The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-05-27

In a recent report to the National Geo
graphical society, Prof. e. H. Barbour,
of the Nebraska university, made the
startling statement that those who wish
to see the Yellowstone national park at
lis best must go soon. Prof Barbour
visited the park in 1894 and made careful
study of it's principal features. This sum
mer, when he returned he was shocked
to find that many of the finest show
pieces are extinct. Gov. w. II. Rich
ards, of Wyoming, as a government sur
veyor in the los knew the region well.
In 1897 he revisited the park and found
that much of its former brilliancy had
passed away.
The Minerva Terrace one Of the first of
the many wonders of the place to claim
the admiration of tourists, has disappear
ed Only few years ago the water was
trickIing over its snowy surface, building
it up in a thousand fantastic tlnts. Now
it is only an ashen crust, which cruml& IS
under the feet Of the disappointed visitor.
The Paint Pots, which in rs were more
brilliant than the red and yellow OF
city block, have faded to deep pink,
gorgeous still, but prophetic of the time
when they will be only common clay beds.
IN JQelT ITOuDlGu Q6pIUS, WHERE IliC steam
used to keep the pulpy mass in d cOntin-
uaI upheaval, throwing out the gaudy
mud and bursting it into meteOrs, there
is now only the placid bubbling of a con-
tented teapot The heavy liquid boils and
bursts into exquisite flower forms, as If
fairy fingers below were throwing out
clay rosebuds, which burst into bloom as
they reach the air. Exquisite indeed, but
soon will the fairy hands be idle and the
lnf.lr lace
clay as are common in the surrounding
country e t@ OIL
But the greatest loss so far reported
is the failure Of the Great Fountain gey-
ser. 1t was perhaps the most magnificent
and appalling of all the geysers. To 1t
the Little Fountain geyser, visible from
the hotel piazza, is as a candle compared
to an arc light For several years this
monster has been erratic. His moods
were not to be relied upon.
Sometimes for fifteen hours he would
lie in sullen slumber, and then he would
play every eight or ten hours for several
days. A little outlet ditch is the indicator
by which his acquaintance can tell just
one hour before he viii begin to play.
When the water begins to flow there
| guests at the hotel, two miles away, are
notified. Magnificent as the sight is in the
daytime, it is most impressive and mar
velous on a moonlight night. You ap-
| proach on foot or on horseback, as driV-
| ing after dark is not safe The giant
| seems torpid, but the little indicator is
| flowing merriIy over the great pond
! there is now and then a play Of bubbles,
| just as a teakettle watched too anxious
| ly tantaliZes US now and then with a
| simmer. Y GU climb up the surrounding
crust which the geyser has been building
! for many centuries and peer into the
! greenish water. Suddenly a stopper seems
| to have been withdrawn below, and the
| water sinks. The guide hurries you away
| to a safe distance, and you wait breath
| lessly. There IS an angry growI, a tremor
and roar. In a cloud OF steam the entire
! contents Of Pat mighty cauldron seem
! to lift themselves into the air. Up rises
| the mass hundred feet against the mid
night sky, and, like the gigantic fountain
| it is, it throws down the water IN floods,
| pouring over the sides of the crater in
every direction, filing the long empty
bitches and rushing away to meet the
! river, already warmed by a thousand
fire holes''
Still plays the mighty fountain, throw
| ing up its contents in a steady, solid
column A puff Of wind parts the steam,
and the sparkling water touched by the
moonlight shimmers with an unearthly
! brightness The rush of the flood Is in
| your ears and your eyes are fascinated
| by the terrific vision Gradually the
waters fall and the great cauldron throws
out clouds of steam and streams of
water which feed the busy outlets Now
1t has gone down, and only hollow
mutter from the depths of the earth in
| dicates that there Is a bottom to that
awful pit which yawns before your
amazed eyes as you climb the crater
again and gaze into the black depths IN
| til the guides warning and an ominous