Wonderland 1903

The lead article of the 1903 Wonderland covered the travels of Louis Hennepin, a Franciscan friar who in 1679 and 1680 accompanied La Salle on early explorations of what is now the Midwest. Hennepin traveled as far south as the present-day site of Hannibal, Missouri and as far west as the site if Minneapolis. He was the first European to publish descriptions of Niagara Falls as well as St. Anthony Falls.

Click image to download a 47.8-MB PDF of this 116-page booklet.

The booklet’s second chapter describes “the last of the Mandans,” a tribe of Indians that was thought to be going extinct at the time. In fact, there are still some Mandans today. Lenz’s sculpture in the chapter heading resembles a scene from the 1977 movie, Last of the Mohicans.

A Yellowstone chapter is titled “Nature’s Masterpieces.” This was followed by a chapter titled “Irrigation in the Northwest.” Lenz’s sculpture for the chapter heading shows a bald eagle with outstretched wings turning a valve to allow water to flow freely from an irrigation pipe, symbolizing federal support for irrigation in the West.

“One Hundred and Fifty Miles with a Pack Train” tells the story of a trip through the Idaho wilderness with a “motley collection” of pack animals. In addition to pictures of horses and campers, the article is accompanied by several photos of Northern Pacific trains, probably to show how far transportation had progressed since pack trains were a major way of travel in the West and not simply a form of recreation. The last chapter is an article on the Columbia River and Mount Hood.


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