,transcriber's ,note ,the punctuation and spelling from the original text have been faithfully preserved4 ,only obvious typographical errors have been corrected4 ,the photograph ,the ,rainbow ,natural ,bridge1 ,utah1 facing page #h1 is missing from the source document even though presented in the ,list of ,illustrations4 ,illustration3 ,map ,illustration3 ,map ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,national ,,parks ,illustration3 ,from the painting by ,chris ,jorgenson ,,zoroaster ,,from ,,the ,,depths ,,of ,,the ,,grand ,,canyon ,nature's greatest example of stream erosion ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,national ,,parks ,,by ,,robert ,,sterling ,,yard ,,chief1 ,,educational ,,division1 ,,national ,,park ,,service1 ,,department ,,of ,,the ,,interior ,,author ,,of ,,the ,,national ,,parks ,,portfolio ,,the ,,top ,,of ,,the ,,continent1 ,,etc4 ,,with ,,maps ,,and ,,illustrations ,,new ,,york ,,charles ,,scribner',s ,,sons #aiai ,,preface ,in offering the ,american public a carefully studied outline of its national park system1 ,i have two principal objects4 ,the one is to describe and differentiate the national parks in a manner which will enable the reader to appreciate their importance1 scope1 meaning1 beauty1 manifold uses and enormous value to individual and nation4 ,the other is to use these parks1 in which ,nature is writing in large plain lines the story of ,america's making1 as examples illustrating the several kinds of scenery1 and what each kind means in terms of world building2 in other words1 to translate the practical findings of science into unscientific phrase for the reader's increased profit and pleasure1 not only in his national parks but in all other scenic places great and small4 ,at the outset ,i have been confronted with a difficulty because of this double objective4 ,the role of the interpreter is not always welcome4 ,if ,i write what is vaguely known as a popular book1 wise men have warned me that any scientific intrusion1 however lightly and dramatically rendered1 will displease its natural audience4 ,if ,i write the simplest of scientific books1 ,i am warned that a large body of warm-blooded1 wholesome1 enthusiastic ,americans1 the very ones above all others whose keen enjoyment ,i want to double by doubling their sources of pleasure1 will have none of it4 ,the suggestion that ,i make my text popular and carry my science in an appendix ,i promptly rejected1 for if ,i cannot give the scientific aspects of nature their readable values in the text1 ,i cannot make them worth an appendix4 ,now ,i fail to share with my advisers their poor opinion of the taste1 enterprise1 and intelligence of the wide-awake ,american1 but1 for the sake of my message1 ,i yield in some part to their warnings4 ,therefore ,i have so presented my material that the miscalled1 and1 ,i verily believe1 badly slandered average reader1 may have his popular book by omitting the note on the ,appreciation of ,scenery1 and the several notes explanatory of scenery which are interpolated between groups of chapters4 ,if it is true1 as ,i have been told1 that the average reader would omit these anyway1 because it is his habit to omit prefaces and notes of every kind1 then nothing has been lost4 ,the keen inquiring reader1 however1 the reader who wants to know values and to get1 in the eloquent phrase of the day1 all that's coming to him1 will have the whole story by beginning the book with the note on the ,appreciation of ,scenery1 and reading it consecutively1 interpolated notes and all4 ,as this will involve less than a score of additional pages1 ,i hope to get the message of the national parks in terms of their fullest enjoyment before much the greater part of the book's readers4 ,the pleasure of writing this book has many times repaid its cost in labor1 and any helpfulness it may have in advancing the popularity of our national parks1 in building up the system's worth as a national economic asset1 and in increasing the people's pleasure in all scenery by helping them to appreciate their greatest scenery1 will come to me as pure profit4 ,it is my earnest hope that this profit may be large4 ,a similar spirit has actuated the very many who have helped me acquire the knowledge and experience to produce it2 the officials of the ,national ,park ,service1 the superintendents and several rangers in the national parks1 certain zoologists of the ,united ,states ,biological ,survey1 the ,director and many geologists of the ,united ,states ,geological ,survey1 scientific experts of the ,smithsonian ,institution1 and professors in several distinguished universities4 ,many men have been patient and untiring in assistance and helpful criticism1 and to these ,i render warm thanks for myself and for readers who may benefit by their work4 ,,contents ,,page ,,preface vii ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,national ,,parks ,,on ,,the ,,appreciation ,,of ,,scenery #c ,i4 ,,the ,,national ,,parks ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states #ag ,,the ,,granite ,,national ,,parks ,,granite',s ,,part ,,in ,,scenery #cc ,,ii4 ,,yosemite1 ,,the ,,incomparable #cf ,,iii4 ,,the ,,proposed ,,roosevelt ,,national ,,park #fi ,,iv4 ,,the ,,heart ,,of ,,the ,,rockies #ic ,v4 ,,mckinley1 ,,giant ,,of ,,giants #aah ,,vi4 ,,lafayette ,,and ,,the ,,east #acb ,,the ,,volcanic ,,national ,,parks ,,on ,,the ,,volcano ,,in ,,scenery #ade ,,vii4 ,,lassen ,,peak ,,and ,,mount ,,katmai #adh ,,viii4 ,,mount ,,rainier1 ,,icy ,,octopus #aei ,,ix4 ,,crater ,,lake',s ,,bowl ,,of ,,indigo #ahd ,x4 ,,yellowstone1 ,a ,,volcanic ,,interlude #bjb ,,xi4 ,,three ,,monsters ,,of ,,hawaii #bbi ,,the ,,sedimentary ,,national ,,parks ,,xii4 ,,on ,,sedimentary ,,rock ,,in ,,scenery #bdg ,,xiii4 ,,glaciered ,,peaks ,,and ,,painted ,,shales #bea ,,xiv4 ,,rock ,,records ,,of ,a ,,vanished ,,race #bhd ,,xv4 ,,the ,,healing ,,waters #cje ,,the ,,grand ,,canyon ,,and ,,our ,,national ,,monuments ,,on ,,the ,,scenery ,,of ,,the ,,southwest #cba ,,xvi4 ,a ,,pageant ,,of ,,creation #cbh ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,rainbow ,,of ,,the ,,desert #ceb ,,xviii4 ,,historic ,,monuments ,,of ,,the ,,southwest #cfg ,,xix4 ,,desert ,,spectacles #che ,,xx4 ,,the ,,muir ,,woods ,,and ,,other ,,national ,,monuments #djd ,,illustrations ,zoroaster from the depths of the ,grand ,canyon ,frontispiece ,,facing ,,page ,the ,rainbow ,natural ,bridge1 ,utah #h ,middle fork of the ,belly ,river1 ,glacier ,national ,park #ab ,general ,grant ,tree #ah ,the ,giant ,geyser--greatest in the world #bb ,the ,yosemite ,falls--highest in the world #bf ,el ,capitan1 survivor of the glaciers #dd ,half ,dome1 ,yosemite's hooded monk #df ,the climax of ,yosemite ,national ,park #ef ,the greatest waterwheel of the ,tuolumne #ef ,tehipite ,dome1 guardian rock of the ,tehipite ,valley #hb ,east ,vidette from a forest of foxtail pines #hd ,bull ,frog ,lake1 proposed ,roosevelt ,national ,park #ij ,under a giant sequoia #ij ,estes ,park ,plateau1 looking east #if ,front range of the ,rockies from ,bierstadt ,lake #if ,summit of ,longs ,peak1 ,rocky ,mountain ,national ,park #aaj ,the ,andrews ,glacier hangs from the ,continental ,divide #aad ,a ,rocky ,mountain cirque carved from solid granite #aad ,mount ,mc,kinley1 looming above the great ,alaskan ,range #abh ,archdeacon ,stuck's party half-way up the mountain #abh ,the summit of ,mount ,mc,kinley #abh ,in ,lafayette ,national ,park #acd ,sea caves in the granite #acd ,frenchman's ,bay from the east cliff of ,champlain ,mountain #adj ,lassen ,peak seen from the southwest #aeb ,lassen ,peak close up #aeb ,southeast slope of ,mount ,rainier #afb ,mount ,st4 ,helens seen from ,mount ,rainier ,park #aff ,mount ,adams seen from ,mount ,rainier ,park #aff ,sluiskin ,ridge and ,columbia ,crest #agb ,mount ,rainier seen from ,tacoma #agb ,mount ,rainier and ,paradise ,inn in summer #agd ,winter pleasures at ,paradise ,inn1 ,mount ,rainier #agd ,dutton ,cliff and the ,phantom ,ship1 ,crater ,lake #aij ,sunset from ,garfield ,peak1 ,crater ,lake ,national ,park #aij ,applegate ,cliff1 ,crater ,lake #aid ,phantom ,ship from ,garfield ,peak #aid ,the ,excelsior ,geyser which blew out in #ahhh2 ,yellowstone #baf ,one of the terraces at ,mammoth ,hot ,springs1 ,yellowstone #baf ,yellowstone ,valley from the upper fall to the lower fall #bbj ,the lower fall and the ,grand ,canyon of the ,yellowstone #bbj ,the ,teton ,mountain from ,jackson ,hole1 south of ,yellowstone #bbh ,the lava landscape of the ,yellowstone and ,gibbon ,falls #bbh ,the ,kilauea ,pit of ,fire1 ,hawaii ,national ,park #bch ,within the crater of ,kilauea #bch ,the ,great ,gable of ,gould ,mountain #bgb ,the ,cirque at the head of ,cut ,bank ,creek #bgb ,ptarmigan ,lake and ,mount ,wilbur1 ,glacier ,national ,park #bgf ,scooped both sides by giant glaciers #bgf ,showing the ,agassiz ,glacier #bhb ,beautiful ,bowman ,lake1 ,glacier ,national ,park #bhb ,prehistoric pottery from ,mesa ,verde #bih ,sun ,temple1 ,mesa ,verde ,national ,park #cjb ,spruce ,tree ,house from across the canyon #cjb ,on ,hot ,springs ,mountain1 ,hot ,springs of ,arkansas #cjh ,bath ,house ,row1 ,hot ,springs of ,arkansas #cjh ,sunset from ,grand ,view1 ,grand ,canyon ,national ,park #cdj ,camping party on the ,south ,rim #cdd ,down ,hermit ,trail from rim to river #cdd ,through the ,granite ,gorge surges the muddy ,colorado #cdf ,when morning mists lift from the depths of the ,grand ,canyon #cdf ,el ,gobernador1 ,zion ,national ,monument #cfb ,zion ,canyon from the rim #cfd ,the ,three ,patriarchs1 ,zion ,canyon #cfd ,casa ,grande ,national ,monument #cgd ,prehistoric cave homes in the ,bandelier ,national ,monument #cgd ,tumacacori ,mission #cgf ,montezuma ,castle #cgf ,roosevelt party in ,monument ,valley #chf ,rainbow ,bridge in full perspective #chf ,the ,petrified ,forest of ,arizona #cif ,petrified trunk forming a bridge over a canyon #cif ,cathedral ,isle of the ,muir ,woods #djf ,pinnacles ,national ,monument #dab ,the ,devil's ,tower #dab ,,maps ,,and ,,diagrams ,,page ,cross-section of ,crater ,lake showing probable outline of ,mount ,mazama #ahi ,cross-section of ,crater ,lake #aia ,map of ,hawaii ,national ,park #bcj ,,facing ,,page ,outline of the ,mesa ,verde ,formation #bij ,outlines of the ,western and ,eastern ,temples1 ,zion ,national ,monument #cef ,,at ,,end ,,of ,,volume ,map of ,yosemite ,national ,park1 ,california4 ,proposed ,roosevelt ,national ,park and the ,sequoia and ,general ,grant ,national ,parks1 ,california4 ,the ,rocky ,mountain ,national ,park1 ,colorado4 ,mount ,rainier ,national ,park1 ,washington4 ,crater ,lake ,national ,park1 ,oregon4 ,yellowstone ,national ,park1 ,wyoming4 ,glacier ,national ,park1 ,montana4 ,mesa ,verde ,national ,park1 ,colorado4 ,grand ,canyon ,national ,park1 ,arizona4 ,zion ,national ,monument1 ,utah4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,national ,,parks ,the ,book of the ,national ,parks ,,on ,,the ,,appreciation ,,of ,,scenery ,to the average educated ,american1 scenery is a pleasing hodge-podge of mountains1 valleys1 plains1 lakes1 and rivers4 ,to him1 the glacier-hollowed valley of ,yosemite1 the stream-scooped abyss of the ,grand ,canyon1 the volcanic gulf of ,crater ,lake1 the bristling granite core of the ,rockies1 and the ancient ice-carved shales of ,glacier ,national ,park all are one--just scenery1 magnificent1 incomparable1 meaningless4 ,as a people we have been content to wonder1 not to know2 yet with scenery1 as with all else1 to know is to begin fully to enjoy4 ,appreciation measures enjoyment4 ,and this brings me to my proposition1 namely1 that we shall not really enjoy our possession of the grandest scenery in the world until we realize that scenery is the written page of the ,history of ,creation1 and until we learn to read that page4 ,the national parks of ,america include areas of the noblest and most diversified scenic sublimity easily accessible in the world2 nevertheless it is their chiefest glory that they are among the completest expressions of the earth's history4 ,the ,american people is waking rapidly to the magnitude of its scenic possession2 it has yet to learn to appreciate it4 ,nevertheless we love scenery4 ,we are a nation of sightseers4 ,the year before the world war stopped all things1 we spent #bhf1jjj1jjj in going to ,europe4 ,that summer ,switzerland's receipts from the sale of transportation and board to persons coming from foreign lands to see her scenery was #ajj1jjj1jjj1 and more than half1 it has been stated apparently with authority1 came from ,america4 ,that same year tourist travel became ,canada's fourth largest source of income1 exceeding in gross receipts even her fisheries1 and the greater part came from the ,united ,states2 it is a matter of record that seven-tenths of the hotel registrations in the ,canadian ,rockies were from south of the border4 ,had we then known1 as a nation1 that there was just as good scenery of its kind in the ,united ,states1 and many more kinds1 we would have gone to see that2 it is a national trait to buy the best4 ,since then1 we have discovered this important fact and are crowding to our national parks4 ,is it true1 a woman asked me at the foot of ,yosemite ,falls1 that this is the highest unbroken waterfall in the world8 ,she was the average tourist1 met there by chance4 ,i assured her that such was the fact4 ,i called attention to the apparent deliberation of the water's fall1 a trick of the senses resulting from failure to realize height and distance4 ,to think they are the highest in the world6 she mused4 ,i told her that the soft fingers of water had carved this valley three thousand feet into the solid granite1 and that ice had polished its walls1 and ,i estimated for her the ages since the ,merced ,river flowed at the level of the cataract's brink4 ,i've seen the tallest building in the world1 she replied dreamily1 and the longest railroad1 and the largest lake1 and the highest monument1 and the biggest department store1 and now ,i see the highest waterfall4 ,just think of it6 ,if one has illusions concerning the average tourist1 let him compare the hundreds who gape at the paint pots and geysers of ,yellowstone with the dozens who exult in the sublimated glory of the colorful canyon4 ,or let him listen to the table-talk of a party returned from ,crater ,lake4 ,or let him recall the statistical superlatives which made up his friend's last letter from the ,grand ,canyon4 ,i am not condemning wonder1 which1 in its place1 is a legitimate and pleasurable emotion4 ,as a condiment to sharpen and accent an abounding sense of beauty it has real and abiding value4 ,love of beauty is practically a universal passion4 ,it is that which lures millions into the fields1 valleys1 woods1 and mountains on every holiday1 which crowds our ocean lanes and railroads4 ,the fact that few of these rejoicing millions are aware of their own motive1 and that1 strangely enough1 a few even would be ashamed to make the admission if they became aware of it1 has nothing to do with the fact4 ,it's a wise man that knows his own motives4 ,the fact that still fewer1 whether aware or not of the reason of their happiness1 are capable of making the least expression of it1 also has nothing to do with the fact4 ,the tourist woman whom ,i met at the foot of ,yosemite ,falls may have felt secretly suffocated by the filmy grandeur of the incomparable spectacle1 notwithstanding that she was conscious of no higher emotion than the cheap wonder of a superlative4 ,the ,grand ,canyon's rim is the stillest crowded place ,i know4 ,i've stood among a hundred people on a precipice and heard the whir of a bird's wings in the abyss4 ,probably the majority of those silent gazers were suffering something akin to pain at their inability to give vent to the emotions bursting within them4 ,i believe that the statement can not be successfully challenged that1 as a people1 our enjoyment of scenery is almost wholly emotional4 ,love of beauty spiced by wonder is the equipment for enjoyment of the average intelligent traveller of to-day4 ,now add to this a more or less equal part of the intellectual pleasure of comprehension and you have the equipment of the average intelligent traveller of to-morrow4 ,to hasten this to-morrow is one of the several objects of this book4 ,to see in the carved and colorful depths of the ,grand ,canyon not only the stupendous abyss whose terrible beauty grips the soul1 but also to-day's chapter in a thrilling story of creation whose beginning lay untold centuries back in the ages1 whose scene covers three hundred thousand square miles of our wonderful southwest1 whose actors include the greatest forces of nature1 whose tremendous episodes shame the imagination of ,dore1 and whose logical end invites suggestions before which finite minds shrink--this is to come into the presence of the great spectacle properly equipped for its enjoyment4 ,but how many who see the ,grand ,canyon get more out of it than merely the beauty that grips the soul8 ,so it is throughout the world of scenery4 ,the geologic story written on the cliffs of ,crater ,lake is more stupendous even than the glory of its indigo bowl4 ,the war of titanic forces described in simple language on the rocks of ,glacier ,national ,park is unexcelled in sublimity in the history of mankind4 ,the story of ,yellowstone's making multiplies many times the thrill occasioned by its world-famed spectacle4 ,even the simplest and smallest rock details often tell thrilling incidents of prehistoric tunes out of which the enlightened imagination reconstructs the romances and the tragedies of earth's earlier days4 ,how eloquent1 for example1 was the small1 water-worn fragment of dull coal we found on the limestone slope of one of ,glacier's mountains6 ,impossible companionship6 ,the one the product of forest1 the other of submerged depths4 ,instantly ,i glimpsed the distant age when thousands of feet above the very spot upon which ,i stood1 but then at sea level1 bloomed a ,cretaceous forest1 whose broken trunks and matted foliage decayed in bogs where they slowly turned to coal2 coal which1 exposed and disintegrated during intervening ages1 has long since--all but a few small fragments like this--washed into the headwaters of the ,saskatchewan to merge eventually in the muds of ,hudson ,bay4 ,and then1 still dreaming1 my mind leaped millions of years still further back to lake bottoms where1 ten thousand feet below the spot on which ,i stood1 gathered the pre-,cambrian ooze which later hardened to this very limestone4 ,from ooze a score of thousand feet1 a hundred million years1 to coal6 ,and both lie here together now in my palm6 ,filled thus with visions of a perspective beyond human comprehension1 with what multiplied intensity of interest ,i now returned to the noble view from ,gable ,mountain6 ,in pleading for a higher understanding of ,nature's method and accomplishment as a precedent to study and observation of our national parks1 ,i seek enormously to enrich the enjoyment not only of these supreme examples but of all examples of world making4 ,the same readings which will prepare you to enjoy to the full the message of our national parks will invest your neighborhood hills at home1 your creek and river and prairie1 your vacation valleys1 the landscape through your car window1 even your wayside ditch1 with living interest4 ,i invite you to a new and fascinating earth1 an earth interesting1 vital1 personal1 beloved1 because at last known and understood6 ,it requires no great study to know and understand the earth well enough for such purpose as this4 ,one does not have to dim his eyes with acres of maps1 or become a plodding geologist1 or learn to distinguish schists from granites1 or to classify plants by table1 or to call wild geese and marmots by their ,latin names4 ,it is true that geography1 geology1 physiography1 mineralogy1 botany and zoology must each contribute their share toward the condition of intelligence which will enable you to realize appreciation of ,nature's amazing earth1 but the share of each is so small that the problem will be solved1 not by exhaustive study1 but by the selection of essential parts4 ,two or three popular books which interpret natural science in perspective should pleasurably accomplish your purpose4 ,but once begun1 ,i predict that few will fail to carry certain subjects beyond the mere essentials1 while some will enter for life into a land of new delights4 ,let us1 for illustration1 consider for a moment the making of ,america4 ,the earth1 composed of countless aggregations of matter drawn together from the skies1 whirled into a globe1 settled into a solid mass surrounded by an atmosphere carrying water like a sponge1 has reached the stage of development when land and sea have divided the surface between them1 and successions of heat and frost1 snow1 ice1 rain1 and flood1 are busy with their ceaseless carving of the land4 ,already mountains are wearing down and sea bottoms are building up with their refuse4 ,sediments carried by the rivers are depositing in strata1 which some day will harden into rock4 ,we are looking now at the close of the era which geologists call ,archean1 because it is ancient beyond knowledge4 ,a few of its rocks are known1 but not well enough for many definite conclusions4 ,all the earth's vast mysterious past is lumped under this title4 ,the definite history of the earth begins with the close of the dim ,archean era4 ,it is the lapse from then till now1 a few hundred million years at most out of all infinity1 which ever can greatly concern man1 for during this time were laid the only rocks whose reading was assisted by the presence of fossils4 ,during this time the continents attained their final shape1 the mountains rose1 and valleys1 plains1 and rivers formed and re-formed many times before assuming the passing forms which they now show4 ,during this time also life evolved from its inferred beginnings in the late ,archean to the complicated1 finely developed1 and in man's case highly mentalized and spiritualized organization of ,to-day4 ,surely the geologist's field of labor is replete with interest1 inspiration1 even romance4 ,but because it has become so saturated with technicality as to become almost a popular bugaboo1 let us attempt no special study1 but rather cull from its voluminous records those simple facts and perspectives which will reveal to us this greatest of all story books1 our old earth1 as the volume of enchantment that it really is4 ,with the passing of the ,archean1 the earth had not yet settled into the perfectly balanced sphere which ,nature destined it to be4 ,in some places the rock was more compactly squeezed than in others1 and these denser masses eventually were forced violently into neighbor masses which were not so tightly squeezed4 ,these movements far below the surface shifted the surface balance and became one of many complicated and little known causes impelling the crust here to slowly rise and there to slowly fall4 ,thus in places sea bottoms lifted above the surface and became land1 while lands elsewhere settled and became seas4 ,there are areas which have alternated many times between land and sea2 this is why we find limestones which were formed in the sea overlying shales which were formed in fresh water1 which in turn overlie sandstones which once were beaches--all these now in plateaus thousands of feet above the ocean's level4 ,sometimes these mysterious internal forces lifted the surface in long waves4 ,thus mountain chains and mountain systems were created4 ,often their summits1 worn down by frosts and rains1 disclose the core of rock which1 ages before1 then hot and fluid1 had underlain the crust and bent it upward into mountain form4 ,now1 cold and hard1 these masses are disclosed as the granite of to-day's landscape1 or as other igneous rocks of earth's interior which now cover broad surface areas1 mingled with the stratified or water-made rocks which the surface only produces4 ,but this has not always been the fate of the under-surface molten rocks1 for sometimes they have burst by volcanic vents clear through the crust of earth1 where1 turned instantly to pumice and lava by release from pressure1 they build great surface cones1 cover broad plains and fill basins and valleys4 ,thus were created the three great divisions of the rocks which form the three great divisions of scenery1 the sediments1 the granites1 and the lavas4 ,during these changes in the levels of enormous surface areas1 the frosts and water have been industriously working down the elevations of the land4 ,nature forever seeks a level4 ,the snows of winter1 melting at midday1 sink into the rocks' minutest cracks4 ,expanded by the frosts1 the imprisoned water pries open and chips the surface4 ,the rains of spring and summer wash the chippings and other debris into rivulets1 which carry them into mountain torrents1 which rush them into rivers1 which sweep them into oceans1 which deposit them for the upbuilding of the bottoms4 ,always the level6 ,thousands of square miles of ,california were built up from ocean's bottom with sediments chiselled from the mountains of ,wyoming1 ,colorado1 and ,utah1 and swept seaward through the ,grand ,canyon4 ,these mills grind without rest or pause4 ,the atmosphere gathers the moisture from the sea1 the winds roll it in clouds to the land1 the mountains catch and chill the clouds1 and the resulting rains hurry back to the sea in rivers bearing heavy freights of soil4 ,spring1 summer1 autumn1 winter1 day and night1 the mills of ,nature labor unceasingly to produce her level4 ,if ever this earth is really finished to ,nature's liking1 it will be as round and polished as a billiard ball4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,bailey ,willis ,,middle ,,fork ,,of ,,the ,,belly ,,river1 ,,glacier ,,national ,,park ,very ancient shales and limestone fantastically carved by glaciers4 ,the illustration shows ,glenns ,lake1 ,pyramid ,peak1 ,chaney ,glacier1 and ,mount ,kipp ,years mean nothing in the computation of the prehistoric past4 ,who can conceive a thousand centuries1 to say nothing of a million years8 ,yet either is inconsiderable against the total lapse of time even from the ,archean's close till now4 ,and so geologists have devised an easier method of count1 measured not by units of time1 but by what each phase of progress has accomplished4 ,this measure is set forth in the accompanying table1 together with a conjecture concerning the lapse of time in terms of years4 ,the most illuminating accomplishment of the table1 however1 is its bird's-eye view of the procession of the evolution of life from the first inference of its existence to its climax of to-day2 and1 concurrent with this progress1 its suggestion of the growth and development of scenic ,america4 ,it is1 in effect1 the table of contents of a volume whose thrilling text and stupendous illustration are engraved immortally in the rocks2 a volume whose ultimate secrets the scholarship of all time perhaps will never fully decipher1 but whose dramatic outlines and many of whose most thrilling incidents are open to all at the expense of a little study at home and a little thoughtful seeing in the places where the facts are pictured in lines so big and graphic that none may miss their meanings4 ,man's colossal egotism is rudely shaken before the ,procession of the ,ages4 ,aghast1 he discovers that the billions of years which have wrought this earth from star dust were not merely ,god's laborious preparation of a habitation fit for so admirable an occupant2 that man1 on the contrary1 is nothing more or less than the present master tenant of earth1 the highest type of hundreds of millions of years of succeeding tenants only because he is the latest in evolution4 ,,progress ,,of ,,creation ,chart of the ,divisions of ,geologic ,time1 and an ,estimate in ,years based on the assumption that a hundred million years have elapsed since the close of the ,archean ,period1 together with a condensed table of the ,evolution of ,life from its ,inferred ,beginnings in the ,archean to the ,present ,time4 ,read from the bottom up4 ,read the footnote upon the opposite page concerning the ,estimate of ,time4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,,era ,,period ,,epoch ,,life ,,development ,,estimated ,,time ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,recent ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,man ,,cenozoic ,quaternary ,pleistocene ,animals and plants of #f 7,ice ,age7 the modern type4 ,first millions record of man occurs in of the early ,pleistocene4 years4 ,era of ---------------------------------------- ------------ ,recent ,pliocene ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,mammals ,life ,tertiary ,miocene ,rise and development of ,oligocene the highest orders of ,eocene plants and animals4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,cretaceous ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,reptiles ,,mesozoic ,jurassic ,shellfish with complex ,triassic shells4 ,enormous land reptiles4 ,flying #af reptiles and the millions evolution therefrom of of birds4 ,first palms4 years4 ,first hardwood trees4 ,first mammals4 ,era of ---------------------------------------- ------------ ,intermediate ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,amphibians4 ,life ,,the ,,coal ,,age ,carboniferous ,permian ,sharks and sea animals with nautilus-like ,pennsylvanian shells4 ,evolution of land plants in many ,mississippian complex forms4 ,first appearance of land vertebrates4 ,first flowering plants4 ,first cone-bearing trees4 ,club mosses and ferns highly developed4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,fishes ,devonian ,evolution of many forms4 ,fish of great size4 ,first appearance #de of amphibians and land millions plants4 of ---------------------------------------- ------------ years4 ,,paleozoic ,shellfish develop ,era of ,silurian fully4 ,appearance and ,old ,life culmination of crinoids or sea-lilies1 and large scorpion-like crustaceans4 ,first appearance of reef-building corals4 ,development of fishes4 ---------------------------------------- ------------ ,sea animals develop ,ordovician shells1 especially cephalopods and mollusk-like brachiopods4 ,trilobites at their height4 ,first appearance of insects4 ,first appearance of fishes4 ---------------------------------------- ------------ ,more highly developed ,cambrian forms of water life4 ,trilobites and brachiopods most abundant4 ,algae4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,algonkian ,the first life which left a distinct record4 #cc ,very primitive forms millions ,,proterozoic of water life1 of crustaceans1 years4 brachiopods and algae4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,archean ,no fossils found1 but life inferred from the existence of iron ores ,,archeozoic and limestones1 which are generally formed in the presence of organisms4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,who can safely declare that the day will not come when a new ,yellowstone1 hurled from reopened volcanoes1 shall found itself upon the buried ruin of the present ,yellowstone2 when the present ,sierra shall have disappeared into the ,pacific and the deserts of the ,great ,basin become the gardens of the hemisphere2 when a new ,rocky ,mountain system shall have grown upon the eroded and dissipated granites of the present2 when shallow seas shall join anew ,hudson ,bay with the ,gulf of ,mexico2 when a new and lofty ,appalachian ,range shall replace the rounded summits of to-day2 when a race of beings as superior to man1 intellectually and spiritually1 as man is superior to the ape1 shall endeavor to reconstruct a picture of man from the occasional remnants which floods may wash into view8 ,,note ,,explanatory ,,of ,,the ,,estimate ,,of ,,geologic ,,time ,,in ,,the ,,table ,,on ,,the ,,opposite ,,page ,the general assumption of modern geologists is that a hundred million years have elapsed since the close of the ,archean period2 at least this is a round number1 convenient for thinking and discussion4 ,the recent tendency has been greatly to increase conceptions of geologic time over the highly conservative estimates of a few years ago1 and a strong disposition is shown to regard the ,algonkian period as one of very great length1 extremists even suggesting that it may have equalled all time since4 ,for the purposes of this popular book1 then1 let us conceive that the earth has existed for a hundred million years since ,archean times1 and that one-third of this was ,algonkian2 and let us apportion the two-thirds remaining among succeeding eras in the average of the proportions adopted by ,professor ,joseph ,barrell of ,yale ,university1 whose recent speculations upon geologic time have attracted wide attention4 ,fantastic1 you may say4 ,it is fantastic4 ,so far as ,i know there exists not one fact upon which definite predictions such as these may be based4 ,but also there exists not one fact which warrants specific denial of predictions such as these4 ,and if any inference whatever may be made from earth's history it is the inevitable inference that the period in which man lives is merely one step in an evolution of matter1 mind and spirit which looks forward to changes as mighty or mightier than those ,i have suggested4 ,with so inspiring an outline1 the study to which ,i invite you can be nothing but pleasurable4 ,space does not permit the development of the theme in the pages which follow1 but the book will have failed if it does not1 incidental to its main purposes1 entangle the reader in the charm of ,america's adventurous past4 ,i ,,the ,,national ,,parks ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,the ,national ,parks of the ,united ,states are areas of supreme scenic splendor or other unique quality which ,congress has set apart for the pleasure and benefit of the people4 ,at this writing they number eighteen1 sixteen of which lie within the boundaries of the ,united ,states and are reached by rail and road4 ,those of greater importance have excellent roads1 good trails1 and hotels or hotel camps1 or both1 for the accommodation of visitors2 also public camp grounds where visitors may pitch their own tents4 ,outside the ,united ,states there are two national parks1 one enclosing three celebrated volcanic craters1 the other conserving the loftiest mountain on the continent4 ,i ,the starting point for any consideration of our national parks necessarily is the recently realized fact of their supremacy in world scenery4 ,it was the sensational force of this realization which intensely attracted public attention at the outset of the new movement2 many thousands hastened to see these wonders1 and their reports spread the tidings throughout the land and gave the movement its increasing impetus4 ,the simple facts are these3 ,the ,swiss ,alps1 except for several unmatchable individual features1 are excelled in beauty1 sublimity and variety by several of our own national parks1 and these same parks possess other distinguished individual features unrepresented in kind or splendor in the ,alps4 ,the ,canadian ,rockies are more than matched in rich coloring by our ,glacier ,national ,park4 ,glacier is the ,canadian ,rockies done in ,grand ,canyon colors4 ,it has no peer4 ,the ,yellowstone outranks by far any similar volcanic area in the world4 ,it contains more and greater geysers than all the rest of the world together2 the next in rank are divided between ,iceland and ,new ,zealand4 ,its famous canyon is alone of its quality of beauty4 ,except for portions of the ,african jungle1 the ,yellowstone is probably the most populated wild animal area in the world1 and its wild animals are comparatively fearless1 even sometimes friendly4 ,mount ,rainier has a single-peak glacier system whose equal has not yet been discovered4 ,twenty-eight living glaciers1 some of them very large1 spread1 octopus-like1 from its centre4 ,it is four hours by rail or motor from ,tacoma4 ,crater ,lake is the deepest and bluest accessible lake in the world1 occupying the hole left after one of our largest volcanoes had slipped back into earth's interior through its own rim4 ,illustration3 ,,general ,,grant ,,tree ,it has a ,national ,park all to itself ,yosemite possesses a valley whose compelling beauty the world acknowledges as supreme4 ,the valley is the centre of eleven hundred square miles of high altitude wilderness4 ,the ,sequoia contains more than a million sequoia trees1 twelve thousand of which are more than ten feet in diameter1 and some of which are the largest and oldest living things in the wide world4 ,the ,grand ,canyon of ,arizona is by far the hugest and noblest example of erosion in the world4 ,it is gorgeously carved and colored4 ,in sheer sublimity it offers an unequalled spectacle4 ,mount ,mc,kinley stands more than #bj1jjj feet above sea level1 and #ag1jjj feet above the surrounding valleys4 ,scenically1 it is the world's loftiest mountain1 for the monsters of the ,andes and the ,himalayas which surpass it in altitude can be viewed closely only from valleys from five to ten thousand feet higher than ,mc,kinley's northern valleys4 ,the ,hawaii ,national ,park contains the fourth greatest dead crater in the world1 the hugest living volcano1 and the ,kilauea ,lake of ,fire1 which is unique and draws visitors from the world's four quarters4 ,these are the principal features of ,america's world supremacy4 ,they are incidental to a system of scenic wildernesses which in combined area as well as variety exceed the combined scenic wilderness playgrounds of similar class comfortably accessible elsewhere4 ,no wonder1 then1 that the ,american public is overjoyed with its recently realized treasure1 and that the ,government looks confidently to the rapid development of its new-found economic asset4 ,the ,american public has discovered ,america1 and no one who knows the ,american public doubts for a moment what it will do with it4 ,,ii ,the idea still widely obtains that our national parks are principally playgrounds4 ,a distinguished member of ,congress recently asked3 ,why make these appropriations8 ,more people visited ,rock ,creek ,park here in the city of ,washington last ,sunday afternoon than went to the ,yosemite all last summer4 ,the country has endless woods and mountains which cost the ,treasury nothing4 ,this view entirely misses the point4 ,the national parks are recreational1 of course4 ,so are state1 county and city parks4 ,so are resorts of every kind4 ,so are the fields1 the woods1 the seashore1 the open country everywhere4 ,we are living in an open-air age4 ,the nation of outdoor livers is a nation of power1 initiative1 and sanity4 ,i hope to see the time when available ,state lands everywhere1 when every square mile from our national forest reserve1 when even many private holdings are made accessible and comfortable1 and become habited with summer trampers and campers4 ,it is the way to individual power and national efficiency4 ,but the national parks are far more than recreational areas4 ,they are the supreme examples4 ,they are the gallery of masterpieces4 ,here the visitor enters in a holier spirit4 ,here is inspiration4 ,they are also the museums of the ages4 ,here nature is still creating the earth upon a scale so vast and so plain that even the dull and the frivolous cannot fail to see and comprehend4 ,this is no distinction without a difference4 ,the difference is so marked that few indeed even of those who visit our national parks in a frivolous or merely recreational mood remain in that mood4 ,the spirit of the great places brooks nothing short of silent reverence4 ,i have seen men unconsciously lift their hats4 ,the mind strips itself of affairs as one sheds a coat4 ,it is the hour of the spirit4 ,one returns to daily living with a springier step1 a keener vision1 and a broader horizon for having worshipped at the shrine of the ,infinite4 ,,iii ,the ,pacific ,coast ,expositions of #aiae marked the beginning of the nation's acquaintance with its national parks4 ,in fact1 they were the occasion1 if not the cause1 of the movement for national parks development which found so quickly a country-wide response1 and which is destined to results of large importance to individual and nation alike4 ,because thousands of those whom the expositions were expected to draw westward would avail of the opportunity to visit national parks1 ,secretary ,lane1 to whom the national parks suggested neglected opportunity requiring business experience to develop1 induced ,stephen ,t4 ,mather1 a ,chicago business man with mountain-top enthusiasms1 to undertake their preparation for the unaccustomed throngs4 ,mr4 ,mather's vision embraced a correlated system of superlative scenic areas which should become the familiar playgrounds of the whole ,american people1 a system which1 if organized and administered with the efficiency of a great business1 should even become1 in time1 the rendezvous of the sightseers of the world4 ,he foresaw in the national parks a new and great national economic asset4 ,the educational and other propaganda by which this movement was presented to the people1 which the writer had the honor to plan and execute1 won rapidly the wide support of the public4 ,to me the national parks appealed powerfully as the potential museums and classrooms for the popular study of the natural forces which made1 and still are making1 ,america1 and of ,american fauna and flora4 ,here were set forth1 in fascinating picture and lines so plain that none could fail to read and understand1 the essentials of sciences whose real charm our rapid educational methods impart to few4 ,this book is the logical outgrowth of a close study of the national parks1 beginning with the inception of the new movement1 from this point of view4 ,how free from the partisan considerations common in governmental organization was the birth of the movement is shown by an incident of ,mr4 ,mather's inauguration into his assistant secretaryship4 ,secretary ,lane had seen him at his desk and had started back to his own room4 ,but he returned1 looked in at the door1 and asked3 ,illustration3 ,copyright by ,haynes1 ,st4 ,paul ,,the ,,giant ,,geyser--,,greatest ,,in ,,the ,,world ,yellowstone ,national ,park ,oh1 by the way1 ,steve1 what are your politics8 ,this book considers our national parks as they line up four years after the beginning of this movement4 ,it shows them well started upon the long road to realization1 with ,congress1 ,government1 and the people united toward a common end1 with the schools and the universities interested1 and1 for the first time1 with the railroads1 the concessioners1 the motoring interests1 and many of the public-spirited educational and outdoor associations all pulling together under the inspiration of a recognized common motive4 ,of course this triumph of organization1 for it is no less1 could not have been accomplished nearly so quickly without the assistance of the closing of ,europe by the great war4 ,previous to #aiae1 ,americans had been spending #cjj1jjj1jjj a year in ,european travel4 ,nor could it have been accomplished at all if investigation and comparison had not shown that our national parks excel in supreme scenic quality and variety the combined scenery which is comfortably accessible in all the rest of the world together4 ,to get the situation at the beginning of our book into full perspective1 it must be recognized that1 previous to the beginning of our propaganda in #aiae1 the national parks1 as such1 scarcely existed in the public consciousness4 ,few ,americans could name more than two or three of the fourteen existing parks4 ,the ,yosemite ,valley and the ,yellowstone alone were generally known1 but scarcely as national parks2 most of the school geographies which mentioned them at all ignored their national character4 ,the advertising folders of competing railroads were the principal sources of public knowledge1 for few indeed asked for the compilation of rates and charges which the ,government then sent in response to inquiries for information4 ,the parks had practically no administration4 ,the business necessarily connected with their upkeep and development was done by clerks as minor and troublesome details which distracted attention from more important duties2 there was no one clerk whose entire concern was with the national parks4 ,the ,american public still looked confidently upon the ,alps as the supreme scenic area in the world1 and hoped some day to see the ,canadian ,rockies4 ,,iv ,originally the motive in park-making had been unalloyed conservation4 ,it is as if ,congress had said3 ,let us lock this up where no one can run away with it2 we don't need it now1 but some day it may be valuable4 ,that was the instinct that led to the reservation of the ,hot ,springs of ,arkansas in #ahcb1 the first national park4 ,forty years later1 when official investigation proved the truth of the amazing tales of ,yellowstone's natural wonders1 it was the instinct which led to the reservation of that largely unexplored area as the second national park4 ,seventeen years after ,yellowstone1 when newspapers and scientific magazines recounted the ethnological importance of the ,casa ,grande ,ruin in ,arizona1 it resulted in the creation of the third national park1 notwithstanding that the area so conserved enclosed less than a square mile1 which contained nothing of the kind and quality which to-day we recognize as essential to parkhood4 ,this closed what may be regarded as the initial period of national parks conservation4 ,it was wholly instinctive2 distinctions1 objectives1 and policies were undreamed of4 ,less than two years after ,casa ,grande1 which1 by the way1 has recently been re-classed a national monument1 what may be called the middle period began brilliantly with the creation1 in #ahij1 of the ,yosemite1 the ,sequoia1 and the ,general ,grant ,national ,parks1 all parks in the true sense of the word1 and all of the first order of scenic magnificence4 ,nine years later ,mount ,rainier was added1 and two years after that wonderful ,crater ,lake1 both meeting fully the new standard4 ,what followed was human and natural4 ,the term national park had begun to mean something in the neighborhoods of the parks4 ,yellowstone and ,yosemite had long been household words1 and the introduction of other areas to their distinguished company fired local pride in neighboring states4 ,why should we not have national parks1 too8 people asked4 ,congress1 always the reflection of the popular will1 and therefore not always abreast of the moment1 was unprepared with reasons4 ,thus1 during #aijc and #aijd1 there were added to the list areas in ,north ,dakota1 ,south ,dakota1 and ,oklahoma1 which were better fitted for ,state parks than for association with the distinguished company of the nation's noblest4 ,a reaction followed and resulted in what we may call the modern period4 ,far-sighted men in and out of ,congress began to compare and look ahead4 ,no hint yet of the splendid destiny of our national parks1 now so clearly defined1 entered the minds of these men at this time1 but ideas of selection1 of development and utilization undoubtedly began to take form4 ,at least1 conservation1 as such1 ceased to become a sole motive4 ,insensibly ,congress1 or at least a few men of vision in ,congress1 began to take account of stock and figure on realization4 ,this healthy growth was helped materially by the public demand for the improvement of several of the national parks4 ,no thought of appropriating money to improve the bathing facilities of ,hot ,springs had affected ,congressional action for nearly half a century2 it was enough that the curative springs had been saved from private ownership4 ,yellowstone was considered so altogether extraordinary1 however1 that ,congress began in #ahgi to appropriate yearly for its approach by road1 and for the protection of its springs and geysers2 but this was because ,yellowstone appealed to the public sense of wonder4 ,it took twenty years more for ,congress to understand that the public sense of beauty was also worth appropriations4 ,yosemite had been a national park for nine years before it received a dollar1 and then only when public demand for roads1 trails1 and accommodations became insistent4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,pillsbury ,,the ,,yosemite ,,falls--,,highest ,,in ,,the ,,world ,from the brink of the upper falls to the foot of the lower falls is almost half a mile ,but1 once born1 the idea took root and spread4 ,it was fed by the press and magazine reports of the glories of the newer national parks1 then attracting some public attention4 ,it helped discrimination in the comparison of the minor parks created in #aijc and #aijd with the greater ones which had preceded4 ,the realization that the parks must be developed at public expense sharpened ,congressional judgment as to what areas should and should not become national parks4 ,from that time on ,congress has made no mistakes in selecting national parks4 ,mesa ,verde became a park in #aije1 ,glacier in #aiaj1 ,rocky ,mountain in #aiae1 ,hawaii and ,lassen ,volcanic in #aiaf1 ,mount ,mc,kinley in #aiag1 and ,lafayette and the ,grand ,canyon in #aiai4 ,from that time on ,congress1 most conservatively1 it is true1 has backed its judgment with increasing appropriations4 ,and in #aiaf it created the ,national ,park ,service1 a bureau of the ,department of the ,interior1 to administer them in accordance with a definite policy4 ,v ,the distinction between the national forests and the national parks is essential to understanding4 ,the national forests constitute an enormous domain administered for the economic commercialization of the nation's wealth of lumber4 ,its forests are handled scientifically with the object of securing the largest annual lumber output consistent with the proper conservation of the future4 ,its spirit is commercial4 ,the spirit of national park conservation is exactly opposite4 ,it seeks no great territory--only those few spots which are supreme4 ,it aims to preserve nature's handiwork exactly as nature made it4 ,no tree is cut except to make way for road1 trail or hotel to enable the visitor to penetrate and live among nature's secrets4 ,hunting is excellent in some of our national forests1 but there is no game in the national parks2 in these1 wild animals are a part of nature's exhibits2 they are protected as friends4 ,it follows that forests and parks1 so different in spirit and purpose1 must be handled wholly separately4 ,even the rangers and scientific experts have objects so opposite and different that the same individual cannot efficiently serve both purposes4 ,high specialization in both services is essential to success4 ,,the ,,national ,,parks ,,at ,a ,,glance ,number1 #ah2 total area1 #aj1gci square miles ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- ,,national ,,parks ,,area ,,in ,,in ,,order ,,location ,,square ,,distinctive ,,characteristics ,,of ,,creation ,,miles ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- ,hot ,springs1 ,middle ,arkansas #a-a_/b #df hot springs possessing #ahcb curative properties--,many hotels and boarding houses--#bj bath-houses under public control4 ,yellowstone1 ,northwestern #c1cdh ,more geysers than in all rest #ahgb ,wyoming of world together--,boiling springs--,mud volcanoes--,petrified forests--,grand ,canyon of the ,yellowstone1 remarkable for gorgeous coloring--,large lakes--,many large streams and waterfalls--,greatest wild bird and animal preserve in world4 ,sequoia1 #ahij ,middle eastern #beb ,the ,big ,tree ,national ,california ,park--#ab1jjj sequoia trees over #aj feet in diameter1 some #be to #cf feet in diameter--,towering mountain ranges--,startling precipices--,large limestone cave4 ,yosemite1 #ahij ,middle eastern #a1abe ,valley of world-famed ,california beauty--,lofty cliffs--,romantic vistas--,many waterfalls of extraordinary height--#c groves of big trees--,high ,sierra--,waterwheel falls4 ,general ,grant1 ,middle eastern #d ,created to preserve the #ahij ,california celebrated ,general ,grant ,tree1 #ce feet in diameter--#f miles from ,sequoia ,national ,park4 ,mount ,rainier1 ,west central #cbd ,largest accessible single peak #ahii ,washington glacier system--#bh glaciers1 some of large size--#dh square miles of glacier1 #ej to #ejj feet thick--,wonderful sub-alpine wild flower fields4 ,crater ,lake1 ,southwestern #bdi ,lake of extraordinary blue in #aijb ,oregon crater of extinct volcano--,sides #a1jjj feet high--,interesting lava formations4 ,wind ,cave1 #aijc ,south ,dakota #ag ,cavern having many miles of galleries and numerous chambers containing peculiar formations4 ,platt1 #aijd ,s4 ,oklahoma #a-a_/c ,many sulphur and other springs possessing medicinal value4 ,sullys ,hill1 ,north ,dakota #a-a_/e ,small park with woods1 streams1 #aijd and a lake--,is an important wild animal preserve4 ,mesa ,verde1 ,s4,w4 ,colorado #gg ,most notable and best preserved #aijf prehistoric cliff dwellings in ,united ,states1 if not in the world4 ,glacier1 #aiaj ,northwestern #a1ecd ,rugged mountain region of ,montana unsurpassed ,alpine character--#bej glacier-fed lakes of romantic beauty--#fj small glaciers--,sensational scenery of marked individuality4 ,rocky ,mountain1 ,north middle #cih ,heart of the ,rockies--,snowy #aiae ,colorado range1 peaks #aa1jjj to #ad1bej feet altitude--,remarkable records of glacial period4 ,hawaii1 #aiaf ,hawaiian ,islands #aah ,three separate volcanic areas--,kilauea and ,mauna ,loa on ,hawaii2 ,haleakala on ,maui4 ,lassen ,volcanic ,northern #abd ,only active volcano in ,united #aiaf ,california ,states proper--,lassen ,peak #aj1dfe feet--,cinder ,cone #f1hgi feet--,hot springs--,mud geysers4 ,mount ,mc,kinley1 ,south central #b1bjj ,highest mountain in ,north #aiag ,alaska ,america--,rises higher above surrounding country than any other mountain in world4 ,grand ,canyon1 ,north central #ieh ,the greatest example of erosion #aiai ,arizona and the most sublime spectacle in the world--,one mile deep and eight to twelve miles wide--,brilliantly colored4 ,lafayette1 #aiai ,maine ,coast #h ,the group of granite mountains on ,mount ,desert ,island4 ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- ,another distinction which should be made is the difference between a national park and a national monument4 ,the one is an area of size created by ,congress upon the assumption that it is a supreme example of its kind and with the purpose of developing it for public occupancy and enjoyment4 ,the other is made by presidential proclamation to conserve an area or object which is historically1 ethnologically1 or scientifically important4 ,size is not considered1 and development is not contemplated4 ,the distinction is often lost in practice4 ,casa ,grande is essentially a national monument1 but had the status of a national park until #aiah4 ,the ,grand ,canyon1 from every point of view a national park1 was created a national monument and remained such until #aiai4 ,,the ,,granite ,,national ,,parks ,,granite',s ,,part ,,in ,,scenery ,the granite national parks are ,yosemite1 ,sequoia1 including the proposed ,roosevelt ,park1 ,general ,grant1 ,rocky ,mountain1 and ,mount ,mc,kinley4 ,granite1 as its name denotes1 is granular in texture and appearance4 ,it is crystalline1 which means that it is imperfectly crystallized4 ,it is composed of quartz1 feldspar1 and mica in varying proportions1 and includes several common varieties which mineralogists distinguish scientifically by separate names4 ,because of its great range and abundance1 its presence at the core of mountain ranges where it is uncovered by erosion1 its attractive coloring1 its massiveness and its vigorous personality1 it figures importantly in scenery of magnificence the world over4 ,in color granite varies from light gray1 when it shines like silver upon the high summits1 to warm rose or dark gray1 the reds depending upon the proportion of feldspar in its composition4 ,it produces scenic effects very different indeed from those resulting from volcanic and sedimentary rocks4 ,while it bulks hugely in the higher mountains1 running to enormous rounded masses below the level of the glaciers1 and to jagged spires and pinnacled walls upon the loftiest peaks1 it is found also in many regions of hill and plain4 ,it is one of our commonest ,american rocks4 ,much of the loftiest and noblest scenery of the world is wrought in granite4 ,the ,alps1 the ,andes1 and the ,himalayas1 all of which are world-celebrated for their lofty grandeur1 are prevailingly granite4 ,they abound in towering peaks1 bristling ridges1 and terrifying precipices4 ,their glacial cirques are girt with fantastically toothed and pinnacled walls4 ,this is true of all granite ranges which are lofty enough to maintain glaciers4 ,these are1 in fact1 the very characteristics of ,alpine1 ,andean1 ,himalayan1 ,sierran1 ,alaskan1 and ,rocky ,mountain summit landscape4 ,it is why granite mountains are the favorites of those daring climbers whose ambition is to equal established records and make new ones2 and this in turn is why some mountain neighborhoods become so much more celebrated than others which are quite as fine1 or finer--because1 ,i mean1 of the publicity given to this kind of mountain climbing1 and of the unwarranted assumption that the mountains associated with these exploits necessarily excel others in sublimity4 ,as a matter of fact1 the accident of fashion has even more to do with the fame of mountains than of men4 ,but by no means all granite mountains are lofty4 ,the ,white ,mountains1 for example1 which parallel our northeastern coast1 and are far older than the ,rockies and the ,sierra1 are a low granite range1 with few of the characteristics of those mountains which lift their heads among the perpetual snows4 ,on the contrary1 they tend to rounded forested summits and knobby peaks4 ,this results in part from a longer subjection of the rock surface to the eroding influence of successive frosts and rains than is the case with high ranges which are perpetually locked in frost4 ,besides1 the ice sheets which planed off the northern part of the ,united ,states lopped away their highest parts4 ,there are also millions of square miles of eroded granite which are not mountains at all4 ,these tend to rolling surfaces4 ,the scenic forms assumed by granite will be better appreciated when one understands how it enters landscape4 ,the principal one of many igneous rocks1 it is liquefied under intense heat and afterward cooled under pressure4 ,much of the earth's crust was once underlaid by granites in a more or less fluid state4 ,when terrific internal pressures caused the earth's crust to fold and make mountains1 this liquefied granite invaded the folds and pushed close up under the highest elevations4 ,there it cooled4 ,thousands of centuries later1 when erosion had worn away these mountain crests1 there lay revealed the solid granite core which frost and glacier have since transformed into the bristling ramparts of to-day's landscape4 ,,ii ,,yosemite1 ,,the ,,incomparable ,,yosemite ,,national ,,park1 ,,middle ,,eastern ,,california4 ,,area1 #a1abe ,,square ,,miles ,the first emotion inspired by the sight of ,yosemite is surprise4 ,no previous preparation makes the mind ready for the actual revelation4 ,the hardest preliminary reading and the closest study of photographs1 even familiarity with other mountains as lofty1 or loftier1 fail to dull one's first astonishment4 ,hard on the heels of astonishment comes realization of the park's supreme beauty4 ,it is of its own kind1 without comparison1 as individual as that of the ,grand ,canyon or the ,glacier ,national ,park4 ,no single visit will begin to reveal its sublimity2 one must go away and return to look again with rested eyes4 ,its devotees grow in appreciative enjoyment with repeated summerings4 ,even ,john ,muir1 life student1 interpreter1 and apostle of the ,sierra1 confessed toward the close of his many years that the ,valley's quality of loveliness continued to surprise him at each renewal4 ,and lastly comes the higher emotion which is born of knowledge4 ,it is only when one reads in these inspired rocks the stirring story of their making that pleasure reaches its fulness4 ,the added joy of the collector upon finding that the unsigned canvas1 which he bought only for its beauty1 is the lost work of a great master1 and was associated with the romance of a famous past is here duplicated4 ,written history never was more romantic nor more graphically told than that which ,nature has inscribed upon the walls of these vast canyons1 domes and monoliths in a language which man has learned to read4 ,i ,the ,yosemite ,national ,park lies on the western slope of the ,sierra ,nevada ,mountains in ,california1 nearly east of ,san ,francisco4 ,the snowy crest of the ,sierra1 bellying irregularly eastward to a climax among the jagged granites and gale-swept glaciers of ,mount ,lyell1 forms its eastern boundary4 ,from this the park slopes rapidly thirty miles or more westward to the heart of the warm luxuriant zone of the giant sequoias4 ,this slope includes in its eleven hundred and twenty-five square miles some of the highest scenic examples in the wide gamut of ,sierra grandeur4 ,it is impossible to enter it without exaltation of spirit1 or describe it without superlative4 ,a very large proportion of ,yosemite's visitors see nothing more than the ,valley1 yet no consideration is tenable which conceives the ,valley as other than a small part of the national park4 ,the two are inseparable4 ,one does not speak of knowing the ,louvre who has seen only the ,venus de ,milo1 or ,st4 ,mark's who has looked only upon its horses4 ,considered as a whole1 the park is a sagging plain of solid granite1 hung from ,sierra's saw-toothed crest1 broken into divides and transverse mountain ranges1 punctured by volcanic summits1 gashed and bitten by prehistoric glaciers1 dotted near its summits with glacial lakes1 furrowed by innumerable cascading streams which combine in singing rivers1 which1 in turn1 furrow greater canyons1 some of majestic depth and grandeur4 ,it is a land of towering spires and ambitious summits1 serrated cirques1 enormous isolated rock masses1 rounded granite domes1 polished granite pavements1 lofty precipices1 and long1 shimmering waterfalls4 ,bare and gale-ridden near its crest1 the park descends in thirty miles through all the zones and gradations of animal and vegetable life through which one would pass in travelling from the ice-bound shores of the ,arctic ,ocean the continent's length to ,mariposa ,grove4 ,its tree sequence tells the story4 ,above timber-line there are none but inch-high willows and flat1 piney growths1 mingled with tiny arctic flowers1 which shrink in size with elevation2 even the sheltered spots on ,lyell's lofty summit have their colored lichens1 and their almost microscopic bloom4 ,at timber-line1 low1 wiry shrubs interweave their branches to defy the gales1 merging lower down into a tangle of many stunted growths1 from which spring twisted pines and contorted spruces1 which the winds curve to leeward or bend at sharp angles1 or spread in full development as prostrate upon the ground as the mountain lion's skin upon the home floor of his slayer4 ,descending into the great area of the ,canadian zone1 with its thousand wild valleys1 its shining lakes1 its roaring creeks and plunging rivers1 the zone of the angler1 the hiker1 and the camper-out1 we enter forests of various pines1 of silver fir1 hemlock1 aged hump-backed juniper1 and the species of white pine which ,californians wrongly call tamarack4 ,this is the paradise of outdoor living2 it almost never rains between ,june and ,october4 ,the forests fill the valley floors1 thinning rapidly as they climb the mountain slopes2 they spot with pine green the broad1 shining plateaus1 rooting where they find the soil1 leaving unclothed innumerable glistening areas of polished uncracked granite2 a striking characteristic of ,yosemite uplands4 ,from an altitude of seven or eight thousand feet1 the ,canadian zone forests begin gradually to merge into the richer forests of the ,transition zone below4 ,the towering sugar pine1 the giant yellow pine1 the ,douglas fir1 and a score of deciduous growths--live oaks1 bays1 poplars1 dogwoods1 maples--begin to appear and become more frequent with descent1 until1 two thousand feet or more below1 they combine into the bright stupendous forests where1 in specially favored groves1 ,king ,sequoia holds his royal court4 ,wild flowers1 birds1 and animals also run the gamut of the zones4 ,among the snows and alpine flowerets of the summits are found the ptarmigan and rosy finch of the ,arctic circle1 and in the summit cirques and on the shores of the glacial lakes whistles the mountain marmot4 ,the richness and variety of wild flower life in all zones1 each of its characteristic kind1 astonishes the visitor new to the ,american wilderness4 ,every meadow is ablaze with gorgeous coloring1 every copse and sunny hollow1 river bank and rocky bottom1 becomes painted in turn the hue appropriate to the changing seasons4 ,now blues prevail in the kaleidoscopic display1 now pinks1 now reds1 now yellows4 ,experience of other national parks will show that the ,yosemite is no exception2 all are gardens of wild flowers4 ,the ,yosemite and the ,sequoia are1 however1 the exclusive possessors among the parks of a remarkably showy flowering plant1 the brilliant1 rare1 snow-plant4 ,so luring is the red pillar which the snow-plant lifts a foot or more above the shady mould1 and so easily is it destroyed1 that1 to keep it from extinction1 the government fines covetous visitors for every flower picked4 ,the birds are those of ,california--many1 prolific1 and songful4 ,ducks raise their summer broods fearlessly on the lakes4 ,geese visit from their distant homes4 ,cranes and herons fish the streams4 ,every tree has its soloist1 every forest its grand chorus4 ,the glades resound with the tapping of woodpeckers4 ,the whirr of startled wings accompanies passage through every wood4 ,to one who has lingered in the forests to watch and to listen1 it is hard to account for the wide-spread fable that the ,yosemite is birdless4 ,no doubt1 happy talkative tourists1 in companies and regiments1 afoot and mounted1 drive bird and beast alike to silent cover--and comment on the lifeless forests4 ,the whole range1 from foothill to summit1 is shaken into song every summer1 wrote ,john ,muir1 to whom birds were the loved companions of a lifetime of ,sierra summers1 and1 though low and thin in winter1 the music never ceases4 ,there are two birds which the unhurried traveller will soon know well4 ,one is the big1 noisy1 gaudy ,clark crow1 whose swift flight and companionable squawk are familiar to all who tour the higher levels4 ,the other is the friendly camp robber1 who1 with encouragement1 not only will share your camp luncheon1 but will gobble the lion's share4 ,of the many wild animals1 ranging in size from the great1 powerful1 timid grizzly bear1 now almost extinct here1 whose ,indian name1 by the way1 is ,yosemite1 to the tiny shrew of the lowlands1 the most frequently seen are the black or brown bear1 and the deer1 both of which1 as compared with their kind in neighborhoods where hunting is permitted1 are unterrified if not friendly4 ,notwithstanding its able protection1 the ,yosemite will need generations to recover from the hideous slaughter which1 in a score or two of years1 denuded ,america of her splendid heritage of wild animal life4 ,of the several carnivora1 the coyote alone is occasionally seen by visitors4 ,wolves and mountain lions1 prime enemies of the deer and mountain sheep1 are hard to find1 even when officially hunted in the winter with dogs trained for the purpose4 ,,ii ,the ,yosemite ,valley is the heart of the national park4 ,not only is it the natural entrance and abiding place1 the living-room1 so to speak1 the central point from which all parts of the park are most comfortably accessible2 it is also typical in some sense of the ,sierra as a whole1 and is easily the most beautiful valley in the world4 ,it is difficult to analyze the quality of the ,valley's beauty4 ,there are1 as ,muir says1 many ,yosemites in the ,sierra4 ,the ,hetch ,hetchy ,valley1 in the northern part of the park1 which bears the same relation to the ,tuolumne ,river that the ,yosemite ,valley bears to the ,merced1 is scarcely less in size1 richness1 and the height and magnificence of its carved walls4 ,scores of other valleys1 similar except for size1 abound north and south1 which are1 scientifically and in ,muir's meaning1 ,yosemites2 that is1 they are pauses in their rivers' headlong rush1 once lakes1 dug by rushing waters1 squared and polished by succeeding glaciers1 chiselled and ornamented by the frosts and rains which preceded and followed the glaciers4 ,muir is right1 for all these are ,yosemites2 but he is wrong1 for there is only one ,yosemite4 ,it is not the giant monoliths that establish the incomparable ,valley's world supremacy2 ,hetch ,hetchy1 ,tehipite1 ,kings1 and others have their giants1 too4 ,it is not its towering1 perpendicular1 serrated walls2 the ,sierra has elsewhere1 too1 an overwhelming exhibit of titanic granite carvings4 ,it is not its waterfalls1 though these are the highest1 by far1 in the world1 nor its broad1 peaceful bottoms1 nor its dramatic vistas1 nor the cavernous depths of its tortuous tributary canyons4 ,its secret is selection and combination4 ,like all supremacy1 ,yosemite's lies in the inspired proportioning of carefully chosen elements4 ,herein is its real wonder1 for the more carefully one analyzes the beauty of the ,yosemite ,valley1 the more difficult it is to conceive its ensemble the chance of ,nature's functioning rather than the master product of supreme artistry4 ,entrance to the ,yosemite by train is from the west1 by automobile from east and west both4 ,from whatever direction1 the ,valley is the first objective1 for the hotels are there4 ,it is the ,valley1 then1 which we must see first4 ,nature's artistic contrivance is apparent even in the entrance4 ,the train-ride from the main line at ,merced is a constant up-valley progress1 from a hot1 treeless plain to the heart of the great1 cool forest4 ,expectation keeps pace4 ,changing to automobile at ,el ,portal1 one quickly enters the park4 ,a few miles of forest and behold--the ,gates of the ,valley4 ,el ,capitan1 huge1 glistening1 rises upon the left1 #c1jjj feet above the valley floor4 ,at first sight its bulk almost appalls4 ,opposite upon the right ,cathedral ,rocks support the ,bridal ,veil ,fall1 shimmering1 filmy1 a fairy thing4 ,between them1 in the distance1 lies the unknown4 ,progress up the valley makes constantly for climax4 ,seen presently broadside on1 ,el ,capitan bulks double1 at least4 ,opposite1 the valley bellies4 ,cathedral ,rocks and the mediaeval towers known as ,cathedral ,spires1 are enclosed in a bay1 which culminates in the impressive needle known as ,sentinel ,rock--all richly ,gothic4 ,meantime the broadened valley1 another strong contrast in perfect key1 delightfully alternates with forest and meadow1 and through it the quiet ,merced twists and doubles like a glistening snake4 ,and then we come to the ,three ,brothers4 ,already some notion of preconception has possessed the observer4 ,it could not have been chance which set off the filmy ,bridal ,veil against ,el ,capitan's bulk2 which designed the ,gothic climax of ,sentinel ,rock2 which wondrously proportioned the consecutive masses of the ,three ,brothers2 which made ,el ,capitan1 now looked back upon against a new background1 a new and appropriate creation1 a thing of brilliance and beauty instead of bulk1 mighty of mass1 powerful in shape and poise1 yet mysteriously delicate and unreal4 ,as we pass on with rapidly increasing excitement to the supreme climax at the ,valley's head1 where gather together ,glacier ,point1 ,yosemite ,falls of unbelievable height and graciousness1 the ,royal ,arches1 manifestly a carving1 the gulf-like entrances of ,tenaya and the ,merced ,canyons1 and above all1 and pervading all1 the distinguished mysterious personality of ,half ,dome1 presiding priest of this ,cathedral of ,beauty1 again there steals over us the uneasy suspicion of supreme design4 ,how could ,nature have happened upon the perfect composition1 the flawless technique1 the divine inspiration of this masterpiece of more than human art8 ,is it not1 in fact1 the master temple of the ,master ,architect8 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,j4,t4 ,boysen ,,el ,,capitan1 ,,survivor ,,of ,,the ,,glaciers ,looking eastward up the ,yosemite ,valley1 ,half ,dome is seen on the right horizon ,to appreciate the ,valley we must consider certain details4 ,it is eight miles long1 and from half a mile to a mile wide4 ,once prehistoric ,lake ,yosemite1 its floor is as level as a ball field1 and except for occasional meadows1 grandly forested4 ,the sinuous ,merced is forested to its edges in its upper reaches1 but lower down occasionally wanders through broad1 blooming opens4 ,the rock walls are dark pearl-hued granite1 dotted with pines wherever clefts or ledges exist capable of supporting them2 even ,el ,capitan carries its pine-tree half way up its smooth precipice4 ,frequently the walls are sheer2 they look so everywhere4 ,the valley's altitude is #d1jjj feet4 ,the walls rise from #b1jjj to #f1jjj feet higher2 the average is a little more than #c1jjj feet above the valley floor2 ,sentinel ,dome and ,mount ,watkins somewhat exceed #d1jjj feet2 ,half ,dome nearly attains #e1jjj feet2 ,cloud's ,rest soars nearly #f1jjj feet4 ,two large trench-like canyons enter the valley at its head1 one on either side of ,half ,dome4 ,tenaya ,canyon enters from the east in line with the valley1 looking as if it were the ,valley's upper reach4 ,merced ,canyon enters from the south after curving around the east and south sides of ,half ,dome4 ,both are extremely deep4 ,half ,dome's #e1jjj feet form one side of each canyon2 ,mount ,watkin's #d1cjj feet form the north side of ,tenaya ,canyon1 ,glacier ,point's #c1bjj feet the west side of ,merced ,canyon4 ,both canyons are superbly wooded at their outlets1 and lead rapidly up to timber-line4 ,both carry important trails from the ,valley floor to the greater park above the rim4 ,to this setting add the waterfalls and the scene is complete4 ,they are the highest in the world4 ,each is markedly individualized2 no two resemble each other4 ,yet1 with the exception of the ,vernal ,fall1 all have a common note2 all are formed of comparatively small streams dropping from great heights2 all are wind-blown ribbons ending in clouds of mist4 ,they are so distributed that one or more are visible from most parts of the ,valley and its surrounding rim4 ,more than any other feature1 they differentiate and distinguish the ,yosemite4 ,the first of the falls encountered1 ,bridal ,veil1 is a perfect example of the valley type4 ,a small stream pouring over a perpendicular wall drops six hundred and twenty feet into a volume of mist4 ,the mist1 of course1 is the bridal veil4 ,how much of the water reaches the bottom as water is a matter of interesting speculation4 ,this and the condensed mists reach the river through a delta of five small brooks4 ,as a spectacle the ,bridal ,veil ,fall is unsurpassed4 ,the delicacy of its beauty1 even in the high water of early summer1 is unequalled by any waterfall ,i have seen4 ,a rainbow frequently gleams like a colored rosette in the massed chiffon of the bride's train4 ,so pleasing are its proportions that it is difficult to believe the fall nearly four times the height of ,niagara4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,j4,t4 ,boysen ,,half ,,dome1 ,,yosemite',s ,,hooded ,,monk ,rising nearly four thousand feet above the valley floor2 the view is up ,tenaya ,canyon to the ,high ,sierra ,the ,ribbon ,fall1 directly opposite ,bridal ,veil1 a little west of ,el ,capitan1 must be mentioned because for a while in early spring its sixteen hundred foot drop is a spectacle of remarkable grandeur4 ,it is merely the run of a snow-field which disappears in ,june4 ,thereafter a dark perpendicular stain on the cliff marks its position4 ,another minor fall1 this from the south rim1 is that of ,sentinel ,creek4 ,it is seen from the road at the right of ,sentinel ,rock1 dropping