HIDDEN PERILS OF THE DEEP 



837 



did not show that the Storkallagrund 

 light vessel had been moved eight miles. 



The steamer Ravenspur was lost on 

 Bilbao Breakwater owing to the use of 

 a chart not up to date, which did not 

 show the breakwater. In 1898 the 

 steamer Cromarty was lost in attempting 

 to enter Ponta Delgada Harbor, and in 

 1901 the steamer Dinnington was lost by 

 steaming on to the new breakwater in 

 Portland Harbor; both of these disasters 

 were likewise due to the use of old charts 

 which did not show the breakwaters. 



The records of the courts of inquiry 



also show cases where vessels have been 

 wrecked owing to the use of charts of 

 too small scale. 



In 1890 the steamer Lady Ailsa was 

 lost on the Plateau du Four. The only 

 chart on board for this locality was a 

 general chart of the Bay of Biscay, and 

 the stranding was due to the master's 

 mistaking one buoy for another. The 

 court found that the chart, although a 

 proper one for general use, was not suf- 

 ficient for the navigation of a vessel in 

 such narrow waters and on such a dan- 

 gerous coast. 



THE WHEELER NATIONAL MONUMENT 



ONE of the late additions to our 

 great system of national parks 

 is the Wheeler National Monu- 

 ment, located in the Rio Grande National 

 Forest, Colorado. The tract included by 

 the President in his proclamation' of De- 

 cember 8, 1908, about 300 acres in all, is 

 situated on the south slope and near the 

 summit of the Continental Divide, at an 

 approximate elevation of 11,500 feet. 

 The monument is named in honor of 

 Captain George Montague Wheeler, of 

 the U. S. Engineers, the leader of many 

 surveying and exploring parties of the 

 early 70's, who did much to blaze a way 

 for settlement in that part of the West. 

 The principal value of the land as a 

 national monument lies in the fact that 

 the- fantastic forms resulting from the 

 rapid erosion of rock and soil make the 

 spot one of exceptional beauity. The 

 numerous winding canyons, broken 

 ridges, pinnacles, and buttes form such 

 striking and varied scenes that it will be 

 much visited by tourists when its loca- 

 tion becomes more widely known. As a 

 matter of fact it rivals the wondrous 

 Garden of the Gods, about which so 

 much has been written, and is nearly as 

 extensive in area. The towering rock 

 formations, varying in color from a bril- 



liant terra cotta to bright yellow and 

 white, lifting against the wonderful blue 

 of the matchless Colorado sky, and the 

 splendid atmospheric conditions enabling 

 one to see clearly for miles and making 

 objects stand out in striking relief, all 

 count in the sum total of scenic beauty. 

 These lava formations are so strange and 

 fantastic that it does not take a great 

 stretch of imagination to picture the 

 country as the playground of the giants 

 of some prehistoric race. 



Historical interest also attaches to the 

 region, as it is believed that the ill-fated 

 expedition of John C. Fremont was over- 

 taken by disaster in this immediate vicin- 

 ity and was forced to turn back. Skele- 

 tons of mules, bits of harness, and camp 

 equipage found near this spot give cre- 

 dence to the belief. 



Due to the fact that the reservation is 

 considerably off the beaten track, it is 

 necessary to travel some distance after 

 leaving the Rio Grande Railroad at 

 Wagon Wheel Gap. From that point 

 horses and guides can be readily secured 

 to transport the visitor over the interven- 

 ing stretch of twenty miles to the reserva- 

 tion, and a more delightful outing could 

 not be had than a few days' camping in 

 this beautiful spot. 



