THE YELLOWSTONE PARK.[4]--II.
Quitting the geyser basins, we turned towards the Grand Canon of the
Yellowstone River. Since the new track thither was not yet (1882)
finished, and it was impossible for anything on wheels to approach it,
our waggon was despatched by another route, to await our arrival at the
Mammoth Hot Springs, whilst we, accompanied by Dick, proceeded in light
marching order.
"Deep i' the afternoon," we approached the Upper Falls. Through a gorge,
redeemed only from utter desolation by patches of red and yellow moss,
and a few shaggy pines, the broad river forced its way. Through
whirlpools and narrow gates, formed by the jutting out of buttresses of
rock, and by isolated crags in mid-stream, a succession of ledges led
it on with gathering force. Its sunny ripples became wild and black, the
veins of white that streaked them spreading fast until, in the last
narrow bend through which it whirled, but for the green lights in one
glassy wave, the rugged surface was a sheet of foam. Then came the grand
plunge. Freed from restraint, the whole body of the stream overleapt the
sheer precipice before it, and fell, draped in white, clinging lace. A
hundred and thirty-five feet below, it was lost to view in clouds of
mist, through which the transient gleams of water lightnings and of
flashing rocks were visible occasionally. Anon it issued from this
silver shroud, tranquil and temporarily tamed.
To describe the Yellowstone Canon with any degree of justice is an
almost hopeless task; nor do the following lines pretend to convey even
a glimmer of its real magnificence.
Some of the most marvellous effects and harmonies in colour that the
world can show are displayed here, and that too on a scale of such
grandeur, and in a mood of such majestic calm, that it is difficult in
their presence to shake off the paralysis of simple wonder--to grasp
the scene, and coin it into words.
The rocks are of volcanic origin. Here their prevailing hue is that of
old ivory, contrasted with warm tones of dead-leaf red, or purple masses
of a hundred shades, and enriched by carmine and softest orange, till
the cliffs glow like a sunset in that sunset home, the Sierra Nevada.
Yonder russet and ruddy bronze kindle, and melt into buffs, cairngorms,
and faded greens--all tints, in short, that autumn wears, mingled and
scattered, intermixed and woven, like the wreckage of summer on a forest
floor, are lavished here. Further still, a reach of pearly gray is shot
with ecru and crimson lake, faint veins of white, or scars of sullen
black. This scenery endures for miles; and as if a _tour de force_ in
colour were not enough, equal variety in form is exhibited in
conjunction with it. Everywhere the rocks have eroded into quaint
shapes. Forests and turreted castles, spires and cathedral domes,
towers, monuments, and minarets, forts, forms, and faces are
interspersed amidst a wilderness of pinnacles, boulders, and bluffs that
have no likeness in the works of art.
It is as though the earth had yawned asunder not long since, for
pine-trees, with all the appearance of having been but lately separated,
fringe the sharp edges of the canon, and nod for old acquaintance' sake
at one another, in measured unison with cadences of wind, that idly
chase each other down its solitudes. Through dreamy distances of
chequered light and tangled shadow, the glance travels under a sort of
spell, and unconsciously the fancy grows that you are gazing through the
aisles of a vast cathedral illuminated by myriad and wondrously stained
windows--not a cathedral wrought by the hands of man, nor one whose
stillness was ever broken by his feverish tread, but the ruins of a
colossal judgment hall, or place of worship, created by some long-gone
superhuman race, of whose existence we retain no record.
Great hawks and kingly eagles hang upon level pinions in mid-air deep in
the abyss beneath, and scarcely seem of greater consequence than jays.
Three thousand feet below rushes the dwarfed river that a short while
ago was on a level with us; and it looks like a slender chain of jewels
linked in silver; its boiling rapids, losing their thunder in a thousand
echo-haunts, send only the drowsiest murmur upwards to join in the
musical breathing of the pine woods.
The frosted and ever-falling silver of the great fall itself, a giant
mass of festooned spray, knit into one Titanic column (397 feet high),
the clouds and clouds of hoar mist that float veil behind quivering
veil, and fill the rounded chasm into which it is hurled, form, without
reference to the surroundings, a picture of most impressive loveliness.
Where the great stream abruptly drops, trembles a bar of emerald from
bank to bank. For a space, as if stunned, the current clings together,
and is still; then, shuddering, it awakes and plunges on, mightily,
irresistibly, grandly, an ever-changing avalanche of sifted snow, beaded
with flashing diamond-dust and scattered pearls, guarded by sheaves of
slim-shafted water lances to its bed of foam, in a dim, lichen-gilded
cradle.
