Evening star., 1935-03-24

caused by this inner ndpplIleSS, Ii
has always intended it should.
When we Americans wake up to the
fact that we have mountains and
seashores. forests and cliffs, lakes.
streams and waterfalls, fish, birds and
animal life of all kinds within easy
reach, only then will they appreciate
to the fullest extent what nature has
given us in this land OF ours. The
fifty-five million people arrived at the
parks by train, automobile, horseback
and afoot, all depending on the dis
tance from which they came. They
STAYED at de luxe hotels, modest lodges,
comfortable cabins, automobile camps
or tents, suiting their taste to their
purses.
Youth and old age meet on COM
mon ground in our national parks.
The youngest visitor on record was a
baby who first saw the light of day
while its young mother was on her
first vacation to a national park.
There are always medical men and
nurses in attendance at the parks dur
ing the season and even an emergency
like this can we'll be taken care OF.
BY contrast, last year a soldier. who
fought in the battle of Gettysburg and
who visits one of the national parks
every wear, spent his 91st birthday in
Yellowstone Park and said he intended
to visit another park in 1885.
Presidents and royalty have en-
ioyed the glories of Americas national
parks. It was perfectly natural for
Scandinavian King to crawl through
the underbrush on his hands and
knees in order to photograph herd
of mountain sheep.
We feed the pigeons and squirrels
In our city parks but few of us have
ever had the thrill Of feeding the deer
and the bear. In our parks, these
wild animals have learned that man Is
their friend Can you visualize motor
ing through a park and seeing
mother bear and her cubs calmly
sauntering along the road ahead of
you, confident that she and her fam
lily will be perfectly safe?
7 EFT us pick at random one Of the
- parks to visit. We toss coin to
tcC AlllCIl Ol1C ~ I'D W bOS anu OIL All
dian head comes up. Well, that could
mean almost any park, as Indian his
tory is connected with all of them.
AS legend has it, one of the chiefs
of the Blackfeet is the head on our
American nickel and inasmuch as
the Blackfeet signify Glacier Park.
let us make our first call there.
When a fur trapper, back in 1886,
reported to the Governor of Washing
ton Territory what his eyes had be-
held from the shores of st. Marys, the
Governor sent engineers to find the
pass which Little Dog. chief of the
Blackfeet Indians, had described to
him.
This park became Glacier Ma
tional Park in name in 1910. but pre-
vious to that it was known to the tribe
of the Blackfeet as Land of Shining
Mountains"
We have before us 60 shining gla-
ciers and $50 Shimmering lakes on
either side of the Great Divide. Gla-
cier Park is an accident caused by the
upheaval of limestone ages before the
Rockies came into existence. Among
these shining peaks are more than
1000 elk, 1000 goats and 1000 beauti-
full white-tailed deer.
We cross the Continental Divide on
q highway which took 10 years to
build. In 1884, when this road was
opened formally. the Indians dressed
in full regalia, set up their tepees in
a colorful background and staged
such q strange ceremony that the
5000 visitors who witnessed it asked
that it become an annual feature.
The Indians delight in featuring the
pow-wow and endeavor to do all pos
sible to entertain the "pale-face."
I EFT us spend an evening at a camp
fire circle. If you have never
experienced this thrill, trip to a
park would be worth while for this
purpose alone. Imagine. if you will,
1000 or more people gathered around
q huge campfire. The stars and moon
form the roof over their heads, while
singing trees in the distance encircle
but do not confine their thoughts.
The lady from Maine expresses her
views to the rancher from Texas,
while the girl from the peach country
of Georgia chats with the boy from
the spruce country of Oregon. There,
around the fire, is the oldest social
gathering in the world, and a natural