The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-07-18
AVALLEY OF DEATH.
RaVine In the Yellowstone Park Where Game
Is AsphJXiated,


RaVine In the Yellowstone Park Where Game
Is AsPhy xiated.
Gin Yellowstone park there is q
ravine that proves as deadly to ami
NAL life as that Death Valley of Java
where wild beasts perish by the
score," said Henry W. Mcintyre at
the Palace hotel last night. The
gentleman, says the San Francisco
Chronicle, was connected with the
party who surveyed the reservation,
under the leadership OF Arnold
Hague, the park geologist. While
following the streams to trace the
extinct hot springs the explorers
reached q ravine in which the bones
OF many animals. bears, deer, rabbits,
and squirrels, were found. The
presence of the remains caused the
party much wonder, and a solution
of the strange affair was found only
when a crow that had been seen to
fly from the side of the valley to q
carcass that was yet fresh lit on it's
prey and almost Immediately fell to
the ground.
"The death of the bird" continued
Mr.. Mcintyre, "was caused by case
Gus exhalations, whose presence in
the park had been before uDsus-
pected. The larger game also
met it's death by inhaling the dead
ly gas. The ravine is in the
northeastern part of the park, in the
vicinity of the mining camp of Cooke
Greek, and not far from the line of
the mail route. All about this re-
gion gaseous exhalations are given
off, which form sulphurous deposits.
In the almost extinct hot spring
areas OF Soda butte, Lamar river,
and Cache and Miller creeks the ra-
vine was found. This region is rare
ly visited; although it is an admira-
BILE place for game, which, however,
| gOeo u1rrrrv4vptod Ly rnrpu, the laws
against hunting being very severe.
The road to the valley has few at
fractions, and the visitors to the fos-
sill forests and Hindoo basin seldom
make the trip.
''In the center of q meadow. reach
ed by an old Elk trail, is @ shallow
depression thatwas once the bed of
a hot-spring pool. This is now dry
and is covered with a slight deposit
of salt, and is the bait that attracts
the elk and other game ofthe region.
The 1ick' extends for seventy-fve
yards up the ravine and is thicker and
more palpable toward the upper
end. The creek runs along the side
the valley and boils and bubbles as fit
were the outlet ola hotspring. But the
itater is cold and the disturbance in
gs surface caused by the emissions of
was, mainly carbonic acid. 1t also
contains sulphur, as particles of that
are seen on the sides ofthe creek. AS
we went up the stream the odor OF
sui phur became very strong and
caused irritation of the bronchial
passages. About eighty yards above
Cache creek were the bones of a large
bear and near by was q smaller
grizzly, decomposed, but with the
skin and hair yet fresh. Only a short
distance farther on were skeletons of
many more animals, such as elk and
deer and other large game. Squirrels
rabbits, birds, and insects were ly.
ing about in quantities, and the ra-
vine looked as if it had been the
scoop of a drive, into which the an
imals of the park had been hunted
and had there been left to die ofhun-
ger out of mere wantonness. There
were no wounds apparent on the
bodies before us; all the animals had
been asphyxiated by the deadly gas
es that hung q few feet from the sur
face of the gulch in dense, palpable
curtain.
"The first bear we saw was a good
way down the gulch, where a neck is
formed. To that point the gas
must have been driven by the wind,
and it's deadly nature may be easily
guessed when it is remembered that
the slightest motion causes a diffu-
sion of the ether that would tend to
decrease it's noxious properties.
Here is the explanation of the Oft
repeated assertion that game was
being exterminated by hunters in
the Yellowstone, notwithstanding
the stringent laws that have been
passed for the protection of animals
there. I had seen it noted that
each year bears, deer, mountain
tigers, and other wild animals were
disappearing from the reservation,
and it was asserted that friends of
the people who had charge of the
park were allowed to hunt there in
the defiance OF the law. There we're
probably $50 bodies of wild ami
mails in the gulch when | was there.
But although there were skeletons
entire and single bones it must not
be supposed these were the remains
of all the game that had found
death in the ravine. They had &C.
cumulated only since the last rain
storm. Through the gulch a noun
tain torrent runs when the SHOWS
have melted from the mountains or
after hard rain. Then all things,
stones, bones and lbodies, are tum-
bled together on their way to the
mouth of the gulch, whence they are
carried away in the creeks or are
left to mark the course of the stream
and bleach on the table lands. I
had noticed near the Mammoth hot
springs the bodies of mice and bugs,
but had never attributed their pres
ence to the deadly gasses that were
SO rapidly killing the large game of
the park"