The Sayre Headlight, Vol. 22, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 14, 1920 Page: 2 of 18
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THE SAYRE HEADLIGHT
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Barrett’s Pan-American League
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HAT Is tile ill us l fnmu_ —**u-
lain in all Hie world? Pike's
Peak, in all probability. Why?
Because about 3,(HX).t*X> people
from oil quarters of the globe
have ascended to its H.ldb foot
summit.
Pikes I’eak celebrated the
one hundredth anniversary of Its
first ascent the oilier day. it
was a notable event, In that the
mountain In a way ep'tomlzes the progress of the
west.
Although Lieut Zebulon M. Pike. U. S. A., the
Intrepid explorer, first discovered Pikes Peak in
* 1800, he never scaled the mountain, saying the
task wus impossible for a human being. Hut Dr.
Bdwin James, a member of the expedition of
Major Long, In 1820, accomplished the feat
Major Long, In honor of James' accomplishment,
named the peak "James’ Peak," but us early as
1840* ’rappers and plainsmen named It "Pikes
Peak,” and Fremont put it so oh the map.
In 1878 a bridle path was built; a wagon
road to the summit was built In 1880 and In 18U1
the cog wheel railroad, nine allies lonV was
built The weather bureuu established a station
on the summit In T3TC the present automobile
road wus-ijuilt at u cost of *:il)0.iKtO. after two
years of conttruction work. This road is eighteen
miles long, r\»* 6,01)5 feet In tlmt distance, has
an average grail* of seven per cent uml a maxi-
mum grade of lu\ per cent, with 42 per cent
of the line in curves.'*It Is twenty feet wide with
curves as wide as fifty feet.
In April, 1019, a government war tank at-
tempted to climb the peak over the automobile
highway, but broke down in the deep snow drifts
and did not make a second attempt. A month
later a caterpillar, used fur artillery hauling,
made the summit without difficulty. August 3,
191!», an airplane, piloted by Alexander I,end rum
of Colorado Springs made a successful trip over
the summit of the peak.
This brings us to date. Now man Is reforest-
ing the lower slopes of the famous peak.
But first a word about the first ascent. Dr.
James was only 23 years old at the time. Starting
from Council Bluffs, the explorers reached what
1* now Colorado City July 12, 1820. July 13 he
started with four men for the top. The lute
Frederick 8. Dellenbaugh, a member of several
government expeditions in the west, wrote this
of the climb of Dr. James:
"About noon tliey came to the Bolling Spring,
the present well-known spring of Mnnitou, which
gives name to the stream of which It forms a
source. This beautiful spring wus jf greut inter-
est to James and they had their lunch beside It.
Through Its crystal waters could be seen on the
bottom the offerings of beads and trinkets by
the Indians.
“The night of the 13th. James and his com-
panions spent In a most uncomfortable place, and
on the next morning started early with the hope
Of making the round journey before dark. About
noon, the timber line, 11.720 feet, was reached
and by 4 o’clock they sto«d on the mighty sum-
mit, 14.108 feet above the sea and 8,000 feet above
the plains, and could see on the east the prairie
ocean melting Into the limitless distance, while
on the other hand spread away a broad chaos of
peaks, canyons, valleys, fading Into the depths of
the unknown wilderness. Vast clouds of grass-
hoppers were (lying over the peak, sometimes vt
dense as almost to obscure the light.
"After half an hour on the majestic summit, now
reached by a prosaic railway, the descent begun.
Losing their course, they failed to reach the comp
of the previous night and were forced to sleep
out with no food or shelter or coinfort of any
kind; not after all so awful as It sounds. As
goon as light came In the morning thr-y continued
and reached their camp, only to find It ablaze;
the fire had spread and consumed everything
except a few scraps of food, on which they
greedily breakfasted."
