REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE GLACIER NATIONAL PARK. GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT, Belton, Mont., October 15, 1911. SIR: I have the honor to make the following report on the condition of affairs and the management of the Glacier National Park: GENERAL STATEMENT. Glacier National Park, created by the act of Congress approved May 11, 1910 (36 Stat., 354), is located in northwestern Montana and embraces over 1,400 square miles of the Rocky Mountains, extending north from the main line of the Great Northern Railway to the Canadian border. The eastern boundary is the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and the western boundary is the Flathead River. The park has an area of approximately 915,000 acres, its length averaging 60 miles and its width 50 miles. Within its borders are attractions for the scientist and tourist unsurpassed in any country in the world, tourists of world-wide experience pronouncing it the Switzerland of America. Within its confines are 60 active glaciers, these ice sheets being the sources of beautiful cascades and roaring mountain streams flowing into countless clear, placid lakes for which the park is famed, the most noted of these being Lake McDonald, Lake St. Marys, Lake Louise, Iceberg Lake, Red Eagle Lake, Kintla Lake, Bowman Lake, Kootenai Lake, Logging Lake, Quartz Lake, Harrison Lake, and Two Medicine Lake. Lake McDonald, situated 24 miles from Belton, a little town on the main line of the Great Northern Railway, is one of the most beautiful lakes in America. It is 3,154 feet above sea level, 12 miles long, 2 miles wide, and surrounded by mountains covered with virgin forests of western larch, cedar, white pine, Douglas fir, spruce, and hemlock. The air about Lake McDonald is remarkably clear and pure, the fragrance of the fir, pine, and cedar producing a refreshing and invigorating atmosphere. Iceberg Lake is a small sheet of water about 16 miles north of Lake McDonald. It is so named because of the great floes which are to be seen on its surface in midsummer. The St. Marys Lakes are located on the eastern side of the park, northwest of Midvale. These lakes are long and ribbonlike, one side being heavily forested, while on the other side the mountains rise. sheer from the water's edge. Upper St. Marys Lake is 11 miles and the Lower St. Marys Lake 7 miles in length. Equally as much can be said in regard to the beautiful scenery surrounding all the other lakes. Avalanche Basin, a remarkable U-shaped valley 8 miles from Lake McDonald, is one of the most attractive and impressing features of the park. Nestling in the valley below the basin lies Avalanche Lake, into which dash cascades and cataracts that head in the melting snow and ice above and leap thousands of feet to the lake beneath. The principal glaciers in the park are Blackfoot, Grinnell, Harrison, Pumpelly, Red Eagle, Sperry, and Chaney, which range in area from a few hundred yards to several miles in extent. From the summit of Red Eagle Mountain one of the grandest views of mountain scenery in America is obtainable, this spot being a favorite with artists who visit the park. The park abounds in all varieties of game that are indigenous to this section of the country, such as bear, elk, moose, deer, mountain sheep, mountain goat, mountain lion, as well as the smaller wild animals of the forest. Fishing in the park is especially good and quite an attraction to all who visit it. Practically all the streams and lakes abound in many species of gamy trout. ROUTES AND ACCOMMODATIONS. Glacier National Park is easily accessible via the Great Northern Railway, at present it being the only line which touches its borders. One entrance to the park is from Midvale, Mont., which is the gateway to that portion of the park on the east side of the mountains. A line of permanent camps has been established by W. J. Hilligoss, the distance between the camps being as follows: Midvale to Two Medicine, 14 miles; Two Medicine to Cut Bank, 16 miles; Cut Bank to St. Marys, 22 miles; St. Marys to Gunsight, 15 miles; Gunsight to Sperry Glacier, 12 miles. Lake McDonald is 7 miles distant from Sperry Glacier. It is the intention of Mr. Hilligoss to construct wooden structures, patterned after the Swiss style of architecture, to replace the tents. which were in use this year. The Great Northern Railway is contemplating constructing an automobile road from Midvale to St. Marys, by which means the tourist can reach the foot of the mountains a few hours after getting off the train at Midvale. The western portion of the park is accessible via Belton, Mont., 1,177 miles west of St. Paul, on the Great Northern Railway. A number of chalets have been erected at this place and accomodations are afforded tourists at the rate of $2.50 per day. During the past season the bulk of the travel came in this way. From Belton to Lake McDonald the new Government road, 60 feet in width and 2 miles in length, runs through a dense forest to the foot of Lake McDonald. Stages make three round trips each day, connecting with boat service to the head of the lake, where good hotel accommodations can be secured at from $2.50 to $3 per day. Trails have been cut from Lake McDonald to many interesting points on the west side of the mountains. Trips to such places of interest as Sperry Glacier, Avalanche Basin, and McDonald Falls can be made in one day. More extended trips, requiring from two days |