The Yellowstone Park Company administers as a privileged hotel stock company also transportation and has set a sort of day of rest for the horses that have to cover the arduous journey of 68 km from Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel to the Fountain Geyser Hotel at Lower Geyser Basin without a relay, which is generally used for an incredibly interesting three hour drive to the most beautiful and largest volcanic formations in the park in the Lower and Upper Geyser Basin.

Clam could not join our drive today as he was once again struck by a reminder of the tropical fever. Dense fog covered the whole ground in the morning but it lifted soon and made way for a very beautiful and relatively warm day. Before the departure we still had a hard struggle with our coachman who did not want to remove the large coach roof at all that restricted the view. Only when we had received the permission of the direction we had asked for by telegraph, did he grudgingly decide to comply with our wish, not without however breaking the construction of the roof.

The wagon first rumbled over a hollow sounding calcareous sinter terrace that made us fear to sink in, and in fact one of our rear wheels glided into a small crater of a hot spring. Barely five minutes distant from our hotel we spotted a capital wolf that was milling around 200 paces in front of us in an open space and which reawakened our vivid lamentation of not being permitted to hunt in the park. For a long time we were able to observe it at shooting distance until it disappeared into the woods looking back again and again towards us.

Very close to the Firehole River lies Excelsior Geyser that had had no eruptions since 1888, with a short exception in 1890, but in former times had been the most important in the basin and sent its water masses 60 to 90 m up into the air as a true „Geysir“, old Icelandic for berserker. Now one can only see a large crater with boiling hot water that is dark-blue in the middle and reddish at the edges due to the underlying deposits and that are reflected in the rising steam.

Close to the Excelsior Geyser our wagon stopped near the edge of the Turquoise Springs whose clear waters were truly of a turquoise color. Also remarkable are the springs nearby,  Artemisia and Morning Glory.

A bridge over the Firehole river leads to the extended upper geyser basin which holds numerous springs and up to 40 geysers that we could already see from near the bridge. First we saw the Riverside Geyser whose eruption happening at certain intervals we unfortunately had missed, then the Grotto that has created some sort of vault and a cone above its spring. The next geyser is called Castle due to its crater form and erupts in irregular periods and resembles in my opinion a tall smoking chimney.

The most beautiful and largest currently active geyser is the Old Faithful that fully earns its name as it keeps exactly to its times of eruption, 65 minutes of rest and 4 minutes of show. We thus could use the remaining half hour to the next eruption to visit a snow-white lime terrace that was carrying a good number of fountains on its vaulted surface. Thus the Beehive with its beehive-like cone that has been formed in such a regular way that one could think it is a work of art. The strange black-purple water color marks the Giantess who erupts only every 14 days while her husband, the Giant, is very moody and produces his water spectacles in intervals that can’t be predicted.

Very cute small geysers are the „sponge“ and the „butterfly“ that vividly blow out small water jets aggrandising themselves. The former completely resembles a sponge in color and look, while the latter exactly matches the contours of the wings of a butterfly. At the Lion and the Lioness, small geysers with cone-shaped craters, one notices a bubble-like hard sinter deposit at the outer wall  which is tempting to take a souvenir of a small piece as something new and not yet seen. But this is prevented by the severe watchful soldier who does not leave any travel group unattended. He prevented any catch and stepped in when Imhof finally had managed with great effort to get a piece of the sinter and hide it, so that he again plucked the valuable treasure out of the pocket of the sinner.

Our guide made us aware that it was time to return to the Old Faithful where my curiosity led me to take a look at the already rumbling crater, an undertaking that was punished by a hot steam cloud that suddenly enclosed me and burned strongly. Immediately after the eruption followed, the huge water mass rose like an immense fountain spring to about 45 m, presenting a gorgeous spectacle whose effect was much improved by the beautiful weather, the deep-blue sky and the dark-green background of the fir tree woods. As quickly as it had appeared, the gigantic water jet that looked different on every side sank back into the crater whose surrounding area consists of a small basin in the form of a wave where the remaining water quickly evaporates.

The hunger that comes with the enjoyment of nature is quenched in a wooden hotel where one eats breakfast. As the Old Faithful erupts, as noted, every 65 minutes we waited for the next eruption to admire it once more and take photographs.

