ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS TO YELLOWSTONE PARK.
[Illustration: SPOKANE FALLS, WASHINGTON.]
It was the 15th of May when we returned to Victoria, and without any
waste of time we proceeded to Seattle, and there made hasty preparation
to continue our work along the northern lines of road towards the east.
A little change was made in our original plans, by a brief diversion
from the routes we had marked out, in order to view and take some
pictures of the marvelous scenery along Fraser River, on the line of the
Canadian Pacific Railroad. This stream is as wide as the Ohio, but
generally of great depth, and being confined within perpendicular walls,
often rising to a height of 500 feet, it is a rushing flood, too swift
in places for the most powerful steamer to make head against. The road
follows the bed of this torrential stream for a distance of 150 miles,
through the Cascade Mountains, and in sight at times of the Okinagan
Range. Beyond these eastward are the Gold, Selkirk and Rocky Mountains,
and in between and about these are glaciers of extraordinary
proportions, which in summer feed tearing cataracts and plunging
waterfalls, and furnish nature pictures that thrill the heart with
wonder. Beyond the valley of Thompson River, where the Golden Range
begins, the scenery is quite as grand, though scarcely so sublime as
that in the cañon of the Fraser; but the mountains are surprisingly
beautiful, and variegated with patches of snow, clumps of evergreen, and
sheets of soft blue water that invite the angler. Louise, Agnes and
Mirror lakes lie one above the other, high up upon the mountain sides,
where they are often hidden by clouds, and are accordingly called the
“Three Sisters of the Sky.” Castle Mountain may be seen from this point,
which is only a few miles from Banff, famous for its hot springs, and
for being the chief resort in the Canadian National Park, with a hotel
capable of accommodating 800 guests.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
NATIVE GIRLS OF HAWAII, SANDWICH ISLANDS.—It is hard to believe that
the ancestors of these beautiful and intelligent girls, only a few
generations back, were savages and cannibals, but it is a fact
nevertheless. They are living exponents of the benefits of modern
Christian civilization. There is hardly a trace of savage ancestry
to be seen in their countenances or general appearance. Their faces,
in fact, are pleasant, indicating confidence and gentle disposition.
There is a trace of savagery in their dress, however, and in their
domestic implements, but in other respects they might be taken for a
group of merry school girls out on a lark.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
KANFOHE PARK, HONOLULU, HAWAII.—The climate of the Sandwich Islands is
delightful in the extreme. It is tropical, but tempered by the
mountains which tower into the regions of perpetual snow, and cool
the hot air of the valleys. Tropical trees, fruits and plants, grow
in profusion, and yield abundant food for the natives even before
the advent of white civilization. The advantages of climate and soil
in these islands are attracting many enterprising Americans and
Europeans thither, and the time is probably not far distant when the
native population will be entirely supplanted.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: KAKABEKA FALLS, NEAR FORT WILLIAMS, THUNDER BAY, LAKE
SUPERIOR.]
The side-trip which we took on the Canadian Pacific occupied only one
week, and though not originally contemplated in our plan of
photographing American scenery, more than compensated for the change,
for we are thus enabled to present some British American scenery equal
to the most magnificent, imposing and attractive that our own country
possesses.
Had the time been at our disposal, we would have made our scenic journey
extend to the Sandwich Islands, after our return to Victoria,
particularly as there was some political agitation in the government at
Hawaii at the time. Indeed, while in San Francisco, we were earnestly
urged to visit the islands with our cameras, so as to include them in
our Wonderland book; and to the other inducements offered, we were
presented with some views of the Hawaiian palace, the palmetto embowered
walks, cocoanut groves, and pictures of the charming native girls, which
latter was a particularly powerful persuasive. But the islands, charming
though they are, do not belong as yet to the American domain, and cannot
therefore be properly included, though on account of the annexation
sentiment, and President Harrison’s message urging their acquisition,
the views given to us are here reproduced.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
THE ROYAL PALACE, HONOLULU, HAWAII.—A special interest has been given
to this building and its surroundings by the events of the recent
revolution, which are still fresh in the minds of all. Our
photograph herewith presents not only a very a fine picture of the
palace, but also a large portion of the city, with the outlying
mountains for a background. It is a representative view, and gives a
good idea of the general appearance of these islands. The mountains
seem barren and uninviting, but the valleys are rich with verdure
and scented by a profusion of fruits and flowers.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: SNOW-SHEDS ON THE CANADIAN PACIFIC.]
Returning to Seattle, we proceeded directly eastward again, by the
Northern Pacific Railroad, crossing for a third time the Cascade Range
and viewing again the white and sunlighted crests of Mounts Hood, St.
Helens, Adams and Ranier. The route is along the Yakima River, through
charming scenery all the way to Spokane Falls, where the beauty of the
landscape, as well as the might and awfulness of the falls, arrested us
for a time. Palouse Falls is within nine miles of the junction of the
Snake with Columbia River, and are a part of Palouse River, which, after
flowing through a deep cañon thirty feet wide, pours over a precipice
that is a sheer height of 125 feet. The surrounding rocks exhibit many
unique forms, ranging in terraces to a height of 2,000 feet, and then
assuming the shape of pinnacles, chimneys, columns and needles, as if
the region had one time been the work-grounds of giant sculptors.
Snake River is interrupted by enormous falls, the most important of
which are American and Island Falls, the former having a drop of thirty
feet; being very wide before taking the final leap, the river flows over
a series of ledges that break the water into cataracts. Further up the
stream, about fifty miles from Shoshone Falls, are Lost Falls, which
leap down from a height of two hundred feet, and then the river, of
which they are a part, disappears under the lava-covered earth, but
reappears again several miles beyond and resumes its impetuous and
erratic course.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
MISSOURI RIVER, ALONG THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILROAD.—There are many
picturesque localities on the Upper Missouri River, a rich scenic
region which has been neglected or overlooked by tourists. A finer
scene of bold and rugged bluffs, carved into fantastic shapes by the
water’s action, could hardly be found than the one so beautifully
photographed on this page. One of our photographing party has
stationed himself on top of the great rock for the double purpose of
viewing the country and having his picture taken, the latter being
intended by comparison to show the height and size of the rock.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: KANANASKE’S FALLS, BRITISH AMERICA.]
Some fifty miles east of Spokane, on the line of the Northern Pacific,
is Hauser Junction, where the road branches southward, through the Cœur
d’Alene Indian Reservation and a great mining region, while the main
line runs around the north shore of Lake Pend d’Oreille, the most
beautiful sheet of water in the northwest, and destined sometime to
become a popular resort. Beyond the lake is the Flathead Indian
Reservation, and at Missoula the two lines of road unite again. This
city is a place of much importance, and admirably situated near the
Junction of Hell Gate and Bitter Root River, a district of great scenic
beauty. Flathead Lake lies sixty miles to the north, an emerald sheet of
crystal water reposing within a bed of lofty cliffs, and belted in the
center by a chain of wooded islands, while its waters are discharged
into the Pend d’Oreille River, that dashes away through deep gorges in
tumultuous flow. Forty miles from this picturesque lake are the Two
Sisters’ Cascades, which pour over the opposite walls of a colossal
amphitheater 2,000 feet high, and then unite to journey through gorge,
over waterfall and across lovely meadows, catching perfume and
inspiration on their way to the Pacific.
