[Geysers] 1901 New York Times article---from Lee Whittlesey

[Lee_Whittlesey at nps.gov]

David---I can tell you that Rocco Paperiello and M.A. Bellingham and I have
puzzled over this article and ones like it for many years. There are
several other newspaper articles similar to this one. I remember long ago
believing that this winterkeeper (indeed, Fountain Hotel and its nearby
transportation complex had winterkeepers in place during this period) may
have seen an eruption of today's Morning Geyser but if so apparently
misjudged its height and its location.  Morning Geyser broke out in 1899
and had large eruptions for several years after that.  See WONDERLAND
NOMENCLATURE under Morning Geyser for this detailed history.

However, there are at least two other newspaper stories that say that this
alleged 500-foot-eruption in 1901 was later confirmed as false.  My
footnote in WONDERLAND NOMENCLATURE cites Olin Wheeler, Marler, and
Hatfield, to wit:

Olin D. Wheeler, Wonderland 1900, 1900, p. 111 and photo at frontispiece.
This is also in George Marler, Inventory..., June, 1973, pp. 508-509.  A
report of a "500" foot high geyser eruption in 1901 located "two hundred
yards south" of Fountain Geyser was published from newspaper clippings in
W.F. Hatfield, Geyserland and Wonderland..., no date, probably 1901, p. 73.
At first I thought this to refer to some eruption of Morning Geyser but a
check of further newspaper clippings reveals that the report was later
confirmed as false.  See Ash Scrapbook, pp. 22, 26, YNP Research Library.

Thanks, David, for the New York Times version.  I'm not surprised that they
picked it up. The Times was very good about covering Yellowstone, even from
such a faraway location.

Lee Whittlesey
Park Historian





                                                                           
             David Schwarz                                                 
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                                       [Geysers] 1901 New York Times       
             04/27/2011 04:21          article                             
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   Is it fair to say that the following article is completely devoid
of anything resembling a legitimate fact?

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40716FA3F5B11738DDDAF0A94DA405B818CF1D3


   The article, published Feb. 26, 1901 claims that on Feb. 18, 1901 a
geyser "200 feet south" of Fountain erupted from a 5-foot vent in a
solid column to a height of 500 feet for 90 minutes, and then briefly
at intervals of two hours.  200 feet south of Fountain is in the
island of trees inside the current boardwalk.

   The article adds as an afterthought that Excelsior erupted for 5
hours on Washington's birthday (Feb. 22), flooding the Firehole and
scalding fish up to two miles downstream.

   I'm just wondering whether anything unusual actually happened or
the whole thing was just a fabrication of snow-addled residents.

David
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