St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1873-05-09


There are not fifty consecutive yards III
the whole distance where il single mis-
take would not most likely he fatal to
more or less of the passengers vet |
am told that in thirteen Wears no pas
sengcr has been injured. believe this
good luck can he accounted for. Each
day the stages are uverhauled 10y IL
/ blacksmith and cvcrv bolt looked t"
and every nut tried. The harness. too.
I l. examined. Then the road bed is
| perfect. No stone OF root OF rut OF
watcr-bar is allowed, but it is as smooth
as il can he made. Add To this we'll
! trained and nimhle horses, IL powerful
driver. who is quick to think and act.
who knows every foot of the road. the
radius that the '.leiders" must describe
at every curve. and the danger to which
| all are exposed if he ceases his vigilance
for one moment. and one can see IL rea-
son for the good luck.
THE GEI>Els>.
Down i'll Il deep canyon on the other
side of the mountain. far from other
hahitation and tWcnty-siN mile, from
ANY where. one can find the GcySci
canyon from the hotel. l. the GeN Nsrr
canyon smaller raN inc, running at
right angles with the main one and
standing on the vcrandah one can look
up this lesser r;lvinc which is filled with
steam and Vapor from the numerous
springs. This Gcyscr canyon is from
onc-tourth To "nchalf mile long. the
bottom being very narrow and the sides
very steep, shooting up Il thousand feet
or more. \ small brook runs in the
bottom. Here and there. all along the
sides. ate .jut> of steam issuing from The
kissing hot springs beneath. The tir>I
>ping approached in going up the IA
vine i the Alum and Iron spring"
This is to" hot tu bean the hand in. and
its waters are strongly imprcguatcd
3
thrr OH l. the 'Medirarrd Bath" also
hot. which contains EPSON salts. mag
nrsia. sulphur. iron, and other minerals
/ The Alum and sulphur spring. next ia
order. has Il temperature of lJl d"gIccs
/ After passing this and several more
and 10y dint ut Son,. hard climbing over
. Ia, 4, a.
guide announces the "Witche> Caul-
/ drnn. perhaps the most wonderful
I place of all. This i larger and hotter
( than the others. hcimg some seven feet
across. and >eething. missing and hop
ping 81 fuli"uSly that one i inclined t"
/ make but Il short stop at il. 1t has Il
! temperature ot over 4in It, gees. aud
the hot stcam and puugcut Napor aIi>iu =
from il makes one hasten "i even if he.
/ has no SupcrStitiuu> fears about the
locality he may lac nearing.
Another most interesting spring L.
the ''>teamhoat GrN>cr." the noiSc from
which resembles exactly the escape nt
/ steam from Il Sttillllodl oI lh'hlllbllNt
boiler. There are also the link spring
! fiom which water aS black as ink l.,
/ taken. Cand with which this paragraph
is written y the "ENc-Natcr Splimg."
the water from which Is used with good
effect upon infamc'I eyes. Bun can
no! rnumclHtc all the springs.
/ am aware of the poverty of thi~
description of the GcN Nsrl>. They can
| not Ie described understandings. Im-
aginc high mountrin range with deep
/ rrNinr> and ra,rIll>. and sides =" pre-
ripituu- and high IL to make one iizIl
/ even 10 look up. The entire CANYON i
! filled III the early morning with steam.
and its steep sides Sputtrr like ten thou
sand trakcttlrs and smoke like a VAST
cnal-pit The trail which has been cut
for pedestrians is along the bed of this
CANYON. The very ground N"u walk on
| is hot The little brook StcamS with
heat. The party s"or learn that I"
pick up specimens of minerals oN"l
which they are passing is done II the
expense Of burned fingers. They punch
their canes into seams in the banks
where they see smoke, and Al stream "t
! hot water and steam is emitted. an,I
they pass on without further inveStiga-
tion. especially if the hot water strikes
them on the hands or face. In fact
there is IL combination of circumstances.
such as steam, hot water, uncertain
fo0tings and very certain smells, all of
prolonged visit. and one hurries 10y and
over these wonderful places from neccs-
sity.
This canyon is :; complete laboratory
in itself All within few yards OF
each other are found cinnabar. cop
peraS. sulphur. magnesia, alum. EPSON
salts. vcrmillion. ink. alum water, iron
water, etc. etc.
How do YOU account for this strange
place is one of the iilst questions asked
our guide. He gives two theories: One.
that these springs are hut the external
Indications of slumbrring volcanoes far
down i'll the earth and the other that
they are the result simply OF chemical
actiou-that there is such IA combination
of ingredients beneath the surface that
the action of water upon them from this
little brook, produces these results
You pay your money and take youl