The geyser was for years regarded as the grandest spring in the park, before its exceptionally great features prevailed or became apparent.  In the years 1881-82, the eruptions from this geyser became so terrific that it spouted water as high as 250 feet, and converted the generally inoffensive Firehole River into a torrent of storming water.  Rocks of large size and heavy enough to be very dangerous were hurled headlong from within the mysterious confines of the earth, and were dashed around in all directions.  For miles the terrific noise could be heard, and people who had been waiting for a phenomenon of this character, hurried across country to witness it.  It is only now and again that a phenomenon of this kind is repeated, and the most skillful geologists are unable to give us any adequate forecasts as to when the next performance will take place.

Rehearsals seem always in progress.  Vast masses of steam rise from the crater or hole.  Many people crowd to the edge of the basin and strive to penetrate into the mysteries of subterranean happenings.  The day may come when some scientific method of seeing through smoke and steam and enduring scalding heat without difficulty may be devised.  Until then the mystery must remain unsolved.

In exact contrast with the irregular and spasmodic action of the Excelsior, is the methodical, persevering action of Old Faithful.  This is another of the great and popular geysers of Yellowstone Park.  It is so uniform in its appearance that a man can keep his watch regulated by it.  Every sixty-five minutes the well-named geyser gives forth a peculiar noise to warn the world that it is about to perform.  Then for about five minutes a vast stream of water and steam is hurled into the air to the height of about 150 feet.  The mass of boiling water measures six feet in diameter, and the volume discharged exceeds a hundred thousand gallons each hour.  Day by day and hour, for nearly twenty years, this industrious geyser has regularly done its duty, and afforded entertainment for visitors.  No one knows how long prior to that time it commenced operations, or for how long it will continue.

Leaving for the moment the consideration of geysers and hot springs and other wonders of this character, the sightseer gets a view of a very different nature.  At Keppler’s Cascades the stage coach generally stops to enable passengers to walk to the edge of the cliff and watch the cascades and foaming river in the black canon below.  Then the journey proceeds through the Firehole Valley, and through leafy forests and open glades, until the narrow and tortuous canon of Spring Creek is reached.  The scenery here is decidedly unconventional and wild.