New-York tribune., 1922-04-23

Tie automobile brought the magnificent rarlt
roads from West Yellowstone to The loop"
a. Madison Junction, around the loop through
Old Faithful, me Lake, Canyon, Camp Roose-
velc, Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris Basin,
from the loop at Lake over Sylvan Pass to
Cody, and from Thumb station 10 the South
Entrance and Jacksons Hole
With the construction Of good roads came
The tourists driving their own cars, a few at
Hrst, then in greater numbers, until last year
they were numbered by thousands, with every
known make Of car represented. To make the
movement Of traffic safe it is handled in but
one direction At time, some Of the roads being
permanently one-way and or others movement
being allowed in different directions at diff
ferent hours. With the traffic regulations have
come that symbol Of modernity. the motor cops.
smart young rangers mounted not on horse
back as Of old, but on fast nlotorbihes, and
woe 10 the driver who doesn't Play fair,
But with all Of the changes this modern de-
mand for the outdoors has brought 10 Yellow
stone they have been handled by the National
Parks Service with the ercatest IF delicacy, SO
that the park may never he tainted By art:-
hciality, become "rescrty,' or loae lis id
time lure.
The newer structures, Old Faithful Inn. ne
hotel and camp at the Grand Canyon, the lake
loop and camp, Camp Roosevelt, the ranger
stations and new community houses ct the
places set aside for automobile camping par
ties, are all gems of rustic log architecture,
made to enhance rather than 10 detract from
The spirit Of the wilderness. With few excep~
tions the wonders Of the park lie unchanged,
as Brdger, Washburn, Langford and their
compatriots first saw them.
An interesting basis of comparison Of the
geysers, falls and other wonders as they were
when the park was created and as they are
to-day is given by Mr.. Langford's diary OF the
Washburn expedition as published in his book,
The Discovery Of Yellowstone Park \ few
OF the geysers they saw have died down and
some Others have burst forth. Most Of them
are roaring forth on schedule time just as
they aid fifty years ago. Il jhe spirits OF
Brdger and the old explorers can come back
to help celebrate the anniversary they will
ind little to show them the passage of time.
The huge Excelsior Geyser in the lower
basin no longer spoUts, but lies as q huge boil
ing lake in its deep crater. The great mud
geyser near the Thumb, described by Lang
ford, has somewhat diminished in force of
eruption, but. on the other hand, the Giantess,
near Old Faithful, which the Washburn party
found with the water level deep down IN its
crater, now lies between eruptions with its
crystal clear emerald green pool level with
the surface Of the formation, and at Mammoth
Springs the gigantic formations have grown
perceptby since that day.
So. after al, it IS the same old Yellowstone
spirit that the parks golden year viii see.
There are few new phrases in the quaint
Yellowstone vocabulary, but those who trave
through are still ''dudes,' although the drivers
OF the busses are now gear tanners" Those
who work in the park are STILL as always,
"savages," and in the magnificent mountain
evenings romantic couples can still be found
s.rotten-ogging" The automobile campers
brought new term, however. as they are
known in the Yellowstone as "sage-brushers,"
and among the college girls who books
and tuition as Mattresses and tanC girls in the
camps the tormer are "heavers." the latter
''bedbugs' and those VINO wash the dishes
divers" The college boy porters at the
camps are still "pack-rats' And they al fol-
low in The steps Of the old-tme stage drivers
and regale the credulous ones among the dudes
with the same old Yellowstone tales.
Everything is still there, ard at the end Of
day Of strange experiences as you lie in your
tent at picturesque Camp Roosevelt and listen
to the bears erubbing around the kitchen door
for stray tdbt that might be lifted, or III
a great log bedstead among the modern con-
veniences of Old Faithful Inn, and hear the
mighty -O-O-O-OSH of Old Faithful YOU
realize that, even with fifty years gone by, is Is
the same old Yellowstone.