The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-10-17
The New Yosemite in the Heart
of the Rockies.
WEALTH OF SCENIC BEAUTY
Nineteen Peaks Around the Wonderful
Body OF Water-Fish and Game
Abound-Waterfalls Which
Drop Thousand Feet.


aid, and returned with enthusiastic ac-
counts of the wonders and beauties
Of that country. The new wonder
land is attracting attention outside the
state. John H. Edwards of New York
writes the following glowing account
and description of what he calls the
New Yosemite in the heart Of the
Rockies for the New York Observer:
In the very heart of the Rockies of
Northern Montana, surrounded by
mountain peaks and ranges in bewil-
dering variety Of form, lies beautiful
Lake Mcdonald. Not quite SO large
as Yellowstone lake. it surpasses that
loftiest Of American mountain lakes OF
| approximate size in near grandeur OF
scenery. Nineteen peaks shoot sky
ward along it's emerald shores or with
| in easy eyeshot. Snow and glacier ice
rest upon some Of their submits and
| shoulders throughout the year. The
| editor of Forest and Stream says of it:
There is every scenic beauty here of
an Alpine lake, with a far greater
choice Of game and fish" II DR.. Van
Dyke of New York would cast his TAX
ing fly in these nearby waters, and
then cast his irresistible literary hook
amid the endless beauties Of nature in
| ILLS ldVOieu IeSlOI, Ills double CdLCH
| would furnish forth a two-fold feast
| of choicest quality.
1t would be hopeless task for any
! less gifted pen to attempt a descrip-
ton Of the noble scenery hid away in
this mountain wilderness The pro-
found blue Of the stainless sky. the
manifold green of the dense forests that
environ the lake and march UP the
steep flank Of the mountains to the
vertical height Of half mile above
it's perfect mirror, that reflects every
fine needle and also photographs on
it's steely plate another half mile Of
rock and snow towering above the
frost line, and then are the rich sun
set hues thrown upon peak and gla-
| cier-all these seen twice, in reality
and by reflection. The rare coloring
here lavished on heights and depths is
worth a long journey to see.
| Fish and game abound for experts
with rod and gun who will follow them
| to their haunts. The cold water Of
streams that are born of the melting
snow and ice of the upper ranges pro-
duce trout of solid sweetness and fin
est grain. Twelve miles of bride path
take one to Avalanche basin, a deep
recess shut in between a horseshoe
| sweep of granite cliffs that rise $500
feet above the turquoise lakelet in it's
| center, while all around the mountains
| lift their proud heads to the height
| of two miles, more or less, above sea
level Half a score of white streamlets
| leap over the edge of the curvng prec-
| ipice, and drop clear 1000 feet upon
the shelving detritus below, over which
they slide and jump in broken lines
of foam down into the deep green wat
ers of the lake. One is reminded of
Jean Paul's imagery of a mirror up
held by snowy ribbons, when he was
writing of German lakelet among the
hills.
| These rivulets and lakes are all fed
! by the melting glacier above. This
neighborhood furnishes the best oppor-
tunity to study living and dying gla-,
ciers to be found within our national
boundaries, Alaska excepted. John
| Muir, the king of Western naturalists,
whose name is borne by the finest of
| Alaska glaciers. has written in ardent
/ appreciation of the region we are de-
scribing. Thirty-three hundred feet
| above Lake Mcdonald, $500 above sea
| level, is Glacier Camp. seven miles
| from Hotel Glacier at the head of the
| lake. From this fine camping place
an hours climb leads to Sperry glacier,
named after the indefatigable explorer
and popular lecturer, Prof. Lyman B.
Sperry of Oberlin. He has spent eight
| summer vacations here and knows the
places round about better probably
| than any other person. The serrated
| edge of this interesting ice formation
measures in width over two miles, and
| from its upper edge to the end of the
| longest finger is a stretch of five miles
| of blue ice. At one time this ice sheet
| extended a mile further down and
plunged over the abrupt precipice that
| walls in Avalanche basin. It's deserted
track furnishes to-day an open page
| Whereon the process of glacial erosion
and deposit may be studied even more
plainly and instructively than in the
Gays or ITS greatest extent. Nearly
every glacial phenomenon described in
the books, it is said, may be found
Illustrated in this unique body of ice
A dozen true glaciers, large and
small, are found hereabout within
reach of good climbers. Some of them
nave been seen, but not conquered.
The Grinnell glacier. few miles north
of the basin, starts from the edge
| called the Crown of the Continent,
from which the melted ice flows east
ward towards two oceans. Several
miles northwest of this glacier lone
may see cleaning in the sunlight whole
| mountain sides of red jasper quartzites
protruding through the vast area of
| forest green" Not far away is the
| second largest ice sheet of the region,
named after Professor CLANCY of
| Carleton college. Minnesota, who has
once or twice accompanied Professor
| Sperry in his explorations. It's LIQUID
| surplus forces it's turbid way into the
| clear waters of a mountain lake half
vertical mile below. About a mile
distant Summit lake lies ensconced
upon rocky terrace. 5000 feet above
the sea. Crescent glacier embraces it
in part, sending out upon it's surface
in summer a white squadron of minia-
ture icebergs. Baby glacier, a mile
to the north. drops an occasional ava
lanche of ice over a precipice to be
dashed to fragments upon the rocks a
thousand feet beneath.
A chain of five tiny lakes trends
| north and east in narrow valley be-
tween crowding mountains. One pre-
cipitous cliff rises skyward $500 feet,
far higher than any of the titanic
mountain fronts about the Yosemite
valley. Its base line rests upon an
other abrupt descent of rock measur-
ing nearly half a mile vertically to
the stream below
All these remarkable science feat