Show A STRANGE COUNTRY GEYSER LAND INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL TO THE GREAT FALLS OF THE yellowstone AND GEYSER BASIN dasin who has not heard of the yellowstone park of its many marvels of the weird and strange sights to be witnessed within its borders of its glorious waterfalls its many colored can caf canons nong tons its mud mud springs its spouting geysers its sulphur mountains an and wondrous lakes let those who hav have not heard bear with the writer in the effort to describe what he saw on making a visit lor for artistic purposes in this world famed region take up a map of the western states and and look atthe at the northwestern part of the territory of wyoming omin you will see a section marked yellowstone park its superficial area is square miles it Is 55 miles from east cast lowest to west by 65 from north to south on this space preserved preserve by special act of congress irom from the vandalism of settlers are two beautiful lakes III fil nifty fifty ty geysers of the first grade of importance as spotters spout ers and 1500 hot lot springs the principal ones of the tae gassers can beat the whole world the well weli known water volcanoes of cf iceland being completely d dwarfed by those of the great west located in thel park the highest estimated point that the eruptions eru of the great geyser of iceland reaches is 80 feet and often inot not more than CO 60 feet from this fact the statement may be made that in every respect the of the american geysers beat the world A man moan named colter who crossed the continent with lewis and clarke in 1804 Is credited credi 1 ted as being bein 11 the first to draw attention to the wonders of this re relon region ion lon but his stories were regarded as as liet ilet fictitious alous and but I 1 little ittle was really known until captain W W DeLacey be lacey explored the country with a party of prospectors in 1863 since then dr haydon has thoroughly EXPLORED mapped and described the whole region and it is through his efforts that it has been preserved as united states property devoted to the pleasure seekers of the world and protected ra by efficient guards frol irol from destruction and spoliation from the depredations of the specimen hunter no one is allowed to destroy game only as necessity may require killing the wild game for their hides bides is VISO visited when discovered by heavy penalties so much for brief preliminaries the next question is how can A penson person OF MEANS visit this land of wonders there are three or four routes open the first by the way of the northern pacific that has a branch line 57 67 miles ion lon long iong from livingston to cinnabar seven miles from the mammoth hot springs the next nest route is via beaver canon on the utah northern and the next nest one available for wagons is the one over snake river bridge by market lake up to where the roads join the one from beaver cation of course the residents south of the northern pacific cannot think of entering the park from the north and we have therefore the choice of fitting up our own teams and journeying as of yore slowly and comfortably fort ably camping out by the way the distance into the park from utah is nearly miles and to those who have plenty of time the independent camping out method Is very enjoyable but to those in a hurry the proper thing to do is to go by rail to beaver canon catlon and go bo by way of bassetts bassetta Bas stage stae sta e line this 05 will ivi 11 land you in the park paek in three days regular jar tickets are sold for the round trip by the railroad company large parties can get reduced rates the best dest time to visit this wonderland is from the first of august to the 15 laih h of september although hundreds go in from the first of june but the flies ardd arid mosquitoes are very troublesome in july I 1 can only talk of the last named method of visitation our party obtained an independent camping campin out gut outfit and did our own cooking meals leals at the stations cost loo each and hotel fare in the canvas hotels in the park is per day As a matter of course our plan is much the cheapest though more troublesome but all noted places of resorts have their drawbacks on no account would I 1 ask anyone that is in a hurry to visit geyser land the road FROM BEAVER CANON passes asses over a series of low rolling tills bills the northern ed edge of the great snake river valley tee to 0 the right the towering peaks of the three loom up above the horizon the distance is said to be miles grass and water are arc abundant the mountains I 1 of the rocky range on our lett leit furnish any number of streams of beautiful water in which sport thousands of brook trout the lands fertile timber alenty plenty and everything invites the homeless emeless thousands of the crowded cities of the east and the old world to come and secure homes but chewin the winters are cold and are not the winters of canada cold and how about northern wisconsin minnesota and dakota and still further north manitoba here are millions of fertile acres timber beautiful hay lands pure water and a fine nine climate and the finest shing fishing in the world further ou on after leaving sheridan 3 32 miles from beaver herds of antelope nearly buried tip up lue lne in luxuriant grass and thousands of