THE SWITZERLANDS IN AMERICA 



857 



tains blood red with peaks of fire, scene 

 shifted as if by the gods of some great 

 amphitheatre — these are the character- 

 istics of the Painted Desert and Grand 

 Canyon. 



The South is, perhaps, the better 

 region for invaUds and those who must 

 have a quiet hoUday. Don't imagine 

 the Desert is a thing of sand dunes and 

 red mountains. It is that and more. 

 Grand Canyon is 200 miles long. In it 

 lie ranges high as the Canadian Rockies 

 and a river tempestuous as the Colum- 

 bia. The Desert, too, has its mountains, 

 and its areas of petrified forests — huge 

 sequoias turned to agate and onyx by 

 the centuries' wash — and its prehistoric 

 cities and caves. At the 7,000 foot level 

 in the Desert are the yellow pine forests 

 • — God's own hand-made parks, clear 

 of under brush as a garden, tall, towering 

 trees all free of under branching, liter- 

 ally surcharging the atmosphere with 

 steam of resin. This resin atmosphere 

 is of itself sheer healing to weak lungs, 

 though a care must be taken of the 

 altitude for weak hearts. 



How to do it — that is the point! 

 Fare West and back by train is much 

 the same as fare across the ocean and 

 back. If you want to see the mountains 

 at closer range than through hotel 

 windows, how are you to do it? 



Forest supervisors can send you to 

 little inns higher up the mountains, 

 where you can live at $1 to $2 a day. 

 Local outfitters will supply you with 

 tent and camp outfit and horses for 



$4 to $5 a day; or if you buy your 

 own horse and tent, you can cater for 

 yourself; and this runs about $10 each 

 a month, if you have a careful cook. 



Two or three points should be empha- 

 sized : 



Do not go into the Desert without a 

 guide ; for the Desert is more dangerous 

 than a glacier. A dust storm may wipe 

 out all sign of trail ; and lack of water is 

 more perilous than ice or snow. 



In the heavy forests of the North do 

 not venture new groimd without a 

 guide. You may think you can keep 

 the compass, or find your way out by 

 following sunlight and stream. What 

 if a fog shut out sunlight, and the 

 stream loses itself in a gorge you can't 

 follow? What if you break your leg? 

 I have known of mountaineers, who do 

 not tell about it, reduced to killing their 

 horses for food in such emergencies ; and 

 pleasure seekers do not go out seeking 

 emergencies. 



Two more points: dress warmly; for 

 the nights are cold even in the Desert. 

 Dress very warmly. Next — officers say 

 that an army is just as efficient as, and 

 no more efficient than, its feet. To en- 

 joy roughing it, you must have boots 

 strong in the ankle, thick and pliable 

 in the sole, boxed enough in the toe to 

 protect the sides of the foot from 

 bruises. Go to the wilds \varmly dressed 

 and comfortably shod; and nature wall 

 do the rest with distilled sunbeams and 

 ozone and winds sent down from the 

 zenith of heaven ! 



Fire Losses Small 



Although there were an unusual number of forest fire.s on the national forests of Oregon and 

 Washington this year, the loss of merchantable timber has been relatively small. 



Wood for Aeroplane Propellers 



The propellers of aeroplanes such as arc used in tlic present European war may be made of 

 selected ash, which is both strong and light and will not split under viljration or shock, or of 

 built-up layers of spruce with mahogany centers. The framework of tlie machines, too, is generally 

 made of wood, spruce being much used on account of its straight grain and freedom from 

 defects. 



For Wood Preservation 



A surprisingly large number of substances, ranging all the way from the condensed fumes of 

 smelters to the skimmed milk of creameries, have been tried or suggested as means of preserving 

 wood from decay. Most of them, however, have been found to have little or no value for the 

 purpose. Certain forms of coal-tar creosote and zinc chloride are the most widely used wood 

 preservatives. 



