The Republican journal., 1901-10-24
VACATION ON CAPE COD,
10, on a narrow neck of land,
'TwiXt two unbounded seas, l stan

trateS the grim humOr of the Pilgrim
delegation selecting it. Fishing in its
neighboring waters, the party decided
that the first fish caught should give
title to the new found cape; and up
from the bottom speedily whisked a
eoodly cod-and Cape Cod was i'm
mediately christened into existence,
scarcely more than five miles in width
n any part, it extends out from the
mainland tor upward of sixty miles
and curves inward sixty more, its in
and shores washed by the waters of
ne of the most picturesque bays known
20 the world, while its outer coast-line
presents a barrier to the broad Atlantic,
" hich rolls in magnificent surf beats
against it. On the Atlantic side the
vacation of which l write was spent.
1t goes without saying that in choos-
ing the cape for summer vacation,
one is governed by thorough love for
the ocean, its changing moods, its vast
ness and | know of no better place on
Ill our coast to satisfy ones desires.
There were always cool and quiet
retreats on the land while the water
oilers the finest opportunities for boat
.ug, fishing, bathing and infinite study
and experience, which can be found
where land and water meet. Every
hing told of the sea even when we did
4c
here was nothing but that savage
ocean between us and Europe Wishing
10 experience its power as well as its
peace, our party went to the beach on
laN when the waves were particularly
Wild and noisy, and the spray made the
ise of spectacles impossible 1t was
not a time for tritiing and the party
naturally grew quiet. After a time a
lack cloud was seen enveloping dis
amt headland, and the suggestion was
made that we return to the house.
We began Preparations at once but
l,e had not reckoned with cape squall,
md before we were half way there. the
n L
lace in which to be in hurry and be-
-iies we were frequently obliged to
mpty our shoes. At every step we
made an impression on the cape, though
t.e account may make no impression
4p the readers mind Every drop of
water saturated our thin, summer
.lothing, and the salt bath, which the
elements forbade us at the beach, was
hanged to a fresh one, from which we
uttered only in the laundering.
From time to time we sat under the
lee of a sand HILL on bank thinly
covered with coarse beach grass, and
IaZed on the sea, or watched the vessels
hich We're silently and uncommunica-
lively going about their business, a
source of cheerfulness and a kind of
society. When the beach ceased to
satisfy. there were drives, sometimes
oil the Mcadamized roads which the
state inaugurated in 1896, to be extend
I'd every year, but oftener through the
scrubby pitch pine, i'll the narrow drive
Ways. where the tires and rims were
ljways lost to sight in the drifting sand.
These same tires were always an iuch
~ TWO wider because of the sand, for,
+he more tired the wheels the less tired
lie horses and we desired to see those
arts OF the cape which were peculiar
| had secretly wished to read the
novel Cape Cod Folks but, warned
1y opinions of the book expressed dur
ug previous visit to the cape, | dared
not ask for it, but on expressing q wish
TO know more of the cape; to my great
surprise | was advised to get the book
from the library.
The peculiar rural community de-
-crlbed in the novel is a part of Ply
mouth or Just upon the dividing line
between Plymouth and Sandwich, and
either the lapse i'll localities or the
lapse in years, or both, have served to
remove the animosity which the book
treated.
Strange though it may appear con-
sidering the formation of the cape ter
ritory, chain of ponds or miniature
lakes extends far down the centre of
this narrow tongue of land, many of
them stocked naturally with fine fish
and some of them large enough to pre-
sent travelling facilities, with the ex-
ception of the town of Chatham which
las no running water These streams
are necessarily formed on a minute
scale since there is no room for them to
run without tumbling Immediately into
the ocean.
The fifteen towns of the cape form
one county and | tried in vain to find
some reason for combining barn and
stable to name Barnstable Co. All the
cape towns, except five, stretch across
the cape and have both ocean and bay
shores. and the advantage growing out
of this state of things, both as regards
sanitary and pleasure-giving conditions.
may be readily estimated. Standing on
the westward or larboard shore. and
looking across to where the distant
mainland looms, one can say, this is
Massachusetts bay; and then after an