Parks are the adjuncts of cities of more mature years than this young giant of Puget sound, but nature has provided here that which many other cities acquire only by the outlay of much money and labor through a series of years. Lying south of the city, and but a short distance beyond its present limits, is a beautiful, level, gravelly plain, studded with oak trees, in the midst of which are lakes of clear, sparkling water. American lake, shown in the engraving opposite, where it forms the foreground for a beautiful landscape, of which Mount Tacoma is the central figure, attracts hundreds of pleasure seekers. Its waters teem with trout, and its shining surface offers both the oarsman and the yachtsman an opportunity to indulge in their favorite amusement. The drive from the city to the park is one of keen enjoyment to one whose eye drinks in the beauties of nature, and who delights to fill his lungs with the pure air, fragrant with the odor of forest and mountain. Other drives, in and about the city, offer the visitor exhilarating pleasure and beautiful landscapes. Not the least of the enjoyments of the tourist temporarily sojourning in the city is the row or sail on the placid waters of the harbor, or the more exciting sport of trolling for salmon in the bay. As many as a dozen fine salmon, from five to fifteen pounds in weight, are often caught in a few hours in the early morning. A boat house stands at the water’s edge, where row and sail boats may be procured, and morning and evening and on moonlight nights at a late hour, these little craft dart over the bay with their loads of pleasure seekers. [Illustration: THE NATURAL PARK AROUND AMERICAN LAKE, NEAR TACOMA.] EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND CHURCHES.