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Title: The Yellowstone National Park: Historical and Descriptive

Author: Hiram Martin Chittenden

Release date: February 17, 2013 [eBook #42112]

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Greg Bergquist, Tom Cosmas and the Online
        Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
        file was produced from images generously made available
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK: HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ***




Produced by Greg Bergquist, Tom Cosmas and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)







Transcriber's Notes

    Text emphasis is denoted as _Text_ for italic and =Text= for bold.
    Whole and fractional parts are shown as 4-2/3.


       *       *       *       *       *




[Illustration: Grand Falls of the Yellowstone and Old Faithful
Geyser.]

    THE
    Yellowstone National Park
    HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE

    Illustrated with Maps, Views and Portraits


    BY


    Hiram Martin Chittenden
    Captain, Corps of Engineers, United States Army


    [Illustration]


    CINCINNATI
    THE ROBERT CLARKE COMPANY
    1895




    Copyright, 1895,

    By Hiram Martin Chittenden.

    Dedication.

    TO THE MEMORIES OF

    John Colter

    AND

    James Bridger,

    PIONEERS IN THE WONDERLAND
    OF THE
    Upper Yellowstone.




PREFACE.


Twenty-five years ago, this date, a company of gentlemen were encamped
at the Forks of the Madison River in what is now the Yellowstone
National Park. They had just finished the first complete tour of
exploration ever made of that region. Fully realizing the importance
of all they had seen, they asked what ought to be done to preserve so
unique an assemblage of wonders to the uses for which Nature had
evidently designed them. It required no argument to show that
government protection alone was equal to the task, and it was agreed
that a movement to secure such protection should be inaugurated at
once. So rapidly did events develop along the line of this idea, that
within the next eighteen months the "Act of Dedication" had become a
law, and the Yellowstone National Park took its place in our country's
history.

The wide-spread interest which the discovery of this region created
among civilized peoples has in no degree diminished with the lapse of
time. In this country particularly the Park to-day stands on a firmer
basis than ever before. The events of the past two years, in matters
of legislation and administration, have increased many fold the
assurances of its continued preservation, and have shown that even the
petty local hostility, which has now and then menaced its existence,
is yielding to a wiser spirit of patriotism.

The time therefore seems opportune, in passing so important an epoch
in the history of the Park, and while many of the actors in its
earlier scenes are still among us, to collect the essential facts,
historical and descriptive, relating to this region, and to place them
in form for permanent preservation. The present literature of the
Park, although broad in scope and exhaustive in detail, is
unfortunately widely scattered, somewhat difficult of access, and in
matters of early history, notably deficient. To supply a work which
shall form a complete and connected treatment of the subject, is the
purpose of the present volume.

It deals first and principally with the history of the Upper
Yellowstone from the days of Lewis and Clark to the present time. The
main text is supplemented by a considerable amount of appendical
matter, the most important features of which are a complete list of
the geographical names of the Park, with their origin and
signification; a few biographical sketches of the early explorers; and
a bibliography of the literature pertaining to this region.

The descriptive portion of the work contains a succinct, though
comprehensive, treatment of the various scientific and popular
features of the Park. While it is sufficient for all the requirements
of ordinary information, it purposely refrains from a minute
discussion of those details which have been, or are now being,
exhaustively treated by the scientific departments of the government.

In describing a region whose fame rests upon its natural wonders, the
assistance of the illustrative art has naturally been resorted to. The
various accompanying maps have all been prepared especially for this
work and are intended to set forth not only present geography but
historical features as well. The folded map embodies every thing to
date from the latest geographical surveys. It will bear careful study,
and this has been greatly simplified by a system of marginal
references to be used with the list of names in Appendix A.

The illustrations cover every variety of subject in the Park and
represent the best results of photographic work in that region. They
are mostly from the studio of Mr. F. J. Haynes, of St. Paul, the
well-known Park photographer, who has done so much by his art to
disseminate a knowledge of the wonders of the Yellowstone. A
considerable number are from views taken during the Hayden surveys by
Mr. William H. Jackson, now of Denver, Colorado. A few excellent
subjects are from the amateur work of Captain C. M. Gandy, Assistant
Surgeon, U. S. A., who was stationed for some years on duty in the
Park. The portraits are restricted to the few early explorers who
visited the Upper Yellowstone prior to the creation of the Park.

To any one who is familiar with the recent history of the Park, a work
like the present would seem incomplete without some reference to those
influences which endanger its future existence. A brief discussion of
this subject is accordingly presented, which, without considering
particular schemes, exposes the dangerous tendencies underlying them
all.

In the course of a somewhat extended correspondence connected with the
preparation of this work, the author has become indebted for much
information that could not be found in the existing literature of the
Park. He desires in this place to return his sincere acknowledgments
to all who have assisted him, and to refer in a special manner.

To the Hon. N. P. Langford, of St. Paul, whose long acquaintance with
the Upper Yellowstone country has made him an authority upon its
history.

To Dr. Elliott Coues, of Washington, D. C., who has contributed,
besides much general assistance, the essential facts relating to the
name "Yellowstone."

To Captain George S. Anderson, 6th U. S. Cavalry, Superintendent of
the Park, for the use of his extensive collection of Park literature.

To Prof. Arnold Hague, and others, of the U. S. Geological Survey, for
many important favors.

To Prof. J. D. Butler, of Madison, Wis., for biographical data
relating to James Bridger.

To Dr. R. Ellsworth Call, of Cincinnati, Ohio, for valuable assistance
pertaining to the entire work.

To the Hon. D. M. Browning, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, for
important data relating to the Indian tribes in the vicinity of the
Yellowstone Park.

To the officers of the War and Interior Departments, the U. S. Fish
Commission, the U. S. Bureau of Ethnology, and of the U. S. Coast and
Geodetic Survey, for public documents and other information of great
value.

To R. T. Durrett, LL.D., of Louisville, Ky.; Mr. J. G. Morrison, of
the Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.; Mr. J. D. Losecamp, of
Billings, Mont.; Mr. George Bird Grinnell, of _Forest and Stream_, New
York City; Major James F. Gregory, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A.;
Lieutenant Wm. H. Bean, Second Cavalry, U. S. A.; Hon. David E.
Folsom, White Sulphur Springs, Mont.; Washington Mathews, Major and
Surgeon, U. S. A.; Dr. A. C. Peale, of Philadelphia, Pa.; William
Hallett Phillips, of Washington, D. C.; Dr. Lyman B. Sperry, of
Bellevue, O.; Mrs. Matilda Cope Stevenson, of Washington, D. C.; Mrs.
Sirena J. Washburn, of Greencastle, Ind.; Miss Isabel Jelke, of
Cincinnati, O.; Mr. O. B. Wheeler, of St. Louis, Mo.; Mr. O. D.
Wheeler, of St. Paul, Minn.; Mr. J. H. Baronett, of Livingston, Mont.;
Mr. W. T. Hamilton, of Columbus, Mont.; Mr. Richard Leigh, of Wilford,
Idaho; Mr. Edwin L. Berthoud, of Golden, Colo.; and Miss Laura S.
Brown, of Columbus, O. H. M. C.

Columbus, Ohio, _September 19, 1895_.




CONTENTS.


  PART I.--HISTORICAL.

    Chapter I.--"Yellowstone"                                          1

    Chapter II.--Indian Occupancy of the Upper Yellowstone             8

    Chapter III.--John Colter                                         20

    Chapter IV.--The Trader and Trapper                               32

    Chapter V.--Early knowledge of the Yellowstone                    40

    Chapter VI.--James Bridger                                        51

    Chapter VII.--Raynolds Expedition                                 58

    Chapter VIII.--Gold in Montana                                    65

    Chapter IX.--Discovery                                            72

    Chapter X.--The National Park Idea--Its Origin and Realization    87

    Chapter XI.--Why So Long Unknown                                  98

    Chapter XII.--Later Explorations                                 103

    Chapter XIII.--An Indian Campaign through the National
      Park                                                           111

    Chapter XIV.--Administrative History of the Park                 127

    Chapter XV.--The National Park Protective Act                    142


  PART II.--DESCRIPTIVE.

    Chapter I.--Boundaries and Topography                            148

    Chapter II.--Geology of the Park                                 156

    Chapter III.--Geysers                                            162

    Chapter IV.--Hot Springs                                         172

    Chapter V.--Fossil Forests of the Yellowstone                    175

    Chapter VI.--Fauna of the Yellowstone                            181

    Chapter VII.--Flora of the Yellowstone                           187

    Chapter VIII.--The Park as a Health Resort                       193

    Chapter IX.--The Park in Winter                                  198

    Chapter X.--Roads, Hotels, and Transportation                    201

    Chapter XI.--Administration of the Park                          206

    Chapter XII.--A Tour of the Park--Preliminary                    209

    Chapter XIII.--A Tour of the Park--North Boundary to
      Mammoth Hot Springs                                            211

    Chapter XIV.--A Tour of the Park--Mammoth Hot Springs
      to Norris Geyser Basin                                         217

    Chapter XV.--A Tour of the Park--Norris Geyser Basin to
      Lower Geyser Basin                                             221

    Chapter XVI.--A Tour of the Park--Lower Geyser Basin
      to Upper Geyser Basin                                          228

    Chapter XVII.--A Tour of the Park--Upper Geyser Basin
      to Yellowstone Lake                                            237

    Chapter XVIII.--A Tour of the Park--Yellowstone Lake to
      the Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone                             248

    Chapter XIX.--A Tour of the Park--Grand Cañon of the
      Yellowstone to Junction Valley                                 260


  PART III.--THE FUTURE.

    Chapter I.--Hostility to the Park                                267

    Chapter II.--Railroad Encroachment and Change of Boundary        270

    Chapter III.--Conclusion                                         281


APPENDIX A.

  Geographical Names in the Yellowstone National Park                285

      I.--Introductory                                               285

     II.--Mountain Peaks                                             289

    III.--Streams                                                    313

     IV.--Water-falls                                                324

      V.--Lakes                                                      327

     VI.--Miscellaneous Features                                     338

    VII.--Geysers                                                    342


APPENDIX B.

    Legislation and Regulations now in Force affecting the
      Yellowstone National Park                                      345


APPENDIX C.

    Appropriations on Account of the Yellowstone National
      Park                                                           357


APPENDIX D.

    List of Superintendents of the Yellowstone National
    Park                                                             359


APPENDIX E.

    Bibliography of the Yellowstone National Park                    361




The Yellowstone National Park.




PART I.--Historical.

CHAPTER I.

"YELLOWSTONE."


Lewis and Clark passed the first winter of their famous
trans-continental expedition among the Mandan Indians, on the Missouri
River, sixty-six miles above the present capital of North Dakota. When
about to resume their journey in the spring of 1805, they sent back to
President Jefferson a report of progress and a map of the western
country based upon information derived from the Indians. In this
report and upon this map appear for the first time, in any official
document, the words "Yellow Stone" as the name of the principal
tributary of the Missouri.

It seems, however, that Lewis and Clark were not the first actually to
use the name. David Thompson, the celebrated explorer and geographer,
prominently identified with the British fur trade in the North-west,
was among the Mandan Indians on the Missouri River from December 29,
1797, to January 10, 1798. While there he secured data, mostly from
the natives, from which he estimated the latitude and longitude of
the source of the Yellowstone River. In his original manuscript
journal and field note-books, containing the record of his
determinations, the words "Yellow Stone" appear precisely as used by
Lewis and Clark in 1805. This is, perhaps, the first use of the name
in its Anglicised form, and it is certainly the first attempt to
determine accurately the geographical location of the source of the
stream.[A]

[A] Thompson's estimate:

Latitude, 43° 39' 45" north. Longitude, 109° 43' 17" west.

Yount Peak, source of the Yellowstone (Hayden):

Latitude, 43° 57' north. Longitude, 109° 52' west.

Thompson's error:

In latitude, 17' 15". In longitude, 8' 43", or about 21 miles.


Neither Thompson nor Lewis and Clark were originators of the name.
They gave us only the English translation of a name already long in
use. "This river," say Lewis and Clark, in their journal for the day
of their arrival at the mouth of the now noted stream, "had been known
to the French as the _Roche Jaune_, or, as we have called it, the
Yellow Stone." The French name was, in fact, already firmly
established among the traders and trappers of the North-west Fur
Company, when Lewis and Clark met them among the Mandans. Even by the
members of the expedition it seems to have been more generally used
than the new English form; and the spellings, "Rejone," "Rejhone,"
"Rochejone," "Rochejohn," and "Rochejhone," are among their various
attempts to render orthographically the French pronunciation.

Probably the name would have been adopted unchanged, as so many other
French names in our geography have been, except for the recent cession
of Louisiana to the United States. The policy which led the government
promptly to explore, and take formal possession of, its extensive
acquisition, led it also, as part of the process of rapid
Americanization, to give English names to all of the more prominent
geographical features. In the case of the name here under
consideration, this was no easy matter. The French form had already
obtained wide currency, and it was reluctantly set aside for its less
familiar translation. As late as 1817, it still appeared in newly
English-printed books,[B] while among the traders and trappers of the
mountains, it survived to a much later period.

[B] Bradbury's "Travels in the Interior of America." See Appendix E.

By whom the name _Roche Jaune_, or its equivalent form _Pierre Jaune_,
was first used, it would be extremely interesting to know; but it is
impossible to determine at this late day. Like their successor,
"Yellow Stone," these names were not originals, but only translations.
The Indian tribes along the Yellowstone and upper Missouri rivers had
names for the tributary stream signifying "yellow rock,"[C] and the
French had doubtless adopted them long before any of their number saw
the stream itself.

[C] The name "Elk River" was also used among the Crow Indians.

The first explorations of the country comprised within the present
limits of the State of Montana are matters of great historic
uncertainty. By one account it appears that, between the years 1738
and 1753, Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, the Sieur de la Verendrye, and
his sons, particularly the Chevalier de la Verendrye, conducted
parties of explorers westward, from Lake Superior to the Assinnaboine
River, thence south to the Mandan country, and thence to the very
sources of the Missouri. Even the date, January 12, 1743, is given for
their first ascent of the Rocky Mountains. But such is the dearth of
satisfactory evidence relating to these explorations, that positive
inferences concerning them are impossible. The most that can be said
is, that if De la Verendrye visited these regions, as is generally
believed, to him doubtless belongs the honor of having adopted from
original sources the name of the Yellowstone River.

The goal of De la Verendrye's explorations was the Pacific Ocean; but
the French and Indian war which robbed France of her dominion in
America, prevented his ever reaching it. Following him, at the
distance of nearly half a century, came the traders and trappers of
the North-west Fur Company. As already noted, they were among the
Mandans as early as 1797, and the name _Roche Jaune_ was in common use
among them in 1804. They appear to have been wholly ignorant of the
work of De la Verendrye, and it is quite certain that, prior to 1805,
none of them had reached the Yellowstone River. Lewis and Clark
particularly record the fact, while yet some distance below the
junction of this river with the Missouri, that they had already passed
the utmost limit of previous adventure by white men. Whatever,
therefore, was at this time known of the Yellowstone could have come
to these traders only from Indian sources.[D]

[D] An interesting reference to the name "Yellowstone," in an entirely
different quarter, occurs on Pike's map of the "Internal Provinces of
Spain," published in 1810. It is a corrupt Spanish translation in the
form of "_Rio de Piedro Amaretto del Missouri_," (intended of course
to be _Rio de la Piedra Amarilla del Missouri_) river of the Yellow
Stone of the Missouri. No clue has been discovered of the source from
which Pike received this name; but the fact of its existence need
occasion no surprise. The Spanish had long traded as far north as the
Shoshone country, and had mingled with the French traders along the
lower Missouri. Lewis and Clark found articles of their manufacture
among the Shoshones in 1805. There is also limited evidence of early
intercourse between them and the Crow nation. That the name of so
important a stream as the Yellowstone should have become known to
these traders is therefore not at all remarkable. There is, however,
no reason to suppose that the Spanish translation antedates the
French. It certainly plays no part in the descent of the name from the
original to the English form, and it is of interest in this connection
mainly as showing that, even at this early day, the name had found its
way to the provinces of the south.

We thus find that the name, which has now become so celebrated,
descends to us, through two translations, from those native races
whose immemorial dwelling-place had been along the stream which it
describes. What it was that led them to use the name is easily
discoverable. The Yellowstone River is pre-eminently a river with
banks of yellow rock. Along its lower course "the flood plain is
bordered by high bluffs of yellow sandstone." Near the mouth of the
Bighorn River stands the noted landmark, Pompey's Pillar, "a high
isolated rock" of the same material. Still further up, beyond the
mouth of Clark's fork, is an extensive ridge of yellow rock, the
"sheer, vertical sides" of which, according to one writer, "gleam in
the sunlight like massive gold." All along the lower river, in fact,
from its mouth to the Great Bend at Livingston, this characteristic
is more or less strikingly present.

Whether it forms a sufficiently prominent feature of the landscape to
justify christening the river from it, may appear to be open to doubt.
At any rate the various descriptions of this valley by early explorers
rarely refer to the same locality as being conspicuous from the
presence of yellow rock. Some mention it in one place, some in
another. Nowhere does it seem to have been so striking as to attract
the attention of all observers. For this reason we shall go further in
search of the true origin of the name, to a locality about which there
can be no doubt, no difference of opinion.

Seventy-five miles below the ultimate source of the river lies the
Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone, distinguished among the notable cañons
of the globe by the marvelous coloring of its walls. Conspicuous among
its innumerable tints is yellow. Every shade, from the brilliant
plumage of the yellow bird to the rich saffron of the orange, greets
the eye in bewildering profusion. There is indeed other color,
unparalleled in variety and abundance, but the ever-present background
of all is the beautiful fifth color of the spectrum.

So prominent is this feature that it never fails to attract attention,
and all descriptions of the Cañon abound in references to it.
Lieutenant Doane (1870) notes the "brilliant yellow color" of the
rocks. Captain Barlow and Doctor Hayden (1871) refer, in almost the
same words, to the "yellow, nearly vertical walls." Raymond (1871)
speaks of the "bright yellow of the sulphury clay." Captain Jones
(1873) says that "about and in the Grand Cañon the rocks are nearly
all tinged a brilliant yellow." These early impressions might be
repeated from the writings of every subsequent visitor who has
described the scenery of the Yellowstone.

That a characteristic which so deeply moves the modern beholder should
have made a profound impression on the mind of the Indian, need hardly
be premised. This region was by no means unknown to him; and from the
remote, although uncertain, period of his first acquaintance with it,
the name of the river has undoubtedly descended.

Going back, then, to this obscure fountain-head, the original
designation is found to have been

    _Mi tsi a-da-zi_,[E] Rock Yellow River.

And this, in the French tongue, became

    _Roche Jaune_ and _Pierre Jaune_;

and in English,

    _Yellow Rock_ and _Yellow Stone_.

Established usage now writes it

    _Yellowstone_.

[E] Minnetaree, one of the Siouan family of languages.




CHAPTER II.

INDIAN OCCUPANCY OF THE UPPER YELLOWSTONE.


It is a singular fact in the history of the Yellowstone National Park
that no knowledge of that country seems to have been derived from the
Indians. The explanation ordinarily advanced is that the Indians had a
superstitious fear of the geyser regions and always avoided them. How
far this theory is supported by the results of modern research is an
interesting inquiry.

Three great families of Indians, the Siouan, the Algonquian, and the
Shoshonean, originally occupied the country around the sources of the
Yellowstone. Of these three families the following tribes are alone of
interest in this connection: The Crows (_Absaroka_) of the Siouan
family; the Blackfeet (_Siksika_) of the Algonquian family; and the
Bannocks (_Panai'hti_), the Eastern Shoshones, and the Sheepeaters
(_Tukuarika_) of the Shoshonean family.

The home of the Crows was in the Valley of the Yellowstone below the
mountains where they have dwelt since the white man's earliest
knowledge of them. Their territory extended to the mountains which
bound the Yellowstone Park on the north and east; but they never
occupied or claimed any of the country beyond. Their well-known tribal
characteristics were an insatiable love of horse-stealing and a
wandering and predatory habit which caused them to roam over all the
West from the Black Hills to the Bitter Root Mountains and from the
British Possessions to the Spanish Provinces. They were generally,
although by no means always, friendly to the whites, but enemies of
the neighboring Blackfeet and Shoshones. Physically, they were a
stalwart, handsome race, fine horsemen and daring hunters. They were
every-where encountered by the trapper and prospector who generally
feared them more on account of their thievish habits than for reasons
of personal safety.

The Blackfeet dwelt in the country drained by the headwaters of the
Missouri. Their territory was roughly defined by the Crow territory on
the east and the Rocky Mountains on the west. Its southern limit was
the range of mountains along the present north-west border of the
Park and it extended thence to the British line. The distinguishing
historic trait of these Indians was their settled hostility to their
neighbors whether white or Indian. They were a tribe of perpetual
fighters, justly characterized as the Ishmaelites of their race. From
the day in 1806, when Captain Lewis slew one of their number, down to
their final subjection by the advancing power of the whites, they
never buried the hatchet. They were the terror of the trapper and
miner, and hundreds of the pioneers perished at their hands. Like the
Crows they were a well-developed race, good horsemen and great rovers,
but, in fight, given to subterfuge and stratagem rather than to open
boldness of action.

In marked contrast with these warlike and wandering tribes were those
of the great Shoshonean family who occupied the country around the
southern, eastern, and western borders of the Park, including also
that of the Park itself. The Shoshones as a family were an inferior
race. They seem to have been the victims of some great misfortune
which had driven them to precarious methods of subsistence and had
made them the prey of their powerful and merciless neighbors. The
names "Fish-eaters," "Root-diggers," and other opprobrious epithets,
indicate the contempt in which they were commonly held. For the most
part they had no horses, and obtained a livelihood only by the most
abject means. Some of the tribes, however, rose above this degraded
condition, owned horses, hunted buffalo, and met their enemies in open
conflict. Such were the Bannocks and the Eastern Shoshones--tribes
closely connected with the history of the Park, one occupying the
country to the south-west near the Teton Mountains, and the other that
to the south-east in the valley of Wind River. The Shoshones were
generally friendly to the whites, and for this reason they figure less
prominently in the books of early adventure than do the Crows and
Blackfeet whose acts of "sanguinary violence" were a staple article
for the Indian romancer.

It was an humble branch of the Shoshonean family which alone is known
to have permanently occupied what is now the Yellowstone Park. They
were called _Tukuarika_, or, more commonly, Sheepeaters. They were
found in the Park country at the time of its discovery and had
doubtless long been there. These hermits of the mountains, whom the
French trappers called "_les dignes de pitié_," have engaged the
sympathy or contempt of explorers since our earliest knowledge of
them. Utterly unfit for warlike contention, they seem to have sought
immunity from their dangerous neighbors by dwelling among the
inaccessible fastnesses of the mountains. They were destitute of even
savage comforts. Their food, as their name indicates, was principally
the flesh of the mountain sheep. Their clothing was composed of skins.
They had no horses and were armed only with bows and arrows. They
captured game by driving it into brush inclosures. Their rigorous
existence left its mark on their physical nature. They were feeble in
mind, diminutive in stature, and are always described as a "timid,
harmless race." They may have been longer resident in this region than
is commonly supposed, for there was a tradition among them, apparently
connected with some remote period of geological disturbance, that most
of their race were once destroyed by a terrible convulsion of
nature.

[Illustration: HISTORICAL CHART OF THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

_Opp. page 11._]

Such were the Indian tribes who formerly dwelt within or near the
country now embraced in the Yellowstone National Park. That the
Sheepeaters actually occupied this country, and that wandering bands
from other tribes occasionally visited it, there is abundant and
conclusive proof. Indian trails,[F] though generally indistinct, were
every-where found by the early explorers, mostly on lines since
occupied by the tourist routes. One of these followed the Yellowstone
Valley entirely across the Park from north to south. It divided at
Yellowstone Lake, the principal branch following the east shore,
crossing Two-Ocean-Pass, and intersecting a great trail which
connected the Snake and Wind River Valleys. The other branch passed
along the west shore of the lake and over the divide to the valleys of
Snake River and Jackson Lake. This trail was intersected by an
important one in the vicinity of Conant Creek leading from the Upper
Snake Valley to that of Henry Fork. Other intersecting trails
connected the Yellowstone River trail with the Madison and Firehole
Basins on the west and with the Bighorn Valley on the east.

[F] See historical chart, opposite.

The most important Indian trail in the Park, however, was that known
as the Great Bannock Trail. It extended from Henry Lake across the
Gallatin Range to Mammoth Hot Springs, where it was joined by another
coming up the valley of the Gardiner. Thence it led across the
Black-tail Deer plateau to the ford above Tower Falls; and thence up
the Lamar Valley, forking at Soda Butte, and reaching the Bighorn
Valley by way of Clark's Fork and the Stinkingwater River. This
trail was certainly a very ancient and much-traveled one. It had
become a deep furrow in the grassy slopes, and it is still distinctly
visible in places, though unused for a quarter of a century.

Additional evidence in the same direction may be seen in the
wide-spread distribution of implements peculiar to Indian use. Arrows
and spear heads have been found in considerable numbers. Obsidian
Cliff was an important quarry, and the open country near the outlet of
Yellowstone Lake a favorite camping-ground. Certain implements, such
as pipes, hammers, and stone vessels, indicating the former presence
of a more civilized people, have been found to a limited extent; and
some explorers have thought that a symmetrical mound in the valley of
the Snake River, below the mouth of Hart River, is of artificial
origin. Reference will later be made to the discovery of a rude
granite structure near the top of the Grand Teton, which is
unquestionably of very ancient date.

Dr. A. C. Peale, prominently connected with the early geological
explorations of this region, states that the Rustic Geyser in the Hart
Lake Geyser Basin is "bordered by logs which are coated with a
crystalline, semi-translucent deposit of geyserite. These logs were
evidently placed around the geyser by either Indians or white men a
number of years ago, as the coating is thick and the logs firmly
attached to the surrounding deposit."[G]

[G] Page 298, Twelfth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden. See Appendix E. It
is more than probable that this was the work of trappers.

More recent and perishable proofs of the presence of Indians in the
Park were found by the early explorers in the rude wick-e-ups, brush
inclosures, and similar contrivances of the lonely Sheepeaters; and it
is not improbable that many of the arrow and spear heads were the work
of these Indians.

The real question of doubt in regard to Indian occupancy of, or visits
to, the Park, is therefore not one of fact, but of degree. The
Sheepeaters certainly dwelt there; but as to other tribes, their
acquaintance with it seems to have been very limited. No word of
information about the geyser regions ever fell from their lips, except
that the surrounding country was known to them as the Burning
Mountains. With one or two exceptions, the old trails were very
indistinct, requiring an experienced eye to distinguish them from game
trails. Their undeveloped condition indicated infrequent use. Old
trappers who have known this region for fifty years say that the
great majority of Indians never saw it. Able Indian guides in the
surrounding country became lost when they entered the Park, and the
Nez Percés were forced to impress a white man as guide when they
crossed the Park in 1877.

An unknown writer, to whom extended reference will be made in a later
chapter, visited the Upper Geyser Basin in 1832, accompanied by two
Pend d'Oreilles Indians. Neither of these Indians had ever seen or
apparently heard of the geysers, and "were quite appalled" at the
sight of them, believing them to be "supernatural" and the "production
of the Evil Spirit."

Lieutenant Doane, who commanded the military escort to the Yellowstone
Expedition of 1870, says in his report:[H]

"Appearances indicated that the basin [of the Yellowstone Lake] had
been almost entirely abandoned by the sons of the forest. A few lodges
of Sheepeaters, a branch remnant of the Snake tribe, wretched beasts
who run from the sight of a white man, or from any other tribe of
Indians, are said to inhabit the fastnesses of the mountains around
the lakes, poorly armed and dismounted, obtaining a precarious
subsistence, and in a defenseless condition. We saw, however, no
recent traces of them. The larger tribes never enter the basin,
restrained by superstitious ideas in connection with the thermal
springs."

[H] Page 26, "Yellowstone Expedition of 1870." See Appendix E.

In 1880, Col. P. W. Norris, Second Superintendent of the Park, had a
long interview on the shore of the Yellowstone Lake with We-Saw, "an
old but remarkably intelligent Indian" of the Shoshone tribe, who was
then acting as guide to an exploring party under Governor Hoyt, of
Wyoming, and who had previously passed through the Park with the
expedition of 1873 under Captain W. A. Jones, U. S. A. He had also
been in the Park region on former occasions. Colonel Norris records
the following facts from this Indian's conversation:[I]

"We-Saw states that he had neither knowledge nor tradition of any
permanent occupants of the Park save the timid Sheepeaters.... He said
that his people (Shoshones) the Bannocks and the Crows, occasionally
visited the Yellowstone Lake and River portions of the Park, but very
seldom the geyser regions, which he declared were '_heap, heap, bad_,'
and never wintered there, as white men sometimes did with horses."

[I] Page 38, Annual Report of Superintendent of the Park for 1881.

It seems that even the resident Sheepeaters knew little of the geyser
basins. General Sheridan, who entered the Park from the south in 1882,
makes this record in his report of the expedition:[J]

"We had with us five Sheep Eating Indians as guides, and, strange to
say, although these Indians had lived for years and years about Mounts
Sheridan and Hancock, and the high mountains south-east of the
Yellowstone Lake, they knew nothing about the Firehole Geyser Basin,
and they exhibited more astonishment and wonder than any of us."

[J] Page 11, Report on Explorations of Parts of Wyoming, Idaho and
Montana, 1882. See Appendix E.

Evidence like the foregoing clearly indicates that this country was
_terra incognita_ to the vast body of Indians who dwelt around it, and
again this singular fact presents itself for explanation. Was it, as
is generally supposed, a "superstitious fear" that kept them away? The
incidents just related give some color to such a theory; but if it
were really true we should expect to find well authenticated Indian
traditions of so marvelous a country. Unfortunately history records
none. It is not meant by this to imply that reputed traditions
concerning the Yellowstone are unknown. For instance, it is related
that the Crows always refused to tell the whites of the geysers
because they believed that whoever visited them became endowed with
supernatural powers, and they wished to retain a monopoly of this
knowledge. But traditions of this sort, like most Indian curiosities
now offered for sale, are evidently of spurious origin. Only in the
names "Yellowstone" and "Burning Mountains" do we find any original
evidence that this land of wonders appealed in the least degree to the
native imagination.

The real explanation of this remarkable ignorance appears to us to
rest on grounds essentially practical. There was nothing to induce the
Indians to visit the Park country. For three-fourths of the year that
country is inaccessible on account of snow. It is covered with dense
forests, which in most places are so filled with fallen timber and
tangled underbrush as to be practically impassable. As a game country
in those early days it could not compare with the lower surrounding
valleys. As a highway of communication between the valleys of the
Missouri, Snake, Yellowstone, and Bighorn Rivers, it was no
thoroughfare. The great routes, except the Bannock trail already
described, lay on the outside. All the conditions, therefore, which
might attract the Indians to this region were wanting. Even those
sentimental influences, such as a love of sublime scenery and a
curiosity to see the strange freaks of nature, evidently had less
weight with them than with their pale-face brethren.

Summarizing the results of such knowledge, confessedly meager, as
exists upon this subject, it appears:

(1.) That the country now embraced in the Yellowstone National Park was
occupied, at the time of its discovery, by small bands of Sheepeater
Indians, probably not exceeding in number one hundred and fifty souls.
They dwelt in the neighborhood of the Washburn and Absaroka Ranges, and
among the mountains around the sources of the Snake. They were not
familiar with the geyser regions.

(2.) Wandering bands from other tribes occasionally visited this
country, but generally along the line of the Yellowstone River or the
Great Bannock Trail. Their knowledge of the geyser regions was extremely
limited, and very few had ever seen or heard of them. It is probable
that the Indians visited this country more frequently in earlier times
than since the advent of the white man.

(3.) The Indians avoided the region of the Upper Yellowstone from
practical, rather than from sentimental, considerations.

The legal processes by which the vast territory of these various
tribes passed to the United States, are full of incongruities
resulting from a general ignorance of the country in question. By the
Treaty of Fort Laramie, dated September 17, 1851, between the United
States on the one hand, and the Crows, Blackfeet and other northern
tribes on the other, the Crows were given, as part of their territory,
all that portion of the Park country which lies east of the
Yellowstone River; and the Blackfeet, all that portion lying between
the Yellowstone River and the Continental Divide. This was before any
thing whatever was known of the country so given away. None of the
Shoshone tribes were party to the treaty, and the rights of the
Sheepeaters were utterly ignored. That neither the Blackfeet nor the
Crows had any real claim to these extravagant grants is evidenced by
their prompt relinquishment of them in the first subsequent treaties.
Thus, by treaty of October 17, 1855, the Blackfeet agreed that all of
their portion of the Park country, with much other territory, should
be and remain a common hunting ground for certain designated tribes;
and by treaty of May 17, 1868, the Crows relinquished all of their
territory south of the Montana boundary line.

That portion of the Park country drained by the Snake River was always
considered Shoshone territory, although apparently never formally
recognized in any public treaty. By an unratified treaty, dated
September 24, 1868, the provisions of which seem to have been the
basis of subsequent arrangements with the Shoshonean tribes, all this
territory and much besides was ceded to the United States, and the
tribes were located upon small reservations.

It thus appears that at the time the Park was created, March 1, 1872,
all the territory included in its limits had been ceded to the United
States except the hunting ground above referred to, and the narrow
strip of Crow territory east of the Yellowstone where the north
boundary of the Park lies two or three miles north of the Montana
line. The "hunting ground" arrangement was abrogated by statute of
April 15, 1874, and the strip of Crow territory was purchased under an
agreement with the Crows, dated June 12, 1880, and ratified by
Congress, April 11, 1882, thus extinguishing the last remaining Indian
title to any portion of the Yellowstone Park.




CHAPTER III.

JOHN COLTER.


Lewis and Clark passed the second winter of their expedition at the
mouth of the Columbia River. In the spring and summer of 1806 they
accomplished their return to St. Louis. Upon their arrival at the site
of their former winter quarters among the Mandans, an incident
occurred which forms the initial point in the history of the
Yellowstone National Park. It is thus recorded in the journal of the
expedition under date of August 14 and 15, 1806:[K]

"In the evening we were applied to by one of our men, Colter, who was
desirous of joining the two trappers who had accompanied us, and who
now proposed an expedition up the river, in which they were to find
traps and give him a share of the profits. The offer was a very
advantageous one, and, as he had always performed his duty, and his
services might be dispensed with, we agreed that he might go provided
none of the rest would ask or expect a similar indulgence. To this
they cheerfully answered that they wished Colter every success and
would not apply for liberty to separate before we reached St. Louis.
We therefore supplied him, as did his comrades also, with powder,
lead, and a variety of articles which might be useful to him, and he
left us the next day."

[K] Pages 1181-2, Coues' "Lewis and Clark." See Appendix E.

To our explorers, just returning from a two years' sojourn in the
wilderness, Colter's decision seemed too remarkable to be passed over
in silence. The journal continues:

"The example of this man shows us how easily men may be weaned from
the habits of civilized life to the ruder but scarcely less
fascinating manners of the woods. This hunter has now been absent for
many years from the frontiers, and might naturally be presumed to have
some anxiety, or some curiosity at least, to return to his friends and
his country; yet just at the moment when he is approaching the
frontiers, he is tempted by a hunting scheme to give up those
delightful prospects, and go back without the least reluctance to the
solitude of the woods."

Colter seems to have stood well in the esteem of his officers. Besides
the fair character given him in his discharge, the record of the
expedition shows that he was frequently selected when one or two men
were required for important special duty. That he had a good eye for
topography may be inferred from the fact that Captain Clark, several
years after the expedition was over, placed upon his map certain
important information on the strength of Colter's statements, who
alone had traversed the region in question. In another instance, when
Bradbury, the English naturalist, was about to leave St. Louis to join
the Astorians in the spring of 1811, Clark referred him to Colter, who
had returned from the mountains, as a person who could conduct him to
a certain natural curiosity on the Missouri some distance above St.
Charles. Colter had not seen the place for six years. In the _Missouri
Gazette_, for April 18, 1811, he is referred to as a "celebrated
hunter and woodsman." These glimpses of his record, and a remarkable
incident to be related further on, clearly indicate that he was a man
of superior mettle to that of the average hunter and trapper.

Colter's whereabouts during the three years following his discharge
are difficult to fix upon. It may, however, be set down as certain
that he and his companions ascended the Yellowstone River, not the
Missouri. Captain Clark's return journey down the first-mentioned
stream had made known to them that it was better beaver country than
the Missouri, and Colter's subsequent wanderings clearly indicate that
his base of operations was in the valley of the Yellowstone near the
mouth of the Bighorn, Pryor's Fork, or other tributary stream.

In the summer of 1807, he made an expedition, apparently alone,
although probably in company with Indians, which has given him title
to a place in the history of the Yellowstone Park, and which was
destined in later years to assume an importance little enough
suspected by him at the time. His route appears upon Lewis and Clark's
map of 1814, and is there called "Colter's route in 1807." There is no
note or explanation, and we are left to retrace, on the basis of a
dotted line, a few names, and a date, one of those singular individual
wanderings through the wilderness which now and then find a permanent
place in history.

The "route," as traced on the map, starts from a point on Pryor's
Fork, the first considerable tributary of the Yellowstone above the
mouth of the Bighorn. Colter's intention seems to have been to skirt
the eastern base of the Absaroka Range until he should reach an
accessible pass across the mountains of which the Indians had
probably told him; then to cross over to the headwaters of Pacific or
gulf-flowing streams; and then to return by way of the Upper
Yellowstone.

[Illustration: /* _Opp. page 22._ */

Colter's Route in 1807.]

Accordingly, after he had passed through Pryor's Gap, he took a
south-westerly direction as far as Clark's Fork, which stream he
ascended for some distance, and then crossed over to the
Stinkingwater. Here he discovered a large boiling spring, strongly
impregnated with tar and sulphur, the odor of which, perceptible for a
great distance around, has given the stream its "unhappy name."

From this point Colter continued along the eastern flank of the
Absaroka Range, fording the several tributaries of the Bighorn River
which flow down from that range, and finally came to the upper course
of the main stream now known as Wind River. He ascended this stream to
its source, crossing the divide in the vicinity of Lincoln or Union
Pass, and found himself upon the Pacific slope. The map clearly shows
that at this point he had reached what the Indians called the "summit
of the world" near by the sources of all great streams of the west.
That he discovered one of the easy passes between Wind River and the
Pacific slope, is evident from the reference in the _Missouri Gazette_
already alluded to and here reproduced for the first time. It is from
the pen of a Mr. H. M. Brackenridge, a contemporary writer of note on
topics of western adventure. It reads:

"At the head of the Gallatin Fork, and of the Grosse Corne of the
Yellowstone [the Bighorn River], from discoveries since the voyage of
Lewis and Clark, it is found less difficult to cross than the
Allegheny Mountains. Coulter, a celebrated hunter and woodsman,
informed me that a loaded wagon would find no obstruction in passing."

The "discoveries" are of course those of Colter, for no other white
man at this time had been in those parts.

From the summit of the mountains he descended to the westward; crossed
the Snake River and Teton Pass to Pierre's Hole, and then turned
north, recrossing the Teton Range by the Indian trail in the valley of
what is now Conant Creek, just north of Jackson Lake.[L] Thence he
continued his course until he reached Yellowstone Lake,[L] at some
point along its south-western shore. He passed around the west shore
to the northernmost point of the Thumb, and then resumed his northerly
course over the hills arriving at the Yellowstone River in the valley
of Alum Creek. He followed the left bank of the river to the ford just
above Tower Falls, where the great Bannock Trail used to cross, and
then followed this trail to its junction with his outward route on
Clark's Fork. From this point he re-crossed to the Stinkingwater,
possibly in order to re-visit the strange phenomena there, but more
probably to explore new trapping territory on his way back. He
descended the Stinkingwater until about south of Pryor's Gap, when he
turned north and shortly after arrived at his starting point.

[L] For the names given by Captain Clark to these bodies of water, see
Appendix A, "Jackson Lake" and "Yellowstone Lake."

The direction of Colter's progress, as here indicated, and the
identification of certain geographical features noted by him, differ
somewhat from the ordinary interpretation of that adventure. But,
while it would be absurd to dogmatize upon so uncertain a subject, it
is believed that the theory adopted is fairly well supported by the
facts as now known. It must in the first place be assumed that Colter
exercised ordinary common sense upon this journey and availed himself
of all information that could facilitate his progress. It is probable
that he was under the guidance of Indians who knew the country; but if
not, he frequently stopped, like any traveler in an unknown region, to
inquire his way. He sought the established trails, low mountain
passes, and well-known fords, and did not, as the map suggests, take a
direction that would carry him through the very roughest and most
impassable mountain country on the continent. It is necessary to
orient his map so as to make both his outgoing and return routes
extend nearly due north and south, instead of north-east and
south-west, in order to reconcile his geography at all with the modern
maps. With these precautions some of the difficulty of the situation
disappears.

Colter, it is therefore assumed, followed the great trail along the
Absarokas to the Wind River Valley, and crossed the divide by one of
the easy passes at its head. His two crossings of the Teton range were
along established trails. He evidently lost his bearings somewhat in
the vicinity of the Yellowstone Lake, but as soon as he arrived at the
river below the lake he kept along the trail until he reached the
important crossing at Tower Falls. If he was in company with Indians
who had ever been through that country before, he learned that it
would be no advantage to cross at Mud Geyser, inasmuch as he would
strike the great Bannock Trail at the next ford below. Moreover, the
distance below the lake to the point where Colter touched the
Yellowstone is clearly greater than that to the Mud Geyser Ford. The
bend in the river at the Great Falls, and the close proximity of the
Washburn Range to the river, are distinctly indicated. The locality
noted on the map as "Hot Springs Brimstone" is evidently not that near
the Mud Geyser, as generally assumed, but instead, that of the now
world-renowned Mammoth Hot Springs. As will be seen from the map, it
is nearer the Gallatin River than it is to the Yellowstone _where
Colter crossed_. If Colter visited the Springs from Tower Falls, as is
not unlikely, a clue is supplied to the otherwise perplexing reference
to the Gallatin River in the above extract from the _Missouri
Gazette_, for it would thus appear that he was near the sources of
both the Grosse Corne and of the Gallatin.

The essential difficulties in the way of this theory (and they exist
with any possible theory that can be advanced) are the following: (1.)
There is no stream on the map that can stand for the Snake River
either above or below Jackson Lake, although Colter must have crossed
it in each place. "Colter's River" comes nearest the first location,
and may possibly be intended to represent that stream; but Clark's
evident purpose to drain Jackson Lake into the Bighorn River doubtless
led to a distortion of the map in this locality. (2.) The erroneous
shape given to the Yellowstone Lake will be readily understood by any
one who has visited its western shore. The jutting promontories to
the eastward entirely conceal from view the great body of the lake and
give it a form not unlike that upon Clark's map. (3.) The absence of
the Great Falls from the map is not easily accounted for, although the
location and trend of the Grand Cañon are shown with remarkable
accuracy. (4.) The absence of the many hot springs districts, through
which Colter passed, particularly that at the west end of the
Yellowstone Lake, may be explained by the same spirit of incredulity
which led to the rejection of all similar accounts for a period of
more than sixty years. It is probable that Clark was not willing to
recognize Colter's statements on this subject further than to note on
his map the location of the most wonderful of the hot springs groups
mentioned by him.

The direction in which Colter traveled is a matter of no essential
importance, and that here adopted is based solely upon the
consideration that the doubling of the trail upon itself between
Clark's Fork and the Stinkingwater River, and the erratic course of
the route around Yellowstone Lake, can not be well accounted for on
the contrary hypothesis.[M]

[M] In adopting, as Colter's point of crossing the Yellowstone, the
ford at Tower Creek, the author has followed the Hon. N. P. Langford,
in his reprint of Folsom's "Valley of the Upper Yellowstone." (See
Appendix E.) All other writers who have touched upon the subject have
assumed the ford to be that near the Mud Geyser.

Such, in the main, is "Colter's route in 1807." That he was the
discoverer of Yellowstone Lake, and the foremost herald of the strange
phenomena of that region, may be accepted as beyond question. He did
not, as is generally supposed, see the Firehole Geyser Basins. But he
saw too much for his reputation as a man of veracity. No author or
map-maker would jeopardize the success of his work by incorporating in
it such incredible material as Colter furnished. His stories were not
believed; their author became the subject of jest and ridicule; and
the region of his adventures was long derisively known as "Colter's
Hell."[N]

[N] This name early came to be restricted to the locality where Colter
discovered the tar spring on the Stinkingwater, probably because few
trappers ever saw the other similar localities visited by him. But
Colter's descriptions, so well summed up by Irving in his "Captain
Bonneville," undoubtedly refer in large part to what he saw in the
Yellowstone and Snake River Valleys.

The story of Colter's subsequent experience before he returned to St.
Louis is thrilling in the extreme. Although it has no direct bearing
upon this narrative, still, since it is part of the biography of the
discoverer of the Upper Yellowstone, it can not be omitted. The
detailed account we owe to the naturalist Bradbury, already referred
to. He saw Colter above St. Louis in the spring of 1811, one year
after his return from the mountains, and received the story directly
from him. All other accounts are variations from Bradbury. Irving, who
has made this story an Indian classic, borrows it _in toto_. Perhaps
in all the records of Indian adventure there is not another instance
of such a miraculous escape, in which the details are throughout so
clearly within the range of possibility. It is a consistent narrative
from beginning to end. In briefest outline it is as follows:

When Colter returned from his expedition of 1807, he found Manuel
Lisa, of the Missouri Fur Company, already in the country, where he
had just arrived from St. Louis. With him was one Potts, believed to
be the same person who had been a private in the party of Lewis and
Clark. In the spring of 1808, Colter and his old companion in arms set
out to the headwaters of the Missouri on a trapping expedition. It was
on a branch of Jefferson Fork that they went to work, and here they
met with their disastrous experience.

One morning while they were in a canoe examining their traps they were
surprised by a large party of Blackfeet Indians. Potts attempted
resistance and was slain on the spot. Colter, with more presence of
mind, gave himself up as the only possible chance of avoiding
immediate death. The Indians then consulted as to how they should kill
him in order to yield themselves the greatest amount of amusement.
Colter, upon being questioned as to his fleetness of foot, sagaciously
replied that he was a poor runner (though in fact very swift), and the
Indians, believing that it would be a safe experiment, decided that he
should run for his life. Accordingly he was stripped naked and was led
by the chief to a point three or four hundred yards in advance of the
main body of the Indians. Here he was told "_to save himself if he
could_," and the race began--one man against five hundred.

