Excursionists had to be hardy individuals, firm in their resolve to complete their trip. Although many railroad lines had been completed by the 1850s, transportation problems were by no means solved. For example, a New York tourist who planned to enjoy a summer at Lake George had to travel by boat from New York City to Albany and Troy, then by railroad to Morean Corner, and, finally, by stage to the lake. After listing the difficulties endured by excursionists, a particularly embittered correspondent commented in 1856, "... we envy these happy people in nothing but the power to be idle."[21] [21] _Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper_ (July 26, 1856), vol. 2, no. 33, p. 102. [Illustration: Figure 4.--"THE BATHE AT NEWPORT," by Winslow Homer, _Harper's Weekly Newspaper_, September 1858. (Smithsonian photo 59665.)] By the 1870s, travel facilities were rapidly being improved and many new summer resorts were established which appealed to a larger segment of the population. Comparatively few can stay long at one time at the springs or seaside resorts, and hence the peculiar value of arrangements like those for enabling multitudes to take frequent short pleasant excursions down the New York Bay and along the Atlantic coast, as well as up the Hudson, and through Long Island Sound.[22] [22] "Summer Recreation," _Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper_ (June 18, 1870), vol. 30, no. 768, p. 210. Beaches that catered to a large cross-section of the population provided a wide variety of informal activities that replaced the established functions found at the more select bathing resorts. For example, the illustration of Coney Island in 1878 (fig. 5) shows a puppet show; pony rides for children; a hurdy gurdy; vendors of walking sticks, sunglasses, and food; and guide ropes in the water for timid bathers. [Illustration: Figure 5.--"SCENES AND INCIDENTS ON CONEY ISLAND," _Harper's Weekly Newspaper_, August 1878. (Smithsonian photo 59666.)] In the 1890s foreign visitors were impressed by American concern with finding opportunities to play; early in the century they had remarked on the apparent lack of interest in amusements. The term, "summer resorts," no longer referred to a relatively small number of fashionable watering places. The _New York Tribune_ was running eight columns of summer hotel advertisements aimed directly at the middle class. The popular _Summer Tourist and Excursion Guide_ listed moderate-priced hotels and railroad excursions; it was a far departure from the fashionable tour of the 1840s. Thus, as economic and technological factors changed, bathing was transformed from a medicinal treatment for the leisure class to a recreation enjoyed by a large portion of the population. SWIMMING