No more glorious symbol of power could be conceived. There is about it
that which rivets the attention. Willing or not, you must pause and
watch it. And, arch-dissenter though you may be from the worship of
Nature, this scene will, nevertheless, compel your admiration.
Go and sit by those falls at evening, and watch the rosy glow of sunset
settle with softening influence upon the upper cliffs, whilst below all
is already steeped in mystery. Listen to the ceaseless roar of waters,
till, to the half-stunned ear, it grows dull and dreamily monotonous, as
if far away. Or stroll along the verge of the canon, where the air is
redolent with the exhalations of the pine-trees, and hearken to their
vespers, which, as if chanted by errant spirit-choirs, steal slowly up
from unknown forest cloisters, loiter a moment over the abyss to join in
the river's song, and, rustling, pass away, as another choir draws nigh.
And smile not if such things have no effect upon you, for you have
missed truer pleasures than may be found in the imitations of art, or
the monotonous music of civilisation.
Leaving--with how much regret!--the Grand Canon, we passed on by the
curious and beautiful Tower Falls, and not less lovely cascades of the
Gardner River, to the Mammoth Hot Springs. They lie upon the flanks of
the White Mountain, and have gradually added to it a distinct spur,
which, in the distance, shines amidst the neighbouring pine woods like a
breadth of white satin in a mantle of pile velvet. These springs are
many hundreds in number. With the calcite their waters contain in
solution, they have built for themselves cup-shaped fonts, that stand in
rows and terraces in regular formation, and present the appearance of
having been hewn and polished in the finest marble. In all directions
the glistening white and ivory is stained by combinations of brilliant
and delicate tints, such as only the laboratory of Nature can produce.
Each pool is a mirror. In its pure depths the fleecy clouds reflected
sail slowly by, the dainty biscuit-work of the fountain's edges is
faithfully reproduced, and the beholder himself, as he gazes therein, is
photographed with a clearness that is at first sight startling.
A few days we lingered here, and then set forth again.
We were trekking quietly along one afternoon, when a riderless cavalry
horse cantered towards us. With some difficulty it was caught, and a
picket-rope, a coat, a pair of boots, and some saddle-bags were found
attached to the saddle. No owner appearing, Dick took charge of the
truant. He also took charge of the saddle-bags, which contained a cake
of tobacco and a love-letter, or, as he styled them--"a chunk of
'baccer, and some durned gush from a gal who's got mashed on the owner."
He learnt the letter by heart, and delighted in making apposite
quotations from it. Two mornings later, however, a claimant appeared in
the person of a smart little Dutch trooper belonging to the cavalry
escort of a surveying party. It seemed that, after breaking loose, the
horse had travelled back eighty miles on his tracks. Our visitor, a
cheery little fellow, stayed to breakfast with us.
"I can only give you back half that chunk," said Dick reflectively, when
he was leaving. "I'm a bit short of 'baccer myself."
"All roight, partner, I got plenty. Py golly, ven I start out anyvers, I
alvays go repairet" (prepared?).
"Is that so? Wal, your head's level. By the way" (expectorating
meditatively), "there was a letter...."
The Dutchman's animation was arrested for a moment, then, looking
quizzically at his interlocutor, he said: "You reet dat letter?"
"You bet yer! I wanted to see who that tearing war-horse belonged to.
What shall I tell your gal when we get down Ogden?"
Again the Dutchman looked serious.
"You know dat gal?"
"I should smile," replied Dick, with hopeless melancholy.
"Vell--vell--vell: you tell dat gal I bin on vilt goose chase after mine
dam olt hoss, vat run vays mit her letter. And py golly, partner, joos
take care and don' get on inside track of dat gal. Eh? Vat? You nee'n't
tell her vat else. I finish der tale ven I kom." And again profusely
thanking us, the errant lover trotted away with his steed in tow.
One evening we camped below a likely-looking ridge for hunting, and,
leaving the waggon next morning at "sun-up," set out in search of game,
intending to bivouac a night in the upper woods. Elk had already begun
to descend from the summits of the loftier ranges, whither, owing to the
persecution of flies, they are forced during summer to retreat. It was
necessary, therefore, to advance with caution even on the foot-hills.