The named geysers and springs is far from being a complete list of such attractions here. That’s why I still visited a number of other geysers in the afternoon with a light wagon. One might believe that one more or less resembles the other and that one soon tires of further visits. But this is not the case  as each wonder of nature distinguishes itself by special features and strange aspects.

The Grotto we had already seen in the morning pleased us by just then offering a show by sending out a cascade of hot water from multiple openings at the same time. Then we came to the Punch Bowl, a boiling spring with a raised edge, then to the White Pyramid, a cone of a defunct crater, the Splendid Geyser, Fan, Mortar and all others of these spectacles of nature that still might be named. In a small side valley we were blinded by the snow-white deposits of multiple springs that extended there like a moraine there and had in time turned the dead trees into stone.

Hodek wanted to photograph in an especially picturesque pose appropriate to the character of the region and asked us to climb the very steep crater of the apparently quiet Castle Geyser and take up position at the narrow edge. This image of the audacious climb of the crater would have been very original but Prónay and I had hardly arrived at the top when our intention seemed to displease the old Castle, as suddenly it started to erupt and to spout water over us while hot steam also burned Prónay’s nose. Involuntarily we had to admit that our undertaking had not been more sensible than what the German had done at the Constant Geyser, and sought relief from our failed enterprise by watching the show of the Old Faithful again from a distance.

We returned to the hotel on a different route than we arrived on which we had to pass a rather deep ford of the Firehole River with the wagon while multiple flocks of geese were quacking. While my gentlemen still undertook an evening stroll, I remained in the hotel to write in my diary until the splendid moon rise enticed me to go outside again.

Links

• Location: Fountain Geyser Hotel, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
• ANNO – on 23.09.1893 in Austria’s newspapers.
• The k.u.k. Hof-Burgtheater is playing the drama „Fromont junior und Risler senior“. The k.u.k. Hof-Operntheater is performing the opera „Werther“.

Our sleep was severely disturbed by the constant moving of our wagon which happened with ruthless knocks and incessant whistling and ringing of bells of the locomotives so that we greeted the departure of the train to our final destination, Cinnabar station, with pleasure.

The two-hour drive went alongside the Yellowstone river to a valley that opens up after passing through a gorge called the „Gate of the Mountains“. The name of the valley is Paradise Valley. High mountains with snow-covered peaks, among them Emigrant Peak 3340 m high, rise on both sides of the valley. A half hour before Cinnabar the valley becomes narrower again and forms a rocky romantic gorge with sandstone walls that rise up to 600 m high towards the mountains. Here already the volcanic character of the area becomes apparent in many of its rock types and forms.

At Cinnabar, the arriving passengers had to wait for large coaches pulled by four six very good horses for the drive to the first interesting point in the Yellowstone Park, Mammoth Hot Springs. Leaving the wagon we were welcomed by the severe cold and after barely half a kilometer we arrived in a snowy landscape. The vegetation was quite sparse matching the high altitude of around 1600 m above sea level, but there were fir trees near the streams and mountain ledges, a small thuja, poplars and an especially grey-green broom that is predominant here. I was astonished to see here everywhere a dwarf cactus armed with long spines who grows crawling on the floor.

The road was at times very steeply laid out as it had to rise 368 m over a distance of only about 13 km. At the small settlement of Gardiner that lies at the place where the eponymous river flows into the Yellowstone River I noticed numerous wapiti antlers lying around. Here we reached the territory of the Yellowstone national park.

This famous and much visited park that covers an area of 22.560 km² was established by an act of congress in 1872 and declared a public park that may not be changed in any way: logging, hunting, mining etc. are all prohibited. This commendable act preserves the originality of the landscape distinguished by its natural beauty and its strange volcanic forms and protects it from destruction by humans. The whole are is of volcanic origin that causes a large number of geysers, hot springs, terraces an crater formations, obsidian rocks and sulphur hills that are both astonishing and admired by the visitors. For example, the geysers are said to surpass those in Island by far.

About one and a half kilometers from this point where one enters the park, one crosses the border to Wyoming on which lies the largest part of the park while Montana and Idaho participate with far smaller areas in this park.

