Mat 13, 1886.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



303 



should be "right of way," plain and simple and so circumscribed as 

 to guard against peopling the Park in the interest of personal or corpor- 

 ate sain of speculation ; otherwise it will resultac an earlv day in estab- 

 lishing a condition of affairs that may necessitate abandonment of the 

 original theory of a national park or such a contraction of territorial 

 limits as will surrender to the " Cinnabar and Clark's Fork Railroad 

 Company," and the other corporations in whose interest their bill 

 practically blazes the way, all the lands and settlements in the reser- 

 vation contiguous to their several lines. 



Toe demand for grants at depots and sidings, of tracts 2,000 by 400 

 feet in extent, representing areas of gOO.000 square feet, or more than 

 18 acres, in each instance, would, if conceded, enable the company to 

 absorb and control every "oasis" of meadow land through which 

 their lines can be twisted or diverted; or, cutting these tracts in 

 center, or diagonally, practically possess a larger number of acres 

 than the grants comprehend, by rendering the other portions of the 

 valleys useless because inaccessible to others. In fact, it is question- 

 able whether any of the valleys of the Park will be more than equal 

 to the demand of a general right of way, 200 feet in width, and a right 

 of way of switches of 400 feet in width. The grant sought would 

 include, and may be intended to include and absorb, the best meadow 

 and grazing lands in the Park referred to by General Sheridan 

 Geologist Hasrue, and Special Agent Phillips, in the letters that ac- 

 company this report. Very respectfully, 



_ L. Q. C. Lamar, Secretary. 



Hon. Charles F. Manderson. United States Senate. 



Department of the Interior. > 

 Washington, April (J. 1?«*6. f 



Sir— In reply to your request for information as to the necessity of 

 granting to the Cinnabar and Clark's Fork Railroad the right of way 

 to build a road through the Yellowstone Park and the effect such a 

 road would have upon the reservation, I take pleasure in laying be 

 fore you such information as I have gathered and at the same time 

 presenting my objections to any railway in the Park. 



Tne Clark's Fork mining district lies just outside the northeast cor 

 ner of the Park. It is situated high up in the mountains, near the 

 headwaters of the Stillwater and Clark's Fork rivers and Soda Butte 

 Creek. The district as yet is small and undeveloped. It may have 

 a brilliant future before it, but however this may be, it has not 

 been satisfactorily demonstrated. Every mining engineer knows 

 that the number of mining locations held has very little 

 to do with the importance of a aistrict. I first visited the dis 

 trict in the autumn of 1883. I again visited the district in Septembei 

 1885, and found that the mining developments had progressed far 

 less than I had been led to suppose. So far as I was aole to judge, 

 upon careful inquiry. I think there were not more than one hundred 

 miners actively employed in the district, and most of these were do- 

 ing what is known as prospecting work. In no one mine were there 

 more than three or four men at work. Considerable ore has been 

 taken out, but it is mostly of a very low grade and will have to be 

 smelted in the disirict. From presr-nt developments I fail to see how 

 the Clark's Fork mining district c ould support a railway. 



No careful surveys for railway routes have as yet been made, 

 although much misinformation has been scattered broadcast about 

 the impracticability of reaching the district in any other way than 

 through ihe Park. 



Three routes, however, have been proposed— one by way of Still 

 water River, from Stillwater, on the Northern Pacihc Railroad; one 

 from Billings, uont., by way of Clark's Fork; and one by Soda Butte 

 and the Third Canyon of the Yellowstone River, passing through the 

 Yellowstone Park for about fifty mile,?, nearly the entire length of the 

 road. 



