IIPAV,
fl.Ui
1 H 10 H O N N E V I E E E l> A M () II K O N I C L K
most engaging and productive fields
for biological study In the Hast.
Plummer island, In the river above
Cabin John, for more than 25 years
has been In the possession of the
Washington Biologists’ Field club
and lias served as a station for the
observation of wild life. An amaz­
ing number of new species of plant
and Insect life bus been discovered
on this Island and every precaution
Is taken to protect It from depreda­
tion and to preserve Us value as a
natural biological laboratory.
(
Despite tbe fact that the river Is
mostly very swift In this part of Us
course, there are areas of calm wa­
ter which are the summer haunts
of numberless canoeists and swim­
mers. The bolder spirits among the
devotees of the paddle venture be­
yond, to shoot the rapids and re­
If
.
ceive both thrills and spills for
their temerity.
The National Capital Park and
uà
*
Planning commission has had a defi­
nite program to save this region of
Shooting the Rapid« of the Upper Potomac.
truly magnificent scenery as one of
.MM-d kr Nat n»l O» "Krephle *..cUtr leisurely course here, but It Is only the show places of America. It rec­
« M I H erv lc.
T « . b l r . « t .n. U '■
ommended that the federal govern­
I'SSKS. trulns, and private au­ a temporary culm before the storm, ment acquire the entire gorge from
tomobiles «re disgorging guy and 15 miles above the Capital they the top of thv Virginia bluffs to the
t _ throngs, end hotels, streets, gather for n m ajestic plunge over a hilltops In Maryland and from
lDd public buildings are bulging wall of granite which all the Poto­ Georgetown to nnd Including Great
itlth enthusiastic humanity as Wash­ mac's ages of work has been unable Falls. This area would then be
to wear dow n.
ington meet* the annual massed at-
supplied with foot and bridle paths,
These falls offer a scene of Im­
L-k of spring and early summer
highways, nnd boat landings to
pressive grandeur. Heaps o? rocks
visitors.
make all of Its scenery easily ac­
Timid grammar school students, are scattered about—enormous gran­ cessible.
clinging to more worldly adults; ite bowlders and Jagged reefs of
Tbe commission’s plans excluded
gneiss—as If some Titan of long ago
high school graduates, who have
had vented bis wrath by upheaving power dams from tbe area, as It
ten saving for a tour of the city
the crust of the earth Itself. The states they would “destroy the chief
■throughout their four-year school
wilderness of the place, as the wa scenic values of the Great falls
■termsi and adults wlio»e budgets
ters churn and boll In their never- and Potornac gorge,” and, further­
■it excursion tranaportatloo rates
ending warfare with the rocks, Is more, are not necessary, because
ire Ins;'¡red b\ the W"Udera of their
comparable only to some of the “adequate power may easily be oth
Capital.
larger mountain canyons of the erwl.se obtained at a reasonable
Handsome new government build- West, and Is hard to conceive as be­
• *
Jngs.
s, art H
•
beau- ing within a few miles of the Cap­
The value of this region to the
Itifully landscajied parks; broad, ital city.
city of Washington and to the whole
BnMbide I a?t n tea; Mount Vernon,
nation Is hardly possible of expres­
Th« Gorge and Old Canal.
LrOagtoo, the graceful. Gothic lime-
sion. It Is estimated that 15,000 vis­
Normally the river here tumbles itors come to Great falls each year
■stone bulk of the Washington cathe-
thtough
a rather narrow channel on tbe Virginia side alone, while
Idral where Woodrow Wilson Is
in
Its
race
for the Chesapeake, but many more thousands take advan­
¡buried, great cburcbeo, and the
when
spring
melts the mountain tage of the better highway facilities
[citjs splendid educational and
snows
and
deluged
valleys pour | available along the Maryland side.
Isclentiflc Institutions are the chief
their
overflowing
streams
into Us
■objects of interest to the brief via
Best In Its Natural State.
upper
reaches,
the
falls
become
a
I Itor.
swirling
flood
that
rages
from
snore
Whether
or not the gorge of the
Unfortunately many of this group
Iml.'g one of tbl
striking nceulc to shore with a roar that may be Potomuc shall become a national
park rests with congress, which
jfeatures near the Capital—the Great beard for mile«.
must authorize Us acquisition be­
The
old
Chesapeake
and
Ohio
¡rails of the Potomac la M i i b f vir-
fore
the Park and Planning commis­
Iginia and Maryland, and the river's canal, which paralleled the Potomac
sion
can proceed beyond tbe bound­
[forge. The broad, cairn stream that from Georgetown up to and on be­
aries
of the District of Columbia.
