Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-10-08

A LEXANDER BAL, N. Y, Oct. S.-Gil-
~ bert K. ChesteIton in his talk on the
- ignorance of the educated might have
used the Thousand Islands as an apt illus
tration of his text: Ignorance is not so
much what people don't know as it is their
knowing so many things that arens So"
Thousand Islands are to most people
group of approximately 1000 dots of land
in the St. Lawrence river. A native Of this
place who has lived in or near the islands
all her life says that there are exactly 1000
islands in the group" And her tone implied:
if you doubt it, count 'em yourself.
Yet the fact is that the Thousand Islands
number close to 1900. The early French
explorers sailed through the maze of islands
and dubbed them with the name they still
carry. Thousand Islands is euphonious
name, suggestive of romance, and the his
tory of the islands has run accordingly.
The romance of the French days was In
dian tradition. The Iroquois had a pic
turesque tale to account for the origin of this
long stretch of islands in the st. Lawrence.
The Great Spirit, they said, wanted peace
on earth. So he gave to the st. Lawrence re-
gion as sign, an island shaped like peace
pipe. This island, called Calumet, is still
pointed out near Clayton. Somewhere near
there was the garden of the Great Spirit. But
when his 4,eople ignored the peace pipe and
brought war into the land, the Great Spirit
in disappointment seized his garden up in a
blanket to leave the place. The blanket
tore, and the garden, falling into the st.
Lawrence river, broke into thousand islands
that lay on the surface of the water. This
origin, the story says, accounts for the beau
ty of the islands
The region, too, is claimed by some stu
dents of Indian lore as the scene of the
HiaWatha story, as it actually occurred In
Indian history. Hiawatha, according to these
| authorities, was the Onondaga hero, Micha-
bou, Great Hare, whose wisdom and prowess
set in Tndi al faj fho
leader and example.
Today, Indian souvenirs in the shops are
| the only signs left to remind the people who
dart about the waters in motor boats Of the
renee.
A Modern Romance
The romance for today is supplied by mod
ern stories. Just across from Alexandria
| Bay, for instance, is Heart Island with it's
novel history. beautiful castle stands on
! this island, a typical millionaire's residence.
But the windows are suffered. The doors
are boarded.
| Eighteen years ago, they tell you, mil
lionaire planned this castle for his wife.
! There were 80 rooms and SO baths, and other
| details on the same scale. An underground
passage to the castle from the dock was con-
structed for freight. Even the power house
| down on the waters edge was built like a
cluster of towers million dollars was put
into the building, and unlimited enthusiasm
and affection. Hearts were painted into the
| decorations on the ceiling and cut in the
carvings of the stone.
| But before it was finished the mistress of
| the castle died. The millionaire ordered work
| suspended at once. Crates of furniture were
| left standing unpacked in the rooms.
| Later, visitors to the islands were permit
| ted by the caretakers to see the castle, but
| so many brought penknives and carved thar
| names on the beautiful woodwork, or other
wise defaced the building, that it was finally
! closed entirely Now it is rumored that the
castle, which has never been lived in, is to
| end the first, eighteen year chapter of it's
| career. Plans are under way to convert it
! into a summer hotel.
| Heart Island, the typical deserted castle of
| the fairy stories, is not the only desolate
| looking residence in the islands. Many of
| the beautiful homes of the rich, each on it's
own island, or group of islands, are closed
! for the season. 1t is late now, but some have
never been unboarded throughout the sum-
mer.
| There is no blasting love back of these
| boarded doors. If there is a romance there
| it is the cold romance 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, perhaps, when rest and quiet may
be wanted.
Nearly all of these are in perfect condition.
The flower beds and lawns are as precisely
kept as if the owner we're there to enjoy
them. The attractiveness of the estates is