1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



665 



see the whole Yellowstone Park is on the 

 summit of a pretty good-sized mountain. 



Our best authorities say this region was 

 originally volcanic. In fact, they find the re- 

 mains of extensive craters of several volca- 

 noes. Well, now please consider that in these 

 upper regions there is not only a terrible win- 

 ter but a tremendous fall of snow ; in fact, the 

 snowfall is so great that there are no means 

 known for getting through the park in winter 

 except on snowshoes ; and the man who has 

 charge of the signal station of the Weather 

 Bureau is about the only one who stays all 

 winter in the park unless it be a few soldiers. 

 Well, when this great snowfall melts, the wa- 

 ter goes down into these old volcanic craters 

 until it reaches, at some unknown depth, the 

 internal fires of the earth. This produces 

 steam, and the steam forces the water up to 

 the surface of the earth. The water comes 

 back boiling hot, and the steam along with it. 

 It also becomes mixed with various minerals 

 such as salts of lime, silica, etc. Boiling wa- 

 ter, as you know, is a great solvent. When it 

 comes to the surface of the earth, thus charged 

 with minerals of various kinds, it deposits 

 them fast by evaporation. Boiling water evap- 

 orates very' rapidly when it reaches the air. 

 Secondly, it drops these chemicals as it cools 

 off. Water, at the boiling-point, will hold in 

 solution a very much greater quantity of many 

 chemicals than it will when cooled off. Now, 

 keeping the above facts in mind, you can 

 readily imagine how the sides of these boiling 

 springs may be coated and incrusted with dif- 

 ferent chemicals. I expect to have some pic- 

 tures ready for our next issue, illustrating the 

 very strange things I saw that first morning at 

 Mammoth Springs. 



Before going further, let me say a word con- 

 cerning the places of entertainment in the 

 park. First, we have the great hotels. I 

 stayed my first night at the one at Mammoth 

 Springs. It is a hotel of elegance, and inside I 

 found it to be a place of comfort. It is true, 

 their prices are.?4.00 a day ; but you will have 

 to pay pretty nearly that price at the large ho- 

 tels in the cities. It is somewhat of a novelt}- 

 to see such an establishment away back in the 

 wilderness. The table has all the appoint- 

 ments of a first-class meal in the dining-car on 

 our best railroads. When we consider that 

 every thing has to be pulled up these great 

 hills by horse power, the prices, certainly, are 

 not very extravagant. As there have bten 

 some reports that their prices were extrava- 

 gant, and that it costs a dollar simply to turn 

 around, I took some pains to find out about it. 

 A first-class bath costs only 'lb cents. That is 

 what vou pay almost everywhere. After go- 

 ing through the park my shoes were pretty 

 badly roughed up, and looked rather dry and 

 " seedy." No one tries to keep his footwear 

 shined up in the park ; but on my return I 

 asked the porter at the big hotel to fix up my 

 shoes good. He first oiled the rough red 

 spots, then burnished them down smooth, then 

 did one of the best jobs of blacking I ever saw 

 anywhere, and he charged me only a dime. A 

 few days ago I paid 15 cents on the streets of 

 Livingston for a very ordinary job. The wait- 



ers at the big hotels are very obliging. They 

 came down and took my wheel and carried it 

 up the steps for me (for which I was very 

 thankful), showed me where to wash, and, 

 even though I was dusty and unpresentable, 

 they showed nie just as much attention as if I 

 had ridden up in one of their own coaches. I 

 found this same careful and considerate cour- 

 tesy, both on my way out and on my way 

 back. I have said this much for the hotels 

 because I think it is their due. But while I 

 am about it I want to find fault a little with 

 the baggage-men who take the trunks from 

 the train (on baggage- wagons) up to the ho- 

 tel. As the trunk containing my wheel was at 

 the back side of the car, I was obliged to wait 

 for these people to unload. Now, these men 

 cursed and swore because the guests of the ho- 

 tel had brought such a pile of trunks. In 

 fact, they seemed to be displeased because so 

 large a party had come in the same day I ar- 

 rived. Even when ladies came around to see 

 about their baggage, these men did not cease 

 their vile talk. I am sure the transportation 

 company will look after this when they are in- 

 formed of it. When friend Mackay, who be- 

 longed to the Wiley Co. , came up and found I 

 was going through on a wheel, it was a re- 

 freshing contrast. The other fellows, with 

 vile oaths, had declared they would not carry 

 my wheel-trunk up the hill to the hotel for 

 either love or money. Mr. Mackay is princi- 

 pal of the high school in Butte, Montana. Mr. 

 Wiley's drivers on part if not all of his coach- 

 es are students who are carrying tourists dur- 

 ing their vacation time, in order t ) get money 

 to complete their studies ; and I tell you, 

 friends, there is some difference in the behav- 

 ior of a young man who is trying to get an ed- 

 ucation, and the fellows who sometimes drive 

 coaches. 



hoMes, 



BY A.I. ROOT^ 



SUNDAY EVENING, IN THE HEART OF THE 

 YELLOWSTONE. 



For a time it seemed I should be compelled 

 to travel with the crowd on Sunday, or wait 

 here for the uncertain coming of another 

 band of tourists ; btit toward Saturday night, 

 much to my surprise (even though I had 

 prayed over the matter) one after another of 

 our party consented to use Sunday as a day of 

 rest here in the very heart of the geyser 

 region. Mr. and Mrs. Boyles, who have charge 

 of the camp, are Christian people, but told me 

 that, if we had any meeting, I would have to 

 take entire charge. The only one to lead the 

 singing was Minnie, a very pretty 16-year-old 

 girl who waits on the table. Around the 

 campfire, back here in the wilderness, all 

 seem to meet on a common level; and, in fact, 

 it takes all we can call in to get up a good 

 family circle, ofttimes. As we had but one 

 Gospel Hymns, Minnie and I were obliged to 



