322 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the 'State House' a pleasant relief from the more or less crude com- 

 forts of camp life. The charges, too, were extremely reasonable. 



With the restriction upon hunting already mentioned, visitors are 

 free and welcome to use the park as their own; and, barring the dis- 

 comfort of the long, rough ride from Park Eapids, and the size, ac- 

 tivity and voracity of the mosquitoes that swarm there in summer, it 

 would not be easy to find a more delightful and satisfying place for an 

 outing. The beauties of woodland, lake and stream, the pure air that 

 blows always in the pine forests, the opportunities for boating, fishing 

 and exploring, and above all its absolute retirement and out-of-the- 

 worldness, commend it alike to sportsman and the mere seeker for 

 change and rest. Of the natural attraction of the valley one has 

 written: ''The multitude of clear little gems of lakes, embowered in 

 picturesque hills, Lake Itasca itself a most lovely sheet of water, and 

 especially the grand stretch of virgin forest, mark the park as a chosen 

 corner of Nature's great garden." No less enthusiastic was School- 

 craft, who exclaims : ' ' On reaching the summit our wish was gratified. 

 At a depression of perhaps one hundred feet below, cradled among the 

 hills, the lake spread out its elongated volume, presenting a scene of 

 no common picturesqueness. . . . (It is) one of the most tranquil 

 and pure sheets of water it is possible to conceive." Having had his 

 first view of Itasca from almost the same spot the present writer can 

 testify that the description is not overdrawn. Amid such scenes, with 

 cold springs and grassy, well shaded campgrounds galore, and an 

 abundance of fallen wood for fuel, one is in a veritable campers' 

 paradise. 



Utility and sentiment alike endorse the efforts made and making 

 to save this valley from the lumber vandal. While many have lent 

 their aid, the success thus far attained is due in large measure to the 

 efforts of Hon. J. V. Brower, of St. Paul, who has not spared speech 

 nor pen, time nor personal means in his endeavor to arouse the people 

 and their representatives to a sense of what the loss of it would mean. 

 His book on the source of the Mississippi and his large-scale map of 

 the park, showing every detail most accurately, are recognized as 

 authorities on the subject. His study of prehistoric remains on the 

 upper Mississippi is by no means the least interesting part of his work. 



The idea certainly is worthy of the great state which is carrying it 

 out and of the sympathy and support of all who take pride in the 

 natural wonders and beauties of our country. New York has made 

 Niagara free; Minnesota is defending the Itasca basin from disfigure- 

 ment and spoliation. 



