98 
The  Geysers  of  California. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm, 
Feb.,  1879. 
THE  GREAT  GEYSERS  OF  CALIFORNIA.1 
By  Richard  V.  Mattison,  Ph.G. 
Of  aU  the  wonders  nature  has  so  bountifully  lavished  on  the  Golden  State,  there 
is  not  one  so  interesting  to  an  Eastern  druggist  or  chemist  as  the  great  geyser  region. 
There  is  something  even  terrifying  in  its  indescribable  grandeur  in  the  Valley  of 
the  Yosemite,  a  feeling  of  awe  overcoming  us  as  we  gaze  far  above  us  at  the  verdant 
domes  of  the  gigantic  Sequoias,  nor  does  the  kelp -fringed  shores  of  the  Pacific 
lack  appreciation  ;  but  all  lack  the  soul-absorbing  interest  one  takes  in  the  chemical 
refuse  of  the  Pluton  canon.  We  reach  it  by  stage  from  Cloverdale,  winding  six- 
teen miles  along  through  the  canon,  crossing  and  re-crossing  the  Arroyo  Piscaro, 
which  the  ^ers,  or  some  more  modern  ranchmen,  have  rather  freely  translated  to 
"  Pluton  Creek  "  Passing  through  the  canon — one  of  the  most  beautiful  we  have 
ever  seen — we  reach,  after  a  few  hours'  ride,  the  junction  with  Geyser  canon,  which 
is  situated  in  a  spot  of  rare  loveliness.  Upon  either  side  are  mountains  shutting  off 
the  view  in  any  direction,  while  at  our  feet  rushes  the  rapid  stream  so  famous  foi 
its  speckled  beauties.  As  we  cross  the  rustic  bridge  of  logs  and  gain  entrance 
to  the  Geyser  trail,  there  flashes  over  us  the  thought  that  we  have  been  there  in  years 
gone  by.  Yes,  it  is  the  same  familiar  odor  with  which  we  long  ago  became 
acquainted,  while  a  student  in  the  laboratory  of  the  College  of  Pharmacy,  the 
fumes  of  hydrogen  sulphide,  sulphurous  acid,  etc  ,  make  a  combination  which  to 
become  once  acquainted  with  is  to  .always  remember.  The  earth  beneath  us  is 
white,  as  if  we  were  treading  the  vicinity  of  an  ancient  lime  kiln,  and  as  we  pass  up 
the  canon  amidst  the  rumbling  and  roaring  of  the  escaping  steam,  we  fancy  our- 
selves either  treading  the  refuse  of  a  large  chemical  laboratory  or  surrounded  by  the 
many-colored  productions  of  a  paint  and  color  mill;  and  such,  in  truth,  it  is,. or 
rather  was,  for  a  legend  still  remains  that,  as  the  gallant  brave  resorted  here  to  pro- 
cure his  war  paint,  so  the  coy  maiden  of  the  Digger  tiibe  came  also  to  touch  her 
dusky  cheeks  with  the  rouge  of  nature's  manufacture.  On  either  hand,  the  banks 
stretch  away  up  the  mountain  side  and  we  place  a  hand  on  the  hot  vermillion,  which 
tints  the  face  of  the  serpentine  cliff  whose  cheeks  are  now  too  pale  from  the  mag- 
nesium salts  so  abundantly  strewn  around.  In  front  of  us  is  a  grotto  lined  with  the 
long,  silky,  asbestos-like  needles  of  magnesium  sulphate,  the  floor  is  carpeted  with 
the  ferrous  salts,  the  green  tint  of  which  is  relieved  by  the  yellow  and  brown  of  the 
ferric  compounds  and  the  cerulean  of  the  copper  salts.  Alum  crystals  are  on 
every  hand,  and  as  we  touch  our  lips  to  the  waters  of  the  boiling  stream  at  our  feet, 
we  think  the  taste  as  familiar  as  was  the  odor  upon  our  first  entrance  5  it  is  that  of 
ammonio-ferric  ajum,  though  here  the  salt  is  a  magnesio-ferric  one.  The  rock 
formation  of  the  whole  region  is  a  mixture  of  stratified  and  igneous  varieties,  the 
cinnabar  occurs  here,  as  it  does  usually,  in  veins  among  the  serpentine}  iron  and 
copper,  as  usual,  exist  with  it  and,  as  the  whole  undergoes  decomposition,  the 
imagination  must  picture  the  various  tints.  A  few  paces  in  front  is  a  circular  basin 
about  twelve  feet  in  diameter,  where  the  water  boils  unceasingly  year  after  year. 
It  is  called  the  Witch's  Cauldron,  and  we  cooked  eggs  in  it  after  three  minutes 
exposure}  just  beyond,  the  steam  issues  forth  in  a  stream  of  some  six  inches  diam- 
eter with  the  regular  puff!    puff!!   puff!!!   of  an  exhaust  pipe  from  an  ordinary 
l  Read  at  the  Alumni  Meeting,  January  2d. 