The way thence from Missoula is over a comparatively level stretch of
country, until just west of Helena the road strikes the Main Divide of
the Rocky Mountains, and to cross this broken region it is compelled to
pursue a winding way.
Helena is reputed to be the richest city of its size in all the world, a
claim well supported by appearances, for while having probably 15,000
inhabitants, it has all the conveniences of our largest cities, and in
no other place of equal population are the public buildings and
residences so magnificent and palatial. But aside from its wealth and
beauty, the place is the center of a region as remarkable for its scenic
attractions as for its silver mines. Eighteen miles north of Helena is
the cañon of Little Prickly Pear, where precipitous walls rise to a
varying height of 500 to 1,000 feet, and are gorgeously colored by
strata of different formations, blending with hues of trees, shrubs, and
vines that tenderly cling to their faces. Near-by is the portal through
which the headwaters of the Missouri go madly careening, making a deep
roaring sound as they dash between walls 1,000 feet high. Atlantic Cañon
is only three miles further down the river, and next in quick succession
appears the Bear’s Tooth, two monoliths that may be distinctly seen from
Helena, twenty miles away.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
FRONT VIEW OF MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS—CLEOPATRA AND JUPITER TERRACES.—The
chief wonders in Yellowstone National Park are the geysers, and the
limestone formations such as are shown above. These terraces are
formed by exuding water carrying a heavy solution of travertine,
which is deposited in the most remarkable shapes when coming in
contact with the air. This deposit is semi-crystalline, often
resembling snow-banks, and as the process of hardening goes on in
circular rims, basins are left which hold the water, and reflect in
a myriad of hues the sky and surroundings.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: CAÑON OF MISSOURI RIVER, NEAR GREAT FALLS.]
The Montana Central and Great Northern Railroad convey travelers over a
good road eighty miles further, to the Falls of the Missouri, three in
number, which are scattered over a distance of twelve miles, where the
river flows through a cañon with vertical walls 200 to 500 feet high. We
first meet a cascade called Black Eagle Falls, where the entire river
drops over a ledge twenty-six feet high, a precursor of the more
terrible waterfalls that are to come. The next one to appear in view is
Rainbow Falls, where the river, 1,200 feet wide, hurls itself down a
perpendicular descent of fifty feet. Six miles further down are the
Great Falls, that have a leap of ninety feet, and whose terrible roaring
can be heard a dozen miles away. At this point the river has a volume
greater than the Mississippi, but is narrowed to 300 feet by walls 200
feet high. An island divides the rushing waters, the half next to the
right bank dashing down with such tremendous effect that clouds of spray
are sent 200 feet high, which, struck by bright sunbeams, are converted
into rainbows, or at times glow with prismatic hues like giant soap-
bubbles. That part of the stream flowing to the left passes over a
succession of ledges, forming a magnificent cataract of fleecy foam, 200
feet in width and 90 feet in perpendicular elevation. But though these
are the principal falls, there are twelve others within a distance of
ten miles, having a total descent of 400 feet, and these interruptions
in the channel continue, though in a lesser degree, as far down as Fort
Benton, which is the head of navigation.
The country east of Helena, along the line of the Northern Pacific,
presents no variation of apparently boundless prairie land, until the
Bad Lands of Northern Dakota are reached, which will be hereafter
described. One hundred and fifty miles east of the city, however, is the
town of Livingston, at which point Yellowstone Park visitors change cars
to a branch line that runs fifty miles due south to Cinnabar, which is
within a mile of the Wyoming State line, and three miles from the
northern boundary of the National Park. We are now upon the borders of
the most wondrous region of the earth, the curiosities of which we will
now attempt to briefly describe, though words seem to lose their
significance when they are used to portray the marvels that exist in
this real wonderland.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
PULPIT TERRACE, MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS.—The photograph above admirably
represents this beautiful and surprising example of Nature’s wonder-
working. The projecting terrace in front was on one occasion used as
a pulpit, which it greatly resembles, from which fact the name is
derived. These remarkable formations are beautiful beyond all the
efforts of imagination to picture. Even a fine photograph like the
above cannot do them full justice, as the exquisite coloring is
wanting. They must be seen in all the glory of sunlight reflection
to be fully appreciated.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: RAINBOW FALLS, GRAND FALLS, MONTANA.]
At Cinnabar, tourists take the stage for a seven miles’ ride to Mammoth
Hot Springs Hotel, which is the first and principal hostelry within the
park. This ride prepares the visitor for remarkable surprises, for it is
through an erratic district of soaring pinnacles, dizzy walls and
chaotic formations, stranger and more weird than the gate-way that
Cerberus guarded. Away up on the apex of the first tall spire of stone
that has broken away from the cañon walls of Gardiner River, is seen an
eagle’s nest, an aerie so lofty that the clouds play about it; so far-
reaching skyward that it is tipped with the waking beams of sunlight
before day, and is bright with lingering rays when evening shades have
descended. By aid of glass the eagle may be seen demurely surveying the
world, or in her absence the straining necks of her ambitious brood,
watching the neighboring crags for their royal parent’s return. Nothing
that I saw in Yellowstone Park impressed me more than this nest of
eagles in the azure depths of that perilous peak.
This great National Park is a volcanic plateau some 10,000 feet above
sea level, and embraces a territory fifty-five by sixty-five miles, or
3,575 square miles. It was first visited by John Colter, an attaché of
the Lewis and Clarke exploring expedition in 1806, but it was not until
nearly fifty years later that stories told of the region by old trappers
and hunters were verified by a visit of members of the Geologic Survey.
In 1880 it was made a National Park, since which time it has been under
the immediate control of the Secretary of the Interior, who appoints a
superintendent with headquarters at the Mammoth Hot Springs, and polices
the park with a company of cavalry, whose principal care is the
protection of game. So faithfully has this duty been executed that the
park now abounds with deer, buffalo, elk, bear, and a few mountain
lions, besides a great abundance of small game and water-fowl. Upon
alighting from the stage at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, the first objects
that attract the interest of visitors are the pink terraced springs and
Cap of Liberty, which are in the front-yard, so to speak. The springs,
fifty in number, cover an area of 170 acres and by a constant deposition
of carbonate of lime have built up, terrace upon terrace, a mound fully
200 feet high.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
LITTLE JUPITER TERRACE.—The different terraces of the Yellowstone Park
cover an area about two miles square. They have the appearance of a
frozen cascade, so beautifully scalloped and adorned with a kind of
bead work, that the beholder stands amazed and filled with
inexpressible admiration. The water flowing over these terraces is
so transparent that it is like glass, and the pools below hold the
reflection of the sky while mirroring the white crystalline
formations, surpassing all art, and more beautiful than anything
which can be conceived.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: SLUICE-BOX CAÑON, NEAR GREAT FALLS, MONTANA.]
