Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1902-05-07
YELLOWSTONE PARK.
Natural Wonders of That Famous
Resort of Tourists.

lady said that the central portion
OF the Rocky mountain region-that
is, the Yellowstone parks the safety
valve OF the United States. There are
the vent holes of its internal fires and ex-
! plosive energies, and but for the relief
they shord, the whole country might be
shaken with earthquakes and be blown
up, In fragments. There is the smoking
and vomiting chimney of the continent.
There Issue the steam, the hot water in
fountains and rivers, the explosive gases,
the dissolved and trituated minerals and
esrths, generated In the incandescent
bowels OF the earth.
| heard soldier say that II the Old
Father geyser did not go off every sixty
| five minutes, he should be alarmed, and
should fear to stay in that neighborhood,
for no one could tell where this sup
pressed force might not break out. The
mountains look pretty solid around there,
though some OF them-like the Roaring
mountain, which is so full OF steam vents
that 1t looks like hill on fire. do not
seem promising places to plant vineyards
4 GU grapes would grow 800 feet above the
ses) the great Basins OF He'll, the Devil,
and other unpleasant names, upon which
the stream whirls In clouds over the red
hot ponds and boiling pot holes, have US
ually thin crust, upon which people
walk with some courage; but there
arises general want OF stability OF the
/ whole region. II Is not encouraging to
feel the made crust hot under your feet,
and to have to be careful not to step into
holes OF boiling water, and assures OF I'M
known depth which vomit steam, fat
frying kettles, boiling pots of paint and
mud, and to have to run away from a
caIdron which suddenly sends into the air
a great column OF hot water.
| All the world knows, from the pens OF
a thousand descriptive writers and from
| the photographs, the details Of these mar
wells, so that need not enter upon them.
/ But suppose their effect is different upon
different persons. How beautiful many
OF the "iormst ions" are that have been
slowly built up by the overflow OF these
\ limpid waters which carry so many salts
In solutionl What sense of power
there is In the spouting geysersl How
exquisite In tridescent colors are some OF
OF deep emerald, OF sapphire! and the
graceful steam floating about over this
| burning woridl But IT Ia hot, and 1t
has a sickeoing smell, like steam from
dirty laundry. | learned to call 1t the
| Park smell, so constant 1t Is in the hell
| fire regions.
| II is exciting to watch for the spouting
OF the geysers, and the recurrence OF
other intermitting phenomens; but many
disagreeabIe things do not intermit. The
pools and pots are always boiling, streams
OF hot water never stop, and there are
steam vents that roar as constantly as
blast furnaces. One | recall, which sends
out Istersliy as from a funnel, with an
awful roar, u great volume OF super heated
steam, night and day, year after year, in
extravagsnt rage and prodigality. Steam
enough is wasted here to run all the
Western railways. Where does 1t come
| FRONT This one never takes day or an
hour off, like many OF the uneasy friers
and spouters In the basin below It.
These displays, however, are wholesome
| In comparison with what is called the
mud geyser, which is, l suppose, the
most disgusting object In nature. This
| horrible thing Is not in any OF the geyser
basins, but hiss a place TO itself on the
road between the Lake and the Yellow
stone canon. On the side OF hill, at
the bottom OF deep sloping pit, Is a sort
! OF cave, like tue lair OF wild besst,
which prepe, ually vomits a compound of
mud, putty, nsstiness. Over the mouth
seems TO be a concaye rock, which pre-
vents the creature ir Jm spouting his NTH
straight up like a geyser. Against this
obstacle, with thud. every moment the
vile fluid is flung, as II the beast were In a
rage, and growing because he could not
get out, and then through the orihce the
| mud is flung in spiteiul spits and gushes
OF nastiness. And the most disgusting
part OF 1t is that this awful mixture can
not get out, and the creature has to
swallow 1t again, and is perpetually sick
to nausea.
IL is the most fascinstingly loathsome
thing In the world. / recalled the dragon
and his cave in Wagner's "Siegfried".
There, the reader remembers, is dark
cave, out OF which issue volumes oil steam
and an animal noise. Presently dragon
protrudes his horrid scaly head and fore
paws, and from his jaws come flame and
steam. The continuance seems to have
been suggesed by this mud geyser. Ia
this geyser | have no doubt there is
dragon, but he can never get his head
out. You can only hear MIN rage, ana
von can see ne pastiness he vomits out
Charles Dudley Warner, IN Hdrpers
Magazine.