The American Forestry Association of Wash-
ington bat Inin tea that out of the IflU million odd
acres of national forests there are seven and a
half iplllion acres in need of planting or seeding
to re-establish tree growth. The yearly loss to
the nation In forest products from lamia suited
only for the production or timber and now Idle la
enld to he $65,000.0!K). No large aura* have been
gpeclfically appropriated by congress to reforest
the denuded lands within the national forests, so
that the acreage planted each year has been nomi-
nal and the work of an experimental character In
picking tlie areas In the national forests where
Following Ids retirement from the
Pan-American union at Washington,
after 14 years us Its director general
and 25 years of official International
service, John Barrett tins announced
the early organization of nn unofficial
league of American countries aud
peoplwv
"Having turned over the direction
of this International office to ruy suc-
cessor, Dr. L. S, Howe, It may he fit-
ting to nnswer numerous Inquiries re-
garding my future plans," be sold.
'•Supported by the favorable attitude
of representative sentiment ulrendy
tested In every American country, I
slmll contribute ns much effort ns
possible to completing the organization,
already Initiated by me, of a great
popular nnd practical, but unofficial
league or association of the American
countries and peoples, which will pos-
sibly he known ns the 'league of the
Americas' or ‘Pan-Amerlcnn league.'
“Its purpose will he to associate In nn unofficial International Pnn-Amer-
Icnn organization, with no'lonal subdivisions, a rapidly growing uumher of
representative men and women from Cauadn to Chile.
"Us members realize the Immense possibilities for the peace, progress
nnd general good of the western hemisphere, nnd hence of the world at large,
which can result from their co-ordinated economic, civic, social and Intellec-
tual co-operation, frea fr>m governmental and political control."
Schwab Prophesies “Revolution”
2?aAD UPPZS&EgAfT^
planting la to be carried on, extremes of condi-
tions huve been sought so that this early, re-
stricted reforestation would In the years to come
servo to point the way to carrying out more ex-
tensive operations.
Due of the areas chosen lies upon the slopes
of Pikes Peak ami Includes the fire-denuded por-
tions of those watersheds from which several
towns. Including Colorado Springs and Mnnitou,
secure municipal water. A reconnaissance study
has shown there are twelve or fourteen thousand
acres from which the forest growth wna swept by
fire In the early days before the growing demand
for water brought realization of the high value of
tree growth ns l water conserver. In addition
to tlie forest products which can be produced
from the lands and the value of the tree growth
as a water conserver, there Is the high value of
establishing trees eventually to heal the ghastly
fire scars upon the mountain slope, as Colorado
Springs nnd Mnnitou, two cities closely related to
each other, represent one of tlie greatest tourist
centers In the West today.
The conditions of the locality were severe for
planting. Tlie uneven distribution of moisture,
high dry winds of spring and summer nnd also In
winter when the temperatures are low, the lack of
soli over much of the area and the movement of
the soil on the steeper slopes made up these diffi-
culties. The soil, composed of large particles of
gravel, comes from tlie decomposition of ronrse-
grained granite which forms the moutdaln masses
of the Pikes Peak group.
Study of the reforestation problems upon
Pike* Peak was made by W. J. Gardner. This
study wus very complete nnd weighed tlpj diffi-
culties to he overcome In successfully establish-
ing tree growth upon tlie barren slopes. One
very Interesting point brought out In this study
was the date of the fires which devastated such
large areas In the vicinity of Colorado Springs.
From the age of the young tree growth and the
scars upon trees injured by (Ire and yet not killed,
Mr. Gardner determined that a greater part of the
area devastated had been swept by a conflagra-
tion of a series of fires between the year 1 STd) and
1853. This date Is Interesting ns It shows the
time which has elapsed slnPp the destruction of
the forest growth nnd how slow must be the re-
turn of forest growth to such lands by natural
mean*. In short, the high demand for all water-
flow from the area and the reereatlonnl use then
being made and that which can lie expected In
the near future, combined with the vnlue nnd use
of all forest product* grown upon this potential
forest land so Immediately accessible, Justified
not waiting for natural reproduction but establish-
ing such growth by artificial means.
Believing It heat to produce the trees under
the same condition* In which they were to be
planted, two nurse, y location* were chosen high
on the big mountain, thp land clenred shade
frames er<-cted nnd seed sown. Then 50.000 yel-
low pine seedlings were brought In from western
Nebraska and plnnted In Clementine Gulch, about
two and a half tnlles from one of the nursery
site*. There are no records to show what weather
conditions prevailed at the time or followed this
planting, A careful search over the area In the
fall of I!*)7 resulted In the discovery of hut one
seedling alive.
