The _Dolphin_ lay at anchor in Mackinaw Bay only a day or two, in which
time her passengers visited the fort, the village, and the cave of which
Captain Raymond had spoken as the scene of that dreadful slaughter of the
French by the Indians; then started on the return voyage to Chicago.
They were still favored with pleasant weather, and passed most of the time
on deck. Mr. Lilburn seemed to appreciate the society of Miss Annis Keith,
generally contriving to get a seat in her immediate vicinity, and to
engage her in conversation; that did not strike anyone as strange,
however, for Annis was a general favorite with both old and young, she
showing a cousinly regard for all her relatives; especially for Mrs.
Travilla; for the two had been almost lifelong friends. In these few days
that they had been together they had had many private chats in which they
recalled their early experiences at Pleasant Plains and the Oaks, and
Elsie had urged Annis to return with her to Ion and spend the coming
winter there.
This invitation Annis was considering, and the more she thought upon it
the stronger grew her inclination to accept it. But she must go home first
to make some arrangements and preparations, she said.
The two were conversing together thus, as they drew near the end of their
little trip, not caring that their talk might be audible to those about
them.
"Surely it is not necessary that you should take much time for
preparation, Annis," remarked Mr. Dinsmore. "We of Ion and its vicinity
have abundance of stores and dress-makers near at hand. And you would
better see all that you can of the Fair now, for it will soon be a thing
of the past."
"That is true, Cousin Annis," said the captain; "you would better stay
with us and see as much as possible."
"You are all very kind, cousins," she answered. "But I fear I am crowding
you."
"Not at all," he and Violet replied, speaking together; the latter adding,
"We have all slept comfortably, and in the daytime there is certainly
abundance of room."
"If you don't stay, Cousin Annis," Rosie said, with a merry look, "we will
have to conclude that you have not had room enough to make you quite
comfortable."
"Then I certainly must stay," returned Annis, with a smile, "if my going
would give so entirely false an impression; since I have had abundance of
room and a most delightful time."
"Then you will stay on?"
"Yes, for a while; but I must go home for a day or two at least before
leaving for the South."
"We will let you know our plans in season for that," the captain promised,
and the thing was considered settled.
When her passengers awoke the next morning the _Dolphin_ was lying at her
old anchorage near the beautiful Peristyle.
All had returned rested and refreshed, and were eager to go on shore in
search of further entertainment and instruction.
The greater part of the day was spent in the Midway Plaisance. They
visited the Lapland family of King Bull, the most prominent character in
that village, and found them all seated beside their odd-looking hut,
which, like the others in the village, was made of skin, tent-like in
shape, and banked up with moss. The entrance was very small, the door made
of a piece of wood. A fire was kept burning in the centre of the house, in
the ground. There was no chimney; some of the smoke escaped through a
little hole in the roof, if the wind was right. But if the wind comes
from the wrong direction the smoke stays in the house, and the people
enjoy it. It does not, however, improve their complexions, which are said
to be, in their native state, not unlike the color of a well-cured ham.
King Bull they found had the largest house, and a very large family.
The Laplanders marry young, and it is not unusual for a grandfather to be
under twenty-five years of age. King Bull was one hundred and twelve years
old and had great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren, and every day he
played for a little while with the youngest of those.
Our friends learned that he had with him a son, Bals Bull, ninety years
old, that he had a son aged seventy-three, he had a daughter aged
fifty-nine, she a son aged forty-one, who had a son aged twenty-nine, who
had a daughter aged fourteen, and she a daughter two years old.
"Dear me!" exclaimed Rosie, on hearing this, "how old it makes a body
feel! Why, just think! the mother of that two-year-old child is a year
younger than you, Grace Raymond; and you don't consider yourself much more
than a child yet, do you?"
"No, indeed! and don't want to be anything but my father's own little
girl," returned Grace, giving him a loving look that said more than her
words.
"Can you tell us if this looks like the real Lapland village, Harold!"
asked Walter.
"I am told it does," replied his brother; "that it is as nearly as
possible a reproduction of one, though of course it is not very large,
there being but twenty-four Laplanders here."
"What do they eat, papa?" asked little Elsie.
"Fish and reindeer meat, and cheese made of the milk. The reindeer is
their most valuable possession: its skin is used for clothing, the fur is
woven into cloth, they drink the milk, and use the bones in the making of
their sledges. They live entirely on such food during their winters, which
are nine months long."
"And their summer only three months," said Evelyn, "I shouldn't like
that."
"No, nor should I," said Herbert. "I think it must be by far the most
enjoyable part of the year, for it is usually spent at the seashore."
"Are they heathen folks, papa?" asked Elsie.
