GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 129 



rible-lookiiig place, and brought to oar miuds pictures of the infernal 

 regions. The-black and red colors of tbe mud and iron deposits gave 

 the hill the appearance of having been burned, while here and there were 

 masses of bright-yellow sulphur. The air was filled with the fumes of 

 sulphuretted hj'drogen. The noise made by the throbbing and i)ulsating 

 masses of mud was continuous. Thijj, with the splashiug and splutter- 

 ing of some of the springs, the i^lop-plop of the thicker mud, combined 

 with the unearthly appearance of the scene, made us feel that we were 

 on dangerous ground, and in walking about the springs we did so care- 

 fully, fearing that we might b^eak througli the crust. The mud in these 

 springs is black in some, lavender-colored in others, and again yellow, 

 while in consistency it is of all grades, from that of a thick mush to a 

 mere inkj^-black water. In the thick-mud spring the steam seems to 

 eSscape with an eflbrt after several vain attempts. The mud rises in a 

 hemispherical mass, falls and again rises, and after several repetitions 

 the steam bursts from it, sometimes throwing the mud to a distance of 

 20 feet. 



I divide the springs at this locality into two groups, the second group 

 being some distance higher up the hill. The following is the description 

 of the springs in the first group: The first one contained a rather thin 

 lavender-colored mud. It is a cavernous-like opening on the side of the 

 hill, and is the topmost spring of about five springs that arc situated in 

 a line, one above the other, at diiferent levels. There seems at one time 

 to have been a fissure here which determined their position. It was 

 the only spring of the five that could be approached, but the tempera- 

 ture even of this could not be taken on account of the steam coming 

 from it. It was probably at the boiling point. The mud was in active 

 motion, and the steam came from it with a continuous roar. The spring 

 also gave off sulphuretted hydrogen gas. 



No. -5 was a large pool of muddy water, through which a number of 

 steam jets forced their way, giving the spring the appearance of a sieve 

 full of water, through tlie bottom of which the stream was forced. 

 The temperature of the water was 194° P., and the air 78° E., the 

 time of observation being about 9 o'clock in the morning. This 

 spring was 30 feet above No. 1. Near it there was a spring of very 

 thick, blue mud, the temperature of which I was unable to take, it not 

 being safe to approach near it, as the mud on the banks was very soft. 



A short distance to the right of No. 2, and a little above it, is No. 3, 

 a large, yellow, muddy pool 30 feet by 50 feet in diameter, in which 

 there was a great deal of bubbling, the water near the edge of the 

 spring being especially agitated. The temperature was 140 F., the 

 air remaining at 78° F. On the banks of this pool there was au 

 abundant deposit of snli)hur and alum. No. 4 is the most active 

 spring of the group. It is about 20 feet higiier up the hill tlian No. 3, 

 and is about 30 feet in diameter, somewhat irregular in shape. The 

 mud has formed a rim about it which is 2 feet above the spring on one 

 side and 3 feet on the other. It contains a very thin blue-black mud, 

 which is in violent ebullition, rising at times to the height of 3 and 

 4 feet. A dense column of steam, mingled with sulphuretted hydrogen 

 gas, is continually escaping from it. I was able to take the temperature 

 only at the edge, where 1 found it to be 190° F, ; air, 78° F. '' In 

 the center it was x^robably at the boiliug.poiut, which at this eleva- 

 tion is 19S0.2 F. About 20 feet below No. 4, and a little to the right, 

 is 'No. 5. It is 15 ieet long and 5 feet wide at the widest place, 

 being somewhat triangular in shape. One edge of the bank over- 

 9 G s 



