Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-07-17

l somewhat out of repair, as SIZE eAPeet-
| ed to erect this summer new one on d
/ much larger scale. She has at last con
WINGED the wise men" that she can
/ raise cucumbers. and that the natura
beauties of the park are in no danger.
Backbone of the Continent.
The next morning we are off for ths
Thumb. Like Lots wife. we are al
/ looking back We leave the basin re-
| .retfully. for we feel strongly attached
to this strange and interesting spot
| And now we pass the keppler cascades
on the Firehole river and follow this
stream and its tributary Spring creek
AS we ascend the mountains
it is a beautiful and charm
ling road. About 10 o'clock We
cross the great divide, not the one
/ Bret Harte tells about, but the Cont
rental Divide, the great Watershed OF
the continent. When we are told thai
the waters from the western slope flow
/ into the Atlantic and those on the east
ern slope, which we are soon to ascend
flow into the Pacific we begin to think
| trat somebody's geogra ply is mixed
hut an examination of the map shows
us that this is true. The watershed
makes great loop here and we cross II
| twice on the way from the basin to the
Thumb. on the top of the mountains
at Craig Pass, we pause for moment
| We are now S,240 feet above the leve
/ of the sea. We now descend to the wall
LEY again by magnificent road called
/ Corkscrew Pass. The distance from the
| top of the mountain to Heron creek is
something over a mile. The road cut
cut of the rock. winds in and out. in anc
out around the bend of the mountain
twisting and turning in short curves
like a huge corkscrew.
A Terrifying Ride.
On one side the mountains loom III
perpendicularly, on the other side you
| look over precipice 1000 feet to the
bottom. The wagon track is only wide
enough for one coach, but there are
several passing places where team
ascending can pull out. All travel is So
uniformly one way that we might NEE,
lone team on this pass during the sea-
| son and we might not. The drivers en-
| JOY the drive down Corkscrew Pass bet
| ter than any other. | think they enjoy
the terror it inspires in the occupants
of the coaches. 1 wasn't a bit scared !;
nevertheless l found myself holding
| tightly to the seat, and ii | had been q
| woman 1 think 1 would have screamed.
AT the top of the pass the driver sets
his wagon brake and down he goes at {,
break-neck pace. every horse on trot.
AS one looks over the edge of that bot
tornless--to the eye-precipice. only
about three feet from the wheel, it is
rot calculated to allay nervousness.
And yet accidents never happen. What
wheel should come off one can only
off They don't use that kind of
coaches. After all, a coach is no more
liable to keel over three inches from a
rrecipice than if it were three rods
away. But, just the same, we all feel
easier when the valley is reached. We
abuse the driver for his reckless driv-
ing and his reply is a grin. Just what
the descent is 1 don't know-probably
1000 feet-in a distance of little more
than mile.
Soon we cross De Lacey creek, the
center of the valley formed by the loop,
and we begin to ascend the mountains
again. AT the top of this second ridge
we are S,345 feet up. From this point
we descend to Yellowstone Lake, and
stop at the Thumb to lunch.
Grand Trout Fishing.
The Thumb is-well, it is the Thumb,
as the lake and its arms resemble a
hand. At the Thumb we get another
elegant lunch, the principal feature be-
ling baked trout fresh from the lake or
the Yellowstone river. 1 think the
Rainbow trout are caught in the lake
as we'll as the river but the favorite
place for trout fishing is in the river,
just below the lakes outlet and about
two miles from the Lake Hotel. Here
the fish are so abundant that the anna
teur can cast his line with a fair de-
gree of success. There is trout in the
lake that is unfit for use. They are
handsome fish, but the flesh is full of
worms. 1t is a strange freak of nature,
but it is fact. The fish seem to be in
perfect health, but the solid part is a
mass of wriggling worms. The expert
enced fisherman knows them as soon as
hauled in and throws them back.
Yellowstone Lake.
At the Thumb the Salt Lake hog
was in evidence again. From this place
the Wiley wagons so empty to the Lake
Hotel as all their patrons take the
steamer across the lake. have spoken
of this before. 1t is a part of the Wiley
trip, but the tourist via the Yellowstone
Transportation Company has to pay IS.
Don't pay it. 1t is q steal and an out
rage. The fare across ought not to be
over so cents or at most 81, and the
| transportation company ought to pay it.
The little steamer is narrow and gener
ally overloaded. If you don't get sick
from the rocking of the boat you will
be fortunate Those who take the
steamer regret 1t. The ride around the
north shore of the lake. twenty miles, is
che of the finest in the world. You have
the beautiful placid lake to your right
and beyond it Mount Sheridan and the
ether peaks of the range, rising majes-
tcally and grandly to the clouds.
ON the way around the lake we Were
treated to an illustration of 'light-of-
way The yellow coach. which is the
coach of the Yellowstone Transporta
All their coaches are yellow. The
Monida coach is red, while the Wiley
wagons are anything: they have but
few coaches. Every team that meets q
yellow coach must give the road. No
team in the park is permitted to pass II
yellow coach, While those overtaken by
Il yellow coach must give the road when
it is demanded. In front of us was one
of the Wiley wagons with no occupant
eXcept the driver Twice he was called