The springs have their source somewhere within an active volcanic belt,
and thus heated by internal fires they pour out their waters at a
temperature of 112° to 163° Fahrenheit, which, acting upon the soft
limestone, dissolves and converts it into what geologists call
_travertine_, a semi-crystalline deposit that quickly hardens upon
coming in contact with the air. When first observed, the terraces
resemble a snow-bank, but by other writers they have been compared to
the terminal front of a glacier, and again like a foaming cascade
suddenly turned into stone. Streaks and patches of red, yellow and green
seen upon the white slopes mark the course of overflowing water, while
clouds of steam float lightly upward from the many springs, but only to
quickly disappear.
There are in all eight well-defined benches, each with a more or less
level surface, and terminating with vertical fronts to the next terrace
below. Near the terraces, though on a bench of ground by itself, is
Liberty Cap, a pillar forty-three feet high and twenty feet in diameter,
with sphinx-like profile, the cone of a hot spring long since extinct.
Close-by is a similar monolith, not so tall, called the Devil’s Thumb, a
name readily suggested by the proximity of the springs to Pluto’s
dominion, as some will have it, and the gossip that Satan’s hand is in
all the region thereabout.
In wandering around the terraces the visitor is sure to have his
surprise quickened by the brightly-tinted basins, and the red and orange
slopes overflowed by the hot waters. These colors are due to the
presence of minute algæ, or water-plants, whose life is strangely enough
supported by the hot water and the lime held in solution; for
investigation has disclosed the astonishing fact that the chief work of
these microscopic plants is the separation from the water of the
carbonate of lime, which they cause by abstracting the carbonic acid.
The view from these mammoth terraces is picturesque beyond comparison:
The dark and lofty summit of Sepulchre Mountain shows its drowsy head
near-by on the north; while the upper valley of the Yellowstone, and the
jagged peaks of Snowy Range, are seen to the northeast, between
Sepulchre and the long face of Mount Evarts. In the southeast the eye
dwells pleasantly upon the distant view of Lava Creek and Undine Falls,
with many snow-white peaks, standing like sentinels around this wizard
realm; while Bunsen Peak keeps watch towards the south, its dark slopes
making an effective background to the white hills of hot spring deposit.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
COATING SPRING TERRACE.—This terrace affords perhaps a better example
of the formation of these beautiful monuments of Nature than any of
the others. The water is seen flowing gently over the succession of
steps, and depositing the calcareous substances of which they are
composed. The ground-work is snow-white, but reflected from this is
every shade of scarlet, green and yellow, as brilliant as the
brightest of our aniline dyes. The spectacle is dazzlingly
beautiful, producing a scene that cannot perhaps be equaled
elsewhere in the whole world.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: ECHO CAÑON FALLS, IN ROCKY MOUNTAINS, NEAR MIDVALE,
MONTANA.]
When we turn from viewing the surrounding scenery and begin to examine
particularly each separate formation, we find near the center of this
sublimated field a blue spring, brilliant as a sapphire, and clear as a
diamond, with a deep and irregular rim all around it, as if nature had
made an effort to retain its beautiful waters. This spring is fifteen by
twenty feet in area, and is in a state of constant agitation. The sides
and bottom of the basin are formed of pure white travertine, while the
varying depths cause the water to appear all shades between a deep
peacock-blue and a light nile-green. Issuing at a temperature of 165°,
the water contains a considerable amount of gas, which escapes at the
surface of the pool, thus causing the flow to rise in the form of a
little dome, while a pulsating movement is imparted which sends out
waves that ripple across the water and curl over the shallow rim of the
bowl, filling other basins along its course. These terraced overflow
basins, thus formed, are a most striking feature of the springs. No
description can do justice to their beauty, for neither the delicate
fretwork of their walls, the frosted surface of the glistening deposit,
nor the brilliant colors of the pools and rivers can be adequately
described.
In many places the overflow is in thin sheets and little cascades, while
yellow, sulphur-coated threads of algæ are abundant, though they do not
impart their color to the water, for the exquisite blues and greens of
the hottest basins are due solely to the varying depths of water. On the
other hand, the bright lemon, red and green shades of the cooler pools
are entirely vegetable in their nature, and due to the presence of algæ
lining the basins and striping their outer walls.
The upper basins are generally shallow, because of the rapid deposit of
lime, but this deposition occurs after the overflow, thus forming what
is called the Marble Basins, after which, the water being somewhat
cooled, the deposit is slower. Accordingly, we find that the lower
slopes are exquisitely fringed with slender stalactites and pillars,
forming the beautiful Pulpit Basins as shown in the illustration.
The Government has expended large sums of money in making roads through
the most interesting sections of the park, and over these we pursued a
greater part of our way in reaching the places which we desired to
photograph. A stage runs through the park, in which visitors may make
the tour in six days, but for manifest reasons we traveled by private
conveyances, camping out as often as we took quarters at the several
hotels located at convenient distances along the route.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
LIMESTONE HOODOOS IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.—If one should come
suddenly upon these Hoodoos, or Ghost Rocks, alone on a moonlight
night, he would instantly recognize the appropriateness of the title
which has been bestowed upon them. It was winter when our
photographers were there, and they had the advantages of a winding
sheet of snow reflected in a bright winter sun to heighten the
effects, and were thus enabled to secure a picture which is in every
sense in perfect keeping with the gruesome surroundings.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: NATURAL CASTLE, SLUICE-BOX CAÑON.]
Leaving the Mammoth Hot Springs terraces, whose incomparable beauties
must ever remain as a delightful remembrance, we traveled southward by
the Hoodoos, and entered the Golden Gate, where a part of the road is
built over a cañon and another part is carved out of the cliffs, along
which there is a charm following every footstep. On the one side rise
precipitous walls, while on the other is a gorge of almost infinite
depth, through which plunges Gardiner River, broken and foaming with
cascade and waterfall. Beyond the gates there is a brief level, then
down again among fresh curiosities the route leads by the Devil’s Paint-
Pots, Crystal Spring, pretty Beaver Lake, and along a mountain base
covered with blasted pines. Then another ascent, until the altitude is
so great that we found snow in considerable patches as late as July 1st.
But besides the bubbling springs and sputtering sulphur vats, whose
locations were marked here and there in the distance by their streams of
vapor, our interest was chained by the obsidian cliffs on our left, a
black mountain of mineral glass that sparkled with unnatural lustre
because of the dusky background, while strewed about were broken bits
that made the spot resemble the remains of a glass factory.
At every few paces we startled a woodchuck which, satisfying his
curiosity with a glance, quickly disappeared among the stones. Deer were
occasionally seen scampering through the dead pine forest, and as we
reached Beaver Lake two solemn blue cranes crossed our road and tried to
hide their brood in a patch of tall grass. The hoarse “konks” of the
cock, the thin “peeps” of the young, and the peculiar motions of the hen
in her great agitation, were extremely amusing.
