Musings on the Bluff

The following poem was written May 5, 1905 by Elizabeth Moore who had originally visited the area 30 years prior.

Musings on The Bluff

In calm and coolest quiet
Once again at eve I stand
Upon the shore of Portage Lake,
And dream of other years;
Of many times I’ve stood before
And gazed enraptured on the scene
As I am doing now
Old Prospect in the distance,
Could many a tale unfold
Of satisfaction given
To the weary Prospect climber,
As they neared the gates of Heaven
And gazed upon the scene before them,
Varied and beautiful;
Lake upon Lake with river between
With wooded shores,
Or fields of green:
“Cobb’s” Orchard is no more,
But in its place a city grown:
Summer cottages among the trees
Look romantic in the distance.
And the dear old Bluff on which I stand
Also is changed.
Instead of tents of other years
Neat cottages nestled ‘mong the trees
Have taken their places.
‘Tis thirty years, and more,
Since first I visited this spot.
Then, not a house to be seen
In any direction from the bluff.
Two little schoolboys came alone
And tented in the wood,
And fished their living mostly
Out of the Silvery Lake,
Or shot game in the wood,
And stayed contented far from home,
Enjoying the test that nature gave.
One Sabbath day we came to see
Our darling boy in camp,
And found he and his mate
Waiting to receive us with fish in plenty;
And made us welcome to their store.
They were the first to camp upon
The Bluff! With not a house in sight,
And nothing to protect them but a tent,
Yet they were happy!
      ‘mong the birds and fishes,
And loved to study them in their own haunts.
Each morning and evening,
The wood was full of song,
And harmony of sound,
That floated away into the twilight,
And gave place to perfect silence,
As the stars, one by one, lit up the firmament,
And the shadows of the Silvery Moon,
Danced upon the Lake.
At eve they sat beside a camp fire
Which kept the mosquitos (sic) off
And warmed the evening air when cold
And gave this serenade to the winded cloud.

Come all ye denizens of the wood
From treetops far and near
And we will tell you of our love
For all the creatures here.

For that is why we came to you
And stayed so long among
The tree-tops full of birdies;
We love you everyone

We love the fishes in the lake
(When we fry them in a pan)
And are so very fond of them
We eat just all we can.

The frogs that croak along the shore
Supply our daily need,
With elements of sustenance
Very satisfactorily indeed.

And who can help but love them
Wherever they may be,
The graceful little squirrels
That chatter in the tree.

The lovely fragrant flowers
That fill the evening air
With their delightful odor,
We love them everywhere.

And it is so restful here,
We so much comfort take,
Together in our little boat
Out on the Silvery Lake.

The characters in this story are Eli Lewis Moon, and Charles Seabolt; at that time High School boys. Now one is an artist in California, the other a dentist in Bay City.

Elizabeth Moore
May 5th 1905--