Wilderness Reserves 



were Rocky Mountain hermits — the appropriate 

 choir for such a place of worship. Next day we 

 went by trail through the woods, seeing some deer 

 — which were not wild — as well as mountain quail 

 and blue grouse. In the afternoon we struck 

 snow, and had considerable difficulty in breaking 

 our own trails. A snow storm came on toward 

 evening, but we kept warm and comfortable in a 

 grove of the splendid silver firs — rightly named 

 magnificent, near the brink of the wonderful 

 Yosemite Valley. Next day we clambered down 

 into it and at nightfall camped in its bottom, 

 facing the giant cliffs over which the waterfalls 

 thundered. 



Surely our people do' not understand even yet 

 the rich heritage that is theirs. There can be noth- 

 ing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, 

 its groves of giant sequoias and redwoods, the 

 Canon of the Colorado, the Canon of the Yel- 

 lowstone, the three Tetons; and the representa- 

 tives of the people should see to it that they are 

 preserved for the people forever, with their 

 majestic beauty all unmarred. 



Theodore Roosevelt. 



51 



