them as compared with the narrow tire, whatever the condition of the road, there is no question. Even in dusty weather they compact the surface and lessen the annoyance from this source. Bicyclists have assured the writer that they have been of very great advantage to wheeling by reason of their effect as road rollers. Wagon tracks.-A condition affecting the appearance of public highways which is everywhere noticed is the irregular and sinuous course of the wagon tracks. No matter how carefully a road may be aligned, the teams are liable to take an irregular course over it, first on one side and then on the other. As horses always follow the beaten track, and as drivers rarely take sufficient interest in the matter to straighten out these kinks, the road soon takes on this irregular appearance, which greatly detracts from its beauty. In the park work the sprinkling outfits are instructed to place obstructions wherever these irregularities develop, so as to force travel into regular lines, and in this way the difficulty is largely overcome. It may be noted in this connection that curved roads have a great advantage over straight roads, because in rounding a curve traffic naturally falls into a regular line. Chipmunks. A singular condition improving the appearance of the roads is the work of chipmunks in carrying away offal from the surface. This animal is a very diminutive creature, much smaller than in the Eastern States, but it abounds in great numbers, and is seen everywhere industriously at work. TRAFFIC OVER THE PARK ROADS. Freight traffic.-In travel over the park roads the character of vehicles depends upon the various uses to which they are put. While the roads are primarily for tourist travel, they are at present largely used for freight, owing to the necessity of hauling construction material for the hotels, for the building of the roads, and supplies for the use of the military force and the public during the tourist season. This freight traffic is at present exceedingly heavy. It will materially diminish in the future, after the work on the roads and the hotels is completed. Freight is generally hauled in loads of two wagons, the rear one of which is called a trailer and is fastened to the lead wagon by a short, heavy tongue. At least four horses are always used, frequently six. These are generally handled by a driver from a seat on the lead wagon, but sometimes by a man riding the near wheeler and managing the lead teams with a jerk line. For holding back the wagons when a team stops to rest in going up the hills, a block is generally drawn along behind so that it will trail close to the wheel. In many cases, however, one of the men accompanying the load walks behind the outfit and blocks the wheel with stones. With the customary indifference on the part of these people to the condition of the roads, they gener ally leave these stones where they place them, and they remain there until the road crews can throw them out. Competition in freight contracts compels the use of unreasonably heavy loads in order to bring the cost of the work within a living rate. Single wagons occasionally carry 12,000 pounds, and double wagons as much as 18,000 pounds. These loads are undoubtedly heavier than they ought to be and are a great strain upon the roads, particularly in the spring or the late fall. They are the chief source of damage to which the roads are subjected and not infrequently cut them all to pieces during prolonged spells of wet weather. It will probably be necessary to ask for some regulation limiting the tonnage of these loads." The freight traffic in the park, while it is something necessary, is one of the principal drawbacks to the pleasure of travel. The outfits are generally so loaded' that it is difficult for them to turn out, and their slow and unwieldy character causes delay in getting past them; moreover, the drivers being seated in front of the load, which is often so high as to prevent their seeing back, do not know, and sometimes do not care, what may be happening behind them, and there is often much delay in passing by light vehicles coming up in the rear. Empty outfits returning generally take off the lead team, place the harness in the wagons, and tie the horses behind. It often happens, in attempting to pass such an outfit, that these horses are startled and try to get past their own wagon, thus spreading out and effectually blocking the road. To diminish as far as possible the injury to the main roads and the annoyance to passenger traffic arising from freight hauling, it is contemplated to use the old abandoned roads as far as possible for this purpose. They are so used already in several places, particularly by returning empties, and a small amount of work will make it possible to utilize probably 20 miles of these roads. Passenger traffic. For the hauling of passengers, the principal tourist companies use Concord coaches. These are hauled by 4 horses on the main system of the park, and carry from 8 to 14 passengers each. Between Gardiner Station and Mammoth Hot Springs much larger couches are employed, hauled by 6 horses and capable of carrying as many as 30 passengers. For the handling of such heavy outfits, however, exceptionally good and safe roads are necessary, as the slightest accident of any kind might produce serious results. The speed of the coaches throughout the park averages 5 miles per hour. These larger conveyances are supplemented by surreys and lighter outfits. Camping parties. The regular camping companies use ordinary spring wagons to a large extent. Private camping parties that visit the park in large numbers from the surrounding country, mainly from the farms and ranches, use vehicles of all sorts and descriptions. It is a Table showing reasonable limit of loads for different widths of tire and loads actually hauled. Assume as allowable weight to July 1, 450 pounds per inch width of tire. not uncommon to find a miniature sleeping-car outfit mounted on a single wagon and covered with canvas, with folding beds fastened up on the sides in daytime and let down for use at night; with a cook stove in one end and lockers for cooking utensils and other things under the seats. Some of these outfits are of such width as to be a serious menace to travel. As a general thing, campers use the ordinary canvas-covered heavy wagon. In many instances ranchers, after having closed their spring work, take their families, with one or two cows, a few chickens, and a limited assortment of produce, and spend a good part of the summer in the park, grazing their stock and living at comparatively no expense. They are not permitted, however, to camp for any great length of time in a single place. Automobiles.-There has been much agitation for the use of automobiles in the park. There can be no question of the great advantage of this kind of conveyance if it were practicable to put them into use. The greatest source of dust, which is the chief annoyance to travel, is from the action of the horses' hoofs, and if this could be eliminated the dust question would be very much improved. But there is one obstacle which will probably prove insuperable to the adoption of this vehicle, and that is the danger of frightening teams. There will always be a large amount of team travel in the park, and the horses of this country, unlike those of the city, do not readily become used to vehicles of the above description. It is even found necessary to require bicyclists to dismount whenever meeting teams in order to prevent accidents. Electric lines.-There have been numerous attempts to introduce electric lines in the park. In some respects these would serve an important purpose, but the sentiment of the country is against them, and it is considered desirable to exclude them altogether and permit only coach travel upon the park roads. The difficulty of building an electric line would be considerable. It has been proposed to lay the track upon the park highways, but this would not be possible, as they will always be used to a large extent by teams, no matter if an electric line were built. As the roads now occupy all the advantageous routes it would be a matter of great difficulty and expense to build a line outside of them. However, these difficulties could probably be overcome if it were not for the sentimental objection to permitting anything of the kind in the park. In fact if the money which an electric line would cost could be used in improving the condition of the roads the discomforts of travel would be so far removed as to make an electric line wholly undesirable. A great majority of the traveling public prefer, on coming to the park, to get away from the innovations of modern travel and enjoy the openair coach rides of these mountains. The argument of reduced cost of travel, if an electric line were built, is a visionary one. The enormous first cost of such a line and the cost of operation would require a charge quite as great as the present if the line were to pay. Finally, such a line could never accommodate the public as a carriage line would. It would have to run on a more rigid schedule. It could not make side trips, or run at hours to satisfy special parties, and it would lack so much of the elasticity of the present system that horse vehicles would still have to be used extensively to supplement it. |