The Indians quickly saw how they had been outwitted, for Colter flew
away from them as if upon the wings of the wind. But his speed cost
him dear. The exertion caused the blood to stream from his mouth and
nostrils, and run down over his naked form. The prickly pear and the
rough ground lacerated his feet. Six miles away across a level plain
was a fringe of cottonwood on the banks of the Jefferson River. Short
of that lay not a shadow of chance of concealment. It was a long race,
but life hung upon the issue. The Indians had not counted on such
prodigious running. Gradually they fell off, and when Colter ventured
for the first time to glance back, only a small number were in his
wake. Encouragement was now added to hope, and he ran even faster than
before.

But there was one Indian who was too much for him. He was steadily
shortening the distance between them, and at last had arrived within a
spear's throw. Was Colter to be slain by a single Indian after having
distanced five hundred? He would see. Suddenly whirling about, he
confronted the Indian, who was astounded at the sudden move and at
Colter's bloody appearance. He tried to hurl his spear but stumbled
and broke it as he fell. Colter seized the pointed portion and pinned
the Indian to the earth.

Again he resumed his flight. He reached the Jefferson, and discovered,
some distance below, a raft of driftwood against the head of an
island. He dived under this raft and found a place where he could get
his head above water. There, in painful suspense, he awaited
developments. The Indians explored the island and examined the raft,
but Colter's audacious spirit was beyond their comprehension. It did
not occur to them that he was all the time surveying their movements
from his hiding place under the timber, and they finally abandoned the
search and withdrew. Colter had saved himself. When evening came he
swam several miles down the river and then went ashore. For seven
days he wandered naked and unarmed, over stones, cacti, and the
prickly pear, scorched by the heat of noon and chilled by the frost of
night, finding his sole subsistence in such roots as he might dig,
until at last he reached Lisa's trading post on the Bighorn River.

Even this terrible adventure could not dismay the dauntless Colter,
and he remained still another year in the mountains. Finally, in the
spring of 1810, he got into a canoe and dropped down the river, "three
thousand miles in thirty days," reaching St. Louis, May 1st, after an
absence of six years.

Colter remained in St. Louis for a time giving Clark what information
he could concerning the places he had seen, and evidently talking a
great deal about his adventures. Finally he retired to the country
some distance up the Missouri, and married. Here we again catch a
glimpse of him when the Astorians were on their way up the river. As
Colter saw the well appointed expedition setting out for the
mountains, the old fever seized him again and he was upon the point of
joining the party. But what the hardships of the wilderness and the
pleasures of civilization could not dissuade him from doing, the
charms of a newly-married wife easily accomplished. Colter remained
behind; and here the curtain of oblivion falls upon the discoverer of
the Yellowstone. It is not without genuine satisfaction that, having
followed him through the incredible mazes of "Colter's Hell," we bid
him adieu amid surroundings of so different a character.




CHAPTER IV.

THE TRADER AND TRAPPER.


For sixty years after Lewis and Clark returned from their expedition,
the headwaters of the Yellowstone remained unexplored except by the
trader and trapper. The traffic in peltries it was that first induced
extensive exploration of the west. Concerning the precious metals, the
people seem to have had little faith in their abundant existence in
the west, and no organized search for them was made in the earlier
years of the century. But that country, even in its unsettled state,
had other and important sources of wealth. Myriads of beaver inhabited
the streams and innumerable buffalo roamed the valleys. The buffalo
furnished the trapper with means of subsistence, and beaver furs were
better than mines of gold. Far in advance of the tide of settlement
the lonely trapper, and after him the trader, penetrated the unknown
west. Gradually the enterprise of individuals crystallized around a
few important nuclei and there grew up those great fur-trading
companies which for many years exercised a kind of paternal sway over
the Indians and the scarcely more civilized trappers. A brief resumé
of the history of these companies will show how important a place they
occupy in the early history of the Upper Yellowstone.

The climax of the western fur business may be placed at about the year
1830. At that time three great companies operated in territories whose
converging lines of separation centered in the region about
Yellowstone Lake. The oldest and most important of them, and the one
destined to outlive the others, was the world-renowned Hudson's Bay
Company. It was at that time more than a century and a half old. Its
earlier history was in marked contrast with that of later years.
Secure in the monopoly which its extensive charter rights guaranteed,
it had been content with substantial profits and had never pushed its
business far into new territory nor managed it with aggressive vigor.
It was not until forced to action by the encroachments of a dangerous
rival, that it became the prodigious power of later times.

This rival was the great North-west Fur Company of Montreal: It had
grown up since the French and Indian War, partly as a result of that
conflict, and finally took corporate form in 1787. It had none of the
important territorial rights of the Hudson's Bay Company, but its lack
of monopoly was more than made up by the enterprise of its promoters.
With its bands of Canadian frontiersmen, it boldly penetrated the
north-west and paid little respect to those territorial rights which
its venerable rival was powerless to enforce. It rapidly extended its
operations far into the unexplored interior. Lewis and Clark found its
traders among the Mandans in 1804. In 1811 the Astorians saw its first
party descend the Columbia to the sea. Two years later the American
traders on the Pacific Coast were forced to succumb to their British
rivals.

A long and bitter strife now ensued between the two British companies.
It even assumed the magnitude of civil war, and finally resulted in a
frightful massacre of unoffending colonists. The British government
interfered and forced the rivals into court, where they were brought
to the verge of ruin by protracted litigation. A compromise was at
last effected in 1821 by an amalgamation of the two companies under
the name of the older rival.

But in the meantime a large part of their best fur country had been
lost. In 1815 the government of the United States excluded British
traders from its territory east of the Rocky Mountains. To the west of
this limit, however, the amalgamated company easily forced all its
rivals from the field. No American fur company ever attained the
splendid organization, nor the influence over the Indians, possessed
by the Hudson's Bay Company. At the time of which we write it was
master of the trade in the Columbia River valley, and the eastern
limit of its operations within the territory of the United States was
nearly coincident with the present western boundary of the Yellowstone
Park.

The second of the great companies to which reference has been made was
the American Fur Company. It was the final outcome of John Jacob
Astor's various attempts to control the fur trade of the United
States. Although it was incorporated in 1809, it was for a time
overshadowed by the more brilliant enterprises known as the Pacific
Fur Company and the Southwest Fur Company. The history of Mr. Astor's
Pacific Fur Company, the dismal experiences of the Astorians, and the
deplorable failure of the whole undertaking, are matters familiar to
all readers of Irving's "Astoria."

The other project gave for a time more substantial promise of
success. A British company of considerable importance, under the name
of the Mackinaw Company, with headquarters at Michilimacinac, had for
some time operated in the country about the headwaters of the
Mississippi now included in the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Astor succeeded in forming a new company, partly with American and
partly with Canadian capital. This company bought out the Mackinaw
Company, and changed the name to South-west Fur Company. But scarcely
had its promising career begun when it was cut short by the War of
1812.

The failure of these two attempts caused Mr. Astor to turn to the old
American Fur Company. The exclusion Act of 1815 enabled him to buy at
his own price the North-west Fur Company's posts on the upper rivers,
and the American Company rapidly extended its trade over all the
country, from Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains. Its posts
multiplied in every direction, and at an early date steamboats began
to do its business up the Missouri River from St. Louis. It gradually
absorbed lesser concerns, such as the Missouri Fur Company, and the
Columbia Fur Company, and in 1823 was reorganized under the name of
The North American Fur Company. In 1834, Astor sold his interests to
Chouteau, Valle and Company, of St. Louis, and retired from the
business. At this time the general western limit of the territory
operated in by this formidable company was the northern and eastern
slope of the mountains which bound the Yellowstone Park on the north
and east. Its line of operations was down the river to St. Louis, and
its great trading posts were located at frequent intervals between.

The third of the great rival companies was the Rocky Mountain Fur
Company, which originated in St. Louis in 1822, and received its full
organization in 1826 under the direction of Jedediah Smith, David
Jackson and William Sublette. Among the leading spirits, who at one
time or another guided its affairs, was the famous mountaineer James
Bridger to whom frequent reference will be made.

This company had its general center of operations on the head waters
of Green River to the west of South Pass. Unlike the other companies,
it had no navigable stream along which it could establish posts and
conduct its operations. By the necessities of its exclusively mountain
trade it developed a new feature of the fur business. The _voyageur_,
with his canoe and oar, gave way to the mountaineer, with his saddle
and rifle. The trading post was replaced by the annual rendezvous,
which was in many points the forerunner of the later cattle "roundups"
of the plains. These rendezvous were agreed upon each year at
localities best suited for the convenience of the trade. Hither in the
spring came from the east convoys of supplies for the season's use.
Hither repaired also the various parties of hunters and trappers and
such bands of Indians as roamed in the vicinity. These meetings were
great occasions, both in the transaction of business and in the round
of festivities that always prevailed. After the traffic of the
occasion was over, and the plans for the ensuing year were agreed
upon, the convoys returned to the States and the trappers to their
retreats in the mountains. The field of operations of this company
was very extensive and included about all of the West not controlled
by the Hudson's Bay and American Fur Companies.

Thus was the territory of the great West practically parceled out
among these three companies.[O] It must not be supposed that there was
any agreement, tacit or open, that each company should keep within
certain limits. There were, indeed, a few temporary arrangements of
this sort, but for the most part each company maintained the right to
work in any territory it saw fit, and there was constant invasion by
each of the proper territories of the other. But the practical
necessities of the business kept them, broadly speaking, within the
limits which we have noted. The roving bands of "free trappers" and
"lone traders," and individual expeditions like those of Captain
Bonneville and Nathaniel J. Wyeth, acknowledged allegiance to none of
the great organizations, but wandered where they chose, dealing by
turns with each of the companies.

[O] A singular and striking coincidence at once discloses itself to
any one who compares maps showing the territories operated in by these
three companies, and those which belonged to the three great families
of Indians mentioned in a preceding chapter. By far the larger part of
the Hudson's Bay Company's territory, as far west as the main range of
the Rocky Mountains, was Algonquian. The American Fur Company's
territory was almost entirely Siouan, and that of the Rocky Mountain
Fur Company, Shoshonean.

Nor did any company maintain an exclusive monopoly of its peculiar
methods of conducting business. The American Fur Company frequently
held rendezvous at points remote from its trading posts; and the Rocky
Mountain Fur Company in later years resorted to the Missouri River as
its line of supplies. In fact, the interests of the two companies
finally became to such an extent dependent upon each other that a
union was effected, in 1839, under the firm name of P. Chouteau, Jr.

The records of those early days abound in references to the fierce
competition in trade which existed between these great organizations.
It led to every manner of device or subterfuge which might deceive a
rival as to routes, conceal from him important trapping grounds,
undermine the loyalty of his employes or excite the hostility of the
Indians against him. It often led to deeds of violence, and made the
presence of a rival band of trappers more dreaded than a war party of
the implacable Blackfeet.

The vigor and enterprise of these traders caused their business to
penetrate the remotest and most inaccessible corners of the land.
Silliman's Journal for January, 1834, declares that--

"The mountains and forests, from the Arctic Sea to the Gulf of Mexico,
are threaded through every maze by the hunter. Every river and
tributary stream, from the Columbia to the Rio del Norte, and from the
Mackenzie to the Colorado of the West, from their head waters to their
junctions, are searched and trapped for beaver."

That a business of such all-pervading character should have left a
region like our present Yellowstone Park unexplored would seem
extremely doubtful. That region lay, a sort of neutral ground, between
the territories of the rival fur companies. Its streams abounded with
beaver; and, although hemmed in by vast mountains, and snow-bound most
of the year, it could not have escaped discovery. In fact, every part
of it was repeatedly visited by trappers. Rendezvous were held on
every side of it, and once, it is believed, in Hayden Valley, just
north of Yellowstone Lake. Had the fur business been more enduring,
the geyser regions would have become known at least a generation
sooner.

But a business carried on with such relentless vigor naturally soon
taxed the resources of nature beyond its capacity for reproduction. In
regions under the control of a single organization, as in the vast
domains of the Hudson's Bay Company, great care was taken to preserve
the fur-bearing animals from extinction; but in United States
territory, the exigencies of competition made any such provision
impossible. The poor beaver, as at a later day the buffalo, quickly
succumbed to his ubiquitous enemies. There was no spot remote enough
for him to build his dam in peace, and the once innumerable multitude
speedily dwindled away. The few years immediately preceding and
following 1830 were the halcyon days of the fur trade in the United
States. Thenceforward it rapidly declined, and by 1850 had shrunk to a
mere shadow of its former greatness. With its disappearance the early
knowledge of the Upper Yellowstone also disappeared. Subsequent
events--the Mormon emigration, the war with Mexico, and the discovery
of gold--drew attention, both private and official, in other
directions; and the great wonderland became again almost as much
unknown as in the days of Lewis and Clark.




CHAPTER V.

EARLY KNOWLEDGE OF THE YELLOWSTONE.


On the west bank of the Yellowstone River, a quarter of a mile above
the Upper Falls, in a ravine now crossed by a lofty wooden bridge,
stands a pine tree, on which is the oldest record, except that of
Colter, of the presence of white men within the present limits of the
Park. It is an inscription, giving the initials of a name and the date
when inscribed. It was discovered in 1880 by Col. P. W. Norris, then
Superintendent of the Park. It is now practically illegible from
overgrowth, although some of the characters can still be made out.
Col. Norris, who saw it fifteen years ago, claims to have successfully
deciphered it. He verified the date by counting the annual rings on
another tree near by, which bore hatchet marks, presumably of the same
date. The time that had elapsed since these cuts were made
corresponded well with the inscribed date. The inscription was:

    J O R
    Aug 19 1819

Efforts have been made to trace this inscription to some of the early
noted trappers, but the attempt can hardly succeed. Even if an
identity of initials were established, the identity of individuals
would still remain in doubt. Nothing short of some authentic record of
such a visit as must have taken place can satisfy the requirements of
the case. In the absence of any such record, the most that can be
said is that the inscription is proof positive that the Park country
was visited by white men, after Colter's time, fully fifty years
before its final discovery.

Col. Norris' researches disclosed other similar evidence, although in
no other instance with so plain a clue as to date. Near Beaver Lake
and Obsidian Cliff, he found, in 1878, a cache of marten traps of an
old pattern used by the Hudson's Bay Company's trappers fifty years
before. He also examined the ruins of an ancient block-house
discovered by Frederick Bottler at the base of Mt. Washburn, near the
Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone. Its decayed condition indicated great
age. In other places, the stumps of trees, old logs used to cross
streams, and many similar proofs, were brought to light by that
inveterate ranger of the wilderness.

The Washburn party, in 1870, discovered on the east bank of the
Yellowstone, just above Mud Geyser, the remains of a pit, probably
once used for concealment in shooting water fowl.

In 1882, there was still living in Montana, at the advanced age of one
hundred and two years, a Frenchman by the name of Baptiste Ducharne.
This man spent the summers of 1824 and 1826 on the Upper Yellowstone
River trapping for beaver. He saw the Grand Cañon and Falls of the
Yellowstone and the Yellowstone Lake. He passed through the geyser
regions, and could accurately describe them more than half a century
after he had seen them.

A book called "The River of the West,"[P] published in 1871, but
copyrighted in 1869, before the publication of any modern account of
the geyser regions, contains the record of an adventure in the
Yellowstone three years after those of Ducharne. The book is a
biography of one Joseph Meek, a trapper and pioneer of considerable
note. The adventure to which reference is made took place in 1829, and
was the result of a decision by the Rocky Mountain Fur Company to
retire from competition with the Hudson's Bay Company in the Snake
River Valley. In leaving the country, Captain William Sublette, the
chief partner, led his party up Henry Fork, across the Madison and
Gallatin Rivers, to the high ridge overlooking the Yellowstone, at
some point near the present Cinnabar Mountain. Here the party was
dispersed by a band of Blackfeet, and Meek, one of its members, became
separated from his companions. He had lost his horse and most of his
equipment and in this condition he wandered for several days, without
food or shelter, until he was found by two of his companions. His
route lay in a southerly direction, to the eastward of the
Yellowstone, at some distance back from the river. On the morning of
the fifth day he had the following experience:

"Being desirous to learn something of the progress he had made, he
ascended a low mountain in the neighborhood of his camp, and behold!
the whole country beyond was smoking with vapor from boiling springs,
and burning with gases issuing from small craters, each of which was
emitting a sharp, whistling sound. When the first surprise of this
astonishing scene had passed, Joe began to admire its effect from an
artistic point of view. The morning being clear, with a sharp frost,
he thought himself reminded of the City of Pittsburg, as he had beheld
it on a winter morning, a couple of years before. This, however,
related only to the rising smoke and vapor; for the extent of the
volcanic region was immense, reaching far out of sight. The general
face of the country was smooth and rolling, being a level plain,
dotted with cone-shaped mounds. On the summit of these mounds were
small craters from four to eight feet in diameter. Interspersed among
these on the level plain were larger craters, some of them from four
to six miles across. Out of these craters, issued blue flames and
molten brimstone."[Q]

[P] See Appendix E.

[Q] Page 75, "River of the West."

Making some allowance for the trapper's tendency to exaggeration, we
recognize in this description the familiar picture of the hot springs
districts. The precise location is difficult to determine; but Meek's
previous wanderings, and the subsequent route of himself and his
companions whom he met here, show conclusively that it was one of the
numerous districts east of the Yellowstone, which were possibly then
more active than now.

This book affords much other evidence of early knowledge of the
country immediately bordering the present Park. The Great Bend of the
Yellowstone where Livingston now stands, was already a famous
rendezvous. The Gardiner and Firehole Rivers were well known to
trappers; and a much-used trail led from the Madison across the
Gallatin Range to the Gardiner, and thence up the Yellowstone and East
Fork across the mountains to the Bighorn Valley.

In Vol. I, No. 17, August 13, 1842, of _The Wasp_, a Mormon paper
published at Nauvoo, Ill., occurs the first, as it is by far the best,
of all early accounts of the geyser regions prior to 1870. It is an
extract from an unpublished work, entitled _Life in the Rocky
Mountains_. Who was the author will probably never be known; but that
he was a man of culture and education, altogether beyond the average
trader, is evident from the passing glimpse which we have of his work.
He apparently made his visit from some point in the valley of Henry
Fork not far west of the Firehole River, for, at the utmost allowance,
he traveled only about sixty or seventy miles to reach the geyser
basins. The evidence is conclusive that the scene of this visit was
the Upper Geyser Basin. It fits perfectly with the description, while
numerous insuperable discrepancies render identification with the
Lower Basin, which some have sought to establish, impossible.
Following is this writer's narrative:

"I had heard in the summer of 1833, while at rendezvous, that
remarkable boiling springs had been discovered on the sources of the
Madison, by a party of trappers, in their spring hunt; of which the
accounts they gave, were so very astonishing, that I determined to
examine them myself, before recording their description, though I had
the united testimony of more than twenty men on the subject, who all
declared they saw them, and that they really were as extensive and
remarkable as they had been described. Having now an opportunity of
paying them a visit, and as another or a better might not occur, I
parted with the company after supper, and taking with me two Pend
d'Oreilles (who were induced to take the excursion with me, by the
promise of an extra present,) set out at a round pace, the night being
clear and comfortable. We proceeded over the plain about twenty miles,
and halted until daylight, on a fine spring, flowing into Camas Creek.
Refreshed by a few hours' sleep, we started again after a hasty
breakfast, and entered a very extensive forest, called the Pine Woods;
(a continued succession of low mountains or hills, entirely covered
with a dense growth of this species of timber;) which we passed
through and reached the vicinity of the springs about dark, having
seen several lakes or ponds on the sources of the Madison, and rode
about forty miles; which was a hard day's ride, taking into
consideration the rough irregularity of the country through which we
traveled.

"We regaled ourselves with a cup of coffee, the materials for making
which we had brought with us, and immediately after supper, lay down
to rest, sleepy and much fatigued. The continual roaring of the
springs, however, (which was distinctly heard,) for some time
prevented my going to sleep, and excited an impatient curiosity to
examine them, which I was obliged to defer the gratification of until
morning, and filled my slumbers with visions of waterspouts,
cataracts, fountains, _jets d'eau_ of immense dimensions, etc., etc.

"When I arose in the morning, clouds of vapor seemed like a dense fog
to overhang the springs, from which frequent reports or explosions of
different loudness, constantly assailed our ears. I immediately
proceeded to inspect them, and might have exclaimed with the Queen of
Sheba, when their full reality of dimensions and novelty burst upon my
view, 'the half was not told me.'

"From the surface of a rocky plain or table, burst forth columns of
water, of various dimensions, projecting high in the air, accompanied
by loud explosions, and sulphurous vapors, which were highly
disagreeable to the smell. The rock from which these springs burst
forth was calcareous, and probably extends some distance from them,
beneath the soil. The largest of these beautiful fountains projects a
column of boiling water several feet in diameter, to the height of
more than one hundred and fifty feet, in my opinion; but the party of
Alvarez, who discovered it, persist in declaring that it could not be
less than four times that distance in height--accompanied with a
tremendous noise. These explosions and discharges occur at intervals
of about two hours. After having witnessed three of them, I ventured
near enough, to put my hand into the waters of its basin, but withdrew
it instantly, for the heat of the water in this immense cauldron was
altogether too great for my comfort; and the agitation of the water,
the disagreeable effluvium continually exuding, and the hollow
unearthly rumbling under the rock on which I stood, so ill accorded
with my notions of personal safety, that I retreated back
precipitately to a respectful distance. The Indians, who were with me,
were quite appalled, and could not by any means be induced to approach
them. They seemed astonished at my presumption in advancing up to the
large one, and when I safely returned, congratulated me upon my
'narrow escape.' They believed them to be supernatural and supposed
them to be the production of the Evil Spirit. One of them remarked
that hell, of which he had heard from the whites, must be in that
vicinity. The diameter of the basin into which the waters of the
largest jet principally fall, and from the center of which, through a
hole in the rock, of about nine or ten feet in diameter, the water
spouts up as above related, may be about thirty feet. There are many
other smaller fountains, that did not throw their waters up so high,
but occurred at shorter intervals. In some instances the volumes were
projected obliquely upward, and fell into the neighboring fountains,
or on the rock or prairie. But their ascent was generally
perpendicular, falling in and about their own basins or apertures.

"These wonderful productions of nature are situated near the center of
a small valley, surrounded by pine-covered hills, through which a
small fork of the Madison flows."

Here we have a description, as from the pen of some earlier Doane or
Langford, free from exaggeration and true to the facts. No one who has
seen the Upper Geyser Basin will question its general correctness. The
writer then goes on to relate what he has learned from others, but
here exaggeration creeps in and this part of his narrative is less
reliable. It continues:

"From several trappers who had recently returned from the Yellow
Stone, I received an account of boiling springs that differ from those
seen on Salt River only in magnitude, being on a vastly larger scale;
some of their cones are from twenty to thirty feet high, and forty to
fifty paces in circumference. Those which have ceased to emit boiling,
vapor, etc., of which there were several, are full of shelving
cavities, even some fathoms in extent, which give them, inside, an
appearance of honey-comb. The ground for several acres extent in
vicinity of the springs is evidently hollow, and constantly exhales a
hot steam or vapor of disagreeable odor, and a character entirely to
prevent vegetation. They are situated in the valley at the head of
that river near the lake, which constitutes its source.

"A short distance from these springs, near the margin of the lake,
there is one quite different from any yet described. It is of a
circular form, several feet in diameter, clear, cold and pure; the
bottom appears visible to the eye, and seems seven or eight feet below
the surface of the earth or water, without meeting any resistance.
What is most singular with respect to this fountain is the fact that
at regular intervals of about two minutes, a body or column of water
bursts up to the height of eight feet, with an explosion as loud as
the report of a musket, and then falls back into it; for a few seconds
the water is roily, but it speedily settles and becomes transparent as
before the effusion. A slight tremulous motion of the water, and a low
rumbling sound from the caverns beneath, precede each explosion. This
spring was believed to be connected with the lake by some subterranean
passage, but the cause of its periodical eruptions or discharges, is
entirely unknown. I have never before heard of a cold spring, whose
waters exhibit the phenomena of periodical explosive propulsion, in
form of a jet. The geysers of Iceland, and the various other European
springs, the waters of which are projected upwards, with violence and
uniformity, as well as those seen on the head waters of the Madison,
are invariably hot."

The cold water geyser above described, although, apparently a myth,
may not have been so after all. In many places along the west shore of
the Yellowstone Lake there are visible protuberances in the water
surface where boiling springs from beneath force the cold water
upward. It is quite possible that this spring was so connected with
the lake as to keep constantly filled with cold water to a
considerable depth; and that the eruptive energy of the spring was
expended in lifting the superincumbent mass without giving any visible
indication of the thermal action below.

The whole article forms the most interesting and authentic reference
to the geyser regions published prior to 1870. It proves beyond
question that a knowledge of this region existed among the early
trappers, and confirms our previous deduction that the wide range of
the fur business could not have left it unexplored.

In a letter addressed by General Bonneville to the Montana Historical
Society,[R] since the creation of the Yellowstone Park, he states
that, at the time of his sojourn in the mountains, in 1831-4, the
geyser regions were known to his men, although he had not personally
seen them. He also remembered having seen the trader Alvarez, referred
to in the above article.

[R] See Appendix E, "Transactions Montana Historical Society."

In 1844, a large party of trappers entered the Upper Yellowstone
Valley from the south, passed around the west shore of the Yellowstone
Lake to the outlet, where they had a severe battle with the Blackfeet
Indians, in a broad open tract at that point. The remains of their old
corral were still visible as late as 1870.

There are numerous other interesting, though less definite, references
to an early knowledge of the Yellowstone; but those we have given show
their general character. The important fact to remember is that this
knowledge was barren of result. For the most part it existed only in
the minds of illiterate men, and perished with them. It never caught
the public ear and did not in the least degree hasten the final
discovery. Historically interesting these early adventures will always
be; as are also the Norse voyages to America; but they are very far
from being the Columbus voyage of discovery.




CHAPTER VI.

JAMES BRIDGER.


Of the early characters whose names are closely linked with the
history of the Yellowstone, the most distinguished is James Bridger, a
sketch of whose life is given in Appendix A, under "Bridger Lake."
That he had often been in the region of the Yellowstone Park, and was
familiar with its unique features, is now well known. His first
personal knowledge of them is believed to date from 1824, when he is
supposed to have been upon the upper Yellowstone. It is certain that
before 1840 he knew of the existence of the geysers in the Firehole
Valley, although at that time he had probably not seen them himself.
Between 1841 and 1844 Bridger was leader of a grand hunting and
trapping expedition, which for upward of two years, wandered over the
country from the Great Falls of the Missouri to Chihuahua, Mexico. At
some time during this expedition he entered the region of the upper
Yellowstone and saw most of its wonders. His descriptions of the
geysers and other remarkable features of that locality can be traced
back nearly to this period and present an accuracy of detail which
could come only from personal observation.

Among the records of these descriptions the earliest is that by
Captain J. W. Gunnison, of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, who
was associated with Captain Howard Stansbury, of the same corps, in
the Salt Lake Expedition of 1849-50. The record is found in
Gunnison's History of the Mormons,[S] and dates back to this
expedition. It reads:

"He [Bridger] gives a picture, most romantic and enticing, of the head
waters of the Yellow Stone. A lake, sixty miles long, cold and
pellucid, lies embosomed among high precipitous mountains. On the west
side is a sloping plain, several miles wide, with clumps of trees and
groves of pine. The ground resounds with the tread of horses. Geysers
spout up seventy feet high, with a terrific, hissing noise, at regular
intervals. Water-falls are sparkling, leaping and thundering down the
precipices, and collect in the pool below. The river issues from this
lake, and for fifteen miles roars through the perpendicular cañon at
the outlet. In this section are the 'Great Springs,' so hot that meat
is readily cooked in them, and as they descend on the successive
terraces, afford at length delightful baths. On the other side is an
acid spring, which gushes out in a river torrent; and below is a cave,
which supplies 'vermillion' for the savages in abundance."

[S] Page 151, Gunnison's History of the Mormons. See Appendix E.

In this admirable summary we readily discover the Yellowstone Lake,
the Grand Cañon, the Falls, the geyser basins, the Mammoth Hot
Springs, and Cinnabar Mountain. Prior to 1860, Bridger had related
these accounts to Captain Warren, Captain Raynolds, Doctor Hayden, and
others, and although he seems to have convinced these gentlemen that
there was something in his stories, they still attributed less to fact
than to fancy.

In his efforts to disseminate a knowledge of this region, Bridger was
as determined as Colter had been before him, and with little better
success. He tried to have his narratives published, but no periodical
would lend itself to his service. The editor of the _Kansas City
Journal_ stated editorially in 1879 that Bridger had told him of these
wonders fully thirty years before. He prepared an article from
Bridger's description, but suppressed it because his friends ridiculed
the whole thing as incredible. He later publicly apologized to
Bridger, who was then living at Westport, Missouri.[T]

[T] Of interest in this connection is the following extract from a
recent letter to the writer by the present managing editor of the
_Kansas City Journal_:

"The interview had with Bridger was in the year 1856. He told Col. R.
T. Van Horn, Editor of the _Journal_, which was published at that
time, the story of the Park with the geysers, and at the same time,
drew with a piece of charcoal on a piece of wrapping paper an outline
of the route necessary to be taken by a railroad should it ever cross
the continent, which route is exactly on the line that is now crossed
by the Union Pacific.

In this conversation, he told the Colonel about the mud springs and
the other wonders of that part of the country, or to use his own
expression, 'it was a place where hell bubbled up.'

The Colonel was much interested in the matter at the time and took
notes of the account, but did not print it because a man who claimed
to know Bridger, told him that he would be laughed out of town if he
printed 'any of old Jim Bridger's lies.'"

The persistent incredulity of his countrymen, and their ill-concealed
suspicion of his honesty, to say nothing of his mental soundness, were
long a cloud upon Bridger's life; but, more fortunate than his
prototype, Colter, he lived to see himself triumphantly vindicated.
Whether from disgust at this unmerited treatment, or because of his
love of a good story, Bridger seems finally to have resolved that
distrust of his word, if it must exist, should at least have some
justification. He was in fact noted for "drawing the long bow to an
unparalleled tension," and for never permitting troublesome scruples
of conscience to interfere with the proper embellishment of his yarns.
These were generally based upon fact, and diligent search will
discover in them the "soul of truth" which, according to Herbert
Spencer, always exists "in things erroneous." These anecdotes are
current even yet among the inhabitants of the Yellowstone, and the
tourist who remains long in the Park will not fail to hear them.

When Bridger found that he could not make his hearers believe in the
existence of a vast mass of volcanic glass, now known to all tourists
as the interesting Obsidian Cliff, he supplied them with another glass
mountain of a truly original sort. Its discovery was the result of one
of his hunting trips and it happened in this wise.

Coming one day in sight of a magnificent elk, he took careful aim at
the unsuspecting animal and fired. To his great amazement, the elk not
only was not wounded, but seemed not even to have heard the report of
the rifle. Bridger drew considerably nearer and gave the elk the
benefit of his most deliberate aim; but with the same result as
before. A third and a fourth effort met with a similar fate. Utterly
exasperated, he seized his rifle by the barrel, resolved to use it as
a club since it had failed as a firearm. He rushed madly toward the
elk, but suddenly crashed into an immovable vertical wall which proved
to be a mountain of perfectly transparent glass, on the farther side
of which, still in peaceful security, the elk was quietly grazing.
Stranger still, the mountain was not only of pure glass, but was a
perfect telescopic lens, and, whereas, the elk seemed but a few
hundred yards off, it was in reality twenty-five miles away!

Another of Bridger's discoveries was an ice-cold spring near the
summit of a lofty mountain, the water from which flowed down over a
long smooth slope, where it acquired such a velocity that it was
boiling hot when it reached the bottom.[U]

[U] This story, which is taken from the report of Captain W. F.
Raynolds, was one of Bridger's favorites, and it is even said that he
did not regard it as pleasantry at all, but as plain matter of fact.
Mr. Langford, who often heard him relate it, says that he generally
described the stream as flowing over the smooth surface of a rock, and
reasoned that, as two sticks rubbed together produce heat by friction,
so the water rubbing over the rock became hot. In proof, he cited an
instance where the water was hot only in close proximity to the rock
and not at the surface. Mr. Langford found a partial confirmation of
the fact, but not of the theory, in fording the Firehole River in
1870. He passed over the smooth deposit of an active hot spring in the
bed of the stream, and found that the stream bottom and the water in
contact with it were hot.

An account, in which the "soul of truth" is not so readily apparent,
is that of a mining prospector of this region, who, in later times,
met a unique and horrible fate. He had for days been traveling with a
party toward a prodigious diamond set in the top of a mountain, where,
even at noonday, it shone with a luster surpassing the sun. He arrived
at length on the top of the mountain only to see the diamond on
another summit apparently as far away as ever. Disheartened and weary,
he thought to save the labor of descent by taking advantage of an
extremely smooth face of the mountain, and accordingly sat down upon
his shovel, as upon a toboggan, and let slide. There was a vacant
place around the camp-fire that evening, and next day the rest of the
party, passing along the base of the mountain, found an infusible clay
pipe and the molten remains of a shovel. Warned by the fate of their
comrade, the superstitious survivors forbore any further search for
the diamond.

To those who have visited the west shore of the Yellowstone Lake, and
know how simple a matter it is to catch the lake trout and cook them
in the boiling pools without taking them from the line, the ground
work of the following description will be obvious enough. Somewhere
along the shore an immense boiling spring discharges its overflow
directly into the lake. The specific gravity of the water is less than
that of the lake, owing probably to the expansive action of heat, and
it floats in a stratum three or four feet thick upon the cold water
underneath. When Bridger was in need of fish it was to this place that
he went. Through the hot upper stratum he let fall his bait to the
subjacent habitable zone, and having hooked his victim, cooked him _on
the way out_!

In like manner the visitor to the region of petrifactions on Specimen
Ridge in the north-east corner of the Park, and to various points in
the hot springs districts, will have no difficulty in discovering the
base material out of which Bridger contrived the following picturesque
yarn. According to his account there exists in the Park country a
mountain which was once cursed by a great medicine man of the Crow
nation. Every thing upon the mountain at the time of this dire event
became instantly petrified and has remained so ever since. All forms
of life are standing about in stone where they were suddenly caught by
the petrifying influences, even as the inhabitants of ancient Pompeii
were surprised by the ashes of Vesuvius. Sage brush, grass, prairie
fowl, antelope, elk, and bears may there be seen as perfect as in
actual life. Even flowers are blooming in colors of crystal, and birds
soar with wings spread in motionless flight, while the air floats with
music and perfumes siliceous, and the sun and the moon shine with
petrified light!

In this way Bridger avenged himself for the spirit of distrust so
often shown for what he had related. The time presently came, however,
when the public learned, not only how large a measure of truth there
was in his stories, but also how ingenious a tale he could weave from
very inadequate material.




CHAPTER VII.

RAYNOLDS' EXPEDITION.


On the 13th of April, 1859, Captain W. F. Raynolds, of the Corps of
Topographical Engineers, U. S. A., was ordered to explore "the region
of country through which flow the principal tributaries of the
Yellowstone River, and the mountains in which they, and the Gallatin
and Madison Forks of the Missouri, have their source." This was the
first government expedition[V] directed to the precise locality which
is now embraced in the Yellowstone National Park. It is interesting to
us, not for what it accomplished--for it fortunately failed to
penetrate the Upper Yellowstone country--but because it gives an
admirable _resumé_, in the form of a report and a map, of the
geographical knowledge of that country down to the date of actual
discovery.

[V] Accompanying this expedition as geologist was Dr. F. V. Hayden,
whose name is so intimately connected with the history of the
Yellowstone Park. James Bridger was guide to the party.

Captain Raynolds was in the field during the two seasons of 1859 and
1860; but it was only in the summer of 1860 that he directed his
efforts toward the country in which we are particularly interested. In
May of that year the expedition left its winter quarters at Deer
Creek, Wyo., and marched to the junction of the Wind River and the
Popo Agie where these streams unite under the name of Bighorn River.
Here the party divided. One division under Captain Raynolds was to
ascend the Wind River to its source and then cross to the head waters
of the Yellowstone. This stream they were to follow down to the Great
Bend, and then cross over to the Three Forks of the Missouri. The
other party, under Lieutenant Maynadier, was to skirt the east and
north flanks of the Absaroka Range and to join the first party at the
Three Forks, if possible, not later than July 1st.

Captain Raynolds was charged with other instructions than those
mentioned in his order, which must be kept in mind in order properly
to account for the final outcome of the expedition. A total eclipse of
the sun was to occur on July 18th of that year, and its line of
greatest occultation lay north of the British boundary. It was desired
that Captain Raynolds should be present in that locality in time to
observe the eclipse. This condition, rather than impassable mountains
or unmelted snows, was the chief obstacle to a thorough exploration of
the Upper Yellowstone.

The two parties separated May 24th. Captain Raynolds, according to his
programme, kept up the Wind River valley, and with much difficulty
effected a crossing by way of Union Pass--which he named--to the
western slope of the mountains. He then turned north seeking a passage
to the head waters of the Yellowstone. When nearly opposite Two-Ocean
Pass, he made a strenuous effort to force his way through, spending
two days in the attempt. But it was still June and the snow lay deep
on the mountains. It was a physical impossibility to get through at
that point, and the risk of missing the eclipse forebade efforts
elsewhere. The Captain was deeply disappointed at this result. He
writes:

"My fondly cherished schemes of this nature were all dissipated by the
prospect before us; ... and I therefore very reluctantly decided to
abandon the plan to which I had so steadily clung."

It seems not a little singular that so experienced a guide as Bridger
should not have conducted the party up the valley of the Snake River
and thence over the low divide between that stream and the Yellowstone
Lake--a route which was perfectly practicable even as early as June.
But the plan does not appear to have been entertained, and the
expedition passed around the Park region to the west, arriving at the
Three Forks on the 29th of June.

Lieutenant Maynadier wisely made no attempt to cross the Absaroka
Range, which rose continuously on his left. Had he done so, the deep
snow at that season would have rendered his efforts futile. He kept
close to the flank of the mountains until he reached the valley of the
Yellowstone north of the Park, and then hastened to join his
commanding officer at the appointed rendezvous. He reached the Three
Forks on the 3d day of July.

The expedition had now completely encircled the region of the Upper
Yellowstone. At one point Captain Raynolds had stood where his eye
could range over all that country which has since become so famous;
but this was the limit of his endeavor. The Yellowstone wonderland was
spared the misfortune of being discovered at so early a day--a fact
quite as fortunate as any in its history.

It will be interesting now to survey this region as known at the time
of the Raynolds Expedition. Nothing of importance occurred to increase
public knowledge of it until 1870, and Captain Raynolds'[W] Report is
therefore the latest authentic utterance concerning it prior to the
date of actual discovery. In this report Captain Raynolds says:

"Beyond these [the mountains south-east of the Park], is the valley of
the Upper Yellowstone, which is as yet a _terra incognita_. My
expedition passed entirely around, but could not penetrate it....
Although it was June, the immense body of snow baffled all our
exertions, and we were compelled to content ourselves with listening
to marvelous tales of burning plains, immense lakes, and boiling
springs, without being able to verify these wonders. I know of but two
men who claim to have ever visited this part of the Yellowstone
Valley--James Bridger and Robert Meldrum. The narratives of both these
men are very remarkable, and Bridger, in one of his recitals,
described an immense boiling spring, that is a perfect counterpart of
the geysers of Iceland. As he is uneducated, and had probably never
heard of the existence of such natural wonders elsewhere, I have
little doubt that he spoke of that which he had actually seen....
Bridger also insisted that immediately west[X] of the point at which
we made our final effort to penetrate this singular valley, there is a
stream of considerable size, which divides and flows down either side
of the water-shed, thus discharging its waters into both the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans."

[W] See Bibliography. Appendix E, "Explorations of the Yellowstone,"
etc.

[X] Actually north-east.

The Captain concludes this particular part of his report as follows:

"I can not doubt, therefore, that at no very distant day, the
mysteries of this region will be fully revealed; and, although small
in extent, I regard the valley of the Upper Yellowstone as the most
interesting unexplored district in our widely expanded country."

Lieutenant Maynadier also contributes a few interesting observations
upon this region. The vast importance of that extensive mass of
mountains, as a reservoir of waters for the country round about,
impressed him deeply. He says, somewhat ostentatiously:

"As my fancy warmed with the wealth of desolation before me, I found
something to admire in the calm self-denial with which this region,
content with barren magnificence, gives up its water and soil to more
favored countries."

Of the Yellowstone River, he was told that it had its source "in a
lake in the impenetrable fastnesses of the Rocky Mountains;" and that
for some distance below the lake it flowed through a narrow gorge, up
which "no one has ever been able to travel."

[Illustration:

    MAP
    OF THE
    SOURCES of the YELLOWSTONE
    AS KNOWN BETWEEN 1860 AND 1870
    FROM THE MAP
    _OF_
    RAYNOLDS EXPEDITION OF 1860

_Opp. page 62._]

But it is the map prepared by Captain Raynolds that tells a more
interesting story even than his written report. It reveals at once to
the eye what was known as well as what was unknown of the Upper
Yellowstone. Extending in a south-easterly and north-westerly
direction, is a large elliptical space, within which geographical
features are represented by dotted lines, indicating that they are put
in by hearsay only. In the midst of a surrounding country, which is
already mapped with great accuracy, there is a region wholly unknown
to the geographer. A cordon of mountains encircles it, and shows the
limit of official effort to gain a correct knowledge of it. Within
this enchanted inclosure lies the region approximately defined by the
44th and 45th parallels of latitude and the 110th and 111th meridians
of longitude, which now constitutes the Yellowstone National Park.
There one may catch glimpses, through the uncertain haze of tradition,
of the geysers, hot springs, Lake, Falls, Grand Cañon, Mammoth Hot
Springs, and Two-Ocean Pass. This was the net result of fifty years'
desultory wandering in and about and over this "mystic" region.

Raynolds' report, it must be remembered, was the first official
recognition in any form of the probable existence of extensive
volcanic phenomena in the region of the Upper Yellowstone. Had it been
published immediately after the expedition, and had not public
attention been totally engrossed with other matters of overshadowing
importance, this region must have become fully known in the early
Sixties. But within a month after the return of Captain Raynolds to
civilization there had taken place the national election which was the
signal for attempted armed disruption of the Union. A year later found
every officer of the Army called to new fields of duty. Western
exploration entirely ceased until 1865, and was not vigorously resumed
for some years thereafter. Captain Raynolds' report did not appear
until 1868, although his map was published several years earlier in
order to meet a demand for it by the new settlers in western Montana,
Nothing transpired in the meantime to make the general public familiar
with this region, and the picture here given is therefore
substantially correct down to the date of the celebrated Washburn
expedition.




CHAPTER VIII.

GOLD IN MONTANA.


Perhaps the most fascinating pages of American history are those which
recount the annals of the discoveries of gold and silver. No one can
appreciate the magnitude of those various movements by a simple
perusal of statistics of the mineral wealth which they disclosed. He
must pass through the mining belts and note how almost every rod of
ground, over vast tracts of country, is filled with prospect holes
that attest the miner's former presence. If the trapper carried the
tools of his trade to haunts remote and inaccessible, the miner, with
his pick and shovel, certainly outdid him. One can readily understand
that, as soon as such a movement should be directed toward the region
of the Upper Yellowstone, the wonders of that region would speedily be
revealed.

The presence of gold in the mountains of Montana was first noticed as
far back as 1852. Later, in 1858, the Stuart brothers, James and
Granville, founders of Montana, discovered gold in the Deer Lodge
Valley; but they were destitute of equipments, and so constantly
exposed to the hostility of the Blackfeet, that they went to Fort
Bridger in the south-west corner of Wyoming, and did not return until
late in 1860.

It was in 1860 and 1861 that the rich mines on the Salmon and Boisé
rivers were discovered. In 1862 the tide of discovery swept across
the mountains into Montana. The rich mines on Pioneer Creek, the Big
Prickly Pear, the Big Hole River, North Boulder Creek, and at Bannock
and other points, became known. Although there were scarcely a
thousand people in Montana in the winter of 1862-3, the news of the
great discoveries marshaled a host of immigrants ready to enter the
territory in the following spring. These were largely re-enforced by
adventurers from both the northern and southern states, who, with
little credit to their courage or patriotism, sought in these remote
regions exemption from the tributes and levies of war. The immigrants
were welcomed in the spring of 1863 by the news of the discovery of
Alder Gulch, the richest of all gold placers. The work of prospecting,
already being pushed with vigor, was stimulated to an extraordinary
degree by this magnificent discovery. Prospecting parties scoured the
country in all directions, often with loss of life through the
Indians, but rarely, after the first two or three years, with any
substantial success. Some of these expeditions have a particular
connection with our narrative because they passed across portions of
what is now the Yellowstone Park.

The most important of them occurred in August and September, 1863. It
was led by Walter W. DeLacy, an engineer and surveyor of some
distinction in the early history of Montana. The party at one time
numbered forty-two men, although this number did not continue constant
throughout the expedition. Its sole object was to "prospect" the
country. Evidently nothing in the line of topographical reconnaissance
was thought of, for Captain DeLacy says "there was not a telescope,
and hardly a watch, in the whole party."

The expedition left Virginia City, August 3d; passed south into Idaho
until it struck the Snake River, and then ascended that stream to the
region about Jackson Lake. Near the mouth of Buffalo Fork a halt was
made, a corral was built to hold the stock, and a miners' meeting held
at which rules were adopted to govern the miners in the contemplated
examination of the country. The party then broke up into small groups
and set out in different directions so as to cover as much ground as
possible. The last four days of August were spent in this search, but
with failure in every direction. This discouragement led to the
abandonment of the expedition. Fifteen men set out for home by the way
they had come, while DeLacy and twenty-seven men resolved to reach the
Madison River and the settlements by going north. A day later this
party entered the territory which is now the Yellowstone Park.

The route lay up the Snake River to its junction with Lewis River
where the hot springs of that locality were discovered. Here another
separation occurred. About half the party went back down the river to
re-examine a locality where they thought they had found some fair
prospects. They soon returned, however, unsuccessful. The main party
under DeLacy ascended the hills to the west of the river to seek a
more practicable route. They soon reached the summit of the plateau
where they discovered what are now Hering and Beula lakes, and noted
their divergent drainage. Thence they passed north over Pitchstone
Plateau until they struck the valley of Moose Creek. They descended
this stream for a few miles and came to a large lake, which they
supposed to be tributary to either the Madison or the Yellowstone
Rivers. To their great surprise they found, upon rounding its southern
point, that it drained _south_ into the Snake. This is what is now
called Shoshone Lake.

