The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-05-18

LONG the winding Meramec these
sunny days the nature-lover revels,
"A the sportsman safes himself with
the pleasures of pursuit and the jaded
worker drinks In new life from foliage-fl-
tered air.
From its source al James Spring, in
fancy County. to where it empties into the
Mississippi. twelve miles below ST. Louis.
there is not a commonplace stretch along
the banks of the swiftly moving liver at
this season.
Thousands of St. Louisans love the stream
as the Londoner loves his Thames or the up
country Englishman his Mersey. 1t has its
jolly watermen. its boating parties, its fussy
little steam launches. and. better than all.
il has tinny treasures galore. Whose casts
may catch.
Most of those who know the Meramec he
came acquainted with it at the Highlands,
most popular Of all resorts about ST. Louis
with seekers after holiday diversion in the
country. Here the scenery is more majestic
than at any other point on the river. ex-
cept at the h~eadwaters. which are not as
well known as they might be.
Looking southwark from the Frisco sta
llOII At Nttldlltt f1lEIt4ltS, IlE IrJNtl-
stained Fastener looks upon a vista that
carries him hack in fancy to the rugged
mountain ranges Of West Virginia. If he
cares to approach closer to the HUE waters
which he sees shaking through the valley.
he may stretch his fancy a little further
ana find in the cleaning white road wind
ing down to the rivers brim a replica of
the Appian Way. which leads tourists to
the delights of Italy.
In the by-paths skirting this road the
camera is always busy. There are beautiful
bits without end through all the pictorial
range. from gnarled tree trunks TO tumbling
waterfalls: from the delicate tracery Of the
willow TO the majestic sweep of the syca-
more. just now the scenery of the Mera-
nee is at its best from the standpoint of the
camera artist. The foliage is not too dense.
as II will he a month from nov. To give the
best effects Of light and shade and detail
Meramec Highlands is by no means the
only attractive spot along this ever-inter-
esting river. Its banks from mouth to
source are dotted with elegantly appointed
cIubhouses. where select lotteries of anglers
spend their spare hours, and where the
yeriest outsider needs no password except
guodfellowship and a lively appreciation of
sylvan hospitality. AT Blue Springs. Mar
shall. Elm Springs and In the neighborhood
Of St. James the fisherman has only his
lack of skill to blame If his stringing needle
becomes rusty.
Inc DSfIiS DJSSiDiiltiesr starting at tne
Mississippi with mud cat, work up through
schools of channel cat. sunfish, jack salmon.
perch. crappie and bass to rainbow trout at
the headwaters.
The Englemann Botanical Club of st.
Louis has disclosed a new attraction of the
Meramec Valley to scientists. On any bright
lay scores of enthusiastic lovers of flowers
may be found in the deepest tangles of the
wonderfully fertile vegetation skirting the
river.
They search for wild flowers and their
quest is we'll rewarded. The country ex-
tending twenty miles west of St. Louis and
confined between the Meramec and Missouri
rivers presents a more. varied growth of
flora than any district of similar area In the
world. The valley Of the Meramec Is q
EhaH.s Garden in the rough. -@s