USA > Montana > Then and now; or, Thirty-six years in the Rockies. Personal reminiscences of some of the first pioneers of the state of Montana. Indians and Indian wars. The past and present of the Rocky mountain country. 1864-1900 > Part 27
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29
A tourist wrote that in this remarkable region nature has as- sembled such a surprising number of the most sublime and picturesque objects, and amidst the grandest scenery of moun- tains, lakes, rivers, cataracts, canyons, and cascades exhibits such a variety of unique and marvelous phenomena of spouting geysers, of boiling and pulsating hot springs and pools of steam jets, solfataras, femerells and salses, rumbling and thunder- ing and pouring out sulphurous hot water, or puffing out clouds of steam and throwing out great masses of mud that its carly ex- plorers gave it the name of "Wonderland."
423
THIRTY-SIX YEARS IN THE ROCKIES.
The first public conveyance to enter the Yellowstone National Park was a stage coach, owned by J. W. Marshall, which made its first trip, leaving Virginia City, Montana, at daylight, Oct. 1, 1880, following the beautiful Madison valley for over thirty miles, crossing the Rockies and thence going by Henry Lake, which is a sheet of water two miles wide and five miles long. One of the passengers described the lake as being then "full of salmon trout." Ten miles farther, and in a northwesterly direc- tion, was Cliff Lake, another remarkable sheet of water hav- ing a total length of three miles and a breadth of half a mile, in whose azure depths 1,400 feet of line failed to reach bottom. It took sixteen hours to make the trip, a distance of ninety- five miles, from Virginia City to the National Park House, Lower Geyser basin, then the only hotel in the park. This pioneer hotel was a two-story, hewed log structure, the property of Mr. Marshall.
And now the Monida & Yellowstone Stage Company, in con- nection with the Oregon Short Line railroad and the transcon- tinental lines, conducts a line of Concord coaches from Monida to all points in the Yellowstone National Park.
Monida is a station on the Oregon Short Line railroad, and the starting point for the stage ride, and is less than one day coaching distance from the Yellowstone Park. It is on the crest of the Rocky mountains, 7,000 feet above the tide. The lower Geyser basin in the park is about the same elevation.
The name "Monida" is a composite of the first syllables of "Montana" and "Idaho."
The Rev. T. De Witt Talmage writes: "A stage ride from this place to the park 'is a day of scenery as captivating and sublime as the Yellowstone Park itself.'
"The road threads the foothills of the Rocky mountains, skirt- ing beautiful Centennial valley, the Red Rock Lakes, and after passing through Alaska basin, crosses the divide to Henry Lake
424
THEN AND NOW;
in Idaho, whence it recrosses the range into Montana via Targhe Pass near the western entrance to the park. Red Rock Lakes are one of the sources of the Missouri river, and in Henry Lake originates one of the branches of the Snake. From Henry Lake are distinctly visible the famous Teton peaks. Near the western entrance to the park, prettily situated on the south fork of the Madison river, is Grayling Inn (Dwelles), the night station for tourists going in and out of the park. After passing Grayling Inn the road enters the reservation, winding through Christmas Tree Park to Riverside Military Station, following the beautiful Madison river and canyon to the Fountain Hotel in Lower Geyser basin."
I will not attempt to write a description of this wonderful region myself, but will give the picturesque sketch of it writ- ten by my friend, Olin D. Wheeler, for the Northern Pacific railway's Wonderland series of books. After reading the ac- count of this trip given by Mr. Wheeler, the reader will find that there is a great contrast in the way of getting into the National Park now in comparison to what it was in 1880, and that vast change has taken place since General Sherman anade his trip through the "Sioux Country" in 1877.
Speaking of the train he was about to take passage on, and which was standing in the station awaiting the hour of depar- ture, Mr. Wheeler says: "At its head is a huge, ten-wheeled Baldwin locomotive. On each side of this machine there are three driving wheels sixty-two inches in diameter. As it stands, its length from peak to pilot, or in common parlance, cow- catcher to end of tender, is about fifty-five feet. From the rails to top of smokestack it stands fourteen feet five inches. With its tender loaded with coal and water it weighs nearly ninety-four tons. Behind this noble combination of iron, brass and steel extends a long train. First comes the mail car, in which Uncle Sam's messengers run a traveling postoffice. Then
425
THIRTY-SIX YEARS IN THE ROCKIES.
follows the express ear, carefully guarded by ever vigilant expressmen. The third ear is the principality of the baggage man. Then follow the various classes of passenger coaches- the free colonists'. sleeping car, where man or woman may find a fair bed at night and a comfortable seat by day. The smok- ing car, and the first-class coaches with their high-backed, easy, reclining seats, are succeeded by the Pullman tourist car. Be- hind the tourist car is the dining car, which is a feature of this train. Behind the dining car are the first-class Pullman sleep- ing cars-from two to four of them. These are of the most approved type, with heavy trucks and wheels of large diameter, insuring smoothness of motion. This entire train is vestibuled and the car wheels are of paper and steel tired.