five hundred feet in one leap of several which aggregate two thousand feet4 ,next in progress come ,yosemite ,falls1 loftiest by far in the world1 a spectacle of sublimity4 ,these falls divide with ,half ,dome the honors of the upper ,valley4 ,the tremendous plunge of the ,upper ,fall1 and the magnificence of the two falls in apparent near continuation as seen from the principal points of elevation on the valley floor1 form a spectacle of extraordinary distinction4 ,they vie with ,yosemite's two great rocks1 ,el ,capitan and ,half ,dome1 for leadership among the individual scenic features of the continent4 ,the ,upper ,fall pours over the rim at a point nearly twenty-six hundred feet above the valley floor4 ,its sheer drop is fourteen hundred and thirty feet1 the equal of nine ,niagaras4 ,two-fifths of a mile south of its foot1 the ,lower ,fall drops three hundred and twenty feet more4 ,from the crest of the ,upper ,fall to the foot of the ,lower ,fall lacks a little of half a mile4 ,from the foot of the ,lower ,fall1 after foaming down the talus1 ,yosemite ,creek1 seeming a ridiculously small stream to have produced so monstrous a spectacle1 slips quietly across a half mile of level valley to lose itself in the ,merced4 ,from the floods of late ,may when the thunder of falling water fills the valley and windows rattle a mile away1 to the ,october drought when the slender ribbon is little more than mist1 the ,upper ,yosemite ,fall is a thing of many moods and infinite beauty4 ,seen from above and opposite at ,glacier ,point1 sideways and more distantly from the summit of ,cloud's ,rest1 straight on from the valley floor1 upwards from the foot of the ,lower ,fall1 upwards again from its own foot1 and downwards from the overhanging brink toward which the creek idles carelessly to the very step-off of its fearful leap1 the ,fall never loses for a moment its power to amaze4 ,it draws and holds the eye as the magnet does the iron4 ,looking up from below one is fascinated by the extreme leisureliness of its motion4 ,the water does not seem to fall2 it floats2 a pebble dropped alongside surely would reach bottom in half the time4 ,speculating upon this appearance1 one guesses that the air retards the water's drop1 but this idea is quickly dispelled by the observation that the solid inner body drops no faster than the outer spray4 ,it is long before the wondering observer perceives that he is the victim of an illusion2 that the water falls normally2 that it appears to descend with less than natural speed only because of the extreme height of the fall1 the eye naturally applying standards to which it has been accustomed in viewing falls of ordinary size4 ,on windy days the ,upper ,fall swings from the brink like a pendulum of silver and mist4 ,back and forth it lashes like a horse's tail4 ,the gusts lop off puffy clouds of mist which dissipate in air4 ,muir tells of powerful winter gales driving head on against the cliff1 which break the fall in its middle and hold it in suspense4 ,once he saw the wind double the fall back over its own brink4 ,muir1 by the way1 once tried to pass behind the ,upper ,fall at its foot1 but was nearly crushed4 ,by contrast with the lofty temperamental ,upper ,fall1 the ,lower ,fall appears a smug and steady pigmy4 ,in such company1 for both are always seen together1 it is hard to realize that the ,lower ,fall is twice the height of ,niagara4 ,comparing ,yosemite's three most conspicuous features1 these gigantic falls seem to appeal even more to the imagination than to the sense of beauty4 ,el ,capitan1 on the other hand1 suggests majesty1 order1 proportion1 and power2 it has its many devotees4 ,half ,dome suggests mystery2 to many it symbolizes worship4 ,of these three1 ,half ,dome easily is the most popular4 ,three more will complete the ,valley's list of notable waterfalls4 ,all of these lie up the ,merced ,canyon4 ,illilouette1 three hundred and seventy feet in height1 enters from the west1 a frothing fall of great beauty1 hard to see4 ,vernal and ,nevada ,falls carry the ,merced ,river over steep steps in its rapid progress from the upper levels to the valley floor4 ,the only exception to the valley type1 ,vernal ,fall1 which some consider the most beautiful of all1 and which certainly is the prettiest1 is a curtain of water three hundred and seventeen feet high1 and of pleasing breadth4 ,the ,nevada ,fall1 three-fifths of a mile above1 a majestic drop of nearly six hundred feet1 shoots watery rockets from its brink4 ,it is full-run1 powerful1 impressive1 and highly individualized4 ,with many it is the favorite waterfall of ,yosemite4 ,in sharp contrast with these valley scenes is the view from ,glacier ,point down into the ,merced and ,tenaya ,canyons1 and out over the magical park landscape to the snow-capped mountains of the ,high ,sierra4 ,two trails lead from the valley up to ,glacier ,point1 and high upon the precipice1 three thousand feet above the valley floor1 is a picturesque hotel2 it is also reached by road4 ,here one may sit at ease on shady porches and overlook one of the most extended1 varied and romantic views in the world of scenery4 ,one may take dinner on this porch and have sunset served with dessert and the afterglow with coffee4 ,here again one is haunted by the suggestion of artistic intention1 so happy is the composition of this extraordinary picture4 ,the foreground is the dark1 tremendous gulf of ,merced ,canyon1 relieved by the silver shimmer of ,vernal and ,nevada ,falls4 ,from this in middle distance rises1 in the centre of the canvas1 the looming tremendous personality of ,half ,dome1 here seen in profile strongly suggesting a monk with outstretched arms blessing the valley at close of day4 ,beyond stretches the horizon of famous1 snowy1 glacier-shrouded mountains1 golden in sunset glow4 ,,iii ,every summer many thousands of visitors gather in ,yosemite4 ,most of them1 of course1 come tourist-fashion1 to glimpse it all in a day or two or three4 ,a few thousands come for long enough to taste most of it1 or really to see a little4 ,fewer1 but still increasingly many1 are those who come to live a little with ,yosemite2 among these we find the lovers of nature1 the poets1 the seers1 the dreamers1 and the students4 ,living is very pleasant in the ,yosemite4 ,the freedom from storm during the long season1 the dry warmth of the days and the coldness of the nights1 the inspiration of the surroundings and the completeness of the equipment for the comfort of visitors make it extraordinary among mountain resorts4 ,there is a hotel in the ,valley1 and another upon the rim at ,glacier ,point4 ,there are three large hotel-camps in the ,valley1 where one may have hotel comforts under canvas at camp prices4 ,two of these hotel-camps possess swimming pools1 dancing pavilions1 tennis courts electrically lighted for night play1 hot and cold-water tubs and showers1 and excellent table service4 ,one of the hotel-camps1 the largest1 provides evening lectures1 song services1 and a general atmosphere suggestive of ,chatauqua4 ,still a third is for those who prefer quiet retirement and the tradition of old-fashioned camp life4 ,above the valley rim1 besides the excellent hotel upon ,glacier ,point1 there are at this writing hotel-camps equipped with many hotel comforts1 including baths1 at such outlying points as ,merced ,lake and ,tenaya ,lake2 the former centering the mountain climbing and trout fishing of the stupendous region on the southwest slope of the park1 and the latter the key to the entire magnificent region of the ,tuolumne4 ,these camps are reached by mountain trail1 ,tenaya ,lake ,camp also by motor road4 ,the hotel-camp system is planned for wide extension as growing demand warrants4 ,there are also hotels outside park limits on the south and west which connect with the park roads and trails4 ,the roads1 by the way1 are fair4 ,three enter from the west1 centering at ,yosemite ,village in the ,valley2 one from the south by way of the celebrated ,mariposa ,grove of giant sequoias2 one from ,el ,portal1 terminus of the ,yosemite ,railway2 and one from the north1 by way of several smaller sequoia groves1 connecting directly with the ,tioga ,road4 ,above the valley rim and north of it1 the ,tioga ,road crosses the national park and emerges at ,mono ,lake on the east1 having crossed the ,sierra over ,tioga ,pass on the park boundary4 ,the ,tioga ,road1 which was built in #ahha1 on the site of the ,mono ,trail1 to connect a gold mine west of what has since become the national park with roads east of the ,sierra1 was purchased in #aiae by patriotic lovers of the ,yosemite and given to the ,government4 ,the mine having soon failed1 the road had been impassable for many years4 ,repaired with government money it has become the principal highway of the park and the key to its future development4 ,the increase in motor travel to the ,yosemite from all parts of the country which began the summer following the ,great ,war1 has made this gift one of growing importance4 ,it affords a new route across the ,sierra4 ,but hotels and hotel-camps1 while accommodating the great majority of visitors1 by no means shelter all4 ,those who camp out under their own canvas are likely to be ,yosemite's most appreciative devotees4 ,the camping-out colony lives in riverside groves in the upper reaches of the ,valley1 the ,government assigning locations without charge4 ,many families make permanent summer homes here1 storing equipment between seasons in the village4 ,others hire equipment complete1 from tents to salt-cellars1 on the spot4 ,some who come to the hotels finish the season under hired canvas1 and next season come with their own4 ,an increasing number come in cars1 which they keep in local garages or park near their canvas homes4 ,living is easy and not expensive in these camp homes4 ,midday temperatures are seasonable1 and nights are always cool4 ,as it does not rain1 tents are concessions to habit2 many prefer sleeping under the trees4 ,markets in the village supply meats1 vegetables1 milk1 bread1 and groceries at prices regulated by ,government1 and deliver them at your kitchen tent4 ,shops furnish all other reasonable needs4 ,it is not camping out as commonly conceived2 you are living at home on the banks of the ,merced1 under the morning shadow of ,half ,dome1 and within sight of ,yosemite ,falls4 ,from these ,valley homes one rides into the ,high ,sierra on horses hired from the government concessioner1 tours to the ,tuolumne ,meadows or the ,mariposa ,grove by automobile1 wanders long summer afternoons in the ,valley1 climbs the great rocks and domes1 picnics by moonlight under the shimmering falls or beneath the shining tower of ,el ,capitan1 explores famous fishing waters above the rim1 and1 on frivolous evenings1 dances or looks at motion pictures at the greater hotel-camps4 ,no wonder that camp homes in the ,yosemite are growing in popularity4 ,,iv ,the trail traveller finds the trails the best in the country1 and as good as the best in the world2 they are the models for the national system4 ,competent guides1 horses1 supplies1 and equipment are easy to hire at regulated prices in the village4 ,as for the field1 there is none nobler or more varied in the world4 ,there are dozens of divides1 scores of towering1 snow-splashed peaks1 hundreds of noble valleys and shining lakes1 thousands of cascading streams1 great and small1 from whose depths fighting trout rise to the cast fly4 ,there are passes to be crossed which carry one through concentric cirques of toothed granite to ridges from which the ,high ,sierra spreads before the eye a frothing sea of snowy peaks4 ,such a trip is that through ,tuolumne ,meadows up ,lyell ,canyon to its headwaters1 over the ,sierra at ,donohue ,pass1 and up into the birth chambers of rivers among the summit glaciers of ,lyell and ,mc,clure--a never-to-be-forgotten journey1 which may be continued1 if one has time and equipment1 down the ,john ,muir ,trail to ,mount ,whitney and the ,sequoia ,national ,park4 ,or one may return to the park by way of ,banner ,peak and ,thousand ,island ,lake1 a wonder spot1 and thence north over ,parker and ,mono ,passes2 trips like these produce views as magnificent as the land possesses4 ,space does not permit even the suggestion of the possibilities to the trail traveller of this wonderland above the rim4 ,it is the summer playground for a nation4 ,second in magnificence among the park valleys is ,hetch ,hetchy1 the ,yosemite of the north4 ,both are broad1 flowered and forested levels between lofty granite walls4 ,both are accented by gigantic rock personalities4 ,kolana ,rock1 which guards ,hetch ,hetchy at its western gateway as ,el ,capitan guards ,yosemite1 must be ranked in the same class4 ,were there no ,yosemite ,valley1 ,hetch ,hetchy1 though it lacks the distinction which gives ,yosemite ,valley its world-wide fame1 would be much better known than it now is--a statement also true about other features of the national park4 ,hetch ,hetchy is now being dammed below ,kolana ,rock to supply water for ,san ,francisco4 ,the dam will be hidden from common observation1 and the timber lands to be flooded will be cut so as to avoid the unsightliness usual with artificial reservoirs in forested areas4 ,the reservoir will cover one of the most beautiful bottoms in ,america4 ,it will destroy forests of luxuriance4 ,it will replace these with a long sinuous lake1 from which sheer ,yosemite-like granite walls will rise abruptly two or three thousand feet4 ,there will be places where the edges are forested4 ,down into this lake from the high rim will cascade many roaring streams4 ,the long fight in ,california1 in the press of the whole country1 and finally in ,congress1 between the advocates of the ,hetch ,hetchy reservoir and the defenders of the scenic wilderness is one of the stirring episodes in the history of our national parks4 ,at this writing1 time enough has not yet passed to heal the wounds of battle1 but at least we may look calmly at what remains4 ,one consideration1 at least1 affords a little comfort4 ,hetch ,hetchy was once1 in late prehistoric times1 a natural lake of great nobility4 ,the remains of ,nature's dam1 not far from the site of man's1 are plain to the geologist's eye4 ,it is possible that1 with care in building the dam and clearing out the trees to be submerged1 this restoration of one of ,nature's noble features of the past may not work out so inappropriately as once we feared4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,j4,t4 ,boysen ,,the ,,climax ,,of ,,yosemite ,,national ,,park ,mount ,lyell and its glacier from ,lyell ,fork ,illustration3 ,,the ,,greatest ,,waterwheel ,,of ,,the ,,tuolumne ,it is fifty feet in height and seventy-five feet long2 ,yosemite ,national ,park ,the ,grand ,canyon of the ,tuolumne1 through which the river descends from the level of the ,tuolumne ,meadows almost five thousand feet to the ,hetch ,hetchy ,valley1 possesses real ,yosemite grandeur4 ,much of this enormous drop occurs within a couple of amazing miles west of the ,california ,falls4 ,here the river slips down sharply tilted granite slopes at breathless speed1 breaking into cascades and plunging over waterfalls at frequent intervals4 ,it is a stupendous spectacle which few but the hardiest mountaineers saw previous to #aiah1 so steep and difficult was the going4 ,during that season a trail was opened which makes accessible to all one of the most extraordinary examples of plunging water in the world4 ,the climax of this spectacle is the ,waterwheels4 ,granite obstructions in the bed of the steeply tilted river throw solid arcs of frothing water fifty feet in air4 ,they occur near together1 singly and in groups4 ,v ,the fine camping country south of the ,yosemite ,valley also offers its sensation4 ,at its most southern point1 the park accomplishes its forest climax in the ,mariposa ,grove4 ,this group of giant sequoias 7,sequoia washingtoniana7 ranks next1 in the number and magnificence of its trees1 to the ,giant ,forest of the ,sequoia ,national ,park and the ,general ,grant grove4 ,the largest tree of the ,mariposa ,grove is the ,grizzly ,giant1 which has a diameter of twenty-nine feet1 a circumference of sixty-four feet1 and a height of two hundred and four feet4 ,one may guess its age from three thousand to thirty-two hundred years4 ,it is the third in size and age of living sequoias2 ,general ,sherman1 the largest and oldest1 has a diameter of thirty-six and a half feet1 and ,general ,grant a diameter of thirty-five feet1 and neither of these1 in all probability1 has attained the age of four thousand years4 ,general ,sherman grows in the ,sequoia ,national ,park1 seventy miles or more south of ,yosemite2 ,general ,grant has a little national park of its own a few miles west of ,sequoia4 ,the interested explorer of the ,yosemite has so far enjoyed a wonderfully varied sequence of surprises4 ,the incomparable valley with its towering monoliths and extraordinary waterfalls1 the ,high ,sierra with its glaciers1 serrated cirques and sea of snowy peaks1 the ,grand ,canyon of the ,tuolumne with its cascades1 rushing river and frothing ,waterwheels1 are but the headliners of a long catalogue of the unexpected and extraordinary4 ,it only remains1 to complete this new tale of the ,arabian ,nights1 to make one's first visit to the sequoias of ,mariposa ,grove4 ,the first sight of the calm tremendous columns which support the lofty roof of this forest temple provokes a new sensation4 ,unconsciously the visitor removes his hat and speaks his praise in whispers4 ,the sequoias are considered at greater length in the chapter describing the ,sequoia ,national ,park1 which was created especially to conserve and exhibit more than a million of these most interesting of trees4 ,it will suffice here to say that their enormous stems are purplish red1 that their fine1 lace-like foliage hangs in splendid heavy plumes1 that their enormous limbs crook at right angles1 the lowest from a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet above the ground1 and that all other trees1 even the gigantic sugar pine and ,douglas fir1 are dwarfed in their presence4 ,several of the sequoias of the ,mariposa grove approach three hundred feet in height4 ,the road passes through the trunk of one4 ,,vi ,the human history of the ,yosemite is quickly told4 ,the country north of the ,valley was known from early times by explorers and trappers who used the old ,mono ,indian ,trail1 now the ,tioga ,road1 which crossed the divide over ,mono ,pass4 ,but1 though the trail approached within a very few miles of the north rim of the ,yosemite ,valley1 the valley was not discovered till #ahea1 when ,captain ,boling of the ,mariposa ,battalion1 a volunteer organization for the protection of settlers1 entered it from the west in pursuit of ,indians who had raided mining settlements in the foothills4 ,these savages were known as the ,yosemite or ,grizzly ,bear ,indians4 ,tenaya1 their chief1 met their pursuers on the uplands and besought them to come no further4 ,but ,captain ,boling pushed on through the heavy snows1 and on ,march #ba1 entered the valley1 which proved to be the ,indians' final stronghold4 ,their villages1 however1 were deserted4 ,the original inhabitants of the ,valley were called the ,ahwahneechees1 the ,indian name for the ,valley being ,ahwahnee1 meaning a deep grassy canyon4 ,the ,ahwahneechees1 previous to ,captain ,boling's expedition1 had been decimated by war and disease4 ,the new tribe1 the ,yosemites1 or ,grizzly ,bears1 was made up of their remainder1 with ,monos and ,piutes added4 ,captain ,boling's report of the beauty of the valley having been questioned1 he returned during the summer to prove his assertions to a few doubters4 ,nevertheless1 there were no further visitors until #ahec1 when ,robert ,b4 ,stinson of ,mariposa led in a hunting-party4 ,two years later ,j4,m4 ,hutchings1 who was engaged in writing up the beauties of ,california for the ,california ,magazine1 brought the first tourists2 the second1 a party of sixteen1 followed later the same year4 ,pleasure travel to the ,yosemite ,valley may be said to have commenced with #ahef1 the year the first house was built4 ,this house was enlarged in #aheh by ,hite and ,beardsley and used for a hotel4 ,sullivan and ,cushman secured it for a debt the following year1 and it was operated in turn by ,peck1 ,longhurst1 and ,hutchings until #ahga4 ,meantime ,j4,c4 ,lamon settled in #ahfj1 the first actual resident of the valley1 an honor which he did not share with others for four years4 ,the fame of the valley spread over the country and in #ahfd ,congress granted to the ,state of ,california the ,cleft or ,gorge of the ,granite ,peak of the ,sierra ,nevada ,mountains known as the ,yosemite ,valley1 with the understanding that all income derived from it should be spent for improving the reservation or building a road to it4 ,the ,mariposa ,big ,tree ,grove was also granted at the same time4 ,california carefully fulfilled her charge4 ,the ,yosemite ,valley became world-famous1 and in #ahij the ,yosemite ,national ,park was created4 ,,vii ,the ,yosemite's geological history is much more thrilling4 ,everyone who sees it asks1 ,how did ,nature make the ,yosemite ,valley8 ,was it split by earth convulsions or scooped by glacier8 ,few ask what part was played by the gentle ,merced4 ,the question of ,yosemite's making has busied geologists from ,professor ,whitney of the ,university of ,california1 who first studied the problem1 down to ,f4,e4 ,matthes1 of the ,united ,states ,geological ,survey1 whose recent exhaustive studies have furnished the final solution4 ,professor ,whitney maintained that glaciers never had entered the valley2 he did not even consider water erosion4 ,at one time he held that the valley was simply a cleft or rent in the earth's crust4 ,at another time he imagined it formed by the sudden dropping back of a large block in the course of the convulsions that resulted in the uplift of the ,sierra ,nevada4 ,galen ,clark1 following him1 carried on his idea of an origin by force4 ,instead of the walls being cleft apart1 however1 he imagined the explosion of close-set domes of molten rock the riving power1 but conceived that ice and water erosion finished the job4 ,with ,clarence ,king the theory of glacial origin began its long career4 ,john ,muir carried this theory to its extreme4 ,since the period of ,muir's speculations1 the tremendous facts concerning the part played by erosion in the modification of the earth's surface strata have been developed4 ,beginning with ,w4,h4 ,turner1 a group of ,yosemite students under the modern influence worked upon the theory of the stream-cut valley modified by glaciers4 ,the ,united ,states ,geological ,survey then entered the field1 and ,matthes's minute investigations followed2 the manuscript of his monograph has helped me reconstruct the dramatic past4 ,the fact is that the ,yosemite ,valley was cut from the solid granite nearly to its present depth by the ,merced ,river2 before the glaciers arrived1 the river-cut valley was twenty-four hundred feet deep opposite ,el ,capitan1 and three thousand feet deep opposite ,eagle ,peak4 ,the valley was then ,v-shaped1 and the present waterfalls were cascades2 those which are now the ,yosemite ,falls were eighteen hundred feet deep1 and those of ,sentinel ,creek were two thousand feet deep4 ,all this in pre-glacial times4 ,later on the glaciers of several successive epochs greatly widened the valley1 and measurably deepened it1 making it ,u-shaped4 ,the cascades then became waterfalls4 ,but none will see the ,yosemite ,valley and its cavernous tributary canyons without sympathizing a little with the early geologists4 ,it is difficult to imagine a gash so tremendous cut into solid granite by anything short of force4 ,one can think of it gouged by massive glaciers1 but to imagine it cut by water is at first inconceivable4 ,to comprehend it we must first consider two geological facts4 ,the first is that no dawdling modern ,merced cut this chasm1 but a torrent considerably bigger2 and that this roaring river swept at tremendous speed down a sharply tilted bed1 which it gouged deeper and deeper by friction of the enormous masses of sand and granite fragments which it carried down from the ,high ,sierra4 ,the second geological fact is that the ,merced and ,tenaya torrents sand-papered the deepening beds of these canyons day and night for several million years2 which1 when we remember the mile-deep canyons which the ,colorado ,river and its confluents cut through a thousand or more miles of ,utah and ,arizona1 is not beyond human credence1 if not conception4 ,but1 objects the sceptical1 the ,merced couldn't keep always tilted2 in time it would cut down to a level and slow up2 then the sand and gravel it was carrying would settle1 and the stream stop its digging4 ,again1 if the stream-cut valley theory is correct1 why isn't every ,sierra canyon a ,yosemite8 ,let us look for the answer in the ,sierra's history4 ,the present ,sierra ,nevada is not the first mountain chain upon its site4 ,the granite which underlay the folds of the first ,sierra are still disclosed in the walls of the ,yosemite ,valley4 ,the granites which underlay the second and modern ,sierra are seen in the towering heights of the crest4 ,once these mountains overran a large part of our present far west4 ,they formed a level and very broad and high plateau2 or1 more accurately1 they tended to form such a plateau1 but never quite succeeded1 because its central section kept caving and sinking in some of its parts as fast as it lifted in others4 ,finally1 in the course1 perhaps1 of some millions of years1 the entire central section settled several thousand feet lower than its eastern and western edges2 these edges it left standing steep and high4 ,this sunken part is the ,great ,basin of to-day4 ,the remaining eastern edge is the ,wasatch ,mountains2 the remaining western edge is the ,sierra4 ,that is why the ,sierra's eastern front rises so precipitously from the deserts of the ,great ,basin1 while its western side slopes gradually toward the ,pacific4 ,but other crust changes accompanied the sinking of the ,great ,basin4 ,the principal one was the rise1 in a series of upward movements1 of the remaining crest of the ,sierra4 ,these movements may have corresponded with the sinkings of the ,great ,basin2 both were due to tremendous internal readjustments4 ,and of course1 whenever the ,sierra crest lifted1 it tilted more sharply the whole granite block of which it was the eastern edge4 ,these successive tiltings are what kept the ,merced and ,tenaya channels always so steeply inclined that1 for millions of years1 the streams remained torrents swift enough to keep on sandpapering their beds4 ,the first of these tiltings occurred in that far age which geologists call the ,cretaceous4 ,it was inconsiderable1 but enough to hasten the speed of the streams and establish general outlines for all time4 ,about the middle of the ,tertiary ,period volcanic eruptions changed all things4 ,nearly all the valleys except the ,yosemite became filled with lava4 ,even the crest of the range was buried a thousand feet in one place4 ,this was followed by a rise of the ,sierra ,crest a couple of thousand feet1 and of course a much sharper tilting of the western slopes4 ,the ,merced and ,tenaya ,rivers must have rushed very fast indeed during the many thousand years that followed4 ,the most conservative estimate of the duration of the ,tertiary ,period is four or five million years1 and until its close volcanic eruptions continued to fill valleys with lava1 and the ,great ,basin kept settling1 and the crest of the ,sierra went on rising2 and with each lifting of the crest1 the tilt of the rivers sharpened and the speed of the torrents hastened4 ,the canyon deepened during this time from seven hundred to a thousand feet4 ,the ,yosemite was then a mountain valley whose sloping sides were crossed by cascades4 ,then1 about the beginning of the ,quaternary ,period1 came the biggest convulsion of all4 ,the crest of the ,sierra was hoisted1 according to ,matthes's calculations1 as much as eight thousand feet higher in this one series of movements1 and the whole ,sierra block was again tilted1 this time1 of course1 enormously4 ,for thousands of centuries following1 the torrents from ,lyell's and ,mc,clure's melting snows must have descended at a speed which tore boulders from their anchorages1 ground rocks into sand1 and savagely scraped and scooped the river beds4 ,armed with sharp hard-cutting tools ripped from the granite cirques of ,sierra's crest1 these mad rivers must have scratched and hewn deep and fast4 ,and because certain valleys1 including the ,yosemite1 were never filled with lava like the rest1 these grew ever deeper with the centuries4 ,the great crust movement of the ,quaternary ,period was not the last1 by any means1 though it was the last of great size4 ,there were many small ones later4 ,several even have occurred within historic times4 ,on ,march #bf1 #ahgb1 a sudden earth movement left an escarpment twenty-five feet high at the foot of the range in ,owens ,valley4 ,the village of ,lone ,pine was levelled by the accompanying earthquake4 ,john ,muir1 who was in the ,yosemite ,valley at the time1 describes in eloquent phrase the accompanying earthquake which was felt there4 ,a small movement1 doubtless of similar origin1 started the ,san ,francisco fire in #aijf4 ,conditions created by the great ,quaternary tilting deepened the valley from eighteen hundred feet at its lower end to twenty-four hundred feet at its upper end4 ,it established what must have been an unusually interesting and impressive landscape1 which suggested the modern aspect1 but required completion by the glaciers4 ,geologically speaking1 the glaciers were recent4 ,there were several ice invasions1 produced probably by the same changes in climate which occasioned the advances of the continental ice sheet east of the ,rockies4 ,matthes describes them as similar to the northern glaciers of the ,canadian ,rockies of to-day4 ,for unknown thousands of years the ,valley was filled by a glacier three or four thousand feet thick1 and the surrounding country was covered with tributary ice-fields4 ,only ,cloud's ,rest1 ,half ,dome1 ,sentinel ,dome1 and the crown of ,el ,capitan emerged above this ice4 ,the glacier greatly widened and considerably deepened the valley1 turned its slopes into perpendiculars1 and changed its side cascades into waterfalls4 ,when it receded it left ,yosemite ,valley almost completed4 ,there followed a long period of conditions not unlike those of to-day4 ,frosts chipped and scaled the granite surfaces1 and rains carried away the fragments4 ,the valley bloomed with forests and wild flowers4 ,then came other glaciers and other intervening periods4 ,the last glacier advanced only to the head of ,bridal ,veil ,meadow4 ,when it melted it left a lake which filled the ,valley from wall to wall1 three hundred feet deep4 ,finally the lake filled up with soil1 brought down by the streams1 and made the floor of the present valley4 ,the centuries since have been a period of decoration and enrichment4 ,frost and rain have done their perfect work4 ,the incomparable valley is complete4 ,,iii ,,the ,,proposed ,,roosevelt ,,national ,,park ,,including ,,the ,,present ,,sequoia ,,national ,,park1 ,,west ,,central ,,california4 ,,area1 #a1fjj ,,square ,,miles ,i ,where the lava billows of the ,cascade ,mountains end in northern ,california the granite knobs of the ,sierra begin4 ,sharply differentiated in appearance and nature a few miles further in either direction1 here their terminals overlap1 and so nearly merge that the southern end of the one and the northern beginning of the other are not easily distinguished by the untrained eye4 ,but southward the ,sierra ,nevada1 the snowy saw-toothed range of the ,spaniards1 the ,sierra of modern ,american phrase1 rapidly acquires the bulk and towering height1 the craggy cirqued summits and the snowy shoulders which have made it celebrated4 ,gathering grandeur as it sweeps southward close to the western boundary of ,california1 its western slopes slashed deep with canyons1 its granite peaks and domes pushing ever higher above the scattering forests of its middle zones1 its eastern ramparts dropping in precipices to the desert1 it valiantly guards its sunny state against the passage of eastern highways1 and forces hard engineering problems upon the builders of transcontinental railroads4 ,where it becomes the eastern boundary of the ,yosemite ,national ,park it breaks into climaxes of magnificence4 ,from this point on the ,sierra broadens and bulks4 ,it throws out spurs1 multiplies paralleling ranges1 heaps peaks and ridges between gulf-like canyons which carry roaring waters through their forested trenches4 ,pushing ever higher above timber-line1 it breaks into large lake-bearing cirques1 sometimes cirque within cirque1 walled in silvery granite1 hung with garlands of snow and dripping with shining glaciers4 ,ninety miles south of ,yosemite it culminates in a close grouping of snow-daubed1 glacier-gouged1 lightning-splintered peaks1 one of which1 ,mount ,whitney1 highest summit in the ,united ,states1 raises his head just a little above his gigantic neighbors4 ,south of ,whitney1 the ,sierra subsides rapidly and merges into the high plateaus and minor ranges of southern ,california4 ,seventy-five miles of the crest of this titanic range at the climax of its magnificence1 sixty-five miles of it north of ,whitney and ten miles of it south1 constitute the western boundary of an area of sixteen hundred square miles which ,congress is considering setting apart under the title of the ,roosevelt ,national ,park2 a region so particularly characterized by ruggedness1 power1 and unified purpose that it is eminently fitted to serve as the nation's memorial to ,theodore ,roosevelt4 ,besides its stupendous mountains1 it includes the wildest and most exuberant forested canyons1 and the most luxuriant groves in the ,united ,states1 for its boundaries will enclose also the present ,sequoia ,national ,park1 in which a million trunks of the famous ,sequoia ,washingtoniana cluster around the ,general ,sherman ,tree1 believed to be the biggest and oldest living thing in all the world4 ,wide though its range from bleak crest to warm forest1 every part of this region is a necessary part of its whole4 ,nature's subtle finger has so knitted each succeeding zone into the fabric of its neighbors that it would be a vandal's hand which should arbitrarily cut the picture short of the full completion of its perfect composition4 ,it is one of ,nature's masterpieces1 through whose extremest contrasts runs the common note of supremacy4 ,whether or not1 then1 ,congress insures its perpetuity and unified development1 we can consider it scenically only as a whole4 ,similar in kind to the ,yosemite ,national ,park1 ,roosevelt is far ruggeder and more masterful4 ,it will be the national park of superlatives4 ,yet each of these similar areas is a completed unit of striking individuality4 ,yosemite1 taking its note from its incomparable ,valley1 never will be equalled for sheer beauty2 ,roosevelt knows no peer for exuberance and grandeur4 ,yosemite will remain ,mecca for the tourist2 ,roosevelt will draw into its forest of giant trees1 and upon its shoulders of chiselled granite1 thousands of campers-out and lovers of the high trail4 ,joined near the crest of the ,sierra by the ,john ,muir ,trail1 ,california's memorial to her own prophet of the out-of-doors1 these two national parks1 so alike and yet so different1 each striking surely its own note of sublimity1 are1 in a very real sense1 parts of one still greater whole2 the marriage of beauty and strength4 ,,ii ,the region is roughly pear-shaped4 ,a straight line drawn from ,pine ,creek ,pass at its northern end to ,sheep ,mountain on the southern base line measures sixty-eight miles2 the park is thirty-six miles wide at its widest1 just north of ,mount ,whitney4 ,its eastern boundary1 the crest of the ,sierra1 divides many notable peaks4 ,from north to south we pass1 as we travel the ,john ,muir ,trail1 ,mount ,humphreys1 #ac1igb feet2 ,mount ,darwin1 #ac1hda feet2 ,mount ,winchell1 #ac1gdi feet2 ,split ,mountain1 #ad1jea feet2 ,striped ,mountain1 #ac1afj feet2 ,mount ,baxter1 #ac1aah feet2 ,junction ,peak1 #ac1ijc feet2 ,mount ,tyndall1 #ad1jbe feet2 and ,mount ,whitney1 #ad1eja feet2 supporting ,whitney on the south is ,mount ,langley1 #ad1jdb feet2 all these connected by splintered peaks1 granite ledges1 and mountain masses scarcely less in altitude4 ,between the bristling crest of this snow-daubed eastern boundary and the park's western boundary1 thousands of feet lower where the forests begin1 the region roughly divides into parallel zones4 ,that which immediately adjoins the crest upon its west side1 a strip ten miles or more in width1 is known to its devotees as the ,high ,sierra4 ,it is a country of tremendous jagged peaks1 of intermediate pinnacled walls1 of enormous cirques holding remnants of once mighty glaciers1 of great fields of sun-cupped snow1 of turquoise lakes resting in chains upon enormous granite steps2 the whole gleaming like chased silver in the noon sun2 a magical land of a thousand ,matterhorns1 whose trails lead from temple to temple1 so mighty of size and noble of design that no mind less than the ,creator's could ever have conceived them4 ,the ,high ,sierra has been celebrated for many years in the fast-growing brotherhood of ,american mountain climbers1 east as well as west1 many of whom proclaim its marked superiority to all parts of the ,swiss ,alps except the amazing neighborhood of ,mont ,blanc4 ,with the multiplication of trails and the building of shelters for the comfort of the inexperienced1 the veriest amateur of city business life will find in these mountains of perpetual sunshine a satisfaction which is only for the seasoned mountaineer abroad4 ,the zone adjoining the ,high ,sierra upon its west is one of far wider range of pleasure4 ,subsiding rapidly in elevation1 it becomes a knobbed and bouldered land which includes timber-line and the thin forests of wind-twisted pines which contend with the granite for foothold4 ,it is crossed westward by many lesser ranges buttressing the ,high ,sierra2 from these cross ranges many loftier peaks arise1 and between them roar the rivers whose thousands of contributing streams drain the snow-fields and the glaciers of the white heights4 ,finally1 paralleling the western boundary1 is the narrow zone in which this region meets and merges with the greater forests and the meadows beyond the boundary4 ,here1 in the southwestern corner1 is the marvellous warm forest in which trees of many kinds attain their maximum of size and proportion1 and which encloses a million sequoia trees1 including the greatest and oldest embodiments of the principle of life4 ,this extraordinary forest was reserved in #ahij under the title of the ,sequoia ,national ,park4 ,at the same time was created the ,general ,grant ,national ,park1 a reservation of four square miles of similar forest1 virtually a part of it1 but separated because of an intervening area of privately owned lands4 ,thus does this region run the gamut of supremacy from the ,high ,sierra upon its east1 to the ,giant ,forest upon its west4 ,of no less distinction are its waters4 ,innumerable lakelets of the ,high ,sierra1 born of the snows1 overflow in tiny streams which combine into roaring1 frothing creeks4 ,these in turn1 augmented by the drainage of the lofty tumbled divides1 combine into powerful little rivers4 ,four river systems originate in this region4 ,far in the north a lake1 more than eleven thousand feet high1 lying at the western foot of ,mount ,goddard1 begins the ,south ,fork of the ,san ,joaquin ,river1 which drains the park's northern area4 ,incidentally1 it has cut a canyon of romantic beauty1 up which the ,john ,muir ,trail finds its way into the park4 ,the northern middle area of the park is drained by the ,middle and ,south ,forks of the ,kings ,river1 which find their origins in perhaps forty miles of ,sierra's crest4 ,the drainage basins of these splendid streams cover nearly half of the park's total area1 and include some of the biggest1 as well as some of the wildest and most beautiful mountain scenery in the world4 ,bounded upon their west by an arc of snowy mountains1 separated by the gigantic ,monarch ,divide1 flanked by twisted ranges and towering peaks1 they cascade westward through meadows of rank grasses and vividly colored wild-flowers1 alternating with steep-sided gorges and canyons of sublimity4 ,dropping thousands of feet within a few miles1 they abound in cascades and majestic falls1 between which swift rapids alternate with reaches of stiller1 but never still1 waters which are the homes of cut-throat trout4 ,each of these rivers has its canyon of distinguished magnificence4 ,the ,tehipite ,valley of the ,middle ,fork and the ,kings ,river ,canyon of the ,south ,fork are destined to world celebrity4 ,the southwestern area of the park is drained by five forks of the beautiful ,kaweah ,river4 ,these streams originate on the north in the divide of the ,south ,fork of the ,kings ,river1 and on the east in a conspicuously fine range known as the ,great ,western ,divide4 ,they wind through the wooded valleys of the ,sequoia ,national ,park4 ,upon their banks grow the monsters of the ,american forest4 ,the southern area is drained by the ,kern ,river1 into which flow the waters of ,mount ,whitney and his giant neighbors4 ,the ,kern ,canyon is one of ,roosevelt's noblest expressions4 ,flowing southward between precipitous walls three thousand feet and more in height1 flanked upon the east by monsters of the ,high ,sierra1 and on the west by the splendid elevations of the ,great ,western ,divide1 it is a valley supremely fitted for the highest realization of the region's gifts of enjoyment4 ,from camps beside its trout-haunted waters1 it is a matter of no difficulty for those equipped for the trail to reach the summit of ,whitney1 on the one hand1 and the ,giant ,forest on the other4 ,near the southern boundary of the park1 ,golden ,trout ,creek enters the ,kern4 ,it originates at the very crest of the ,sierra1 which it follows closely for many miles before swinging westward to its outlet4 ,in this stream is found a trout which appears1 when fresh caught1 as though carved from gold4 ,popularly it is known as the golden trout2 its scientific name is ,salmo ,rooseveltii4 ,originally1 no doubt1 the color evolved from the peculiar golden hues of the rocks through which its waters flow4 ,the golden trout has been transplanted into other ,sierra streams1 in some of which1 notably the open upper waters of the ,middle ,fork of the ,kings1 it has thrived and maintained its vivid hue4 ,in sheltered waters it has apparently disappeared1 a fact which may merely mean that its color has changed with environment4 ,,iii ,there are many gateways1 two by road1 the rest by trail4 ,for years to come1 as in the past1 the great majority of visitors will enter through the ,giant ,forest of the ,sequoia ,national ,park and through the ,general ,grant ,national ,park4 ,the traveller by rail will find motor stages at ,visalia for the run into the ,giant ,forest1 and at ,fresno for the ,general ,grant ,national ,park4 ,the motorist will find good roads into both from ,california's elaborate highway system4 ,in both the traveller will find excellent hotel camps1 and1 if his purpose is to live awhile under his private canvas1 public camp grounds convenient to stores and equipped with water supply and even electric lights4 ,under the gigantic pines1 firs1 and ancient sequoias of these extraordinary forests1 increasing thousands spend summer weeks and months4 ,from these centres the lovers of the sublime take saddle-horses and pack-trains1 or1 if they are hikers1 burros to carry their equipment1 and follow the trails to ,kern ,canyon1 or the summit of ,whitney1 or the ,kings ,river ,canyon1 or the ,tehipite ,valley1 or the ,john ,muir ,trail upon the ,sierra's crest4 ,many are the trip combinations1 the choice of which depends upon the time and the strenuousness of the traveller4 ,camping-out on trail in ,roosevelt is an experience which demands repetition4 ,sure of clear weather1 the traveller does not bother with tents1 but snuggles at night in a sleeping-bag under a roof of spreading pine4 ,but it is possible to equip for the trail elsewhere4 ,the principal point upon the north is the ,yosemite ,national ,park1 where one may provide himself with horses and supplies for a journey of any desired duration4 ,starting in the ,yosemite ,valley1 and leaving the park near the carved cirques of ,mount ,lyell1 the traveller will find the intervening miles of the ,john ,muir ,trail a panorama of magnificence4 ,thousand ,island ,lake1 reflecting the glorious pyramid of ,banner ,peak1 the ,devil's ,postpile1 a group of basaltic columns1 far finer than ,ireland's celebrated ,giant's ,causeway1 the ,mono ,valley1 with its ancient volcano split down through the middle so that all may see its vent and spreading crater1 are merely the more striking features of a progress of spectacles to the north entrance of ,roosevelt ,park2 this is at the junction of the ,south ,fork of the ,san ,joaquin ,river and ,piute ,creek4 ,the principal eastern gateway is ,kearsarge ,pass1 on the crest of the ,sierra a few miles north of ,mount ,whitney4 ,the trail ascends from ,independence1 where one also may comfortably outfit4 ,these four are1 at this writing1 the principal entrance gates1 each opening from points at which parties may be sure of securing horses1 equipment1 and guides4 ,but several other trails enter from the east1 south1 southwest1 and west sides4 ,all of these in time will become1 with development1 well travelled trails into the heart of the great wilderness4 ,,iv ,any description of the glories of the ,john ,muir ,trail from its entrance into the park to its climax upon the summit of ,mount ,whitney far passes the limits of a chapter4 ,in time it will inspire a literature4 ,approaching from ,yosemite through the canyon of the ,san ,joaquin1 the traveller swings around the north side of ,mount ,goddard1 crosses gorgeous ,muir ,pass1 and enters the fringe of cirques and lakes which borders the western edge of ,sierra's crest from end to end4 ,through this he winds his way southward1 skirting lakes1 crossing snow-fields1 encircling templed cirques1 plunging into canyons1 climbing divides1 rounding gigantic peaks1 surprising views of sublimity1 mounting ever higher until he stands upon the shoulders of ,mount ,whitney4 ,dismounting here1 he scrambles up the few hundred feet of stiff climb which places him on the summit1 from which he looks out north1 west1 and south over the most diversified high mountain landscape in ,america1 and eastward over the ,sierra foothills to ,death ,valley1 lowest land in the ,united ,states4 ,no thrilling ,alpine feat is the ascent of our loftiest summit4 ,but those who want to measure human strength and skill in terms of perpendicular granite may find among ,whitney's neighbors peaks which will present harder problems than those offered abroad1 peaks which themselves well may become as celebrated in future years4 ,the ,john ,muir ,trail is destined to a fame and a use perhaps many times as great as those men thought who conceived it as a memorial to a lover of the trail1 and of all that that implies4 ,it will play a distinguished part in the education of the nation in the love of mountains4 ,it will win artists to a phase of the sublime in ,america which they have overlooked4 ,it will bring students to the classrooms where ,nature displays her most tremendous exhibits4 ,nevertheless1 ,roosevelt's lower levels will draw many times as many devotees as will the ,high ,sierra2 and these visitors will stay longer4 ,it is the valleys and the canyons which will prove the greatest lure1 for here one may camp leisurely and in entire comfort1 and thence make what trips he chooses into the regions of the peaks and the cirques4 ,there are literally thousands of canyons and of many kinds4 ,besides the ,kern ,canyon there are two which must rank with ,yosemite4 ,in the summer of #aiaf ,i travelled the length of the park1 as far as the ,giant ,forest1 with a party led by ,director ,stephen ,t4 ,mather1 of the ,national ,park ,service1 then ,assistant to the ,secretary of the ,interior1 and was powerfully impressed with the scenic qualities of the ,tehipite ,valley1 and the ,kings ,river ,canyon1 at that time little known4 ,time will not dim my memory of ,tehipite ,dome1 the august valley and the leaping1 singing river which it overlooks4 ,well short of the ,yosemite ,valley in the kind of beauty that plunges the observer into silence1 the ,tehipite ,valley far excels it in bigness1 power1 and majesty4 ,lookout ,point on the north rim1 a couple of miles south of the ,dome1 gave us our first sensation4 ,three thousand feet above the river1 it offered by far the grandest valley view ,i have looked upon1 for the rim view into ,yosemite by comparison is not so grand as it is beautiful4 ,the canyon revealed itself to the east as far as ,mount ,woodworth1 its lofty diversified walls lifting precipitously from the heavy forests of the floor and sides1 and yielding to still greater heights above4 ,enormous cliffs abutted1 ,yosemite-like1 at intervals4 ,south of us1 directly across the canyon1 rose the strenuous heights of the ,monarch ,divide1 ,mount ,harrington1 towering a thousand feet higher above the valley floor than ,clouds ,rest above the ,yosemite4 ,down the slopes of the ,monarch ,divide1 seemingly from its turreted summits1 cascaded many frothing streams4 ,the ,eagle ,peaks1 ,blue ,canyon ,falls1 ,silver ,spur1 the ,gorge of ,despair1 ,lost ,canyon--these were some of the romantic and appropriate titles we found on the ,geological ,survey map4 ,and1 close at hand1 opposite ,mount ,harrington and just across ,crown ,creek ,canyon1 rose mighty ,tehipite4 ,we stood level with its rounded glistening dome4 ,the ,tehipite ,dome is a true ,yosemite feature4 ,it compares in height and prominence with ,el ,capitan4 ,in fact1 it stands higher above the valley floor and occupies a similar position at the valley's western gate4 ,it is not so massive as ,el ,capitan1 and therefore not so impressive2 but it is superb4 ,it is better compared with ,half ,dome1 though again perhaps not so impressive4 ,but it has its own august personality1 as notably so as either of these world-famed rocks2 and1 if it stood in the ,yosemite1 would share with them the incomparable valley's highest honors4 ,descending to the floor1 the whole aspect of the valley changed4 ,looking up1 ,tehipite ,dome1 now outlined against the sky1 and the neighboring abrupt castellated walls1 towered more hugely than ever4 ,we did not need the contour map to know that some of these heights exceeded ,yosemite's4 ,the sky-line was fantastically carved into spires and domes1 a counterpart in gigantic miniature of the ,great ,sierra of which it was the valley climax4 ,the ,yosemite measure of sublimity1 perhaps1 lacked1 but in its place was a more rugged grandeur1 a certain suggestion of vastness and power that ,i have not seen elsewhere4 ,this impression was strengthened by the floor itself1 which contains no suggestion whatever of ,yosemite's exquisiteness4 ,instead1 it offers rugged spaciousness4 ,in place of ,yosemite's peaceful woods and meadows1 here were tangled giant-studded thickets and mountainous masses of enormous broken talus4 ,instead of the quiet winding ,merced1 here was a surging1 smashing1 frothing1 cascading1 roaring torrent1 several times its volume1 which filled the valley with its turbulence4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,herbert ,w4 ,gleason ,,tehipite ,,dome1 ,,guardian ,,rock ,,of ,,the ,,tehipite ,,valley ,it rises abruptly more than three thousand feet2 proposed ,roosevelt ,national ,park ,once step foot on the valley floor and all thought of comparison with ,yosemite vanishes forever4 ,this is a different thing altogether1 but a thing in its own way no less superlative4 ,the keynote of the ,tehipite ,valley is wild exuberance4 ,it thrills where ,yosemite enervates4 ,yet its temperature is quite as mild4 ,the ,middle ,fork contains more trout than any other stream ,i have fished4 ,we found them in pools and riffles everywhere2 no water was too white to get a rise4 ,in the long1 greenish-white borders of fast rapids they floated continually into view4 ,in five minutes' watching ,i could count a dozen or more such appearances within a few feet of water4 ,they ran from eight to fourteen inches4 ,no doubt larger ones lay below4 ,so ,i got great fun by picking my particular trout and casting specially for him4 ,stop your fly's motion and the pursuing fish instantly stops1 backs1 swims round the lure in a tour of examination1 and disappears4 ,start it moving and he instantly reappears from the white depth1 where1 no doubt1 he has been cautiously watching4 ,a pause and a swift start often tempted to a strike4 ,these rainbows of the torrents are hard fighters4 ,and many of them1 if ungently handled1 availed of swift currents to thresh themselves free4 ,you must fish a river to appreciate it4 ,standing on its edges1 leaping from rock to rock1 slipping waist deep at times1 wading recklessly to reach some pool or eddy of special promise1 searching the rapids1 peering under the alders1 testing the pools2 that's the way to make friends with a river4 ,you study its moods and its ways as those of a mettlesome horse4 ,and after a while its spirit seeps through and finds yours4 ,its personality unveils4 ,a sweet friendliness unites you1 a sense of mutual understanding4 ,there follows the completest detachment that ,i know4 ,years and the worries disappear4 ,you and the river dream away the unnoted hours4 ,passing on from the ,tehipite ,valley to the ,kings ,river ,canyon1 the approach to ,granite ,pass was nothing short of magnificent4 ,we crossed a superb cirque studded with lakelets2 we could see the pass ahead of us on a fine snow-crowned bench4 ,we ascended the bench and found ourselves1 not in the pass1 but in the entrance to still another cirque1 also lake-studded1 a loftier1 nobler cirque encircling the one below4 ,ahead of us upon another lofty bench surely was the pass4 ,those inspiring snow-daubed heights whose serrated edges cut sharply into the sky certainly marked the supreme summit4 ,our winding trail up steep1 rocky ascents pointed true2 an hour's toil would carry us over4 ,but the hour passed and the crossing of the shelf disclosed1 not the glowing valley of the ,south ,fork across the pass1 but still a vaster1 nobler cirque above1 sublime in ,arctic glory6 ,how the vast glaciers that cut these titanic carvings must have swirled among these huge concentric walls1 pouring over this shelf and that1 piling together around these uplifting granite peaks1 concentrating combined effort upon this unyielding mass and that1 and1 beaten back1 pouring down the tortuous main channel with rendings and tearings unimaginable6 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,herbert ,w4 ,gleason ,,east ,,vidette ,,from ,a ,,forest ,,of ,,foxtail ,,pines ,this is one of the great granite peaks of the proposed ,roosevelt ,national ,park ,granite ,pass is astonishing6 ,we saw no less than four of these vast concentric cirques1 through three of which we passed4 ,and the ,geological ,survey map discloses a tributary basin adjoining which enclosed a group of large volcanic lakes1 and doubtless other vast cirque-like chambers4 ,we took photographs1 but knew them vain4 ,a long1 dusty descent of ,copper ,creek brought us1 near day's end1 into the exquisite valley of the ,south ,fork of the ,kings ,river1 the ,kings ,river ,canyon4 ,still another ,yosemite6 ,it is not so easy to differentiate the two canyons of the ,kings4 ,they are similar and yet very different4 ,perhaps the difference lies chiefly in degree4 ,both lie east and west1 with enormous rocky bluffs rising on either side of rivers of quite extraordinary beauty4 ,both present carved and castellated walls of exceptional boldness of design4 ,both are heavily and magnificently wooded1 the forests reaching up sharp slopes on either side4 ,both possess to a marked degree the quality that lifts them above the average of even the ,sierra's glacial valleys4 ,but the outlines here seem to be softer1 the valley floor broader1 the river less turbulent4 ,if the keynote of the ,tehipite ,valley is wild exuberance1 that of the ,kings ,river ,canyon is wild beauty4 ,the one excites1 the other lulls4 ,the one shares with ,yosemite the distinction of extraordinary outline1 the other shares with ,yosemite the distinction of extraordinary charm4 ,there are few nobler spots than the junction of ,copper ,creek with the ,kings4 ,the ,grand ,sentinel is seldom surpassed4 ,it fails of the personality of ,el ,capitan1 ,half ,dome1 and ,tehipite1 but it only just fails4 ,if they did not exist1 it would become the most celebrated rock in the ,sierra1 at least4 ,the view up the canyon from this spot has few equals4 ,the view down the canyon is not often excelled4 ,when the day of the ,kings ,river ,canyon dawns1 it will dawn brilliantly4 ,v ,the western slopes of the ,pacific ranges1 from the ,canadian border southward to the desert1 carry the most luxuriant forest in the ,united ,states4 ,the immense stands of yellow pine and ,douglas fir of the far north merge into the sugar pines and giant sequoias of the south in practically an unbroken belt which1 on ,sierra's slopes1 lies on the middle levels between the low productive plains of the west and the towering heights of the east4 ,the ,sequoia ,national ,park and its little neighbor1 the ,general ,grant ,national ,park1 enclose areas of remarkable fertility in which trees1 shrubs1 and wild flowers reach their greatest development4 ,the million sequoia trees which grow here are a very small part1 numerically1 of this amazing forest4 ,these slopes are rich with the soil of thousands of years of accumulations4 ,they are warmed in summer by mild ,pacific winds heated in their passage across the lowlands1 and blanketed in winter by many feet of soft snow4 ,they are damp with countless springs and streams sheltered under heavy canopies of foliage4 ,in altitude they range from two thousand feet at the bottom of ,kaweah's canyon1 as it emerges from the park1 to eight thousand feet in the east1 with mountains rising three or four thousand feet higher4 ,it is a tumbled land of ridges and canyons1 but its slopes are easy and its outline gracious4 ,oases of luscious meadows dot the forests4 ,this is the ,court of ,king ,sequoia4 ,here assemble in everlasting attendance millions of his nobles1 a statelier gathering than ever bowed the knee before human potentate4 ,erect1 majestic1 clothed in togas of perpetual green1 their heads bared to the heavens1 stand rank upon rank1 mile upon mile1 the noblest personalities of the earth4 ,chief among the courtiers of the king is the sugar-pine1 towering here his full two hundred feet1 straight as a ruler1 his stem at times eight feet in thickness1 scarcely tapering to the heavy limbs of his high crown4 ,largest and most magnificent of the ,pacific pines1 reaching sometimes six hundred years of age1 the greater trunks clear themselves of branches a hundred feet from the ground1 and the bark develops long dark plates of armor4 ,so marked is his distinguished personality that1 once seen1 he never can be mistaken for another4 ,next in rank and scarcely less in majesty is the massive white fir1 rising at times even to two hundred feet1 his sometimes six-foot trunk conspicuously rough1 dark brown in color1 deeply furrowed with ashen gray4 ,his pale yellow-green crown is mysteriously tinged with white4 ,his limit of age is three hundred and fifty years4 ,last of the ranking trio is the western yellow pine1 a warrior clad in plates of russet armor4 ,a hundred and sixty feet in natural height1 here he sometimes towers even with his fellow knights4 ,he guards the outer precincts of the court1 his cap of yellow-green1 his branching arms resting upon his sides4 ,these are the great nobles1 but with them are millions of lesser courtiers1 the incense cedar from whose buttressed1 tapering trunks spring countless branches tipped with fan-like plumes2 many lesser conifers2 the splendid ,pacific birches in picturesque pose2 the oaks of many kinds far different from their eastern cousins4 ,and among the feet of these courtiers of higher degree crowd millions upon millions of flowering shrubs1 massing often in solid phalanxes1 disputing passage with the deer4 ,all mingle together1 great and small4 ,the conifers1 in the king's honor1 flaunt from stem and greater branch long fluttering ribbons of pale green moss4 ,thousands of squirrels chatter in the branches4 ,millions of birds make music4 ,it is a gala day4 ,enter the ,king4 ,the ,king of ,trees is of royal lineage4 ,the patient searchers in the rocks of old have traced his ancestry unknown millions of years1 back to the forests of the ,cretaceous ,period4 ,his was ,viking stock from arctic zones where trees can live no more4 ,to-day he links all human history4 ,the identical tree around which gather thousands of human courtiers every year emerged1 a seedling1 while ,nebuchadnezzar besieged ,jerusalem4 ,no man knows how old his predecessors were when finally they sank into death--mighty fall6 ,but ,john ,muir counted four thousand rings in the trunk of one fallen giant1 who must have lived while ,pharaoh still held captive the ,children of ,israel4 ,the ,general ,sherman ,tree of the ,giant ,forest1 the oldest living thing to-day1 so far as ,i have been able to ascertain1 probably has seen thirty-six hundred years4 ,it is evident to the unlearned observer that1 while mature1 he is long short of the turn of life4 ,a thousand years from now he still may be the earth's biggest and oldest living thing2 how much beyond that none may venture to predict4 ,picture1 now1 the ,giant ,forest1 largest of the several sequoia groves in the ,sequoia ,national ,park4 ,you have entered1 say1 in the dusk of the night before1 and after breakfast wander planless among the trees4 ,on every side rise the huge pines and firs1 their dark columns springing from the tangled brush to support the cathedral roof above4 ,here an enormous purplish-red column draws and holds your astonished eye4 ,it is a gigantic thing in comparison with its monster neighbors2 it glows among their dull columns2 it is clean and spotless amid their mosshung trunks2 branchless1 it disappears among their upper foliage1 hinting at steeple heights above4 ,yet your guide tells you that this tree is small2 that its diameter is less than twenty feet2 that in age it is a youngster of only two thousand years6 ,wait1 he tells you1 till you see the ,general ,sherman ,tree's thirty-six and a half feet of diameter2 wait till you see the hundreds1 yes thousands1 which surpass this infant6 ,but you heed him not1 for you see another back among those sugar pines6 ,yes1 and there's another4 ,and there on the left are two or three in a clump6 ,back in the dim cathedral aisles are reddish glows which must mean still others4 ,your heart is beating with a strange emotion4 ,you look up at the enormous limbs bent at right angles1 at the canopy of feathery foliage hanging in ten thousand huge plumes4 ,you cry aloud for the sheer joy of this great thing1 and plunge into the forest's heart4 ,the ,giant ,forest contains several thousand sequoia trees of large size1 and many young trees4 ,you see these small ones on every hand1 erect1 sharply pointed1 giving in every line a vivid impression of quivering1 bounding life4 ,later on1 as they emerge above the roof of the forest1 for some of them are more than three hundred feet high1 they lose their sharp ambitious tops2 they become gracefully rounded4 ,springing from seed less than a quarter of an inch in diameter1 they tend1 like their cousins the redwoods1 to grow in groups1 and these groups tend to grow in groves4 ,but there are scattering individuals in every grove1 and many small isolated groves in the ,sierra4 ,the ,giant ,forest is the largest grove of greatest trees4 ,the ,general ,grant ,grove1 in a small national park of its own1 near by1 is the second grove in size and importance2 its central figure is the ,general ,grant ,tree1 second in size and age to the ,general ,sherman ,tree4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,s4,h4 ,willard ,,bull ,,frog ,,lake1 ,,proposed ,,roosevelt ,,national ,,park ,along the crest of the ,sierra extends a region of lofty cirques and innumerable glacier-fed lakelets ,illustration3 ,,under ,a ,,giant ,,sequoia ,from right to left3 ,benjamin ,ide ,wheeler1 ,william ,loeb1 ,jr41 ,nicholas ,murray ,butler1 ,john ,muir1 ,surgeon-,general ,rixey1 ,u4,s4,n41 ,theodore ,roosevelt1 then ,president1 ,george ,c4 ,pardee1 and ,william ,h4 ,moody ,the dimensions of the greatest trees are astonishing4 ,glance at this table3 ---------------------------------------- ------- ,,height ,,diameter ,,name ,,feet ,,feet ---------------------------------------- ------- ,,giant ,,forest ,,grove ,general ,sherman #bgi4i #cf4e ,abraham ,lincoln #bgj #ca ,william ,mc,kinley #bia #bh ,,muir ,,grove ,dalton #bib #bg ,,garfield ,,grove ,california #bfj #cj ,,general ,,grant ,,grove ,general ,grant #bfd #ce ,george ,washington #bee #bi ---------------------------------------- ------- ,the ,theodore ,roosevelt ,tree1 which has not been measured at this writing1 is one of the noblest of all1 perfect in form and color1 abounding in the glory of young maturity4 ,to help realization at home of the majesty of the ,general ,sherman ,tree1 mark its base diameter1 thirty-six and a half feet1 plainly against the side of some building1 preferably a church with a steeple and neighboring trees2 then measure two hundred and eighty feet1 its height1 upon the ground at right angles to the church2 then stand on that spot and1 facing the church1 imagine the trunk rising1 tapering slightly1 against the building's side and the sky above it2 then slowly lift your eyes until you are looking up into the sky at an angle of forty-five degrees1 this to fix its height were it growing in front of the church4 ,imagine its lowest branches1 each far thicker than the trunks of eastern elms and oaks1 pushing horizontally out at a height above ground of a hundred and fifty feet1 which is higher than the tops of most of the full-grown trees of our eastern forests4 ,imagine these limbs bent horizontally at right angles1 like huge elbows1 as though holding its green mantle close about its form4 ,imagine the upper branches nearly bare1 shattered perhaps by lightning4 ,and imagine its crown of foliage1 dark yellowish-green1 hanging in enormous graceful plumes4 ,this is the ,king of ,trees4 ,,iv ,,the ,,heart ,,of ,,the ,,rockies ,,the ,,rocky ,,mountain ,,national ,,park1 ,,north ,,central ,,colorado4 ,,area1 #cih ,,square ,,miles ,i ,the ,sierra ,nevada ,mountains of ,california and the ,cascade ,range of ,california1 ,oregon1 and ,washington have each three national parks which fully represent their kind and quality4 ,the great central system of the ,united ,states1 the ,rocky ,mountains1 which also possess three national parks1 are represented in kind by only one1 for ,yellowstone is an exceptional volcanic interlude1 and ,glacier is the chance upheaval of shales and limestones from a period antedating the granite ,rockies by many millions of years2 neither in any sense exhibits the nature and scenic quality of the backbone of our continent4 ,this is one of the reasons for the extraordinary distinction of the reservation appropriately called the ,rocky ,mountain ,national ,park1 namely that it is the only true example of the continental mountain system in the catalogue of our national parks4 ,it is well1 therefore1 to lay the foundations for a sound comprehension of its differentiating features4 ,the ,rocky ,mountains1 which began to rise at the close of the ,cretaceous ,period at a rate so slow that geologists think they are making a pace to-day as rapid as their maximum1 extend from the plateau of ,new ,mexico northwesterly until they merge into the mountains of eastern ,alaska4 ,in the ,united ,states physiographers consider them in two groups1 the ,northern ,rockies and the ,southern ,rockies1 the point of division being the elevated ,wyoming ,basin4 ,there are numerous ranges1 known1 like the ,wasatch ,mountains1 by different names1 which nevertheless are consistent parts of the ,rocky ,mountain ,system4 ,the ,rockies attain their most imposing mass and magnificence in their southern group1 culminating in ,colorado4 ,so stupendous is this heaping together of granitic masses that in ,colorado alone are found forty-two of the fifty-five named peaks in the ,united ,states which attain the altitude of fourteen thousand feet4 ,of the others1 twelve are in the ,sierra of ,california1 and one1 ,mount ,rainier1 in ,washington4 ,mount ,elbert1 in ,colorado1 our second highest peak1 rises within eighty-two feet of the height of ,california's ,mount ,whitney1 our first in rank2 ,colorado's ,mount ,massive attains an altitude only four feet less than ,washington's ,mount ,rainier1 which ranks third4 ,in point of mass1 one seventh of ,colorado rises above ten thousand feet of altitude4 ,the state contains three hundred and fifty peaks above eleven thousand feet of altitude1 two hundred and twenty peaks above twelve thousand feet1 and a hundred and fifty peaks above thirteen thousand feet2 besides the forty-two named peaks which exceed fourteen thousand feet1 there are at least three others which are unnamed4 ,geologists call the ,rockies young1 by which they mean anything1 say1 from five to twenty million years4 ,they are more or less contemporary with the ,sierra4 ,like the ,sierra1 the mountains we see to-day are not the first2 several times their ranges have uplifted upon wrecks of former ranges1 which had yielded to the assaults of frost and rain4 ,before they first appeared1 parts of the ,eastern ,appalachians had paralleled our eastern sea coast for many million years4 ,the ,age of ,mammals had well dawned before they became a feature in a landscape which previously had been a mid-continental sea4 ,,ii ,the ,front ,range1 carrying the continental divide1 is a gnarled and jagged rampart of snow-splashed granite facing the eastern plains1 from which its grim summits may be seen for many miles4 ,standing out before it like captains in front of gray ranks at parade rise three conspicuous mountains1 ,longs ,peak1 fifty miles northwest of ,denver1 ,mount ,evans1 west of ,denver1 and ,pikes ,peak1 seventy miles to the south4 ,longs ,peak is directly connected with the continental divide by a series of jagged cliffs4 ,mount ,evans is farther away4 ,pikes ,peak stands sentinel-like seventy-five miles east of the range1 a gigantic monadnock1 remainder and reminder of a former range long ages worn away4 ,though many massive mountains of greater altitude lie farther west1 the ,front ,range for many reasons is representative of the ,rockies' noblest4 ,to represent them fully1 the national park should include the three sentinel peaks and their neighborhoods1 and it is earnestly hoped that the day will come when ,congress will recognize this need4 ,at this writing only the section of greatest variety and magnificence1 the nearly four hundred square miles of which ,longs ,peak is the climax1 has been thus entitled4 ,in fact1 even this was unfortunately curtailed in the making1 the straight southern boundary having been arbitrarily drawn through the range at a point of sublimity1 throwing out of the park the ,st4 ,vrain ,glaciers which form one of the region's wildest and noblest spectacles1 and ,arapaho ,peak and its glaciers which in several respects constitute a climax in ,rocky ,mountain scenery4 ,thus carelessly cropped1 despoiled of the completeness which ,nature meant it to possess1 nevertheless the ,rocky ,mountain ,national ,park is a reservation of distinguished charm and beauty4 ,it straddles the continental divide1 which bisects it lengthwise1 north and south4 ,the western slopes rise gently to the divide2 at the divide1 the eastern front drops in a precipice several thousand feet deep1 out of which frosts1 rains1 glaciers and streams have gouged gigantic gulfs and granite-bound vales and canyons1 whose intervening cliffs are battlemented walls and monoliths4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,wiswall ,brothers ,,estes ,,park ,,plateau1 ,,looking ,,east ,showing the village and the foothills1 which are remnants of a former great range1 now almost washed away by erosion2 ,rocky ,mountain ,national ,park ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,wiswall ,brothers ,,front ,,range ,,of ,,the ,,rockies ,,from ,,bierstadt ,,lake ,from right to left3 ,flattop ,mountain1 ,tyndall ,glacier1 ,hallett ,peak1 ,otis ,peak1 ,andrews ,glacier ,as if these features were not enough to differentiate this national park from any other1 ,nature has provided still another element of popularity and distinction4 ,east of this splendid rampart spreads a broad area of rolling plateau1 carpeted with wild flowers1 edged and dotted with luxuriant groves of pine1 spruce1 fir1 and aspen1 and diversified with hills and craggy mountains1 carved rock walls1 long forest-grown moraines and picturesque ravines2 a stream-watered1 lake-dotted summer and winter pleasure paradise of great size1 bounded on the north and west by snow-spattered monsters1 and on the east and south by craggy wooded foothills1 only less in size1 and no less in beauty than the leviathans of the main range4 ,here is summer living room enough for several hundred thousand sojourners from whose comfortable camps and hotels the wild heart of the ,rockies may be visited afoot or on horseback between early breakfast and late supper at home4 ,this plateau has been known to summer visitors for many years under the titles of several settlements2 ,moraine ,park1 ,horseshoe ,park1 and ,longs ,peak1 each had its hotels long before the national park was created2 ,estes ,park and ,allen's ,park on the east side1 and ,grand ,lake on the west side lie just outside the park boundaries1 purposely excluded because of their considerable areas of privately owned land4 ,estes ,park1 the principal village and the distributing centre of all incoming routes from the east1 is the ,eastern ,gateway2 ,grand ,lake is the ,western ,gateway4 ,and still there is another distinction1 one which will probably always hold for ,rocky ,mountain its present great lead in popularity4 ,that is its position nearer to the middle of the country than other great national parks1 and its accessibility from large centres of population4 ,denver1 which claims with some justice the title of ,gateway to the ,national ,parks1 meaning of course the eastern gateway to the western parks1 is within thirty hours by rail from ,chicago and ,st4 ,louis1 through one or other of which most travellers from the east find it convenient to reach the west4 ,it is similarly conveniently located for touring motorists1 with whom all the national parks are becoming ever more popular4 ,from ,denver several railroads lead to east-side towns1 from which the park is reached by motor stages through the foothills1 and a motor stage line runs directly from ,denver to ,estes ,park1 paralleling the range4 ,the west side is reached through ,granby4 ,,iii ,entry to the park by any route is dramatic4 ,if the visitor comes the all-motor way through ,ward he picks up the range at ,arapaho ,peak1 and follows it closely for miles4 ,if he comes by any of the rail routes1 his motor stage emerges from the foothills upon a sudden spectacle of magnificence--the snowy range1 its highest summits crowned with cloud1 looming upon the horizon across the peaceful plateau4 ,by any route the appearance of the range begins a panorama of ever-changing beauty and inspiration1 whose progress will outlive many a summer's stay4 ,having settled himself in one of the hotels or camps of the east-side plateau1 the visitor faces the choice between two practical ways of enjoying himself4 ,he may1 as the majority seem to prefer1 spend his weeks