From the outlet of the lake, DeLacy sent a man down stream to examine
the river. This reconnaissance resulted in the discovery of Lewis Lake
and the hot springs basin there. When DeLacy resumed his route, he
followed along the east shore of the lake to its northern extremity,
and then ascended the beautiful open valley of DeLacy Creek. He
crossed the Continental Divide at the head of the valley, and camped
on the evening of September 8th some miles beyond the Divide toward
the Firehole River. The next morning, September 9, 1863, he came upon
the considerable stream of hot water which flows down a mountain
ravine into the Lower Geyser Basin close by the Great Fountain Geyser.
The reader will learn with some amazement that our party thought
little enough of this wonderful locality to pass directly through it
without halt or perceptible delay. Before the camping hour of the
afternoon had arrived, they were many miles away at the junction of
the Gibbon and Firehole rivers.

The other section of the party, which had gone down the Snake from its
junction with Lewis River, soon returned, followed up the river to
Lewis and Shoshone lakes, passed around the western end of the latter
lake discovering its extensive geyser basin, and thence crossed over
to the Madison. This stream they descended through the geyser basins,
and followed the main party to the settlements.

DeLacy might have passed into history as the real discoverer of the
Yellowstone wonderland, but for the fact that he failed to appreciate
the true importance of what he saw. In that, however, he was no
exception to the general rule of immigrants. The search for gold with
them so far overshadowed all other matters, that it would have
required something more than geysers to divert them, even momentarily,
from its prosecution. Although DeLacy kept a daily journal of his
expedition, and noted therein the various items of interest along his
route, he did not publish it until 1876, long after public interest
had been strongly attracted to the geyser regions. He did, however,
publish a map of the country through which he passed, and on this map
he correctly noted the drainage of Shoshone Lake--something which the
Folsom, Washburn, and Hayden (1871), expeditions all failed to do. He
also noted the various hot springs localities through which the party
passed. In a letter published in Raymond's "Mineral Resources of the
States and Territories West of the Rocky Mountains," in 1869, before
the date of the Washburn Expedition, he called attention to the
existence of geysers at the head of Shoshone Lake and on the Madison
River.

DeLacy's account, as finally published, is an interesting early view
of this region, and is remarkable for its general correctness. That he
failed to publish his discoveries must be regarded as fortunate so far
as the Park is concerned, for the time had not yet come when it was
desirable that the real character of this country should be made
known.

From 1863 to 1869 there were many other prospecting parties in the
region of the Upper Yellowstone. In 1863 one of these parties,
numbering thirty or forty men, ascended the Yellowstone and the East
Fork to the mouth of Soda Butte Creek, and thence crossed an
intervening ridge to the next northern tributary of the East Fork.
Here all their horses were stolen by Indians. There were left only one
or two mules on which was packed all the baggage they could carry, the
rest being concealed in a cache. The party then separated into two
portions and prospected the country for several days in the vicinity
of Clark's Fork. They finally returned, emptied the cache, and
descended to the Yellowstone where they found fair prospects near the
present north boundary of the Park. The expedition has no permanent
interest for this narrative except that it left the two geographical
names, "Cache Creek" and "Bear Gulch."

In 1864, a party of seventy-three men under James Stuart passed from
Deer Lodge, Montana, to the Yellowstone Valley, and thence around the
east base of the Absaroka Range into the valley of the Stinkingwater.
The object of this expedition was to punish the Indians for outrages
of the previous year, and also to prospect the country for gold. At
the Stinkingwater, Stuart was compelled to return home. The party then
separated into groups that gradually worked their way back to the
Montana settlements. One of these small parties went as far south as
the Sweetwater River, then crossed to the Green and Snake Rivers, and
re-crossed the Continental Divide at Two-Ocean Pass. They descended
the Yellowstone, past the Lake and Grand Cañon, and beyond the
present limits of the Park. Norris found remnants of their camp
debris seventeen years afterward.

In 1866, a party under one George Huston left Virginia City, Montana,
and ascended the Madison River to the geyser basins. Thence they
crossed to the Yellowstone at Mud Geyser, ascended the river to the
lake, passed completely around the latter, discovering Hart Lake on
their way, and then descended the Yellowstone by the Falls and Cañon,
to Emigrant Gulch. Here they were interviewed by a newspaper reporter,
and an account of their travels was published in the _Omaha Herald_.
They had seen about all there was to be seen in the whole region.

At least two parties traversed the Park country in 1867. One of these
gave names to Crevice, Hell-roaring and Slough Creeks. An account of
the wanderings of the other party appeared in the _Montana Post_ of
that year.

Many other parties and individuals passed through this region during
the Montana mining craze. Their accounts appeared now and then in the
local papers, and were reprinted throughout the country. By 1869,
probably very few of the reading public had not heard rumors of a
strange volcanic region in the Far West. In Montana, particularly,
repeated confirmation of the old trappers' tales was gradually
arousing a deep interest, and the time was fast approaching when
explorations for the specific purpose of verifying these rumors were
to begin.




CHAPTER IX.

DISCOVERY.


The discovery of the Yellowstone Wonderland--by which is here meant
its full and final disclosure to the world--was the work of three
parties who visited and explored it in the years 1869, 1870, and 1871,
respectively. The first of these expeditions was purely a private
enterprise. It consisted of three men, and was the first party to
enter this country with the express purpose of verifying or refuting
the floating rumors concerning it. The second expedition was of a
mixed character, having semi-official sanction, but being organized
and recruited by private individuals. This was the famous "Yellowstone
Expedition of 1870"--the great starting point in the post-traditional
history of the Park. The third expedition was strictly official, under
the military and scientific departments of the government. It was a
direct result of the explorations of 1870, and was intended to satisfy
the public demand for accurate and official information concerning
this new region of wonders. It was the final and necessary step in
order that the government might act intelligently and promptly for the
preservation of what was believed to be the most interesting
collection of wonders to be found in the world.[Y]

[Y] For diagram of routes, see Historical Chart, p. 11.


THE EXPEDITION OF 1869.

The question of setting definitely at rest the constantly multiplying
rumors of wonderful volcanic phenomena around the sources of the
Yellowstone, began to be seriously agitated among the people of
Montana as early as 1867. An expedition was planned for that year but
came to nothing. A like result attended a similar effort the following
year. In 1869, the proposition came near materializing, but fell
through at the last moment owing to the failure to obtain a military
escort. There were three members of this proposed expedition, however,
who refused to be frightened off by any dangers which the situation at
that time promised. They had already provided themselves with an
elaborate equipment, and were determined, with escort or without it,
to undertake the trip. The names of these men were David E. Folsom, C.
W. Cook, and William Peterson, the last named being a native of
Denmark. Armed with "repeating rifles, Colt's six-shooters, and
sheath-knives," with a "double-barreled shot gun for small game;" and
equipped with a "good field-glass, pocket compass and thermometer,"
and utensils and provisions "for a six weeks' trip," they set out from
Diamond City on the Missouri River, forty miles from Helena, September
6, 1869.

The route lay up the Missouri to the Three Forks; thence _via_ Bozeman
and Fort Ellis to the Yellowstone River; and thence up the Yellowstone
to its junction with the East Fork inside the present limits of the
Park. From this point they crossed to the east bank and followed up
the river, passing through the many groups of hot springs to be found
east of the Grand Cañon. On September 21st, they arrived at the Falls
of the Yellowstone, where they remained an entire day. Some distance
above the rapids they re-crossed to the west shore and then ascended
the river past Sulphur Mountain and Mud Volcano to Yellowstone Lake.
They then went to the extreme west shore of the lake and spent some
time examining the surpassingly beautiful springs at that point.
Thence they crossed the mountains to Shoshone Lake, which they took to
be the head of the Madison, and from that point struck out to the
north-west over a toilsome country until they reached the Lower Geyser
Basin near Nez Percé Creek. Here they saw the Fountain Geyser in
action and the many other phenomena in that locality. They ascended
the Firehole River to Excelsior Geyser and Prismatic Lake, and then
turned down the river on their way home. They were absent on the
expedition thirty-six days.

It is said that these explorers were so astonished at the marvels they
had seen that "they were, on their return, unwilling to risk their
reputations for veracity by a full recital of them to a small company
whom their friends had assembled to hear the account of their
explorations." But Mr. Folsom later prepared a most entertaining
narrative of his journey which was published in the _Western Monthly_,
of Chicago, in July, 1871.[Z] This article deserves a high rank in the
literature of the Park. It is free from exaggeration and contains
some descriptions unsurpassed by any subsequent writer. The article,
and personal interviews with the author and his companions, had a
strong influence in leading to the important expedition next to be
described.

[Z] It is only through the undiminished loyalty of Mr. N. P. Langford
to every thing pertaining to the welfare of the Yellowstone National
Park that this article has been saved from oblivion. The office of the
_Western Monthly_ was destroyed by the great Chicago fire of 1871, and
all the files of the magazine were lost. Mr. Folsom had lost or given
away all copies in his possession. So far as is known there is but one
remaining copy of this issue and that is owned by Mr. Langford. In
1894, Mr. Langford caused the article to be reprinted in handsome
pamphlet form, with an interesting preface by himself, and it will now
receive the recognition which it justly deserves.


THE EXPEDITION OF 1870.

The Yellowstone Expedition of 1870, more commonly known as the
Washburn-Doane Expedition, was the culmination of the project of
discovery to which frequent reference has already been made. At this
time the subject was exciting a profound interest throughout Montana,
and the leading citizens of the territory were active in organizing a
grand expedition. General Sheridan, who passed through Helena just
prior to his departure for the scene of the Franco-German War, spent
some time in arranging for a military escort to accompany the party.
The project did not assume definite shape until about the middle of
August, and when the time for departure arrived, Indian alarms caused
a majority of the party to repent their decision to join it. Finally,
their were only nine persons who were willing to brave all dangers for
the success of the undertaking. These nine were:

General Henry D. Washburn, Surveyor-General of Montana, chief of the
expedition, and author of a series of valuable "notes" describing
it.[AA]

[AA] See Appendix E.

Hon. Nathaniel P. Langford, who published a series of articles in
_Scribner's Magazine_,[AB] which gave general publicity to the news of
discovery. He became first Superintendent of the Park.

[AB] See Appendix E.

Hon. Cornelius Hedges, who first proposed setting apart this region as
a National Park.

Hon. Truman C. Everts, ex-U. S. Assessor for Montana, whose experience
upon the expedition forms the most painful and thrilling chapter in
the annals of the Yellowstone.

Hon. Samuel T. Hauser, President of the First National Bank of Helena,
and later Governor of Montana.

Walter Trumbull, son of the late Senator Trumbull. He published an
account of the expedition in the _Overland Monthly_ for June,
1871.[AC]

[AC] See Appendix E.

Other civilian members of the expedition were Benjamin Stickney, Jr.,
Warren C. Gillette, and Jacob Smith.

The personnel of this party is sufficient evidence of the wide-spread
interest which was being taken at the time in the region of the Upper
Yellowstone.

The party proceeded from Helena to Fort Ellis, one hundred and
twenty-five miles, where they were to receive a military escort
promised by General Hancock, at that time commanding the department in
which Fort Ellis was located. The post order detailing this escort is
dated August 21, 1870, and directs Lieutenant Gustavus C. Doane,
Second Cavalry, with one sergeant and four privates, "to escort the
Surveyor-General of Montana to the falls and lakes of the Yellowstone
and return." There is a significant absence in this order of any
reference to geysers or hot springs; and the discreet post commander
evidently did not intend to commit himself to a recognition of their
existence on the strength of such knowledge as was then available. His
incredulity was indeed largely shared by the members of the party
themselves. Mr. Hedges subsequently said:

"I think a more confirmed set of skeptics never went out into the
wilderness than those who composed our party, and never was a party
more completely surprised and captivated with the wonders of nature."

Lieutenant Doane, than whom no member of the expedition holds a more
honorable place in its history, has left on record a similar
confession.

The party as finally organized, including two packers and two colored
cooks, numbered nineteen individuals. Thirty-five horses and mules,
thoroughly equipped for a month's absence, completed the "outfit," and
made altogether quite an imposing cavalcade.

August 22, 1870, the expedition left Fort Ellis, crossed to the
Yellowstone, and ascended that stream through the First and Second
Cañons, past the "Devil's Slide" and Cinnabar Mountain, to the present
north boundary line of the Park at the mouth of the Gardiner River. At
this point they were within five miles of the celebrated Mammoth Hot
Springs which are now the first attraction to meet the tourist's eye
on entering the Park. But the party kept close to the Yellowstone,
instead of taking the modern route up the Gardiner, and missed this
wonder altogether.

It was August 26th when the expedition entered the present territory
of the Park. Lieutenant Doane and Mr. Everts, with one soldier and two
hunters picked up on the way, rode in advance along the brink of the
Third Cañon and across the high plateau between the Gardiner and Tower
Creek, camping at nightfall upon the latter stream. In the broad open
valley near the junction of the Yellowstone and East Fork, a small
tepid sulphur spring gave them the first evidence of their approach to
the regions of volcanic activity.

Next day, the remainder of the party arrived. Two days were spent in
examining the beautiful Tower Falls, and--to our tyros in geyser
exploration--the wonderful hot spring formations to be seen at that
point. Here they also had for the first time glimpses of the Grand
Cañon of the Yellowstone.

The party left Tower Creek on the 29th of August, and followed up the
river over the east flank of Mount Washburn. As their progress lifted
them rapidly above the surrounding country, a marvelously beautiful
landscape unfolded itself to their view. Presently an interesting
incident occurred, which shall stand here in Lieutenant Doane's own
language:

"Through the mountain gap formed by the cañon, and on the interior
slopes some twenty [evidently a misprint] miles distant, an object now
appeared which drew a simultaneous expression of wonder from every one
of the party. A column of steam, rising from the dense woods to the
height of several hundred feet, became distinctly visible. We had all
heard fabulous stories of this region, and were somewhat skeptical of
appearances. At first it was pronounced a fire in the woods, but
presently some one noticed that the vapor rose in regular puffs, as
if expelled with great force. Then conviction was forced upon us. It
was indeed a great column of steam, puffing away on the lofty mountain
side, escaping with a roaring sound audible at a long distance, even
through the heavy forest. A hearty cheer rang out at this discovery,
and we pressed onward with renewed enthusiasm."

The party then ascended the lofty mountain to their right, now known
as Mt. Washburn, and from its summit looked around upon the vast
panorama which is now included in the Yellowstone National Park. Had
old James Bridger been present at that moment, he would have received
ample vindication for long-standing injustice at the hands of his
incredulous countrymen. _There_ were the Cañon and Falls and Lake of
the Yellowstone, with evidence enough of boiling springs and geysers!
The enthusiasm of the party was unbounded, and Lieutenant Doane
exultingly declares that they were "more than satisfied with the
opening up of the campaign."

The pack-train continued its course along the side of the mountain,
and went into camp after a march of only twelve miles. That evening,
Messrs. Washburn, Doane, and Hedges went on ahead of the main party,
discovering the extensive mud springs at the southern base of the
mountain, and finally reached the verge of a cliff beyond which yawned
the stupendous cañon of the Yellowstone. It was the first real view
from near by, but darkness prevented further examination.

The next day saw the arrival of the party at the Falls of the
Yellowstone, close by the mouth of Cascade Creek, which, with its
Crystal Falls, received that day their present names. The remainder of
this day, August 30th, and the next, were spent in exploring the cañon
and measuring the heights of the falls. Messrs. Hauser and Stickney
descended the sides of the cañon to the brink of the river about two
miles below the falls; and Lieutenant Doane and Private McConnell
accomplished the same difficult feat further down. It needs not to be
said that the members of the party were profoundly impressed with the
incomparable scenery of the Grand Cañon, although their descriptions
of it are, perhaps, least satisfactory of any they have left us.

From the Cañon the party ascended the now placid river amid
ever-changing wonders. They passed Sulphur Mountain and the uncanny
region around the Mud Volcano and Mud Geyser, then crossed to the east
shore of the river, and finally went into camp, September 3d, on the
shore of the Yellowstone Lake. Here our explorers were again in
ecstacies, and not without cause; for, seen under favoring conditions,
this "watery solitude" is one of the most beautiful objects in nature.

After a day spent in this camp, the expedition continued by slow
stages up the east shore of the lake. Messrs. Doane and Langford
scaled the lofty Absaroka Range just east of the lake, being the first
white men known to have accomplished this feat, and their names now
designate two of its noblest summits.

September 7th, the party forded the Upper Yellowstone and traversed
the almost impassable labyrinths of fallen timber between the several
projecting arms. on the south of the lake. It was on this portion of
the route, September 9th, that Mr. Everts became separated from his
party, lost his horse with all his accoutrements, and commenced those
"thirty-seven days of peril," which so nearly cost him his life. This
unfortunate affair cast a deep gloom over the little party and
seriously interfered with the progress of the expedition. A week was
spent in searching for the lost companion, without other result than
the discovery of the hot springs basins at Hart Lake and on the west
shore of the Yellowstone Lake.

At length it was concluded that Mr. Everts had either been killed or
had wandered back home; and it was resolved to wait no longer. The
party were surfeited with sight-seeing, and believed that they had now
covered the whole ground. They therefore determined to strike across
the mountains to the Madison and follow that stream to the
settlements. They set out on the morning of September 17th, over
rugged hills and through fallen timber, crossing the Continental
Divide twice, and camping that night in an open glade on a small
branch of the Firehole. While passing the second time over the Divide,
they caught a glimpse of Shoshone Lake and erroneously thought it to
be the head of the Firehole River.

At 9 A. M., September 18th, the march was resumed. The party soon
reached the Firehole just above Kepler Cascade and thence followed
down the course of the stream. Tourists who have visited the Park
since 1891, when the new road from the Upper Basin to the Lake was
opened, will remember that immediately after leaving "Old Faithful"
they plunge into an unbroken pine forest and see no other evidences
of geyser action until they reach the Lake. The situation of our
homeward-bound explorers can thus be easily understood. They were
traveling toward the geysers. The dense forest concealed every thing
beyond the radius of a few hundred feet. In unsuspecting mood, bent
only on getting home to tell their wonderful story, and perhaps to
find their missing companion, they moved down the river, crossing it
considerably below the site of the present bridge above the Upper
Basin, and suddenly emerged from the timber into an open treeless
valley. It was nearly noon of a clear, cool September day. Directly in
front of them, scarcely two hundred yards away, a vertical column of
water and steam was shooting upward a hundred and fifty feet into the
air. The bright sunlight turned the clear water into a mass of
glittering crystals, and a gentle breeze wafted the vast white curtain
of steam far to the right across the valley. Thus it was that "Old
Faithful," as if forewarned of the approach of her distinguished
visitors, gave them her most graceful salutation; and thus she bowed
out the era of tradition and fable, and ushered the civilized world
into the untrodden empire of the Fire King. Little wonder that our
astonished explorers "spurred their jaded horses," and "gathered
around the wonderful phenomenon."

The party spent only the remainder of the day and the following
morning in the Upper Basin; but in that time saw seven of the
principal geysers in action, and gave them their present names.[AD]
They then passed down the river through the Middle and Lower Basins,
but stopped to examine only such curiosities as were close by the
river. Their rations were nearly gone, their lost companion was not
found, and the desire to tell what they had already seen was greater
than the desire to see more. They therefore made haste for home, and
on the evening of September 19th encamped where the Firehole and
Gibbon Rivers unite to form the Madison. From this point the party
journeyed steadily homeward, conversing on the expedition of the past
month, and planning how their great discovery might best be brought to
the attention of the world.

[AD] See list of geysers, Appendix A.

The news of this expedition created intense and wide-spread interest
throughout the country. Messrs. Washburn, Hedges, Trumbull, and
others, prepared numerous descriptive articles for the local Montana
papers, many of them among the best that have ever been written upon
the Park, and these were reproduced in every important paper in the
land. The _Helena Herald_, of October 27, 1870, only a month after the
return of the party, refers to the extraordinary interest aroused by
these articles, so unlike the sixty years' indifference which had
marked the history of this region.

These preliminary and hasty reports were followed by more studied
efforts. Lieutenant Doane's masterly report was completed December 15,
1870. Besides its intrinsic merit, it has the distinction of being the
first official report upon the Upper Yellowstone country. It passed
through the customary military channels and was finally sent to
Congress, February 24, 1871. Prof. S. F. Baird, of the Smithsonian
Institution, also presented the information gathered by Lieutenant
Doane to the Philosophical Society of Washington during the winter.

Messrs. Langford and Trumbull prepared entertaining magazine articles,
which, however, could not be gotten to press until the following May
and June. But Mr. Langford in the meantime did effective work from the
lecture stand. In Helena, Minneapolis, New York and Washington, he
told the story of what he had seen. In Washington, the Hon. James G.
Blaine, Speaker of the House, presided at the lecture, and in the
audience was Dr. F. V. Hayden, who was destined to play a prominent
part in the history of the Yellowstone Park.

From whatever point of view considered, this expedition is one of the
most remarkable in our annals. From Helena to the farthest point
reached by the party, the route passed over was nearly three hundred
miles long. The region of the Upper Yellowstone is perhaps the most
difficult of access in the entire country. Even to-day, it is an
almost certain place in which to get lost, if one is not thoroughly
familiar with wilderness travel and happens to stray away from the
beaten path. In 1870, moreover, the danger from hostile Indians was a
constant and formidable menace, and the party was more than once
reminded of it during the progress of the expedition. But in spite of
all these difficulties, the success of the enterprise was so complete,
its incidents were so full of romance, and its results were so
far-reaching and important, that it well deserves the wide attention
it has received.


THE JOINT GOVERNMENT EXPEDITION OF 1871.

The direct result of the expedition of 1870 was to cause the U. S.
Geological Survey to change its programme for the season of 1871, so
as to give attention to the new wonderland; and also to cause the
military authorities to send a well-appointed engineer party to the
same locality. These two expeditions, one under Dr. Hayden and the
other under Captains Barlow and Heap, of the Engineer Corps of the
Army, moved for the most part together, camping near each other, and
accompanied by the same military escort. Particular attention will
here be given only to such features of these expeditions as pertain to
new discoveries.

At the very outset of their journey, they branched off from the
Washburn route at the mouth of the Gardiner River, and by ascending
this stream, discovered the wonderful formations now known as the
Mammoth Hot Springs. From this point, the parties traveled eastward to
Tower Creek; thence over Mt. Washburn, and past the Cañon and Falls,
to Sulphur Mountain, Mud Geyser, and the Lake; thence by a new route
across the mountains to the Lower Geyser Basin; thence to the Upper
Basin; thence east, across the mountains again, past Shoshone Lake to
Yellowstone Lake; thence around the head of this body of water to its
outlet; thence across the country, by separate routes, to the mouth of
Soda Butte Creek; and thence down the East Fork to Baronett's Bridge
(which had been built only a few months before), and out of the Park
by way of Mammoth Hot Springs.

The original work done by these parties, besides the discovery of the
springs on the Gardiner, was the opening of a route between the
Yellowstone River and the Lower Geyser Basin; the exploration of the
Lower Basin; the mapping of the shore line of Yellowstone Lake, by Dr.
Hayden; the mapping of the head waters of the Snake River, by Captain
Barlow; and some hasty explorations in the valley of the East Fork of
the Yellowstone, now called Lamar River.

The chief value of these explorations, however, was not in the line of
original discovery, but in the large collection of accurate data
concerning the entire region. The photographs were of immense value.
Description might exaggerate, but the camera told the truth; and in
this case the truth was more remarkable than exaggeration.
Unfortunately for Captain Barlow's collection, the great Chicago fire
almost entirely destroyed it. The same cause delayed the appearance of
his report until six weeks after the Park Bill was passed. An
interesting and complete summary, however, appeared as a supplement in
the _Chicago Journal_ for January 13, 1872. The report and collection
of photographs and specimens by Dr. Hayden were therefore the
principal results of this season's work, and they played a decisive
part in the events of the winter of 1871-2.

With the close of the expeditions of 1871, the discovery of the
Yellowstone wonderland was made complete. It remained to see what
Congress would do with so unique and valuable a possession.




CHAPTER X.

THE NATIONAL PARK IDEA--ITS ORIGIN AND REALIZATION.


The first steamboat to ascend the Missouri River as far as to the
mouth of the Yellowstone arrived at that point on the 26th of June,
1832. By a happy coincidence it bore the name _Yellowstone_. We are
indebted for the conception of the National Park idea to a passenger
upon this boat who was destined to become one of the most interesting
characters America has produced. Every one bears in memory those
pictures of Indian life which thrilled their youthful imagination with
visions of camping-grounds, council fires, exciting buffalo hunts, and
the wild and picturesque costumes of the red men. Very few, however,
realize how largely all that is best in these pictures has flowed from
a single source. The name of George Catlin is by no means familiar
except to the specialist. His work reaches the public eye through so
many different channels, and so often without any acknowledgment of
its origin, that the origin itself is very generally lost to view.

To no other individual does the Indian race owe so much for the
perpetuity in history and art of its life and customs. From an early
age he displayed an enthusiasm for every thing pertaining to the
aboriginal races which can be adequately described only by the word
worship. He abandoned the profession for which he had been educated,
and enlisted his whole energy in the service of brush and pencil,
apparently for the single purpose of indulging this passion of his
life. He once wrote:

"Unaided and unadvised, I resolved to use my art and so much of the
labors of my future life as might be required in rescuing from
oblivion the looks and customs of the vanishing races of native man in
America, to which I plainly saw they were hastening before the
approach and certain progress of civilization."[AE]

[AE] Manners, Customs, etc., of the North American Indians. See
Appendix E.

This high purpose Catlin followed throughout the remainder of his life
with unwavering fidelity. He visited almost every Indian tribe in
North America, gathering sketches and making descriptive notes. He
also visited South America, and afterward spent many years in Europe
exhibiting his work. The result of his labors was a gallery of more
than six hundred pictures, now happily forever safe under the
protection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, wherein he
delineated the portraits of famous chiefs and the scenes and customs
of Indian life. This work he supplemented with the scarcely less
valuable work of his pen, leaving behind him probably the best popular
description of the native races that has ever been written. His work
is a perennial fountain to which students of Indian themes will ever
resort. Valuable as it was considered in his lifetime, each passing
year makes it more valuable still.

Catlin's enthusiasm for every thing pertaining to Indian life, and the
grief with which he beheld the certain fading away of it all before
the rapid progress of civilization, suggested to him the idea which
was to find partial fulfillment at the time to which our narrative
has now been carried. In order to preserve, at least on a small scale,
the native fauna of America, and a remnant of the Indian races, he
proposed that the government should set apart, in some suitable
locality of the West, a large tract of land, to be preserved forever
as a "_Nation's Park_, containing man and beast, in all the wildness
and freshness of their nature's beauty." With his natural enthusiasm
and vigor, he unfolded his idea, concluding:

"I would ask no other monument to my memory, nor any other enrollment
of my name among the famous dead, than the reputation of having been
the founder of such an institution."

In the report of the late Prof. Joseph Henry to the Board of Regents
of the Smithsonian Institution for 1871, it is stated that Catlin made
a proposition to the government in 1832 "to reserve the country around
these [the Yellowstone] geysers as a public park." While it is more
than probable, considering the date, and the wide acquaintance of Mr.
Catlin with the traders and Indians of the West, that he had heard of
the geyser regions, still there is not sufficient evidence attainable
to justify our acceptance of the above statement. But in every thing
else except the particular locality, and the plan of providing a
reservation for the Indians, Catlin's idea was the same as that
finally adopted by Congress.

Although the project of creating a vast National Park in the West
originated with George Catlin, it is certain that Congress could never
have been brought to act favorably upon it, except under the influence
of some extraordinary motive. That motive was supplied when the
innumerable unique and marvelous wonders of the Yellowstone were made
known. Their preservation at once became a matter of high public duty,
which could be accomplished only by reserving from settlement the
region around them.

Since the Park was created and has to such a marked degree received
the approval of the people, numerous claimants have arisen for the
honor of having first suggested the idea. In truth, no special credit
for originality should attach to the matter. It was a natural, an
unavoidable proposition. To those who first saw these wonders, and
were not so absorbed with gold-seeking as to be incapable of
appreciating their importance, it was clear that, within a few years,
they must become objects of universal interest. It was equally clear
that the land around them would soon be taken up by private parties,
and that the beautiful formations would be carried off for mercenary
purposes; in short, that the history of Niagara and of the Yosemite
would repeat itself in the Yellowstone. To avoid such a calamity only
one course was open, and that was for the government to retain control
of the entire region. That the necessity of such a course should have
been set forth independently by several different parties, as we find
it to have been, is therefore not in the least surprising.

But in as much as the development of the project must have started
from some one source, it is of interest historically to determine what
this source was. We find it to have been the Washburn Expedition of
1870.[AF] The subject was discussed by the party at the first camp
after leaving the geyser regions near the junction of the Firehole and
Gibbon Rivers. The date was September 19, 1870. The members of the
party were sitting around the camp-fire after supper, conversing about
what they had seen, and picturing to themselves the important pleasure
resort which so wonderful a region must soon become. The natural
impulse to turn the fruits of discovery to the personal profit of the
discoverer made its appearance, and it was suggested that it would be
a "profitable speculation" to take up land around the various objects
of interest. The conversation had not proceeded far on these lines
when one of the party, Cornelius Hedges, interposed and said that
private ownership of that region, or any part of it, ought never to be
countenanced; but that it ought to be set apart by the government and
forever held to the unrestricted use of the people. This higher view
of the subject found immediate acceptance with the other members of
the party. It was agreed that the project should be at once set afoot
and pushed vigorously to a finish.

[AF] Mr. Folsom deserves mention in this connection. In the manuscript
of his article in the _Western Monthly_ was a reference to the Park
idea; but the publishers cut out a large part of his paper, giving
only the descriptions of the natural wonders, and this reference was
cut out with the rest. Mr. Folsom also suggested the idea to General
Washburn, of which fact Mr. N. P. Langford is still a living witness.
From Mr. Folsom's suggestion, however, as from Mr. Catlin's, no direct
result can be traced.

As soon as the party reached Helena, a series of articles appeared in
the daily papers of that city describing the late expedition, and in
one of these, written by Mr. Hedges and published in the _Helena
Herald_ November 9, 1870, occurs what is believed to be the first
public reference to the Park project.

The next mention of the subject was in Mr. Langford's lecture,
delivered, as already related, in Washington, January 19, 1871; in New
York, January 21, 1871; and at a later date in Minneapolis. At each of
these places he closed his lecture with a reference to the importance
of setting apart this region as a National Park. The _New York
Tribune_ of January 23, 1871, thus quotes Mr. Langford:

"This is probably the most remarkable region of natural attractions in
the world; and, while we already have our Niagara and Yosemite, this
new field of wonders should be at once withdrawn from occupancy, and
set apart as a public National Park for the enjoyment of the American
people for all time."

Such is the origin of the idea which has found realization in our
present Yellowstone Park. The history of the Act of Dedication, by
which the Park was created, may be briefly told. The general plan for
a vigorous prosecution of the project was arranged in Helena, Montana,
mainly by Nathaniel P. Langford, Cornelius Hedges, and William H.
Clagett, who had just been elected delegate to Congress from Montana,
and who had already himself independently urged the importance of
converting this region into a public park. Mr. Langford went to
Washington when Congress convened, and he and Mr. Clagett drew the
Park Bill, except as to description of boundaries, which was furnished
by Dr. Hayden. The bill was introduced in the House by Mr. Clagett,
December 18, 1871. Senator Pomeroy, of Kansas, had expressed a desire
to perform a like service in the Senate, and accordingly Mr. Clagett,
as soon as he had presented the measure to the House, took a copy to
the Senate chamber and gave it to Senator Pomeroy, who immediately
introduced it. In each House it was referred to the Committee on
Public Lands. In the Senate no formal report was prepared. In the
House the Hon. Mark H. Dunnell, of Minnesota, chairman of the
sub-committee having the bill in charge, addressed a letter under date
of January 27, 1872, to the Secretary of the Interior, asking his
opinion upon the proposed measure. The Secretary replied, under date
of January 29th, fully indorsing the project, and submitting a brief
report by Dr. Hayden, which forcibly presented all the main features
of the case.

The bill, being thus before Congress, was put through mainly by the
efforts of three men, Dr. F. V. Hayden, N. P. Langford, and Delegate
William H. Clagett. Dr. Hayden occupied a commanding position in this
work, as representative of the government in the explorations of 1871.
He was thoroughly familiar with the subject, and was equipped with an
exhaustive collection of photographs and specimens gathered the
previous summer. These were placed on exhibition, and were probably
seen by all members of Congress. They did a work which no other agency
could do, and doubtless convinced every one who saw them that the
region where such wonders existed should be carefully preserved to the
people forever. Dr. Hayden gave to the cause the energy of a genuine
enthusiasm, and his work that winter will always hold a prominent
place in the history of the Park.

Mr. Langford, as already stated, had publicly advocated the measure in
the previous winter. He had rendered service of the utmost importance,
through his publications in _Scribner's Magazine_ in the preceding
May and June. Four hundred copies of these magazines were brought and
placed upon the desks of members of Congress on the days when the
measure was to be brought to vote. During the entire winter, Mr.
Langford devoted much of his time to the promotion of this work.

The Hon. William H. Clagett, as delegate from the Territory most
directly interested in the passage of the bill, took an active
personal part in its advocacy from beginning to end.

Through the efforts of these three gentlemen, and others less
conspicuously identified with the work, this measure received perhaps
the most thorough canvass of any bill that has ever passed Congress.
All the members were personally visited and, with few exceptions, won
to the cause. The result was a practical unanimity of opinion when the
measure came to a vote. This first took place in the Senate, the bill
being passed by that body January 30th. It was warmly supported upon
its passage by several members and opposed by one, Senator Cole, of
California; a fact the more remarkable because that Senator had in his
own state--in the preemption by private parties of the Yosemite
wonderland--the most convincing example possible of the wisdom of such
a measure as that proposed.

The Senate bill came up from the Speaker's table in the House of
Representatives, February 27th. Mr. Dunnell stated that the Committee
on Public Lands had instructed him to ask the House to pass the Senate
bill. Hon. H. L. Dawes, of Massachusetts, warmly advocated the
measure, which was then passed by a decisive vote.[AG] The bill
received the President's signature March 1, 1872.

[AG] No yea and nay vote was taken in the Senate. The vote in the
House was--yeas, 115; nays, 65; not voting, 60.

This subject has been treated somewhat in detail because there has
long been a false impression among the people as to who it was that
first put forward this important project. To no individual is the
public more indebted for the creation of the Park than to Dr. F. V.
Hayden, who was long prominently connected with the geological surveys
of the government. But he did not, as is generally supposed, originate
the idea. His statement in his report for 1878, Vol. II, p. xvii,
that, "so far as is now known, the idea of setting apart a large tract
about the sources of the Yellowstone River, as a National Park,
originated with the writer," is entirely erroneous; and there is the
less excuse for the error in that Dr. Hayden had himself heard the
measure advocated by Mr. Langford in his Washington lecture. In fact,
he is known to have said in later years, only a short time before his
death, while residing in Philadelphia, that when the project was first
talked of among the members of his party, in the summer of 1871, he
personally disapproved it because he doubted the practicability of
adequately guarding so vast a region; but that, upon further
reflection, he became converted to the measure and was thereafter its
most ardent advocate.

But it is not so much actual facts, as what men believe these facts to
be, that controls human action; and it is unquestionably true that the
above quotation correctly expresses the views of the great majority
of members of Congress when the Park measure was before that body. It
is not too much to say that Dr. Hayden's influence, as the official
representative of the government, was a controlling factor in the
passage of that measure.

Perhaps no act of our national Congress has received such general
approbation at home or such profuse commendation from foreigners as
that creating the Yellowstone National Park. The lapse of twenty years
has only served to confirm and extend its importance; and to give
additional force to the sentiment so well expressed by the Earl of
Dunraven when he visited the Park in 1874:

"All honor then to the United States for having bequeathed as a free
gift to man the beauties and curiosities of 'Wonderland.' It was an
act worthy of a great nation, and she will have her reward in the
praise of the present army of tourists, no less than in the thanks of
the generations of them yet to come."[AH]

[AH] Page xi, "The Great Divide." See Appendix E.

It was a notable act, not only on account of the transcendent
importance of the territory it was designed to protect, but because it
was a marked innovation in the traditional policy of governments. From
time immemorial privileged classes have been protected by law in the
withdrawal, for their exclusive enjoyment, of immense tracts for
forests, parks and game preserves. But never before was a region of
such vast extent as the Yellowstone Park set apart for the use of all
the people without distinction of rank or wealth.

The example thus set by the United States has been widely followed.
We have now the Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, and numerous
parks upon the sites of great battle-fields. The State of New York has
a Niagara Park and contemplates setting apart a portion of the
Adirondack region. Minnesota has the Itasca State Park, including the
sources of the Mississippi. Canada also has a public park at Niagara,
and a large reservation in the midst of the finest scenery of the
Rocky Mountains. New Zealand has set a part for public use the region
of her hot springs and geysers. Finally the question is being mooted
of reserving a vast tract of Africa wherein the large game of that
continent may be kept from annihilation.




CHAPTER XI.

WHY SO LONG UNKNOWN?


There is no more singular fact connected with the history of the Upper
Yellowstone country than its long immunity from the presence of white
men. From the date when Lewis and Clark first stood at the Three Forks
of the Missouri, less than one hundred miles distant from this notable
region, sixty-five years elapsed before it was fully known. In the
meantime all the surrounding country had been thoroughly explored.
Cities, villages, farms and highways had been established throughout
the west. A railroad had been built across the continent. But around
the head waters of the Yellowstone, the most attractive region of all,
it was still _terra incognita_. A fact so remarkable requires adequate
explanation.

The most difficult feature of the question is the fact that no
knowledge of this region appears ever to have been derived from the
Indians. Lewis and Clark were told of the Great Falls of the Missouri,
and of other notable geographical features, long before they saw them.
But of the far more wonderful falls of the Yellowstone, of the great
lake in the mountains, or of the marvelous volcanic phenomena in the
same neighborhood, they received no hint. There is not a single
instance on record, so far as we can discover, except in the meager
facts noted in an earlier chapter, where rumors of this strange
country appear to have fallen from the lips of Indians. And yet it
was not a region unknown to them, for they had certainly passed back
and forth across it for a long period in the past. Their deep silence
concerning it is therefore no less remarkable than mysterious.

But how was it that the long period of the fur trade should have
passed without disclosing this country? To this question a more
satisfactory answer may be returned. The Upper Yellowstone country was
indeed, as we have seen, frequently visited in these early years. But
it was never favorite territory. Old trappers say that, although it
abounded in beaver, they were not so plentiful as in lower altitudes,
while on the streams impregnated with mineral matter, the furs were
not so good. The seasons also were unpropitious. The winter snows were
so deep--they came so early and remained so late--that little could be
done there except from the middle of June to the middle of September.
But furs taken during the summer months are of inferior quality, and
there was consequently no inducement to trap. Moreover it was
generally at this time that the gatherings at posts and rendezvous
took place, and after these were over but little time remained. Causes
like these prevented extensive operations in this region, and
doubtless only a comparatively small number of trappers ever saw it.

Then, the interest of the trader was against the dissemination of any
knowledge which might induce immigration and hasten the certain ruin
of his occupation. The stress of competition also caused him to remain
silent concerning the places he had seen, lest a rival should profit
thereby. He took no pains to reveal the country, and the trappers were
too illiterate to do so had they wished. With the one notable
exception which has been mentioned in a previous chapter, no
important press notice of these regions appeared during the entire
sixty-five years.

The fur business itself quickly ran its course, and with it
disappeared all probability of an early discovery of the geyser
regions from this cause. The war with Mexico followed, with the vast
cession of territory which it secured. Then came the highly important
discovery of gold in California. Already the Mormon emigration had
taken place. These great events completely changed the character and
purpose of western exploration. The whole west was forgotten excepting
only California and the Salt Lake Valley, and the routes leading to
them. None of these led close to the geyser regions. On the north were
the British fur trader's route, and the Missouri River route, both of
which led directly west to the Columbia. To the south was the great
thoroughfare along the Platte River and though South Pass, leading to
Utah, California and Oregon. Still further south were the long known
routes near the border of Old Mexico. It was hopelessly improbable
that gold seekers bound to the Pacific Coast along any of these routes
would stray into the mountain fastnesses about the sources of the
Yellowstone.

Finally the whole energy of the government in the field of exploration
was directed away from this region. In the period from 1804-6, the
date of Lewis and Clark's expedition, to 1870, the date of the real
discovery of the Park, there were no fewer than one hundred and ten
explorations in the country west of the Mississippi, nearly all of
which had government authority, and were conducted on a scientific
basis. Of these, eighty-four were in the territory lately acquired
from Mexico, and mostly in the far south and west. Nineteen were east
of the Bighorn Mountains, five north of the Yellowstone, and only two
in the region about the Upper Yellowstone. Of these two expeditions
one was that of Lewis and Clark, and was in no wise intended to
explore the Upper Yellowstone further than might be necessary to find
a good route to the Pacific. This leaves but a single expedition of
the whole number, that of Captain Raynolds, which was directed to this
specific territory. How the purpose of this expedition was defeated by
the heavy snow in the mountains and by the solar eclipse of 1860, has
been elsewhere related.

And so it came about that it was the gold-seeker who finally revealed
the well-kept secret of the Yellowstone. Itself destitute of mineral
wealth, this region could not escape the ubiquitous prospector. It was
not, indeed, by him that it was publicly proclaimed to the world. He
cared little for any country that was destitute of "color" or "pay."
But the hints he dropped put others on the track and opened the door
to real discovery.

This fact of long delay in the discovery of the Upper Yellowstone is
the most important in its history. Had it been known at an earlier
date, its fate would have been deplorably different. The period of the
fur traders was too early for the interest of the people to demand, or
the power of the government to enforce, its protection. If Captain
Raynolds had discovered it, all its most valuable tracts would have
been preempted long before the government would have been able to give
it attention. Fortunately, the discovery was delayed until there was
a considerable population in the country near by, and the government
was prepared actively to consider the matter. Before settlers could
establish a permanent foothold, the Park was created, and all the
vexatious obstacles, which might otherwise have defeated the project,
were avoided.




CHAPTER XII.

LATER EXPLORATIONS.


As soon as the remarkable character of the country about the sources
of the Yellowstone became generally known, there was a rush of
explorers to its borders. Every expedition that could possibly extend
the field of its labors in that direction did so, and there was
scarcely a summer during the next twenty years that the Park was not
the scene of some official exploration or visit.

By far the most important of these were the various expeditions under
the United States Geological Survey. Dr. Hayden was again in the
country with two parties in 1872, and very widely extended the range
of observations of the previous year. In 1878, survey parties again
entered the Park and resumed work there on a much more minute and
extensive scale. The result of that year's explorations appeared in
1883 in the form of an elaborate report by Dr. Hayden and his
co-workers, which entered with much detail into the more important
subjects of scientific interest. It was embellished with a great
number of engravings and colored plates, and with an exhaustive series
of topographical and geological maps. The work was again taken up in
1883, and was continued for several years. All questions of scientific
importance were investigated more thoroughly than ever before, and
many valuable official reports and monographs, together with a superb
map, have been the result.

In 1872, General John Gibbon, U. S. A., with a considerable party,
made a tour of the Park, passing by the usual route from Mammoth Hot
Springs _via_ Mt. Washburn, the Grand Cañon, and the Lake, to the
Firehole Geyser Basins. On his way home he attempted to ascend the
north Fork of the Madison, following an old trail; but he abandoned
the attempt after going a few miles. His name, which was given to the
river, has also attached to many other features along that valley.

In 1873, Captain William A. Jones, of the Corps of Engineers, passed
through the Park as part of a more extended reconnaissance. He was the
first to carry a party through the "impassable barrier" of the
Absaroka Range. Jones Creek, just east of the northern portion of the
Yellowstone Lake, shows where the party entered the Park. From the
Lake the expedition passed down the east bank of the river to the
valley of Junction Butte; thence west to Mammoth Hot Springs; thence
back over the usual trail _via_ Tower Creek, Mt. Washburn, the Grand
Cañon and Mud Geyser, to the Lower Geyser Basin; thence _via_ the
Upper Basin to the west shore of the Yellowstone Lake; thence to the
Upper Yellowstone River; thence through Two-Ocean Pass and Two-Gwo-Tee
Pass to the valley of Wind River. The chief results of this
expedition, in the line of original discovery, were the passage of the
Absaroka Range, the verification of the traditional "Two-Ocean Water,"
between Atlantic and Pacific Creeks, in Two-Ocean Pass, and the
discovery of the extremely easy pass (Two-Gwo-Tee[AI]) over the
Continental Divide, between the Snake and Wind Rivers. Prof. Theodore
B. Comstock accompanied the expedition as geologist. A valuable report
of the reconnaissance appeared in 1875.[AJ]

[AI] So named by Captain Jones for one of his Indian guides.

[AJ] See Appendix E.

In 1875, Captain William Ludlow, of the Corps of Engineers, made a
reconnaissance from Carroll, Montana, on the Missouri River, to the
Yellowstone Park and return. In the Park he followed the previously
traveled routes and developed little in the line of original
discovery. He succeeded, however, in obtaining a very accurate
measurement of the height of the Yellowstone Falls, and his report[AK]
forms one of the ablest brief descriptions of the Park extant. Among
his civil assistants was George Bird Grinnell, now widely known as the
editor of _Forest and Stream_, and as one of the most steadfast and
watchful guardians the Park has ever had.

[AK] See Appendix E.

During the same season a distinguished party, consisting of the
Secretary of War, Gen. W. W. Belknap, and several prominent officers
and civilians, with Lieutenant G. C. Doane, of National Park fame, as
guide, made a complete tour of the Park. An exceedingly interesting
narrative[AL] of the trip was written by Gen. W. E. Strong, who was a
member of the party.

[AL] See Appendix E.

In 1877, Gen. W. T. Sherman and staff made a tour of the Park. His
letters on the subject to the Secretary of War, and the official
report prepared by Gen. O. M. Poe of his staff, form a valuable
contribution to the literature of the Park.[AM]

[AM] See Appendix E.

In the same year Gen. O. O. Howard crossed the reservation in pursuit
of the Nez Percés Indians.

In 1880, the Hon. Carl Schurz, Secretary of the Interior, accompanied
by Gen. Crook with a large number of officers and soldiers, and an
immense pack train, entered the Park from the valley of Henry Fork and
made an extended tour.

In 1881, Captain W. S. Stanton, of the Corps of Engineers, made a
reconnaissance through the Park, entering by the way of Soda Butte
Creek, and passing out by the Madison Valley. The most important
result of his work in the Park was a more accurate table of distances
over some of the routes than had previously been in use.

