PREFACE. 



By George Otis Smith 



comprise 



in 



Am eric 



must 



To 



know America 



gation the railroad traveler needs to have his eyes directed toward 

 the more important or essential things within his field of vision and 

 then to have much that he sees explained by what is unseen in the 

 swift passage of the train. Indeed, many things that attract his 

 attention are inexplicable except as the story of the past is available 

 to enable hmi to interpret the present. Herein lie the value and the 

 charm of history, whether human or geologic. 



The present stimulus given to travel in the home country will 

 encourage many thousands of Americans to study geography at first 

 hand. To make this study most iDrofitable the traveler needs a hand- 

 book that wiU answer the questions that come to his mind so readily 

 along the way. Furthermore, the aim of such a guide should be to 

 stimulate the eye in the selection of the essentials in the scene that 

 so rapidly unfolds itself in the crossing of the continent. In recog- 

 nition of the opportunity afforded in 1915 to render service of this 

 kind to an unusually large number of American citizens as well as to 

 visitors from other countries, the United States Geological Survey has 

 prepared a series of guidebooks^ covering four of the older railroad 



These books 



Mississipp 



more intercstin 



from the car window. The plan of the series is to present authori- 

 tative information that may enable the reader to realize adequately 



mater 





comprehend correctly the basis of its development, and above all to 

 appreciate keenly the real value of the country he looks out upon, 



^ Guidebook of the western United States: Part A, The Northern Pacific Route, with 

 a side trip to Yellowstone Park (Bulletin 611); Part B, The Overland Poute, with a 

 side trip to Yellowstone Park (Bulletin 612) ; Part C, The Santa Fe Route, with a side 

 trip to Grand Canyon of the Colorado (Bulletin 613); Part D, The Shasta Route and 

 Coast Line (Bulletin 614). 



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