wild fowl may be seen geen the shotgun river swarms with wild duck geese curlew snipe and other edible birdy birdo bird the scenery r along the route leaves nothing sceney to be desired esi est grand mountain chains rolling grassy pearles pr arles aries and splendid roads in dry weather the road then reaches SNAKE RIVER niver where it passes over a smooth pebbly bottom about four feet deep it then enters the timber and runs alon aion along the south side of the river now and again the old trail may be seen well worn and deeply indented in the grassy meadows A pretty pond called green lake is seen oil on the tiie right at about e eight ight 1 miles lles from the first fordce forrd fordt we cross t the h r river riven i v r again and reach reas reals ranch the night station ol of Bas bassetts bassetta line OF ALL THE LOVELY SPOTS to invite the tourist to linger in none ever seemed so inviting as this one to me the smooth glassy river swarms with the finest trout the screech of the wild fowl and the in luxuriance of the natural growth of grass and timber game of the wilder sort such as elk ean bear bean ear and deer roam over the mountains near by the log hut is embellished with the flie skins of grizzlies grizzlier grizz lies elk and other animals this is a good spot to let your own camping outfit have a rest and try t the repast served up by ay by mrs issett bassett in the dinner tent lent trout and venison are the staples and no stint travelers seem beem to gain wonderful derf ul appetites when they reach this place one of the atti attl attractions actions here is CATCHING OF TROUT with the spear A fire of pitch pine wood is placed on an elevated grating gratin in the bow of a flat boat the it light 9 wt attracts the fish and the nimble operator spears the finny beauties with barbed spears the night before I 1 arrived there mr nir rea caught 1002 lood 1 fish in one night the lot weighed nearly 1500 pounds these are shipped to butte pocatello and ot other er points on the utah northern and must pro prove very remunerative to the tiie parties interested leavin leaving snake river station the road passes over an EXTENSIVE SWAMP for several miles mile game as everywhere else seems abundant henrys henris lake Is seen to tile the north of the road this lake is one of the feeders of snake river it is shallow and road broad and looks beautiful nestled in the heart of a fretty pretty valley with towering mountains at all ali around it ane road ilien then winds over the lass rass and we bid hid good by to tile the waters rolling into the pacific on the ahe down arade enade tile the streams run into the gulf of 31 mexico exico and the next point of interest is the SOUTH FORK OF THE MADISON fish and game abound and the usual mountain chains are all around us covered with dense masses of plue pine timber but not very large from the station at south fork the road Is one of the finest in the world for 12 miles it then takes over the norris pass bass a high mountain ril all ridge e in the park the gap of the main stream of the madison isileen to the left from the summit of the mountain into fire hole basin the roads are full of stumps and bad for bicycles glimpses of sulphur springs and extinct craters are be beginning inning to a appear pear we are now within thell theli the limits of of the park and at dark by a steep descent we are arc landed into virl finn HOLE BASIN no part of this region is less than 6 oooo feet above tile the level of the sea hea so that that the nights are always cool the water left in the tho liand hand bowl was frozen solid in the morning and looking around one could see immense columns of steam issuing from the tile craters of geysers at different lis distances its tile the water of firehole elre eire hole hoie river is warm and cleasant glea pleasant sant it is mainly fed from the heated belchers of hot water located above the road to the upper geyser basin passes the middle basin 1 hells helis half acre and many wonderful wells and geysers located on each side of the fire hole hoie river I 1 cannot attempt to give 1 in a detail eie ele names and s sporting orting qualities of each geyser many rany ot of my readers majask may ask the question what is a geyser in plain talk it is an orifice in the tile crust of the earth through which hot water and steam is projected into the theair air the height to which this heated water rises above the surface varies the immense body of water and steam projected from the excelsior geyser in heits hells halfacre reaches feet but it rarely gives itself that much leand cand ennd its oruill tion sare uncertain some of tha others are certain in their actions notably old faithful in the upper geyser basin I 1 timed it ic about eight 1 I it times and found it to vary from 55 to 70 minutes its spout is often as lii iii 11 as feet the til beehive from to feet the Giali giantess tess feet the duration of the eruption of old faithful is to live minutes some of the others leep keep up as long iong a as twelve hours it is not often you your can see the explosion of inacy of the most famous parties anxious will have to camp close by and be watchful they are liable to go off at any time day or night and never respect the sabbath li all 01 of tile the geyser water contains lime and other ingredients in solution which