10G 
FOREST AND STREAM 
July 27, 1912 
there would wait upon one the sweet abandon 
of care. And who cannot but feel care-disbur¬ 
dened with such realistic surroundings, height¬ 
ened by the most intense of nature’s outpour¬ 
ings, suffused in the mothering rays of her 
love. One stands long, and lifts his eyes be¬ 
fore the order comes from the guide to mount 
horses and away. 
Gunsight Pass is the next on the list of 
beauty spots on the route and thence the caval¬ 
cade proceeds with more or less laborious effort, 
while the guide is busy proffering information 
of things in general to those nearest him. 
Those behind are content to conserve their 
speech, and let their minds mingle with the elo¬ 
quent beauty of all around. Thus on and on 
Until suddenly the party is brought face to face 
with a beautiful stretch of water, the well- 
known Lake Louise, which in itself is a verit¬ 
able mirror of nature. Here one sees in start¬ 
ling array the imprint on the water of the giant 
shore pines," such is the wonderful transparency 
of the water. Slowly traversing the shores of 
the lake the party passes through Gunsight 
Pass, and thence on to the summit from which 
immense height, on the backbone of the conti¬ 
nent one is able to command an inimitable view 
of the country below his gaze. After some time 
spent here the start back is made, during which 
many scenes of gradeur are met with, some of 
them of such prominence that it would take a 
full chapter in print to do them homage. 
A trip of great interest indeed is the one 
that leads over the mountainous trails to Red 
Eagle Lake, nestled high up there between the 
clouds, in the center of some of the most 
picturesque country of the West. After fording 
the St. Mary’s River, the first place of promi¬ 
nence is Old Town, which is a deserted mining 
town with no signs whatever of life; a mute 
reminder of those wild and wooly days when the 
West was in its infancy, and when the lure of 
gold was strong upon man. Passing into this 
town the sightseer finds ample room for scout¬ 
ing around, taking stock of the situation, 
gathering from the deserted aspect some of that 
mystery that dominates such places. Here once 
long ago the untamed element had their swing 
and vanished with the day, which was marked 
with the crash of the six-shooter and the wild 
harangue of the bar-room; one imagines as he 
stands there in some empty, lonesome building 
that those visionary men of the past are re-en¬ 
acting their wild deeds, and if he will listen he 
may seem to hear again that revelry at its 
height. But now the sunlight pours down, the 
aisles of the forest are silent, and no more shall 
the quietude be split on those wonderful eve¬ 
nings by the crash of the .45 Colts. 
The party now proceeds toward their desti¬ 
nation, making stops here and there to satisfy the 
cravings of the men in the saddle. The camera 
plays a prominent part in the program. It 
seems that here the camera is in its true ele¬ 
ment, for with such a territory to draw from, 
with such immense scenes to portray, one is 
lacking without the inevitable kodak; a glowing 
bit of water as seen between the pines, the foam 
fluttering water-fall, gleaming in ever-changing 
colors in the sheen of the sunlight, a shimmer¬ 
ing lake, touched in blue, indigo and lavender, 
with here and there between those wonderful 
lights, and the shades of the pines upon its 
bosom. A touch of the shutter and the film' has 
marked down a tale stronger than words—a 
scene that one will treasure when on cold 
winter evenings before the fire one recounts that 
wonderful trip into the mountains, showing as 
further evidence the proof of the photograph. 
Trout? Of the fishing opportunities to be 
found in this treasured land no word can quite 
bear mention of in the right sort of phrasing, 
for such are the conditions that one is able 
at most any of those stops to go out and enjoy 
himself to repletion. Select a well set up bam¬ 
boo; the trout will run up to four and five 
pounds in weight on the average, and have so 
much fight tucked in under their rainbow hides 
that the best rod will find its equal, and when 
once they are on, one is sure to be the partici¬ 
pant in a fight that will tone up the fever right. 
Connect your favorite flies to the leader, flip 
them in there under the waterfall, where those 
rotund fish lie sporting their aristocratic forms 
in the changing lights of the water, eager to 
dart from that basin and snatch them from the 
surface. The flies strike water—an upward leap, 
and the fight is on! You lead him a bit away 
from the fall, and there, with the glory of the 
mountains around you, fulfill one of those 
moments you have waited and hoped for. 
St. Mary’s Lake is especially noted for its 
Mackinaw trout, which will run in weight up to 
twenty pounds, and requires both experience 
and a good man at the oars to bring the gamey 
fish into check. And such a fight! To the on¬ 
looker it would seem that the very bottom of 
the lake had risen in wrath and was turning 
things into chaos. Back and forth, up and 
down, the mighty fish takes its course, with 
the reel shrieking its wild acclaim, and the line 
cutting up blades of water as it splits over the 
surface in the mad career for supremacy. 
Often enough the fight is disastrous to the 
fisherman, for the mighty denizen of the deep 
will get away. Here you will have a chance to 
test your favorite tackle, and you will have a 
chance to try your mettle; from beginning to 
end it is one constant fray. 
Too much cannot be said in praise of this 
wonderful park, for truly it is one of the pleas¬ 
ure nooks in this country, and the man or 
woman who would enjoy themselves in a rough 
and ready manner, shorn of the artificial con¬ 
ventionalities of civilization, should remember 
that one of the places they should bear in mind 
is the Glacier National Park. As I have said I 
am not influenced by fame or gold to recom¬ 
mend this place, it is just the word of a 
brother of the out-of-doors to another, and if 
I have succeeded in impressing anyone in my 
trivial manner, I think I have won my point, 
for I am always looking out for the good 
fortune of my fellows. The one thing about this 
that I would outline to the prospective visitor, 
is that everything is conducted on a perfect 
scale of system and unfailing experience. You 
are entering a country which, while just as 
wild as any place you may think of in the United 
States, it is thoroughly investigated, and 
familiar to all the guides; you have not to 
bother with those hundred and one things that 
will present themselves in arranging a trip into 
the mountains in alien country, having to rely 
upon whomsoever you find to guide you. Here 
you have but to take the train, get out, locate 
at the starting point, and the trip begins—no 
needless blunders or worries to oppress you, 
everything just right to start. Anyone who has 
been through the mountains will appreciate the 
strictly up-to-date conditions presented to the 
sightseer here, and this, mind you, in a country 
that seems to have never been touched since 
the Creator first made it. 1 can think of no 
better place to spend a vacation, with a limited 
amount of money, than in the Glacier National 
Park, and one will return with the conviction 
that it is the one big playground of this coun¬ 
try, where the scenery is singularly heightened, 
where the most wonders exists, and where with 
rod and reel one may obtain some of the best 
trout fishing known. Try it. 
LAKE MCDONALD—GLACIER NATIONAL PARK. 
Copyright by Kiser Photo Co. 
