266 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[April g(), 1885. 



THROUGH TWO-OCEAN PASS. 



XV.— LAST DAYS. 



r PHE numerous delays, due to snow and rain, had made 

 -*- the eastward extension of our trip impracticable, for it 

 was now so late in the season that heavy snowstorms, which 

 would render the mountain passes difficult., might be ex- 

 pected at any time. It was therefore determined that we 

 should follow up the shore of the lake, cross the Yellow- 

 stone River at the first good ford, and so return to the main 

 camp. The east shore of the lake is interesting on many 

 accounts. The views to be had from the various points are 

 perhaps even more beautiful than those from the opposite 

 shore, and there are a number of hot spring deposits which 

 are well worth a visit. Of these, the more important are the 

 Brimstone Basin, the Lake Butte Springs, and those at 

 Steamboat Point. 



Our camp was, as we supposed, quite near the fhst of 

 these, and after the train had started the next morning, Mr. 

 Hague aud I rode into the timber to find it. The Basin is a 

 large one, and we expected to have no difficulty in discovering 

 it. We rode back through the timber for a couple of miles, 

 crossing one large creek, which we thought might perhaps 

 flow from the Basin, but which was quite cold, and had ao 

 taste except of iron. After going so far that we were sure 

 that we must, have passed it, we turned north again, and 

 riding further up the mountain side, soon came to the bord- 

 ers of the deposit. As we were passing through a little park 

 just before reaching the Basin, an old and large bull elk 

 walked out from the timber on one side of it, and crossed 

 the open ju3t in front of us. He was really a pouderous 

 fellow with massive, high, branching horns, whose -weight 

 made him nod at each step, aud a great mane that, hung 

 down from his thick neck. Although only about one hun- 

 dred yards distant and in plain sight, he paid no attention to 

 us, but walked steadily along until he had passed out of 

 view beneath the trees. 



The Brimstone Basin, so-called, consists of a number of 

 bare ridges running out from the foot of the mountains. 

 They are really its lowest foothills, and are composed wholly 

 of decomposed lava, over the top of which are strewn a few 

 blocks and fragments of the rock which have not been ex- 

 posed to the action of the steam and hot water, which so 

 speedily break down the hardest rock. The hot springs are 

 now all extinct, though there are many old sulphur vents, 

 and a few springs which flow a little yellow sulphur water. 

 Fragments of this mineral are abundantly scattered about 

 on the surface of the ground, and here and there little vents 

 are seen, which give forth the unmistakable odor of sulphur- 

 etted hydrogen, Through the midst of the Basin flows a 

 large stream made up of the many small ones that pour out 

 from all the little ravines. The waters of this creek taste 

 very strongly of alum, and though here on its upper course 

 abundant, they sink a mile or two further down, and the 

 creek bed for a short distance is dry. The basin is a mile 

 and a half long, and about a mile broad, and lies well up on 

 the mountain, directly at the foot of Mounts Stevenson and 

 Doane. The gully, or small canon, through which the large 

 creek flows, is narrow, bare of vegetation and strewn with 

 boulders of lava. It reminds one strongly of the gulches in 

 California in which hydraulic minings have been carried on. 



Elk are very plenty here, and as may be imagined from 

 what has been said, quite tame. "While we were examining 

 the Basin we heard them on all the hilltops about us whis- 

 tling. Though there is a great variety in their notes, he who 

 has heard it once can never mistake the bugle call of the 

 elk, if near at hand, for any other sound of the forest. It 

 is the most stirring music of the mountains, and thrills 

 the soul of the listener, whether he recognizes it or is igno- 

 rant of its origin. Distance lends it an added charm, soften- 

 ing the harsher notes and making its tones sound flute-like, 

 clear and mellow. Heard close at hand it is like the bray- 

 ing of a trumpet, the fierce challenge of the angry stag, but- 

 further off it resembles more the sweet, soft notes of the 

 clarinet. The cry is heard usually only during the month 

 of September, and at that time, where elk are numerous and 

 tame, it may be heard almost constantly. Where they are 

 shy from being much hunted, the call is sounded only about 

 sunrise and sunset, and at night. It is best heard during 

 moonlight nights. It rises shrill and clear in a succession of 

 wild notes, ringing along the hillside, quavering over the 

 valleys and being tossed about from rock to peak, until its 

 final notes echo faintly back like the last soft breathing of 

 an JEolian harp. 



