Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1877-07-11
The Yellowstone National Park.


Our national government by an act Of Con-
gress, which passed both houses by II unanimous
vote, and was approved March lst, 1872, has
Withdrawn from sale and set apart ~ a per-
petual pleasure ground an area OF two million
two hundred and ninety thousand acres, or nearly
one-half the size Of Massachusetts, embracing the
country about the headwaters OF the Madison and
Gallatin rivers--the eastern and middle OF the
three streams which unite to form the Missouri
and the Shoshone fork Of the Snake river, aud
also part Of the upper valley, though not the ex-
IRENE headwaters Of the Yellowstone river. /
will give your readers brief sketch Of the char
acteristic features Of this marvellous region, having
lived from 1866 TO 1875 mt Virginia City, Montana
territory, which is the nearest town to it, and
having, with my family, made two trips through it,
one In 1873 and the other in 1876 and studied with
care everything Of consequence written about il.
or course, no full account can he written-eyen
II your space would allow Of it, publicittion-oi
country so large and 50 Astounding with wonders,
which does not contain single permanent habit
alton Of civilized man, much Of which Is "a yet
wholly UNEMPLOYED through nearly all Of which
the travel must be on horseback along bride
trails, a large portion Of which IL covered with
primeval forests, and all Of which IL mountain
Gus country, its valleys averaging some hundreds
of feet higher than the SUBMITS Of Mount Wash
ington and Mount Black the eliminating points
Of the eastern half of the continent It Is located
AS any good atlas published in the last two
years will shown the northwest corner of Wy
oming territory but is surrounded by such lofty
and rugged mountains on the south and south
east that the only practicable routes for entering
| u aro
five by fiftyfve miles in extent, situated between
forty-four degrees and forty-five degrees north
latitude, at an elevation above the sea of from six
to thirteen thousand feet, and lying on both sides
of the main range Of the Rocky Mountains, though
mostly ON the east side It's altitude and latitude
make II worthless for agricultural purposes; and
being volcanic district it contains no metals nor
minerals sufficiently valuable to pay for their
transportation out Of so rugged country. The
following specially wonderful and unique fea-
lures of the Park, Mt some not far distant day.
will make it among the most famous, as it is now
the most marvellous, of all known regions:
First-The Geyser Basins, with their thousands
OF hot springs and numerous mud geysers, as well
as the grandest water geysers in the world, grand
est in the volume of water they throw and the
enormous height to which it is projected, and also
in the wonderful beauty Of the craters, basins,
and vents through which they discharge, with
their delicate ornamenti,tion and brilliant color
ing built up and adorned by the minerals depos-
tied by the hot siliceous waters. There are three
OF these Geyser Basins, one (neyer visited by
tourists because there is no trail To tn situated ON
the west side of the main range. on the Shoshone
Fork of the Snake river and the other two ON the
| InIa E..l H. .,.,s..
more geysers than are known to exist in all the
world besides and snout columns of boiling vya.
ter varying from few inches to twenty feet in
diameter to different heights fr,n five Ia two
hundred and fifty feet at intervals of from sixty
five minutes to several DAYS. with noise of sub
terIanean thunder and series of COMMISSIONS that
| shake the ground for n long distance
Second-The solfatai.,s, fumaroles. and salses
which through their thousands of vents boil and
spout mud thick "A hasty puddin. ar thin AZ musb
with much roaring Of steam and shaking of the
| ground. or nom ont steam charged with sulnur.
cited hydrogen and other substances commonly
emitted from volcanic craters.
TAiri-The Yellowstone lake. seven Thousand
seven hundred and lightweight feet above the
sea. covering nearly three hundred sonare miles
having a shore line of about one hundred and
| seyenty-fiye miles adorned with islands s,,r.
rounded with some of the grandest mountains in
North America. of an rreoular n form as IN cive
an uncommon beauty to its beach lines its water.
in places three hundred feet deem. plis,eninc with
the rich blue of the deem sea. its shores sometime.
grassy. but more generally timbered aboundino
with game and its waters swarmpr with front
it would be well worthy a place amon., the mos,
remarkable lakes in the world. without taking
note of the numerous and wonderful pron,,s of bo
springs and mud peysers which are scottered
about its shores In one place a hot sprinp Ia,
bnilt its rocky cone mn in the lake itself an tha,
standing ON il one may catch front from the con
water of the lake and without movinp from hi.
tracks. turn around and cook them in the hoiliue
snring without removing them from the bool,
Four,b-The falls and grand canon of the Vol.
lo,ystone river IN oaze unon vvhosa heauties fo,
one honr wonld comnensate anv lovar of patpr,
for all the fatienes and inconveniences of n WOW
age around the world Tho ,,vo ,ou.a shor
bolf-mile ana,t-the Inner Faus ona bupdre,
and t,yeptv feet hiob the Ioyvar Fall throe INN
dred and niuetv-seven feet biob wonld ha ar,on,
the prandest in the world II tbev wore in a conn
try as tame as that about Niaonra and nonre,
into n porge ~ COMMONPLACE Rut tbev Iea, int,
"A chasm twentv-seyen miles long. with walls from
fifteen IN twentv-fve hundred feet and marian.
more in height for the lower mart of the cano,
has never been thoroughly explored-walls won