OCR Text |
Show v "---i M J fj jr'--- - s V ' , 1 1 "Yellowstone's semi- 1 '"J . . ;v;aYi'! centennial marks it asthe V.-v ,':?'vM FIRST OF NINETEEN GREAT SCENIC ' k-. i:j,&'itl PLAYGROUNDS DF THE W . 1 ' P V;-r J American people fe . ;:-. : fB7 . p fiy . . . :v gk. , i -wr- -rw - i-; A'i"', . - - By JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN V X " vs , V - "fcJLr 1, 't L i j,, f3CIIl en of N.tton il Parks' Tel k ' V ,V v VP ifi i WT tmiccntennnl tin unimei When 'Vwf ", , A J f t rtiv'-T " - AhS" e t, bbshed bv act of congie VV. " H' A -f 3h f mWYT ln " i the fli t public pin V" " f iv V'vFteKv-ls.' "ZJ Mound of the people crerted in all :7 - LX&rJ -A lnston Now the Lmted btite lit "X , j - - . S." try"? ". 1, nineteen mil eet U other n ition t ' 4 have followed our example. J' J K'll Yellowstone is a land of wonders Cffig ' AlttRTC'Air F&OFZg ' ' jPZ-& fftoio lr Courtesy US-forest Jeryite By JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN 3CA H'Tl years of National Parks! Tel-CCaD Tel-CCaD lowsto,ie ,,ns been celebrating its I'C semi-centennial this summer. When 11 was est!lljbshed bv act of congress in 18T2 it was the first public play-iiL. play-iiL. . ground of the people created in all ft history. row the Lmted states has nineteen and several other nations have followed our example. Yellowstone is a land of wonders ffXf nncl "S' early History -is In keeping. -jSk-J Our third president, Thomas Jefferson, Jeffer-son, bought the Louisiana Purchn.se the unknown land between the Mississippi and the Ilockies from Napoleon I'.onaparte in 1S03. In the spring of 1S04 Jefferson started Lewis and Clark westward from St. Louis to see what we had got for $15,000,000. They went to the mouth of the' Columbia and returned to St. Louis in 1S00, after being given up for lost. Both going and returning re-turning they passed a little to the north of the Yellowstone, but beard nothing .of it. John Colter, one of their men, turned back before be-fore reaching St. Louis to trap beaver on the headwaters of the Missouri. He discovered the' Yellowstone in 1S07. returned to St. Louis in 1S10 and told about the geysers and other marvels. St. Louis refused to believe and laughed at the Y'el-lowstone Y'el-lowstone as "Colter's Hell." Gen. William Clark, Colter's commander, was apparently the only man I to believe; on Clark's official map of the Lewis and Clark expedition you will find traced "Colter's route in 1S07." Jim Bridger, one of Gen. William II. Ashley's lieutenants In the Rocky Mountain Fur company, rediscovered the Yellowstone in 1S27. Bridger was as good a mountaineer, plainsman and guide as Ihis country ever saw. But he was a practical joker along the line of monumental lies he was the inventor of the obsidian cliff, boiling spring, alum creel; and echo canyon stories which have been Western classics for nearly a century. So his report of the Yellowstone wonders was set down merely us "another of Jim Bridger's big yarns." In 1842 and again In 1SG2 men reported the wonders won-ders of the Yellowstone. Nobody would believe I hem. In 1S69 the semi-official Wasbburn-Lang-ford expedition from Montana succeeded in getting get-ting a hearing. But it was not until 1S70 that a special federal government expedition established the existence of the Yellowstone. Tims it took sixty-three years and more than six "discoveries" to put the Yellowstone officially on the map. Cornelius Hedges he has deserved well of his country September IS, 1S70. by a camp-fir"? in (lie Y'ellowstone, proposed that the wonderland be made a national park a public playground set aside for the people's use forever. The idea took. Congress established the Y'ellowstone National park March 1, 1372. The United States now has nineteen national parks containing 10.S50 square miles or 6.!M!i.7G0 acres. Chronologically in the order of formation they are as follows: 1S32 Hot Springs, Arkansas. 911 acres, originally origi-nally n reservation, made a national park this year; 4G curative hot springs. 1S72 Yellowstone, Wyoming. Montana and Idaho, 3,348 square miles ; geysers and other volcanic vol-canic exhibits, Grand Canyon of the Y'ellowstone. large lake, great animal preserve. 1S00 Sequoia, California, 252 square miles; 12.000 big trees over ten feet in diameter, amF" i some over thirty-five feet and 5,000 years old. I 1S90 Y'oseuiite, California, 1,125 square miles; I YELLOWSTONE'S SEMI - ' j CENTENNIAL MARKS IT ASTHE Vc'A J FIRST DF NINETEEN GREAT SCENIC vlf " i PLAYGROUNDS DF THE V ! 5 1 AMERICAN PEOPLE feU AV , Y'osemite valley, high waterfalls, three groves of big trees. 1S90 General Grant, California, four square miles ; big trees. 1S99 Mount Rainier, Washington, 324 square miles; Mount Rainier with forty-eight square miles of glaciers. 1902 Crater Lake. Oregon, 249 square miles; lake in crater of extinct volcano, with sides 1,000 feet high. 1903 Wind Cave, South Dakota, seventeen square miles; caver with many miles of galleries and chambers. 1904 Piatt, Oklahoma, S48 acres; medicinal springs. 1004 Suliys Hill, North Dakota, 7S0 acres; wild animal preserve. inoc Mesa Verde, Colorado, 77 square miles, prehistoric cliff dwellings. 