"But the bell of that monster engine is ringing, the conductor is signaling to start. Jump aboard and we will continue our dissertation as we glide swiftly along."
The Northern Pacific through trains from St. Paul to Port- land, Oregon, a distance of 2,030 miles, are of the same descrip- tion, only on a larger scale. The average time these trains make is twenty-seven miles an hour, schedule speed, including all regular stops.
After describing his journey through Dakota and up the great valley of the Yellowstone for 341 miles in Eastern Montana until arriving at Livingstone, where the National Park branch of the Northern Pacific began and on which the tourist train continued to the country of wonders, fifty-one miles away, Mr. Wheeler was still in his observation seat taking notes of the grand scenery that the swiftly moving train brought to view. Again he said :
"The entrance to the heart of Wonderland is through an enormous gateway. The gateway, or opening, was made by a river, through a mountain wall, and it is known as The Gate of the Mountains.
426
THEN AND NOW;
ยท
"Through this gateway pours the river, fresh from the eter- nal snows far back in the mountains; from the great lake, a vast reservoir into which the melting snow banks drizzle in a million streamlets; from the wondrous canyon between whose divinely sculptured and colored walls it throws itself in an ecstasy of fury. Beside the stream lies a railway, which, fol- lowing it in its sinuosities, leads the pilgrim to the very border of Wonderland. As the river flows out of the mountain gate into the broad, unpent valley, it seems to sing, in the words of Colonel Norris, whose name is indissolubly connected with Wonderland, of the region it is leaving far behind :
'I sing in songs of gliding lays Of forests scenes in border days; Of mountain peaks begirt with snow, And flowery parks, pine girt below ; Of goblins grim and canyons grand, And geysers spouting o'er the strand Of Mystic Lake, of Wonderland.'
"After having passed through the gate of the mountains one is in Paradise valley, for such is the name of the beautiful valley which stretches up to the portals of Wonderland. The farther one invades these precincts, the more one comes to feel that the valley is rightly named. The great mountains, the very temples of the gods, loom high above. Mighty canyons, rocked ribbed, ragged, gloomy, forest-garbed, deep and fascinat- ing, have been gouged from their very vitals. From out these latter the mountain streams rush, singing songs of deliverance as they dance down the long, sweeping slopes to the mightier river. In their courses the streams have been harnessed by man, and their fructifying influences are seen in the broad fields of waving grain and alfalfa that checker the slopes.
"Mountains, fields, streams, trees, slopes, form truly enough such a picture that the thought of paradise is borne in upon me.
427
THIRTY-SIX YEARS IN THE ROCKIES.
"The scene changes! The mountains crowd together, the valley contracts, the rocky sides of the former rise high above, the river is throttled by craggy canyons and rushes madly along far below us- we are in a wild eyrie where the echoes of the iron horse's brazen throat reverberate among the crags and cliffs. Sweeping through this scene of wildness we reach, the threshold of the Wonderland of Wonderlands, nature's greatest wonderland-
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.
"The scene here hinted at is that beheld by the tourist as he rides from Livingstone, on the main line of the Northern Pacific, up the valley of the Yellowstone to Cinnabar, the terminus of the National Park branch line at the northern edge or boundary of the great park.
"The valley is indeed one to arouse enthusiasm. At two places it becomes constricted, forming small but ragged can- yons that but pave the way for the grander visions which, in the days to follow, are to break upon the eyes
"Well up the valley Emigrant Peak, a noble, snow-capped mountain of august mien, stands sentinel, thrusting his crown above brawny shoulders to a height of 10,629 feet.
"Just before reaching Cinnabar, Cinnabar Mountain, famous for its Devil's Slide, is rounded. Soon there comes into view the giant peak of the region, Electric Peak, which, with its 11,155 feet of altitude, may well be termed the guardian peak of the park. Facing it, but of lower altitude, stands Sepulcher Mountain, a rough, imposing mountain, the origin of its name involved in obscurity.
