PROCEEDINGS OF THE COTTESWOLD CLUB 267 



The geysir was, as I afterwards learnt, the " Sheridan " or 

 " Excelsior," in the middle Geysir Basin. It was the 

 most recent addition to the group, having developed 

 within the two previous years, from a quiet, inoffensive 

 boiling spring into the largest and most violent eruptive 

 geysir in the district. I shall allude to it again, and will 

 now only express my regret at having learnt from recent 

 visitors that it has quieted down again to its former 

 condition, and is no longer an object of special interest. 



We were now on the edge of the Valley of the 

 Firehole River, overlooking the Lower Geysir Basin, and 

 soon descended to a large log-hut, which was the nearest 

 approach to a hotel then existing in the Park. It was 

 built close to the Firehole River, and surrounded by 

 boiling and spouting springs. 



From this I had some interesting walks along the rivei 

 to the Middle and Upper Geysir Basins, where all the 

 first-class geysirs lie. This portion of the Valley of the 

 Firehole River is about ten miles long and very variable 

 in width, from half a mile to three miles ; it is roughly 

 divisible into the three districts already alluded to, called 

 the Lower, the Middle, and the Upper Geysir Basins 

 respectively. In the first-named of these there are no 

 conspicuous geysirs, but boiling springs are numerous, 

 one being close enough to Marshall's Ranch, the place 

 where I was staying, to supply the house with all the hot 

 water required for use in washing. Most of the adjacent 

 springs are circular pools of exquisitely clear blue water, 

 which from its strongly alkaline character (due to the 

 large amount of sodium carbonate and silicate which it 

 contains) is eminently suitable for laundry purposes. 

 Indeed, hardly any " Sunlight" or other soap is required, 

 and there is only one slight draw-back to the use of these 

 pools for washing purposes, viz.. that at uncertain 

 intervals the whole of the contents of the basin are 

 suddenly and without warning sucked down into unknown 



