MONTHLY SUMMARY, Below I give you a summary covering the weather conditions as they have existed here since the installation of the local bureau: From this table it will be noted that since the installation of the local bureau there has not been a single month during which we have not had at least an inch of rain, and during the interval of less than a year there has been a total rainfall of 39.15 inches. The warmest temperature registered since the 10th of August last year was 106 on two days only, while the lowest temperature was 9 degrees above zero on the 3d and 4th of January. The two warmest days of the year were on the 19th of August and the 15th of September. BROMIDE PAVILION. When the former superintendent built the new Bromide Pavilion, it appears there was not sufficient funds available for this purpose to enable him to put all the finishing touches to this structure that he was inclined to make here. The waters from the Bromide, Medicine, and Sodium-Chlorid Springs are all distributed to the public from this pavilion, all of them being pumped from the springs into containers within the spring house. It was necessary, because of lack of funds when the pavilion was built, to install therein temporary facilities for dispensing these waters. During the year just ended, however, he replaced this temporary arrangement with a permanent cement stand 5 feet wide by 16 feet in length, with a cement trough attached, which drains into the creek below the pavilion. To this stand he attached three pumps of a like make, which bring the various waters from the springs up into three earthenware containers of 20 gallons capacity. The containers have covers and are labeled under the glaze "Bromide," "Medicine," and "Sodium-Chlorid." They are also provided with strong rabbit-eared, selfclosing brass bibs, so that very little water is wasted, but the trough below the stand takes care of whatever wastage there may be, and provides a place to catch whatever water the visitors may throw from their cups. This enables the keeper of the spring house to have the pavillon always neat in appearance. The pumps and containers on the stand are arranged at equal distances apart, and across the pavilion on the opposite wail has been painted the analysis of each of the spring waters dispensed from this pavilion, each analysis appearing opposite the container which holds that particular water. This work has all been done artistically and is said to be quite an improvement over the old conditions which have existed at this location in the years gone by. I should say that this pavilion might be called a finished piece of work if some of the woodwork on the interior could be stained. The improvements at this location have all been in the nature of permanent developments and show conclusively that much careful thought and attention has been devoted to this work by the former superintendent of this park. BROMIDE BRIDGE AND APPROACHES. Before the flood of January, 1916, the Bromide Suspension Bridge spanned Rock Creek, so that persons crossing the bridge entered the spring house directly from the bridge; but after this had been washed away by the flood the department engineer, who selected a site for the new bridge, decided that the safest foundation was some distance up the stream from the spring house, where a turn in the creek throws the flood waters of the stream against the rock cliff instead of against the earth foundation at the south end of the bridge. It was the opinion of the engineer that this would reduce to a minimum the likelihood of the stream ever undermining the foundation at the south end of the bridge, as he thought might have been the case relative to the south end of the old suspension bridge, where another turn of the creek had thrown the waters against the earth foundation at that location and where it had probably been loosening the dirt for some years past. Hence the new Bromide Bridge was located at the site upstream from the pavilion. Necessarily, this change of location made requisite the building of some kind of a walk way along the cliff side from the pavilion to the north end of the bridge and building an approach at the south end. During the year just ended the superintendent completed the approach at the south end of the bridge, constructing it of cement walls filled in with rock and gravel in the center and with a cement floor on top. This approach is 6 feet high at the top and 18 inches deep at the lower end. It is 37 feet long by 10 feet 4 inches wide at the top and 6 feet 8 inches at the lower end. Due to the delay in letting bridge contract and locating this bridge, there was not sufficient time left before the end of the fiscal year for which the storm-damage appropriation was made to enable the superintendent to foresee the necessity for these approaches and provide for letting contract for building same from the $10,000 appropriation available for repairs to storm damages by the time the fiscal year closed, which made it necessary to provide a temporary plank walk along the cliff side between the pavilion and the north end of the bridge. It appears to have been his intention when 1139 funds were available to make a permanent walk way at this location, building a rock retaining wall along the foot of the bluff to hold the walk up and prevent its being washed by the waters of the creek. Up to this date, since the construction of the bridge there has not been an appropriation for the park of sufficient magnitude to justify him in undertaking this project; hence the temporary walk is still in use. I believe this walk should be built with the necessary rock retaining wall as its support, but it will be an expensive piece of work if properly and artistically done, as should be the case in all improvements made in the national parks. I include in my estimate for submission to Congress a recommendation for