UPPER GEYSER BASIN
It was about noon when we reached the UPPER GEYSER BASIN, and I felt
that it would be profitable to take a little rest before going any
further into the mysteries of this "wonderland." OLD FAITHFUL was due
to play shortly after we reached the camp, but I was too far away when
it was announced she was in action to get the full benefit of the
display, and went back to the camp to wait another seventy minutes.
The long drive in the forenoon, and the exposure to the cold, caused
me to feel weary and dull, nevertheless I made an effort to be on hand
at every eruption, which to me became more and more fascinating.
OLD FAITHFUL INN accommodates 400 guests. It is constructed of
boulders and logs, with peaks, angles, dormers, French windows, etc.
This most restful and impressive abode of the tourists is only two or
three minutes' walk from Old Faithful Geyser, and so located as to
give from its balconies a splendid view of the display.
[Illustration: OFFICE OLD FAITHFUL INN © _Haynes, St. Paul_]
The office-room is 75 feet square and 92 feet high, and reaches to the
roof, with a massive chimney that rises to the top. The building is
surrounded with beautiful grounds, furnished with rustic seats. The
chimney is fourteen feet square with eight fireplaces, and balconies
are built around three sides. While everything is of the rustic order,
there is nothing commonplace about the hotel or its furnishings. "It
is a creation of art from the foundation to the peak of the roof."
OLD FAITHFUL GEYSER in the forefront of Old Faithful Inn is like a
sentinel, and so named because of the regularity of its eruptions. Its
crater, from which the water is expelled to a height of 150 feet, is
an oblong opening, two by six feet, at the top of a mound of
geyserite. Its eruptions sometimes vary a few minutes, in the meantime
giving warning with two or three short spurts, increasing in volume
until the maximum height is reached. The display is short, most of the
water falling back into the crater, but no more fascinating or
impressive scene could be found. The formations around are brilliant
in color, resembling the more subdued tints and hues seen at the
Mammoth Hot Springs.
In the early part of the afternoon, a number of tourists, including my
brother and sister, went with a guide to GEYSER HILL. After their
return, they had much to say about what they had seen and heard. Later
in the day I felt rested and wanted to make the trip, and my brother
and sister went with me. They had learned all they could from the
guide and were ready to name the various geysers, springs, and pools,
and describe their operations to me. Of these, the Giantess, Beehive,
and Sponge Geysers, were the most interesting. The GIANTESS occupies
the most prominent position on the hill. Its displays attain a height
of about 100 feet, and are accompanied by shocks and tremors much like
earthquakes. The entire eruption lasts from twelve to twenty-four
hours. The crater appears to be about thirty feet in diameter, and
after each eruption a steam period ensues. In 1911, the eruptions
varied from four to twelve days. Some years previous to this, the
eruptions took place about once a month. It is believed that while
activity, as a whole, is decreasing in the geyser regions, a century
brings only a slight change.
I stood near the crater of the Giantess during the steam period. For a
moment the vapor cleared away, and I could see down the great neck of
the crater into a yawning chasm, so angry and terrible, as to make me
feel that I had seen with the eye what the Bible describes as the
bottomless pit, where the sulphurous flames belch forth, and "where
their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44).
If there are those who have doubts as to the reality of the lake of
fire, of which Jesus told His disciples, in the 16th chapter of St.
Luke, they should by all means go to the regions of the Yellowstone:
for here, vividly presented to the vision, are the realities of a
burning underworld, with only a thin crust between it and the
habitation of human beings.
The Bible clearly teaches that hell is located in the center of this
earth, and therefore it must be conceded that the ebon throne of
Diabolus is somewhere in the heated regions below, the intensity of
which the geysers, pools, springs, and volcanoes are continually
demonstrating.
[Illustration: GIANTESS GEYSER IN ACTION © _Haynes, St. Paul_]
Whatever may be involved in the separation of soul and body, it is
nevertheless true that the immortal spirit that has not appropriated
the atoning blood must dwell in the confines of the bottomless pit,
which is described in the Scriptures as being in the center of this
earth. Here are the flames by which Dives was tormented when he begged
Abraham to send Lazarus with a drop of water to cool his parched
tongue, and made an appeal for some one to go to his father's house to
warn his five brothers not to come to that place of torment. Abraham
had to refuse both requests, saying, "Son, remember that thou in thy
lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things:
but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this,
between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which
would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that
would come from thence." Then, when he wanted some one to go to his
father's house to warn his brothers, Abraham said, "They have Moses
and the prophets; let them hear them." But still the doomed man
continued and said, "If one went unto them from the dead, they will
repent," but he was told, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." How
true this is! After all the influence that can be brought to bear upon
people, they rebel against God and follow their own precepts; and true
to fallen human nature, ask for greater evidence of His power. "The
wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God"
(Ps. 9:17). This and other plain scriptures should be sufficient to
warn men to flee the wrath to come. Optimism and presumption
everywhere characterize the multitudes when it comes to this most
important question concerning the future welfare of the soul.
The man who had allowed the devil to deceive him and take him at last
to his abode in the regions of torment, was still presumptuous and
persistent. He wanted help, which it was impossible for him to
receive, and also warning given to his father's house, which they had
refused to take through Moses and the prophets.
