The Beauties of TIa-Ha-Tonka. 397 



iiilo TIa-Ilii-T()iik;i \•,\k^•. llic- lai'gcsl lake in Missouri. This lattxn- siir- 

 rouiids ail island of thirty acres or more, and flows on to Ila-Ha-Touka 

 river and then into the famous Niangua river, all of which are in the pro- 

 posed Ha-Ha-Tonka State Park. 



"It is stated by engineering experts that a flow of 360 feet per 

 second, or 31,000,000 cubic feet every hour, is estimated for Ha-IIa-Tonka 

 Spring. This can be made a considerable source of revenue, which will 

 gain in value as the natural power resources of Missouri become more 

 widely known. None of this power will be less appreciated if the disciple 

 of Izaak Walton should also enjoy the rare sport of fly or bait casting 

 on these same waters as his boat floats dow^n the crooked twists and turns 

 of the river to some point where, within less than a mile, the boat can 

 be again placed in the river at its starting point. The waters of Ha-Ha- 

 Tonka are particularly spoken of because of their extent and their beauti- 

 ful setting, but in many i)icturesque mountain vales and uplands there 

 are also natural springs throughout the grounds. Among other beauties 

 and wonders is a remarkable subterranean stream, which .has flowed for 

 centuries, formed along its course great caverns of white onyx, stalag- 

 mites and stalactites. These glittering formations compose the floor and 

 ceilings of retreats 200 feet wide or more, and a hundred feet high. A 

 chain of these unexplored caverns promises the greatest of interest to the 

 ordinary visitor as well as the scientist. 



"In early days, before the white man had placed his feet on these 

 wonderful premises, the North American Indians are said to have used 

 these grounds for their great gatherings. 



"Proceeding across a natural bridge in the park, which is 100 feet 

 in height, 80 feet in width and 50 feet in thickness and of sufficient 

 strength to permit a freight train to be hauled over it, if such were tried, 

 the visitor comes to an immense natural coliseum, protected on all sides 

 by solid walls 200 feet high, modeled and carved by the agencies of 

 nature. Here it would be possil)le for 50,000 persons to gather in this 

 great natural amphitheater for any purpose. A whispering dell, where 

 the smallest sound is audible, is another cause of wonderment to tlie 

 visitor. There is wild and fascinating scenery everywhere. It is said 

 that this wonderful tract of land was at one time urged as a National 

 park to be set aside by Congress. ' ' 



In July, 1908, the present Assistant Secretary of the ^lissouri State 

 Board of Agriculture visited Ha-Ha-Tonka with a party of friends, driv- 

 ing a distance of twenty-eight miles from Bagnell, terminus of the Jef- 

 ferson City and Bagnell branch of the ^lissouri Pacific railroad. Return- 

 ing, the party drove forty miles to Versailles, where ends the Boonville 



