ces along the shore, reflections are
cast into the water of an almost indescribable character. They are
varied in nature and color, and, like the lake itself, differ from
anything to be seen elsewhere. Another unique feature of this lake, and
one that has to be seen to be understood, is the presence on the banks,
and even out in the lake itself, of hot springs and geysers full of
boiling water and steam. Some of these springs have wide and secure
edges, or banks, on which a man can stand and fish. Then, on his right
hand, he has the icy-cold water of the lake, from which he can obtain
trout and other fish, until he begins to dream of a fisherman's
paradise. Dr. Hayden, the explorer, already referred to, was the first
man to take advantage of the opportunity and to cook his fish unhooked
in the boiling water to his left, merely making a half turn in order to
do so. When the Professor first mentioned this fact, he was good
humoredly laughed at, but, as stated in an earlier part of this chapter,
the possibility has been so clearly demonstrated, that people have long
since admitted as a possibility what they had first denounced as an
utter absurdity.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE HEROES OF THE IRON HORSE.

Honor to Whom Honor is Due--A Class of Men Not Always Thoroughly
Appreciated at their Worth--An Amateur's Ride on a Flying
Locomotive--From Twelve Miles an Hour to Six Times that Speed--The
Signal Tower and the Men who Work in it--Stealing a Train--A Race with
Steam--Stones about Bewitched Locomotives and Providential Escapes.

No one who has not given the matter special consideration has the
remotest idea of the magnitude and importance of the railroad system of
the United States. Nor has any one who has not studied the statistics
bearing on the question the faintest conception of the cost of the roads
built and in operation. The cost in dollars and cents for a mile of
track has been ascertained to a fractional point. Expert accountants
have figured out to a hundredth part of a cent the cost of hauling a
passenger or a ton of merchandise any given distance. There are even
tables in existence showing the actual expense incurred in stopping a
train, while such details as the necessary outlay in wages, fuel,
repairs, etc., have received the attention which the magnitude of the
interests involved deserves.

But the cost in human life and suffering of the great railroad system of
the United States is quite another matt