Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-10-07
Thousand Islands and Then Some.
BY Frederic ]. riaskIn

castle but 80 many brought penknlgcs
and carved their names on the beauil-
ful woodwork, or otherwise dffacf
the building. that Il vas lnally closed
entirely Now u Is rum0fed that the
stle. which has never been liFfd n.
issto end the first. eigbtcnn year chap-
ter Of ltK career. Plans are under HHg
70 convert il into a summer hotel
Heart Island. the typical deserted
| castIe of tho fairy stories. r. not the
only desolgte looking residence in the
islands Many ~ th beautiful homes
/ Of the rich. each on rs own ISLAND or
group of islands, are closed Tor the
season. n is late now. but some hava
been unb0arded throughout tho sumo
mer.
There IL no blasted love back n
these boarded doors. 81 there .s roe
nance there II is the cold romance -
{ dollar The owners have other az.
tates in Palm Beach. Newport ard
some metropolis The Island q kept
as a rustic retreat. to be used now srd
then. perhaps, when rest and quiet
may be wanted.
Nearly all n these are lu perfect
condition. The flower beds ard lawns
are az precisely kept as n tho owner
were there to enjoy them The at-
! tracuveness of the estates j. not waste
I'd, how ever. for many visitors 20 h1-
tells and cottages ~ Alexandra Bay
, and other colonies take long motor
! boat rides among the islands admir-
t ing the show places.
/ The islands 10 their original state
arc beautiful, some denselV wooded.
! some rocky with pine trees among tna
: rocks, others smooth and green. Ia
among these. on some mlulonairef
7 property, tho fan flowers add STRIKE
!. ing note ~ gray RET. orgango ava
purple. Terraces aro maesos ~ bloom
Asters and goldenglow are skinfully net
a among the rocks az the waters edge
!. 80 that they are mirrored ga the river.
I. One o. these milHcnaires haa even nr
own flower edged canal. built ~ great
:, txpense, 90 form 3 winding wnforaa y
!. between the islands ~ fis estate.
Expensive Islands
Not all 0f the homes. however n-r
: deserted. Not au arc owned bv million
aires. either. There are coftaeea ~
{ all sizes down to a ridiculouav tiny
= green love nest" which the story eaes
Y was built for two but three arc thors
now"
= The islands are n on sizes. Some Z
= the largest accomodafe whole summer
= colonies. But the most popular s1a
= for summer homes are those tas,
comfortably hold a single house ieae.
q ing enough land for a yard nnd gar.
th den. Islands smaller than this are no'
y wasted. though. Houses are hut 81
D. dots of land so microscopic that rs,
front yard Is under water To fak,
~ a walk, they have 70 Ret in a brat Al
RS the front door and 80 somewhere aiae
One of the little frame rotfareg eal
u even built on q reconstructed island
is a few rocks with lone tree stuck u'
30 above the shallow water ard the ian,
1e was filed in enough 20 make a foun
1e dation for a small house and even
ID few trees we're planted in the yard
sc Why al this work should be- necsa
Ilt sary when there are plenty 20 unten
IN anted islands % comfort bic size lvin
I'd all about is bit obscure stHl. Island
N. have gone up and The two rocks an
A. a pine tree may have been a bargain
he Several hundred o. the islands 1n th
American side ~ the river were snl
q years ago % a man for f3.0o0 Dc ia
IL fact that Pullman. the railroad mar
at bought a desirable island Tor s85 abou
~ 30 years ago. And 90 is estimated tina
the same island. without its handaonl
re residence. would now bring no les
he than SOS. 900