It has been stated that the mines are all situated on Soda Butte 

 Creek, and to reach them a railway from the north or east would 

 have to cro-s a high mountain range. This I consider an error. It 

 should be understood that although Cooke City is situated on Soda 

 Butte Creek, it is only a small settlement and inconveniently located 

 for nearly all the recent mining developments of this district. All the 

 more important of the recent developments are situated either on 

 the opposite side of the watersoed on the streams tributary to the 

 Stillwater and Clark's Fork, oi else within a few hundred feet of the 

 summit of the range. With a railway a mining town would be equally 

 as well situated on either the Stillwater or Clark's Fork. From all I 

 can learn I am inclined to believe that the route following the valley 

 of the Stillwater will prove practicable. 1 have not examined it per- 

 sonally, but more accurate surveys have been made of it than of the 

 other lines. I am told that it is feasible to build the road to within 

 fifteen miles of Cooke City. It should be borne in niina that all the 

 newest mining locations are from three to six miles from Cooke City, 

 high up in the mountains. The road would be about fifty -four miles 

 in length. Stillwater, the junction of the branch road with the 

 Northern Pacific Railroad, is about 125 miles nearer Saint Paul than 

 Cinnabar. 



I have personally examined the Clark's Fork Valley for forty miles 

 east of Cooke City, and I am of the opinion that if the mining interests 

 demand a railway, a road could be built from the mines to Billings 

 Mont., which would be far more serviceable than a road through the 

 Park. There is on this route one very rugged place known as ulark 

 Fork Canyon, a deep gorge six miles in length, but I am told that it 

 is quite possible to avoid it. The route, at least, seems so feasible 

 that accurate surveys should be made before granting a right of wav 

 through the Park. J 



1 am well acquainted with the country through which the railway 

 would have to pass in going from Cooke City to Cinnabar. My own 

 work has compelled me to study the Third Canyon carefully.'and I 

 have no hesitation in saying that it would be a very costly matter to 

 build the road for 18 or 20 miles from Gardiner te the East Fork of 

 the Yellowstone River. It has been estimated by the friends of the 

 Cinnabar & Cooke City Railway that this road could be built for 

 $1,000,000. It seems to me that it the output of the mines at Clark's 

 Fork could stand such an expense, either of the other routes should 

 be chosen. 



In my opinion there are many persons who are interested in obtain- 

 ing this right of way through the Park who desire to use the road for 

 the purpose of transporting travelers who annually visit the Park in 

 the summer. Having a right of way, and the only one granted by 

 Congress, they anticipate receiving large revenues derived from tour- 

 ists. Upon the completion of the road we should see glowing induce- 

 ments held out to tourists of a railway ride through the Third 

 Canyon of the Yellowstone and the charming valley of the East Fork 

 The granting of oue or two hundred feet on each side of the track 

 would necessarily include Soda Butie Spring, the water of which is 

 already much sought after by many people, and the only on« in the 

 Park which has yet been found to possess curative properties In 

 my opinion it would be a mistake to allow this spring to pass beyond 

 Government control. 



I cannot but believe that the establishment of a railway in the Park 

 would prove a permanent injury to the reservation, and tend to sub- 

 vert the purposes for which the Park was originally set apart The 

 danger arising from forest fires would be very great, and the large 

 game would disappear, as it has everywhere else, with the appear- 

 ance of railways. With a railway in the Park fifty miles m length 

 with stations every seven miles, disagreements difficult to settle 

 would immediately arise between a powerful railway corporation and 

 the management of the Park. 



A railway means the settlement of large number of people living in 

 the Park, over whom the Department would have but little control 

 It would require constables, justices and courts, and finally the 

 people wouid ask for political privileges. It should be the 

 aim of the Department to permit as few people as possible to reside 

 permanently in the Park other than those engaged in the accommo- 

 dation of visitors. A railway in the Park is. in my opinion the be- 

 ginning of the end. The demand of others claiming equal rights 

 would grow with years, and in time the Park would have to be thrown 

 open to settlement. 



By preserving the Park intact for the next ten years it will take 

 such a firm hold upon the country that the people will never consent 

 to its desecration for purely personal ends. It belongs to Maine and 

 Florida quite as much as to Wyoming and Montana, but in time the 

 latter Territories will derive the greatest benefits. 



With this letter I inclose a communication from Lieut. D. C King- 

 man, in charge of the improvements, Yellowstone National Park 

 His letter is addressed to the editor of Forest and Stream who 

 kindly furnished me with a copv. Arnold Hague, Geologist 



Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar, Secretary of Interior. 



o tt j Washington, D. C, April 6, 1886. 



