the past, the unravelling of whose threads
and the reconstruction of whose plot and climax will add zest and
interest to a summer's outing, and bring him, incidentally, in close
communion with nature in a thousand happy moods.

VI

The limitations of a chapter permit no mention of the gigantic
prehistoric monsters of land, sea, and air which once haunted the site
of this noble park, nor description of its more intimate beauties, nor
detail of its mountaineering joys; for all of which and much other
invaluable information I refer those interested to publications of the
National Park Service, Department of the Interior, by Doctor Willis T.
Lee and Major Roger W. Toll. But something must be told of its early
history.

In 1819 the exploring expedition which President Madison sent west under
Colonel S.H. Long, while camping at the mouth of La Poudre River, was
greatly impressed by the magnificence of a lofty, square-topped
mountain. They approached it no nearer, but named it Longs Peak, in
honor of their leader. Parkman records seeing it in 1845.

The pioneers, of course, knew the country. Deer, elk, and sheep were
probably hunted there in the forties and fifties. Joel Estes, the first
settler, built a cabin in the foothills in 1860, hence the title of
Estes Park. James Nugent, afterward widely celebrated as "Rocky Mountain
Jim," arrived in 1868. Others followed slowly.

William N. Byers, founder of the _Rocky Mountain News_, made the first
attempt to climb Longs Peak in 1864. He did not succeed then, but four
years later, with a party which included Major J.W. Powell, who made the
first exploration of the Grand Canyon the following year, he made the
summit. In 1871 the Reverend E.J. Lamb, the first regular guide on Longs
Peak, made the first descent by the east precipice, a dangerous feat.

The Earl of Dunraven visited Estes Park in 1871, attracted by the big
game hunting, and bought land. He projected an immense preserve, and
induced men to file claims which he planned to acquire after they had
secured possession; but the claims were disallowed. Albert Bierstadt
visited Dunraven in 1874, and painted canvases which are famous in
American art.

It was Dunraven, also, who built the first hotel. Tourists began to
arrive in 1865. In 1874 the first stage line was established, coming in
from Longmont. Telephone connection was made in 1906.

Under the name of Estes Park, the region prospered. Fifty thousand
people wer