The ceaseless struggle surges forth and back.
Embattled trees, a storm yet ragged line;
Here, mountain hemlocks massed to meet attack;
There, outposts held by stubborn white-barked pine.
Entrenched behind you crest are alpine-firs
Their shock-troops crouch below the shattered rim,
While o'er their heads sleet-shrapnel whines and whirs,
And clouds, whipped by the vicious gale, make dim
And wierd the scene of strife. The harried band
Goes down beneath a fierce barrage of snow.
'Midst howls victorious, over all the land
The Storm King leads his Arctic hordes. But lo!
The tide of battle turns. The zenith Sun
Brings forth his thermal hosts. The prostrate trees
Lift feeble arms; shake off the snow. Each one
Staggers erect, twisted and bent. The breeze
Carries the clarion rallying-call of Spring.
Then all along each rim, and ridge, and crest
Out over Alpine no-man's land they fling
The battling drifts, which, shrinking back hard pressed,
Retreating leave the splintered, broken bones
Of former warriers bleaching on the ground,
Mixed with the lava - glacier polished stones -
Crushed skeletons, the pieces strewn around.
And pitying Summer spreads, with kindly hand,
A burial cloth of Alpine flowers fine
Upon this graveyard of a valiant band,
The unsung heroes of the Timberline.

Natt Dodge - Ranger Naturalist.

How YOU Can Help The
Naturalist Work in Mt. Rainier
National Park.

Dedicated to public service and the development of a greater appreciation of the National Parks by the people of the nation, the naturalist department has been materially aided by thoughtful donations from those whom it has served in the past. Books on natural history, on human history of the Pacific Northwest, on Indian lore, interesting historical photographs or news clippings relative to the park, and magazines (such as) NATURE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, AMERICAN FORESTS, NATURAL HISTORY, BIRD LORE, and the like have swelled our library and have facilitated a better presentation of the interesting features of this park to our visiting public through the various mediums at our command.