The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1916-09-08
GOVERNMENT PORTFOLIO
OF THE NATIONAL PARKS

The government is taking the lead
in the "See America First" philos-
ophy and making 1t more than ever
feasible and attractive to all sorts OF
people. The railroads, partly for
good business reasons and partly
thru the American spirit Of coop
Grafton, are offering special rates for
summer tourists, so that there are
but few citizens of any means but
can get about and see some OF their
own native scenery. By the national
park system certain areas are pro-
tected in their original wild state as
Fairgrounds for the people who will
take advantage of them. But not
stopping at merely providing the
natural reserves, the Department or
the Interior engages in an active
campaign to keep up popular inter-
est in the parks. The latest series
of booklets, the National Park Port
folio, shows how far the department
will 20 in beautiful advertisement.
they are distributed thru the n
tors and representatives.
The portfolio contains booklets on
nine western national parks, filled
with the most striking photographs
that could be collected, and interest
ing information about each one.
These nine reserves compose alto
gether an immense area, over 1000
square miles, left perpetually free of
approach of the dulling effects OF
civilization, yet cultivated in their
very freedom and made comfortable
without losing picturesqueness.
Hot Springs reservation was the
first national park. 1t is in middle
Arkansas and contains hot springs
Of curative, properties and many
luxurious hotels. Next came the yell
lowstone, the most famous Of them
all and also the largest. In wilder
ness alone it offers more than 5000
square miles. It's geysers and boil
ing springs, rugged canyons, peculiar
formations and colorings, are long
the talk Of those who have been for
tunate enough to have made the trip.
Yellowstone wa created a national
park in 1872. There were no more
until 1889, when the sight Of an all
enveloping settlement of the west
seemed to awaken in the far seeing
men q desire to set aside the most
attractive spots to remain unmolest-
ed camping grounds for the public
in years to come. So four parks were
created at about the same time,
Mount Rainier, in Washington state,
near the famous mountain; the Yo-
semitic, General Grant and Sequoia,
all in middle eastern California. In
1902 came Crater Lake, in south
western Oregon, the lake called by
joaquin Miller, "The Sea of Silence"
1t is formed in the crater of a noun
tain that fell into itself" many years
ago. The Mesa Verde, Plat, Glacier
and Rocky Mountain parks came be-
tween 1905 and 1915. The Mesa
Verde is a region in southwestern
Colorado inclosing several of those
weird southern canyons, home OF the
prehistoric cliff jewellers, and within
the reserve are some of the best pre-
served of such dwellings in the
world. One does not soon forget the
sensation that comes to him standing
in the midst of these long unknown
ruins of homes, once peopled by
strange beings that can scarcely be
pictured, whom we call cliff dwell
ers." Looking upon their child-llke
contrivances for comfort, their grace
full little ~honey-comb habitations
chinked in under steep overhanglng
cliffs, one feels that a great heritage
OF time has come down to him. The
cliff dwellings are the only American
relic of remote ages and they have
been so recently discovered that the
world has not yet walked to their
quaint wonders. More are being dis
covered ever today.
The Glacier National park is near.
er home, in northwestern Montana
and presents to the tourist mighty
glaciers and deep lakes such as he
may only see the equal Of in Switzer-
land and Italy. The Rocky Mountain
park is in north-middle Colorado,
and contains some of the most rug
ged mountains in the west, some
good hotels, lakes and glaciers.
One of the best known and least
visited of American scenic points is
the Grand Canyon of the Colorado
river in Arizona. In describing what
NAV be seen there all great word
artists have fallen almost fiat; realiz-
ing how futile to try they have used
their most effective adjectives in a
half-hearted way-or so it seems to
the fortunate ones who have them
selves set eyes on that dizzy pana-
rama. The impression will never mt
into words, but it will always haunt
n and make him deliver meaning
less word-pictures of it.
But writing and telling OF these
natural gifts will in time raise the
stock of American scenery at least
to par with European wonders, Alps
and all. In most of these home parks
are marks of the most recent of all
mountaineering. Some Of them
the hand of the Creator seems just
to have left. But even the most re-
cent is older than men know. In
the Sequoia park, however, stand
trees that sprouted up about the time
Solomon was tapping rocks for
springs in Palestine and leading his
bretheren to Canaan.
The Department of the Interior Is
doing a far reaching good work. 1t
makes better citizens Of people to let
them see what their country is made
of hooiaoo formS and SkvScranarS.