I flows by Potomac park, separating yond the falls, was begun about the
Certainly
It could In no way be more
¡Washington and Virginia, narrows same time as the Baltimore and
useful
to
the
nation than In its nat-
I suddenly above the city. Its shores Ohio railway, and there was once a
¡change from bottom lands and gen- keen rivalry between them for the urul state—a place of rare beauty
freight traffic between Washington and a Joy forever to the rapidly In­
Itly rolling bills to take OB the stt-m
and
Cumberland, Md. But the “Iron creasing population of the Washing
ler aspect of palisades, cut at fre-
horse”
outdistanced the faithful ton district and the ever-swelling,
1 quent toterrals by deep guides,
plodding
mules of the tow'path, and never-ending stream of visitors to
I through some of w hich
small
[streams inter the river In tumultu- the canal la no loDger In operation. the national capital from all of the
|ous cascades.
However, transportation's loss has world.
Probably no other capital city In
On the Virginia side, where the been the gain of thousands who
either
hemisphere has scenic assets
Icllffs rise almost sheer from the wa­ know and love the hike along the
comparable
to Washington’s Great
iters edge, these ravines arc so steep towpath, with Its great trees and
falls
and
the
Potomac gorge. The
jsnd so numerous that n Journey thickets fringing the still waters of
late
Viscount
Jam
es Bryce, ambas
Itlong the bluffs entails more travel the canal, while here and there a
sador
of
Great
Britain
to the Unit
I vertically than In a horizontal dl- moss encrusted rock, bolder than
ed
States
and
staunch
friend and
[ rectlon.
the rest, Juts out like some minia­
admirer of America, In writing of
ture I.orelel.
The Three Sisters.
the beauties of Washington In the
Birds frequent the vicinity In National Geographic Magazine, said :
I
above the handsome Francis
IScott Key bridge and the old Aque countless thousands. Wrens, spar­
“It Is Impossible to live In Wash­
I act bridge, which formerly carried rows, warblers, thrushes, and my­ ington and not be struck by some
* canal across the river, the trio riad other varieties haunt the thick­ peculiar features and some peculiar
or Jagged rocks known ns the Three ets. Kingfishers seek their prey beauties which your city possesses.
i h ' T reCal1 a ron,nn,lc legend of along the water's edge. Mocking In the first place, Us site has a
L e ^ Men who once rontned birds are permanent residents of great deal that Is admirable and
these rugged shores.
the woods, and the cheery whistle charming. There Is rising ground
According to the tradition, these of the lordly cardinal may be heard Inclosing on all sides a level space,
s mark the place where the at almost any time of year. Indeed, and so making a beautiful amphi­
1 chi pf daug,lters of Hn Ana lost an at certain seasons this inagnltieent- theater between hills that are rich
i : ‘ef/ ere ca»K»‘t In a whirlpool ly rnparlsoned songster Is encoun­ with woods.
“Underneath these hills and run­
iTt
to their watery grave, tered In flocks.
ning
like a silver thread through the
Where
Cabin
John
creek
comes
er ! W
, 7 e p:" |,|lin" across the rlv-
middle
of the valley is your admira­
trvSt°a. fhK
e ! twry
t0 « «ecret down to the river, man has carried
ble
river.
the Vi M ^ 1(‘lr *,""h :ifan lovers on a road across the precipitous valley
“The Potomac has two kinds of
L *
» " » « : but the river on one of the world’s largest single
Intervened and, after ac- spans of masonry. In the spring­ beauty—the beauty of the upper
stream, murmuring over a rocky
•llters h nR ,,lf! <lostr,,ctlon of the time, however, this valley Itself Is of
bed between bold heights crowned
r o
c k
, , l , n’e gloomy far greater Interest than Us bridge.
with wood, and the beauty of the
tbdrbodie
' i ° m the Rpot w here Ferns and wild flowers adorn It In wide expanse, spread out like a lake
The v? Sar k ^nenth the waves. profusion, and the delicate pink
below the city into a vast sheet of
I shores con rK' " la
nn‘* Maryland blossom* of the laurel and notched
silver.
Beys un it V'rf° rapM|y ns or,e Jour- white flowers of the dogwood dapple
“No European city has so noble
abov« \va«hir T r’ unt11 n f<‘w m,le* the greening hillsides harmoniously. a cataract In Us vicinity as the
M by W
,hPy nr° aa*Mrat>
Great Falls of the Potomac—a mag­
Good for Biological Study.
nificent piece of scenery which you
One of the many Interesting fea­
turbulent
will, of course, always preserve.”
■eriea'of V/' '' i .1 '*'Is’ wh,ch I* a tures of the Potomac gorge is Us
again. v.. p ' "• ,he r,ver widens peculiar situation biologically. In
Ship« Serve Many People
the Maryland.'’'18 ls," n,,s, *I>nngle the cool shadows of Its steep cliffs
Nearly
90 per cent of the people
m i bn?,
WfcUt Virginia's the fauna and flora of the upland of the United States are located In
Ti.
"Uder and more regions Impinge upon those of the
iUe *«tera pursue a more coustal plain to provide one of tbe territories seryeU by ships.
