122 BOOK OF A HUNDRED BEARS 



escape of the steam will turn a mere boiling spring 

 into a geyser. Even stirring the top of some of 

 them with a stick will make them erupt. So j^ou 

 are solemnly cautioned not to tease or annoy the 

 geysers. You can't tell what may result. 



Bunsen's theory is all right, as far as it goes. He 

 found it in Iceland, but I confess that it does not 

 explain the Yellowstone. It does not tell us why 

 one geyser should go off once a minute, another 

 once in sixty-five minutes, while others go off 

 when they get good and ready. The Excelsior, 

 that broke all records, has been quiescent since 

 1888. The Giantess varies in her intervals from 

 three days to a week. 



All of this is in the Upper Basin, and really the 

 geysers are not the sum of it. Scattered every- 

 where are innumerable (literally so) boiling springs, 

 warm springs and geysers of every kind. There 

 are twenty-six geysers in sight from the inn and, 

 within easy walking distance, four hundred hot 

 springs. Some of these are alone worth the price 

 of admission — the Sapphire, the Emerald, the 

 Morning Glory and a dozen others. I wish that 



