In 1883, a hot springs was discovered on Sulphur Mountain by railway employees working on the Canadian Pacific Railway in the Canadian Rockies. Two years later, one of the employees, Frank McCabe, sent this letter to the Minister of the Interior in an attempt to receive a land title to the springs and to open a tourist spa. But the claim of first discovery was contested by several other railway employees. Rather than grant private title to the springs, the Department of the Interior used its powers under the Dominion Lands Act, and in November 1885 had about 26 square kilometres (10 square miles) "reserved from sale or settlement or squatting." The springs were to be reserved for the benefit of all Canadians. The move marked the beginning of what is now Banff National Park and a nationwide park system.