the sum necessary to do this work, which the former superintendent thinks would probably be sufficient for its completion. I notice since my own administration of the park began that cement sidewalks had been built in the little Bromide Park which led up to the south end of the old suspension bridge, and while I do not think it is necessary to remove these walks I believe new ones should be laid to connect these walks with the south approach of the new bridge. This would increase the probable cost of the walks leading to this bridge some $250, and I am adding this amount to Col. Sneed's estimate for this purpose. This trail was constructed by former Superintendent A. R. Greene in the latter part of 1908 and consists of a footpath leading from the Pavilion Springs west across the park, and thence along the Bromide Cliff, descending by way of a cement stairway to the Bromide Spring. The trail crosses several ravines which have been spanned by small Wooden bridges since its construction. Col. Sneed advises that it has been some years since any great amount of work on either the trail or the little bridges has been done. It was his intention to thoroughly repair both during the year just ended, but it appears there have not been sufficient funds available to do this and other work on the park which was more necessary, so the trail was merely cleared off and some of the worst bridges replaced with new ones. Further work should be done on this trail, and I am making recommendations along The new bridges were constructed of new lumber and painted. this line. FENCING. During the fiscal year past the superintendent purchased about 2,000 new oak posts for the purpose of repairing the park fences, some of which had not been repaired since it was built some 11 years ago. entirely gone. it was possible with the funds available. These were replaced, and the fencing was thoroughly repaired as far as The old fence posts had rotted, and many of them were Col. Sneed advises that he has had in mind for some years building an iron fence of two rails of 13-inch iron pipe with 2-inch posts set in cement around the East and West Central Parks and around the little park near the Bromide Spring. It was his desire to build ornamental conglomerate rock gateposts at the entrances to these parks. Without fencing of some kind around these parks, it would be impossible to keep campers from stopping overnight in them or for a noonday meal, leaving them badly littered. I am adding my recommendation to the ones previously made by the former superintendent that this improvement be provided for in the next appropriation. work. BUILDINGS. About the only repairs made to the park buildings during the past year was the painting of roofs on the superintendent's residence and office and the cottage occupied by the laborer at the Bromide Spring. It has been impossible for some years past to make extensive repairs to these buildings because of the lack of funds with which to do the I find they are all in bad repair with exception of the ones newly constructed, and unless something is done toward restoring these old buildings at an early date they will become uninhabitable and the expense of repairing them will be probably more than they are worth. Some of these have not been repapered since the segregation of the park, and are leaking badly. Even the superintendent's residence needs some repairs which it will not be possible to have made during the present year because of the small appropriation made for improvements in the park. It seems to me a bad policy to pursue to allow the park buildings to stand until they are ready to fall down when they should be added attractions to the park. It is really necessary to have residences within the park for the employees, and I am making recommendation herein that an amount sufficient to properly repair them be made available in the next appropriation. BENCHES. The park benches were all repaired during the present season and repainted, and a number of stationary benches were built around the trees in West Central Park, the little Bromide Park, and near the Cold Spring. built in a square around the trees. These were constructed of 1 by 12 lumber and These benches were also painted. In the Bromide Park, at the Cold Spring, and just west of the Pavilion Springs, long picnic tables with stationary benches along the sides were built for the accommodation of small picnic parties who desired to take their lunches at these places, and these were given one coat of paint. ROADS. If the park roads are not extensively repaired within the next two years it will become necessary to rebuild them at much greater cost than the repairs would amount to. roads are constructed of a native cement gravel which disintegrates during dry weather if traveled over extensively. This makes it easily washed out by the rains which follow, necessitating almost constant patching and grading. These It is impossible to properly maintain these roads with the meager appropriations which have been given this park for some years, provided any other work is done, and for several years just passed there has been other work in the park which was even more Imperative than repairing the roads. They have been in fairly good shape, but from now 140922°-INT 1919-VOL 1-74 on they will begin to deteriorate rapidly unless Congress makes an appropriation sufficient to permit of the proper repairs being made to them. I include in my estimate an amount for this purpose which will probably be sufficient for the time covered by the next appropriation. ANTELOPE AND BUFFALO SPRINGS. I am advised by the former superintendent that these springs ceased to flow in January of 1918, for the third time within his knowledge during a period of 27 years. time was in 1911, when both springs ceased to flow altogether and continued dry until the spring of 1913, at which time they