Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1878-01-31
The National Park.

In the Northwestern corner of the Ter
ritory of Wyoming, bordering on Montana
nnd Idaho, lies a tract Of country about
fifty Eve by sixty-Gve miles 10 exteut pos
sessing greater combination Of remark4b BILE
features than my other known area Of like
dimensions under the SUI. It contains
5,57S square miles. Its elevation above
tho sea level s from 5000 to 1900 feet.
1t lies mainly. but not entirely, on the East
side of the main rarge of the Rocky
Mountains. BY act Of Congress, approved
Nlnrch l, 1872, this tract was Withdrawn
Tor ever from sale and set apart as pcrma-
ncnt pleasure ground for the amusement
and instruction of the people, under the
designation of the Yellowstone National
Park. Tho grandeur and variety of its
scenery, the salubrity Of its summer climate,
and tue health giving qualities of its ther-.
NAL waters will, within few years, mako
it the Mecca of the tourist, pleasure seeker
and invalid from all parts of the ei7ilizsa
world Among its innumerable attractions
are some OF the grandost cat0racts, cascades,
canons md mountain SUBMITS on tho con-
tnont Its spouting geysers, 10 number
and magnitude, exceed all others known.
Its numerous mud springs, solfataras, fume.
roles and beautiful terraocd hot springs are
beyond description in the magnitude and
splendor of their decoration and action.
The sources of the Columbia, the Colorado
and the Missouri rivers are all said to iio
within this pleasure ground Of tho nutions
Its mountuln sI'nmits are covered with
eter"sl SHOWS, while many of the valleys
are made radiant with the sparkle of lakes
yp.fp al t,l
The most magnificent Of these lakes is
the Yellowstone, the source of tho river,
lying nearly in the central portion OF tho
park. lis form is similar to that of the
human hand with the palm to the front
and the fingers pointing downward. The
altitude of the Lake is 7 ,427 feet above lido
water, aud its present depth is about 800
feet. 1t is fed by the snows on tho lofty
mountains that flank it on all sides. The
length of this beautiful sheet OF water is
about 22 miles, aud the width 10 to Is
miles. Professor Hayden declares that
there is nothing on the continent that equals
it in the brilliant hues Of it's waters and tho
splendor Of it's surroundings. The clear
green shading of the mountain slopes, with
the u'ramurine tint of its shining surface,
produce an effect upon t observer which
can nether be imagined nor adequately
described. The temperature is that Of cold
spring water. ln the early part Of the day
its surface is usually calm, aud its varied
hue, from livid green, shadiog off into q
deep u'tramarine, presents picture OF
beauty that is dazzling to behold During
the later hours u strong wiod sometimes
arises, stirring the calm lake into, all the
fary of an ocean storm. Tho amount Of
vegetation produced 10 tho depths Of Yellow.
stone Lake is immense, vast ridges of it
lining tho shores at certain seasons after q
high wind has swept over the surface. The
only fish found In tho lake and 10 the
neighborng streams is the trout, whose
numbers ore said to be inoonoeivabIe. Most
of tho fishes in the lako ore afflicted with
tho presence in tho bodies of a peculiar
intestinal worm which, for the time being,
renders them unfit for use. The presence
of hot springs, with their cones rising above
the surface, is singular fact, the water
within the comes boing almost boiling.ho
Trout have been caught BY persons standing
upon these cones aud cooked Ia the hot
water without being removed from the,