The daily morning Alaskan., 1902-03-11
X SCIENTIFIC 4 \ DISCOVERY
IorlgInal.l


 dents were returning to college for the fall term. among thera the freshmen, who, green from the high school the grammar school. the farm in some cases. were unpacklng their ward. robes and setting themselves for hard study. Three upper class men were as' sembled In room of one of the dormi' tories, among them a single freshman. He walked about as If treading on eggshells, and if there was one thing he dreaded 1t was being made game or. The senior and the junior treated him us unworthy of any especial notice, the sophomore as an inferior order of ani- mal.
 "Talklng of surprises" said the jun ior 'I met with one this summer that knocked me cold"
 Lets have it." said the senior.
 "You know that was chosen to rep resent our class in the university expe- dltlon to the Yellowstone park this summerT" ..rt,
 "YouP Yellowstone parkf Oh, yesl Now remember. had forgotten that you took every scientific prize last term" He removed his pipe from his mouth and glanced significantly at the | freshman.
 Everybody knows" the junior went on. "who knows anything. that the gey- sers out there are impregnated with calcareous and slllceous natter"
 "Calcareous and siliceous matter Is good" said the sophomore. with mock reverence.
 Don't interrupt the speaker" inter posed the senior severely. This expe- ditlon has brought about some remark able discoveries. and we want to hear about them"
 This calcareous and sillceous mat ter" resumed the narrator, instantly lncrustates whatever 1t falls upon. We found any quantity of things from which. when we knocked on the coat ing. there was the original article, good as ever. But we found one thing we hadn't counted on. One of the fellows. | picking up a piece of stone about ten | inches long and quite slender. began ! Co hammer lt. and after an extra hard knock the thing broke up, and or wrig- glcd live lizard"
 "I didn't know." said the freshman in astonlshmen,. that life could exist Inside Of stone"
 shut up. freshman" said the sopho more. What do you know about sci { Cncey"
 Life may exist inside of ice" said the senior by way of explanation "Why not Inside of stone as wellr'
 Tt occurred Co me" the narrator went on. "to separate from the rest Of the party and look for other live speci mems. so took my outfit and wen; on a still hunt. spent ten days picking up different articles without finding anything better than a chipmunk and began to get discouraged. was stand | lng one day by one of the biggest gey scrS. admiring the way lt shot up lpt' the air. and v2s SO intent upon lt that didn't notice that was gradually be Ing covered with It's spray. lt occurred to me that lf stood there long enougl 1 would become lncrusted and turn out living statue. SD l moved farther away Just above was another geyser spouting for all lt was worth l went to it and leaned against a stone. a sori of pillar about ten feet high. over which the spray was constantly fall Ing. don't know what put lt Into my head. but [ began to chop at the thing with my ax. The first thing l knew l broke od big chunk and laid bare q piece Of gray cloth. Examining 1t. l found it to be q mans coattall."
 "I can hardly believe that" said the freshman, with increasing surprise.
 "Go on" said the senior, with with erlng glance at the doubter.
 "I went round to the opposite side of the stone and after hammering awhile exposed bit Of light summer silk | began to get interested. There was an emlnence-Or, rather one of those terraces they have In the park-beslde the big stone, and. mounting it, l swung the ax over my head. just as ] throw the hammer at athletic shows. and. bringing the blade down on the ton of the stone. cleft lt in twain.
 And found"- said both upper class men. with fine show Of interest.
 "I found" said the speaker impress. lively. "a young man and girl stand ing side by side. the mans arm around the girls waist. They had been there since the last party had visited the gey sers. week before. thus furnishing admirable data as to the time a pair oi lovers can spend in that enjoyable posi- ton. They had stood together by the geyser. admlrlng lt and each other and were so intent upon their spooning that they didn't realize they were becoming lncrusied till it was too late"
 "You don't mean lt!" cried the fresh man. "Pshaw! It's ridlculous!
 "Freshman," said the senior sternly. you are doubting the word of the scl | entlfic prodigy of this college"
 "what did they dof" asked the soph emore.
 DO? The girl blushed rosy rcd at being caught in such a position, and the fellow marched her ofr, remarking that they must hurry or their party would leave the park without them"
 The freshman departed more uncom fortable than when he entered. He knew the upper class men had been guying him. but dared not question the