The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1878-01-20
LIE N41IOXAL PAEE.
TIE MOST BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY IN THE
WORLD.

In the northwestern corner CT tire terrl-
,o-v OF wyoming, bordering on Montana
and Idabo. lies tract of country aoou'
f.ty-fve by sixty Eve miles 10 extent
posaessirr q greater combius tion OF re-
narkebie features than ely other kBowo
ares of like dimensions under tie sun. As
eootaire 8 SIS kquare mi.es- Ia elevation
above the sea level IL from Sou to IL Ooo
feet. it lies mainly, but EOS entirely, on the
east side of the main range OF the hocky
Youptaips. BY act of Congress, approved
March /. 1872, this tract was WitbcraWn
forever from eale and set apart IS per
narent pleasure ground for the amusemens
aud instruction of the people, uooef the
designation of the Yellowstone NAtional
PARK. TIE grandeur and variety OF lts |
scenery, the eeIubTity Of its Summer cii-
mate, and the health giving qualities OF Us
thermal waters will, within q rev yeafF,
make the Mecca of the tourist, pleasure
seeker and invalid from al parts OF the
civilized world. Anong lis lhna
attractions are some OF the granoese ea'A-
rscts, caacades,- caoons, and noontao
spmmits OF the continent. Its spouusg
Eeyeers, in number and nsgnltude, exceed
All others known. Its nunerocs mud
springs, sotfs.aras, funero!es, aoo oeaus
| fuliy terracsd hot springs are beyond
description in the magnitude and spiendor
of their decoration and action. The sources
| of tie Columbia, the Colorado ana the
| Missouri rivera are sii said to he within
| this pleseure ground of the nat'oos. It's
mountain sum mits are covered with eter-
mai SHOWS. while many of the valleys are
made radiant with the sparkle OF laEes
! whose waters are clear as crystai.
The most magnificent Of these lakes Is
| the Yellowstone, the source OF the river,
lying nearly in the central portion OF the
| park Its form is similar to that or the
| human hand with the palm TO the front
| and tie srgers pointing downward. The
| altitude of the lake is z ,427 feet above TIDE
| water, and its present depth Ia aooot ooo
| feet. Ii is fed by the SHOWS on the lofty
| mountains that flank it on Gil sldes- The
leugtt of this beautiful sheet OF water rs
about pc niles, and the width ~ to Is
| miles. Professor Hayden declares that
there is nothing on the continent that
EQUALS il n the brilliant bues OF It's waters
aud the splendor of its surroundings. Inc
clear green shading of the mountain slopes,
| with the ultramarIne tgt OF Its sblDing
surface. produce al effect upJn the OBJ
seryer which can neither be imagined nor
adequately described. The TEN oerature Is
that of cold spring water. !n the early part
of the day liz surface is usually calm, and lis
varied hue, from livid green, shading eli
into q deep ultramarine, presents picture
| of beauty that is dazzling to behold. ~ l.
ring the later hours a s.roog vino some.
times arises, stirring the calm lake into all
the fury of an ocean storm. Ise amount
of vegetation produced in the depths OF
. Yellow stone Lake is immeuee, vas5 ridges
,, of it lining the shores at certain seasons
. after high wind has swept over the sur
9 face. The only fsh found in the lake and
in the neghboTing streams is the trout,
whose numoere are said to be iuconceiva'
BILE. Most of che f1shes in the LAKE are
afflicted with the presence in their bodt:s OF
a peculiar intestinal worm, which, Tor the
time being. renders them unit for use
The presence of hot springs, with theiI
) | cones rising above the surface, ia singular
10
u almost boiling hot. Trout have beer
y caught by persons standing upon these
:. cones and cooked in the hot water %ithcu
- being removed from the hook, as declared
=, 10y the United States Geologist, Protesso
8 F. V. Hayden. Bu: tic most wonGerta
- objects of interest in this region are thu
&c cataracts and canons OF the Yellowstone
r with the spoutiOg geyeers 10 tue vahey o
1t the Fire Hole river. Neither Ian gaaEe no
~ the painters genius AID Skill are aoequat
" to describe either. The lower falls ar
&c more than 800 feet high. The walls of th
Ss grand canon are come 9 500 feet in depth
- and are coloIed by hues 30 various al
81 brilliant that human art despairs of a.
y. attempt to reproduce them. The Weait
~ of red aud yellow, brown and Orange
~ pink and green. black, gray, and whit
"a iaeciuates and bewilders every beholder
~ according to Professor Marshal, "seemin
-. to reproduce before hie admlrlng gaze Q
DC the raviGbed splendor of very gorgeo'
ct sunset, whose charms, no longer eVane
;;aS cent, are here not painted but dye
10 through and through these mighty cliff
n and made as eternal as the everlastii
' '"u mountains they buttress." The geysers a
IA even more grand and magnificent, becsu
accompanied by much of the pOmp Al
INV crcnmstauce, Of elementary war in t
hat spoutin of immense columns OF hot wat
hen to the height of 80 to $50 feet or more,
|, is the shooting up of vast volumes of stet
to to an occasional altitude of 1000 or -
her feet, and in the rumbiing sounds a
and vibrating motions that accompany
ded earthquake shock. There are three kno'
ter. geyser basinp, but two of "hich ha
re- however, been explored. These are In
attic valley of the Fire Hole already referred
in. and lie to the westward of Yellowst'
rae Lake, from which they are reached b.
eror toierabIy we'll worn trail. Some of
and orifces of the geyser cones are twenty
ous" in diameter, and during an eruptloL
will column of hot water, filling this Orif
lem rushes outward and upward wSh teri