With God in the Yellowstone Part 3

MAMMOTH CAMP is situated at the foot of Jupiter Terrace. A short distance away is Fort Yellowstone, where the administration headquarters of the Park is located.

I should have enjoyed seeing more of the springs, with their gorgeous hues and combinations, but with the hope that we should have the opportunity of visiting the Park again in the near future, our party took the morning stage to Old Faithful Camp, at the Upper Geyser Basin.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FORT YELLOWSTONE _Haynes, St. Paul_]

Before leaving, I got a glimpse of the buffalo herd on the horizon in the distance, and was surprised to hear how rapidly these animals are becoming extinct in the Park, where they are so well protected. It seems that the buffalo and the Indian go together, and thrive only where civilization has not yet come.

The weather was cold, and having to travel in an open car made it very uncomfortable until the sun had time to rise above the tall trees and the mountain peaks. A brisk wind was blowing, and most of the time I had to keep my face heavily veiled. This hindered me from getting the full benefit of the scenery on the way to the Norris Geyser Basin.

Here, however, there was so much steam and boiling water I had no difficulty in getting warm.

We had a skilful driver, who called out the names of the places in a clear voice. This kept the pa.s.sengers from being under a strain of uncertainty and tense listening.

OBSIDIAN CLIFF, formed as the result of volcanic action in ages past, is twelve miles south of Mammoth Hot Springs. It rises two hundred fifty feet above the road and is composed of jet-black, volcanic gla.s.s, usually opaque, streaked with red, yellow, and green. When the roadway was constructed, great fires were built around blocks of this gla.s.s, which, when heated, were cooled by das.h.i.+ng water upon them resulting in their being shattered into fragments. This is said to be the only stretch of gla.s.s road in existence.

The cliff was "neutral ground" to the different tribes of Indians.

Chips of obsidian and partly finished obsidian arrow-heads are found throughout the Park, usually at places where the Indians had their camps. When the cliff is illuminated by the rays of the sun, it has the appearance of a glistening mirror, and is of much interest to the tourists.

Four and one-half miles from Norris is ROARING MOUNTAIN with steam escaping through countless apertures from its rugged side. The sound of the steam struggling to escape is not so audible now as in the past, but the whole picture reminds one of the inferno about ready to blow off its cap.

[Ill.u.s.tration: OBSIDIAN CLIFF _Haynes, St. Paul_]

In close proximity to the mountain are greenish, milky pools fed by rivers of sulphur water from the springs. It was not our privilege to tarry here, from the fact that the weather was uncomfortably cold, but the mountain stands out before me as one of the most interesting places to be seen on the tour.

The wind was blowing fiercely when we came to TWIN LAKES, four miles from Norris Geyser Basin, but I removed my heavy veil in order to get a better glimpse of them. They are beautiful, and although in such close proximity, their hues are entirely different.

How often two objects are found so closely allied to each other as to be inseparable, each one depending upon the other for its existence!

This cannot be a freak of nature or the result of chance. The only sensible conclusion is that it was so designed by the Creator to teach a most important spiritual lesson,--that of the two works of grace, which const.i.tute the panoply of the soul. There is no way to discard either without serious results.

There is something about clear, pure water, whether it is seen in the placid lake or the gus.h.i.+ng, mountain torrent, that inspires and lifts a person above the toils and cares of this life, where he is able to breathe a pure and holy atmosphere. Hence we see why, as shown in the Scriptures, Jesus so often used water to ill.u.s.trate the plan of salvation. Water is the symbol of life, and in the boiling springs, the pools, the lakes, the chasms, and the great, spouting geysers, a book is written in the Yellowstone that every one should learn to read.

Our attention was next called to the FRYING PAN, a basin fifteen feet across, with numerous boiling jets in constant and violent agitation.

I regretted that circ.u.mstances were not more favorable so that I could have a longer period of time to spend at these places, where Nature is so full of life and interest.

[Ill.u.s.trated: ROARING MOUNTAIN _Haynes, St. Paul_]

CHAPTER V

NORRIS GEYSER BASIN

When we arrived at NORRIS (formerly Gibbon) GEYSER BASIN, I was so cold I could scarcely use my limbs. The first attraction was a great, boiling spring at the left as we entered the basin. I immediately felt the change in the atmosphere, and soon got warm after reaching the board walk under which the boiling water was flowing, the hot steam everywhere being forced out through apertures.

Here was my first sight of the clear water geysers. The CONSTANT, with a maximum height of twenty feet, plays at intervals of from thirty to sixty seconds. The MINUTE MAN plays at intervals of from one to three minutes with a duration of about the same length of time. In this basin are also the ECHINUS, the FEARLESS, the MONARCH, with a maximum height of fifty feet, playing at intervals of twenty-five to sixty minutes, the NEW CRATER, the WHIRLIGIG, and the VALENTINE. The maximum height of the Valentine is a hundred feet and the time of eruptions varies from twenty-two to thirty hours.

The BLACK GROWLER STEAM VENT growled continually, sending forth great volumes of steam. The deposit around the crater is black in some places. The vent north of the Black Growler is called the HURRICANE.

It looks much like the former, but is not so active. The BATH TUB does not erupt, but is in constant agitation. EMERALD POOL is a large lake of boiling water, green in appearance.

NEW CRATER GEYSER is surrounded by large blocks of yellow rock. In the vicinity of this geyser, in 1891, a commotion occurred, very much like an earthquake, when great volumes of water were forced out. Since then there have been only ordinary eruptions, about every three minutes.

