47^ POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



debouchure of a small lateral gully coming down from the moun- 

 tain side. In its bottom is a small stream of clear and cold water, 

 sour with sulphuric acid, and flowing down a narrow and steep chan- 

 nel cut in beds of dark-gray volcanic tuff. Ascending this gulch, 

 the sides, closing together, become very steep slopes of white, de- 

 composed rock. . . . The only springs now flowing are small oozes 

 of water issuing from the base of these slopes, or from the channel 

 bed, forming a thick, creamy, white deposit about the vents, and 

 covering the stream bed. This deposit consists largely of sulphate 

 of alumina. . . . About one hundred and fifty feet above the main 

 stream these oozing springs of acid water cease, but the character of 

 the gulch remains the same. The odor of sulphur now becomes 

 stronger, though producing no other effect than a slight irritation of 

 the lungs. 



' The gulch ends, or rather begins, in a scoop or basin about 

 two hundred and fifty feet above Cache Creek, and just below this 

 was found the fresh body of a large bear, a silver-tip grizzly, with 

 the remains of a companion in an advanced stage of decomposition 

 above him. Near by were the skeletons of four more bears, with the 

 bones of an elk a yard or two above, while in the bottom of the 

 pocket were the fresh remains of several squirrels, rock hares, and 

 other small animals, besides numerous dead butterflies and insects. 

 The body of the grizzly was carefully examined for bullet holes or 

 other marks of injury, but showed no traces of violence, the only indi- 

 cation being a few drops of blood under the nose. It was evident 

 that he had met his death but a short time before, as the carcass was 

 still perfectly fresh, though offensive enough at the time of a later 

 visit. The remains of a cinnamon bear just above and alongside of 

 this were in an advanced state of decomposition, while the other skele- 

 tons were almost denuded of flesh, though the claws and much of the 

 hair remained. It was apparent that these animals, as well as the 

 squirrels and insects, had not met their death by violence, but had 

 been asphyxiated by the irrespirable gas given off in the gulch. The 

 hollows were tested for carbonic-acid gas with lighted tapers without 

 proving its presence, but the strong smell of sulphur, and a choking 

 sensation of the lungs, indicated the presence of noxious gases, while 

 the strong wind prevailing at the time, together with the open nature 

 of the ravine, must have caused a rapid diffusion of the vapors. 



" This place differs, therefore, very materially from the famous 

 Death Valley of Java and similar places, in being simply a V-shaped 

 trench, not over seventy-five feet deep, cut in the mountain slope, 

 and not a hollow or cave. That the gas at times accumulates in the 

 pocket at the head of the gulch is, however, proved by the dead 

 squirrels, etc., found on its bottom. It is not probable, however, 



