156 SOAPING GEYSERS. 



violent than any witnessed at the jneseut day. Through this notched 

 side, steam and broken jets of water are constantly emitted ; and on 

 this account but little examination has been made of the underground 

 reservoirs and vents. The Giant is litful in its a<*tion, at times playing 

 Avith considerable regularity every fourteen days, and at other times 

 lying dormant for nearly a year. I have no positive knowledge that 

 an erujition of the Giant has ever been produced by any other than 

 natural causes. At the time of my experiments no eruption of the 

 Giant had taken place for several mouths, although the water was 

 constantly agitated, so mnch so that it was quite impossible to exam- 

 ine the vent with any satisfactory results. The only effect produced 

 by the application of lye Mas additional height to the eolumn of water 

 thrown ont and a decided increase in the thum])ing and violence of 

 the boiling. 



In the Lower Basin, the Fountain has been more carefully studied 

 than the other geysers ; and, its action and periodicity of eruptions 

 having been fairly well ascertained, it afforded the most favorable 

 conditions for observing the action of soap and lye upon the Avaters. 

 In its general structure the Fountain belongs to the type of the 

 (Tiantess, having a funnel-shaped caldron which, long before an 

 eruption, overflows into an adjoining basin. At the time of my ex- 

 periments upon the Fountain, the intervals between eruptions lasted 

 about four hours. This interval allowed sufticient time to note any 

 changes Avhich might take place. My own experiments Avith lye 

 yielded no positive results ; although it seemed highly i»r<)bablc that 

 action might be hastened by the ap]>lication of soap or lye just before 

 the time for an eruption, or when, for some cause, the eruption Avas 

 overdue. 1 preferred to make the attempt to bring about an exi^losion 

 before the usual time, only Avaiting until the AA^ater in the pool had 

 nearly reached the boiling-point. All exiieriments failed. The pre- 

 vious year, Avhen wishing to produce action for the purpose of photog- 

 raphy, I AA^as enabled to accomi)lish the desiied result by A'igorously 

 stirring with a slender pole, the water near the top of the vent con- 

 necting Avitli the lower reserA'^oir. In this instance, it should be said, 

 the usual interval of time between eruptions had long since passed; 

 the geyser AAas, so far as time was concerned, a half-hour overdue. 

 My opinion now^ is that the experiments Avith lye failed because the 

 temperature had scarcely reached the boiling point. 



The Monarch, in the Norris Basin, is quite unlike those already 

 described, and affords evidence of being a much ncAver geyser. It is 

 formed by two coiiA^ergent fissures, on the line of a narrow seam in the 

 rhyolite, probably coming together below the surface. The main vent 

 measures about 20 feet in length and, at the surface, 3 feet in width. 

 But slight incrustation is found around the vent, the conditions not 

 being favorable to deposition. In this narrow fissure the AA^ater, Avhich 

 ordinarily stands about 15 feet beloAv the surface, constantly surges 