It is necessary at this period of the world's history to have an
object lesson like that of the Yellowstone National Park to convince
people of the infallibility of God's word. It is the time of the
fulfilment of prophecy concerning the last days, of which Paul says,
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For
men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without
natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent,
fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded,
LOVERS OF PLEASURES MORE THAN LOVERS OF GOD" (2 Tim. 3:1-5).
Many pleasure seekers are now thronging Yellowstone Park, and in ten
thousand demonstrations are having to face the realities of God's word
and the life that is to come. I saw some of them standing near the
yawning craters of the geysers under deep conviction, and no doubt
silently resolving to live different lives, while others frankly
stated that the depths of their beings had been disturbed, and that it
was no time to trifle with the soul.
There is no such thing as shirking the responsibility, where Nature
co-operates with the Almighty on such a tremendous scale in the
display of His power. A person may try to stifle his conscience and
refuse to yield to the voice that speaks from above, but he can not
evade the fact that the issue must be met; and why not yield to the
pressure and make the decision now? Life at best is short, and it is
perilous to crowd into some future time the things that should be
taken under consideration now.
[Illustration: THE SPONGE GEYSER © _Haynes, St. Paul_]
The TEAKETTLE and the VAULT give warning before the Giantess erupts.
The Vault plays eight feet high, twenty-four hours before the
Giantess.
TOPAZ at the base of the Giantess mound is a pool of remarkable
beauty. I was much interested in the PUMP near the Sponge Geyser. It
is a hole eighteen inches across, out of which comes a thumping sound,
resembling a hydraulic ram.
The SPONGE GEYSER has a beautiful cone of flinty formation resembling
that of a sponge. Eruptions are about four feet high, occuring a
minute and a quarter apart.
The BEEHIVE GEYSER has a cone four feet high and three feet across,
and plays to the height of 200 feet. Its indicator, a small fissure
north of the cone, foretells its eruptions. It is supposed that there
is some relationship between the Beehive and the Giantess from the
fact that the Beehive plays at intervals of from eight to twelve hours
after the Giantess and has been seen to play before the Giantess.
[Illustration: THE BEEHIVE GEYSER © _Haynes, St. Paul_]
The DOUBLET POOL is near the Giantess and is marked "Dangerous." The
geyser formations accumulate very slowly and the water here flows out
over a thin crust.
The LION GEYSER, with the LIONESS and two CUBS, occupies a prominent
place not far from the Giant. Its eruptions occur usually in series of
three, about two and one-half hours apart, after which follows a quiet
period of about twelve hours. The first eruption is the highest and
most charming in appearance. The water is forced up fifty or sixty
feet high, the eruption lasting about five minutes.
During some seasons the Lioness has not played at all. In 1903 it is
said that the Lioness and both Cubs played at the same time to a large
party of tourists. The larger Cub plays with the Lioness to a height
of about thirty feet, the smaller one plays oftener, but only a few
feet high.
CASTLE GEYSER is on a prominence opposite Geyser Hill. The mound on
which it is situated covers about three acres, rising more than forty
feet above the river. It has the most prominent cone in the Upper
Basin, resembling an old castle. At intervals the steam escapes and
throws out jets of water, though it erupts only every two days. Near
Castle Geyser is CASTLE SPRING, a beautiful pool of water, highly
colored.
The SAWMILL GEYSER gets its name from the peculiar noise it makes
during an eruption. It plays at intervals of three or four hours and
at a height of about forty feet. Its indicator is near-by; they both
start together and suddenly begin to throw water in all directions.
The GRAND GEYSER discharges water in forked columns 200 feet high. It
is said to play much more frequently in the spring than in the fall.
This is because the water supply is greater in the mountain regions at
this season.
TURBAN GEYSER is near the Grand. The early explorers believed that
internal fires were seen in its crater; if so, it was caused, no
doubt, by the light playing on bubbles of gas. Firehole Lake furnishes
a good example of this phenomenon. The Turban Geyser plays about
twenty-five feet high. Sometimes its eruptions occur with the Grand
Geyser.
The ECONOMIC GEYSER gets its name from the fact that during its
eruptions nearly all the water flows back into its crater. In form it
resembles Old Faithful, but plays only about fifteen feet high.
[Illustration: CASTLE GEYSER © _Haynes, St. Paul_]
BEAUTY SPRING attracts much attention. It is a large, silent pool
remarkable for its coloring. Almost every person, when approaching it
for the first time, remarks about its beauty, hence, our guide said,
it received its name. A rusty color predominates in various shades
from the richest brown, blending into green and yellow tints.
BUTTERFLY SPRING is about four feet across and has an opening in each
wing. It looks like a butterfly in both color and shape. These double
springs, of which I saw a number, as heretofore stated, have a
spiritual significance, illustrating the two works of grace,
justification and sanctification, so clearly taught in both the Old
and the New Testament.
The EAR is a most remarkable small spring. Not only is it in the shape
of an ear, but its lobe seems to be pierced, and the earring is a tiny
geyser. "It is here that messages are transmitted, so the story goes,
to regions below."
BEACH SPRING reminded me of an oyster, the opening in the center
corresponding to the dark spot. It is surrounded by a flat, submerged
beach.
[Illustration: BUTTERFLY SPRING © _Haynes, St. Paul_]
After we had visited the springs and geysers on the hill, we returned
to the camp to await the next number on the day's program.