t and level spots were sought for their spreading.
The seasoned campers were happy and enjoyed the luxury. Some who for the
first time reposed upon the breast of Mother Earth failed to find her
charm. One father awoke in the morning, sat up promptly, pointed his
hand dramatically to the zenith, and said, "Never again!" But he lived
to revel in the open-air caravansary, and came home a tougher and a
wiser man.

A ride of fifteen miles through a finely wooded country brought us to
the Lake Eleanor dam-site and the municipal camp, where general
preparations are being made and runoff records are being taken. In a
comfortable log house two assistants to the engineer spent the winter,
keeping records of rainfall and other meteorological data.

While we were in camp here, Lake Eleanor, a mile distant, was visited
and enjoyed in various ways, and those who felt an interest in the main
purpose of the trip rode over into the Cherry Creek watershed and
inspected the sites and rights whose purchase is contemplated. Saturday
morning we left Lake Eleanor and climbed the steep ridge separating its
watershed from that of the Tuolumne. From Eleanor to Hetch-Hetchy as the
crow would fly, if there were a crow and he wanted to fly, is five
miles. As mules crawl and men climb, it takes five hours. But it is well
worth it for association with granite helps any politician.

Hetch-Hetchy Valley is about half as large as Yosemite and almost as
beautiful. Early in the season the mosquitoes make life miserable, but
as late as August the swampy land is pretty well dried up and they are
few. The Tuolumne tumbles in less effectively than the Merced enters
Yosemite. Instead of two falls of nine hundred feet, there is one of
twenty or so. The Wampana, corresponding to the Yosemite Falls, is not
so high nor so picturesque, but is more industrious, and apparently
takes no vacation. Kolana is a noble knob, but not quite so imposing as
Sentinel Rock.

We camped in the valley two days and found it very delightful. The
dam-site is not surpassed. Nowhere in the world, it is said, can so
large a body of water be impounded so securely at so small an expense.

There is an admirable camping-ground within easy distance of the valley,
and engineers say that at small expense a good trail, and even a
wagon-road, can be built along the face of the north wall, making
possible a fine view of the magnificent lake.

With the argument for granting the right the city