Twenty miles from Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel is the Norris Geyser Basin,
where we were entertained with our first view of the spouting volcanoes
throwing up streams of hot water and great volumes of vapor. This is
indeed the Devil’s Kitchen, for besides the hellish aspect of boiling
caldrons, the air is charged with those sulphurous fumes that are said
to certainly indicate his activity and immediate presence. There is no
sign of soil thereabout, for the surface is incrusted with a deep
deposit of lime, in which vents occur to allow the escape of gases and
to give intimation of the fiery furnace which is raging beneath our
feet. We counted eighteen geysers from the insecure position which we
took; the most of them, however, were infantile and irregular in their
action, sending up a shower of mud at occasional intervals, and then
subsiding to gather fresh force; but steam poured out continually, and
when we moved a little further south, the roar of Steamboat Geyser fell
on our ears. It, too, acted spasmodically; but every few minutes there
was a deep rumbling, followed quickly by a respiration, deep, powerful
and awful as the rush of a hurricane, then a regurgitation, as if the
earth were swallowing up again the gas and steam which she had poured
out.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
HYMEN TERRACES, MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS.—A description of one of these
marvelous formations fits them all, for there is much similarity
between them, while each alike is so beautiful that neither language
nor the camera can do them justice. One can spend weeks in their
presence, and find new beauties to admire every day, in the varying
reflections and prismatic colors that dance and sparkle upon their
crystalline sides and surfaces. It is a region of wonders unequaled
by any other spot on the face of the earth.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
CLEOPATRA AND JUPITER TERRACES.—This photograph represents a portion
of two of the most popular and beautiful of the Yellowstone
terraces, and also presents a general view of the side of the hill
on which they are located and the valley into which the waters flow.
It is also one of the most recent and superb photographs of this
scene, reproducing it as it would appear in its natural condition at
the present time.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: SITKA BAY, ALASKA.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
JUPITER TERRACE, MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS.—This is a particularly fine view
of this celebrated curiosity. The reflection of light and shade is
admirable, and affords a good idea of the dazzling splendor of the
formation when viewed in the light of the sun. We can but stand mute
and dumb with admiration in the presence of such marvelous creations
of Nature. No art can paint or imitate them. They are Nature’s own
product, and stand unsurpassed even in human imagination.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: IN THE BELT VALLEY, NEAR GREAT FALLS.]
On the brink of this infernal pit, distributed over a considerable
space, were transparent pools of water of the most brilliant hues,
indigo, orange, carmine and emerald, down in whose depths are queer
formations of petrifying algæ, and bubbles that look like pearls. Near
this beautifully colored and transparent spring is Mud Geyser, a basin
full of mush, that lazily sputters as though it were hung over a slow
fire, awaiting the spoon of a tardy diner. There is another mud volcano
near Sulphur Mountain, the crater of which is thirty feet deep and
twenty-five feet in diameter, and which is in a state of constant
ebullition, throwing up great quantities of mud and steam to a height of
200 feet, and at times shaking the mountain with its terrible
convulsions. Great as were the wonders which we saw in Norris Basin, it
proved to be only the threshold of the colossal, the overpowering, the
awful sights which we were yet to behold.
The well-constructed roadway leading south from the Norris Geyser Basin
is along the Gibbon River, by Johnson Peak and Hot Springs, into Gibbon
Cañon, which, however, is distinguished for its gracefully sloping sides
rather than for its cliffs and depths. A little way to the west the
cañon becomes wilder, and just below Beryl Spring is a high shelf in the
river, over which the rushing waters plunge in a fall of ninety feet.
But the descent is gradual, so that instead of torrential dash the
waters, after breaking on the sharp projections of the rock face, slide
into the river below and then speed away to join Madison River, into
which is drained the overflow of the many active geysers. Though not
precipitous, Gibbon Falls is a beautiful sheet of liquid crystals,
rolling down terraces and ledges exquisitely colored by the presence of
different minerals, and in the sunlight exhibiting a sheen and
brilliance almost equal to that of Yellowstone Falls. The charm is
enhanced by deep coverts of pine that are reflected in the placidly-
flowing stream above and below the falls, and by the castellated bluffs
that confine the waters. The prospect from the cañon walls is also
delightful, for towards every point there is a lovely panorama of
remarkable diversity, including mountains, valleys, parks, rivers, and
geysers, the latter showing themselves many miles north and south, while
steam from boiling caldrons rolls skywards and gathers in volume until
immense cumulus clouds are formed that hang ominously above the valley,
or are drifted away to break upon the sides of the surrounding
mountains.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
THE GOLDEN GATE, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.—The Golden Gate is the
favorite entrance to the park, and it has been photographed and
pictured in many ways and from every point of view. The glimpse of
the park caught through its portals is an entrancingly lovely one,
and quickens the imagination with the expectation of greater things
to be seen on the inside. Every person who can afford the expense
should visit the National Park and see its wonders for himself, for
there is no place on earth like it. Those who cannot afford the
expense will find the splendid photographs and descriptions in
GLIMPSES OF AMERICA the best possible substitute.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: LIBERTY CAP AND MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS HOTEL.]
Continuing our trip southward through Gibbon Cañon and by Gibbon Falls,
whence the landscape is more level, we came at length to Fire-Hole Creek
and the Lower Geyser Basin. We were now in the region of giant geysers,
in the visible presence of the most terrible manifestations of nature.
In this pit of Acheron, this purgatory of ferment and explosion,
covering an area of forty square miles, are almost countless geysers,
distributed in seven groups, as if banded in rivalry. One of these
groups is near the center of the basin and has one hundred orifices that
spout steam and water, resembling from a distance an extensive
manufactory. The most interesting feature of the Lower Basin is Fountain
Geyser, which throws a column of water twenty feet in diameter to a
height of fifty feet, though it plays only at intervals of many days.
Near-by is Monument Basin, so called from the formations of every
conceivable shape which distinguish it. Evangeline Geyser is another
eruptive volcano that throbs and thumps violently when in action, but
never casts up water more than a few feet above the surface; it has a
beautifully scalloped rim, with small bowls of exquisite incrustations,
resembling some of the basins in Mammoth Terraces. It is in the Upper
Basin, eight miles further south, however, that the greatest of geysers
are to be seen, though the area covered is scarcely three square miles,
and the springs are less numerous. In this region, very near to Fire-
Hole River, is a spot called Hell’s Half-Acre, a designation peculiarly
appropriate by reason of the purgatorial wonders which exist therein,
and the activity with which old Nick’s stokers stir the subterranean
furnaces. The largest geyser in this fiery-haunted district, and indeed
much the largest in the world, is Excelsior Geyser, which has a mouth
two hundred feet wide and has been known to cast up a flood of water two
hundred feet high, carrying with it large stones rent from the walls of
its Plutonian caverns. Excelsior displays its power at very rare
intervals, sometimes remaining quiet for years; but to our surprise and
joy it was in a state of violent eruption during our visit, and thus
gave us an opportunity not only to see but to photograph its immensity
and awfulness.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
EXCELSIOR GEYSER IN ACTION.—Excelsior is the largest geyser, not only
in Yellowstone Park, but in the whole world. Its mouth is 200 feet
wide, and it has been known to spout a volume of hot water 200 feet
high and filling the entire space of its cavity, carrying with it
large stones rent from the interior of the earth. Such displays of
its power occur only at rare intervals, but fortunately it was in a
state of violent eruption at the time of the visit of our
photographing party, and they thus had an opportunity not only to
see but to photograph this wonder of nature in its immensity and
awfulness.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: CUPID’S CAVE, MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS.]