In July and August of this year, the Hon. John W. Hoyt, Governor of
Wyoming, with a military escort under command of Major Julius W.
Mason, U. S. A., made an extended reconnaissance to discover a
practicable wagon route to the Yellowstone Park from the south-east.
He entered the Park by way of the Upper Yellowstone, passed through it
by way of Yellowstone and Shoshone Lakes, the Firehole Geyser Basins,
the Grand Cañon, the lower end of Yellowstone Lake, and left it along
the route by which Captain Jones had entered in 1873.

In the years 1881 and 1882, General Sheridan, with parties of
considerable size, twice crossed the Park and visited its most
important points. His expeditions were of great value to the Park from
the forcible warning which he gave to the public concerning the
demoralized condition of its civil administration.

[Illustration:

    _Terry Engr. Co._       _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Presidential Party of 1883.

1. John Schuyler Crosby, Governor of Montana Territory; 2. Michael V.
Sheridan, Lieutenant-Colonel and Military Secretary; 3. Philip H.
Sheridan, Lieutenant-General, U. S. Army; 4. Anson Stager,
Brigadier-General, U. S. Volunteers; 5. W. P. Clark, Captain Second
Cavalry, U. S. Army; 6. Chester A. Arthur, President of the United
States; 7. Dan. G. Rollins, Surrogate of New York; 8. James F.
Gregory, Lieutenant-Colonel and Aide-de-camp; 9. Robert T. Lincoln,
Secretary of War; 10. George G. Vest, United States Senator from
Missouri.]

The most elaborate expedition that ever passed through this region
took place in August, 1883.[AN] It included among its members the
President of the United States, the Secretary of War, the
Lieutenant-General of the Army, a United States Senator, and several
other distinguished officers and civilians. The interesting part of
the journey lay between Fort Washakie, Wyo., and the Northern Pacific
Railroad at Cinnabar, Mont. The party traveled entirely on horseback,
accompanied by one of the most complete pack trains ever organized in
this or any other country, and escorted by a full troop of cavalry.
Couriers were stationed every twenty miles with fresh relays, and by
this means communication was daily had with the outside world. The
whole distance traveled was 350 miles, through some of the wildest,
most rugged, and least settled portions of the west. No accident or
drawback occurred to mar the pleasure of the expedition. The great
pastime _en route_ was trout fishing, in which the President and
Senator Vest were acknowledged leaders. The phenomenal "catches" of
these distinguished sportsmen might pass into history as typical "fish
stories," were they not vouched for by the sober record of official
dispatches, and the unerring evidence of photographer Haynes' camera.
The elaborate equipment of this expedition, the eminent character of
its _personnel_, and the evident responsibility resting upon those who
conducted it, attracted a great deal of attention at the time, and
gave it a prominent place in the annals of Western Wyoming.[AO]

[AN] The year 1883 seems to have been the banner year for
distinguished visitors to the Park. The list of arrivals for that year
includes the President of the United States and a member of his
cabinet; the Chief-Justice and an Associate Justice of the United
States Supreme Court; the General, Lieutenant-General, and a large
number of other distinguished officers of the army; six United States
Senators; one Territorial Governor; a prominent railroad president;
the Ministers from Great Britain and Germany; the President of the
Admiralty Division of the High Court of Justice, England; three
members of Parliament; and a considerable number of other eminent
personages, both from this country and abroad.

[AO] See Appendix E--"A Journey through the Y. N. P., etc."

To these various expeditions must be added the extensive, though
desultory, explorations of P. W. Norris during the five years that he
was Superintendent of the Park.

It has thus come about that the Yellowstone National Park, though
remote, inaccessible, and of great extent, is about the most
thoroughly explored section of the United States. Within the territory
bounded by the 44th and 45th parallels of latitude, and the 110th and
111th meridians of longitude, there are nearly four hundred
geographical names. The names of hot springs and geysers would
probably double the number. To appreciate this fact, it must be
remembered that there are no settlements in the Park, and that
counties, townships, cities, and villages, which on ordinary maps form
so large a proportion of the names, are here entirely absent. That
region has indeed been a paradise for the explorer, the topographer,
and the geologist; and its splendid opportunities have not gone
unimproved.

Although not strictly in the line of original exploration, the few
winter journeys that have been made through the Park may nevertheless
most appropriately be considered in this place, reserving for a later
chapter a description of the difficult and hazardous nature of these
undertakings. The first of these expeditions was in 1887, under the
auspices of the _New York World_, and was led by Frederick Schwatka,
the Arctic explorer. It was organized on a grand scale, "with Arctic
'sleeping bags,' the Norwegian 'ski,' the Canadian 'web' snow shoe,
and toboggans to carry supplies, photographic equipment, and
astronomical instruments." But the elaborate outfit proved fatal to
the enterprise, which quickly resulted in a magnificent failure. The
conditions were different from those in Arctic travel, and the recent
fall of light snow negatived any attempt to move toboggans through it
successfully. The party consumed three days in getting to Norris, a
distance of twenty miles. Here Lieutenant Schwatka became ill and the
expedition was abandoned.

But Mr. F. J. Haynes, the well known Park photographer, who had
accompanied the party, resolved to continue the tour in order to
secure a collection of winter views. Three other members of the party
joined him. They abandoned the toboggan and strapped the baggage on
their backs. They went by way of the usual route to the Upper Geyser
Basin, where they were snow-bound for five days in a fearful blizzard.
Thence they went to the Grand Cañon, and from that point over Mount
Washburn to Yancey's. On this part of the trip the party nearly lost
their lives, wandering for three days in a blinding storm without food
or shelter. The circuit covered about two hundred miles, and the
temperature ranged from ten to fifty-two degrees below zero during the
entire trip of twenty-nine days.

In March, 1894, two very important winter expeditions were made in the
Park. Mr. F. J. Haynes went through for the purpose of extending his
line of winter views, and also of photographing the Park game.
Accompanying him was Felix Burgess, government scout.

Following this party by a few days, and joining it at the Grand Cañon,
came another party with a staff correspondent of _Forest and Stream_.
This gentleman, Mr. E. Hough, of Chicago, Ill., made the entire round
of the Park, studying its game and other similar matters.[AP] His
narrative, published in _Forest and Stream_, forms one of the most
entertaining and valuable contributions yet made to the literature of
the Park. These two expeditions played an important part in securing
the enactment of the National Park Protective Act, in May, 1894.

[AP] See Appendix E, "Yellowstone Park Game Exploration."




CHAPTER XIII.

AN INDIAN CAMPAIGN THROUGH THE YELLOWSTONE PARK.


In a letter dated at Fort Ellis, Montana Territory, August 19, 1877,
addressed to the Hon. George W. McCreary, Secretary of War, the
writer, General W. T. Sherman, then on a tour of inspection of the
"country north of the Union Pacific Railroad," tells of his recent
visit to the Yellowstone National Park. This was about the period when
our Indian wars in the Far West were at their height. Only a year had
elapsed since the Custer massacre. It was the crisis of the Indian
military question. There was at that time scarcely a spot in the whole
Missouri and Yellowstone Valleys that was safe from Indian
depredations. Naturally, therefore, General Sherman had his mind upon
this subject when his small party, comparatively unprotected, were
traveling through the wilds of the National Park. But he saw nothing
there to excite his fears, and in the letter above referred to, says:
"We saw no signs of Indians and felt at no moment more sense of danger
than we do here." It will presently be seen how delusive was this
fancied security, and by how narrow a margin it escaped resulting
disastrously to the General's party.

The tour from Fort Ellis to the Park and return had taken from August
4th to August 18th. On the latter date, the party met an ingoing
company of tourists from Helena composed of the following persons: A.
J. Weikert, Richard Dietrich, Frederick Pfister, Joseph Roberts,
Charles Kenck, Jack Stewart, August Foller, Leslie Wilke, L. Duncan,
and Benjamin Stone (colored cook). The party followed the usual route
to the Grand Cañon and Falls of the Yellowstone, where they were in
camp August 24th.

As they were entering the territory of the Park, another party was on
the point of leaving it after a tour of about two weeks. This party
was composed of the following persons, most of whom were from
Radersburg, Montana: George F. Cowan and wife, Frank and Ida
Carpenter, brother and sister of Mrs. Cowan, Charles Mann, William
Dingee, Albert Oldham, A. J. Arnold, and a Mr. Meyers. They had formed
a permanent camp in the Lower Geyser Basin, where the Fountain Hotel
now stands, and from that point had made daily short excursions to the
various localities of interest. They all visited the geyser basins and
some of the party crossed to the Lake and Cañon of the Yellowstone.
They must have been seen by Sherman's party, for they were directly in
his route. The party had completed their tour of the Park, August 23d,
and had arranged to set out for home early on the following morning.

In order to understand the unfortunate turn which the affairs of these
two tourist parties were about to take, it will be necessary to
explain, in briefest outline, the cause and previous incidents of one
of the most remarkable Indian campaigns in our history.

From the time of Lewis and Clark, the Nez Percé Indians had dwelt in
what are now the States of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Their
territory extended from the Salmon River on the south to the Pelouse
River on the north, and from the Bitter Root Mountains westward into
the present States of Idaho and Washington. In 1855, they ceded to the
United States a part of their territory, and the principal chiefs
located in the several portions of the remainder. In 1860, gold was
discovered on the reservation and the usual gold rush followed. The
danger of a conflict with the Indians became so great that a temporary
arrangement, pending action by the government, was made between them
and their Indian agent, opening a portion of the reservation "to the
whites in common with the Indians for mining purposes."

But the settlers did not stop with these concessions. In defiance of
law, they built the town of Lewiston on the reservation, and gave
other proofs of their project for permanent occupancy. It soon became
necessary for the government to take some decisive step, and this was
accomplished in 1863 by a new treaty in which the Indians relinquished
three of their most important valleys, the Wallowa, the Alpowai, and
the Salmon River.

The treaty, however, was far from receiving the general assent of all
the chiefs. A formidable faction, headed by Chiefs Joseph, Looking
Glass, Big Thunder, White Bird, and others, refused to be bound by it,
and were henceforth referred to in official reports as the "Non-treaty
Nez Percés." For a time the authorities made no effort to enforce the
new treaty, and the Indians were "tacitly permitted to roam" over
their ancient hunting-grounds.

This condition of affairs continued for thirteen years with various
efforts in the meantime to arrive at some more satisfactory
settlement. Finally, in 1876, a civil and military commission was
appointed to visit the Nez Percé Indians, to examine into their
grievances, and to determine what measures were necessary for a
permanent settlement of the question. The report[AQ] of this
Commission is interesting, both for the facts it relates in regard to
the tribal life and characteristics of the Nez Percé Indians, and for
the heroic treatment of the long-standing troubles which it
recommends.

[AQ] See Report of Secretary of the Interior, 1877, part 1, p. 607.
See also Appendix E, "Nez Percé Indians," etc.

These Indians were altogether a peculiar people. The early
missionaries had converted them to the Christian faith, and, whether
from that cause, or from natural proclivity, they were among the most
religious of our Indian tribes. There is a general concensus of
authorities that, despite certain grave defects of character, they
were, mentally and morally, far above the average Indian. In later
times, approaching the period covered by this sketch, they fell under
the influence of a class of mystics called "dreamers," who taught a
doctrine of land ownership which was the immediate cause of all their
subsequent troubles. This doctrine was, in substance, that "the
'Creative Power,' when he made the earth, made no marks, no lines of
division or separation, upon it, and that it should be allowed to
remain as it is;" that it "should not be disturbed by man, and that
any cultivation of the soil, or other improvements, any voluntary
submission to the control of government," were incompatible with the
true purpose for which it was made. At bottom it was the broad
principle that no man or aggregation of men can take from other men
the right to enjoy what nature has made free for all. Why the
Commission should characterize this doctrine as "pernicious," unless a
thing is pernicious whenever it is impracticable, is not easy to
understand. From the point of view of the nomadic life of the redmen,
it is hard to conceive a theory of land tenure, or the want of it,
more nearly approaching a perfect ideal.

Unfortunately for such a doctrine, at the point at which American
history had now arrived, it was no longer possible of realization; and
any attempt to put it in force could not result otherwise than in
failure. So it was with Joseph and his followers. The government for a
long time overlooked their infractions of the Treaty of 1863, but
finally was compelled to interfere. The Commission recommended that
the existing treaty be enforced, by military aid if necessary. The
recommendation was approved, and to General O. O. Howard fell the task
of putting the Indians on their proper reservation.

For a time it seemed that they would be induced to submit without the
employment of active force; but just as success was apparently
assured, the Indians murdered some twenty white men, women, and
children, in revenge for one of their number killed the previous year.
Peaceful negotiations came at once to an end, and the military
authorities assumed control of the situation. This was June 13, 1877.

Between that date and July 12th, three battles were fought, in which
both sides suffered severely, and the Indians displayed extraordinary
fighting ability. They then left their country--as it proved, not to
return--and set out across the mountains to their oft-visited "buffalo
country," in the Judith Basin, far to the eastward of the Upper
Missouri.

But their route lay too close to the military post of Fort Missoula
and to the towns in the more thickly settled portions of Montana. They
bore off to the southward, through a country with whose people they
were well acquainted, and with whom they had often traded in previous
excursions to the buffalo country. Here they found friends and
obtained the supplies they needed.

In the meantime, General Gibbon, with a small force, which he had
gathered from Forts Benton, Shaw, and Missoula, and from volunteers
among Montana citizens, was in close pursuit. He overtook the Indians
on the Big Hole River, in South-western Montana, where a desperate
battle ensued, in which his own force was severely handled.

The Indians then passed south into Idaho, with Howard in pursuit,
swung around to the east, and re-crossed into Montana by way of Henry
Lake. Near Camas Creek, they had an engagement with the pursuing
troops.

Howard arrived at Henry Lake at 8 A. M., August 23d, just as the
Indians had left. The long marches compelled him to halt at this point
for three or four days, to rest his men and replenish his supplies.
This gave the Indians a considerable start, of which, however, they
took only a leisurely advantage. Their route lay across the
Yellowstone Park, which they entered by Targhee Pass, and on the night
of August 23d they encamped on the Firehole River, in the Yellowstone
National Park, a short distance from where we left the Radersburg
tourists, and less than twenty miles from the camp of the Helena
party. The interest of the campaign for the next week centers chiefly
upon the fortunes of these unlucky excursionists.

Before sunrise on the morning of August 24th, Arnold and Dingee, who
had got up to prepare the camp fire, saw Indians approaching. The rest
of the party were promptly aroused. The Indians at first professed to
be friendly and little alarm was felt; but the party nevertheless had
no appetite for breakfast, and immediately broke camp and started down
the river toward home. But they were soon surrounded by the increasing
number of Indians, who began to give indications that trouble was at
hand. They were told that it would be unsafe to proceed down stream
further, that the only course was to turn back with the Indians. This
they were soon forced to do. After traveling some two miles up Nez
Percé Creek, it became impossible to take the wagons further. The
horses were unhitched and the ladies mounted upon them, and in this
manner the march was resumed. At this point Mr. Frank Carpenter was
induced to hasten to the front in search of Chief Looking Glass to see
if he could not secure the party's release; but his suspicions
becoming soon aroused, he refused to go further, and returned. In
fact, it turned out later that Looking Glass was not in front at the
time and that the pretense that he was, was a mere subterfuge to aid
in scattering the party. The captives were now taken up the East Fork
of the Firehole (Nez Percé Creek) to the foot of Mary Mountain, where
a consultation with the chiefs was had. Mr. Cowan was spokesman for
the whites, and Poker Joe, who knew English well, for the Indians. The
party were here set at liberty, their horses, guns and ammunition
were taken, they were given other horses instead, and, just as the
Indians were about to resume their march, they were told to depart by
the back trail. After proceeding some three-fourths of a mile, they
were overtaken by some seventy-five young and war-painted bucks, and
were compelled to countermarch. It was about this time that two of the
party were given a hint by a friendly Indian and made their escape in
the brush. The rest continued their way back to the point where they
had been liberated and some distance beyond in the direction of Mary
Lake. Just as they reached the first sharp ascent of the mountain
about 2 P. M., in the midst of dense timber, the attack began. At the
first fire Cowan was struck in the thigh and fell from his horse. His
wife instantly rushed to his side, threw her arms around his neck, and
strenuously resisted the Indians in their further attempts to kill
him. But they partially pulled her away and an Indian shot Cowan again
in the head. He was then left for dead.

In the meantime, Carpenter had had a narrow escape. A young Indian had
drawn his revolver upon him, when Carpenter, remembering his religion,
quickly made a sign of the cross. He was then hid by the Indians in a
clump of underbrush until the trouble was over, and was assured that
the ladies should not be harmed.[AR]

[AR] The Indians denied that Carpenter was saved because of making a
sign of the cross although they remembered his making it. The chiefs
had strictly enjoined their followers that the whites were not to be
injured. When the few lawless bucks began the attack, some of the
other Indians interfered. Poker Joe was sent back by the chiefs for
the same purpose when they surmised what was going on. He succeeded in
preventing further trouble, and Carpenter's escape was due to this
cause.

The other members of the party scattered promptly when the firing
began. All of them escaped to the brush, but one of them was wounded
in the attempt, and fell behind a log where he lay concealed until the
Indians had gone.

This left Carpenter and his two sisters captive. They were taken along
with the Indians, each being lashed to a pony behind an Indian. The
captives became separated and did not see each other until ten o'clock
that night at the Indian camp near Mary Lake. The next day, August
25th, the march was resumed, and the party were taken across the
Yellowstone at the ford near Mud Geyser. Here Carpenter's fate was put
to a vote of the chiefs and by a majority of one he was given his
life. In the afternoon, the ladies were given each a pony, and, with
Carpenter, were escorted by Poker Joe back across the river. They were
then taken a mile down stream and told to depart--instructions which
they obeyed with no want of alacrity.

Strange to say none of the party had been killed. Cowan, who had been
twice shot, and stoned also by the Indians, when they saw lingering
evidences of life, nevertheless survived. About five o'clock in the
afternoon he recovered consciousness, and drew himself up by the bow
of a tree, when lo! close behind him was another Indian with his rifle
ready to fire. He tried to get away, but the Indian fired and the ball
passed through his left hip. He now gave up hope as he fell again to
the ground. The Indian, however, did not come up. After waiting until
every one had apparently gone, Cowan crawled along till about
mid-night, seeking a place of greater safety, and then waited for
day. At daybreak he commenced crawling back toward the old camp, a
distance of eight or ten miles. He passed the abandoned wagons on the
way, where he found a dog belonging to the party. It took him four
days to reach the old camp, but once there he found matches, coffee,
and some other articles which helped him to keep alive. The day after
his arrival, he was picked up by Howard's scouts.

Arnold, who had escaped to the brush before Cowan was shot, and had
wandered for four days until finally picked up by Howard's command
near Henry Lake, came along with the troops on the 29th, and remained
with Cowan until their arrival in Bozeman. They were taken by Howard
to near Baronett's Bridge, and then sent down the river.

Already Carpenter and his sisters had made their way down the river,
passing close to the camp of the other party of tourists near the
Falls--whom they might have saved had they chanced to see them--and
were met by a party of soldiers under Lieutenant Schofield twelve
miles from Mammoth Hot Springs. They were escorted to the springs,
whence they went to Bottler's ranch, some distance below the Park, and
a short time afterward returned to Radersburg. It was about two weeks
before Mrs. Cowan learned that her husband was still alive. After all
these miraculous escapes, it is interesting to know that Mr. Cowan and
his wife survived to make another tour of the Park a few years later
under better conditions.

It will not be necessary to follow in detail the fortunes of the rest
of the party. They all escaped, though with much suffering, in their
wanderings through the wilderness.

When the captive members of the party were being marched down the
Yellowstone slope east of Mary Lake, they heard considerable firing in
the timber to their right. This is thought to have been an attack upon
two prospectors who were known to have been in the neighborhood at the
time, and who have never since been heard of.

The party of Helena tourists in camp near the Falls of the Yellowstone
on the night of August 24th, were less fortunate than the Radersburg
party. On the morning of the 25th, they started up the river toward
the Mud Geyser. They had gone about a mile beyond Sulphur Mountain
when they discovered moving bodies of men, part of whom were fording
the river. Careful scrutiny showed them to be Indians, and the party
rightly divined that they must be the hostile Nez Percés. They hastily
retraced their steps and went into camp in the timber near the forks
of Otter Creek, about a mile and a half above the Upper Falls of the
Yellowstone. Here they remained undisturbed all day and the following
night. On the morning of the 26th, Weikert and Wilkie set out to scout
the country. They went as far as Sulphur Mountain, and finding every
thing clear, started back to camp to report. When entering the timber
just north of Alum Creek, they suddenly met a band of Indians who
promptly opened fire on them. A flight and pursuit of considerable
duration ended in the escape of both men; but not until Weikert had
been wounded. This party of Indians had just attacked and dispersed
the group in camp. They had stolen upon the camp as dinner was being
prepared, and a volley of musketry was the first warning the tourists
had of their presence. There was instant flight and most of the party
managed to get away. But Kenck was soon overtaken and killed; and
Stewart after being severely wounded, prevailed on the Indians to
spare his life.

Weikert and Wilkie, who had hastened back to camp after their own
encounter, found every thing in confusion, and all the party gone.
They soon fell in with several of them, and together they set out for
Mammoth Hot Springs.

And now began another series of wanderings through the trackless
wilderness of the Park. Two of the party made their way by way of the
Madison River, where they were given food by soldiers, to Virginia
City and thence to Helena. The rest of the survivors after much
hardship reached Mammoth Hot Springs, and soon after left the Park
with the exception of Weikert, Dietrich, the colored cook, Stone, and
a man named Stoner.

On August 31st, Weikert and one McCartney, owner of the first hotel
ever built in the Park, went to the Falls of the Yellowstone in order
if possible to learn the fate of the missing members of the party.
Shortly after their departure from the Springs a band of Indians
prowled across the country from the Yellowstone to the Gardiner and
went down the latter stream as far as Henderson's Ranch near the
present town of Cinnabar. After a brief skirmish and a general pillage
here, they went back to Mammoth Hot Springs. Stoner and the colored
cook fled precipitately, but Dietrich, believing the Indians to be
friendly scouts, remained behind and was shot dead in the door of the
hotel. Stone made a lucky escape by climbing a tree, and his
subsequent ludicrous recital of his experience became a standing jest
among the inhabitants of the Yellowstone.

Weikert and McCartney went back to the old camp on Otter Creek, where
they buried Kenck's remains and gathered up whatever of value the
Indians had left. On their way back, when on the head waters of Black
Tail Deer Creek, they met the band of Indians who had just slain
Dietrich at Mammoth Hot Springs. A lively skirmish ensued, in which
Weikert lost his horse. The two men succeeded in finding refuge in
some neighboring brushwood.

Just as the Indians went into camp on the night of August 23d, their
first day in the Park, they captured one Shively who was on his way to
Montana from the Black Hills. As Shively professed to know the
country, which the Nez Percés had never seen before, they impressed
him into their service as guide. He was with them thirteen days and
claims to have served them faithfully, as well as to have received
fair treatment from them. At any rate he won their confidence by his
behavior, and was watched so carelessly that he escaped one dark night
just as the Indians were crossing the north-east boundary of the Park.

As soon as the command at Henry Lake had become recuperated, the
pursuit was vigorously resumed. Howard followed in the track of the
Indians as far as to the ford of the Yellowstone; but instead of
crossing at this point, he descended the river by the left bank to
the site of Baronett's celebrated first bridge over the Yellowstone.
From the Lower Geyser Basin to this bridge a road had to be opened for
the wagons. It was a prodigious undertaking, but was performed with
astonishing rapidity under the direction of Capt. W. F. Spurgin,
Twenty-first Infantry. The bridge was found partially destroyed by the
Indians and had to be repaired, after which the line of march was
continued up the Lamar and Soda Butte Valleys, and across the divide
to the valley of Clark's Fork.

The authorities had been widely warned of the probable route of the
Indians and were lying in wait to intercept them. Gen. Sturgis
expected to do this as they emerged from the Absaroka Mountains; but
unfortunately he stationed himself in the wrong pass and left the one
which the Indians took unguarded. By this loss of time he fell in
behind both the Indians and Howard, who was now in close pursuit. The
Indians crossed the Yellowstone September 12th. Here Sturgis overtook
them with a company of cavalry and a slight conflict ensued. The
Indians then struck north, apparently for the British line. On
September 23d they crossed the Missouri at Cow Island and resumed
their march north. But they were intercepted by Gen. Miles in the Bear
Paw Mountains and a severe fight followed, at the northern base of the
range on Snake Creek, less than thirty miles from the boundary. The
Indians were utterly defeated and Looking Glass was killed. Most of
the survivors surrendered unconditionally and the rest escaped across
the line. This was on October 5, 1877.

Since the first outbreak, June 13th, three months and twenty-two days
had elapsed. The flight and pursuit had extended over 1,500 miles.
There had been no fewer than fifteen engagements. The whites had lost
6 officers and 121 soldiers and citizens killed, and 13 officers and
127 soldiers and citizens wounded. A large part of the Indian losses
could never be ascertained, but their known losses were 151 killed, 88
wounded and 489 captured.

This celebrated campaign is well intended to elicit the fullest
sympathy for the unfortunate Nez Percés. A vast deal of sentiment has
been wasted upon the cause of the red man. Opinions have ranged from
the extreme views of Catlin, who could see no wrong in the Indian, to
those of the rabid frontiersman whose creed was "no good Indian but a
dead one." But, if there ever was a case where sympathy might well
incline to the side of the Indian, it is the one under consideration.

The Nez Percés had always been friendly to the whites, and it was
their boast that they had never slain a white man. They were
intelligent, brave, and humane. In this campaign they bought supplies
which they might have confiscated; they saved property which they
might have destroyed; they spared hundreds of lives which other
Indians would have sacrificed. If some of the more lawless element
committed various outrages, they might justly reply that the whites
had fired into their tents where their women and children were
sleeping. In short, their conduct in this campaign places them in all
respects vastly nearer the standard of civilized people than any other
of the native tribes of the continent.

In estimating the causes that led to the war, history can not fail to
establish that the Indians were in the right. It was a last desperate
stand against the inevitable destiny which was robbing the Indian of
his empire; a final protest against the intolerable encroachments of
the pale face. In defense of this principle, the Nez Percés staked
their all on a single throw. They lost, and were irretrievably ruined.
They were transported to a distant territory, and the land of their
fathers they saw no more.[AS]

[AS] After the surrender, Joseph and a few of his followers were sent
to Fort Leavenworth, where they remained until July, 1878, when they
were taken to the Indian Territory. After languishing here for seven
years, they were established on the Colville Reservation in
Washington.

The campaign of 1877 was the only one in which tourists of the
National Park were ever subjected to serious danger from the Indians.
It has left its mark indelibly upon the Park. "Nez Percé Creek" will
always remind the traveler of the terrible danger in which another
party of tourists was once placed upon the borders of that stream.
"Howard's Trail" will not soon be effaced from the forests and
mountains where Captain Spurgin, with brilliant expedition, built the
first passable highway through that tangled wilderness.

       *       *       *       *       *

In 1878, there was a slight alarm in the Park caused by an ephemeral
raid of the Bannock Indians; but, beyond the loss of a few horses, no
damage was done.




CHAPTER XIV.

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY OF THE PARK.


The Act of Dedication of the Yellowstone National Park indicates in
clear terms the purposes for which it was created. These are:

(1.) The preservation of its natural curiosities, its forests, and its
game.

(2.) The reservation of its territory from private occupancy so that
it may remain in unrestricted freedom "for the benefit and enjoyment
of the people."

(3.) The granting of such leases and other privileges as may be
necessary for the comfort and convenience of visitors.

One grave omission in the original act, and the long-continued failure
of Congress to remedy it by subsequent legislation, in a large degree
nullified these important purposes. Strange as it may seem, for
twenty-two years, or until the spring of 1894, there was no law
defining offenses in the Park or providing a penalty for their
commission. Wanton vandalism, destruction of game, or burning of
forests, could be visited with no heavier punishment than ejection
from the Park and confiscation of "outfit." In the reports of every
Superintendent, for more than a score of years, this condition of
affairs was brought to the attention of Congress. Meanwhile there were
experienced all the evils of a license which at times was wholly
unchecked and which has never until very recently been under proper
control.

This long-standing misfortune was aggravated by another scarcely less
serious--the failure of Congress for several years to appropriate
funds for the protection and improvement of the Park. For this
failure, however, no one can justly be held faultily responsible. The
promoters of the Park project had based extravagant expectations upon
the results to be derived from leases. They believed that the revenue
from this source would amply cover the expense of opening the
necessary highways and providing a proper police force. They did not
make due allowance, for the fact that there was at that time no
railroad within 500 miles; that the new reservation was an almost
impassable wilderness, and that the construction of roads and bridges
must necessarily precede any profitable tourist business. Neither do
they seem to have realized that these leases could not, in the nature
of things, yield a revenue commensurate with the work of opening up so
wild and extensive a country. The argument of self-support was a
mistaken one. It did an important work, however, for it is doubtful if
Congress would have created this reservation had it not believed that
no additional public burden was to be incurred thereby.

The subsequent results of this erroneous impression were in every way
unfortunate. It was several years (1872 to 1878) before any money was
appropriated for the Park, which, in the meanwhile, was left wholly
without means for its improvement and protection. The Secretary of the
Interior might indeed publish rules and regulations for its
government, but they could avail but little so long as there was no
authority to carry them into execution. In fact, the only valuable
result of the creation of the Park during these years was the
exclusion of settlers from its territory.

Shortly after the Park was created, the Hon. N. P. Langford was
appointed its first Superintendent. The selection was in every sense
an admirable one. Mr. Langford had been a member of the famous
Washburn Expedition, and an earnest worker in securing the Act of
Dedication. He was intimately acquainted with all phases of western
life, and was an enthusiast upon the subject of his new charge. But,
from the first, his hands were completely tied. No money was ever
allowed him for his services, nor for any other form of expenditure in
the interests of the Park. He was, therefore, powerless to accomplish
effective work. His office, which he held for about five years, was a
source of great annoyance to him; for he was frequently, and most
unjustly, charged in the public press with the responsibility for a
condition of things for which he was in no sense to blame.

In 1877, there appeared, as Mr. Langford's successor, one of the most
unique and picturesque, as well as one of the most important,
characters in the history of the Park. This was Philetus W. Norris, of
Michigan. He was appointed immediately upon the advent of President
Hayes' administration, and held office very nearly five years, or
almost exactly the same length of time as his predecessor.

Norris filled with varying capacity the rôles of explorer,
path-finder, poet, and historian in the Park. He was a man of
extraordinary energy, and, if not in the fullest sense a practical
man, he had at least the invaluable quality of being able to produce
results. He entered upon his new field of duty with a genuine
enthusiasm, and he was fortunate in receiving from Congress
substantial means with which to carry out his plans.

The work of Norris' administration may be conveniently considered
under three heads: his discoveries, his road building, and his
reports.

He was pre-eminently an explorer. He not only traveled repeatedly over
all the known trails, but he penetrated the unknown sections of the
Park in every direction. Though not the discoverer, he first made
generally known the geyser basin that bears his name. He explored and
reported upon the Hoodoo region, and first called prominent attention
to the noble cañon of the Middle Gardiner. But the most important
feature of his explorations was the study he made of the history and
antiquities of the Park. We owe more to him than to any one else for
evidence of the former presence of white men in that region. His
discoveries also in the matter of prehistoric races and of early
Indian history possess scientific value.

In the rôle of road builder, Norris was a pioneer in the Park. Before
his time, wagons could get up the Gardiner to Mammoth Hot Springs, and
up the Madison to the Lower Geyser Basin. He opened the way direct
from Mammoth Hot Springs to the Upper Geyser Basin, from the Lower
Basin to the Yellowstone River, Lake, and Falls, and from Mammoth Hot
Springs to Tower Creek. He thus shortened the old pack-train route by
one-third, and foreshadowed the general road system which Lieutenant
Kingman later formulated into a permanent project of improvement. As a
road engineer, he was not a distinguished success. His work was
ill-conceived and poorly executed, but at the same time it gave access
to many places wholly inaccessible before. All the difference between
poor roads and none at all may justly be placed to his credit.

The third and most important feature of Norris' work was his official
reports and other writings. As he was always doing something, although
seldom in the best way, so he was always saying something, with the
same constitutional defect. Nevertheless, he has left in his five
annual reports a great deal of useful information, which he
supplemented by a long series of articles in the _Norris Suburban_, a
paper at that time largely read throughout the West. It is not too
much to say that he was a prime mover in the strong awakening of
public sentiment in regard to the Park which began to show itself
toward the close of his administration.

Norris' work in the Yellowstone Park can not be passed over without
praise. It left its mark, as its author did his name, in every
quarter. But one thing must be charged to his account--an almost total
failure to _protect_ the Park. He did, indeed, by his public
utterances, denounce the vandalism and game destruction that were then
rampant; but he did little in a practical way to prevent them--no
more, in fact, than his predecessor, although he was given the means.

Norris was succeeded in February, 1882, by Patrick H. Conger, of Iowa.
Of this Superintendent, it need only be said that his administration
was throughout characterized by a weakness and inefficiency which
brought the Park to the lowest ebb of its fortunes, and drew forth
the severe condemnation of visitors and public officials alike. This
administration is an important one, however, for it marks the period
of change in public sentiment already referred to, and the
commencement of reform in the government of the reservation.

As if the unfortunate condition of affairs due to the lack of suitable
laws for the reservation were not enough, there arose in the early
part of Superintendent Conger's administration a new and even more
formidable danger, under the euphemistic title of the Yellowstone Park
Improvement Company. Previous to this time, there had been no regular
leases in the Park. Several informal permits for occupancy had been
granted, and a small number of inferior buildings had been erected. In
1880, there were nine of these buildings, nearly all of them being
plain log-cabins, with earth roofs, of the common frontier pattern.
Only two, the headquarters building at Mammoth Hot Springs and
Marshall's Hotel in the Lower Geyser Basin, rose in dignity above the
primitive type. No one as yet thought of remaining in the Park during
the winter season.

But it finally dawned upon certain sagacious individuals that here was
a rare opportunity to exploit the government for their private
emolument under the generous guise of improving the Park, and catering
to the comfort of the tourist. A company was accordingly formed, and a
valuable ally secured in the person of the Assistant Secretary of the
Interior, who granted a lease of 4,400 acres in tracts of about a
square mile at each of the great points of interest. It was urged in
defense of this sweeping grant, that it was hoped in that way to
secure the protection which had yet failed to be found by any other
method. It was thought that, if responsible parties could be given
exclusive control of these natural curiosities, they would, at least
from motives of self-interest, preserve them. But such a monopolistic
privilege was clearly opposed to the spirit of the Act of Dedication.
Why set apart this region for the free and unrestricted enjoyment of
the people, if the Secretary of the Interior could give to private
parties absolute control of all its most important localities? Was
this a proper interpretation of "small parcels of ground," as
specified in the act? The danger involved in this action was indeed a
grave one, and it at once aroused a storm of protest throughout the
country.

It was about this time also that there began to appear those various
railroad and segregation projects which from that time to the present
have been a formidable menace to the continued existence of the Park.
A more extensive consideration of this particular subject is reserved
for a later chapter.

It thus became apparent as early as 1882, that immediate and radical
measures must be adopted if the Park was to be preserved in its
original condition. General Sheridan who passed through that region in
1881, 1882, and 1883, gave forcible warning of the impending danger,
and urgently appealed to the public sentiment of the country in favor
of some action which should avert it. The Governor of Montana made an
earnest appeal to Congress. Other influential voices united in the
same cause, and already it was broadly hinted that the only salvation
of the Park lay in turning it over to the military. The whole matter
was brought prominently before the next Congress, and in March, 1883,
a clause in the Sundry Civil Bill containing the annual appropriation
for the Park, forbade the granting of leases of more than ten acres to
any single party, authorized the Secretary of the Interior to call
upon the Secretary of War for troops to patrol the Park, and provided
for the employment of ten assistant superintendents who were to
constitute a police force. Thus was the bold scheme of the Improvement
Company frustrated, and the foundation laid for the present
administrative system. The Secretary of the Interior, however, seems
not to have wished to avail himself of military assistance, and it was
several years before this provision of the law was put into operation.

It was in this same year that the killing of birds and animals in the
Park, and the taking of fish by any other method than by hook and
line, were absolutely prohibited. Previously, hunting had been allowed
so far as was necessary to supply the wants of camping parties--a
concession that practically operated as an unrestricted license.

The failure of Congress to enact needed legislation at length became
so nearly chronic that relief was sought in another direction. Nearly
all the territory of the Park, and all its great attractions, were
within the limits of Wyoming. Might it not therefore be within the
province of territorial legislation to furnish the necessary legal
protection? The subject was agitated, and in the winter of 1884, an
act was passed, designed "to protect and preserve the timber, game,
fish, and natural curiosities of the Park," and for other purposes.
The act was very stringent in its provisions, and clearly indicated
the deep-seated nature of the disease which it has designed to cure.
But it totally failed of its purpose. The attempt at territorial
control of what was really a national institution was in itself a
grave blunder. Then, the officials chosen to execute the law seem to
have been poorly qualified for the purpose, and to have displayed
lamentable want of tact and moderation. Some of their arrests were
so tyrannical and inexcusable, as to create universal protest.
The spectacle of the assistant superintendents--federal
officials--sharing, as informers, the fines levied by a territorial
court, was not designed to create respect for the new authority. At
length the unpopularity of the law became so extreme, that it was
repealed March 10, 1886.

Although so unwise a measure could not stand, the first effect of its
repeal was to advertise the fact that the Park was practically without
legal protection. Matters became even worse than before. The common
verdict, as gathered from official reports and other sources, is that
the body of police, styled assistant superintendents, were notoriously
inefficient if not positively corrupt. They were, for the most part,
creatures of political favoritism, and were totally unused to the
service required of them. Commissioned as guardians of the rarest
natural wonders on the globe, they not infrequently made merchandise
of the treasures which they were appointed to preserve. Under their
surveillance, vandalism was practically unchecked, and the slaughter
of game was carried on for private profit almost in sight of the
superintendent's quarters. Already some of the rarer species of
animals had suffered a depletion in numbers from which they have
never recovered; and the prediction of Prof. Comstock, in 1874, seemed
on the point of realization, that "the zoological record of to-day"
was about to "pass into the domain of the paleontologist."

The difficulties that beset the administration of the Park seem to
have been too great for Superintendent Conger to grapple with
successfully, and he resigned, July 28, 1884. It may at least be said
in his favor, that, weak as his management had been, no charge of
corruption or dishonesty was ever brought against him.

In his place was appointed, August 4, 1884, Robert E. Carpenter, of
Iowa. Mr. Carpenter's views of the requirements of his office were
clear and positive; and he promptly set about to carry them into
execution. In his opinion, the Park was created to be an instrument of
profit to those who were shrewd enough to grasp the opportunity. Its
protection and improvement were matters of secondary consideration.
Instead of remaining at his post during the winter season, he went to
Washington, and there, in concert with a member of the Improvement
Company, very nearly succeeded in carrying a measure through Congress
by which important tracts upon the Reservation were to be thrown open
to private occupancy. So confident of success were these conspirators
that they even located claims upon the tracts in question, and their
names appeared on claim notices posted to designate the localities.
Fortunately the measure failed of passage, but the scandal of
Superintendent Carpenter's conduct led to his prompt removal from
office.

On the day of his removal, May 29, 1885, Colonel David W. Wear, of
Missouri, was appointed to the vacancy. Colonel Wear appears to have
been admirably fitted for the place. He at once set out to reform the
administration of the Park, and his intelligent and vigorous measures
gave the highest encouragement to those who had been familiar with the
previous condition of affairs. But, as has often happened before, and
will often happen again, he was made to suffer for the sins of his
predecessors. The bad repute into which the government of the Park had
fallen was not easily removed, and Congress finally declined to
appropriate money for a protection which did not protect. The
Secretary of the Interior was thus compelled to call upon the
Secretary of War for assistance. The régime of civilian
superintendents passed away, and that of the military superintendents
began. The change was bitterly opposed by the Secretary of the
Interior and by all who held or hoped to hold places under the old
order; but the sequel quickly proved the wisdom of this action of
Congress. The old order necessarily felt the evil of our patronage
system of office-holding; but no single act ever went so far to
eliminate this fruitful source of misfortune as the assignment of the
administrative control of the Park to the officers and soldiers of the
army.

August 20, 1886, marks the turning point in the administrative history
of the Reservation. It was upon that day that Captain Moses Harris,
First U. S. Cavalry, relieved the civilian Superintendent of his
duties, and soldiers supplanted the so-called assistant
Superintendents as a Park police. Henceforth an entirely new order was
to obtain. It was to be seen how much could be accomplished, even in
the absence of laws, toward a vigorous and healthful administration.
Trespassers upon the Reservation were promptly removed. The
regulations were revised and extended, printed upon cloth, and posted
in all parts of the Park; and their violation was visited with summary
punishment to the full extent of the Superintendent's authority.
Abuses of leasehold rights were searchingly inquired into and reported
to the department. As soon as this show of real authority was made
manifest, and it became apparent that here was a man who meant what he
said, a great part of the difficulty was over. Nothing in fact
conduces so much to the infraction of law as a belief in the
incompetency or dishonesty of those delegated to enforce it, and the
removal of this cause was a long step in the right direction.

The Park was particularly fortunate in its first military
Superintendent. Captain Harris possessed in a marked degree the
qualities required for that position. He was vigorous and
uncompromising in suppressing lawlessness, just and impartial in his
rulings, and untiring in his watchfulness for the public interest.
Although his immediate superior, the Secretary of the Interior, had
strenuously opposed the installation of the military in the Park, he
never failed to pay a high tribute to the efficiency with which the
new Superintendent performed his duties. In fact, this high opinion of
Captain Harris' services was soon shared by all who were familiar with
the situation. Even _Forest and Stream_, whose fidelity to the best
interests of the Park has been a distinguishing feature of that
journal for the past fifteen years, was fain to admit, although it
had regarded the change as impolitic, that under Captain Harris'
guardianship "the Park had been cared for as it never had been
before."

Captain Harris remained in charge for nearly three years, and was
succeeded, June 1, 1889, by Captain F. A. Boutelle, First U. S.
Cavalry. That the evil of political interference and private
intriguing was not yet wholly eliminated from the affairs of the Park
became manifest when Captain Boutelle undertook to enforce the
regulations against a prominent employe of the hotel company. For
causes not publicly understood, he was unexpectedly relieved from duty
January 21, 1891, and Captain George S. Anderson, Sixth U. S. Cavalry,
the present Superintendent, was assigned in his place.

Going back now to the Yellowstone Park Improvement Company, the
history of that erratic concern will be briefly traced. It is
important first to state, however, that the conduct of private
business in the Park has, until recent years, been most
unsatisfactory. The Park was long unfortunate in the men who sought to
carry on business within its borders, and even yet it is not wholly
free from the evil of unscrupulous and dishonest schemers. The strife,
backbiting, struggle to ruin each other, which seemed to be the chief
purpose of those who at first sought government favors on the
Reservation, can be understood only by those who have seen them, or
have gone to the trouble to examine official correspondence. More than
once has the government made these troubles the subject of special
investigation, although generally with indifferent results.

The new hotel company had a meteoric career, promising great things,
but effecting no permanent improvement except the partial construction
of the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. Its fortunes early collapsed, and
the opening of the tourist season of 1885 found the great building in
the possession of unpaid workmen, who held it under a kind of military
guard until their wages should be paid.

This company, and other lesser concerns, gradually transferred their
rights to a new company, called the Yellowstone Park Association,
which is still in operation. It is largely identified with the
Northern Pacific Railroad, and although it has a practical monopoly of
the tourist business, it has never subjected itself to the charge of
using that monopoly to the disadvantage of the public. From the old
and unsatisfactory condition of things it has built up a hotel system
which, though incomplete, is far ahead of what could be reasonably
expected in a region so remote from the great centers of civilization.

It was in the early part of Conger's administration that the
government took up in earnest the question of road construction. For
some years, the public, thoroughly weary of Norris' roads, had been
urging the necessity of sending an engineer officer to take charge of
that important matter. This agitation bore fruit in 1883 in the
assignment of Lieutenant D. C. Kingman, of the Corps of Engineers, to
the charge of this work. His tour of duty ran through three years, and
resulted in the greatest improvement to the road system. He prepared
the project which has served as a basis of all subsequent work, and he
did much toward carrying it into execution. His reports were
especially valuable, not only in matters connected with his
particular work, but also those pertaining to the general welfare of
the Reservation. He was among the first to lift a warning voice
against the grave danger of railroad encroachment, and no one since
his time has presented this matter in a more convincing light.

The years 1894 and 1895 have brought a radical improvement to the
administrative status of the Park. May 4, 1894, the long desired code
of laws was enacted. On August 3d of the same year, an act was passed
further regulating the question of leases and removing the most
serious defects of previous legislation. In the autumn of the same
year, the road work was taken from the charge of a non-resident
engineer with headquarters in St. Paul, and placed in direct charge of
the Superintendent, thus bringing the entire administrative control
under a single head.

These two years have also witnessed a decided check to the schemes of
those who still persist in believing that the Park was created for
their personal aggrandizement. Strong adverse reports have been
submitted, practically for the first time, by Congressional Committees
against the so-called Segregation project, the admission of railroads
into the Park, and the construction of an electric railway therein.

With the exception of the lack of a sufficient force of scouts
properly to patrol that region, the condition of affairs on the
Reservation is now eminently satisfactory--far more so than at any
previous period.




CHAPTER XV.

THE NATIONAL PARK PROTECTIVE ACT.


One of the most important milestones in the history of the Park has
been so recently set that the public is as yet not fully conscious of
its existence. It has already been stated that for more than twenty
years the Park was wholly without adequate statutory protection; and
that this long-standing defect was finally remedied by the enactment
of a comprehensive measure in the spring of 1894. The circumstances
attending the passage of this Act, and the prompt manner in which a
great misfortune was changed into a lasting benefit, form one of those
singular instances of good fortune which have so largely characterized
the history of this region.

Bills providing suitable protection for the Park were introduced at
the First Session of the Fifty-third Congress, just as they have been
for the past twenty years, and apparently with not much greater chance
of success. The wanton recklessness of those who seek special
privileges in the Park, and are unwilling that any measure for its
welfare shall pass unless coupled with their own private schemes,
threatened this time, as hitherto, to defeat Congressional action. But
an unforeseen event, of such powerful bearing as practically to
override all opposition, occurred in March, 1894, and quickly brought
about the desired consummation.

