Evening star. [volume], August 08, 1915, Page 8, Image 44

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Summ
, ,i^r jp*Sn^^?r*A
ALONG th.? Virginia shore of th?
Potomac river above Aqueduc
bridge up to the quarry is i
scries of tented camps ant
several houseboats in the river, forming
a summer colony.
What is the impulse which impels
folk to seek this life without mosl
of the comforts and all the luxurie:
of their city homes? Who are the)
that seek the pleasures spread befon
them in this manner of life?
Some of those who live there say \
Is the freedom from the cares requirec
to keep the complexities of home lift
in order; others, that it is propinquit)
to the broad river, which gives bath
HIS H'H! UUilllilg, OUHIC, cucic ?*coolness
of the nights, when blankets
and sweaters become a necessity
others, the companionship at niglu
about the camp fire, the good health
which brings keen appetite, the con
templative?perhaps sentimental?tim<
spent in the moonlight, so much mor<
beautiful in the open country.
*
* *
There may be a thousand and on<
ources of pleasure in the camps, bui
underlying them all is that fundamental
Jove of tlie earth whence w<
sprang, and where we may live like
our fellow-animals, although not reverting
to type and fortunately nol
losing our happier development. II
Is like the impulse which in the spring
sends the migratory birds to the greal
north.
These camps are filled for the mosl
part by young men engaged in busi?
ness in the city, and the morning
hours see canoes, motor and powei
boats shooting down and across the
river, taking campers on their way tc
their dally occupations. But not all
the campers are young in years, and
not all are men. Some of the men art
young only in spirit, and some of tht
campers belong to the other sex, and
not of the severe suffragette type,
either.
A few eras or so ago, when the Potomac
cut its way to the ocean, the
southerly bank was left very steep
and unsightly, but time has covered it
with beautiful trees, and moss forms
a soft cushion over the rocks. At the
foot of the bank, south of the quarry,
between the bank and the river, is a
stretch of ground nearly a mile long
and varying from fifty to a hundred
and fifty feet in width, running at a
nearly uniform height of ten feet above
the water level. It is shaded by* beautiful
trees, and among them the camps,
protected by the high hank behind
them, are pitched for the season.
*
* *
"Camp Ease" is the first one thii
side of the quarry. Four canvas sleeping
tents and an open dining tent shelter
this family party of father, mother,
wife, husband and daughter and their
friends. They celebrated thelj independence
by taking possession of this
delightful spot on the Fourth of July
and they intend to stay until colc
weather drives them out. although this
may not mean so very much: for already
the night breezes down the river
are cool.
The high bank shelters them from
the worst winds, a nearby spring furnishes
pure, cold water, the woods provide
the wild flowers which decorate
the dinner table and the waters of the
river furnish, after due patience on
the part of the angters. fish for tin
noontime meal. Friendly birds visit
them, and. so far this season, the highvoiced
mosquito has not put in his appearance.
"To-Quan Camp" borders upon "Ease"
literally and in the punning sense
which suggests itself. Here seven
young men settled last April, to remain
the whole season. They find it very
comfortable to paddle from the Maryland
side in the afternoon and after
getting out of business clothes to take
a plunge into the river before sitting
down to the dinner which "Shorty,"
cook, purveyor and guardian of the
ramp, provides in liberal variety and
quantity. A launch and seven canoei
constitute the camp navy and are required
to carry the campers and their
many visitors. The tents have board
floors and comfortable beds. Good
books, music, plenty of woolen and
rubber blankets and "Shorty," with hit
paraphernalia, make a camp equipmenl
which is very complete.
*
* *
Three young men have occupiet
"Camp Roost" since the 1st of April
and they expect to remain there unti
the snow flies. Fortunately, the groun<
on which their tent stands is quit<
high, so that when the floods came las
Hay and washed over many of th<
other camp sites this was not reached
"It is always dangerous to inviti
guests here," said a visitor to thii
camp. "It is my first visit, and I havi
already notified my host that I intent
to staV as long as I can, and that thh
first visit Is most emphatically not m;
last."* He evidently had the first symp
torns of the impulse to return fron
artificial to real life.
The next was a ladies' camp?"Rest ;
While"?made up of four tents, a chaperon
and some people who were spend
Ing the summer there. ."For amuse
ments they read a little," said th<
obliging camp historian, "swim a little
IH^^B .^^rth^iifittwHR ^I^HwSwfflffn nra
LADIES' DAY AT RACCAR CARP.
