Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-08-10
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A WISE VACATIONIST
And the Experiences That Taught
Him Where Not to &c.

We'll, getting read to go on your
vacation asked the friend, of the tall.
heavy -ehinned man in the railway tick
ct office suppose you'll be sneaking
off to Canada or some place and going
fishing between now and the next hot
! spell You look"
stop it." exclaimed the heavy
chinned man Il won't allow any per-
son to think I'm going to bury myself
off in some wilderness miami sea
and try to kid myself into thinking
like being away from civilization.
+ was in this ticket office inquiring about
| the time the train would arrive that
| I'm expecting some relatives on, ard
for no other reason. Certainly nothing
was further from my notion than buy
ling a ticket for any of these isolated
| spots that SO many people nowadays
select for vacation purposes ] bit ON
| that proposition once and ! have been
| getting great joy ever since then out
! Of not doing so.
a couple of friends of mine came
along summer before last and talked
me into going up into Georgian Bay,
to DO some fishing, as they explained.
I had never done much fishing except
along the bank of small river when I
was a kid and | recalled fishing as .
pretty futile sort of pastime. but they
were enthusiastic and | allowed myself
70 he drawn into the iannt without even
stopping to ask questions. l knew in
! ii vague Nay what part of the map
Georgian Bay in. on. and didn't
| pause 10 inquire what sort OF hotel
we'd put Up at or to butt in on the
arrangement Just went along,
trusting everything to them. 1t was
almost pathetic. tue eifildlke trust
| placed in those two friends of mine,
| nov as I look back on il. | simply
packed my little kit and started of.
| 7 knew not where. For that matter, I
| don't know yet Ali l know is that we
| went as far into the Georgian Bay re-
| gion as we could 60 by train and then
We took a steamer until the steamer
got discouraged and wouldn't go any
| farther After that we navigated about
| a hundred miles or soft seemed to
me-in small gasoline launch. was
| in hopes that we'd put about as much
space between us and civilization then
| as We were going to. but We added on
a final lap of our journey in rowboat.
! 4 had supposed all along that We
| would be at summer hotel. and had
| brought with me pair of white flannel
| trousers and some other things that
| would look well on a hotel verands, but
| was obliged 70 leave all those things
| behind We are to spend out time in
| tent I'll tell you how you can ascer-
| tain Just where we were. Take a map
| of the Georgian Bay region, find the
| most northern island large enough to be
| marked on a map, and then make dot
| representing a big rock out in the bay
| fifty miles so north Of that"
You eamped on an island?" asked the
| friend
I'VE camped on rock corrected the
heavy chinned man a rock with three
/ or four pine trees on IT, There we
were. miles and miles from the nearest
| drug store. theatre, restaurant, or news
| stand. We'd go out and fish in the
! daylight hours, that is. when il wasn't
| raining, and at night we'd sit around
and listen to the mournful lay of tho
| whip-poor- wills and the lap, lap of the
| water against the shore of the rock we
| were on. l felt so foriorn the first
night that I forgot to wind my watch.
and for several days / didn't even know
what time it waste say nothing OF
having only rough notion of the day
of the week If l could tust have
known the time of day, I might have
felt better
After about ten days of this Robin
son Crusoeith sort of time, my two
companions decided they'd had about
enough and they consented to turn back
toward civilization. If they'd hung on
! there another day. I'd have been wild,
raving maniac when | got back to
Cleveland, barking and swapping az
policemen ana trying to catch my right
thumb with my right hand.
The minute we got back within sight
of railroad and eating places and other
outposts = our modern civilization.
took myself aside and made vow thar
once I got back to the asphalt and the
bright lights. I'd never leave them
again And up TO the present moment
I've never had even so much as a pass
ing inclination to break that VOW I'm
just about as likely to break il as I
am to turn professional halloonist, or
| to paint church steeple spires for a
! living Cleveland Plain Dealer.