Dear hir— Understanding that your opinion has been request* d by 

 the Senate Committee on Territories through a letter from Senai or 

 Manderson, dated April 3. as to the effect of permitting the Clark's 

 Fork & Cinnabar Railroad to penetrate the Yellowstone National 

 Park, with your kind permission, I will state in short why, in my 

 judgment, the enactment of such a law would inflict a serious blow to 

 the interests of the Park. 



Py the organic act organizing the Park, it was set apart to consti- 

 tute forever a great National Park or reservation, for the benefit and 

 enjoyment of the whcle people. As expressed m that act, it was to 

 be kept in a state of nature, free from settlement, occupancy or sale 

 The only erections to be allowed within its limits were to be such few' 

 houses as should be needed for the accommodation of the visiting 

 public. Besides the expressed objects in the act. it is universally con- 

 ceded that the two main objects attained in the dedication of this 

 wonderful region were the preservation of the great forests within 

 its limits and of the large game of the W est, which nad oeen almost 

 exterminated everywhere except in the country proposed to be em- 

 braced within the Park. 



The objects contemplated by the act have in a great measure been 

 attained. Not only from all portions of this country, but from all 

 portions of the world, the people have come, to behold the wonders of 

 nature contained m the Park and to seek escape from the trammels 

 of civilized life surrounding them at home. The main wonder and 

 joy to them has been to behold everything that was beautiful in the 

 Park in a state of nature; that the fair picture contained no blot of 

 man's hand. 



By the bill under consideration, all this is proposed to be changed. 

 For the benefit of a private corporation, the pleasure ground of the 

 whole people is ro be invaded. Where they used to hear the plaintive 

 cry of the elk wiil now be heard the shrienof the locomotive, The 

 face of nature is to bo scarred with a railroad, and one of the fairest 

 portions of the Park surrendered to a corporation for that purpose, 

 upon which may be erected, in the language of the bill, "station 

 houses, depots and machine sbops." This railroad will run 56 miles 

 through the Park, penetrating the wonderful canyons, cutting 

 through the forests, and over the finest grass country in the Park, 

 and pursuing its course along the beautiful Yellowstone River. 



That the building of a railroad would be destructive of the beauty 

 of the Park will be conceded by all No less clear is it that the pro- 

 ject is opposed to the main purposes for which the Park was set 

 apart. Already a railroad reaches the very gate of the Park, and 

 since it has reached that point, they would have it penetrate within 

 "the sacr»d precincts." 



In my report on the Park, made to vou last September, and which 

 has been comniunicated to the Senate and printed as Sen. Ex. Doc. 

 51, present Congress, I sav at page 7: "Inter-sted parties have for 

 some years brought to bear a constant pressure upon Congress and 

 the Department, to induce action in favor of a railroad through the 

 Park. This railroad is sought ostensibly ior the purpo-e of bringing 

 to market the ore from Cooke City, a mining camp adjacent to the 

 northeast boundary line of the Park. 



"If there is oue object which should be kept in view more than any 

 other, it is that of preserving the Park as much as possible in" a state 

 Of uattire A railroad through it would go far to destroy its beauty, 

 and besides it is not demanded by the public. The roads are being 

 improved yearly, and soon will make every portion of the Park easily 

 accessible. The distance between the points of interest is not great, 

 and transportation is good and plentiful. 



Apart, from the consideration that a railroad is not needed in the 

 Park, and that it would deface its beauty, is the further consideration 

 that the pre ervation of th* game and the forests would be unattain- 

 able should a railroad be allowed within the ltmi s of the Park. I 

 think the department should strenuously oppose the project. And I 

 further observe that the country through which the railroad would 

 run was one much frequented by game, and that if the object of pro- 

 jectors of the railroad was simply to reach Cooke, I wassnti-fled that 

 object could be practicably attained by a route which would be 

 wholly outside the boundaries of the Park. 