The most interesting, because always reliable, is Old Faithful Geyser,
which throws up a stream of hot water six feet in diameter 130 feet high
every fifty-seven minutes, and sustains the flow for a period of five
minutes. The amount of water thus discharged every hour is 100,000
gallons, or enough to supply a small river. The Bee-hive, located on the
opposite side of the river, blows up a column of water three feet in
diameter to a height of 250 feet, and plays, generally, for fifteen
minutes, but at intervals of twenty-four hours. The Giantess is, for
several reasons, the most interesting of all the 700 geysers within
National Park. One may approach to the very brink of her crater, which
is twenty feet across, and look down one hundred feet into her hot
throat and hear the fierce gurgling of water, but none is visible until
an eruption is about to occur. Then the sputtering increases, deep
groans are audible, and a burst of steam is followed by a discharge of
water that shoots upward in a succession of jets. The first main column
sent up reaches a height of sixty feet, through which there are
projected small streams a foot in diameter to a height of 250 feet, thus
making a magnificent display for twenty minutes which nothing artificial
can ever rival.
Giant Geyser is less pretentious than the Giantess, having a ragged cone
that is broken on one side, and through a vent eight feet in diameter a
discharge is made at irregular intervals, when a stream of water is
tossed to a height varying from 90 to 200 feet, and the activity
sometimes continues for two or three hours. Other geysers that make fine
displays are the Sawmill, Turban, Grotto, Punch-Bowl, Soda, Grand, Fan,
and Riverside, some of which are never quiet, while others play only
occasionally. It has been found by experiment that foreign substances
thrown into some of these craters create an agitation that frequently
results in eruptions; the introduction of soap or lye is invariably
attended by some manifestation even in the quiet geysers, while the
active ones are by this means made to flow again almost immediately
after an eruption has taken place.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
OLD FAITHFUL, LOWER GEYSER BASIN.—Old Faithful is the most interesting
and popular of the many geysers in National Park, because it can be
relied upon to give an exhibition regularly every fifty-seven
minutes. At these intervals, with the regularity of the beating of a
healthy pulse, it emits a stream of hot water six feet in diameter
to a height of 130 feet, and lasting five minutes. The amount of
water thus discharged every hour is estimated to be about 100,000
gallons, or enough to supply a small river. This has been going
perhaps for centuries, and will doubtless continue for centuries to
come.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: RUSTIC FALLS, GOLDEN GATE ROAD.]
After two days spent among the Upper and Lower Basin Geysers, with our
cameras in constant service, for the sun shone brightly, we went a few
miles further down to Lone Star Geyser, Hot Springs, and to the high
lands above Grant’s Pass. From this latter point of observation a
magnificent view was had and photographs obtained of the Great Teton
Mountains and Snake River Valley, which fill the distance with lines of
hazy grandeur. Turning then towards the east we crossed Norris Pass
(8,350 feet altitude), and after twenty miles of travel emerged from the
forest and reached the Thumb of Yellowstone Lake, as it is called. This
magnificent body of water is fifteen miles wide by twenty-five in
length, and is a basin of wonderful beauty, thus described by Mr.
Langford:
“Secluded amid the loftiest peaks of the Rocky Mountains, possessing
strange peculiarities of form and beauty, this watery solitude is one of
the most attractive objects in the world. Its southern shore, indented
with long, narrow islets, not unlike the frequent fiords of Iceland,
bears testimony to the awful upheaval and tremendous force of the
elements which resulted in its creation. Islands of emerald hue dot its
surface, and a margin of sparkling sands forms its setting. The winds,
compressed in their passage through the mountain gorges, lash it into a
sea as terrible as the fretted ocean, covering it with foam.”
In several places along the shore, and even projecting from the lake,
are several boiling hot springs, which flowing with clear water holding
lime in solution, pyramidal cones are thus built around their outlets,
giving to them the appearance of ant-mounds when seen at a distance.
Professor Hayden startles us with the statement that he has caught fish
from the ice-cold lake while standing on these mounds, and dropping them
into the craters of hot water, had the novel experience of cooking the
fish without removing them from the hook.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
FISHING FROM YELLOWSTONE LAKE, AND COOKING FISH IN THE CONE OF AN
ACTIVE GEYSER.—The cruelty of this scene detracts very much from its
interest, and it is only for its scientific interest that it can be
tolerated. There are several hot springs cones in the lake,
containing water that is constantly at the boiling point. This water
is separated from the lake by the solid walls of the cone, so that a
person feeling so disposed may catch fish from the lake, as shown in
the photograph, and boil them in the hot spring without removing
them from the hook or changing his position. We are glad to say that
the man in the picture who is performing this cruel feat did not
belong to our photographing party.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: BEAUTY SPRING FORMATION.]
Traveling along the shores of Yellowstone Lake for a distance of
something more than thirty miles, we came to Lake Hotel, and beyond that
the cliffs, which, however, are scarcely deserving of notice when
brought into comparison with the Columnar Cliffs of the Yellowstone
Cañon, soon to be described. Continuing our circuit of the park, we
followed the main road, running along Yellowstone River, past Mud Geyser
and Sulphur Mountain, until we found accommodations at Cañon Hotel, the
center of another district of wonders, where we tarried for three days,
to employ our energies in taking views of the extraordinarily grand and
awfully imposing natural objects which cluster hereabout in the Cañon of
the Yellowstone.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
GENERAL VIEW OF THE NORRIS BASIN GEYSERS.—This beautiful photograph
will give a good idea of the vast number of geysers in this
locality, all of which emit boiling water and mud. Special attention
is called to the accuracy and beauty of this superb photograph. Not
only does it show the steam and water of the geysers as naturally as
they would appear in reality, but all the other minutiæ of the scene
are perfect, even to the shadow of the trees on the roadway in the
foreground.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: CRYSTAL CASCADE, 129 FEET HIGH.]
