Old Trails
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by Ernest Thompson SetonThere is always great cause for regret when an old road with all its historical interest is abandoned. It was undoubtedly a sad blunder by the Canadian government when it allowed the Old Cart Trail from Winnipeg to Edmonton (800 miles) and the similar trails to Calgary and Prince Albert to be closed by fences so that the traveling public now pursues a rectangular course, climbing over hills and floundering through bogs instead of taking the path selected by the pioneers for its sound foundation, easy grades and directness of line. The authorities now begin to realize the magnitude of their blunder when it is too late. In the United States the old Allegheny Crossings and the Overland routes are being made into national highways without regard to rectangular survey, guided by an accurate study of natural obstacles as they were in the beginning. In other localities a similar care is manifesting itself in restoration and perpetuation of the Old Moccasin Trails which are of singular value to the historian as well as to the pedestrian, for they are not only the shortest lines between points but always the most beautiful. In some cases the road was selected m order to go from one noble landscape to another. Such roadways are cheap to make and valuable to every one from the passing lover of scenery to the Forest Ranger on his daily round. The Green Mountain Club (President Will F. Monroe) is doing noble work along this line and should receive the support of every Woodcrafter. It is not too much to say that every famous highway in America to-day was, at first, only a moccasin trail through the woods, and that the engineers are indebted to that fact. The Boston Post Road, the Cumberland Gap, the Monterey Drive, Raton Pass all bear testimony to the wisdom of the ancient trail-maker. By all means, then, let us save the Old Moccasin Trails, even if it be only by recording their lines so that a wiser generation may undertake the restoration. In England they have long had a powerful society pledged to preserve the old footways, a society which has done noble necessary service, and we should long ago have had such an organization here to do the same or similar sort of work. Let us not neglect this work but as lovers of the woods class with forest and bird protection the Keeping of the Old Trails that it may be easier to follow the streams and to enjoy the birds and flowers of woodland and hill. |
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Last modified: October 15, 2016.