WEST SHORE.
DEATH GULCH IN YELLOWSTONE PARK.
pXTKEMKLY rugged mountains occupy tlu-(st-rn
r portion of the National Turk of the Yellow-atone,
. their snowy summits reaching altitude of from
10,0(10 to 11,000 foot, and the streams which run
down from their melting snow have their course
through canyons whose precipitous walla of rock reach
evil's tail ami surpass the changing tire of an opal.
Thin feast of color, w ith its kaleidoscopic change, fa
eiuatetl ua, and many minute were nnt watching it,
hefore aa.cn.ling to the aummit of a little platform
overl.ii.king thin spring. The slope is formed of a gray
rock, whose rilled aurface at once suggest the terrace
of travertine, the so-called "formation" of the Mam
moth hot aorim.'. It in in, I. ...I it... .
a height of from 2,00 to o,IKK feet. On a hranch of ; hot spring, hu, altered ( cryataline. the material
the Lamar river has been found a remarkable sHt that
haa been named "Ueath gulch" by Walter II. Weed, j
of the United States geological aurvey, who thua rclatca
his exH'rionco8 in that deadly place :
" Even at first sight there apM'ars to lie something
unusual and jieculiar alwut this little oH'iiing in the
pines; in the center is a shallow depression that is bare
of verdure, the surface white with an encrustation that
proved to lie salt, while the converging and deeply worn
trails leading to it, and the numerous game tracks,
show it to bo what in the hunter's vernacular is called
a " lick." It is the dried bod of an ancient hot spring
that is now a shallow alkali mhi1 in the early spring,
f running this little meadow, wo found the creek cutting
its further edge, while the white s!om-s on the opxtsito
side, and the smell of sulphur in the air, suggest at
once to those familiar with "(ieysorland " the presence
of hot springs. Picketing our horses where they might
graze UHin the salty grasses that grow ulsmt the " lick,"
we descended the bank to the Wder of the creek, and
found its waters flowing Itotweon white w alls of mlishel
marble, and on expansion of the stream bordered by
this creamy white nx'k forma a natural bath reservoir
that oven tho luxuriousness of ancient Koine could not
have equalled. In the center tho water is boiling
furiously, the bubbling mass rising several inches als.ve
the surface of tho crook ; but the water is quite eld,
the commotion la-inn duo to the copious emiaai.ni of
nearer the stream resembling a course in., s'trilbd
into white, marly transparent crystals. The lower
crystals are, however, nearly a dense and hard a flint,
an.l it is this material that form the marble banks of
the creek, where its surface is M.ishcd, until it I a
smooth as glass, by tho stream itself.
Hut it is neither this dcit nor the bank of sulphur
a few yards further up the crock that distinguished
this place from all others in the park, though the sul
phureotitains cedar logs embedded in it thaf are ready
for lighting, the wood bring so Impregnated with
sulphur that a splint of it will bum like a match, while
the black water, s.tiug from under the bank would make
a really "jet black" ink. It i an innocent looking
little gulch that runs down the sloe at right angle to
the creek, that make the place worthy of this notice.
This little ravine, scarce fifty feel deep, bit steeply
sloping sides of chalky white ..,con.e. rs k, a soft
and loose a sand or clay. A little water run down
the narrow bed of the gulch, cold and ur, puckering
the mouth with the peculiar astriiigeucy of alum.
Turning aside to explore this place, we ascended the
ravine, llnding it rather dillicult walking In the little
stream ld, and hard work getting up several drop
where the steam form miniature fall of live or six
f. et. AIh.vo one of them' tiny cataract we Ural noticed
a white, or rather creamy, seductive ..klng ubtance
in the stream lad This was so like genuine country
gas from some vent in tho lied of the stream. Over cream that it was hard to Mirve it a purely mineral
this spring a stranded log reaches from bank to hunk,
and served as a foot-bridge, which wo crossed w ith that
sure-footed noss born of tho knowledge that our clothes
could no longer bo sMilod by a wetting should we full
in.
On the further side of the creek w e tirst notice a low
mound of red material evidently iron ochre, and just
hcvond in a nrinif now ilrnositinir this substance. II.1'
siibslan.-e, but such it is, and formed aU.iit the minute
tuning springs, whi. h i"iie front the bottom and aid.'
of the g.il.h. It wns lu re too that we first noticed a
sulphurous odor and a slight oppression of the ung
tlie irritating rile, t of the fume of a sulphur match ac
companied by a ele king a If from lack of air. W
paused a moment to real, and found ourselves strangely
fatiu'ied f.r so hrt climb; but several gust of the
water, clear as crystal and icy n .Id, issues fnm.il - M r,hwM w.nd . l--d nur lung, w.t ,,,w vlg.,,
t.rof .little Im,w1 of ochre, surrounded by the hrigl.M and w I.nu.d our , UmL-r up the guhh
"f green moss. We were curious enough to taste i!ii
water and found it slightly acid, highly charged with
gas and tasting like our soda water. Hut it i the sur
saceof the little basins and hs.I, lilled by ll.eov.-rtlow
of this spring, that interests us most, f.r the surface of
the water is covered with an ever varying irrid.-oen.-e
whoso brilliant tints put to shame the hue of the ya-
With le-ad 1 i'l and eyes eager to note the curioU
,, p!s ill the r.lMl.r l.tl..l, it WS llol Ul.til IJlllte
el,...- to him that w noticed an Immense grinly lar
t,nt j h yard" ah' d of u Startled by t Hidden
rA, M. an .-n. oui.l r. we instinctively gave a leap
up th- (.-. p so. I! k now lug that tlie Up hill side U
the -' w " a l ;.r i near and no fr-- bandy Itiil