The Indiana State sentinel., 1883-08-29

1 DdYII
I within which these rivers are born. The secret
has been long jealously guarded 10 white
| man could penetrate, nor scale the perpen-
i CIRCULAR cliffs Here was natures nursery for
her rivers. Here also she concealed the last vol
csnic throes in which she had formed continent.
/ Nowhere, rays Hayden. was lcanic force more
active than here. All tnese great peaks we're once
active volcanoes. These springs and geysers are
but the last turniDgs of EncelOdus. the chained
/ Titan.
"The crsgs are piled on his breast
The he earth Is I, h,esPed& don on his head;
Though smothered and half suppressed,
Are heard. and he Is not dead;
For he struggles at times to arise,
And above him the lurid skies
Are hot with his fiery breath"
A great history has been written here by the pen
OF fire, cut deep into the rocks. First an ancient
sea the continuation of the Gulf of Mexico, north
| ward. Then inland sea. slowly changing to q
iIesh-Water lake: upon the bottom oil this the mud
buntipgfOrth of volcanoes peaks vest themselves
volcanoes They rain dust and ashes and huge
rocks. They pour lava floods. Then
e6etneSf e6e Tfoie er0erIss Is 1ea No ,,up as the
on the TOP OF a continent slowly drawing itself
through the Missouri, Mississippi and the Colum.
bis. The Yellowstone cuts its way back through
the soft breccia conglomerate formed of volcanic
oust. rock. with the sedimentary deposits. Thus
lovstone In other parts the lake has been drained
away But the volcanic fires still are active aud
give birth to ReyEers. In the south the Yellowstone
Lake stretches lts open palm TO the skies, all that
Is left OF the primeval lake system.
While we have eeen studying the Park the train
through the valley Of The Middle Gardner. The
distence TO Norris Geyser Basin Is twenty seven
miles The road climbs divides aud runs under
the edge of cliffs. The beavers hera made Beaver
Leke. On the top OF a mountain is the Lake OF the
Woods The Obsidian ellis are wortn study.
making fires upon 1t and then throwing cod
wafer. thus irving II apart-a lesson Ia road m lk
ours elsewhere only in Mexico But arrow heads
aud knives are found among the remains of the
m, upd builders in lale superior At Norris
Temporary hotel OF the improvement Company.
THE NORRIS GEYsER BAsIN
il the oldest an highest in the Park The basin is
large ard iull OF hot springs and pools. The air Is
hot and charged with sulphurOus od0rs Heavy
Nhich mud Volcanoes spaut Near the road a
Sn he hole called the Steamboat Hut gives out
with roar blasts OF steam. The Minute Man" Is
Were ii not Tor the geyseTs in the upper basins the
NOrIis Bsin would lingoT logger In memory. snc
dt btlets the more il is studied the more interest
IDg il will become. But the thought OF what is
be yond attracts the traveller on. A half mile off
The loac are the Gib5On Paint Pots. Here are a
aige L un Der OF mud and boiling springs. The
Siiici ns mud here Is OF every color-draos. yel-
i VS. cream, pink, violet blue They bubble and
nre hot springs with water clear and emerald In
tint.
The road here enters GibOon Canon. gradually
rising higher and higher. Tne G1bbon River falls
over rCcks eighty feet making beautiful picture.
Fifteen miles from the Norris Geyser Basin the
TO the Great Falls OF the Yellowstone and the
OtLCr up the FlTehole 70 the Upper Geyser Basin.
THIS II ere Of the hotel sites.
All the great geysers lie along the Firehole River
and the valley itself is divided into three basins
the lower, the mid0leaud the upper Geyser Basins.
The lower Geyser Basin is full OF extinct geysers,
and has many hot and mud springs These lie
upon bill formed entirely Of GeyseTite. Here is
the great paint pot forty bY sixty feet Its heavy
whiIish pink mud spluttering ana blobbing like
heavy theologian forcing a laugh 10 please a
in 5e Dt nS RSspa sPsee g!fylty
and the jet" The middle Geyser Basin is i've
miles from the Forts. Here Is the Excelsior or
II was supposed 10 be an immense hot spring 200
by so feet Its walls show by their laminae that
they are depositions Of an old geyser. In 1859 IL
OF water sixty to seventy feet in diam
eter three hundred feet into the air.