A short distance from the hotel is Mount Washington, whose massive head
is raised to a height of 10,500 feet above the sea; but so gradually
sloping are its sides that an easy roadway has been made to the summit,
which we ascended and from that lofty peak surveyed the vast landscape
that was in the field of vision; and what a glorious panorama was there
presented! We were indeed upon the topmost ridge of the Great
Continental Divide, with the whole world apparently at our feet. Towards
the far west and the distant south, as the range makes a sharp curve,
were the high and snow-crested peaks of the Rocky Mountains, among which
we readily distinguished the majestic Tetons, upon which the sacred
fires lighted by very ancient tribes of Indians are said to be still
burning. To the northwest are the Madison and Gallatin Mountains,
dropping gracefully towards the east until they form what appears to be
the western walls of Yellowstone Valley, speckled with its hundreds of
steam-vomiting springs. The mountainous aspect of the western view has
its counterpart in the tumultuous landscape which greets us on the east,
for the horizon is broken, and the blue sky pierced by the Shoshone
Range, which we follow towards the north as far as Emigrant Peak, as it
thrusts its brazen front out of the Snowy Range. Still further west we
perceive the outlines of the Stinking and Big Horn River Valleys,
running in a northwesterly direction, past Fort Custer and the tragic
Custer battle-field, until they merge into the Yellowstone Valley, two
hundred miles from the park. In the clear depths of the far southwest we
perceive a glitter in the tenuous atmosphere, which our glasses discover
to us to be caused by snow on the Wind River Mountain peaks reflecting
the brilliant sunlight. This magnificent range, that leaps out of the
plains of Wyoming, and after running one hundred miles disappears again
in the prairie, attains such a lofty altitude that the Wind River
Shoshone tribe regard it as the crest of the world. And they have a
legend, borrowed from the Blackfeet, that only one warrior ever reached
the summits, from which he was permitted to look directly into the happy
hunting grounds and survey all the entrancing beauties of that
delectable land of happy spirits. But if the distant prospect is
pleasing, how much more delightful is the wonder valley that lies at our
feet! Looking down from our exceeding high eminence, we behold with
amazement the Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone, a gigantic gash in the
mountains twenty miles in length, and watch the play of enormous
waterfalls that swell the mighty chorus of nature.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
THE CRATER OF CASTLE GEYSER, YELLOWSTONE PARK.—This photograph
presents a splendid and accurate view of the crater of one of the
most noted geysers of this celebrated locality. The light and
conditions were particularly favorable when our party was there, and
they thus succeeded in getting one of the finest negatives of their
entire series. The formation of the cone appears as clear, distinct
and beautiful as if it were standing before us in its natural
condition. No painting or engraving can equal such a photograph, in
the qualities that make an illustration perfect.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: GIBBON FALLS, YELLOWSTONE PARK.]
Descending from Mount Washington, we proceeded by the roadway through a
deep forest of pines until presently we gained the brink of a frightful
chasm nearly 2,000 feet deep, over which the river poured in tremendous
force and had a sheer drop of 140 feet. This is the Upper Falls, and a
grand nature-picture they compose. But the magnificence of the scene is
mightily increased less than half a mile below, where the cañon walls
rapidly contract and another greater precipice has been formed. Here the
mad waters take a violent tumble of 350 feet, at Lower Falls, and are
tossed up again in a mist that sometimes beclouds the valley. But
recovering its force, the river plunges on with renewed energy, as the
descent increases, until out of the gloomy depths it again emerges for
one more final leap of 150 feet, at Tower Falls.
While the falls are of extraordinary interest, they are not more than
the worthy accessories of a cañon which, though not the greatest, is in
some respects the most sublime of any on the American continent. Mr.
Archibald Geikie, an English scientist, has given the following
admirable description of Yellowstone Cañon, admirable not only for its
graphic picturing, but also because it is an Englishman’s confession
that there is something really grand in America:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
GRAND CAÑON OF THE YELLOWSTONE.—The Grand Cañon is immediately north
of the lake, with Tower Falls at its north end and Yellowstone Falls
at the south. The photograph presents a fine view from one of the
most desirable points, but even a photograph, let it be ever so
accurate, cannot give a true idea of the real grandeur of a scene
like this. The width of the cañon varies from 200 to 500 yards, and
the walls on either side rise to a height of 1200 to 1500 feet, the
river winding its tortuous way and plunging over numerous waterfalls
at the bottom of this tremendous crevice. The river is transparent
as crystal, and reaches a depth of 300 feet at one point.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: YELLOWSTONE RIVER, NEAR MUD GEYSER.]
“Scrambling to the edge of one of the bastions and looking down, we
could see the river far below, dwarfed to a mere silver thread. From
this abyss the crags and slopes towered up in endless variety of form,
and with the weirdest mingling of colors. Much of the rock, especially
of the more crumbling slopes, was of a pale sulphur-yellow. Through this
groundwork harder masses of dull scarlet, merging into purple and
crimson, rose into craggy knobs and pinnacles, or shot up in sheer
vertical walls. In the sunlight of the morning the place is a blaze of
strange color, such as one can hardly see anywhere save in the crater of
an active volcano. But as the day wanes, the shades of evening, sinking
gently into the depths, blend their livid tints into a strange,
mysterious gloom, through which one can still see the white gleam of the
rushing river and hear the distant murmur of its flow. Now is the time
to see the full majesty of the cañon. Perched on an outstanding crag,
one can look down the ravine and mark headland behind headland mounting
out of the gathering shadows and catching upon their scarred fronts of
red and yellow the mellower tints of the sinking sun. And above all lie
the dark folds of pine sweeping along the crests of the precipices,
which they crown with a rim of green. There are gorges of far more
imposing magnitude in the Colorado Basin, but for dimensions large
enough to be profoundly striking, yet not too vast to be taken in by the
eye at once, for infinite changes of picturesque detail, and for
brilliancy and endless variety of coloring, there are probably few
scenes in the world more impressive than the Grand Cañon of the
Yellowstone.” Along the twenty miles of cañon where the walls are
highest they have been carved by glacial agencies and weather-worn into
many curious forms, generally columnar, but sometimes presenting the
appearance of spires, domes, turrets and crenelated battlements, and
everywhere the matchless colors of yellow, red, green, and many tints
are present. After passing down the extreme length of the cañon, we took
the less traveled road running east from Yancy’s Camp and visited the
petrified forests; and here we began to comprehend more thoroughly than
before the mysteries of the Yellowstone Park Basin. The evidence is here
abundant that in the remote past this entire region of 375 square miles
was a pleasant vale, where a luxuriant forest abounded, and many monster
animals, long since extinct, found a pleasant abode. Following this
period of delightful natural conditions, there succeeded a flood of ice
that came sweeping with almost unimaginable force from the north,
grinding, tearing and destroying until the region was denuded and the
very earth furrowed and torn into the wonderful disfigurements which we
now behold. In this terrific flood the mountains were precipitated and
folded upon the forests and buried with the monster animals that had
sought refuge in the spots which became their cemeteries. In the rents
thus made the grinding ice flowed until it reached the internal furnace
of the world, which generating gases and steam, explosions followed that
tore wider the earth’s womb and made the region a fiery cave. Into the
devious caverns thus formed water from underground rivers continues to
flow, over subterranean fires that convert it into steam, and thus at
the many vents we observe the ever active, though constantly waning,
energies of the volcano.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
TOWER FALLS, IN THE GRAND CAÑON.—At this point the waters of
Yellowstone River spring at one bound over a precipice 156 feet
high, forming one of the most beautiful and picturesque falls to be
found in any country. The castellated rocks surrounding the falls
stand like grim sentinels guarding their beautiful treasure, and
have been well and appropriately named, for their resemblance to
ancient towers and battlements is so striking as to be recognized at
a glance. This is one of the most attractive points along the entire
length of Yellowstone Cañon.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
A PETRIFIED TREE IN THE BAD LANDS OF DAKOTA.—In many parts of the
Northwest, particularly in the Bad Lands of Dakota and Yellowstone
National Park, there are whole forests of petrified trees, partly
standing or lying about in promiscuous profusion. A fine photograph
of a portion of one of these trees is given on this page. According
to the scientific theory, these forests were overwhelmed by the ice-
flood many centuries ago, and each tree became, through chemical
action, a thousand years or more thereafter, a gem-like pillar of
the most exquisite beauty. Petrified remains of gigantic animals
that roamed these ancient forests are found in abundance in the same
regions.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
BISCUIT BASIN.—This is one of the most singular as well as beautiful
formations in Yellowstone National Park. Terraced overflow basins
like this are a most striking feature of the hot springs, and no
description can do justice to their beauty, for neither the delicate
fretwork of their walls, the frosted surface of the glistening
deposit, nor the brilliant colors of the pools can be adequately
described. The sides and bottom of the basin are formed of pure
white travertine, while the varying depths cause the water to appear
all shades between a peacock-blue and a light nile-green. Those who
have seen Biscuit Basin will never lose the memory of the vision of
beauty that it impresses upon the mind.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: CRATER OF OBLONG GEYSER.]
