SOAPING GEYSERS. 155 



geyseritc, and hi cross-section measures about o feet at the toj). while at 

 the bottom of I he cone the Aent is less tbau 10 inches in width. From 

 the toj) of this narrow vent it is only possible to sink a Aveijiiit 17 feet 

 l)eforc strikiuii' a ])roJecting Icdj^e, Avhich interferes with all cxanuna- 

 tion of the ground below. The constant boiling and bubbling of the 

 water, the irregularity of its action, and the convenient location of the 

 geyser, within an easy walk from the hotel, make attempts to acceler- 

 ate the erui)tions of the I>ee-IIive most attractive to tourists. 



In most instances such efforts are futile ; yet success does so fre- 

 quently reward the astonished traveller that, unless the geyser were 

 carefully watched by the authorities, attempts would be nuule daily 

 throughout the season. If the conditions are favorable to an eruption, 

 it usually takes place in from ten to twenty-five minutes after the addi- 

 tion of laundry soap or lye. It is doubtful if more than two eru])tions 

 of the Bee-Hive have ever been i)r()duced on the same day by aitifi- 

 cial means, although I know of no reason, based niton tlu' structure 

 of the geyser, why more displays might not be obtained, for the 

 reservoir and vent fill up witii boiling water very rapidly after each 

 eruption. 



Although the Giantess is situated only 400 feet from the Bee- 

 Ilive, these two differ in surface and under-ground structure and 

 mode of action as widely as any two of the more prominent geysers 

 of the Park. Around the (riantess no cone or mound has formed. 

 The broad basin is only partially rimmed in by a luirrow fringe 

 of siliceous sinter, lising above and extending out over the deep 

 blue water. At the surface this basin measures about 15 to 20 feet 

 in width by 20 to 30 feet in length. It has a funnel-shaped caldron, 

 30 feet in depth, ending in a vertical vent or neck, 12 feet deep, 

 thi-ough which a sounding-lead maybe dropped into a second reservoir, 

 meeting a jtrojeeting ledge or obstruction of some kind, 01 feet below 

 the surface. After an outburst of the (liantess, the basin, wliich has 

 been com]>letely emptied of its water, gradually fills again to the 

 toj) : and, for days belore another eruption, a steady stream of hot 

 water ov<'rllows the brim. The intervals between the eruptions of the 

 Cliantess \;\\y from twehe to twenty days, and the <lisi)lays last sev- 

 eral hours, being unsurj)assed for violence and grandeur by any geyser 

 in the U])]>er Basin. Artificial nn'ans have never bi'cu successful in 

 bringing this geyser into action, although, jbr days before an erup- 

 tion, it is an easy matter to cause an agitation of the water by tin-ow- 

 ing into the basin small ])ieces of sinter, or to ])roduce a boiling on 

 the surface, lasting several minutes, by sim])ly stirring the water with 

 a stick. 



The Giant, one of the most violent of the geysers in the llppeii" 

 Basin, more closely resembles the liee-Hive than any other of those 

 iilong the Firehole Kiver. It has built up a cone 10 feet in height, 

 one side of which has been partly broken down by some eruption more 



