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The Lake Mohonk Indian Conference
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ULKE MOHONK HOUSE, WHERK THE CONFERENCES ASSEMBLE!.
NIQUE alike in iU natural set tine.
In its acquired features and in the
purpose to which it la dedicated
la Lake Mohonk, the famous sum
mer resort among the Catskills.
Jn each of these respect it stands quite
alone and unrivalled In America if not in
the world. Perched on a mountain sum
.nit amid towering battlements of rock and
' frowning precipices, beside a Uny lake of
j.he clearest and coldest water, the place
Mas not a little resemblance to some of
Ihe lofty castles to be seen along the Rhine
knd in other parts of the Old World. The
likeness to a baronial fortress of the old
Jme Is borne out In some degree by the
appearance of the Mohonk hostelry Itself,
jvhich stretches along the one open shore of
the lake, under the shadow of the cliffs. In
A series of towers, pinnacles and archways,
strongly suggestive of the scenes and times
;nade familiar In romance and chivalry. It
indeed, a truly magnificent and lordly
domain over which the owners of Luke
Mohonk hold their firm and strong yet
'peaceful and gentle sway. From the 300
acres immediately about the lake which
bame Into Mr. Albert K. Smlley's posses
sion in 1869, the estate has gradually grown
from year to year until it comprises a tract
if over 4,000 acres, lying in five different
.ownshlps and embracing the whole region
along the crest of the mountain for a space
alx miles in length by a mile in width. And
In this little mountain realm the utmost
care has been taken to preserve every nat
ural charm and its wild, rugged and
picturesque scenery has been in nowise
marred by the many miles of fine walks
and broad, smooth roadways that have
made every point accessible with comfort,
ease and safety. .
. rom Sky . Top, the highest peak In the
liohonk estate, towering 300 feet above the
luke, Ihe vision sweeps over as noble and
:v.r s'nticent a range of scenery of lofty
cu:;talns and lovely valleys as may be
sce.i !nany land under the sun. To the
veat lies the rich and fertile farm Hnds
Iho Rondout valley and beyond them
:.io the Catskills, rich in romantic and
historic memories. Directly below the
of Mohonk He the meadows and
i. cnard of the Wallkill valley, with the
i j Dutch settlement of New Palts ne:st
Y.ng among its trees and gardens, and
i.. ilea beyond these, still eastward, the
Highlands of the Hudson. And in those
r.ire days, when the sky is soft and clear,
the pilgrim in this favored land looking
out from the heights of Sky Top may catch
glimpses of the Berkshire 'hills of western
Massachusetts, of Vermont's' verdant'
mountains and sometimes may extend his
vision even to the range of the Alleghen
y's beyond the Pennsylvania border.
Two conferences have been held at Lake
Mohonk each year for some years past
which are quite as unique and notable in
their way as the place itself. Both owe
their Inception to Mr. Albert K. Smiley
and are a natural outgrowth of the spirit
and purpose which dominate the life and
control the conduct of this peace-loving,
large-hearted and broad-minded Quaker
philanthropist and educator. One of these
conferences held each year in May is de
voted to the cause of international arbltra-.
tion, bringing hither at each session for
the discussion of that vital and Important
subject some 200 or 300 of the most eminent
educators, publicists, diplomats and states-
1 UKE SHORE ROAD, MOHOKK, N. T.
tlcally a whole week Is given up to the
sessions of this arbitration conference, all
of the members of which are here by spe
cial invitation of Mr. Smiley and are en
tertained as his personal guests. .
Another conference held ' under similar
auspices and conditions closes the Mohonk
season in October, this In the Interest of
the Indians. - The Indian - conference Is
much the older of the two, the first session -having
been held In October, 188J. This
Indian conference grew out of Mr. Smlley's.
personal Interest in the welfare of the
aborigines, to the promotion of which ha
has long been identified In other ways. He
has been a member of the Board of Indian
Commissioners since 1879, under appoint
ment from President Hayes; he has been
Intrusted by the government with several
Important commissions connected with the.
Indian service. In 18K9 he was chairman
of a commission charged with the ee'.ecUo.i
of a reservation for the Mission Indians of
southern California. His experience and
observation In connection with these dut'ei
convinced Mr. Smiley of the need of more
coherency, system and union In the work
for the Indtuns, and for this purpose he
lias called together year by year fur twenty
successive years these assemblies of men
and women, carefully chosen became of
their special knowledge and intelligent in
terest In the Indian affairs. Thesa confer
ences Mr. Smiley declared at the first ses
sion will be held "until every Indian has
his rights."
. The late General Clinton B. Flsk presided
over the first conference, which brought
together between fifty and sixty persons
' prominent In the Indian service. General
Flsk continued as the presiding officer of
these gatherings until his death in 1190,
since which time the chair has been occu
pied, until 1902. by Dr. Merrill Edwards
Gates, formerly president of Amherst col
lege and latterly the efficient secretary of
the Board of Indian Commissioners. At
t Continued on Page Eleve&J
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of the Old World and the New. Pio-
ALBERT W. SM1LET.
