Part 22 (1/2)

CHAPTER XVIII.

A TOUR OF THE PARK.

_The Yellowstone Lake to Grand Canon of the Yellowstone._

Distance seventeen miles. The road follows the Yellowstone River along the west bank all the way.

Just after the tourist leaves the Lake Hotel, he will see on the right of the roadway a small monument. It was placed there, in 1893, by the United States Corps of Engineers to mark a position accurately determined from astronomical observations by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1892. It is of value as a point of reference in surveys and other similar work.[BL]

[BL] Lat.i.tude, 44 33' 16.1” north.

Longitude, 110 23' 43.1” west.

Magnetic variation about 19 east.

_Mud Volcano_ (7.5 miles) is a weird, uncanny object, but, nevertheless, a very fascinating feature and one which the tourist should stop and examine. It is an immense funnel-shaped crater in the side of a considerable hill on the west bank of the river. The mud rises some distance above a large steam vent in the side of the crater next the hill, and chokes the vent until the steam has acc.u.mulated in sufficient force to lift the superinc.u.mbent ma.s.s. As the imprisoned steam bursts forth, it hurls the mud with great violence against the opposite side of the crater, making a heavy thud which is audible for half a mile. These outbursts take place every few seconds.

[Ill.u.s.tration:

_Terry Engr. Co._ _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Yellowstone River, between Lake and Falls.]

A striking example of the strange commingling of dissimilar features in the hot springs districts is found in the _Grotto_, a spring of perfectly clear water, not far from the Mud Volcano. It is acted upon by the steam in a manner precisely similar to that of the Mud Volcano, but its waters issue directly from the rock, and are entirely clear.

_Mud Geyser_, now rarely seen in action, was an important geyser twenty years ago. As it became infrequent in its eruptions, and tourists rarely saw them, the name was unconsciously, but mistakenly, transferred to the Mud Volcano, which has none of the characteristics of a geyser.

The locality where these objects are found has considerable historic interest. The ford just below the Mud Volcano was long used by the hunters and trappers who pa.s.sed up and down the river. Folsom crossed it in 1869, and the Washburn party in 1870. The Nez Perces encamped here two days, in 1877, and here transpired a part of the episode elsewhere related. Hither came General Howard, in pursuit of the Indians, although he did not cross the river at this point.

_Trout Creek_ (9.5 miles) has a most peculiar feature, where the tourist route crosses it, in the form of an extraordinary doubling of the channel upon itself. It was this stream which Mr. Hedges, in 1870, called ”a lazy creek coiled up like a monster serpent under a sand bluff.”

_Sulphur Mountain_ (11.5 miles) is half a mile back from the main route. At its base is a remarkable _Sulphur Spring_, always in a state of violent ebullition, although discharging only a small amount of water. This is highly impregnated with sulphur, and leaves a yellow border along the rivulet which carries it away. The best time to visit Sulphur Mountain is on a clear sharp morning. The myriad little steam vents which cover the surface of the hill are then very noticeable.

_Hayden Valley_ is a broad gra.s.sy expanse extending several miles along the river and far back from it on the west side. It was once a vast arm of the lake. It comprises some fifty square miles, and is an important winter range for the Park buffalo and elk.

[Ill.u.s.tration:

_Terry Engr. Co._ _Gandy._

Rapids Above Falls.]

[Ill.u.s.tration:

_Terry Engr. Co._ _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._

Upper Fall of the Yellowstone.

Distant view.]

The river along the lower portion of this valley is the most tranquil and lovely stream imaginable--broad, deep, transparent, flowing peacefully around its graceful curves, disturbed only by the splas.h.i.+ng trout which inhabit it. There is little here to suggest the mad turmoil into which it is soon to plunge. At a point fifteen miles below the lake, the river and road are forced by the narrowing valley close together. The stream becomes suddenly broken into turbulent cascades as it dashes violently between precipitous banks and among ma.s.sive boulders.