magnificent nature that surrounds this region,
there should be an inspiration corresponding more or less
with the grandeur of the aspect of the material world. The
modifications impressed upon the moral and intellectual
character of man by the physical aspects of nature, is a
theme more properly belonging to those who have cultivated the
aesthetic side of humanity. The poet and the artist can alone
appreciate, in the fullness of their humanizing influence,
the potent effects of these aesthetic inspirations. The lake
districts in all Alpine countries seem to impress peculiar
characteristics upon their inhabitants.

When quietly floating upon the placid surface of Lake Tahoe,
the largest of the "Gems of the Sierra"--nestled, as it is,
amidst a huge amphitheater of mountain peaks--it is difficult
to say whether we are more powerfully impressed with the
genuine childlike awe and wonder inspired by the contemplation
of the noble grandeur of nature, or with the calmer and more
gentle sense of the beautiful produced by the less imposing
aspects of the surrounding scenery. On the one hand crag and
beetling cliff sweeping in rugged and colossal massiveness
above dark waves of pine and fir, far into the keen and clear
blue air; the huge mantle of snow, so cumulus-like in its
brightness, thrown in many a solid fold over ice-sculptured
crest and shoulders; the dark cathedral-like spires and
splintered pinnacles, half snow, half stone, rising into the
sky like the very pillars of heaven. On the other hand the
waving verdure of the valleys below, the dash of waterfalls,
the plenteous gush of springs,
the laugh and dance of brook and rivulet as they hurry down
the plains. Add to this picture the deep repose of the azure
water, in which are mirrored snow-clad peaks, as well as
marginal fringes of waving forests and green meadows, and it
is difficult to decide whether the sense of grandeur or of
beauty has obtained the mastery of the soul.

CHAPTER XXXIX

THE TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST

The Tahoe National Forest was first set apart by proclamation,
September 17, 1906. Previous to this there had been the Tahoe and Yuba
Forest Reserves which were established by proclamation under the acts
of March 3, 1891, and June 4, 1897. The original Tahoe Forest Reserve
consisted of six townships along the west