But there have been two glacial drifts over a great part of North
America, and the second ice-flood scoured the earth in such manner as to
frequently uncover the forests and animal remains that were buried by
the first great deluge. It is in the region of the Petrified and Fossil
Forests that we note the evidence of the truth of this theory; not only
in Yellowstone Park, but in the Bad Lands of Dakota, the dry lake basins
of the Southwest and, in fact, in nearly every State of the Union. But
in Yellowstone Park the remains of petrified trees are particularly
numerous, and it is here that we observe the most beautiful specimens of
chalcedony lying about in promiscuous profusion, like the ruins of some
magnificent palace. Every tree here, overwhelmed by the ice-flood,
became, in a thousand years thereafter, a pillar of the most exquisite
beauty, and we now examine them with wondering curiosity, then convert
them into articles of use and adornment.
The same chemical action which changed the forests of this region into
gem-like stone, also preserved the bones of many huge creatures which
met their death suddenly in this volcanic basin. Here and there specimen
relics of gigantic animals may be found in the fossil district east of
Yellowstone River, though they are becoming scarce because of the
immense quantity that has been carried away by scientific bone
collectors and the admirers of curious things during the several years
that the park has been a popular resort.
In this same district there is a depression or basin, about three
hundred yards in diameter, which has received the title of Death Valley,
a designation that is appropriately applied because it is not only an
ossuary, where the bones of many animals lie about in promiscuous
profusion, but such noxious gases emanate from the basin that it is
represented as a place where no creature can survive the exhalations for
more than a few minutes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
BASALTIC CAÑON OF THE YELLOWSTONE.—The Basaltic Cañon of the
Yellowstone is similar in formation to the Giant’s Causeway of
Ireland and Fingal’s Cave of Scotland, but not so pronounced in the
columnar outlines. It is much more extensive, however, and equally
as interesting and remarkable as either of the above-named natural
wonders. The erosion of the rocks and the settling of the debris at
the foot of the cliffs have shortened the pillars to a very
considerable extent, and made them much less imposing than they were
originally, but they are still among the most remarkable natural
wonders of the world.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
LIMESTONE PINNACLES IN BIG HORN RIVER CAÑON.—The Big Horn River, in
its course through Wyoming, passes through as fine a scenic region
as can be found in America, or, indeed, in any other country. A fine
example of the wild picturesqueness of this scenery is given on this
page, where we see turrets and towers and battlements piled one upon
the other until they present a view unlike anything else in
existence, unless it may be some of the most rugged portions of the
famous scenery along the Rhine River, in Germany.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
A RANCH ON THE LITTLE MISSOURI RIVER.—Scenes like this are not
uncommon in the rich valleys of the Far Northwest, where stock-
raising and farming have proved to be even more profitable than
mining for the precious metals. Enterprising pioneers, who were
attracted to that region by the discovery of gold and silver, have
turned their attention to the more certain and desirable pursuit of
agriculture, and the green valleys are now dotted with modest homes
and thrifty farms, where peace and plenty go hand in hand with
happiness and contentment.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: GROTTO GEYSER.]
Examination of the remains found therein reveals the fact that bears,
deer, wolves, a mountain lion, and numerous small animals have died of
asphyxiation in trying to pass over the accursed ground. But as these
sulphurous gases have the power to kill, they have also, to a certain
extent, the virtue to preserve, the bodies of creatures thus destroyed
exhibiting slight evidences of decay for a month or more after death. On
account of the danger attending a critical investigation of this noxious
plague-spot, those who have visited the place have been compelled to
exercise great caution, and to use field-glasses in making their
examinations. One rash person is known to have attempted a passage of
the basin, but he was unable to advance more than twenty yards, and had
he not retained the presence of mind to hold his breath, when he found
himself affected by the gas, escape from certain death would hardly have
been possible. No scientific investigator has ever visited the spot, so
far as I have been able to learn, and reports of the deadly exhalations
which characterize it therefore come from the few persons who have
approached the place out of curiosity. It is also, and fortunately, no
doubt, very difficult to reach, that portion of the Park being almost
inaccessible by reason of the rugged topography, the jagged stones and
almost impassable crevices which surround it. No roads have been
surveyed in the locality, and only the intrepid, venturous and agile can
reach the malignant basin, at the expense of great effort and endurance;
for it is easier to climb the Tetons than to surmount the grim barriers
which guard Death Valley. Assuming that the reports made by several
persons who claim to have visited the spot are true, and which there is
not lacking reason to believe, an explanation of its deadly character is
not difficult to give, because similar conditions, though in much lesser
degree, are found in many localities within the Park.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
HARVEST SCENE ON DALRYMPLE’S FARM, NORTH DAKOTA.—During the prosperous
era of wheat-raising, this was one of the most celebrated farms in
the world. It covered an area of 50,000 acres, and both steam and
horse-power were employed, not only in plowing the soil, but in
harvesting and threshing the grain as well. Fifteen riding plows are
to be seen in this photograph, busily at work preparing the ground
for the seed.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: LONE STAR GEYSER CONE.]
The geysers, such as are now active, are confined within a district
whose radius does not exceed twenty-five miles, but there are
unquestionable evidences that they were distributed over a much greater
area before the last glacial epoch. Indeed, appearances indicate that at
one time, in the very remote past, the whole present extent of the Park
was occupied by either a sea of fire or a tremendous cluster of
volcanoes. When the glacial catastrophe occurred the mountains on the
north, whence the ice-flood descended, were pushed forward and deposited
in the fiery basin. By this action the formerly mountainous lands to the
north were leveled and became vast plains, as we now find them. The
caldron of fiery activity was filled up by the material thus deposited,
but confinement of the gases, which were being constantly generated,
caused repeated explosions, the results of which we find in the cañons
that ramify the district. It will not fail to escape the notice of the
geologist that of the many rivers and streams that penetrate the Park,
not one of them flows from the north, though immediately south of the
Park the Snake River takes its rise, and has cut a way through the Teton
Range that must have once opposed its passage. These mountains, as well
as other ranges in the vicinity, are a part of the residue carried down
by the glacial flood, and thus changed the slope, which was formerly
towards the south, to a contrary direction. Several new basins were
created by this enormous deposition, for it was impossible, by reason of
the eruptions caused by escaping gases, that the deposit should show
equal distribution. One of these basins is Death Valley, which,
originally a geyser or volcano, was suppressed by the glacial deposit,
though the furnace which fed it was not extinguished. The condition is
therefore like that of a charcoal kiln, which, burning beneath a
covering of earth, still allows the smoke and gases to escape. But since
the geysers are not produced by the consumption of combustible material,
but by chemical decomposition, though the action of fire and water, no
smoke is created and thus none is seen escaping from the valley; but the
deadly gases, all the more poisonous because of their temporary
confinement, are constantly exuding through the earth-covering, having
no connection with any active geyser through whose vent they might
escape.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
A HARVEST FIELD IN DAKOTA.—Such a harvest scene as this can be seen
nowhere else in the world except upon the broad and rich prairies of
the Northwest, and in a few localities in California. Eight self-
binding reapers are at work in the field so accurately photographed
before us, requiring an army of workmen in the proper handling of
the golden grain. In California, where the climate is dry and the
rain falls only at certain seasons, the harvesting is done with
heading machines, and the grain is cut, threshed and sacked all at
the same time. But more care is required in the Dakotas, where the
rainfall is more frequent and uncertain.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: THE BLACK GROWLER GEYSER.]
