OUR GREATEST NATIONAL MONUMENT 



259 



the chemical conditions change, with the 

 various shades of red, while round about 

 are the more ordinary ochraceous yellows 

 and browns (see page 275). 



SHOES DAUBED WITH VARIEGATED MUD AS 

 FROM A PAINTER'S PAEETTE 



After a trip across such an area one's 

 shoes, covered with the parti-colored 

 muds, take on a resemblance to an artist's 

 palette daubed with all possible colors in 

 a confused medley. The fine-grained 

 mud is indeed so similar to artist's pig- 

 ments that it may be readily used as a 

 substitute for them. With no other ma- 

 terials than mud from the valley and a 

 piece of canvas from a ruined tent, Mr. 

 Kolb painted several pictures that excite 

 the interest and admiration of all who 

 see them. 



Where the ground is not too hot to pre- 

 vent their growth, such places are cov- 

 ered with a layer of bright green algae, 

 adding the last color needed to complete 

 the spectrum. 



One of the most striking color combi- 

 nations in the whole valley was produced 

 by the growth of such algse in one of the 

 great conical craters whose general 

 ground color was a bright orange ochre. 

 In another place I came across a trail 

 made a few days previously, where the 

 depressed tracks had served to collect a 

 little water which had so favored the 

 growth of algae as to make the tracks 

 stand out green against the general brown 

 surface. Occasionally, too, the incrusta- 

 tions have a coppery green color, but such 

 deposits were never seen in quantity. 



In other places one can find the most 

 astonishing combinations of reds and 

 blues and yellows by digging into the loose 

 ground in the vicinity of a fumarole. 

 The brilliancy of colors of such freshly 

 exposed blocks is indeed quite beyond be- 

 lief. One can simply stand and marvel 

 at the never-ending variety of shades he 

 uncovers, for each block is different from 

 all the rest (see page 273). 



But to convey by verbal descriptions 

 any adequate conception of the gorgeous 

 coloring is impossible. Even pictures 

 colored as carefully as might be on the 

 ground would not do, for the most gaudy 

 mixture of colors that could be daubed 

 over the canvas would not surpass the 

 shrieking effects presented by our im- 



pressionistic artists as their idea of the 

 coloration of the most drab and somber 

 landscapes ; wherefore, many would doubt 

 the accuracy of any painted pictures. 



Ever since I first beheld the wonderful 

 display of colors in the valley, I have 

 been extremely anxious to have them re- 

 corded by color photographs which 

 should present what we had seen without 

 the possibility of the personal equation 

 entering in. 



The problem was by no means easv of 

 solution, for the obstacles to successful 

 color photography, which are difficult to 

 overcome at best, become greatly intensi- 

 fied in such a region as the Ten Thou- 

 sand Smokes. The plates are sensitive 

 to the adverse climatic influences, and 

 must be guarded from the hot, damp 

 ground with the most jealous care. The 

 dust clouds which are frequently stirred 

 up by the wind are so all pervasive that 

 it is extremely difficult to keep things 

 clean, and dust is much more serious in 

 color photography than in ordinary black 

 and white work, for, while films can be 

 changed just before exposure, plates 

 must be loaded beforehand. 



On a black and white picture it is easy 

 to touch out a spot, but in the Paget color 

 process, which we used, any imperfec- 

 tions on taking-screen, plate, or viewing- 

 screen must remain a permanent blotch 

 on the picture. 



THE COEOR PHOTOGRAPHS 



Success in ordinary photography is de- 

 pendent on one's ability to coordinate 

 two or three mechanical processes — shut- 

 ter speed, diaphragm, etc. — and at the 

 same time to watch the subject and take 

 the picture when conditions are just 

 right. But in color work the number of 

 mechanical factors is greatly increased, 

 and the demands of artistic conception 

 by the operator are greatly increased. It 

 is, therefore, a rare man who can do such 

 work successfully in the rough-and-ready 

 conditions under which we were forced 

 to live. 



The difficulties were so great that I 

 felt it wisest not to make any promises in 

 advance of what could be done ; but the 

 results are so beautiful and preserve the 

 natural colors with such perfect fidelity as 

 to reflect the greatest credit on Mr. Jones 

 for his careful patience and his artist's 