"On the opposite side of the valley rise the sister peaks of the Emigrant and its companion, the Absaraka, the range swinging to the eastward and forming the eastern boundary and mountain wall of the park. High up on the flanks of the
OLD FAITHFUL GEYSER, YELLOWSTONE PARK,
429
THIRTY-SIX YEARS IN THE ROCKIES.
range in and about the town of Crevasse, men are toiling with more or less of success for the gold that everybody covets.
"But our train has stopped at the platform at Cinnabar. We step from the cars, ready, with our hand bags and bundles, for the next move on the program.
FIRST DAY'S RIDE.
"Soon there come prancing round the corner six splendid horses, drawing behind them a huge Wonderland stage coach. Another appears, and, if necessary, still others come swinging up to the platform to transport the waiting throng on to Won- derland. How the people scramble aboard! Some climb up the sides of the coaches to the broad, open seats on the roof, where they will obtain, as they ride along, unobstructed views of the landscape. Other, less agile or venturesome, clamber into the interior of the coaches, satisfied with less elevation, less sun, and nearly as much advantage in sightseeing. The bags and valises are strapped on the trunk racks behind the vehicles or thrown into the boots, the conductor calls out, "All set," the driver tightens the reins, speaks to his horses, and the stage is off and away over the hills bound for Mammoth Hot Springs, seven miles distant.
"After a short ride, a collection of low and in some cases mud- roofed houses is seen. Through the heart of the little frontier town, Gardiner, the coaches carry us, when, swinging at right angle, we are soon skirting the Gardiner river, a typical mountain stream with which one falls in love at first sight. For several miles, first on one side then on the other of this torrential, beautiful river, the coach is slowly dragged up an ascending grade. The stream is beset with boulders against which, over which, under which, yea, through which, as one will easily see, the tremendous current dashes in a chorus of sound and a mass of spray. It is a royal trout stream and the
430
THEN AND NOW;
heart of the angler leaps within him even as does the trout itself leap within the boiling waters.
"This stream of turmoils and fascination gathers its stream- let threads from widely extended sources. Much of it comes from the northern slopes of some of the mountains about the Grand Canyon, Observation Peak, Storm Peak, etc. Another branch swings around Bunsen Peak, forming an elongated horseshoe, and insinuates its watery tentacles among the slopes of Electric Peak-the south side-Quadrant Mountain, and Antler Peak. A sub-system of this branch stream-the Mid- dle Gardiner, so-called-extends southward from the toe of the horseshoe, past Obsidian Cliff and Beaver Lake to the region about Roaring Mountain, nearly to Norris Geyser Basin.
"The scenery along the Gardiner is striking. The dun- colored clay and conglomerate walls rise in massive buttressed slopes surmounted by palisades, to a height of a few hundred feet on one side and 1,000 and 1,200 feet on the other. The castern walls are by far the finer. Spires and pinnacles have been eroded from the soft earthen slopes and form conspicu- ous objects. The most striking and noted is Eagle Nest Crag, a solitary, rounded column upon the inaccessible apex of which is perched an eagle's nest. Yearly the parent birds raise broods of young eagles whose protruding heads can frequently be seen and whose plaintive cries are plainly heard.
"Soon after crossing the stream for the last time a sharp ascent is begun. This continues until the hotel plateau is reached at Fort Yellowstone. As the coaches mount the grade the outlet of a river is seen on the western bank of the Gardi- ner. The rocky ground there is more or less broken and quantities of steam arise. This river flows from the hot springs of the terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs, under- ground through the hill over which the road winds.
431
THIRTY-SIX YEARS IN THE ROCKIES.
"In olden days this was a favorite camping place. The hot water made bathing agreeable, culinary and laundry work easy, and if one was inclined he could easily catel his trout in the Gardiner and then, swinging his line, plunge the vic- tim into Boiling river and cook his fish, all at one operation- so they say.
"Passing Fort Yellowstone when the plateau is reached, the coaches are whirled swiftly across a geyserie or travertine plaza, upon which the fort or cantonment-and it is one of the best posts in the country -- fronts to the hotel, a mammoth structure which commands a fine view to the south.
"At last we are fairly within the great Yellowstone Park- the heart of Wonderland.
"From the time our train started from Livingstone until it again sets us down there, six days will have passed. When we leave the coach at the hotel the first half of the first day has passed into history. The afternoon will be spent in clambering over the parti-colored terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs.
