586 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



indifference to the good advice of Government official-. 

 A- a matter of fact there is but one route over which the 

 ascent to the summit of Mount Rainier is possible, and 

 should one, fired with the valor of ignorance, attempt to 

 find another and lose his way there is no hope of getting 

 out. To many, the loss of lives of those who do not use 



A STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE 



Against the almost black of the heavily wooded slope in the middle distance the 

 now-clad range in the background makes a striking contrast. 



their intelligence in such cases, by taking the advice of 

 officials, is a matter of no moment, but to the Govern- 

 ment the fact that several lives have been lost to venture- 

 some but inexperienced climbers is a matter of serious- 

 ness. The danger of climbing Mount Rainier does not 

 lurk only in the problem of mountaineering, but also in 

 the weather conditions. At an altitude of from 10,000 

 to 14,000 feet the wind storms and snow storms are not 

 tempered to the " shorn lamb " and it is not unusual to 

 find a stretch of several days when the ascent to the 

 peak would l>e utterly impossible.. Should a mountaineer 

 be caught in some of the heavy snow storms there would 

 be no possible opportunity of coming out alive, and if he 

 were to encounter one of the fierce wind storms no form of 

 footing could save him from being blown into a crevasse. 

 < )f all the parks in our system, Rainier is certainly 

 deserving of further development. Its proximity to a 

 large population, it- tremendous interest as the only im- 

 mediately accessible system of glaciers in the United 

 States, its marvellous beauty and inspiring dignity and 

 its many lakes and fields of wild flowers would justify an 



expenditure many, many times as great as the appro- 

 priation allotted. In a park of 207,360 acres, the area of 

 which does not include anything but the cream of scenery, 

 the Federal Government has built a mere snip of a few 

 miles of road which barely reaches the snout of one 

 glacier. It has built a few trails leading to other parts 

 and has done nothing else. 



What is needed is an encircling road that shall pass 

 entirely around the Mountain on practical grade. From 

 this encircling road should be constructed entrance roads 

 from each of the corners so that one might enter on any 

 side of the park, strike the encircling road, swing around 

 it as far as desired and exit at another side. From this 

 encircling road should be built trails and small spur roads 

 to such interesting spots as Spray Park, Reflection Lakes, 

 and other specially attractive locations. Whether this 

 will ever be done or not is difficult to determine. It is 

 certain, however, that if Mount Rainier were a possession 

 of any of the European countries it would be developed 

 to its maximum in a very short time, for the people of 

 Europe have learned that scenery is a national resource 

 as much as coal and timber and that it can be sold over 

 and over again without a reduction in the original bulk 

 of the commodity. 



MEMORIAL TABLET FOR GEORGE W. 

 VANDERBILT 



IN acquiring the tract of rough mountain land known 

 as Pisgah Forest, adjacent to his estate at Biltmore, 

 North Carolina, and in placing the management of 

 this area in the hands of a professional forester as early as 

 1897, Mr. George W. Vanderbilt became a pioneer in the 

 encouragement of national forest management of private 

 lands in this country. Through the opportunity thus 

 offered, Gifford Pinchot, and later Dr. C. A. Schenck, con- 

 ducted numerous instructive operations. The inspiration 

 of this work undoubtedly was most instrumental in launch- 

 ing the campaign for national forests in the Appalachians. 

 From small beginnings great movements spring. 



Following Mr. Vanderbilt's death, the tract was offered 

 by Mrs. Vanderbilt to the government and was purchased 

 at $5.00 per acre. The acreage was 80,398 acres. This 

 purchase was subject to a timber contract which runs for 

 20 years, under which the mature timber, measuring over 

 18 inches at the ground, may be cut and removed. 



In recognition of his great and lasting service to fores- 

 try in this region, the Southern Forestry Congress, held at 

 Asheville recently, voted to erect a memorial tablet to 

 Mr. Vanderbilt at the entrance to Pisgah Forest. A com- 

 mittee was appointed to raise the necessary funds, the 

 members of which are Governor Locke Craig, Raleigh, 

 N. C. ; Dr. Joseph Hyde Pratt, Chapel Hill, N. C. ; Dr. 

 W. H. Holmes, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 

 D. C. ; Charles Lathrop Pack, Lakewood, N. J. ; Henry S. 

 Graves, U. S. Forest Service, Washington, D. C. ; George 

 F. Kunz, president, American Scenic and Historic 

 Preservation Society, New York City, and George S 

 Powell, secretary of the Appalachian Park Association, 

 Asheville, N. C. 



