The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-06-20
STREAM WITH DOUBLE CURRENT.
Pcculfarftfes of a Creek ON the Die
vide I'm Yellowstone Park.

The Yellowstone Park aboun6s with WON
ueTs, out he or which little has been pub
ilsned IS a section OF the park whlca mas
recently lecome the study OF scientists.
1t Is Two Ocean pass" Here is a stream
OF water which r1ws In two directions
This spot as the subject OF an interesting
article by Barton ". Evermann. of the
United States Fish Commission. He says:
Many years ago the famous old guide.
jim bridser, told his ineredulous friends
that he had found. on the divide west OF the
upper Yellowstone, "A creek which flowed IN
both directions-one end flowing east IN the
Yellowstone. tho other west into Snake
river. But. IS he also told about many
other strange and TO them impossible
things which he had seen-among which
were glass mountain anc a river which
ran down hill SO fast that the water was
made boiling hot--they were not disposed
TO acknowledge the existence Of his Two
Ocean creek. subsequent events vindi-
Atlantic creek was found TO have two
forks entering the pass. AT the north end
canyon, down which flows the north fork.
This stream hugs the border of the fiat
very closely. The south fork comes down
the canyon on the south side, skir;ins the
brow of the hill a little less closely than
does the north fork. The two, coming to-
gether near the middle of the eastern hor-
der of the meadow form Atlantic creek.
which, after a course of few miles. flows
into the upper Yellowstone. But the re-
markable phenomena exhibited here remain
Each fork OF Atlantic creek. Just after
entering the meadow, divides as If to flow
around an island, but the stream toward
the meadow. instead of returning to the
portion from which il parted. continues
It's westerly course across the meadow.
e twe un nd nen pour her
combined waters into Pacific creek: thus
are Atlantic and Pacific creeks united, and
a continuous waterway from the mouth or
the Columbia, via Two Ocean pass. 10 the
Gulf of Mexico is established. Two Ocean
creek is not myth. but a verify
and Jim Bridger is .vindicated. We
stood upon the bank of either fork
place of the parting of the waters and
watched the stream pursue ;ts rapid but
dangerous and uncertain course along the
very crest OF the great continental divide.
A creek flowing along the ridgepole OF a
continent is unusual and strange. and Well
worth watching and experimenting with.
So We waded 10 the middle or the north
fork. and. lying down upon the rocks in
its red, we drank me pure icy water that
was hurrying 10 the Pacific, and, without
rising. but by simply bending little 10
ton OF the stream which was sust deciding
to go east. via the Mississippi
route to the Gulf OF Mexico. md then we
tossed chips, two at time, into the
stream. Though they would Strike the
water within inch so of each other.
not infrequently one would be carried by
the current to the left. keeping in Atlantic
creek, while the other might be carried a
little to the right and enter the branch
the one beginning a journey which will
finally bring il TO the great gulf. the other
entering upon a long voyage the oppo-
site direction TO Balboa ocean.