Having conquered the last slope, the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, nearly 2000 m above sea level, lay in front of us, a formless giant wooden building with multiple annexes, resplendent in red and yellow color. Some of the pavilions at the right served as barracks and stables for a cavalry battalion that is responsible for guarding the park and keeping up the order. The star-spangled banner on a high mast marked the assembly place of this formation.

The park is closed for visitors every year at the end of September so that the season was already coming to a close. Still there were many guests in the hotel and among them a considerable number of cantankerous Germans who had apparently come here from the exposition in Chicago. Even though the hotel offers space for 400 beds and is said to be the best of the park, it was nevertheless lacking in all comforts and an all the amenities for the travellers. A deficit that was further increased by the careless if not completely missing service.

After we finally had settled in our quarters, we went to the Mammoth Hot Springs, hot springs that form terraces by their lime deposits whose coloring and picturesque structure create such a splendid spectacle that can not be found in as beautiful manner in New Zealand, Island or Asia Minor. In a heavy snowfall we walked across the whole area consisting of around 70 springs and 10 to 12 terraces. Besides the white, flashy yellow or brown-red color of the depositions the deep blue of the springs that were bubbling and transporting their hot water out of unfathomable depths was all the more effective. Many of these sources whose temperature was fluctuating between 12 and 47° C. show, by the way, a totally clear surface so that we could look down the azure or dark-blue funnel, when the constant rising steam drifted away in the wind, and observe the structure of the deposits and the rocks. Despite the sometimes quite high temperatures of the water there was a thin layer of algae on the rocks. The crumbling edge of the springs was glittering due to the precipitations mostly in a brownish or vermilion color while at the drains  beautiful dripstone and fine-leafed deposits were developing. If these are still fully white or light yellow mixed with sulphur, then it is seen as a proof that the spring had been in existence for a short time.

One strange characteristic of every volcanic area which is on display here especially frequently is the sudden disappearance and drying up of springs and geysers while just as unexpected they emerge anew in other places. Thus we were shown a spring that had existed only for two weeks but had already developed to quite a substantial size.

As in all places visited often by foreigners so here too every remarkable point, every terrace and spring had its own name that was preserved for eternity on white boards and often quite strange or absurd. Thus two mighty stone cones of dried up geysers standing in the open that are visited right at the beginning of the tour carry the names of Liberty Cap and Giant’s Thumb. Having passed these cones one climbs on snow-white lime up to the largest terrace called Minerva Terrace and then one terrace follows the next, spring follows spring. Among the most remarkable sights I count Jupiter Terrace, Pulpit Basins, Pictured Terrace, Narrow Gauge Terrace, Cupid’s Cave, Devil’s Cave and Bear Cave, — the last three named are deep crater-like holes in the rock out of which once springs flowed a long time ago — finally Orange Geyser and the White Elephant. These are two hot springs that do not form terraces but pile up their deposits as a cone. The name of Orange Geyser is correct in so far as the lime of this spring apparently includes a mixture of iron oxide and thus provides it with an orange-like appearance. The White Elephant in fact resembles a giant pachyderm of that species and hot water was gushing out from under our feet when we climbed up on one of the smooth sides and stepped on the „back“ of the formation.

Except for those already named there were numerous smaller structures, sources and springs. And nearly everywhere we stepped on this volcanic ground, it sounded dull and hollow under our steps. Many springs are noticed from far away by their whizzing, bubbling or dull noises.

At the foot of Mammoth Hot Springs an enterprising Yankee had opened up a shop where he offers various objects for sale that have been quickly covered by the hot waters with a hard lime layer similar as in Karlsbad.

The evening was quite unpleasant as there was no space in the hotel where once could smoke and talk after the dinner. One is limited to use the staircase and is faced with the presence of the less agreeable company of idling and spitting cowboys and workers who have access to all places, so that we finally fled to one of our rooms.

In the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel one is, by the way, forced to go to bed early as at 11 o’clock all electric lighting is turned off without any consideration for the guests.

Links

• Location: Hot Mammoth Springs Hotel, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
• ANNO – on 21.09.1893 in Austria’s newspapers.
• The k.u.k. Hof-Burgtheater is playing the drama „Die Zauberin am Stein“. The k.u.k. Hof-Operntheater is performing the opera „Fra Diavolo“.