The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-03-28
their branches were suryered- froo,

q their sources 70 their junction q
/ the Three Forks, where the JefFer
4 son, Madison and GaiIatin unite {,
= form the Missouri. A map of thi
= country whieh.at least so far as tn
! Valley of the Galiasin in concerned
is one of the finest agricultural re
8 gions in the world, will soon be pre-
f pared In contour lines OF 100 feet
2 The second party, commanded b,
E James Stevenson, surveyed q rout.
). from Ogden, in Utah, to Fort Hall
in Idaho, where preparations were
! made for pack train with supplied
: to proceed up Snake River, the val
ley of which was at the time buI
z very imperfectly understood, all ex.
listing maps on 1t being greatly in
error. The party crossed the noun.
/ tains, made careful surveys of the
/ little known Teton range, crossed
! the Targee Pass into the Madison
valley, and on the 14th of August
the two parties met in the GeyseE
Basin, which both entered on the
same day, though they had started
on their Journeys from points seY-
, eral hundred miles apart-one In
!, Aontans, and the other In Utah.
The results OF the explorations were
. valuable It was found that Madison
Lake is not the source Of Madison
river, though It is of Snake river.
In skirting the south side of Lake
Shoshones the Snake river party
came upon q new and remarkable
geyser basin, In which there were
, more than hundred springs of va.
rIous sizes, and one Of which cast
i up column of water to height OF
seventy feet for about twenty mins
utes every day, and in this basin the
freaks of nature were even more
wildly beautifui than those about
the springs in Fire Hole Basin. In
such regions nature has formed what
seem like limitations OF mans han
diwork there are cathedral domes,
spires, minarets, shapes too Of un-
couth beings, giants, devils, and
other unearthiy things, which, in
connection with the dreariness and
des0iation of the scene, give rise to
uncanny names for places, such as
"Fire Hole" Devils Glen" "HeIi
Roaring River" and the like.
The divide between Yellowstone
Lake and Lake LeWis-so named in
honor OF the great pioneer explorer
of the Northwest-was found to be
only about fifty feet above the form.
er, and two hundred feet above the
latter, and it was from this remark
able geographical feature that the
idea of "two-ocean river" was en-
tertsined by the trappers There is
9 high mountain above this lake,
from which, within 9 radius of one
hundred and fifty miles, 40 noun
tain peaks can be observed, and the
area which can be swept by the eye
Is not less than $4,000 square miles.
The scenery is most grand and beau.
tiful, with valley and mountain and
lake, inhabited by deor. elk, sheep,
grizzly bear, the terrible bemiss "a
creature larger than the panther, but
like il in color and ferocity), swans,
| pelicsns, geese, otter, antelope and
| fish of many varieties. Ten large
lakes, with many smaller ones, arc
the foreground, and within the linn.
ite of the horizon lies the entire
National Park. The eastern hori-
zen is formed by the snowy sum-
mits of the Wind river and Big
Horn range to the North the snowy
range, together with Emigrant Peak
and some of the highest mountains
Az NAOhSNhsh 2AS cOChE w AAlO " lhO
south and west the Wabsatch noun
tains and the numerous ranges along
the Salmon river, complete the
ly transparent is the atmosphere
aggeration-as il certainly is not
One-to say that from this point
may be seen a large portion of Wy
oming, Montana, Idaho and Utah
Territories. The opening up of the
Snake River Valley will undo1bt-
eddy be one of the most important
practical results of the scientific ex.
plQrations of the year. Barometri-
cal measurements of elevations here |
show that there are perfectly feasi- !
BILE routes for the construction of |
railroads along the valley which |
should connect the entire North |
west with the Pacific railroad, thus
with the Eastern States, and render |
1t possible not only TO obtain mar
ket for vast and undeveloped re-
sources, but to render it possible for |
the tourest easily to come into con-
tact with scenery such as, in many !
respects, is unmatched in the world.
1t will also open to settlers a vast |
territory equal in productiVenesst to
any in this Western granary of the |
world, aud even now q granary IL |
contemplated which, running up the |
Snake River Valley, will afford a
market for tract of pine timber |
which is estimated at $500 square
miles, and for q much greater area |
of grazing and arabic land. The |
ascent of the Grand Teton, noun |
tain Is, 700 feet high and ono of the |
great landmarks of the Snake river, |
was desperate undertaking, which |
only two of the party, Mr.. James |
Stevenson and Mr.. n. p. Lengford, |
succeeded in accomplishing, and 1t |
cannot be doubted that theee two
gentlemen are the only two white |
men who ever reached tho summit |
of the mountain. Yet even here |
were found traces of the former |
presence of human beings, for on
the top of the Grand Teton, and for |
three hundred feet below 1t, there
are great quantities of granite
blocks of different sizes, aud about
the summit these blocks have been
placed on end in such . way as to
form breastWork three feet high,
which enclose g circular space six
or seven feet in diameter. On the
surrounding rocks there Is not par
tieie of dust or sand, but the floor
of the enclosure is covered with
layer Of minute particles of granite
nearly foot in depth. 1t is infer
red that these great slabs, which
form the breastWork were most
probably placed where they now
stand by the Indians many centuries
ago as protection from the winds,
| for Il il evident that for manyyesrs
no Indian has scaled the summit
from which, according to the legend
the happy hunting grounds may be
Been. What the Indians were doing
there at any time seems an insoluble
mystery, unless the place may have
been used TO burn sIgnal lights for
| war, supposition which hardly
seems q probable one.
The scenery among the Grand
Teton range is magnificent in the
extreme, and more resembles that
of the Alps than does that of any
other mountains In the West. The
photographs which the exploring
party brought back with it showed
beyond caVii that for marvellous
beauty and lofty grandeur this re-
gion is unsurpassed by any IN the
world. Tko canyons-greatg ulch~
g worn in the rocks ages ago by
| boistSrous torrente-tiIo waterfalls
descending thousands OF feet, the
craters Of extinct gigantic volcanoes
| and the geysers and hot springs are
unmatched elsewhere: and If, i'm
stead OF spending millions Of doll
| lars 20 visit the old world, AmeFi.
cans sh0nld turn their attenti0a To-
the scenery which tAis continent
especially this region afords-they