The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-12-03

lutely on Old Faithful giving al eHhi-
bition every hour and four minutes as
he can upon the rise of the sun at the
time specified in the almanac. Our
party has been camped here ten days.
in which time Old Faithful has been as
regular as a Connecticut clock. Inc
stated intervals of her activity have not
varied In the memory OF the .oidest
habitue of the park. Other geysers are
variable in the time of their action: In
fact all of the others seem to be subject
to changes. The Bee Hive is becoming
more active every season. She now
gives an exhibition from two to three
times every twenty-four hours, Win
mo postponement on account OF the
weather." The Giant and Giantess and
Castle can not always be counted on,
but they are all worth watching, for
they make magnificent display when
in action. The Giant averages an ex,
hibition about every six days and the
| Giantess about every eleven days. The
tourist who is favored with view OF all
these must make up his mind to pitch
his tent for two weeks and watch
through the long and weary vigils OF
the night; but In the end he will feel
fully compensated for his perseverance
and for his faith.
As the tourist lies rolled up in his
robes at the dead hour of night in this
romantic region. he may feel the earth
tremble, hear the rushing of water and
the Kissing of steam, and, if he will
look out of his tent, he may see near
by, or in the dim distance, as the case
may be, limned in shadowy outline
against the starlit sky, a column of
water from five to ten feet in circumfer-
ence and from 200 to 300 feet in height,
throwing off dense volumes of steam:
This phenomena will continue for ten
or fifteen minutes, and then all will be
comparatively calm, with nothing to
break the solemn stiffness but the roar
of the receding waters as they rush
down the steaming crater back to the
deep seated chambers, from which, in
due course of time, they will again be
forced above the surface by another col
umn of steam, generated at the source
of heat. The problem for scientific So
luton is whether this steam is genera
ted by chemical action or internal fire.;
1t is only the purpose of this paper to
describe the phenomena. A geyser in ac-
ton is the grandest spectacle to be seen
on this continent. Your correspondent
will take the Giant as sample geyser
in action-day exhibition-andit is one
of the grandest in the basin, descrip-
ton of VIII CHI will suffice for all of the
cone varieties. BY the side of the main
cone is small assure, which performs
the functions of an escape pipe to a.
monster boiler. When the chambers of
the main crater become fully charged,
short puffs of steam come Kissing
through this assure, followed in few
minutes by tremulous movement of
the hollow formation under your feet,
if you happen to be standing near the
geyser, and volume of steam forces its
way through the orifce of the main
crater with detonations, and an omi-
nous stiffness ensues for Sec
ond, which the tourist improves
by beating precipitate retreat
from the brink. Finally the
elements of disturbance seem to COM
bine their forces for a final convulsive
effort. simultaneously with stunning
shock, caused by pent-up volume OF
steam, a column of water, ten feet in
circumference, is precipitated high into
the air, emitting volume of steam so
dense that it is difficult to define the
outlines of what appears to be massive
pillar of parian marble. A puff of wind
watts aside the shadowy substance, and
the transcendent beauty of the column
stands revealed in all of it's grandeur.
The drapery has been removed, and
the parian pillar stands out against the
azure background of an autumn sky,
illuminated by dazzling sunlight.
Then comes the transformation scene.
This column is shattered by an invisi,
BILE force into fragments, which descend
like brilliants through the fierce blaze
of the sun. The laws of gravity have
asserted themselves, and the water,
which went up in volume, is falling
in showers of spray. The delusion is
dispelled. 1t was not dream. The
senses are no longer stupeied The
phenomena have ceased, and nothing
now remains to be seen or heard but
the flooded cone and the rushing of the
receding water down the deep throated
geyser, and the ascent of wreaths of
steam, which form fantastic shapes I'm.
der atmospheric influences. The great
volume of the discharge falls again to
the crater, and the overflow finds its
way into the Fire Hole River, whose
swift current courses through the three
basins. fed by a hundred geysers and a
thousand boiling springs,-Cor. ST..
Louis Globe D enOcrat.