Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1915-07-20
LETTER FROM S. B. TOBEY.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK,
July 9th, 1915

DouF DuF. IHuy6Ts
This is Wonderland bathed in tears
this morning, for the rain has been
falling since o'clock. We reached
the Upper Geyser Basin last evening
at $50 after perfect day of cloud
less sky and warm sunshine. As we
neared the Wylie permanent camping
station, and were just driving by the
Mortar Geyser, it suddenly threw a
column of water thirty-fve feet into
the air. The eruption lasted for five
minutes. This geyser plays every two
hours.
Just through the pines, as 1 open
the door of my cottage (No. CD l can
see the Grotto Geyser in eruption.
1t hurls the water to height of 25
feet. All through the night whenever
L chanced to awaken | could hear the
kissing and rumble of it's seething,
boiling, bubbling, turbulent water as
IL churned away, apparently restive
under the restraint imposed by the
rock material deposited by the eva
porat1on from its overflow during
scores, and it may be hundreds of
years. How long it will continue to
throw out its column of water no
one can tell, for its eruptions last
from 10 minutes to s hours. Occa-
slonally the Grotto ceases and the
Rocket, and isolated cone, few feet
north, plays to the height of so feet
for two or minutes, then the Grotto
resumes activity.
After supper, last evening, we saw
the bears, at the garbage grounds in
the rear of the encampment. They
are very civil bears and view with
calm Indifference the human Great
ureS who are so curious about them
Then we saw the Economic GeySer
perhaps 60 rods east of the camp.
The Economic is so called because
after its eruption the water all falls
back into its crater and disappears.
The Grand Geyser one of the finest
in the park and near the Economic,
discharges fOrked column of water
to a height of 200 feet in series of
ten or twelve distanct eruptions.
The Oblong Geyser is remarkable
chiefly for the beautiful interior
structure of the basin. Large tan
colored masses of geyserite from the
rim; the water is a beautiful blue and
of such perfect transparency that the
two assures at the bottom of the basin
are plainly visable. Just before erup-
tion the crater fills, and for Is min
utes it boils violently. The best time
to view the crater is shortly after
the eruption of the geyser
The Daisy Geyser, located just
few hundred feet south of our camp
is a beautiful and reliable geyser.
Every one and one half to two hours
the Daisy throws up huge mass of
water and steam to the height of Is
feet. Across the road from the Daisy
and about so feet away is a pool
called the Bonita. This pool acts as
an indicator for the Daisy. When
the Bonita pool fills up and overflows
its rim we know the Daisy is about
to play. At'the close of the eruption
the water in the indicator falls about
two feet, then the pool gradually fills
up again. A singular fact about the
Daisy is that it has two indicators,
one other beside the Bonita, to the
south west of it about 40 feet, and
just west of the Daisy about 30 feet
is boiling hot spring which, though
nearer to the Daisy than the indica-
tors has no connection with the Daisy
at all.
Old Faithful, about mile from
our camp and plainly visable from it,
throws up a column of water about
2 feet in diameter to height of $50
feet every 65 minutes. Its eruption is
preceded by few spaSmOdic spOuts,
during which considerable amount
of water is thrown out. We saw it
in eruption once last evening and
three times today.
| am enjoying immensely these
wonderful CiOhtC tho a cnnarp
miles of the Upper Geyser Basin there
are more than 400 hot springs and "a
geysers.
In our carriage, which carries five
passengers, besides the driver, are two
from Baltimore, two from st. Louis,
and myself.
and very we'll managed. This one at
the Upper Geyser Basin cared for
about 600 people last night. The
tents have board floors, we'll set up
from the ground and are made COM
Portable with small sheet iron stoves
which heat up rapidly and cool off
just as quickly. The ''pack rats"
come to the tent at $50 a. m. and
light the fires for US so that, though
nights are cool and often frosty, the
tent is warm and cOZy to dress in.
Beside the sheet iron stove the tents
are furnished with table, wash stand
and bed stead of pine, a comfortable
bed spring, good mattress and pillows
and plenty of warm blankets. The
food is good and the service courteous
and efficient. Tomorrow we are off
for Yellowstone Lake.
Yours truly,
9 r FTOREY