Numerous waterfalls are found here, from cascades a few feet in height
to cataracts having twice the leap of Niagara; lakes lie deeply
embosomed among the high peaks or the heavy forests, and one of them,
twenty miles in length and a mile and a half above the ocean, is now
being navigated--think of it!--by motor-boats; thousands of miles of
crystal trout-streams, kept supplied with trout by the government
hatcheries, radiate in every direction; a natural glass cliff, an
Indian quarry for arrow-heads in the ancient days, towers above a lake
formed at its base by the wise and cunning beavers. There is, too, a
low mountain of pure sulphur, with beautiful boiling sulphur-pools
splashing at its foot; and, in contrast to these, there is a gruesome
volcano of mud belching from a dark, malodorous cavern, while almost
beside this is a beautiful, clear pool of hot water formed by a stream
flowing from beneath a green Gothic arch.
The wonderful cañons, exhibiting such different phases of nature's
sublime handiwork, awe the beholder. One shows the marvelous way in
which lava, cooling, arranges itself in massive, black, symmetric slabs
and columns; these enclose a beautiful fall that adds a touch of
lightness and beauty. The Grand Cañon is the most startling and
extraordinary example of color harmony and nature sculpture to be found
in the universe. A Japanese, in the poetic imagery of his race, has
said that these brilliant cañon walls have caught and emblazoned upon
their mural precipices the sunsets of all the yesterdays--a beautiful
conception. One stands awed to silence in the presence of "Nature's
immensities" seen here and is almost overwhelmed by the profound
splendors and majestic glories of this cañon.
In another respect this park land stands in a category by itself. By
federal enactment all of the Yellowstone Park proper and some
additional territory bordering it has been made a vast national
game-preserve, something not originally planned.
As settlement has increased and the valleys have become occupied by
farmers and ranchmen, the game has been forced into the higher valleys
and parks of the mountains, or into their remote recesses. Here, within
the park boundaries, deer, elk, antelope, bears, mountain-sheep, moose,
bison, and the smaller game, birds (between 150 and 200 species), and
fur-bearing animals, have a refuge where no hunter or trapper
penetrates and danger rarely intrudes. In the Jackson Lake country,
hunting is allowed for a limited period.
There are thousands of these various animals that know they are
absolutely immune from harm by man when within the bounds of this park.
Most of them have never seen a dog nor heard the sound of a rifle.
Under these conditions their natural timidity is greatly lessened, and
many of them, even bears, become surprisingly tame.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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