Yellowstone Park has many natural curiosities which entitle it to rank
as the greatest museum of wonders in the world; but it is to be doubted
if the geysers, formations of silica, and awe-compelling cañons can
equal the marvel of Death Valley and the evidence which it supports of
the glacial deluge that converted a sea of fire into a charmingly
diversified wonderland. There is a grim connection between the fossil
district in which the bones of so many extinct animals have been found
so plentifully, and Death Valley, in which the remains of existent
creatures attest the continued destructive result of the ice-flood.
Truly, the ways of Providence are ways of mystery; and the more we
contemplate them to satisfy the ambition of curiosity, the more we
realize the incomprehensibility of the infinite, and that every advance
step is an interrogation point in our lives.
[Illustration: LITTLE FIRE-HOLE FALLS.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
AN ENCAMPMENT OF SIOUX INDIANS, DAKOTA.—This is a war-camp of Sioux
Indians, photographed during the hostile era of Sitting Bull and his
band of desperadoes. It shows the camp deserted by the warriors, and
left in charge of the women, children and old men. Photographic
reproductions of such scenes become more interesting and valuable as
time goes by, for they will never again exist in reality. The
hostiles have been driven to the Government reservations, and the
places once occupied by their villages, and the prairies over which
they roamed in quest of game or the trophies of war, are now covered
with homes, farms and cities.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: KEPLER’S CASCADE, FIRE-HOLE RIVER.]
After making an examination of the petrified and fossil forests, we
retraced our way and returned to Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel by the road
that leads to Clark’s Fork Mines, a route which I cannot recommend to
dyspeptics, for it is worse than a jolting stool. A few hours’ stop at
the hotel to arrange our baggage, and we resumed our journey eastward
over the Northern Pacific, which thereafter runs through the apparently
boundless plains of North Dakota. The road follows the Yellowstone from
Livingstone to Glendine, a distance of 175 miles, but there is little
diversity in the landscape on the immediate line. Big Horn River
intersects the road at Custer City, below which town, twenty miles, on
the river, is Fort Custer; and the tragic field upon which Custer and
his entire command were slaughtered by the Sioux Indians is only twenty-
five miles southeast of the fort. Everything hereabout appears to be a
rueful reminder of that terrible 15th of July, 1876, for the name of
Custer greets us everywhere we turn until we get beyond Miles City.
Between this latter point and the Missouri River are the Bad Lands,
extending over a large tract of country that includes both Montana and
Dakota, but the formations, while curious, are not nearly so wonderful
as those in Wyoming, described in an earlier chapter. Although the
mounds, monuments and pillars of earth are less lofty, the district
acquires a particular interest from the fact that interspersed among the
earthen columns are the erect bodies of petrified trees, scarcely
distinguishable, at a little distance, however, from the fantastically
eroded monoliths that are disposed like skirmishers over the otherwise
level plain. These so-called Bad Lands, which reappear also in South
Dakota, are not what the term would seem to signify for the land is not
lacking in fertility, being frequently rich with loam, though more often
extremely sandy or covered with soft sandstones that have been worn
until they are round as cannon-balls. Indeed, Cannon-Ball River, which
flows into the Missouri sixty miles south of Bismark, takes its name
from the numerous round sandstones that are scattered along its banks.
Five miles below is Standing Rock Agency of the Sioux, so called from a
sandstone which stands some three feet tall, and by the Sioux is
believed to be a petrified squaw. Thus for a considerable distance north
and south, as well as east and west, peculiar formations characteristic
of the Bad Lands are met with, furnishing proof that this area was once
a forest, later a great salt sea, and then a plain, each representing a
long period of time.
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[Illustration:
BLACKFEET INDIAN CAMP.—The Blackfeet were at one time the most
powerful rivals and antagonists of the Sioux, even surpassing them
in cunning, bravery and the slight advances which they had made in
the art of constructing their villages. The wigwams in this
photograph are more artistically erected than those of the Sioux on
page 283; they are also arranged with more order and regularity, and
seem to possess a larger degree of comfort, all of which are to be
accepted as evidences of advancement along the lines of civilization
and superiority in manhood. But the Blackfeet, as well as the Sioux,
have been driven to their reservations, and they will never again
appear as a powerful and independent tribe.
]
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[Illustration: GIANT, CATFISH, AND YOUNG FAITHFUL CONES.]
When we pass Jamestown, coming east, we enter the wheat belt of Dakota
and pass fields of growing grain like that of Dalrymple’s, which is
fifty thousand acres in extent. Here we come in contact with farming on
a gigantic scale, and see the application of steam, not only for
threshing, but for plowing, hauling and various other uses in which
horses are generally employed.
Thence on to Minneapolis the route is through a level country, crossing
the Red River of the North at Fargo, and by many pretty lakes to
Brainard, where the road branches, one division leading to Duluth, and
the other taking a southwest course to St. Paul.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
PRAIRIE HOME OF A CREE INDIAN, NORTHERN MINNESOTA.—The Cree Indians
are a small and constantly decreasing tribe. They have no record as
great warriors, like the Blackfeet and the Sioux, but they seem to
have held a secondary position throughout their entire history, so
far as we have any information concerning them. Their villages were
never so large and populous as those of other tribes, and their
existence seems to be a dreary and unprofitable one. A more desolate
home than the one photographed on this page could hardly be
imagined. Even the dogs seem to regret that they were born.
]
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[Illustration:
FERRY ACROSS RED RIVER OF THE NORTH AT FARGO.—Red River of the North
is a remarkable stream, because of its extreme narrowness, tortuous
course and great depth. A few years ago there was a line of packets
running on this river between Fargo, and Winnipeg, Manitoba. They
did a very large business during the summer season, and assisted
materially in settling up a large section of country rich in soil
and mineral tributary thereto. The stream is so narrow, however,
that two boats were unable to pass each other except at particular
points where the banks were cut out for that purpose. It was like a
single track line of street railway with turnouts. The ferry scene
indicates the river’s width at Fargo, which was the southern
terminus of navigation.
]
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