Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-01-10
THE 10000 MILE CRUISE.
A Brief Narrative OF Journey in
an Open R0wboat from Virginia
to Canada, Inland, and from Can
ada to New York City. Coastwise.

IN Oych hVWuoat irOm NtrgIn' n
to Canada, Inland, and from Can
ada to New York City. Coastwise.
BY ALvAH d. JAMES.
A New Yorker rushed up to me
the other day, and, with outstretcbed
hand, exclaimed: "My boy, you
have done we'll; yes, you have done
well. You have had a great time,
know. Now, just come right in here
and tell me all about it."
| went into the place he, chose to
lead me and parleyed for an opening
for fifteen minutes before I could
begin to tell him anything of interest
about the trip.
There is moral in this, inasmuch
as we had so many experiences and
adventures that to sift them out in
a general review would be produc-
tive of more industry than interest.
To begin at the beginning would
never do, because the beginning was
tame. All beginnings are, more or
less, you know. We feel that we
must have been very young at that
time. We used to consume box of
matches a day, more or less, those
long ago times, and we used to crouch
inside blanketed shelter when we
wanted to light fire with the wind
blowing. :
But in those old days, when our
hands were SO very sore from rowing
that we couldn't bend them without
putting our faces up, and when we
couldn't sleep because our backs hurt
so, it was that we laid by q store of
resolutions, and banked up enough
confidence in our ability to undergo
hardships to serve US in good stead
ever since, when the journey has
jumped the track for the uninitiated
oarsmen and camper.
OF all the country we have seen,
We like st. Lawrence river and Gulf
the best We like it for many reasons.
For chapter of pleasure we would
return to the st. Lawrence River,
and for chapter of adventure we
would call to account the waters and
rocks of the Gulf. For hardship
and worry, the Bay of Fundy is with
out rival. In our own country,
for beauty of coast, and for considera-
ton of our deeds. Maine is by far the
leader. Massachusetts, was fairly in
teresting, and the rest were lost in
the deluge.
So we see 1t in review. Why we
have thus formed our opinions is a
long story. But I believe / can tell
you something about the whole af-
fair in comparatively few words.
From swift, easy-going, prettily
bounded rocky river, the st. Law
renee, about forty miles above the
city of Quebec, becomes a pest-hole
for tides, only surpassed by Fundy
itself; its shore line becomes more
rugged, and travel in boat without
other than human power ceases to
continue enjoyable. Pleasure gives
way TO work, and safety to danger.
But we were out to see it all. The
current died before the inroads of
the tides, and We looked on and were
sorry. We passed Quebec, and the
river broadened out and became
rough, and the rougher grew the
water, more rocky and rugged
became the shore line, until it seemed
at times that if the situation grew
much worse we would not be able to
effect a landing at nightfall at all.
But we scuf1ied on, attracting the
attention of the people with whom
We came into contact, because no
small boat, not even with sail, had
been known to go along and do such
unheardof tricks before.
The river became so broad that we
lost sight of its nor thern bank, and
the broader grew the waters, higher
grew the bordering mountains, until
the scenery resolved itself from COM
monplace to pretty, from pretty to
interesting, from interesting to grand,
and from grand TO magnificent.
We entered the Gulf where the
river became too wide to be river,
and one day, the 9Th of August,
when it seemed that we couidn't
avoid a catastrophe any longer, we
were driven ashore by a northwest
gale of wind and wrecked.
We layat Mont-Louis, a neat little
Quebec village, for two weeks, re-
pairing and replenishing our stores.