The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-10-07

7 the beautiful woodwork, or otbs,
! wise defaced the building. thai i
was finally closed entirely. Nov !,
is rumored that the castle. which
has never been lived in, is to ana
| the first Is year chapter of its a.
reer. Plans are under way to eon.
vert it into summer hotel.
Heart Island. the typical deser;Aa
castle of the fairy stories, is not Tho
only desolate looking residence n
the islands. Many of the beautifnl
homes of the rich, each on its own
island, or group of islands, are
| closed for the season. 1t is lsie
now, but some have never been un-
boarded throughout the summer.
There is no blasted love back Of
these boarded doors. If there is
romance there it is the cold 70.
nance of the dollar. The owners
have other estates in Palm Beach
Newport, and some metropolis. The
island is kept as a rustic retreat. To
be used now and then, pertains
when rest and quiet may be want.
ed
Nearly all of these are in perfect
condition. The flower beds and
lawns are as precisely kept as If
the owner were there to enjoy
them. The attractiveness of the es-
tates is not wasted, however, for
many visitors to hotels and cot
tages at Alexandria Bay and other
colonies take long motor boat rides
among the islands, admiring the
show places.
The islands in their original
state are beautiful, some densely
wooded, some rocky with pine trees
among the rocks, others smooth and
green. In among these, on some
milIionaires' property, the fall flow
ers add striking note of gay red,
orange and purple. Terraces ara
masses of blooms. Asters and
are skilfulfy set among
the rocks at the waters edge so that
they are mirrored in the river. One
of these millionaires has even his
great expense, to form a winding
waterway between the islands Of
his estate.
Expensive Islands,
Not all of the homes, however,
are deserted Not all are owned by
either. There are cot
tages of all sizes down to a ridicu-
lousy tiny green love nest" which
the story goes was built for two
but three are there now"
The islands are of all sizes. Some
Of the largest accommodate whole
summer colonies. But the most
popular size for summer homes are
hose that comfortably hold a sin
gle house, leaving enough land for
/ yard and garden. Islands small
ar than this are not wasted, though.
Houses are built on dots of land so
that the front yard is
under water. To take a walk, they
nave ito get in a boat at the front
loor and go somewhere else.
One of the little frame cottages
was even built on a reconstructed
sland. A few rocks with lone
rec stuck up above the shallow
water and the land was filed in
enough to make a foundation for a
small house and even a few trees
we're planted in the yard.
Why all this work should be
necessary when there are plenty of
islands of comfortable
size lying all about is a bit obscure.
Still, islands have gone up, and the
wo rocks and a pine tree may have
,een a bargain. Several hundred of
he islands on the American side of
he river were sold years ago to
nan for $4,000. 1t is a fact that
oullman, the railroad man, bought
. desirable island for SIS about Sc
ears ago. And it is estimated that
he same island, without its hand
ONE residence, would now bring
ess than $4,000.