Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1872-10-09
News from the Rocky Mountains.

News from the Rocky Mountains.
The following letter received from DR..
Curtis, who accompanies the United States
Geological Survey through the Rocky
Mountains, will be read with much in
terest. The Doctors many friends, who
have become little solicitous on accout of
his long silence, will be glad to learn of his
safety from the depredations of Indians
and grizzlies
LOWER FIRE HOLE BASIN,
L. S. National Park, y. w. Cor. Wyom-
ing Territory, Aug. 81, 1872.
We have now been camped in this most
interesting and wonderful place sixteen
days, which is most probably longer than
the sojourn here of any white man before.
The weather has been fine. We have
had scarcely any rain for six weeks.
Although the days are warm, yet in this
elevated region the nights are cool. With
the exception of last night and the night
before last there has been no night dur
ing the month that has not produced frost
and ice The thermometer has ranged
from 200 +. to 25o f. But it has often fell
even lower. Two weeks ago tonight, it
stood at 150, which you know is lie below
the freezing point.
This Basin is about the same elevation
above the sea as the top of the highest peak
in the Black Mountains of North Caro-
lima.
Prof Bradley who is now asleep near
me- and myself made trip last week over
to the Yellow Stone Lake and Falls. The
latter are lis feet, perfectly perpendicular,
then a quarter of mile of very notable
rapids and then fall of $50 feet more, or
more than twice that of Niagara. The
Lake is higher than any point east of the
Mississippi river, and surrounded by
mountains that are mountains.
But perhaps the most re narkable feature
of this region is its hot springs and gey-
sers. There are probably not tess tina
three thousand hot springs, geysers and
steam vents within ten miles around.
These are not simply warm springs but
boiling hot, with steam constantly issuing
therefrom. The geysers are large and
misunderstanding any others on the
globe. Some send up columns of boiling
water several feet in diamet from $50 to
80 feet high and steam many hundred
feet higher. They are grand, awfully
grand, beyond description.
For some account of them / must refer
you to the May and June, 1871, numbers of
Scri6ner's Magazine. Those articles were
written by Ex-Governor Langford, of
Montana, now the Superintendent of the
Park. He has been with US till withinj
few days when he returned to his home.
This is a purely volcanic region, lava, in
Guiding basalt, obpsidian and porphyry
abounds, and Prof. Bradley has discovered
some interesting and important geological
features hitherto unknown. His report
will be valuable production in the
survey of the Territories. Although this is
now, and has hitherto been an uninhabi-
ted, and almost unvisited region, it is
very soon destined to become great place
of resort.
From the information given by Prof.
Hayden, U. S. Geologist and the head Of
the Survey, derived by a trip of only few
days last summer, Congress had already
set apart this region, to the extent of 1916
square miles, as q Public Park forever, and
now the Engineers are close upon us, fol-
lowing our trail in a preliminary survey
for railroad hither. But we are about to
turn Southwark. We 90 along the very
backbone of the wild Rocky Mountains,
through on almost-I might say with pro-
priety-an entirely unknown region. We
hope to make Fort Hall, Idaho, the nearest
point of any white resident, in about four
weeks. OF course, though isolated from
civilization for the time, we expect a
pleasant and profitable march. Game is
plenty. We have the buffalo or bison,
moose, elk, bear, BLACK cinnamon and
grizzly deer, antelope, &C., &c. Our
hunter killed five elk before breakfast
few mornings since. Yesterday he killed
a Bear and to-day he brought in black
tailedd eer, a species much larger than the
deer of Tennessee. fowl, Swan, geese,
ducks, &C., also abound as well as most
excellent trout.
But must close. Excuse haste and other
deficiencies. Sitting akimdo on the
ground with paper on the upturned head
of whisky keg empty and therefore tip
sy,) are not the most convenient accom-
modations for writing.
Yours, &C.,
JOSIAH CURTIS.