The hot water TOnring into the FlrehOle filled it
bar full, a fosmirg torrent. From the mound OF
Old Fsithiul saw 1t burst forth, but too far to
gain any impress ion One hour afterward the hot
stream was pouring into the Firehole. Two beau
uful springs one called the Psmatic 25lx350 feet,
snd the other called the Iroquois lGOxl0O feet,
near by. The outflow OF the latter is by channel
made by itself OF slowly deposited geyseIie, lined
vi h tintIDg ike the inside OF a shell. Along the
road TO the Upper Basin q countless number Of
tht whole region seems well named "iells Half
AeIe."
UPPER GEYsER BASIN.
six miles from the Excelsior Geyser isO old Faith
iul" at the head of the Upper Geyser Basin. The
Hayden party in ISL coming into this region from
the Yeiiowsione Lake had no conception of what
they were to see It was not known that geysers
existed outside OF Iceland. As they came down
the FirehoIe Valley geyser burst before them. It
tions occur every sixty minutes How long had it
been play ing with only the eyes OF grizzlies and
bsck ON EmersOns words beauty is It's own excuse
for beirg." The white tents OF the Improvement
Company Hotel cleaned cheehully. as travel
worn and W, sTy we rode IL. Next yesr q perIna-
nent hotel viii be built. In the mean time large
mosque tent is the dining room. and row OF tents
fun view DO cuty as bed rooms. Everything Is
CT Infortable; spring beds, carpeied floors and
good cock; While i at dinner, "Old Faithful
leasts, and for ten minutes kept It's column of
wafer playing ct a height OF 125 feet.
The upper Geyscr Basin stands out unique and
alone in its wonders. Hitherto the geysers of Ice
/ lard were all that were known. the Giant Geysers
being one of the natural wonders OF the world.
But IL throws It's water only to the height of 100
! feet The geySers Of New Zealand are really but
boiling spIings but the geysers OF the FirehOle in
the volume of water and the height 20 which il is
thrown ma ke all others Insignificant. At the head
of the valley 'Od Faithful" F" It's periodic time
/ varying from fifty FIVE TO sixty five minutes. Tne
/ column OF water Is about three by six feet and it
plays five minutes. From this height the whole
geyser valley may be seen; Nearest snd across the
fvefeet which gives no sign Of any nc i've force pen
1 within. But twice day little steam indicator
0ess o 20 nass rom ts1t 70 lent soon besn
tiiul Co umn OF water aud steam shoots forth TO "A
/ beiehth of 2l9 feet. and then desoends in misty
| showers TO the ground This continues from seven
TO twenty minutes. Near by is the
"GIANTEss."
She plays only once in fourteen days. There il no
cone but deep tube, reaching many feet into the
. earth. AT times IL is filed with sapphire water.
The eruption OF the Gsntess Is an experience to be
/ remembered. The eruption took place the morn
! Ing of the day we reached the basin. An English
artist told me that Ii was awful the earth shaking.
The steam roaring Then the water column, lsx25
feet rose 70 height OF sixty feet. Out oil this rose
| separate fountains one above another. to height
Of $50 feet. This continues from twelve to sixteen
hours We were witnesses OF her last throes Near
the Giantess are the Lion, the LiOness aud TT0
| Cubs The saw-mill keeps mp par
petual buzzing. little further down the river is
the ''Grand." We fingered near IL many hours,
hoping to see its eruption, but II came not There
is no cone or raised bowl. Its basin is ffty-tw0
feet I'm diameter. In its action ft is unlike the
Others giving no warning, It's water column rises
eco feet and the overflow half fills the Firehole.
the opposite side is the Castle. with its beauu
ful white oOne suggesting Its name; the Grotto.
with its csvernous cave through which. one may
| creep. Once In four days the Giant plays, II
such titaLic work can be called play. The cone
| is ten ieet high but has been broken on one side
by some eruption. Its water column is seven feet
IN diameter, 200 ieet In height, coh.inui ag
for nearly two hours Other geyserS can
but be known by name-the Splendid, which
| ssve seven displays during ous visit the
! "Fan' and Riverside" and many another.
Th6se eruptons take place st all times. One can
scarcely look out without seeing geyser spout
During witt only the less important ones were
| seen IffE little suggestive that even nature has