Canada -- Description and travel; Canadian poetry -- History and criticism
Below, the maple masses sleep
Where shore with waters blends,
While midway on the tranquil deep
The evening light descends."
This wonderful Park is very popular for its summer camps for girls
and for boys, located on the lakes in close contact with the hotels.
Here young people can be sent under the supervision of college men
and women, thus enjoying all the freedom and wild charm of the summer
life with every protection and safeguard thrown about them. Camp
Minne-Wawa is one of these; a summer camp for boys and young men
established in 1911 by Dr. Wise, of the Chair of English Language and
Literature at the Bordentown Military Institute, New Jersey, assisted
by a staff of notable educators. The aim of this culture is
described as that of "Right Thinking and Character Building." The
Minne-Wawa is on the Lake of Two Rivers in the southern portion of
the park. The trains make a special stop for this camp; and the
tents, all on raised platforms, with the natural life, the physical
and intellectual training, and the careful supervision of Doctor and
Mrs. Wise; with the provision, too, that the selection of applicants
is restricted to those whose conduct is that of gentlemen--all these
conditions render this a valuable and interesting feature of vacation
life in Algonquin.
The Timagami region is one of great scenic beauty and it is also of
special interest to the geologist. Through rail service from Buffalo
to the station of {117} Timagami renders the journey an easy one from
the States, while the district is also in still closer touch with
Toronto. The lakes and the surrounding hills are of the Laurentian
formation. There is very little disintegration, and therefore little
mud or sand. There is rock; there is water; and very little shading
between. The crystal clearness of the water is famous, and one can
gaze into it for a depth of from twenty-five to thirty-five feet.
The atmosphere is so clear and dry that conversations can be carried
on over a mile of distance. The echo phenomena all about these
islands rivals that of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or as under the
dome of the Taj Mahal. "Anywhere between the islands you can get as
many as six distinct repetitions of the echo," writes an _habitué_,
and adds:
"Some August night when the moon is sailing through fleecy clouds and
the planets shine like points of light in the crystal depths below
your canoe, let a clear baritone voice roll out a flood of song among
Timagami's islands, and you might think the gods themselves had
awakened, and that every rock and islet was the home of some musical
spirit voicing the theme of the night in a thousand silvery,
reverberating melodies."
[Illustration: Sir Arthur and Lady Conan Doyle at Party]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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