TO YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. a3 
in the accompanying sketch, which is intended to show the dimensions just below the fall, and 
another section farther down. 
weer 600 yds,-——~—— 
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The descent to the bottom of the cation from the east side is comparatively easy. From the 
west side it has also been accomplished, but it is toilsome and not unattended with danger, and the 
time necessary to descend and return would be considerable. Among other i aoetineatretoe: 
improvements that suggest themselves to the visitor as proper to be made in the tom ol the nation ait 
future is the construction of facilities for making this descent, such as rude but 
strong ladders, which could readily be placed in position where their aid would obviate all dan ger 
and decrease the fatigue. One of the party made an attempt to get down, but lost time in looking 
for the most favorable place, and the afternoon waning, he was compelled to abandon the under- 
taking. 
August 18.—The morning opened cold and foggy. Camp was broken at 8. Took the trail 
which crosses Cascade Creek near the river by a steep pitch, and after a short ride — proakcamp for the 
over hilly ground and through timber reached comparatively open ground on the ke. 
bank of the river, which was there 100 to 200 yards wide, and peaceful enough, flowing with smooth, 
gentle current, between low, grassy banks. The pack-train meanwhile had taken a trail somewhat 
farther to the westward, which avoided the steep descent into Cascade Creek and made an easier 
crossing of it. The two trails united at a small creek discharging into the river, crossed it, and 
through dense timber climbed around the shoulder of a mountain to again descend into the broad 
open valley of Alum Creek. This is a shallow, sluggish stream of tepid, undrink- 
able water, some 30 feet in width and an inch or two deep, with a general north- 
east course to the Yellowstone. Off to the right, across an open prairie, appeared the Sulphur 
Springs, or Soda Mountain, as it has been called, which we visited. Some forty 
or fifty acres are covered with extinct and active springs and their deposits. Pure 
sulphur in considerable quantity is distributed over the surface. Several springs were boiling 
violently, one of them to a height of 3 or 4 feet, and emitting large volumes of steam. Pursuing 
the course again toward the river, over a hilly prairie, and crossing one or two creeks and arms 
of the river, and a broad meadow, the borders of which were springy and boggy, the trail led to the 
edge of some timber, soon after entering which the Mud Geysers were found. We 
passed on to a small pine grove, favorably situated for camp near the river and 
twelve miles distant from Cascade Creek. Leaving the horses, we returned on foot to examine 
the geysers. The main one is a bubbling pool of muddy, hot water, some 50 or 60 feet across, 
with a sloping shore 4 or 5 feet high, and numerous small vents and springs within the perime- 
ter. The water is thick with gray, unwholesome-looking mud, and exhales a foetid odor. 
Another geyser, much moreimpressive in appearance, which however has not been seen to spout, 
at least of late years, has a crater some 50 feet in diameter and 25 feet deep, narrowing at the bot- 
tom to a mud pool of the consistence of boiling mush, about 15 feet across. From the northwest 
side of this a perpetual boiling takes place, with a threatening roar and huge clouds of steam. If 
the mud apparently splashed upon the trees in the vicinity would serve as an indication, when an 
explosion does take place the display must be a very fineone. The “ Devil’s Workshop” is a small 
steam spring issuing from a little cavern apparently 15 or 20 feet in depth horizontally, but con- 
Alum Creek. 
Sulphor Springs. 
Mud Geysers. 