It. is needless to point out to one of your observation that the game 

 will be utterly driven away from the Park should a railroad be per- 

 mitted. The road would run through one of the widest poitions of 

 the reservation within which the herd of buffalo, sole remnant of the 

 once mighty herds, now roams. 



Nor need I dilate upon the damage to the forests which would re- 

 sult should the bill become a law Owing to the dryness of the climate 

 during most of the year, forest fires are very easily caused, and once 

 started do immense injury. A railroad would be the means of greatly 

 increasing the daneer to the forests from fire. 



In the report made at this session of Congress by the House Com- 

 mittee on Expenditures for Indians ami Yellowstone Park (Rep. No. 

 1076, page 53) it is said. "The- preservation of the forests, which 

 clothe with verdure the valleys, rugged declivities, and mountain 

 peaks of the whole region, is of special moment. It is made very 

 clear by the scientific views preseured on this subject in the testl 



mony, that the regular flow of water in these regions is greatly de 

 pendent on these forests. It is, therefore, in the judgment of the 

 cornmitree, of the highest moment that these forests should be pro- 

 tected from destruction either by fire or the axe. To this extent, 

 having in view at once the beauty of the Park as a delightful resort 

 the people and the value of the great s reams of water that Issue 

 from the mountains, as well as the benign influence of the forests on 

 chmate and health, this Park should receive the special care of the 

 Government." 



Another consideration of importance is that if a railroad is allowed, 

 the difficulties which the Department already labors under as to the 

 management of the Park will be greatly increased. It will be im- 

 possible to avoid more or less settlement along the line, and the in- 

 troduction of a large number of people connected with the road. 

 New rules and regulations will have to be made, and when made, 

 with the present force under the superintendent, their enforcement 

 will be very difficult, if not impossible. 



In the genpral views which I have submitted I have not entered 

 particularly into the questions as to the most desirable route to Cooke 

 City, nor as to the value of the private interests proposed to be ben- 

 efitted by the railroad. The people of the whole country are con- 

 cerned in having the Park preserved for the purposes for which it 

 was originally dedicated, and no considerations of private interests 

 should be allowed to interfere with such preservation. 



It is to be regretted that the Committee on Railroads in submitting 

 its report should have been so much influenced by the statements of 

 interested parties. 



There is but one opinion, as far as I know on the subject among 

 the officers of the Government who occupy important positions in the 

 Park, and that is that the granting of the desired right to run the 

 railroad through the Park would be most detnmeutal to its interests. 

 General Sheridan, who is thoroughly acquainted with the Park, 1 be- 

 lieve shares this opinion, and I have grounds for saying, would be 

 ?lad to communicate his views to you when requested. It is to be 

 loped that the Senate Committee on Territories will give the bill the 

 consideration its importance demands. Very respectfully yours, 

 T . , W. IIaixet Phillips, 



-Late Special Agent for Investigations in Yellowstone National Park. 

 Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar, Secretary of the Interior. 



We do not attach the voluminous extracts from Forest 

 and Streak, aDd the maps referred to in the letter of the 

 Secretary of the Interior, fearing that this report may be of 

 too great length, but return them to the files of the Senate 

 that they may be considered and given the weight that their 

 importance demands. We also file clippings from the Spirit 

 of the Times and other newspapers, showing the view taken 

 by an observing public of this projected railroad. 



Upon the proposition that there is an available railroad 

 route from the Northern Pacific Railroad to the Clark's Fork 

 mining district by way of the Stillwater River, we file with 

 the Secretary of the Senate a map showing that route. This 

 map was prepared by a civil engineer of the town of Billings, 

 Mont., who made personal exploration of the route. From 

 a late letter of the present efficient superintendent of the 

 Park, we extract the following, showing the danger to the 

 limber in the Park from the construction of railroads within 

 its limits: 



Another material point is the spread of fires from the locomotives 

 This country is so high and dry that it would be impossible to pre- 

 vent the firing of the Park, and in less than three year.-,' time there 

 would scarcely be a green tree on the headwaters of the Yellowstone, 

 to say nothing of the Park. Last fall I extinguished sixty odd fires 

 resulting from the carelessness of campers, and the railroad would 

 bean hundred times worse. To save the timber on the headwaters 

 of the Yellowstone. Missouri and Columbia rivers should be of itself 

 sufficient to prevent the granting of the right of way to any railroad 

 company. 



