The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1884-08-07
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENTS
MAMMOTH Hot SPRINGS.
.July 0Sfb 1904

1t Is IN Wyoming mainly. and includes
that portion of the Rocky Mountains
whose peaks are the Hottest. 1t is
possible to visit the principal objects
of interest With the exception of Mt.
| Washbuun, by carriages A number
| of the guides have been cowboys, a
| class of men rude IN appearance. fear
less in everything, but as meek of hu-
| man kindness as true men can be-
AT least such we found jim O'Neill to
be, an excellent guide and a gentle
| man whose code of etiquette came
from a good heart Jim was born in
Ireland, but spent his life in the wild
west He hates railroad as cordially
as Ruskin does and is going to move
on to get beyond the reach of this
modern 'civilizer. But 20 return to
the Park.
The principal objects of interest are
the Mammoth Hot Springs, the Norris,
the Lower, the Middle and the Upper
Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Lake, the
Upper and the Lower Falls, the Con
ion, Mt. Washburn and the Fossil For
est. The roads are constructed by the
United States but the IMAM on horse
back" can cut off many detoUrs by fol-
lowing mountain trails The spouting
geysers are to be- found in the Lower
and Upper Basins. Fully half the
tourists are satisfied with visiting the
geysers; comparatively few see Mt.
Washburn, visit to which pecessi
tates a horseback ride Of As miles.
principally on a bride path and over
very mountainous country, and a
laborious climb to the summit Con
siderable danger attends a walk over
the Norris Geyser Basin as the crust
is thin in many parts, and the venture
some explorer may break through and
meet horrible death A lad of l6
from Rhode Island, broke the crust
the day | visited this Basin. One leg
went into the boiling water The skin
came off with the clothes and the next
day fever set in. He was forced to
remain over while his party went on
A wearsOme convalescence the boy
will have, if indeed he RECEIVERS at all
Many boiling springs are met on the
way from Norris to the Lower Basin,
right on the river bank. Here fish
may be caught in the river and drop
ped into a spring and cooked to nicely
without the anglers moving a step. A
number of geysers are found in the
Lower Basin, but none active to a sub
lime extent. A number of large paint
pots are found here. They consist of
clay of various colors and of the con
sistency of oat meal mush, boiling with
the peculiar sound of viscus fluids,
Occasionally the large globose ejec-
tons of the pasty mass are sent to a
hight of ten feet / was fortunate
enough to see the largest geyser of
this place in action. It is vastly in
ferior to most of these In the Upper
Basin, but being the first watched it
with considerable interest. First the
water in the pool became violently
agitated; soon it boiled to the hight
of 80 feet 1t was not an election but
literal boiling to that hight After
this fearful CONFUSION it fell into such
a state Of quiescence that not ripple
appeared in the limpid pool.
A ride of four miles takes you to
the Middle Geysers, one of which the
Excelsior is said to be the grandest in
the world. To only few is a sight
of this In action vouchsafed. Its
spoutings can be heard a distance of
six miles, and its action so energetic
that it casts out large stones; the eiec-
tons so plentiful that it makes the
stream which flows near it, overrrn
its banks. 1t was simply a boiling
pool of limpid purity when / saw it,
its surface, some 80 feet below the
volcanic deposit which covers this sec
ton. To one who loves quiet beauty,
| exquisite shading and an almost per
feet arrangement of prismatic colors
the lake near this geyser completes
his ideal. 1t lies between the stream
and the hills which, as if to be in har-
mony with the rare lonliness at their
feet, rise in majestic contour, clothed
with the dark green of the mountain
pine. The lake is about 400 feet long
| and about half that extent in width
1t Is on quite an elevation which is
terraced with an almost geometric
regularity. The material is the pecu-
liar mineral formation of this place.
But as the lake is approached the col
| oring reminds one of oriental magni-
ticence. Here is band of red, shad-
ing into orange then to yellow, purple
and gray. Water, tepit in tempera-
tuue, is trickling over the surface The
silicious deposit near the lake is not
indurated and you feel that the print
of your boots is sacrilege Advan-
tage of the wind must be taken SO as
to avoid the steam. The rim of the
basin Is most exquisite piece of
workmanship, SO delicate in structure,
so artistic IN design that you at once
| ascrlbe 1t to some one greater than
history has known, whose conception
| of the beautiful was the essence of
beauty itself. The coloring of the
| spOngy terraced rocks which enclose
the lake, is repeated in the waters of
the lake sweeping around its circrm-
ference in vivid bounds until the blue
of the interior of the lake is reached.
a placid heated body of water clear as
the ether whose infinite depths form
| the azure vault of heaven. Two
| streams flow down the decivity from
the lake to the river in well defined
beds through the rocky deposit. The
rock banks are beautifully embossed
| and gorgeously colored. The water
| is red, orange, blue, yellow or purple
IN different parts of the streams course,
borrowing its color from that of the
bed. The banks are ANIMATED in
colors, positive and clearly defined.
The whole thing is grander than mind
can conceive; beautiful beyond de
scription; a realization extending far
beyond the realms of fancy.
A ride of eleven miles brings you to
the Upper Geyser Basin the, Mecca of
tourists within the Park. It is full
of geysers, all internationally active
and generally at regular intervals, but
many are ceasing to be reliable. Old
Faithful never disappoints the pill
grim to this Wonderland. Every hour