resumed their flow at a very limited ratio of their The first normal capacity. They continued at this rate until the fall of the same year, when they again stopped. A few months later, however, they resumed activities and continued to flow at about half their regular rate until January of last year, when they again stopped running and have remained dry to this date. Col. Sneed says that old settlers who were here prior to his knowledge of the place claim that these springs had failed once before, in about the year 1891, but nobody has ever advanced an opinion as to the cause for this that could be relied upon as being the real facts in the case. affairs. These springs have always formed the source of the beautiful Travertine Creek, The problem before us now is to find some remedy for this state of with its numbers of attractive waterfalls, and to have the creek dry (with exception of a short distance below Bear Falls, where it is supplied by springs in the bed of the creek) is really in the nature of a calamity to the park. It seems that Inspector M. L. Dorr, of the Interior Department, was here in the early fall of 1913 and made recommendation that artesian wells be drilled at both the Antelope and Buffalo Springs, going down deep enough to reach a sufficient supply of water to insure a good stream in the bed of this creek. If it is possible to do this, I think it would be to the interest of the park to provide the way, and I am making recommendation hereinafter in accordance with that made by Mr. Dorr, and subsequently by Col. Sneed. HOME-COMING PICNIC. On the Fourth of July last the citizens of Sulphur gave a big home-coming picnic in the park to the returned soldiers of the World War. This was widely advertised, and thousands of people came here and spent two days of real pleasure in the park. The returned soldiers and sailors were everybody's guests for the days-the 4th and 5th. ANIMALS, BIRDS, AND WILD FLOWERS. In the spring of 1917 the city of Oklahoma, in this State, presented to the park three fawns out of a surplus which they had on hand, the deer being of the white-tailed variety. Since that time the herd has increased in number, and it is known that there are now seven of these deer. They are very friendly to visitors, will eat out of their hands, and like their noses rubbed, and are a source of pleasure and interest to the people who come here. I have taken up with Mr. Frank Rush, of the Wichita Forest Reserve in this State, the question of obtaining three buffalo for the park, and he has expressed a willingness to let me have two females and one male, provided he can obtain the permission of the department to have the transfer made. I also have in mind obtaining some elk from the Yellowstone National Park as an added attraction, and have already requested your department to arrange with the superintendent of the Yellowstone to furnish me with a male and two females. There is ample feed stuff raised on the park to take care of these animals, and I am anxious to add every feature possible for the pleasure and entertainment of visitors. The little brown squirrels which abound in this park are such friendly little animals that they eat out of the hands of visitors and even dart into their pockets and help themselves. The flocks of blue jays are also found where the visitors are feeding the squirrels, and are apparently as little afraid of the people as are the squirrels. they are unafraid of the squirrel, and will often be found trying to pick a quarrel with the squirrel over the possession of a fine nut. They are quicker in action than the Surely squirrels and often avail themselves of food meant for the squirrels, much to the amusement of the visitors. The sweet-voiced mocking bird is found in this park the entire year, and during the breeding season (like the nightingale) is oftentimes heard singing in the park throughout the night. this office that he had been able to identify 30 varieties, among them being the beautiful One resident student of bird lore a year or two ago advised cardinal, the bluebird, the dainty wren, the humming bird, and several varieties of the finch, including the painted bunting which is rare in this section of the country. A student of botany was able to determine the species of 52 varieties of wild flowers within the park, while there were countless others which were not classified. The quail within the park have multiplied with the protection afforded them by the rule against hunting in the park until they are now quite plentiful, and evidently feel their security to the extent that oftentimes covies of them will come up quite boldly on the office porch. RECOMMENDATIONS. I recommend that Congress be asked to appropriate the sum of $2,250 to build the walk with its necessary retaining walls along the cliff side from the Bromide Pavilion to the bridge, which has been covered into this report hereinbefore under paragraph "Bromide Bridge and approaches," and for the purpose of providing cement walks from the walk already laid to connect with the south approach of this bridge. I recommend that provision be made for at least $1,000 for the repairs discussed under heading "Cliffside Trail" in this report. For the iron fence around the parks near the city of Sulphur, which I described under the heading of "Fencing," the former superintendent estimates that it would require at least $3.700 for labor and material sufficient to build same. I believe it will require at least $5,000 to properly renovate and repair the park buildings which need overhauling, including some of the pavilions, and with the prevailing high prices of labor and material I am not at all certain that even this amount would suffice, but at least I could make some progress toward keeping them from falling into decay. This line of improvements in the park has been fully discussed under "Buildings" herein. |