For the numerous reasons herein presented, we believe the 

 bill under consideration should not pass. 



Charles F. Manderson. 

 Benj. Harrison. 

 Geo. Gray. 



A Hamburg newspaper gives the following account of a 

 curious and exceptional incident which occurred in the collec- 

 tion of a dealer in wild animals in that city. For some time 

 past one of the largest elephants, brought over by some Cin- 

 galese, had showed signs of furious delirium, and it was at 

 length decided to kill the animal, which was valued at 12,0(X)fr 

 An Englishman had once offered .to give 1,000 marks if the 

 occasion presented itself, for the privilege of shooting the en- 

 raged beast. The sportsman was thereupon summoned by 

 telegraph ; but in the presence of the raging animal he became 

 frightened, and gave up the intention of bringing it down 

 with shot. Strangulation was then resolved upon as a means 

 of despatch. Chains were passed around the neck of the ele- 

 phant, which had been bound, and the two ends of the chains 

 were drawn tightly by means of tackle. Ten minutes after- 

 ward the colossal creature had ceased to live. 



A WEEK ON MICHIGAN LAKE. 



PRETTY Lac Vieux Desert, the "old deserted planting 

 ground," had been visited by Beecher and myself last 

 year's season. We found it to be the source of the Wiscons, 

 and also that of much pleasure and trouble. "We camped 

 independently— independent of several indvapensibles, for 

 instance. We carried heavy packs through swamps, between 

 Twin Lakes and the railroad track. We had scandalous 

 fights with mosquitoes. We had "boots that didn't fit," etc., 

 but when after a few weeks our sore heels were healed, we 

 concluded that we had had a jolly time of it and that this 

 summer wc would try again. So we did, and the writer 

 yearns to relate about it, although nobody asked him to and 

 nothing happened either. But to wjite something about 

 nothing has been indulged in and tolerated before this. 



It was the morning of one of nature's perfect days in 

 August that, we three— Hector, Mr. B., and myself— boarded 

 a train of the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railway, 

 in order to get to Marenisco, L. 8., Mich., the station lying 

 nearest to Presque Isle River and its source, the Preuque 

 Isle Lake, whicn latter was to be this trip's happy hunting 

 ground. 



To the eye of the land-seeking immigrant the scenery along 

 this route may present a pleasing change of hardwood tim- 

 ber (indicating fine farming soil) of numberless small streams, 

 winding rivers and bubbling brooks, of prosperous farms, 

 and extensive pine fbrests, but when after Antigo, the long, 

 narrow aisle begins, within whose limits the train thunders 

 along up to Ashland — the surrounding primeval woods, 

 beautifully interspersed by lakelets glimmering through the 

 emerald foliage of the fragile birch, the stately" maple, or the 

 slender pine, and then these crystal depths disappearing like 

 a fla-;h, scon to be replaced by others still more fascinating, 

 most of them sleeping in undisturbed seclusion; the heart of 

 the angler and pleasure-seeking sportsman bounds in antici- 

 pation of luck, such as Izaak Walton would have longed to 

 experience. 



At Eland we noticed, for the first time on this trip, some 

 Injuns. But the season for them wasn't open yet. There 

 was no James Fen nitn ore- Cooper style about them. In fact, 

 they appeared so slimy that B.'s remark seemed plausible, 

 that if thrust against a wall they would stick to it. Between 

 Scott and the State line we gazed with elegiac recollections 

 upon the places that witnessed our privations on the former 

 tour. At Watersmeet we met George, a half breed, who had 

 extended to us some favors a year ago. At 3 P. M. the city 

 of Marenisco bursted upon our vision. One solitary section 

 house stood there all alone, hard by the turbulent, fast- 

 flowing Presque Isle. Walking down the track about a 

 mile, wc came to a sawmill, the owner of which very kindly 

 loaned us his boat, with which we at once began to ascend 

 the river. We hoped to make three miles before sundown. 