We had worked our way up through a belt of fallen timber into a forest
of magnificent pines interspersed with grassy glades and willow bottoms,
and were slowly proceeding, when a low whistle from Dick attracted my
attention. He had halted to the left of me, and with furious
gesticulations was indicating something in front of him. As I turned, an
elk sprang up. Uncertain whence danger threatened him, for a second he
paused, but a bullet from my Express rifle settled his deliberations.
When my broncho, scared by the report, had concluded his part in the
performance, I was able to inquire the effect of the shot.
"Is he down, Dick?"
"You bet yer. He's a daisy! You've shot him in the couplings, and broke
his back. I guess I'll finish him," and Dick put a bullet through its
head.
A few yards from where we had first seen him lay the elk in the bracken,
a magnificent fellow, with a fine head, only unfortunately two of his
points were broken.
"How many poets gild the lapse of years!" May we not paraphrase it, and
write for "poets" pictures?--for scenes such as these are like frescoes
in the galleries of memory. The hollow that we bivouacked in. The sleepy
willow bottom where our bronchos were picketed. The afternoon hunt
afoot, marked by glimpses of an elk and four white-tailed deer. The
evening vigil on an elk-trail in the dim forest twilight, when the
winds slumbered, the earth was dumb, and even a falling leaf created
quite a stir. The calumet and chat, with our mocassined feet to the camp
fire, the light from which playing upon the giant trunks around, made
them seem like pillars in some mysterious hall; the cheerful glow anear,
the sombre gloom beyond. Is it not all photographed and laid aside to
beguile us of idle hours hereafter? He who has no ambition in the future
should create a pleasant past.
At daybreak we climbed the highest peak in the ridge. Soft distances,
with hills of violet and lapis-lazuli, stretched to the far-off horizon,
where hung low-lying clouds. Nearer, half-hidden beneath coverlets of
mist, still valleys slept, and broke, together with a tortuous,
silver-gleaming trout stream, the vast expanse of sombre pine forest and
bronze prairie. Miles and miles away to the south, keen-edged and
transparent, loomed up the beacon towers of the Tetons. And on their
centre peak, caught by a wreath of last year's snow, there played a
lambent flame of roseate fire--a thing of inexpressible delicacy--the
wraith of a long-lost old-world colour stolen forth from its rest in the
sun.
Although tracks were fairly numerous, we saw no game. Still, if
rewarded by occasional success, it is sufficient to feel that game is in
the neighbourhood. To note fresh spoor, to find in grassy glades, upon
the edge of willow thickets, the scarce deserted beds of elk and deer,
to see the trees they have "used," rubbing the velvet from their
antlers, to chance upon a bison wallow, or on the trunks of pines that
have been barked by bears, even to watch the chipmunk and
squirrel--Cobweb and Peaseblossom, "hop in your walks and gambol in your
eyes"--and hear the blue grouse drumming on the trees, is a pleasure.
The charm of hunting lies not entirely in finding.
Soon after breaking the camp from which we made this trip, we reached
Henry's Fork of the Snake River, the prettiest trout stream that I ever
saw. General Sheridan and a large party, numerously escorted, camped
just above us on the evening that we reached its banks, and Dick, who
was of a social disposition, soon made the acquaintance of an old Irish
sergeant in the escort. Being anxious to acquire any information to be
had concerning routes, etc., he asked him which track they proposed to
follow thence.
"Sure," replied the sergeant, "an' the dhevil of a whon of us knows at
all, but ould Phil (the general) himself, and he dhon't expriss his
moind very freely."
A good tale is current concerning certain Grand Dukes and personages of
their world, who were taken through the Yellowstone country about this
time. I give it as it was given to me, without vouching for its truth.
It seems that the party had with them an ample supply of what are known
in the field as "medical comforts." Of these they not only partook
freely themselves, but largely distributed them amongst the members of
their escort. The consequence was that, as the day wore on accidents
occasionally happened. The officer in command of the escort was jogging
along quietly by himself one afternoon, when a private rode up and
saluted him. The man was reeling in his saddle, and had the greatest
difficulty in maintaining his balance. "Well, what is it?" inquired his
superior sharply. "Please, sir (hic), worre them ki-kings 'as
fallenoff's 'orse." The native of the great republic had, as I have
often found in men of his class out West, very hazy notions about
eastern titles.
Gradually we worked down stream, shifting camp from day to day. I
generally travelled on a pine-log raft with Dick, fishing as we floated
on the current.