It is well known that the only herd of bison, now roaming in their
native condition within the present limits of the United States, is in
the Yellowstone National Park. There has always been a lively interest
in the preservation of this herd, and its extinction would be regarded
as a deplorable calamity. With proper protection, it will undoubtedly
flourish, but there is no margin for carelessness or neglect.

During the winter of 1894, Captain George S. Anderson, U. S. A.,
Superintendent of the Park, learned that snow-shoe tracks had been
seen along Astringent Creek in the Pelican Valley east of the
Yellowstone River, in territory ranged over by the buffalo in winter.
The same tracks were seen near Soda Butte station pointing toward
Cooke City. Inquiry proved them to have been made by one Howell, a
well-known poacher and lawless character, who was evidently driving
his trade in the winter buffalo country. It was apparent that he had
left the Park for supplies and would soon return. Captain Anderson
accordingly laid his plans for capture.

There has been given a brief account of the winter expedition through
the Park in the spring of 1894, of which Mr. F. J. Haynes and Scout
Burgess were members. Burgess was instructed to examine the country
east of the Yellowstone and obtain, if possible, a clue to Howell's
whereabouts. Early on the morning of March 12th, he set out from the
Lake hotel with a single companion, Private Troike, of the Sixth
Cavalry, and before it was scarcely daylight struck a dim snow shoe
trail in the valley of Astringent Creek. Soon after, he found the
poacher's teepe and a number of buffalo heads hung up, by means of a
pulley, to the limb of a tree so as to be out of the reach of wolves.
Every thing indicated that the poacher was there for a business of
some duration and magnitude.

Leaving the teepe and following Howell's morning trail for some
distance, Burgess' attention was soon arrested by six rifle reports.
These six shots slew five buffalo. Burgess soon discovered Howell,
engaged in skinning the head of one of the buffalo. His rifle was
leaning against another some fifteen feet from him. A dog (but this
Burgess did not know) was coiled up under the leg of a buffalo.
Burgess thus had the dangerous duty to perform of crossing the
intervening space of some four hundred yards, where there was no cover
and where he might easily be seen by Howell or the dog. Considering
the desperate character of these poachers, and the fact that Burgess
was armed only with a revolver as against Howell's rifle, the peril
involved in this capture may be easily appreciated. But fortune was on
Burgess' side. A heavy storm was on, and the wind was blowing direct
from Howell to Burgess. This prevented the dog from scenting approach,
and Howell from hearing any noise, from the leeward. Burgess did not
stop to reckon the chances of success, but promptly sallied forth upon
his intended victim. On his way he ran upon an open ditch about ten
feet wide. To make a snow shoe jump on level ground is a feat of much
difficulty; but Burgess managed to accomplish it. By good fortune
nothing happened to arouse Howell, and Burgess got within fifteen feet
of him before he was aware that there was any one within as many
miles. With Burgess' cocked revolver over him, he discreetly
surrendered. Private Troike was summoned, the rifle and accoutrements
were seized, and the party set out at once for the Lake hotel. But
such are the difficulties of snow shoe travel in this region, that it
was long after dark before they reached their destination.

The Yellowstone Park Association keeps a solitary watchman at each of
its hotels during winter, and has a telephone line connecting each
with Mammoth Hot Springs. By virtue of this lucky fact, Howell's
capture, though made some sixty miles from the nearest telegraph
station, and in a region where winter travel is impossible except on
snow shoes, was made known to the Superintendent before 9:30 P. M.
that day. By another stroke of good fortune a representative of
_Forest and Stream_ was at that moment present at Mammoth Hot Springs.
He had arrived but two days before and remained a guest of the
Superintendent prior to a tour of the Park, which began two days
later. The news of Howell's capture was at once put on the wire, and
in less that twenty-four hours, _Forest and Stream_ was represented in
Washington with a new and powerful argument for the passage of the
Offenses Bill. The imminent danger of the speedy and entire extinction
of the only remaining herd of buffalo in the country produced the
desired effect in Congress, and on May 7, 1894, the bill became a law.

It was throughout a most fortunate combination of circumstances that
made this consummation possible. A Superintendent thoroughly devoted
to the care of his important charge, and fearless in the execution of
his duty; a scout who had the nerve to make an arrest full of peril to
himself; the existence of a winter telephone line to the heart of that
inaccessible region; the presence at Mammoth Hot Springs of a
representative of that journal which holds first rank among the
protectors of the Park; and uncommon good, luck in minor details,
caused this important event to cast its influence into the national
councils almost before the echo of the poacher's rifle shots had died
away among the mountains. Howell's act was a misfortune--a grievous
misfortune--to the game interests of the Park; but its immediate
result in legislation will prove a benefit of far greater consequence.

Howell was brought to Mammoth Hot Springs and was there imprisoned in
the Fort Yellowstone guardhouse, and his case reported to Washington.
As there was no law for his trial and punishment, the Secretary of the
Interior in due time ordered his release. He was accordingly put out
of the Park and forbidden to return without permission. But with his
habitual disregard of authority, he came back during the following
summer and was discovered by the Superintendent in a barber's chair at
Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. He was promptly arrested and tried under
the new law for violating the orders of the Superintendent in
returning. He was convicted and sentenced to one month's imprisonment
and fifty dollars fine. He thus became the Park Haman--first to be
hanged upon the gallows of his own building.

Howell appealed the case to the U. S. District Court sitting at
Cheyenne, Wyoming, and was released upon the technical ground that, as
the prohibition against returning to the Park was merely an order from
the Superintendent, and not explicitly authorized by the regulations
of the Secretary of the Interior, the offense did not come within the
purview of the law. This defect in the regulations has since been
remedied and the conviction of Howell, therefore, notwithstanding his
final release, has all the force of precedent.




PART II.--Descriptive.




CHAPTER I.

BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY.


At the time when the bill creating the Yellowstone Park was before
Congress there had been no detailed survey of that region, and the
boundaries, as specified in the bill, were to some extent random
guesses. The exploring parties of 1870 and 1871 had seen all the more
important points of interest. To include these in the proposed
reservation, the framers of the bill passed two lines due east and
west, one through the junction of the Yellowstone and Gardiner Rivers,
and one through a point ten miles south of the most southerly point of
the Yellowstone Lake; and two lines due north and south, one through a
point ten miles east of the easternmost point of Yellowstone Lake, and
one through a point fifteen miles west of the most westerly point of
Shoshone (then called Madison) Lake. The nearly rectangular area thus
resulting was found to lie mainly in the north-west corner of Wyoming,
with narrow strips, two or three miles wide, overlapping into the
Territories of Montana and Idaho. The mean dimensions of the
Reservation were 61.8 miles by 53.6 miles, giving an area of 3312.5
square miles.

By presidential proclamation, dated September 10, 1891, a large area
to the east and south of the Park was set apart as a Forest Reserve,
under the provisions of an Act of March 3, 1891, and was placed in
charge of the Superintendent of the Park. By this action the area
reserved from settlement around the sources of the Yellowstone was
increased to about 5,000 square miles. It should be remembered,
however, that this additional reserve is not a direct creation by Act
of Congress, and it therefore does not stand upon the same substantial
footing as the original Reservation.

The chief topographical features of the Park are as follows:


DRAINAGE AREAS.

Three great rivers receive the waters of the Yellowstone Park--the
Yellowstone, the Missouri, and the Snake. The first two rivers are on
the Atlantic slope; the third is on the Pacific slope. The areas
drained by them are approximately:

    By the Yellowstone. 1,900 square miles.
    By the Missouri,      730 square miles.
    By the Snake,         682 square miles.

The Yellowstone River has its source in the snow drifts of Yount Peak,
twenty-five miles south-east of the Park. It enters the Reservation
six miles west of the south-east corner; crosses it in a direction
somewhat west of north, and leaves it at a point about nineteen miles
east of the north-west corner. Near the center of the Park it flows
through the celebrated lake of the same name, and further north passes
through two remarkable cañons before it leaves the Reservation. Its
principal tributaries within the Park are the Lamar River (commonly
called the East Fork), from the east, and Gardiner River from the
west. The Lamar River rises nearly due east of the outlet of
Yellowstone Lake and flows north-westerly, joining the main stream
near Junction Butte. Its principal tributary is Soda Butte Creek,
which rises just outside the north-east corner of the Park and joins
the Lamar River near the extinct hot spring cone from which it derives
its name.

Gardiner River is the second largest tributary of the Yellowstone, and
drains the extensive area between the Washburn and Gallatin Mountains.

The low-water discharge of the Yellowstone River, as measured by the
writer, in 1891, a little below the lake outlet, is 1,598 cubic feet
per second; as measured by the United States Geological Survey, in
1886, 1,525 cubic feet. The discharge at the north boundary of the
Park can not be less than 2,000 cubic feet.

The Missouri River drainage flows into the Gallatin and Madison forks
of that stream. The Gallatin drains only a small area in the extreme
north-west corner of the Park. The Madison is formed by the junction
of the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers, about twelve miles east of the west
boundary of the Park. The Gibbon takes its rise a few miles west of
the Falls of the Yellowstone, and flows in a south-west direction. The
Firehole rises in Madison Lake, and flows north to its junction with
the Gibbon. Its principal tributaries are the Little Firehole River
and Iron Creek on the west, and Nez Percé Creek on the east.

The Snake River drains the south-west portion of the Park. It rises
about fifteen miles south of Yellowstone Lake, just outside the Park.
It then takes a northerly circuit into the Park, receiving the waters
of Hart and Lewis Rivers, and leaves the Reservation just north of
Jackson Lake. Its principal tributary is the Lewis River, which drains
Shoshone and Lewis Lakes. Several large streams, Bechler and Falls
Rivers among them, cross the south-west boundary of the Park and join
the main Snake further south.

The line of separation between this water-shed and those of the
Yellowstone and the Missouri, is the Continental Divide, the irregular
course of which can be readily understood by consulting the map.

In the entire Park there are about thirty-six named lakes with a total
area of nearly 165 square miles. Of these lakes, twenty-one, with an
area of 143 square miles, are on the Yellowstone slope; eight, with an
area of perhaps two square miles, are on the Missouri slope; and
seven, with an area of about twenty square miles, are on the Snake
River slope. The four principal lakes--Yellowstone, Shoshone, Lewis,
and Hart--are clustered near the Continental Divide at its lowest
point, the first being on the Atlantic slope, and the others on the
Pacific.

There are upon the various streams of the Park no fewer than
twenty-five interesting water-falls, where the streams descend from
the Park plateau to the lower surrounding country.


MOUNTAIN SYSTEM

As the Yellowstone River is the most important stream in the Park, so
the Absaroka Range, in which it has its source, is the most important
mountain system. It extends north and south along the entire eastern
border. To the south it is prolonged under the name of the Sierra
Shoshone Mountains as far as the Wind River Valley, while north of
Soda Butte Creek it extends to the Great Bend of the Yellowstone under
the name Snowy Range. The various larger summits are remarkably
uniform in elevation. From Index Peak on the north to Yount Peak on
the south, there are more than thirty named mountains with an average
altitude of 10,400 feet. The variation from this mean is slight. The
range, throughout its length, is full of noble views, and, as seen
from across the Yellowstone Lake, is one of the finest exhibitions of
mountain scenery on the continent.

The next most important range is the Gallatin, situated in the
north-west corner of the Park, at the head of the Gallatin River. It
has about seventeen named peaks, with an average altitude of 9,800
feet. The highest peak, Electric, is the loftiest mountain in the
Park.

The Washburn Range, a detached mountain system, originally known as
the "Elephant's Back," is situated between the Grand Cañon of the
Yellowstone and the Gardiner River. It has seven christened summits,
with an average altitude of 9,800 feet. The most conspicuous peak of
the range, as well as the most noted mountain of the Park, is Mt.
Washburn.

The Red Mountain Range is a small, detached group of mountains between
Hart and Lewis Lakes. Its principal summit, Mt. Sheridan, affords
probably the finest view to be had in that entire region.

The Teton Range lies mainly outside the Park, its northern spurs
barely touching the southern boundary. It extends north and south
along the west shore of Jackson Lake, and is a very noted range of
mountains. Its highest summit, the Grand Teton, has no competitor for
altitude nearer than Fremont Peak, seventy-five miles distant.

The Big Game Ridge lies along the south boundary of the Park, and is
the source of the Snake River. It has six named peaks, with an average
altitude of 9,800 feet.

Besides these various groups of mountains, there are a few detached
peaks worthy of note, which can not be conveniently classified with
any of the principal ranges.


PLATEAUS.

A considerable portion of the Park area is composed of what may be
termed plateaus, elevated tracts of land, not so high as the mountain
ranges, but much higher than the valleys. Ordinarily, these are to be
found along the divides between the larger streams. The more important
are the Pitchstone Plateau, between the Snake River and the head
waters of the Bechler and Fall Rivers, with a mean altitude of 8,500
feet; Highland Plateau, between the Yellowstone and the Madison
Rivers, altitude 8,300 feet; Mirror Plateau, between the Yellowstone
and the Lamar Rivers, altitude 9,000 feet; Mt. Everts Plateau, between
the Yellowstone and the Gardiner, altitude 7,000 feet; and the Madison
Plateau, west of the Lower Geyser Basin, altitude 8,300 feet.


VALLEYS.

These form an exceedingly important part of the Park topography. The
largest is Junction Valley, including its branches along the
Yellowstone and the Lamar Rivers. It is an extensive, grassy tract,
stretching well back upon the mountain sides, and forming a fine
pasturage for game. For scientific research, its fossil forests and
other features make it an extremely interesting section.

Hayden Valley is the next in size and importance, and occupies an
important tract along the Yellowstone River, between the Lake and
Falls, mostly on the west side, in the vicinity of Alum Creek.

The Madison Valley, and its extensions up the Firehole and Gibbon
Rivers, are chiefly noteworthy as being the locality of the three
great geyser regions of the Park.

The Swan Lake Flats, Willow Park, the Shoshone and Falls River Basins,
are other important examples of typical mountain valleys.


ALTITUDES.

The lowest point in the Park is at the junction of the Yellowstone and
the Gardiner Rivers, 5,360 feet above sea level; the highest is the
summit of Electric Peak, six miles distant, 11,155 feet. To give a
general idea of the altitudes of different points in the Park,
particularly of those which the tourist visits, the following list is
presented:[AT]

    Gardiner, Mont.                                  5,400 feet.
    Mammoth Hot Springs hotel                        6,215  "
    Glen Creek Bridge above Golden Gate              7,245  "
    Indian Creek Bridge                              7,275  "
    Beaver Lake                                      7,360  "
    Norris Road Junction                             7,470  "
    Gibbon Meadows                                   7,315  "
    Gibbon and Firehole Rivers, junction of          6,780  "
    Lower Geyser Basin (mouth of Nez Percé Creek)    7,125  "
    Upper Geyser Basin (near Castle Geyser)          7,300  "
    Mouth of Spring Creek                            7,600  "
    Isa Lake, Continental Divide                     8,300  "
    Yellowstone Lake                                 7,741  "
    Road at Mud Volcano                              7,705  "
    Cañon Hotel                                      7,850  "
    Junction Valley near Yancey's                    6,150  "
    Divide between the Black-tail and Gardiner       6,550  "

[AT] From profile of road system. For additional elevations, see list
of names in Appendix A.


SCENERY.

The mountain scenery of the Park is not so imposing as that of
Colorado and some other parts of the Rocky Mountain region; but it is
more varied and beautiful. The eye is not wearied with the constant
sight of vast and bare mountain cliffs, but finds relief in attractive
lakes, streams, glades, parks, forests, and every combination of
effects that helps to produce a beautiful landscape.




CHAPTER II.

Geology of the Park.


Nature seems, from the first, to have designed this region for a
mountain park. In geological chronology it was near the close of the
Cretaceous Period, that the lifting of the great mountain systems of
the West into their present positions was practically finished. In the
formation of these mountains, the general outline of the Yellowstone
Park was already marked out, probably in much more striking features
than at present. A vast rim of mountains, visible now in the Absaroka,
Snowy, Gallatin, Teton, and Snake River Ranges, hemmed in the
extensive area which has since become so famous. Subsequent events
have greatly modified its original form, but the grand outlines at
first determined are still distinctly visible.

In the Tertiary Period, which was next in order of time after the
Cretaceous, changes of the greatest importance occurred, consisting
principally in the outpouring of enormous masses of volcanic material.
The origin of these lava flows has been traced to a few craters, one
of which was near Mt. Washburn, another in the Red Mountain Range, and
a third near the sources of the Lamar River. Mt. Washburn has long
been recognized as part of the rim of an ancient volcano. Both it and
Mt. Sheridan, the two mountains which bore the principal part in
working out the present features of that country, still remain the
most prominent peaks from which the modern visitor can contemplate
the work they have performed.

The outpourings at first consisted of andesitic lavas. They largely
changed the appearance of the mountain ranges and to some extent
filled up the interior basin. The flows were not continuous but were
separated by long intervals of quiet, during which vegetation and the
agencies of erosion were actively at work.

After the cessation of the andesitic eruptions, a quiescent period of
great length ensued. Then came the period of rhyolitic flows, the
centers of volcanic activity being as before Mts. Washburn and
Sheridan. These flows built up the present Park plateau, and
constitute the great bulk of the rocks which the tourist now sees.

Following the period of rhyolitic eruptions, orographic agencies were
active in producing extensive faults or displacements, which in
certain localities radically changed the relative positions of the
rocks.

The last exhibitions of volcanic energy were in the form of basaltic
eruptions. These took place in part through ordinary volcanic craters,
and in part through cracks or seams in the rocks, where they may still
be seen forming extensive dykes. The basalt is of relatively limited
extent, but its striking and picturesque forms wherever it appears
make it more interesting to the tourist than any of the other rocks.

The great variety of superficial appearances which these volcanic
rocks have assumed makes the Park one of the best laboratories in the
world for their study.

The continuance of these various outpourings doubtless extended into
Quaternary time. Then came the Glacial Epoch, the epoch of
wide-spread ice-carving, which still further modified the surface of
the country. The paths of the ancient glaciers have in several
instances been made out and their transported material may readily be
distinguished. One glacier flowed from the Gallatin Range eastward
across Terrace Mountain, where it joined another moving westwardly
from the Absaroka Range. The united streams continued down the
Gardiner and Yellowstone Valleys, in which vast masses of drift still
mark their ancient route.

Glacial action and the common agents of denudation have given the Park
country its present general aspect. These later modifications have
indeed been extensive, and the great variety of form now seen in the
valleys, cañons and hills is the result of their combined action. The
Yellowstone Cañon is a marked example of erosion on a large scale. A
direct result of its formation was the partial draining of Yellowstone
Lake, which had previously existed at a much higher level than now,
and spread over the entire area of the present Hayden Valley.

Since the cessation of the basaltic lava flows there seem to have been
no further lava outpourings in this region. The old volcanoes have
been long extinct and their craters have been modified almost beyond
recognition. But evidences of the power which once worked beneath them
are still abundant, although no longer on so imposing a scale. It is
the hot springs and geysers still in existence which partly render
this region so widely celebrated. That this thermal action originates
mainly in the same source of energy which once poured out the vast
fields of lava, there is no reason to doubt. Many plausible
explanations are advanced to account for the existence of subterranean
heat, but whatever may be its real origin it is doubtless the same for
both classes of phenomena.

The action which is now observable has continued in an ever-decreasing
degree since the close of the lava period. Over vast tracts of the
Park plateau, the rocks are entirely decomposed to unknown depths by
the ascending superheated vapors. Some idea of the extent of this
action may be obtained at the Grand Cañon, which has cut its way a
thousand feet downward into the decomposed volcanic rock without yet
reaching its bottom. The infinite variety of chemic products resulting
from this decomposition has given the Cañon its wonderful coloration.

The same condition largely prevails over the Park plateau. Where now
are dense forests and no superficial evidence of unusual conditions,
there will frequently be found, by digging beneath the surface, the
familiar proof that thermal activity once prevailed there. In
constructing the tourist route from the Upper Geyser Basin to the
Yellowstone Lake, where for nearly the whole distance there is a
complete absence of hot springs, the evidences of former volcanic
activity were found to be abundant.

Facts like these clearly demonstrate that, from a geologic standpoint,
thermal activity in the Park is gradually becoming extinct; and many
persons, taking alarm at this evidence, imagine that the unique
phenomena of the Yellowstone are of an evanescent character, and that
the time is not far remote when they will be known only as matters of
history. There is, however, no occasion for such misgiving. The
present condition is the result of processes that run back probably
for millions of years; certainly for periods of time compared with
which recorded history is insignificant. The same rate of progress
would produce no perceptible change in the lifetime of an individual.

Some who have visited the geyser regions more than once assert that,
after an interval of several years, they observe a marked diminution
in thermal activity. But this is probably because a second visit
ordinarily makes a less vivid impression than a first. The weight of
reliable evidence is certainly the other way. Mr. David E. Folsom,
leader of the Expedition of 1869, made a tour of the Park during the
present season of 1895. He says: "I had a very vivid recollection of
all I saw twenty-six years ago, and I note no important change."
Professor Arnold Hague, probably the best living authority upon the
scientific features of the Park, has compared the hot springs and
geysers by means of authentic records covering intervals of several
years, and he declares that he finds "no diminution in the intensity
of action or in the amount of discharge from the springs and geysers,
since they have been subject to careful observation." While it is
certain that springs are constantly becoming inactive, it is no less
certain that others replace them, and it may be confidently assumed
that the progress toward ultimate extinction will be inappreciable in
our time or for many generations to come.

The distribution of thermal springs over the surface of the earth is
probably more general than is commonly supposed. Only one extensive
area is practically without them, and that is the Continent of
Australia. Africa, also, has very few. But in other parts of the
globe they are found almost without number, ranging from the Equator
to the Arctic Circle, and from sea-level to the lofty table lands of
Thibet.

The three localities, however, in which they abound in such numbers
and magnitude as to attract marked attention are, in the order of
their discovery, Iceland, New Zealand, and the Yellowstone National
Park. In extent, variety, and magnitude of accompanying phenomena, and
in geologic age, the above order is reversed. Iceland has probably the
most famous geyser in the world, principally because it was for a long
time the only known geyser, and consequently received a great deal of
scientific attention; but judging from published descriptions it is
clearly inferior to several now known in the Firehole Geyser Basin.

Three notable features of similarity in these geyser regions are the
presence of volcanic rocks of remote or recent origin; proximity to
the earth's surface of active sources of subterranean heat; and the
presence of a great number of lakes. In all three cases, lava, heat
and water are the characteristic geologic and physical accompaniments
of those particular phenomena which will now be described more in
detail.




CHAPTER III.

GEYSERS.


The hot springs of the Yellowstone National Park may be roughly
divided into two classes, eruptive and non-eruptive. To the first the
term _geyser_ is applied, while the term _hot springs_ is restricted
to the second. These two classes pass into each other by insensible
gradations and the line of demarcation it is not possible to draw. The
following description will pertain only to those examples about which
there is no doubt, and which may be taken as types of their class.

A geyser may be defined as a periodically eruptive hot spring. The
name, as might be expected, is of Icelandic origin, and comes from the
verb _geysa_, _to gush_. The general characteristics of a true geyser,
as illustrated by the most perfect example known, Old Faithful in the
Yellowstone Park, are the following:

(1.) There is an irregular tube descending from the earth's surface to
some interior source of heat.

(2.) The mouth of this tube may be either a self-built mound or cone
(as in the example), or simply an open pool.

(3.) Into this tube meteoric water finds its way and is subjected to
the action of heat.

(4.) The result is an eruption and expulsion of the water from the
tube with more or less violence.

(5.) The eruption is generally preceded by slight preliminary
upheavals leading gradually to the final outburst.

(6.) After cessation of the eruption there is usually a considerable
escape of steam.

(7.) A quiescent period, generally of indeterminate duration, follows
during which the conditions necessary for an eruption are reproduced.

Geyser phenomena have attracted a great deal of scientific attention,
and many theories have been advanced to explain them. Passing over for
the present the various less important views, attention will first be
given to Bunsen's theory, because it is, upon the whole, the most
satisfactory explanation yet advanced. This theory was a direct
deduction from observations upon the Great Geyser of Iceland, and has
been experimentally illustrated by artificial examples.

The fundamental principle upon which it is based is the well known
fact that the temperature of the boiling point of water varies with
the pressure to which the water is subjected. At the sea level, under
the pressure of one atmosphere (fifteen pounds to the square inch),
the boiling point is about 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Under a pressure of
two atmospheres it is 250 degrees; of three, 275 degrees; of four, 293
degrees, and so on. At an altitude like that of the Park plateau,
where the atmospheric pressure is much less than at sea level, the
normal boiling point is about 198 degrees, but the law of variation
due to pressure conditions applies exactly as in lower altitudes.

If water, subjected to great pressure, be heated to a temperature
considerably above that of its normal boiling point, and if then the
pressure be suddenly relieved, it will almost instantaneously be
converted into steam; a fact which always operates to enhance the
danger from the explosion of steam boilers. Applying this principle
to the case of an ordinary geyser, it will readily be seen that in the
long irregular tube descending to great depths there are present the
necessary conditions for subjecting the water to great pressure. At
the surface the pressure is that of the weight of the atmosphere
corresponding to the altitude; at a certain depth below (33 feet at
the sea level, but less at higher altitudes) it is twice as great; at
double this depth three times as great, and so on.

Suppose, now, that there is an interior heat at some point along the
geyser tube well below the surface. The boiling point of water in the
vicinity of the heat supply will be higher than at the surface in
definite relation to its distance down. If the tube be of large
diameter and the circulation quite free, the water will never reach
this point, for it will rise nearer the top, where the boiling point
is lower and will pass off in steam. The spring will thus be simply a
boiling or quiescent spring. But if the tube be comparatively small
and if the circulation be in any way impeded, the temperature at the
source of heat will rise until it reaches a boiling point
corresponding to its depth. Steam will result, and will rise through
the water, gradually increasing the temperature in the upper portions
of the tube. After a time the water throughout the entire tube becomes
heated nearly to the boiling point and can no longer condense the
steam rising from below; which then rapidly accumulates until its
expansive power is great enough to lift the column above and project
some of the water from the basin or cone. This lessens the weight of
the column and relieves the pressure at every point. In places where
the water had been just below the boiling point, it is now above, and
more steam is rapidly produced. This throws out more water, still
further lightens the column, and causes the generation of more steam,
until finally the whole contents of the tube are ejected with terrific
violence.

From this explanation it is apparent that any thing which impedes the
circulation of water in the geyser tube will expedite the eruption.
The well-known effect of "soaping geysers" may thus be accounted for.
As oil thrown upon waves gives a viscosity to the surface, which
greatly moderates their violence, so does the addition of soap or lye
make the water of the geyser tube less free to circulate, and thus
hasten the conditions precedent to an eruption.

The apparently contrary process of violently agitating the water of
the geyser, as by stirring it with a stick, sometimes produces the
same effect; but this results from the sudden forcing upward of masses
of superheated water, instead of allowing them to rise and gradually
cool.

That Bunsen's theory really explains the phenomena of geyser action
there can be little doubt. It is true that in no single geyser does
one find a perfect example of the theory. But it must be remembered
that typical conditions probably never exist. The point of application
of heat; the mode of application, whether from the heated surface of
rocks or from superheated steam issuing into the tube; the diameter
and regularity of the tube; the point of inflow of the cold water; are
all matters which influence the eruption and determine its character.
In the endless variety of conditions in nature one need not wonder at
the varying results. He should rather wonder that in a single instance
nature has produced a combination of such perfection as is found in
Old Faithful, which, for thousands of years has performed its duty
with the regularity of clock work.

There are various other theories, each with some particular merit,
which may be briefly referred to. Sir George Mackenzie, who visited
Iceland in 1810-11, thought the geyser tube at some point beneath the
surface curved to one side and then upward, communicating with a
chamber in the immediate vicinity of the source of heat. The water in
this chamber becomes heated above the boiling point, and, expanding,
forces the water from the chamber into the tube until the chamber is
finally emptied to the level of the mouth of the tube. Any further
expulsion of water lessens the weight of the column of water above.
Bunsen's theory comes into play, and with the accumulated pressure of
the steam in the chamber, produces a violent eruption.

Prof. Comstock, who visited the Park in 1873, thought that there were
two chambers, the lower being in contact with the source of heat, and
the upper acting as a sort of trap in the geyser tube. After a
sufficient force of steam has accumulated in the lower chamber, it
ejects the contents of the chamber above.

S. Baring-Gould, who visited Iceland in 1863, observed that if a tube
be bent into two arms of unequal length, the shorter of which is
closed, and if the tube be filled with water and the shorter arm then
heated, all the characteristic phenomena of geyser action result, the
water being finally ejected, with explosive violence from the longer
tube.

Now, it is probable that in nature each of these theories may find
illustration, but it must still be acknowledged that in all cases
Bunsen's theory is the partial explanation, and in many the only
adequate one.

The most superficial examination of the geysers in the Park will
disclose two widely different characteristics as regards their
external appearance and mode of eruption. On this basis they may be
divided into two classes--the fountain geysers and the cone geysers.

In the fountain geyser there is no cone or mound, but in its place a
considerable pool which in intervals of rest bears perfect resemblance
to the larger quiescent springs. The eruption generally consists of a
succession of prodigious impulses by which vast quantities of water
are thrown up one after another. There is ordinarily no continuous
jet. To geysers of this class, Mackenzie's and Comstock's theories
would seem to find closer application than to any others. Noted
examples are the Fountain, the Great Fountain, the Grand and the
Giantess Geysers.

The cone geysers, on the other hand, have no pool about the crater,
and water is not generally visible in the tube. There is always a
self-built cone or mound of greater or less prominence, ranging from a
broad gently-sloping mound, like that of Old Faithful, to a huge cone
like that of the Castle. The eruptions from these geysers usually take
the form of a continuous jet, and are more in accordance with the
theory of Bunsen. Prominent examples are the Giant, the Castle, Old
Faithful, the Lone Star, and the Union.

[Illustration: _Terry Engr. Co._

    _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._

Cone of the Giant Geyser.]

[Illustration: _Terry Engr. Co._

    _First sketch ever made._[AU]--_Trumbull._

Cone of Giant Geyser.]

[AU] This sketch and a similar one of the Castle Geyser cone and two
of the Yellowstone Falls are the _very first_ ever made of these
objects. They were made in 1870 by Walter Trumbull, a member of the
Washburn Party, and by Private Charles Moore, one of the escort under
Lieutenant Doane. Moore was a man of excellent education and
considerable culture, and it was a matter of comment among the members
of the Expedition that he should be content with the condition of a
private soldier. His quaint sketches of the Falls forcibly remind one
of the original picture of Niagara made by Father Hennepin in 1697.

An interesting and singular fact pertaining to this region is that in
most cases the springs and geysers have no underground connection with
each other. Water in contiguous pools stands at different levels, and
powerful geysers play with no apparent effect upon others near by.

It is another interesting question to know whence comes the water for
these geysers and hot springs. Into the hidden caverns of "Old
Faithful" flow nearly a million of gallons per hour. This is a large
stream, but it is a mere trifle compared with the entire outflow of
hot water throughout the Park. The subterranean passages by which the
necessary supply is furnished to all these thousands of springs,
certainly constitute the most intricate and extensive system of
water-works of which there is any knowledge.

Not least wonderful of the features of the great geysers are the
marvelous formations which surround them, more exquisitely beautiful
than any production of art. They are really much handsomer than those
to be found around the ordinary quiescent springs. The falling or the
dashing of the hot water seems to be in some way essential to the
finest results. To say that these rocky projections simulate
cauliflower, sponge, fleeces of wool, flowers or bead-work, conveys
but a feeble hint of their marvelous beauty. It is indeed a most
interesting fact that nature here produces in stone, by the almost
mechanical process of deposition from cooling water, the identical
forms elsewhere produced by the very different processes of animal and
vegetable life.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._

Specimens of Geyserite.]

These formations are all silica and are of flinty hardness. Bunsen,
and Prof. Le Conte following him, assert it to be a rule that the
presence of silica in the water is essential to the development of a
geyser. In one sense this is true, and in another it is not. Should
the heated waters find a ready-made tube, like a fissure in solid
rock, this would serve for a geyser tube as well as any other. The
Monarch Geyser, in Norris Geyser Basin, seems to have originated in
this way. But in the general case, geyser tubes are built up, not
found ready made. In such cases silica is an indispensable ingredient
of the water. A calcareous deposit, like that at Mammoth Hot Springs,
would lack strength to resist the violent strain of an eruption. So it
is found to be a fact that silica is the chief mineral ingredient in
the water of all important geysers.




CHAPTER IV.

HOT SPRINGS.


Under this general head will be included all thermal phenomena of the
Park, except the geysers. The term will cover the quiescent springs,
the boiling springs, the mud springs, or "paint pots," and the steam
vents and fumaroles.

The quiescent spring seems to stand at the opposite pole from the
geyser. The conditions are such that the water nowhere reaches a
temperature sensibly above the boiling point. The surface therefore
steams quietly away, unruffled except by the passing breeze.

The great attraction of these springs is in the inimitable coloring of
the water. It is not simply the beautiful green or blue of great
depths of clear water. In no ordinary pool can one find all the colors
of the spectrum, flitting about, as though seen through a revolving
prism. Sometimes there is an iridescent effect similar to that of a
film of oil upon water; but there is no oil here. There are doubtless
many contributing causes that produce these remarkable effects. There
is first a great depth of clear water which always presents a
beautiful appearance. Then there are the mineral deposits on the sides
of the crater, producing indefinite reflection, the effects of which
are multiplied by the refractive power of the water. The mineral
ingredients dissolved or suspended in the water doubtless add to the
effect.

The hot springs on the Gardiner River are wholly different in
character from those in any other part of the Park. The water of these
springs holds carbonate of lime in solution while most of the others
contain silica. To this fact must be attributed the peculiar character
of the formations at Mammoth Hot Springs. Wherever the deposits of
springs are calcareous, the character of the formations is the same,
and generally different from those produced by the deposit of silica.
They rise in terraces one above another, and mold for themselves
overhanging bowls of transcendent beauty in form and color. In the
tints displayed by the water, however, these springs are not unlike
others in the Park.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Cleopatra Terrace.]

The rims about the quiescent springs are often very beautiful, and the
observer is astonished to see how they stand up above the general
surface of the ground so evenly built that the water has hardly a
choice of route in flowing away. Tyndall, however, makes this
puzzling phenomenon clear. He says:

"Imagine the case of a simple thermal siliceous spring, whose waters
trickle down a gentle incline; the water thus exposed evaporates
speedily, and silica is deposited. This deposit gradually elevates the
side over which the water passes, until finally the latter has to take
another course. The same takes place here; the ground is elevated as
before, and the spring has to move forward. Thus it is compelled to
travel round and round, discharging its silica and deepening the shaft
in which it dwells, until finally, in the course of ages, the simple
spring has produced that wonderful apparatus which has so long puzzled
and astonished both the traveler and the philosopher."

The boiling spring is intermediate between the quiescent spring and
the geyser. The circulation is sufficiently free to prevent a great
rise of temperature in the lower depths of the tube, and nothing more
than a surface ebullition, often extremely violent, results. These
springs are generally objects of secondary interest. They are simply
enormous caldrons; any kettle placed over a brisk fire simulates their
action on a small scale.

The mud springs, or Paint Pots, as they are now always called, are
extremely curious phenomena. They are caused by the rising of steam
through considerable depths of earthy material. The water is just
sufficient in quantity to keep the material in a plastic condition,
and the steam operates upon it precisely as it does upon a kettle of
thick mush. Generally there are various mineral ingredients, mostly
oxides of iron, which impart different colors to different parts of
the group. As the steam puffs up here and there from the thick mass,
it forms the mud into a variety of imitative figures, prominent among
which is that of the lily. These figures immediately sink back into
the general mass, only to be formed anew by other puffs of steam. The
material is so fine as to be almost impalpable between the fingers.
Lieutenant Doane, however, justly observes that "mortar might well be
good after being constantly worked for perhaps ten thousand years."

Other phenomena very common throughout the Park are steam vents or
fumaroles in which there is no water or only a very small quantity.
They are not ordinarily of much popular interest, although there are a
few remarkable examples. Among these may be mentioned the Black
Growler in the Norris Geyser Basin, and Steamboat Spring on the east
shore of the Yellowstone Lake.

The hot spring areas of the Park are both numerous and extensive. They
abound throughout the valleys of the Yellowstone, the Madison, and the
Snake Rivers, and the number of individual springs is several
thousand.




CHAPTER V.

FOSSIL FORESTS OF THE YELLOWSTONE.


A region of great popular and scientific interest in the Yellowstone
Park, although as yet hardly known to the tourist, owing to the
incomplete condition of the road system, is that of the Fossil Forests
in the north-east corner of the Park. The facts which have been
brought to light concerning the origin of these forests are worthy of
particular consideration.

The trees are found to occur in different planes or horizons of
growth, one above another, until the whole series represents a
thickness of many hundreds, and possibly thousands, of feet. Going
back to the first of these growths, it is found to have been destroyed
by an outpouring of volcanic material, which partially or wholly
submerged it. After the flow had ceased, the ordinary atmospheric and
aqueous agencies began work, eroding the surface in some places and
depositing the products of erosion in others, while vegetation rapidly
covered the newly-formed soil. A subsequent flow destroyed this second
growth and gave a new horizon, on which the same process was repeated.
This continued until there were at least nine, and probably twelve, of
these consecutive growths.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._

Section of Amethyst Mountains.]

The lava flows in this particular section do not seem to have been
characterized by great heat. They were composed of volcanic
agglomerate, in which there was a large admixture of mud and water,
with sufficient heat to destroy life, but not to char or consume its
products. The percolation of siliceous waters gradually turned the
arboreal vegetation into stone by the process of substitution, and
thus preserved in these silent monuments a record of the events which
once transpired there. When the last of the eruptions had ceased,
there existed in this locality a vast depth of volcanic _ejectamenta_,
composed of many layers, on each of which was standing, buried in the
layer next above, the trunks of extinct forest growths.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Petrified Trees near Yancey's.]

After the cessation of volcanic activity, the eroding agencies of the
Quaternary Period carved out the valley of the Lamar River through
these accumulated flows, and laid bare the remains of their vegetable
growths. To-day the tourist may see upon the slopes of Specimen Ridge,
side by side, the living and the dead, the little conifers of present
growth and the gigantic trunks of unknown species which flourished
there eons ago.

Some of the petrifactions are very perfect. Roots, bark, parts showing
incipient decay, worm holes, leaves--all are preserved with absolute
fidelity. The rings of annual growth may be counted, and these
indicate for the larger trees an age of not less than five hundred
years. Some of the stumps are fully ten feet in diameter. Here and
there the ponderous roots stand imbedded in the rock face of the
cliff, where erosion has not yet undermined them. In one case, a large
tree that had fallen before petrifaction lies partly exposed, both
ends being still imbedded in the rock. Some hollow trees show
interiors beautifully lined with holocrystalline quartz.

How long it took each growth to reach maturity; how long it flourished
afterward before destruction; and how long the several lava flows
suspended vegetable growth; are matters largely conjectural. But at
the very lowest estimate the time represented by these various
accumulations can not be less than five thousand years.

That these early trees were of a different species from those which
now flourish there, need not excite surprise, for climatic and other
conditions are wholly changed. But an equal difference seems also to
have prevailed between the successive growths, the trees of which were
not only unlike each other, but nearly all were of species hitherto
unknown to science. Fortunately the rare perfection of some of the
specimens, particularly of the leaves and bark, have greatly
simplified their classification, and have given valuable clues to
their geologic age.

The products of these petrifactions in time strewed the surface of the
ground with such an abundance of specimens as to give the locality its
present name. Most of the lighter specimens, and some of the heavier,
have been carried away.

Besides the general interest of these old forests to the casual
observer, they are of great value to science, for probably in no other
part of the globe can a similar chapter of its history be found more
clearly recorded.




CHAPTER VI.

FAUNA OF THE YELLOWSTONE.


The universal curiosity of people to see what are popularly called
wild animals, especially those larger species which never frequent the
precincts of civilization, is a fact of which it is not easy to give a
philosophical explanation. In this country the rapid disappearance,
amounting almost to annihilation, of the large game is looked upon as
a great misfortune; and in later years there has arisen a fixed
purpose that protection shall be secured for the surviving remnants of
those species which once with the red man held possession of the
continent. The statutes of nearly every state give evidence of the
universality of this sentiment.

As a means of accomplishing such a purpose, no institution promises to
be more effectual than the Yellowstone Park. It ought, in this
respect, to be a complete realization of Catlin's dream. Its
importance as a game preserve was recognized in the Act of Dedication,
and has become more and more pronounced as acquaintance with it has
increased.

The Park is fortunately better adapted for this purpose than any other
tract of similar extent in America. It offers very little to tempt the
cupidity of man. Its mineral wealth is buried so deeply under the lava
that no miner will ever reach it. Its altitude and climate unfit it
for agriculture. Its forests, though excellent for shade, are of
little value for lumber. But as a home for the native species of the
continent, it possesses unrivaled advantages. These are admirably
summed up in the following paragraph from the pen of Prof. Hague:

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Park Elk.]

"The broad expanse of forest incloses sequestered nooks, and enticing
grassy parks, with absolute seclusion in mountain recesses admirably
adapted for the homes of wild animals. It is the great diversity of
its physical features, offering within a restricted area. all the
requirements for animal life, which fits it for the home of big game.
Abundant food supply, shelter from wind and weather in winter, cool
resorts on the uplands in summer, favorable localities for breeding
purposes and the rearing of young, all are found here. The Park
supplies what is really needed--a zoological reservation where big
game may roam unmolested by the intrusion of man, rather than a
zoological garden inclosed by fences, and the game fed or sustained
more or less by artificial methods."[AV]

[AV] "The Yellowstone National Park as a Game Preserve." See Appendix
E.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Park Buffalo.]

It is a matter of profound regret that the many years of lax
administration in the Park to a great degree nullified its purposes as
a game preserve. Killing of wild animals was not absolutely prohibited
until 1883, and the restricted license previously in force was
shamefully abused. Some of the larger species were greatly reduced in
numbers, while in a few instances they were practically exterminated.
In later years, the elk, antelope, deer, bear and beaver, have rapidly
regained their former numbers, and there is no reason to apprehend
their extinction. There are now no fewer than 30,000 elk in the Park.
For the buffalo, mountain sheep, and a few other varieties, the
prospect is good, though not so flattering. The number of buffalo does
not probably exceed two hundred, and the possibility of their early
extinction has led the Smithsonian Institution to allot a sum of money
for the construction of a large inclosure in the Park, where at least
a portion of the herd can be kept and be thus more carefully
protected. Of the moose, mountain lion, wolverine, lynx, wild cat,
marten, and otter the perpetuation is more doubtful. They were too
much reduced in numbers during the game slaughtering era. The smaller
species, such as porcupines, foxes, gophers, squirrels, woodchucks,
and the like, flourish in great numbers.

The tourist often feels a keen disappointment in passing through the
Park in that he does not see more game, and he not infrequently
expresses positive doubts of its existence. He should remember,
however, that it is the nature of wild game to shun the haunts of man.
If he will remain for some time in the Park and will frequent those
regions remote from the tourists routes he will see game in plenty. In
one important instance he rarely goes away disappointed. Bruin
generally accommodates him. The fine instincts of that intelligent
brute have shown him that it is much easier to get a living from the
refuse about the hotels than to forage for it in the wilds of
parsimonious nature. Nightfall, therefore, always brings him about to
the great delight of the game-seeking tourist. The incidents of each
season to which these bears unwittingly give rise are among the
amusing features of tourist life in that region.

The herbivorous game generally seek the seclusion of the hills in
summer, but the deep snows of winter will not permit them to remain
there. At that season they descend to the valleys, of which the most
important are the Hayden, the Junction, and the Pelican Valleys, and
those about the headwaters of the Snake River. The preservation of
these tracts as a free winter pasturage is absolutely essential to the
perpetuity of game in the Yellowstone Park.

Although an ornithologist, in passing through the Park, would report a
list of native birds so extensive as to lead one to think that they
abound in great numbers, there is really a noticeable absence of the
winged tribes. There are birds, of course, but in numbers, variety,
and beauty not to be compared with those in lower altitudes. The only
varieties that would attract attention from any but specialists are
the larger birds, which are often quite plentiful about the lakes.
There are great numbers of pelicans, gulls, fish-hawks, and cranes,
with now and then a wild swan. Eagles are not uncommon, while hawks,
woodpeckers, and robins are frequently seen. The sharp-tailed or
willow grouse is common, and in the fall of the year astonishing
numbers of wild geese and ducks frequent the marshes. There are many
other varieties, conspicuous mainly for their paucity of numbers.

Piscatorially speaking, the Yellowstone National Park has no rival as
a paradise for the angler. The generous gift of nature and the
admirable work of the United States Fish Commission, supplemented by
the wise protection of the government, leave nothing to be desired by
even the most devout follower of Isaak Walton.

Not all the streams of the Park were originally stocked with fish.
Where the waters leave the great volcanic plateau and fall to the
underlying formations, the cataracts form impassable barriers to the
ascent of fish. In the lower courses of all the streams there were
native trout, but above the falls, with one exception, there were
none. The exception of the Yellowstone River and Lake is a most
interesting one. Why the Falls of the Yellowstone, the highest and
most impassable of all, should apparently have proven no barrier, is
at first a puzzling question. But the solution is to be found in
Two-Ocean Pass. Across this remarkable divide fish may easily make
their way, and the Yellowstone Lake is unquestionably stocked from
this direction. We thus have an example, probably without parallel, of
an extensive body of water on the Atlantic slope stocked by nature
with fish from the Pacific.

The trout of the Yellowstone Lake are to some extent infected with a
disease which renders them unfit for eating. In earlier times
particularly, this condition was generally prevalent. But more
recently the disease seems to be disappearing, and in time it will
probably die out altogether.

In 1889 and 1890, the United States Fish Commission undertook to stock
all the fishless streams in the Park, and planted about 83,000
yearling trout in the various streams and lakes. The varieties were
Brook, Lake, Loch Leven, and Von Behr trout. Recent examination of
these plants shows that all have taken decisive root, and that within
a few years there will not be a hidden stream or lake in the Park
which will be without its attractions for the sportsman.




CHAPTER VII.

FLORA OF THE YELLOWSTONE.


The most conspicuous feature of the Park flora is the wide extent of
forest growth which covers some eighty-four per cent of its area. This
is the more noticeable because the surrounding country below the
mountains is practically treeless. The Park forests consist almost
exclusively of pine and fir. The trees are generally tall and slender
and of little use for lumber. They are usually unattractive in
appearance, although in some places among the mountains the spruce and
fir attain a size, form and hue of foliage that are exceedingly
beautiful.