 However, these hopes were not fulfilled. The only things 

 filled full were our boots, although the shoemaker had sol- 

 emnly pronounced them watertight. After having paddled 

 for two hours against the current, and pushed over shallows 

 and pulled over rapids by wading in the water, and cutting 

 and bruising our hands, we had a mile and a half behind us, 

 for miles the same work before us, dusk around us and 

 hunger within us. Just this side of a new series of rapids 

 the gondola was therefore moored, an idyllic ravine was 

 selected as a bed chamber, a thick layer of hemlock boughs 

 was provided, and soon the steaming coffee and sizzling 

 bacon were taken from the flickering camp-fire. After 

 smoking the calumet and cheating at a little sixty-six, we 

 wrapped ourselves up in our blankets, and the murmuring, 

 talkative Presque Isle and the monotonous song of the mos- 

 quito speedily lulled us into peaceful slumbers. As pleasure 

 the evening's toil had not been a success. It had procured 

 less charm than harm, less bliss than blisters. Next morn- 

 ing we brought back the craft. Going down stream was 

 comparatively easy. Out of gratititude I pencilled one of 

 the rapids. Owing to the tortuous flow of the Presque Isle 

 only a small piece of it could be seen at a time, which, in 

 connection with the large rocks strewn about and the leaves 

 of the shrubs and trees hanging down to the margin of the 

 water like a flowery carpet, the more enhanced the pic- 

 turesqueness of the scene. Under way a quill pig was treed 

 by Hector. I dropped it, and kept a handful of quills as a 

 token of remembrance. After several bashful attempts to 

 capture speckled trout we neared the mill. The intention 

 had been to be absent four days, but the man was not sur- 

 prised to have his boat returned so soon, as he had pointed 

 out beforehand the slight difference between seeing and 

 ascending these mimic cascades. 



Having thus gained another experience, we lustily tramped 

 back to our duffle and had pork and beans at the section 

 house. Soon the train approached that took us to the next 

 station southward, Gogebic, Mich. 



On account of the delay of a train, we were obliged to 

 pass three tiresome hours in this forsaken place. These 

 three hours were destined to become fateful to Hector, our 

 beloved water spaniel. As he had nothing to do, and leisure 

 being the first step to mischief, it was not long ere he, the 

 unapproachable, had fallen a victim to the enticing artifices 

 of an unprincipled though graceful specimen of "the same 

 persuasion. She led him further and further into the swamp, 

 till nothing could be seen or heard of them. Finally, when 

 we thought it proper to express our longing for him 

 by shouting, whistling and scolding, he didn't respond. For 

 an entire hour I then crept about the tamaracks with a hick- 

 ory stick in order to guide him to a sense of his guilt. Alas, 

 all in vain ! He was gone but not forgotten. Leaving order 

 to retain him on his return until the following morning, we 

 entered the stage to Lake Gogebic. Fourteen persons, lads 

 and lassies, were packed like sardines iu that vehicle; four 

 able-bodied horses could seldom do more than proceed at 

 walking gait with that old broad wheeled box trundling be- 

 hind, the road was awful, the miles were a deal longer than 

 in Wisconsin, and for all that we only paid $1.50 in advance. 

 Although the hotel and its management seemed comme U faui, 

 we preferred oscillating waves and the mild breeze of a warm 

 summer night, and even the bill of the ever-present mosquito 

 to the bill of the hotel man. Wc hired a trim little clinker- 

 built and rowed along the eastern shore of the lake. On the 

 way my companion sighted a monster raccoon, but the re- 

 tiring orb of day was just preparing to bestow upon th 

 towering crowns of the sighing pines a lingering kiss of 

 farewell, and as we wouldn't miss that spectacle, even for a 

 coon, we had to forego the pleasure of a more intimate ac- 

 quaintance. We discovered a cove of ideal beauty, and 

 within its shady recesses a natural bower so iuviting, that 

 we were persuaded to turn our prow to the sandy beach and 