Here on the borders of the Brimstone Basin the elk were 

 whistling in numbers on all sides of ns. One of them on 

 the hilltop to the south had a most musical voice, his notes 

 sounding like an octave of the musical scale from C upward, 

 played very rapidly. Another, very near us, sounded his 

 challenge at frequent intervals, and when he whistled, another 

 far off to the north replied, and the faint vibrating tones 

 sounded almost like an echo. 



Leaving the Basin we retraced our steps, and soon passing 

 the camp, took the trail already marked by the mules' hoofs. 



All day long we journeyed along the borders of the lake, 

 sometimes trotting briskly along the pebbly beach, at others 

 turning back into the forest to make a short cut across some 

 point, or to get around some great cliff which rose precipit- 

 ously from the water a hundred feet or more. 



Park Point, which we passed during the day, is a beauti- 

 ful grassy spot, behind which rise towering trees> and com- 



mands a wide and superb outlook. Almost the whole lake 

 is to be seen from it; the snow-clad mountains of the Upper 

 Yellowstone, Promontory Point— an imposing mass by rea- 

 son of its nearness— Plat Mountain, Mt. Hancock, far away 

 in the blue distance the tops of the highest Tetons— The 

 Three and Moran— and then, over the pine-clad Elephant's 

 Back, the snowy summit of Mt. Washburne. Here and 

 there, along the very edge of the water, grew curious ancient 

 gnarled pines, scarred by a century's battles with -wind and 

 wave. Sometimes not more than twenty-five or thirty feet 

 in height, they were two feet in diameter, and presented 

 every evidence of great age, their tops and the ends of their 

 branches being stunted and short. Under such a tree we 

 ate our luncheon, aud after lounging for a while in the 

 pleasant sunshine, remounted and rode on. Several times 

 when we had turned away from the beach, we encountered 

 some, very bad down timber, through which we picked our 

 way slowly and laboriously. An hour or two before sunset 

 we rode out along the beach of the beautiful curving bay to 

 the south of Steamboat Point. This was formerly called 

 Mary's Bay, but the name now appears to have been trans- 

 ferred to a larger indentation in the lake's shore to the north 

 of this Point. Just back from the shore of this Bay is a 

 small group of hot springs, and . still further back, perhaps 

 half a mile from the water, is another larger group, with a 

 number of beautiful and curious "paint pots." 



After the train had got in and been unpacked, Sadlemeyer 

 had walked over to those springs, and after looking at them 

 for a while seated himself under a bush on the edge of their 

 basin to smoke. While thus engaged a band of eighteen or 

 twenty elk filed down by him, and proceeded to inspect the 

 springs, looking into them one after another with every ap- 

 pearance of curiosity. Sadlemeyer said that he followed 

 them about for half an hour, and that at length they walked 

 quietly away into the hills without having paid the slightest 

 attention to him. 



Elk and deer seem to have a fondness for these hot springs, 

 which I think can only be accounted for on the supposition 

 that they eat some of the minerals deposited by the hot 

 water. Incrustations of almost pure alum are very abun- 

 dant in many of these hot spring basins, and now and then 

 the water has a slightly saliue taste. Deposits of salt are, 

 however, rare, I think. At all events it is certain that elk and 

 deer frequent these basins during the summer, for their fresh 

 tracks were seen in every one which we visited. There are 

 also many winter sign to be noticed. 