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CAMP EASE
row a little, eat, sleep,and rest a great t
deal." . o
On a delightful site, the highest point a
in this section, is "Camp U and Us." r
A party of young men founded this c
camp four jears ago and keep it open v
from May to October. Among the en- ft:
tertainments they have given, with e
the assistance of their mothers, this n
year was a Saturday afternoon bridge c;
party to twenty-four girls. A trip over a
in a launch, a picnic supper with Iced a
watermelons, a ride on the river in the >'
moonlight made up the afternoon's a
pleasure. d
"Sum Kamp" is a home camp made ll
of agreeable families who occupy eight 11
I tents and Just live out of doors. Sir.
I Burbank, its founder, was a pioneer h
I in camping lr. this section, and his e
( daughter, aged nine months, is the a
t youngest camper along the river. If
plenty of fresh air to live in and sleep P
In makes a baby healthy there is no '
chance that this young woman will a
1 ever reach the stage of elegant inva- "
lidism. c
j * tl
1 * " 11
"Krazy Kamp" is a chartered club, s
established in 1911. Its six sleeping s
1 tents and dining tent are presided over li
9 by a chef, -who is kept busy looking
' after the needs of the twenty-five mem9
bers, all of whom come into the city
9 daily. This is one of the oldest camps o
9 on the river and has the distinction of w
being the first to adopt the "krazy" tl
' way of spelling "kamp." T
f At "Kamp Komfort" a small party of tl
young men are spending the summer, w
1 The tents, fitted up with all the camp a
accessories, a good chef, a steam launch o
i and canoes, make as comfortable a fi
summer home as one could desire. fi
"Raccar Club," with its large tents, si
comes next.. This is an.organized.club ei
s limited to twenty members, with a li
, waiting list of fifteen. A t<ibl? thirty- li
W v*? .-. P|jJ^RSm^@||
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jjji ! ?~ ''r2&99ME99MHKSIflK^MHMUBBHBHHK2M
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A VIEW OP KLASSV KAMP.
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McmEf Ar jW BKr.'^^',**^^BfcM? "1-v^iff
55/ - - i v
:, THE MOST XORTHURLV OF TB
wo feet long, sheltered under a great
pen fly, is placed close to the river,
nd thence the diners look at the broad
iver and beautiful Maryland bank and
atch glimpses of Georgetown Uniersity
and the Naval Observatory,
lonthly stag rackets are held, and two
venings each summer month ladies'
ights are heralded by the arrival in
amp of ice cream, cakes, watermelons
nd peaches. Saturday nights nearly
11 members are on hand. Sundays beig
ladies' days, the attendance is exctly
doubled. A chef and a waiter, uner
Commodore Birch, provide a wonerful
menu. The navy consists of
.verity canoes and two motor boats.
Just below these clubs lie several
ouseboats. Houseboats are as differnt
in construction and finish as boats
re. The great distinction is between
lose which have their own motive
ower and may cruise at slow speed
rom point to point, and those which
re constructed without power and relain
at the place where they are anhored
until the anchors are raised and
hey are towed to some other destinaion.
They are all alike in these repects:
they are a house built on a
ubstantial hull, and the people who
ve in them have good times.
?
The owners of the first of the several
f these crafts anchored off this shore
ere their own naval designers and
hen their own naval constructors,
hey designed and built a boat about
hirty-two feet long and sixteen feet
ide, square across bow and stern, with
thirty-inch freeboard. In the center
f the boat and surrounded by a twoDot
deck is the house, which springs
rom the bottom of the boat about
even feet. This space, about twentyight
.by, twelve feet, is divided,into-a
ttle kitchen and a big main cabin or
' leg room. T'. i n?v<wi ;,y plenty
i ;
>ng Vir
The Series of 1
Along the Shaded Sh
forts and Luxuries
Freedom of the Woo
Thousand and One
the Camper?Cano
Thpir Sharp Tnwan
Living?South Banl
tiful Place to Spend
Most of the Cam
With Sleeping Tents
ing Tents?The Va
Who Can Also Serve
boats Anchored Of1
Occupants All the E
Largest of the Colon
ing in Camp, With !
fire Stories and the ,
BmnH?ffiffiiMHi
H^DH^V'''^V '- ' fit
' 'V?
... .
t'vi^ ^ ^ 'y.Z*-^ ' ''''' '' '/ |
IE CAMPS.