in the simple recreations familiar in our eastern hill and country resorts2 he may motor a little1 walk a little1 fish a little in the ,big ,thompson and its tributaries1 read and botanize a little in the meadows and groves1 golf a little on the excellent courses1 climb a little on the lesser mountains1 and dance or play bridge in hotel parlors at night4 ,or else he may avail himself of the extraordinary opportunity which ,nature offers him in the mountains which spring from his comfortable plateau1 the opportunity of entering into ,nature's very workshop and of studying1 with her for his teacher1 the inner secrets and the mighty examples of creation4 ,in all our national parks ,i have wondered at the contentment of the multitude with the less when the greater1 and such a greater1 was there for the taking4 ,but ,i ceased to criticize the so-called popular point of view when ,i realized that its principal cause was ignorance of the wealth within grasp rather than deliberate choice of the more commonplace2 instead1 ,i write this book1 hoping that it may help the cause of the greater pleasure4 ,especially is the ,rocky ,mountain ,national ,park the land of opportunity because of its accessibility1 and of the ease with which its inmost sanctuaries may be entered1 examined1 and appreciated4 ,the story is disclosed at every step4 ,in fact the revelation begins in the foothills on the way in from the railroad1 for the red iron-stained cliffs seen upon their eastern edges are remainders of former ,rocky ,mountains which disappeared by erosion millions of years ago4 ,the foothills themselves are remnants of mountains which once were much loftier than now1 and the picturesque canyon of the ,big ,thompson1 through which it may have been your good fortune to enter the park1 is the stream-cut outlet of a lake or group of lakes which once covered much of the national park plateau4 ,summer life on the plateau is as effective as a tonic4 ,the altitude varies from seven to nine thousand feet2 ,rocky ,mountain's valley bottoms are higher than the summits of many peaks of celebrity elsewhere4 ,on every hand stretch miles of tumbled meadows and craggy cliffs4 ,many are the excellent roads1 upon which cluster1 at intervals of miles1 groups of hotels and camps4 ,here one may choose his own fashion of living1 for these hostelries range from the most formal and luxurious hotel to the simplest collection of tents or log cabins around a central log dining structure4 ,some of these camps are picturesque1 the growth of years from the original log hut4 ,some are equipped with modern comforts2 others are as primitive as their beginnings4 ,all the larger resorts have stables of riding horses1 for riding is the fashion even with those who do not venture into the mountains4 ,or1 one may camp out in the good old-fashioned way1 and fry his own morning bacon over his fire of sticks4 ,wherever one lives1 however one lives1 in this broad tableland1 he is under the spell of the range4 ,the call of the mountains is ever present4 ,riding1 walking1 motoring1 fishing1 golfing1 sitting under the trees with a book1 continually he lifts his eyes to their calm heights4 ,unconsciously he throws them the first morning glance4 ,instinctively he gazes long upon their gleaming moonlit summits before turning in at night4 ,in time they possess his spirit4 ,they calm him1 exalt him1 ennoble him4 ,unconsciously he comes to know them in all their myriad moods4 ,cold and stern before sunrise1 brilliant and vivid in mid-morning1 soft and restful toward evening1 gorgeously colored at sunset1 angry1 at times terrifying1 in storm1 their fascination never weakens1 their beauty changes but it does not lessen4 ,mountains of the height of these live in constant communion with the sky4 ,mummy ,mountain in the north and ,longs ,peak in the south continually gather handfuls of fleecy cloud4 ,a dozen times a day a mist appears in the blue1 as if entangled while passing the towering summit4 ,a few moments later it is a tiny cloud2 then1 while you watch1 it thickens and spreads and hides the peak4 ,ten minutes later1 perhaps1 it dissipates as rapidly as it gathered1 leaving the granite photographed against the blue4 ,or it may broaden and settle till it covers a vast acreage of sky and drops a brief shower in near-by valleys1 while meadows half a mile away are steeped in sunshine4 ,then1 in a twinkling1 all is clear again4 ,sometimes1 when the clearing comes1 the summit is white with snow4 ,and sometimes1 standing upon a high peak in a blaze of sunshine from a cleared sky1 one may look down for a few moments upon the top of one of these settled clouds1 knowing that it is sprinkling the hidden valley4 ,the charm of the mountains from below may satisfy many1 but sooner or later temptation is sure to beset4 ,the desire comes to see close up those monsters of mystery4 ,many1 including most women1 ignorant of rewards1 refuse to venture because they fear hardship4 ,i can never climb mountains in this rarefied air1 pleads one1 and in most cases this is true2 it is important that persons unused to the higher altitudes be temperate and discreet4 ,but the lungs and muscles of a well-trained mountain horse are always obtainable1 and the least practice will teach the unaccustomed rider that all he has to do is to sit his saddle limply and leave everything else to the horse4 ,it is my proud boast that ,i can climb any mountain1 no matter how high and difficult1 up which my horse can carry me4 ,and so1 at last and inevitably1 we ascend into the mountains4 ,,iv ,the mountains within the park fall naturally in two groupings4 ,the ,front ,range cuts the southern boundary midway and runs north to ,longs ,peak1 where it swings westerly and carries the continental divide out of the park at its northwestern corner4 ,the ,mummy ,range occupies the park's entire north end4 ,the two are joined by a ridge #aa1ejj feet in altitude1 over which the ,fall ,river ,road is building to connect the east and the west sides of the park4 ,the lesser of these two1 the ,mummy ,range1 is a mountain group of distinguished beauty4 ,its climax is an arc of gray monsters1 ,ypsilon ,mountain1 #ac1ejg feet1 ,mount ,fairchild1 #ac1ejb feet1 ,hagues ,peak1 #ac1efb feet1 and ,mount ,dunraven1 #ab1cbf feet2 these gather around ,mummy ,mountain with its #ac1dac feet4 ,a noble company1 indeed1 herded in close comradeship1 the centre of many square miles of summits scarcely less4 ,ypsilon's big ,greek letter1 outlined in perpetual snow1 is one of the famous landmarks of the northern end4 ,hagues ,peak supports ,hallett ,glacier1 the most interesting in the park4 ,dunraven1 aloof and of slenderer outline1 offers marked contrast to the enormous sprawling bulk of ,mummy1 always portentous1 often capped with clouds4 ,the range is split by many fine canyons and dotted with glacial lakes1 an undeveloped wilderness designed by kindly nature for summer exploration4 ,but it is the ,front ,range1 the snowy pinnacled rampart1 which commands profoundest attention4 ,from ,specimen ,mountain in the far northwest1 a spill of lava1 now the haunt of mountain sheep1 the continental divide southward piles climax upon climax4 ,following it at an elevation well exceeding twelve thousand feet1 the hardy1 venturesome climber looks westward down a slope of bald granite1 thickly strewn with boulders2 eastward he gazes into a succession of gigantic gorges dropping upon the east1 forest grown1 lake-set canyons deep in mid-foreground1 the great plateau spreading to its foothills far beyond the canyons1 with now and then a sun glint from some irrigation pond beyond the foothills on the misty plains of eastern ,colorado4 ,past the monolith of ,terra ,tomah ,peak1 with its fine glacial gorge of many lakes1 past the ,sprague ,glacier1 largest of the several shrunken fields of moving ice which still remain1 he finds1 from the summit of ,flattop ,mountain1 a broad spectacle of real sublimity4 ,but there is a greater viewpoint close at hand4 ,crossing the ,flattop ,trail which here ascends from the settlements below on its way to the west side1 and skirting the top of the ,tyndall ,glacier1 a scramble of four hundred feet lands him on the summit of ,hallett ,peak1 #ab1gbe feet in altitude4 ,here indeed is reward4 ,below him lies the sheer abyss of the ,tyndall ,gorge1 ,dream ,lake1 a drop of turquoise in its depths2 beyond it a moraine reaches out upon the plateau--six miles in length1 a mile and more in width1 nearly a thousand feet in height1 holding ,bierstadt ,lake upon its level forested crown1 an eloquent reminder of that ancient time when enormous glaciers ripped the granite from these gorges to heap it in long winding hills upon the plains below4 ,turning southerly1 the ,wild ,gardens further spread before his gaze1 a tumble of granite masses rising from lake-dotted1 richly forested bottoms4 ,the entrance to ,loch ,vale1 gem canyon of the ,rockies1 lies in the valley foreground4 ,adjoining it1 the entrance to ,glacier ,gorge1 showing one of its several lakes1 rests in peaceful contrast with its impressive eastern wall1 a long1 winding1 sharp-edged buttress pushing southward and upward to support the northern shoulder of the monster1 ,longs ,peak1 whose squared summit1 from here for all the world like a chef's cap1 outlines sharply against the sky4 ,hallett ,peak welcomes the climber to the ,heart of the ,rockies at perhaps their most gorgeous point4 ,south of ,hallett difficult going will disclose new viewpoints of supreme wildness4 ,otis ,peak1 nearly as high as ,hallett1 looks down upon the ,andrews ,glacier1 and displays the length of ,loch ,vale1 at whose head towers ,taylor ,peak1 a giant exceeding thirteen thousand feet4 ,i have not sketched this tour of the continental divide as a suggestion for travel1 for there are no trails1 and none but the mountaineer1 experienced in pioneering1 could accomplish it with pleasure and success1 but as a convenient mode of picturing the glories of the continental divide4 ,some day a trail1 even perhaps a road1 for one is practicable1 should make it fully accessible to the greater public4 ,meantime ,flattop ,trail invites valley dwellers of all degrees1 afoot and horseback1 up to a point on the divide from which ,hallett's summit and its stupendous view is no great conquest4 ,the gorges of the ,wild ,gardens are most enjoyed from below4 ,trails of no difficulty lead from the settlements to ,fern and ,odessa ,lakes in a canyon unsurpassed2 to ,bear ,lake at the outlet of the ,tyndall ,gorge2 to ,loch ,vale1 whose flower-carpeted terraces and cirque lakelets1 ,sky ,pond and the ,lake of ,glass1 are encircled with mighty canyon walls2 and to ,glacier ,gorge1 which leads to the foot of ,longs ,peak's western precipice4 ,these are spots1 each a day's round trip from convenient overnight hotels1 which deserve all the fame that will be theirs when the people come to know them1 for as yet only a few hundreds a summer of ,rocky ,mountain's hundred thousand take the trouble to visit them4 ,to better understand the charm of these gray monsters1 and the valleys and chasms between their knees1 we must pause a moment to picture what architects call the planting1 for trees and shrubs and flowers play as important a part in the informal architectural scheme of the ,front ,range as they do in the formality of a palace4 ,it will be recalled that the zones of vegetation from the equator to the frozen ice fields of the far north find their counterparts in altitude4 ,the foothills bordering the ,rocky ,mountain ,national ,park lie in the austral zone of our middle and eastern states2 its splendid east-side plateau and inter-mountain valleys represent the luxuriance of the ,canadian zone2 its mountains pass rapidly up in a few thousand feet through the ,hudsonian zone1 including timber-line at about #aa1ejj feet2 and its highest summits carry only the mosses1 lichens1 stunted grasses1 and tiny alpine flowerets of the ,arctic ,zone4 ,thus one may walk waist deep through the marvellous wild flower meadows of ,loch ,vale1 bordered by luxuriant forests of majestic ,engelmann spruce1 pines1 firs1 junipers1 and many deciduous shrubs1 and look upward at the gradations of all vegetation to the arctic seas4 ,especially interesting is the revelation when one takes it in order1 climbing into the range4 ,the ,fall ,river ,road displays it1 but not dramatically2 the forest approach is too long1 the climb into the ,hudsonian ,zone too short1 and not typical4 ,the same is true of the trail up beautiful ,forest ,canyon4 ,the reverse is true of the ,ute ,trail1 which brings one too quickly to the stupendous arctic summit of ,trail ,ridge4 ,the ,flattop ,trail is in many respects the most satisfying1 particularly if one takes the time to make the summit of ,hallett ,peak1 and hunts for arctic flowerets on the way4 ,but one may also accomplish the purpose in ,loch ,vale by climbing all the way to ,sky ,pond1 at the very foot of steep little ,taylor ,glacier1 or by ascending ,glacier ,gorge to its head1 or by climbing the ,twin ,sisters1 or ,longs ,peak as far as ,boulder ,field1 or up the ,st4 ,vrain valley to the top of ,meadow ,mountain1 or ,mount ,copeland4 ,all of these ascents are made by fair trails1 and all display the fascinating spectacle of timber-line1 which in ,rocky ,mountain ,national ,park1 ,i believe1 attains its most satisfying popular expression2 by which ,i mean that here the panorama of the everlasting struggle between the ambitious climbing forests and the winter gales of the summits seems to be condensed and summarized1 to borrow a figure from the textbooks1 as ,i have not happened to find it elsewhere4 ,following up some sheltered forested ravine to its head1 we swing out upon the wind-swept slopes leading straight to the summit4 ,snow patches increase in size and number as the conifers thin and shrink4 ,presently the trees bend eastward1 permanently mis-shaped by the icy winter blasts4 ,presently they curve in semi-circles1 or rise bravely in the lee of some great rock1 to bend at right angles from its top4 ,here and there are full-grown trees growing prostrate1 like a rug1 upon the ground4 ,close to the summit trees shrink to the size of shrubs1 but some of these have heavy trunks a few feet high1 and doubtless have attained their fulness of development4 ,gradually they thin and disappear1 giving place to wiry1 powerful1 deciduous shrubs1 and these in turn to growths still smaller4 ,there are forests of willows just above ,rocky ,mountain's timber-line1 two or three inches tall1 and many acres in extent4 ,from the ,front ,range1 well in the south of the park1 a spur of toothed granite peaks springs two miles eastward to the monarch of the park1 ,longs ,peak4 ,it is this position in advance of the range1 as much as the advantage of its #ad1bee feet of altitude1 which enables this famous mountain to become the climax of every east-side view4 ,longs ,peak has a remarkable personality4 ,it is an architectural creation1 a solid granite temple1 strongly buttressed upon four sides4 ,from every point of view it is profoundly different1 but always consistent and recognizable4 ,seen from the east1 it is supported on either side by mountains of majesty4 ,joined with it on the north1 ,mount ,lady ,washington rises #ac1bfi feet1 the cleft between their summits being the way of the trail to ,longs ,peak summit4 ,merging with it in mass upon the south1 ,mount ,meeker rises #ac1iaa feet4 ,once the three were one monster mountain4 ,frosts and rains carried off the crust strata1 bared the granite core1 and chipped it into three summits1 while a glacier of large size gouged out of its middle the abyss which divides the mountains1 and carved the precipice1 which drops twenty-four hundred feet from ,longs ,peak summit to ,chasm ,lake4 ,the ,chasm1 which is easily reached by trail from the hotels at the mountain's foot1 is one of the wildest places in ,america4 ,it may be explored in a day4 ,mountain climbing is becoming the fashion in ,rocky ,mountain ,national ,park among those who never climbed before1 and it will not be many years before its inmost recesses are penetrated by innumerable trampers and campers4 ,the stunt of the park is the ascent of ,longs ,peak4 ,this is no particular matter for the experienced1 for the trail is well worn1 and the ascent may be made on horseback to the boulder field1 less than two thousand feet from the summit2 but to the inexperienced it appears an undertaking of first magnitude4 ,from the boulder field the trail carries out upon a long sharp slant which drops into the precipice of ,glacier ,gorge1 and ascends the box-like summit cap by a shelf trail which sometimes has terrors for the unaccustomed4 ,several hundred persons make the ascent each summer without accident1 including many women and a few children4 ,the one risk is that accidental snow obscure the trail2 but ,longs ,peak is not often ascended without a guide4 ,the view from the summit of the entire national park1 of the splendid range south which should be in the park but is not1 of the foothills and pond-spotted plains in the east1 of ,denver and her mountain background1 and of the ,medicine ,bow and other ranges west of the park1 is one of the country's great spectacles4 ,longs ,peak is sometimes climbed at night for the sunrise4 ,the six miles of range between ,longs ,peak and the southern boundary of the park show five towering snow-spotted mountains of noble beauty1 ,mount ,alice1 ,tanima ,peak1 ,mahana ,peak1 ,ouzel ,peak1 and ,mount ,copeland4 ,tributary to the ,wild ,basin1 which corresponds1 south of ,longs ,peak1 to the ,wild ,gardens north of it1 are gorges of loveliness the waters of whose exquisite lakes swell ,st4 ,vrain ,creek4 ,the ,wild ,basin is one of ,rocky ,mountain's lands of the future4 ,the entire west side is another1 for1 except for the lively settlement at ,grand ,lake1 its peaks and canyons1 meadows1 lakes1 and valleys are seldom visited4 ,it is natural that the east side1 with its broader plateaus and showier range1 should have the first development1 but no accessible country of the splendid beauty of the west side can long remain neglected4 ,its unique feature is the broad and beautiful valley of the ,north ,fork of the ,grand ,river1 here starting for its great adventure in the ,grand ,canyon of the ,colorado4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,wiswall ,brothers ,,summit ,,of ,,longs ,,peak1 ,,rocky ,,mountain ,,national ,,park ,twenty-four hundred feet from water to peak1 a mighty chasm carved by an ancient glacier ,v ,the ,rockies are a masterpiece of erosion4 ,when forces below the surface began to push them high in air1 their granite cores were covered thousands of feet deep with the sediments of the great sea of whose bottom once they were a part4 ,the higher they rose the more insistently frosts and rains concentrated upon their uplifting summits2 in time all sedimentary rocks were washed away1 and the granite beneath exposed4 ,then the frosts and rains1 and later the glaciers1 attacked the granite1 and carved it into the jagged forms of to-day4 ,the glaciers moulded the gorges which the streams had cut4 ,the glaciers have passed1 but still the work goes on4 ,slowly the mountains rise1 and slowly1 but not so slowly1 the frosts chisel and the rains carry away4 ,if conditions remain as now1 history will again repeat itself1 and the gorgeous peaks of to-day will decline1 a million years or more from now1 into the low rounded summits of our eastern ,appalachians1 and later into the flat1 soil-hidden granites of ,canada4 ,these processes may be seen in practical example4 ,ascend the precipitous east side by the ,flattop ,trail1 for instance1 and notice particularly the broad1 rolling level of the continental divide4 ,for many miles it is nothing but a lofty1 bare1 undulating plain1 interspersed with summits1 but easy to travel except for its accumulation of immense loose boulders4 ,this plain slopes gently toward the west1 and presently breaks1 as on the east1 into cliffs and canyons4 ,it is a stage in the reduction by erosion of mountains which1 except for erosion1 might have risen many thousands of feet higher4 ,geologists call it a peneplain1 which means nearly-a-plain2 it is from fragmentary remains of peneplains that they trace ranges long ages washed away4 ,history may1 in some dim future age1 repeat still another wonder1 for upon the flattened wreck of the ,front ,range may rise1 by some earth movement1 a new and even nobler range4 ,but what about the precipitous eastern front8 ,that masterpiece was begun by water1 accomplished by ice1 and finished by water4 ,in the beginning1 streams determined the direction of the valleys and carved these valleys deep4 ,then came1 in very recent times1 as geologists measure earth's history1 the ,great ,ice ,age4 ,as a result of falling temperature1 the mountains became covered1 except their higher summits and the continental divide1 with glaciers4 ,these came in at least two invasions1 and remained many hundreds of thousands of years4 ,when changing climate melted them away1 the ,rocky ,mountain ,national ,park remained not greatly different from what it is to-day4 ,frosts and rains have softened and beautified it since4 ,these glaciers1 first forming in the beds of streams by the accumulations of snow which presently turned to ice and moved slowly down the valleys1 began at once to pluck out blocks of granite from their starting-points1 and settle themselves in cirques4 ,they plucked downward and backward1 undermining their cirque walls until falling granite left precipices2 armed with imprisoned rocks1 they gouged and scraped their beds1 and these processes1 constantly repeated for thousands of centuries1 produced the mountain forms1 the giant gorges1 the enormous precipices1 and the rounded granite valleys of the stupendous east elevation of the ,front ,range4 ,there is a good illustration in ,iceberg ,lake1 near the base of ,trail ,ridge on the ,ute ,trail4 ,this precipitous well1 which every visitor to ,rocky ,mountain should see1 originally was an ice-filled hollow in the high surface of the ridge4 ,when the ,fall ,river ,glacier moved eastward1 the ice in the hollow slipped down to join it1 and by that very motion became itself a glacier4 ,downward and backward plucking in the cirque which it presently made1 and the falling of the undermined walls1 produced in1 say1 a few hundred thousand years this striking well1 upon whose lake's surface visitors of to-day will find cakes of floating ice1 broken from the sloping snow-field which is the old glacier's remainder and representative of to-day4 ,the glaciers which shaped ,rocky ,mountain's big canyons had enormous size and thickness4 ,ice streams from scores of glacial cirques joined fan-like to form the ,wild ,basin ,glacier1 which swept out through the narrow valley of ,st4 ,vrain4 ,four glaciers headed at ,longs ,peak1 one west of ,mount ,meeker1 which gave into the ,wild ,basin2 one west of ,longs ,peak1 which joined the combination of glaciers that hollowed ,loch ,vale2 one upon the north1 which moulded ,glacier ,gorge2 and the small but powerful glacier which hollowed the great ,chasm on the east front of ,longs ,peak4 ,the ,loch ,vale and ,glacier ,gorge glaciers joined with giant ice streams as far north as ,tyndall ,gorge to form the ,bartholf ,glacier2 and north of that the mighty ,thompson ,glacier drained the divide to the head of ,forest ,canyon1 while the ,fall ,river ,glacier drained the ,mummy ,range south of ,hagues ,peak4 ,these undoubtedly were the main glacial streams of those ancient days1 the agencies responsible for the gorgeous spectacle we now enjoy4 ,the greater glaciers reached a thickness of two thousand feet2 they have left records scratched high upon the granite walls4 ,as the glaciers moved down their valleys they carried1 imprisoned in their bodies and heaped upon their backs and sides1 the plunder from their wreckage of the range4 ,this they heaped as large moraines in the broad valleys4 ,the moraines of the ,rocky ,mountain ,national ,park are unequalled1 in my observation1 for number1 size1 and story-telling ability4 ,they are conspicuous features of the great plateau upon the east1 and of the broad valley of the ,grand ,river west of the park4 ,even the casual visitor of a day is stirred to curiosity by the straight1 high wall of the great moraine for which ,moraine ,park is named1 and by the high curved hill which springs from the northeastern shoulder of ,longs ,peak1 and encircles the eastern foot of ,mount ,meeker4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,willis ,t4 ,lee ,,the ,,andrews ,,glacier ,,hangs ,,from ,,the ,,continental ,,divide ,a glacier in the ,rocky ,mountain ,national ,park which can be studied by visitors ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,h4,t4 ,cowling ,a ,,rocky ,,mountain ,,cirque ,,carved ,,from ,,solid ,,granite ,iceberg ,lake was cut eighteen hundred feet deep by an ancient glacier ,these and other moraines are fascinating features of any visit to ,rocky ,mountain ,national ,park4 ,the motor roads disclose them1 the trails travel them4 ,in combination with the gulfs1 the shelved canyons and the scarred and serrated peaks and walls1 these moraines offer the visitor a thrilling mystery story of the past1 the unravelling of whose threads and the reconstruction of whose plot and climax will add zest and interest to a summer's outing1 and bring him1 incidentally1 in close communion with nature in a thousand happy moods4 ,,vi ,the limitations of a chapter permit no mention of the gigantic prehistoric monsters of land1 sea1 and air which once haunted the site of this noble park1 nor description of its more intimate beauties1 nor detail of its mountaineering joys2 for all of which and much other invaluable information ,i refer those interested to publications of the ,national ,park ,service1 ,department of the ,interior1 by ,doctor ,willis ,t4 ,lee and ,major ,roger ,w4 ,toll4 ,but something must be told of its early history4 ,in #ahai the exploring expedition which ,president ,madison sent west under ,colonel ,s4,h4 ,long1 while camping at the mouth of ,la ,poudre ,river1 was greatly impressed by the magnificence of a lofty1 square-topped mountain4 ,they approached it no nearer1 but named it ,longs ,peak1 in honor of their leader4 ,parkman records seeing it in #ahde4 ,the pioneers1 of course1 knew the country4 ,deer1 elk1 and sheep were probably hunted there in the forties and fifties4 ,joel ,estes1 the first settler1 built a cabin in the foothills in #ahfj1 hence the title of ,estes ,park4 ,james ,nugent1 afterward widely celebrated as ,rocky ,mountain ,jim1 arrived in #ahfh4 ,others followed slowly4 ,william ,n4 ,byers1 founder of the ,rocky ,mountain ,news1 made the first attempt to climb ,longs ,peak in #ahfd4 ,he did not succeed then1 but four years later1 with a party which included ,major ,j4,w4 ,powell1 who made the first exploration of the ,grand ,canyon the following year1 he made the summit4 ,in #ahga the ,reverend ,e4,j4 ,lamb1 the first regular guide on ,longs ,peak1 made the first descent by the east precipice1 a dangerous feat4 ,the ,earl of ,dunraven visited ,estes ,park in #ahga1 attracted by the big game hunting1 and bought land4 ,he projected an immense preserve1 and induced men to file claims which he planned to acquire after they had secured possession2 but the claims were disallowed4 ,albert ,bierstadt visited ,dunraven in #ahgd1 and painted canvases which are famous in ,american art4 ,it was ,dunraven1 also1 who built the first hotel4 ,tourists began to arrive in #ahfe4 ,in #ahgd the first stage line was established1 coming in from ,longmont4 ,telephone connection was made in #aijf4 ,under the name of ,estes ,park1 the region prospered4 ,fifty thousand people were estimated to have visited it in #aiad4 ,it was not1 however1 till the national park was created1 in #aiae1 that the mountains assumed considerable importance except as an agreeable and inspiring background to the broad plateau4 ,v ,mc,k,i,n,l,e,y1 ,,giant ,,of ,,giants ,,mount ,,mckinley ,,national ,,park1 ,,alaska4 ,,area1 ,,about #b1bjj ,,square ,,miles ,the monster mountain of this continent1 the majestic1 snow-crowned ,american monarch1 as ,general ,greeley called it1 was made a national park in #aiag4 ,mount ,mc,kinley rises #bj1cjj feet above tide-water1 and #ag1jjj feet above the eyes of the beholder standing on the plateau at its base4 ,scenically1 it is the highest mountain in the world1 for those summits of the ,andes and ,himalayas which are loftier as measured from sea level1 can be viewed closely only from valleys whose altitudes range from #aj1jjj to #ae1jjj feet4 ,its enormous bulk is shrouded in perpetual snow two-thirds down from its summit1 and the foothills and broad plains upon its north and west are populated with mountain sheep and caribou in unprecedented numbers4 ,to appreciate ,mount ,mc,kinley's place among national parks1 one must know what it means in the anatomy of the continent4 ,the western margin of ,north ,america is bordered by a broad mountainous belt known as the ,pacific ,system1 which extends from ,mexico northwesterly into and through ,alaska1 to the very end of the ,aleutian ,islands1 and includes such celebrated ranges as the ,sierra ,nevada1 the ,cascade1 and the ,st4 ,elias4 ,in ,alaska1 at the head of ,cook ,inlet1 it swings a sharp curve to the southwest and becomes ,alaska's mountain axis4 ,this sharp curve1 for all the world like a monstrous granite hinge connecting the northwesterly and southwesterly limbs of the ,system1 is the gigantic ,alaska ,range1 which is higher and broader than the ,sierra ,nevada1 and of greater relief and extent than the ,alps4 ,near the centre of this range1 its climax in position1 height1 bulk1 and majesty1 stands ,mount ,mc,kinley4 ,its glistening peak can be seen on clear days in most directions for two hundred miles4 ,for many years ,mount ,st4 ,elias1 with its eighteen thousand feet of altitude1 was considered ,north ,america's loftiest summit4 ,that was because it stands in that part of ,alaska which was first developed4 ,the ,klondike region1 far northward1 was well on the way to development before ,mc,kinley became officially recognized as the mountain climax of the continent4 ,but that does not mean that it remained unknown4 ,the natives of the ,cook ,inlet country on the east knew it as ,doleika1 and tell you that it is the rock which a god threw at his eloping wife4 ,they say it was once a volcano1 which is not the fact4 ,the ,aleutes on the south called it ,traleika1 the big mountain4 ,the natives of the ,kuskokwim country on the west knew it as ,denalai1 the god1 father of the great range4 ,the ,russians who established the first permanent white settlement in ,alaska on ,kodiak ,island knew it as ,bulshia ,gora1 the great mountain4 ,captain ,cook1 who in #aggh explored the inlet which since has borne his name1 does not mention it1 but ,vancouver in #agid unquestionably meant it in his reference to distant stupendous mountains4 ,after the ,united ,states acquired ,alaska1 in #ahfg1 there is little mention of it for some years4 ,but ,frank ,densmore1 an explorer of #ahhi1 entered the ,kuskokwim region1 and took such glowing accounts of its magnificence back to the ,yukon that for years it was known through the settlements as ,densmore's ,mountain4 ,in #ahhe ,lieutenant ,henry ,c4 ,allen1 ,u4,s4,a41 made a sketch of the range from his skin boat on the ,tanana ,river1 a hundred and fifty miles away1 which is the earliest known picture of ,mc,kinley4 ,meantime the neighborhood was invaded by prospectors from both sides4 ,the ,cook ,inlet gold fields were exploited in #ahid4 ,two years later ,w4,a4 ,dickey and his partner1 ,monks1 two young ,princeton graduates1 exploring north from their workings1 recognized the mountain's commanding proportions and named it ,mount ,mc,kinley1 by which it rapidly became known1 and was entered on the early maps4 ,with crude instruments improvised on the spot1 ,dickey estimated the mountain's height as twenty thousand feet--a real achievement4 ,when ,belmore ,browne1 who climbed the great peak in #aiab1 asked ,dickey why he chose the name1 ,dickey told him that he was so disgusted with the free-silver arguments of men travelling with him that he named the mountain after the most ardent gold-standard man he knew4 ,the ,war ,department sent several parties to the region during the next few years to explore1 and the ,united ,states ,geological ,survey1 beginning in #ahih with the ,eldridge-,muldrow party1 has had topographical and geological parties in the region almost continuously since4 ,in #aiae the ,government began the railroad from ,seward to ,fairbanks4 ,its course lies from ,cook ,inlet up the ,susitna ,river to the headwaters of the ,nenana ,river1 where it crosses the range4 ,this will make access to the region easy and comfortable4 ,it was to safeguard the enormous game herds from the hordes of hunters which the railroad was expected to bring rather than to conserve an alpine region scenically unequalled that ,congress set aside twenty-two hundred square miles under the name of the ,mount ,mc,kinley ,national ,park4 ,from the white sides of ,mc,kinley and his giant neighbors descend glaciers of enormous bulk and great length4 ,their waters drain on the east and south1 through the ,susitna ,river and its tributaries1 into the ,pacific2 and on the north and west1 through tributaries of the ,yukon and ,kuskokwim1 into ,bering ,sea4 ,the south side of ,mc,kinley is forbidding in the extreme1 but its north and west fronts pass abruptly into a plateau of gravels1 sands1 and silts twenty-five hundred to three thousand feet in altitude1 whose gentle valleys lead the traveller up to the very sides of the granite monster1 and whose mosses and grasses pasture the caribou4 ,the national park boundaries enclose immense areas of this plateau4 ,the contours of its rounded rolling elevations mark the courses of innumerable streams1 and occasionally abut upon great sweeping glaciers4 ,low as it is1 the plateau is generally above timber-line4 ,the day will come when roads will wind through its valleys1 and hotels and camps will nestle in its sheltered hollows2 while the great herds of caribou1 more than one of which has been estimated at fifteen hundred animals1 will pasture like sheep within close range of the camera4 ,for the wild animals of ,mc,kinley ,national ,park1 having never been hunted1 were fearless of the explorers1 and now will never learn to fear man4 ,the same is true in lesser measure of the more timid mountain sheep which frequent the foothills in numbers not known elsewhere4 ,charles ,sheldon counted more than five hundred in one ordinary day's foot journey through the valleys4 ,the magic of summer life on this sunlit plateau1 with its limitless distances1 its rushing streams1 its enormous crawling glaciers1 its waving grasses1 its sweeping gentle valleys1 its myriad friendly animals1 and1 back of all and commanding all1 its never-forgotten and ever-controlling presence1 the shining ,range and ,master ,mountain1 powerfully grip imagination and memory4 ,one never can look long away from the mountain1 whose delicate rose tint differentiates it from other great mountains4 ,here is ever present an intimate sense of the infinite1 which is reminiscent of that pang which sometimes one may get by gazing long into the starry zenith4 ,from many points of view ,mc,kinley looks its giant size4 ,as the climber ascends the basal ridges there are places where its height and bulk appall4 ,along the northern edge of the park lies the ,kantishna mining district4 ,in #aijf there was a wild stampede to this region4 ,diamond ,city1 ,bearpaw ,city1 ,glacier ,city1 ,mc,kinley ,city1 ,roosevelt1 and other rude mining settlements came into rapid existence4 ,results did not adequately reward the thousands who flocked to the new field1 and the cities were abandoned4 ,a hundred or two miners remain1 scattered thinly over a large area1 which is forested here and there with scrubby growths1 and1 in localities1 is remarkably productive of cultivated fruits and vegetables4 ,few know and few will know ,mount ,mc,kinley4 ,it is too monstrous for any but the hardiest to discover its ice-protected secrets4 ,the ,south ,peak1 which is the summit1 has been climbed twice1 once by the ,parker-,browne party in #aiab1 after two previous unsuccessful expeditions1 and once1 the year following1 by the party of ,archdeacon ,hudson ,stuck1 who gratified an ambition which had arisen out of his many years of strenuous missionary work among the ,alaskan ,indians4 ,from the records of these two parties we gather nearly all that is known of the mountain4 ,the ,north ,peak1 which is several hundred feet lower1 was climbed by ,anderson and ,taylor of the ,tom ,lloyd party1 in #aiac4 ,from each of these peaks an enormous buttressing ridge sweeps northward until it merges into the foothills and the great plain4 ,these ridges are roughly parallel1 and carry between them the ,denali ,glacier1 to adopt ,belmore ,browne's suggested name1 and its forks and tributaries4 ,up this glacier is the difficult passage to the summit4 ,tremendous as it is1 the greatest perhaps of the north side1 the ,denali ,glacier by no means compares with the giants which flow from the southern front4 ,in #aijc ,judge ,james ,wickersham1 afterward ,delegate to ,congress from ,alaska1 made the first attempt to climb ,mc,kinley2 it failed through his underestimation of the extensive equipment necessary4 ,in #aijf ,doctor ,frederick ,a4 ,cook1 who meantime also had made an unsuccessful attempt from the north side1 led an expedition from the south which included ,professor ,herschel ,parker of ,columbia ,university1 and ,mr4 ,belmore ,browne1 artist1 explorer1 and big game hunter4 ,ascending the ,yentna ,river1 it reached a point upon the ,tokositna ,glacier beyond which progress was impossible1 and returned to ,cook ,inlet and disbanded4 ,parker returned to ,new ,york1 and ,cook proposed that ,browne should lay in a needed supply of game while he1 with a packer named ,barrill1 should make what he described as a rapid reconnaissance preparatory to a further attempt upon the summit the following year4 ,browne wanted to accompany him1 but was overpersuaded4 ,cook and ,barrill then ascended the ,susitna1 struck into the country due south of ,mc,kinley1 and returned to ,tyonik with the announcement that they had reached the summit4 ,cook exhibited a photograph of ,barrill standing upon a crag1 which he said was the summit4 ,a long and painful controversy followed upon ,cook's return east with this claim4 ,in all probability the object of the ,parker-,browne expedition of #aiaj was as much to follow ,cook's course and check his claim as to reach the summit4 ,the first object was attained1 and ,herman ,l4 ,tucker1 a national forester1 was photographed standing on the identical crag upon which ,cook had photographed ,barrill four years before4 ,this crag was found miles south of ,mc,kinley1 with other peaks higher than its own intervening4 ,from here the party advanced up a glacier of enormous size to the very foot of the upper reaches of the mountain's south side1 but was stopped by gigantic snow walls1 which defeated every attempt to cross4 ,at the slightest touch of the sun1 writes ,browne1 the great cliffs literally smoke with avalanches4 ,the ,parker-,browne expedition undertaken in #aiab for purposes of exploration1 also approached from the south1 but1 following the ,susitna ,river farther up1 crossed the ,alaska ,range with dog trains to the north side at a hitherto unexplored point4 ,just before crossing the divide it entered what five years later became the ,mount ,mc,kinley ,national ,park1 and1 against an ,april blizzard1 descended into a land of many gorgeous glaciers4 ,we were now1 writes ,belmore ,browne1 in a wilderness paradise4 ,the mountains had a wild1 picturesque look1 due to their bare rock summits1 and big game was abundant4 ,we were wild with enthusiasm over the beauty of it all1 and every few minutes as we jogged along some one would gaze fondly at the surrounding mountains and ejaculate3 ',this is sure a white man's country4' ,of these happy hunting grounds1 as ,browne chapters the park country in his book1 ,stephen ,r4 ,capps of the ,united ,states ,geological ,survey says in his report3 ,probably no part of ,america is so well supplied with wild game1 unprotected by reserves1 as the area on the north slope of the ,alaska ,range1 west of the ,nanana ,river4 ,this region has been so little visited by white men that the game herds have1 until recent years1 been little molested by hunters4 ,the white mountain sheep are particularly abundant in the main ,alaska ,range1 and in the more rugged foothills4 ,caribou are plentiful throughout the entire area1 and were seen in bands numbering many hundred individuals4 ,moose are numerous in the lowlands1 and range over all the area in which timber occurs4 ,black bears may be seen in or near timbered lands1 and grizzly bears range from the rugged mountains to the lowlands4 ,rabbits and ptarmigan are at times remarkably numerous4 ,parker and ,browne camped along the ,muldrow ,glacier1 now a magnificent central feature of the park4 ,then they made for ,mc,kinley summit4 ,striking the ,denali ,glacier1 they ascended it with a dog train to an altitude of eleven thousand feet1 where they made a base camp and went on afoot1 packing provisions and camp outfit on their backs4 ,at one place they ascended an incoming glacier over ice cascades1 four thousand feet high4 ,from their last camp they cut steps in the ice for more than three thousand feet of final ascent1 and attained the top on ,july #a in the face of a blizzard4 ,on the northeastern end of the level summit1 and only five minutes' walk from the little hillock which forms the supreme summit1 the blizzard completely blinded them4 ,it was impossible to go on1 and to wait meant rapid death by freezing2 with extreme difficulty they returned to their camp4 ,two days later they made a second attempt1 but were again enveloped in an ice storm that rendered progress impossible4 ,exhaustion of supplies forbade another try1 and saved their lives1 for a few days later a violent earthquake shook ,mc,kinley to its summit4 ,later on ,mr4 ,browne identified this earthquake as concurrent with the terrific explosive eruption which blew off the top of ,mount ,katmai1 on the south coast of ,alaska4 ,the following spring the ,stuck-,karstens party made the summit upon that rarest of occasions with ,mount ,mc,kinley1 a perfect day4 ,archdeacon ,stuck describes the actual summit as a little crater-like snow basin1 sixty or sixty-five feet long1 and twenty to twenty-five feet wide1 with a hay-cock of snow at either end--the south one a little higher than the north4 ,ignoring official and recognized nomenclature1 and calling ,mc,kinley and ,foraker by their ,kuskokwim ,indian names1 he writes of ,mount ,foraker3 ,denali's ,wife does not appear at all save from the actual summit of ,denali1 for she is completely hidden by his ,south ,peak1 until the moment when his ,south ,peak is surmounted4 ,and never was nobler sight displayed to man than that great isolated mountain spread out completely1 with all its spurs and ridges1 its cliffs and its glaciers1 lofty and mighty1 and yet far beneath us4 ,above us1 he writes a few pages later1 the sky took on a blue so deep that none of us had ever gazed upon a midday sky like it before4 ,it was deep1 rich1 lustrous1 transparent blue1 as dark as ,prussian blue1 but intensely blue2 a hue so strange1 so increasingly impressive1 that to one at least it 'seemed like special news of ,god1' as a new poet sings4 ,we first noticed the darkening tint of the upper sky in the ,grand ,basin1 and it deepened as we rose4 ,tyndall observed and discussed this phenomenon in the ,alps1 but it seems scarcely to have been mentioned since4 ,a couple of months before the ,parker-,browne party started for the top1 there was an ascent of the lower ,north ,peak which1 for sheer daring and endurance must rank high in the history of adventure4 ,four prospectors and miners from the ,kantishna region organized by ,tom ,lloyd1 took advantage of the hard ice of ,may1 and an idle dog team1 to make for the summit4 ,their motive seems to have been little more than to plant a pole where it could be seen by telescope1 as they thought1 from ,fairbanks2 that was why they chose the ,north ,peak4 ,they used no ropes1 alpenstocks1 or scientific equipment of any sort1 and carried only one camera1 the chance possession of ,mc,gonagall4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,g4,b4 ,gordon ,,mount ,mc,k,i,n,l,e,y1 ,,looming ,,above ,,the ,,great ,,alaskan ,,range ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,la,voy ,,archdeacon ,,stuck',s ,,party ,,half-,,way ,,up ,,the ,,mountain ,illustration3 ,,the ,,summit ,,of ,,mount ,mc,k,i,n,l,e,y ,they made their last camp at an altitude of eleven thousand feet4 ,here ,lloyd remained1 while ,anderson1 ,taylor1 and ,mc,gonagall attempted the summit in one day's supreme effort4 ,near the top ,mc,gonagall was overcome by mountain sickness4 ,anderson and ,taylor went on and planted their pole near the ,north summit1 where the ,stuck-,karstens party saw it a year later in their ascent of the ,south ,peak4 ,so extraordinary a feat of strength and endurance will hardly be accomplished again unless1 perhaps1 by hardy miners of the arctic wilderness4 ,the ,north ,pole's nothing to fellows like us1 one of them said later on2 once strike gold there1 and we'll build a town on it in a month4 ,the published records of the ,parker-,browne and ,stuck-,karstens expeditions emphasize the laborious nature of the climbing4 ,the very isolation which gives ,mc,kinley its spectacular elevation multiplies the difficulties of ascent by lowering the snow line thousands of feet below the snow line of the ,himalayas and ,andes with their loftier surrounding valleys4 ,travel on the glaciers was trying in the extreme1 for much of the way had to be sounded for hidden crevasses1 and1 after the selection of each new camping place1 the extensive outfit must be returned for and sledded or carried up4 ,frequent barriers1 often of great height1 had to be surmounted by tortuous and exhausting detours over icy cliffs and soft snow4 ,and always special care must be taken against avalanches2 the roar of avalanches for much of the latter journey was almost continuous4 ,toward the end1 the thermometer was rarely above zero1 and at night far below2 but the heat and glare of the sun was stifling and blinding during much of the day2 often they perspired profusely under their crushing burdens1 with the thermometer nearly at zero4 ,snow fell daily1 and often several times a day4 ,it is probable that no other of the world's mountain giants presents climbing conditions so strenuous4 ,farming is successfully carried on in the ,himalayas far above ,mc,kinley's level of perpetual snow1 and ,tucker reports having climbed a twenty-thousand-foot peak in the ,andes with less exertion than it cost the ,parker-,browne party1 of which he had been a member1 to mount the first forty-five hundred feet of ,mc,kinley4 ,while ,mc,kinley will be climbed again and again in the future1 the feat will scarcely be one of the popular amusements of the national park4 ,yet ,mount ,mc,kinley is the northern landmark of an immense unexplored mountain region south of the national park1 which very far surpasses the ,alps in every feature that has made the ,alps world-famous4 ,of this region ,a4,h4 ,brooks1 ,chief of the ,alaska ,division of the ,united ,states ,geological ,survey1 writes3 ,here lies a rugged highland area far greater in extent than all of ,switzerland1 a virgin field for explorers and mountaineers4 ,he who would master unattained summits1 explore unknown rivers1 or traverse untrodden glaciers in a region whose scenic beauties are hardly equalled1 has not to seek them in ,south ,america or ,central ,asia1 for generations will pass before the possibilities of the ,alaskan ,range are exhausted4 ,but this is not ,switzerland1 with its hotels1 railways1 trained guides1 and well-worn paths4 ,it will appeal only to him who prefers to strike out for himself1 who can break his own trail through trackless wilds1 can throw the diamond hitch1 and will take the chances of life and limb so dear to the heart of the true explorer4 ,the hotels will come in time to the ,mount ,mc,kinley ,national ,park1 and perhaps they will come also to the ,alaskan ,alps4 ,perhaps it is not straining the credulity of an age like ours to suggest that ,mc,kinley's commanding summit may be attained some day by aeroplane1 with many of the joys and none of the distressing hardships endured by the weary climber4 ,when this time comes1 if it does come1 there will be added merely another extraordinary experience to the very many unique and pleasurable experiences of a visit to the ,mount ,mc,kinley ,national ,park4 ,,vi ,,lafayette ,,and ,,the ,,east ,,lafayette ,,national ,,park1 ,,maine4 ,,area1 #aj1jjj ,,acres ,it has been the policy of ,congress to create national parks only from public lands1 the title to which costs nothing to acquire4 ,it may be many years before the nation awakes to the fact that areas distinguished for supreme scenery1 historical association1 or extraordinary scientific significance are worth conserving even if conservation involves their purchase4 ,the answer to the oft-asked question why the national parks are all in the west is that the east passed into private possession before the national park idea assumed importance in the national consciousness4 ,the existence of the two national parks east of the ,rocky ,mountains merely emphasizes the fact4 ,the ,hot ,springs of ,arkansas were set apart in #ahcb while the ,ozark ,mountains were still a wilderness4 ,the ,lafayette ,national ,park1 in ,maine1 is made up of many small parcels of privately owned land which a group of public-spirited citizens1 because of the impossibility of securing national appropriations1 patiently acquired during a series of laborious years1 and presented1 in #aiaf1 to the people of the ,united ,states4 ,while refusing to purchase land for national parks1 ,congress nevertheless is buying large areas of eastern mountain land for national forest1 the purpose being not only to conserve water sources1 which national parks would accomplish quite as thoroughly1 but particularly to control lumbering operations in accord with principles which will insure the lumber supply of the future4 ,here and there in this reserve are limited areas of distinguished national park quality1 but whether they will be set aside as national parks is a question for the people and the future to decide4 ,certainly the mountain topography and the rich deciduous forests of the eastern ,united ,states should be represented in the national parks system by several fine examples4 ,the ,lafayette ,national ,park differs from all other members of the national parks system in several important respects4 ,it is in the far east2 it combines seashore and mountain2 it is clothed with a rich and varied growth of deciduous trees and eastern conifers2 it is intimately associated with the very early history of ,america4 ,besides which1 it is a region of noble beauty1 subtle charm and fascinating variety4 ,the ,appalachian ,mountain uplift1 which1 roughly speaking1 embraces all the ranges constituting the eastern rib of the continent1 may be considered to include also the very ancient peneplains of ,new ,england4 ,these tumbled hills and shallow valleys1 accented here and there by ranges and monadnocks1 by which the geologist means solitary peaks1 are all that the frosts and rains of very many millions of years and the glaciers of more recent geologic times have left of what once must have been a towering mountain region crested in snow4 ,the wrinkling of the earth's surface which produced this range occurred during the ,devonian period when fishes were the predominant inhabitants of the earth1 many millions of years before birds or even reptiles appeared4 ,its rise was accompanied by volcanic disturbances1 whose evidences are abundant on islands between the mouth of the ,penobscot and ,mount ,desert ,island1 though not within the park4 ,the mind cannot conceive the lapse of time which has reduced this range1 at an erosional speed no greater than to-day's1 to its present level4 ,during this process the coast line was also slowly sinking1 changing valleys into estuaries and land-encircled bays4 ,the coast of ,maine is an eloquent chapter in the continent's ancient history1 and the ,lafayette ,national ,park is one of the most dramatic paragraphs in the chapter4 ,where the ,penobscot ,river reaches the sea1 and for forty miles east1 the sinking continental shore has deeply indented the coast line with a network of broad1 twisting bays1 enclosing many islands4 ,the largest and finest of these is ,mount ,desert ,island1 for many years celebrated for its romantic beauty4 ,upon its northeast shore1 facing ,frenchman's ,bay1 is the resort town of ,bar ,harbor2 other resorts dot its shores on every side4 ,the island has a large summer population drawn from all parts of the country4 ,besides its hotels1 there are many fine summer homes4 ,illustration3 ,,in ,,lafayette ,,national ,,park ,echo ,lake in the foreground1 ,sommes ,harbor beyond ,acadia ,illustration3 ,,sea ,,caves ,,in ,,the ,,granite ,thus does the ocean everlastingly undermine the foundations of the mountains4 ,photograph taken at low tide2 ,lafayette ,national ,park ,the feature which especially distinguishes ,mount ,desert ,island from other islands1 in fact from the entire ,atlantic coast1 is a group of granitic mountains which rise abruptly from the sea4 ,they were once towering monsters1 perhaps only one1 unquestionably the loftiest for many miles around4 ,they are the sole remainders upon the present coast line of a great former range4 ,they are composed almost wholly of granite1 worn down by the ages1 but massive enough still to resist the agencies which wiped away their comrades4 ,they rise a thousand feet or more1 grim1 rounded1 cleft with winding valleys and deep passes1 divided in places by estuaries of the sea1 holding in their hollows many charming lakes4 ,their abrupt flanks gnawed by the beating sea1 their valleys grown with splendid forests and brightened by wild flowers1 their slopes and domes sprinkled with conifers which struggle for foothold in the cracks which the elements are widening and deepening in their granite surface1 for years they have been the resort of thousands of climbers1 students of nature and seekers of the beautiful2 the views of sea1 estuary1 island1 plain1 lake1 and mountain from the heights have no counterpart elsewhere4 ,all this mountain wilderness1 free as it was to the public1 was in private ownership4 ,some of it was held by persons who had not seen it for years4 ,some of it was locked up in estates4 ,the time came when owners began to plan fine summer homes high on the mountain slopes4 ,a few1 however1 believed that the region should belong to the whole people1 and out of this belief grew the movement1 led by ,george ,b4 ,dorr and ,charles ,w4 ,eliot1 to acquire title and present it to the nation which would not buy it4 ,they organized a holding association1 to which they gave their own properties2 for years afterward ,mr4 ,dorr devoted most of his time to persuading others to contribute their holdings1 and to raising subscriptions for the purchase of plots which were tied up in estates4 ,in #aiaf the association presented five thousand acres to the ,government1 and ,president ,wilson created it by proclamation the ,sieur de ,monts ,national ,monument4 ,the gift has been greatly increased since4 ,in #aiah ,congress made appropriations for its upkeep and development4 ,in ,february1 #aiai1 ,congress changed its name and status2 it then became the ,lafayette ,national ,park4 ,the impulse to name the new national park after the ,french general who came to our aid in time of need arose1 of course1 out of the war-time warmth of feeling for our ally1 ,france4 ,the region had been identified with early ,french exploration2 the original monument had been named in commemoration of this historical association4 ,the first ,european settlement in ,america north of the latitude of the ,gulf of ,mexico was here4 ,henry of ,navarre had sent two famous adventurers to the new world1 de ,monts and ,champlain4 ,the first colony established by de ,monts was at the mouth of the ,st4 ,croix ,river1 which forms the eastern boundary of ,maine1 and the first land within the present ,united ,states which was reached by ,champlain was ,mount ,desert ,island4 ,this was in #afjd4 ,it was ,champlain who gave the island its present name1 after the mountains which rise so prominently from its rock-bound shore4 ,to him1 however1 the name had a different significance than it first suggests to us4 ,l',isle des ,monts ,deserts meant to him the ,island of the ,lonely ,mountains1 and lonely indeed they must have seemed above the flat shore line4 ,thus named1 the place became a landmark for future voyagers2 among others ,winthrop records seeing the mountains on his way to the ,massachusetts colony in #afcj4 ,he anchored opposite and fished for two hours1 catching sixty-seven great cod1 one of which was a yard around4 ,by a curious train of circumstances1 writes ,george ,b4 ,dorr1 the titles by which these mountains to the eastward of ,somes ,sound are held go back to the early ownership of ,mount ,desert ,island by the ,crown of ,france4 ,for it was granted by ,louis ,,xiv1 grandson of ,henry ,,iv1 to ,antoine de la ,mothe ,cadillac1 an officer of noble family from southwestern ,france1 then serving in ,acadia1 who afterward became successively the founder of ,detroit and ,governor of ,louisiana--the ,mississippi ,valley4 ,cadillac lost it later1 through ,english occupation of the region1 ownership passing1 first to the ,province1 then to the ,commonwealth of ,massachusetts4 ,but presently the ,commonwealth gave back to his granddaughter--,madame de ,gregoire--and her husband1 ,french refugees1 the ,island's eastern half1 moved thereto by the part that ,france had taken in the recent ,war of ,independence and by letters they had brought from ,lafayette4 ,and they came down and lived there4 ,and so it naturally followed that1 under stress of war enthusiasm1 this reservation with its ,french associations should commemorate not only the old ,province of ,acadia1 which the ,french yielded to ,england only after half a century of war1 and ,england later on to us after another war1 but the great war also in which ,france1 ,england1 and the ,united ,states all joined as allies in the cause of the world's freedom4 ,in accord with this idea1 the highest mountain looking upon the sea has been named the ,flying ,squadron1 in honor of the service of the air1 born of an ,american invention1 and carried to perfection by the three allies in common4 ,the park may be entered from any of the surrounding resorts1 but the main gateway is ,bar ,harbor1 which is reached by train1 automobile1 and steamboat4 ,no resort may be reached more comfortably1 and hotel accommodations are ample4 ,the mountains rise within a mile of the town4 ,they extend westward for twelve miles1 lying in two groups1 separated by a fine salt-water fiord known as ,somes ,sound4 ,the park's boundary is exceedingly irregular1 with deep indentations of private property4 ,it is enclosed1 along the shore1 by an excellent automobile road2 roads also cross it on both sides of ,somes ,sound4 ,there are ten mountains in the eastern group2 the three fronting ,bar ,harbor have been renamed1 for historic reasons1 ,cadillac ,mountain1 the ,flying ,squadron1 and ,champlain ,mountain4 ,for the same reason mountains upon ,somes ,sound have been renamed ,acadia ,mountain1 ,st4 ,sauveur ,mountain1 and ,norumbega ,mountain1 the last an ,indian name2 similar changes commemorating the early ,english occupation also have been made in the nomenclature of the western group4 ,tablets and memorials are also projected in emphasis of the historical associations of the place4 ,both mountain groups are dotted with lakes2 those of the western group are the largest of the island4 ,the pleasures1 then1 of the ,lafayette ,national ,park cover a wide range of human desire4 ,sea bathing1 boating1 yachting1 salt-water and fresh-water fishing1 tramping1 exploring the wilderness1 hunting the view spots--these are the summer occupations of many visitors1 the diversions of many others4 ,the more thoughtful will find its historical associations fascinating1 its geological record one of the richest in the continent1 its forests well equipped schools for tree study1 their branches a museum of bird life4 ,to climb these low mountains1 wandering by the hour in their hollows and upon their sea-horizoned shoulders1 is1 for one interested in nature1 to get very close indeed to the secrets of her wonderful east4 ,one may stand upon ,cadillac's rounded summit and let imagination realize for him the day when this was a glaciered peak in a mighty range which forged southward from the far north1 shoulder upon shoulder1 peak upon peak1 pushing ever higher as it approached the sea1 and extending far beyond the present ocean horizon2 for these mountains of ,mount ,desert are by no means the terminal of the original mighty range2 the slow subsidence of the coast has wholly submerged several1 perhaps many1 that once rose south of them4 ,the valley which now carries the ,st4 ,croix ,river drained this once towering range's eastern slopes2 the valley of the ,penobscot drained its western slopes4 ,the rocks beneath his feet disclose not only this vision of the geologic past2 besides that1 in their slow decay1 in the chiselling of the trickling waters1 in the cleavage of masses by winter's ice1 in the peeling of the surface by alternate freezing and melting1 in the dissolution and disintegration everywhere by the chemicals imprisoned in air and water1 all of which he sees beneath his feet1 they disclose to him the processes by which ,nature has wrought this splendid ruin4 ,and if1 captivated by this vision1 he studies intimately the page of history written in these rocks1 he will find it full of fascinating detail4 ,the region also offers an absorbing introduction to the study of our eastern flora4 ,the exposed bogs and headlands support several hundred species of plants typical of the arctic1 sub-arctic1 and ,hudsonian zones1 together with practically all of the common plants of the ,canadian zone1 and many of the southern coasts4 ,so with the trees4 ,essentially coastal1 it is the land of conifers1 the southern limit of some which are common in the great regions of the north1 yet exhibiting in nearly full variety the species for many miles south2 yet it is also1 in its sheltered valleys1 remarkably representative of the deciduous growths of the entire ,appalachian region4 ,illustration3 ,,frenchman',s ,,bay ,,from ,,the ,,east ,,cliff ,,of ,,champlain ,,mountain ,lafayette ,national ,park ,the bird life is full and varied4 ,the food supply attracts migratory birds1 and aquatic birds find here the conditions which make for increase4 ,deer are returning in some numbers from the mainland4 ,in brief1 the ,lafayette ,national ,park1 small though it is1 is one of the most important members of the national parks system4 ,for the pleasure seeker no other provides so wide and varied an opportunity4 ,to the student1 no other offers a more readable or more distinctive volume2 it is the only national museum of the fascinating geology of the east1 and ,i can think of no other place in the east where classes can find so varied and so significant an exhibit4 ,to the artist1 the poet1 and the dreamer it presents vistas of ocean1 inlet1 fiord1 shore1 wave-lashed promontory1 bog1 meadow1 forest1 and mountain--an answer to every mood4 ,if this nation1 as now appears1 must long lack national parks representative of the range of its splendid east1 let us be thankful that this one small park is so complete and so distinguished4 ,,the ,,volcanic ,,national ,,parks ,,on ,,the ,,volcano ,,in ,,scenery ,the volcanic national parks are ,lassen ,volcanic1 ,crater ,lake1 ,mount ,rainier1 ,yellowstone1 and ,hawaii4 ,though several of them exhibit extremely high mountains1 their scenic ensemble differs in almost all respects from that of the granite parks4 ,the landscape tends to broad elevated surfaces and rolling hills1 from which rise sharp towering cones or massive mountains whose irregular bulging knobs were formed by outbreaks of lava upon the sides of original central vents4 ,the ,cascade ,mountains in ,washington1 ,oregon1 and northern ,california are one of the best examples of such a landscape2 from its low swelling summits rise at intervals the powerful master cones of ,shasta1 ,rainier1 ,adams1 ,hood1 ,baker1 and others4 ,fujiyama1 the celebrated mountain of ,japan1 may be cited as a familiar example of the basic mountain form1 the single-cone volcanic peak4 ,vesuvius is a familiar example of simple complication1 the double-cone volcano1 while ,mauna ,loa in ,hawaii1 including ,kilauea of the pit of fire1 a neighbor volcano which it has almost engulfed in its swollen bulk1 well illustrates the volcano built up by outpourings of lava from vents broken through its sides4 ,flat and rolling ,yellowstone with its geyser fields1 is one of the best possible examples of a dead and much eroded volcanic region4 ,the scenic detail of the volcanic landscape is interesting and different from any other4 ,centuries and the elements create from lava a soil of great fertility4 ,no forests and wild flowers excel those growing on the lavas of the ,cascades1 and the fertility of the ,hawaiian ,islands1 which are entirely volcanic1 is world-famous4 ,streams cut deep and often highly colored canyons in these broad lava lands1 and wind and rain1 while eroding valleys1 often leave ornately modelled edifices of harder rock1 and tall thin needles pointing to the zenith4 ,in the near neighborhood of the volcanoes1 as well as on their sloping sides1 are found lava formations of many strange and wonderful kinds4 ,hot springs and bubbling paint pots abound2 and in the ,yellowstone ,national ,park1 geysers4 ,fields of fantastic1 twisted shapes1 masses suggesting heaps of tumbled ropes1 upstanding spatter cones1 caves arched with lava roofs1 are a very few of the very many phenomena which the climber of a volcano encounters on his way4 ,and at the top1 broad1 bowl-shaped craters1 whose walls are sometimes many hundred feet deep1 enclose1 if the crater has long been dormant1 sandy floors1 from which1 perhaps1 small cinder cones arise4 ,if the crater still is active1 the adventurer's experiences are limited only by his daring4 ,the entire region1 in short1 strikingly differs from any other of scenic kind4 ,of the several processes of world-making1 all of which are progressing to-day at normal speed1 none is so thrilling as volcanism1 because no other concentrates action into terms of human grasp4 ,lassen ,peak's eruption of a thousand cubic yards of lava in a few hours thrills us more than the ,mississippi's erosion of an average foot of her vast valley in a hundred thousand years2 yet the latter is enormously the greater4 ,the explosion of ,mount ,katmai1 the rise and fall of ,kilauea's boiling lava1 the playing of ,yellowstone's monster geysers1 the spectacle of ,mazama's lake-filled crater1 the steaming of the ,cascade's myriad bubbling springs1 all make strong appeal to the imagination4 ,they carry home the realization of mysterious1 overwhelming power4 ,lava is molten rock of excessively high temperature1 which suddenly becomes released from the fearful pressures of earth's interior4 ,hurled from volcanic vents1 or gushing from cracks in the earth's skin1 it spreads rapidly over large neighborhoods1 filling valleys and raising bulky rounded masses4 ,often it is soft and frothy1 like pumice4 ,even in its frequent glass forms1 obsidian1 for example1 it easily disintegrates4 ,there are as many kinds of lava as there are kinds of rock from which it is formed4 ,volcanic scenery is by no means confined to what we call the volcanic national parks4 ,volcanoes were frequent in many parts of the continent4 ,we meet their remnants unexpectedly among the granites of the ,rockies and the ,sierra1 and the sedimentary rocks of the west and the southwest4 ,several of our national parks besides those prevailingly volcanic1 and several of our most distinguished national monuments1 exhibit interesting volcanic interludes4 ,,vii ,,lassen ,,peak ,,and ,,mount ,,katmai ,,the ,,one ,a ,,national ,,park ,,in ,,northern ,,california1 ,,the ,,other ,a ,,national ,,monument ,,in ,,alaska ,because most of the conspicuous volcanic eruptions of our day have occurred in warmer climes nearer the equator1 we usually think of volcanoes as tropical1 or semi-tropical1 phenomena4 ,vesuvius is in the ,mediterranean1 ,pelee in the ,caribbean1 ,mauna ,loa and ,kilauea on the ,hawaiian ,islands4 ,of course there is ,lassen ,peak in ,california--the exception1 as we say1 which proves the rule4 ,as a fact1 many of the world's greatest volcanoes are very far indeed from the tropics4 ,volcanoes result from the movement of earth masses seeking equilibrium underneath earth's crust1 but near enough to the surface to enable molten rock under terrific pressure to work upward from isolated pockets and break through4 ,volcanoes occur in all latitudes4 ,even ,iceland has its great volcano4 ,it is true that the volcano map shows them congregating thickly in a broad band1 of which the equator is the centre1 but it also shows them bordering the ,pacific ,coast from ,patagonia to ,alaska1 crossing the ocean through the ,aleutian ,islands1 and extending far down the ,asian coast4 ,it also shows many inland volcanoes1 isolated and in series4 ,the distribution is exceedingly wide4 ,volcanoes usually occur in belts which may or may not coincide with lines of weakening in the earth's crust below4 ,hence the series of flaming torches of prehistoric days which1 their fires now extinguished and their sides swathed in ice1 have become in our day the row of spectacular peaks extending from northern ,california to ,puget ,sound4 ,hence also the long range of threatening summits which skirts ,alaska's southern shore1 to-day the world's most active volcanic belt4 ,here it was that ,katmai's summit was lost in the mighty explosion of ,june1 #aiab1 one of enormous violence1 which followed tremendous eruptions elsewhere along the same coast1 and is expected to be followed by others1 perhaps of even greater immensity and power4 ,these two volcanic belts contain each an active volcano which ,congress has made the centre of a national reservation4 ,lassen ,peak1 some wise men believe1 is the last exhibit of activity in the dying volcanism of the ,cascade ,mountains4 ,mount ,katmai is the latest and greatest exhibit in a volcanic belt which is believed to be young and growing4 ,,the ,,building ,,of ,,the ,,cascades ,millions of years ago1 in the period which geologists call ,tertiary1 the pressure under that part of the crust of the earth which now is ,washington1 ,oregon1 and northern ,california1 became too powerful for solid rock to withstand4 ,long lines of hills appeared parallel to the sea1 and gradually rose hundreds1 and perhaps thousands1 of feet4 ,these cracked1 and from the long summit-fissures issued hot lava1 which spread over enormous areas and1 cooling1 laid the foundations for the coming ,cascade ,mountains4 ,when the gaping fissures eased the pressure from beneath1 they filled with ash and lava except at certain vent holes1 around which grew the volcanoes which1 when their usefulness as chimneys passed1 became those cones of ice and snow which now are the glory of our northwest4 ,there may have been at one time many hundreds of these volcanoes1 big and little4 ,most of them doubtless quickly perished under the growing slopes of their larger neighbors1 and1 as they became choked with ash1 the lava which had been finding vent through them sought other doors of escape1 and found them in the larger volcanoes4 ,thus1 by natural selection1 there survived at last that knightly company of monsters now uniformed in ice1 which includes1 from north to south1 such celebrities as ,mount ,baker1 ,mount ,rainier1 ,mount ,adams1 ,mount ,st4 ,helens1 ,mount ,hood1 vanished ,mount ,mazama1 ,mount ,shasta1 and living ,lassen ,peak4 ,whether or not several of these vast beacons lit ,pacific's nights at one time can never be known with certainty1 but probability makes the claim4 ,whether or not in their decline the canoes of prehistoric men found harbor by guidance of their pillars of fire by night1 and their pillars of smoke by day is less probable but possible4 ,one at least of the giant band1 ,lassen ,peak1 is semi-active to-day4 ,at least two others1 ,mount ,rainier and ,mount ,baker1 offer evidences of internal heat beneath their mail of ice4 ,and early settlers in the northwest report ,indian traditions of the awful cataclysm in which ,mount ,rainier lost two thousand feet of cone4 ,,lassen ,,peak ,,national ,,park ,lassen ,peak1 the last of the ,cascades in active eruption1 rises between the northern end of the ,sierra ,nevada ,mountains1 of which it is locally but wrongly considered a part1 and the ,klamath ,mountains1 a spur of the ,cascades4 ,actually it is the southern terminus of the ,cascades4 99 99 99 99 99 ,though quiet for more than two hundred years1 the region long has enjoyed scientific and popular interest because it possesses hot springs1 mud volcanoes and other minor volcanic phenomena1 and particularly because its cones1 which are easily climbed and studied1 have remained very nearly perfect4 ,besides ,lassen ,peak1 whose altitude is #aj1dcg feet1 there are others of large size and great interest close by4 ,prospect ,peak attains the altitude of #i1bjj feet2 ,harkness ,peak #i1jjj feet2 and ,cinder ,cone1 a specimen of unusual beauty1 #f1ijg feet4 ,because it seemed desirable to conserve the best two of these examples of recent volcanism1 ,president ,taft in #aijf created the ,lassen ,peak and the ,cinder ,cone ,national ,monuments4 ,doubtless there would have been no change in the status of these reservations had not ,lassen ,peak broken its long sleep in the spring of #aiad with a series of eruptions covering a period of nineteen months4 ,this centred attention upon the region1 and in ,august1 #aiaf1 ,congress created the ,lassen ,volcanic ,national ,park1 a reservation of a hundred and twenty-four square miles1 which included both national monuments1 other notable cones of the neighborhood1 and practically all the hot springs and other lesser phenomena4 ,four months after the creation of the national park ,lassen ,peak ceased activity with its two hundred and twelfth eruption4 ,it is not expected to resume4 ,for some years1 however1 scientists will continue to class it as semi-active4 ,these eruptions1 none of which produced any considerable lava flow1 are regarded as probably the dying gasps of the volcanic energy of the ,cascades4 ,they began in ,may1 #aiad1 with sharp explosions of steam and smoke from the summit crater4 ,the news aroused wide-spread interest throughout the ,united ,states2 it was the first volcanic eruption within the national boundaries4 ,during the following summer there were thirty-eight slight similar eruptions1 some of which scattered ashes in the neighborhood4 ,the spectacle was one of magnificence because of the heavy columns of smoke4 ,eruptions increased in frequency with winter1 fifty-six occurring during the balance of the year4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,j4,s4 ,diller ,,lassen ,,peak ,,seen ,,from ,,the ,,southwest ,on the left is the material last erupted from the slope of the peak4 ,it is called ,chaos ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,j4,s4 ,diller ,,lassen ,,peak ,,close ,,up ,showing the northeast slope as seen from ,chaos ,about the end of ,march1 #aiae1 according to ,doctor ,j4,s4 ,diller of the ,united ,states ,geological ,survey1 new lava had filled the crater and overflowed the west slope a thousand feet4 ,on ,may #bb following occurred the greatest eruption of the series4 ,a mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke burst four miles