In their own words #5 - July 20, 1888 letter from SHL

A rare find, this excerpt from a private letter sent from Lamont’s Smith’s Lake Hotel was discovered recently by Tim Mayers and graciously shared with me. The letter was simply signed with the author’s initials, SHL. There is no indication of the identity of the recipient except that his first name was John. It is included here because it gives an unstudied account of daily life at Lamont’s. More information on the Smith’s Lake Hotel is in my post of 04/11/21.

My dear John,

 

I seize is this opportunity to send you a note by a man who is actually going to a railroad town to-morrow. You will be delighted to know that this is a place 40 miles away from a RR in a direct line; consequently, deer are plenty & the woods unbroken. I have often thought how you & George would enjoy the hunting, but the poor boy, is debarred, as it seems to be a man’s place exclusively. Don’t let it seem a contradiction when I tell you that for 10 days I have resolutely excluded from contemplation - conscious or subconscious – anything south of latitude 44° which passes close to this house. It did seem a little hard-hearted, but no homeopathic treatment would break up the cursed habit of homesickness in holidays, and I think that resolute effort has laid a good foundation for success in learning a most important lesson – how to let go. We have more than once spent 11 or 12 hours in hunting and fishing & you will rejoice to learn that I have relentlessly put 10 hours into bed as a general rule & drawn about 9 hours of sleep as interest. Consequently, I have been sleepy and stupefied during the day, yawning in the boat till I drew a similar response from my guide. 

 

            SHL