Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-07-02
THE YELLOWSTONE PARK.
New objects of Interest that have
Been discovered.

Been Discovered.
Mr.. G. L. Henderson, one of the
superintendent of the Yellowstone
National Park, was in Salt Lake City
recently, where he was interviewed
by representative Of the Herald.
Replying to inquiries, he said:
1.-THE whole of last November and
the first half of December was so fine
in the geyser basin that party CON
sisting of myself, Asst. Supt. w. j.
Weimer and George w. Marshall
were enabled to make the most thors
Jugh and careful search that bad ever
been made in that region of hot
springs. spouting geysers, aud mud
volcanoes.
what the old guide books designate
as the lower geyser basin contained
over thousand objects of special
interest, not over three of which have
been named or even noticed, and at
best the whole was condensed into a
few lines or single paragraph, and
for the reason that il was both terra
incognito and in0minata.
THE chemical basin, OF which
there are three divisions, contains
vast bowls or basins of decompoSed
rock, pulverized and in q liquid, Jelly
like form, of every shade and color,
and so hot that it would be instant
death to any living thing which had
the misfortune to slip down the oily
walls into one OF these seething
abysses.
THE most remarkable of these
boiling paintbcwls named
Lindrens garden in honor of
the Barron Won Linden,
of Amsterdam, who during his visit
to the National Park last October was
the first to observe and to sketch the
marvellous and floral forms that rise
necessarily and bloom a brief NOM
ent and th.n fade away, to be sue
ceeded by never ending aud ever
varying display of lilies, roses and
sunhowers. This kaleidoscope floral
morphology is created on the surface
of thick, cream colored paint in
bowl thirty feet in diameter Every
flower form is well defined and is
never repeated. No waste and no
delay.
This basin lies south OF the chem
zeal basin, and is even more Won dem
full, though in another way. 1t con-
tains over three hundred miniature
mountains, each OF which sends out
puffs of steam, and several of them
are active mud volcanoes. One of
these opened at the top like the jaws
of bulldog, and there were five sue
cessive eruptions Of white lava sent up
vertically about three feet, when the
opening closed with snap, after
which the lava slowly trinkled down
the sides of the mountain and soon
hardened into a crust like putty.
Another one close by had an eruption
sending UP at each discharge a few
seconds apart small marble-shaped
balls, most of which fell back into
the crater.
''On the west bank of the Fire Hole
river an active geyser set up every
fifteen or twenty minutes a volume OF
boiling water about ninety feet high.
The crater to the depth OF thirty feet
was lined with series of skull>like
knobs, ranged in rows as if a phrenos
logist had been collecting a cabinet of
craniums. There were skulls of every
form and size, from that of an infant
to a giants in size, and from that of an
idiot to Bacon's in form.
Near the skull geyser and close by
the river is most singular boiling
pool containing a coarse black sand.
From some inexplicable cause this
black sand rises like huge bubble
and falls back, leaving the wafer for
an instant turbid, after which it be-
comes clear as crystal. Each sue
ceeding globe becomes a larger one
until the seventh, which bursts with
a report like the crack of whip.
The looker-on instinetively makes a
step backward until he becomes ac'
to this pugnaclCrs manner
of coming to a climax. TINS geyser
It's own name, the conclusion.
8About two miles east of the road
leading past the Foutaln geyser to the
upper geyser basin is the largest lake
of boiling water in the park or in the
world.
"Walpurgia lake is nearly two mill
es long by one in width at the widest
place. The shores are lined with a
black lavatic scoria similar to that
found at Vesuvlus, There is at the
head of this lake a powerful geyser
continually in action. The west side
of the cone nearest the lake cleaned
like alabastcr through vast clouds of
vapor that filled the basin and tloated
a way into the woods on the northern
shore. The east side was as black as
ebony. The boiling torrent swept
over the marble front with period
ical dash and roar that were deafen,
ing. 1t seemed as if a black demon
were deluging an angel with flood
of iniquity, in spite of watch 1t be
came purer and winter. 1t was mans
ed Mephistophelss and Marguerite.
In speaking of the popularity of
the park as a national pleasure resort,
Mr.. Henderson predicted that the
travel this year and number Of visit
ors would be more than double that
of any previous season.
D. -, I bn0r.y,, t,w,,Sbac in knn.