upward in air4 ,the spectacle1 one of grandeur1 was plainly visible even from the ,sacramento ,valley4 ,at night1 writes ,doctor ,diller1 flashes of light from the mountain summit1 flying rocket-like bodies and cloud-glows over the crater reflecting the light from incandescent lavas below1 were seen by many observers from various points of view1 and appear to indicate that much of the material erupted was sufficiently hot to be luminous4 ,another interesting phenomenon was the blast of superheated gas which swept down ,lost ,creek and ,hot ,creek ,valleys4 ,for ten miles it withered and destroyed every living thing in its path4 ,large trees were uprooted4 ,forests were scorched to a cinder4 ,snow-fields were instantly turned to water and flooded the lower valleys with rushing tides4 ,later examination showed that this explosion had opened a new fissure1 and that the old and new craters1 now joined in one1 were filled with a lava lid4 ,following this1 the eruptions steadily declined in violence till their close the following ,december4 ,as a national park1 though undeveloped and unequipped as yet1 ,lassen has many charms besides its volcanic phenomena4 ,its western and southern slopes are thickly forested and possess fine lakes and streams4 ,several thousand persons1 largely motorists1 have visited it yearly of late4 ,there are hot springs at ,drakesbad1 just within the southern border1 which have local popularity as baths4 ,the trout-fishing in lake and stream is excellent1 and shooting is encouraged in the extensive national forest which surrounds the park1 but not in the park itself1 which is sanctuary4 ,in spite of the hunting1 deer are still found4 ,the greatest pleasure1 however1 will be found in exploring the volcanoes1 from whose summits views are obtainable of many miles of this tumbled and splendidly forested part of ,california and of the dry plains of the ,great ,basin on its east4 ,,the ,,katmai ,,national ,,monument ,we turn from the dying flutter of ,california's last remaining active volcano to the excessive violence of a volcano in the extremely active ,alaskan coast range4 ,the ,mount ,katmai ,national ,monument will have few visitors because it is inaccessible by anything less than an exploring-party4 ,we know it principally from the reports of four expeditions by the ,national ,geographic ,society4 ,informed by these reports1 ,president ,wilson created it a national monument in #aiah4 ,a remarkable volcanic belt begins in southern ,alaska at the head of ,cook ,inlet1 and follows the coast in a broad southwesterly curve fifteen hundred miles long through the ,alaskan ,peninsula to the end of the ,aleutian ,islands1 nearly enclosing ,behring ,sea4 ,it is very ancient4 ,its mainland segment contains a dozen peaks1 which are classed as active or latent1 and its island segment many other volcanoes4 ,st4 ,augustine's eruption in #ahhc was one of extreme violence4 ,kugak was active in #ahhi4 ,veniaminof's eruption in #ahib ranked with ,st4 ,augustine's4 ,redoubt erupted in #aijb1 and ,katmai1 with excessive violence1 in ,june1 #aiab4 ,the entire belt is alive with volcanic excitement4 ,pavlof1 at the peninsula's end1 has been steaming for years1 and several others are under expectant scientific observation4 ,katmai may be outdone at any time4 ,katmai is a peak of #f1igj feet altitude1 on treacherous ,shelikof ,strait1 opposite ,kodiak ,island4 ,it rises from an inhospitable shore far from steamer routes or other recognized lines of travel4 ,until it announced itself with a roar which was heard at ,juneau1 seven hundred and fifty miles away1 its very existence was probably unknown except to a few prospectors1 fishermen1 geographers1 and geologists4 ,earthquakes followed the blast1 then followed night of smoke and dust4 ,darkness lasted sixty hours at ,kodiak1 a hundred miles away4 ,dust fell as far as ,ketchikan1 nine hundred miles away4 ,fumes were borne on the wind as far as ,vancouver ,island1 fifteen hundred miles away4 ,weather ,bureau reports noted haziness as far away as ,virginia during succeeding weeks1 and the extraordinary haziness in ,europe during the following summer is noted by ,doctor ,c4,s4 ,abbott1 ,director of the ,astrophysical ,observatory of the ,smithsonian ,institution1 in connection with this eruption4 ,nevertheless1 ,katmai's is by no means the greatest volcanic eruption4 ,katmai's output of ash was about five cubic miles4 ,several eruptions have greatly exceeded that in bulk1 notably that of ,tomboro1 in the island of ,sumbawa1 near ,java1 in #ahae1 when more than twenty-eight cubic miles of ash were flung to the winds4 ,comparison with many great eruptions whose output was principally lava is of course impossible4 ,the scene of this explosion is the national monument of to-day4 ,the hollowed shell of ,katmai's summit is a spectacle of wonderment and grandeur4 ,robert ,f4 ,griggs1 who headed the expeditions which explored it1 states that the area of the crater is #h4d square miles1 measured along the highest point of the rim4 ,the abyss is #b4f miles long1 #g4f miles in circumference1 and #d4b square miles in area4 ,a lake has formed within it which is #a4d miles long and nine-tenths of a mile wide4 ,its depth is unknown4 ,the precipice from the lake to the highest point of the rim measures thirty-seven hundred feet4 ,the most interesting exhibit of the ,katmai ,national ,monument1 however1 is a group of neighboring valleys just across the western divide1 the principal one of which ,mr4 ,griggs1 with picturesque inaccuracy1 named the ,valley of ,ten ,thousand ,smokes2 for1 from its floor and sides and the floors and sides of smaller tributary valleys1 superheated steam issues in thousands of hissing columns4 ,it is an appalling spectacle4 ,the temperatures of this steam are extremely high2 ,griggs reports one instance of #dcb degrees ,centigrade1 which would equal #idh degrees ,fahrenheit2 in some vents he found a higher temperature at the surface than a few feet down its throat4 ,the very ground is hot4 ,this phenomenal valley is not to be fully explained offhand2 as ,griggs says1 there are many problems to work out4 ,the steam vents appear to be very recent4 ,they did not exist when ,spurr crossed the valley in #ahih1 and ,martin heard nothing of them when he was in the near neighborhood in #aijc and #aijd4 ,the same volcanic impulse which found its main relief in the explosive eruption of near-by ,katmai in #aiab no doubt cracked the deep-lying rocks beneath this group of valleys1 exposing superheated rocks to subterranean waters which forthwith turned to steam and forced these vents for escape4 ,griggs reports that volcanic gases mingle freely with the steam4 ,the waters may have one or more of several sources2 perhaps they come from deep springs originating in surface snows and rains2 perhaps they seep in from the sea4 ,whatever their origin the region especially interests us as a probably early stage of phenomena whose later stages find conspicuous examples in several of our national parks4 ,some day1 with the cooling of the region1 this may become the valley of ten thousand hot springs4 ,but it is useful and within scientific probability to carry this conception much further4 ,the comparison between ,katmai's steaming valleys and the geyser basin of ,yellowstone is especially instructive because ,yellowstone's basins doubtless once were what ,katmai's steaming valleys are now4 ,the ,valley of ,ten ,thousand ,smokes may well be a coming geyser-field of enormous size4 ,the explanation is simple4 ,bunsen's geyser theory1 now generally accepted1 presupposes a column of water filling the geyser vent above a deep rocky superheated chamber1 in which entering water is being rapidly turned into steam4 ,when this steam becomes plentiful enough and sufficiently compressed to overcome the weight of the water in the vent1 it suddenly expands and hurls the water out4 ,that is what makes the geyser play4 ,now one difference between the ,yellowstone geyser-fields and ,katmai's steaming valleys is just a difference in temperature4 ,the entire depth of earth under these valleys is heated far above boiling-point1 so that it is not possible for water to remain in the vents2 it turns to steam as fast as it collects and rushes out at the top in continuous flow4 ,but when enough thousands of centuries elapse for the rocks between the surface and the deep internal pockets to cool1 the water will remain in many vents as water until1 at regular intervals1 enough steam gathers below to hurl it out4 ,then these valleys will become basins of geysers and hot springs like ,yellowstone's4 ,,viii ,,mount ,,rainier1 ,,icy ,,octopus ,,mount ,,rainier ,,national ,,park1 ,,west ,,central ,,washington4 ,,area1 #cbd ,,square ,,miles ,i ,mount ,rainier1 the loftiest volcano within the boundaries of the ,united ,states1 one of our greatest mountains1 and certainly our most imposing mountain1 rises from western central ,washington to an altitude of #ad1djh feet above mean tide in ,puget ,sound4 ,it is forty-two miles in direct line from the centre of ,tacoma1 and fifty-seven miles from ,seattle1 from both of which its glistening peak is often a prominent spectacle4 ,with favoring atmospheric conditions it can be seen a hundred and fifty miles away4 ,north and south of ,rainier1 the ,cascade ,mountains bear other snow-capped volcanic peaks4 ,baker rises #aj1gjc feet2 ,adams1 #ab1cjg feet2 ,st4 ,helens1 #i1fig feet2 ,hood1 #aa1bbe feet1 and ,shasta1 #ad1afb feet4 ,but ,rainier surpasses them all in height1 bulk1 and majesty4 ,once it stood #af1jjj feet1 as is indicated by the slopes leading up to its broken and flattened top4 ,the supposition is that nearly two thousand feet of its apex were carried away in one or more explosive eruptions long before history1 but possibly not before man2 there are ,indian traditions of a cataclysm4 ,there were slight eruptions in #ahdc1 #ahed1 #aheh1 and #ahgj1 and from the two craters at its summit issue many jets of steam which comfort the chilled climber4 ,this immense sleeping cone is blanketed in ice4 ,twenty-eight well-defined glaciers flow down its sides1 several of which are nearly six miles long4 ,imagining ourselves looking down from an airplane at a great height1 we can think of seeing it as an enormous frozen octopus sprawling upon the grass1 for its curving arms of ice1 reaching out in all directions1 penetrate one of the finest forests even of our northwest4 ,the contrast between these cold glaciers and the luxuriantly wild-flowered and forest-edged meadows which border them as snugly as so many rippling summer rivers affords one of the most delightful features of the ,mount ,rainier ,national ,park4 ,paradise ,inn1 for example1 stands in a meadow of wild flowers between ,rainier's icy front on the one side and the snowy ,tatoosh ,range on the other1 with the ,nisqually ,glacier fifteen minutes' walk away6 ,the casual tourist who has looked at the ,snowy ,range of the ,rockies from the distant comfort of ,estes ,park1 or the ,high ,sierra from the dining-porch of the ,glacier ,point ,hotel1 receives an invigorating shock of astonishment at beholding ,mount ,rainier even at a distance4 ,its isolation gives it enormous scenic advantage4 ,mount ,whitney of the ,sierra1 our loftiest summit1 which overtops it ninety-three feet1 is merely the climax in a tempestuous ocean of snowy neighbors which are only less lofty2 ,rainier towers nearly eight thousand feet above its surrounding mountains4 ,it springs so powerfully into the air that one involuntarily looks for signs of life and action4 ,but no smoke rises from its broken top4 ,it is still and helpless1 shackled in bonds of ice4 ,will it remain bound8 ,or will it1 with due warning1 destroy in a day the elaborate system of glaciers which countless centuries have built1 and leave a new and different1 and perhaps1 after years of glacial recovery1 even a more gloriously beautiful ,mount ,rainier than now8 ,the extraordinary individuality of the ,american national parks1 their difference1 each from every other1 is nowhere more marked than here4 ,single-peaked glacial systems of the size of ,rainier's1 of course1 are found wherever mountains of great size rise in close masses far above the line of perpetual snow4 ,the ,alaskan ,range and the ,himalayas may possess many4 ,but if there is anywhere another mountain of approximate height and magnitude1 carrying an approximate glacier system1 which rises eight thousand feet higher than its neighbors out of a parkland of lakes1 forests1 and wild-flower gardens1 which ,nature seems to have made especially for pleasuring1 and the heart of which is reached in four hours from a large city situated upon transatlantic railway-lines1 ,i have not heard of it4 ,seen a hundred miles away1 or from the streets of ,seattle and ,tacoma1 or from the motor-road approaching the park1 or from the park itself1 or from any of the many interglacier valleys1 one never gets used to the spectacle of ,rainier4 ,the shock of surprise1 the instant sense of impossibility1 ever repeats itself4 ,the mountain assumes a thousand aspects which change with the hours1 with the position of the beholder1 and with atmospheric conditions4 ,sometimes it is fairy-like1 sometimes threatening1 always majestic4 ,one is not surprised at the ,indian's fear4 ,often ,rainier withdraws his presence altogether behind the horizon mists2 even a few miles away no hint betrays his existence4 ,and very often1 shrouded in snow-storm or cloud1 he is lost to those at his foot4 ,mysterious and compelling is this ghostly mountain to us who see it for the first time1 unable to look long away while it remains in view4 ,it is the same1 old ,washingtonians tell me1 with those who have kept watching it every day of visibility for many years4 ,and so it was to ,captain ,george ,vancouver when1 first of white men1 he looked upon it from the bridge of the ,discovery on ,may #h1 #agib4 ,the weather was serene and pleasant1 he wrote under that date1 and the country continued to exhibit1 between us and the eastern snowy range1 the same luxuriant appearance4 ,at its eastern extremity1 mount ,baker bore by compass ,n4 #bb ,e42 the round snowy mountain1 now forming its southern extremity1 and which1 after my friend ,rear ,admiral ,rainier1 ,i distinguished by the name of ,,mount ,,rainier1 bore ,n4 7,s47 #db ,e4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,a4,h4 ,barnes ,,southeast ,,slope ,,of ,,mount ,,rainier ,the winding glacier is the ,cowlitz4 ,gibraltar is the rock on the right near the summit ,thus ,mount ,rainier was discovered and named at the same time1 presumably on the same day4 ,eighteen days later1 having followed the inlet1 meaning ,puget ,sound1 to his point of nearest approach to the mountain1 ,vancouver wrote3 ,we found the inlet to terminate here in an extensive circular compact bay whose waters washed the base of mount ,rainier1 though its elevated summit was yet at a very considerable distance from the shore1 with which it was connected by several ridges of hills rising towards it with gradual ascent and much regularity4 ,the forest trees and the several shades of verdure that covered the hills gradually decreased in point of beauty until they became invisible2 when the perpetual clothing of snow commenced which seemed to form a horizontal line from north to south along this range of rugged mountains1 from whose summit mount ,rainier rose conspicuously1 and seemed as much elevated above them as they were above the level of the sea2 the whole producing a most grand1 picturesque effect4 ,vancouver made no attempt to reach the mountain4 ,dreamer of great dreams though he was1 how like a madhouse nightmare would have seemed to him a true prophecy of mighty engines whose like no human mind had then conceived1 running upon roads of steel and asphalt at speeds which no human mind had then imagined1 whirling thousands upon thousands of pleasure-seekers from the shores of that very inlet to the glistening mountain's flowered sides6 ,just one century after the discovery1 the ,geological ,society of ,america started the movement to make ,mount ,rainier a national park4 ,within a year the ,american ,association for the ,advancement of ,science1 the ,national ,geographic ,society1 the ,appalachian ,mountain ,club1 and the ,sierra ,club joined in the memorialization of ,congress4 ,six years later1 in #ahii1 the park was created4 ,,ii ,the principal entrance to the park is up the ,nisqually ,river at the south4 ,here entered the pioneer1 ,james ,longmire1 many years ago1 and the roads established by him and his fellows determined the direction of the first national-park development4 ,longmire ,springs1 for many years the nearest resort to the great mountain1 lies just within the southern boundary4 ,beyond it the road follows the ,nisqually and ,paradise valleys1 under glorious groves of pine1 cedar1 and hemlock1 along ravines of striking beauty1 past waterfalls and the snout of the ,nisqually ,glacier1 finally to inimitable ,paradise ,park1 its inn1 its hotel camp1 and its public camping-grounds4 ,other centres of wilderness life have been since established1 and the marvellous north side of the park will be opened by the construction of a northwesterly highway up the valley of the ,carbon ,river2 already a fine trail entirely around the mountain connects these various points of development4 ,but the southern entrance and ,paradise ,park will remain for many years the principal centre of exploration and pleasuring4 ,here begins the popular trail to the summit4 ,here begin the trails to many of the finest viewpoints1 the best-known falls1 the most accessible of the many exquisite interglacier gardens4 ,here the ,nisqually ,glacier is reached in a few minutes' walk at a point particularly adapted for ice-climbing1 and the comfortable viewing of ice-falls1 crevasses1 caves1 and other glacier phenomena grandly exhibited in fullest beauty4 ,it is a spot which can have in the nature of things few equals elsewhere in scenic variety and grandeur4 ,on one side is the vast glistening mountain2 on the other side the high serrated ,tatoosh ,range spattered with perpetual snow2 in middle distance1 details of long winding glaciers seamed with crevasses2 in the foreground gorgeous rolling meadows of wild flowers dotted and bordered with equally luxuriant and richly varied forest groves2 from close-by elevations1 a gorgeous tumbled wilderness of hills1 canyons1 rivers1 lakes1 and falls backgrounded by the ,cascades and accented by distant snowy peaks2 the whole pervaded by the ever-present mountain1 always the same yet grandly different1 from different points of view1 in the detail of its glaciered sides4 ,the variety of pleasuring is similarly very large4 ,one can ride horseback round the mountain in a leisurely week1 or spend a month or more exploring the greater wilderness of the park4 ,one can tramp the trails on long trips1 camping by the way1 or vary a vacation with numerous short tramps4 ,or one can loaf away the days in dreamy content1 with now and then a walk1 and now and then a ride4 ,or one can explore glaciers and climb minor mountains2 the ,tatoosh ,range alone will furnish the stiffest as well as the most delightful climbing1 with wonderful rewards upon the jagged summits2 while short climbs to points upon near-by snow-fields will afford coasting without sleds1 an exciting sport1 especially appreciated when one is young4 ,in ,july1 before the valley snows melt away1 there is tobogganing and skiing within a short walk of the ,inn4 ,the leisurely tour afoot around the mountain1 with pack-train following the trail1 is an experience never to be forgotten4 ,one passes the snouts of a score of glaciers1 each producing its river1 and sees the mountain from every angle1 besides having a continuous panorama of the surrounding country1 including ,mount ,adams1 ,mount ,st4 ,helens1 ,mount ,baker1 ,tacoma1 ,seattle1 ,mount ,olympus1 the ,pacific ,ocean1 and the ,cascades from the ,columbia to the international line4 ,shorter excursions to other beautiful park-lands offer a wide variety of pleasure4 ,indian ,henry's ,hunting ,ground1 ,van ,trump ,park1 ,summerland1 and others provide charm and beauty as well as fascinating changes in the aspect of the great mountain4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,a4,h4 ,barnes ,,mount ,,st4 ,,helens ,,seen ,,from ,,mount ,,rainier ,,park ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,a4,h4 ,barnes ,,mount ,,adams ,,seen ,,from ,,mount ,,rainier ,,park ,of course the ascent of the mountain is the ultimate objective of the climber1 but few1 comparatively1 will attempt it4 ,it is a feat in endurance which not many are physically fit to undertake1 while to the unfit there are no rewards4 ,there is comparatively little rock-climbing1 but what there is will try wind and muscle4 ,most of the way is tramping up long snow-covered and ice-covered slopes1 with little rest from the start at midnight to the return1 if all goes well1 before the following sundown4 ,face and hands are painted to protect against sunburn1 and colored glasses avert snow-blindness4 ,success is so largely a matter of physical condition that many ambitious tourists are advised to practise awhile on the ,tatoosh ,range before attempting the trip4 ,do you see ,pinnacle ,peak up there8 they ask you4 ,if you can make that you can make ,rainier4 ,better try it first4 ,and many who try ,pinnacle ,peak do not make it4 ,as with every very lofty mountain the view from the summit depends upon the conditions of the moment4 ,often ,rainier's summit is lost in mists and clouds1 and there is no view4 ,very often on the clearest day clouds continually gather and dissipate2 one is lucky in the particular time he is on top4 ,frequently there are partial views4 ,occasionally every condition favors1 and then indeed the reward is great4 ,s4,f4 ,emmons1 who made the second ascent1 and after whom one of ,rainier's greatest glaciers was named1 stood on the summit upon one of those fortunate moments4 ,the entire mountain in all its inspiring detail lay at his feet1 a wonder spectacle of first magnitude4 ,looking to the more distant country1 he wrote1 the whole stretch of ,puget ,sound1 seeming like a pretty little lake embowered in green1 could be seen in the northwest1 beyond which the ,olympic ,mountains extend out into the ,pacific ,ocean4 ,the ,cascade ,mountains1 lying dwarfed at our feet1 could be traced northward into ,british ,columbia and southward into ,oregon1 while above them1 at comparatively regular intervals1 rose the ghostlike forms of our companion volcanoes4 ,to the eastward the eye ranged over hundreds of miles1 over chain on chain of mountain ridges which gradually disappeared in the dim blue distance4 ,notwithstanding the rigors of the ascent parties leave ,paradise ,inn for the summit every suitable day4 ,hundreds make the ascent each summer4 ,to the experienced mountain-climber it presents no special difficulties4 ,to the inexperienced it is an extraordinary adventure4 ,certainly no one knows his ,mount ,rainier who has not measured its gigantic proportions in units of his own endurance4 ,the first successful ascent was made by ,general ,hazard ,stevens and ,p4,b4 ,van ,trump1 both residents of ,washington1 on ,august #ag1 #ahgj4 ,starting from ,james ,longmire's with ,mr4 ,longmire himself as guide up the ,nisqually ,valley1 they spent several days in finding the ,indian ,sluiskin1 who should take them to the summit4 ,with him1 then1 assuming ,longmire's place1 ,stevens and ,van ,trump started on their great adventure4 ,it proved more of an adventure than they anticipated1 for not far below the picturesque falls which they named after ,sluiskin1 the ,indian stopped and begged them to go no farther4 ,from that compilation of scholarly worth1 by ,professor ,edmond ,s4 ,meany1 ,president of the ,mountaineers1 entitled ,mount ,rainier1 a ,record of ,exploration1 ,i quote ,general ,stevens's translation of ,sluiskin's protest3 ,listen to me1 my good friends1 said ,sluiskin1 ,i must talk with you4 ,your plan to climb ,takhoma is all foolishness4 ,no one can do it and live4 ,a mighty chief dwells upon the summit in a lake of fire4 ,he brooks no intruders4 ,many years ago my grandfather1 the greatest and bravest chief of all the ,yakima1 climbed nearly to the summit4 ,there he caught sight of the fiery lake and the infernal demon coming to destroy him1 and fled down the mountain1 glad to escape with his life4 ,where he failed1 no other ,indian ever dared make the attempt4 ,at first the way is easy1 the task seems light4 ,the broad snow-fields over which ,i have often hunted the mountain-goat offer an inviting path4 ,but above them you will have to climb over steep rocks overhanging deep gorges1 where a misstep would hurl you far down--down to certain death4 ,you must creep over steep snow-banks and cross deep crevasses where a mountain-goat would hardly keep his footing4 ,you must climb along steep cliffs where rocks are continually falling to crush you or knock you off into the bottomless depths4 ,and if you should escape these perils and reach the great snowy dome1 then a bitterly cold and furious tempest will sweep you off into space like a withered leaf4 ,but if by some miracle you should survive all these perils1 the mighty demon of ,takhoma will surely kill you and throw you into the fiery lake4 ,don't you go4 ,you make my heart sick when you talk of climbing ,takhoma4 ,you will perish if you try to climb ,takhoma4 ,you will perish and your people will blame me4 ,don't go6 ,don't go6 ,if you go ,i will wait here two days and then go to ,olympia and tell your people that you perished on ,takhoma4 ,give me a paper to them to let them know that ,i am not to blame for your death4 ,my talk is ended4 ,except for the demon and his lake of fire1 ,sluiskin's portent of hardship proved to be a literal1 even a modest1 prophecy4 ,at five o'clock in the evening1 after eleven hours of struggle with precipices and glaciers1 exhausted1 chilled1 and without food1 they faced a night of zero gales upon the summit4 ,the discovery of comforting steam-jets in a neighboring crater1 the reality perhaps of ,sluiskin's lake of fire1 made the night livable1 though one of suffering4 ,it was afternoon of the following day before they reached camp and found an astonished ,sluiskin1 then1 in fact1 on the point of leaving to report their unfortunate destruction4 ,stevens and ,van ,trump were doubly pioneers1 for their way up the mountain is1 in general direction at least1 the popular way to-day1 greatly bettered since1 however1 by the short cuts and easier detours which have followed upon experience4 ,,iii ,our four volcanic national parks exemplify four states of volcanic history4 ,lassen ,peak is semi-active2 ,mount ,rainier is dormant2 ,yellowstone is dead1 and ,crater ,lake marks the spot through which a volcano collapsed and disappeared4 ,rainier's usefulness as a volcanic example1 however1 is lost in its supreme usefulness as a glacial exhibit4 ,the student of glaciers who begins here with the glacier in action1 and then studies the effects of glaciers upon igneous rocks among the cirques of the ,sierra1 and upon sedimentary rocks in the ,glacier ,national ,park1 will study the masters2 which1 by the way1 is a tip for universities contemplating summer field-classes4 ,upon the truncated top of ,mount ,rainier1 nearly three miles in diameter1 rise two small cinder cones which form1 at the junction of their craters1 the mountain's rounded snow-covered summit4 ,it is known as ,columbia ,crest4 ,as this only rises four hundred feet above the older containing crater1 it is not always identified from below as the highest point4 ,two commanding rocky elevations of the old rim1 ,point ,success on its southwest side1 #ad1aej feet1 and ,liberty ,cap on its northwest side1 #ad1aab feet1 appear to be1 from the mountain's foot1 its points of greatest altitude4 ,rainier's top1 though covered with snow and ice1 except in spots bared by internal heat1 is not the source of its glaciers1 although its extensive ice-fields flow into and feed several of them4 ,the glaciers themselves1 even those continuous with the summit ice1 really originate about four thousand feet below the top in cirques or pockets which are principally fed with the tremendous snows of winter1 and the wind sweepings and avalanches from the summit4 ,the ,pacific winds are charged heavily with moisture which descends upon ,rainier in snows of great depth4 ,even ,paradise ,park is snowed under from twelve to thirty feet4 ,there is a photograph of a ranger cabin in ,february which shows only a slight snow-mound with a hole in its top which locates the hidden chimney4 ,f4,e4 ,matthes1 the geologist1 tells of a snow level of fifty feet depth in ,indian ,henry's ,hunting ,ground1 one of ,rainier's most beautiful parks1 in which the wind had sunk a crater-like hollow from the bottom of which emerged a chimney4 ,these snows replenish the glaciers1 which have a combined surface of forty-five square miles1 along their entire length1 in addition to making enormous accumulations in the cirques4 ,illustration3 ,,sluiskin ,,ridge ,,and ,,columbia ,,crest ,illustration3 ,from a photograph copyright by ,a4,h4 ,barnes ,,mount ,,rainier ,,seen ,,from ,,tacoma ,beginning then in its cirque1 as a river often begins in its lake1 the glacier flows downward1 river-like1 along a course of least resistance4 ,here it pours over a precipice in broken falls to flatten out in perfect texture in the even stretch below4 ,here it plunges down rapids1 breaking into crevasses as the river in corresponding phase breaks into ripples4 ,here it rises smoothly over rocks upon its bottom4 ,here it strikes against a wall of rock and turns sharply4 ,the parallel between the glacier and the river is striking and consistent1 notwithstanding that the geologist for technical reasons will quarrel with you if you picturesquely call your glacier a river of ice4 ,any elevated viewpoint will disclose several or many of these mighty streams flowing in snakelike curves down the mountainside1 the greater streams swollen here and there by tributaries as rivers are swollen by entering creeks4 ,and all eventually reach a point1 determined by temperature and therefore not constant1 where the river of ice becomes the river of water4 ,beginning white and pure1 the glacier gradually clothes itself in rock and dirt4 ,gathering as it moves narrow edges of matter filched from the shores1 later on it heaps these up upon its lower banks4 ,they are lateral moraines4 ,two merging glaciers unite the material carried on their joined edges and form a medial moraine1 a ribbon broadening and thickening as it descends2 a glacier made up of several tributaries carries as many medial moraines4 ,it also carries much unorganized matter fallen from the cliffs or scraped from the bottom4 ,approaching the snout1 all these accumulations merge into one moraine2 and so soiled has the ice now become that it is difficult to tell which is ice and which is rock4 ,at its snout is an ice-cave far inside of which the resultant river originates4 ,but the glacier has one very important function which the river does not share4 ,far up at its beginnings it freezes to the back wall of its cirque1 and1 moving forward1 pulls out1 or plucks out1 as the geologists have it1 masses of rock which it carries away in its current4 ,the resulting cavities in the back of the cirque fill with ice1 which in its turn freezes fast and plucks out more rock4 ,and presently the back wall of the cirque1 undermined1 falls on the ice and also is carried away4 ,there is left a precipice1 often sheerly perpendicular2 and1 as the process repeats itself1 this precipice moves backward4 ,at the beginning of this process1 it must be understood1 the glacier lies upon a tilted surface far more elevated than now when you see it in its old age1 sunk deep in its self-dug trench2 and1 while it is plucking backward and breaking off an ever-increasing precipice above it1 it is plucking downward1 too4 ,if the rock is even in structure1 this downward cutting may be very nearly perpendicular1 but if the rock lies in strata of varying hardness1 shelves form where the harder strata are encountered because it takes longer to cut them through2 in this way are formed the long series of steps which we often see in empty glacial cirques4 ,by this process of backward and downward plucking1 the ,carbon ,glacier bit its way into the north side of the great volcano until it invaded the very foundations of the summit and created the ,willis ,wall which drops avalanches thirty-six hundred feet to the glacier below4 ,willis ,wall is nearly perpendicular because the lava rock at this point was homogeneous4 ,but in the alternating shale and limestone strata of ,glacier ,national ,park1 on the other hand1 the glaciers of old dug cirques of many shelves4 ,the monster ice-streams which dug ,glacier's mighty valleys have vanished1 but often tiny remainders are still seen upon the cirques' topmost shelves4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,asahel ,curtis ,,mount ,,rainier ,,and ,,paradise ,,inn ,,in ,,summer ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,jacobs ,,winter ,,pleasures ,,at ,,paradise ,,inn1 ,,mount ,,rainier ,so we see that the glacier acquires its cargo of rock not only by scraping its sides and plucking it from the bottom of its cirque and valley1 but by quarrying backward till undermined material drops upon it2 all of this in fulfilment of ,nature's purpose of wearing down the highlands for the upbuilding of the hollows4 ,this is not the place for a detailed description of ,mount ,rainier's twenty-eight glaciers4 ,a glance at the map will tell something of the story4 ,extending northeasterly from the summit will be seen the greatest unbroken glacial mass4 ,here are the ,emmons and the ,winthrop ,glaciers1 much the largest of all4 ,this is the quarter farthest from the sun1 upon which its rays strike at the flattest angle4 ,the melting then is least here4 ,but still a more potent reason for their larger mass is found in their position on the lee quarter of the peak1 the prevailing winds whirling in the snow from both sides4 ,the greater diversification of the other sides of the mountain with extruding cliffs1 cleavers1 and enormous rock masses tends strongly to scenic variety and grandeur4 ,some of the rock cleavers which divide glaciers stand several thousand feet in height1 veritable fences4 ,some of the cliffs would be mountains of no mean size elsewhere1 and around their sides pour mighty glacial currents1 cascading to the depths below where again they may meet and even merge4 ,the ,nisqually ,glacier naturally is the most celebrated1 not because of scenic superiority1 but because it is the neighbor and the playground of the visiting thousands4 ,its perfect and wonderful beauty are not in excess of many others2 and it is much smaller than many4 ,the ,cowlitz ,glacier near by exceeds it in size1 and is one of the stateliest2 it springs from a cirque below ,gibraltar1 a massive near-summit rock1 whose well-deserved celebrity is due in some part to its nearness to the travelled summit trail4 ,the point ,i am making is not in depreciation of any of the celebrated sights from the southern side1 but in emphasis of the fact that a hundred other sights would be as celebrated1 or more celebrated1 were they as well known4 ,the ,mount ,rainier ,national ,park at this writing is replete with splendors which are yet to be discovered by the greater travelling public4 ,the great north side1 for instance1 with its mighty walls1 its magnificently scenic glaciers1 its lakes1 canyons1 and enormous areas of flowered and forested pleasure-grounds1 is destined to wide development2 it is a national park in itself4 ,already roads enter to camps at the foot of great glaciers4 ,the west side1 also1 with its four spectacular glaciers which pass under the names of ,mowich and ,tahoma1 attains sublimity2 it remains also for future occupation4 ,many of the minor phenomena1 while common also to other areas of snow and ice1 have fascination for the visitor4 ,snow-cups are always objects of interest and beauty4 ,instead of reducing a snow surface evenly1 the warm sun sometimes melts it in patterned cups set close together like the squares of a checker-board4 ,these deepen gradually till they suggest a gigantic honeycomb1 whose cells are sometimes several feet deep4 ,in one of these1 one summer day in the ,sierra1 ,i saw a stumbling horse deposit his rider1 a high official of one of our ,western railroads2 and there he sat helpless1 hands and feet emerging from the top1 until we recovered enough from laughter to help him out4 ,pink snow always arouses lively interest4 ,a microscopic plant1 ,protococcus nivalis1 growing in occasional patches beneath the surface of old snow gradually emerges with a pink glow which sometimes covers acres4 ,on the tongue its flavor suggests watermelon4 ,no doubt many other microscopic plants thrive in the snow-fields and glaciers which remain invisible for lack of color4 ,insects also inhabit these glaciers4 ,there are several ,thysanura1 which suggest the sand-fleas of our seashores1 but are seldom noticed because of their small size4 ,more noticeable are the ,mesenchytraeus1 a slender brown worm1 which attains the length of an inch4 ,they may be seen in great numbers on the lower glaciers in the summer1 but on warm days retreat well under the surface4 ,,iv ,the extraordinary forest luxuriance at the base of ,mount ,rainier is due to moisture and climate4 ,the same heavy snowfalls which feed the glaciers store up water-supplies for forest and meadow4 ,the winters at the base of the mountain are mild4 ,the lower valleys are covered with a dense growth of fir1 hemlock1 and cedar4 ,pushing skyward in competition for the sunlight1 trees attain great heights4 ,protected from winter's severity by the thickness of the growth1 and from fire by the dampness of the soil1 great age is assured1 which means thick and heavy trunks4 ,the ,douglas fir1 easily the most important timber-tree of western ,america1 here reaches its two hundred feet in massive forests1 while occasional individuals grow two hundred and fifty to two hundred and seventy feet with a diameter of eight feet4 ,the bark at the base of these monsters is sometimes ten inches thick4 ,the western hemlock also reaches equal heights in competition for the light1 with diameters of five feet or more4 ,red cedar1 white pines of several varieties1 several firs1 and a variety of hemlocks complete the list of conifers4 ,deciduous trees are few and not important4 ,broad-leaved maples1 cottonwoods1 and alders are the principal species4 ,higher up the mountain-slopes the forests thin and lessen in size1 while increasing in picturesqueness4 ,the ,douglas fir and other monsters of the lower levels disappear1 their places taken by other species4 ,at an altitude of four thousand feet the ,englemann spruce and other mountain-trees begin to appear1 not in the massed ranks of the lower levels1 but in groves bordering the flowered opens4 ,the extreme limit of tree growth on ,mount ,rainier is about seven thousand feet of altitude1 above which one finds only occasional distorted1 wind-tortured mountain-hemlocks4 ,there is no well-defined timber-line1 as on other lofty mountains4 ,avalanches and snow-slides keep the upper levels swept and bare4 ,the wild-flower catalogue is too long to enumerate here4 ,john ,muir expresses the belief that no other sub-alpine floral gardens excel ,rainier's in profusion and gorgeousness4 ,the region differs little from other ,pacific regions of similar altitude in variety of species2 in luxuriance it is unsurpassed4 ,v ,according to ,theodore ,winthrop who visited the northwest in #ahec and published a book entitled ,the ,canoe and the ,saddle1 which had wide vogue at the time and is consulted to-day1 ,mount ,rainier had its ,indian ,rip ,van ,winkle4 ,the story was told him in great detail by ,hamitchou1 a frowsy ancient of the ,squallyamish4 ,the hero was a wise and wily fisherman and hunter4 ,also1 as his passion was gain1 he became an excellent business man4 ,he always had salmon and berries when food became scarce and prices high4 ,gradually he amassed large savings in hiaqua1 the little perforated shell which was the most valued form of wampum1 the ,indian's money4 ,the richer he got the stronger his passion grew for hiaqua1 and1 when a spirit told him in a dream of vast hoards at the summit of ,rainier1 he determined to climb the mountain4 ,the spirit was ,tamanoues1 which1 ,winthrop explains1 is the vague ,indian personification of the supernatural4 ,so he threaded the forests and climbed the mountain's glistening side4 ,at the summit he looked over the rim into a large basin in the bottom of which was a black lake surrounded by purple rock4 ,at the lake's eastern end stood three monuments4 ,the first was as tall as a man and had a head carved like a salmon2 the second was the image of a camas-bulb2 the two represented the great necessities of ,indian life4 ,the third was a stone elk's head with the antlers in velvet4 ,at the foot of this monument he dug a hole4 ,suddenly a noise behind him caused him to turn4 ,an otter clambered over the edge of the lake and struck the snow with its tail4 ,eleven others followed4 ,each was twice as big as any otter he had ever seen2 their chief was four times as big4 ,the eleven sat themselves in a circle around him2 the leader climbed upon the stone elk-head4 ,at first the treasure-seeker was abashed1 but he had come to find hiaqua and he went on digging4 ,at every thirteenth stroke the leader of the otters tapped the stone elk with his tail1 and the eleven followers tapped the snow with their tails4 ,once they all gathered closer and whacked the digger good and hard with their tails1 but1 though astonished and badly bruised1 he went on working4 ,presently he broke his elkhorn pick1 but the biggest otter seized another in his teeth and handed it to him4 ,finally his pick struck a flat rock with a hollow sound1 and the otters all drew near and gazed into the hole1 breathing excitedly4 ,he lifted the rock and under it found a cavity filled to the brim with pure-white hiaqua1 every shell large1 unbroken and beautiful4 ,all were hung neatly on strings4 ,never was treasure-quest so successful6 ,the otters1 recognizing him as the favorite of ,tamanoues1 retired to a distance and gazed upon him respectfully4 ,but the miser1 writes the narrator1 never dreamed of gratitude1 never thought to hang a string from the buried treasure about the salmon and camas tamanoues stones1 and two strings around the elk's head2 no1 all must be his own1 all he could carry now1 and the rest for the future4 ,greedily he loaded himself with the booty and laboriously climbed to the rim of the bowl prepared for the descent of the mountain4 ,the otters1 puffing in concert1 plunged again into the lake1 which at once disappeared under a black cloud4 ,straightway a terrible storm arose through which the voice of ,tamanoues screamed tauntingly4 ,blackness closed around him4 ,the din was horrible4 ,terrified1 he threw back into the bowl behind him five strings of hiaqua to propitiate ,tamanoues1 and there followed a momentary lull1 during which he started homeward4 ,but immediately the storm burst again with roarings like ten thousand bears4 ,nothing could be done but to throw back more hiaqua4 ,following each sacrifice came another lull1 followed in turn by more terrible outbreaks4 ,and so1 string by string1 he parted with all his gains4 ,then he sank to the ground insensible4 ,when he awoke he lay under an arbutus-tree in a meadow of camas4 ,he was shockingly stiff and every movement pained him4 ,but he managed to gather and smoke some dry arbutus-leaves and eat a few camas-bulbs4 ,he was astonished to find his hair very long and matted1 and himself bent and feeble4 ,tamanoues1 he muttered4 ,nevertheless1 he was calm and happy4 ,strangely1 he did not regret his lost strings of hiaqua4 ,fear was gone and his heart was filled with love4 ,slowly and painfully he made his way home4 ,everything was strangely altered4 ,ancient trees grew where shrubs had grown four days before4 ,cedars under whose shade he used to sleep lay rotting on the ground4 ,where his lodge had stood now he saw a new and handsome lodge1 and presently out of it came a very old decrepit squaw who1 nevertheless1 through her wrinkles1 had a look that seemed strangely familiar to him4 ,her shoulders were hung thick with hiaqua strings4 ,she bent over a pot of boiling salmon and crooned3 ,my old man has gone1 gone1 gone4 ,my old man to ,tacoma has gone4 ,to hunt the elk he went long ago4 ,when will he come down1 down1 down ,to salmon pot and me8 ,he has come down1 quavered the returned traveller1 at last recognizing his wife4 ,he asked no questions4 ,charging it all to the wrath of ,tamanoues1 he accepted fate as he found it4 ,after all1 it was a happy fate enough in the end1 for the old man became the ,great ,medicine-,man of his tribe1 by whom he was greatly revered4 ,the name of this ,rip ,van ,winkle of ,mount ,rainier is not mentioned in ,mr4 ,winthrop's narrative4 ,,ix ,,crater ,,lake',s ,,bowl ,,of ,,indigo ,,crater ,,lake ,,national ,,park1 ,,southwestern ,,oregon4 ,,area1 #bdi ,,square ,,miles ,crater ,lake is in southwestern ,oregon among the ,cascade ,mountains1 and is reached by an automobile ride of several hours from ,medford4 ,the government information circular calls it the deepest and bluest lake in the world4 ,advertising circulars praise it in choicest professional phrase4 ,its beauty is described as exceeding that of any other lake in all the world4 ,never was blue so wonderful as the blue of these waters2 never were waters so deep as its two thousand feet4 ,lured by this eloquence the traveller goes to ,crater ,lake and finds it all as promised--in fact1 far better than promised1 for the best intended adjectives1 even when winged by the energetic pen of the most talented ad writer1 cannot begin to convey the glowing1 changing1 mysterious loveliness of this lake of unbelievable beauty4 ,in fact1 the tourist1 with expectation at fever-heat by the time he steps from the auto-stage upon the crater rim1 is silenced as much by astonishment as by admiration4 ,before him lies a crater of pale pearly lava several miles in diameter4 ,a thousand feet below its rim is a lake whose farthest blues vie in delicacy with the horizon lavas1 and deepen as they approach till at his feet they turn to almost black4 ,there is nothing with which to compare the near-by blue looked sharply down upon from ,crater's rim4 ,the deepest indigo is nearest its intensity1 but at certain angles falls far short4 ,nor is it only the color which affects him so strongly2 its kind is something new1 startling1 and altogether lovely4 ,its surface1 so magically framed and tinted1 is broken by fleeting silver wind-streaks here and there2 otherwise1 it has the vast stillness which we associate with the ,grand ,canyon and the sky at night4 ,the lava walls are pearly1 faintly blue afar off1 graying and daubed with many colors nearer by4 ,pinks1 purples1 brick-reds1 sulphurs1 orange-yellows and many intermediates streak and splash the foreground gray4 ,and often pine-green forests fringe the rim1 and funnel down sharply tilted canyons to the water's edge2 and sometimes shrubs of livelier green find foothold on the gentler slopes1 and1 spreading1 paint bright patches4 ,over all1 shutting down and around it like a giant bowl1 is a sky of ,californian blue overhead softening to the pearl of the horizon4 ,a wonder spectacle indeed6 ,and then our tourist1 recovering from his trance1 walks upon the rim and descends the trail to the water's edge to join a launch-party around the lake4 ,here he finds a new and different experience which is quite as sensational as that of his original discovery4 ,seen close by from the lake's surface these tinted lava cliffs are carved as grotesquely as a ,japanese ivory4 ,precipices rise at times two thousand feet1 sheer as a wall4 ,elsewhere gentle slopes of powdery lava1 moss-tinted1 connect rim and water with a ruler line4 ,and between these two extremes are found every fashion and kind and degree of lava wall1 many of them precipitous1 most of them rugged1 all of them contorted and carved in the most fantastic manner that imagination can picture4 ,caves open their dark doors at water's edge4 ,towered rocks emerge from submerged reefs4 ,a mimic volcano rises from the water near one side4 ,perpetual snow fills sheltered crevices in the southern rim4 ,and all this wonder is reflected1 upside down1 in the still mirror through which the launch ploughs its rapid way4 ,but looking backward where the inverted picture is broken and tossed by the waves from the launch's prow1 he looks upon a kaleidoscope of color which he will remember all his life2 for1 to the gorgeous disarray of the broken image of the cliffs is added the magic tint of this deep-dyed water1 every wavelet of which1 at its crest1 seems touched for the fraction of a second with a flash of indigo2 the whole dancing1 sparkling1 shimmering in a glory which words cannot convey2 and on the other side1 and far astern1 the subsiding waves calming back to normal in a flare of robin's-egg blue4 ,our tourist returns to the rim-side hotel to the ceremony of sunset on ,crater ,lake1 for which the lake abandons all traditions and clothes itself in gold and crimson4 ,and in the morning after looking1 before sunrise1 upon a ,crater ,lake of hard-polished steel from which a falling rock would surely bounce and bound away as if on ice1 he breakfasts and leaves without another look lest repetition dull his priceless memory of an emotional experience which1 all in all1 can never come again the same4 ,it is as impossible to describe ,crater ,lake as it is to paint it4 ,its outlines may be photographed1 but the photograph does not tell the story4 ,its colors may be reproduced1 but the reproduction is not ,crater ,lake4 ,more than any other spot ,i know1 except the ,grand ,canyon from its rim1 ,crater ,lake seems to convey a glory which is not of line or mass or color or composition1 but which seems to be of the spirit4 ,no doubt this vivid impression which the stilled observer seems to acquire with his mortal eye1 is born somehow of his own emotion4 ,somehow he finds himself in communion with the ,infinite4 ,perhaps it is this quality which seems so mysterious that made the ,klamath ,indians fear and shun ,crater ,lake1 just as the ,indians of the great plateau feared and shunned the ,grand ,canyon4 ,it is this intangible1 seemingly spiritual quality which makes the lake impossible either to paint or to describe4 ,so different is this spectacle from anything else upon the continent that the first question asked usually is how it came to be4 ,the answer discloses one of the most dramatic incidents in the history of the earth4 ,in the evolution of the ,cascades1 many have been the misadventures of volcanoes4 ,some have been buried alive in ash and lava1 and merged into conquering rivals4 ,some have been buried in ice which now1 organized as glaciers1 is wearing down their sides4 ,some have died of starvation and passed into the hills4 ,some have been blown to atoms4 ,only one in ,america1 so far as known1 has returned into the seething gulf which gave it birth4 ,that was ,mount ,mazama4 ,the processes of creation are too deliberate for human comprehension4 ,the ,mississippi takes five thousand years to lower one inch its valley's surface4 ,the making of ,glacier ,national ,park required many--perhaps hundreds--of millions of years4 ,it seems probable that the cataclysm in which ,mount ,mazama disappeared was exceptional2 death may have come suddenly1 even as expressed in human terms4 ,what happened seems to have been this4 ,some foundation underpinning gave way in the molten gulf below1 and the vast mountain sank and disappeared within itself4 ,imagine the spectacle who can6 ,mount ,mazama left a clean-cut rim surrounding the hole through which it slipped and vanished4 ,but there was a surging back4 ,the eruptive forces1 rebounding1 pushed the shapeless mass again up the vast chimney4 ,they found it too heavy a load4 ,deep within the ash-choked vent burst three small craters1 and that was all4 ,two of these probably were short-lived1 the third lasted a little longer4 ,and1 centuries later1 spring water seeped through1 creating ,crater ,lake4 ,crater ,lake is set in the summit of the ,cascade ,range1 about sixty-five miles north of the ,california boundary4 ,the road from the railway-station at ,medford leads eighty miles eastward up the picturesque volcanic valley of the ,rogue ,river4 ,the country is magnificently forested4 ,the mountains at this point are broad1 gently rolling plateaus from which suddenly rise many volcanic cones1 which1 seen from elevated opens1 are picturesque in the extreme4 ,each of these cones is the top of a volcano from whose summit has streamed the prehistoric floods of lava which have filled the intervening valleys1 raising and levelling the country4 ,illustration3 ,,cross-,,section ,,of ,,crater ,,lake ,,showing ,,probable ,,outline ,,of ,,mount ,,mazama ,entering the park1 a high1 broad1 forested elevation is quickly encountered which looks at a glance exactly what it is1 the base which once supported a towering cone4 ,at its summit1 this swelling base is found to be the outside supporting wall of a roughly circular lake1 about five miles in diameter1 the inside wall of which is steeply inclined to the water's surface a thousand feet below4 ,the strong contrast between the outer and inner walls tells a plainly read story4 ,the outer walls1 all around1 slope gently upward at an angle of about fifteen degrees2 naturally1 if carried on1 they would converge in a peaked summit higher than that of ,shasta4 ,the inner walls converge downward at a steep angle1 suggesting a funnel of enormous depth4 ,it was through this funnel that ,mount ,mazama1 as men call the volcano that man never saw1 once collapsed into the gulf from which it had emerged4 ,studying the scene from the ,lodge on the rim where the automobile-stage has left you1 the most vivid impressions of detail are those of the conformation of the inner rim1 the cliffs which rise above it1 and the small volcano which emerges from the blue waters of the lake4 ,the marvellous inner slope of the rim is not a continuous cliff1 but a highly diversified succession of strata4 ,examination shows the layers of volcanic conglomerate and lava of which1 like layers of brick and stone1 the great structure was built4 ,the downward dip of these strata away from the lake is everywhere discernible4 ,the volcano's early story thus lies plain to eyes trained to read it4 ,the most interesting of these strata is the lava flow which forms twelve thousand feet of the total precipice of ,llao ,rock1 a prominence of conspicuous beauty4 ,many of these cliffs are magnificently bold4 ,the loftiest is ,glacier ,peak1 which rises almost two thousand feet above the water's surface4 ,but ,dutton ,cliff is a close rival1 and ,vidae ,cliff1 ,garfield ,peak1 ,llao ,rock1 and the ,watchman fall close behind4 ,offsetting these are breaks where the rim drops within six hundred feet of the water4 ,the statement of a wall height of a thousand feet expresses the general impression1 though as an average it is probably well short of the fact4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph copyright by ,scenic ,america ,company ,,dutton ,,cliff ,,and ,,the ,,phantom ,,ship1 ,,crater ,,lake ,illustration3 ,from a photograph copyright by ,scenic ,america ,company ,,sunset ,,from ,,garfield ,,peak1 ,,crater ,,lake ,,national ,,park ,illustration3 ,,cross-,,section ,,of ,,crater ,,lake ,at the foot of all the walls1 at water's edge1 lie slopes of talus1 the rocky fragments which erosion has broken loose and dropped into the abyss4 ,nowhere is there a beach4 ,the talus shallows the water for a few hundred feet1 and descending streams build small deltas4 ,these shallows edge the intense blue of the depths with exquisite lighter tints which tend to green4 ,but this edging is very narrow4 ,the next most striking object after the gigantic carven cliffs is ,wizard ,island4 ,this complete volcano in miniature1 notwithstanding that it is forest-clothed and rises from water1 carries the traveller's mind instantly to the thirteen similar cones which rise within the enormous desert crater of dead ,haleakala1 in the ,hawaii ,national ,park4 ,wizard ,island's crater may easily be seen in the tip of its cone4 ,its two fellow volcanoes are invisible four hundred feet under water4 ,scanning the blue surface1 one's eye is caught by an interesting sail-like rock rising from the waters on the far right close to the foot of ,dutton ,cliff4 ,this is the ,phantom ,ship4 ,seen two miles away in certain lights the illusion is excellent4 ,the masts seem to tilt rakishly and the sails shine in the sun4 ,there are times when the ,phantom ,ship suddenly disappears1 and times again when it as suddenly appears where nothing was before4 ,hence its name and mysterious repute4 ,but there is nothing really mysterious about this ghostly behavior1 which occurs only when the heated atmosphere lends itself readily to mirage4 ,days and weeks of rare pleasure may be had in the exploration of these amazing walls1 a pleasure greatly to be enhanced by discovering and studying the many plain evidences of ,mazama's slow upbuilding and sudden extinction4 ,the excellent automobile road around the rim affords easy approach afoot as well as by automobile and bicycle4 ,its passage is enlivened by many inspiring views of the outlying ,cascades with their great forests of yellow pine and their lesser volcanic cones1 some of which1 within and without the park boundaries1 hung upon the flanks of ,mount ,mazama while it was belching flame and ash1 while others1 easing the checked pressure following the great catastrophe1 were formed anew or enlarged from older vents4 ,from this road any part of the fantastic rim may be reached and explored1 often to the water's edge1 by adventurous climbers4 ,what more enjoyable day's outing1 for instance1 than the exploration of the splendid pile of pentagonal basaltic columns suspended half-way in the rim at one point of picturesque beauty8 ,what more inspiring than the climbing of ,dutton ,cliff1 or1 for experienced climbers1 of many of the striking lava spires8 ,the only drawback to these days of happy wandering along this sculptured and painted rim is the necessity of carrying drinking-water from the ,lodge4 ,then there are days of pleasure on the water4 ,wizard ,island may be thoroughly explored1 with luncheon under its trees by the lakeside4 ,the ,phantom ,ship's gnarled lavas may be examined and climbed4 ,everywhere the steep rocky shore invites more intimate acquaintance2 its caves may be entered1 some afoot1 at least one afloat4 ,the lake is well stocked with rainbow trout1 some of them descendants of the youngsters which ,will ,g4 ,steel laboriously carried across country from ,gordon's ,ranch1 forty-nine miles away1 in #ahhh4 ,they are caught with the fly from shore and boat4 ,a pound trout in ,crater ,lake is a small trout4 ,occasionally a monster of eight or ten pounds is carried up the trail to the ,lodge4 ,during all these days and weeks of pleasure and study1 the vision of ancient ,mount ,mazama and its terrible end grows more and more in the enlightened imagination4 ,there is much in the conformation of the base to justify a rather definite picture of this lost brother of ,hood1 ,shasta1 ,st4 ,helens1 and ,rainier4 ,at the climax of his career1 ,mazama probably rose sixteen thousand feet above the sea1 which means ten thousand feet above the level of the present lake4 ,we are justified too in imagining his end a cataclysm4 ,volcanic upbuildings are often spasmodic and slow1 a series of impulses separated by centuries of quiescence1 but their climaxes often are sudden and excessively violent4 ,it seems more probable that ,mazama collapsed during violent eruption4 ,perhaps like a stroke of lightning at the moment of triumph1 death came at the supreme climax of his career4 ,certainly no mausoleum was ever conceived for human hero which may be compared for a moment with this glorified grave of dead ,mazama6 ,the human history of ,crater ,lake has its interest4 ,the ,indians feared it4 ,john ,w4 ,hillman was the first white man to see it4 ,early in #ahec a party of ,californian miners ascended the ,rogue ,river to rediscover a lost gold-mine of fabulous richness4 ,the expedition was secret1 but several ,oregonians who suspected its object and meant to be in at the finding1 quickly organized and followed4 ,hillman was of this party4 ,the ,californians soon learned of the pursuit4 ,then1 wrote ,hillman half a century later1 it was a game of hide and seek until rations on both sides got low4 ,the ,californians would push through the brush1 scatter1 double backward on their trail1 and then camp in the most inaccessible places to be found1 and it sometimes puzzled us to locate and camp near enough to watch them4 ,eventually the rivals united4 ,a combination search-party was chosen which included ,hillman1 and this party1 while it found no gold-mine1 found ,crater ,lake4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph copyright by ,fred ,h4 ,kiser ,,applegate ,,cliff1 ,,crater ,,lake ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,fred ,h4 ,kiser ,,phantom ,,ship ,,from ,,garfield ,,peak ,while riding up a long sloping mountain1 ,hillman continued1 we suddenly came in sight of water and were very much surprised as we did not expect to see any lakes4 ,we did not know but what we had come in sight and close to ,klamath ,lake1 and not until my mule stopped within a few feet of the rim of ,crater ,lake did ,i look down1 and if ,i had been riding a blind mule ,i firmly believe ,i would have ridden over the edge to death and destruction4444 ,the finding of ,crater ,lake1 he concludes1 was an accident1 as we were not looking for lakes2 but the fact of my being the first upon its banks was due to the fact that ,i was riding the best saddle mule in southern ,oregon1 the property of ,jimmy ,dobson1 a miner and packer with headquarters at ,jacksonville1 who had furnished me the mule in consideration of a claim to be taken in his name should we be successful4 ,stranger to me than our discovery was the fact that after our return ,i could get no acknowledgment from any ,indian1 buck or squaw1 old or young1 that any such lake existed2 each and every one denied any knowledge of it1 or ignored the subject completely4 ,the next development in ,crater's history introduces ,will ,g4 ,steel1 widely known as the ,father of ,crater ,lake ,national ,park1 a pioneer of the highest type1 a gold-seeker in the coast ranges and the ,klondike1 a school-teacher for many years1 and a public-spirited enthusiast4 ,in #ahfi1 a farmer's boy in ,kansas1 he read a newspaper account of an ,oregon lake with precipice sides five thousand feet deep4 ,moving to ,oregon in #ahga1 he kept making inquiries for seven years before he verified the fact of the lake's existence1 and it was two years later before he found a man who had seen it4 ,this man's description decided him to visit it1 then an undertaking of some difficulty4 ,he got there in #ahhe4 ,standing on the rim he suggested to ,professor ,joseph ,le ,conte that an effort be made to induce the national government to save it from defacement and private exploitation4 ,returning home they prepared a petition to ,president ,cleveland1 who promptly withdrew ten townships from settlement pending a bill before ,congress to create a national park4 ,congress refused to pass the bill on the ground that ,oregon should protect her own lake4 ,then ,steel began an effort1 or rather an unbroken succession of efforts1 to interest ,congress4 ,for seventeen years he agitated the project at home1 where he made speeches winter and summer all over the ,state1 and at ,washington1 which he deluged with letters and circulars4 ,finally the bill was passed4 ,crater ,lake became a national park on ,may #bb1 #aijb4 ,mr4 ,steel's work was not finished4 ,he now began just as vigorous a campaign to have the lake properly stocked with trout4 ,it required years but succeeded4 ,then he began a campaign for funds to build a road to the lake4 ,this was a stubborn struggle which carried him to ,washington for a winter1 but it finally succeeded4 ,during most of this time ,mr4 ,steel was a country school-teacher without other personal income than his salary4 ,he spent many of his summers talking ,crater-,lake projects to audiences in every part of the ,state1 depending upon his many friends for entertainment and for lifts from town to town4 ,he was superintendent of the park from #aiac to the winter of #aibj1 when he became ,united ,states commissioner for the park4 ,the attitude of the ,indians toward ,crater ,lake remains to be told4 ,steel is authority for the statement that previous to #ahhf no modern ,indian had looked upon its waters4 ,legends inherited from their ancestors made them greatly fear it4 ,i quote ,o4,c4 ,applegate's ,klamath ,legend of ,la-o1 from ,steel ,points for ,january1 #aijg3 ,according to the mythology of the ,klamath and ,modoc ,indians1 the chief spirit who occupied the mystic land of ,gaywas1 or ,crater ,lake1 was ,la-o4 ,under his control were many lesser spirits who appeared to be able to change their forms at will4 ,many of these were monsters of various kinds1 among them the giant crawfish 7or dragon7 who could1 if he chose1 reach up his mighty arms even to the tops of the cliffs and drag down to the cold depths of ,crater ,lake any too venturesome tourist of the primal days4 ,the spirits or beings who were under the control of ,la-o assumed the forms of many animals of the present day when they chose to go abroad on dry land1 and this was no less true of the other fabulous inhabitants of ,klamath land who were dominated by other chief spirits1 and who occupied separate localities2 all these forms1 however1 were largely or solely subject to the will of ,komookumps1 the great spirit4 ,now on the north side of ,mount ,jackson1 or ,la-o ,yaina 7,la-o's ,mountain71 the eastern escarpment of which is known as ,la-o ,rock1 is a smooth field sloping a little toward the north which was a common playground for the fabled inhabitants of ,gaywas and neighboring communities4 ,skell was a mighty spirit whose realm was the ,klamath ,marsh country1 his capital being near the ,yamsay ,river on the eastern side of the marsh4 ,he had many subjects who took the form of birds and beasts when abroad on the land1 as the antelope1 the bald eagle1 the bliwas or golden eagle1 among them many of the most sagacious and active of all the beings then upon the earth4 ,a fierce war occurred between ,skell and ,la-o and their followers1 which raged for a long time4 ,finally ,skell was stricken down in his own land of ,yamsay and his heart was torn from his body and was carried in triumph to ,la-o ,yaina4 ,then a great gala day was declared and even the followers of ,skell were allowed to take part in the games on ,mount ,jackson1 and the heart of ,skell was tossed from hand to hand in the great ball game in which all participated4 ,if the heart of ,skell could be borne away so that it could be restored to his body he would live again1 and so with a secret understanding among themselves the followers of ,skell watched for the opportunity to bear it away4 ,eventually1 when it reached the hands of ,antelope1 he sped away to the eastward like the wind4 ,when nearly exhausted1 he passed it on to ,eagle1 and he in turn to ,bliwas1 and so on1 and although ,la-o's followers pursued with their utmost speed1 they failed to overtake the swift bearers of the precious heart4 ,at last they heard the far-away voice of the dove1 another of ,skell's people1 and then they gave up the useless pursuit4 ,skell's heart was restored and he lived again1 but the war was not over and finally ,la-o was himself overpowered and slain and his bleeding body was borne to the ,la-o ,yaina1 on the very verge of the great cliff1 and a false message was conveyed to ,la-o's monsters in the lake that ,skell had been killed instead of ,la-o1 and1 when a quarter of the body was thrown over1 ,la-o's monsters devoured it thinking it a part of ,skell's body4 ,each quarter was thrown over in turn with the same result1 but when the head was thrown into the lake the monsters recognized it as the head of their master and would not touch it1 and so it remains to-day1 an island in the lake1 to all people now known as ,wizard ,island4 ,in #ahhe1 at ,fort ,klamath1 ,steel obtained from ,allen ,david1 the white-headed chief of the ,klamath ,indians1 the story of how the ,indians returned to ,crater ,lake4 ,it was long before the white man appeared to drive the native out4 ,several ,klamaths while hunting were shocked to find themselves on the lake rim1 but1 gazing upon its beauty1 suddenly it was revealed to them that this was the home of the ,great ,spirit4 ,they silently left and camped far away4 ,but one brave under the spell of the lake returned1 looked again1 built his camp-fire and slept4 ,the next night he returned again1 and still again4 ,each night strange voices which charmed him rose from the lake2 mysterious noises filled the air4 ,moons waxed and waned4 ,one day he climbed down to the water's edge1 where he saw creatures like in all respects to ,klamath ,indians inhabiting the waters4 ,again and again he descended1 bathed1 and soon began to feel mysteriously strong1 stronger than any ,indian of his tribe because of his many visits to the waters4 ,others perceiving his growing power ventured also to visit the lake1 and1 upon bathing in its waters also received strength4 ,on one occasion1 said ,david solemnly1 the brave who first visited the lake killed a monster1 or fish1 and was at once set upon by untold numbers of excited ,llaos 7for such they were called71 who carried him to the top of the cliffs1 cut his throat with a stone knife1 then tore his body into small pieces which were thrown down to the waters far beneath and devoured by angry ,llaos4 ,in #ahhf two ,klamaths accompanied ,captain ,clarence ,e4 ,dutton's ,geological ,survey party to ,crater ,lake and descended to the water's edge4 ,the news of the successful adventure spread among the ,indians1 and others came to look upon the forbidden spot4 ,that was the beginning of the end of the superstition4 ,steel says that two hundred ,klamaths camped upon the rim in #ahif1 while he was there with the ,mazamas4 ,the lake was variously named by its early visitors4 ,the ,hillman party which discovered it named it ,deep ,blue ,lake on the spot4 ,later it was known as ,lake ,mystery1 ,lake ,majesty1 and ,hole in the ,ground4 ,a party from ,jacksonville named it ,crater ,lake on ,august #d1 #ahfi4 ,x ,,yellowstone1 ,a ,,volcanic ,,interlude ,,the ,,yellowstone ,,national ,,park1 ,,wyoming1 ,,northwestern ,,wyoming4 ,,area1 #c1cdh ,,square ,,miles ,i ,john ,coulter's story of hot springs at the upper waters of the ,yellowstone ,river was laughed at by the public of #ahaj4 ,jim ,bridger's account of the geysers in the thirties made his national reputation as a liar4 ,warren ,angus ,ferris's description of the ,upper ,geyser ,basin was received in #ahdb in unbelieving silence4 ,later explorers who sought the ,yellowstone to test the truth of these tales thought it wholesome to keep their findings to themselves1 as magazines and newspapers refused to publish their accounts and lecturers were stoned in the streets as impostors4 ,it required the authority of the semiofficial ,washburn-,langford expedition of #ahfi to establish credence4 ,the original appeal of the ,yellowstone1 that to wonder1 remains its most popular appeal to-day1 though science has dissipated mystery these many years4 ,many visitors1 ,i am persuaded1 enjoy the wonder of it more even than the spectacle4 ,i have heard people refuse to listen to the explanation of geyser action lest it lessen their pleasure in ,old ,faithful4 ,i confess to moods in which ,i want to see the blue flames and smell the brimstone which ,jim ,bridger described so eloquently4 ,there are places where it is not hard to imagine both4 ,for many years the uncanny wonders of a dying volcanic region absorbed the public mind to the exclusion of all else in the ,yellowstone neighborhood1 which ,congress1 principally in consequence of these wonders1 made a national park in #ahgb4 ,yet all the time it possessed two other elements of distinction which a later period regards as equal to the volcanic phenomena2 elements1 in fact1 of such distinction that either one alone1 without the geysers1 would have warranted the reservation of so striking a region for a national park4 ,one of these is the valley of the ,yellowstone ,river with its spectacular waterfalls and its colorful canyon4 ,the other is its population of wild animals which1 in #ahgb1 probably was as large and may have been larger than to-day's4 ,yet little was heard of the ,grand ,canyon of the ,yellowstone in those days1 although ,moran's celebrated painting1 now in the ,capitol at ,washington1 helped influence ,congress to make it a national park2 and so little did the wild animals figure in the calculations of the period that they were not even protected in the national park until #ahid1 when hunting had reduced the buffalo to twenty-five animals4 ,even in these days of enlightenment and appreciation the great majority of people think of the ,yellowstone only as an area enclosing geysers4 ,there are tourists so possessed with this idea that they barely glance at the canyon in passing4 ,i have heard tourists refuse to walk to ,inspiration ,point because they had already looked over the rim at a convenient and unimpressive place4 ,imagine coming two thousand miles to balk at two miles and a half to the only spectacle of its kind in the world and one of the world's great spectacles at that6 ,as for the animals1 few indeed see any but the occasional bears that feed at the hotel dumps in the evening4 ,the ,yellowstone ,national ,park lies in the recesses of the ,rocky ,mountains in northwestern ,wyoming4 ,it slightly overlaps ,montana on the north and northwest1 and ,idaho on the southwest4 ,it is rectangular1 with an entrance about the middle of each side4 ,it is the largest of the national parks1 enclosing #c1cdh square miles4 ,it occupies a high plain girt with mountains4 ,the ,absarokas bound it on the east1 their crest invading the park at ,mount ,chittenden4 ,the ,gallatin ,range pushes into the northwestern corner from the north4 ,the continental divide crosses the southwestern corner over the lofty ,madison ,plateau and the ridge south of ,yellowstone ,lake4 ,altitudes are generally high4 ,the plains range from six to eight thousand feet2 the mountains rise occasionally to ten thousand feet4 ,south of the park the ,pitchstone ,plateau merges into the foothills of the ,teton ,mountains1 which1 thirty miles south of the southern boundary1 rise precipitously seven thousand feet above the general level of the country4 ,though occupying the heart of the ,rocky ,mountains1 the region is not of them4 ,in no sense is it typical4 ,the ,rockies are essentially granite which was forced molten from the depths when1 at the creation of this vast central mountain system1 lateral pressures lifted the earth's skin high above sea-level1 folded it1 and finally eroded it along the crest of the folds4 ,in this granite system the ,yellowstone is a volcanic interlude1 and of much later date4 ,it belongs in a general way to the impulse of volcanic agitation which lighted vast beacons over three hundred thousand square miles of our northwest4 ,the ,cascade ,mountains belong in this grouping4 ,four national parks of to-day were then in the making1 ,mount ,rainier in ,washington1 ,crater ,lake in ,oregon1 ,lassen ,volcanic in ,california1 and the ,yellowstone in ,wyoming4 ,subterranean heat1 remaining from those days of volcanic activity1 to-day boils the water which the geysers hurl in air4 ,in the northeastern part of the ,yellowstone a large central crater was surrounded by smaller volcanoes4 ,you can easily trace the conformation from ,mount ,washburn which stood upon its southeastern rim1 heaped there1 doubtless1 by some explosion