Our camp was on Steamboat Point, so called from one of 

 the principal springs, down at the foot of the cliff near the 

 water's edge, which gives off steam continuously with a loud 

 hissing noise like the escape from a steamboat boiler. It is 

 a lovely spot, giving a different, but not less beautiful, view 

 of all the glories of the lake already so many times men- 

 tioned. 



From a point of the cliff we could see far off over the 

 water, and down close to it, a little flickering light, which 

 now burned np brightly and then altogether disappeared, 

 and which we recognized as the fire at the main camp. After 

 dinner we built oa this.point a huge signal fire eight or ten 

 feet high, and after it had got fairly going we fancied that 

 the distant light grew brighter, as if in answer to our signal, 

 and one of us thought he heard three shots, but the distance 

 was so great that we could not be sure about the reply. 



The next morning we spent a few pleasant hours about the 

 Lake Butte and Steamboat Point springs, and then rode on, 

 leaving the lake shore and taking to the timber. We crossed 

 Pelican Creek, and when next we emerged from the timber, 

 the water on our left was no longer the lake but the river. 

 Down this we followed for several miles. At one point we 

 tried to cross, but the water was deep, and old Prickly, who 

 carried Sadlemeyer in to try the ford, had to swim before he 

 got back to the shore. A mile or two further down, we tried 

 again at the head of a wide rapid, and here the crossing was 

 made without difficulty. Even Nell did not wet her saddle 

 blanket. 



We reached the other shore just above the Mud Geyser, 

 and here, leaving the train to follow more slowly, Mr. Hague 

 and I rode on to camp. An hour later we were shaking 

 hands with all our friends there. 



I was very sad next morning when the time came for 

 taking leave of the party and riding off alone on my home- 

 ward journey. Every one had been so kind and hospitable 

 that it did seem hard to leave them. But my presence was 

 required elsewhere and I was obliged to go. Some pack 

 animals were to be sent across by the Shoshone Lake trail to 

 a camp on the Upper Geyser Basin, where three of the party 

 were established, and with them my baggage was to go, 

 while I rode around by the Lower Basin to meet the mail 

 carrier. About 10:30 o'clock I set off, reaching Marshall's 

 about 3 :30, and then rode on to the Upper Basin. I reached 

 the camp at 6 o'clock, and found it deserted, but shortly 

 afterward the members of the party came in, and a little 

 later the pack train arrived. We spent a very jolly evening 

 together, though it snowed furiously for an horn or two 

 after dinner. 



Next morning Sadlemeyer called me. at 3:20 under the 

 impression that it wes 3:20, and after building the fire and 

 smoking a pipe, we started out to catch the stock. The 

 moon was just setting, and if it had not been for the snow 

 on the ground, we would never have got the animals in time 

 to catch the stage at Marshall's. As it was we were able to 

 trail them, and easily found and caught my horse on which 



I had left a rope. Prickly, however, we had to chase until 

 we fairly tired him out. He could not go very well with his 

 Tiobbles on, but managed to lead us a wretched dance over 

 mud holes, hot springs, and across little creeks. A mule was 

 easily caught, and putting my things on the pack we rode 

 away through the Geyser Basin toward the hotel. It was a 

 cold ride but not an uninteresting one. For curious sounds 

 rose from the bowels of the earth, and the white wreaths of 

 steam that curled up from the geysers and hot springs, took 

 strange fantastic shapes in thejfrosty air. Then there were 

 tracks in the snow where, during the night, one or two elk 

 had crossed the road, and for a long distance I watched the 

 footprints of a coyote that had trotted along ahead of us. 

 When we had passed beyond Hell's Half Acre, the eastern 

 sky began to pale, and then to grow rose-colored, and by 8 

 o'clock, when we reached Marshall's, the sun was peeping 

 over the crests of the hills. 