create about the orifices strong incrustations that assume all kinds of shapes some of the craters are level some elevated into cones and as these assume different shapes they nave been named if I 1 were to to explain thuna thu na ture of a geyser to children I 1 should put a certain quantity of oatmeal into a pot aud and as it became heated and the water absorbed the upper part thickens I 1 and prevents the escape of the steam from from the bottom of tile the pot nearest I 1 the nire fire jowas now as the water below becomes superheated super heated its expansive power is increased so that it bubbles up through the upper crust throwing out steam and lumps of thu tho oatmeal lu in like manner the water in the earth being acted upon both chemically and by the interior heat beat of the earth becomes so much expanded that it bursts forth through the water that has found its way into the orifice above the more heated portions below we then have an eruption of the heated volume of water from below and all is still again this is about the way it seems to me but the curious can study up the matter f further in the encyclopedias c clop edlas dias an erupt crupt eruption oa of any of calculated te the geysers is something Nom ething grand and calculated to impress one with feelings of vvo ivo wonder lider and alid awe As I 1 watched the progress e s of an ebullition I 1 could hear a noise like the blowing off of steam on a big ocean steamer this subsides and antt a short spasmodic spurt of hod hot water a few feet jn in height is thrown up then another spout still higher and gradually grad dally daliy this process is repeated until a volume is projected into the air in some cases as high as feet I 1 am of old faithful f ua rocks pieces piece of wood or any article that may be thrown into the thu centre la is thrown out at the same time the whole geyser re region iori is 1111 iiii of different objects of wonder somo some of them throw out mud ot of different colors some are more sulphurous than others the hot wells itro pire most beautifully colored the deepest blues and most brilliant hues of green predominating predominate while f fringes cs of brilliant yellow I 1 line the margins geologists HAVE ARRANGED matters in this wise first we have fiery volcanoes then eru cru eruptions alons of mud then water and nally tile the whole matter settles nettles d down own to warm siran springs s this is the last gasp of volcanic action of such Is our warm and hot springs near this city the from firehole Fire hole hoie basin we w e went to I 1 yellowstone YELLOWS TONE CANYONS and ind falls a distance of 3 30 0 m miles lle lie s passing passin tl on the way the sulphur hills near by is an immense sulphur spring showing great activity these hilliare hills hill sare aru are feet high and supposed to be composed mostly of sulphur the result of of geyser geysen action now since itice extinct the yellowstone Yellow slone stone riv ris river kiver e r I 1 is S next reached arld arid skirted lor for a few miles over a road ath some frightful mud holes the kenery scenery Is everywhere charming at length we reach tho c I lows aws of tents called the yellowstone hotel clotel next nest morning we are all alive one of tile the gnan GRAN DUST SCENES IN NATURU is near by bv we boldly strike out upon the trail the first object of beauty is the rapids above the upper falls falis next in order Ss Is the upper fall which by a twist in the rocks is hidden from sight it is feet high further on is the crystal cascade CO 60 feet high and the grotto pod both romantic and nd beautiful more tore climbing on en this circuitous trail trall along the eirp eipl edge ot of the canon carlon and the grand frand the canon calnon and ana upper falls bursts upon apon us but near by is a greater roar and as we still follow the t trail trall lookout point is reached at rai tit this point most people I 1 e become dumb with amazement the he main carlon carion with its many colored rocky sides is before us the walls are 1 1300 feet from the top to the river forming a beautiful amphitheatre in the centre of which is the grand lall fall oo 00 00 feet teet high in one unbroken body filling lilling up the deep recesses ot of the canon cation with spray upon which the morning nor ning sun has painted the everlasting covenant between god and man even the rainbow the effect upon the mind I 1 is thrilling and leads one to the beautiful words wordy great and marvel ous are thy works lord the operations of old father time has cleft the walls into hundreds eds of pinnacles frail tiny specks from tile the dizzy dizzy heights above As the passing cloud throws a shadow upon the scene before us all is sombre but soon the suns rays touch up with golden brightness first one spot and then another until the effect becomes beautiful I 1 have seen mail mall many places of interest and beauty the shoshone falls of snake river tile the yosemite Yose mite falls the niagara falls but tilis this one of the falls and canon cahon of the yellowstone is the crown of beauty mortal man with the greatest rea test fertility of invention cannot invent event a su superior perlor combination artistically than this picture itis it is all ali here colors foreground middle distance and background no wonder that everybody is satisfied borall for |