“owL f V .:lh
* * of
REVEN
BEDTIME STO r F
By T H O R N T O N W . BURGESS
er be covered with those dead
leaves, and whoever comes along
will see It. It Isn’t safe to try to
D O B B Y COON and Billy Mink sat pull the leaves off of It because
' “A on an old log on the bank of you might get caught doing it. If
the Laughing Brook and talked you will do that to the trap on this
over the traps Billy Mink had dis­ side I will do the same thing to
covered and what should be done the trap on the other side of the
Laughing Brook. If you’re afraid,
about them.
Just
say so, and I’ll take care of
“Of course,” said Billy Mink, “you
both
traps.”
and I are safe enough. We know
Now Bobby Coon was afraid be­
exactly where those traps are and
we are not going to be so foolish cause, you see, he had never had
as to get caught in one of them. anything to do with traps. But he
But there are others who travel up wasn’t willing to own up that he
and down the Laughing Brook who
might not discover the traps until
too late.”
Bobby Coon nodded. “Ju st what
I was thinking,” said he. “But for
you, Billy Mink, I would be In that
trap down there this very minute.
It was stupid of me not to have sus-
pected that the little opening In
that fence was left purposely to
tempt whoever came along to go
through It Instead of taking the
trouble to climb that steep bank
and go around the fence. There
may he others Just as stupid. We
ought to do something about It,
but what can we do?”
“Are you afraid to go near that
trap?” demanded Billy.
Bobby scratched his head thought­ “All Right, Let’s Get Busy,” Cried
fully. “How near?” he asked.
Billy Mink, Jumping Up.
“Near enough to get your paw
under It,” replied Billy.
was afraid. He knew that if he
“I don’t know,” replied Bobby. showed that he was afraid he never
‘‘What good will that do?”
would hear the end of It, for Billy
“Well, you see,’ replied Billy, Mink would be sure to tell every­
“that trap Is set right in the mid­ body he knew. He thought the
dle of that little opening and it matter over for a few minutes and
has been covered with wet, dead then grunted: “I guess If you can
leaves. Now I know something do It, I can.”
about traps. I ’ve seen a lot of
“All right, let’s get busy!” cried
them In my day. If anyone should Billy Mink, Jumping up.
I don’t
step on these wet leaves, two steel want to spend the rest of the night
Jaws would snap up and grab him sitting around here.”
by the leg. But those steel jaws
So Billy Mink swam across the
always snap up. They can’t snap Laughing Brook, and Bobby Coon
the other way. If your paw is slowly shuffled along on his side
underneath the trap there Is no down toward the little fence where
danger. By doing this you can lift the trap was set.
that trap up so that It will no long­
S T. W. B u rg ess.— W N T Service.
WHAT B O B B Y COON AND
B IL L Y MINK DID
mmiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiimmimiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiii u
Through
by
JEAN NEWTON
A WOMAN’S EYES
.............................................................................................................................. 1111111111111
ON TH E W ORKING B R ID E
•‘ p v E A R JEAN NEWTON—What
do you think of these mod­
ern marriages that have to be un­
dertaken on the basis of the girl
sticking to her job, often with the
strong possibility of hers being the
only Job In the family? This has
got so general now, that I see in
a report from the marriage license
bureau of a big city that practically
all of today's brides are working
brides.
Along with that goes a
whole changed outlook on the home
and marriage. One room nnd kitch­
enette will encompass all the hopes
of ‘home’ for these young people.
I think Independence and self-reli­
ance for women is good. But can
you build families nnd family spirit
and home life on such a founda­
tion ns I refer to?”
The answer is, I believe that It
has already been done. Brides hold­
ing on to their Jobs did not orig­
inate with the depression. The idea
has been in practice long enough so
that almost any suburb can show
a crop of couples of the vintage of
eight or ten years ago who started
out with both working, and then
when John made good settled down
to the cottage nnd babies.
As little Tommy says, there’s
nothing for nothing In this life. And
the situation of the working bride
Is not all to the good. But In
many ways It Is distinctly a gain
In the foundation of lasting mar­
riage. Chiefly, to my mind, Is the
fact that starting with that kind
of framework gives a girl a healthy
realistic viewpoint on what today’s
breadwinner is up against, and
when her young husband becomes
able to carry the load of a family,
his modest success will not shrink
to the contemptible In the eyes
of a wife full of illusions as to
royal roads to riches and husbands
who should come home from work
all set to take their wives out for
a good time.
© B ell S y n d ic a te .— W NU Service.
“Magic Pebbles” of
Quints* Town Popular
Toronto, Ont. — The “magic
pebbles” of Callander, birthplace
of the Dionne quintuplets, are in
heavy demand by persons who
desire children, according to Dr.
Allan Roy Dafoe, the quints’ phy­
sician.
The legend seems to be that
any person who obtains a peb­
ble from Callander will have
children.
“I do not know the origin of
the legend,” Dafoe told the Med­
ical Health Officers’ convention,
“but In some cases It seems to
work. In some cases the couples
have been without children for
as long as fourteen years.”
Dafoe said many persons
wrote to him, asking for a peb­
ble and Inclosing a $1 bill. He
said be always sent back the
money.
I