452 



Canadian Forestry Journal, November, 1919 



ever, and when the matter was finally put to a 

 vote, it carried by a good majority. 



GROVES OF MAPLE, ELM AND OAK. 



In the few years that have passed since the 

 voting of the bond issue a series of woodland 

 tracts surrounding the city has been purchased 

 and opened to the public comprising in all near- 

 ly 15,000 acres, while other tracts are being 

 added from time to time, the plan calling for 

 the ultimate ownership of about 30,000 acres. 

 To date it is estimated that $3,000,000 has been 

 paid out on this project. 



There are at present 16 separate tracts sel- 

 ected from the finest sections of forested land, 

 along river and creek courses, to be found in 

 northern Illinois, and they have been chosen 

 with careful discrimination. They include many 

 of the historic spots in Cook County, for though 

 Chicago and Illinois are young, the county is 

 nevertheless teeming with romantic tradition 

 and most thrilling history. The tracts are heav- 

 ily wooded and include remarkably fine maple, 

 ejm and oak groves, and numerous wonderful 

 old trees. Some of the maples in particular 

 are said to be from 700 to 1 ,000 years old. Old 

 Indian burial grounds, relics of a flint chipping 

 station, the old home of Billy Caldwell, or 

 "Sauganash," the famous half-breed Indian 

 chief, and friend of the early settlers; dim In- 

 dian trails, the site of an ancient Indian fort, 

 a gealogical hunting ground of world wide fame 

 along the Sag, bubbling springs, tamarack 

 swamps, swallow cliffs, one century-old log 

 cabin, eight acres of hawthorn and wild crab 

 apple trees, an old stage coach tavern, and one 

 or two quaint old churches lend picturesque var- 

 iety and romantic interest to the winding trails 

 through the preserve. 



FLOWER AND BIRD PARADISE. 



The boundaries are exceedingly irregular, 

 and the tracts are quite detached from one 

 another in most cases, because they are so sel- 

 ected as to include everything of interest, even 

 an isolated old oak or elm of unusual size and 

 beauty and not to include any uninteresting 

 stretches. 



Wild flower and bird paradise it is indeed 

 throughout the early spring days, and the great 

 populace of Chicago has discovered and is using 

 this great beautiful picnic ground in the way 

 it should. 



This has been attained partly by the educa- 

 tional work of the daily press which has been 

 championing the wild flower and the forest tree 



of late and has done much to teach many a 

 misguided lover of nature to "love the wild 

 rose and leave it on its stem." 



But more than this is needed to preserve the 

 beauties of this series of forest tracts for future 

 generations. Severe penalties are awarded 

 those caught picking flowers and leaves, and 

 fires are absolutely prohibited except in the 

 places provided for them and then only by 

 permission of the foresters. 



Boy Scouts and the Camp Fire Girls have 

 found t he preserves an ideal camping ground, 

 and as wells are to be dug and more good high- 

 ways added the advantages of the woods for 

 camping purposes will be greatly increased. 

 Fire pits are provided at frequent intervals in 

 open spaces throughout the preserves. Good 

 auto roads run through all of the tracts and all 

 are within fairly easy reach from electric and 

 steam lines at reasonable fares. Picnic grounds 

 with tables are provided in cleared spaces, and 

 baseball, golf and tennis grounds, in the larger 

 tracts. Comfort stations, parking spaces for 

 autos, dancing pavilions, etc., are to be found 

 at intervals, usually at the main entrances to 

 the various sections. 



MANAGED BY A FORESTER. 



The entire preserve is divided into eight dis- 

 tricts and a District Forester with a staff of care- 

 takers is in charge of each. The public is 

 meant to use this wonderful playground to the 

 utmost and to get full benefit from it, and for 

 its own good is prevented by stringent laws and 

 vigilant guards from abusing the privileges. 



There are several interesting streams flowing 

 through the preserves; the Des Plaines, the his- 

 toric highway by which Joliet, Marquette, La 

 Salle, and their followers reached central Il- 

 linois; the Chicago, which to the north is left 

 to its old natural meanderings through beautiful 

 woodland stretches, though to the south it has 

 become a highly commercialized stream; the 

 mystical little Skokie, long but narrow ribbon of 

 water with its flower-covered marshes; Salt 

 Creek, which the Indians called "Beautiful Little 

 River," the Sag, the Calumet, and the Du- 

 Page, the two last just touching the edges of 

 the preserve. 



It is the proud boast of the Board of Forest 

 Commissioners that every penny of the tax- 

 payers' money was used to pay for land, and 

 that by exercising reasonable economy the gen- 

 eral administration expenses have been kept 

 down to less than three per cent of the budget. 



