The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-10-11
The eeysers in Yellowstone Park.

In single valley saw fifty geysers.
the meanest of which stlrpasses the
very noblest which has been elsewhere
discovered.
Tie Whole number in the park has
been stated at 800. 1T might as well
have been set down as So 900, for new
ones are all the while discovered, and,
what is more, developed, or l may say
created.
As time rttns on, the Glass Mountain
in the pafk viii be visited as new and
vaster Giants Causeway, the grand
canyon will be sought as analogous to
the gorgcs of Egyptian Thebes, and the
lake praised as the best American fac
simile Of the bay of Naples. In size,
contour mountains-especiall the jag
ged or hotched hbrizon lines as they
cut against the sky-tRese twS water
sheets are full of resemblances. Franks
Island in Yellowstone Lake again and
again recalled to me Capri towering in
the mouth of the Vesuvian Bay. Nor
are these similarities so surprising when
we consider that in both localities the
geological formations are volcanic.
On the whole, however, fothihg in
the park is worth notice compared with
the unique marvel of gcysers. Lakes,
forests, mountains, cliffs, rivers and
waterfalls, in comparison with the jewel
they .wrtp Zip ore as paper and twlne
which are throwfi i'll ftr nothing when
we purchase anything precious.
Geysers,r then, first, last, midst and
without end, are the glory OF the park.
The word geyser is Icelandic, meaning
4 hot fOn
bseause the pheuomena it denotes were
first observed In Iceland.
But American geysers have many man
ifestations, though chiefly as springs, as
spouts and as pools. "Pools, spouts,
springsp' How poor these words seem
as l contrast them with the things l
must use them to denote: What waters!
so clear you cannot see them and step
unawares into their streams. Waters
like Milton's 'spure hyaline and CLASSY
sea''-Gf Str john sea of glass mingled
with fire-or the Spanish poets foot OF
silver tripping along on street OF gold
it has formed for its passage.
Years ago I first met an intelligent
pilgrim froiG the park and begged to
know what had most IMPRESSED him
there. His answer was color. The Sig
| nificance of his language could not un-
| derstand till my own eyes saw what he
| had seen. But my own impression was
his as soon as feaehed the Mammoth
Springs. I climbed terrace after ter
race, looking down on pools which
each seemed gem-sometimes small
as bosom-pin, sometimes acres large,
torquoise, opal, amber, gold-stone, en-
erald-all melted, flowing, running OF
steaming. The shapes of the settings,
the depth Of the water Questionable tc
the eye, the hues varying with every
| breath of air; every change in cloud Ql
| sunliEht-all lent new magic to the
/ view. The jewelfy which Id Floren.
tine, Neapolitan or Russian regalia
had admired as world-famous, was here
reproduced and magnifed a million
| times. The impression which was thus
first, stamped was cumulative for ter
days afterward. Each last view seemed
still 1ove1iest, the actual vision of each
beauty surprising the menidry of all
that had gone before it. Thus, as 6ril
guide day after day ushered me Intt
new enehantments, 1 was inclined t.
say ssTbeu hast kept the good wine un
til now.
In the great geyser basin, OH first get
ting up at dawn, could think mysel
in a New England village far up thu
Conneetieut-the same :. Is, pint
woods and engirdling mountains
eeyserite floor was NOT unlike Vernon
snow. The steam of the seventy gey
sers looked just like the smoke OF morn
ing chimneys.
But this illusion could not last NOR
than an hour, for Old Faithful is a gey
ser more sure to spout hour by hou
than your clock is to strike.
For three days 1 watched and eN
ulted in his faithfulness, and that al
the more as l gazed on many monster
around him which refused to show any
thing of their might. His performance
in heights Of jet, volume of water, an
grace of outline at least equal anythin
!, in the Grandes Faux at Versailles, o
which Louis XIV layished so many mi
lions. Yet his utmost efforts are feeble
compared with the eight-fold pulsatlon
! of the so-called Grand Geyser, which W
, were also SO fortunate as to witness, ju;
, as we were turning our backs on tn
valley of spouting fountains, scores
which we had seen more or less actiV
with leaping waters.
Contrasting Old Faithful with th
throng of fitful and unreliable spouter:
| 1 vas reminded of Milton's Abdle
faithful found among the faithles
faithful only he-among innumerabl
false .unmoved" Indeed, I was col
e stantly coming a mint of phrases toveI
nv admiration. 1t suits me best to sa,,
Y ..One God in Heaven, and one Old Faiti
: full on earth. Cor. Wisconsin Sta