1910 Glacier, Montana, 1,534 square miles; mountains, lakes and glaciers. jr,-, uocky Mountain, Colorado, 397 square miles, heart of the Rockies, Continental Divide, peaks' up to 14,255 feet. fli(j Hawaii. Hawaiian Islands, 118 square miles three famous volcanoes on two Islands, tropical trop-ical scenery. ip,if Lassen Volcanic, California, 124 square miles; only active volcano In United States proper, other volcanic exhibits. ji7 Mount McKlnley. " Alaska, 2,200 square miles; highest mountain in North America (20,300 feet), great wild animal preserve; not yet accessible. acces-sible. Grand Canyon, Arizona, 95S square miles, gorge of the Colorado river. -191;) Lafayette. Maine. 5,000 acres; group of mountains on Isle of Mount Desert. 1919 Zion, Utah. 120 square miles; gorge of the Rio Virgin. Many volumes could be filled with photographs of first-class scenery in these national parks. The photographs reproduced herewith were selected for these reasons: Y'ellowstone Is the oldest, largest larg-est and best known of our national parks. Rocky Mountain is the most popular. Grand Canyon is the greatest natural wonder in the world. I.afay- ette Is the only national park east of the Mississippi. Missis-sippi. Zion is the newest of our nineteen. The remaining p:cture. a scene on the way to Rocky Mountain, is typical of the American people at play In the national parks. The visitors to the national parks in 1921 numbered num-bered 1 ,C07.:;:15 ; I lie private automobiles numbered 175.S25. Kooky Mountain led with 273,737 visitors visi-tors and 57.43S automobiles. Hot Springs was second sec-ond with KKI.OOS visitors. Y'osemite was third with with 91.513 visitors and 18.947 cars. Y'ellowstone had S1.C51 visitors and 15,730 cars. Appropriations in 1921 were $1,031,549 and revenues reve-nues were S390.92S. Eventually the national parks will be practically self-supporting. The act of 19HI creating the national park service, serv-ice, a bureau of the Interior department, sets forth 'rtfar TTTe fundamental purpose of the national parks isLo conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same In such manner nnd by such means as will leave them' unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." genera-tions." ; There will be more national parks. The policy; of the national park service, as set forth in 1918 by the late Branklln B. Lane, then secretary of the interior, is that the national parks of the future; should be justified by "scenery of supreme and dis-; tinctive quality or some natural feature so ex- traordinary or unique as to be of national Interest and importance. The national park system as now constituted, should not be lowered in standard,' dignity and prestige by the Inclusion of areas which express in less thn the highest terms the particular class or kind of exhibit which they represent." rep-resent." The national park movement is now nationwide. nation-wide. There Is an army of enthusiasts. These enthusiasts are preaching that the mission of the national parks is manifold; that general use of them by the people will bring physical, mental4: moral and financial benefits. Tills national-park transcontinental tourist traffic traf-fic by private car Is getting to be a big thing, with tremendous possibilities in dollars. The Scenic West was literally full of motorists this summer on vacation trips ranging from two weeks to the whole season. All sorts of estimates have been made of what this means financially to the country to have this money spent at home instead of In sightseeing abroad. It is purely guesswork to estl-' mate what the million and more visitors to tha national parks this summer paid out In money. An arbitrary minimum estimate of $100 each gives a total of $100,000,000. i The national park enthusiasts have formed an organization of their own the National Parks association. as-sociation. It was formed by unofficial friends of the national parks to enter a field of the move-, mcnt which the federal government apparently does not intend to occupy. The present policy of congress If It has any national park policy Is merely to provide for the protection, maintenance and development of the parks, leaving It to the-people the-people to determine the use they shall make of. them. The association Is pn organization of the people themselves to enable them to use effectively these public playgrounds. At present the enjoyment enjoy-ment of the American people of its national parks Is largely emotional. Among its many other activities ac-tivities the association purposes a campaign of, education to double the enjoyment of the people by adding understanding. It says In effect to tha American people: i "Our national parks are nature's great labora-, tories and museums. They are not merely wonders won-ders and scenery. They are exhibits on a mighty" scale of the processes by which nature has been nnd Is making America. You may double your pleasure In these exhibits by comprehending their meaning through intelligent study. Let us 'See America first!' But let us also know America I Let us know Its natural history as well as Its national history. Let us differentiate, distinguish nnd appreciate. Then we shall really know. Then, we shall really enjoy." .' |