THE MUSEUM. 



283 



A View in Yellowstone National Park. 



Streams greet the ear. Words and 

 pictures are but a faint echo from this 

 wonderland, the most varied in scen- 

 ery and natural curiosities in the 

 world. 



For a dozen miles we toiled up the 

 mountain side, a continuous up hill, 

 as hard a tug as any team can make 

 with even a small load. Several miles 

 more across the summit of the plateau, 

 and we began the descent of several 

 hundred feet to the Lower Geyser 

 Basin. Eagerly we craned our necks 

 to catch the first faint glimpse of gey- 

 ser steam, about which we had heard 

 and read so much. We turned a sharp 

 corner, when, lo! before us was spread 

 out as grand a panorama as man can 

 see. It was a cloudy, gloomy day, 

 and the white ge3ser steam was spread 

 out in white clouds against the dark 

 background of pines. Before us was a 

 white floored basin with a silvery 

 thread, (No. 4) Firehole river running 

 through it. Across the river the Foun- 

 tain Hotel (No. 3) stands but a short 



distance from the Fountain Geyser 

 (No. i), while three miles to the right 

 or south is a larger steam cloud than 

 the others, from the famous Excelsior 

 Geyser (No. 2). 



This basin covers an area of about 

 40 square miles, and includes, accord- 

 ing to Dr. Hayden's report, 693 hot 

 springs and 17 geysers. The central 

 portion is some seven miles wide, com- 

 paratively level, partially timbered, 

 covered with spring deposit or marsh. 

 The altitude of the basin is about 7250 

 feet. To the sightseer there are two 

 features of particular interest in this 

 basin, the Fountain Geyser and Mam- 

 moth Paint Pots. 



The Fountain being the first geyser 

 we saw naturally had great attractions 

 for us. As can be seen from the illus- 

 tration it is on an elevation several 

 feet above the plain around it. The 

 fountain from the geyser covers several 

 acres, and after each eruption is flood- 

 ed by the overflow of water. The 

 crater is an opening about 30 feet in 



