The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1896-09-17
A NEW WONDERLAND.
Montana Has a Rival Beauty Spot
&, the Yosemite Valley.
II Is Located Among the snow-Crewned
Peaks of Remote Region and Sur
rounded by q Dense
Forest.


There has been discovered during the
last season by a party of scientists in
one of the most inaccessible portions of
Montana spot that for grandeur and
unique beauty gives promise of out
rivaling the Yosemite valley of Califor-
mia, the Grand canyon of the Colorado,
and other famous scenic attractions of
the great west.
This straightforward wonderland is
situated north of Lake Mcdonald, near
the boundary line between Flathead
and Teton counties, among the snow
crowned peaks of that remote region,
and surrounded by almost impenetra-
BILE forests. Until recently the beau
ties of this place had never been seen
except by Indians and half breeds, and
possibly a few trappers and prospectors.
a half-breed scout having told party
of wise men from the east" camping
on the shore of Lake McDonald--itself
hit of wondrcns scenic BEAUTY mar
velous tales of the wonders of this spot,
their interest was aroused, and they de-
termined to visit this isolated region
and judge for themselves of its attrac-
tons.
Accordingly they first proceeded to the
head of Lake Mcdonald. where they Sc
cured as guides and packers two trusty
frontiersmen, half-hreeds, named Ged-
uhn and Apgar, who were familiar with
these wild mountains and trackless for
ests. 1t was an arduous undertaking.
but they toiled persistently onward.
The steep, narrow trail led northward
from the lake for perhaps ten miles;
when this distance had been ac-
complished their journey was only
just begun. For many miles they were
obliged to chop their way through
dense forests and tangled underground,
where nothing but the trails of deer
and footprints of bears--many of the
latter very fresh-could be detected.
After two days of interchangeable labor
they suddenly came upon a spot of such
rare beauty that DIR. L. b. Sperry, of
Minneapolis, one of the party, consid-
cred an authority on American scenery,
pronounced it "a scenic gem of the first
water This consisted of basin, in
the shape of a horseshoe, about two
miles in length and a mile or q mile and
half in width, surrounded on all sides
by walls of rock, rising almost perpen-
dicularly to heights varying from 1900
to 1000 feet. In the floor of this basin.
like jewel in its setting, was beauti-
full lake of deep sapphire blue, mile
and half in length by half a mile in
width. ifcr +..re r.
ness that the speckled trout, with
which they were filed, were plainly
visible. The surrounding lodges of
rocks were surmounted by numerous
peaks, rising to dizzy heights, 1000 and
1000 feet above the timber line, their
lofty submits white with perpetual
snow.
At the head of the basin were two
streams of icy water, pouring in beau
tiful cascades over the rocks and cliffs;
sometimes clinging to the walls, resem-
bling ribbons and cords of silver, and
sometimes dashing over the lodges,
diffusing themselves in clouds of rain
bow-tinted spray, hundreds of feet be-
low. The total height of these silvery
streams was estimated to be at least
$500 feet, and they derive their supply
from the vast fields of eternal snow w.
ing in the awful solitudes far above.
Along portion of the southern wall
there was a slope extending from a
height of 1000 feet down nearly to the
border of the lake. Here avalanches
are of frequent occurrence, shooting
down the slope with terrific force. and
with rushing, roaring sound, not un-
like peals of thunder, and plunging into
the unfathomable depths of rocky
chasms. On account of the oft-recur-
ring avalanches the party christened
this secluded mountain valley "Ava-
ianche Basin," and the surrounding
peaks and picturesque masses of rock
were given names suggested by their
appearances; the Sphinx, the Dome,
Cathedral Spires, the Castle, and the
Matterhorn, the last on account of its
surprising resemblance to the far
famed Alpine peak.
hewalls inclosing this bit of wonder
land are of metamorphic sandstone,
some of the strata being of uncolored
quartz, nearly as white as the surround
ing SHOWS, while other strata are of
bright red. The formation of the rocks
exhibits many marvellous phenomena
and the place contains many scientific
as well as scenic attractions, and will
prove most interesting field of study
+ for the geologist and mineralogist.
1t is very probable that long ago, in
the prehistoric ages. this spot was the
bed of some enormous inland lake of
great depth, of which the little lake
now existing in its center contains,
comparatively speaking, only the last
few drops in the slowly emptying basin.
But whatever may have been its history
in the dim and distant past il is easy to
predict its future; for when, by the
construction of good roads, commune
cation shall have been established with
the railways it is certainly destined to
become one of the most celebrated re-
sorts; a shrine where earth's weary pill
grims, through communion with nature,
will find peace and rest>--M. Barbour, in
Chicago Tribune.