of more than common violence4 ,this volcanic period was of long duration1 perhaps hundreds of thousands of years4 ,in the northeastern part of the park the erosion of a hill has exposed the petrified remains of thirteen large forests in layers one on top of the other1 the deep intervening spaces filled with thick deposits of ashes4 ,thirteen consecutive times were great forests here smothered in the products of eruption4 ,thirteen times did years enough elapse between eruptions for soil to make and forests to grow again1 each perhaps of many generations of great trees4 ,yellowstone's mountains1 then1 are decayed volcanoes1 its rock is lava1 its soil is ash and disintegrated lava4 ,the resulting outline is soft and waving1 with a tendency to levels4 ,there are no pinnacled heights1 no stratified1 minareted walls1 no precipiced cirques and glacier-shrouded peaks4 ,yet glaciers visited the region4 ,the large granite boulder brought from afar and left near the west rim of the ,grand ,canyon with thousands of feet of rhyolite and other products of volcanism beneath it is alone sufficient proof of that4 ,between the periods from volcano to glacier and from glacier to to-day1 stream erosion has performed its miracles4 ,the volcanoes have been rounded and flattened1 the plateaus have been built up and levelled1 and the canyons of the ,yellowstone1 ,gibbon1 and ,madison ,rivers have been dug4 ,vigorous as its landscape still remains1 it has thus become the natural playground for a multitude of people unaccustomed to the rigors of a powerfully accented mountain country4 ,the fact is that1 in spite of its poverty of peaks and precipices1 the ,yellowstone country is one of the most varied and beautiful wildernesses in the world4 ,among national parks it gains rather than loses by its difference4 ,while easily penetrated1 it is wild in the extreme1 hinting of the prairies in its broad opens1 pasture for thousands of wild ruminants1 and of the loftier mountains in its distant ranges1 its isolated peaks and its groups of rugged1 rolling summits4 ,in the number1 magnitude1 and variety of its waters it stands quite alone4 ,it contains no less than three watersheds of importance1 those of the ,yellowstone1 ,madison1 and ,snake ,rivers1 flowing respectively north1 west1 and south4 ,the waters of the ,yellowstone and ,madison make it an important source of the ,missouri4 ,there are minor rivers of importance in the park and innumerable lesser streams4 ,it is a network of waterways4 ,its waterfalls are many1 and two of them are large and important4 ,its lakes are many1 and several are large4 ,yellowstone ,lake is the largest of its altitude in the world4 ,as a wilderness1 therefore1 the ,yellowstone is unequalled4 ,its innumerable waters insure the luxuriance of its growths4 ,its forested parts are densely forested2 its flower-gardens are unexcelled in range1 color1 and variety1 and its meadows grow deep in many kinds of rich grass4 ,if it were only for the splendor of its wilderness1 it still would be worth the while4 ,imagine this wilderness heavily populated with friendly wild animals1 sprinkled with geysers1 hot springs1 mud volcanoes1 painted terraces and petrified groves1 sensational with breath-taking canyons and waterfalls1 penetrable over hundreds of miles of well built road and several times the mileage of trails1 and comfortable because of its large hotels and public camps located conveniently for its enjoyment1 and you have a pleasure-ground of extraordinary quality4 ,remember that one may camp out almost anywhere1 and that all waters are trout waters4 ,yellowstone offers the best fishing easily accessible in the continent4 ,another advantage possessed by the ,yellowstone is a position near the centre of the country among great railroad systems4 ,the ,northern ,pacific reaches it on the north1 the ,burlington on the east1 and the ,union ,pacific on the west4 ,one can take it coming or going between oceans2 it is possible to buy tickets in by any one railroad and out by either of the others4 ,an elaborate system of automobile-coaches swings the passenger where he pleases1 meeting all incoming trains and delivering at all outgoing trains4 ,it is much easier now to see the ,yellowstone than in the much-vaunted stage-coach times previous to #aiae1 times sorely lamented by the romantic because their passing meant the passing of the picturesque old horse-drawn stage-coach from its last stand in the ,united ,states2 times when a tour of the ,yellowstone meant six and a half days of slow1 dusty travel1 starting early and arriving late1 with a few minutes or hours at each sight for the soiled and exhausted traveller to gape in ignorant wonder1 watch in hand4 ,to-day one travels swiftly and comfortably in entire leisure1 stopping at hotels or camps as he pleases1 and staying at each as long as he likes4 ,the runs between the lingering places are now a pleasure4 ,if hurried1 one can now accomplish the stage-coach trip of the past in two days1 while the old six and a half days now means a leisurely and delightful visit4 ,with the new order of travel began a new conception of the ,yellowstone's public usefulness4 ,it ceased to be a museum of wonders and began to be a summer pleasure-ground4 ,instead of the fast automobile-stage decreasing the average length of visit1 the new idea which it embodied has lengthened it4 ,this new idea is a natural evolution which began with the automobile and spread rapidly4 ,the railroads had been bringing tourists principally on transcontinental stop-overs4 ,automobiles brought people who came really to see the ,yellowstone1 who stayed weeks at public camps to see it1 or who brought outfits and camped out among its spectacles4 ,the first ,ford which entered the park on the morning of ,august #a1 #aiae1 the day when private cars were first admitted1 so loaded with tenting and cooking utensils that the occupants scarcely could be seen1 was the herald of the new and greater ,yellowstone4 ,those who laughed and those who groaned at sight of it1 and there were both1 were no seers2 for that minute ,yellowstone entered upon her destiny4 ,the road scheme is simple and effective4 ,from each entrance a road leads into an oblong loop road enclosing the centre of the park and touching the principal points of scenic interest4 ,this loop is connected across the middle for convenience4 ,from it several short roads push out to special spectacles1 and a long road follows ,lamar ,creek through a northeastern entrance to a mining town which has no other means of communication with the world outside4 ,this is the road to ,specimen ,ridge with its thirteen engulfed forests1 to the buffalo range1 and1 outside the park boundaries1 to the ,grasshopper ,glacier1 in whose glassy embrace may be seen millions of grasshoppers which have lain in very cold storage indeed from an age before man4 ,all are automobile roads4 ,,ii ,the hot-water phenomena are scattered over a large area of the park4 ,the ,mammoth ,hot ,springs at the northern entrance are the only active examples of high terrace-building4 ,the geysers are concentrated in three adjoining groups upon the middle-west side4 ,but hot springs occur everywhere at widely separated points2 a steam jet is seen emerging even from the depths of the ,grand ,canyon a thousand feet below the rim4 ,the traveller is never long allowed to forget1 in the silent beauty of the supreme wilderness1 the park's uncanny nature4 ,suddenly encountered columns of steam rising from innocent meadows2 occasional half-acres of dead and discolored brush emerging from hot and yellow mud-holes within the glowing forest heart2 an unexpected roaring hillside running with smoking water2 irregular agitated pools of gray1 pink1 or yellow mud1 spitting1 like a pot of porridge1 explosive puffs of steam2 the warm vaporing of a shallow in a cold forest-bound lake2 a continuous violent bellowing from the depths of a ragged roadside hole which at intervals vomits noisily quantities of thick brown and purple liquid2 occasional groups of richly colored hot springs in an acre or more of dull yellows1 the whole steaming vehemently and interchanging the pinks and blues of its hot waters as the passing traveller changes his angle of vision--these and other uncouth phenomena in wide variety and frequent repetition enliven the tourist's way4 ,they are more numerous in geyser neighborhoods1 but some of them are met singly1 always with a little shock of surprise1 in every part of the park4 ,the terrace-building springs in the north of the park engulf trees4 ,the bulky growing mounds of white and gray deposit are edged with minutely carven basins mounted upon elaborately fluted supports of ornate design1 over whose many-colored edges flows a shimmer of hot water4 ,basin rises upon basin1 tier upon tier1 each in turn destined to clog and dry and merge into the mass while new basins and new tiers form and grow and glow awhile upon their outer flank4 ,the material1 of course1 is precipitated by the water when it emerges from the earth's hot interior4 ,the vivid yellows and pinks and blues in which these terraces clothe themselves upon warm days result from minute vegetable algae which thrive in the hot saturated lime-water but quickly die and fade to gray and shining white on drying4 ,the height of some of these shapeless masses of terrace-built structures is surprising4 ,but more surprising yet is the vividness of color assumed by the limpid springs in certain lights and at certain angles4 ,climbing the terraces at the expense of wet feet1 one stands upon broad1 white1 and occasionally very damp plateaus which steam vigorously in spots4 ,these spots are irregularly circular and very shallow pools of hot water1 some of which bubble industriously with a low1 pleasant hum4 ,they are not boiling springs2 the bubbling is caused by escaping gases2 but their waters are extremely hot4 ,the intense color of some of these pools varies or disappears with the changing angle of vision2 the water itself is limpid4 ,elsewhere throughout the park the innumerable hot springs seem to be less charged with depositable matter2 elsewhere they build no terraces1 but bubble joyously up through bowls often many feet in depth and diameter4 ,often they are inspiringly beautiful4 ,the blue ,morning ,glory ,spring is jewel-like rather than flower-like in its color quality1 but its bowl remarkably resembles the flower which gives it name4 ,most springs are gloriously green4 ,some are the sources of considerable streams4 ,some stir slightly with the feeling rather than the appearance of life2 others are perpetually agitated1 several small springs betraying their relationship to the geysers by a periodicity of activity4 ,when the air is dry and the temperature low1 the springs shoot thick volumes of steam high in air4 ,to the incomer by the north or west entrance who has yet to see a geyser1 the first view of the ,lower ,geyser ,basin brings a shock of astonishment no matter what his expectation4 ,let us hope it is a cool1 bracing1 breezy morning when the broad yellow plain emits hundreds of columns of heavy steam to unite in a wind-tossed cloud overlying and setting off the uncanny spectacle4 ,several geysers spout vehemently and one or more roaring vents bellow like angry bulls in a nightmare4 ,this is appropriately the introduction to the greater geyser basins which lie near by upon the south4 ,who shall describe the geysers8 ,what pen1 what brush1 shall do justice to their ghostly glory1 the eager vehemence of their assaults upon the sky1 their joyful gush and roar1 their insistence upon conscious personality and power1 the white majesty of their fluted columns at the instant of fullest expansion1 the supreme loveliness of their feathery florescence at the level of poise between rise and fall1 their graciousness of form1 their speedy airiness of action1 their giant convolutions of sun-flecked steam rolling aloft in ever-expanding volume to rejoin the parent cloud8 ,perhaps there have been greater geyser basins somewhere in the prehistoric past4 ,there may be greater still to come2 one or two promising possibilities are in ,alaska4 ,but for the lapse of geologic time in which man has so far lived1 ,yellowstone has cornered the world's geyser market4 ,there are only two other places where one may enjoy the spectacle of large geysers4 ,one of these is ,new ,zealand and the other ,iceland2 but both displays combined cannot equal ,yellowstone's either in the number or the size of the geysers4 ,yellowstone has dozens of geysers of many kinds4 ,they range in size from the little spring that spurts a few inches every minute to the monster that hurls hundreds of tons of water three hundred feet in air every six or eight weeks4 ,many spout at fairly regular intervals of minutes or hours or days4 ,others are notably irregular1 and these include most of the largest4 ,old ,faithful won its name and reputation by its regularity2 it is the only one of the group of monsters which lives up to its time-table4 ,its period ranges from intervals of about fifty-five minutes in seasons following winters of heavy snow to eighty or eighty-five minutes in seasons following winters of light snow4 ,its eruptions are announced in the ,old ,faithful ,inn a few minutes in advance of action and the population of the hotel walks out to see the spouting4 ,at night a searchlight is thrown upon the gushing flood4 ,after all1 ,old ,faithful is the most satisfactory of geysers4 ,several are more imposing4 ,sometimes enthusiasts remain in the neighborhood for weeks waiting for the ,giant to play and dare not venture far away for fear of missing the spectacle2 while ,old ,faithful1 which is quite as beautiful and nearly as large1 performs hourly for the pleasure of thousands4 ,even the most hurried visitor to the ,upper ,basin is sure1 between stages1 of seeing several geysers in addition to one or more performances of ,old ,faithful4 ,the greatest of known geysers ceased playing in #ahhh4 ,i have found no authentic measurements or other stated records concerning the famous ,excelsior4 ,it hurled aloft an enormous volume of water1 with a fury of action described as appalling4 ,posterity is fortunate in the existence of a striking photograph of this monster taken at the height of its play by ,f4 ,jay ,haynes1 then official photographer of the park4 ,the first photographs ,i made were in the fall of #ahha1 ,mr4 ,haynes writes me4 ,the eruptions continued during the winter at increasing intervals from two hours1 when the series began1 to four hours when it ceased operations before the tourist season of #ahhb4 ,not having the modern photographic plates for instantaneous work in #ahha1 it was impossible to secure instantaneous views then1 but in the spring of #ahhh1 ,i made the view which you write about4 ,it was taken at the fulness of its eruption4 ,the explosion was preceded by a rapid filling of the crater and a great overflow of water4 ,the column was about fifty feet wide and came from the centre of the crater4 ,pieces of formation were torn loose and were thrown out during each eruption2 large quantities eventually were removed from the crater1 thus enlarging it to its present size4 ,here we have a witness's description of the process which clouds the career of the ,excelsior ,geyser4 ,the enlargement of the vent eventually gave unrestrained passage to the imprisoned steam4 ,the geyser ceased to play4 ,to-day the ,excelsior ,spring is one of the largest hot springs in the ,yellowstone and the world2 its output of steaming water is constant and voluminous4 ,thus again we find relationship between the hot spring and the geyser2 it is apparent that the same vent1 except perhaps for differences of internal shaping1 might serve for both4 ,it was the removal of restraining walls which changed the ,excelsior ,geyser to the ,excelsior ,spring4 ,for many years geyser action remained a mystery balanced among conflicting theories1 of which at last ,bunsen's won general acceptance4 ,spring waters1 or surface waters seeping through porous lavas1 gather thousands of feet below the surface in some pocket located in strata which internal pressures still keep hot4 ,boiling as they gather1 the waters rise till they fill the long vent-hole to the surface4 ,still the steam keeps making in the deep pocket1 where it is held down by the weight of the water in the vent above4 ,as it accumulates this steam compresses more and more4 ,the result is inevitable4 ,there comes a moment when the expansive power of the compressed steam overcomes the weight above4 ,explosion follows4 ,the steam1 expanding now with violence1 drives the water up the vent and out2 nor is it satisfied until the vent is emptied4 ,upon the surface1 as the geyser lapses and dies1 the people turn away to the ,inn and luncheon4 ,under the surface1 again the waters gather and boil in preparation for the next eruption4 ,the interval till then will depend upon the amount of water which reaches the deep pocket1 the size of the pocket1 and the length and shape of the vent-hole4 ,if conditions permit the upward escape of steam as fast as it makes in the pocket1 we have a hot spring4 ,if the steam makes faster than it can escape1 we have a geyser4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,haynes ,,the ,,excelsior ,,geyser ,,which ,,blew ,,out ,,in #ahhh2 ,,yellowstone ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,haynes ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,terraces ,,at ,,mammoth ,,hot ,,springs2 ,,yellowstone ,,iii ,so interesting are the geysers and their kin that1 with their splendid wilderness setting1 other glories seem superfluous4 ,i have had my moments of impatience with the ,grand ,canyon of the ,yellowstone for being in the ,yellowstone4 ,together1 the canyon and the geysers are almost too much for one place1 even perhaps for one visit4 ,one can only hold so much1 even of beauty1 at once4 ,spectacles of this quality and quantity need assimilation1 and assimilation requires time4 ,nevertheless1 once enter into sympathetic relations with the canyon1 once find its heart and penetrate its secret1 and the tables are quickly turned4 ,strangely1 it now becomes quite easy to view with comparative coolness the claims of mere hot-water wonders4 ,the canyon cannot be considered apart from its river any more than a geyser apart from its environment of hot spring and basin1 and any consideration of the ,yellowstone ,river begins with its lake4 ,as compared with others of scenic celebrity1 ,yellowstone ,lake is unremarkable4 ,its shores are so low and the mountains of its southern border so flat and unsuggestive that it curiously gives the impression of surface altitude--curiously because it actually has the altitude2 its surface is more than seven thousand seven hundred feet above tide4 ,if ,i have the advertisement right1 it is the highest water in the world that floats a line of steamboats4 ,the lake is large1 twenty miles north and south by fifteen miles east and west2 it is irregular with deep indentations4 ,it is heavily wooded to the water's edge4 ,all its entering streams are small except the ,yellowstone ,river1 which1 from its source in the ,absarokas just south of the park boundary1 enters the ,southeast ,arm through the lowland wilderness home of the moose and the wild buffalo4 ,the lake is the popular resort of thousands of large white pelicans1 its most picturesque feature4 ,that part of the ,yellowstone ,river which interests us emerges from the lake at its most northerly point4 ,it is here a broad swift stream of some depth and great clarity1 so swarming with trout that a half-dozen or more usually may be seen upon its bottom at any glance from boat or bridge4 ,a number of boats usually are anchored above the bridge from which anglers are successfully trailing artificial flies and spinners in the fast current2 and the bridge is usually lined with anglers who1 in spite of crude outfits1 frequently hook good trout which they pull up by main strength much as the phlegmatic patrons of excursion-steamers to the ,banks yank flopping cod from brine to basket on the top deck4 ,the last time ,i crossed the ,fishing ,bridge and paused to see the fun1 a woman whose face beamed with happiness held up a twenty-inch trout and said3 ,just look6 ,my husband caught this and he is seventy-six years old--last month4 ,it's the first fish he ever caught1 for he was brought up in ,kansas1 you know1 where there isn't any fishing4 ,my6 but he's a proud man6 ,we're going to get the camp to cook it for us4 ,he's gone now to look for a board to draw its measurements to show the folks at home4 ,from here to the river's emergence from the park the fishing is not crude4 ,in fact1 it taxes the most skilful angler's art to steer his fighting trout through boiling rapids to the net4 ,for very soon the ,yellowstone narrows and pitches down sharper slants to the climax of the falls and the mighty canyon4 ,this intermediate stretch of river is beautiful in its quietude4 ,the forests often touch the water's edge4 ,and ever it narrows and deepens and splashes higher against the rocks which stem its current2 forever it is steepening to the plunge4 ,above the ,upper ,fall it pinches almost to a mill-race1 roars over low sills1 swings eastward at right angles1 and plunges a hundred and nine feet4 ,i know of no cataract which expresses might in action so eloquently as the ,upper ,fall of the ,yellowstone4 ,pressed as it is within narrow bounds1 it seems to gush with other motive power than merely gravity4 ,seen from above looking down1 seen sideways from below1 or looked at straight on from the camp site on the opposite rim1 the water appears hurled from the brink4 ,less than a mile south of the ,upper ,fall1 the river again falls1 this time into the ,grand ,canyon4 ,imposing as the ,great ,fall is1 it must chiefly be considered as a part of the ,grand ,canyon picture4 ,the only separate view of it looks up from the river's edge in front1 a view which few get because of the difficult climb2 every other view poses it merely as an element in the canyon composition4 ,compared with the ,upper ,fall1 its more than double height gives it the great superiority of majesty without detracting from the ,upper ,fall's gushing personality4 ,in fact1 it is the ,king of ,falls4 ,comparison with ,yosemite's falls is impossible1 so different are the elements and conditions4 ,the ,great ,fall of the ,yellowstone carries in one body1 perhaps1 a greater bulk of water than all the ,yosemite ,valley's falls combined4 ,and so we come to the canyon4 ,in figures it is roughly a thousand feet deep and twice as wide1 more or less1 at the rim4 ,the supremely scenic part reaches perhaps three miles below the ,great ,fall4 ,several rock points extend far into the canyon1 from which the gorgeous spectacle may be viewed as from an aeroplane4 ,artists' ,point1 which is reached from the east side1 displays the ,great ,fall as the centre of a noble composition4 ,it was ,moran's choice4 ,inspiration ,point1 which juts far in from the west side1 shows a deeper and more comprehensive view of the canyon and only a glimpse of the ,great ,fall4 ,both views are essential to any adequate conception4 ,from ,artists' ,point the eye loses detail in the overmastering glory of the whole4 ,from ,inspiration ,point the canyon reveals itself in all the intimacy of its sublime form and color4 ,both views dazzle and astonish4 ,neither can be looked at very long at one time4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph copyright by ,gifford ,,yellowstone ,,valley ,,from ,,the ,,upper ,,fall ,,to ,,the ,,lower ,,fall ,illustration3 ,from a photograph copyright by ,gifford ,,the ,,lower ,,fall ,,and ,,the ,,grand ,,canyon ,,of ,,the ,,yellowstone ,it will help comprehension of the picture quality of this remarkable canyon to recall that it is carved out of the products of volcanism2 its promontories and pinnacles are the knobbed and gnarled decomposition products of lava rocks left following erosion2 its sides are gashed and fluted lava cliffs flanked by long straight slopes of coarse volcanic sand-like grains2 its colors have the distinctness and occasional luridness which seem natural to fused and oxidized disintegrations4 ,geologically speaking1 it is a young canyon4 ,it is digging deeper all the time4 ,yellow1 of course1 is the prevailing color4 ,moran was right4 ,his was the general point of view1 his message the dramatic ensemble4 ,but1 even from ,artists' ,point1 closer looking reveals great masses of reds and grays1 while ,inspiration ,point discloses a gorgeous palette daubed with most of the colors and intermediate tints that imagination can suggest4 ,i doubt whether there is another such kaleidoscope in nature4 ,there is apparently every gray from purest white to dull black1 every yellow from lemon to deep orange1 every red1 pink1 and brown4 ,these tints dye the rocks and sands in splashes and long transverse streaks which merge into a single joyous exclamation in vivid color whose red and yellow accents have something of the ,oriental4 ,greens and blues are missing from the dyes1 but are otherwise supplied4 ,the canyon is edged with lodge-pole forests1 and growths of lighter greens invade the sandy slants1 at times nearly to the frothing river2 and the river is a chain of emeralds and pearls4 ,blue completes the color gamut from the inverted bowl of sky4 ,no sketch of the canyon is complete without the story of the great robbery4 ,i am not referring to the several hold-ups of the old stage-coach days1 but to a robbery which occurred long before the coming of man--the theft of the waters of ,yellowstone ,lake2 for this splendid river1 these noble falls1 this incomparable canyon1 are the ill-gotten products of the first of ,yellowstone's hold-ups4 ,originally ,yellowstone ,lake was a hundred and sixty feet higher and very much larger than it is to-day4 ,it extended from the headwaters of the present ,yellowstone ,river1 far in the south1 northward past the present ,great ,fall and ,inspiration ,point4 ,it included a large part of what is now known as the ,hayden ,valley4 ,at that time the ,continental ,divide1 which now cuts the southwest corner of the park1 encircled the lake on its north1 and just across the low divide was a small flat-lying stream which drained and still drains the volcanic slopes leading down from ,dunraven ,peak and ,mount ,washburn4 ,this small stream1 known as ,sulphur ,creek1 has the honor1 or the dishonor if you choose1 of being the first desperado of the ,yellowstone1 but one so much greater than its two petty imitators of human times that there is no comparison of misdeeds4 ,sulphur ,creek stole the lake from the ,snake ,river and used it to create the ,yellowstone ,river1 which in turn created the wonderful canyon4 ,here at last is a crime in which all will agree that the end justified the means4 ,how this piracy was accomplished is written on the rocks2 even the former lake outlet into the ,snake ,river is plainly discernible to-day4 ,at the lake's north end1 where the seeping waters of ,sulphur ,creek and the edge of the lake nearly met on opposite sides of what was then the low flat divide1 it only required some slight disturbance indirectly volcanic1 some unaccustomed rising of lake levels1 perhaps merely some special stress of flood or storm to make the connection4 ,perhaps the creek itself1 sapping back in the soft lava soils1 unaided found the lake4 ,connection once made1 the mighty body of lake water speedily deepened a channel northward and ,sulphur ,creek became sure of its posterity4 ,at that time1 hidden under the lake's surface1 two rhyolite dikes1 or upright walls of harder rock1 extended crosswise through the lake more than half a mile apart4 ,as the lake-level fell1 the nearer of these dikes emerged and divided the waters into two lakes1 the upper of which emptied over the dike into the lower4 ,this was the beginning of the ,great ,fall4 ,and presently1 as the ,great ,fall cut its breach deeper and deeper into the restraining dike1 it lowered the upper-lake level until presently the other rhyolite dike emerged from the surface carrying another cataract4 ,and thus began the ,upper ,fall4 ,meantime the stream below kept digging deeper the canyon of ,sulphur ,creek1 and there came a time when the lower lake drained wholly away4 ,in its place was left a bottom-land which is now a part of the ,hayden ,valley1 and1 running through it1 a river4 ,forthwith this river began scooping1 from the ,great ,fall to ,inspiration ,point1 the scenic ditch which is world-celebrated to-day as the ,grand ,canyon of the ,yellowstone4 ,,iv ,now imagine this whole superlative wilderness heavily populated with wild animals in a state of normal living4 ,imagine thirty thousand elk1 for instance1 roaming about in bands of half a dozen to half a thousand4 ,imagine them not friendly1 perhaps1 but fearless1 with that entire indifference which most animals show to creatures which neither help nor harm them--as indifferent1 say1 as the rabbits in your pasture or the squirrels in your oak woods4 ,imagine all the wild animals1 except the sneaking1 predatory kind1 proportionally plentiful and similarly fearless--bear1 antelope1 mountain-sheep1 deer1 bison1 even moose in the fastnesses1 to say nothing of the innumerable smaller beasts4 ,there has been no hunting of harmless animals in the ,yellowstone since #ahid1 and this is one result4 ,it is true that comparatively few visitors see many animals1 but that is the fault of their haste or their temperament or their inexperience of nature4 ,one must seek in sympathy to find4 ,tearing over the wilderness roads in noisy motors smelling of gasolene is not the best way to find them1 although the elk and deer became indifferent to automobiles as soon as they discovered them harmless4 ,one may see them not infrequently from automobiles and often from horse-drawn wagons2 and one may see them often and intimately who walks or rides horseback on the trails4 ,the admission of the automobile to ,yellowstone roads changed seeing conditions materially4 ,in five days of quiet driving in #aiad with ,colonel ,l4,m4 ,brett1 then superintendent of the park1 in a direction opposite to the stages1 ,i saw more animals from my wagon-seat than ,i had expected to see wild in all my life4 ,we saw bear half a dozen times1 elk in numbers1 black-tailed and white-tailed deer so frequently that count was lost the second morning1 four bands of antelope1 buffalo1 foxes1 coyotes1 and even a bull moose4 ,once we stopped so as not to hurry a large bear and two cubs which were leisurely crossing the road4 ,deer watched us pass within a hundred yards4 ,elk grazed at close quarters1 and our one bull moose obligingly ambled ahead of us along the road4 ,there was never fear1 never excitement 7except my own71 not even haste4 ,even the accustomed horses no more than cocked an ear or two while waiting for three wild bears to get out of the middle of the road4 ,of course scenic completeness is enough in itself to justify the existence of these animals in the marvellous wilderness of the ,yellowstone4 ,their presence in normal abundance and their calm at-homeness perfects nature's spectacle4 ,in this respect1 also1 ,yellowstone's unique place among the national parks is secure4 ,the lessons of the ,yellowstone are plain4 ,it is now too late to restore elsewhere the great natural possession which the thoughtless savagery of a former generation destroyed in careless ruth1 but1 thanks to this early impulse of conservation1 a fine example still remains in the ,yellowstone4 ,but it is not too late to obliterate wholly certain misconceptions by which that savagery was then justified4 ,it is not too late to look upon wild animals as fellow heritors of the earth1 possessing certain natural rights which men are glad rather than bound to respect4 ,it is not too late to consider them1 with birds and forests1 lakes1 rivers1 seas1 and skies1 a part of nature's glorious gift for man's manifold satisfaction1 a gift to carefully conserve for the study and enjoyment of to-day1 and to develop for the uses of larger and more appreciative generations to come4 ,of course if this be brought to universal accomplishment 7and the impulse has been advancing fast of late71 it must be ,yellowstone's part to furnish the exhibit1 for we have no other4 ,to many the most surprising part of ,yellowstone's wild-animal message is man's immunity from hatred and harm by predatory beasts4 ,to know that wild bears if kindly treated are not only harmless but friendly1 that grizzlies will not attack except in self-defense1 and that wolves1 wild cats1 and mountain-lions fly with that instinctive dread which is man's dependable protection1 may destroy certain romantic illusions of youth and discredit the observation if not the conscious verity of many an honest hunter2 but it imparts a modern scientific fact which sets the whole wild-animal question in a new light4 ,in every case of assault by bears where complete evidence has been obtainable1 the ,united ,states ,biological ,survey1 after fullest investigation1 has exonerated the bear2 he has always been attacked or has had reason to believe himself attacked4 ,in more than thirty summers of field-work ,vernon ,bailey1 ,chief ,field-,naturalist of the ,biological ,survey1 has slept on the ground without fires or other protection1 and frequently in the morning found tracks of investigating predatory beasts4 ,there are reports but no records of human beings killed by wolves or mountain-lions in ,america4 ,yet1 for years1 all reports susceptible of proof have been officially investigated4 ,one of ,yellowstone's several manifest destinies is to become the well-patronized ,american school of wild-life study4 ,already1 from its abundance1 it is supplying wild animals to help in the long and difficult task of restoring here and there1 to national parks and other favorable localities1 stocks which existed before the great slaughter4 ,v ,thirty miles south of this rolling volcanic interlude the pristine ,rockies1 as if in shame of their moment of gorgeous softness1 rear in contrast their sharpest and most heroic monument of bristling granite4 ,scarcely over the park's southern boundary1 the foothills of the ,teton ,mountains swell gently toward their ,gothic climax4 ,the country opens and roughens4 ,the excellent road1 which makes ,jackson's ,hole a practical part of the ,yellowstone pleasure-ground1 winds through a rolling1 partly wooded grazing-ground of elk and deer4 ,the time was when these wild herds made living possible for the nation's hunted desperadoes1 for ,jackson's ,hole was the last refuge to yield to law and order4 ,at the climax of this sudden granite protest1 the ,grand ,teton rises #g1jad feet in seeming sheerness from ,jackson ,lake to its total altitude of #ac1gdg feet4 ,to its right is ,mount ,moran1 a monster only less4 ,the others1 clustering around them1 have no names4 ,all together1 they are few and grouped like the units of some fabulous barbaric stronghold4 ,fitted by size and majesty to be the climax of a mighty range1 the ,tetons concentrate their all in this one giant group4 ,quickly1 north and south1 they subside and pass4 ,they are a granite island in a sea of plain4 ,seen across the lake a dozen miles which seem but three1 these clustered steepled temples rise sheer from the water4 ,their flanks are snow-streaked still in ,august1 their shoulders hung with glaciers1 their spires bare and shining4 ,a greater contrast to the land from which we came and to which we presently return cannot be imagined4 ,geologically1 the two have nothing in common4 ,scenically1 the ,tetons set off and complete the spectacle of the ,yellowstone4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,charles ,d4 ,walcott ,,the ,,teton ,,mountain ,,from ,,jackson ,,hole1 ,,south ,,of ,,yellowstone ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,haynes ,,the ,,lava ,,landscape ,,of ,,the ,,yellowstone ,,and ,,gibbon ,,falls ,,xi ,,three ,,monsters ,,of ,,hawaii ,,hawaii ,,national ,,park1 ,,hawaiian ,,islands4 ,,area1 #aah ,,square ,,miles ,if this chapter is confined to the three volcano tops which ,congress reserved on the islands of ,hawaii and ,maui in #aiag1 wonderful though these are1 it will describe a small part indeed of the wide range of novelty1 charm1 and beauty which will fall to the lot of those who visit the ,hawaii ,national ,park4 ,one of the great advantages enjoyed by this national park1 as indeed by ,mount ,mc,kinley's1 is its location in a surrounding of entire novelty1 so that in addition to the object of his visit1 itself so supremely worth while1 the traveller has also the pleasure of a trip abroad4 ,in novelty at least the ,hawaii ,national ,park has the advantage over the ,alaskan park because it involves the life and scenery of the tropics4 ,we can find snow-crowned mountains and winding glaciers at home1 but not equatorial jungles1 sandalwood groves1 and surf-riding4 ,enormous as this element of charm unquestionably is1 this is not the place to sing the pleasures of the ,hawaiian ,islands4 ,their palm-fringed horizons1 surf-edged coral reefs1 tropical forests and gardens1 plantations of pineapple and sugar-cane are as celebrated as their rainbows1 earthquakes1 and graceful girls dancing under tropical stars to the languorous ukelele4 ,illustration3 ,,map ,,of ,,hawaii ,,national ,,park ,leaving these and kindred spectacles to the steamship circulars and the library shelf1 it is our part to note that the ,hawaii ,national ,park possesses the fourth largest volcanic crater in the world1 whose aspect at sunrise is one of the world's famous spectacles1 the largest active volcano in the world1 and a lake of turbulent1 glowing1 molten lava1 the ,house of ,everlasting ,fire1 which fills the beholder with awe4 ,it was not at all1 then1 the gentle poetic aspects of the ,hawaiian ,islands which led ,congress to create a national park there1 though these form its romantic1 contrasted setting4 ,it was the extraordinary volcanic exhibit1 that combination of thrilling spectacles of ,nature's colossal power which for years have drawn travellers from the four quarters of the earth4 ,the ,hawaii ,national ,park includes the summits of ,haleakala1 on the island of ,maui1 and ,mauna ,loa and ,kilauea1 on the island of ,hawaii4 ,spain claims the discovery of these delectable isles by ,juan ,gaetano1 in #aeee1 but their formal discovery and exploration fell to the lot of ,captain ,james ,cook1 in #aggh4 ,the ,hawaiians thought him a god and loaded him with the treasures of the islands1 but on his return the following year his illness and the conduct of his crew ashore disillusioned them2 they killed him and burned his flesh1 but their priests deified his bones1 nevertheless4 ,parts of these were recovered later and a monument was erected over them4 ,then civil wars raged until all the tribes were conquered1 at the end of the eighteenth century1 by one chieftain1 ,kamehameha1 who became king4 ,his descendants reigned until #ahgd when1 the old royal line dying out1 ,kalakaua was elected his successor4 ,from this time the end hastened4 ,a treaty with the ,united ,states ceded ,pearl ,harbor as a coaling-station and entered ,american goods free of duty1 in return for which ,hawaiian sugar and a few other products entered the ,united ,states free4 ,this established the sugar industry on a large and permanent scale and brought laborers from ,china1 ,japan1 the ,azores1 and ,madeira4 ,more than ten thousand ,portuguese migrated to the islands1 and the native population began a comparative decrease which still continues4 ,after ,kalakaua's death1 his sister ,liliuokalani succeeding him in #ahia1 the drift to the ,united ,states became rapid4 ,when ,president ,cleveland refused to annex the islands1 a republic was formed in #ahid1 but the danger from ,japanese immigration became so imminent that in #ahih1 during the ,spanish-,american ,war1 ,president ,mc,kinley yielded to the ,hawaiian request and the islands were annexed to the ,united ,states by resolution of ,congress4 ,the setting for the picture of our island-park will be complete with several facts about its physical origin4 ,the ,hawaiian ,islands rose from the sea in a series of volcanic eruptions4 ,originally1 doubtless1 the greater islands were simple cones emitting lava1 ash1 and smoke1 which coral growths afterward enlarged and enriched4 ,kauai was the first to develop habitable conditions1 and the island southeast of it followed in order4 ,eight of the twelve are now habitable4 ,the most eastern island of the group is ,hawaii4 ,it is also much the largest4 ,this has three volcanoes4 ,mauna ,loa1 greatest of the three1 and also the greatest volcanic mass in the world1 is nearly the centre of the island2 ,kilauea lies a few miles east of it2 the summits of both are included in the national park4 ,mauna ,kea1 a volcanic cone of great beauty in the north centre of the island1 forming a triangle with the other two1 is not a part of the national park4 ,northwest of ,hawaii across sixty miles or more of salt water is the island of ,maui1 second largest of the group4 ,in its southern part rises the distinguished volcano of ,haleakala1 whose summit and world-famous crater is the third member of the national park4 ,the other habited islands1 in order westward1 are ,kahoolawe1 ,lanai1 ,molokai1 ,oahu1 ,kauai1 and ,niihau2 no portions of these are included in the park4 ,kahoolawe1 ,lanai1 and ,niihau are much the smallest of the group4 ,,haleakala ,of the three volcanic summits which concern us1 ,haleakala is nearest the principal port of ,honolulu1 though not always the first visited4 ,its slopes nearly fill the southern half of the island of ,maui4 ,the popular translation of the name ,haleakala is ,the ,house of the ,sun2 literally the word means ,the ,house ,built by the ,sun4 ,the volcano is a monster of more than ten thousand feet1 which bears upon its summit a crater of a size and beauty that make it one of the world's show-places4 ,this crater is seven and a half miles long by two and a third miles wide4 ,only three known craters exceed ,haleakala's in size4 ,aso san1 the monster crater of ,japan1 largest by far in the world1 is fourteen miles long by ten wide and contains many farms4 ,lago di ,bolseno1 in ,italy1 next in size1 measures eight and a half by seven and a half miles2 and ,monte ,albano1 also in ,italy1 eight by seven miles4 ,exchanging your automobile for a saddle-horse at the volcano's foot1 you spend the afternoon in the ascent4 ,wonderful indeed1 looking back1 is the growing arc of plantation and sea1 islands growing upon the horizon1 ,mauna ,kea and ,mauna ,loa lifting distant snow-tipped peaks4 ,you spend the night in a rest-house on the rim of the crater1 but not until you have seen the spectacle of sunset2 and in the gray of the morning you are summoned to the supreme spectacle of sunrise4 ,thousands have crossed seas for ,haleakala's sunrise4 ,that first view of the crater from the rim is one never to be forgotten4 ,its floor lies two thousand feet below1 an enormous rainless1 rolling plain from which rise thirteen volcanic cones1 clean-cut1 as regular in form as carven things4 ,several of these are seven hundred feet in height4 ,it must have been awe-inspiring1 writes ,castle1 when its cones were spouting fire1 and rivers of scarlet molten lava crawled along the floor4 ,the stillness of this spot emphasizes its emotional effect4 ,a word spoken ordinarily loud is like a shout4 ,you can hear the footsteps of the goats far down upon the crater floor4 ,upon this floor grow plants known nowhere else2 they are famous under the name of ,silver ,swords--yucca-like growths three or four feet high whose drooping filaments of bloom gleam like polished silver stilettos4 ,when ,mark ,twain saw the crater1 vagrant white clouds came drifting along1 high over the sea and valley2 then they came in couples and groups2 then in imposing squadrons2 gradually joining their forces1 they banked themselves solidly together a thousand feet under us and totally shut out land and ocean2 not a vestige of anything was left in view1 but just a little of the rim of the crater circling away from the pinnacle whereon we sat1 for a ghostly procession of wanderers from the filmy hosts without had drifted through a chasm in the crater wall and filed round and round1 and gathered and sunk and blended together till the abyss was stored to the brim with a fleecy fog4 ,thus banked1 motion ceased1 and silence reigned4 ,clear to the horizon1 league on league1 the snowy folds1 with shallow creases between1 and with here and there stately piles of vapory architecture lifting themselves aloft out of the common plain--some near at hand1 some in the middle distances1 and others relieving the monotony of the remote solitudes4 ,there was little conversation1 for the impressive scene overawed speech4 ,i felt like the ,last ,man1 neglected of the judgment1 and left pinnacled in mid-heaven1 a forgotten relic of a vanished world4 ,the extraordinary perfection of this desert crater is probably due to two causes4 ,vents which tapped it far down the volcano's flanks prevented its filling with molten lava2 absence of rain has preserved its walls intact and saved its pristine beauty from the defacement of erosion4 ,haleakala has its legend1 and this ,jack ,london has sifted to its elements and given us in ,the ,cruise of the ,snark4 ,i quote3 ,it is told that long ago1 one ,maui1 the son of ,hina1 lived on what is now known as ,west ,maui4 ,his mother1 ,hina1 employed her time in the making of kapas4 ,she must have made them at night1 for her days were occupied in trying to dry the kapas4 ,each morning1 and all morning1 she toiled at spreading them out in the sun4 ,but no sooner were they out than she began taking them in in order to have them all under shelter for the night4 ,for know that the days were shorter then than now4 ,maui watched his mother's futile toil and felt sorry for her4 ,he decided to do something--oh1 no1 not to help her hang out and take in the kapas4 ,he was too clever for that4 ,his idea was to make the sun go slower4 ,perhaps he was the first ,hawaiian astronomer4 ,at any rate1 he took a series of observations of the sun from various parts of the island4 ,his conclusion was that the sun's path was directly across ,haleakala4 ,unlike ,joshua1 he stood in no need of divine assistance4 ,he gathered a huge quantity of cocoanuts1 from the fibre of which he braided a stout cord1 and in one end of which he made a noose1 even as the cowboys of ,haleakala do to this day4 ,next he climbed into the ,house of the ,sun4 ,when the sun came tearing along the path1 bent on completing its journey in the shortest time possible1 the valiant youth threw his lariat around one of the sun's largest and strongest beams4 ,he made the sun slow down some2 also1 he broke the beam short off4 ,and he kept on roping and breaking off beams till the sun said it was willing to listen to reason4 ,maui set forth his terms of peace1 which the sun accepted1 agreeing to go more slowly thereafter4 ,wherefore ,hina had ample time in which to dry her kapas1 and the days are longer than they used to be1 which last is quite in accord with the teachings of modern astronomy4 ,,mauna ,,loa ,sixty miles south of ,maui1 ,hawaii1 largest of the island group1 contains the two remaining parts of our national park4 ,from every point of view ,mauna ,loa and ,mauna ,kea1 both snow-crowned monsters approaching fourteen thousand feet of altitude1 dominate the island4 ,but ,mauna ,kea is not a part of the national park2 ,kilauea1 of less than a third its height1 shares that honor with ,mauna ,loa4 ,of the two1 ,kilauea is much the older1 and doubtless was a conspicuous figure in the old landscape4 ,it has been largely absorbed in the immense swelling bulk of ,mauna ,loa1 which1 springing later from the island soil near by1 no doubt diverting ,kilauea's vents far below sea-level1 has sprawled over many miles4 ,so nearly has the younger absorbed the older1 that ,kilauea's famous pit of molten lava seems almost to lie upon ,mauna ,loa's slope4 ,mauna ,loa soars #ac1fge feet4 ,its snowy dome shares with ,mauna ,kea1 which rises even higher1 the summit honors of the islands4 ,from ,hilo1 the principal port of the island of ,hawaii1 ,mauna ,loa suggests the back of a leviathan1 its body hidden in the mists4 ,the way up1 through forests of ancient mahogany and tangles of giant tree-fern1 then up many miles of lava slopes1 is one of the inspiring tours in the mountain world4 ,the summit crater1 ,mokuaweoweo1 three-quarters of a mile long by a quarter mile wide1 is as spectacular in action as that of ,kilauea4 ,this enormous volcanic mass has grown of its own output in comparatively a short time4 ,for many decades it has been extraordinarily frequent in eruption4 ,every five or ten years it gets into action with violence1 sometimes at the summit1 oftener of recent years since the central vent has lengthened1 at weakened places on its sides4 ,few volcanoes have been so regularly and systematically studied4 ,,kilauea ,the most spectacular exhibit of the ,hawaii ,national ,park is the lake of fire in the crater of ,kilauea4 ,kilauea is unusual among volcanoes4 ,it follows few of the popular conceptions4 ,older than the towering ,mauna ,loa1 its height is only four thousand feet4 ,its lavas have found vents through its flanks1 which they have broadened and flattened4 ,doubtless its own lavas have helped ,mauna ,loa's to merge the two mountains into one4 ,it is no longer explosive like the usual volcano2 since #agij1 when it destroyed a native army1 it has ejected neither rocks nor ashes4 ,its crater is no longer definitely bowl-shaped4 ,from the middle of a broad flat plain1 which really is what is left of the ancient great crater1 drops a pit with vertical sides within which boil its lavas4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph copyright by ,e4,m4 ,newman ,,the ,,kilauea ,,pit ,,of ,,fire1 ,,hawaii ,,national ,,park ,photographed at night by the light of its flaming lava ,illustration3 ,from a photograph copyright by ,newman ,travel ,talks and ,brown and ,dawson ,,within ,,the ,,crater ,,of ,,kilauea ,the pit1 the lake of fire1 is ,halemaumau1 commonly translated ,the ,house of ,everlasting ,fire2 the correct translation is ,the ,house of the ,maumau ,fern1 whose leaf is twisted and contorted like some forms of lava4 ,two miles and a little more from ,halemaumau1 on a part of the ancient crater wall1 stands the ,hawaiian ,volcano ,observatory1 which is under the control of the ,massachusetts ,institute of ,technology4 ,the observatory was built for the special purpose of studying the pit of fire1 the risings and fallings of whose lavas bear a relationship toward the volcanism of ,mauna ,loa which is scientifically important1 but which we need not discuss here4 ,the traveller enters ,hawaii by steamer through ,hilo4 ,he reaches the rim of ,kilauea by automobile1 an inspiring run of thirty-one miles over a road of volcanic glass1 bordered with vegetation strange to eyes accustomed only to that of the temperate zone--brilliant hibiscus1 native hardwood trees with feathery pompons for blossoms1 and the giant ferns which tower overhead4 ,on the rim are the hotels and the observatory4 ,steam-jets emerge at intervals1 and hot sulphur banks exhibit rich yellows4 ,from there the way descends to the floor of the crater and unrolls a ribbon of flower-bordered road seven miles long to the pit of fire4 ,by trail1 the distance is only two miles and a half across long stretches of hard lava congealed in ropes and ripples and strange contortions4 ,where else is a spectacle one-tenth as appalling so comfortably and quickly reached8 ,halemaumau is an irregular pit a thousand feet long with perpendicular sides4 ,its depth varies4 ,sometimes one looks hundreds of feet down to the boiling surface2 sometimes its lavas overrun the top4 ,the fumes of sulphur are very strong1 with the wind in your face4 ,at these times1 too1 the air is extremely hot4 ,there are cracks in the surrounding lava where you can scorch paper or cook a beefsteak4 ,many have been the attempts to describe it4 ,not having seen it myself1 ,i quote two here2 one a careful picture by a close student of the spectacle1 ,mr4 ,william ,r4 ,castle1 ,jr41 of ,honolulu2 the other a rapid sketch by ,mark ,twain4 ,by daylight1 writes ,castle1 the lake of fire is a greenish-yellow1 cut with ragged cracks of red that look like pale streaks of stationary lightning across its surface4 ,it is restless1 breathing rapidly1 bubbling up at one point and sinking down in another2 throwing up sudden fountains of scarlet molten lava that play a few minutes and subside1 leaving shimmering mounds which gradually settle to the level surface of the lake1 turning brown and yellow as they sink4 ,but as the daylight fades the fires of the pit shine more brightly4 ,mauna ,loa1 behind1 becomes a pale1 gray-blue1 insubstantial dome1 and overhead stars begin to appear4 ,as darkness comes the colors on the lake grow so intense that they almost hurt4 ,the fire is not only red2 it is blue and purple and orange and green4 ,blue flames shimmer and dart about the edges of the pit1 back and forth across the surface of the restless mass4 ,sudden fountains paint blood-red the great plume of sulphur smoke that rises constantly1 to drift away across the poisoned desert of ,kau4 ,sometimes the spurts of lava are so violent1 so exaggerated by the night1 that one draws back terrified lest some atom of their molten substance should spatter over the edge of the precipice4 ,sometimes the whole lake is in motion4 ,waves of fire toss and battle with each other and dash in clouds of bright vermilion spray against the black sides of the pit4 ,sometimes one of these sides falls in with a roar that echoes back and forth1 and mighty rocks are swallowed in the liquid mass of fire that closes over them in a whirlpool1 like water over a sinking ship4 ,again everything is quiet1 a thick scum forms over the surface of the lake1 dead1 like the scum on the surface of a lonely forest pool4 ,then it shivers4 ,flashes of fire dart from side to side4 ,the centre bursts open and a huge fountain of lava twenty feet thick and fifty high1 streams into the air and plays for several minutes1 waves of blinding fire flowing out from it1 dashing against the sides until the black rocks are starred all over with bits of scarlet4 ,to the spectator there is1 through it all1 no sense of fear4 ,so intense1 so tremendous is the spectacle that silly little human feelings find no place4 ,all sensations are submerged in a sense of awe4 ,mark ,twain gazed into ,halemaumau's terrifying depths4 ,it looked1 he writes1 like a colossal railroad-map of the ,state of ,massachusetts done in chain lightning on a midnight sky4 ,imagine it--imagine a coal-black sky shivered into a tangled network of angry fire6 ,here and there were gleaming holes a hundred feet in diameter1 broken in the dark crust1 and in them the melted lava--the color a dazzling white just tinged with yellow--was boiling and surging furiously2 and from these holes branched numberless bright torrents in many directions1 like the spokes of a wheel1 and kept a tolerably straight course for a while and then swept round in huge rainbow curves1 or made a long succession of sharp worm-fence angles1 which looked precisely like the fiercest jagged lightning4 ,those streams met other streams1 and they mingled with and crossed and recrossed each other in every conceivable direction1 like skate-tracks on a popular skating-ground4 ,sometimes streams twenty or thirty feet wide flowed from the holes to some distance without dividing--and through the opera-glasses we could see that they ran down small1 steep hills and were genuine cataracts of fire1 white at their source1 but soon cooling and turning to the richest red1 grained with alternate lines of black and gold4 ,every now and then masses of the dark crust broke away and floated slowly down these streams like rafts down a river4 ,occasionally1 the molten lava flowing under the superincumbent crust broke through--split a dazzling streak1 from five hundred to a thousand feet long1 like a sudden flash of lightning1 and then acre after acre of the cold lava parted into fragments1 turned up edgewise like cakes of ice when a great river breaks up1 plunged downward1 and were swallowed in the crimson caldron4 ,then the wide expanse of the 'thaw' maintained a ruddy glow for a while1 but shortly cooled and became black and level again4 ,during a 'thaw' every dismembered cake was marked by a glittering white border which was superbly shaded inward by aurora borealis rays1 which were a flaming yellow where they joined the white border1 and from thence toward their points tapered into glowing crimson1 then into a rich1 pale carmine1 and finally into a faint blush that held its own a moment and then dimmed and turned black4 ,some of the streams preferred to mingle together in a tangle of fantastic circles1 and then they looked something like the confusion of ropes one sees on a ship's deck when she has just taken in sail and dropped anchor--provided one can imagine those ropes on fire4 ,through the glasses1 the little fountains scattered about looked very beautiful4 ,they boiled1 and coughed1 and spluttered1 and discharged sprays of stringy red fire--of about the consistency of mush1 for instance--from ten to fifteen feet into the air1 along with a shower of brilliant white sparks--a quaint and unnatural mingling of gouts of blood and snowflakes4 ,one can descend the sides and approach surprisingly close to the flaming surface1 the temperature of which1 by the way1 is #agej degrees ,fahrenheit4 ,such is ,the ,house of ,everlasting ,fire to-day4 ,but who can say what it will be a year or a decade hence8 ,a clogging or a shifting of the vents below sea-level1 and ,kilauea's lake of fire may become again explosive4 ,who will deny that ,kilauea may not soar even above ,mauna ,loa8 ,stranger things have happened before this in the ,islands of ,surprise4 ,,the ,,sedimentary ,,national ,,parks ,,xii ,,on ,,sedimentary ,,rock ,,in ,,scenery ,the national parks which are wrought in sedimentary rocks are ,glacier1 ,mesa ,verde1 ,hot ,springs1 ,platt1 ,wind ,cave1 ,sully's ,hill1 and ,grand ,canyon4 ,zion ,national ,monument is carved from sedimentary rock2 also several distinguished reservations in our southwest which conserve natural bridges and petrified forests4 ,sedimentary rocks have highly attractive scenic quality4 ,lying in strata usually horizontal but often inclined by earth movements1 sometimes even standing on end1 they form marked and pleasing contrasts with the heavy massing of the igneous rocks and the graceful undulations and occasional sharp-pointed summits of the lavas4 ,as distinguished from igneous rocks1 which form under pressure in the earth's hot interior1 and from lava1 which results from volcanic eruption when fluid igneous rocks are released from pressure1 sedimentary rocks are formed by the solidification of precipitations in water1 like limestone2 or from material resulting from rock disintegrations washed down by streams1 like sandstone and shale4 ,the beds in which they lie one above another exhibit a wide range of tint and texture1 often forming spectacles of surpassing beauty and grandeur4 ,these strata tend to cleave vertically1 sometimes producing an appearance suggestive of masonry1 frequently forming impressive cliffs2 but often they lie in unbroken beds of great area4 ,when a number of well-defined strata cleave vertically1 and one end of the series sags below the other1 or lifts above it1 the process which geologists call faulting1 the scenic effect is varied and striking2 sometimes1 as in ,glacier ,national ,park1 it is puzzling and amazing4 ,many granitic and volcanic landscapes are variegated in places by accidental beds of sedimentary rock2 and conversely occasional sedimentary landscapes are set off by intrusions of igneous rocks4 ,besides variety of form1 sedimentary rocks furnish a wide range of color derived from mineral dyes dissolved out of rocks by erosion4 ,the gorgeous tint of the ,vermilion ,cliff in ,utah and ,arizona1 the reds and greens of the ,grand ,canyon and ,glacier ,national ,park1 the glowing cliffs of the ,canyon de ,chelly1 and the variegated hues of the ,painted ,desert are examples which have become celebrated4 ,geologists distinguish many kinds of sedimentary rocks4 ,scenically1 we need consider only four3 limestone1 conglomerate1 sandstone1 and shale4 ,limestone is calcium carbonate derived principally from sea-water1 sometimes from fresh water1 either by the action of microscopic organisms which absorb it for their shells1 or occasionally by direct precipitation from saturated solutions4 ,the sediment from organisms1 which is the principal source of ,american scenic limestones1 collects as ooze in shallow lakes or seas1 and slowly hardens when lifted above the water-level4 ,limestone is a common and prominent scenic rock2 generally it is gray or blue and weathers pale yellow4 ,moisture seeping in from above often reduces soluble minerals which drain away1 leaving caves which sometimes have enormous size4 ,the other sedimentary rocks which figure prominently in landscape are products of land erosion which rivers sweep into seas or lakes1 where they are promptly deposited4 ,the coarse gravels which naturally fall first become conglomerate when cemented by the action of chemicals in water4 ,the finer sandy particles become sandstone4 ,the fine mud1 which deposits last1 eventually hardens into shale4 ,shale has many varieties1 but is principally hardened clay2 it tends to split into slate-like plates each the thickness of its original deposit4 ,it is usually dull brown or slate color1 but sometimes1 as in ,glacier ,national ,park and the ,grand ,canyon1 shows a variety of more or less brilliant colors and1 by weathering1 a wide variety of kindred tints4 ,sandstone1 which forms wherever moving water or wind has collected sands1 and pressure or chemical action has cemented them1 is usually buff1 but sometimes is brilliantly colored4 ,the processes of ,nature have mixed the earth's scenic elements in seemingly inextricable confusion1 and the task of the geologist has been colossal4 ,fortunately for us1 the elements of scenery are few1 and their larger combinations broad and simple4 ,once the mind has grasped the outline and the processes1 and the eye has learned to distinguish elements and recognize forms1 the world is recreated for us4 ,,xiii ,,glaciered ,,peaks ,,and ,,painted ,,shales ,,glacier ,,national ,,park1 ,,northwestern ,,montana4 ,,area1 #a1ecd ,,square ,,miles ,i ,to say that ,glacier ,national ,park is the ,canadian ,rockies done in ,grand ,canyon colors is to express a small part of a complicated fact4 ,glacier is so much less and more4 ,it is less in its exhibit of ice and snow4 ,both are dying glacial regions1 and ,glacier is hundreds of centuries nearer the end2 no longer can it display snowy ranges in ,august and long1 sinuous ,alaska-like glaciers at any time4 ,nevertheless1 it has its glaciers1 sixty or more of them perched upon high rocky shelves1 the beautiful shrunken reminders of one-time monsters4 ,also it has the precipice-walled cirques and painted1 lake-studded valleys which these monsters left for the enjoyment of to-day4 ,it is these cirques and valleys which constitute ,glacier's unique feature1 which make it incomparable of its kind4 ,glacier's innermost sanctuaries of grandeur are comfortably accessible and intimately enjoyable for more than two months each summer4 ,the greatest places of the ,canadian ,rockies are never accessible comfortably2 alpinists may clamber over their icy crevasses and scale their slippery heights in ,august1 but the usual traveller will view their noblest spectacles from hotel porches or valley trails4 ,this comparison is useful because both regions are parts of the same geological and scenic development in which ,glacier may be said to be scenically1 though by no means geologically1 completed and the ,canadian ,rockies still in the making4 ,a hundred thousand years or more from now the ,canadian ,rockies may have reached1 except for coloring1 the present scenic state of ,glacier4 ,glacier ,national ,park hangs down from the ,canadian boundary-line in northwestern ,montana1 where it straddles the continental divide4 ,adjoining it on the north is the ,waterton ,lakes ,park1 ,canada4 ,the ,blackfeet ,indian ,reservation borders it on the east4 ,its southern boundary is ,marias ,pass1 through which the ,great ,northern ,railway crosses the crest of the ,rocky ,mountains4 ,its western boundary is the ,north ,fork of the ,flathead ,river4 ,the park contains fifteen hundred and thirty-four square miles4 ,communication between the east and west sides within the park is only by trail across passes over the continental divide4 ,there are parts of ,america quite as distinguished as ,glacier3 ,mount ,mc,kinley1 for its enormous snowy mass and stature2 ,yosemite1 for the quality of its valley's beauty2 ,mount ,rainier1 for its massive radiating glaciers2 ,crater ,lake1 for its color range in pearls and blues2 ,grand ,canyon1 for its stupendous painted gulf4 ,but there is no part of ,america or the ,americas1 or of the world1 to match it of its kind4 ,in respect to the particular wondrous thing these glaciers of old left behind them when they shrank to shelved trifles1 there is no other4 ,at ,glacier one sees what he never saw elsewhere and never will see again--except at ,glacier4 ,there are mountains everywhere1 but no others carved into shapes quite like these2 cirques in all lofty ranges1 but not cirques just such as these2 and because of these unique bordering highlands there are nowhere else lakes having the particular kind of charm possessed by ,glacier's lakes4 ,visitors seldom comprehend ,glacier2 hence they are mute1 or praise in generalities or vague superlatives4 ,those who have not seen other mountains find the unexpected and are puzzled4 ,those who have seen other mountains fail to understand the difference in these4 ,i have never heard comparison with any region except the ,canadian ,rockies1 and this seldom very intelligent4 ,i miss the big glaciers and snowy mountain-tops1 says the traveller of one type4 ,you can really see something here besides snow1 and how stunning it all is6 says the traveller of another type4 ,my ,god1 man1 where are your artists8 cried an ,englishman who had come to ,st4 ,mary ,lake to spend a night and was finishing his week4 ,they ought to be here in regiments4 ,not that this is the greatest thing in the world1 but that there's nothing else in the world like it4 ,yet this emotional traveller1 who had seen the ,himalayas1 ,andes1 and ,canadian ,rockies1 could not tell me clearly why it was different4 ,neither could the others explain why they liked it better than the ,canadian ,rockies1 or why its beauty puzzled and disturbed them4 ,it is only he whom intelligent travel has educated to analyze and distinguish who sees in the fineness and the extraordinary distinction of ,glacier's mountain forms the completion of the more heroic undevelopment north of the border4 ,,ii ,the elements of ,glacier's personality are so unusual that it will be difficult1 if not impossible1 to make phrase describe it4 ,comparison fails4 ,photographs will help1 but not very efficiently1 because they do not convey its size1 color1 and reality2 or perhaps ,i should say its unreality1 for there are places like ,two ,medicine ,lake in still pale mid-morning1 ,st4 ,mary ,lake during one of its gold sunsets1 and the cirques of the ,south ,fork of the ,belly ,river under all conditions which never can seem actual4 ,to picture ,glacier as nearly as possible1 imagine two mountain ranges roughly parallel in the north1 where they pass the continental divide between them across a magnificent high intervening valley1 and1 in the south1 merging into a wild and apparently planless massing of high peaks and ranges4 ,imagine these mountains repeating everywhere huge pyramids1 enormous stone gables1 elongated cones1 and many other unusual shapes1 including numerous saw-toothed edges which rise many thousand feet upward from swelling sides1 and suggest nothing so much as overturned keel-boats4 ,imagine ranges glacier-bitten alternately on either side with cirques of three or four thousand feet of precipitous depth4 ,imagine these cirques often so nearly meeting that the intervening walls are knife-like edges2 miles of such walls carry the continental divide1 and occasionally these cirques meet and the intervening wall crumbles and leaves a pass across the divide4 ,imagine places where cirque walls have been so bitten outside as well as in that they stand like amphitheatres builded up from foundations instead of gouged out of rock from above4 ,imagine these mountains plentifully snow-spattered upon their northern slopes and bearing upon their shoulders many small and beautiful glaciers perched upon rock-shelves above and back of the cirques left by the greater glaciers of which they are the remainders4 ,these glaciers are nearly always wider than they are long2 of these ,i have seen only three with elongated lobes4 ,one is the ,blackfeet ,glacier1 whose interesting west lobe is conveniently situated for observation south of ,gunsight ,lake1 and another1 romantically beautiful ,agassiz ,glacier1 in the far northwest of the park1 whose ice-currents converge in a tongue which drops steeply to its snout4 ,these elongations are complete miniatures1 each exhibiting in little more than half a mile of length all usual glacial phenomena1 including caves and ice-falls4 ,occasionally1 as on the side of ,mount ,jackson at ,gunsight ,pass and east of it1 one notices small elongated glaciers occupying clefts in steep slopes4 ,the largest and most striking of these tongued glaciers is the westernmost of the three ,carter ,glaciers on the slopes of ,mount ,carter4 ,it cascades its entire length into ,bowman ,valley1 and ,marius ,r4 ,campbell's suggestion that it should be renamed the ,cascading ,glacier deserves consideration4 ,imagine deep rounded valleys emerging from these cirques and twisting snakelike among enormous and sometimes grotesque rock masses which often are inconceivably twisted and tumbled1 those of each drainage-basin converging fan-like to its central valley4 ,sometimes a score or more of cirques1 great and small1 unite their valley streams for the making of a river2 seven principal valleys1 each the product of such a group1 emerge from the east side of the park1 thirteen from the west4 ,imagine hundreds of lakes whose waters1 fresh-run from snow-field and glacier1 brilliantly reflect the odd surrounding landscape4 ,each glacier has its lake or lakes of robin's-egg blue4 ,every successive shelf of every glacial stairway has its lake--one or more4 ,and every valley has its greater lake or string of lakes4 ,glacier is pre-eminently the park of lakes4 ,when all is said and done1 they constitute its most distinguished single element of supreme beauty4 ,for several of them enthusiastic admirers loudly claim world pre-eminence4 ,and finally imagine this picture done in soft glowing colors--not only the blue sky1 the flowery meadows1 the pine-green valleys1 and the innumerable many-hued waters1 but the rocks1 the mountains1 and the cirques besides4 ,the glaciers of old penetrated the most colorful depths of earth's skin1 the very ancient ,algonkian strata1 that from which a part of the ,grand ,canyon also was carved4 ,at this point1 the rocks appear in four differently colored layers4 ,the lowest of these is called the ,altyn limestone4 ,there are about sixteen hundred feet of it1 pale blue within1 weathering pale buff4 ,whole yellow mountains of this rock hang upon the eastern edge of the park4 ,next above the ,altyn lies thirty-four hundred feet of ,appekunny argillite1 or dull-green shale4 ,the tint is pale1 deepening to that familiar in the lower part of the ,grand ,canyon4 ,it weathers every darkening shade to very dark greenish-brown4 ,next above that lies twenty-two hundred feet of ,grinnell argillite1 or red shale1 a dull rock of varying pinks which weathers many shades of red and purple1 deepening in places almost to black4 ,there is some gleaming white quartzite mixed with both these shales4 ,next above lies more than four thousand feet of ,siyeh limestone1 very solid1 very massive1 iron-gray with an insistent flavor of yellow1 and weathering buff4 ,this heavy stratum is the most impressive part of the ,glacier landscape4 ,horizontally through its middle runs a dark broad ribbon of diorite1 a rock as hard as granite1 which once1 while molten1 burst from below and forced its way between horizontal beds of limestone2 and occasionally1 as in the ,swiftcurrent and ,triple ,divide ,passes1 there are dull iron-black lavas in heavy twisted masses4 ,above all of these colored strata once lay still another shale of very brilliant red4 ,fragments of this1 which geologists call the ,kintla formation1 may be seen topping mountains here and there in the northern part of the park4 ,imagine these rich strata hung east and west across the landscape and sagging deeply in the middle1 so that a horizontal line would cut all colors diagonally4 ,now imagine a softness of line as well as color resulting probably from the softness of the rock2 there is none of the hard insistence1 the uncompromising definiteness of the granite landscape4 ,and imagine further an impression of antiquity1 a feeling akin to that with which one enters a mediaeval ruin or sees the pyramids of ,egypt4 ,only here is the look of immense1 unmeasured1 immeasurable age4 ,more than at any place except perhaps the rim of the ,grand ,canyon does one seem to stand in the presence of the infinite2 an instinct which1 while it baffles analysis1 is sound1 for there are few rocks of the earth's skin so aged as these ornate shales and limestones4 ,and now1 at last1 you can imagine ,glacier6 ,,iii ,but1 with ,glacier1 this is not enough4 ,to see1 to realize in full its beauty1 still leaves one puzzled4 ,one of the peculiarities of the landscape1 due perhaps to its differences1 is its insistence upon explanation4 ,how came this prehistoric plain so etched with cirques and valleys as to leave standing only worm-like crests1 knife-edged walls1 amphitheatres1 and isolated peaks8 ,the answer is the story of a romantic episode in the absorbing history of ,america's making4 ,somewhere between forty and six hundred million years ago1 according to the degree of conservatism controlling the geologist who does the calculating1 these lofty mountains were deposited in the shape of muddy sediments on the bottom of shallow fresh-water lakes1 whose waves left many ripple marks upon the soft muds of its shores1 fragments of which1 hardened now to shale1 are frequently found by tourists4 ,so ancient was the period that these deposits lay next above the primal ,archean rocks1 and marked1 therefore1 almost the beginning of accepted geological history4 ,life was then so nearly at its beginnings that the forms which ,walcott found in the ,siyeh limestone were not at first fully accepted as organic4 ,thereafter1 during a time so long that none may even estimate it1 certainly for many millions of years1 the history of the region leaves traces of no extraordinary change4 ,it sank possibly thousands of feet beneath the fresh waters tributary to the sea which once swept from the ,gulf of ,mexico to the ,arctic1 and accumulated there sediments which to-day are scenic limestones and shales1 and doubtless other sediments above these which have wholly passed away4 ,it may have alternated above and below water-level many times1 as our southwest has done4 ,eventually1 under earth-pressures concerning whose cause many theories have lived and died1 it rose to remain until our times4 ,then1 millions of years ago1 but still recently as compared with the whole vast lapse we are considering1 came the changes which seem dramatic to us as we look back upon them accomplished2 but which came to pass so slowly that no man1 had man then lived1 could have noticed a single step of progress in the course of a long life4 ,under earth-pressures the skin buckled and the ,rocky ,mountains rose4 ,at some stage of this process the range cracked along its crest from what is now ,marias ,pass to a point just over