The reuson for this practically total failure
was given os largely due to the fuel that seedlings
raised at llnlscy were notable to withstand the
sudden change to the higher altitude. It was
proved later thnt seedlings of any sizes or from
any other Inenlltlcs with markedly different
elitnntlc conditions were not strong enough to
survive the rlgorou conditions found here; that,
In fact, II would take transplants of the more
vigorous type to produce results. These experi-
ment* showed tha; while there was some oil-
vantuee In growlrg the plnnis under the same
conditions In which they would lie set out, mnny
points which would offset this advantage would
be gained In laving the nursery located at a
lower altitude, where more vigorous plants could
be produced in the longer growing season aud the
trees he dug ami placed upon the planting areas
as soon as weather conditions made spring field
planting possible.
The monument nursery site was chosen und
developed In foie Spiring of 1907 as a result of the
two years’ experience with the other two small
sites, The monument site has proved satisfactory
and Is now producing the large amount of yellow
pine, Dougins fir and Engelmann spruce, nnd the
small amount of limber pine now being planted
nearly upon Pikes Peuk.
After field planting, further seedlings of Doug-
las fir were brought In and planted In the Bear
Creek region with u little better success, as tills
small plnnting showed thirty-five per cent nllve.
Of this field plnnting. a study was made and
a map completed showing the extent of the types
which should he plnnted with the different species
of trees which grow originally upon the area. The
first experiments were made at the lower alti-
tudes with yellow pine and Douglas fir. In tha
more recent years the production of Engelmann
sprme and timber pine for the high planting
types has been taken up. The low percentage
of survival In the earlier plantings showed tin)
need of the most vigorous transplants that could
he produced, and this was secured In the two
one plant, ns leaving the tree two years In the
seed bed gave a plant readily handled In trans-
planting, while the one year In the transplant
had produced a well developed tree with n clus-
tered root system made up of line rootlets of
much grrater area than that of tree crown or
evaporating surface.
Some 4,575 acres have been planted on the
Bike national forest, for the most part In the
Colorado Springs region and In the vicinity of the
famous unto highway to the top of Pikes Peak.
An additional thousand acres Is nlso being re-
forested in tills vicinity. Fully elghty-llve per
cent of the area which Inis been artificially planted
to pines and spruces can he considered ns suc-
cessfully stocked with trees, Such losses as have
occurred are due principally to the plnnting of
Austrian pirie, a species which Is here wit of Its
habitat. While fall planting may succeed In
regions where there are early and abundant snows,
such conditions cannot he depended upon along
the eastern slopes of the Uocky mountains.
The principal specie* planted are yellow pin*
on the lower foothills, which In turn gives way
to Douglas fir mid Engelmann spruce on the
higher slopes, limber pine being used for windy,
exposed regions. The trees ure plnnted eight by
eight feet or about 700 an acre, and the average
cost of planting, Including the cost of producing
the trees at the nursery, Is approximately *11 nn
sere, which Is considered moderate when the
rugged and rocky region In which the reforesta-
tion work la being carried on Is considered. Gen-
erally xpenklng, ll may he said tlmt the annual
survival of trees varies from 00 to IK) per cent.
There was little public Interest In the work
at first. The slow growth of the trees und the
slight showing each year had much to do with
this Inck of enthusiasm on the part of the public.
In fact. In the early planting* complaint was
made (though scrupulous cure wna taken to guard
against It) that In planting these watersheds the
presence of camps for the planters would pollute
the water of the Cl ties using It for a municipal
supply. One prominent citizen spoke with ridicule
of the project, claiming ll was absurd to spend
the people's money' f<-r reforestation above an
altitude of 7,000 feet because above this altitude
the growth was so slow that such plantings could
never he of value, Now tlmt the trees show wet'
over the plantations, there Is henrty approval foi
wliu t ha* I teen accomplished.
