The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1911-04-15
SN0M 6HOE PARTY
AT
OBSlDlAN CLIFF

ana spikes tenpennics and shingles. had !
90 be heated on tho cook stoves before
the carpenters could handle them. Tho
reason for this haste was that the new
hotel had 10 bc finished In time for the !
summer season. whom the park is in /
It's brief period Of vcrdaut glory.
More people win go TO the yellow
stone National Park this year than ever /
before. In 1872. when the Federal Gov |
ernment dedicated IL "as a public park 1
or pleasure ground for the benefit and 4
enjoyment NJ the people" probably not |
more than a thousand persons a year /
were visiting Il. In the next twenty /
three years the number OF visitors |
climbed slowly 10 about 5000 annual /
Is. In 1895. tho authorities began /
counting the persons who entered the
Park, and complete records have been
kept ever since There were 5.43S vis-
itors in 1895. Ten years later the num-
bor had risen to 26.1sS. In 1906. #
dropped to 17172 The next year It
fell off nearly a thousand In 1903. the
total was 1s,74s. Then came the most
remarkable Increase in visitors that
the park ever has known. In 1909, there
were nearly twice as many (32,545) as
the year before. This was principally
due to the opening OF new railroad
gateway TO the parE-at Yellowstone.
Montara-which made it much easier
OF o. ess.
A Bit Of E. n. Harriman's Wizardry.
This came about through a visit that
the late F. II. Hartman made to the
Park In the summer of 1904 He was
so impressed by the wonders OF the
Park that he Immediately ordered the
location and construction OF a branch
from the oregon Short Line. a part OF
the Union Pacific system, TO tho west
ern border OF the Park. This road,
from Idaho Falls 10 Yellowstone. Mon
tana. twenty miles from the lower
| Geyser Basin. was finished Nov. 70,
| 1907, and was opened for traffic the
| following June. II is 107 miles long and
cost nearly s2000,O00. It's construction
called into play the greatest energy and
skill In the science Of railroad build
| ing.
owing to the deep SHOWS and severe
winters work could be carried on dur
/ ing only about four months Of the year
| But, In that brief season. vast army OF
! men and machines toiled night and
/ day The giant mountain barriers with
| thei~ deep valleys IN between had 70 be
/ conquered. That part of the earth
where the rails ran had to be remod-
! cled so as TO secure the safest and
easiest grades. Probably no railway.
/ where go many obstacles had 10 be
overcome. ever was built in so short a
/ time. But the largely increased num-
/ ber OF visitors 10 the Park has proved
that the new line Is fully appreciated,
or the more than 10000 who entered
the Park last year nearly half went by
this new Western Gateway that Mr.
/ Hartman created.
The government scouts who are guard
ians of the wild creatures are about
the only ones who ever sec much OF
the winter beauties Of the Park Those
who have been there any length OF
time have learned much that is new
about the habits OF the animals that
abound there, although they are chiefly
concerned In keeping poachers out OF
the park. There are fewer OF these
now than there used 10 he. because
heavier penalties have been laid by the
Government on those who are caught.
The few that do venture into the Park
mostly come IN winter Then there IS
less chance Of their being detected, but
more risk OF losing their lives in the
cold and snow. One thing more than
all others tempts them-the buffalo
Unscrupulous taxidermlsts will pay the
weight in silver for buffalo head
nowadays. for these heads are practi-
cally unattainable by legitimate means
The rest OF the wild creatures that
make their homes in the Park are sell
dom molested.
Poaehing In tho Deep Shows.
Il has been seventeen years since onr
~ these poachcrs after buffelo has
been caught, but he did so much dam
age before he was arrested that it hai
taken a long time TO make up for IL.
Early in March, 1894. a party was or
ganized at Fort Yellowstone for thu
purpose Of visiting the winter ranges
OF the game 20 ascertain the exac
number Of buffalo that still existed an,
to photograph them. The party trav'
eled on Norwegian snowshoes, viii
! packs Of sleeping bags, provisions anC
camera, directly to Hayden Valley via
Norris and the Grand Canyon. They
, found eighty-one buffalo I'm the valley
together with numerous small groupi
) OF elk aggregating more than 300.