New-York tribune., 1912-02-18

wonders of the Yellowstone the 1osem-
ite and the Grand Canyon of the Colo-
RADIO, of the giant trees of California
the Garden of the Gods, the petrlhed
forests of Arizona--we all know OF them'
hut we do not, we can not, realize them'
uyless we see them. And we are all 100
likely TO exaggerate the distances that
separate us from them and the diffl-
cuties and discomfOrts of reaching
them. Therefore however good our IN
tentions however sincere our resolution
TO go to see and marvel ourselves some
day we keep on going to Europe IN
stead or to conventional resorts
nearer home. Mr. Murphy makes ligft
of the much discussed drawbacks of our
climate for holiday travelling-the eA-
cessive heats of summer, the numbing
colds of winter-and the general una
availability, from the business point OF
view. of our autumns for sightseeing
purposes. Where there is a will there
is a way. And as for the transporta-
ton facilities, he found them more than
while hotels and cuisine, especially in
the Yellowstone left nothing to be de-
sired. A stimulating book, this, likely
TO fulfil its purpose, at least in some
measure.
Modestly disclaimng the gift Of elo-
quence, Mr.. Murphy yet describes well
in a straightforward, convincing man
IL l.; -, h
opinion, he draws upon John Muir,
whose writings. he says. first awakened
his desire to go to see for himself, hut,
he adds, it was Thomas Morans well
known paintings, with their amazing
effects of color and atmosphere, that
really decided him. A useful and at the
same time romantic feature of his book
are his brief accounts Of the advent Of
the first white men TO these magic,
majestic gardens within our domain.
The Grand Canyon was first discovered
by Francisco VasqueZ de Coronado in
1540, but the wonder stories told by
him and his band were disbeleved and
allowed TO fade into a vague tradition.
A Spanish priest wandered thither again
in 1776, but ii was not until nearly
century later that the first official eX-
pedition was sent TO the canyon under
command of Lieutenant Ives, in 1857.
The exploration of the Colorado by
Major John Wesley Powell in rowboats
followed twelve years later. The earliest
mention of the Yellowstone is found in
the narratives of John Golfer, who was
a member Of the Lewis and Clark ex-
pedition in 1906. The Indians, no doubt
knew it. and perhaps even visited it. but
there is ample evidence that they looked
upon IL and its natural wonders with
superstitious fear and avoided 1t. Golfers
story of his escape from Indians and of
his wanderings, stark naked, among
steaping pools. boiling geysers and
seething cauldrons was received with as
much incredulity as were Coronado's
tales. Golfers He'll was the derisive
name which his doubling contemporaries
gave to the region discovered by the
trapper. A party of scouts in pursuit of
hostile Indians were the first white men
known to have entered the Yosemite
Valley, in 1S49, but it was not explored
until the following year by an expedition
under DR.. Bunnell. In fact, il was the
continued depredations of the Yellow
stone Indians that led TO repeated ex-
plorations of their territory. The dis
covery of the Mariposa Grove in 1857 by
Mr.. Galen Clark is sufficiently well
known, as is the far more recent date of
the finding of the petrifed forests of
Arizona.
Mr. Murphy's enthusiasm does not
stop here. however, but embraces Pixies
Peak. Mount Rainier and the Mountain
OF the Cross as well. He wanders among
the missions of California, and ventures
into Mexico and the Canadian North
west. His is not a guide-book, although
he lays out routes on the spot in most
OF the places visited, but it is an ex-
cellent preparation for any or all of
these trips, a helpful companion on the
way, and an informing book to read at
home. The reproductions in full colors
Of Moran's paintings add greatly 10 its
value.
Mr. Thomas Carson was a rolling
stone from England who stayed long
enough in the West to live it's ranch
life in the good old days. and TO gather
considerable moss as a speculator in