, 1872-10-30

"ANH Va
tent of the Union. With every addition to the
length and breadth of the State dominion the
General Land Office has had its eye upon the
watch, and its hard upon a staff of well-trained
and jealous officers. ready to bring the newly
acquired I" Territory though not vet dignifed
with State" rank, within the range of its sys-
temstiO and scientifically organized survey.
The most recent volumes of Reports comprise
the geological surveys of the State of Nebraska
and the Territory of Montana. including parts
of the adjoining districts, under the direction of
Mr.. T. V. Hayden, Geologist to the United
States Government. The first of these Re-
ports, though sent in three years ago, has but
recently seen the light, and consequently the
entire mass of information here presented to the
public is as novel as it is pregnant with interest.
The light thrown on the physical features, the
resources, and the potential value Of these new
ly formed districts, is of scarcely less impor-
tance to the cause of science and industry at
large than to the narrower circle of native in
t~erests, while the popular character which it has
been sought in some measure to give to the Re-
ports OF the surveyors will do much to win the
attention of a class of readers who might at
first sight be repealed by the scientific aspect of
their contents.
The chief interest of Mr.. Hayden's second
Report centres in the marvellous system of
geyser springs brought to light only of late
years about the head waters of the Yellowstone
River and the upper forks Of the Missouri, COM
prising portions of Idaho and Montana. The
wonders of Iceland or New Zealand are dwar-
fed to nothingness b. the stupe ndous phenome-
Ia OF " voIcanism," to adopt the language Of
the Report, which crowd the basin of the Vel
Iowstone. Many of these springs are no longer
active, their igneous vents forming shapes the
m0at faOtacYin. HEa fha e Had nh;u-ar - couroJ
in the Report from GARDENERS River, or the
DEVILS Den, Tower Creek, formed probably
near the close of the Pleiocene period. Else
where abound groups and single varieties Of
true geysers, not less strange and wild in form,
like the " Mud Cauldron," the great Mud Gey-
ser, and the Giants Cauldron, forty feet in dia-
meter, intermittent in its flow, having been OBJ
served to rise and fall eight times in twenty-four
hours to a range of thirty feet. In Fire Hole
Valley a vast basin of one hundred and fifty feet
in diameter, with a central orifce of twenty-five
feet, throws up a mass of water to a height of
sixty feet. At a short distance a series of mud
pufs squirt up with a suppressed thud into the
air, spreading around them deposits Of fine sill
ceous clay in every hue, from the purest white
to a bright rich pink. Above all, the grand
Geyser projects columns of boiling water up
wards of two hundred feet in height, the steam
AO0hbAbH q AhCOohL0 INV A0 LuS a
pillar sustaining itself unbroken for twenty
minutes at a time. 1t has a mate of scarcely
less grandeur and transcendent grace in the Gil
antess, whose feathery column, rivalling in ele-
gance and purity the triumphs Of Versailles or
Sydenham, was measured to rise 219 feet, gilt
tering like a shove Of diamonds in the sun.
La the centre of this fairy region the Yellow
stone Lake is described as carrying off the palm
of beauty among the whole scenery of the
world. The great canon and lower fails of the
Yellowstone River, if less grand than Niagara,
would seem to excel those familiar falls in beau
ty. The Yosemite itself, the recent pride of
the American continent, would appear in many
respects to be here outdone. It is with great
satisfaction that We find the wise policy and
appreciative taste of the Californian Legislature
followed by the governing body of the Union in
the instance of the Yellowstone. Towards the
end Of last year an Act was passed setting apart
for ever what is hencoforth to be known as the
National Park il the territories Of Montana and
Wyoming, comprising no less than 3,578 square
miles, under public trust and custody, sacred
from Squatting or settlement, for the benefit and
pleasure Of the people. Nature is here to be
seen and worshipped in her unpolluted majesty
and beauty. An act of foresight and good taste
like this forms a worthy crown to the policy
which has enriched the literature of science
with a series of Reports of which those before US
are second to few in interest or value.