The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1871-11-25
The New Wonderland.
The Upper Yellowstone Country.

1
ing expedition, who writes from Fort
Ellis:
| Fort Ellis is about twenty-five miles
Northwest by North from the Yellow
stone River, and one of the branches
of the East fork of the Galiatin River !;
the country beyond this place would
not admit of wagons, so that we fitted
up a pack train of horses and mules.
the only efficient mode of transporta-
ton that can be employed in this wild
and unexplored country. Soon after
we had passed over the divide and as
cended grassy hill slope, which fell
away gently to the river head, we
came in view of one of the greatest
chains of lava peaks that can be found
on this continent.
From right to left, as far as the eye.
could reach, it rested upon serried
| front of ragged, pinnaeled SUBMITS,
SO sharp and keen as to shed the snow
away down upon their torn and ragged
TANKS, leaving the bare rocks pointing
upward like needles, minarets, and
gothic roofs. The snow beneath
seemed to depend upon the struggling
and stunted pines for support, while
these timber lines in turn fall away
down the mountain sides to grassy
benches and plateaus; the whole form.
ing one OF the most perfect pictures of
lava upheaval and overflow that the
world affords. In this chain there
are hundred peaks that are over II, :.
900 feet above the level of the sea,
and 5000 feet above the river, and
eight or ten that will easily reach the.
altitude of IL, 900 or 1900 feet.
Near the mouth of the lower canyon,
where the river comes out from alb
rupt mountain gorges, small stream
flows in from the west, and bears the
name, on DOane's map, of /" Gardeners
River" We assembled it some three
miles, and came into camp at the base
of
MOST WONDERFUL HOT SPRING.
I Up here on the rolling, semi-wooded
slopes of high mountain, one sees
at first what appears to be huge
bank of snow covering very large
area, with the strange phenomenon of
lsteamySclouds of vapor rising from it !;
approaching nearer, it is found to be,
in reality, little mountain made up
by the precipitation and deposition of
soda and carbonate lime, which are
held in solution by the hot water of
the springs, which come up through
basaltic assures from some great depth,
as the water is always at the boiling
point. The deposition of the mater
ial held in solution is made in delicate
layers over tapping, and in beaded
rows, the whole being in appearance
not unlike the coral reef. The spring
in this way is constantly shutting
itse If up and breaking out afresh in
some other place not far distant. By
this closing up and breaking out again
of the springs large area of country
is lowered with their deposit, and the
spot am describing cannot be less
than five hundred acres in extent,
over which, here and there, are
THIRTY OR FORTY BOILING SPRINGS,
the depth of the PRECIPITATION in many
places being over two hundred feet.
The water itself is beautiful blue,
and transparent to IA great depth-at
least to depths that seem fathomless
and In many places, in flowing over
its deposits of soda and lime, it shows
tints of the most exquisite delicacy,
such as rose, creamy yellow, and faint
purple. Wegave two days to the sur
/ vey of this system of springs and the
adjacent country; thence proceeded
to the
MOUTH OF THE GREAT CANYON,
three miles above the head of the Low
er, and camped at the beautiful falls
of Lower Creek. At the junction of
thisstream with the Yellowstone above.
and below, fora mile or so, are a NUM-,
Der of sulphur and sulphuretted hy-.
drogen springs; while high up on the
basaltic walls of the canyon opposite
the yellow stain of "dead or "eold y
sulphur springs is very marked. The
structure of the basaltic column just
above the staining is very perfect, and
beautifully regular. Rows of pillars
from twenty to thirty feet stand with
out flaw or crack in regular tiers, one
uDOSe Tic OlHef.
THE GREAT CANYON
may be said to end at Tower Greek,
and rise at the foot of the Lower Falls,
giving it length of twenty-five or
thirty miles. 1t is a great basalticl
fissure or rather rent, in the earth,
varying in depth from one to two.
Thousand feet, along down which the
river seems delighted to fairly whirl,
foam, and fly, now blue and then a
snowy ribbon. The work Of erosion'
has 1eft towers, points and pinnacles
barely, standing out from it's almost
vertical walls at and for several miles
below the falls. These perpendicular
walls are gaily painted by the water
of the numberless warm and hot
springs which flow, seep and ooze out
from the assures into variety of tints
and tones, dazzling white, intense red,
purple, saffron, yellow, etc., and fairly
bewildering the eye at first sight with