Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1871-10-14

The lake is thirty miles at the points OF II,
greatest length, and nearly twenty in width
between the southeast and southwest arms, anj
presents shore line of deep indentations and
inlets that will measure more than 40 miles
L took small canvas-covered boat which we
had packed up here, mule back, in sections and
spent seven days in following the bends and bay
and inlet lines of the lake, making thereby a
map OF the same, which gave to DIR. Hayden
As my hrst typographical or rather photograph
cal survey book. A system of regular sounding
was then taken up, and the greatest depth to be
found did not exceed much over 400 feet.
woRMY TROUT.
Inc water OF the lake is very clear and cold;
in places il is thick and green with countless
millions OF small algae; IL Is well stocked, like
the river, with trout, some OF great size: hut
strange to say, all the fish caught by us ADORE
the tails and in this lake were TOO troTny TO be
used as food; their external condition, however,
Is as good as that of their comradcs in the river
below.
now come to speak of the great sensation
THE WONDERFUL GEYsEBs OF THE FIRE HOLE
BASIN
az the headwaters of the Madison, which, in
magnitude and extent of area reduce those ne
Iceland to utter insignificance
have stood by crater and have seen a COL
nmn OF hot (boilingl water six feet in diameter,
ascend tcith a single bound, vertically TO height
OF 200 feet-pause there for an instant and Fan
to its silicifed basin in a thousand watery
streams and million prismatic drops. This was
Iiepeated ten or fifteen minutes, then all would
lie quiet; the water of the cistern become as
stlil as mat OF a mill pond and apparently
as inactive. This geyser, which is one of many.
we named the grand. IL plays at irregular inter
walls OF "A to 80 hours, for from 10 TO 30 minutes
Another, named by Doane 80 Old Pdith fgI y plsv,
at intervals OF only an hour apart tlirowing m
an immense steady column to an elevation OF
15n feet. vi
In this Geyser region, which will more than
cover an area of ten miles, there are at least
fifty geysers, ten of them Of the first magnitude
and over thousand boiling springs. DR. Hay
den, accompanied by Schonborn, the toroS-
rapher. and Pcale, the chemist, made a visit r.
an OF them, and ascertained their temperatures
Schonborn located them on a chart, and Peale
bottled and assayed the water and deposits of
sHhce, lime, sulphur, etc, L have made fifty
pre- Raphaelite sketches of them, while yactron
mas Photographed them most successfuIIv. 81
that, we can, / think, supply all the demands
1hat scientlhc minds can make upon US for ma
terial from which to generalize.
we left the Lake on the 23d August, after
making very thorough examination of the
country known as the yellowstone Basin. I
may say, in conclusion, that we experienced a
lively shock from
AN EARTHQUAKE
at ! O'Clock OF the morning of the Goth Aupusl
while In camp ut point on the east side of the
Lake, where number of hot springs are in
operation. The shock was distinctly felt nv
Col Barlows party, camped % miles south OF
us, as well as by another party of our men who
were out on the other side of the Lake. Is miles
west of us. IL came through camp like a wave
from the north to the south, startling the whole
caravan to Its feet; low rumbling roar accom-
panied the jar.
We are now about to leave for home, and I
am free in thinking that no expedition ever re-
turned more richly freighted with new material
Yours, very truly, HENRY W. ELLIOT
Professor JOSEPH HENRY, Secretary Smith
sonian Institution.