Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1911-08-02

of tourists who apparently have
A no knowledge of the great ma
tional parks which have been
created by congress for the benefit
of the people and in which there are
natural features and views that can
not be surpassed.
If the traveller seeks Alpine glaciers
he has only to go to the Glacier Ma
tional Park, where there are more
glaciers in the same area than in
Switzerland; if he desires to travel In
comfort over finely built roads that
rival those Of France. Switzerland and
Germany, the Yellowstone Park ex-
tends its invitation to him.
If he is attracted to Europe by the
mystery of the Black Forest, he can
find more majestic and impressive
forests on the slopes of the Sierra Ne
vada, in the Yosemite, Sequoia and
General Grant perks. If his thoughts
turn to the clear blue lakes Of Swift
zerland, he can find their counterparts
in the Glacier and Crater lake national
parks.
Should he be anxious to risk his
life in scaling snow-clad peaks, he has
only to repair to Mount Rainier in
Washington, whose steep slopes and
ice-covered top will furnish sport ex-
citing enough for the most daring of
mountaineers. If he is interested in
the ruins of prehistoric people. the
Casa Grande ruin in Arizona and the
Mesa Verde National Park in Colora-
do will show him how the aboriginal
inhabitants of America lived hundreds
of years before its discovery by Euro
peans.
Yellowstone Is Best Known.
The Yellowstone National Park in
northwestern Wyoming is the Oldest
and the best known of all the parks
and reservations 1t was created ty
an act OF congress in 1872. and ever
since that time the government has
been constructing roads and cutting
trails, until now the park is in high
state of development and all parts Of
it are accessible to the traveller.
In the park may be seen natural
phenomena the like of which is found
nowhere else in the world. Here are
guysers that throw jets of steam and
hot water into the air. great terraces
formed from deposits Of mineral mat
ter in the water thrown up by the
geysers. and the great falls of Yel-
lowstone river which traverses beau.
tful multi-colored canyon that is sec
oId only to the Grand Canyon of the
Colorado.
In this park may be seen the dee-.
the beEr the antelope and the bison
on theiN native range. because hunt
ing is pl ohibited and the bands of
deer and antelope roam through the
valleys and over the slopes as they
did years before they were practically
exterminated in the greater part of
the west.
The Glacier National Park in north
ern Montana on the Canadian border
is the newest of the parks controlled
by the federal government This park
has an area of about $4,000 acres and
has a maximum length of sixty miles.
Yosemite in Glass by Itself.
When one speaks of California the
Yosemite Park naturally comes to
mind. AS long ago as 1864 an act
of congress granted the Yosemite val
ley and the Mariposa big tree grove
to the State of California for public
use and recreation. The legislature
of California by the act approved
March 8, 1905, re-ceded the jurisdic-
ton and ownership of this tract to
the United States, and only since June
IL. 1906. has the management of the
Yosemite National Park been under
the control of the federal government.
The entire park has an area OF
about Sc by 40 miles. The Yosemite
valley, which is the most frequently
visited place is about z miles long
and q mile wide In the center of
ttis valley is a level, parkl.ke mead
ow, through which runs the Merced
river, while on either side the noun
tains rise steep and precipitous to
height of 1000 feet above the floor of
te valley.
Numerous streams drop from the
euge of the cliff to the valley below.
The first OF these as the tourist en-
tiers the valley is the Bridal Veil Falls.
A stream fully thirty feet wide falls
a distance of 900 feet, then rushes
over sloping pile OF debris. and then
drops perpendicularly 300 feet more.
The great waterfall in this park.
however. is the Yosemite Falls. This
is stream thirty-fiye feet wide. and
in the spring and early summer when
the snow is melting upon the high
Sierra it's roar can be heard all over
the valley, and the shock of the de-
scent rattles the windows mile away.
This fall is conceded by all critics
to be one of the most wonderful and
beautiful cascades in the world. Its
first fall is about 1,600 feet sheer
drop, then come series OF cascades
partly hidden in which the fall is over
900 feet, and finally a vertical drop
of 400 feet.
From the cliffs surrounding the val
ley the scene is one of remarkable