The form of the crater is such that the water is prevented from attaining any great height.

MONARCH GEYSER, near the base of the hill, is almost surrounded by beautifully colored rocks. The crater has two openings, the larger of which is twenty feet long and three feet wide. Eruptions occur without warning, and water is thrown a hundred feet high. The intervals between eruptions are about six hours.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NORRIS GEYSER BASIN _Haynes, St. Paul_]

The FEARLESS GEYSER throws water in every direction, apparently defying those who wish to approach it. NORRIS is a new geyser, and is probably changing more rapidly than any other in the basin. One never knows what changes a season may bring forth.

The MINUTE MAN is always interesting, especially on account of its regularity. Its crater seems originally to have been merely a fissure in a rock.

A few miles from Norris Basin is ELK PARK, a valley surrounded by timbered hills. Across the river from the road is CHOCOLATE SPRING, which has built a cone of chocolate color.

MONUMENT GEYSER BASIN is on the summit of MT. SCHURZ. There is not much to justify the tourist in making the ascent, as there are only a dozen or two of crumbling geyser cones, some of which steam and rumble, while others are apparently extinct.

On the east side of the river we entered GIBBON CANYON, and for several miles were shadowed by towering cliffs, in some places a thousand feet high.

BERYL SPRING is the largest boiling spring in the canyon. It is fifteen feet across, and about a mile from the entrance. While our touring car was das.h.i.+ng around the mountainside, suddenly we came to GIBBON FALL. Here, from a height of over eighty feet, bubbling and foaming torrents of water tumble down the steep cascades.

At NATIONAL PARK MOUNTAIN, our driver announced that we were at the confluence of the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers. It was here that the famous Washburn exploring party, in 1870, decided that the Yellowstone region should be set aside as a National Park, and from that time put forth their efforts to this end. Among the most enthusiastic were Cornelius Hedges, David E. Folsom, Lieut. Doane, and Nathaniel P.

Langford. How providential it was that these unselfish, public-spirited men should have taken up the subject at that time!

I did not know that the junction of the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers was an historical place, but was so fascinated with the scenery, I felt that I should like to camp there for a week, and have an opportunity to make notes preparatory to publis.h.i.+ng an account of my trip. To me, there was unusual attraction, and something very romantic, about the Firehole River. I had heard how it was fed by the geysers and boiling springs, and this added enchantment to its many charms. At one place I saw a great boulder in the river, from the sides of which were growing two spruce or pine trees.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NATIONAL PARK MOUNTAIN _Haynes, St. Paul_]

At the LOWER and MIDWAY BASINS are the GREAT FOUNTAIN and EXCELSIOR GEYSERS. The Excelsior, better known as "h.e.l.l's Half Acre," ceased to play in 1888. Previous to this it was known to throw water to a height of 300 feet, the time of the eruptions varying from one to four hours.

GREAT FOUNTAIN expels the water to a height of 100 feet, playing for thirty minutes, and its eruptions are from eight to twelve hours apart. At the present time Excelsior Geyser is a boiling lake, where the steam often prevents one from getting a good view of it.

The MAMMOTH PAINT POTS held my undivided interest for the limited time that I had. This is a boiling ma.s.s of mud, white at the center, and gradually developing into a beautiful pink, or flesh color toward the outer edges. The caldron of waxen mixture has a basin forty by sixty feet in size, with a rim about five feet high. The mud in the center bubbles up continually, "plop, plop," under the pressure of heat, and cools off toward the outer edges.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "h.e.l.l'S HALF ACRE" _Haynes, St. Paul_]

David E. Folsom witnessed a display of the Great Fountain Geyser in 1869:

"The hole through which the water was discharged was ten feet in diameter, and was situated in the center of a large circular shallow basin into which the water fell. There was a stiff breeze blowing at the time, and by going to the windward side and carefully picking our way over convenient stones we were enabled to reach the edge of the hole. At that moment the escaping steam was causing the water to boil up in a fountain five or six feet high. It stopped in an instant, and commenced settling down--twenty, thirty, forty feet--until we concluded that the bottom had fallen out, but the next instant, without any warning, it came rus.h.i.+ng up and shot into the air at least eighty feet, causing us to stampede. It continued to spout at intervals of a few moments for some time, but finally subsided."

PRISMATIC LAKE fairly dazzled me with its beauty. In the center it is a deep blue, blending into green toward the edges. In the shallow portion it is yellow, blending into orange at the edges. The water sparkles and flows off in every direction over the slightly raised rim of the lake. Its beauty and delicacy of coloring are impossible to describe. It is heated to nearly 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

BISCUIT BASIN and SAPPHIRE POOL are places of much interest, also JEWEL GEYSER, ARTEMISIA GEYSER, etc.

MORNING GLORY SPRING, near Riverside Bridge, presented to me an idea of what the earth will be when the curse is lifted and it is clothed in Edenic glory. It is twenty-three feet in diameter, with a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and with an apparent depth of about thirty feet.

I had not previously made a study of the Park, and never knew what was coming next, but before I reached Old Faithful Camp at the Upper Geyser Basin, I felt that I had seen enough to repay me a thousand-fold for any expense or effort that was being made in the tour of the Yellowstone, which to me was truly a world of wonders.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAMMOTH PAINT POTS _Haynes, St. Paul_]