The Livingston enterprise., 1889-12-25
AMERICAS WONDERLAND.
A illustrated Desc ri Ition of the National
Park.
Its WOnslertul Gevsers--Its Ge0rge0us
Mountain Scenery-1ts Lakes and
Its Chasms.
THE NATIONAL PARK.

A,penne<l description OF the Yellow
stone, National Park that would convey
tn the reader, however inadequately, an
impression Of it's wonders, would be an
impossible task. No brush could paint,
or pen describe, the array Of wonders
that meet the eyes Of tho traveller in
every valley and on every mountain in
that land Of cnchantment, where nature
Itas, in ono grand effort, concentrated
lies marvellous and powerful mechanism,
displaying wonders unparalleled in any
country known to man. .
Ehe National Park is situated in Iii
northwestern corner of tho territory of
Wyoming, and embracing also Il strip OF
southern Montana along its northern
border Of about two miles in width. 1t
iAa right angle,l parallelogrnm in shape
and embraces within its confines about
:AT5 square miles. 1t is travorsed north
and south by the main range uf the
Rocky mountains. that form the cont
mental divide. Within its borders the
Mississippi river system, that flows into
thu Atlantic, and the Snake river, tho
main tributary Of the Columbia, that
emptics its volume into the Pacific ocean,
take their rise. The general topography
oR the Park is mountainous, its lowest
valleys having IN elevation Of over GOO
feet. while it's highest peaks reach an al
tit,tde of 1000 feet.
Tho history Of the Park, upto a recent
period, is Of the most meagre description.
4 wundcrcr from the Lewis and Clarke
expedition in 1sO4.5. upon reaching the
then trading post Of st. Louis, told wildly
exaggerated stories Of u region in the
northwest where water boiled and
spoutcd hundreds of feet high, where
awful chasns existed and letritied for
eats stood: where bushes bore rubies and
diamonds instead Of seeds, and stories of
u like nature that were given little cred
ence Mt hat time. Forever half /. century
afterward floating stories Of this region
continued to reach the civilized states.
hut they were merely regarded as hun
tors yarns and Mnnchausen tales. 1t
was not until the summer of 1863. when
Colonel DeL;lcv. with party Of Mon
tanians, made partial exploration Of
the region. and published an account Of
what they had seen. that anything au-
ttentic in regard to it was obtained.
Others followed and their reports created
such an interest in the region that in
1871 the government sent out Prof. J..
V. Hayden, the noted geologist. with Il
party to explore it. His account. one uf
tho best ever written, Of the Park and
his untiring efforts secured tho passage
OF Il bill through congress forever setting
10 apart as u national pleasure ground.
Tourist travel in the Park WAS confined
chiefly to a few camping parties from the
surrounding territories until 1883. when.
the Northern Pacific railroad having
been completed, and Il branch built to
tho northern border Of the Park. tourists
began visiting it in great numbers from
all parts OF the globe. until the average
now reaches fully 10000 visitors annual
". BY congressional appropriations, a
system OF wagon roads have been con-
structed in the Park. connecting most
of the principal objects Of interest by
the easiest routes. During the past year
a number of miles Of new road have been
built and. by the end Of the following
season, tourists will be able to travc. by
coach to almost every object of interest
within the Park. The secretary of the
interior has granted leases for hotel pur-
poses to an association, who have con-
structed substantial and oommodious
hotels at Mammoth Hot Springs, the
Geyser Basins, the Falls and the Lake.
They also control and operate line OF
transportation to and from these points,
facilitating travel and permitting the
tourist to witness the unparalleled
sights of the Park and at the same time
enjoy all the comforts and even luxuries
oecivilized life.
In order that the reader may under
stand the Park as it is seen from the
travelled route, we will attempt brief
description Of the principal objectsof in