Among the several species may be noted the following:

Black pine (_Pinus Murrayana_) so called from the dark hue of its
foliage when seen in dense bodies.

Red fir (_Pseudotsuga Douglasii_) the largest variety in the Park,
sometimes attaining a diameter of five feet.

Balsam (_Abies subalpina_). It flourishes near the snow fields and is
the beauty of the forest.

Spruce (_Pinus Engelmanni_). Like the preceding it flourishes at high
altitudes. It is tall and slender, and is good for lumber.

Red cedar (_Juniperus virginiana_) is found to a limited extent.

Poplar or aspen (_Populus tremuloides_) flourishes among the sheltered
foot-hills.

Dwarf maple is occasionally found.

Willow thickets abound in great abundance.

Of these varieties the first is found more abundantly than all the
others combined. In many places it has fallen down and strews the
country to such an extent as to be absolutely impassable on horseback.
There is very little timber of marketable value, and at first thought
it would seem that nature has here lavished her energies in a most
wasteful manner.

But the great value of these forest growths, is their agency in the
conservation of a water supply for the surrounding country. A glance
at the map will show that the Park is in the midst of a vast arid
region extending far into the surrounding states. The reclamation of
these desert wastes, and their conversion into productive lands, can
be accomplished by irrigation alone, and for this purpose the abundant
streams which descend from the mountains are the indispensable water
supply.

From the summit of the Grand Teton, the range of vision covers
probably the most remarkable group of river sources upon the earth. To
the north rises the Missouri which flows three thousand miles through
Montana, the Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. To the east
rises the Yellowstone, which, after leaving the Park, flows four
hundred miles through southern and eastern Montana until it unites
with the Missouri. From the eastern foot-hills of the Absaroka and
Shoshone Ranges flow the Wind and Big Horn Rivers through the
extensive valleys of the same names in Wyoming and Montana.
Southwardly, across the Wind River Range rises the Platte which flows
eastward eight hundred miles through Wyoming and Nebraska. From the
west flank of these mountains issue the tributaries of the Green River
(afterward the Colorado) which flows through Wyoming, Utah and Arizona
into the Gulf of California. Finally, interlaced with the sources of
the Yellowstone, and the Missouri, are those of the Snake River which
flows through Wyoming, Idaho and Washington into the Columbia, and
thus reaches the Pacific.

Not only do these streams rise in this limited area; they derive from
it most of their waters. In the arid lowlands they receive but slight
accessions, and often actually shrink under evaporation. It is
therefore from a relatively small tract of country that the future
water supply must come for portions of ten states in the great arid
belt of the west.

The conditions which nature has established around this remarkable
fountain-head are admirably adapted for the creation and maintenance
of an unlimited water supply. Over an area of more than 5,000 square
miles there prevails an average altitude of perhaps 7,500 feet;
sufficient to insure enormous annual snowfalls, but not so great as to
prevent their complete melting in summer. But, that they may not melt
too rapidly, the whole region is covered with a thick forest growth
cutting off the intense rays of the summer sun, and covering the
ground with a vegetable mold through which the surface waters filter
but slowly. It is a conservative estimate, based upon observations in
connection with road work in the Park, that these forests prolong the
melting of the snows from four to six weeks. This condition greatly
lessens the liability to sudden floods, and maintains a generous
supply of water far into the summer.

It has been estimated[AW] that from the Park alone, at low water,
there flows per second 4,000 cubic feet of water. If the time ever
comes when this supply is so far used as to threaten exhaustion, there
will be found in the basin of Yellowstone Lake the most perfect
facilities in the world for the construction of an artificial
reservoir of almost limitless capacity at a comparatively
insignificant cost. A dam could be thrown across the gorge at the
first rapids in the Yellowstone below the Lake, and without injuring
the natural condition of that region, could easily be made to
quadruple the present capacity of the Lake.

[AW] By Dr. William Hallock, United States Geological Survey.

The Park with its contiguous area thus presents magnificent
possibilities in the development of the surrounding
country--possibilities of which its founders little dreamed, but which
they unconsciously foreshadowed when they declared that this region
should be forever set apart for the "benefit" as well as for the
"enjoyment" of the people.

Besides its wealth of trees, the Park produces other interesting
flora. Interspersed among the forests and ornamenting the open glades
are flowers and shrubs in endless profusion. We quote from the
description of one of the early visitors:

"The choke-cherry, the goose-berry, the buffalo-berry, and black and
red currants, are found along the streams and in moist places of the
middle and lower altitudes. The meadows and hill-sides are spangled
with bright-colored flowers, among which may be noted the
bee-larkspur, the columbine, the harebell, the lupine, the evening
primrose, the aster, the painted cup, the gentian, and various kinds
of euphorbia. It is not uncommon to find daises, buttercups,
forget-me-nots, white-ground phlox, and other field flowers
flourishing in profusion near the melting snow banks during the month
of August. Scarcely a night throughout the year passes without frost,
even though the temperature by day is over 80 F., so that all forms of
vegetation in the Park grow and bloom under somewhat unusual
conditions. Indeed, when ice forms in the water-pails of camping
parties during the night, as often happens, and the petals of the
flowers become crisp with frost; even then the blooms are not harmed,
but thaw out bright and fresh when the hot sun touches them."

The flowers form a most attractive feature of the Park, and give an
interesting study of the way in which altitude and temperature affect
well known varieties. It is only after a second look that one can
trace in the mountain dandelion, huckleberry, and other species a
resemblance to those of lower altitudes. The extreme shortness of the
season causes vegetation to mature quickly, and before the flush of
spring has disappeared from the leaves the palor of autumn makes its
appearance.

The mountain grasses are generally abundant in the open country and
even in many places among the forests. The writer just quoted says:

"The pasturage on the many open spaces is excellent, the mountain
meadows being covered with a mat of nutritious grasses. The
predominating variety is the bunch grass, upon which the horses of
tourists generally subsist, keeping in good condition without the need
of oats. Among other kinds, are the blue joint, fescue, and beard
grasses, as well as Alpine timothy, all of which grow luxuriantly."

The early autumns tinge the foliage of the willow parks and other
groups of shrubbery with a wealth of color not often seen elsewhere.
Even the frost on the grass upon sharp mornings seems to have a
peculiar beauty, and one may trace terrestrial rainbows in all the
perfection of those set in the sky.




CHAPTER VIII.

THE PARK IN WINTER.


From the end of September to the end of May the Park is closed to the
tourist; that is, the hotels do not receive guests, and camping is too
precarious to be attempted. It is generally possible, however, to get
into the Park as late as the middle or end of November, very rarely as
late as Christmas. In May, the snowfalls are light, but the
accumulations of the previous winter render traveling out of the
question. With great difficulty the hotel company reaches its nearest
hotels as early as May 16. Some of the roads remain impassable fully a
month later.

What the fall of snow is in the upper Park has never been determined;
but at Mammoth Hot Springs, altitude 6,200 feet, an average for six
years, from November to April inclusive, is ten feet per year, with a
maximum of fifteen feet and a minimum of five. But on the Park
Plateau, 1,000 to 1,500 feet higher, the fall is certainly much
greater. No doubt its light depth aggregates twenty feet. The weight
of this snow often destroys the railing of bridges and injures the
buildings of the Park.

The drifts accumulate in phenomenal magnitude. No matter how deep a
ravine may be, the wind will pile the snow up in it until it is level
with the surrounding country. Some of these drifts on the mountain
sides are hundreds of feet deep and never entirely melt away. Even on
the general plateau they last until the middle of July. The Cañon
Hotel is almost buried every winter. The snow actually reaches the
second story windows, and the drift behind the hotel would last
throughout the summer were its melting not facilitated by cutting it
in pieces with shovels. It verily seems that all the conditions of
climate here conspire to make this region one of the snowiest in the
world.

Of course, general access to the Park under such conditions is wholly
out of the question. Only on snow-shoes is it possible at all. The
hotel company has a watchman at each of its buildings, who drags out a
lonely existence through the two hundred days from November to May. He
can talk over the telephone line with Mammoth Hot Springs, and at long
intervals he receives a call, and perhaps mail, from "Telephone Pete,"
who travels the line to keep it in order. In some places, also, small
squads of soldiers are stationed for the winter.

The art of traveling by snow-shoe is a thoroughly interesting one,
notwithstanding the fact that it is about the most difficult method of
travel known and is rarely resorted to except from sheer necessity.

The instrument used in the Park for this purpose is called a _ski_
(pronounced skee). It is a long slender strip of wood--ash, Norway
pine, or hickory--some twelve feet long, four or five inches wide, and
just thick enough to give needed strength. About midway of its length
is a strap through which the toe is slipped and by which the foot
pulls the _ski_ along. The bearing surface of the two _skis_ is about
eight square feet, and holds the weight of the body even in soft snow
without sinking more than a few inches. The bottom surface is
polished smooth and then rubbed with a mixture of tallow and beeswax
to make it free from friction. A pole is an important accompaniment,
aiding to slide the traveler along and steady him on the _skis_. It
also serves as a brake in descending steep hills, the traveler sitting
astride it and bearing the rear end into the snow.

Down hill work is indeed glorious. No express train can rival the
_ski_ for speed. Its only drawback is danger of accident. On level
country _ski_ traveling is simply walking on a board walk, except that
the pedestrian carries the board with him, and makes and unmakes the
road as fast as he goes. This is hard enough, especially if the snow
is sticky, but when it comes to up hill traveling it is a truly
laborious matter. If the hill is steep, there is danger of losing
one's grip on the snow and sliding backward down the hill. Where the
ascent is too steep to work up by direct forward movement,
"corduroying" is resorted to. The traveler works up sidewise, stepping
up a foot or so with the upper _ski_ and following with the lower.
Generally this sidewise movement is combined with a slight forward
movement, the _skis_ being pointed up hill at as steep an inclination
as they will hold.

The dress and equipment of the snow-shoe traveler are reduced to a
minimum consistent with protection from the climate. This protection
is really needed only at camping places, for the extraordinary
exertion of traveling keeps the body in a continuous glow of warmth.
Generally, warm woolen underwear, with canvas surface garments to keep
out the wind and to shed snow, are the essential features of the
dress. No overcoat is worn, but a tightly drawn belt takes its place.
The feet are the weak point. "Natural wool socks, then a pair of
Indian moccasins, then a pair of heavy gray army socks, then Arctic
overshoes and leggings," is the description of an equipment actually
used. A broad hat is frequently worn to keep snow out of the neck, and
colored glasses are indispensable to prevent snow blindness.

Baggage is limited to the strictest necessities, and is so packed that
it will rest uniformly on the back from the shoulders to the hips.

No eating of snow or drinking of water can be safely indulged in while
_en route_. The traveler must go strictly "dry" between meals.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Geyser Basins in Winter.]

Of course traveling of this sort is attended with much peril. A man
must rely wholly on himself. No wagon or saddle is available if he is
injured or sick. Heavy storms may blind him and cause him to lose his
way. In short, a snow-shoe trip through the Park is an undertaking
which requires a vigorous physique, a determined will, and a good fund
of courage. Very few, except those whose duty has required it, have
ever made the attempt. But it is the unanimous verdict of those who
have, that, glorious as the Park is in summer, it is even more
glorious in winter. One can readily understand this to be so.
Evergreen forests never appear to better advantage than when
laden with snow. Ice formations always enhance the beauty of
water-falls.[AX] The rolling open valleys of the Park must be doubly
beautiful when robed in drifted snow. It is a pity that this silvery
landscape should forever remain excluded from the general view.

[AX] For picture of Grand Cañon in winter, see p. 257.




CHAPTER IX.

THE PARK AS A HEALTH RESORT.


The climate of the Yellowstone National Park, to any one with a fair
reserve of health, is of the most beneficial kind. The general public
will be interested in the subject only as it relates to that season
when it is possible to visit the Park.

For the six months beginning with May, the average temperature will
not vary much from the following figures, Fahrenheit:

                 Maximum.  Minimum.  Mean.

    May            77°       25°      49°
    June           87°       30°      55°
    July           91°       36°      64°
    August         90°       36°      61°
    September      85°       25°      54°
    October        72°       18°      41°

These temperatures are for Mammoth Hot Springs. For the Park Plateau
they should be diminished by not less than ten degrees. No month of
the year in that region passes without ice-forming frosts. It will be
seen that during June, July, August, and September, the thermometer
makes excursions to the neighborhood of the nineties. This, however,
is only in the middle of the day, and is due to the direct intensity
of the sun's rays. No such heat pervades the general atmosphere. As
soon as the sun is near setting, the temperature falls rapidly. The
night temperature rarely gets above 55° or 60°, and averages scarcely
half as much. The Park is noted for its delightful sleep-giving
qualities, which constitute no small part of its claim as a health
resort.

Summer in the Park is comparatively short. It may not be strictly true
that "the Park has only three seasons, July, August, and Winter," but
it is true that July and August are the only two months free from the
ordinary characteristics of winter. Snows are frequent in June and
September, while May and October are well on the snowy side of the
year. July and August are the Park summer. The weather is settled. The
air is pure and bracing and not too cold. The long imprisoned
vegetation bursts suddenly into full life and beauty, and in a short
period take place all the changes which require months in lower
altitudes.

That there is life and health in that summer atmosphere, no one who
has breathed it will deny. At the same time, as has already been
hinted, it is healthful only for those who have some foundation to
build upon. Persons suffering from any form of heart disease or
advanced pulmonary trouble, or those greatly reduced in strength from
any cause, would better stay away. The altitude and sharp air might
prove too severe.

A matter which has naturally attracted considerable inquiry is the
therapeutic value of the mineral springs of the Park. The
superstitious faith in the efficacy of mineral waters to restore
health, which has characterized mankind in all ages, caused the
physically afflicted to hail the discovery of that region as the
promised fountain of new life. The first explorers to ascend the
Gardiner in 1871 found "numbers of invalids" encamped on its banks,
where the hot waters from Mammoth Hot Springs enter the stream; and it
is recorded that "they were most emphatic in their favorable
expressions in regard to their sanitary effects."

But this impression was very evanescent. No one now goes to the Park
because of its mineral waters. Nevertheless, it would be wholly
premature to assume that there is no medicinal virtue in them.
Certainly there is in the Park almost every variety of mineral spring;
there are abundant and luxurious waters for bathing; and it is not at
all improbable that the opportunities afforded in this region may yet
be utilized to the great advantage of the public.

But for health-giving qualities, the Park will never be dependent on
its mineral waters. Its true value lies in other and more potent
influences. The pure water of its snow-fed streams, the exhilarating
atmosphere, the bracing effect of altitude, the wholesome fatigue of
daily rambles over the rough, mountainous country, the fragrant odor
of the pine boughs which every-where pervades the atmosphere, and,
above all, the beautiful and varied scenery, which exalts the mind and
diverts the attention from cares that are too often the real cause of
physical ills--these are the true virtues of the Yellowstone Park as a
health resort.




CHAPTER X.

ROADS, HOTELS, TRANSPORTATION.


The Park, as is well known, is a very extensive tract of country, and
its various points of interest are widely separated from each other.
The question of ways and means for getting comfortably through it is
an all-important one. If the roads are bad, the hotels ill-kept, or
the transportation uncomfortable, no amount of grandeur of natural
scenery can compensate for these defects. In making a tour of the
Park, the visitor travels not less than 150 miles, sometimes
considerably more, and remains in the Park about one week. He is thus
quite at the mercy of those who have the management and control of
those matters which form the subject of this chapter.

The road system of the Park, when completed, will comprise a belt
line, connecting the principal centers of interest; approaches, by
which access may be had to the Park from different directions; side
roads, leading from the main route to isolated points of interest; and
trails, by which pack outfits can reach desired points to which
regular roads will never be built.

The belt line includes Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin, Lower
Geyser Basin, Upper Geyser Basin, the Yellowstone Lake, the Grand
Cañon, and Junction Valley. A cross-road passes from Norris to the
Grand Cañon.

The approaches are not all yet selected, but in time there will be at
least one on each side of the Park.

Trails are important adjuncts of the Park road system. They were long
ago selected and opened up, and they are of great importance in
patroling the Park. They are also much used by those tourists who
remain for a considerable time.

The mileage of the completed road system will be about as follows:

    Belt line                                             163 miles.
    Approaches                                            105   "
    Side roads                                             22   "
                                                          ---
    Total mileage of Park system, exclusive of trails     290   "

In regard to construction, it is hardly necessary to say that nothing
but the best macadamized roads should be built. The inherent
difficulties of the work are great. The soil in many places is of the
most wretched character. The country is exceedingly rough. The streams
are almost without number. The snow lies on some of the roads until
the middle of June. The mud in the wet season is bad, and the dust of
the dry season is worse. The soft volcanic rocks, which so generally
prevail, make poor road metal. But all these difficulties can be
overcome, if Congress will but provide for a systematic completion of
the project. At present, the annual allowance is too small to promise
any thing like good work, and it will be many years before the hopes
of the government engineers in the matter will be realized.

The work itself is as attractive as ever falls to the lot of the road
engineer, and it is doubtful if another opportunity exists to develop
a road system which, if properly done, will reflect so much credit
upon the government building it. It is used by visitors from all
lands. It passes through every variety of scenery. It presents every
known problem of road engineering. In short, it combines all the
elements to make it, when complete, one of the noted highways of the
world.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Gandy._

Kingman Pass. (Showing roadway along side of cliff.)]

It is not impossible that the tourist may yet be carried by boat from
the west shore of the Lake to near the head of the Falls, nor that a
bridge worthy of its surroundings--an arch of the native rock so
studied as to simulate a natural bridge--will span the river near the
Upper Falls and give access to the many splendid views from the right
bank of the Grand Cañon.

The tourist transportation of the Park is done mostly by coach,
ordinarily with four horses each. Surreys and saddle horses are also
provided when desired. The present system is the result of long
development, and is very satisfactory. With proper roads, it would be
all that could be desired.

Electric transportation in the Park has often been suggested, but
there are certain grave objections, to be discussed in a later
chapter, which will probably always prevent its introduction.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Yellowstone Park Coach.]

When the hotel system of the Park is complete, there will be no fewer
than seven good houses and three lunch stations along the belt line
and approaches. The hotels will be at Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris
Geyser Basin, Lower Geyser Basin, Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone
Lake, Grand Cañon, and Junction Valley. The present management of the
hotels has developed into a very efficient system. It is conducted by
a single company whose business headquarters is at Mammoth Hot
Springs, from which point all supplies are shipped. A telegraph line
connects it with points in the interior and with the outside world.
The manager of each hotel knows in advance the number of guests he
must provide for, and the convenience of the tourist is thus carefully
arranged beforehand. With a reasonable extension and development of
the present system, the Park will be admirably equipped in this
respect.

Besides the regular tourists--those who make the usual trip, stopping
at the hotels--there are hundreds who pass through the Park with
camping outfits. During the months of July and August and early
September, this is by no means an undesirable method. It is less
comfortable, to be sure, than the ordinary method, but at the same
time it is less expensive and more independent. In the latter part of
August, the Park fairly swarms with these camping parties. They give
the authorities plenty to do, for the danger of forest conflagrations
from their camp fires is very great.




CHAPTER XI.

ADMINISTRATION OF THE PARK.


The administration of the Park is assigned by law to the Secretary of
the Interior, who delegates his authority to a local Superintendent.
By statute, also, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to call
upon the Secretary of War for such details of troops as may be
necessary to protect the Park. Owing to the failure of Congress to
provide for a civilian Superintendent and police force, since 1886,
the Secretary of the Interior has found it necessary to avail himself
of this second statute, so that the present working of the Park
administration is on this wise:

An army officer, commanding the troops of the Park, is the
representative of the Secretary of the Interior, and is called the
Acting Superintendent of the Park, on the assumption that the old
_régime_ of civilian Superintendents is only temporarily suspended.
The Superintendent is charged with the enforcement of the rules and
regulations provided for the government of the Park. As to all such
matters, he receives his instructions direct from the Secretary of the
Interior, and he annually submits to that official a report upon the
condition of the Park. For a police force, he has two troops of
cavalry, which he stations throughout the Park as necessity requires.
He has also one civilian scout, paid for from the appropriation for
the army, whose duty it is to patrol the 5,000 square miles, more or
less, in the original reservation and the forest reserve![AY]

[AY] A portion of the latest appropriation for the Park is authorized
to be expended in the employment of additional scouts. This policy
ought to be continued.

The specific duties which form the burden of the Superintendent's work
are:

1. To see that all leases and privileges granted by the Secretary of
the Interior to private parties are strictly observed, and that all
business conducted in the Park is in pursuance of government authority
and in accordance with specific conditions and limitations.

2. The protection of the Park from vandalism. This is a very important
matter. The pardonable desire to carry off specimens from the
beautiful formations, and the unpardonable craze to cover them with
individual names, would, if unrestrained, soon quite destroy what
nature, through long ages, has so laboriously produced.

3. The protection of game. All around the Park are hordes of
law-breakers, who let pass no opportunity to destroy the surviving
species. To avert this calamity requires the utmost vigilance of the
Park police.

4. The preservation of forests. This has always been the most onerous
and trying duty of Park officials. The importance of the forests is so
far-reaching that their destruction would be a public calamity. No
exertion can be considered too great which may prevent it.

5. The construction of roads and bridges in the Park.

Other functions which the Superintendent fills are the social duties
of his position, which at certain seasons exact much of his attention.
Official visitors depend upon him entirely for pilotage through the
Park. Private parties bring letters soliciting favors, and on the
whole he finds his time well occupied with these pleasant, though
sometimes onerous, duties.

The office building of the Superintendent, who is also commanding
officer of Fort Yellowstone, is at Mammoth Hot Springs. A pretty
little garrison is built upon the white formation opposite the hotel,
and in winter, the whole military force, except small detachments in
various places, is gathered at that point.

At Mammoth Hot Springs are also located the post-office and jail, and
at this point the judicial officers of the Park hold court to try
offenses against the Park statutes and regulations.




CHAPTER XII.

A TOUR OF THE PARK.

_Preliminary._


In the following description there will be mentioned in succinct
outline all the notable features of interest in the Yellowstone
National Park. For more detailed information, the reader is referred
to the list of names in "Appendix A."

The necessary limit of space forbids any thing like extended
description, even if the inherent difficulties of such a task would
permit. Captain Ludlow has well stated the nature of these
difficulties:

"The Park scenery, as a whole," he says, "is too grand, its scope too
immense, its details too varied and minute, to admit of adequate
description, save by some great writer, who, with mind and pen equally
trained, can seize upon the salient points, and, with just
discrimination, throw into proper relief the varied features of
mingled grandeur, wonder, and beauty."

Of the many who have attempted, with pen or pencil, to reproduce the
wonders of the Yellowstone, no one has yet completely satisfied these
important requirements. The writer, for his part, will modestly
decline any such undertaking, and, like that pioneer explorer, Folsom,
will confine his descriptions "to the bare facts." He will, however,
occasionally call to aid those who have seen and written of these
wonders. To the early explorers, in particular, who entered this
region before it became generally known, its strange phenomena
appealed with an imaginative force which the guide-book tourist of
to-day can hardly realize. This may account for the fact that some of
these explorers, who have never, before or since, put pen to paper
with any literary purpose in view, have left in their narratives
strokes of word painting which the most gifted writer would find it
difficult to excel.

The season selected for the tour will be the early days of July. The
rain and snow and chilly air, not uncommon in June, are gone. The
drought and smoke of August and September are still remote. Even
mosquitoes, so amazingly plentiful at certain seasons (Langford found
them on the very summit of the Grand Teton), have not yet made their
appearance. It is late enough, however, to call forth in their richest
glory the magnificent profusion of flowers which every-where abound in
the Park. The air is at its best, full of life and energy, and so
clear that it confounds distances and gives to objects, though far
away, a distinctness quite unknown in lower altitudes. The skies, as
they appear at this season, surpass the sunny skies of Italy, and the
tourist will find in their empyreal depths a beauty and fascination
forever lacking in the dingy air of civilization. In short, the open
air stage trips through that rich mountain atmosphere will form one of
the most attractive and invigorating features of the tour.

Without further preliminary, the rôle of guide will now be assumed,
and the tourist will be conducted through the wonders of this
celebrated country, following, over most of the distance, the present
general route.




CHAPTER XIII.

A TOUR OF THE PARK.

_North Boundary to Mammoth Hot Springs._


[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Gandy._

Gardiner River.]

Distance five miles. The road for most of the way lies in the valley
of the Gardiner. The principal points of interest en route are:

_The Junction of the Yellowstone and Gardiner Rivers_ which determines
the north boundary of the Park. It lies in the State of Montana, the
state line being two miles further south. The old prospector's route
bore off at this point and kept up the valley of the Yellowstone.
Folsom took this route in 1869; so did the Wasburn party in 1870.
Hayden and Barlow in 1871 kept along the Gardiner and thus saw the
Mammoth Hot Springs.

_The Gardiner Cañon_ is a precipitous valley of loose gray walls
suggestive of danger from falling rocks. The nests of fish-hawks here
and there crown detached pinnacles. The most striking feature of the
cañon is the river, a typical mountain torrent of such rapid fall over
its rocky bed that it is a continuous succession of foaming cascades.

Some four miles up the river, at the point where the road leaves it,
the tourist gets his first sight of any indication of subterranean
heat. This is a large stream of hot water, in early times called the
_Boiling River_, issuing from an opening in the rocks and emptying
directly into the river. It is formed of the collected waters of
Mammoth Hot Springs which find their way to this point through
underground passages. It was here that "numbers of invalids" were
encamped when Hayden and Barlow saw the spot in 1871.

From the last crossing of the Gardiner a winding road, which rises 600
feet in its length of one mile, brings the tourist to the
world-renowned _Mammoth Hot Springs_, and to the administrative and
business headquarters of the Park.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._

Mammoth Hot Springs.

Bunsen Peak in the distance.]

[Illustration:

                       _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._

Pulpit Terrace.]

First in importance, among the many points of interest accessible from
this locality, are the _Hot Springs Terraces_. These have been built
one upon another until the present active portion constitutes a hill
rising 300 feet above the site of the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. The
formation about these springs, it will be remembered, is calcareous,
and to this fact is due its distinctive character, so different from
the silica formations which prevail nearly every-where else in the
Park. The overhanging bowls which these deposits build up are among
the finest specimens of Nature's work in the world, while the water
which fills them is of that peculiar beauty to be found only in
thermal springs. Speaking of this feature Dr. Hayden says:

"The wonderful transparency of the water surpasses any thing of the
kind I have ever seen in any other portion of the world. The sky, with
the smallest cloud that flits across it, is reflected in its clear
depths, and the ultramarine colors, more vivid than the sea, are
greatly heightened by constant, gentle vibrations. One can look down
into the clear depths and see, with perfect distinctness, the
minutest ornament on the inner sides of the basins; and the exquisite
beauty of the coloring and the variety of forms baffle any attempt to
portray them either with pen or pencil."[AZ]

[AZ] Page 69 Hayden's Report for 1871. See Appendix E.

_Cleopatra Spring_, _Jupiter Terrace_, _Pulpit Terrace_, _Minerva
Terrace_, the _Narrow Gauge Terrace_--an incongruous name for a long
fissure spring--the _White Elephant_, another fissure spring, and the
_Orange Geyser_, a very pretty formation, dome-shaped, with a
pulsating spring in the top, are among the most interesting of the
active springs.

_Liberty Cap_ is the cone of an extinct spring and stands forty-five
feet high and twenty feet through at the base.

_Bath Lake_ is a warm pool of considerable size, much used in bathing.

Scattered over the formation in every direction are caves, springs,
steam-vents, handsome deposits, and curiosities without number to
attract and detain the visitor. Many of them, like _Cupid's Cave_, the
_Devil's Kitchen_, and _McCartney's Cave_, are of much interest. In
the last-mentioned cave, or, more properly, crater, an elk fell one
winter when the crater was level full with light snow. His antlers
caught between the sides of the crater, holding him in a suspended
position until he perished. He was found the following spring by Mr.
McCartney.

Besides the hot springs features, there are other important objects of
interest in this neighborhood.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Golden Gate.]

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Ingersoll._

Osprey Falls.]

_Lookout Hill_ is a prominent rounded elevation opposite the hotel.
Upon its summit is a block-house, built by Colonel Norris, in 1879, as
a headquarters building for the Superintendent. The awkward and
inconvenient location was selected for its defensible qualities. It
will be remembered that the two previous years, 1877 and 1878, had
witnessed the Nez Percé and Bannock incursions into the Park.

_The Falls and Cañon of the Middle Gardiner_, distant four miles from
the hotel, are the finest scenery of the kind in the Park, excepting
only the Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone.

_Bunsen Peak_ is a conspicuous summit located between the Middle and
West Forks of the Gardiner. Its western face terminates in _Cathedral
Rock_, a bold cliff that overhangs the valley of _Glen Creek_.

_Golden Gate_ and _Kingman Pass_ are names applied to the picturesque
cañon of Glen Creek. It is justly considered one of the gems of the
Park scenery. The skillful engineering feat of carrying the tourist
route through this difficult cañon was performed by Lieutenant D. C.
Kingman, of the Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., in 1884-5. _Rustic
Falls_ is a handsome cataract near the head of the pass. The best view
in this vicinity is to be had from above the pass, looking through it
toward Mt. Everts.

Besides Bunsen Peak, the tourist will find _Terrace Mountain_,
_Sepulcher Mountain_, and _Electric Peak_ ever ready to satisfy
whatever ambition for mountain climbing he may possess.

The _East Gardiner Cañon_ affords some fine views, and the falls and
rapids at its head are extremely beautiful. It is through this cañon
that access can most easily be had to the summit of _Mt. Everts_. This
last name is given to a feature which bears almost no resemblance to
the ordinary conception of a mountain. It is simply a broad table-land
extending from the Yellowstone south and terminating in the lofty and
conspicuous bluff just across the Gardiner from Mammoth Hot Springs.
The mountain derives its chief popular interest from the Everts
episode, which is described in the Appendix under "Mt. Everts." It is
also of great interest to scientific inquirers. The view from the
prominent point opposite the forks of the Gardiner is very fine. The
whole Mammoth Hot Springs formation and the group of buildings near
it; the cañons and falls of the three Gardiners; and the array of
mountain peaks across the valley, form a rare and attractive
landscape.

Mt. Everts and the surrounding country are the home of the Park
antelope and mountain sheep.

As explained elsewhere, Mammoth Hot Springs is the official and
business headquarters of the Park. The handsome garrison of Fort
Yellowstone is built on the white formation, and with the hotel and
transportation buildings, the post-office, and various other
structures, gives the place a village appearance not to be seen in any
other part of the Park.




CHAPTER XIV.

A TOUR OF THE PARK.

_Mammoth Hot Springs to Norris Geyser Basin._


Distance, twenty miles. The first object of interest, after ascending
the long hill above the Springs (four miles), is the _Gallatin Range_
of mountains, which bursts into full view upon emerging from Kingman
Pass. Its various peaks--_Joseph_, _Gray_, _Bannock_, _Quadrant_, _the
Dome_, _Mt. Holmes_, and others--still retain the heavy snow drifts of
the previous winter. Some of these peaks remain in sight for thirty
miles along the tourist route.

_Swan Lake_ (4.5 miles) is a little pond on the right of the road.

_Willow Park_ (8 miles) comprises the valley of the lower course of
Obsidian Creek. It is a dense growth of willows, and forms an
attractive sight, either in the fresh foliage of spring or in its
autumnal coloring.

_Apollinaris Spring_ (10 miles) is on the left of the roadway, in a
pine forest. Tourists generally stop and try its water.

_Obsidian Cliff_ (12 miles) is composed of a kind of volcanic glass,
black as anthracite, which abounds at this point in enormous masses.
The Indians once quarried implements of war and the chase here, and
many fine arrowheads have been picked up by explorers. The building of
the first road along the base of this cliff has some historic
celebrity, owing to the novel method employed. It was done by Colonel
Norris, who thus describes it:

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Obsidian Cliff and Beaver Lake.]

"Obsidian there rises like basalt in vertical columns many hundreds of
feet high, and countless huge masses had fallen from this utterly
impassable mountain into the hissing hot spring margin of an equally
impassable lake, without either Indian or game trail over the
glistering fragments of Nature's glass, sure to severely lacerate. As
this glass barricade sloped from some 200 or 300 feet high against the
cliff at an angle of some 45° to the lake, we--with the slivered
fragments of timber thrown from the heights--with huge fires, heated
and expanded, and then men, well screened by blankets held by others,
by dashing cold water, suddenly cooled and fractured the large masses.
Then, with huge levers, steel bars, sledge, pick, and shovels, and
severe laceration of at least the hands and faces of every member of
the party, we rolled, slid, crushed, and shoveled one-fourth of a
mile of good wagon road midway along the slope; it being, so far as I
am aware, the only road of native glass upon the continent."[BA]

[BA] Annual Report Superintendent of the Park, 1878.

The reader may now be inclined to take issue with our judgment of
Norris' practical turn for road building. He will at least readily
indorse our opinion of the old mountaineer's literary ability. (See
"Norris Peak," Appendix A.)

_Beaver Lake_ has its outlet opposite the base of Obsidian Cliff. It
is formed by ancient beaver dams, now entirely overgrown with
vegetation. The old dam extends in a sinuous line entirely across the
valley, and, although apparently less than a yard thick, is quite
impervious to water. The lake is a great resort for water fowl later
in the year.

_Roaring Mountain_ (15.5 miles) is a high hill on the left of the
road, with a powerful steam vent near the summit. Nothing which can
now be heard from the road would suggest the name.

_Twin Lakes_ (16 miles) are two exquisitely beautiful ponds, if only
seen in a good sunlight and with a tranquil surface. The peculiar
green of the water is perhaps to be seen nowhere except in the
National Park. A most singular feature of these two lakes is that,
although so close together, they never simultaneously exhibit the same
colors.

_The Frying Pan_ (17.75 miles) is a small basin of geyserite, on the
right of the road, vigorously stewing away in a manner which reminds
one of a kitchen spider in operation.

After passing Obsidian Cliff evidences of hot spring action constantly
increase, until they reach their climax in the _Norris Geyser Basin_.
There are but few other places in the Park where the odor of sulphur
is so general and offensive as on this portion of the tourist route.

Norris Geyser Basin is clearly among the more recent volcanic
developments of this region. Its rapid encroachment upon the forest
growth, and the frequent appearance of new springs and the
disappearance of others, indicate its relatively recent origin.
Compared with the Firehole Geyser Basin it is of minor importance; but
coming first to the notice of the tourist it receives a large amount
of attention. It has only one prominent geyser, the _Monarch_, which
throws a column about 100 feet high. The _Constant_ is visible from
the roadway in the bottom of a large tract of geyserite which is
unsafe for pedestrians. It makes up in frequency of action what it
lacks in power. The most noteworthy feature of the basin has received
the appropriate name _Hurricane_. It is a prodigious steam vent whose
violent gusts bear a striking resemblance to the driving blasts of a
tempest. It also discharges a large amount of water. The _Black
Growler_, close by the road side, is a similar phenomenon.

Among the less important features of this basin may be mentioned the
_Congress_, _Constant_, _Arsenic_, _Echinus_, _Fearless_, _Pearl_,
_Vixen_, _Minute Man_, and _Mew Crater_, all geysers; the _Emerald
Pool_, a quiescent spring; and the _Locomotive_ and _Mud Geyser_,
boiling springs.

From the Norris Hotel a drive of three miles up the Gibbon River, on
the cross road leading to the Grand Cañon, carries the tourist to
_Virginia Cascade_, a unique and picturesque water-fall in a rocky
cañon of considerable beauty.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Black Growler.]

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Gibbon Cañon.]




CHAPTER XV.

A TOUR OF THE PARK.

_Norris Geyser Basin to Lower Geyser Basin._


Distance, 20 miles. The road follows the Gibbon River to within three
miles of its mouth, then crosses a point of land to the Firehole, and
ascends the right bank of the latter stream to the Lower Basin.

_Gibbon Meadows_ (3 miles) is a broad open bottom, sometimes called
Elk Park, just at the head of Gibbon Cañon.

The _Gibbon Paint Pots_ (4 miles) are on the left of the road, near
the head of the cañon, and one-fourth of a mile away.

_Monument Geyser Basin_ (4.5 miles) is on the high hill just west of
the upper end of Gibbon Cañon. It is an interesting spot, but rarely
visited owing to its inaccessibility. It was discovered and named by
Col. Norris.

The _Gibbon Cañon_ (4.5 to 10.5 miles) affords the tourist one of the
pleasantest rides in the Park. The mountains rise boldly from the
river on either side, and present several particularly fine views. The
road lies close to the river's edge, and the stream is an important
adjunct to the scenery.

_Beryl Spring_ (5 miles) is close to the road on the side opposite the
river. It boils violently and discharges a large amount of water. The
steam from it frequently obscures the roadway.

The _Soda and Iron Spring_ (7.5 miles), like Apollinaris Spring
already mentioned, is a frequent stopping-place for tourists.

_Gibbon Falls_ (8 miles) is a water-fall of very irregular outline,
but withal one of much beauty. The road hangs on the side of the cliff
far above it, and affords a lovely view of the forest-covered valley
below.

About half way between the point where the road leaves the Gibbon
River and that where it touches the Firehole, is the junction of the
belt line with the western approach which enters the Park by way of
Madison Cañon. A beautiful cascade, some distance from the tourist
route, may be found on the Firehole River about a mile above its
mouth. Just as the road (the old Norris Road) commences to descend
from the high plateau between the Gibbon and the Firehole, a glimpse
is had of the _Teton Mountains_. They are among the most striking in
the entire Rocky Mountain Region. For half a century after the
overland journey of the Astorians, they were the chief landmarks in
that trackless wilderness, and long bore the name of Pilot Knobs. They
are distinctly visible from every important peak in the Park, although
they are themselves outside its limits. As seen from the point, at
which we have arrived, they are fifty miles away. They rise
precipitously from the west shore of _Jackson Lake_ (also outside of
the Park) and with it form a scene of grandeur which ought to be
included in the reservation. In 1872, Langford and Stevenson ascended
the Grand Teton, being the first white men ever to reach the
summit.[BB]

[BB] Some doubt has been expressed in recent years as to the actual
accomplishment of this feat. It probably arose from an erroneous
statement by Doctor Hayden in his report for 1872 that the granite
inclosure was found "on the top of the Grand Teton." As a matter of
fact it was found on a point somewhat lower, and is clearly so stated
by Mr. Langford both in an official report to Dr. Hayden (Hayden,
1872, p. 89) and in his "Ascent of Mt. Hayden" (Scribner's, June,
1873, p. 145). A subsequent explorer, who ascended the mountain to the
site of this principal object of interest, came to the conclusion,
doubtless as a result of the erroneous account given by Hayden, that
this was what Langford and Stevenson called the summit. But the
references above given, and a more detailed and circumstantial account
furnished by Mr. Langford at the writer's request, effectually
demolish this theory.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

The Teton Range.

The Grand Teton in the center.]

They were astonished to find, on a point but little lower than the
main summit, a rude shelter of granite slabs evidently put in place by
human hands ages ago.

_Nez Percé Creek_ (18 miles) is the largest branch of the Firehole,
and is of historic interest from its connection with the Indian
campaign of 1877. It forms the north boundary of the _Lower Geyser
Basin_. Two miles beyond it is the _Fountain Hotel_.

To attempt any thing like a detailed description of the Firehole
Geyser regions would be intolerable alike to reader and author. Of the
objects of interest, any one of which in other localities would
attract marked attention, there are several thousand. In the present
description, therefore, only the more important features will be
noticed--those notable objects to see which is an indispensable part
of any well ordered tour of the Park.

The _Fountain Geyser_ is a typical example of the first class of
geysers described in a previous chapter. Its proximity to the hotel
(one-fourth mile) causes it to be much visited.

_The Mammoth Paint Pots_, a little way east of the Fountain, are
probably the most prominent example of this class of phenomena in the
Park.

The _Great Fountain Geyser_ lies a mile and a half south-east of the
Fountain. It is the chief wonder of the Lower Basin, and, in some
respects, the most remarkable geyser in the Park. Its formation is
quite unlike that of any other. At first sight the visitor is tempted
to believe that some one has here placed a vast pedestal upon which to
erect a monument. It is a broad, circular table about two feet high,
composed entirely of hard siliceous deposit. In its surface are
numerous pools molded and ornamented in a manner quite unapproached,
at least on so large a scale, in any other part of the Park. In the
center of the pedestal, where the monument ought to stand, is a large
irregular pool of great depth, full of hot water, forming, to all
appearances, a lovely quiescent spring. At times of eruption, the
contents of this spring are hurled bodily upward to a height sometimes
reaching 100 feet. The torrent of water which follows the prodigious
down-pouring upon the face of the pedestal, flows away in all
directions over the white geyserite plain. No visitor to the
Yellowstone can afford to miss the Great Fountain Geyser.

In this vicinity are several of the handsomest springs in the Park.
One in particular lies just across the hot stream which flows a little
to the south of the Great Fountain. It is shaped like an egg set
endwise in the ground with the upper part of the shell broken off. It
is an exquisite trifle.

In a small valley, extending to the north-east from the Great
Fountain, are several objects worthy of notice. One of these is an
immense hot lake, by far the largest in the Park. _Steady Geyser_ and
_Young Hopeful_, near the head of the valley, are not remarkable in
this land of geysers.

The principal attraction of the locality is what has come to be called
the _Firehole_. It is at the extreme upper end of the valley,
difficult to find, and unsatisfactory to visit when the wind agitates
the water surface. It is a large hot spring from the bottom of which,
to all appearances, a light colored flame is constantly issuing, only
to be extinguished in the water before it reaches the surface. At
times it has a distinct ruddy tinge and it always flickers back and
forth like the lambent flame of a torch. When seen under favorable
conditions, the illusion is perfect, and the beholder is sure that he
has at last caught a glimpse of the hidden fires which produce the
weird phenomena of this region. But it is only illusion. Through a
fissure in the rock gas or superheated steam escapes and divides the
water, just as bubbles do on a smaller scale. The reflection from the
surface thus formed accounts for the appearance, which is intensified
by the black background formed by the sides and bottom of the pool.

The Lower Geyser Basin has an area of thirty square miles. Conspicuous
among its topographical features are the _Twin Buttes_, two prominent
peaks west of the river which dominate the entire basin. A little way
south of these is _Fairy Fall_, a pretty cascade 250 feet high.

There will be included in this chapter, as more properly belonging to
it than to the next, a description of the _Midway Geyser Basin_. Its
principal interest lies in the stupendous character of its phenomena.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Excelsior Geyser.]

_Excelsior Geyser_, as a dynamic agent, has no equal in the Park. It
is really a water volcano, and its eruptions have nothing of the
characteristic display of a genuine geyser. Its crater is a vast
seething cauldron close by the brink of the Firehole River, into
which, in non-eruptive periods even, it pours 4,000 gallons of water
per minute. The shape of the crater is irregular. Its dimensions are
about 330 by 200 feet, and 20 feet deep. It was not known to be a
geyser until 1878, and did not really disclose its true character
until the winter of 1881. During the remainder of that year and 1882,
it gave continuous exhibitions of its power. Its water column was more
than 50 feet in diameter, and at times rose to the enormous height of
250 feet. At such times, it doubled the volume of water in the
Firehole River. Its eruptions were frequently accompanied by the
ejection of large rocks. A second period of activity took place in
1888, since which time it has remained inactive.

_Prismatic Lake_ is the most perfect spring of its kind in the world.
It rests on the summit of a self-built mound, sloping very gently in
all directions. Down this slope the overflow from the spring descends
in tiny rivulets, every-where interlaced with each other. A map of the
mound resembles a spider web, with the spider (the spring) in the
center. The pool is 250 by 300 feet in size. Over the lake hangs an
ever-present cloud of steam, which itself often bears a crimson tinge,
reflected from the waters below. The steam unfortunately obscures the
surface of the lake, and one involuntarily wishes for a row-boat, in
which to explore its unseen portions. Wherever visible, there is a
varied and wonderful play of colors, which fully justifies the name.

_Turquoise Spring_ is another large pool, 100 feet in diameter, and
rivals Prismatic Lake in the beauty of its coloring.

The Midway Geyser Basin contains hundreds of other springs, some of
them very beautiful, but the Basin is mainly noted for the three
features just described.




CHAPTER XVI.

A TOUR OF THE PARK.

_Lower Geyser Basin to Upper Geyser Basin._


Distance, nine miles. Road follows the Firehole River. Midway Geyser
Basin, already described, is passed four miles out. No other object of
interest is met until the visitor actually arrives at the _Upper
Basin_.

This locality is probably the most popular with the tourist of any in
the Park. Its two rivals, the Grand Cañon and the Yellowstone Lake,
are so unlike it as not to admit of any comparison. It is the home of
the genus _geyser_, as seen in its highest development. There are
fifteen examples of the first magnitude and scores of less important
ones.[BC] The quiescent pools and springs are also numerous and of
great beauty.

[BC] For list of names of geysers, with heights of eruptions, see
Appendix A, VII.

The first important feature _en route_ is the _Biscuit Basin_, which
is reached by a side road leading to the west bank of the Firehole
River. It contains a fine geyser and several beautiful springs. The
most interesting are the _Jewell Geyser_ and the _Sapphire Pool_. Near
this locality is the _Mystic Falls_, a fine cascade, on the Little
Firehole River.

_Artemesia Geyser_ comes next to the attention of the tourist. It has
been known as a geyser only since 1886. It is on the right of the
roadway, at a considerably lower level.

[Illustration:

  SKETCH MAP
    OF THE
  UPPER GEYSER BASIN

    _Opp. page 228._
]

The _Morning Glory_ is a little further up stream. In this beautiful
object the quiescent pool is at its best. Its exquisite bordering and
the deep cerulean hue of its transparent waters make it, and others
like it, objects of ceaseless admiration.

The _Fan Geyser_ is close by the Firehole on the east bank, not far
above the Morning Glory. The _Riverside_ is also on the east bank at
the point where the road crosses the river. It is an inconspicuous
object when not in eruption, and one would scarcely suspect it of
being a geyser. It spouts obliquely across the river, and not, like
most geysers, vertically.

[Illustration:

                       _Gandy._

Grotto Geyser Cone.]

Next in order, after crossing the river to the Westbank, is the
_Grotto_, remarkable for its irregular and cavernous crater. A little
further on, close to the river, stands the broken crater of one of
the Park's greatest geysers, the _Giant_. Lieutenant Doane compared
its crater to a "huge shattered horn."

A few hundred feet further up stream, still close to the river, is the
_Oblong_. Directly across the road, but a short distance away, is the
_Splendid_, well worthy of its name; and near it, sometimes playing
simultaneously, is the _Comet_.

