When we arrived at Norris (formerly Gibbon) Geyser Basin, I was so cold I could scarcely use my limbs. The first attraction was a great, boiling spring at the left as we entered the basin. I immediately felt the change in the atmosphere, and soon got warm after reaching the board walk under which the boiling water was flowing, the hot steam everywhere being forced out through apertures.

Here was my first sight of the clear water geysers. The Constant, with a maximum height of twenty feet, plays at intervals of from thirty to sixty seconds. The Minute Man plays at intervals of from one to three minutes with a duration of about the same length of time. In this basin are also the Echinus, the Fearless, the Monarch, with a maximum height of fifty feet, playing at intervals of twenty-five to sixty minutes, the New Crater, the Whirligig, and the Valentine. The maximum height of the Valentine is a hundred feet and the time of eruptions varies from twenty-two to thirty hours.

The Black Growler Steam Vent growled continually, sending forth great volumes of steam. The deposit around the crater is black in some places. The vent north of the Black Growler is called the Hurricane. It looks much like the former, but is not so active. The Bath Tub does not erupt, but is in constant agitation. Emerald Pool is a large lake of boiling water, green in appearance.

New Crater Geyser is surrounded by large blocks of yellow rock. In the vicinity of this geyser, in 1891, a commotion occurred, very much like an earthquake, when great volumes of water were forced out. Since then there have been only ordinary eruptions, about every three minutes. The form of the crater is such that the water is prevented from attaining any great height.

Monarch Geyser, near the base of the hill, is almost surrounded by beautifully colored rocks. The crater has two openings, the larger of which is twenty feet long and three feet wide. Eruptions occur without warning, and water is thrown a hundred feet high. The intervals between eruptions are about six hours.

The Fearless Geyser throws water in every direction, apparently defying those who wish to approach it. Norris is a new geyser, and is probably changing more rapidly than any other in the basin. One never knows what changes a season may bring forth.

The Minute Man is always interesting, especially on account of its regularity. Its crater seems originally to have been merely a fissure in a rock.

A few miles from Norris Basin is Elk Park, a valley surrounded by timbered hills. Across the river from the road is Chocolate Spring, which has built a cone of chocolate color.

Monument Geyser Basin is on the summit of Mt. Schurz. There is not much to justify the tourist in making the ascent, as there are only a dozen or two of crumbling geyser cones, some of which steam and rumble, while others are apparently extinct.

On the east side of the river we entered Gibbon Canyon, and for several miles were shadowed by towering cliffs, in some places a thousand feet high.

Beryl Spring is the largest boiling spring in the canyon. It is fifteen feet across, and about a mile from the entrance. While our touring car was dashing around the mountainside, suddenly we came to Gibbon Fall. Here, from a height of over eighty feet, bubbling and foaming torrents of water tumble down the steep cascades.

At National Park Mountain, our driver announced that we were at the confluence of the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers. It was here that the famous Washburn exploring party, in 1870, decided that the Yellowstone region should be set aside as a National Park, and from that time put forth their efforts to this end. Among the most enthusiastic were Cornelius Hedges, David E. Folsom, Lieut. Doane, and Nathaniel P. Langford. How providential it was that these unselfish, public-spirited men should have taken up the subject at that time!

I did not know that the junction of the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers was an historical place, but was so fascinated with the scenery, I felt that I should like to camp there for a week, and have an opportunity to make notes preparatory to publishing an account of my trip. To me, there was unusual attraction, and something very romantic, about the Firehole River. I had heard how it was fed by the geysers and boiling springs, and this added enchantment to its many charms. At one place I saw a great boulder in the river, from the sides of which were growing two spruce or pine trees.

At the Lower and Midway Basins are the Great Fountain and Excelsior Geysers. The Excelsior, better known as "Hell's Half Acre," ceased to play in 1888. Previous to this it was known to throw water to a height of 300 feet, the time of the eruptions varying from one to four hours. Great Fountain expels the water to a height of 100 feet, playing for thirty minutes, and its eruptions are from eight to twelve hours apart. At the present time Excelsior Geyser is a boiling lake, where the steam often prevents one from getting a good view of it.

The Mammoth Paint Pots held my undivided interest for the limited time that I had. This is a boiling mass of mud, white at the center, and gradually developing into a beautiful pink, or flesh color toward the outer edges. The caldron of waxen mixture has a basin forty by sixty feet in size, with a rim about five feet high. The mud in the center bubbles up continually, "plop, plop," under the pressure of heat, and cools off toward the outer edges.

David E. Folsom witnessed a display of the Great Fountain Geyser in 1869:

"The hole through which the water was discharged was ten feet in diameter, and was situated in the center of a large circular shallow basin into which the water fell. There was a stiff breeze blowing at the time, and by going to the windward side and carefully picking our way over convenient stones we were enabled to reach the edge of the hole. At that moment the escaping steam was causing the water to boil up in a fountain five or six feet high. It stopped in an instant, and commenced settling down—twenty, thirty, forty feet—until we concluded that the bottom had fallen out, but the next instant, without any warning, it came rushing up and shot into the air at least eighty feet, causing us to stampede. It continued to spout at intervals of a few moments for some time, but finally subsided."

Prismatic Lake fairly dazzled me with its beauty. In the center it is a deep blue, blending into green toward the edges. In the shallow portion it is yellow, blending into orange at the edges. The water sparkles and flows off in every direction over the slightly raised rim of the lake. Its beauty and delicacy of coloring are impossible to describe. It is heated to nearly 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

Biscuit Basin and Sapphire Pool are places of much interest, also Jewel Geyser, Artemisia Geyser, etc.

Morning Glory Spring, near Riverside Bridge, presented to me an idea of what the earth will be when the curse is lifted and it is clothed in Edenic glory. It is twenty-three feet in diameter, with a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and with an apparent depth of about thirty feet.

I had not previously made a study of the Park, and never knew what was coming next, but before I reached Old Faithful Camp at the Upper Geyser Basin, I felt that I had seen enough to repay me a thousand-fold for any expense or effort that was being made in the tour of the Yellowstone, which to me was truly a world of wonders.