The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-09-19
GEYsERS SPOUT TO ODRER.
The Mishap to Chinese Laundryman
Turned to Account
Fl.onl the Ner YnrL So

FROM Ue NeU XOrE star.
Early one morning, few years ago, a
Chinese laundryman pitched his tent close
beside one of the geysers in the Yellowstone
National Park, and supplied himself with
hot water from the spring, thus saving him
self the trouble Of setting up boiler and
building fire. During the day he acct
dentally dropped bar of soap
into tne sleamng geyser, anG IN a
few minutes there was rum
bling, roar, an outburst of steam and
wa. er, and the tent and Chinaman " ere
lite. ally blown up" The scalded celestial
did not stop running until he reached the
hotel, and he was then too thoroughly
frightened for uttera &c. Since then it has
been almost impos ible to induce a China
man to remain il the vicini Y of the geyssrs
But the accident discovery that a ge yser
could be provoked into spouting out of lis
time has Deel turled to account by some OF
The guides and soldiers in the park, and the
result is that some of the wonderful springs
have become very irregular in their action,
and there is a possibility that they will
cease to spout altogether
There are seventeen large geysers in the
upper basin. and some of them at regular
intervals send up streams of water from 10
to 80 feet in circumference to a hight of $50
anu SDO 1851. as rarely remain at
this spot mora than twenty-four hours,
they, of course, want to see one or the huge
geysers PLAY. Unless they arrive on the
opportune days, the only geyser they are
likely to see is "Old Faithful" which
spouts every sixty-five minutes. But to see
the other geysers spout is the event of the
trip. and in this matter the as lstance of
the soldier who is placed on guard to pre-
vent tourists from despoiling pubic prop
erJy is requested.
At every point of interest the tourist
find soldier watching his footsteps This
espionage is &c prevent vandals and
crank" from scrawling their names on
tho rocks, and to stop the relic fiends
from facing the beautiful rock formations
that surround the geysers. But these
fellows have learned about the accident
which befell the Chinaman and his field
laundry, and many of them will undertake
to make geyser spout, even if it be not its
exhibition day.
The initiated tourist hands to one of these
guardians a five-dollar note. The soldier
slices a bar of soap into thin pieces, wraps
the mass in a sheet Of paper, aud while
walking around the geyser to see that no
one defaces the rocks, throws the paper of
Clipped soap into the steamiug spring.
Then he retires. and he and the tourist
await developments. In from half an hour
to an honr the spring begins to spout,
its action being forced Sy the chemicals in
the soa 3.
Soaping the geysers makes them irregu-
lar, and finally they become extinct. the
Bee Hive ceased playing last September on
account of the soaping process II was a
very fine geyser and the eruptions were
grand. The virtue of soap was again tried
last week, and with success. Just as the
s1outing began l saw two tourists and
soldier emerge from behind 55ne trees a
short distance away and run to point as
near the geyser as they dared to 90. This
sp outing was a surprise to all save the in
itiated, especially as there is little ''ind-
Gator" geyser near by that spouts as a
warning that the larger one is about to
play. As the visitors did not also treat the
little geyser to soap it did not play.
The forcing of the water to the surface
by chemical means before the periods fixed
by nature destroys the regular flow. The
volume of water thrown out becomes
smaller, and the grandeur of the spectacle
is diminishing. Fiaally the natural forces
which create the spectacle become disorgan-
lied and the geyser ceases to be geyser,
Thus one Of the greatest attractions of the
Yellowstone Park is in danger of extinction.