The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1890-12-18
A NEW NATIONAL PARK.
The Grandest Pleasure Grounds
in America.
Yosemite Valley in Csilfornia the Heart
of the Spacious Preserve
Devoted to the
People.


Devoted to the
People.
Probably few people east of the Rocky
mountains are aware that during last
autumn new National pleasure ground,
larger than the State Of Rhode Island,
has been established in this country.
This spacious park is in California, COM
pletely surrounding the Yosemite val
ley grant Of 1864 and about thirty times
as large as that grant. 1t takes in not
only the entire watershed of the Merced
river region, as defined by the encircling
mountain range which includes Tuo-
lumne Peak and Cathedral Peak on the
north and northeast, Mount Lyell with
its superb glaciers on the east and Buena
Vista Peak on the south; but it embraces
also the noble Hetch Hetchy valley, itself
a second Yosemite, and the magnificent
Grand canon of the Tuolumne, with its
massive walls and domes, and its cas-
cades unequalled in volume of water by
those of any other canon in the Sierra.
1t crosses the Tuolumne meadows and
annexes the splendid range that con-
tains Mount Dana and Mount Gibbs and
the Mono pass. 1t has saved from the
lumberman and the saw-mill the Mono
pass, the Merced and Tuolumne groves
of big trees, and has secured Lake
Eleanor. In short, it has brought with
in its protecting area all that needs to
be reserved in that region of natures
marvels.
The history of this achievement, says
the New York Sun, is interesting. The
grant Of Yosemite valley to California
quarter of century ago, ''to be held for
public use, resort and recreation" was q
mistake. The valley should have been
retained under the charge of the In
terror Department. for the same pur-
poses, like the Yellowstone Park, since
it was intended for the whole country.
Such disposition of it would have made
its custodians directly responsible to the
general Government, and would have
secured the aid of Congress for its care
and Improvement
After time another mistake in the
Yosemite grant became apparent. The
area conveyed had not been large
enough, and the valley was menaced by
the industries gradually approaching it.
The surrounding forests were falling
under the axe, saw-mills were busy
among the great trees, enormous herds
OF sheep were pastured on the mount
aims and trampled and stripped the
herbage and shrubs, while the woods,
when cleared of their more valuable
timber, were sometimes burned SO as
to destroy the underbrush and improve
the pasturage. Even where the fires
were not Intentional, the presence Of
the industries led to enormous destruc-
tion from this source through careless
ness and accident. All this meant not
only ravages in region only less ma
jestic and exquisite than the Yosemite
valley, but the diminution of the won
derful falls in this valley during the
season when they are most visited, since
the cutting of these forests was sure to
lead to an earlier melting of the SHOWS.
1t was plain, also. that these surround
ings for many miles ought to be joined
to the Yosemite tract as portions Of a
uniform system, the magnificent setting
of a central gem.
While this project was under discus
sion some outcry was raised in Cali
fornia against the present management
of the Yosemite valley itself. A heated
controversy arose, but it at least became
clear that should the proposed enlarge
ment of the park be made it must not
be done with continuation of the error
of 1854, but a new National park must
ho ol t.
ment had been drawn by Mr.. G. n.
Poston, ex-delegate from Arizona, but
it did not include even the whole of the
watershed of the Yosemite. General
Vandever's bill, introduced last March,
made up some lacks, yet was itself too
limited in scope. 1t happened that Mr..
John Muir, the California naturalist,
and Mr.. r. U. johnson, of the Century
Magazine, had camped together in that
region, and at the request of the latter
Mr.. Muir had sketched out the bound
aries of National Yosemite park as it
ought to be. These greatly extended
boundaries were advocated by Mr.. John
son before tho committee of Congress-.
and were approved as amendments to
the Vandever bill, and the measure as
thus revised was passed by the House.
Under the urgent personal work of its
supporters it was concurred III by the
Senate at the very end of the session.
In this way the present magnificent
area, measuring from forty to forty-five
miles east and west, its eastern outline
being irregular, and about thirty-seven
north and south, was secured to the
country as public pleasure ground.
While the original grant of the Yo-
semitic valley and the Mariposa Big
Tree Grove to California in 1864 remains
undisturbed it is not unlikely to be
placed eventually under the National
management of the far greater park
which sllrrounda it. The second sec