So It seems thnt the million* of those who
hnve seen I'lkes Penk may not know the on
fellow when next they make the trip, for he will
have a new face some day.
<&, I IK, Wutarn N.witp.p.r Union I
There are not many people be-
sides Charles M. Schwab— not more
than a dozen or so In the whole coun-
try, perhaps—who safely could an-
nounce the Invention of an oil-burn-
ing engine so much better than any
of Its predecessors thnt from the same
amount of fuel It develops three times
as much of available energy as tlie
best of steam-driven, oil-fired engines.
Tlmt Is a statement so large thnt It
would be heard with credulity only
when coming from a man known to
deal In facts, not In hopes or dreams—
In other words, from a man like Mr.
Schwab. As he says that the new
engine has passed beyond the experi-
mental stage an(l has been tested In
practical, commercial operation, both
afloat and ashore, for more than a
year, there seems to be little ehncee
tlmt he Is mistaken.
Comparison between this engine
and other Internal conilmstkio engine*
Is not definitely given In Mr. Scliwnb's first public announcement of uia
achievement of Arthur West, the Bethlehem company's designer, hut to de-
crease by two-thirds the fuel u.°ed by vessels that burn coal to make steam,
and to do It with a two-cycle engine only hnlf as large ns a four-cycle engine
of the same power, Is enough to bring nhmit one of the “revolutions In Indus-
try" tlmt are so ranch more often prophesied than seen.
One, nnd the most Important, effect of this Invention, If It does prove In
general use as effective ns Mr. Schwab's description Implies, will he mate-
rially to mitigate the apprehension felt all over the world as to fuel supplies.
“Roast Reindr* r, Please—Rare”
Mrs. Logan on American Beauties
■
Within two years reindeer meat
will be on sale In butchers’ shops In
most cities of the United States and
Canada nnd before many more year*
It will hnve supplanted beef, to a
large extent, In the diet of the people
of this continent.
This prophecy Is read Into the an-
nouncements tlmt the oldest and
wealthiest trading concern In the
world, the Hudson Bay compnny, Is
backing the reindeer ranching project
of Vilhjalnmr Stefansson, famous Arc-
tic explorer, nnd thnt the Canadian
government Itself Is going Into the
reindeer business.
The first commercial reindeer
ranch la to be established next spring
In Baffin land, where the Hudson Bay
company has leased a large tract of
land from the government for the
purpose. A shipload of reindeer la to
bo transported from Norway In the
spring.
The Canadian government Is taxing n hand In the game In Labrador,
where It already has a small herd of the animals. It has appointed CapL A
H. Living of the Dominion Parks branch, to Increase and domesticate this
herd.
Stefansfxm has been employed. It Is understood, to create a new depnrt-
; ment of the company and to net os general manager of the reindeer project
Mrs. John A Logan, widow of the
famous general, who, on five different
occasions, has presented bevies of
beautiful American girls at foreign
courts, herewith names six prominent
candidates from Washington as being
quite ns exquisite, If not more so. than
the six English girls designated by the
British artist, E. O. Iloppc, as the love-
liest In that land. Bays Mrs. Logan:
"I proudly submit Mlsa Myra Mor-
gnp, a petite blonde; Miss Lindsay
Wood, a tall, slender blonde, and Miss
Sidney Burleson, youngest daughter
of the postmaster general; Mias Mar-
garet Crosson, a grandniece of James
G. Blaine; Miss Marcia Chaplin nnd
Mrs. Nuncy Lane Knuffinnn, recently
a bride nnd daughter of the former
secretary of the Interior.
“I ain sorry Mr. Hoppe presented
so small a list of feminine beauties, for
It Is difficult to choose six from a bevy
of such lovely women as we hnve In
Washington," She adds:
“I have had a vast experience In cobducting parties of benutlful young
American girls abroad and many of them have come from Washington.
"The natural manner, freedom from affectation, grace nnd modesty of the
American girls ( have chaperoned abroad were aa endless attraction."
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Seely, Charles J. The Sayre Headlight, Vol. 22, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 14, 1920, newspaper, October 14, 1920; Sayre, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc405255/m1/2/: accessed March 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.