The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-08-18
A WONDROUS Land
The Yellowstone Region as lanes
Bridger Saw 1t.
AND He WAS A TRUTHFUL MAN

AND He WAS a TRUTHFUL MAN
His Adventure With an Elk at the Fa-
nous Obsidian Cliff and the Effect
Of Ride Through Alum creek-Sto-
ry of the Mountain That Was Cursed.
As teller Of tales Munchausen had
a worthy rival in James Bridger, the
celebrated hunter, trader and guide,
whose name and career are part Of the
pioneer history Of the west. Bridger
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 Caittenden,
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 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 it happened in this
way;
Coming one day in sight of mag
nifcent elk, he took careful aim at the
unsuspecting animal and fred. To his
amazement the elk not only was not
wounde5, but seemed not to have heard
the noise Of the rifle. Bridger drew
considerably nearer and gave the elk
the benefit Of lis most deliberate aim,
but with the same result as before A
third and fourth effort met with simi-
lar fate. Utterly exasperated, he seized
his rifle by the barrel, resolved to use
it as club, since it had failed as
frearm. Rushing madly toward the
elk, he suddenly crashed into an i'm
movable vertical wall which proved to
be a mountain Of perfectly transparent
glass, on the farther side Of which,
still in peaceful security, the elk was
quietly grazing.
Stranger still, the mountain was not
only Of pure glass, but was perfect
telescope lens, and, whereas the elk
seemed but few yards off, it was In
reality twenty-five miles away"
Another Of Bridger's discoveries was
an Ice cold spring near the summit Of
a lofty mountain, the water from
which flowed down over a long,
smooth slope, where it acquired such
velocity that it was boiling hot when
it reached the bottom. This, later In
vesdgator Of the FreEole river found,
was a case in which hot spring dis
charged into the river bed.
Alum creek, q tributary Of the Vel
lowstone, received its name from al
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 q
small fraction Of the distance going
and that his horses feet had shrunk
to mere points which sank into the
solid ground so that the animal could
scarcely hobble along. Seeking the
cause, he found it to be in the astrin'
gent qualities Of the water, which was
saturated with alum to such an extent
that it had power to pucker distance
itself.
Bridger also found q fine place te
fish: Somewhere along the shore an
immense boiling spring discharges its
overflow directly into the lake. The
specific gravity Of the water IS less
than that Of the lake, owing to the eI
pansiye action Of heat and 1t loats IN
a stratum Of three or four feet thick
upon the cold water underneath. Wher
Brdger was In need Of fish 1t was tf
this place that he went Through the
hot upper stratum he let fall his bait
to the subjacent habitable zone and
having hooked his victim, cooked hin
on the way out!'
The visitor to the region Of petrihca
lions In the northeast corner OF tn
park and to various points in the no
springs districts will have no difficulty
in discovering the base material out o.
which Bridger contrived the following
picturesque yarn:
"a mountain in the park was once
cursed by a great medicine man OF tat
Grow nation. Everything on the noun
tain at the time Of this dire event be
came instantly petrifed and has re
NAMED so ever since. All forms o.
life are standing about in stone where
they were suddenly caught by tn
petrifying influences, even as the IN
habitants Of ancient Pompen We're SUI
prised by the ashes Of VesuTius. Sage
brush, grass, prairie fowls, antelopes
elks and bears may there be seen a.
perfect as In actual life. Dashing tor
rents and the spray mist from then
stand forth in arrested motion as 1
carved from rock by q sculptor's chisel
Even flowers are blooming in colors o
! crystal, and birds soar with wing
:? spread in motionless flight, while th'
air floats with music and perfume:
siliceous, and the sun and moon shin
with pertrifed Hghtw It Is denied
though, that Badger was responsible
for the story that even the laws O
grav1tation were petrifed in the region
Uneontroliable Curiosity.