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HOUSEBOAT ANCHORS
of windows, and js fitted up with bunk!
camp chairs, tables and rugs, and pre
8ents all the comforts of a little bun
galow. It is admost as steady as
-house on- shore, except that the swel
from an occasional passing steame
starts a gentle rooking no* ion .vliici
glnia SI
ents and Houseboats
tore, Where City CornAre
Given Up for the
ds and the River?The
Sources of Pleasure for
es and Motpr Boats Do
d Making Life Worth
< of the River a Beau
the Heated Spell,
ps Are Fully Equipped
. Cook Tents and Din
lue of a Good Cook,
as Guardian?Housef
Shore Furnish Their
freezes That Stir?The
ies?A Summer Even^lusic,
Games, CampMoonlight.
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D OFF VIRGINIA SHORE. Is
A
s, makes one, especially at bedtime, wish tr
:- it would last longer. In time of sudden si
i- rain its house doors are opened wide, rf
a for the occupants of passing boats on n
11 the river and of tents on shore which *
r leak a little, seek refuge in the cozy ti
li cshin or living room of this snug e-ott. u
Be . e |
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' I' I M il '
SIX CAMP OF THE ANALOSTAX CI
VISITORS AT CAMP ROOST.
he inevitable canoe provides the ownrs
with easy means of reaching the
Ity.
The "Big Six" of the Analostan Boat
lub have a camp on these shores. Six i
inoes, a launch and a power boat contitute
the navy. Four sleeping tents,
bathing and dining tent house the
x members and accommodate their
lany friends. Their camp has been
pen since April, and will not close
ntil late in the fall.
Visitors help to make life pleasant, i
nd he is a poor fellow, unworthy to i
Ive in camp, who has no sister or I
FEffiMCH EEA1
=q UCCESS in this war hinges, of <
ijv course, on many factors, but the 1
? factor of artillery ammunition an- '
ears to be of a very high degree of ^
nportance, if it really is not the fat- j
>r of greatest importance. Each of i
te allies is straining every endeavor 1
nd every natural resource to increase 1
le output of shell, to feed the hungry
uns, to replace the guns worn out by i
ing and to actually increase the numer
of cannon that Are powder and '
hell and powder and shrapnel by the 1
tousands of tons and which promise 1
3 fire these things at an increasing 1
ate until the war ends. 1
The world has become familiar with '
te call of the allies for shell and yet '
lore shell. Without doubt the capao- '
y of Germany is being worked to the :
mlt in the production of cannon and s
mnon ammunition, but from Germany i
heard no call for such war essentials. <
call of that kind would not be per- 1
litted to fall upon the ears of the out- t
Ide world. It would be construed as t
jvealtng military information and i
light give aid and comfort to the en- >
my. i
rri the' years just preceding the war i
ie J-'rench and Germans were known t
; 1' " better equipped v. nh cannon rn
A Ul IKT DAY AT KAUP KOMKOR1
HI
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.IB.
J
: ^IBU
W>
^
St*friend
with a sister or some one willins
to he a sister to try the experiences
of camp life for an afternoon.
In this particular camp a large party
of girls with some mothers were guests
for several days. A mighty sycamore,
which stood before the camp, fell one
night with a crash, smashing some
seats and causing great excitement.
*
* *
"Klassy Kamp" with its eight tents,
ts cook and dining tents, on quite high
ground, is the one lying farthest down
he Potomac. It is arranged to accomJZED
VALUE OF
:annon charges than any other peoples,
rhey had sensed the dominating part
vhich artillery was to play in the next
var. Thjey piled up ammunition and
mjarged their capacity for producing
t. They provided a ratio of cannon to
ides and shell and shrapnel to cannon
hat made the artillery of the war esablishm'ents
of Russia, (treat Britain
ind the United States appear feeble,
tnd yet in spite of this they vastly
inderestimated the ammunition that
uould be consumed. The French comnission
of the budget in its supplenentar.v
credits for the army and navy
recently asked the. sum of J30,000,000
for artillery and wrote the following
-cport. which gives one a realistic con eption
of the demand of France, the
jest armed and prepared of the allies,
or cannon a mmun't'on: "The conMimntinn
of ammunition has exceeded
ill the estimates made, and in the last
nontlis of 1914 it was necessary not
>nly to use all the resources at home,
>ut lo have recourse to foreign counries
for very large quantities of nuierial
ready made, machinery and raw
naterial. By reason of the uncertainty
it that time as to the quantities that
t might be possible to obtain at short
'.otf'<\ and the prices that might have
o n; .1 v. as not thought .prudent
. .. . ... . . ? c?" - - j
>tomac
jj i I'cit' '^C"-"
KJ&gl^HMH
r.
modate family group.', and comfortable
equipment and good cooks make living
here easy. The men go to business and
the women and girls take up light
summer occupations. This is one of
the largest camps on the river, and
Sundays and Saturday afternoons is
filled not only with members, but visitors.