the ,canadian border1 and1 a couple of hundred miles farther north1 from the neighborhood of ,banff to the northern end of the ,canadian ,rockies4 ,then the great overthrust followed4 ,side-pressures of inconceivable power forced upward the western edge of this crack1 including the entire crust from the ,algonkian strata up1 and thrust it over the eastern edge4 ,during the overthrusting1 which may have taken a million years1 and during the millions of years since1 the frosts have chiselled open and the rains have washed away all the overthrust strata1 the accumulations of the geological ages from ,algonkian times down1 except only that one bottom layer4 ,this alone remained for the three ice invasions of the ,glacial ,age to carve into the extraordinary area which is called to-day the ,glacier ,national ,park4 ,the ,lewis ,overthrust1 so called because it happened to the ,lewis ,range1 is ten to fifteen miles wide4 ,the eastern boundary of the park roughly defines its limit of progress4 ,its signs are plain to the eye taught to perceive them4 ,the yellow mountains on the eastern edge near the gateway to ,lake ,mc,dermott lie on top of the ,blackfeet ,indian ,reservation1 whose surface is many millions of years younger and quite different in coloring4 ,similarly1 ,chief ,mountain1 at the entrance of the ,belly ,river ,valley1 owes much of its remarkable distinction to the incompatibility of its form and color with the prairie upon which it lies but out of which it seems to burst4 ,the bottom of ,mc,dermott ,falls at ,many ,glacier ,hotel is plainly a younger rock than the colored ,algonkian limestones which form its brink4 ,perhaps thousands of years after the overthrust was accomplished another tremendous faulting still further modified the landscape of to-day4 ,the overthrust edge cracked lengthwise1 this time west of the continental divide all the way from the ,canadian line southward nearly to ,marias ,pass4 ,the edge of the strata west of this crack sank perhaps many thousands of feet1 leaving great precipices on the west side of the divide similar to those on the east side4 ,there was this great difference1 however1 in what followed3 the elongated gulf or ditch thus formed became filled with the deposits of later geologic periods4 ,this whole process1 which also was very slow in movement1 is important in explaining the conformation and scenic peculiarities of the west side of the park1 which1 as the tourist sees it to-day1 is remarkably different from those of the east side4 ,here1 the great limestone ranges1 glaciered1 cirqued1 and precipiced as on the east side1 suddenly give place to broad1 undulating plains which constitute practically the whole of the great west side from the base of the mountains on the east to the valley of the ,flathead which forms the park's western boundary4 ,these plains are grown thickly with splendid forests4 ,cross ranges1 largely glacier-built1 stretch west from the high mountains1 subsiding rapidly2 and between these ranges lie long winding lakes1 forest-grown to their edges1 which carry the western drainage of the continental divide through outlet streams into the ,flathead4 ,the inconceivable lapse of time covered in these titanic operations of ,nature and their excessive slowness of progress rob them of much of their dramatic quality4 ,perhaps an inch of distance was an extraordinary advance for the ,lewis ,overthrust to make in any ordinary year1 and doubtless there were lapses of centuries when no measurable advance was made4 ,yet sometimes sudden settlings1 accompanied by more or less extended earthquakes1 must have visibly altered local landscapes4 ,were it possible1 by some such mental foreshortening as that by which the wizards of the screen compress a life into a minute1 for imagination to hasten this progress into the compass of a few hours1 how overwhelming would be the spectacle6 ,how tremendously would loom this advancing edge1 which at first we may conceive as having enormous thickness6 ,how it must have cracked1 crumbled1 and fallen in frequent titanic crashes as it moved forward4 ,it does not need the imagination of ,dore to picture this advance1 thus hastened in fancy1 grim1 relentless as death1 its enormous towering head lost in eternal snows1 its feet shaken by earthquakes1 accumulating giant glaciers only to crush them into powder2 resting1 then pushing forward in slow1 smashing1 reverberating shoves4 ,how the accumulations of all periods may be imagined crashing together into the depths6 ,silurian gastropods1 strange ,devonian fishes1 enormous ,triassic reptiles1 the rich and varied shells of the ,jurassic1 the dinosaurs and primitive birds of ,cretaceous1 the little early horses of ,eocene1 and ,miocene's camels and mastodons mingling their fossil remnants in a democracy of ruin to defy the eternal ages6 ,it all happened1 but unfortunately for a romantic conception1 it did not happen with dramatic speed4 ,hundreds1 thousands1 sometimes millions of years intervened between the greater stages of progress which1 with intervening lesser stages1 merged into a seldom-broken quietude such as that which impresses to-day's visitor to the mountain-tops of ,glacier ,national ,park4 ,and who can say that the landscape which to-day's visitor1 with the inborn arrogance of man1 looks upon as the thing which the ages have completed for his pleasure1 may not merely represent a minor stage in a progress still more terrible8 ,the grist of ,creation's past milling has disappeared4 ,the waters of heaven1 collected and stored in snow-fields and glaciers to be released in seasonal torrents1 have washed it all away4 ,not a sign remains to-day save here and there perhaps a fragment of ,cretaceous coal4 ,all has been ground to powder and carried off by flood and stream to enrich the soils and upbuild later strata in the drainage basins of the ,saskatchewan1 the ,columbia1 and the ,mississippi4 ,it is probable that little remained but the ,algonkian shales and limestones when the ,ice ,age sent southward the first of its three great invasions4 ,doubtless already there were glaciers there of sorts1 but the lowering temperatures which accompanied the ice-sheets developed local glaciers so great of size that only a few mountain-tops were left exposed4 ,it was then that these extraordinary cirques were carved4 ,there were three such periods during the ,ice ,age1 between which and after which stream erosion resumed its untiring sway4 ,the story of the ice is written high upon ,glacier's walls and far out on the eastern plains4 ,,iv ,into this wonderland the visitor enters by one of two roads4 ,either he leaves the railroad at ,glacier ,park on the east side of the continental divide or at ,belton on the west side4 ,in either event he can cross to the other side only afoot or on horseback over passes4 ,the usual way in is through ,glacier ,park4 ,there is a large hotel at the station from which automobile-stages run northward to chalets at ,two ,medicine ,lake1 the ,cut ,bank ,valley1 and ,st4 ,mary ,lake1 and to the ,many ,glacier ,hotel and chalets at ,lake ,mc,dermott4 ,a road also reaches ,lake ,mc,dermott from ,canada by way of ,babb1 and ,canadian visitors can reach the trails at the head of ,waterton ,lake by boat from their own ,waterton ,lakes ,park4 ,those entering at ,belton1 where the park headquarters are located1 find chalets at the railroad-station and an excellent hotel near the head of ,lake ,mc,donald4 ,there is also a comfortable chalet close to the ,sperry ,glacier4 ,to see ,glacier as thoroughly as ,glacier deserves and to draw freely on its abundant resources of pleasure and inspiration1 one must travel the trails and pitch his tent where day's end brings him4 ,but that does not mean that ,glacier cannot be seen and enjoyed by those to whom comfortable hotel accommodations are a necessity1 or even by those who find trail-travelling impossible4 ,visitors1 therefore1 fall into three general classes1 all of whom may study scenery which quite fully covers the range of ,glacier's natural phenomena and peculiar beauty4 ,the largest of these classes consists of those who can travel1 or think they can travel1 only in vehicles1 and can find satisfactory accommodations only in good hotels4 ,the intermediate class includes those who can1 at a pinch1 ride ten or twelve miles on comfortably saddled horses which walk the trails at two or three miles an hour1 and who do not object to the somewhat primitive but thoroughly comfortable overnight accommodations of the chalets4 ,finally comes the small class1 which constantly will increase1 of those who have the time and inclination to leave the beaten path with tent and camping outfit for the splendid wilderness and the places of supreme magnificence which are only for those who seek4 ,the man1 then1 whose tendency to gout1 let us say1 forbids him ride a horse or walk more than a couple of easy miles a day may1 nevertheless1 miss nothing of ,glacier's meaning and magnificence provided he takes the trouble to understand4 ,but he must take the trouble2 he must comprehend the few examples that he sees2 this is his penalty for refusing the rich experience of the trail1 which1 out of its very fulness1 drives meaning home with little mental effort4 ,his knowledge must be got from six places only which may be reached by vehicle1 at least three of which1 however1 may be included among the world's great scenic places4 ,he can find at ,two ,medicine1 ,st4 ,mary1 and ,mc,dermott superb examples of ,glacier's principal scenic elements4 ,entering at ,glacier ,park1 he will have seen the range from the plains1 an important beginning2 already1 approaching from the east1 he has watched it grow wonderfully on the horizon4 ,so suddenly do these painted mountains spring from the grassy plain that it is a relief to recognize in them the advance guard of the ,lewis ,overthrust1 vast fragments of the upheavals of the depths pushed eastward by the centuries to their final resting-places upon the surface of the prairie4 ,from the hotel porches they glow gray and yellow and purple and rose and pink1 according to the natural coloring of their parts and the will of the sun--a splendid ever-changing spectacle4 ,,the ,,two ,,medicine ,,country ,an hour's automobile-ride from ,glacier ,park ,hotel will enable our traveller to penetrate the range at a point of supreme beauty and stand beside a chalet at the foot of ,two ,medicine ,lake4 ,he will face what appears to be a circular lake in a densely forested valley from whose shore rises a view of mountains which will take his breath4 ,in the near centre stands a cone of enormous size and magnificence--,mount ,rockwell--faintly blue1 mistily golden1 richly purple1 dull silver1 or red and gray1 according to the favor of the hour and the sky4 ,upon its left and somewhat back rises a smaller similar cone1 flatter but quite as perfectly proportioned1 known as ,grizzly ,mountain1 and upon its right less regular masses4 ,in the background1 connecting all1 are more distant mountains flecked with snow1 the continental divide4 ,towering mountains close upon him upon both sides1 that upon his right a celebrity in red argillite known as ,rising ,wolf4 ,he sees all this from a beach of many-colored pebbles4 ,few casual visitors have more than a midday view of ,two ,medicine ,lake1 for the stage returns in the afternoon4 ,the glory of the sunset and the wonder before sunrise are for the few who stay over at the chalet4 ,the lover of the exquisite cannot do better1 for1 though beyond lie scenes surpassing this in the qualities which bring to the lips the shout of joy1 ,i am convinced that nothing elsewhere equals the ,two ,medicine canvas in the perfection of delicacy4 ,it is the ,meissonier of ,glacier4 ,nor can the student of ,nature's processes afford to miss the study of ,two ,medicine's marvellously complete and balanced system of cirques and valleys--though this of course is not for the rheumatic traveller but for him who fears not horse and tent4 ,such an explorer will find thrills with every passing hour4 ,giant ,mount ,rockwell will produce one when a sideview shows that its apparent cone is merely the smaller eastern end of a ridge two miles long which culminates in a towering summit on the divide2 ,pumpelly ,piller1 with the proportions of a monument when seen from near the lake1 becomes1 seen sideways1 another long and exceedingly beautiful ridge2 striking examples1 these1 of the leavings of converging glaciers of old4 ,two ,medicine ,lake proves to be long and narrow1 the chalet view being the long way1 and ,upper ,two ,medicine ,lake proves to be an emerald-encircled pearl in a silvery-gray setting4 ,the climax of such a several days' trip is a night among the coyotes at the head of the main valley and a morning upon ,dawson ,pass overlooking the indescribable tangle of peak1 precipice1 and canyon lying west of the continental divide4 ,taken as a whole1 the ,two ,medicine drainage-basin is an epitome of ,glacier in miniature4 ,to those entering the park on the east side and seeing it first it becomes an admirable introduction to the greater park4 ,to those who have entered on the west side and finish here it is an admirable farewell review1 especially as its final picture sounds the note of scenic perfection4 ,were there nothing else of ,glacier1 this spot would become in time itself a world celebrity4 ,incidentally1 exceedingly lively ,eastern brook-trout will afford an interesting hour to one who floats a fly down the short stream into the lakelet at the foot of ,two ,medicine ,lake not far below the chalet4 ,there are also fish below ,trick ,falls4 ,,the ,,spectacle ,,of ,,st4 ,,mary ,st4 ,mary ,lake1 similarly situated in the outlet valley of a much greater group of cirques north of ,two ,medicine1 offers a picture as similar in kind as two canvases are similar which have been painted by the same hand2 but they widely differ in composition and magnificence2 ,two ,medicine's preciousness yields to ,st4 ,mary's elemental grandeur4 ,the steamer which brings our rheumatic traveller from the motor-stage at the foot of the lake lands him at the upper chalet group1 appropriately ,swiss1 which finds vantage on a rocky promontory for the view of the divide4 ,gigantic mountains of deep-red argillite1 grotesquely carved1 close in the sides1 and with lake and sky wonderfully frame the amazing central picture of pointed pyramids1 snow-fields1 hanging glaciers1 and silvery ridges merging into sky4 ,seen on the way into ,glacier1 ,st4 ,mary is a prophecy which will not be fulfilled elsewhere in charm though often far exceeded in degree4 ,seen leaving ,glacier1 it combines with surpassing novelty scenic elements whose possibilities of further gorgeous combination the trip through the park has seemed to exhaust4 ,the ,st4 ,mary picture is impossible to describe4 ,its colors vary with the hours and the atmosphere's changing conditions4 ,it is silver1 golden1 mauve1 blue1 lemon1 misty white1 and red by turn4 ,it is seen clearly in the morning with the sun behind you4 ,afternoons and sunsets offer theatrical effects1 often baffling1 always lovely and different4 ,pointed ,fusillade and peaked ,reynolds ,mountains often lose their tops in lowering mists4 ,so1 often1 does ,going-to-the-,sun ,mountain in the near-by right foreground4 ,so1 not so often1 does keel-shaped ,citadel ,mountain on the near-by left2 also1 at times1 majestic ,little ,chief1 he of lofty mien and snow-dashed crown1 and stolid ,red ,eagle1 whose gigantic reflection reddens a mile of waters4 ,it is these close-up monsters even more than the colorful ghosts of the ,western horizon which stamp ,st4 ,mary's personality4 ,from the porches of the chalets and the deck of the steamer in its evening tour of the lake-end the traveller will note the enormous size of those upper valleys which once combined their glaciers as now they do their streams4 ,he will guess that the glacier which once swept through the deep gorge in whose bottom now lies ,st4 ,mary ,lake was several thousand feet in thickness4 ,he will long to examine those upper valleys and reproduce in imagination the amazing spectacle of long ago4 ,but they are not for him4 ,that vision is reserved for those who ride the trails4 ,,the ,,scenic ,,climax ,,of ,,the ,,swiftcurrent ,again passing north1 the automobile-stage reaches road's end at ,mc,dermott ,lake1 the fan-handle of the ,swiftcurrent drainage-basin4 ,overlooking a magnificent part of each of its contributing valleys1 the lake1 itself supremely beautiful1 may well deserve its reputation as ,glacier's scenic centre4 ,i have much sympathy with the thousands who claim supremacy for ,mc,dermott ,lake4 ,lake ,mc,donald has its wonderfully wooded shores1 its majestic length and august vista2 ,helen ,lake its unequalled wildness2 ,bowman ,lake its incomparable view of glacier-shrouded divide4 ,but ,mc,dermott has something of everything2 it is a composite1 a mosaic masterpiece with every stone a gem4 ,there is no background from which one looks forward to the view4 ,its horizon contains three hundred and sixty degrees of view4 ,from the towering south gable of that rock-temple to ,god the ,creator1 which the map calls ,mount ,gould1 around the circle1 it offers an unbroken panorama in superlative4 ,in no sense by way of comparison1 which is absurd between scenes so different1 but merely to help realization by contrast with what is well known1 let us recall the ,yosemite ,valley4 ,yosemite is a valley1 ,swiftcurrent an enclosure4 ,yosemite is gray and shining1 ,swiftcurrent richer far in color4 ,yosemite's walls are rounded1 peaked1 and polished1 ,swiftcurrent's toothed1 torn1 and crumbling2 the setting sun shines through holes worn by frost and water in the living rock4 ,yosemite guards her western entrance with a shaft of gray granite rising thirty-six hundred feet from the valley floor1 and her eastern end by granite domes of five thousand and six thousand feet2 ,swiftcurrent's rocks gather round her central lake--,altyn1 thirty-two hundred feet above the lake's level2 ,henkel1 thirty-eight hundred feet2 ,wilbur1 forty-five hundred feet2 ,grinnell1 four thousand2 ,gould1 forty-seven hundred2 ,allen1 forty-five hundred--all of colored strata1 green at base1 then red1 then gray4 ,yosemite has its winding river and waterfalls1 ,swiftcurrent its lakes and glaciers4 ,swiftcurrent has the repose but not the softness of ,yosemite4 ,yosemite is unbelievably beautiful4 ,swiftcurrent inspires wondering awe4 ,mc,dermott ,lake1 focus point of all this natural glory1 is scarcely a mile long1 and narrow4 ,it may be vivid blue and steel-blue and milky-blue1 and half a dozen shades of green and pink all within twice as many minutes1 according to the whim of the breeze1 the changing atmosphere1 and the clouding of the sun4 ,often it suggests nothing so much as a pool of dull-green paint4 ,or it may present a reversed image of mountains1 glaciers1 and sky in their own coloring4 ,or at sunset it may turn lemon or purple or crimson or orange1 or a blending of all4 ,or1 with rushing storm-clouds1 it may quite suddenly lose every hint of any color1 and become a study in black1 white1 and intermediate grays4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,bailey ,willis ,,the ,,great ,,gable ,,of ,,gould ,,mountain ,the water is ,mc,dermott ,lake1 one of the most beautiful in ,glacier ,national ,park ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,a4,j4 ,baker ,,the ,,cirque ,,at ,,the ,,head ,,of ,,cut ,,bank ,,creek ,fine examples of glacier cirques throughout the park4 ,the peak is ,mount ,morgan1 ,glacier ,national ,park4 ,there are times when1 from hotel porch1 rock1 or boat1 the towering peaks and connecting limestone walls become suddenly so fairy-like that they lose all sense of reality1 seeming to merge into their background of sky1 from which1 nevertheless1 they remain sharply differentiated4 ,the rapidity and the variety of change in the appearance of the water is nothing to that in the appearance of these magical walls and mountains4 ,now near1 now distant2 now luring1 now forbidding2 now gleaming as if with their own light2 now gloomy in threat1 they lose not their hold on the eye for a moment4 ,the unreality of ,mc,dermott ,lake1 the sense it often imparts of impossibility1 is perhaps its most striking feature4 ,one suspects he dreams1 awake4 ,,the ,,scenic ,,circle ,to realize the spot as best we may1 let us pause on the bridge among those casting for trout below the upper fall and glance around4 ,to our left rises ,allen ,mountain1 rugged1 irregular1 forest-clothed half-way up its forty-five hundred feet of elevation above the valley floor4 ,beyond it a long gigantic wall sets in at right angles1 blue1 shining1 serrated1 supporting1 apparently on the lake edge1 an enormous gable end of gray limestone banded with black diorite1 a veritable personality comparable with ,yosemite's most famous rocks4 ,this is ,mount ,gould4 ,next is the ,grinnell ,glacier1 hanging glistening in the air1 dripping waterfalls1 backgrounded by the gnawed top of the venerable ,garden ,wall4 ,then comes in turn the majestic mass of ,mount ,grinnell1 four miles long1 culminating at the lakeside in an enormous parti-colored pyramid more impressive from the hotel than even ,rockwell is from ,two ,medicine chalets4 ,then1 upon its right1 appears a wall which is the unnamed continuation of the ,garden ,wall1 and1 plastered against the side of ,swiftcurrent ,mountain1 three small hanging glaciers1 seeming in the distance like two long parallel snow-banks4 ,then ,mount ,wilbur1 another giant pyramid1 gray1 towering1 massively carved1 grandly proportioned1 kingly in bearing6 ,again upon its right emerges still another continuation1 also unnamed1 of the ,garden ,wall1 this section loftiest of all and bitten deeply by the ages4 ,a part of it is instantly recognized from the hotel window as part of the sky-line surrounding famous ,iceberg ,lake4 ,its right is lost behind the nearer slopes of red ,mount ,henkel1 which swings back upon our right1 bringing the eye nearly to its starting-point4 ,a glance out behind between mountains1 upon the limitless lake-dotted plain1 completes the scenic circle4 ,mc,dermott ,lake1 by which ,i here mean the ,swiftcurrent enclosure as seen from the ,many ,glacier ,hotel1 is illustrative of all of ,glacier4 ,there are wilder spots1 by far1 some which frighten2 there are places of nobler beauty1 though as ,i write ,i know ,i shall deny it the next time ,i stand on ,mc,dermott's shores2 there are supreme places which at first glance seem to have no kinship with any other place on earth4 ,nevertheless1 ,mc,dermott contains all of ,glacier's elements1 all her charm1 and practically all her combinations4 ,it is the place of places to study ,glacier4 ,it is also a place to dream away idle weeks4 ,so he who cannot ride or walk the trails may still see and understand ,glacier in her majesty4 ,besides the places ,i have mentioned he may see1 from the ,cut ,bank ,chalet1 a characteristic forested valley of great beauty1 and at ,lewis's hotel on ,lake ,mc,donald the finest spot accessible upon the broad west side1 the playground1 as the east side is the show-place1 of hundreds of future thousands4 ,so many are the short horseback trips from ,many ,glacier ,hotel to places of significance and beauty that it is hard for the timid to withstand the temptation of the trail4 ,four miles will reach ,grinnell ,lake at the foot of its glacier1 six miles will penetrate the ,cracker ,lake ,gorge at the perpendicular base of ,mount ,siyeh1 eight miles will disclose the astonishing spectacle of ,iceberg ,lake1 and nine miles will cross the ,swiftcurrent ,pass to the ,granite ,park ,chalet4 ,,iceberg ,,lake ,,typical ,,of ,,all ,in some respects ,iceberg ,lake is ,glacier's supreme spectacle4 ,there are few spots so wild4 ,there may be no easily accessible spot in the world half so wild4 ,imagine a horseshoe of perpendicular rock wall1 twenty-seven hundred to thirty-five hundred feet high1 a glacier in its inmost curve1 a lake of icebergs in its centre4 ,the back of the tower-peak of ,mount ,wilbur is the southern end of this horseshoe4 ,this enclosure was not built up from below1 as it looks1 but bitten down within and without2 it was left4 ,on the edge of the lake in early ,july the sun sets at four o'clock4 ,stupendous as ,iceberg ,lake is as a spectacle1 its highest purpose is illustrative4 ,it explains ,glacier4 ,here by this lakeside1 fronting the glacier's floating edge and staring up at the jagged top in front and on either side1 one comprehends at last4 ,the appalling story of the past seems real4 ,,the ,,climax ,,at ,,granite ,,park ,it is at ,granite ,park that one realizes the geography of ,glacier4 ,you have crossed the continental divide and emerged upon a lofty abutment just west of it4 ,you are very nearly in the park's centre1 and on the margin of a forested canyon of impressive breadth and depth1 lined on either side by mountain monsters1 and reaching from ,mount ,cannon at the head of ,lake ,mc,donald northward to the ,alberta plain4 ,the western wall of this vast avenue is the ,livingston ,range4 ,its eastern wall is the ,lewis ,range4 ,both in turn carry the continental divide1 which crosses the avenue from ,livingston to ,lewis by way of low-crowned ,flattop ,mountain1 a few miles north of where you stand1 and back to ,livingston by way of ,clements ,mountain1 a few miles south4 ,opposite you1 across the chasm1 rises snowy ,heavens ,peak4 ,southwest lies ,lake ,mc,donald1 hidden by ,heavens' shoulder4 ,south is ,logan ,pass1 carrying another trail across the divide1 and disclosing hanging gardens beyond on ,reynolds' eastern slope4 ,still south of that1 unseen from here1 is famous ,gunsight ,pass4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,haynes ,,ptarmigan ,,lake ,,and ,,mount ,,wilbur1 ,,glacier ,,national ,,park ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,a4,j4 ,thiri ,,scooped ,,both ,,sides ,,by ,,giant ,,glaciers ,wall on the left encloses ,iceberg ,lake2 on the right is the ,belly ,river abyss2 ,glacier ,national ,park ,it is a stirring spectacle4 ,but wait4 ,a half-hour's climb to the summit of ,swiftcurrent ,mountain close at hand 7the chalet is most of the way up1 to start with7 and all of ,glacier lies before you like a model in relief4 ,here you see the ,iceberg ,cirque from without and above4 ,the ,belly ,river chasm yawns enormously4 ,mount ,cleveland1 monarch of the region1 flaunts his crown of snow among his near-by court of only lesser monsters4 ,the ,avenue of the ,giants deeply splits the northern half of the park1 that land of extravagant accent1 mysterious because so little known2 the ,glacier of tourists lying south4 ,a marvellous spectacle1 this1 indeed1 and one which clears up many misconceptions4 ,the ,canadian ,rockies hang on the misty northern horizon1 the ,montana plains float eastward1 the ,american ,rockies roll south and west4 ,,over ,,gunsight ,,pass ,to me one of the most stirring sights in all ,glacier is the view of ,gunsight ,pass from the foot of ,gunsight ,lake4 ,the immense glaciered uplift of ,mount ,jackson on the south of the pass1 the wild whitened sides of ,gunsight ,mountain opposite dropping to the upturned strata of red shale at the water's edge1 the pass itself--so well named--perched above the dark precipice at the lake's head1 the corkscrew which the trail makes up ,jackson's perpendicular flank and its passage across a mammoth snow-bank high in air--these in contrast with the silent black water of the sunken lake produce ever the same thrill however often seen4 ,the look back1 too1 once the pass is gained1 down ,st4 ,mary's gracious valley to ,going-to-the-,sun ,mountain and its horizon companions6 ,sun ,mountain 7for short71 always a personality1 is never from any other point of view so undeniably the crowned majesty as from ,gunsight ,pass4 ,and finally1 looking forward1 which in this speaking means westward1 the first revelation of ,lake ,ellen ,wilson gives a shock of awed astonishment whose memory can never pass4 ,truly1 ,gunsight is a pass of many sensations1 for1 leaving ,lake ,ellen ,wilson and its eighteen hundred feet of vertical frothing outlet1 the westward trail crosses the shoulder of ,lincoln ,peak to the ,sperry ,glacier and its inviting chalet 7where the biggest hoary marmot ,i ever saw sat upon my dormitory porch71 and1 eight miles farther down the mountain1 beautiful ,lake ,mc,donald4 ,,destiny ,,of ,,the ,,west ,,side ,although it was settled earlier1 ,glacier's west side is less developed than its east side2 this because1 for the most part1 its scenery is less sensational though no less gorgeously beautiful4 ,its five long lakes1 of which ,mc,donald is much the longest and largest1 head up toward the snowy monsters of the divide2 their thin bodies wind leisurely westward among superbly forested slopes4 ,its day is still to come4 ,it is the land of the bear1 the moose1 the deer1 the trout1 and summer leisure4 ,its destiny is to become ,glacier's vacation playground4 ,,the ,,coming ,,splendors ,,of ,,the ,,north ,the wild north side of ,glacier1 its larger1 bigger-featured1 and occasionally greater part1 is not yet for the usual tourist2 for many years from this writing1 doubtless1 none will know it but the traveller with tent and pack-train4 ,he alone1 and may his tribe increase1 will enjoy the gorgeous cirques and canyons of the ,belly ,river1 the wild quietude of the ,waterton ,valley1 the regal splendors of ,brown ,pass1 and the headwater spectacles of the ,logging1 ,quartz1 ,bowman1 and ,kintla valleys4 ,he alone will realize that here is a land of greater power1 larger measures1 and bigger horizons4 ,and yet with ,kintla comes climax4 ,crossing the border the mountains subside1 the glaciers disappear4 ,canada's ,waterton ,lakes ,park begins at our climax and merges in half a dozen miles into the great prairies of ,alberta4 ,it is many miles northwest before the ,canadian ,rockies assume proportions of superlative scenic grandeur4 ,,the ,,belly ,,river ,,valleys ,to realize the growing bigness of the land northward one has only to cross the wall from ,iceberg ,lake into the ,belly ,river canyon4 ,only1 indeed6 ,in #aiag it took us forty miles of detour outside the park1 even under the shadow of ,chief ,mountain1 to cross the wall from ,iceberg ,lake1 the west-side precipice of which is steeper even than the east4 ,the ,belly ,river drainage-basin is itself bigger1 and its mountains bulk in proportion4 ,eighteen glaciers contribute to the making of perhaps as many lakes4 ,the yellow mountains of its northern slopes invade ,canada4 ,the borders of its principal valley are two monster mountains1 ,cleveland1 the greatest in the park for mass and height and intricate outline2 the other1 ,merritt1 in some respects the most interesting of ,glacier's abundant collection of majestic peaks4 ,there are three valleys4 ,the ,north ,fork finds its way quickly into ,canada4 ,the ,middle ,fork rises in a group of glaciers high under the continental divide and descends four giant steps1 a lake upon each step1 to two greater lakes of noble aspect in the valley bottom4 ,the ,south ,fork emerges from ,helen ,lake deep in the gulf below the ,ahern ,glacier across the ,garden ,wall from ,iceberg ,lake4 ,between the ,middle and ,south ,forks ,mount ,merritt rises #i1idd feet in altitude1 minareted like a mediaeval fort and hollow as a bowl1 its gaping chasm hung with glaciers4 ,this is the valley of abundance4 ,the waters are large1 their trout many and vigorous2 the bottoms are extravagantly rich in grasses and flowers2 the forests are heavy and full-bodied2 there is no open place1 even miles beyond its boundaries1 which does not offer views of extraordinary nobility4 ,every man who enters it becomes enthusiastically prophetic of its future4 ,after all1 the ,belly ,river country is easily visited4 ,a leisurely horseback journey from ,mc,dermott1 that is all2 three days among the strange yellow mountains of the over thrust's eastern edge1 including two afternoons among the fighting trout of ,kennedy ,creek and ,slide ,lake1 and two nights in camp among the wild bare arroyos of the ,algonkian invasion of the prairie--an interesting prelude to the fulness of wilderness life to come4 ,i dwell upon the ,belly valleys because their size1 magnificence1 and accessibility suggest a future of public use2 nothing would be easier1 for instance1 than a road from ,babb to join the road already in from ,canada4 ,the name naturally arouses curiosity4 ,why ,belly8 ,was it not the ,anglo-,saxon frontier's pronunciation of the ,frenchman's original ,belle8 ,the river1 remember1 is mainly ,canadian4 ,surely in all its forks and tributaries it was and is the ,beautiful ,river4 ,,the ,,avenue ,,of ,,the ,,giants ,the ,avenue of the ,giants looms in any forecast of ,glacier's future4 ,it really consists of two valleys joined end on at their beginnings on ,flattop ,mountain2 ,mc,donald ,creek flowing south1 ,little ,kootenai flowing north4 ,the road which will replace the present trail up this avenue from the much-travelled south to ,waterton ,lake and ,canada is a matter doubtless of a distant future1 but it is so manifestly destiny that it must be accepted as the key to the greater ,glacier to come4 ,uniting at its southern end roads from both sides of the divide1 it will reach the ,belly valleys by way of ,ahern ,pass1 the ,bowman and ,kintla valleys by way of ,brown ,pass1 and will terminate at the important tourist settlement which is destined to grow at the splendid ,american end of ,waterton ,lake4 ,incidentally it will become an important motor-highway between ,canada and ,america4 ,until then1 though all these are now accessible by trail1 the high distinction of the ,bowman and the ,kintla valleys' supreme expression of the glowing genius of this whole country will remain unknown to any considerable body of travellers4 ,,the ,,climax ,,of ,,bowman ,,and ,,kintla ,and1 after all1 the ,bowman and ,kintla regions are ,glacier's ultimate expression1 ,bowman of her beauty1 ,kintla of her majesty4 ,no one who has seen the foaming cascades of ,mount ,peabody and a lost outlet of the lofty ,boulder ,glacier emerging dramatically through ,hole-in-the-,wall ,fall1 for all the world like a horsetail fastened upon the face of a cliff1 who has looked upon the ,guardhouse from ,brown ,pass and traced the distant windings of ,bowman ,lake between the fluted precipice of ,rainbow ,peak and the fading slopes of ,indian ,ridge2 or has looked upon the mighty monolith of ,kintla ,peak rising five thousand feet from the lake in its gulf-like valley1 spreading upon its shoulders1 like wings prepared for flight1 the broad gleaming glaciers known as ,kintla and ,agassiz1 will withhold his guerdon for a moment4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by the ,u4,s4 ,geological ,survey ,,showing ,,the ,,agassiz ,,glacier ,kintla ,peak1 ,glacier ,national ,park1 #e1jjj feet above the lake spreads glaciers out either way like wings ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,m4,r4 ,campbell ,,beautiful ,,bowman ,,lake1 ,,glacier ,,national ,,park ,it heads close up under the ,continental ,divide1 where is found some of the most striking scenery of ,america ,here again we repeat1 for the hundredth or more time in our leisurely survey of the park1 what the ,englishman said of the spectacle of ,st4 ,mary3 ,there is nothing like it in the world4 ,,xiv ,,rock ,,records ,,of ,a ,,vanished ,,race ,,mesa ,,verde ,,national ,,park1 ,,southwestern ,,colorado4 ,,area1 #gg ,,square ,,miles ,i ,many years1 possibly centuries1 before ,columbus discovered ,america1 a community of cliff-dwellers inhabiting a group of canyons in what is now southwestern ,colorado entirely disappeared4 ,many generations before that1 again possibly centuries1 the founders of this community1 abandoning the primitive pueblos of their people elsewhere1 had sought new homes in the valleys tributary to the ,mancos ,river4 ,perhaps they were enterprising young men and women dissatisfied with the poor and unprogressive life at home4 ,perhaps they were dissenters from ancient religious forms1 outcasts and pilgrims1 for there is abundant evidence that the prehistoric sun-worshippers of our southwest were deeply religious1 and human nature is the same under skins of all colors in every land and age4 ,more likely they were merely thrifty pioneers attracted to the green cedar-grown mesas by the hope of better conditions4 ,whatever the reason for their pilgrimage1 it is a fair inference that1 like our own ,pilgrim ,fathers1 they were sturdy of body and progressive of spirit1 for they had a culture which their descendants carried beyond that of other tribes and communities of prehistoric people in ,america north of the land of the ,aztecs4 ,beginning with modest stone structures of the usual cliff-dwellers' type built in deep clefts in the mesa's perpendicular cliff1 safe from enemies above and below1 these enterprising people developed in time a complicated architecture of a high order2 they advanced the arts beyond the practice of their forefathers and their neighbors2 they herded cattle upon the mesas2 they raised corn and melons in clearings in the forests1 and watered their crops in the dry seasons by means of simple irrigation systems as soundly scientific1 so far as they went1 as those of to-day2 outgrowing their cliff homes1 they invaded the neighboring mesas1 where they built pueblos and more ambitious structures4 ,then1 apparently suddenly1 for they left behind them many of their household goods1 and left unfinished an elaborate temple to their god1 the sun1 they vanished4 ,there is no clew to the reason or the manner of their going4 ,meantime ,european civilization was pushing in all directions4 ,columbus discovered ,america2 ,de ,soto explored the southeast and ascended the ,mississippi2 ,cortez pushed into ,mexico and conquered the ,aztecs2 ,spanish priests carried the gospel north and west from the ,antilles to the continent2 ,raleigh sent explorers to ,virginia2 the ,pilgrim ,fathers landed in ,massachusetts2 the white man pushed the ,indian aside1 and at last the ,european pioneer sought a precarious living on the sands of the southwest4 ,one ,december day in #ahhh ,richard and ,alfred ,wetherill hunted lost cattle on the top of one of the green mesas north and west of the ,mancos ,river4 ,they knew this mesa well4 ,many a time before had they rounded up their herds and stalked the deer among the thin cedar and pinyon forests4 ,often1 doubtless1 in their explorations of the broad ,mancos ,valley below1 they had happened upon ruins of primitive isolated or grouped stone buildings hidden by sage-brush1 half buried in rock and sand4 ,no doubt1 around their ranch fire1 they had often speculated concerning the manner of men that had inhabited these lowly structures so many years before that sometimes aged cedars grew upon the broken walls4 ,but this ,december day brought the ,wetherills the surprise of their uneventful lives4 ,some of the cattle had wandered far1 and the search led to the very brink of a deep and narrow canyon1 across which1 in a long deep cleft under the overhang of the opposite cliff1 they saw what appeared to be a city4 ,those who have looked upon the stirring spectacle of ,cliff ,palace from this point can imagine the astonishment of these ranchmen4 ,whether or not the lost cattle were ever found is not recorded1 but we may assume that living on the mesa was not plentiful enough to make the ,wetherills forget them in the pleasure of discovering a ruin4 ,but they lost no time in investigating their find1 and soon after crossed the canyon and climbed into this prehistoric city4 ,they named it ,cliff ,palace1 most inappropriately1 by the way1 for it was in fact that most democratic of structures1 a community dwelling4 ,pushing their explorations farther1 presently they discovered also a smaller ruin1 which they named ,spruce ,tree ,house1 because a prominent spruce grew in front of it4 ,these are the largest two cliff-dwellings in the ,mesa ,verde ,national ,park1 and1 until ,doctor ,j4 ,walter ,fewkes unearthed ,sun ,temple in #aiae1 among the most extraordinary prehistoric buildings north of ,mexico4 ,there are thousands of prehistoric ruins in our southwest1 and many besides those of the ,mesa ,verde are examples of an aboriginal civilization4 ,hundreds of canyons tell the story of the ancient cliff-dwellers2 and still more numerous are the remains of communal houses built of stone or sun-dried brick under the open sky4 ,these pueblos in the open are either isolated structures like the lesser cliff-dwellings1 or are crowded together till they touch walls1 as in our modern cities2 often they were several stories high1 the floors connected by ladders4 ,sometimes1 for protection against the elements1 whole villages were built in caves4 ,pueblos occasionally may be seen from the car-window in ,new ,mexico4 ,the least modified of the prehistoric type which are occupied to-day are the eight villages of the ,hopi near the ,grand ,canyon in ,arizona2 a suggestive reproduction of a model pueblo1 familiar to many thousands who have visited the canyon1 stands near the ,el ,tovar ,hotel4 ,it was not therefore because of the rarity of prehistoric dwellings of either type that the cliff villages of the ,mesa ,verde were conserved as a national park1 nor only because they are the best preserved of all ,north ,american ruins1 but because they disclose a type of this culture in advance of all others4 ,the builders and inhabitants of these dwellings were ,indians having physical features common to all ,american tribes4 ,that their accomplishment differed in degree from that of the shiftless war-making tribes north and east of them1 and from that of the cultured and artistic ,mayas of ,central ,america1 was doubtless due to differences in conditions of living4 ,the struggle for bare existence in the southwest1 like that of the habitats of other ,north ,american ,indians1 was intense2 but these were agriculturalists and protected by environment4 ,the desert was a handicap1 of course1 but it offered opportunity in many places for dry farming2 the ,indian raised his corn4 ,the winters1 too1 were short4 ,it is only in the southwest that enterprise developed the architecture of stone houses which distinguish pueblo ,indians from others in ,north ,america4 ,the dwellers in the ,mesa ,verde were more fortunate even than their fellow pueblo dwellers4 ,the forested mesas1 so different from the arid cliffs farther south and west1 possessed constant moisture and fertile soil4 ,the grasses lured the deer within capture4 ,the ,mancos ,river provided fish4 ,above all1 the remoteness of these fastness canyons from the trails of raiders and traders and their ease of defense made for long generations of peace4 ,the enterprise innate in the spirit of man did the rest4 ,,ii ,the history of the ,mesa ,verde ,national ,park began with the making of ,america4 ,all who have travelled in the southwest have seen mesas from the car-window4 ,new ,mexico1 ,arizona1 and parts of ,colorado and ,utah1 the region of the pueblos1 constitute an elevated plateau largely arid4 ,many millions of years ago all was submerged in the intercontinental sea2 in fact the region was sea many times1 for it rose and fell alternately1 accumulating thousands of feet of sands and gravels much of which hardened into stone after the slow great uplifting which made it the lofty plateau of to-day4 ,erosion did its work4 ,for a million years or more the floods of spring have washed down the sands and gravels1 and the rivers have carried them into the sea4 ,thousands of vertical feet have disappeared in this way from the potential altitude of the region4 ,the spring floods are still washing down the sands and gravels1 and the canyons1 cliffs1 and mesas of the desert are disclosed to-day as stages in the eternal levelling4 ,thus were created the canyons and mesas of the ,mesa ,verde4 ,mesa1 by the way1 is ,spanish for table1 and verde for green4 ,these1 then1 are the green tablelands1 forest-covered and during the summer grown scantily with grass and richly with flowers4 ,the ,mesa ,verde ,national ,park was created by act of ,congress in ,june1 #aijf1 and enlarged seven years later4 ,the ,mancos ,river1 on its way to the ,san ,juan and thence to the ,colorado and the passage of the ,grand ,canyon1 forms its southern boundary4 ,scores of canyons1 large and small1 nearly all dry except at the spring floods1 are tributary4 ,all of these trend south2 in a general way they are parallel4 ,each of the greater stems has its lesser tributaries and each of these its lesser forks4 ,between the canyons lie the mesas4 ,their tops1 if continued without break1 would form a more or less level surface2 that is1 all had been a plain before floods cut the separating canyons4 ,the region has a wonderful scenic charm4 ,it is markedly different in quality from other national parks1 but in its own way is quite as startling and beautiful4 ,comparison is impossible because of the lack of elements in common1 but it may be said that the ,mesa ,verde represents our great southwest in one of its most fascinating phases1 combining the fundamentals of the desert with the flavor of the near-by mountains4 ,the canyons1 which are seven or eight hundred feet deep and two or three times as wide where the cliff-dwellings gather1 are prevailingly tawny yellow4 ,masses of sloping talus reach more than half-way up2 above them the cliffs are perpendicular2 it is in cavities in these perpendiculars that the cliff-dwellings hide4 ,above the cliffs are low growths of yellowish-green cedar with pinyons and other conifers of darker foliage4 ,beneath the trees and covering the many opens grows the familiar sage of the desert1 a gray which hints at green and yellow both but realizes neither4 ,but the sage-brush shelters desert grasses1 and1 around the occasional springs and their slender outlets1 grass grows rank and plenteous2 a little water counts for a great deal in the desert4 ,illustration3 ,,outline ,,of ,,the ,,mesa ,,verde ,,formation ,showing the manner in which water erosion is reducing the plains to canyons and mesas4 ,the ,mesa ,verde cliff-dwellers built their homes in caves in the perpendicular cliffs above the sloping talus ,summer1 then1 is delightful on the ,mesa ,verde4 ,the plateau is high and the air invigorating1 warm by day in midsummer1 always cool at night4 ,the atmosphere is marvellously clear1 and the sunsets are famous4 ,the winter snows1 which reach three or four feet in depth1 disappear in ,april4 ,from ,may to ,thanksgiving the region is in its prime4 ,it is important to realize that this land has much for the visitor besides its ruins4 ,it has vigor1 distinction1 personality1 and remarkable charm4 ,it is the highest example of one of ,america's most distinctive and important scenic phases1 and this without reference to its prehistoric dwellings4 ,no ,american traveller knows his ,america1 even the great southwest1 who does not know the border-land where desert and forest mingle4 ,the ,southern ,ute ,indian ,reservation bites a large rectangle from the southeast corner of the park1 but its inhabitants are very different in quality of mind and spirit from the ancient and reverent builders of ,sun ,temple4 ,reservation ,indians frequently enter the park1 but they cannot be persuaded to approach the cliff-dwellings4 ,the little people1 they tell you1 live there1 and neither teaching nor example will convince them that these invisible inhabitants will not injure intruders4 ,some of these ,indians allege that it was their own ancestors who built the cliff-dwellings1 but there is neither record nor tradition to support such a claim4 ,the fact appears to be that the ,utes were the ancient enemies of this people4 ,there is a ,ute tradition of a victory over the ancient pueblo-dwellers at ,battle ,rock in ,mc,elmo ,canyon4 ,there are1 on the other hand1 many reasons for the opinion that the ,hopi ,indians of the present day1 so far at least as culture goes1 are descendants of this remarkable prehistoric people4 ,besides the many similarities between the architectural types of the ,mesa ,verde and the pueblos of the modern ,hopi1 careful investigators have found suggestive points of similarity in their utensils1 their art forms1 and their customs4 ,doctor ,fewkes cites a ,hopi tradition to that effect by mentioning the visit of a ,hopi courier a few years ago to prehistoric ruins in the ,navajo ,national ,monument to obtain water from an ancestral spring for use in a ,hopi religious ceremonial4 ,if these traditions are founded in fact1 the promising civilization of the ,mesa ,verde has sadly retrograded in its transplanting4 ,hopi architecture and masonry shows marked retrogression from the splendid types of the ,mesa ,verde4 ,when the telephone-line was under construction to connect the park with the outside world1 the ,indians from the adjoining ,ute reservation became suspicious and restless4 ,upon hearing its purpose1 they begged the superintendent not to go on with the work1 which was certain to bring evil to the neighborhood4 ,the little people1 they solemnly declared1 will not like it4 ,they assured the superintendent that the wires would not talk4 ,the little people will not let them talk1 they told him4 ,but the line was completed and the wires talked4 ,the park is reached by motor and rail4 ,from ,denver1 ,salt ,lake ,city1 and ,santa ,fe railroad routes offer choice of some of the biggest country of the ,rockies4 ,from either direction a night is spent en route in a mountain mining-town1 an experience which has its usefulness in preparation for the contrasted and unusual experience to come4 ,entrance is through ,mancos1 from which motor-stages thread the maze of canyons and mesas from the highlands of the northern border to the deep canyons of the south where cluster the ruins of distinction4 ,this entry is delightful4 ,the road crosses the northern boundary at the base of a lofty butte known as ,point ,lookout1 the park's highest elevation4 ,encircling its eastern side and crossing the ,morefield ,canyon the road perches for several miles upon the sinuous crest of a ridge more than eight thousand feet in altitude1 whose north side plunges eighteen hundred feet into the broad ,montezuma ,valley1 and whose gentle southern slope holds the small beginnings of the great canyons of the cliff-dwellers4 ,both north and south the panorama unfolds in impressive grandeur1 eloquent of the beautiful scanty land and of the difficult conditions of living which confronted the sturdy builders whose ancient masterpieces we are on our way to see4 ,at the northern end of ,chapin ,mesa we swing sharply south and follow its slope1 presently entering the warm1 glowing1 scented forests1 through which we speed to the hotel-camp perched upon a bluff overlooking the depths of ,spruce ,canyon4 ,upon the top and under the eaves of this mesa are found very fine types of prehistoric civilization4 ,at ,mummy ,lake1 half-way down the mesa1 we passed on the way a good example of pueblo architecture1 and within an easy walk of our terminal camp we find some of the noblest examples of cliff-dwellings in existence4 ,here it was1 near the head of this remote1 nearly inaccessible1 canyon1 guarded by nature's ramparts1 that aboriginal ,american genius before the coming of the ,anglo-,saxon found its culminating expression4 ,in this spirit the thoughtful ,american of to-day enters the ,mesa ,verde ,national ,park and examines its precious memorials4 ,,iii ,although the accident of the road brings the traveller first to the mesa-top pueblos of the ,mummy ,lake district1 historical sequence suggests that examination begin with the cliff-dwellings4 ,of the many examples of these remains in the park1 ,cliff ,palace1 ,spruce ,tree ,house1 and ,balcony ,house are the most important because they concisely and completely cover the range of life and the fulness of development4 ,this is not the place for detailed descriptions of these ruins4 ,the special publications of the ,national ,park ,service and particularly the writings of ,doctor ,j4 ,walter ,fewkes of the ,smithsonian ,institution1 who has devoted many years of brilliant investigation to ,american prehistoric remains1 are obtainable from government sources4 ,here we shall briefly consider several types4 ,it is impossible1 without reference to photographs1 to convey a concise adequate idea of ,cliff ,palace4 ,seen from across its canyon the splendid crescent-shaped ruin offers to the unaccustomed eye little that is common to modern architecture4 ,prominently in the foreground1 large circular wells at once challenge interest4 ,these were the kivas1 or ceremonial rooms of the community1 centres of the religious activities which counted so importantly in pueblo life4 ,here it was that men gathered monthly to worship their gods4 ,in the floors of some kivas are small holes representing symbolically the entrance to the underworld1 and around these from time to time priests doubtless performed archaic ceremonies and communicated with the dead4 ,each family or clan in the community is supposed to have had its own kiva4 ,the kiva walls of ,cliff ,palace show some of the finest prehistoric masonry in ,america4 ,all are subterranean1 which in a few instances necessitated excavation in floors of solid rock4 ,the roofs were supported by pedestals rising from mural banquettes1 usually six pedestals to a kiva2 the kiva supposed to have belonged to the chiefs clan had eight pedestals1 and one1 perhaps belonging to a clan of lesser prominence1 had only two4 ,several kivas which lack roof-supports may have been of different type or used for lesser ceremonials4 ,all except these have fireplaces and ventilators4 ,entrance was by ladder from the roof4 ,other rooms identified are living-rooms1 storage-rooms1 milling-rooms1 and round and square towers1 besides which there are dark rooms of unknown use and several round rooms which are neither kivas nor towers4 ,several of the living-rooms have raised benches evidently used for beds1 and in one of them pegs for holding clothing still remain in the walls4 ,the rooms are smoothly plastered or painted4 ,mills for grinding corn were found in one room in rows2 in others1 singly4 ,the work was done by women1 who rubbed the upper stone against the lower by hand4 ,the rests for their feet while at work still remain in place2 also the brushes for sweeping up the meal4 ,the small storage-rooms had stone doors1 carefully sealed with clay to keep out mice and prevent moisture from spoiling the corn and meal4 ,one of the most striking buildings in ,cliff ,palace is the ,round ,tower1 two stories high1 which not only was an observatory1 as is indicated by its peep-holes1 but also served purposes in religious festivals4 ,its masonry belongs to the finest north of ,mexico4 ,the stones are beautifully fitted and dressed4 ,the ,square ,tower which stands at the southern end of the village is four stories high1 reaching the roof of the cave4 ,the inner walls of its third story are elaborately painted with red and white symbols1 triangles1 zigzags1 and parallels1 the significance of which is not known4 ,the ledge under which ,cliff ,palace is built forms a roof that overhangs the structure4 ,an entrance1 probably the principal one1 came from below to a court at a lower level than the floor1 from which access was by ladder4 ,spruce ,tree ,house1 which may have been built after ,cliff ,palace1 has a circular room with windows which were originally supposed to have been port-holes for defense4 ,doctor ,fewkes1 however1 suggests a more probable purpose1 as the position of the room does not specially suggest a fortress4 ,through the openings in this room the sun-priest may have watched the setting sun to determine the time for ceremonies4 ,the room was entered from above1 like a kiva4 ,another room1 differing from any in other cliff-dwellings1 has been named the ,warriors' ,room because1 unlike sleeping-rooms1 its bench surrounds three sides1 and because1 unlike any other room1 it is built above a kiva4 ,only the exigencies of defense1 it is supposed1 would warrant so marked a departure from the prescribed religious form of room4 ,balcony ,house has special interest1 apart from its commanding location1 perfection of workmanship and unusual beauty1 and because of the ingenuity of the defenses of its only possible entrance4 ,at the top of a steep trail a cave-like passage between rocks is walled so as to leave a door capable of admitting only one at a time1 behind which two or three men could strike down1 one by one1 an attacking army4 ,out of these simple architectural elements1 together with the utensils and weapons found in the ruins1 the imagination readily constructs a picture of the austere1 laborious1 highly religious1 and doubtless happy lives led by the earnest people who built these ancient dwellings in the caves4 ,when all the neighborhood caves were filled to overflowing with increasing population1 and generations of peace had wrought a confidence which had not existed when the pioneers had sought safety in caves1 these people ventured to move out of cliffs and to build upon the tops of the mesa4 ,whether all the cave-dwellers were descended from the original pilgrims or whether others had joined them afterward is not known1 but it seems evident that the separate communities had found some common bond1 probably tribal1 and perhaps evolved some common government4 ,no doubt they intermarried4 ,no doubt the blood of many cliff-dwelling communities mingled in the new communities which built pueblos upon the mesa4 ,in time there were many of these pueblos1 and they were widely scattered2 there are mounds at intervals all over the ,mesa ,verde4 ,the largest group of pueblos1 one infers from the number of visible mounds1 was built upon the ,chapin ,mesa several miles north of the above-mentioned cliff-dwelling near a reservoir known to-day as ,mummy ,lake4 ,it is there1 then1 that we shall now go in continuation of our story4 ,illustration3 ,,prehistoric ,,pottery ,,from ,,mesa ,,verde ,coloring and design as well as form show high artistic sense and clean workmanship ,mummy ,lake is not a lake and no mummies were ever found there4 ,this old-time designation applies to an artificial depression surrounded by a low rude stone wall1 much crumbled1 which was evidently a storage reservoir for an irrigation system of some size4 ,a number of conspicuous mounds in the neighborhood suggest the former existence of a village of pueblos dependent upon the farms for which the irrigation system had been built4 ,one of these1 from which a few stones protruded1 was excavated in #aiaf by ,doctor ,fewkes1 and has added a new and important chapter to the history of this people4 ,this pueblo has been named ,far ,view ,house4 ,its extensive vista includes four other groups of similar mounds4 ,each cluster occurs in the fertile sage-brush clearings which bloom in summer with asters and ,indian paint-brush2 there is no doubt that good crops of ,indian corn could still be raised from these sands to-day by dry-farming methods4 ,far ,view ,house is a pueblo1 a hundred and thirteen feet long by more than fifty feet wide1 not including a full-length plaza about thirty-five feet wide in which religious dances are supposed to have taken place4 ,the differences between this fine structure and the cliff-cities are considerable4 ,the most significant evidence of progress1 perhaps1 is the modern regularity of the ground-plan4 ,the partitions separating the secular rooms are continuous through the building1 and the angles are generally accurately right angles4 ,the pueblo had three stories4 ,it is oriented approximately to the cardinal points and was terraced southward to secure a sunny exposure4 ,the study of the solar movements became an advanced science with these people in the latter stages of their development4 ,it must be remembered that they had no compasses2 knowing nothing of the north or any other fixed point1 nevertheless there is evidence that they successfully worked out the solstices and planned their later buildings accurately according to cardinal points of their own calculation4 ,another difference indicating development is the decrease in the number of kivas1 and the construction of a single very large kiva in the middle of the building4 ,its size suggests at once that the individual clan organization of cliff-dwelling days had here given place to a single priestly fraternity1 sociologically a marked advance4 ,drawing parallels with the better-known customs of other primitive people1 we are at liberty1 if we please1 to infer similar progress in other directions4 ,the original primitive communism was developing naturally1 though doubtless very slowly1 into something akin to organized society1 probably involving more complicated economic relationships in all departments of living4 ,while their masonry did not apparently improve in proportion1 ,far ,view ,house shows increase in the number and variety of the decorative figures incised on hewn stones4 ,the spiral1 representing the coiled serpent1 appears a number of times1 as do many combinations of squares1 curves1 and angles arranged in fanciful design1 which may or may not have had symbolic meanings4 ,a careful examination of the neighborhood discloses few details of the irrigation system1 but it shows a cemetery near the southeast corner of the building in which the dead were systematically buried4 ,large numbers of minor antiquities were found in this interesting structure4 ,besides the usual stone implements of the mason and the housekeeper1 many instruments of bone1 such as needles1 dirks1 and bodkins1 were found4 ,figurines of several kinds were unearthed1 carved from soft stone1 including several intended to symbolize ,indian corn2 all these may have been idols4 ,fragments of pottery were abundant1 in full variety of form1 decoration1 and color1 but always the most ancient types4 ,among the bones of animals1 the frequency of those of rabbits1 deer1 antelope1 elk1 and mountain-sheep indicate that meat formed no inconsiderable part of the diet4 ,fabrics and embroideries were not discovered1 as in the cliff-dwellings1 but they may have disappeared in the centuries through exposure to the elements4 ,far ,view ,house may not show the highest development of the ,mummy ,lake cluster of pueblos1 and further exhumations here and in neighboring groups may throw further light upon this interesting people in their gropings from darkness to light4 ,meantime1 however1 returning to the neighborhood of the cliff-dwellings1 let us examine a structure so late in the history of these people that they left it unfinished4 ,sun ,temple stands on a point of ,chapin ,mesa1 somewhat back from the edge of ,cliff ,canyon1 commanding an extraordinary range of country4 ,it is within full view of ,cliff ,palace and other cliff-dwellings of importance and easy of access4 ,from it1 one can look southward to the ,mancos ,river4 ,on every side a wide range of mesa and canyon lies in full view4 ,the site is unrivalled for a temple in which all could worship with devotion4 ,when ,doctor ,fewkes1 in the early summer of #aiae1 attacked the mound which had been designated ,community ,house under the supposition that it covered a ruined pueblo1 he had no idea of the extraordinary nature of the find awaiting him1 although he was prepared from its shape and other indications for something out of the usual4 ,so wholly without parallel was the disclosure1 however1 that it was not till it was entirely uncovered that he ventured a public conjecture as to its significance4 ,the ground-plan of ,sun ,temple is shaped like the letter ,d4 ,it encloses another ,d-shaped structure occupying nearly two-thirds of its total area1 within which are two large kivas4 ,between the outer and the inner ,d are passages and rooms1 and at one end a third kiva is surrounded by rooms1 one of which is circular4 ,sun ,temple is also impressive in size4 ,it is a hundred and twenty-one feet long and sixty-four feet wide4 ,its walls average four feet in thickness1 and are double-faced1 enclosing a central core of rubble2 they are built of the neighborhood sandstone4 ,the masonry is of fine quality4 ,this1 together with its symmetrical architectural design1 its fine proportions1 and its many decorated stones1 mark it the highest type of ,mesa ,verde architecture4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,george ,l4 ,beam ,,sun ,,temple1 ,,mesa ,,verde ,,national ,,park ,built by prehistoric people to their god1 the sun1 and unfinished when they suddenly disappeared ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,george ,l4 ,beam ,,spruce ,,tree ,,house ,,from ,,across ,,the ,,canyon ,showing the overhanging rock roof and the forest which tops the ,mesa ,verde ,it was plainly unfinished4 ,walls had risen in some places higher than in others4 ,as yet there was no roofing4 ,no rooms had been plastered4 ,of internal finishing little was completed1 and of contents1 of course1 there was none4 ,the stone hammers and other utensils of the builders were found lying about as if thrown down at day's close4 ,the kivas1 although circular1 are unlike those of ,cliff ,palace1 inasmuch as they are above ground1 not subterranean4 ,the mortar used in pointing shows the impress of human hands2 no trowels were used4 ,the walls exhibit many stones incised with complicated designs1 largely geometric2 some may be mason's marks2 others are decorative or symbolic4 ,these designs indicate a marked advance over those in ,far ,view ,house2 in fact they are far more complicated and artistic than any in the southwest4 ,bare and ineloquent though its unfinished condition left it1 the religious purposes of the entire building are clear to the archaeologist in its form4 ,and1 as if to make conjecture certainty1 a shrine was uncovered on the corner-stone of the outer wall which frames in solid stone walls a large fossil palm-leaf whose rays strongly suggest the sun6 ,it requires no imagination to picture the effect which the original discovery of this image of their god must have had upon a primitive community of sun-worshippers4 ,it must have seemed to them a divine gift1 a promise1 like the ,ark of the ,covenant1 of the favor of the ,almighty4 ,it may even have first suggested the idea of building this temple to their deity4 ,this is all the story4 ,go there and study it in detail4 ,enlightened1 profoundly impressed1 nevertheless you will finish at this point4 ,the tale has no climax4 ,it just stops4 ,what happened to the people of the ,mesa ,verde8 ,some archaeologists believe that they emigrated to neighboring valleys southwest4 ,but why should they have left their prosperous farms and fine homes for regions which seem to us less desirable8 ,and why1 a profoundly religious people1 should they have left ,sun ,temple unfinished8 ,what other supposition remains8 ,only1 ,i think1 that1 perhaps because of their prosperity and the unpreparedness that accompanies long periods of peace1 they were suddenly overwhelmed by enemies4 ,,xv ,,the ,,healing ,,waters ,,hot ,,springs ,,reservation1 ,,arkansas4 ,,platt ,,national ,,park1 ,,oklahoma ,i ,from a hillside on the edge of the ,ozark ,mountains in central ,arkansas issue springs of hot water which are effective in the alleviation of rheumatic and kindred ills4 ,although chemical analysis fails to explain the reason1 the practice of many years has abundantly proved their worth4 ,before the coming of the white man they were known to the ,indians1 who are said to have proclaimed them neutral territory in time of war4 ,perhaps it was rumor of their fame upon which ,ponce de ,leon founded his dream of a ,fountain of ,youth4 ,in the early years of the last century hundreds of settlers toiled many miles over forest trails to camp beside them and bathe daily in their waters4 ,the bent and suffering were carried there on stretchers4 ,so many and so striking were the cures that the fame of these springs spread throughout the young nation1 and in #ahcb1 to prevent their falling into hands outstretched to seize and exploit them for private gain1 ,congress created them a national reservation4 ,the ,hot ,springs ,reservation was our first national park4 ,previous to this a couple of log houses built by visitors served for shelter for the pilgrims at the shrine of health4 ,soon after1 other buildings quite as primitive were erected4 ,a road was constructed through the forests from the settled portions of the ,state1 and many drove laboriously in with tents and camping outfits4 ,i have seen a copy of a photograph which was taken when photographs were new1 showing several men and women in the odd conventional costume of that period sitting solemnly upon the banks of a steaming spring1 their clothes drawn up1 their bare legs calf deep in the hot water4 ,once started1 ,hot ,springs grew rapidly4 ,unfortunately1 this first act of national conservation failed to foresee the great future of these springs1 and the reservation line was drawn so that it barely enclosed the brook of steaming vapors which was their outlet4 ,to-day1 when the nation contemplates spending millions to beautify the national spa1 it finds the city built solidly opposite4 ,railroads soon pushed their way through the ,ozark foothills and landed thousands yearly beside the healing waters4 ,hotels became larger and more numerous4 ,the government built a public bathhouse into which the waters were piped for the free treatment of the people4 ,concessioners built more elaborate structures within the reservation to accommodate those who preferred to pay for pleasanter surroundings or for private treatment4 ,the village became a town and the town a city4 ,boarding-houses sprang up everywhere with accommodations to suit the needs of purses of all lengths4 ,finally1 large and costly hotels were built for the prosperous and fashionable who began to find rare enjoyment in the beautiful ,ozark country while they drank their hot water and took their invigorating baths4 ,hot ,springs became a national resort4 ,it will be seen that1 in its way1 ,hot ,springs has reflected the social development of the country4 ,it has passed through the various stages that marked the national growth in taste and morals4 ,during the period when gambling was a national vice it was noted for its high play1 and then gamblers of all social grades looked forward to their season in the ,south4 ,during the period of national dissipation1 when polite drunkenness was a badge of class and ,new ,year's day an orgy1 it became the periodic resort of inebriates1 just as later1 with the elevation of the national moral sense1 it became instead the most conservative of resorts1 the periodic refuge of thousands of work-worn business and professional men seeking the astonishing recuperative power of its water4 ,true again to the spirit of the times1 ,hot ,springs reflects to the full the spirit of to-day4 ,it is a ,southern mountain resort of quiet charm and wonderful natural beauty set on the edge of a broad region of hills1 ravines1 and sweet-smelling pines1 a paradise for the walker1 the hiker1 and the horseback rider4 ,down on the street a long row of handsome modern bath-houses1 equipped with all the scientific luxuries1 and more besides1 of the most elaborate ,european spa1 concentrates the business of bath and cure4 ,back of this rise directly the beautiful ,ozark hills4 ,one may have exactly what he wishes at ,hot ,springs4 ,he may live with the sick if that is his bent1 or he may spend weeks of rich enjoyment of the ,south in holiday mood1 and have his baths besides1 without a suggestion of the sanitarium or even of the spa4 ,meantime the mystery of the water's potency seems to have been solved4 ,it is not chemical in solution which clears the system of its ills and restores the jaded tissues to buoyancy1 but the newly discovered principle of radioactivity4 ,somewhere deep in ,nature's laboratory these waters become charged with an uplifting power which is imparted to those who bathe according to the rules which many years of experience have prescribed4 ,many physicians refuse to verify the waters' virtues2 some openly scoff4 ,but the fact stands that every year hundreds who come helpless cripples walk jauntily to the station on their departure1 and many thousands of sufferers from rheumatic ills and the wear and tear of strenuous living return to their homes restored4 ,i myself can testify to the surprising recuperative effect of only half a dozen daily baths1 and ,i know business men who habitually go there whenever the stress of overwork demands measures of quick relief4 ,illustration3 ,,on ,,hot ,,springs ,,mountain1 ,,hot ,,springs ,,of ,,arkansas ,illustration3 ,,bath ,,house ,,row1 ,,hot ,,springs ,,of ,,arkansas ,it is not surprising that more than a hundred thousand persons visit ,hot ,springs every year4 ,the recognized season begins after the winter holidays2 then it is that gayety and pleasuring1 riding1 driving1 motoring1 golfing1 and the social life of the fashionable hotels reach their height4 ,but1 for sheer enjoyment of the quieter kind1 the spring1 early summer1 and the autumn are unsurpassed2 south though it lies1 ,hot ,springs is delightful even in midsummer4 ,two railroads land the visitor almost at the entrance of the reservation4 ,a fine road brings the motorist sixty miles from the lively city of ,little ,rock4 ,the elaborate bath-houses line the reservation side of the principal street1 opposite the brick city4 ,but back of them rises abruptly the beautiful forested mountain from whose side gush the healing waters1 and back of this roll the beautiful pine-grown ,ozarks4 ,the division is sharply drawn4 ,he who chooses may forget the city except at the hour of his daily bath4 ,the plans for realizing in stone and landscape gardening the ideal of the great ,american spa1 which this spot is in fact1 contemplate the work of years4 ,,ii ,in southern ,oklahoma not far from the ,texas boundary1 a group of thirty healing springs1 these of cold sparkling water1 were set apart by ,congress in #aijd under the title of the ,platt ,national ,park4 ,most of them are sulphur springs2 others are impregnated with bromides and other mineral salts4 ,many thousands visit yearly the prosperous bordering city of ,sulphur to drink these waters2 many camp in or near the reservation2 the bottled waters bring relief to thousands at home4 ,through the national park1 from its source in the east to its entry into ,rock ,creek1 winds ,travertine ,creek1 the outlet of most of these springs4 ,rock ,creek outlines the park's western boundary1 and on its farther bank lies the city4 ,springs of importance within the park pour their waters directly into its current4 ,all these ,platt springs1 like those of ,hot ,springs1 ,arkansas1 were known to the ,indians for their curative properties for many generations before the coming of the white settler4 ,the park is the centre of a region of novelty and charm for the visitor from the ,north and ,east4 ,the intimate communion of prairie and rich forested valley1 the sophistication of the bustling little city in contrast with the rough life of the outlying ranches1 the mingling in common intercourse of such differing human elements as the ,eastern tourist1 the free and easy ,western townsman1 the cowboy and the ,indian1 give rare spice to a visit long enough to impart the spirit of a country of so many kinds of appeal4 ,the climate1 too1 contributes to enjoyment4 ,the long spring lasts from ,february to ,june4 ,during the short summer1 social life is at its height4 ,the fall lingers to the holidays before it gives way to a short winter1 which the ,arbuckle ,mountains soften by diverting the colder winds4 ,the pleasures are those of prairie and valley4 ,it is a great land for riding4 ,there is swimming1 rowing1 and excellent black-bass fishing in the larger lakes4 ,it is a region of deer and many birds4 ,its altitude is about a thousand feet4 ,the rolling ,oklahoma plateau attains in this neighborhood its pleasantest outline and variety4 ,broad plains of grazing-land alternate with bare rocky heights and low mountains4 ,the creeks and rivers which accumulate the waters of the springs scattered widely among these prairie hills are outlined by winding forested belts and flowered thickets of brush4 ,great areas of thin prairie yield here and