"Dick," I would say, whilst affixing a new fly, "this is very lazy
work."
"Thet's so," he would respond, disposing the steering pole under his arm
whilst he bit a fresh quid off the Dutchman's "chunk." And after chewing
the quid and the reflection with equal gusto for some moments in
silence, he would add: "Thet's what I like about it."
The happy-go-lucky manner in which the raft drifted on to boulders, and
hung there whilst we caught fish until it drifted off again, the perfect
ease of the motion, the beauty of the river scenery, the excellence of
the sport, the health, the harmony, and simplicity of it all, rendered
these sunny voyages extremely delightful.
B. followed the gentle art on horseback. Furnished with strong tackle,
he used to ride into the water, hook his fish, put the rod over his
shoulder, and ride ashore again. Then he would shout to the infamous Bud
to come and take the fish off. Bud generally took himself off instead,
and after a while the fish would do likewise. As a rule it happened
that, when the fish was there, the boy was not, and when the boy came
the fish had gone. Considered under the influence of daily contact with
Bud, infanticide came to appear an admirable institution; but
fortunately nothing disturbed B.'s equanimity.
Dick's temperament was not so well regulated. Seeing him one day engaged
in playing an unusually good fish, the boy ran up from behind shouting:
"Oh, Dick! get on your meule, and ride him out."
Failing to catch the gist of the remark, Dick turned to see what was
wanted of him and lost the fish. It is needless to transcribe his
remonstrance; powerful as it was, however, it had no effect upon the
imperturbable infant.
"Wall," he persisted with bewitching gaiety, as he moved away again; "ef
ye'd only got on yer meule, yer might a' fetched him out."
Dick was still too furious to be reported; by degrees, however, he
subsided into a grumble. "Get on my meule and pull him out! Get on my
meule! ----! I only wish I had _him_ glued on that meule for a
fortnight, and me driving it on a rough trail."
"I guess I'd better kill him," said old Brown, very gently. He had
walked across from the camp fire to watch the sport, and was now
absently stropping a big meat-knife on his thigh, "he'll do better,
maybe, in Abraham's bosom."
"The other bosomites couldn't stand him," said Dick hopelessly; "they'd
fire him out, sure! Abe'd yank him out of that himself."
Any day in this stream from forty to fifty brace of trout, averaging two
pounds apiece, might have been caught. Sketching and shooting, however,
divided the time, and my best day's sport was nineteen brace and a half,
most of which were returned to the water. Prettier, gamer, or
better-flavoured fish could not have been found, and the days we spent
in this valley will always be a source of pleasant recollections.
Scarcely less pleasant, though, were the evenings when hoarse-noted
swans, pelicans, and herons winged their slow flight above the water's
course; geese in a wedge, or ducks in line, sped past on their rapid
way; and, later on, the curlew came, and swift, piratical night-hawks
flitted to and fro in the filmy crepuscule. Through the dusky foliage
then flashed the fire of moonlight, and the golden orb rose and rose
until she hung above a pine-tree spire "comme un point sur un _i_,"
whilst her first-fallen beam, a lost diamond lately on the dark pavement
of the waters, grew into a thread of quivering light that stretched
across a shifting tracery of swirls and eddies. Soon all sounds were
hushed, save those of fish rising, the occasional whirr of ducks' wings,
or the fitful nocturnes played in the river reeds by silken winds which
only made the stillness seem deeper, the serene spell of night more
powerful.
As we descended the stream, the fishing deteriorated; some memorable
evenings amongst the ducks and geese were recorded, however, and these
were varied by excursions into the hills after elk and deer, which,
although not always successful, were sufficiently so to keep our
interest in the quest alive, and our larder replenished.
One day the summer vanished. It had been one of the loveliest daybreaks
during the trip, and after bivouacking a couple of nights in the hills,
we were returning to camp when it commenced to rain. As we were crossing
the plains, the clouds that had suddenly enveloped the mountains drifted
partially away, and, looking back, we saw that the peaks and ridges we
had hunted but a few hours before, and had left sunning their rich
tints in the autumn sunlight, were blanched by the first fall of snow.
For the next three days and nights it rained incessantly, and when at
length the fog lifted, even the lower spurs appeared cloaked in their
wintry mantles. Our limit of time, however, was nearly exhausted, and
already our faces had been set towards the railway.
FOOTNOTE:
[4] Appeared originally in the _Nineteenth Century_.