"Most of them are Lutherans," he answered. "Now let us go to the reindeer
park." They did so, found nine of the gentle creatures there, saw them get
a bath of Lake Michigan water from a hose-pipe, which they were told was
given them three times daily. Then they were harnessed to their sledges
and driven around the park, just as they are driven in their own country.
After that they ran races, then they were fed and milked.
The children had been deeply interested in the gentle reindeer and seemed
almost loath to leave them when the performance was over. But those with
which they were most delighted were three baby ones, two born on the way
over to this country, and one shortly after they reached Chicago, and
which was named Columbia.
"Now where shall we go next?" asked Rosie.
"Suppose we try the diving exhibit," said Walter. "It is something I
should like to see." They found it on the south side of Midway Plaisance
in a small building surrounding a huge tank of water. On the balcony of
its second story stood a man turning a force-pump, which seemed to attract
a good deal of attention from the passers-by.
Each visitor paid ten cents at the door, then passed up a rude stairway by
which he reached the surface of the water. There a lecturer was seated,
who explained how the air was made to enter the diver's armor, and how to
leave it. Then people were invited to throw small coins into the water.
Captain Raymond put a bright dime into the hand of each of his younger
children and they gleefully tossed them in. The diver was in the bubbling
water, they could not see him, but presently, through a telephone, he gave
the dates on the coins. Then he came up to the surface of the water
carrying a dummy that looked like a drowned man and let the visitors see
him in his armor.
"He looks just like that picture of him that we saw outside," remarked
little Elsie. "Ugh! I don't think I should ever be willing to wear such
clothes."
"Armor!" corrected her mother in a mirthful tone. "No, dear, I should not
want to see you dressed in that style, unless to save you from drowning."
But just then Mr. Dinsmore rose and led the way down another rough pine
staircase, the others following.
Reaching the lower story they found a great many peep-holes through which
they could look in upon the water of the tank. To each of these holes the
diver came in turn, holding up a card on which was printed a farewell
compliment. His hands looked shrivelled and soaked, and Grace and the
other young girls afterward expressed sincere pity for him, saying they
thought his life must be a hard one.
On leaving the diving exhibit they went to the Fisheries Building, which
they found very beautiful. In its east pavilion was a double row of
grottoed and illuminated aquaria containing the strangest inhabitants of
the deep. Here they saw bluefish, sharks, catfish, bill-fish, goldfish,
rays, trout, eels, sturgeon, anemones, the king-crab, burr-fish,
flounders, toad-fish, and many other beautiful or remarkable inhabitants
of the great deep; and the illuminated and decorated aquaria showed them
to great advantage. It was said that nothing so beautiful had hitherto
been seen west of London.
The surface of the water in the aquaria was many feet above the heads of
even the gentlemen of the party, but there were nearly six hundred feet of
glass front, so that everybody could have a good view of the strange and
beautiful creatures within. They all watched them for some time with
curiosity and interest, the little folks questioning their papa about one
and another variety, new to them, but old acquaintances to one who had
spent many years upon the sea.
"Papa," said Elsie, "there is one that looks a good deal like a flower. Is
it a live thing? What is its name?"
"That is what is called the sea anemone," he replied. "It is not a flower
though, but an animal. It is said to have been called by the name of that
flower about a hundred years ago, by a celebrated investigator in the
department of natural history, named Ellis. He thought it a suitable name
because their tentacles are in regular circles and tinged with bright,
lively colors, nearly representing some of our elegantly fringed flowers,
such as the carnation, marigold, and anemone. And so they do while in the
water, and undisturbed. But when a receding tide leaves them on the shore
they contract into a jelly-like mass with a puckered hole in the top.
There"--pointing it out--"is the most common of the British species of sea
anemone. It attaches itself to rocks and stones from low-water almost to
high-water mark. The tentacula--these feelers that look like the fringe of
a flower--you see are nearly as long as the body is high, and nearly of
the same color. See, there is an azure line around the base, and on the
base are dark green lines converging toward the centre; and around the
edge of the mouth is a circle of azure tubercles, like turquoise beads of
the greatest beauty. I wish I could show them to you, but the mouth must
be expanded in order to make them visible. Ah, that is just the thing!" as
someone standing near threw in a bit of meat which had the desired effect,
the mouth of the anemone opening wide to receive it.
"Oh, they are very beautiful!" exclaimed Rosie, watching the appearance of
the beadlike tubercles of which the captain had just spoken.
"Don't they eat anything but meat, papa?" asked Neddie.
"Yes; crabs, sea-worms, and fish; the tentacula are furnished with minute
spears with which they wound their prey and probably convey poison into
the wounds."
"I suppose this is salt water they are all in?" Walter said enquiringly,
and was told that he was correct in his conjecture.
On leaving the building they spent some time in examining its outside,
finding its columns and arches wrought with calamus, fishes, frogs,
serpents, and tortoises, making them very appropriate and beautiful.