Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1920-09-29
Miss Florence Minis Writes
From Minnesota.
Dear Advertisers:

lhe ola saying variety is the
spice Of life" is like great many
other time-worn sayings-true.
1 have heard all my life of camp
fires and suppers in the woods, and
long hikes, but until this afternoon,
I had never enjoyed one, when FIVE
of us in tramping clothes with a pail,
hatchet, knife, matches and a haver-
sack filled with coffee, meats, cakes
and other accessories as well as a
kodak, started out for an experience
new to me. ~
Having walked about three miles
we lost our way and wandered
through a country covered with low
underbrush, coming at last to a sort
of cave which we believed to be
either a deserted or prospective
mine. -
Afte1: examining the sides of the
steep incline, we decided to crawl
down, clinging to the rocks that pro-
jected from the sides. 1t looked easy
enough, but on leaving the top edge
of the cave we found ourselves slip
ping one after the other with the
ground sliding under our feet. AT
last, after many qualms we reached
the bottom and looked back in amaze
ment at the height which we had left.
Being at the bottom of this huge
basin our next move was to get out.
First, however, we posed for ko-
dak picture to have memento of
our jaunt.
One girl remarked that the charm
of the barbed wire fence in this part
of the country was that there were
no barbs. We crawled through, and
found ourselves at railroad track,
but on no road or highway. Luckily,
some trampers like ourselves direch
ed US to "the straight and narrows
way" which we had left, and we pro-:
ceeded onS our Journey One girl oH
our party wore a mans regulation
khaki outfit.
The roads of Minnesota are re-
markable, as I have found a great
many other things here to be. Far
out into the country one walks or
rides over splendid roads and with
sidewalks covered by boards, hence
the term, "board walks"
The weather is ideal; cool enough
to give one energy and warm enough
to tempt you out of doors, for the
sun is very hot, though not unpleas-
antly so.
We were favored with just such
day as this for our picnic tramp.
Strangeto say, about quarter of
mile before reaching Syracuse Lake,
we could detect a decided difference
in the atmosphere sort of cool
dampness. Our spirits rose for we
knew that we were nearing water.
We felt like laborers who were wor-
thy of their evening meal, having
earned it by much effort.
There is a peculiar pleasure about
enjoying such an occasion for the
first time. Under such circumstances
the building Of fire, the gathering
of rocks and sticks, takes on a sort
of glory, as though we might have
been acting for moving picture film
so greatly did the occasion impress
me. l thought, as l sat there, what a
wholesome pleasure it was to be en-
tertained with such plain, God-given
things as trees and water, but such a
sight as this might we'll have pleased
the eye of an artist.
This sheet of water, Syracuse
Lake, has a silver lining, or more
properly, an iron lining which may
be converted into silver. Under it
lies ore whose value mounts up into
the thousands, perhaps millions.
Between the lake and the woods,
a tiny strip of sandy shore lay cover
ed with rocks and old dry tree trunks
which the water had washed ashore.
Little red-brown chipmunks playing
around the lake added a sort of .pri-
meval wildness to the scene.
We chose this as our stopping
place and sat around the evening
campfire toasting sausages on long
sticks and drinking coffee from large
cups which we had brought for the
purpose.
This was Labor day, holiday