there to rounded hills1 some of which bear upon their summits columns of flat rocks heaped one upon the other high enough to be seen for miles against the low horizon4 ,these1 which are known as the ,chimney ,hills1 for many years have been a cause of speculation among the settlers who have nearly replaced the ,indians since the ,state of ,oklahoma replaced the ,indian ,territory with which we became familiar in the geographies of earlier days4 ,who were the builders of these chimneys and what was their purpose8 ,at a hearing in ,ardmore a few years ago before a ,united ,states court taking testimony upon some ancient ,indian depredation claims1 writes ,colonel ,r4,a4 ,sneed1 for years the superintendent of the ,platt ,national ,park1 practically all the residents of the ,chickasaw ,nation1 ,indian and negro1 whose memories of that country extend back fifty years or more1 were in attendance4 ,in recounting his recollections of a ,comanche raid in which his master's horses were stolen1 one old negro incidentally gave a solution of the ,chimney ,hills which is the only one the writer ever heard1 and which probably accounts for all of them4 ,he said that his master lived at ,big ,sulphur ,springs1 farthest west of any of the ,chickasaws2 that the ,kiowas and ,comanches raided the country every summer and drove out horses or cattle wherever they could find them unprotected2 that he had often gone with his master to find these stolen cattle2 that these forages were so frequent that the ,chickasaws had never undertaken to occupy any of their lands west of ,rock ,creek1 north of ,big ,sulphur ,springs1 nor west of the ,washita ,river south of the springs2 that the country west of ,sulphur ,springs was dry1 and water was hard to find unless one knew just where to look2 and that the ,comanches had a custom of marking all the springs they could find by building rock chimneys on the hills nearest to the springs4 ,only one chimney would be built if the spring flowed from beneath the same hill1 but if the spring was distant from the hill two chimneys would be built1 either upon the same hill or upon two distant hills1 and a sight along the two chimneys would indicate a course toward the spring4 ,the old man said that every hill in their pasture had a ,comanche chimney on it and that his master would not disturb them because he did not want to make the wild ,indians mad4 ,there never was open war between the ,chickasaws and the ,comanches1 but individual ,chickasaws often had trouble with ,comanche hunting-parties4 ,the ,big ,sulphur ,springs on ,rock ,creek in the ,chickasaw ,nation afterward became the centre around which the city of ,sulphur was built1 and after the town was grown to a population of two thousand or more it was removed bodily to make room for the ,platt ,national ,park1 around which has been built the new city of ,sulphur1 which now has a population of forty-five hundred4 ,many of the ,comanche monuments are extant and the great bluff above the ,bromide ,springs of the national park looks out toward the north and west over a prairie that extends to the ,rocky ,mountains2 the monument that stood on the brow of that bluff must have been visible for many miles to the keen vision of the ,comanche who knew how to look for it4 ,the ,indian ,territory became the ,state of ,oklahoma in #aijg2 the story of the white man's peaceful invasion is one of absorbing interest2 the human spectacle of to-day is complex1 even kaleidoscopic4 ,in the thirties and forties the government had established in the territory the five civilized ,indian nations1 the ,cherokees1 ,chickasaws1 ,choctaws1 ,creeks1 and ,seminoles1 each with its allotted boundaries1 its native government1 its legislatures1 and its courts4 ,in many respects these were foreign nations within our boundaries4 ,besides them1 the ,osage ,indians had their reservation in the north1 and fragments of no less than seventeen other tribes lived on assigned territory4 ,gradually white men invaded the land1 purchased holdings from the ,indian nations1 built cities1 established businesses of many kinds1 ran railroads in all directions4 ,in time1 the nations were abolished and their remaining lands were divided up among the individuals composing them2 the ,indians of these nations became ,american citizens2 their negro slaves1 for they had been large slaveholders1 received each his portion of the divided land4 ,then came ,oklahoma4 ,to-day there is only one ,indian reservation in the ,state1 that of the ,osages4 ,oil has been found on their land and they are the wealthiest people in the world to-day1 the average cash income of each exceeding five thousand dollars a year4 ,in a state with a total population of two and a quarter millions live #ccf1jjj ,indians representing twenty-three tribes and #aaj1jjj negroes descended from slaves4 ,there has been much intermarrying between ,indians and whites1 and some between ,indians and blacks4 ,here is a mixture of races to baffle the keenest eye4 ,elsewhere than in the ,osage ,reservation1 wealth also has come to the ,indians4 ,many have very large incomes1 large even for the rich of our ,eastern cities4 ,asphalt also has enriched many4 ,cotton is raised extensively in the southern counties4 ,grazing on a large scale has proved profitable4 ,many ,indians own costly and luxurious homes1 ride in automobiles1 and enter importantly into business1 politics1 and the professions2 these usually have more or less white blood4 ,many full-bloods who have grown rich without effort possess finely furnished bedrooms1 and sleep on the floor in blankets2 elaborate dining-rooms with costly table equipments1 and eat cross-legged on the kitchen floor2 gas-ranges1 and cook over chip fires out-of-doors2 automobiles1 and ride blanketed ponies4 ,many wealthy men are deeply in debt because of useless luxuries which they have been persuaded to buy4 ,platt ,national ,park lies about the centre of what was once the ,chickasaw nation4 ,it is a grazing and a cotton country4 ,there are thousands of ,indians1 many of them substantial citizens1 some men of local influence4 ,native dress is seldom seen4 ,quoting again from my correspondence with ,colonel ,sneed1 here is the legend of the last of the ,delawares3 ,along about #ahdj1 a very few years after the ,chickasaws and ,choctaws had arrived in ,indian ,territory1 a small band of about sixty ,delaware ,indians arrived in the ,territory1 having roved from ,alabama through ,mississippi and ,missouri1 and through the northwest portion of ,arkansas4 ,being a small band1 they decided to link their fortunes with those of some other tribe of ,indians1 and they first pitched their tepees with those of the ,cherokees4 ,but the ,cherokee ,chief and old ,chief ,wahpanucka of the ,delawares did not agree4 ,so the little band of ,delawares continued rambling until they reached the ,choctaw ,nation1 where they again tried to make terms with the ,chief of the tribe4 ,evidently no agreement was reached between that ,chief and ,wahpanucka1 for the ,delawares continued their roving until they reached the ,chickasaw ,nation1 where they remained4 ,old ,chief ,wahpanucka had a beautiful daughter whose name was ,deerface2 two of the ,delaware braves were much in love with her1 but ,deerface could not decide which one of these warriors she should take to become ,chief after the death of ,wahpanucka4 ,chief ,wahpanucka called the two warriors before him and a powwow was agreed upon4 ,the council was held around the ,council ,rocks 7which is now a point of interest within the ,platt ,national ,park71 and a decision was reached to the effect that at a certain designated time the ,delawares should all assemble on the top of the ,bromide ,cliff1 at the foot of which flow the now famous ,bromide and ,medicine ,springs1 and that the two braves should ride their ,indian ponies to the edge of the cliff1 which was at that time known as ,medicine ,bluff1 and jump off to the bed of the creek about two hundred feet below4 ,the one who survived was to marry ,deerface1 and succeed ,wahpanucka as ,chief of the ,delawares4 ,the race was run and both ,indian braves made the jump from the bluff1 but both were killed4 ,when ,deerface saw this she threw herself from the bluff and died at the foot of the cliff where her lovers had met their death4 ,to-day her image may be seen indelibly fixed on one of the rocks of the cliff where she fell1 and the water of the ,medicine ,spring is supposed to be the briny tears of the old ,chief when he saw the havoc his decision had wrought4 ,these tears1 filtering down through the cliff where the old ,chief stood1 are credited with being so purified that the water of the spring which they form is possessed with remedial qualities which make it a cure for all human ailments4 ,,the ,,grand ,,canyon ,,and ,,our ,,national ,,monuments ,,on ,,the ,,scenery ,,of ,,the ,,southwest ,to most ,americans the southwest means the desert1 and it is true that most of ,arizona1 ,new ,mexico1 and ,utah1 and portions of ,colorado and southern ,california1 are arid or semiarid lands1 relieved1 however1 by regions of fertility and agricultural prosperity4 ,in popular conception the desert has been the negative of all that means beauty1 richness1 and sublimity2 it has been the synonym of poverty and death4 ,gradually but surely the ,american public is learning that again popular conception is wrong1 that the desert is as positive a factor in scenery as the mountain1 that it has its own glowing beauty1 its own intense personality1 and occasionally1 in its own amazing way1 a sublimity as gorgeous1 as compelling1 and as emotion-provoking as the most stupendous snow-capped range4 ,the ,american desert region includes some of the world's greatest scenery4 ,the ,grand ,canyon of the ,colorado ,river is sunk in a plateau which1 while sprinkled with scant pine1 is nearly rainless4 ,zion ,canyon is a palette of brilliant color lying among golden sands4 ,a score of national monuments conserve large natural bridges1 forests of petrified trees1 interesting volcanic or other phenomena of prehistoric times1 areas of strange cactus growths1 deposits of the bones of monstrous reptiles1 and remains of a civilization which preceded the discovery of ,america2 and1 in addition to these1 innumerable places of remarkable magnificence as yet unknown except to the geologist1 the topographer1 the miner1 the ,indian1 and the adventurer in unfrequented lands4 ,this arid country consists of rolling sandy plains as broad as seas1 dotted with gray sage-brush and relieved by bare craggy monadnocks and naked ranges which the rising and the setting sun paints unbelievable colors4 ,here and there thin growths of cottonwood outline thin ribbons of rivers1 few and far between4 ,here and there alkali whitens the edges of stained hollows where water lies awhile after spring cloudbursts4 ,here and there are salt ponds with no outlet4 ,yet even in the desolation of its tawny monotony it has a fascination which is insistent and cumulative4 ,but the southwest is not all desert4 ,there are great areas of thin grazing ranges and lands where dry farming yields fair crops4 ,there are valleys which produce fruits and grains in abundance4 ,there are hamlets and villages and cities which are among the oldest in ,america1 centres of fertile tracts surrounded by deserts which need only water to become the richest lands on the continent4 ,there are regions reclaimed by irrigation where farming has brought prosperity4 ,in other places the plateau covers itself for hundreds of square miles with scrubby pine and cedar4 ,all in all1 it is a land of rare charm and infinite variety4 ,to appreciate a region which more and more will enter into ,american consciousness and divide travel with the mountains1 the reader should know something of its structural history4 ,the southwestern part of the ,united ,states rose above sea-level and sank below it many times during the many thousands of centuries preceding its present state1 which is that of a sandy and generally desert plateau1 five to ten thousand feet in altitude4 ,how many times it repeated the cycle is not fully known4 ,some portions of it doubtless were submerged oftener than others4 ,some were lifting while others were lowering4 ,and1 meantime1 mountains rose and were carried away by erosion to give place to other mountains which also wore away2 river systems formed and disappeared1 lakes and inland seas existed and ceased to exist4 ,the history of our southwest would have been tempestuous indeed had it been compassed within say the life of one man2 but1 spread over a period of time inconceivable to man1 there may have been no time when it might have seemed to be more active in change than its still hot deserts seem to-day to the traveller in passing trains4 ,other parts of the continent1 no doubt1 have undergone as many changes2 our southwest is not singular in that4 ,but nowhere else1 perhaps1 has the change left evidences so plain and so interesting to the unscientific observer4 ,the page of earth's history is more easily read upon the bare deserts of our southwest than on the grass-concealed prairies of the ,mississippi ,valley or the eroded and forested ranges of the ,appalachians4 ,before the ,rockies and the ,sierra even existed1 in the shallow sea which covered this part of the continent were deposited the ooze which later1 when this region rose above the sea1 became the magnificent limestones of the ,grand ,canyon4 ,muds accumulated which to-day are seen in many highly colored shales4 ,long ages of erosion from outlying mountain regions spread it thick with gravels and sands which now appear in rocky walls of deep canyons4 ,a vast plain was built up and graded by these deposits4 ,the trunks of trees washed down by the floods from far distant uplands were buried in these muds and sands1 where1 in the course of unnumbered centuries1 they turned to stone4 ,they are the petrified forests of to-day4 ,mountains1 predecessors of our modern ,sierra1 lifted in the south and west1 squeezed the moisture from the ,pacific winds1 and turned the region into desert4 ,this was in the ,jurassic ,period4 ,sands thousands of feet deep were accumulated by the desert winds which are to-day the sandstones of the giant walls of ,zion ,canyon4 ,but this was not the last desert1 for again the region sank below the sea4 ,again for half a million years or more ooze settled upon the sands to turn to limestone millions of years later4 ,in this ,jurassic sea sported enormous marine monsters whose bones settled to the bottom to be unearthed in our times1 and great flying reptiles crossed its water4 ,again the region approached sea-level and accumulated1 above its new limestones1 other beds of sands4 ,new river systems formed and brought other accumulations from distant highlands4 ,it was then a low swampy plain of enormous size1 whose northern limits reached ,montana1 and which touched what now is ,kansas on its east4 ,upon the borders of its swamps1 in ,cretaceous times1 lived gigantic reptiles1 the ,dinosaurs and their ungainly companions whose bones are found to-day in several places4 ,for the last time the region sank and a shallow sea swept from the ,gulf of ,mexico to the ,arctic ,ocean4 ,again new limestones formed1 and as the surface very slowly rose for the last time at the close of the ,cretaceous ,period many new deposits were added to the scenic exhibit of to-day4 ,meantime other startling changes were making which extended over a lapse of time which human mind cannot grasp4 ,responding to increasing pressures from below1 the continent was folding from north to south4 ,the miracle of the making of the ,rockies was enacting4 ,during all of ,tertiary times earth movements of tremendous energy rocked and folded the crust and hastened change4 ,the modern ,sierra rose upon the eroded ruins of its predecessor1 again shutting off the moisture-laden western winds and turning the southwest again into a desert4 ,one of the mountain-building impulses spread eastward from the ,sierra to the ,wasatch ,mountains1 but ,nature's project for this vast granite-cored tableland never was realized1 for continually its central sections caved and fell4 ,and so it happened that the eastern edge of the ,sierra and the western edge of the ,wasatch ,mountains became the precipitous edges1 thousands of feet high1 of a mountain-studded desert which to-day is called the ,great ,basin4 ,it includes southeastern ,oregon1 nearly all of ,nevada1 the western half of ,utah1 and a large area in the south of ,california1 besides parts of ,idaho and ,wyoming4 ,it is #hhj miles north and south and #egb miles wide4 ,its elevation is five thousand feet1 more or less1 and its area more than two hundred thousand square miles4 ,this enormous bowl contained no outlet to the sea1 and the rivers which flowed into it from all its mountainous borders created a prehistoric lake with an area of fifty-four thousand square miles which was named ,lake ,bonneville after the army officer whose adventures in #ahcc were narrated by ,washington ,irving2 but it was ,fremont who first clearly described it4 ,lake ,bonneville has evaporated and disappeared1 but in its place are many salty lakes1 the greatest of which is ,great ,salt ,lake in ,utah4 ,attenuated rivers still flow into the ,great ,basin1 but are lost in their sands4 ,the greatest of these1 the ,mohave ,river1 is a hundred miles long1 but is not often seen because it hides its waters chiefly under the surface sands4 ,lake ,bonneville's prehistoric beaches exist to-day4 ,transcontinental passengers by rail cross its ancient bed1 but few know it4 ,the ,great ,basin to-day is known to travellers principally by the many lesser deserts which compose it1 deserts separated from each other by lesser mountain ranges and low divides4 ,its southern and southeastern boundaries are the plateaus and mountains which form the northern watershed of the muddy ,colorado ,river and its confluents4 ,south of the ,colorado1 the plateaus of ,new ,mexico1 ,arizona1 and southern ,california gradually subside to the ,rio ,grande4 ,during this period and the ,quaternary which followed it1 volcanoes appeared in many places2 their dead cones diversify our modern landscape4 ,it was during the ,quaternary ,period1 in whose latter end lives man1 that erosion dug the mighty canyons of our great southwest4 ,the ,colorado was sweeping out the ,grand ,canyon at the same time that1 far in the north1 the glaciers of the ,great ,ice ,age were carving from ,algonkian shales and limestones the gorgeous cirques and valleys of ,glacier ,national ,park4 ,,xvi ,a ,,pageant ,,of ,,creation ,,grand ,,canyon ,,national ,,park1 ,,arizona4 ,,area1 #ieh ,,square ,,miles ,there is only one ,grand ,canyon4 ,it lies in northern ,arizona1 and the ,colorado ,river1 one of the greatest of ,american rivers1 flows through its inner gorge4 ,it must not be confused with the ,grand ,canyon of the ,yellowstone1 or with any of the grande canyons which the ,spaniards so named because they were big canyons4 ,the ,grand ,canyon is #bag miles long1 #h to #ab miles wide at the rim1 and more than a mile deep4 ,it is the ,colossus of canyons1 by far the hugest example of stream erosion in the world4 ,it is gorgeously colored4 ,it is by common consent the most stupendous spectacle in the world4 ,it may be conceived as a mountain range reversed4 ,could its moulded image1 similarly colored1 stand upon the desert floor1 it would be a spectacle second only to the vast mould itself4 ,more than a hundred thousand persons visit the ,grand ,canyon each year4 ,in other lands it is our most celebrated scenic possession4 ,it was made a national park in #aiai4 ,i ,the ,grand ,canyon is not of ,america but of the world4 ,like the ,desert of ,sahara and the monster group of the ,himalayas1 it is so entirely the greatest example of its kind that it refuses limits4 ,this is true of it also as a spectacle2 far truer1 in fact1 for1 if it is possible to compare things so dissimilar1 in this respect certainly it will lead all others4 ,none see it without being deeply moved--all to silence1 some even to tears4 ,it is charged to the rim with emotion2 but the emotion of the first view varies4 ,some stand astounded at its vastness4 ,others are stupefied and search their souls in vain for definition4 ,some tremble4 ,some are uplifted with a sense of appalling beauty4 ,for a time the souls of all are naked in the presence4 ,this reaction is apparent in the writings of those who have visited it2 no other spectacle in ,america has inspired so large a literature4 ,joaquin ,miller found it fearful1 full of glory1 full of ,god4 ,charles ,dudley ,warner pronounced it by far the most sublime of earthly spectacles4 ,william ,winter saw it a pageant of ghastly desolation4 ,hamlin ,garland found its lines chaotic and disturbing but its combinations of color and shadow beautiful4 ,upon ,john ,muir it bestowed a new sense of earth's beauty4 ,marius ,r4 ,campbell1 whose geological researches have familiarized him with ,nature's scenic gamut1 told me that his first day on the rim left him emotionally cold2 it was not until he had lived with the spectacle that realization slowly dawned4 ,i think this is the experience of very many1 a fact which renders still more tragic a prevailing public assumption that the ,grand ,canyon is a one-day stop in a transcontinental journey4 ,it is not surprising that wonder is deeply stirred by its vastness1 its complexity1 and the realization of ,nature's titanic labor in its making4 ,it is far from strange that extreme elation sometimes follows upon a revelation so stupendous and different4 ,that beauty so extraordinary should momentarily free emotion from control is natural enough4 ,but why the expressions of repulsion not infrequently encountered upon the printed pages of the past8 ,i have personally inquired of many of our own day without finding one1 even among the most sensitive1 whom it repelled4 ,perhaps a clew is discovered in the introductory paragraphs of an inspired word-picture which the late ,clarence ,e4 ,dutton hid in a technical geological paper of #ahhj4 ,the lover of nature1 he wrote1 whose perceptions have been trained in the ,alps1 in ,italy1 ,germany1 or ,new ,england1 in the ,appalachians or ,cordilleras1 in ,scotland or ,colorado1 would enter this strange region with a shock and dwell there with a sense of oppression1 and perhaps with horror4 ,whatsoever things he had learned to regard as beautiful and noble he would seldom or never see1 and whatsoever he might see would appear to him as anything but beautiful or noble4 ,whatsoever might be bold or striking would seem at first only grotesque4 ,the colors would be the very ones he had learned to shun as tawdry or bizarre4 ,the tones and shades1 modest and tender1 subdued yet rich1 in which his fancy had always taken special delight1 would be the ones which are conspicuously absent4 ,i suspect that this repulsion1 this horror1 as several have called it1 was born of the conventions of an earlier generation which bound conceptions of taste and beauty1 as of art1 dress1 religion1 and human relations generally1 in shackles which do not exist in these days of individualism and broad horizons4 ,to-day we see the ,grand ,canyon with profound astonishment but without prejudice4 ,its amazing size1 its bewildering configuration1 its unprecedented combinations of color affect the freed and elated consciousness of our times as another and perhaps an ultimate revelation in nature of law1 order1 and beauty4 ,in these pages ,i shall make no attempt to describe the ,grand ,canyon4 ,nature has written her own description1 graving it with a pen of water in rocks which run the series of the eternal ages4 ,her story can be read only in the original2 translations are futile4 ,here ,i shall try only to help a little in the reading4 ,,ii ,the ,grand ,canyon was cut by one of the great rivers of the continent1 the ,colorado1 which enters ,arizona from the north and swings sharply west2 thence it turns south to form most of ,arizona's western boundary1 and a few miles over the ,mexican border empties into the head of the ,gulf of ,california4 ,it drains three hundred thousand square miles of ,arizona1 ,utah1 ,wyoming1 and ,colorado4 ,it is formed in ,utah by the confluence of the ,green and the ,grand ,rivers4 ,including the greater of these1 the ,green ,river1 it makes a stream fifteen hundred miles in length which collects the waters of the divide south and east of the ,great ,basin and of many ranges of the ,rocky ,mountain system4 ,the ,grand ,river1 for its contribution1 collects the drainage of the ,rockies' mighty western slopes in ,colorado4 ,the lower reaches of these great tributaries and practically all of the ,colorado ,river itself flow through more than five hundred miles of canyons which they were obliged to dig through the slowly upheaving sandstone plateaus in order to maintain their access to the sea4 ,succeeding canyons bear names designating their scenic or geologic character4 ,progressively southward they score deeper into the strata of the earth's crust until1 as they approach their climax1 they break through the bottom of the ,paleozoic limestone deep into the heart of the ,archean gneiss4 ,this limestone trench is known as the ,marble ,canyon1 the ,archean trench as the ,granite ,gorge4 ,the lower part of the ,marble ,canyon and all the ,granite ,gorge1 together with their broad1 vividly colored and fantastically carved upper canyon ten miles across from rim to rim1 a mile high from water to rim-level1 the climax of the world of canyons and the most gorgeous spectacle on earth1 is the ,grand ,canyon of the ,colorado4 ,it lies east and west in the northern part of the ,state4 ,to comprehend it1 recall one of those ditches which we all have seen crossing level fields or bordering country roads4 ,it is broad from rim to rim and deeply indented by the side washes which follow heavy showers4 ,its sides descend by terraces1 steep in places with gentle slopes between the steeps1 and on these slopes are elevations of rock or mud which floods have failed to wash away4 ,finally1 in the middle1 is the narrow trench which now1 in dry weather1 carries a small trickling stream4 ,not only does this ditch roughly typify the ,grand ,canyon1 reproducing in clumsy1 inefficient miniature the basic characteristics of its outline1 but it also is identical in the process of its making4 ,imagining it in cross-section1 we find its sides leading down by successive precipices to broad intermediate sloping surfaces4 ,we find upon these broad surfaces enormous mesas and lofty1 ornately carved edifices of rock which the floods have left standing4 ,we find in its middle1 winding snakelike from side to side1 the narrow gorge of the river4 ,the parallel goes further4 ,it is not at all necessary to conceive that either the wayside ditch or the ,grand ,canyon was once brimful of madly dashing waters4 ,on the contrary1 neither may ever have held much greater streams than they hold to-day4 ,in both cases the power of the stream has been applied to downward trenching2 the greater spreading sides were cut by the erosion of countless side streamlets resulting temporarily from periods of melting snow or of local rainfall4 ,it was these streamlets which cut the side canyons and left standing between them the bold promontories of the rim4 ,it was these streamlets1 working from the surface1 which separated portions of these promontories from the plateau and turned them into isolated mesas4 ,it was the erosion of these mesas which turned many of them into the gigantic and fantastic temples and towers which rise from the canyon's bowl4 ,standing upon the rim and overlooking miles of these successive precipices and intermediate templed levels1 we see the dark gorge of the granite trench1 and1 deep within it1 wherever its windings permit a view of its bottom1 a narrow ribbon of brown river4 ,this is the ,colorado--a rill2 but when we have descended six thousand feet of altitude to its edge we find it a rushing turbulent torrent of muddy water4 ,its average width is three hundred feet2 its average depth thirty feet4 ,it is industriously digging the ,grand ,canyon still deeper1 and perhaps as rapidly as it ever dug since it entered the granite4 ,developing the thought in greater detail1 let us glance at the illustrations of this chapter and at any photographs which may be at hand1 and realization will begin4 ,let imagination dart back a million years or more to the time when this foreground rim and that far run across the vast chasm are one continuous plain2 perhaps it is a pine forest1 with the river1 no greater than to-day1 perhaps not so great1 winding through it close to the surface level4 ,as the river cuts downward1 the spring floods following the winter snows cave in its banks here and there1 forming sharply slanted valleys which enclose promontories between them4 ,spring succeeds spring1 and these side valleys deepen and eat backward while the promontories lengthen and grow4 ,the harder strata resist the disintegration of alternate heat and cold1 and1 while always receding1 hold their form as cliffs2 the softer strata between the cliffs crumbles and the waste of spring waters spreads them out in long flattened slopes4 ,the centuries pass4 ,the ruin buries itself deep in the soft sandstone4 ,the side valleys work miles back into the pine forest4 ,each valley acquires its own system of erosion2 into each1 from either side1 enter smaller valleys which themselves are eating backward into the promontories4 ,the great valley of the ,colorado now has broad converging cliff-broken sides4 ,here and there these indentations meet far in the background behind the promontories1 isolating island-like mesas4 ,the rest of the story is simple repetition4 ,imagine enough thousands of centuries and you will imagine the ,grand ,canyon4 ,those myriad temples and castles and barbaric shrines are all that the rains and melting snows have left of noble mesas1 some of which1 when originally isolated1 enclosed1 as the marble encloses the future statue1 scores of the lesser but mighty structures which compose the wonder city of the depths4 ,these architectural operations of ,nature may be seen to-day in midway stages4 ,find on the map the ,powell ,plateau in the northwest of the canyon4 ,once it was continuous with the rim1 a noble promontory4 ,it was cut out from the rim perhaps within the existence of the human race4 ,a few hundred thousand years from now it will be one or more ,aladdin palaces4 ,find on the map the great ,walhalla ,plateau in the east of the canyon4 ,note that its base is nearly separated from the parental rim2 a thousand centuries or so and its isolation will be complete4 ,not long after that1 as geologists reckon length of time1 it will divide into two plateaus2 it is easy to pick the place of division4 ,the tourist of a million years hence will see1 where now it stands1 a hundred glowing castles4 ,let us look again at our photographs1 which now we can see with understanding4 ,to realize the spectacle of the canyon1 let imagination paint these strata their brilliant colors4 ,it will not be difficult2 but here again we must understand4 ,it is well to recall that these strata were laid in the sea1 and that they hardened into stone when the earth's skin was pushed thousands of feet in air4 ,originally they were the washings of distant highlands brought down by rivers2 the coloring of the shales and sandstones is that of the parent rock modified1 no doubt1 by chemical action in sea-water4 ,the limestone1 product of the sea1 is gray4 ,as these differently colored strata were once continuous across the canyon1 it follows that their sequence is practically identical on both sides of the canyon4 ,that the colors seem confused is because1 viewing the spectacle from an elevation1 we see the enormous indentations of the opposite rim in broken and disorganized perspective4 ,few minds are patient and orderly enough to fully disentangle the kaleidoscopic disarray1 but1 if we can identify the strata by form as well as color1 we can at least comprehend without trouble our principal outline2 and comprehension is the broad highway to appreciation4 ,to identify these strata1 it is necessary to call them by name4 ,the names that geologists have assigned them have no scientific significance other than identity2 they are ,indian and local4 ,beginning at the canyon rim we have a stalwart cliff of gray limestone known as the ,kaibab ,limestone1 or1 conversationally1 the ,kaibab2 it is about seven hundred feet thick4 ,of this product of a million years of microscopic life and death on sea-bottoms is formed the splendid south-rim cliffs from which we view the chasm4 ,across the canyon it is always recognizable as the rim4 ,below the talus of the ,kaibab is the ,coconino sandstone1 light yellowish-gray1 coarse of grain1 the product of swift currents of untold thousands of centuries ago4 ,this stratum makes a fine bright cliff usually about four hundred feet in thickness1 an effective roofing for the glowing reds of the depths4 ,immediately below the ,coconino are the splendid red shales and sandstones known as the ,supai formation4 ,these lie in many strata of varying shades1 qualities1 and thicknesses1 but all1 seen across the canyon1 merging into a single enormous horizontal body of gorgeous red4 ,the ,supai measures eleven hundred feet in perpendicular thickness1 but as it is usually seen in slopes which sometimes are long and gentle1 it presents to the eye a surface several times as broad4 ,this is the most prominent single mass of color in the canyon1 for not only does it form the broadest feature of the opposite wall and of the enormous promontories which jut therefrom1 but the main bodies of ,buddha1 ,zoroaster1 and many others of the fantastic temples which rise from the floor4 ,below the ,supai1 a perpendicular wall of intense red five hundred feet high forces its personality upon every foot of the canyon's vast length4 ,this is the famous ,redwall1 a gray limestone stained crimson with the drip of ,supai dye from above4 ,harder than the sloping sandstone above and the shale below1 it pushes aggressively into the picture1 squared1 perpendicular1 glowing4 ,it winds in and out of every bay and gulf1 and fronts precipitously every flaring promontory4 ,it roofs with overhanging eaves many a noble palace and turns many a towering monument into a pagoda4 ,next below in series is the ,tonto1 a deep1 broad1 shallow slant of dull-green and yellow shale1 which1 with the thin broad sandstone base on which it rests1 forms the floor of the outer canyon1 the tessellated pavement of the city of flame4 ,without the ,tonto's green the spectacle of the ,grand ,canyon would have missed its contrast and its fulness4 ,through this floor the ,granite ,gorge winds its serpentine way1 two thousand feet deep1 dark with shadows1 shining in places where the river swings in view4 ,these are the series of form and color4 ,they occur with great regularity except in several spots deep in the canyon where small patches of gleaming quartzites and brilliant red shales show against the dark granite2 the largest of these lies in the depths directly opposite ,el ,tovar4 ,these rocks are all that one sees of ancient ,algonkian strata which once overlay the granite to a depth of thirteen thousand feet--more than twice the present total depth of the canyon4 ,the erosion of many thousands of centuries wore them away before the rocks that now compose the floor1 the temples and the precipiced walls of the great canyon were even deposited in the sea as sand and limestone ooze1 a fact that strikingly emphasizes the enormous age of this exhibit4 ,geologists speak of these splashes of ,algonkian rocks as the ,unkar group1 another local ,indian designation4 ,there is also a similar ,chuar group1 which need not concern any except those who make a close study of the canyon4 ,this is the picture4 ,the imagination may realize a fleet1 vivid impression from the photograph4 ,the visitor upon the rim1 outline in hand1 may trace its twisting elements in a few moments of attentive observation1 and thereafter enjoy his canyon as one only enjoys a new city when he has mastered its scheme and spirit1 and can mentally classify its details as they pass before him4 ,to one thus prepared1 the ,grand ,canyon ceases to be the brew-pot of chaotic emotion and becomes the orderly revelation of ,nature1 the master craftsman and the divine artist4 ,,iii ,entrance is from the south4 ,the motor-road to ,grand ,view is available for most of the year4 ,the railroad to the ,el ,tovar ,hotel serves the year around1 for the ,grand ,canyon is an all-year resort4 ,there is a short winter of heavy snows on the rim1 but not in the canyon1 which may be descended at all seasons4 ,both routes terminate on the rim4 ,always dramatic1 the ,grand ,canyon welcomes the pilgrim in the full panoply of its appalling glory4 ,there is no waiting in the anteroom1 no sounding of trumpets1 no ceremony of presentation4 ,he stands at once in the presence4 ,most visitors have bought tickets at home which permit only one day's stay4 ,the irrecoverable sensation of the first view is broken by the necessity for an immediate decision upon how to spend that day1 for if one is to descend horseback to the river he must engage his place and don his riding-clothes at once4 ,under this stress the majority elect to remain on the rim for reasons wholly apart from any question of respective merit4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph copyright by ,fred ,harvey ,,sunset ,,from ,,grand ,,view1 ,,grand ,,canyon ,,national ,,park ,all the strata from the rim to the river may be seen in this picture ,after all1 if only one day is possible1 it is the wise decision4 ,with the rim road1 over which various drives are scheduled1 and several commanding points to whose precipices one may walk1 it will be a day to remember for a lifetime4 ,one should not attempt too much in this one day4 ,it is enough to sit in the presence of the spectacle4 ,fortunate is he who may stay another day and descend the trail into the streets of this vast city2 many times fortunate he who may live a little amid its glories4 ,because of this general habit of seeing the ,grand ,canyon between sunrise and sunset1 the admirable hotel accommodations are not extensive1 but sufficient4 ,there are cottage accommodations also at cheaper rates4 ,hotels and cottages are well patronized summer and winter4 ,upon the rim are unique rest-houses1 in one of which is a high-power telescope4 ,there is a memorial altar to ,john ,wesley ,powell1 the first explorer of the canyon4 ,there is an excellent reproduction of a ,hopi house4 ,there is an ,indian camp4 ,the day's wanderer upon the rim will not lack entertainment when his eyes turn for rest from the chasm4 ,from the hotel1 coaches make regular trips daily to various viewpoints4 ,hopi ,point1 ,mohave ,point1 ,yavapai ,point1 and ,grandeur ,point may all be visited2 the run of eight miles along the famous ,hermit ,rim ,road permits brief stops at ,hopi1 ,mohave1 and ,pima ,points4 ,automobiles also make regular runs to the gorgeous spectacle from ,grand ,view4 ,still more distant points may be made in private or hired cars4 ,navajo ,point offers unequalled views up and down the full length of the canyon1 and an automobile-road will bring the visitor within easy reach of ,bass ,camp near ,havasupai ,point in the far west of the reservation4 ,many one-day visitors take none of these stage and automobile trips1 contented to dream the hours away upon ,yavapai or ,hopi ,points near by4 ,after all1 it is just as well4 ,a single viewpoint cannot be mastered in one's first day1 so what's the use of others8 ,on the other hand1 seeing the same view from different viewpoints miles apart will enrich and elaborate it4 ,besides1 one should see many views in order to acquire some conception1 however small1 of the intricacy and grandeur of the canyon4 ,besides1 these trips help to rest the eyes and mind4 ,it is hard indeed to advise the unlucky one-day visitor4 ,it is as if a dyspeptic should lead you to an elaborate banquet of a dozen courses1 and say3 ,i have permission to eat three bites4 ,please help me choose them4 ,wherever he stands upon the rim the appalling silence hushes the voice to whispers4 ,no cathedral imposes stillness so complete4 ,it is sacrilege to speak1 almost to move4 ,and yet the ,grand ,canyon is a moving picture4 ,it changes every moment4 ,always shadows are disappearing here1 appearing there2 shortening here1 lengthening there4 ,with every passing hour it becomes a different thing4 ,it is a sun-dial of monumental size4 ,in the early morning the light streams down the canyon from the east4 ,certain promontories shoot miles into the picture1 gleaming in vivid color1 backed by dark shadows4 ,certain palaces and temples stand in magnificent relief4 ,the inner gorge is brilliantly outlined in certain places4 ,as the day advances these prominences shift positions2 some fade2 some disappear2 still others spring into view4 ,as midday approaches the shadows fade2 the promontories flatten2 the towering edifices move bodily backward and merge themselves in the opposite rim4 ,there is a period of several hours when the whole canyon has become a solid wall2 strata fail to match2 eye and mind become confused2 comprehension is baffled by the tangle of disconnected bands of color2 the watcher is distressed by an oppressive sense of helplessness4 ,it is when afternoon is well advanced that the magician sun begins his most astonishing miracles in the canyon's depths4 ,out from the blazing wall1 one by one1 step the mighty obelisks and palaces1 defined by ever-changing shadows4 ,unsuspected promontories emerge1 undreamed-of gulfs sink back in the perspective4 ,the serpentine gorge appears here1 fades there1 seems almost to move in the slow-changing shadows4 ,i shall not try even to suggest the soul-uplifting spectacle which culminates in sunset4 ,days may be spent upon the rim in many forms of pleasure2 short camping trips may be made to distant points4 ,the descent into the canyon is usually made from ,el ,tovar down the ,bright ,angel ,trail1 so called because it faces the splendid ,bright ,angel ,canyon of the north side1 and by the newer ,hermit ,trail which starts a few miles west4 ,there are trails at ,grand ,view1 eight miles east1 and at ,bass ,camp1 twenty-four miles west of ,el ,tovar1 which are seldom used now4 ,all go to the bottom of the ,granite ,gorge4 ,the commonly used trails may be travelled afoot by those physically able1 and on mule-back by any person of any age who enjoys ordinary health4 ,the ,bright ,angel trip returns the traveller to the rim at day's end4 ,the ,hermit ,trail trip camps him overnight on the floor of the canyon at the base of a magic temple4 ,the finest trip of all takes him down the ,hermit ,trail1 gives him a night in the depths1 and returns him to the rim by the ,bright ,angel ,trail4 ,powell named ,bright ,angel ,creek during that memorable first passage through the ,canyon4 ,he had just named a muddy creek ,dirty ,devil1 which suggested1 by contrast1 the name of ,bright ,angel for a stream so pure and sparkling4 ,the ,havasupai ,indian reservation may be visited in the depths of ,cataract ,canyon by following the trail from ,bass ,camp4 ,the first experience usually noted in the descent is the fine quality of the trail1 gentle in slope and bordered by rock on the steep side4 ,the next experience is the disappearance of the straight uncompromising horizon of the opposite rim1 which is a distinctive feature of every view from above4 ,as soon as the descent fairly begins1 even the smaller bluffs and promontories assume towering proportions1 and1 from the ,tonto floor1 the mighty elevations of ,cheops1 ,isis1 ,zoroaster1 ,shiva1 ,wotan1 and the countless other temples of the abyss become mountains of enormous height4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph copyright by ,fred ,harvey ,,camping ,,party ,,on ,,the ,,south ,,rim ,this is within a few hundred feet of the ,grand ,canyon abyss ,illustration3 ,from a photograph copyright by ,fred ,harvey ,,down ,,hermit ,,trail ,,from ,,rim ,,to ,,river ,grand ,canyon ,national ,park ,from the river's side the elevations of the ,granite ,gorge present a new series of precipitous towers1 back of which in places loom the tops of the painted palaces1 and back of them1 from occasional favored view-spots1 the far-distant rim4 ,here1 and here only1 does the ,grand ,canyon reveal the fulness of its meaning4 ,,iv ,the ,grand ,canyon was discovered in #aedj by ,el ,tovar1 one of the captains of ,cardenas1 in charge of one of the expeditions of the ,spanish explorer1 ,diaz1 who was hunting for seven fabled cities of vast wealth4 ,they reached the banks of a river which seemed to be more than three or four leagues above the stream that flowed between them4 ,it was seen in #aggf by a ,spanish priest who sought a crossing and found one at a point far above the canyon2 this still bears the name ,vado de los ,padres4 ,by #ahdj it was probably known to the trappers who overran the country4 ,in #ahej ,lieutenant ,whipple1 surveying for a ,pacific route1 explored the ,black ,canyon and ascended the ,grand ,canyon to ,diamond ,creek4 ,in #aheg ,lieutenant ,ives1 sent by the ,war ,department to test the navigability of the ,colorado1 ascended as far as the ,virgin ,river in a steamboat which he had shipped in pieces from ,philadelphia4 ,from there he entered the ,grand ,canyon afoot1 climbed to the rim1 and1 making a detour1 encountered the river again higher up4 ,in #ahfg ,james ,white was picked up below the ,virgin ,river lashed to floating logs4 ,he said that his hunting-party near the head of the ,colorado ,river1 attacked by ,indians1 had escaped upon a raft4 ,this presently broke up in the rapids and his companions were lost4 ,he lashed himself to the wreckage and was washed through the ,grand ,canyon4 ,about this time ,major ,john ,wesley ,powell1 a school-teacher who had lost an arm in the ,civil ,war1 determined to explore the great canyons of the ,green and ,colorado ,rivers4 ,besides the immense benefit to science1 the expedition promised a great adventure4 ,many lives had been lost in these canyons and wonderful were the tales told concerning them4 ,indians reported that huge cataracts were hidden in their depths and that in one place the river swept through an underground passage4 ,nevertheless1 with the financial backing of the ,state institutions of ,illinois and the ,chicago ,academy of ,science1 ,powell got together a party of ten men with four open boats1 provisions for ten months1 and all necessary scientific instruments4 ,he started above the canyons of the ,green ,river on ,may #bd1 #ahfi4 ,there are many canyons on the ,green and ,colorado ,rivers4 ,they vary in length from eight to a hundred and fifty miles1 with walls successively rising from thirteen hundred to thirty-five hundred feet in height4 ,the climax of all1 the ,grand ,canyon1 is two hundred and seventeen miles long1 with walls six thousand feet in height4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,a4,j4 ,baker ,,through ,,the ,,granite ,,gorge ,,surges ,,the ,,muddy ,,colorado ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,fred ,harvey ,,when ,,morning ,,mists ,,lift ,,from ,,the ,,depths ,,of ,,the ,,grand ,,canyon ,on ,august #ag1 when ,powell and his adventurers reached the ,grand ,canyon1 their rations had been reduced by upsets and other accidents to enough musty flour for ten days1 plenty of coffee1 and a few dried apples4 ,the bacon had spoiled4 ,most of the scientific instruments were in the bottom of the river4 ,one boat was destroyed4 ,the men were wet to the skin and unable to make a fire4 ,in this plight they entered the ,grand ,canyon1 somewhere in whose depths a great cataract had been reported4 ,the story of the passage is too long to tell here4 ,chilled1 hungry1 and worn1 they struggled through it4 ,often they were obliged to let their boats down steep rapids by ropes1 and clamber after them along the slippery precipices4 ,often there was nothing to do but to climb into their boats and run down long foaming slants around the corners of which death1 perhaps1 awaited4 ,many times they were upset and barely escaped with their lives4 ,with no wraps or clothing that were not soaked with water1 there were nights when they could not sleep for the cold4 ,so the days passed and the food lessened to a few handfuls of wet flour4 ,the dangers increased2 some falls were twenty feet in height4 ,finally three of the men determined to desert2 they believed they could climb the walls and that their chances would be better with the ,indians than with the canyon4 ,powell endeavored to dissuade them1 but they were firm4 ,he offered to divide his flour with them1 but this they refused4 ,these men1 two ,howlands1 brothers1 and ,william ,dunn1 climbed the canyon walls and were killed by ,indians4 ,two or three days later ,powell and the rest of his party emerged below the ,grand ,canyon1 where they found food and safety4 ,taught by the experience of this great adventure1 ,powell made a second trip two years later which was a scientific achievement4 ,later on he became ,director of the ,united ,states ,geological ,survey4 ,since then1 the passage of the ,grand ,canyon has been made several times4 ,r4,b4 ,stanton made it in #ahhi in the course of a survey for a proposed railroad through the canyon2 one of the leaders of the party was drowned4 ,v ,the history of the ,grand ,canyon has been industriously collected4 ,it remains for others to gather the legends4 ,it is enough here to quote from ,powell the ,indian story of its origin4 ,long ago1 he writes1 there was a great and wise chief who mourned the death of his wife1 and would not be comforted until ,tavwoats1 one of the ,indian gods1 came to him and told him his wife was in a happier land1 and offered to take him there that he might see for himself1 if1 upon his return1 he would cease to mourn4 ,the great chief promised4 ,then ,tavwoats made a trail through the mountains that intervene between that beautiful land1 the balmy region of the great ,west1 and this1 the desert home of the poor ,numa4 ,this trail was the canyon gorge of the ,colorado4 ,through it he led him2 and when they had returned the deity exacted from the chief a promise that he would tell no one of the trail4 ,then he rolled a river into the gorge1 a mad1 raging stream1 that should engulf any that might attempt to enter thereby4 ,,vi ,the bill creating the ,grand ,canyon ,national ,park passed ,congress early in #aiai1 and was signed by ,president ,wilson on ,february #bf4 ,this closed an intermittent campaign of thirty-three years1 begun by ,president ,harrison1 then senator from ,indiana1 in ,january1 #ahhf1 to make a national park of the most stupendous natural spectacle in the world4 ,politics1 private interests1 and the deliberation of governmental procedure were the causes of delay4 ,a self-evident proposition from the beginning1 it illustrates the enormous difficulties which confront those who labor to develop our national-parks system4 ,the story is worth the telling4 ,senator ,harrison's bill of #ahhf met an instant response from the whole nation4 ,it called for a national park fifty-six miles long and sixty-nine miles wide4 ,there was opposition from ,arizona and the bill failed4 ,in #ahic the ,grand ,canyon ,national ,forest was created4 ,in #ahih1 depredations and unlawful seizures of land having been reported1 the ,secretary of the ,interior directed the ,land-,office to prepare a new national-park bill4 ,in #ahii the ,land-,office reported that the bill could not be drawn until the region was surveyed4 ,it took the ,geological ,survey five years to make the survey4 ,the bill was not prepared because meantime it was discovered that the ,atlantic and ,pacific ,railroad1 now the ,santa ,fe1 owned rights which first must be eliminated4 ,failing to become a national park1 ,president ,roosevelt proclaimed the ,grand ,canyon a national monument in #aijh4 ,in #aiji a bill was introduced entitling ,ralph ,h4 ,cameron to build a scenic railway along the canyon rim1 which created much adverse criticism and failed4 ,in #aiaj the ,american ,scenic and ,historic ,preservation ,society proposed a bill to create the ,grand ,canyon a national park of large size4 ,the ,geological ,survey1 to which it was referred1 recommended a much smaller area4 ,by the direction of ,president ,taft1 ,senator ,flint introduced a national-park bill which differed from both suggestions4 ,the opposition of grazing interests threw it into the hands of conferees4 ,in #aiaa ,senator ,flint introduced the conferees' bill1 but it was opposed by private interests and failed4 ,meantime the country became aroused4 ,patriotic societies petitioned for a national park1 and the ,national ,federation of ,women's ,clubs began an agitation4 ,the ,department of the ,interior prepared a map upon which to base a bill1 and for several years negotiated with the ,forest ,service1 which administered the ,grand ,canyon as a national monument1 concerning boundaries4 ,finally the boundaries were reduced to little more than the actual rim of the canyon1 and a bill was prepared which ,senator ,ashurst introduced in ,february1 #aiag4 ,it failed in committee in the ,house owing to opposition from ,arizona4 ,it was the same bill1 again introduced by ,senator ,ashurst in the new ,congress two months later1 which finally passed the ,house and became a law in #aiai2 but it required a favoring resolution by the ,arizona legislature to pave the way4 ,meantime many schemes were launched to utilize the ,grand ,canyon for private gain4 ,it was plastered thickly with mining claims1 though the ,geological ,survey showed that it contained no minerals worth mining2 mining claims helped delay4 ,schemers sought capital to utilize its waters for power4 ,railroads were projected4 ,plans were drawn to run sightseeing cars across it on wire cables4 ,these were the interests1 and many others1 which opposed the national park4 ,,xvii ,,the ,,rainbow ,,of ,,the ,,desert ,,zion ,,national ,,monument1 ,,southern ,,utah4 ,,area1 #abj ,,square ,,miles ,when1 in the seventies1 ,major ,j4,w4 ,powell1 the daring adventurer of the ,grand ,canyon1 faced ,salt ,lake ,city on his return from one of his notable geological explorations of the southwest1 he laid his course by a temple of rock lifting its opalescent shoulders against the eastern sky4 ,his party first sighted it across seventy miles of a desert which rose in a series of ,cyclopean steps4 ,when1 climbing these1 they had seen the ,west ,temple of the ,virgin revealed in the glory of vermilion body and shining white dome1 and had gazed between the glowing ,gates of ,little ,zion into the gorgeous valley within1 these scenery-sated veterans of the ,grand ,canyon and the ,painted ,desert passed homeward profoundly impressed and planning quick return4 ,no wonder that ,brigham ,young1 who had visited it many years before with a party of ,mormons seeking a refuge in event of ,indian raids or of exile from their ,zion1 ,salt ,lake ,city1 had looked upon its glory as prophetic1 and named it ,little ,zion4 ,geologists found the spot a fruitful field of study4 ,they found it also a masterpiece of desert beauty4 ,again we are impressed with the marvellous beauty of outline1 the infinite complication of these titanic buttes1 wrote ,f4,s4 ,dellenbaugh1 topographer of the ,powell party1 on his second visit4 ,it is doubtful if in this respect the valley has its equal4 ,not even the ,grand ,canyon offers a more varied spectacle2 yet all is welded together in a superb ensemble4 ,nothing can exceed the wondrous beauty of ,little ,zion ,canyon1 wrote ,c4,e4 ,dutton4 ,in its proportions it is about equal to ,yosemite1 but in the nobility and beauty of its sculptures there is no comparison4 ,it is ,hyperion to a ,satyr4 ,no wonder the fierce ,mormon zealot who named it was reminded of the ,great ,zion on which his fervid thoughts were bent1 of 'houses not built with hands1 eternal in the heavens4' ,and ,doctor ,g4,k4 ,gilbert1 whose intimate study of its recesses has become a geological classic1 declared it the most wonderful defile that it had been even his experienced fortune to behold4 ,technical literature contains other outbursts of enthusiastic admiration1 some of eloquence1 hidden1 however1 among pages so incomprehensible to the average lover of the sublime in ,nature that the glory of ,little ,zion was lost in its very discovery4 ,so remote did it lie from the usual lines of travel and traffic that1 though its importance resulted in its conservation as a national monument in #aiji1 it was six or seven years more before its fame as a spectacle of the first order began to get about4 ,the tales of adventurous explorers1 as usual1 were discounted4 ,it was not until agencies seeking new tourist attractions sent parties to verify reports that the public gaze was centred upon the canyon's supreme loveliness4 ,illustration ,to picture ,zion one must recall that the great plateau in which the ,virgin ,river has sunk these canyons was once enormously higher than now4 ,the erosion of hundreds of thousands1 or1 if you please1 millions of years1 has cut down and still is cutting down the plateau4 ,these ,cyclopean steps1 each step the thickness of a stratum or a series of strata of hardened sands1 mark progressive stages in the decomposition of the whole4 ,little ,zion ,canyon is an early stage in ,nature's process of levelling still another sandstone step1 that is all2 this one fortunately of many gorgeous hues4 ,from the top of this layer we may look down thousands of vertical feet into the painted canyon whose river still is sweeping out the sands that ,nature chisels from the cliffs2 or from the canyon's bottom we may look up thousands of feet to the cliffed and serrated top of the doomed plateau4 ,these ornate precipices were carved by trickling water and tireless winds4 ,these fluted and towered temples of master decoration were disclosed when watery chisels cut away the sands that formerly had merged them with the ancient rock1 just as the ,lion of ,lucerne was disclosed for the joy of the world when ,thorwaldsen's chisel chipped away the ,alpine rock surrounding its unformed image4 ,the colors are even more extraordinary than the forms4 ,the celebrated ,vermilion ,cliff1 which for more than a hundred miles streaks the desert landscape with vivid red1 here combines spectacularly with the ,white ,cliff1 another famous desert feature--two thousand feet of the red surmounted by a thousand feet of the white4 ,these constitute the body of color4 ,but there are other colors4 ,the ,vermilion ,cliff rests upon the so-called ,painted ,desert stratum1 three hundred and fifty feet of a more insistent red relieved by mauve and purple shale4 ,that in turn rests upon a hundred feet of brown conglomerate streaked with gray1 the grave of reptiles whose bones have survived a million years or more4 ,and that rests upon the greens and grays and yellows of the ,belted ,shales4 ,nor is this all1 for far in the air above the wonderful ,white ,cliff rise in places six hundred feet of drab shales and chocolate limestones intermixed with crimsons whose escaping dye drips in broad vertical streaks across the glistening white4 ,and even above that1 in places1 lie remnants of the mottled1 many-colored beds of ,st4 ,elmo shales and limestones in whose embrace1 a few hundred miles away1 lie embedded the bones of many monster dinosaurs of ages upon ages ago4 ,through these successive layers of sands and shales and limestones1 the deposits of a million years of earth's evolution1 colored like a ,roman sash1 glowing in the sun like a rainbow1 the ,virgin ,river has cut a vertical section1 and out of its sides the rains of centuries of centuries have detached monster monoliths and temples of marvellous size and fantastic shape1 upon whose many-angled surfaces water and wind have sculptured ten thousand fanciful designs and decorations4 ,the way in to this desert masterpiece of southern ,utah is a hundred miles of progressive preparation4 ,from railroad to canyon there is not an unuseful mile or hour4 ,it is as if all were planned1 step by step1 to make ready the mind of the traveller to receive the revelation with fullest comprehension4 ,to one approaching who does not know the desert1 the motion-picture on the screen of the car-window is exciting in its mystery4 ,these vast arid bottomlands of prehistoric ,lake ,bonneville1 girded by mountain groups and ranges as arid as the sands from which they lift their tawny sides1 provoke suggestive questions of the past4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,western ,,temple ,,the ,,eastern ,,temple ,,outlines ,,of ,,the ,,western ,,and ,,eastern ,,temples1 ,,zion ,,national ,,monument ,from drawings by ,william ,h4 ,holmes ,in this receptive mood the traveller reaches ,lund and an automobile4 ,the ride to ,cedar ,city1 where he spends the night1 shows him the sage-dotted desert at close range4 ,his horizon is one of bare1 rugged mountains4 ,in front of him rise the ,cyclopean steps in long1 irregular1 deeply indented sweeps4 ,the vivid ,pink ,cliff1 which1 had it not long since been washed away from ,little ,zion1 would have added another tier of color to its top1 here1 on the desert1 remains a distant horizon4 ,the road climbs ,lake ,bonneville's southern shore1 and1 at ,cedar ,city1 reaches the glorified sandstones4 ,from ,cedar ,city to the canyon one sweeps through ,mormon settlements founded more than sixty years ago1 a region of stream-watered valleys known of old as ,dixie4 ,the road is part of the ,arrowhead ,trail1 once in fact a historic trail1 now a motor-highway between ,salt ,lake and ,los ,angeles4 ,the valleys bloom4 ,pomegranates1 figs1 peaches1 apricots1 melons1 walnuts1 and almonds reach a rare perfection4 ,cotton1 which ,brigham ,young started here as an experiment in #ahfa1 is still grown4 ,lusty cottonwood-trees line the banks of the little rivers4 ,cedars dot the valleys and cover thickly the lower hills4 ,and everywhere1 on every side1 the arid cliffs close in4 ,the ,pink ,cliff has been left behind1 but the ,vermilion ,cliff constantly appears4 ,the ,white ,cliff enters and stays4 ,long stretches of road overlie one and another colored stratum2 presently the ground is prevailingly red1 with here and there reaches of mauve1 yellow1 green1 and pink4 ,cedar ,city proves to be a quaint1 straggling ,mormon village with a touch of modern enterprise2 south of ,cedar ,city the villages lack the enterprise4 ,the houses are of a gray composition resembling adobe1 and many of them are half a century old and more4 ,dilapidated square forts1 reminders of pioneer struggles with the ,indians1 are seen here and there4 ,compact ,mormon churches are in every settlement1 however small4 ,the men are bearded1 coatless1 and wear baggy trousers1 suggestive of ,holland4 ,bronzed and deliberate women1 who drive teams and work the fields with the men1 wear old-fashioned sunbonnets4 ,many of these people have never seen a railroad-train4 ,newspapers are scarce and long past date4 ,here ,mormonism of the older fashion is a living religion1 affecting the routine of daily life4 ,dixie is a land of plenty1 but it is a foreign land4 ,it is reminiscent1 with many differences1 of an ,algerian oasis4 ,the traveller is immensely interested4 ,somehow these strange primitive villages1 these simple1 earnest1 ,god-fearing people1 merge into unreality with the desert1 the sage-dotted mountains1 the cedar-covered slopes1 the blooming valleys1 the colored sands1 and the vivid cliffs4 ,through ,bellevue1 ,toquerville1 the ruins of ,virgin ,city1 ,rockville1 and finally to ,springdale winds the road4 ,meantime the traveller has speeded south under the ,hurricane ,cliff1 which is the ragged edge left when all the land west of it sank two thousand feet during some geologic time long past4 ,he reaches the ,virgin ,river where it emerges from the great cliffs in whose recesses it is born1 and whence it carries in its broad muddy surge the products of their steady disintegration4 ,from here on1 swinging easterly up-stream1 sensation hastens to its climax4 ,here the ,hurricane ,cliff sends aloft an impressive butte painted in slanting colors and capped with black basalt4 ,farther on a rugged promontory striped with vivid tints pushes out from the southern wall nearly to the river's brink4 ,the cliffs on both sides of the river are carved from the stratum which geologists call the ,belted ,shales4 ,greenish-grays1 brownish-yellows1 many shades of bright red1 are prominent2 it is hard to name a color or shade which is not represented in its horizontal bands4 ,the eye tires and the mind flags in their presence1 writes ,professor ,willis ,t4 ,lee4 ,to try to realize in an hour's time the beauty and variety of detail here presented is as useless as to try to grasp the thoughts expressed in whole rows of volumes by walking through a library4 ,far up the canyon which ,north ,creek pushes through this banded cliff1 two towering cones of glistening white are well named ,guardian ,angels--of the stream which roars between their feet4 ,eagle ,crag1 which ,moran painted1 looms into view4 ,on the south appears the majestic massing of needle-pointed towers which ,powell named the ,pinnacles of the ,virgin4 ,the spectacular confuses with its brilliant variations4 ,at the confluence of the ,virgin ,river and its ,north ,fork1 known of old as the ,parunuweap and the ,mukuntuweap1 the road sweeps northward up the ,mukuntuweap4 ,there have been differing reports of the meaning of this word1 which gave the original name to the national monument4 ,it has been popularly accepted as meaning ,land of ,god1 but ,john ,r4 ,wallis1 of ,st4 ,george1 ,utah1 has traced it to its original ,indian source4 ,mukuntuweap1 he writes1 means ,land of the ,springs1 and ,parunuweap ,land of the ,birds4 ,reaching ,springdale1 at the base of the ,vermilion ,cliff1 the traveller looks up-stream to the valley mouth through which the river emerges from the cliffs1 and a spectacle without parallel meets his eye4 ,left of the gorgeous entrance rises the unbelievable ,west ,temple of the ,virgin1 and1 merging with it from behind1 loom the lofty ,towers of the ,virgin4 ,opposite these1 and back from the canyon's eastern brink1 rises the loftier and even more majestic ,east ,temple of the ,virgin4 ,between them he sees a perspective of red and white walls1 domes1 and pinnacles which thrills him with expectation4 ,and so1 fully prepared in mind and spirit1 awed and exultant1 he enters ,zion4 ,few natural objects which have been described so seldom have provoked such extravagant praise as the ,west ,temple4 ,it is seen from a foreground of gliding river1 cottonwood groves1 and talus slopes dotted with manzanita1 sage1 cedars1 and blooming cactus4 ,from a stairway of mingled yellows1 reds1 grays1 mauves1 purples1 and chocolate brown1 it springs abruptly four thousand feet4 ,its body is a brilliant red4 ,its upper third is white4 ,it has the mass and proportions1 the dignity and grandeur1 of a cathedral4 ,it is supremely difficult to realize that it was not designed1 so true to human conception are the upright form and mass of its central structure1 the proportioning and modelling of its extensive wings and buttresses4 ,on top of the lofty central rectangle rests1 above its glistening white1 a low squared cap of deepest red4 ,it is a temple in the full as well as the noblest sense of the word4 ,the ,east ,temple1 which rises directly opposite and two miles back from the rim1 is a fitting companion4 ,it is a thousand feet higher4 ,its central structure is a steep truncated cone capped like the ,west ,temple4 ,its wings are separated half-way down1 one an elongated pyramid and the other a true cone1 both of magnificent size and bulk but truly proportioned to the central mass4 ,phrase does not convey the suggestion of architectural calculation in both of these stupendous monuments4 ,one can easily believe that the ,mormon prophet in naming them saw them the designed creations of a personal deity4 ,a more definite conception of ,nature's gigantic processes follows upon realization that these lofty structures once joined across the canyon1 stratum for stratum1 color for color4 ,the rock that joined them1 disintegrated by the frosts and rains1 has passed down the muddy current of the ,virgin1 down the surging tide of the ,colorado1 through the ,grand ,canyon1 and into the ,pacific4 ,some part of these sands doubtless helped to build the peninsula of ,lower ,california4 ,passing the gates the traveller stands in a trench of nearly perpendicular sides more than half a mile deep1 half a mile wide at the bottom1 a mile wide from crest to crest4 ,the proportions and measurements suggest ,yosemite1 but there is little else in common4 ,these walls blaze with color4 ,on the west the ,streaked ,wall1 carved from the ,white ,cliff1 is stained with the drip from the red and drab and chocolate shales and limestones not yet wholly washed from its top4 ,it is a vivid thing1 wonderfully eroded4 ,opposite is the ,brown ,wall1 rich in hue1 supporting three stupendous structures of gorgeous color1 two of which are known as the ,mountain of the ,sun and the ,watchman4 ,together they are the ,sentinels4 ,passing these across a plaza apparently broadened for their better presentation rise on the west the ,three ,patriarchs1 ,yosemite-like in form1 height1 and bulk1 but not in personality or color4 ,the brilliance of this wonder-spot passes description4 ,here the canyon contracts1 and we come to the comfortable hotel-camp1 terminal of the automobile journey4 ,it is on the river side in a shady alcove of the east wall near a spring4 ,here horses may be had for exploration4 ,a mile above the camp stands one of the most remarkable monoliths of the region4 ,el ,gobernador is a colossal truncated dome1 red below and white above4 ,the white crown is heavily marked in two directions1 suggesting the web and woof of drapery4 ,directly opposite1 a lesser monolith1 nevertheless gigantic1 is suggestively if sentimentally called ,angel's ,landing4 ,a natural bridge which is still in ,nature's workshop is one of the interesting spectacles of this vicinity4 ,its splendid arch is fully formed1 but the wall against which it rests its full length remains1 broken through in one spot only4 ,how many thousands or hundreds of thousands of years will be required to wipe away the wall and leave the bridge complete is for those to guess who will4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,douglas ,white ,,el ,,gobernador1 ,,zion ,,national ,,monument ,three thousand feet high2 the lower two thousand feet is a brilliant red1 the upper thousand feet is white ,here also is the valley end of a wire cable which passes upward twenty-five hundred feet to cross a break in the wall to a forest on the mesa's top4 ,lumber is ,dixie's most hardly furnished need4 ,for years sawn timbers have been cabled down into the valley and carted to the villages of the ,virgin ,river4 ,in some respects the most fascinating part of ,little ,zion is still beyond4 ,a mile above ,el ,gobernador the river swings sharply west and doubles on itself4 ,raspberry ,bend is far nobler than its name implies1 and the ,great ,organ which the river here encircles exacts no imaginative effort4 ,beyond this the canyon narrows rapidly4 ,the road has long since stopped1 and soon the trail stops4 ,presently the river1 now a shrunken stream1 concealing occasional quicksands1 offers the only footing4 ,the walls are no less lofty1 no less richly colored1 and the weary traveller works his difficult way forward4 ,there will come a time if he persists when he may stand at the bottom of a chasm more than two thousand feet deep and1 nearly touching the walls on either side1 look up and see no sky4 ,at the water's edge the walls are perpendicular1 writes ,doctor ,g4,k4 ,gilbert1 of the ,u4,s4 ,geological ,survey1 who first described it1 but in the deeper parts they open out toward the top4 ,as we entered and found our outlook of sky contracted--as we had never before seen it between canyon cliffs--,i measured the aperture above1 and found it thirty-five degrees4 ,we had thought this a minimum1 but soon discovered our error4 ,nearer and nearer the walls approached1 and our strip of blue narrowed down to twenty degrees1 then ten1 and at last was even intercepted by the overhanging rocks4 ,there was1 perhaps1 no point from which1 neither forward nor backward1 could we discover a patch of sky1 but many times our upward view was completely cut off by the interlocking of the walls1 which1 remaining nearly parallel to each other1 warped in and out as they ascended4 ,here he surprises the secret of the making of ,zion4 ,as a monument of denudation1 this chasm is an example of downward erosion by sand-bearing water4 ,the principle on which the cutting depends is almost identical with that of the marble saw1 but the sand grains1 instead of being embedded in rigid iron1 are carried by a flexible stream of water4 ,by gravity they have been held against the bottom of the cut1 so that they should make it vertical1 but the current has carried them1 in places1 against one side or the other1 and so far modified the influence of gravity that the cut undulates somewhat in its vertical section1 as well as in its horizontal4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by the ,u4,s4 ,geological ,survey ,,zion ,,canyon ,,from ,,the ,,rim ,illustration3 ,,the ,,three ,,patriarchs1 ,,zion ,,canyon ,these red-and-white structures rise more than two thousand feet above the canyon floor ,this1 then1 is how ,nature began1 on the original surface of the plateau1 perhaps with the output of a spring shower1 to dig this whole mighty spectacle for our enjoyment to-day4 ,we may go further4 ,we may imagine the beginning of the titanic process that dug the millions of millions of chasms1 big and little1 contributing to the mighty ,colorado1 that dug the ,grand ,canyon itself1 that reduced to the glorified thing it now is the enormous plateau of our great southwest1 which would have been many thousands of feet higher than the highest pinnacle of ,little ,zion had not erosion more than counteracted the uplifting of the plateau4 ,little else need be said to complete this picture4 ,the rains and melting snows of early spring produce mesa-top torrents which pour into the valley and hasten for a period the processes of decorating the walls and levelling the plateau4 ,so it happens that waterfalls of power and beauty then enrich this wondrous spectacle4 ,but this added beauty is not for the tourist1 who may come in comfort only after its disappearance4 ,but springs are many4 ,trickling from various levels in the walls1 they develop new tributary gorges4 ,gushing from the foundations1 they create alcoves and grottos which are in sharp contrast with their desert environment1 enriching by dampness the colors of the sandstone and decorating these refreshment-places with trailing ferns and flowering growths4 ,in these we see the origin of the ,indian name1 ,mukuntuweap1 ,land of the ,springs4 ,the ,indians1 however1 always stood in awe of ,little ,zion4 ,they entered it1 but feared the night4 ,in #aiah ,president ,wilson changed the name from ,mukuntuweap to ,zion4 ,at the same time he greatly enlarged the reservation4 ,zion ,national ,monument now includes a large area of great and varied desert magnificence1 including the sources and canyons of two other streams besides ,mukuntuweap4 ,,xviii ,,historic ,,monuments ,,of ,,the ,,southwest ,eleven national monuments in the ,states of ,arizona1 ,new ,mexico1 and ,colorado illustrate the history of our southwest from the times when prehistoric man dwelt in caves hollowed in desert precipices down through the ,spanish fathers' centuries of self-sacrifice and the ,spanish explorers' romantic search for the ,quivira and the ,seven ,cities of ,cibola4 ,the most striking feature of the absorbing story of the ,spanish occupation is its twofold inspiration4 ,hand in hand the priest and the soldier boldly invaded the desert4 ,the passion of the priest was the saving of souls1 and the motive of the soldier was the greed of gold4 ,the priest deprecated the soldier2 the soldier despised the priest4 ,each