Mr. Thomas Moran, a celebrated artist, and noted for his skill as a colorist, exclaimed with a kind of regretful enthusiasm that these beautiful tints were beyond the reach of human art.
Falls
A Scene: Watching Deer in Yellowstone Canyon — Harrison Smith, 1914.
" I caught one glimpse of the lordly up-lifted head of the stag; there was a crash of loose stones under his feet and he turned and fled into the friendly depths of the forest."
Moran’s Legacy: Tower Fall — Text by N.P. Langford
"Thomas Moran began conjuring images of the upper Yellowstone before he even saw the place."
Two Ocean Pass and the Mystery of the Fishless Waters
"it is certain that there is no obstruction even in dry weather to prevent the passage of trout from the Snake River to Yellowstone Lake; it is quite evident that trout do pass over in this way; and it is almost absolutely certain that Yellowstone Lake was stocked with trout from the west"
A Tale: Part 5: A Lady’s Visit To The Geysers Of The Yellowstone Park — HWS 1880
HWS abandons her wagon and mounts “a sober old creature named Foxey” to cross the roadless wilderness to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
A Tale: Rafting Across the Yellowstone to View the Canyon From Artist Point — Holmes, 1896.
"We are unable to tell what most impresses us: the immensity of the great gulf, the infinite glory of its colored walls, the struggling river far below, the stately army of tall pines massed on the brink ...."
A Tale: Rolling Boulders Down Gardiner Canyon — Wingate, 1885
"It was wonderful to see a stone the size of a trunk leap into the air in a plunge of 200 or 300 feet, strike the shelf below as if thrown by a catapult, and with such tremendous force as to rebound twenty feet...."
A Scene: The Great Falls of the Yellowstone — Washburn, 1870
The water, just before it breaks into spray, has a beautiful green tint, as has also the water in the canyon below. .... The mingling of green water and white spray with the rainbow tints is beautiful beyond description.
A Tale: Jim Bridger’s Descriptions of Yellowstone Wonders — Gunnison, 1852
"Geysers spout up seventy feet high, with a terrific hissing noise, at regular intervals. Waterfalls are sparkling, leaping, and thundering down the precipices ...."
View: Thomas Moran Painted His Impression of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
"He probably would have agreed that seeing the painting was no substitute for the real thing. But then, seeing the real thing is no substituted for the painting."
M. Mark Miller, Author 