There they sat, side by side, hour after hour, old and young, full of hope and fun and care. Some watched the scenery; others, the horses. All asked questions—some of them intelligent and well-conceived, some naïve, and still others ludicrous. They were usually addressed to the driver, as though skill in handling horses and familiarity with the area gave authority. Unfortunately, few drivers understood what they daily saw; still, as a defense against frustration, many acquired a knowing air. Great guesses were made, and occasionally the tourists were deliberately misled. Generally the driver’s observations were offered in a spirit of fun to keep the folks from drooping. A few examples have been recorded. Driving among the Hot Springs on the Mammoth Terraces, one guide shouted, “Them as likes their bath hot goes in on the left, and them as likes it cold goes in on the right, and them as likes it middlin’ goes in the middle.”[228] At Norris Geyser Basin the following conversation was heard: One tourist speaking to another, “If we’re too late to see the Monarch Geyser erupt tonight, we’ll go over and see him before breakfast.” To which the driver replied, “No you can’t, the Monarch Geyser is a monarch up here in the Park. You can’t go see him when you get ready; you’ve got to go when he’s ready.”[229] One Münchausen-minded guide informed his passengers that any geyser water, when bottled, retained a strange sympathy with its water nymph, so that when the geyser erupted the water became violently agitated; in one instance a bottle was shattered incident to a particularly powerful eruption! Many such stories were told by “Buckskin Charley,” “Yankee Jim,” “Billy” Hofer, and their compatriots. Rudyard Kipling left this description of Yankee Jim: Yankee Jim was a picturesque old man with a talent for yarns that Ananias might have envied.... Yankee Jim saw every one of my tales and went fifty better on the spot. He dealt in bears and Indians—never less than twenty each.[230] [Illustration: Courtesy Northern Pacific Ry. _“Yankee Jim”—James George_] James George, better known as “Yankee Jim,” was a pioneer hunter and trapper who staked his claim in Yankee Jim Canyon of Yellowstone River, north of Cinnabar and Gardiner. He shrewdly built twenty-seven miles of toll road through the only available pass. Yankee Jim delighted in joshing the lady members of early parties concerning the prospects of bestowing a bit of affection upon him in lieu of the tolls. Little is known concerning his success in that direction, but he dealt effectively with the Northern Pacific Railroad in the matter of a right of way through his canyon. As time passed, many people who were beyond the “gape-and-run” variety complained about the lack of a dependable source of information. The quips of guides who did not know a marmot from a cony actually displeased them. However, there were occasions when even these talkative fellows had the good taste to be silent.