, 1903-01-15
Government AID.
nc Protection Of Reserves and Re-For-
esting of Land is Going Forward Slow.
" but Surely.

Despite the bitter opposition of
oheepmen and parties who are
1gin the government" the set
tfhg aside of tracts of land in our
mpuntains and the re-foresting of
fge areas which have been burn
81 over or otherwise destroyed is
ling carried ahead quietly and
rely.
To the mar who has had to sit
duietly back and see the devasta-
ton wrought by fires and i'm
mense bands of sheep in our mag
ni6cent forests, during the past
few years, the action the govern
ment is taking is an intense relief.
II has been a prevalent idea that
our mountains were inexhaustable,
That it would be an utter impos-
sibility to destroy the thousands
and thousands of acres of valuable
Timber which grew on their sides,
but the slow and entire destruc-
tion of all underbrush and young
frees by sheep, and the immense
areas of large timber burned over
in the past few years by fires, has
bot only proved that they can be
Destroyed, but has demonstrated
The fact that it would only take a
Few o years like the past three,
TO destroy them.
If you wish to take a trip into
The mountains during the most
Sfertile months of summer, you
must take hay to feed your horses,
$for there is no feed. And you
must be acquainted with the few
springs that are left on the noun
tains or you will likely have to
spend the night without water
Ten years ago you could have
found any quantity of grass
and innumerable little springs of
the purest mountain water. Those
who are opposed to reserves and
in favor of allowing the sheep i'll
the mountains say THE is the
natural change in the country,
that the sheep are no more to
q blame for this wholesale ruin than
are the cattle or horses, and this
may seem plausible, but if you
will 20 into the Snake river coun-
try across the line into Routt
county, Colorado, where sheep are
not allowed, you will see the diff
ference. That country is identi-
cal with this, but thousands of
cattle range there, while thousands
of sheep range here, and there
you will find feed and water in
abundance.
There is a road built from
Steamboat Springs, Colo, over
the Continental Divide into the
upper end of North Park. This
rord is built for a distance of Il
miles with but one or two places
IN it where there is a DOWN. hill
slope-that is if you are going to
the top from Steamboat Springs
and these are very short. The
n grade is gradual however, and il
is one of the best mountain roads
in this country. Within tive
miles from Steamboat, the noun.
tains are a meadow the entire
Il distance 10 the top, with grass
knee deep to a horse nearly ali
the way There are springs and
little streams, literally every hall
mile, from one side of the Divide
to the foot of the other, and OF
the top are a number Of beautiful.
little lakes.
The contrast between the
mountains there, and the very
same range 80 miles this side i,
too great for any sane man tt
overlook. If these mountain,
have naturally degenerated why
haven't those done the same
when they have practically tn,
same altitude and same climati,
conditions? The Sierra Madr,
here presented the same appear
ance 10 years ago as these Color
ado mountains do now.
If we want to preserve and re
forest our mountains as they were
ten years ago a halt should b,
called: and the only means of pro