes. It is a continual procession,
mainly of freight steamers, bearing
ore from the iron mines in the Lake
Superior country, lumber, grain and
coal. 1t is not strange they collide
or come to other mishaps.
Stops by the Way.
There are but four stops between
Duluth and Buffalo, and then only for
"a few moments. The first is at the
clocks" of Sault Ste. Marie, where
within half an hour we saw some
dozen great freight boats passing into
or through the two locks that make
of no ava lie twenty feet difference
in level between Lake Superior and
Lake Huron. Our government has
spent millions of dollars in this i'm
prOvement and now in the short eight
months season double the tonnage of
all the year of the Suez canal passes
through these locks. To the north lie
aridS Of ST Marv,S r.iuor b;ob