The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1881-10-14
WONDERLAND.
Some curiosities From the Yellow
steae HstieasI Park.
Paragraphs of Interest Concerning
Natures Own Museum.

Paragraphs of Interest Concerning
Natures Own Museum.
The Yellowstone National Park is
the wonder spot of the world. What
with its geysers, hot springs, glass
mountains, weird scenery. and thousand
and one curiosities, it is a place to
which any traveller can resort with
pleasure after having Travelled the
world. Sir Charles Coldstream would
never have wearied of eRRm had he
visited natures own museum, which is
located in the northwestern corner of
Wyoming territory.
Col. p. w. Norris, the efficient super
intendent Of the nations park, is in
the city for tine purpose of consulting
with Gov. Hoyt respecting the building
of q road into the Park from Wyoming.
As it is, n must enter by way Of
Montana. Col. Norris is en- route to
Washington, and will leave to-day for
that point.
The colonel very kindly spread forth
the curiosities which he carries with
him, in his room at the Inter Ocean,
and invited a number of ladies' and
gentlemen to call and see them, an
invitation which was gladly accepted
by our territorial and local officials and
others, among them a representative of
the LEADER.
The colonel has a large number of
objects Of interest to show, among
them some very curiously colored
stones, which, when broken open, re-
semble sandstones with rainbows paint
ed on them; they are connections. Then
there are amethyst and quartz. forma-
lions taken fiom the centres Of petrifed
logs; lava Of all shades; volcanic glass,
which is brown, black and varied; there
is a quantity of this strange material
In the Park. The colonel has been or
dered to send some of these specimens
Of natures glass made in a volcano and
forced out by eruption, to several
European institutions of learning.
While the curiosities made by nature
are grand and wonderful, those made
by man are equally SC. We saw speci-
mems of mortars which were not made
like pottery, but were cut out of solid
granite with stone hammers; several
Of the hammers accompany the broken
mortars. The colonel thinks they were
made in the stone age by prehis-
toric man. The colonel found some of
these hammers twenty-five feet under
ground. Besides these are broken cru
cibles, which were found near the min
ing region at Clark's Fork.
Mining shafts, to the number of six
teen, have deem discovered in the Park.
The deepest is twenty-five feet. They
also are the work of the a c Of the
stone age, for at the bottoms of these
shafts were found stone hammers and
stone knives. Tho object of the pre-
historic man seemed to be to obtain a
yellowish clay for paint, and handsome
ornamental stones.
There is also evidence of their having
been either two ages of stone, or of two
tribes who made their tools differently.
Col. Norris has stone implements and
weapons that are fiat on one side and
rounded IN the other, so that the edge
is formed by the sharpening process on
one side only. This peculiar feature is
noticed on arrow heads. lance points
and knives. Then the same articles are
found with both sides rounded.
Some curious objects we saw are the
stone sinkers which were used by some
ancient race on fishing lines. One
stone that is round and pointed at the
ends has a hole neatly bored in one end.
while another stone of similar shape
has q groove cut all around its length
in which the line was fastened.
Natures handiwork Is beautifully
displayed in several stone discs that are
perfectly rounded and slightly followed
on both sides as evenly as If done by a
sculptor. This curious feature was
produced by the action of the water
turning and turning these stones in
some recess in the rocks with gravel for
a cutting substance.
About the places of burial in the park
are to be found rude specimens of pot
terry. OF these the colonel has several.
A small bottle, which contained the
remains of a lake trout, attracted some
attention. The colonel explained that
the Yellowstone lake, which was once
filled with beautiful trout has suffered
depletion by the ravages of a peculiar
worm. The specimen mentioned had
been partially eaten by one Of these
worms, and fish and worm will be given
to Professor S. F. Baird, the great pisci-
culturist, for examination. Col. Nor
ris also has some specimens of weeds
which were taken from the lake and
which contain small worms of the va
riety found in the trout. Its possible
that this offers an explanation Of the
destruction Of the finny tribe.
That there are valuable mines in the