The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1915-08-13
A WoNDRoUS LAND
The Yellowstone Region as James
Bridger Saw It.
AND he WAS A TRUTHFUL MAN

~ Of ths Mountain That Was Cured
As q teller Of tales Munchausen had
q worthy rival In James Bridger, the
celebrated hunter, trader and guide,
whose name and career are part Of the
pioneer history Of the west. Briiger
was thoroughly familiar with the re-
gion now comprised In the Yellowstone
park as far back as 1880.
| In his book, "The Yellowstone Park" /"
the author. Hiram Martin Chittenden,
retired, sets down some OF the yarns
BrMger told about that land Of won
ders. Many Of the Yellowstone coun-
try tales ascribed to Bridger have sur
vived to this day. probably becars SO
they have never been capped. The
6rst story General Chittendsn tells re-
lates to the celebrated Obsidian cliff,
a mass Of black volcanic glass with
which all the tourists are familiar. Its
discovery by Bridger was the result Of
a hunting trip. and 1t happened In this
way:
Coming one day In sight of a mag
nincent elk, he took careful aim at the
unsuspecting animal and fired. To his
amayement the elk not only was not
wounded, but seemed not to have bea nd
the noise Of the rife. Bridger drew
considerably nearer and gave the elk
the benefit Of his most deliberate aim,
but with the same result as before. A
third and fourth effort met with sinli-
lar fate. Utterly exasperated, he selz "a
hts rife by the barrel, resolved to use
It as a club, since II had failed as
frearm. Rushing madly toward the
elk, he suddenly crashed into an I'm
movable vertical wall which proved to
be mountain Of perfectly transparent
glass, on the farther side Of which,
still In peaceful security, tho elk was
quietly grazing.
Stranger still, the mountain was not
only Of pure glass, but was a perfect
telescope lens, and, whereas the elk
seemed but a few yards Off, II was in
reality twenty-five miles away"
Another Of Bridger's discoveries was
an ice cold spring near the summit Of
q lofty mountain, the water from
which flowed down over q long,
smooth slope, where It acquired such
velocity that It was boiling hot when
II reached the bottom. This, later In
vestisator Of the Firehole river found,
was . case In which a hot spring dis
charged into the river bed.
Alum creek. a tributary Of tho Vel
lOHuofnna raratya1 tfa n.
accidental discovery by Bridger. One
day he forded the creek and rode out
several miles and back. He noticed
that the return journey was only
small fraction OF the distance going
and that his horses feet had shrunk
TO mere points which sank into the
solid ground 30 that the animal could
scarcely hobble along. Seeking the
cause, he found It to be In the astrtn-
gent qualities II the water, which YVES
saturated with alum to such an extent
that It had power TO pucker distance
itself.
Bridger also found a fine place 10
fish: Somewhere along the shore an
immense boiling spring discharges It's
overflow directly into the lake. The
specific gravity Of the water IL less
than that Of the lake, owing to the ex-
pansive action Of heat, and 1t floats In
q stratum Of three or four feet thick
upon the cold water underneath. When
BridQer was In need Of fish II was to
this place that he went Through the
AxA utx t,xvr ha M fo1t hts haff
TO the subjacent habitable zone aud.
having hooked his victim, cooked him
on the way outr'
The visitor to the region Of petrifca-
lions in the northeast corner Of the
park and to various points In the hot
springs districts will have no difficulty
in discovering the base material out OF
which Bridger contrived the following
picturesque yarn:
"A mountain In the park was once
cursed by q great medicine man Of the
Grow nation. Everything on the noun
tain at the time Of this dire event be
came instantly perifed and has No
mained 30 ever since. All forms Of
hfe are standing about IN stone where
they were suddenly caught by the
petrifying Influences. even as the in
habitants Of ancient Pompeii were sur
prised by the ashes Of vesuvius. Sage
brush, grass. prairie fowls, antelopea
erks and bears may there be seen a.
perfect a. IN actual life. Dashing tor
rents and the spray mist from then
stand forth IN arrested motion as II
carved from rock by sculptor's chluel
Even flowers are blooming in colors oi
crystal, and birds soar with wings
spread I'm motionless flight, while The
afr floats with music and perfumes
siiceous, and the sun and moon shins
with pertrifed lightr' II In denied.
though, that Badger was responsible
for the story that even the Laws Of
gravitation were petriHed in the region