The Ocala evening star., 1915-08-17
A WONDaUyS Land
The Yellowstone Region as James
BriGgeT Saw It.
AND HE WAS A TRUTHFUL MAN

His Adventure With an Elk at the Fa
NOUS Obs!dian Cliff and the Effect
of Ride Through Alum Creek-Sto-
~ of the Mountain That Was Cursed. I
As a teller of tales MunchauSen had |
a worthy rival in James Bridcer. the |
celebrated hunter, trader and guide. |
whose name and career are part Of the !
pioneer history Of the west. BridSer
was thoroughly familiar with the re-
gion now comprised In the Yellowstone
park as far back as lS;jO.
In his book. The Yellowstone Park
the author. Hiram Martin Chittenden.
brigadier general United States army.
retired. sets down some of the yarns
Bridger told about that land OF Won
ders. Many of the Yellowstone coun-
try tales ascribed TO Bridger have sur
vived to this day, probably because
they have never been capped. The
first story General Chittenden tells re-
| lates to the celebrated OAsidian cliff.
mass OF black volcanic glass with
| which all the tourists are familiar. Its
discovery by Bridger was the result Of
a hunting trip. and ii happened i'm this
| way:
Coming one day i'm sight OF a mag
nificent elk, he took careful aim at the
unsuspecting animal and fired. To his
amazement the elk not only was not
/ wounded, but seemed not TO have heard
| the noise OF the rifle. Bridger drew
considerably nearer and gave the elk
the benefit Of his most deliberate aim
but with the same result as before. \
third and fourth effort met with simi-
lar fate. Utterly eXaspetated, he seized
his rifle by the barrel, resolved to use
IL as n club, since il had failed as a
firearm. Rushing madIy toward the
elk, he suddenly crashed into an i'm
movable vertical wall which proved to
be n mountain OF perfectly transparent
glass. on the farther side OF which.
still I'm peaceful security, the 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 II few yards of, IL was In
reality twenty-five miles away"
Another OF Bridgers discoveries was
an ice cold spring near the summit of
lofty mountain. the water from
which flowed down over n long,
smooth slope. where it acquired such
: velocity that it was boiling hot when
it reached the bottom. This, later in
, vestigator OF the FirehoIe river found
was n case I'm which hot spring dis
> charged into the river bed.
Alum creek, a tributary OF the Vel
, Iowstone. received its name from al
I accidental discovery by Bridger. On'
| day he forded the creek and rode on
several miles and back. He notices
that the return journey was only ;
small fraction OF the distance goin.
. and that his horses feet had shrunl
to mere points which sank into tn
solid ground so that the animal coul'
scarcely hobble along. Seeking tn
! cause. he found IT To be i'm the astrin
! gent qualities of the water, which wa
n saturated with alum TO such an exten
n that il had power to pucker distanc
r itself.
q Bridger also found n fine place {
. fish: Somewhere along the shore a
n immense boiling spring discharges IL
l. overflow directly into the lake Tn
= specific gravity OF the water Is les
70 than that of the lake, owing TO the e'
y pansIve action OF heat, and il floats
a stratum OF three or four feet thic
upon the cold water underneath. Whe
Bridger was I'm need Of fish 1t was
this place that he went Through IN
hot upper stratum he let fall his ba
to- the subJacent habitable zone an'
having hooked his victim. cooked hi
on the way outr'
The visitor TO the region Of petrffci
tions I'm the northeast corner or II
park and to various points In the III
springs districts will have no difficult
I'm discovering the base material out {
which Bridger contrived the followiI
picturesque yarn:
"a mountain I'm the park was on
cursed by n great medicine man or q
4 Crow nation Everything on the mou
4 / tain at the time Of this dire event b
, came instantly petrified and has I
mained so ever since. All forms
life are standing about I'm stone whe
they were suddenly caught by &
4 petrifying influences. even rs the
4 habitants OF ancient POmpeii were ST
prised by the ashes Of Vesuvius- Sae
4 brush. grass. prairie fowls. antelope
elks and bears may there be seen
perfect as I'm actual life Dashing q
rents and the spray mist from the
stand forth I'm arrested motion as
carved from rock by a sculptor's chs
Even flowers are blooming I'm cOlors
- crystal. and birds soar with win
spread I'm motionless flight while
:. air floats with music and perfum
~ siIiceous. and the sun and moon shi
81 with pertrified lightT' 1t Is deni'
though. that Badger was respOnsil
~ for the story that even the laws
"A gravitation were petrified I'm the regi'
oil
UneontroIIable Curiosity.