My summer's vacation was at an end, and stage and steam 

 in a little more than a week brought me within sound of the 

 salt water. The drive to Beaver was partly through the 

 snow, audits most exciting incident was the attempt of a 

 black-tail deer to dispute our progress. A few miles I 'rout 

 Marshall's, while driving through the pine limber, a d'ogi 

 which accompanied the stage, started a yearling deer some 

 distance in advance, and it came bounding back along the 

 road toward us, not observing the stage until it was within 

 ten feet of the horses' heads, when it. turned and disappeared 

 in the forest. 



When we passed through the Madison Basin a num- 

 ber of fresh moose hides were hanging up by the hay 

 cabin there, and just beyond the Tyhee Pass, a few lodges 

 of Indians were seen. They were Snakes or Bannocks, who 

 had come up from Fort Hall on a huutiugtrip, and that they 

 had had some success was shown by the drying stages stand- 

 ing near the lodges, which were festooned with strips of 

 crimson meat. 



Having endeavored to give briefly some idea of the char- 

 acter of the country to the south of the Park, a few words 

 of advice to those intending to visit the region may be of 

 assistance. 



It- is possible to go to the reservation and to see in ten days 

 or two weeks some of its more striking and beautiful features 

 without being exhausted by constant travel, but it is much 

 better to proceed iu more deliberate fashion. A party having 

 one or more stages to themselves can travel over the usual 

 roads and visit at their leisure, the more important geyser 

 basins, the falls, the canon and the lake. Giving plenty of 

 time to the trip these can be examined with great pleasure 

 and profit. It is important, however, not to attempt to do 

 the Park on time. The railway companies' tickets, which 

 limit one to five days in the Park, should be avoided. If 

 your time is limited go to Cinnabar and there make a bargain 

 with the stage proprietors, by which you shall be at liberty 

 to travel as deliberately as you choose. It may cost a few 

 dollars more to travel in this way but the enhanced pleasure 

 of the journey will be worth a great deal more than the 

 added expense. Far better not to go at all than to be hurried 

 along at such a rate that all the enjoyment of the excursion 

 is lost. 



A far better way than this, if the party has time, is to pro- 

 cure a couple of heavy wagons and the necessary saddle 

 animals and go through the Park independently. Wood, 

 water and grass can be found anywhere, and you can go as 

 fast or as slowly as you please, and be your own masters. 

 This perfect independence has for most people a great charm. 

 The outfit for such an excursion can be either hired or 

 bought. In the latter case it will, of course, have to be sold 

 at a discount. Which ever method be chosen, the expense 

 will not be very great. 



If one desires to go off from the traveled roads to climb 

 the mountains, and penetrate the virgin forest, by all means 

 let him hire a few animals and a good packer who knows 

 the country, and then branch out for himself. All the streams 

 abound in trout, and there is game in the mountains without 

 the Park. A man named Hofer makes a business of taking 

 out parties in this way and has the name of a very reliable 

 and worthy person. 



Nkw Jersey Bo.no Birds.— The bill introduced into the 

 New Jersey Legislature by Senator Griggs, forbidding the 

 killing of any nighthawk, whippoorwill, sparrow, thrush, 

 meadow lark, skylark, finch, martin, swallow, woodpecker, 

 robin, oriole, red or cardinal bird, cedar bird, wren, tanager, 

 catbird, bluebird, snowbird, tern, gull or any insectivorous 

 or song bird, not generally known as a game bird, has be- 

 come a law, having received the Governor's signature last 

 Tuesday. The successful carrying through of this measure 

 is an example of what can be accomplished by energetic and 

 persevering labor. The gentlemen who a few months ago 

 started the movemeut and have worked for it so faithf ully 

 ever since, are deserving of the highest praise. Now let 

 other States pass similar laws. The small bird destruction 

 is a curse in every part of the land from Maine to Florida, 



Maine Trout Fishing will begin in earnest, according to 

 the le»;al season limits, to-morrow. Our latest advices are 

 to the effect that many of the fishing waters are so full of 

 rotten ice that angling is at present quite out of the 

 question. 