"After the tourist has registered, retired to his or her room, performed the usual ablutions, and shaken off the dust of travel from one's garments, the luncheon is eaten. It is then customary to make all arrangements with the transporta- tion company, as a new order of exercises will be inaugurated upon the morrow.
"When next, we start, the coach, horses and driver, to which we are assigned, became ours for the entire round of the park. It is advisable, therefore, if particular acquaintances or friends desire to ride in company, to explain this to the pow- ers that be, that such an arrangement may be effected. By the time this matter is attended to, the voice of the guide is heard announcing that all is ready for the event of the day- the visit to the formation, as it is termed.
432
THEN AND NOW;
"To the right, from the hotel front, rises Terrace Mountain. At the extremity of the plaza and at the base of the mountain as viewed from here, and a part of the mountain, rise the wonderful terraces. Even at this distance they present a re- markable appearance. As we approach them the singularity of their origin and appearance becomes more and more pro-
MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS.
nounced; but as we climb the slopes and view the pools of rainbow colored waters, and examine the terrace fronts with their infinite patterns of etchings and bead work, we stand in open-eyed amazement at what seems a miracle of creation.
"Whether we stand in front of the terrace walls and examine the exquisite chased work, built up by minute secretions from the hot waters as they trickle slowly down; whether we stand on the heights above and gaze upon acres of water divided and subdivided into many shaped basins, and so brilliantly col- ored as to seem impossibly colored; or whether, as we climb
.
433
THIRTY-SIX YEARS IN THE ROCKIES.
higher, and are transfixed almost, at the beautiful, delicate, fragile and algaic forms seen-it is all the same, we now begin to understand what the word Wonderland means, and are prepared for whatever we may stumble upon, and ready to admit that the half has not been told and cannot be-see- ing only, if not believing, is certainly understanding.
-
CASTLE GEYSER CONE AND DIANA'S POOL, YELLOWSTONE PARK.
"The water found in these pools varies in temperature, but it is all hot. Some of the pools are very small, others almost lakelets.
"Such brilliancy of coloring was never excelled, and the variety of color, sometimes even in the same pool, is simply astounding. What one sees here is found upon successive ter- races on the mountain side, and is reached by casy gradations by using foot paths or trails. After a time we are somewhat bewildered as to where we are, whether in the infernal regions ; with the ancient deities ; in a zoological garden ; among Egyp-
434
THEN AND NOW;
tian queens and mummies; where angels tread, orange trees bloom, or where railways are being built, or cupids shoot arrows.
"The Upper Geyser Basin is the goal of the tourist, so far as the geysers are concerned. There are here about a dozen geysers that expel the contents of their reservoirs to heights ranging from one hundred to two hundred and fifty feet. There are as many more that play to elevations less than one hundred feet. This family of geysers is like a large family of children; a strong family resemblance runs through all of them, but individually no two are much alike.
"The Castle has a very large, castellated, siliceous cone; the Grand has none whatever, nor is there any resemblance in their eruptions. The Oblong and the Giantess each expel their contents from deep, pit-like reservoirs, but there the re- semblance between them ends. The Bee Hive and Old Faith- ful each have cones, as entirely unlike as are their splendid columns of water and vapor. Some throw the water as straight in the air as a tree stands ; others hurl it out at various angles, or even in arches. Some send it forth in a solid, steady, majestic column; others in an irregular, churn-like fashion.
"But there are other things than the geysers here. Emerald Pool, Sunset Lake, and Black Sand Pool are, with one pos- sible exception, the most delicate, beautifully colored bowls of water to be found in the park. The word color acquires a new significance as one stands at the verge of these truly hear- enly pools, shut in among mountains.
"The particular attraction at the Fountain Hotel has been the Fountain Geyser near the hotel. This geyser has a basin some thirty feet in diameter, connected with another of about the same size just north of it. Much of the time these basins are full of water, thus, apparently, forming a large double crater.
NORRIS GEYSER BASIN, YELLOWSTONE PARK.
436
THEN AND NOW:
"In 1899 a new geyser, called the New Fountain, broke out in the north basin, resulting in a decided curtailment of the old Fountain Geyser's eruptions. The new geyser is. not yet. old enough so that its periodicity and peculiarities are fully known. Its eruptions, however, are more stupendous and much beyond those of any other geyser which the writer has seen. Excelsior Geyser at Midway Basin, the greatest geyser -when it plays-in the world, is closely approached by this new giant, in both the magnitude and the grandeur of the display.
