Evening star., 1926-09-05

More Americans nav NtSitVV INV
Adirondacks this season than III any
other season in the history OF that
great playground of the East because
of the resence there of President
Coolidge. Camps, hotels and board
ing houses have been filled to over
flowing by tourists who have Hooked
TO this picturesque section. curiosity
having prompted them to see what
manner of region the President mas
sough, for his holiday.
What they see 'must satisfy more
than their curiosity, for the Adlron-
darks contain a wealth OF splendid
scenery worth seeing by others thah
Presidents Mr.. Coolidge is the see
0nd President who has Deen attracted
10 this domain. Grover Cleveland nav
ing regarded ii as faNorlte~fampllS
hunting and fishing ground one dll-
ference in the re'aXatlonS OF the TWO
Chief Executives. however, Is that
while Mr.. Coolidge is SO much an anna
.teur at outdoor sport that his catch
of a single fish was broadcast far ana
wide through the press, Mr.. Cleveland
had made a name for himself as an
ardent hunter and fisher before ever
he came to the White House.
Singularly enough. an interesting
connection exists between the visits
of the two Presidents 80 Paul Smiths
The story in the Adirondacks IS that
President cleveland employed Paul
Smith as his guide and companion on
his ventures into the wilds. President
Coolidge now makes his headquarters
at l.. village named after the long
dead mighty hunter and guide.
Let there be no mistake about the
need of guide in the AdirondackS.
Perhaps hardy WesternerS of the
Rocky Mountains may Sneer at the
idea of any Eastern mountains being
wild or rugged enough to daunt the
climber or hunter. But many man
has been lost in these wilds where
one can get almost as far away from
IA human habitation as in the West.
one of the highest mountains is
Whiteface, which rises from Lake
Placid. In altitude il does not com
pare with the great peaks of the
Rockies, but it is high enough so that
for most of the months in the year
it's sharp peak is capped with snow.
Resemble ScOtland's Hills.
The mountains of this region are
not softly tree,covered as those Of the
Appalachian range farther to the
south. but are gaunt and for the most
part treeless, not distantly resembling
the gray hills of Scotland.
Wild game is at home in these
mountains Deer are so nuemorous
that sometimes they come down and
Craze in the open fields. and occa-
sionalfy even a bear is driven by
hunger into a. farmyard. IN the open
season. during the Autumn, one sees
automobiles on the roads with great
bucks loaded into them and once in a
while the huge bulk of a bear.
The valleys are fertile in most
cases, and there grows the greenest
grass In the world. Even under dense
trees in deep shade, where grass usu-
ally does not thrive. it will be found
growing Iuxuriantly. Many varieties
of trees abound. but the most beautf-
ful is the silver birch. the cleaning
trunks and branches of which literally
shine against the deep green of the
foliage.
But in one sense it can scarcely be
said that there are many valleys, for
what ordinarily would be valleys-that
is. deep and wide and long ravines be-
tween the ranges of mountains--are
lakes. The lakes are SO numerous
that "a list of their names would be
Lake Champlain and Lake George are
we'll known, but there are also upper
and lower Saranac lakes. Tupper
Lake, Lake Clear, Raquette Lake.
Loon Lake. Schroon Lake. Lake
Placid and, perhaps the most beauti-
full of them ALL Mirror Lake.
Through some old geographical
anomaly, the town of Lake Placid is
not on Lake Placid at all. but is on
Mirror Lake. True. one end of Mirror
Lake extends so close to Lake Placid
that canoeists put their craft on a
pair of wheels and push them 200
Yards overland when they want TO go
from one lake to the other. A lane
through the trees has been opened for
this purpose. There 1t is called THE
Carry-over." as in the West it is called
The Portage" The famous Winter
sports for which the town of Lake
Placid is famous in reality take place
on Mirror Lake.
Lake Placid is perhaps one of the
most unusual towns in the country.
With n population, normally. OF only
about 1000, it boasts probably the
heaviest automobile traffic of any
town OF it's size. With but one main
thoroughfare, fairly wide and we'll
paved. it is alive with q constant
whizZing of cars. Also the shops of
this little town compare favorably
with those of Fifth avenue. A tiny
building which to the casual observer
would look from its exterior like ii
cross roads general store will display
the latest models from Paris.
Playground of the Wealthy.
All this is explained by the fact that
in the hotels and the camps surround
ing the two lakes live some of the
richest people in the country. These
camps are more than the name usu-
any implies. Hidden in the woods. one
may stumble upon mansions of tre-