used the other for the realization of his own purposes4 ,the zealous priest1 imposing his religion upon the shrinking ,indian1 did not hesitate to invoke the soldier's aid for so holy a purpose2 the soldier used the gentle priest to cloak the greedy business of wringing wealth from the frugal native4 ,together1 they hastened civilization4 ,glancing for a moment still further back1 the rapacious hordes already had gutted the rich stores of ,central ,america and the northern regions of ,south ,america4 ,the rush of the lustful conqueror was astonishingly swift4 ,columbus himself was as eager for gold as he was zealous for religion4 ,from the discovery of ,america scarcely twenty years elapsed before ,spanish armies were violently plundering the ,caribbean ,islands1 ruthlessly subjugating ,mexico1 overrunning ,venezuela1 and eagerly seeking tidings of the reputed wealth of ,peru4 ,the air was supercharged with reports of treasure1 and no reports were too wild for belief2 myths1 big and little1 ran amuck4 ,el ,dorado1 the gilded man of rumor1 became the dream1 then the belief1 of the times2 presently a whole nation was conceived clothed in dusted gold4 ,the myth of the ,seven ,cities of ,cibola1 each a city of vast treasure1 the growth of years of rumor1 seems to have perfected itself back home in ,spain4 ,the twice-born myth of ,quivira1 city of gold1 which cost thousands of lives and hundreds of thousands of ,spanish ducats1 lives even to-day in remote neighborhoods of the southwest4 ,pizarro conquered ,peru in #aebf2 by #aece1 with the south looted1 ,spanish eyes looked longingly northward4 ,in #aeci ,fray ,marcos1 a ,franciscan1 made a reconnaissance from the ,spanish settlements of ,sonora into ,arizona with the particular purpose of locating the seven cities4 ,the following year ,coronado1 at his own expense1 made the most romantic exploration in human history4 ,spanish expectation may be measured by the cost of this and its accompanying expedition by sea to the ,gulf of ,california1 the combined equipment totalling a quarter million dollars of ,american money of to-day4 ,coronado took two hundred and sixty horsemen1 sixty foot-soldiers1 and more than a thousand ,indians4 ,besides his pack-animals he led a thousand spare horses to carry home the loot4 ,he sought the seven cities in ,arizona and ,new ,mexico1 and found the pueblo of ,zuni1 prosperous but lacking its expected hoard of gold2 he crossed ,colorado in search of ,quivira and found it in ,kansas1 a wretched habitation of a shiftless tribe2 their houses straw1 he reported1 their clothes the hides of cows1 meaning bison4 ,he entered ,nebraska in search of the broad river whose shores were lined with gold--the identical year1 curiously1 in which ,de ,soto discovered the ,mississippi4 ,many were the pueblos he visited and many his adventures and perils2 but the only treasure he brought back was his record of exploration4 ,this was the first of more than two centuries of ,spanish expeditions4 ,fifty years after ,coronado1 the myth of ,quivira was born again2 thereafter it wandered homeless1 the inspiration of constant search1 and finally settled in the ruins of the ancient pueblo of ,tabira1 or1 as ,bandelier has it1 ,teypana1 ,new ,mexico2 the myth of the seven cities never wholly perished4 ,it is not my purpose to follow the fascinating fortunes of ,spanish proselyting and conquest4 ,i merely set the stage for the tableaux of the national monuments4 ,i ,the ,spaniards found our semiarid southwest dotted thinly with the pueblos and its canyons hung with the cliff-dwellings of a large and fairly prosperous population of peace-loving ,indians1 who hunted the deer and the antelope1 fished the rivers1 and dry-farmed the mesas and valleys4 ,not so advanced in the arts of civilization as the people of the ,mesa ,verde1 in ,colorado1 nevertheless their sense of form was patent in their architecture1 and their family life1 government1 and religion were highly organized4 ,they were worshippers of the sun4 ,each pueblo and outlying village was a political unit4 ,let us first consider those national monuments which touch intimately the ,spanish occupation4 ,,gran ,,quivira ,,national ,,monument ,eighty miles southeast of ,albuquerque1 in the hollow of towering desert ranges1 lies the arid country which ,indian tradition calls the ,accursed ,lakes4 ,here1 at the points of a large triangle1 sprawl the ruins of three once flourishing pueblo cities1 ,abo1 ,cuaray1 and ,tabira4 ,once1 says tradition1 streams flowed into lakes inhabited by great fish1 and the valleys bloomed2 it was an unfaithful wife who brought down the curse of ,god4 ,when the ,spaniards came these cities were at the flood-tide of prosperity4 ,their combined population was large4 ,tabira was chosen as the site of the mission whose priests should trudge the long desert trails and minister to all4 ,undoubtedly1 it was one of the most important of the early ,spanish missions4 ,the greater of the two churches was built of limestone1 its outer walls six feet thick4 ,it was a hundred and forty feet long and forty-eight feet wide4 ,the present height of the walls is twenty-five feet4 ,the ancient community building adjoining the church1 the main pueblo of ,tabira1 has the outlines which are common to the prehistoric pueblos of the entire southwest and persist in general features in modern ,indian architecture4 ,the rooms are twelve to fifteen feet square1 with ceilings eight or ten feet high4 ,doors connect the rooms1 and the stories1 of which there are three1 are connected by ladders through trapdoors4 ,it probably held a population of fifteen hundred4 ,the pueblo has well stood the rack of time2 the lesser buildings outside it have been reduced to mounds4 ,the people who built and inhabited these cities of the ,accursed ,lakes were of the now extinct ,piro stock4 ,the towns were discovered in #aeha by ,francisco ,banchez de ,chamuscado4 ,the first priest assigned to the field was ,fray ,francisco de ,san ,miguel1 this in #aeih4 ,the mission of ,tabira was founded by ,francisco de ,acevedo about #afbh4 ,the smaller church was built then2 the great church was built in #afdd1 but was never fully finished4 ,between #afgj and #afge all three native cities and their ,spanish churches were wiped out by ,apaches4 ,charles ,f4 ,lummis1 from whom some of these historical facts are quoted1 has been at great pains to trace the wanderings of the ,quivira myth4 ,bandelier mentions an ancient ,new ,mexican ,indian called ,tio ,juan ,largo1 who told a ,spanish explorer about the middle of the eighteenth century that ,quivira was ,tabira4 ,otherwise history is silent concerning the process by which the myth finally settled upon that historic city1 far indeed from its authentic home in what now is ,kansas4 ,the fact stands1 however1 that as late as the latter half of the eighteenth century the name ,tabira appeared on the official map of ,new ,mexico4 ,when and how this name was lost and the famous ruined city with its ,spanish churches accepted as ,gran ,quivira perhaps never will be definitely known4 ,mid-ocean is not more lonesome than the plains1 nor night so gloomy as that dumb sunlight1 wrote ,lummis in #ahic1 approaching the ,gran ,quivira across the desert4 ,the brown grass is knee-deep1 and even this shock gives a surprise in this hoof-obliterated land4 ,the bands of antelope that drift1 like cloud shadows1 across the dun landscape suggest less of life than of the supernatural4 ,the spell of the plains is a wondrous thing4 ,at first it fascinates4 ,then it bewilders4 ,at last it crushes4 ,it is intangible but resistless2 stronger than hope1 reason1 will--stronger than humanity4 ,when one cannot otherwise escape the plains1 one takes refuge in madness4 ,this is the setting of the ghost city of ashen hues1 that wraith in pallid stone1 the ,gran ,quivira4 ,,el ,,morro ,,national ,,monument ,due west from ,albuquerque1 ,new ,mexico1 not far from the ,arizona boundary1 ,el ,morro ,national ,monument conserves a mesa end of striking beauty upon whose cliffs are graven many inscriptions cut in passing by the ,spanish and ,american explorers of more than two centuries4 ,it is a historical record of unique value1 the only extant memoranda of several expeditions1 an invaluable detail in the history of many4 ,it has helped trace obscure courses and has established important departures4 ,to the tourist it brings home1 as nothing else can1 the realization of these grim romances of other days4 ,el ,morro1 the castle1 is also called ,inscription ,rock4 ,west of its steepled front1 in the angle of a sharp bend in the mesa1 is a large partly enclosed natural chamber1 a refuge in storm4 ,a spring here betrays the reason for ,el ,morro's popularity among the explorers of a semidesert region4 ,the old ,zuni trail bent from its course to touch this spring4 ,inscriptions are also found near the spring and on the outer side of the mesa facing the ,zuni ,road4 ,for those acquainted with the story of ,spanish exploration this national monument will have unique interest4 ,to all it imparts a fascinating sense of the romance of those early days with which the large body of ,americans have yet to become familiar4 ,the popular story of this romantic period of ,american history1 its poetry and its fiction remain to be written4 ,the oldest inscription is dated ,february #ah1 #aebf4 ,the name of ,juan de ,onate1 later founder of ,santa ,fe1 is there under date of #afjf1 the year of his visit to the mouth of the ,colorado ,river4 ,one of the latest ,spanish inscriptions is that of ,don ,diego de ,vargas1 who in #afib reconquered the ,indians who rebelled against ,spanish authority in #afhj4 ,the reservation also includes several important community houses of great antiquity1 one of which perches safely upon the very top of ,el ,morro rock4 ,,casa ,,grande ,,national ,,monument ,in the far south of ,arizona not many miles north of the boundary of ,sonora1 there stands1 near the ,gila ,river1 the noble ruin which the ,spaniards call ,casa ,grande1 or ,great ,house4 ,it was a building of large size situated in a compound of outlying buildings enclosed in a rectangular wall2 no less than three other similar compounds and four detached clan houses once stood in the near neighborhood4 ,evidently1 in prehistoric days1 this was an important centre of population2 remains of an irrigation system are still visible4 ,illustration3 ,,casa ,,grande ,,national ,,monument ,illustration3 ,,prehistoric ,,cave ,,homes ,,in ,,the ,,bandelier ,,national ,,monument ,the holes worn by erosion have been enlarged for doors and windows ,the builders of these prosperous communal dwellings were probably ,pima ,indians4 ,the ,indians living in the neighborhood to-day have traditions indicated by their own names for the ,casa ,grande1 the ,old ,house of the ,chief and the ,old ,house of ,chief ,morning ,green4 ,the ,pima word for green and blue is the same1 ,doctor ,fewkes writes me4 ,russell translates the old chief's name ,morning ,blue1 which is the same as my ,morning ,green4 ,i have no doubt ,morning ,glow is also correct1 no doubt nearer the ,indian idea which refers to sun-god4 ,this chief was the son of the ,sun by a maid1 as was also ,tcuhu-,montezuma1 a sun-god who1 legends say1 built ,casa ,grande4 ,whatever its origin1 the community was already in ruins when the ,spaniards first found it4 ,kino identified it as the ruin which ,fray ,marcos saw in #aeci and called ,chichilticalli1 and which ,coronado passed in #aedj4 ,the early ,spanish historians believed it an ancestral settlement of the ,aztecs4 ,its formal discovery followed a century and a half later4 ,domingo ,jironza ,petriz de ,cruzate1 governor of ,sonora1 had directed his nephew1 ,lieutenant ,juan ,mateo ,mange1 to conduct a group of missionaries into the desert1 where ,mange heard rumors from the natives of a fine group of ruins on the banks of a river which flowed west4 ,he reported this to ,father ,eusebio ,francisco ,kino1 the fearless and famous ,jesuit missionary among the ,indians from #afhg to #agaa2 in ,november1 #afid1 ,kino searched for the ruins1 found them1 and said mass within the walls of the ,casa ,grande4 ,this splendid ruin is built of a natural concrete called culeche4 ,the external walls are rough1 but are smoothly plastered within1 showing the marks of human hands4 ,two pairs of small holes in the walls opposite others in the central room have occasioned much speculation4 ,two look east and west2 the others1 also on opposite walls1 look north and south4 ,some persons conjecture that observations were made through them of the solstices1 and perhaps of some star1 to establish the seasons for these primitive people4 ,the foundation for this unwarranted hypothesis1 ,doctor ,fewkes writes1 is probably a statement in a manuscript by ,father ,font in #agge1 that the ',prince1' 'chief' of ,casa ,grande1 looked through openings in the east and west walls 'on the sun as it rose and set1 to salute it4' ,the openings should not be confused with smaller holes made in the walls for placing iron rods to support the walls by contractors when the ruin was repaired4 ,,tumacacori ,,national ,,monument ,one of the best-preserved ruins of one of the finest missions which ,spanish priests established in the desert of the extreme south of ,arizona is protected under the name of the ,tumacacori ,national ,monument4 ,it is fifty-seven miles south of ,tucson1 near the ,mexican border4 ,the outlying country probably possessed a large native population4 ,the ruins are most impressive1 consisting of the walls and tower of an old church building1 the walls of a mortuary chapel at the north end of the church1 and a surrounding court with adobe walls six feet high4 ,these1 like all the ,spanish missions1 were built by ,indian converts under the direction of priests1 for the ,spanish invaders performed no manual labor4 ,the walls of the church are six feet thick and plastered within4 ,the belfry and the altar-dome are of burned brick1 the only example of brick construction among the early ,spanish missions4 ,there is a fine arched doorway4 ,illustration3 ,,tumacacori ,,mission ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,t4,h4 ,bate ,,montezuma ,,castle ,for many reasons1 this splendid church is well worth a visit4 ,it was founded and built about #afhh by ,father ,eusebio ,francisco ,kino1 and was known as the ,mission ,san ,cayetano de ,tumacacori4 ,about #agfi the ,franciscans assumed charge1 and repaired and elaborated the structure4 ,they maintained it for about sixty years1 until the ,apache ,indians laid siege and finally captured it1 driving out the priests and dispersing the ,papagos4 ,about #ahej it was found by ,americans in its present condition4 ,,navajo ,,national ,,monument ,the boundary-line which divides ,utah from ,arizona divides the most gorgeous expression of the great ,american desert region4 ,from the ,mesa ,verde ,national ,park on the east to ,zion ,national ,monument on the west1 from the ,natural ,bridges on the north to the ,grand ,canyon and the ,painted ,desert on the south1 the country glows with golden sands and crimson mesas1 a wilderness of amazing and impossible contours and indescribable charm4 ,within this region1 in the extreme north of ,arizona1 lie the ruins of three neighboring pueblos4 ,richard ,wetherill1 who was one of the discoverers of the famous cliff-cities of the ,mesa ,verde1 was one of the party which found the ,kit ,siel 7,broken ,pottery7 ruin in #ahid within a long crescent-shaped cave in the side of a glowing red sandstone cliff2 in #aijh1 upon information given by a ,navajo ,indian1 ,john ,wetherill1 ,professor ,byron ,cumming1 and ,neil ,judd located ,betatakin 7,hillside ,house7 ruin within a crescent-shaped cavity in the side of a small red canyon4 ,twenty miles west of ,betatakin is a small ruin known as ,inscription ,house upon whose walls is a carved inscription supposed to have been made by ,spanish explorers who visited them in #affa4 ,while these ruins show no features materially differing from those of hundreds of other more accessible pueblo ruins1 they possess quite extraordinary beauty because of their romantic location in cliffs of striking color in a region of mysterious charm4 ,,ii ,but the ,indian civilization of our southwest began very many centuries before the arrival of the ,spaniard1 who found1 besides the innumerable pueblos which were crowded with busy occupants1 hundreds of pueblos which had been deserted by their builders1 some of them for centuries1 and which lay even then in ruins4 ,the desertion of so many pueblos with abundant pottery and other evidences of active living is one of the mysteries of this prehistoric civilization4 ,no doubt1 with the failure of water-supplies and other changing physical conditions1 occasionally communities sought better living in other localities1 but it is certain that many of these desertions resulted from the raids of the wandering predatory tribes of the plains1 the ,querechos of ,bandelier's records1 but usually mentioned by him and others by the modern name of ,apaches4 ,these fierce bands continually sought to possess themselves of the stores of food and clothing to be found in the prosperous pueblos4 ,the utmost cruelties of the ,spanish invaders who1 after all1 were ruthless only in pursuit of gold1 and1 when this was lacking1 tolerant and even kindly in their treatment of the natives1 were nothing compared to the atrocities of these ,apache ,indians1 who gloried in conquest4 ,of the ruins of pueblos which were not identified with ,spanish occupation1 six have been conserved as national monuments4 ,,the ,,bandelier ,,national ,,monument ,many centuries before the coming of the ,spaniards1 a deep gorge on the eastern slope of the ,sierra de los ,valles1 eighteen miles west of ,santa ,fe1 ,new ,mexico1 was the home of a people living in caves which they hollowed by enlarging erosional openings in the soft volcanic sides of nearly perpendicular cliffs4 ,the work was done with pains and skill4 ,a small entrance1 sometimes from the valley floor1 sometimes reached by ladder1 opened into a roomy apartment which in many cases consisted of several connecting rooms4 ,these apartments were set in tiers or stories1 as in a modern flat-house4 ,there were often two1 sometimes three1 floors4 ,they occurred in groups1 probably representing families or clans1 and some of these groups numbered hundreds4 ,seen to-day1 the cliff-side suggests not so much the modern apartment-house1 of which it was in a way the prehistoric prototype1 as a gigantic pigeon-house4 ,in time these ,indians emerged from the cliff and built a great semi-circular pueblo up the valley1 surrounded by smaller habitations4 ,other pueblos1 probably still later in origin1 were built upon surrounding mesas4 ,all these habitations were abandoned perhaps centuries before the coming of the ,spaniards4 ,the gorge is known as the ,rito de la ,frijoles1 which is the ,spanish name of the clear mountain-stream which flows through it4 ,since #aiaf it has been known as the ,bandelier ,national ,monument1 after the late ,adolf ,francis ,bandelier1 the distinguished archaeologist of the southwest4 ,the valley is a place of beauty4 ,it is six miles long and nowhere broader than half a mile2 its entrance scarcely admits two persons abreast4 ,its southern wall is the slope of a tumbled mesa1 its northern wall the vertical cliff of white and yellowish pumice in which the caves were dug4 ,the walls rise in crags and pinnacles many hundreds of feet4 ,willows1 cottonwoods1 cherries1 and elders grow in thickets along the stream-side1 and cactus decorates the wastes4 ,it is reached by automobile from ,santa ,fe4 ,this national monument lies within a large irregular area which has been suggested for a national park because of the many interesting remains which it encloses4 ,the ,cliff ,cities ,national ,park1 when it finally comes into existence1 will include among its exhibits a considerable group of prehistoric shrines of great value and unusual popular interest4 ,the ,indians of to-day1 writes ,william ,boone ,douglass1 guard with great tenacity the secrets of their shrines4 ,even when the locations have been found they will deny their existence1 plead ignorance of their meaning1 or refuse to discuss the subject in any form4 ,nevertheless1 they claim direct descent from the prehistoric shrine-builders1 many of whose shrines are here found among others of later origin4 ,,chaco ,,canyon ,,national ,,monument ,for fourteen miles1 both sides of a ,new ,mexican canyon sixty-five miles equidistant from ,farmington and ,gallup are lined with the ruins of very large and prosperous colonies of prehistoric people4 ,most of the buildings were pueblos1 many of them containing between fifty and a hundred rooms2 one1 known to-day as ,pueblo ,bonito1 must have contained twelve hundred rooms4 ,these ruins lie in their original desolation2 little excavation1 and no restoration has yet been done4 ,chaco ,canyon must have been the centre of a very large population4 ,for miles in all directions1 particularly westward1 pueblos are grouped as suburbs group near cities of to-day4 ,it is not surprising that so populous a desert neighborhood required extensive systems of irrigation4 ,one of these is so well preserved that little more than the repair of a dam would be necessary to make it again effective4 ,,montezuma ,,castle ,,national ,,monument ,small though it is1 ,montezuma ,castle is justly one of the most celebrated prehistoric ruins in ,america4 ,its charming proportions1 and particularly its commanding position in the face of a lofty precipice1 make it a spectacle never to be forgotten4 ,it is fifty-four miles from ,prescott1 ,arizona4 ,this structure was a communal house which originally contained twenty-five rooms4 ,the protection of the dry climate and of the shallow cave in which it stands has well preserved it these many centuries4 ,most of the rooms are in good condition4 ,the timbers1 which plainly show the hacking of the dull primeval stone axes1 are among its most interesting exhibits4 ,the building is crescent-shaped1 sixty feet in width and about fifty feet high4 ,it is five stories high1 but the fifth story is invisible from the front because of the high stone wall of the facade4 ,the cliff forms the back wall of the structure4 ,montezuma's ,castle is extremely old4 ,its material is soft calcareous stone1 and nothing but its sheltered position could have preserved it4 ,there are many ruined dwellings in the neighborhood4 ,,tonto ,,national ,,monument ,four miles east of the ,roosevelt ,dam and eighty miles east of ,phoenix1 ,arizona1 are two small groups of cliff-dwellings which together form the ,tonto ,national ,monument4 ,the southern group occupies a cliff cavern a hundred and twenty-five feet across4 ,the masonry is above the average4 ,the ceilings of the lower rooms are constructed of logs laid lengthwise1 upon which a layer of fibre serves as the foundation for the four-inch adobe floor of the chamber overhead4 ,there are hundreds of cliff-dwellings which exceed this in charm and interest1 but its nearness to an attraction like the ,roosevelt ,dam and glimpses of it which the traveller catches as he speeds over the ,apache ,trail make it invaluable as a tourist exhibit4 ,thousands who are unable to undertake the long and often arduous journeys by trail to the greater ruins1 can here get definite ideas and a hint of the real flavor of prehistoric civilization in ,america4 ,,walnut ,,canyon ,,national ,,monument ,thirty cliff-dwellings cling to the sides of picturesque ,walnut ,canyon1 eight miles from ,flagstaff1 ,arizona4 ,they are excellently preserved4 ,the largest contains eight rooms4 ,the canyon possesses unusual beauty because of the thickets of locust which fringe the trail down from the rim4 ,one climbs down ladders to occasional ruins which otherwise are inaccessible4 ,because of its nearness to ,flagstaff several thousand persons visit this reservation yearly4 ,,gila ,,cliffs ,,national ,,monument ,fifty miles northeast of ,silver ,city1 ,new ,mexico1 a deep rough canyon in the west fork of the ,gila ,river contains a group of four cliff-dwellings in a fair state of preservation4 ,they lie in cavities in the base of an overhanging cliff of grayish-yellow volcanic rock which at one time apparently were closed by protecting walls4 ,when discovered by prospectors and hunters about #ahgj1 many sandals1 baskets1 spears1 and cooking utensils were found strewn on the floors4 ,corn-cobs are all that vandals have left4 ,,xix ,,desert ,,spectacles ,the ,american desert1 to eyes attuned1 is charged with beauty4 ,few who see it from the car-window find it attractive2 most travellers quickly lose interest in its repetitions and turn back to their novels4 ,a little intimacy changes this attitude4 ,live a little with the desert4 ,see it in its varied moods--for every hour it changes2 see it at sunrise1 at midday1 at sunset1 in the ghostly night1 by moonlight4 ,observe its life--for it is full of life2 its amazing vegetation2 its varied outline4 ,drink in its atmosphere1 its history1 its tradition1 its romance4 ,open your soul to its persuading spirit4 ,then1 insensibly but swiftly1 its flavor will enthrall your senses2 it will possess you4 ,and once possessed1 you are charmed for life4 ,it will call you again and again1 as the sea calls the sailor and the ,east its devotees4 ,this alluring region is represented in our national parks system by reservations which display its range4 ,the ,zion ,national ,monument1 the ,grand ,canyon1 and the ,mesa ,verde illustrate widely differing phases4 ,the historical monuments convey a sense of its romance4 ,there remain a few to complete the gamut of its charms4 ,,the ,,rainbow ,,bridge ,,national ,,monument ,imagine a gray ,navajo desert dotted with purple sage2 huge mesas1 deep red1 squared against the gray-blue atmosphere of the horizon2 pinnacles1 spires1 shapes like monstrous bloody fangs1 springing from the sands2 a floor as rough as stormy seas1 heaped with tumbled rocks1 red1 yellow1 blue1 green1 grayish-white1 between which rise strange yellowish-green thorny growths1 cactus-like and unfamiliar2 a pathless waste1 strewn with obsidian fragments1 glaring in the noon sun1 more confusing than the crooked mazes of an ancient ,oriental city4 ,imagine shapeless masses of colored sandstone1 unclimbable1 barring the way2 acres of polished mottled rock tilted at angles which defy crossing2 unexpected canyons whose deep1 broken1 red and yellow precipices force long detours4 ,and everywhere color1 color1 color4 ,it pervades the glowing floor1 the uprising edifices4 ,the very air palpitates with color1 insistent1 irresistible1 indefinable4 ,this is the setting of the ,rainbow ,bridge4 ,scarcely more than a hundred persons besides ,indians1 they tell me1 have seen this most entrancing spectacle1 perhaps1 of all ,america4 ,the way in is long and difficult4 ,there are only two or three who know it1 even of those who have been there more than once1 and the region has no inhabitants to point directions among the confusing rocks4 ,there is no water1 nor any friendly tree4 ,illustration3 ,,roosevelt ,,party ,,in ,,monument ,,valley ,illustration3 ,,rainbow ,,bridge ,,in ,,full ,,perspective ,the day's ride is wearying in the extreme in spite of its fascinations4 ,the objective is ,navajo ,mountain1 which1 strange spectacle in this desert waste1 is forested to its summit with yellow pine above a surrounding belt of juniper and pinyon1 with aspen and willows1 wild roses1 ,indian paint-brush1 primrose1 and clematis in its lower valleys4 ,below1 the multicolored desert1 deep cut with the canyons which carry off the many little rivers4 ,down one of these wild and highly colored desert canyons among whose vivid tumbled rocks your horses pick their course with difficulty1 you suddenly see a rainbow caught among the vivid bald rocks1 a slender arch so deliciously proportioned1 so gracefully curved among its sharp surroundings1 that your eye fixes it steadfastly and your heart bounds with relief2 until now you had not noticed the oppression of this angled1 spine-carpeted landscape4 ,from now on nothing else possesses you4 ,the eccentricity of the going constantly hides it1 and each reappearance brings again the joy of discovery4 ,and at last you reach it1 dismount beside the small clear stream which flows beneath it1 approach reverently1 overwhelmed with a strange mingling of awe and great elation4 ,you stand beneath its enormous encircling red and yellow arch and perceive that it is the support which holds up the sky4 ,it is long before turbulent emotion permits the mind to analyze the elements which compose its extraordinary beauty4 ,dimensions mean little before spectacles like this4 ,to know that the span is two hundred and seventy-eight feet may help realization at home1 where it may be laid out1 staked and looked at2 it exceeds a block of ,fifth ,avenue in ,new ,york4 ,to know that the apex of the rainbow's curve is three hundred and nine feet above your wondering eyes means nothing to you there2 but to those who know ,new ,york ,city it means the height of the ,flatiron ,building built three stories higher4 ,choose a building of equal height in your own city1 stand beside it and look up4 ,then imagine it a gigantic monolithic arch of entrancing proportions and fascinating curve1 glowing in reds and yellows which merge into each other insensibly and without form or pattern4 ,imagine this fairy unreality outlined1 not against the murk which overlies cities1 but against a sky of desert clarity and color4 ,all natural bridges are created wholly by erosion4 ,this was carved from an outstanding spur of ,navajo sandstone which lay crosswise of the canyon4 ,originally the stream struck full against this barrier1 swung sideways1 and found its way around the spur's free outer edge4 ,the end was merely a matter of time4 ,gradually but surely the stream1 sand-laden in times of flood1 wore an ever-deepening hollow in the barrier4 ,finally it wore it through and passed under what then became a bridge4 ,but meantime other agencies were at work4 ,the rocky wall above1 alternately hot and cold1 as happens in high arid lands1 detached curved1 flattened plates4 ,worn below by the stream1 thinned above by the destructive processes of wind and temperature1 the window enlarged4 ,in time the ,rainbow ,bridge evolved in all its glorious beauty4 ,not far away is another natural bridge well advanced in the making4 ,the ,rainbow ,bridge was discovered in #aiji by ,william ,boone ,douglass1 ,examiner of ,surveys in the ,general ,land ,office1 ,santa ,fe4 ,following is an abstract of the government report covering the discovery3 ,the information had come to ,mr4 ,douglass from a ,paiute ,indian1 ,mike's ,boy1 who later took the name of ,jim1 employed as flagman in the survey of the three great natural bridges of ,white ,canyon4 ,seeing the white man's appreciation of this form of wind and water erosion1 ,jim told of a greater bridge known only to himself and one other ,indian1 located on the north side of the ,navajo ,mountain1 in the ,paiute ,indian reservation4 ,bending a twig of willow in rainbow-shape1 with its ends stuck in the ground1 ,jim showed what his bridge looked like4 ,an effort was made to reach the bridge in ,december4 ,unfortunately ,jim could not be located4 ,on reaching the ,navajo trading-post1 ,oljato1 nothing was known of such a bridge1 and the truth of ,jim's statement was questioned4 ,the trip was abandoned until ,august of the following year1 when ,mr4 ,douglass organized a second party at ,bluff1 ,utah1 and under ,jim's guidance1 left for the bridge4 ,at ,oljato the party was augmented by ,professor ,cummings1 and a party of college students1 with ,john ,wetherill as packer1 who were excavating ruins in the ,navajo ,indian ,reservation4 ,as the uninhabited and unknown country of the bridge was reached1 travel became almost impossible4 ,all equipment1 save what was absolutely indispensable1 was discarded4 ,the whole country was a maze of box canyons1 as though some turbulent sea had suddenly solidified in rock4 ,only at a few favored points could the canyon walls be scaled even by man1 and still fewer where a horse might clamber4 ,in the sloping sandstone ledges footholds for the horses must be cut1 and even then they fell1 until their loss seemed certain4 ,after many adventures the party arrived at #aa o'clock1 ,a4,m41 ,august #ad1 #aiji4 ,jim had indeed made good4 ,silhouetted against a turquoise sky was an arch of rainbow shape1 so delicately proportioned that it seemed as if some great sculptor had hewn it from the rock4 ,its span of #bgj feet bridged a stream of clear1 sparkling water1 that flowed #caj feet below its crest4 ,the world's greatest natural bridge had been found as ,jim had described it4 ,beneath it1 an ancient altar bore witness to the fact that it was a sacred shrine of those archaic people1 the builders of the weird and mysterious cliff-castles seen in the ,navajo ,national ,monument4 ,the crest of the bridge was reached by ,mr4 ,douglass and his three assistants1 ,john ,r4 ,english1 ,jean ,f4 ,rogerson1 and ,daniel ,perkins1 by lowering themselves with ropes to the south abutment1 and climbing its arch4 ,probably they were the first human beings to reach it4 ,no ,indian name for the bridge was known1 except such descriptive generic terms as the ,paiute ',the space under a horse's belly between its fore and hind legs1' or the ',hole in the rock' 7nonnezoshi7 of the ,navajo1 neither of which was deemed appropriate4 ,while the question of a name was still being debated1 there appeared in the sky1 as if in answer1 a beautiful rainbow1 the ',barahoni' of the ,paiutes4 ,the suitability of the name was further demonstrated by a superstition of the ,navajos4 ,on the occasion of his second visit1 the fall of the same year1 ,mr4 ,douglass had as an assistant an old ,navajo ,indian named ,white ,horse1 who1 after passing under the bridge1 would not return1 but climbed laboriously around its end4 ,on being pressed for an explanation1 he would arch his hand1 and through it squint at the sun1 solemnly shaking his head4 ,later1 through the assistance of ,mrs4 ,john ,wetherill1 an experienced ,navajo linguist1 ,mr4 ,douglass learned that the formations of the type of the bridge were symbolic rainbows1 or the sun's path1 and one passing under could not return1 under penalty of death1 without the utterance of a certain prayer1 which ,white ,horse had forgotten4 ,the aged ,navajo informant would not reveal the prayer for fear of the ',lightning ,snake4' ,if your return from ,rainbow ,bridge carries you through ,monument ,valley with its miles of blazing red structures1 memory will file still another amazing sensation4 ,some of its crimson monsters rise a thousand feet above the grassy plain4 ,,natural ,,bridges ,,national ,,monument ,not many miles north of the ,rainbow ,bridge1 fifty miles from ,monticello in southern ,utah1 in a region not greatly dissimilar in outline1 and only less colorful1 three natural bridges of large size have been conserved under the title of the ,natural ,bridges ,national ,monument4 ,here1 west of the ,mesa ,verde1 the country is characterized by long1 broad mesas1 sometimes crowned with stunted cedar forests1 dropping suddenly into deep valleys4 ,the erosion of many thousands of centuries has ploughed the surface into winding rock-strewn canyons1 great and small4 ,three of these canyons are crossed by bridges stream-cut through the solid rock4 ,the largest1 locally known as the ,augusta ,bridge1 is named ,sipapu1 ,gate of ,heaven4 ,it is one of the largest natural bridges in the world1 measuring two hundred and twenty-two feet in height1 with a span of two hundred and sixty-one feet4 ,it is a graceful and majestic structure1 so proportioned and finished that it is difficult1 from some points of view1 to believe it the unplanned work of natural forces4 ,one crosses it on a level platform twenty-eight feet wide4 ,the other two1 which are nearly its size1 are found within five miles4 ,the ,kachina1 which means ,guardian ,spirit1 is locally called the ,caroline ,bridge4 ,the ,owachomo1 meaning ,rock ,mound1 is locally known as the ,edwin ,bridge4 ,the local names celebrate persons who visited them soon after they were first discovered by ,emery ,knowles in #ahie4 ,they may be reached by horse and pack-train from ,monticello1 or ,bluff1 ,utah4 ,one of the five sections of the reservation conserves two large caves4 ,,dinosaur ,,national ,,monument ,the ,age of ,reptile developed a wide variety of monsters in the central regions of the continent from ,montana to the ,gulf of ,mexico4 ,the dinosaurs of the ,triassic and ,jurassic periods sometimes had gigantic size1 the ,brontosaurus attaining a length of sixty feet or more4 ,the femur of the ,brachiosaurus exceeded six feet2 this must have been the greatest of them all4 ,the greater dinosaurs were herbivorous4 ,the carnivorous species were not remarkable for size2 there were small leaping forms scarcely larger than rabbits4 ,the necessity for defense against the flesh-eaters developed1 in the smaller dinosaurs1 extremely heavy armor4 ,the stegosaur carried huge plates upon his curved back1 suggesting a circular saw2 his long powerful tail was armed with sharp spikes1 and must have been a dangerous weapon4 ,dinosaurs roamed all over what is now called our middle west4 ,in those days the central part of our land was warm and swampy4 ,fresh-water lagoons and sluggish streams were bordered by low forests of palms and ferns2 one must go to the tropics to find a corresponding landscape in our times4 ,the waters abounded in reptiles and fish4 ,huge winged reptiles flew from cover to cover4 ,the first birds were evolving from reptilian forms4 ,the absorbing story of these times is written in the rocks4 ,the life forms were at their full when the sands were laid which to-day is the wide-spread layer of sandstone which geologists call the ,morrison formation4 ,erosion has exposed this sandstone in several parts of the western ,united ,states1 and many have been the interesting glimpses it has afforded of that strange period so many millions of years ago4 ,in the ,uintah ,basin of northwestern ,utah1 a region of bad lands crossed by the ,green ,river on its way to the ,colorado and the ,grand ,canyon1 the ,morrison strata have been bent upward at an angle of sixty degrees or more and then cut through1 exposing their entire depth4 ,the country is extremely rough and bare4 ,only in occasional widely separated bottoms has irrigation made farming possible2 elsewhere nothing grows upon the bald hillsides4 ,here1 eighteen miles east of the town of ,vernal1 eighty acres of the exposed ,morrison strata were set aside in #aiae as the ,dinosaur ,national ,monument4 ,these acres have already yielded a very large collection of skeletons4 ,since #aijh the ,carnegie ,museum of ,pittsburgh has been gathering specimens of the greatest importance4 ,the only complete skeleton of a dinosaur ever found was taken out in #aiji4 ,the work of quarrying and removal is done with the utmost care4 ,the rock is chiselled away in thin layers1 as no one can tell when an invaluable relic may be found4 ,as fast as bones are detached1 they are covered with plaster of ,paris and so wrapped that breakage becomes impossible4 ,two years were required to unearth the skeleton of a brontosaurus4 ,the extraordinary massing of fossil remains at this point suggests that floods may have swept these animals from a large area and lodged their bodies here1 where they were covered with sands4 ,but it also is possible that this spot was merely a favorite feeding-ground4 ,it may be that similarly rich deposits lie hidden in many places in the wide-spread ,morrison sandstone which some day may be unearthed4 ,the bones of dinosaurs have been found in the ,morrison of ,colorado near ,boulder4 ,,petrified ,,forest ,,national ,,monument ,for a hundred and twenty-five or thirty miles southwest of the ,grand ,canyon1 the valley of the ,little ,colorado ,river is known as the ,painted ,desert4 ,it is a narrow plain of ,carboniferous and ,triassic marls1 shales1 sandstones1 and conglomerates1 abounding in fossils1 the most arid part of ,arizona2 even the river's lower reaches dry up for a part of each year4 ,but it is a palette of brilliant colors2 it will be difficult to name a tint or shade which is not vividly represented in this gaudy floor and in the strata of the cliffs which define its northern and eastern limits4 ,above and beyond these cliffs lies that other amazing desert1 the ,navajo country1 the land of the ,rainbow ,bridge and the ,canyon de ,chelly4 ,i have mentioned the ,painted ,desert because it is shaped like a long narrow finger pointed straight at the ,petrified ,forests lying just beyond its touch4 ,here the country is also highly colored1 but very differently4 ,maroon and tawny yellow are the prevailing tints of the marls1 red and brown the colors of the sandstones4 ,there is a rolling sandy floor crisscrossed with canyons in whose bottoms grow stunted cedars and occasional cottonwoods4 ,upon this floor thousands of petrified logs are heaped in confusion4 ,in many places the strong suggestion is that of a log jam left stranded by subsiding floods4 ,nearly all the logs have broken into short lengths as cleanly cut as if sawn1 the result of succeeding heat and cold4 ,areas of petrified wood are common in many parts of the ,navajo country and its surrounding deserts4 ,the larger areas are marked on the ,geological ,survey maps1 and many lesser areas are mentioned in reports4 ,there are references to rooted stumps4 ,the three groups in the ,petrified ,forest ,national ,monument1 near the town of ,adamana1 ,arizona1 were chosen for conservation because they are the largest and perhaps the finest2 at the time1 the gorgeously colored logs were being carried away in quantities to be cut up into table-tops4 ,as a matter of fact1 these are not forests4 ,most of these trees grew upon levels seven hundred feet or more higher than where they now lie and at unknown distances2 floods left them here4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,petrified ,,forest ,,of ,,arizona ,showing the formation in colored strata4 ,the logs seen on the ground grew upon a level seven hundred feet higher ,illustration3 ,,petrified ,,trunk ,,forming ,a ,,bridge ,,over ,a ,,canyon ,the trunk is #aaa feet long4 ,the stone piers were built to preserve it ,the ,first ,forest1 which lies six miles south of ,adamana1 contains thousands of broken lengths4 ,one unbroken log a hundred and eleven feet long bridges a canyon forty-five feet wide1 a remarkable spectacle4 ,in the ,second ,forest1 which lies two miles and a half south of that1 and the ,third ,forest1 which is thirteen miles south of ,adamana and eighteen miles southeast of ,holbrook1 most of the trunks appear to lie in their original positions4 ,one which was measured by ,doctor ,g4,h4 ,knowlton of the ,smithsonian ,institution was more than seven feet in diameter and a hundred and twenty feet long4 ,he estimates the average diameters at three or four feet1 while lengths vary from sixty to a hundred feet4 ,the coloring of the wood is variegated and brilliant4 ,the state of mineralization in which most of this wood exists1 writes ,professor ,lester ,f4 ,ward1 paleobotanist1 almost places them among the gems or precious stones4 ,not only are chalcedony1 opals1 and agates found among them1 but many approach the condition of jasper and onyx4 ,the chemistry of the process of petrifaction or silicification1 writes ,doctor ,george ,p4 ,merrill1 ,curator of ,geology in the ,national ,museum1 is not quite clear4 ,silica is ordinarily looked upon as one of the most insoluble of substances4 ,it is nevertheless readily soluble in alkaline solutions--i4e41 solutions containing soda or potash4 ,it is probable that the solutions permeating these buried logs were thus alkaline1 and as the logs gradually decayed their organic matter was replaced1 molecule by molecule1 by silica4 ,the brilliant red and other colors are due to the small amount of iron and manganese deposited together with the silica1 and super-oxydized as the trunks are exposed to the air4 ,the most brilliant colors are therefore to be found on the surface4 ,the trees are of several species4 ,all those identified by ,doctor ,knowlton were ,araucaria1 which do not now live in the northern hemisphere4 ,doctor ,e4,c4 ,jeffrey1 of ,harvard1 has described one genus unknown elsewhere4 ,to get the ,petrified ,forest into full prospective it is well to recall that these shales and sands were laid in water1 above whose surface the land raised many times1 only to sink again and accumulate new strata4 ,the plateau now has fifty-seven hundred feet of altitude4 ,when it is known1 writes ,doctor ,knowlton1 that since the close of ,triassic times probably more than fifty thousand feet of sediments have been deposited1 it is seen that the age of the ,triassic forests of ,arizona can only be reckoned in millions of years--just how many it would be mere speculation to attempt to estimate4 ,it is certain1 also1 that at one time the strata containing these petrified logs were themselves buried beneath thousands of feet of strata of later ages1 which have in places been worn away sufficiently to expose the tree-bearing beds4 ,undoubtedly other forests as great or greater than those now exposed lie buried beneath the later formations4 ,a very interesting small forest1 not in the reservation1 lies nine miles north of ,adamana4 ,,papago ,,saguaro ,,national ,,monument ,the popular idea of a desert of dry drifting sand unrelieved except at occasional oases by evidences of life was born of our early geographies1 which pictured the ,sahara as the desert type4 ,far different indeed is our ,american desert1 most of which has a few inches of rainfall in the early spring and grows a peculiar flora of remarkable individuality and beauty4 ,the creosote bush seen from the car-windows shelters a few grasses which brown and die by summer1 but help to color the landscape the year around4 ,many low flowering plants gladden the desert springtime1 and in the far south and particularly in the far southwest are several varieties of cactus which attain great size4 ,the frequenter of the desert soon correlates its flora with its other scenic elements and finds all rich and beautiful4 ,in southwestern ,arizona and along the southern border of ,california this strange flora finds its fullest expression4 ,here one enters a new fairy-land1 a region of stinging bushes and upstanding monsters lifting ungainly arms to heaven4 ,in #aiad1 to conserve one of the many rich tracts of desert flora1 ,president ,wilson created the ,papago ,saguaro ,national ,monument a few miles east of ,phoenix1 ,arizona4 ,its two thousand and fifty acres include fine examples of innumerable desert species in fullest development4 ,among these the cholla is at once one of the most fascinating and the most exasperating4 ,it belongs to the prickly pear family1 but there resemblance ceases4 ,it is a stocky bush two or three feet high covered with balls of flattened powerful sharp-pointed needles which will penetrate even a heavy shoe4 ,in ,november these fall1 strewing the ground with spiny indestructible weapons4 ,there are many varieties of chollas and all are decorative4 ,the tree cholla grows from seven to ten feet in height1 a splendid showy feature of the desert slopes1 and the home1 fortress1 and sure defense for all the birds who can find nest-room behind its bristling breastwork4 ,the ,cereus thurberi1 the pipe-organ1 or candelabrum cactus1 as it is variously called1 grows in thick straight columns often clumped closely together1 a picturesque and beautiful creation4 ,groups range from a few inches to many feet in height4 ,one clump of twenty-two stems has been reported1 the largest stem of which was twenty feet high and twenty-two inches in diameter4 ,another of picturesque appeal is the bisnaga or barrel cactus1 of which there are many species of many sizes4 ,like all cacti1 it absorbs water during the brief wet season and stores it for future use4 ,a specimen the size of a flour-barrel can be made to yield a couple of gallons of sweetish but refreshing water1 whereby many a life has been saved in the sandy wastes4 ,but the desert's chief exhibit is the giant saguaro1 the ,cereus giganteus1 from which the reservation got its name4 ,this stately cactus rises in a splendid green column1 accordion-plaited and decorated with star-like clusters of spines upon the edges of the plaits4 ,the larger specimens grow as high as sixty or seventy feet and throw out at intervals powerful branches which bend sharply upward2 sometimes there are as many as eight or nine of these gigantic branches4 ,no towering fir or spreading oak carries a more princely air4 ,a forest of giant saguaro rising from a painted desert far above the tangle of creosote-bush1 mesquite1 cholla1 bisnaga1 and scores of other strange growths of a land of strange attractions is a spectacle to stir the blood and to remember for a lifetime4 ,,colorado ,,national ,,monument ,on the desert border of far-western ,colorado near ,grand ,junction is a region of red sandstone which the erosion of the ages has carved into innumerable strange and grotesque shapes4 ,once a great plain1 then a group of mesas1 now it has become a city of grotesque monuments4 ,those who have seen the ,garden of the ,gods near ,colorado ,springs can imagine it multiplied many times in size1 grotesqueness1 complexity1 and area2 such a vision will approximate the ,colorado ,national ,monument4 ,the two regions have other relations in common1 for as the ,garden of the ,gods flanks the ,rockies' eastern slopes and looks eastward to the great plains1 so does the ,colorado ,national ,monument flank the ,rockies' western desert4 ,both are the disclosure by erosion of similar strata of red sandstone which may have been more or less continuous before the great ,rockies wrinkled1 lifted1 and burst upward between them4 ,the rock monuments of this group are extremely highly colored4 ,they rise in several neighboring canyons and some of them are of great height and fantastic design4 ,one is a nearly circular column with a diameter of a hundred feet at the base and a height of more than four hundred feet4 ,caves add to the attractions1 and there are many springs among the tangled growths of the canyon floors4 ,there are cedars and pinyon trees4 ,the region abounds in mule-deer and other wild animals4 ,,capulin ,,mountain ,,national ,,monument ,after the sea-bottom which is now our desert southwest rose for the last time and became the lofty plateau of to-day1 many were the changes by which its surface became modified4 ,chief of these was the erosion which has washed its levels thousands of feet below its potential altitude and carved it so remarkably4 ,but it also became a field of wide-spread volcanic activity1 and lavas and obsidians are constantly encountered among its gravels1 sands1 and shales4 ,many also are the cones of dead volcanoes4 ,capulin ,mountain in northeastern ,new ,mexico near the ,colorado line is a very ancient volcano which retains its shape in nearly perfect condition4 ,it was made a national monument for scientific reasons1 but it also happily rounds out the national parks' exhibit of the influences which created our wonderful southwest4 ,its crater cone is composed partly of lava flow1 partly of fine loose cinder1 and partly of cemented volcanic ash4 ,it is nearly a perfect cone4 ,capulin rises fifteen hundred feet from the plain to an altitude of eight thousand feet4 ,its crater is fifteen hundred feet across and seventy-five feet deep4 ,to complete the volcanic exhibit many blister cones are found around its base4 ,it is easily reached from two railroads or by automobile4 ,,xx ,,the ,,muir ,,woods ,,and ,,other ,,national ,,monuments ,national monuments which commemorate history1 conserve forests1 and distinguish conspicuous examples of world-making dot other parts of the ,united ,states besides the colorful southwest4 ,their variety is great and the natural beauty of some of them unsurpassed4 ,their number should be much greater4 ,every history-helping exploration of the early days1 from ,cortreal's inspection of the upper ,atlantic coast in #aeja and ,ponce de ,leon's exploration of ,florida eleven years later1 from ,cabrillo's skirting of the ,pacific coast in #aedb and ,vancouver's entrance into ,puget ,sound in #agib1 including every early expedition from north and south into the country now ours and every exploration of the interior by our own people1 should be commemorated1 not by a slab of bronze or marble1 but by a striking and appropriate area set apart as a definite memorial of the history of this nation's early beginnings4 ,these areas should be appropriately located upon or overlooking some important or characteristic landmark of the explorations or events which they commemorated1 and should have scenic importance sufficient to attract visitors and impress upon them the stages of the progress of this land from a condition of wilderness to settlement and civilization4 ,nor should it end here4 ,the country is richly endowed1 from the ,atlantic to the ,pacific1 with examples of ,nature's amazing handicraft in the making of this continent1 the whole range of which should be fully expressed in national reservations4 ,besides these1 examples of our northeastern forests1 the pines of the southern ,appalachians1 the everglades of ,florida1 the tangled woodlands of the gulf1 and other typical forests which perchance may have escaped the desolation of civilization1 should be added to the splendid forest reserves of the national parks of the ,west1 first-grown as ,nature made them1 forever to remain untouched by the axe4 ,thus will the national parks system become the real national museum for to-day and forever4 ,there follows a brief catalogue of the slender and altogether fortuitous beginnings of such an exhibit4 ,,muir ,,woods ,,national ,,monument ,one of the last remaining stands of original redwood forest easily accessible to the visitor is the ,muir ,woods in ,california4 ,it occupies a picturesque canyon on the slope of ,mount ,tamalpais1 north of the ,golden ,gate and opposite ,san ,francisco1 from which it is comfortably reached by ferry and railroad4 ,it was rescued from the axe by ,william ,kent of ,california1 who1 jointly with ,mrs4 ,kent1 gave it to the nation as an exhibit of the splendid forest which once crowded the shores of ,san ,francisco ,bay4 ,it is named after ,john ,muir1 to whom this grove was a favorite retreat for many years4 ,it exhibits many noble specimens of the ,california redwood1 ,sequoia sempervirens1 cousin of the giant sequoia4 ,some of them attain a height of three hundred feet1 with a diameter exceeding eighteen feet4 ,they stand usually in clusters1 or family groups1 their stems erect as pillars1 their crowns joined in a lofty roof1 rustling in the ,pacific winds1 musical with the songs of birds4 ,not even in the giant sequoia groves of the ,sierra have ,i found any spot more cathedral-like than this4 ,its floor is brown and sweet-smelling1 its aisles outlined by the tread of generations of worshippers4 ,its naves1 transepts1 alcoves1 and sanctuaries are still and dim1 yet filled mysteriously with light4 ,the ,muir ,woods is a grove of noble redwoods1 but it is much more4 ,apart from its main passages1 in alcove1 gateway1 and outlying precinct it is an exhibit of the rich ,californian coast forest4 ,the ,douglas fir here reaches stately proportions4 ,many of the western oaks display their manifold picturesqueness4 ,a hundred lesser trees and shrubs add their grace and variety4 ,the forest is typical and complete4 ,though small in scope it is not a remnant but naturally blends into its surroundings4 ,the shaded north hill slopes carry the great trees to the ridge line2 the southern slope exhibits the struggle for precedence with the mountain shrubs4 ,at the lower end one bursts out into the grass country and the open hills4 ,every feature of the loveliest of all forests is at hand3 the valley floor with its miniature trout-stream overhung with fragrant azaleas2 the brown carpet interwoven with azaleas and violets4 ,there is the cool decoration of many ferns4 ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,tibbitts ,,cathedral ,,isle ,,of ,,the ,,muir ,,woods ,the straight-growing redwoods compel a change of habit in the trees that would struggle toward a view of the sky4 ,mountain-oaks and madrona are straight-trunked and clear of lower branches4 ,there is rivalry of the strong and protection for the weak4 ,the grove is1 in truth1 a complete expression in little of ,nature's forest plan4 ,the characteristics of the greater redwood forests which require weeks or months to compass and careful correlation to bring into perspective1 here are exhibited within the rambling of a day4 ,the ,muir ,woods is an entity4 ,its meadow borders1 its dark ravines1 its valley floor1 its slopes and hilltops1 all show fullest luxuriance and perfect proportion4 ,the struggle of the greater trees to climb the hills is exemplified as fully as in the great exhibits of the north1 which spread over many miles of hill slope2 here one may see its range in half an hour4 ,the coloring1 too1 is rich4 ,the rusty foliage and bark1 the brighter green of the shrubs1 the brown carpet1 the opal light1 stirs the spirit4 ,the powerful individuality of many of its trees is the source of never-ending pleasure4 ,there is a redwood upon the ,west ,fork which has no living base1 but feeds1 vampire-like1 through another's veins2 or1 if you prefer the figure of family dependence so strikingly exemplified in these woods1 has been rescued from destruction by a brother4 ,the base of this tree has been completely girdled by fire4 ,impossible to draw subsistence from below1 it stands up from a burned1 naked1 slender foundation4 ,but another tree fell against it twenty-five or thirty feet above the ground1 in some far past storm1 and lost its top2 this tree pours its sap into the veins of the other to support its noble top4 ,the twin cripples have become a single healthy tree4 ,one of the most striking exhibits of the ,muir ,woods is its tangle of ,california laurel4 ,even in its deepest recesses1 the bays1 as they are commonly called1 reach great size4 ,they sprawl in all directions1 bend at sharp angles1 make great loops to enter the soil and root again2 sometimes they cross each other and join their trunks2 in one instance1 at least1 a large crownless trunk has bent and entered head first the stem of still a larger tree4 ,there are greater stands of virgin redwoods in the northern wilderness of ,california which the ruthless lumberman has not yet reached but is approaching fast2 these are inland stands of giants1 crowded like battalions4 ,but there is no other ,muir ,woods1 with its miniature perfection4 ,,devil',s ,,postpile ,,national ,,monument ,southeast of craggy ,lyell1 mountain climax and eastern outpost of the ,yosemite ,national ,park1 the ,muir ,trail follows the extravagantly beautiful beginnings of the ,middle ,fork of the ,san ,joaquin ,river through a region of myriad waters and snow-flecked mountains4 ,banner ,peak1 ,ritter ,mountain1 ,thousand ,island ,lake1 ,volcanic ,ridge1 ,shadow ,lake--national park scenery in its noblest expression1 but not yet national park4 ,a score of miles from ,lyell1 the trail follows the river into a volcanic bottom from whose forest rises the splendid group of pentagonal basaltic columns which was made a national monument in #aiaa under the title of the ,devil's ,postpile4 ,those who know the famous ,giant's ,causeway of the ,irish coast will know it in kind1 but not in beauty4 ,the enormous uplift which created the ,sierra was accompanied on both its slopes by extensive volcanic eruptions1 the remains of which are frequently visible to the traveller4 ,the huge basaltic crystals of the ,devil's ,postpile were a product of this volcanic outpouring2 they formed deep within the hot masses which poured over the region for miles around4 ,their upper ends have become exposed by the erosion of the ages by which the cinder soil and softer rock around them have been worn away4 ,the trail traveller comes suddenly upon this splendid group4 ,it is elevated1 as if it were the front of a small ridge1 its posts standing on end1 side by side1 in close formation4 ,below it1 covering the front of the ridge down to the line of the trail1 is an enormous talus mass of broken pieces4 ,the appropriateness of the name strikes one at the first glance4 ,this is really a postpile1 every post carefully hewn to pattern1 all of nearly equal length4 ,the talus heap below suggests that his ,satanic ,majesty was utilizing it also as a woodpile1 and had sawn many of the posts into lengths to fit the furnaces which we have been taught that he keeps hot for the wicked4 ,certainly it is a beautiful1 interesting1 and even an imposing spectacle4 ,one also thinks of it as a gigantic organ1 whose many hundred pipes rise many feet in air4 ,its lofty position1 seen from the viewpoint of the trail1 is one of dignity2 it overlooks the pines and firs surrounding the clearing in which the observer stands4 ,the trees on the higher level scarcely overtop it2 in part1 it is outlined against the sky4 ,the ,devil's ,postpile1 writes ,professor ,joseph ,n4 ,le,conte1 ,muir's successor as the prophet of the ,sierra1 is a wonderful cliff of columnar basalt1 facing the river4 ,the columns are quite perfect prisms1 nearly vertical and fitted together like the cells of a honeycomb4 ,most of the prisms are pentagonal1 though some are of four or six sides4 ,the standing columns are about two feet in diameter and forty feet high4 ,at the base of the cliff is an enormous basalt structure1 but1 wherever the bed-rock is exposed beneath the pumice covering1 the same formation can be seen4 ,an error in the proclamation papers made the official title of this monument the ,devil ,postpile1 and thus it must legally appear in all official documents4 ,the reservation also includes the ,rainbow ,fall of the ,san ,juan ,river1 one of the most beautiful waterfalls of the sub-,sierra region1 besides soda springs and hot springs4 ,this entire reservation was originally included in the ,yosemite ,national ,park1 but was cut out by an unappreciative committee appointed to revise boundaries4 ,it is to be hoped that ,congress will soon restore it to its rightful status4 ,,devil',s ,,tower ,,national ,,monument ,a structure similar in nature to the ,devil's ,postpile1 but vastly greater in size and sensational quality1 forms one of the most striking natural spectacles east of the ,rocky ,mountains4 ,the ,devil's ,tower is unique4 ,it rises with extreme abruptness from the rough ,wyoming levels just west of the ,black ,hills4 ,it is on the banks of the ,belle ,fourche ,river1 which later1 encircling the ,black ,hills around the north1 finds its way into the ,big ,cheyenne and the ,missouri4 ,this extraordinary tower emerges from a rounded forested hill of sedimentary rock which rises six hundred feet above the plain2 from the top of that the tower rises six hundred feet still higher4 ,it is visible for a hundred miles or more in every direction4 ,before the coming of the white man it was the landmark of the ,indians4 ,later it served a useful purpose in guiding the early explorers4 ,to-day it is the point which draws the eye for many miles4 ,the visitor approaching by automobile sees it hours away1 and its growth upon the horizon as he approaches is not his least memorable experience4 ,it has the effect at a distance of an enormous up-pointing finger which has been amputated just below the middle joint4 ,when near enough to enable one to distinguish the upright flutings formed by its closely joined pentagonal basaltic prisms1 the illusion vanishes4 ,these1 bending inward from a flaring base1 straighten and become nearly perpendicular as they rise4 ,now1 one may fancy it the stump of a tree more than a hundred feet in diameter whose top imagination sees piercing the low clouds4 ,but close by1 all similes become futile2 then the ,devil's ,tower can be likened to nothing but itself4 ,this column is the core of a volcanic formation which doubtless once had a considerably larger circumference4 ,at its base lies an immense talus of broken columns which the loosening frosts and the winter gales are constantly increasing2 the process has been going on for untold thousands of years1 during which the softer rock of the surrounding plains has been eroded to its present level4 ,one may climb the hill and the talus4 ,the column itself cannot be climbed except by means of special apparatus4 ,its top is nearly flat and elliptical1 with a diameter varying from sixty to a hundred feet4 ,,pinnacles ,,national ,,monument ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,tibbitts ,,pinnacles ,,national ,,monument ,illustration3 ,from a photograph by ,n4,h4 ,darion ,,the ,,devil',s ,,tower ,forty miles as the crow flies east of ,monterey1 ,california1 in a spur of the low ,coast ,range1 is a region which erosion has carved into many fantastic shapes4 ,because of its crowded pointed rocks1 it has been set apart under the title of the ,pinnacles ,national ,monument4 ,for more than a century and a quarter it was known as ,vancouver's ,pinnacles because the great explorer visited it while his ships lay at anchor in ,monterey ,bay1 and afterward described it in his ,voyages and ,discoveries4 ,it is unfortunate that the historical allusion was lost when it became a national reservation4 ,two deep gorges1 bordered by fantastic walls six hundred to a thousand feet high1 and a broad semi-circular1 flower-grown amphitheatre1 constitute the central feature4 ,deep and narrow tributary gorges furnish many of the curious and intricate forms which for many years have made the spot popular among sightseers4 ,rock masses have fallen upon the side walls of several of these lesser gorges1 converting them into picturesque winding tunnels and changing deep alcoves into caves which require candles to see4 ,it is a region of very unusual interest and charm4 ,,shoshone ,,cavern ,,national ,,monument ,on the way to the ,yellowstone ,national ,park by way of the ,wyoming entrance at ,cody1 and three miles east of the great ,shoshone ,dam1 a limestone cave has been set apart under the title of the ,shoshone ,cavern ,national ,monument4 ,the way in is rough and precipitous and1 after entering the cave1 a descent by rope is necessary to reach the chambers of unusual beauty4 ,one may then journey for more than a mile through galleries some of which are heavily incrusted with crystals4 ,,lewis ,,and ,,clark ,,cavern ,,national ,,monument ,approaching the crest of the ,rockies on the ,northern ,pacific ,railroad1 the ,lewis and ,clark ,cavern is passed fifty miles before reaching ,butte4 ,its entrance is perched thirteen hundred feet above the broad valley of the ,jefferson ,river1 which the celebrated explorers followed on their westward journey2 it overlooks fifty miles of their course4 ,the cavern1 which has the usual characteristics of a limestone cave1 slopes sharply back from its main entrance1 following the dip of the strata4 ,some of its vaults are decorated in great splendor4 ,the depredations of vandals were so damaging that in #aiaf its entrance was closed by an iron gate4 ,this cavern is the only memorial of the ,lewis and ,clark expedition in the national parks system2 there is no record that the explorers entered it or knew of its existence4 ,two hundred and thirty miles east of the ,cavern1 ,clark inscribed his name and the date1 ,july #be1 #ahjf1 upon the face of a prominent butte known as ,pompey's ,pillar4 ,this would have been a far more appropriate monument to the most important of ,american explorations than the limestone cave4 ,in fact1 the ,department of the ,interior once attempted to have it proclaimed a national monument2 the fact that it lay within an ,indian allotment prevented4 ,the entire course of this great expedition should be marked at significant points by appropriate national monuments4 ,,wind ,,cave ,,national ,,park ,in the southwestern corner of ,south ,dakota1 on the outskirts of the ,black ,hills1 is one of the most interesting limestone caverns of the country4 ,it was named ,wind ,cave because1 with the changes of temperature during the day1 strong currents of wind blow alternately into and out of its mouth4 ,it has many long passages and fine chambers gorgeously decorated4 ,it is a popular resort4 ,the ,united ,states ,biological ,survey maintains a game-preserve4 ,,jewel ,,cave ,,national ,,monument ,northwest of ,wind ,cave1 thirteen miles west and south of ,custer1 ,south ,dakota boasts another limestone cavern of peculiar beauty1 through whose entrance also the wind plays pranks4 ,it is called ,jewel ,cave because many of its crystals are tinted in various colors1 often very brilliantly4 ,under torchlight the effect is remarkable4 ,connecting chambers have been explored for more than three miles1 and there is much of it yet unknown4 ,,oregon ,,caves ,,national ,,monument ,in the far southwestern corner of ,oregon1 about thirty miles south of ,grant's ,pass1 upon slopes of coast mountains and at an altitude of four thousand feet1 is a group of large limestone caves which have been set apart by presidential proclamation under the title of the ,oregon ,caves ,national ,monument4 ,locally they are better known as the ,marble ,halls of ,oregon4 ,there are two entrances at different levels1 the passages and chambers following the dip of the strata4 ,a considerable stream1 the outlet of the waters which dissolved these caves in the solid limestone1 passes through4 ,the wall decorations1 and1 in some of the chambers1 the stalagmites and stalactites1 are exceedingly fine4 ,the vaults and passages are unusually large4 ,there is one chamber twenty-five feet across whose ceiling is believed to be two hundred feet high4 ,,mount ,,olympus ,,national ,,monument ,for sixty miles or more east and west across the ,olympian ,peninsula1 which is the forested northwestern corner of ,washington and the ,united ,states between ,puget ,sound and the ,pacific ,ocean1 stretch the ,olympian ,mountains4 ,the country is a rugged wilderness of tumbled ranges1 grown with magnificent forests above which rise snowy and glaciered summits4 ,its climax is ,mount ,olympus1 eight thousand one hundred feet in altitude1 rising about twenty-five miles equidistant from the ,strait of ,juan de ,fuca upon the north and the ,pacific ,ocean upon the west4 ,the entire peninsula is extremely wild4 ,it is skirted by a road along its eastern and part of its northern edges1 connecting the water-front towns4 ,access to the mountain is by arduous trail4 ,the reservation contains nine hundred and fifty square miles4 ,although possessing unusual scenic beauty1 it was reserved for the purpose of protecting the ,olympic elk1 a species peculiar to the region4 ,deer and other wild animals also are abundant4 ,,wheeler ,,national ,,monument ,high under the ,continental ,divide in southwestern ,colorado near ,creede1 a valley of high altitude1 grotesquely eroded in tufa1 rhyolite1 and other volcanic rock1 is named the ,wheeler ,national ,monument in honor of ,captain ,george ,montague ,wheeler1 who conducted geographical explorations between #ahfi and #ahgi4 ,its deep canyons are bordered by lofty pinnacles of rock4 ,it is believed that ,general ,john ,c4 ,fremont here met the disaster which drove back his exploring-party of #ahdh1 fragments of harness and camp equipment and skeletons of mules having been found4 ,,verendrye ,,national ,,monument ,the first exploration of the northern ,united ,states east of the ,rocky ,mountains is commemorated by the ,verendrye ,national ,monument at the ,old ,crossing of the ,missouri ,river in ,north ,dakota4 ,here rises ,crowhigh ,butte1 on the ,fort ,berthold ,indian ,reservation1 an eminence commanding a wide view in every direction4 ,verendrye1 the celebrated ,french explorer1 started from the north shore of ,lake ,superior about #agdj and passed westward and southward into the regions of the great plains4 ,he or his sons1 for the records of their journeys are confusing1 passed westward into ,montana along a course which ,lewis and ,clark paralleled in #ahjf1 swung southward in the neighborhood of ,fort ,benton1 and skirted the ,rockies nearly to the middle of ,wyoming1 passing within a couple of hundred miles of the ,yellowstone ,national ,park4 ,crowhigh ,butte is supposed to have given the ,verendryes their first extensive view of the upper ,missouri4 ,the butte was long a landmark to guide early settlers to ,old ,crossing4 ,,sully',s ,,hill ,,national ,,park ,congress created the ,sully's ,hill ,national ,park in ,north ,dakota in #aijd in response to a local demand4 ,its hills and meadows constitute a museum of practically the entire flora of the ,state4 ,the ,united ,states ,biological ,survey maintains there a wild-animal preserve for elk1 bison1 antelope1 and other animals representative of the northern plains4 ,,sitka ,,national ,,monument ,on ,baranoff ,island1 upon the southeastern shore of ,alaska1 is a reservation known as the ,sitka ,national ,monument which commemorates an important episode in the early history of ,alaska4 ,on this tract1 which lies within a mile of the steamboat-landing at ,sitka1 formerly stood the village of the ,kik-,siti ,indians who1 in #ahjb1 attacked the settlement of ,sitka and massacred the ,russians who had established it4 ,two years later the ,russians under ,baranoff recovered the settlement from the ,indians1 contrary to the active opposition of ,great ,britain1 and established the title which they afterward transferred to the ,united ,states4 ,graves of some of those who fell in the later battle may be seen4 ,the reservation is also a fine exhibit of the forest and flora of the ,alexander ,archipelago4 ,sixteen totem-poles remain from the old native days4 ,,old ,,kasaan ,,national ,,monument ,remains of the rapidly passing native life of the ,alexander ,archipelago on the southeast coast of ,alaska are conserved in the ,old ,kasaan ,national ,monument on the east shore of ,prince of ,wales ,island4 ,the village of ,old ,kasaan1 occupied for many years by the ,hydah tribe and abandoned a decade or more ago1 contains several community houses of split timber1 each of which consists of a single room with a common fireplace in the middle under a smoke-hole in the centre of the roof4 ,cedar sleeping-booths1 each the size of an ordinary piano-box1 are built around the wall4 ,the monument also possesses fifty totem-poles1 carved and richly colored4 99 99 99 99 99 ,of the thirty-six national monuments1 twenty-four are administered by the ,national ,parks ,service1 ten by the ,department of ,agriculture1 and two by the ,war ,department4 ,congress made the assignments to the ,department of ,agriculture on the theory that1 as these monuments occurred in forests1 they could be more cheaply administered by the ,forest ,service2 but1 as many of the other monuments and nearly all the national parks also occur in forests1 the logic is not apparent1 and these monuments suffer from disassociation with the impetus and machinery of the ,national ,park ,service4 ,the ,big ,hole ,battlefield ,national ,monument1 about fifty-five miles southwest of ,butte1 ,montana1 was assigned to the ,war ,department because a battle took place there in #ahgg between a small force of ,united ,states troops and a large force of ,indians4 ,illustration3 ,,map ,,of ,,yosemite ,,national ,,park1 ,,california ,illustration3 ,,proposed ,,roosevelt ,,national ,,park ,,and ,,the ,,sequoia ,,and ,,general ,,grant ,,national ,,parks1 ,,california ,illustration3 ,,the ,,rocky ,,mountain ,,national ,,park1 ,,colorado ,illustration3 ,,mount ,,rainier ,,national ,,park1 ,,washington ,illustration3 ,,crater ,,lake ,,national ,,park1 ,,oregon ,illustration3 ,,yellowstone ,,national ,,park1 ,,wyoming ,the proposed ,jackson ,hole addition is enclosed by a broken line south of boundary ,illustration3 ,,glacier ,,national ,,park1 ,,montana ,illustration3 ,,mesa ,,verde ,,national ,,park1 ,,colorado ,illustration3 ,,grand ,,canyon ,,national ,,park1 ,,arizona ,illustration3 ,,zion ,,national ,,monument1 ,,utah