"The geyser is rather spurty in character, and when in full operation plays from three orifices. In its general action it is not unlike the Fountain or the Great Fountain. It will boil furiously and throw the water quite regularly to a height of ten to fifteen feet. Then, becoming semi-quiescent for a few moments, it will again break loose, and simply hurl into the air, with almost inconceivable force, a solid body of water of immense bulk, to a height of fifteen to thirty feet. Then changing again it will send upward an enormous volume of water to a height of 100, 150, or even, in exceptional spurts, 200 feet.
"After a period of momentary quiescence, the geyser will often break out with a violent explosion, when the scalding flood, transformed into millions of white, beautiful beads of crystal and spray, is sent in all directions, to all heights, at all angles, from the three apertures. The water is all torn to pieces and is thrown out and comes down in a perfect avalanche. The geyser then is a very leviathan at play. It throws out pieces of geyser formation, bits of trees, and geyser eggs, as they are called, small, white, rounded, polished stones.
When the eruption ends it comes abruptly, at once, not as the Great Fountain's, with a series of dying, tremendous throbs as if its great heart were broken. The eruption ceases, the
437
THIRTY-SIX YEARS IN THE ROCKIES
great body of water drops rapidly down into the central cistern and runs into it from the geyser knoll in pretty little cascades, until the surplus is thus carried away and the water level out- side of the basin is lowered. Then it is all over.
"Regarding the Canyon let me again quote from Dr. Hill :
"And now I want to say a word in- regard to the Grand Canyon. You stand on Inspiration Point and look down 100, 200, 300, 1,000 feet, and there, away below, is a green rib- bon, worked in and out as if to hold together the lower edges of the canyon's walls. It is the Yellowstone river. You look off toward the south and see, in a sort of recess, a little column of white. It is the Great Falls of the Yellowstone, 308 feet high. You examine the slanting walls of this tre- mendous canyon and you see such a display of color as the eye of man never looked upon. Someone has said that it looks like a blown-up paint shop. Just there to the right some huge pots of white and yellow and red paint have been tipped over, and it has flowed right down in parallel streaks to the water's edge. Farther along is a gigantic tower carved out of a solid crimson rock. Here to the left all along are turrets and castles and cathedrals, there a Parthenon, over there St. Mark's glittering in gold, there Taj Mahal, as white as spot- less alabaster. Colors green and brown and saffron and or- ange and pink and vermillion and russet cover every rock un- til the scene is bewildering. What shall one say as he looks upon such a scene ? Nature teaches us about God. Then the Grand Canyon has been cut and painted by the divine hand as if to give us some idea of John's vision of heaven. Walls of jasper, streets of gold, gates of pearl, foundation stones of emerald and sapphire, and topaz and amethyst. Yes, they are all there. Who can look upon such a scene and say there is no God and no heaven ?
438
THEN AND NOW;
"If the enthusiast wishes to get a sight of the canyon much different from any other, and in the opinion of many the finest obtainable, he should go beyond Inspiration Point. The Lower Mount Washburn trail leaves the road near Inspiration Point. There is an enormous boulder right at the intersec- tion, of which more anon. Follow this trail for a mile per-
GRAND CANON OF THE YELLOWSTONE.
haps, and a projection will be noticed leading well out. into the canyon. From this crag the walls are emblazoned with every color or combination of colors that are probably to be found anywhere in the canyon. It is perhaps less brilliant than the magnificent array found at Grand View. In each case it is a canyon view pure and simple. The Lower Falls, so conspicuous a factor of the landscape from both Lookout and Inspiration Points, do not appear in either of these.
439
THIRTY-SIX YEARS IN THE ROCKIES.
"I have mentioned a boulder at the junction of the main road and the Washburn trail. This boulder is worthy of inspec- tion by tourists. It is of granite, eighteen feet high and twen- ty-four feet long by twenty feet in breadth, dark in color. It was transported from its native heath by a glacier and de- posited where it now lies when the glacier receded. Mr. Arnold Hague of the United States Geological Survey states that the nearest point from whence it could have been torn is at least thirty or forty miles distant.
"To thoroughly appreciate, yes, I will say to fall in love with the canyon, one must needs see it under different conditions. See it when the sun is flooding it with noon-day radiance; when the winds sweep the masses of vapor through it, delug- ing its walls with moisture; when the sun is vanished from earth and evening's shadows slowly creep from crag to crag and base to summit. To look upon the canyon when in the full glare of the sun, one would never realize what a softness and mellowness comes over it when the clouds hide the golden orb.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.