To the westward from the Firehole, nearly on the divide between it and
Iron Creek, is a lovely spring, called the _Punch-bowl_. Across the
divide in the _Iron Creek_ valley is the _Black Sand Basin_, a unique
but beautiful pool. Near it is another attraction, _Specimen Lake_, so
named from an abundance of specimens of partly petrified wood. The
limit of curiosities in this direction is _Emerald Pool_, which
competent judges pronounce to be the finest quiescent spring in the
Park.

Returning to the Firehole by a different route, we pass a large spring
or geyser known as the _Three Crater Spring_. Its three craters are
connected by narrow water ways, making one continuous pool, though fed
from three sources.

A thousand feet to the north, stands the most imposing crater in the
Park, that of the _Castle_ geyser. It is frequently seen in moderate
eruption, but rarely when doing its best. As ordinarily seen, it
throws a column of water only 50 or 60 feet, but at times it plays as
high as 150 or 200 feet.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Castle Geyser.]

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _First sketch ever made._[BD]

Castle Geyser Cone.]

[BD] See foot note, page 168.

Crossing the river to its right bank, nearly opposite the Castle,
there are found within a narrow compass three noted geysers, the
_Sawmill_, _Turban_, and _Grand_. Of these, the last is by far the
finest, and ranks among the very greatest geysers in the world. It was
not seen by the Washburn Party, in 1870, but it seems to have been the
first geyser to welcome to the Upper Basin the Hayden and Barlow
parties in 1871. Captain Barlow says of its eruption:[BE]

"This grand fountain continued to play for several minutes. When dying
down, I approached to obtain a closer view of the aperture whence had
issued such a powerful stream. A sudden gush of steam drove me away,
following which the water was again impelled upward and upward, far
above the steam, till it seemed to have lost the controlling force of
gravity, and that it would never cease to rise. The roar was like the
sound of a tornado, but there was no apparent effort; a steady stream,
very graceful and perfectly vertical, except as a slight breeze may
have waved it to and fro. Strong and smooth, it continued to ascend
like the stream from a powerful steam fire-engine. We were all lost
in astonishment at the sudden and marvelous spectacle. The proportions
of the fountain were perfect. The enthusiasm of the party was
manifested in shouts of delight. Under the excitement of the moment,
it was estimated to be from three to five hundred feet in height."

[BE] Page 25, "Reconnaissance of the Yellowstone River."--See Appendix
E.

Further up the river on the same side and at some distance back, are
the _Lion_, _Lioness_ and the two _Cubs_, an interesting group,
including one notable geyser. Half way up a high mound of geyserite
which covers a large area on the north side of the river, is an
exquisitely beautiful formation called, from its appearance, the
_Sponge_.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

The Bee Hive Geyser.]

On the top of the mound is another of the great geysers, thought by
the Washburn Party to be the greatest in the world, the _Giantess_. It
belongs to the class of fountain geysers, and when not in action
strongly resembles a quiescent spring. Its eruptions are infrequent
and irregular, but when it does play it is a sight not to be
forgotten. Mr. Langford thus describes the first eruption known to
have been seen by white men:[BF]

"We were standing on the side of the geyser nearest the sun, the
gleams of which filled the sparkling columns of water and spray with
myriad rainbows, whose arches were constantly changing--dipping and
fluttering hither and thither, and disappearing only to be succeeded
by others, again and again, amid the aqueous column, while the minute
globules, into which the spent jets were diffused when falling,
sparkled like a shower of diamonds, and around every shadow which the
denser clouds of vapor, interrupting the sun's rays, cast upon the
column, could be seen a luminous circle, radiant with all the colors
of the prism, and resembling the halo of glory represented in
paintings as encircling the head of Divinity. All that we had
previously witnessed seemed tame in comparison with the perfect
grandeur and beauty of this display."

[BF] "The Wonders of the Yellowstone." See Appendix E.

Between the Giantess and the river is the _Bee Hive_, also one of the
most prominent geysers. The symmetry of its cone is only surpassed by
the regularity of its water column. From an artistic point of view it
is the most perfect geyser in the Park. Its slender jet attains a
great height and is vertical and symmetrical throughout.

Crossing again to the west bank of the stream and ascending to the
very head of the basin, we come to the last and most important of the
geysers, _Old Faithful_. Any other geyser, any five other geysers,
could be erased from the list better than part with Old Faithful. The
Giant, Giantess, Grand, Splendid, and Excelsior, have more powerful
eruptions. The Bee Hive is more artistic. The Great Fountain has a
more wonderful formation. But Old Faithful partakes in a high degree
of all these characteristics, and, in addition, has the invaluable
quality of uniform periodicity of action. It is in fact the most
perfect of all known geysers.

To it fell the honor of welcoming civilized man to this region. It was
the first geyser named. It stands at the head of the basin and has
been happily called "The Guardian of the Valley."

It is located in the center of an oblong mound, 145 by 215 feet at the
base, 20 by 54 feet at the summit, and about 12 feet high. The tube,
which seems to have originated in a fissure in the rock, has an inside
measurement of 2 by 6 feet.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._

    Castle Geyser.

    Geyser in action.

    Crater of Old Faithful.

Upper Geyser Basin.]

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._

Old Faithful.]

The ornamentation about the crater, though limited in extent, is
nowhere surpassed for beauty of form and color. In particular, the
three small pools on the north side of the crater and very close to it
are specimens of the most remarkable handiwork which Nature has
lavished upon this region. A singular fact is that the waters in these
three pools, although so close together as apparently to be subject to
the same conditions, are of different colors. Speaking of these
marvelous appearances, Lieutenant Doane says: [BG]

"One instinctively touches the hot ledges with his hands, and sounds
with a stick the depths of the cavities in the slope, in utter doubt
of the evidence of his own eyes.... It is the most lovely inanimate
object in existence."

[BG] Page 29, "Yellowstone Expedition of 1870." See Appendix E.

In its eruption this geyser is equally fascinating. It always gives
ample warning, and visitors have time to station themselves where the
view will be most perfect. The graceful column rises, at first with
apparent effort, but later with evident ease, to a height of 150 feet.
The noise is simply that of a jet of water from an ordinary hose, only
in intensity corresponding to the greater flow. The steam, when
carried laterally by a gentle breeze, unfurls itself like an enormous
flag from its watery standard. The water is of crystal clearness and
the myriad drops float in the air with all manner of brilliant
effects. To quote Lieutenant Doane again:

"Rainbows play around the tremendous fountain, the waters of which
fall about the basin in showers of brilliants, and then rush steaming
down the slopes to the river."

The uniform periodicity of this geyser is its most wonderful and most
useful characteristic. It never fails the tourist. With an average
interval of sixty-five minutes, it varies but little either way. Night
and day, winter and summer, seen or unseen, this "tremendous fountain"
has been playing for untold ages. Only in thousands of years can its
lifetime be reckoned; for the visible work it has wrought, and its
present infinitely slow rate of progress, fairly appall the inquirer
who seeks to learn its real age.

It is worth while, however, to note the enormous work which this
geyser daily performs. A conservative estimate, based upon an extended
series of observations made in 1878 by the United States Geological
Survey, shows that the outpour for an average eruption is not less
1,500,000 gallons, which gives 33,225,000 gallons per day. This would
supply a city of 300,000 inhabitants. The combination of conditions by
which the supply of heat and water, and the form of tube, are so
perfectly adapted to their work, that even a chronometer is scarcely
more regular in its action, is one of the miracles of nature.

[Illustration:

 _Terry Engr. Co._     _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._

Kepler Cascade.]




CHAPTER XVII.

A TOUR OF THE PARK.

_Upper Geyser Basin to the Yellowstone Lake._


Distance, nineteen miles. The route ascends the Firehole River to the
mouth of Spring Creek, which stream it follows to the Continental
Divide. For seven miles it then lies on the Pacific slope, after which
it descends the mountains to the Yellowstone Lake. The drive is one of
the most pleasant in the Park, and the scenery is unconventional and
wild.

_Kepler Cascade_ (1.25 miles) is a fascinating water-fall. Lieutenant
Doane, who first wrote of it, says:[BH]

"These pretty little falls, if located on an eastern stream, would be
celebrated in history and song; here, amid objects so grand as to
strain conception and stagger belief, they were passed without a
halt."

[BH] Page 27, "Yellowstone Expedition of 1870." See Appendix E.

We counsel the tourist not to so pass them.

Half a mile up the Firehole, above the mouth of Spring Creek, is the
_Lone Star Geyser_ (4 miles). This geyser is conspicuous chiefly for
its fine cone. It plays frequently to a height of 40 or 50 feet.

_Madison Lake_, ten miles further up the valley, is the ultimate lake
source of the Madison River. This lake, with possibly the exception of
Red Rock Lake, the source of the Jefferson, is further from the sea by
direct water-course than any other lake on the globe.

Returning down the Firehole, we enter the mouth of _Spring Creek
Cañon_ (3.5 miles), which the road traverses for a distance of two and
one-half miles. This narrow, winding, rocky cañon, under the shadow of
the Continental Divide, is full of picturesque turns and surprises.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Lone Star Geyser.]

The first crossing of the _Continental Divide_ (8.5 miles) is through
a narrow cañon, _Craig Pass_, hemmed in by precipitous cliffs,
inclosing a lily-covered pond, _Isa Lake_, which rests squarely upon
the doubtful ground between the two oceans.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Shoshone Lake.]

_Shoshone Point_ (10.5 miles) is in the center of the large
amphitheater-shaped tract which is drained by the branches of _De Lacy
Creek_. It overlooks _Shoshone Lake_ and the broad basin surrounding
it, and gives a second glimpse of the Teton Mountains.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._

Isa Lake and Craig Pass.]

Shoshone Lake is a lovely body of water, with an area of twelve square
miles and a most picturesque shore line. On its west shore is a geyser
basin, second in importance only to those on the Firehole. Among its
many interesting features may be mentioned the _Union Geyser_, of
which the middle crater plays to a height of 100 feet; and the _Bronze
Geyser_, very striking because of the perfect metallic luster of its
formation.

From Shoshone Point, the road again ascends to the Continental Divide,
and then drops down the Atlantic slope toward the Yellowstone Valley.

_Lake View_ (18 miles) is at a point where a sudden turn in the forest
road brings the tourist, quite without warning, in full view of one of
the most striking water landscapes in the world. The whole vista of
the _Yellowstone Lake_ is spread out before him, still 300 feet below
where he is standing. Far to the right and left, along the distant
eastern shore, extends the _Absaroka Range_ of mountains, many of its
summits still capped with snow. Every-where the dark pine forests come
down to the water's edge, in fine contrast with the silver surface of
the lake. The sparkling of the waves, the passage of the cloud
shadows, and, in sheltered coves, the tranquil mirror of the waters,
all combine to make the picture one to be long remembered.

The Yellowstone Lake is about 7,741 feet, nearly a mile and a half,
above the level of the sea. It has a shore line of 100 miles, and an
area of 139 square miles. Its maximum depth is 300 feet, and its
average depth about 30 feet. It is fed almost entirely from the
springs and snow drifts of the Absaroka Range. Its waters are icy
cold, clear and transparent to great depths, and literally swarm with
trout. It is subject to heavy south-west winds, and at times is lashed
into tempestuous seas.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _U.S. Geological Survey of the Territories._

Yellowstone Lake.]

The shape of the lake was compared by the early explorers to the form
of the human hand. The resemblance is exceedingly remote, and one
writer has well observed that only the hand of a base ball player who
has stood for years behind the bat could satisfy the comparison. The
"fingers" have now been generally dropped from the maps and replaced
by the usual names; but "West Thumb" seems to have become a fixture.

Surpassing the Yellowstone Lake both in area and altitude there are
but few lakes in the world. Lake Titticaca, in Peru, and one or two
others in the less explored regions of the Andes; and also a few lakes
on the lofty table-land of Thibet, comprise the number.

The Yellowstone Lake has been a theme of enthusiastic praise by all
who have ever seen it; but what seems to us the most exquisite tribute
it has ever received is to be found in the farewell words of Mr.
Folsom, when, in 1869, he regretfully turned away from its western
shore into the deep forests which surround it:[BI]

"As we were about departing on our homeward trip, we ascended the
summit of a neighboring hill and took a final look at Yellowstone
Lake. Nestled among the forest-crowned hills which bounded our
visions, lay this inland sea, its crystal waves dancing and sparkling
in the sunlight as if laughing with joy for their wild freedom. It is
a scene of transcendent beauty which has been viewed by but few white
men, and we felt glad to have looked upon it before its primeval
solitude should be broken by the crowds of pleasure seekers which at
no distant day will throng its shores."

[BI] Page 20, Langford's reprint of the "Valley of the Upper
Yellowstone." See Appendix E.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Gandy._

Fishing Cone.]

On the west shore of the lake is an extensive and important hot
springs basin. The principal features are the _Paint Pots_, not
inferior to those near the Fountain Hotel; two of the largest and most
beautiful quiescent springs in the Park; the _Lake Shore_ Geyser,
which plays frequently to a height of about 30 feet; an unnamed geyser
of considerable power but of very infrequent action; and the
celebrated _Fishing Cone_ where unfortunate trout find catching and
cooking painfully near together.

From the west shore of the lake a visit can be advantageously made to
_Hart Lake_ and _Mount Sheridan_. The lake is probably the prettiest
in the Park. Near it, on the tributary _Witch Creek_, is a small but
important geyser basin. The principal features are the _Deluge_,
_Spike_ and _Rustic_ geysers, and the _Fissure Group_ of springs. The
Rustic Geyser is remarkable in having about it a cordon of logs,
evidently placed there by the Indians or white men many years ago. The
logs are completely incrusted with the deposits of the springs.

Mt. Sheridan would rank with Mt. Washburn as a popular peak for
mountain climbers were it only more accessible. No summit in the Park
affords a finer prospect.

From the west shore to the Lake Outlet the tourist may travel either
by stage around the border of the lake, or by boat across it. If he
does not want to miss one of the notable features of the tour he will
not omit the boat ride. In fact, a steamboat ride, at an altitude more
than a quarter of a mile greater than that of the summit of Mt.
Washington is not an every day diversion. From near the center of the
lake the view is surpassingly fine. To the south and south-west the
long arms of the lake penetrate the dark forest-crowned hills, which
are but stepping stones to the lofty mountains behind them. Far beyond
these may again be seen for the third time the familiar peaks of the
Tetons. All along the eastern shore stand the serried peaks of the
Absaroka Range, the boundary which nature has so well established
along the eastern border of the Park. A notable feature of this range
is the profile of a human face formed by the superimposed contours of
two mountains, one several miles behind the other. The best effect is
had from points between _Stevenson Island_ and the _Lake Hotel_. The
face is looking directly upward. A similar profile, noted by the
early explorers from the summit of Mt. Washburn, and nearly in the
same locality as this, although of course not the same feature, was
called by them the "Giant's Face," or the "Old Man of the Mountain."

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Gandy._

Natural Bridge.]

On the north-east shore of the lake are _Steamboat Spring_, and other
thermal phenomena worth visiting. From _Bridge Bay_ at the north-west
of the lake, a trip of a mile will take the tourist to an extremely
interesting freak of nature in the form of a _Natural Bridge_ over a
small tributary of Bridge Creek. The arch is forty-one feet high with
a thirty foot span. As seen from the down stream side it is very
regular and symmetrical.

Some twenty miles above the head of the lake is the celebrated
_Two-Ocean Pass_, long known to the early trappers. It is probably the
most remarkable example of such a phenomenon in the world. Although
the fact of its existence was asserted and stoutly maintained by
Bridger for many years prior to the discovery of the Park region, it
was generally disbelieved until Captain Jones crossed the pass in
1873. It has since been visited and described by Hayden in 1878, by
Hague in 1884, and by Prof. Evermann of the United States Fish
Commission in 1891. The following facts and map are taken from Prof.
Evermann's report:

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._

Sketch of Two-Ocean Pass.]

The pass is in a nearly level grassy park hemmed in by the surrounding
hills, and is 8,150 feet above the level of the sea. Its extreme
length is about one mile and its extreme breadth about three-fourths
of a mile. From the north a stream issues from a cañon, _a_, and
divides at _b_, part flowing to Atlantic Creek and part to Pacific
Creek. A similar stream, _c_, with a similar division, _d_, comes from
the south. At extreme low water, these divisions may possibly
disappear and all the water flow either one way or the other. But at
ordinary and high stages the water flows both ways. These streams are
by no means insignificant rivulets, but substantial water-courses
capable of affording passage to fish of considerable size.

Here, then, we have the very interesting phenomenon of a single stream
upon the summit of the continent dividing and flowing part one way and
part the other, and forming a continuous water connection between the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans over a distance of nearly 6,000 miles.

A most singular and interesting acoustic phenomenon of this region,
although rarely noticed by tourists, is the occurrence of strange and
indefinable overhead sounds. They have long been noted by explorers,
but only in the vicinity of Shoshone and Yellowstone Lakes. They seem
to occur in the morning, and to last only for a moment. They have an
apparent motion through the air, the general direction noted by
writers being from north to south. The following descriptions are from
the pens of those who have given some study to these strange sounds.
Prof. S. A. Forbes says:

"It put me in mind of the vibrating clang of a harp lightly and
rapidly touched high up above the tree tops, or the sound of many
telegraph wires swinging regularly and rapidly in the wind, or, more
rarely, of faintly heard voices answering each other overhead. It
begins softly in the remote distance, draws rapidly near with louder
and louder throbs of sound, and dies away in the opposite direction;
or it may seem to wander irregularly about, the whole passage lasting
from a few seconds to half a minute or more."[BJ]

[BJ] "Overhead sounds in the vicinity of Yellowstone Lake." See
Appendix E.

Mr. Edwin Linton thus describes it:

"It seemed to begin at a distance, grow louder overhead where it
filled the upper air, and suggested a medley of wind in the tops of
pine trees, and in telegraph wires, the echo of bells after being
repeated several times, the humming of a swarm of bees, and two or
three other less definite sources of sound, making in all a composite
which was not loud, but easily recognized, and not at all likely to be
mistaken for any other sound in these mountain solitudes."[BK]

[BK] "Overhead sounds in the vicinity of Yellowstone Lake." See
Appendix E.

No rational explanation has ever been advanced for this remarkable
phenomenon. Its weird character is in keeping with its strange
surroundings. In other lands and times it would have been an object of
superstitious reverence or dread, and would have found a permanent
place in the traditions of the people.




CHAPTER XVIII.

A TOUR OF THE PARK.

_The Yellowstone Lake to Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone._


Distance seventeen miles. The road follows the Yellowstone River along
the west bank all the way.

Just after the tourist leaves the Lake Hotel, he will see on the right
of the roadway a small monument. It was placed there, in 1893, by the
United States Corps of Engineers to mark a position accurately
determined from astronomical observations by the United States Coast
and Geodetic Survey in 1892. It is of value as a point of reference in
surveys and other similar work.[BL]

[BL] Latitude, 44° 33' 16.1" north.
     Longitude, 110° 23' 43.1" west.
     Magnetic variation about 19° east.

_Mud Volcano_ (7.5 miles) is a weird, uncanny object, but,
nevertheless, a very fascinating feature and one which the tourist
should stop and examine. It is an immense funnel-shaped crater in the
side of a considerable hill on the west bank of the river. The mud
rises some distance above a large steam vent in the side of the crater
next the hill, and chokes the vent until the steam has accumulated in
sufficient force to lift the superincumbent mass. As the imprisoned
steam bursts forth, it hurls the mud with great violence against the
opposite side of the crater, making a heavy thud which is audible for
half a mile. These outbursts take place every few seconds.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Yellowstone River, between Lake and Falls.]

A striking example of the strange commingling of dissimilar features
in the hot springs districts is found in the _Grotto_, a spring of
perfectly clear water, not far from the Mud Volcano. It is acted upon
by the steam in a manner precisely similar to that of the Mud Volcano,
but its waters issue directly from the rock, and are entirely clear.

_Mud Geyser_, now rarely seen in action, was an important geyser
twenty years ago. As it became infrequent in its eruptions, and
tourists rarely saw them, the name was unconsciously, but mistakenly,
transferred to the Mud Volcano, which has none of the characteristics
of a geyser.

The locality where these objects are found has considerable historic
interest. The ford just below the Mud Volcano was long used by the
hunters and trappers who passed up and down the river. Folsom crossed
it in 1869, and the Washburn party in 1870. The Nez Percés encamped
here two days, in 1877, and here transpired a part of the episode
elsewhere related. Hither came General Howard, in pursuit of the
Indians, although he did not cross the river at this point.

_Trout Creek_ (9.5 miles) has a most peculiar feature, where the
tourist route crosses it, in the form of an extraordinary doubling of
the channel upon itself. It was this stream which Mr. Hedges, in 1870,
called "a lazy creek coiled up like a monster serpent under a sand
bluff."

_Sulphur Mountain_ (11.5 miles) is half a mile back from the main
route. At its base is a remarkable _Sulphur Spring_, always in a
state of violent ebullition, although discharging only a small amount
of water. This is highly impregnated with sulphur, and leaves a yellow
border along the rivulet which carries it away. The best time to visit
Sulphur Mountain is on a clear sharp morning. The myriad little steam
vents which cover the surface of the hill are then very noticeable.

_Hayden Valley_ is a broad grassy expanse extending several miles
along the river and far back from it on the west side. It was once a
vast arm of the lake. It comprises some fifty square miles, and is an
important winter range for the Park buffalo and elk.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Gandy._

Rapids Above Falls.]

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._

Upper Fall of the Yellowstone.

Distant view.]

The river along the lower portion of this valley is the most tranquil
and lovely stream imaginable--broad, deep, transparent, flowing
peacefully around its graceful curves, disturbed only by the splashing
trout which inhabit it. There is little here to suggest the mad
turmoil into which it is soon to plunge. At a point fifteen miles
below the lake, the river and road are forced by the narrowing valley
close together. The stream becomes suddenly broken into turbulent
cascades as it dashes violently between precipitous banks and among
massive boulders.

The road also becomes decidedly picturesque. Hung up on the almost
vertical cliff overlooking the rapids, it forms a short drive
unsurpassed for interest anywhere else in the Park. At one point it
crosses a deep ravine over the highest bridge on the road system. Just
to the left of this bridge, in the bottom of the ravine, still stands
the tree upon which some white man carved his initials away back in
1819.

Half a mile below the head of the rapids, the river suddenly contracts
its width to less than fifty feet, turns abruptly to the right, and
disappears. It is the _Upper Fall_ of the Yellowstone. In some
respects, this cataract differs from almost any other. Although the
ledge over which it falls is apparently perpendicular, the velocity of
flow at the crest of the fall is so great that the water pours over as
if on the surface of a wheel. Visitors at Niagara have noticed the
difference in this respect between the almost vertical sheet of water
on the American side and the well-rounded flow at the apex of the
Horseshoe Fall. The height of the Upper Fall of the Yellowstone is 112
feet.

From this point, the character of the scenery is wild and rugged. A
ride of a few hundred yards brings the tourist to a sharp bend in the
road, which at once unfolds to him the whole vista of the _Grand Cañon
of_ _the Yellowstone_. The sight is so impressive and absorbing that
the chances are he will cross the ravine of _Cascade Creek_ without
even noticing the lovely _Crystal Falls_ almost beneath his feet.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._

Original Sketch.[BM]

[BM] See foot-note, page 168.]

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._

Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone.

Looking down--probably from Lookout Point.]

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone.

From Inspiration Point--looking up stream. Lower Fall in the
distance.]

The _Cañon Hotel_ is half a mile beyond Cascade Creek, in an open
park, a little way back from the brink of the Cañon. From its porch,
the crest of the Upper Fall can be seen, and the roar of both
cataracts is distinctly audible. This hotel and that at the lake are
the most desirable in the Park for a protracted stay.

The Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone is acknowledged by all beholders to
stand without parallel among the natural wonders of the globe. Other
cañons, the Yosemite, for example, have greater depths and more
imposing walls; but there are none which, in the words of Captain
Ludlow, "unite more potently the two requisites of majesty and
beauty." The cañon itself is vast. A cross-section in the largest part
measures 2,000 feet at the top, 200 feet at the bottom, and is 1,200
feet deep, giving an area of over three acres. But such a gorge in any
other part of the world would not be what it is here. Its sides would
soon be clothed with vegetation, and it would be simply an immense
valley, beautiful, no doubt, but not what it is in the Yellowstone
National Park.

There are three distinct features which unite their peculiar glories
to enhance the beauty of this cañon. These are the cañon itself, the
water-fall at its head, and the river below.

It is the volcanic rock through which the river has cut its way that
gives the Grand Cañon its distinctive character. It is preëminently a
cañon of color. The hue has no existence which can not be found there.
"Hung up and let down and spread abroad are all the colors of the
land, sea, and sky," says Talmage, without hyperbole. From the dark,
forest-bordered brink, the sides descend for the most part with the
natural slope of the loose rock, but frequently broken by vertical
ledges and isolated pinnacles, which give a castellated and romantic
air to the whole. Eagles build their nests here, and soar midway
through the vast chasm, far below the beholder. The more prominent of
the projecting ledges cause many turns in the general course of the
cañon, and give numerous vantage places for sight-seeing. _Lookout
Point_ is one of these, half a mile below the Lower Falls.
_Inspiration Point_, some two miles farther down, is another. The
gorgeous coloring of the cañon walls does not extend through its
entire length of twenty miles. In the lower portion, the forests have
crept well down to the water's edge. Still, it is every-where an
extremely beautiful and impressive sight. Along the bottom of the
cañon, numerous steam vents can be seen, one of which, it is said,
exhibits geyseric action. In places, the cañon walls almost shut out
the light of day from the extreme bottom. Lieutenant Doane, who made
the dangerous descent several miles below the Falls, records that "it
was about three o'clock P. M., and stars could be distinctly seen, so
much of the sunlight was cut off from entering the chasm."

The _Lower Fall_ of the Yellowstone must be placed in the front rank
of similar phenomena. It carries not one-twentieth the water of
Niagara, but Niagara is in no single part so beautiful. Its height is
310 feet. Its descent is very regular, slightly broken by a point of
rock on the right bank. A third of the fall is hidden behind the vast
cloud of spray which forever conceals the mad play of the waters
beneath; but the mighty turmoil of that recess in the rocks may be
judged from the deep-toned thunder which rises in ceaseless cadence
and jars the air for miles around.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Lower Fall of the Yellowstone--from below.]

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._

Original Sketch.[BN]

[BN] See foot-note, page 168.]

To many visitors the stream far down in the bottom of the cañon is the
crowning beauty of the whole scene. It is so distant that its rapid
course is diminished to the gentlest movement, and its continuous roar
to the subdued murmur of the pine forests. Its winding, hide-and-seek
course, its dark surface when the shadows cover it, its bright limpid
green under the play of the sunlight, its ever recurring foam-white
patches, and particularly its display of life where all around is
silent and motionless, make it a thing of entrancing beauty to all who
behold it.

It is not strange that this cañon has been a theme for writer,
painter, and photographer, from its discovery to the present time. But
at first thought it is strange that all attempts to portray its
beauties are less satisfactory than those pertaining to any other
feature of the Park. The artist Moran acknowledged that "its beautiful
tints were beyond the reach of human art;" and General Sherman said of
this artist's celebrated effort: "The painting by Moran in the Capitol
is good, but painting and words are unequal to the subject."

In photography, the number of pictures by professional and amateur
artists, that have been made of this cañon is prodigious. But
photography can only reproduce the form, it is powerless in the
presence of such an array of colors as here exists.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Lower Fall of the Yellowstone--from above.]

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Grand Cañon in Winter.

Probably from Lookout Point.]

The pen itself is scarcely more effective than the pencil or camera.
Folsom, who first wrote of the cañon, frankly owned that "language is
entirely inadequate to convey a just conception of the awful grandeur
and sublimity of this masterpiece of nature's handiwork." Time has
shown this confession to be substantially true. From the clumsy work
of the casual newspaper scribe, to the giddy flight of that eminent
clergyman, who fancied he saw in this cañon a suitable hall for the
great judgment, with the nations of the earth filing along the bottom
upon waters "congealed and transfixed with the agitations of that
day," all descriptions do injustice to their subject. They fall short
of their mark or overreach it. They are not true to nature. We shall
therefore pass them by, with one exception, and shall commend our
readers to a study of this great wonderwork from the pine-clad verge
of the Grand Cañon itself.

The exception to which reference is made relates to the Grand Cañon in
winter. It has been explained in another place why it is that the
winter scenery of the Park must ever remain a sealed book except to
those few hardy adventurers who are willing to brave the perils of
winter travel in that region. It is a pleasure, therefore, to give at
first hand what one of those intrepid spirits felt as he stood upon
Lookout Point less than two years ago, and saw the famous cañon clad
in its annual mantle of white. He says:[BO]

"I suppose thousands have stood grasping the stem of that same sturdy,
ragged tree, and have looked in silence as we did. They have seen the
cañon in summer, and I wish they might all see it also in the depth of
winter. Now the glorious colors of the walls were gone, but the peaks
and crosses and pinnacles were there, free of all color, but done in
clean, perfect white. It was "frozen music"--the diapason of nature's
mightiest and most mysterious anthem all congealed in white, visible,
palpable, authentic. No thinking man could stand there and not feel
the exalted and compelling theme go thrilling to his heart."

[BO] E. Hough, in _Forest and Stream_, June 30, 1894, p. 553.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _U. S. Geological Survey._

Granite Block, near Inspiration Point.]

Back perhaps a quarter of a mile from Inspiration Point, but within
fifty yards of the brink of the cañon, is a huge rectangular block of
granite which rests alone in the woods, a most singular and striking
object. It is evidently an intruder in unfamiliar territory, for there
is not a particle of granite outcrop known to exist within twenty
miles. It must have been transported to this place from some distant
quarry by the powerful agencies of the Glacial Epoch.

To the eastward from the Grand Cañon are several interesting hot
springs districts, and there is one notable group at the southern base
of Mount Washburn.




CHAPTER XIX.

A Tour of the Park.

_The Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone to Junction Valley._


Distance twenty-two miles.[BP] From the Grand Cañon north lies the
true scenic portion of the tourist route. Hitherto, the main
attractions have been the geyser basins, the Yellowstone Lake, and the
Grand Cañon. The tourist has probably frequently expressed his
disappointment at not finding as much rugged mountain scenery as he
had expected. But from this point on he will have no cause to
complain.

[BP] The distances given in this chapter are only approximate, the
surveys for a wagon road from the cañon to Mammoth Hot Springs, via
Mt. Washburn, not being yet completed.

_Mt. Washburn_ (12 miles) is the most celebrated peak in the Park, and
the first to receive its present name. Its prominence justifies its
notoriety, but the real cause of it is the fact that for eight years
the main tourist route lay across it. From its summit the Washburn
party received the first definite confirmation of the truth of the
rumors that led them into this region. All reports and magazine
articles which first gave a knowledge of the Park to the world were
written by persons who had crossed this mountain. As the view from its
summit is comprehensive and grand, covering almost the entire Park, it
of course figured prominently in all narratives. Tourists fell into
the custom established by the first explorers, of leaving their
cards in a receptacle for the purpose on the summit. Many eminent
names are to be seen there. It is a matter for congratulation that the
progress upon the road system will soon restore this mountain to its
former place in the tourist route.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co._    _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._

Tower Falls.]

_Tower Falls_ (20 miles) is perhaps the most graceful cataract in the
Park, and should never be passed without a visit. It is on Tower Creek
only a short distance back from the Yellowstone. Lieutenant Doane says
in his report:[BQ]

"Nothing can be more chastely beautiful than this lovely cascade,
hidden away in the dim light of overshadowing rocks and woods, its
very voice hushed to a low murmur, unheard at the distance of a few
hundred yards. Thousands might pass by within a half mile and not
dream of its existence; but once seen, it passes to the list of most
pleasant memories."

[BQ] Page 8, "Yellowstone Expedition of 1870." See Appendix E.

Near this point on both banks of the river are numerous sulphur
fumaroles, the last evidence of subterraneous fire which the tourist
will encounter on his trip. A little way above the mouth of the stream
is the old Bannock Ford, the same by which Colter crossed in 1807. It
is the only practicable ford within twenty miles in either direction.

_Junction Butte_ (22 miles) is on the right bank of the Yellowstone in
the angle between that stream and the East Fork. It stands not only
near one of the most important stream junctions in the Park, but also
near a not less important road junction. It is a very striking object.
Its summit is nearly flat, and its sides near the summit are
perpendicular. Below this is a steep slope composed of enormous masses
of finely broken stone disengaged from the cliff by the force of the
elements. It is a fitting landmark for its important situation.

[Illustration:

  _Terry Engr. Co_     _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._

First Bridge Over the Yellowstone.]

_Baronett's Bridge_ crosses the river immediately opposite Junction
Butte. It is the first and only bridge yet (1895) built across the
Yellowstone within the limits of the Park. It was built by the well
known mountaineer, J. H. Baronett, in the spring of 1871, for the
convenience of Clark's Fork miners. It was partially destroyed by the
Nez Percés in 1877, but was repaired by Howard's command, and still
further repaired the following year by Baronett and Norris. In 1880,
it was replaced by a more substantial structure. At present it enjoys
the unique distinction of being a private toll bridge on a government
reservation.

_Junction Valley_,[BR] described elsewhere, is a name properly
applicable to the valley inclosed by Crescent Hill, Mt. Washburn,
Specimen Ridge, and the mountains north of Lamar River. This valley,
and those of tributary streams, form the largest treeless tract in the
Park.

[BR] The popular name for this locality is "Yancey's," from John
Yancey, who has long held a lease in the Valley of Lost Creek at the
foot of Crescent Hill. He has kept a sort of hotel or stopping place
for the convenience of travelers to Cooke City, as well as for
tourists between the Grand Cañon and Mammoth Hot Springs by way of Mt.
Washburn.

_Amethyst Mountain_, _Specimen Ridge_, and the _Fossil Forests_ are
names at once suggestive of the action of geological agencies which
have been described in another chapter. Amethyst, limpid quartz, milky
quartz, chalcedony, carnelian, prase, chrysoprase, banded agate,
flint, jaspers of all colors, semi-opal, calcite, and many other
varieties abound. The forest petrifactions present one of the most
interesting scientific problems in the Park.

The _Lamar River Cañon_ (7 miles above Junction Butte) is a gorge
about half a mile long, the chief characteristic of which is the
enormous number and size of boulders which have fallen into it. These
are almost spherical in shape, and, in many instances, are as smooth
as if from the hand of a stone glazier. They are piled up like
billiard balls, to such a depth that the stream flows entirely out of
sight beneath them.[BS]

[BS] Above the head of this cañon are the remains of what seems to
have once been a bridge, but no record concerning it has come to the
writer's notice.

_Soda Butte_ (15 miles above Junction Butte) and _Soda Butte Cañon_,
extending from Soda Butte to Cooke City, are worthy of much attention.
The cañon in particular is as wonderful a bit of scenery as any
mountains afford. It is every-where rugged, majestic and imposing, and
there is no point in its twelve miles length that does not present a
landscape deserving of the tourist's careful study. Mr. W. H. Weed,
who has done much work in the Park, and particularly in this section,
says of this valley:

"To the eastward Soda Butte Valley penetrates the heart of the rugged
Sierra, whose high peaks rise in castellated forms. The visitor,
disappointed perhaps in the mountain scenery of the Park, after
traveling the usual route over the dusty roads of the Park plateau,
will here find mountain views that are sure to fulfill his
expectations, while the neighborhood is not lacking in curiosities
that in another land would attract visitors from far and wide."[BT]

[BT] Fossil Forests of the Yellowstone. See Appendix E.

_Cooke City_ is a small mining camp just outside the north-east corner
of the Park in the midst of the Clark's Fork mining district. It is of
interest in this connection only on account of its notorious hostility
to the Yellowstone National Park.

_Death Gulch_, reputed to exist in the valley of Cache Creek, is like
Bridger's Glass Mountain, mostly a product of the imagination. It
seems that some animals were once poisoned there, and that later,
certain explorers, finding them, attributed their death to an escape
of carbonic acid gas from the earth. The name has found its way into
maps and reports of highest authority, but the object itself has no
existence.

The _Hoodoo Region_ is near the head of Miller Creek just outside the
original reservation, although within the Forest Reserve addition.
This mysterious region furnishes probably the most striking example in
existence of the effects of erosion and wind action upon masses of
moderately soft rock. The region was discovered by miners in 1870, but
was first explored and reported upon by Colonel Norris in 1880, who
thus describes it:[BU]

"Nearly every form, animate or inanimate, real or chimerical, ever
actually seen or conjured by the imagination, may here be observed.
Language does not suffice to properly describe these peculiar
formations; sketches may probably do something, and photographs more,
to convey a conception of their remarkable character, but actual
observation is absolutely necessary to adequately impress the mind
with the wild, unearthly appearance of these eroded Hoodoos of the
Goblin Land. These monuments are from fifty to two or three hundred
feet in height, with narrow, tortuous passages between them, which
sometimes are tunnels through permanent snow or ice fields, where the
big-horn sheep hide in safety; while the ceaseless but ever changing
moans of the wild winds seem to chant fitting requiems to these
gnome-like monuments of the legendary Indian gods."

[BU] Page 8, Annual Report, Superintendent of the Park, for the year
1880.

Returning to Junction Valley, and following down the Yellowstone, the
tourist soon arrives at the _Third Cañon_ (the third above Livingston,
the Grand Cañon being fourth), which extends from the eastern limit of
Junction Valley to the north boundary of the Park. Located anywhere
else, away from the overshadowing splendor of the Grand Cañon, it
would become celebrated. Some of the views, particularly from the high
ground north of Mt. Everts, overlooking by nearly 2,000 feet the vast
chasm through which the turbulent river flows, are among the most
impressive in the entire region.

From the immediate vicinity of the Third Cañon, the road crosses the
plateau of Black Tail Deer Creek to the valley of the East Gardiner.
The tour terminates at Mammoth Hot Springs.




PART III.--The Future.




CHAPTER I.

HOSTILITY TO THE PARK.


From what has been thus far set forth the reader can not have failed
to observe how fortunate have been the events, both in prehistoric and
in recent times, which have made the Yellowstone National Park what it
is to-day. In the course of long ages Nature developed this region
into its present attractive form, and filled it with wonders which
will never fail to command the admiration of men. She placed it upon
the very apex of the continent, and made of it an inexhaustible
reservoir of water for a perennial supply to the parched and rainless
desert around it. She interspersed among its forests an abundance of
parks and valleys, where the native fauna of the continent, elsewhere
fast passing away, may find protection in all future time. With
infinite foresight she made it unfit for the gainful occupations of
men, so that every motive to appropriate it for private use is
removed.

For many years after the white man first looked within its borders, a
rare combination of circumstances prevailed to keep it from becoming
generally known until the time had arrived when the government could
effectually reserve it from settlement. Finally, since its formal
erection into a public park, the same good fortune has attended it, in
spite of many adverse influences, until it has become thoroughly
intrenched in the good opinion of the people.

So fully has the experience of the past quarter century confirmed the
wisdom of setting apart this region for public uses, that it ought no
longer to be necessary to say a word in favor of its continued
preservation. To most people it will seem impossible that there should
be any one who would seek the mutilation or destruction of this
important reservation. Unfortunately there are many such. No session
of Congress for twenty years has been free from attempted legislation
hostile to the Park. The schemes to convert it into an instrument of
private greed have been many, and strange as it may seem, they are
invariably put forward by those very communities to whom the Park is,
and must ever remain, the chief glory of their section. It is a
lamentable proof of the dearth of patriotic spirit that always betrays
itself whenever the interests of individuals and of the public come
into collision. Nevertheless it is a great satisfaction to know that
this spirit of hostility is confined to an infinitesimal portion of
the whole people. Excepting a few mine owners and their following, a
handful of poachers, one or two railroad corporations, and a few
greedy applicants for special franchises, the people of the country
are a unit in favor of the strictest preservation of this great
national pleasure ground. No better proof of this can be had than the
fact that the Park has successfully withstood for so long a period
every attack that has been made upon it.

It will not do, however, to assume that, because these schemes have
hitherto failed, they will always continue to fail. Since they have
their origin in speculative ventures, they will be put forward so long
as they offer the least pecuniary inducement. The certainty of this,
and the danger of their ultimate success, justify the assignment of a
brief space to a consideration of this subject.




CHAPTER II.

RAILROAD ENCROACHMENT AND CHANGE OF BOUNDARY.


Nearly all of the enterprises that have been put forward in opposition
to the true interests of the Reservation partake of the nature of
railroad encroachment. Without entering into the merits of particular
projects, it will be sufficient to explain in general terms the
reasons why the government has always opposed them.

Railroads in the Yellowstone Park are objectionable because:

(1.) They will mar, and in places destroy, that natural condition
which is one of its greatest charms. From the first it has been the
wish of those who know any thing of the Yellowstone that it should
remain as nature made it. The instructions of the Interior Department
to the first Superintendent of the Park, two months after the Act of
Dedication became a law, thus announced the policy of the government
upon this subject:

"It is not the desire of the Department that any attempts shall be
made to beautify or adorn this reservation, but merely to preserve
from injury or spoliation the timber, mineral deposits, and various
curiosities of that region, so far as possible, in their natural
condition."

It requires no argument to show that nothing would so interfere with
this natural condition as the construction of a railroad through that
country; and the danger involved in these projects early became
apparent to all who were well acquainted with the situation. As early
as 1883, Lieutenant Kingman thus refers to this subject in his annual
report, wherein he describes his proposed road system for the Park:

"The plan for improvement which I have submitted is given in the
earnest hope and upon the supposition that it [the Park] will be
preserved as nearly as may be as the hand of nature left it--a source
of pleasure to all who visit it, and a source of wealth to no one. If
the Park ever becomes truly popular and national, it will be when the
people come to know and appreciate its delightful summer climate, the
wonderful efficiency of its baths and its mineral waters, as well as
the natural wonders, beauties and curiosities to be seen there. Then,
if there are numerous small, quiet hotels scattered here and there
throughout the Park, where visitors can have plain and simple
accommodations at moderate prices, the overworked and the sick, as
well as the curious, will come here, not to be awed by the great falls
and astounded by the geysers, and then to go away, but will come here
and will remain for weeks and months, and will find what they seek,
rest, recreation and health. But if it ever becomes the resort of
fashion, if its forests are stripped to rear mammoth hotels, if the
race-course, the drinking saloon and gambling-table invade it, if its
valleys are scarred by railroads, and its hills pierced by tunnels, if
its purity and quiet are destroyed and broken by the noise and smoke
of the locomotive; ... then it will cease to belong to the whole
people, and will interest only those that it helps to enrich, and
will be unworthy the care and protection of the National Government."

The history of the twelve years since the above was written confirms
in every point this forcible presentation of the case.

(2.) Railroads will unavoidably seriously cripple the present tourist
routes. They must of necessity occupy the valleys. But it is through
these that the tourist route passes, and it is frequently the case
that they are not wide enough for both. In many cases the roadway
would be forced back upon the hills, and in others its present
location would have to be changed. It is certain that the admirable
system of roads, which the government is slowly working out, would
receive irreparable injury at the hands of any railroad which might be
built through that region.

(3.) Railroads would mean the inevitable destruction of the large
game. The winter snows are too deep among the hills for game to
subsist there. It is necessary to come down into the valleys, where
there is more grass and less snow. But, as already stated, it is
through these valleys that railroads must pass if at all. The trains
would frighten the animals back into the hills, where starvation would
await them. Moreover, the loss of game from poaching would be greatly
aggravated by the increased facility of clandestine access to that
region.

(4.) Railroads would destroy the Park forests. During July, August,
and September, there are always long periods of dry weather when the
dense bodies of fallen timber, the impenetrable tangles of underbrush,
and the luxuriant prairie grass are a mass of inflammable tinder. A
spark converts it into a conflagration. A railroad winding its way
through this country would render protection against fires, even now a
matter of great difficulty, wholly out of the question. Referring to
this subject in his annual report for 1894, the Superintendent of the
Park says:

"Six months from the entrance of the first locomotive within the
limits of the Park, there will not be one acre of its magnificent
forests left unburned."

What such a catastrophe would mean to the future development of the
surrounding country may be appreciated by a perusal of our chapter on
the Flora of the Yellowstone.

(5.) As a matter of public policy, the granting of a railway franchise
in the Park is objectionable because it necessarily creates a
perpetual monopoly of a public privilege. There is no practicable way
to avoid it. It has been proposed to compel the railroad to share the
advantage of this monopoly with the public, by paying a certain
percentage of earnings on its Park business to constitute an
improvement fund. With Union Pacific history fresh in the public mind,
the government will not be likely to enter into a partnership of that
precarious nature.

From the foregoing exposition, it is clear that only the most cogent
reasons should ever sanction the construction of railroads in the
Yellowstone Park. These reasons, from the standpoint of the railroad
companies, as set forth by the promoters of a recent bill before
Congress, fall under two heads.

In the first place, it is speciously urged that a railroad would
render the Park more accessible, cheapen the cost of visiting it, and
make it fulfill more perfectly its original design as a park for the
people. To all this it may be replied that the people do not want the
improvement at the price they must pay for it. By an almost unanimous
voice they oppose it. It is true that the Park is not as accessible as
one might wish it to be, or as it soon will be. But to make it easily
accessible, it is by no means necessary that a railroad should pass
through it. A line touching the southern boundary and communicating
with the central portions of the country would answer every practical
purpose. The pretext that a railroad across the Reservation will
greatly aid the tourist is erroneous. The points of interest are so
scattered about that a coach would be in any case a necessity, and all
the railroad would really save to the tourist would be the distance
from the boundary to the belt line.

Neither will such a railroad materially lessen the cost of a visit,
which has always been, and will always be, in the main, getting _to_
that region. The Reservation is 1,500 miles from the center of
population of the country, and it is this remote location that makes
visiting it cost. The outlay after getting there is trifling in
comparison with that of coming and going. Whether a railroad pass
though the Park, or simply touch its southern border, will not
appreciably affect this principal item.

In the second place, it is urged that the Park stands directly in the
path of the railroads and so "acts as a blockade to the development of
three large states." As this will always form the staple argument for
granting a right-of-way for railroads across the Reservation, it will
be well to scrutinize it somewhat carefully.

