found by
two mountaineers on the verge of what is now known as Mount Everts,
perfectly exhausted, and partly deranged through exposure and suffering.
On the very first day of his absence his horse, left standing and
unfastened, with all the man's arms and camp equipments attached, became
frightened and ran away. Everts was near-sighted, had not even a knife
for use or defense, and only a field glass to assist him in escaping. He
first managed to reach Heart Lake, the source of Snake River. Here he
remained for twelve days, sleeping close by the Hot Springs to keep from
freezing. His food was thistle roots, boiled in the springs. One night
he was forced into a tree by a mountain lion, and kept there all night.

Finally, he bethought himself of the lenses of his field glasses, and
thus was enabled to kindle fires. He wandered all along the western side
of the lake and down the Yellowstone to where he was providentially
found. He gave the story of his terrible experience in the old
"Scribner's Magazine," since become "The Century," and a thrilling tale
it makes. In a country filled with a network of streams, abundantly
supplied with animal life for food, gorged with timber for fuel, the man
nearly froze and starved and perished from thirst. Twice he was five
days without food; once three days without water. It was late in the
season, and the storms swept down on him and chilled him to the bone;
the snows kept him prisoner in camp, or, when on his painful marches,
blocked his progress.

Naturally, he lost strength, and became hourly in danger of succumbing
to the vast difficulties which confronted him. His sufferings were
increased by the fear which was created by a large mountain lion, which
got on his trail and followed him, evidently with a view to making him a
feature of the menu of his next meal. It seems incredible that Mr.
Everts should ever have escaped with his life. Fortune, however, came to
his rescue at last. He was rescued and nursed back to life by good
friends. To the plateau on which he was found, his name was given,
although there are few who will remember the significance of the name.

Norris Geyser is another of the almost miraculous features of the park.
The basin of the geyser has been described as a weird, uncanny place,
and the words seem well chosen. Of vegetation there is practically none,
because the underground heat keeps the ground always warm, and steam
breaks out into the atmosphere at severa