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A Bicycle Tour In Acadia

A Bicycle Tour In Acadia image
Parent Issue
Day
11
Month
August
Year
1886
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Tlie simple-minded Acadians of Evangeüue's time, could thcy liave happened back to tlieir formor homes a few weeks ago, wnuld liave bulged out saucer-like eyes it the sight of forty jolly wlieelnien spinning through tlieir peaceful valleys and past tlieir farms on noiseless steeds which neither eat nor sleep nor yet become tlred (except with rubber !) This unusual conclave, whjch some of the nativos innocently surmised was a part of "I 1'uwV show, (then raiding the l'rovince) was n party of American cyclists accompanied by ten of the St. John bicyclecïob, on a tour down the St. Jolm river. l iider the managemant of F. A. Elwel], a down-east Yankee, the party left Boston on the lCth of July in special cars for B l' 1 hours ride through Mainc up to Grind Falls in New Hrunswiek. Then is a town on the edge of civilization where there are Indians and lumbermen who together drink und dispute, lurk and loaf, work and waj;er. The Falls of the St. John river are pic turesij'iely brautiful, for over j.i{;ged rock the whitened water pours down 75 feet intoa hugc cauldron 250 feetin width and then rushing noisily through a deep gorre tlie riwr descernís 00 feet n the next müo. Thealmost perpendicular cüft's are broken here and Hiere so that a ven" turesonie climber can let hiinself down by holding to roots, vines and branches. This we :i 1 1 dld, and the rugged subliinity of the Uvisted rocks, the whirlpools and the roar of thecataract combined tomake us glad we were theio. The lirst day'a ride was up and ilown long liill, through the wildeniess witli blue toppcd mountains on either side. Tlie day was cool, tlie roads rood, and lots of scenery lüyinj; iround to be taken iu. Aloiij; tiie rond werfi frequent gpringg of fce-cold water with trouj;li3 and tubs placed for thirsty man or beast. i Wlien the cyclonieter sliowed 25 miles we carne to Andover. Leaving our wheels and spoiling a big dinner we were convej'cd hack lato tlie country by heav}1 wagont and Bixbone teams to a bend in tlie Tobique river, wlure we were to emburk In canocs for a lively wliirl down throuffli t lie n.-irrows. Sume' nitlitisiastic travellers hateoálled tliis the mostpicturbw)O6 rivt'i' in America, Wo sat vci v .-till in the bottom of the frail blrcb-bark canoe, niul the swarihy Indiiin youlli witli paildle in hand silently urged t on. At first tlie water is smooth, running deop and qjjlt, but soon the banks beeome abrupt and narrowing tbe stream. Kocks jutting ont oppose tlicmselves to the ru.sliingcurrenland the endlesa struggle only whitcns the water and perhaps slowly wears away the bold stone. In tliis winding canon the bluffa on litlier slde are sometimet only 100 f eet apart and 100 feetin tiKigtat. Through it the river rushes and surges wliile the c.inoe swiftly leaps as though escaping a pursue. To make the trip of more interest to the two in our boat, the Indinn boatman, a young fellow, admitted after some qnestioning, that this was the flret time he had taken a cauoe through those rapids. As we glkle along Mr. C. B. Davlson, the bugler of the party, wakes tlie echoe of the gorge witli hls bugle until the rough old cliös seeui to cali to each other in joyful strains. At the mouth of the river, wliere it empties into the 8t. John is a quaint old town of the Milicite Indian: "A Mr simple men and women, without a single trace of the long-faded glory of thelr nation, they live in this lovely spot in wretched imitation of civilizetl life; good trusty guides are the men, strong and active in their canoe?, wonderfully adept with the salmón spear, but everything like romance is as completcly gone as though it had never existed." In the even ing at Ando ver some of the boys took in a dance given in our honor and they were taken in for flfty cents a piece "to procure some fuuds for planting simde trees in the village." (Continued iiext week.) Jat Bek. The oounty uomlnatlug prohlbltlon (domncratlCHide-Hhow) convention Imih been called tor AukusI 31t, at the old Baptist ohurch - Ann Arbor Covkikk. The time has come when the Prohtbltlon pnrtyshould be treated P -il' wüíi' 'l' T'' "Ot bJ' theG.O. The gentlemanly and respectful allusion to the republicnn party wliicli editor Smith indulges in, should of course coramand respect from republicans ! He has plagnrized from the democratie party a "hutik" ot mud, "G. O. P.," flings it at republicans, and then cries out for respectful treatment at their hands ! That is an excellent wny to obtain it. And it is this very thing that has hurt hls party more than any one thlng. They have adopted all the democratie slang, all the democratie mud, all the democratie arguments(?) and instead of flghting for principies have forgotten them entirely and devoted all thelr time to flghting the republican party. They have made common cause with their natural enemies, went to the polls side by side with liquor men, voted wlth and for them, with the admitted object of killinjj the "G. O. P.,'! as they contemptuously cali the republican party, and then ask to be treated respectf ully ! Draw your own conelusions. In a recent issue of the Grand Rapids Democrat an artlcle appears in reference to the University and its wants, from wliich we take the following and recommend it to the next legislature: The Unlverslty has lately been presentad wlth two large art eollectlons for whlch there is no room ia any of the buildings One of these Is all the piaster modela of Kau dolph Hogers, Mlchtgau's famous scalplor and the other U the large gallery of palut' ingsof the late Mr. Lewls, of Coldwater. A portion of the Hogers' collectlon has arrlved and been put up In the art rooms of the jlbrary building, but thU place Is entlrely inadequate for the display of one-half of it and the fine collectlon of palntlngs valued atsomeS2U(),(XI0 1shouseless. The legislatura next winter will be asked to bulld an art building lor the purpose of taking care of and dlsplaylng these valuable acqulsltions, nd lt is to be hoped that H wlll comply wlth the request. I would suggest, however that some steps be taken to insure a reasonably good-looklng and properlyoonstruotcd building. Thinking people wlll naturally wonder why the government did not set Capt. Allen to ferreting out and punishing the timber thieves in Isabella county. The Captaiu would have made thorough work and honored hluiself and secured justice for all concerncd. It is no credit to the republican party turning the job over to a democratie adtntnistration.- Ypsilanti Commercial, (Prohib-Dcin.) It is quite geneially believed that no such state of aflairs exista as this man Stevens asserts. It's all political buncombe. The president looked npon the proposition of Congress to give souie of our old soldiers and their wldows a pension, in horror and amazement, and sent in hls veto messages In qulck succession. Now he asks Congres for $30,000 for new furniture and repairs ! Juut tliink of it ! Thirty thousand dollars to re place furniture much of it not yet three years old. It must be confessed th:U financially the democratie administratioii is 11 downriglit fallure. Tlie republkan adrolnistration everysixteen moaths retlred $153,000,000 bonds; the democratie only

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Subjects
Ann Arbor Courier
Old News