The waving to and
fro of such a gigantic fountain, when the column is at its height,
'Tinselled o'er in robes of varying hues,'
and glistening in the bright sunlight, which adorns it with the glowing
colors of many a gorgeous rainbow, affords a spectacle so wonderful
and grandly magnificent, so overwhelming to the mind, that the ablest
attempt at description gives the reader who has never witnessed such a
display but a feeble idea of its glory."
A DESCRIPTION OF THE GEYSER AT WORK
The only other geysers in this remarkable geyserland which we can spare
room to notice are those known as the Giantess, the Beehive, and the
Grand. The Giantess sends a column of water to the height of 250 feet.
An eruption is usually divided into three periods--two preliminary
efforts and a final one, divided from each other by intervals of between
one and two hours, while the intervals of discharge are very long.
Sometimes it does not play for several weeks. The Beehive, which is 400
feet from the Giantess, gets its name from the peculiar beehive-like
cone which it has formed. The eruption is also almost unique. It is
heralded by a slight escape of steam, which is followed by a column of
steam and water, shooting to the height of over 200 feet. The column
is somewhat fan-shaped, but it does not fall in rain, the spray being
evaporated and carried off as steam--if, indeed, there is not more steam
than water in the column. The duration of the discharge is between four
and five minutes, and the interval between two eruptions from twenty-one
to twenty-five hours.
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