Some fine musicians in this*
camp help to make evenings pleasant,
and occasional dances add to the festivities.
Nearly all the camps have musical instruments.
Many of the campers play
well, all sing?some with good voices
and some with volume only?but they
help to swell a chorus. Week-end partips
intprpjimn visile vuppo pnrl aIIipp
sports make the camp ti;ne go pleasantly.
The hardships and petty annoyances
are slight compared with the
pleasures of the outdoor life and the
freedom from home worries.
Almost every Saturday afternoon a
regatta of some sort is held down the
river, and in some of the events the
campers take part. The events always
cause ^ desertion of the camps, for all
go to see the fun. There gather around
the finishing point canoes of all sorts
and styles, from the racer driven by a
two-bladed paddle to the war canoe
propelled by eight men; the canoes
driven by motors and those propelled
by sails. In some of these are he-spectacled
fathers with several children,
the speed boys in abbreviated bathing
suits, the youth who paddles with a
girl, always distracting, lounging on
the cushions. The inevitable camera
man is opening fire or maneuvering for
a position whence to snap anybody and
everybody. Friends are greeting
friends on all sides. The varied colors
of the craft, the flashing paddles in the
sunlight, the bright parasols of the
girls, the kaleidoscopic change of light
and color make a magic picture.
But with the sinking of the sun the
boats scatter. The unfortunate turn to
the city, but the elect paddle to camp
or houseboat along the darkening
shore. Lights twinkle from camp to
camp. The outside fires begin to burn
brightly, forms move about in the light
and sink away in the shadows. The
evening in camp by the water, in the
woods, under the moonlight, has begun.
A Famous Mississippi Race.
S\iJTEN" familiar with the history of the
*"*1 Mississippi steamboat traffic are
generally agreed that the greatest race
ever run on that river was that betwetn
the Xatchez, commanded by Capt. T. P.
Leathers, and the Robert E. Lee, under
capt. jonn w. cannon. j ne ."Natchez
was a Cincinnati boat, while the Rob- I
ert E. Lee was built at New Albany, I
For a long- time rivalry existed be- I
tween these two boats. When the I
Natchez broke all existing; records by I
accomplishing the 1,278 miles between I
New Orleans and St. Louis In 1 I
days 21 hours and 58 minutes, the I
. captain of the Robert E. Lee resolved to I
outdo his rival. He engaged the steam- I
er Frak Paragoud and several fuel B
boats, arranging that they should meet I
hint at various points up the river with B
wood and coal. Then he had his boat B
cleared of all her upper works which B
were likely to catch the wind -and so B
hamper her progress. B
Thursday, June 20, 1870, at 4:45 p.m., H
the Robert E. Lee steamed out of New H
Orleans. The Natchez followed five
minutes later. The race had been well H
advertised and was awaited with great H
interest in all the river towns. Large H
crowds were gathered at Natchez. H
Vicksburg. Helena and other towns. H
Between Cairo and St. Louis the
Natchez lost, it was afterward claim
ed, seven hours and one minute by rea
son of a fog and broken machinery.
The Robert E. Lee. however, was not
delayed, and arrived in St. Louis thirty
three minutes ahead of the record es- H
tablished by her competitor. Fifty H
thousand persons, it it said, on house
tops, on the levee and on the decks of H
other steamers, welcomed the winner H
as she steamed into port. Capt. Can- H
non was the hero of the hour, and a H
big banquet was given, in his honor by H
the people of St. Louis. H
H
1 A1T1LLE1Y. I
credits by extraordinary accrrra, vnum
might never have been needed. The
competition in foreign markets among H
the powers who wished to buy has
caused a rise in price of manufactured
articles, raw material and freight. H
which was unforeseen arid had to be
borne."
Further along in the report may he
found this paragraph in reference to
powder: "The powder department was
obliged to purchase raw material for
manufacturing explosives at any price
to turn out a forced output. These materials,
coming in general from England
and Germany, became so scare
that prices rose far higher than had
been expected."
Other raw materials which France
bought abroad were steal, copper and
zinc, and the wholb etrm spent for artillery
material duri&g the first five
months of the war apaopnted to well
over JlOj.OOO.QOO. Tfiis tvas suppleinentary
to 'he Iargp sums approprlated
for artillery before the beginning
of hostilities, and as shown the iigures
apply only to tlie first five months of
the war. The expenditure of money for
ammunition, cannon and the raw materials
of ammunition has steadily Increased
since the quoted figures became
public littcugli llic,repuct of the
-onmti-sich of tile b'ldcot. ^