It is not at all a question of whether the country about the Park is
at present sufficiently supplied with railroads. The important
question is: Will any portion of this territory be better served by a
railroad that may be built across the Reservation than by one coming
from another direction? The most superficial examination of the map,
even by one not personally acquainted with the country, will answer
this question in the negative. The Yellowstone Valley on the north,
the Bighorn Valley on the east, the Jackson Lake country on the south,
and the Madison and Henry Fork Valleys on the west, find their natural
outlets by routes not passing through the Yellowstone Park. A railroad
entering the Park on one side through a lofty wall of mountains, and
leaving it on the other through a similar wall, after traversing the
inclosed plateau for a distance of perhaps seventy-five or one hundred
miles, would be almost as much lost to the country outside as if for
this whole distance it were built through a tunnel. In fact, the true
welfare both of the Park and of the surrounding country would be best
served by a line passing through the Wind River Valley, across one of
the easy passes into the Valley of the Snake, and thence along the
southern border of the Park, past Jackson Lake and the northern spur
of the Teton Range, into the valleys of Idaho and Montana. This would
give the Park a needed southern approach, and would directly serve a
vast tract of territory. Tributary either to this line, or to one
north of the Park, or to both, another would soon be built along the
extensive Valley of the Bighorn. No imaginable route across the
National Park could so well subserve both local and public interests.

From an engineering point of view, the Yellowstone Park is poor
railroad country. It could be crossed, to be sure, but not easily, and
not at all except by monopolizing portions of the tourist route. The
long winter season of nearly seven months would interpose an almost
insuperable obstacle to the successful operation of any line which
might be built. We quote again from the report of the Park
Superintendent for the year 1894:

"The great amount of moisture furnished by the lake and its numerous
tributaries gives a mantle of snow that will average fifteen feet in
depth, and with the strong winds prevailing in this mountainous
country no railroad could be kept running during the six months of
winter without being entirely inclosed in snow sheds, which would
prove destructive to the natural beauty of the Park."

In short, it is certain that, were it not for the special inducements
which a monopoly of Park travel offers, no railroad could afford to
locate its line across that territory.

Closely related to this general subject is that of building an
electric line for tourist transportation within the Park. It is at
once apparent that the objections to such a railroad are much less
formidable than to one operated by steam locomotives. The danger of
fire is eliminated. The unsightly character of an ordinary railway
outfit is exchanged for attractive tourist cars. The power plant,
being located in cañons and operated by water, would give no outward
evidence of its existence. There being no long trains of cars, no
smoke, no screeching of locomotives, the game would not be much more
frightened by it than by the stage coaches. In winter, traffic would
be suspended and the game would be undisturbed on the ranges. The
line, by its greater speed, would be a convenience to tourists having
but a short time at their disposal, and also to those, infirm in
health, who find the long stage rides fatiguing.

Such are the merits of an electric railway for tourist transportation
in this country. If the people really desired it, and if it could be
built and operated by the government, so as to exclude as far as
possible all corporate management of Park business, there would be no
serious objection to the project. Of course it should never be
permitted, as some times proposed, to use the present wagon roads.
These must not in any event be interfered with.

The question then is, Do the people desire this kind of
transportation? Fortunately we can answer this question with
authority. In 1892, a vote upon it was obtained from the tourists of
that season. The result was a majority of more than five to one
against it. In giving their votes, tourists frequently went beyond the
specific question at issue to express their emphatic disapproval of
the construction of any kind of railroad in the Park. The whole result
was a gratifying proof of the deep-seated interest of the people in
this Reservation, and of their unalterable wish that it remain forever
free from the handiwork of man. In fact, to almost every body in these
days, a coaching tour like that through the Yellowstone, is a decided
novelty. There is no other place in this country, probably not in the
world, where one approaching it can be had. The people enjoy it. They
would prefer to see it developed and perfected, rather than replaced
by the noisy car, to get away from which they have come so far.

In the long and fruitless struggle to secure rights-of-way for
railroads, the promoters of these projects have resorted to various
indirect methods the most noteworthy of which is a proposal to change
the boundary line of the Park. We have elsewhere explained how this
boundary was originally determined. For a random line, which of
necessity it largely was, it was a most excellent one. No one would
have been dissatisfied with it were it not that it was subsequently
found to stand in the way of certain private enterprises.

When it became apparent that the government would never consent to the
construction of a railroad within the Park, it was sought to compass
the same end by cutting off all that portion of the Reservation lying
outside of, and including, the proposed right-of-way.

In accordance with the proverbial policy of indirection which
characterizes schemes of this sort, the real purpose of this
proposition is always veiled under a beneficent guise, intended to
make its promoters appear as zealous guardians of the Park, rather
than what they really are--conspirators for its destruction. The
proposed change of boundary is ostensibly based upon the alleged
necessity of having a natural boundary--that is, a boundary along the
courses of streams. The present line, it is urged, is unmarked and no
one knows where it is. A stream is a definite, visible line, seen and
known by every one.[BV]

[BV] It is of course unnecessary to point out that an artificial line
can easily be marked so that there shall be no uncertainty about its
location. The hollowness of purpose on the part of those who propose
this argument is disclosed by the fact that, of the 280 miles, more or
less, in the proposed boundary, they provide a natural line for only
about 50 miles--or along that precise portion where they want to build
a railroad. All the rest of the way an artificial line is good
enough!

The pernicious fallacy that lurks in this argument is plainly visible
if we look a little beneath the surface. _Never permit the boundaries
of the Yellowstone Park to be brought down into the valleys._ Nature
has indeed built the proper boundaries; but they are mountain ranges,
not valleys. A thousand Chinese walls heaped together would not form a
barrier like the Absarokas on the east, the Snowy Range on the north,
the Gallatin Range on the west, and the Tetons and the Big Game Ridge
on the south. Along the present boundary line there are very few
places where it is possible to build human habitations. No poacher or
law breaker can there fix his stealthy abode ready at a favorable
opportunity to dash across it. But if it were in the bottom of the
valleys, a whole colony of these dangerous individuals would soon
infest every border of the Park. Police surveillance, in any case
extremely difficult, would then be well-nigh impossible. No! Whatever
changes may be made in the boundary of the Park, let it always be kept
among the mountain tops.

What the success of any of these projects to cut off, or segregate,
portions of the Park would mean, may be judged from a single
instance--that, namely, of the north-east corner of the Park. In this
strip of territory are some of the finest scenery and most
interesting scientific curiosities to be found upon the Reservation.
It is the great winter grazing ground for the elk, and by estimate
based upon actual count no fewer than 20,000 of these noble animals
find their winter subsistence here. That all of this game would be
almost instantly annihilated by the segregation of this strip goes
without saying. More than this, the admission to the very heart of the
Park of that class of reckless characters, who even now are its
greatest source of danger, would vastly enhance the difficulty of
protecting the remaining portions.

It is well to emphasize by repetition the few important facts
pertaining to this question:

(1.) There are no private interests on the borders of the Park whose
development is jeopardized by the refusal of the government to give
access to them by a railroad across the Reservation. They can all be
reached from the outside without encountering greater obstacles than
have been overcome in scores of other places throughout the West.

(2.) There is no need of a railroad in the Park so far as the comfort
or advantage of the tourists is concerned. A line along the southern
border would answer quite as well, and would serve the surrounding
country better.

(3.) There is no occasion to construct an electric line in the Park.
Nearly all of those who visit that region oppose it.

(4.) There is no necessity for changing the present boundaries of the
Reservation.




CHAPTER III.

CONCLUSION.


It is in respect of the foregoing matters that the Yellowstone
National Park has most to fear. The general public, although always in
favor of its preservation, knows nothing of the merit of these various
projects. A bill is introduced in Congress in the interest of some
private enterprise. It is supported by representations and statistics
gotten up for the occasion. There may be no one at hand to refute
them, and they are the only information upon which Congress can act.
More than once these bills have been reported favorably from
committee, when every essential statement in the committee's report
was contrary to fact. Unless some friend of the Park is present, ready
and willing to devote time, and perhaps money, to its defense, there
is only too much danger that these measures will eventually prove
successful.

Thus far, the Park has never been lacking in such friends; and there
is no more encouraging fact in its history than this, that some one
has always been on guard against any thing which might work to its
injury. Men like Senator Vest in official position, or William Hallett
Phillips in private life, and journals like _Forest and Stream_, have
stood for years, in a purely public-spirited manner, without
remunerative inducement of any sort, and often in face of the
bitterest vituperation and abuse, against the designs of selfish and
unscrupulous schemers. In like manner, government officials connected
with the Park have always, with one or two exceptions, earnestly
opposed these dangerous projects. It is plain to any one who is
familiar with its inside history, that, but for the agencies just
mentioned, there would not be to-day any Yellowstone Park at all. It
is equally plain, that so long as friends like these are forthcoming,
the Park has little to fear from its enemies.

In still another respect, the Park has been unfortunate where it had a
right to expect better things. Prior to the admission of Montana,
Wyoming, and Idaho into the Union of States, its interests were looked
after in Congress, particularly in the Senate, by a few members who
took great pride in promoting its welfare. But when the above
territories were admitted to the Union, these gentlemen very naturally
turned over the charge, which they had voluntarily assumed, to the
members from the new States, as being thereafter its proper guardians.
It was, of course, believed that in them, if in any one, the Park
would find needed championship and protection. It is a matter of great
regret that these very reasonable expectations have not been realized.
A glance at the list of bills pertaining to the Yellowstone National
Park, which have been presented to Congress in the past six years,
will show that nearly every objectionable measure has been fathered by
the very men whose first duty would seem to have been to oppose them.
In a speech opposing the Segregation Project, delivered in the Senate
in the winter of 1892-3, Senator Vest referred to this subject with
justifiable indignation. He said:

"When those States [Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho] were territories, and
not represented in the Senate, I considered it the duty of every
Senator, as this Park belonged to all the people of the United States,
... to defend its integrity, and to keep it for the purposes for which
it was originally designed. Since Senators have come from those
States, who, of course, must be supposed to know more about that Park
than those of us who live at a distance, and since they have
manifested a disposition to mutilate it, I must confess that my
interest in it has rather flagged, and I feel very much disposed, in
plain language, to wash my hands of the whole business. If the
constituencies, who are more benefited than any others can possibly be
in the Park, are willing to see it cut off, the best disposition of
the matter would be to turn it open to the public, let the full greed
and avarice of the country have their scope, let the geysers be
divided out and taken for the purpose of washing clothes, ... let the
water of that splendid water-fall in the Yellowstone River be used to
turn machinery, let the timber be cut off; in other words, destroy the
Park, and make it a sacrifice to the greed of this advanced age in
which we live."

It is only fair to say that generally these members do not personally
favor the measures to which they lend official countenance and
comfort. One can find a practical, if not a morally justifiable,
excuse for their course in the exigencies of political life which too
often constrain men to official action not in accordance with their
private judgment. Unquestionably, a majority of the people of these
young and enterprising states are immovably opposed to any thing which
may tend to mutilate or destroy this important reservation; and
it is not believed that their broader patriotism will ever be
overridden by the narrow and perverted wishes of a few straggling
constituencies.[BW]

[BW] The almost prophetic warning of Captain Harris in his last report
as Superintendent of the Park has a peculiar force in this connection:

"In my experience in connection with this National Park, I have been
very forcibly impressed with the danger to which it is subjected by
the greed of private enterprise. All local influence centers in
schemes whereby the Park can be used for pecuniary advantage. In the
unsurpassed grandeur of its natural condition, it is the pride and
glory of the nation; but if, under the guise of improvement, selfish
interests are permitted to make merchandise of its wonders and
beauties, it will inevitably become a by-word and a reproach."

Finally, the effect of a single evil precedent upon the future of the
Park must be kept constantly in mind. The door once opened, though by
never so small a degree, can not again be closed; but will sooner or
later be thrown wide open. A privilege granted to one can not be
denied to another. If one corner of the Park is cut off, other
portions will share the same fate. If one railroad is granted a right
of way across the reservation, another can not be refused. The only
way to avoid these dangers is to keep the door entirely closed.

There is now but little real need of further positive legislation.
Some provision should of course be made for an adequate police force,
and ample means should be provided to perfect the system of roads.
Happily this duty involves no appreciable burden. It requires no
continuing outlay to "beautify and adorn." And when it is done, the
further policy of the government toward the Park should be strictly
negative, designed solely to preserve it unimpaired, as its founders
intended, for the "benefit and enjoyment" of succeeding generations.




APPENDIX A.

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES IN THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.


I.

INTRODUCTORY.

In common experience, the importance of geographical names lies in
their use as a means of identification. To describe an object there
must be a name, and for this purpose one name is as good as another.
But if the reason be sought why a particular name happened to be
selected, it will generally be found to arise, not from this practical
necessity, but from some primary fact or tradition, or from some
distinguished character, in the annals of the community where it
occurs. In its mountains and valleys, its lakes and streams, and in
its civil divisions, the cradle history of a country may always be
found recorded.

In newly-discovered countries, the naming of geographical features is
the dearest prerogative of the explorer, as it is also the one most
liable to abuse from personal vanity or egotism. The desire to attach
his name, or those of his personal friends, to the prominent landmarks
of the globe, where the eye of posterity may never escape them, is a
weakness from which no discoverer has yet shown himself free.

In a region like the Yellowstone National Park, destined for all time
to be a resort for the lovers of science and pleasure, this temptation
was quite irresistible; so much so, that, when the expeditions of 1870
and 1871 left the field, they left little worth naming behind them.
And yet the honor thus gained has not, we venture to say, been all
that its votaries desired. Small is the number of tourists who stop to
inquire for whom Mary Lake, DeLacy Creek, or Stevenson Island was
named. Fewer still are aware that Mt. Everts was _not_ christened in
honor of a distinguished American statesman of similar name, but in
commemoration of one of the most thrilling individual experiences in
American history. So with all these personal names. The lively
satisfaction with which they were given finds no counterpart in the
languid indifference with which the modern visitor mechanically
repeats them.

In as much as it fell to the lot of the United States Geological
Survey to originate a great many of the names in our western
geography, it is interesting to know from official sources the
principles which governed in this important work. Writing upon this
point, Dr. Hayden says:[BX]

"In attaching names to the many mountain peaks, new streams, and other
geographical localities, the discovery of which falls to the pleasant
lot of the explorer in the untrodden wilds of the West, I have
followed the rigid law of priority, and given the one by which they
have been generally known among the people of the country, whether
whites or Indians; but if, as is often the case, no suitable
descriptive name can be secured from the surroundings, a personal one
may then be attached, and the names of eminent men who have identified
themselves with the great cause, either in the fields of science or
legislation, naturally rise first in the mind."

[BX] Page 8, Fifth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.

In the more recent and thorough survey of the Park by the United
States Geological Survey, it became necessary to provide names for
those subordinate features which, in a less restricted field, the
early explorers had thought unworthy of notice. Professor Arnold
Hague, upon whom this work has principally fallen, thus states the
rule which he has followed:[BY]

"In consultation with Mr. Henry Gannett, geologist in charge of
geography, it was agreed that the necessary new names to designate the
unnamed mountains, valleys, and streams should be mainly selected from
the beasts, birds, fishes, trees, flowers, and minerals found within
the Park or the adjacent country."

[BY] Page 152, Part I, Annual Report United States Geological Survey
for year ending June 30, 1887.

The christening of the hot springs and geysers of the Park has been
singularly fortunate. The names are in all cases characteristic. They
are not studied efforts, but are simply the spontaneous utterances
from first impressions by those who had never seen, and had heard but
little of, similar phenomena. It is doubtful if the most careful study
could improve them, and tourists will agree with General Poe who
referred as follows to this subject when he visited the Park in
1877:[BZ]

"The region of these geysers has been rightly named Fire Hole, and one
almost wonders that in this country, where the tendency is to name
natural objects after men who have a temporary prominence, this
interesting place and its assemblage of wonders should have so
completely escaped, and in general and in particular received names so
very appropriate."

[BZ] Page 79, "Inspection made in the Summer of 1877, etc." See
Appendix E.

In the race for the geographical honors of the Park, the prize fell
neither to the United States Geological Survey nor even to Colonel
Norris, though each was a close competitor. It was won by that
mythical potentate of whose sulphurous empire this region is thought
by some to be simply an outlying province. Starting with "Colter's
Hell," the list grew until it contained "Hell Roaring Creek," "Hell
Broth Springs," "Hell's Half Acre," "Satan's Arbor," and the Devil's
"Den," "Workshop," "Kitchen," "Stairway," "Slide," "Caldron," "Punch
Bowl," "Frying Pan," "Well," "Elbow," "Thumb," "Inkstand," etc., etc.
It is some satisfaction to know that this rude and fiery nomenclature
is gradually falling into disuse.

In a measure from sympathy with the purpose of the early name-givers,
and to help those who take an interest in such matters to know when,
by whom, and why the geographical names of the Park were given, a
complete list of these names, with a few from adjacent territory, has
been prepared. The letters and numbers immediately after the names
(except those in parentheses) give marginal references on the map to
facilitate identification. The date of christening and the name of the
christening party next follow. When these can not now be determined
with precision, the work is credited to the authors of the map upon
which they first appear. Next comes whatever account is discoverable
of the origin of the names, authority being quoted, as far as
possible, from the writings of whoever bestowed them. Wherever an
object was named from some natural characteristic, as its form, color,
composition, or other peculiarity, or from the birds, beasts, fishes,
insects, trees, flowers, shrubs or minerals of the Park, the single
word "characteristic" denotes the fact. The abbreviation "U. S. G. S."
is for "United States Geological Survey."


APPENDIX A.

II.

MOUNTAIN RANGES, PEAKS, BUTTES, RIDGES, HILLS.

     [The numbers in parentheses denote elevations. These are taken from
     the latest map by the United States Geological Survey, and are the
     same as that of the one hundred foot contour nearest the summit.
     The true elevation of the ultimate peak is in each case slightly
     greater, lying somewhere between the figure given and an altitude
     one hundred feet higher.]

_Abiathar Peak_ (10,800)--C: 14--1885--U. S. G. S.--For Charles
_Abiathar_ White, Paleontologist, U. S. Geological Survey.

_Absaroka Range_, A-X: 12-16--1885--U. S. G. S.--This range of
mountains has had an unfortunate christening history. It was first
known as the Yellowstone Range, from its close relation to the
Yellowstone River, of which it is the source. The original name dates
from as far back as 1863, and was adopted by the first explorers of
the Park country. It was officially recognized in 1871, by both the
Corps of Engineers and the United States Geological Survey. When the
Park was created this range became its real eastern boundary, and many
of its peaks were named for those who had borne prominent parts in its
history. The name had thus an added claim to perpetuity. It passed
into general use, and appears in all the writings of the United States
Geological Survey down to 1883.

In 1873, Captain W. A. Jones, of the Corps of Engineers, led an
expedition through these mountains--the first that ever crossed them.
He gave them a new name, "Sierra Shoshone." Except for the fact that
he was violating the rule of priority, his action in giving this
name, as well as his judgment in its selection, were of unquestionable
propriety. It was a tribe of the Shoshonean family who alone dwelt in
the Park, or among these mountains, and it was entirely fitting to
commemorate this fact in a distinct and permanent manner. The name
passed rapidly into public use, and by 1880 had practically supplanted
the original name.

For reasons that can hardly be made to appear satisfactory, the United
States Geological Survey, in 1883, or soon after, rejected both these
names and adopted in their place Absaroka, "the Indian name of the
Crow nation" (Hague). Of course this action can have no pretense of
justification from the standpoint of the "rigid law of priority."
There are very few instances in American geography of a similar
disregard for the rights of previous explorers. Unfortunately, not
even the argument of appropriateness can be urged in its defense.
These mountains, except that portion north of the Park, were never
properly Crow territory, and the name is thus distinctly an
importation. Its future use is now unhappily assured, on account of
its formal adoption (for reasons wholly inadequate, it is true,) by
the United States Board on Geographical Names. Against the influence
of the government, with its extensive series of publications, even
though committed to the perpetuation of an error, it is idle to
contend; but it is greatly to be deplored that a feature of the Park
scenery of such commanding prominence should not bear a name at least
remotely suggestive of some natural or historical association.

_Amethyst Mountain_ (9,423)--F: 11--1872--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Antler Peak_ (10,200)--E: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Atkins Peak_ (10,900)--N: 14--1885--U. S. G. S.--For John D. C.
Atkins, Indian Commissioner, 1885-1888.

_Avalanche Peak_ (10,500)--L: 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Bannock Peak_ (10,400)--D: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--From the name of a
tribe of Indians who inhabited the country to the south-west of the
Park, and were finally settled on a reservation in southern Idaho.
What is known as the Great Bannock Trail, passed along the valley of
Indian Creek, some distance south of this mountain. The spelling here
given is that which custom seems finally to have settled upon; but
Bannack would more nearly express the original pronunciation. The
various spellings, some sixteen in number, come from the original
_Panai'hti_, or _Bannai'hti_, meaning southern people.

_Barlow Peak_ (9,500)--Q: 10--1895--U. S. G. S.--For Captain (now
Colonel) J. W. Barlow, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., leader of the
military expedition which entered the Park region in 1871. His name
was first applied to the upper course of the Snake River, but was
recently transferred to a neighboring mountain peak.

[Illustration: COLONEL J. W. BARLOW.]

_Baronett Peak_ (10,300)--C: 13--1878--U. S. G. S.--For C. J.
Baronett, "Yellowstone Jack," a famous scout and guide, closely
connected with the history of the National Park, and builder of the
first bridge across the Yellowstone River.

Baronett's career was adventurous beyond the average man of his class.
He was born in Glencoe, Scotland, in 1829. His father was in the
British naval service, and he early began to follow the sea. In his
multitudinous wanderings we find him on the coast of Mexico during the
Mexican War; on the Chinese coast in 1850, where he deserted his ship
and fled to San Francisco; in 1852, in Australia after gold; the next
year in Africa, still on a gold hunt; then in Australia again and in
San Francisco; next in the Arctic seas as second mate on a whaling
vessel; back in California in 1855; courier for Albert Sidney Johnston
in the Mormon War; later in Colorado and California searching for
gold; scout in the Confederate service until 1863; then in Mexico with
the French under Maximilian, who made him a captain; back in
California in 1864, and in Montana in September of the same year,
where he at once set out on a prospecting trip which took him entirely
through the region of the Yellowstone Park; later in the service of
Gen. Custer as scout in the Indian territory; then in Mexico and
finally back in Montana in 1870; finder of the lost Everts; builder of
his celebrated bridge in 1871; in the Black Hills in 1875, where he
slew a local editor who had unjustly reflected upon him in his paper;
scout in the Sioux, Nez Percé, and Bannock Wars, 1876-8; Indian trader
for many years; engaged in innumerable prospecting ventures; and
still, at the age of sixty-six, searching with his old time ardor for
the elusive yellow metal.

[Illustration: C. J. BARONETT.]

_Big Game Ridge_--Q-T: 9-11--1895--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Birch Mils_ (7,300)--R: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Bison Peak_ (8,800)--D: 12--1878--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Bobcat Ridge_ (9,500)--T: 9--1895--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Bunsen Peak_ (9,100)--D: 6--1872--U. S. G. S.--For the eminent
chemist and physicist, Robert Wilhelm Bunsen; inventor of the Bunsen
electric cell and of the Bunsen Gas Burner; co-discoverer with
Kirchoff of the principle of Spectrum Analysis; and the first thorough
investigator of the phenomena of geyser action. (See Chapter III, Part
II.)

_Cathedral Peak_ (10,600)--J: 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Chittenden, Mt._ (10,100)--K: 12--1878--U. S. G. S.--"Of the
prominent peaks of this [the Absaroka] range may be mentioned Mount
Chittenden, named for Mr. George B. Chittenden, whose name has long
been identified with this survey."--Gannett.[CA]

[CA] Page 482, Twelfth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.

_Cinnabar Mountain_ (7,000)--A: 5--Named prior to 1870.--"So named
from the color of its rocks, which have been mistaken for Cinnabar,
although the red color is due to iron."--Hayden. The Devil's Slide
(also named before 1870) is on this mountain.

_Colter Peak_ (10,500)--O: 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--For John Colter.
(See Part I, Chapter III.)

_Crags, The_ (9,000)--E: 3--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Crescent Hill_ (7,900)--D: 9--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Crow Foot Ridge_ (9,700)--D-E: 3--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Doane, Mt._ (10,500)--M: 13--1870--Washburn Party--For Lieutenant
Gustavus C. Doane, 2d Cavalry, U. S. Army, commander of the military
escort to the celebrated Wasburn Expedition of 1870.

Lieutenant Doane was born in Illinois, May 29, 1840, and died in
Bozeman, Mont., May 5, 1892. At the age of five he went with his
parents, in wake of an ox team, to Oregon. In 1849 his family went to
California at the outbreak of the gold excitement. He remained there
ten years, in the meanwhile working his way through school. In 1862 he
entered the Union service, went east with the California Hundred, and
then joined a Massachusetts cavalry regiment. He was mustered out in
1865 as a First Lieutenant. He joined the Carpet-baggers and is said
to have become mayor of Yazoo City, Mississippi. He was appointed a
Second Lieutenant in the Regular Army in 1868, and continued in the
service until his death, attaining the rank of Captain.

[Illustration: CAPTAIN GUSTAVUS C. DOANE.]

Doane's whole career was actuated by a love of adventure. He had at
various times planned a voyage to the Polar regions, or an expedition
of discovery into Africa. But fate assigned him a middle ground, and
he became prominently connected with the discovery of the Upper
Yellowstone country. His part in the Expedition of 1870 is second to
none. He made the first official report upon the wonders of the
Yellowstone, and his fine descriptions have never been surpassed by
any subsequent writer. Although suffering intense physical torture
during the greater portion of the trip, it did not extinguish in him
the truly poetic ardor with which those strange phenomena seem to have
inspired him. Dr. Hayden says of this report: "I venture to state, as
my opinion, that for graphic description and thrilling interest it
has not been surpassed by any official report made to our government
since the times of Lewis and Clark."[CB]

[CB] Page 8, Fifth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.

Lieutenant Doane and Mr. Langford were the first white men known to
have ascended any of the higher peaks of the Absaroka Range. From the
summit of the mountain so ascended, Mr. Langford made the first known
authentic sketch of Yellowstone Lake. This sketch was used soon after
by General Washburn in compiling an official map of that section of
country, and he was so much pleased with it that he named the mountain
from which it was taken, Mt. Langford. At Mr. Langford's request, he
named a neighboring peak, Mt. Doane.

_Dome, The_ (9,900)--E: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Druid Peak_ (9,600)--D: 12--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Dunraven Peak_ (9,700)--F: 9--1878--U. S. G. S.--"This I have named
Dunraven Peak in honor of the Earl of Dunraven, whose travels and
writings have done so much toward making this region known to our
cousins across the water."--Gannett.[CC]

[CC] Page 478, Twelfth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.

Dunraven visited the Park in 1874. In 1876, he published his "Great
Divide," describing his travels in the West. The irrepressible Colonel
Norris named this peak after himself, and coupled it with Mt. Washburn
in a characteristic poem. But the United States Geological Survey
decided otherwise, and transferred the colonel's name to the
north-east corner of the Park. (See "Mt. Norris.")

_Eagle Peak_ (10,800)--O: 14--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Echo Peak_ (9,600)--E: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Electric Peak_ (11,155)--B: 4-5--1872--U. S. G. S.--From the
following circumstance, described by Mr. Henry Gannett, who ascended
the mountain with surveying instruments, July 26, 1872:[CD]

"A thunder-shower was approaching as we neared the summit of the
mountain. I was above the others of the party, and, when about fifty
feet below the summit, the electric current began to pass through my
body. At first I felt nothing, but heard a crackling noise, similar to
a rapid discharge of sparks from a friction machine. Immediately
after, I began to feel a tingling or pricking sensation in my head and
the ends of my fingers, which, as well as the noise, increased
rapidly, until, when I reached the top, the noise, which had not
changed its character, was deafening, and my hair stood completely on
end, while the tingling, pricking sensation was absolutely painful.
Taking off my hat partially relieved it. I started down again, and met
the others twenty-five or thirty feet below the summit. They were
affected similarly, but in a less degree. One of them attempted to go
to the top, but had proceeded but a few feet when he received quite a
severe shock, which felled him as if he had stumbled. We then returned
down the mountain about three hundred feet, and to this point we still
heard and felt the electricity."

[CD] Page 807, Sixth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.

_Elephant Back_ (8,600)--J: 9--1871--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic. "On
account of the almost vertical sides of this mountain, and the rounded
form of the summit, it has received the name of the Elephant's
Back."--Hayden.[CE]

[CE] Page 98, Fifth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.

This name, as now applied, refers to a different feature from that
originally designated by it. Many years before the Park was
discovered, it was used to denote the long ridge of which Mt. Washburn
is the commanding summit, and which was distinctly visible from beyond
the present limits of the Park, both north and south. It so appears
upon Raynolds' map of 1860, and was so used by the Washburn
Expedition (1870), by Captain Barlow (1871), and by Captain Jones
(1873). The United States Geological Survey, however, in 1871,
transferred the name to an inconspicuous ridge more than a thousand
feet lower than the surrounding mountains. Whether the change was made
by accident or design does not appear. Captain Ludlow, as late as
1875, refers to it and deplores the fact that it had taken place.

_Everts, Mt._ (7,900)--C: 7--1870--Washburn Party.--For Hon. Truman C.
Everts, member of the Expedition of 1870, whose terrible experience is
elsewhere alluded to. The following succinct account is from the pen
of Lieutenant Doane, and is in the main correct:[CF]

"On the first day of his absence, he had left his horse standing
unfastened, with all his arms and equipments strapped upon his saddle;
the animal became frightened, ran away into the woods, and he was left
without even a pocket knife as a means of defense. Being very
near-sighted, and totally unused to traveling in a wild country
without guides, he became completely bewildered. He wandered down to
the Snake River Lake [Hart Lake], where he remained twelve days,
sleeping near the hot springs to keep from freezing at night, and
climbing to the summits each day in the endeavor to trace out his
proper course. Here he subsisted on thistle-roots, boiled in the
springs, and was kept up a tree the greater part of one night by a
California lion. After gathering and cooking a supply of
thistle-roots, he managed to strike the south-west point of the
[Yellowstone] Lake, and followed around the north side to the
Yellowstone [River], finally reaching our [old] camp opposite the
Grand Cañon. He was twelve days out before he thought to kindle a fire
by using the lenses of his field-glass, but afterward carried a
burning brand with him in all his wanderings. Herds of game passed by
him during the night, on many occasions when he was on the verge of
starvation. In addition to a tolerable supply of thistle-roots, he had
nothing for over thirty days but a handful of minnows and a couple of
snow-birds. Twice he went five days without food, and three days
without water, in that country which is a net-work of streams and
springs. He was found on the verge of the great plateau, above the
mouth of Gardiner's River. A heavy snow-storm had extinguished his
fire; his supply of thistle-roots was exhausted; he was partially
deranged, and perishing with cold. A large lion was killed near him,
on the trail, which he said had followed him at a short distance for
several days previously. It was a miraculous escape, considering the
utter helplessness of the man, lost in a forest wilderness, and with
the storms of winter at hand."

[CF] Page 37, "Yellowstone Expedition of 1870." See Appendix E.

On the thirty-seventh day of his wanderings (September 9th to October
16th), he was discovered by Jack Baronett and George A. Pritchett,
near the great trail on a high mountain a few miles west of Yancey's.
Baronett threw up a mound of stones to mark the spot. He carried
Everts in his arms the rest of that day, and passed the night on a
small tributary of Black-tail Deer Creek. The next day he was taken on
a saddle to near the mouth of the Gardiner.

The commemoration of this adventure in the naming of Mt. Everts was an
awkward mischance. The mountain which should bear the name is Mt.
Sheridan. It was named for Everts by the Washburn Party the night
before he was lost, in recognition of his having been the first white
man (except Mr. Hedges, who was with him) known to have visited its
summit. In the writings of the Washburn Party after their return, it
is so used; one very interesting article, by Mr. Hedges, with this
name as a title, being published in the _Helena Herald_ before it was
known that Mr. Everts had been found. But the name, Mt. Everts, was
finally given to the broad plateau between the Gardiner and the
Yellowstone, a feature which is not a mountain at all, and which is
ten miles from where Everts was found. The actual locality of the
finding was erroneously supposed to be near "Rescue Creek."

In 1871, Captain Barlow ascended the mountain which should have borne
the name of Everts, and called it Mt. Sheridan, in ignorance of its
former christening.

_Factory Hill_ (9,500)--O: 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--The term "factory"
has at various times been applied to several different localities in
the Park, because of their striking resemblance on frosty mornings to
an active factory town. The resemblance was noted as far back as 1829.
The name has now become fixed, as above indicated.

_Flat Mountain_ (9,000)--N: 9--1871--U. S. G.
S.--Characteristic.--This mountain had already been named by the
Washburn Party Yellow Mountain, from its color.

_Folsom Peak_ (9,300)--E: 8--1895--U. S. G. S.--For David E. Folsom,
leader of the Expedition of 1869, and author of the first general
description of the valley of the Upper Yellowstone.

[Illustration: DAVID E. FOLSOM.]

_Forellen Peak_ (9,700)--T: 5--1885--U. S. G. S.--From the German name
for Trout.

_Gallatin Range_--A-F: 1-4--Name in use prior to 1870. Raynolds has
"Mt. Gallatin" on his map. Gallatin River (see name) rises in this
range.

_Garnet Hill_ (7,000)--C: 9--1878--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Giant Castle_ (10,000)--K: 14-15--1873--Jones--Characteristic.

_Gibbon Hill_ (8,600)--H: 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--From the Gibbon River.

_Gravel Peak_ (9,600)--T: 11--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Gray Peak_ (10,300)--C-D: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Grizzly Peak_ (9,700)--L: 12--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Hancock, Mt._ (10,100)--R: 10--1871--Barlow--For General W. S.
Hancock, U. S. Army, who, as commanding officer of the Department of
Dakota, had lent his active aid in the prosecution of the Yellowstone
Explorations.

_Hawk's Rest_ (9,800)--R: 14--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Hedges Peak_ (9,500)--G: 9--1895--U. S. G. S.--For Cornelius Hedges,
a prominent member of the Washburn Expedition, author of a series of
descriptive articles upon the trip, and first to advance and publicly
advocate the idea of setting apart that region as a National Park.

_Holmes, Mt._ (10,300)--F: 4--1878--U. S. G. S.--For W. H. Holmes,
Geologist, U. S. Geological Survey. This peak had been previously
called Mt. Madison.

_Horseshoe Hill_ (8,200)--E: 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Hoyt, Mt._ (10,400)--L: 13--1881--Norris--For the Hon. John W. Hoyt,
then Governor of Wyoming.

_Huckleberry Mountain_ (9,700)--S: 7--1885--U. S. G.
S.--Characteristic.

_Humphreys, Mt._ (11,000)--N: 14--1871--Barlow--For General A. A.
Humphreys, then Chief of Engineers, U. S. A.

_Index Peak_ (11,740)--C: 16--This mountain, and Pilot Knob near it,
received their names from unknown sources prior to 1870.

"One of them [the peaks] derives its name from its shape, like a
closed hand with the index-finger extending upward, while the other is
visible from so great a distance on every side that it forms an
excellent landmark for the wandering miner, and thus its appropriate
name of Pilot Knob."--Hayden.[CG]

[CG] Page 48, Sixth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.

_Joseph Peak_ (10,300)--C: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--For Chief Joseph, the
famous Nez Percé leader in the war of 1877. He deservedly ranks among
the most noted of the North American Indians. His remarkable conduct
of the campaign of 1877 and his uniform abstinence from those
barbarous practices which have always characterized Indian warfare,
were a marvel to all who were familiar with the facts. No Indian chief
ever commanded to such a degree the respect and even friendship of his
enemies.

_Junction Butte_ (6,500)--D: 10--When or by whom given not known. The
name arose, of course, from the fact that this butte stands at the
junction of the two important streams, the Yellowstone and Lamar
Rivers. Barlow records that the Butte was known as "Square Butte" at
the time of his visit in 1871.

_Lake Butte_ (8,600)--K: 11--1878--Characteristic.

_Landmark, The_ (8,800)--F: 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Langford, Mt._ (10,600)--M: 13--1870--Washburn Party--For the Hon.
Nathaniel Pitt Langford, first Superintendent of the Yellowstone
National Park.

Mr. Langford was born August 9, 1832, in Westmoreland, Oneida County,
New York. His early life was spent on his father's farm, and his
education was obtained by winter attendance at district school. At
nineteen, he became clerk in the Oneida Bank of Utica. In 1854, he
went to St. Paul, where we find him, in 1855, cashier of the banking
house of Marshall & Co., and in 1858, cashier of the Bank of the
State of Minnesota. In 1862, he went to Montana as second in command
of the Northern Overland Expedition, consisting of 130 men and 53
wagons drawn by oxen. In 1864, he was made Collector of Internal
Revenue for the new territory. In 1868, he was appointed by President
Johnson Governor of Montana, but as this was after the Senate's
imbroglio with the President and its refusal to confirm any more
presidential appointments, he did not reach this office. He was one of
the famous Montana Vigilantes, a member of the Yellowstone Expedition
of 1870, and first Superintendent of the newly created Park. In 1872,
he was appointed National Bank Examiner for the Pacific States and
Territories, and held the office for thirteen years. He now resides in
St. Paul, Minnesota. He is author of a series of articles in
_Scribner's_ for 1871, describing the newly-discovered wonders of the
Yellowstone, and of the important work, "Vigilante Days and Ways," the
most complete history in existence of that critical period in Montana
history.

[Illustration: NATHANIEL PITT LANGFORD.]

The notable part which Mr. Langford bore in the discovery of the Upper
Yellowstone country, and in the creation of the Yellowstone National
Park, has been fully set forth elsewhere. He has always been its
ardent friend, and his enthusiasm upon the subject in the earlier days
of its history drew upon him the mild raillery of his friends, who
were wont to call him, "National Park" Langford--a soubriquet to
which the initials of his real name readily lent themselves.

For the circumstance of naming Mt. Langford, see "Mt. Doane."

_Mary Mountain_ (8,500)--J: 7--Probably so named by tourists from Mary
Lake, which rests on the summit.

_Moran, Mt._ (12,800)--W: 5--1872--U. S. G. S.--For the artist, Thomas
Moran, who produced the picture of the Grand Cañon now in the Capitol
at Washington.

_Needles, The_ (9,600)--E: 14--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Norris, Mt._ (9,900)--E: 13--1878--U. S. G. S.--For Philetus W.
Norris, second Superintendent of the Park, and the most conspicuous
figure in its history.

[Illustration: PHILETUS W. NORRIS.]

He was born at Palmyra, New York, August 17, 1821. At the age of
eight, he was tourist guide at Portage Falls on the Genesee River, New
York, and at seventeen he was in Manitoba in the service of British
fur traders. In 1842, he settled in Williams County, Ohio, where he
founded the village of Pioneer. Between 1850 and 1860 he visited the
Far West. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he entered the army and
served a short time as spy and captain of scouts. He was then placed
in charge of Rebel prisoners on Johnson's Island. He next entered
politics as member of the Ohio House of Representatives, but being
later defeated for the State Senate, he joined the United States
Sanitary Commission and went again to the front. He soon returned and
became trustee of certain landed property near the City of Detroit
belonging to officers and soldiers of both armies. These lands he
reclaimed at great expense from their original swampy condition, and
built thereon the village of Norris, now part of Detroit. In 1770, he
went west again and undertook to enter the Park region in June of that
year, but permitted the swollen condition of the streams to defeat his
project. He thus missed the honor which a few months later fell to the
Washburn Party--a misfortune which he never ceased to deplore. In
1875, he again visited the Park, and in 1877, became its second
Superintendent. In 1882, he returned to Detroit, after which he was
employed by the government to explore old Indian mounds, forts,
villages, and tombs, and to collect relics for the National Museum. He
died at Rocky Hill, Kentucky, January 14, 1885. He is author of the
following works: Five Annual Reports as Superintendent of the Park;
"The Calumet of the Coteau," a volume of verse, with much additional
matter relating to the Park; and a long series of articles on "The
Great West," published in the _Norris Suburban_ in 1876-8.

The above sketch sufficiently discloses the salient characteristic of
Norris' career. His life was that of the pioneer, and was spent in
dealing first blows in the subjugation of a primeval wilderness. He
was "blazing trails," literally and figuratively, all his days,
leaving to others the building of the finished highway. It is
therefore not surprising that his work lacks the element of
completeness, which comes only from patient attention to details.
Nowhere is this defect more apparent than in his writings. A distinct
literary talent, and something of the poet's inspiration, were, to use
his own words, "well nigh strangled" by the "stern realities of border
life." His prose abounds in aggregations of more than one hundred
words between periods, so ill arranged and barbarously punctuated as
utterly to bewilder the reader. His verse--we have searched in vain
for a single quatrain that would justify reproduction. Nevertheless,
his writings, like his works, were always to some good purpose. They
contained much useful information, and, being widely read throughout
the West, had a large and beneficial influence.

Perhaps no better or more generous estimate of his character can be
found than in the following words of Mr. Langford who knew him well:
"He was a good man, a true man, faithful to his friends, of very kind
heart, grateful for kindnesses, of more than ordinary personal
courage, rather vain of his poetical genius, and fond of perpetuating
his name in prominent features of scenery."

Concerning which last characteristic it may be noted that three
mountain peaks, one geyser basin, one pass, and an uncertain number of
other features of the Park, were thought by Colonel Norris deserving
of this distinction. With inimitable fidelity to this trait of his
character, he had even selected as his final resting-place the
beautiful open glade on the south side of the Grand Cañon, just below
the Lower Falls.

_Observation Peak_ (9,300)--G: 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Obsidian Cliff_ (7,800)--F: 6--1878--Norris--Characteristic.

_Paint Pot Hill_ (7,900)--H: 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Pelican Cone_ (9,580)--I: 12--1885--U. S. G. S.--Near source of
Pelican Creek.

_Pilot Knob_ (11,977)--C: 16--See "Index Peak."

_Piñon Peak_ (9,600)--S: 10--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Prospect Peak_ (9,300)--D-E: 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Pyramid Peak_ (10,300)--J: 14--1895--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Quadrant Mountain_ (10,200)--D: 4--1878--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Red Mountain Range_--P: 7-8--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Reservation Peak_ (10,600)--M: 14--1895--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Roaring Mountain_ (8,000)--F: 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--"It takes its
name from the shrill, penetrating sound of the steam constantly
escaping from one or more vents near the summit."--Hague.

_Saddle Mountain_ (11,100)--H: 15--1880--Norris--Characteristic.

_Schurz Mt._ (10,900)--N: 14--1885--U. S. G. S.--For Carl Schurz,
Secretary of the Interior during President Hayes' administration. This
name was first given by Colonel Norris to the prominent ridge on the
west side of the Gibbon Cañon.

_Sepulcher Mountain_ (9,500)--B-C: 5-6--The origin of this name is
unknown. The following remarks concerning it are from the pen of Prof.
Wm. H. Holmes:[CH]

"Why this mountain received such a melancholy appellation I have not
been able to discover. So far as I know, the most important thing
buried beneath its dark mass is the secret of its structure. It is
possible that the form suggested the name."

[CH] Page 15, Twelfth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.

_Sheepeater Cliffs_ (7,500)--D: 7--1879--Norris--From the name of a
tribe of Indians, the only known aboriginal occupants of what is now
the Yellowstone Park. (See Chapter II, Part II.) It was upon one of
the "ancient and but recently deserted, secluded, unknown haunts" of
these Indians, that Colonel Norris, "in rapt astonishment," stumbled
one day, and was so impressed by what he saw, that he gave the
neighboring cliff its present name. He thus describes this
retreat:[CI]

"It is mainly carpeted with soft grass, dotted, fringed, and overhung
with small pines, firs and cedars, and, with the subdued and mingled
murmur of the rapids and cataracts above and below it, and the
laughing ripple of the gliding stream, is truly an enchanting dell--a
wind and storm sheltered refuge for the feeble remnant of a fading
race."

[CI] Page 10, Annual Report Superintendent of the Park for 1879.

_Sheridan Mt._ (10,250)--P: 8--1871--Barlow--For Gen. P. H. Sheridan,
who actively forwarded all the early exploring expeditions in this
region, and, at a later day, twice visited the Park. His public
warnings at this time of the danger to which the Park was exposed from
vandals, poachers, and railroad promoters, and his vigorous appeal for
its protection, had great influence in bringing about a more efficient
and enlightened policy in regard to that reservation. (See "Mt.
Everts.")

_Signal Hills_ (9,500)--M: 12--1871--U. S. G. S.--A ridge extending
back from Signal Point on the Yellowstone Lake.

_Silver Tip Peak_ (10,400)--K: 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Specimen Ridge_ (8,700)--E: 11--Name known prior to
1870.--Characteristic. (See Chapter V, Part II.)

_Stevenson, Mt._ (10,300)--M: 13--1871--U. S. G. S.--For James
Stevenson, long prominently connected with the U. S. Geological
Survey.

"In honor of his great services not only during the past season, but
for over twelve years of unremitting toil as my assistant, oftentimes
without pecuniary reward, and with but little of the scientific
recognition that usually comes to the original explorer, I have
desired that one of the principal islands of the lake and one of the
noble peaks reflected in its clear waters should bear his name
forever."--Hayden.[CJ]

[CJ] Page 5, Fifth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.

Mr. Stevenson was born in Maysville, Ky., December 24, 1840. He early
displayed a taste for exploration and natural history, and such
reading as his limited education permitted was devoted to books
treating of these subjects. At the age of thirteen he ran away from
home and joined a party of Hudson's Bay Fur Company's traders, bound
up the Missouri River. On the same boat was Dr. F. V. Hayden, then on
his way to explore the fossiliferous region of the Upper Missouri and
Yellowstone Rivers. Noticing Stevenson's taste for natural history he
invited him to join him in his work. Stevenson accepted; and thus
began a relation which lasted for more than a quarter of a century,
and which gave direction to the rest of his life.

[Illustration: JAMES STEVENSON.]

He was engaged in several explorations between 1850 and 1860,
connected with the Pacific railroad surveys, and with others under
Lieutenants G. K. Warren and W. F. Raynolds. In 1861 he entered the
Union service as a private soldier, and left it in 1865 with an
officer's commission. After the war he resumed his connection with Dr.
Hayden. He was mainly instrumental in the organization of the United
States Geological Survey of the Territories in 1867, and during the
next twelve years he was constantly engaged in promoting its welfare.
When the consolidation of the various geographical and geological
surveys took place in 1879, under the name of the United States
Geological Survey, he became associated with the United States Bureau
of Ethnology. He had always shown a taste for ethnological
investigations and his scientific work during the rest of his life was
in this direction, principally among the races of New Mexico and
Arizona. He died in New York City July 25, 1888.

In the paragraph quoted above from Dr. Hayden there is more than any
but the few who are familiar with the early history of the geological
surveys will understand. It rarely happens that a master is so far
indebted to a servant for his success, as was true of the relation of
Dr. Hayden and James Stevenson. Stevenson's great talent lay in the
organization and management of men. His administrative ability in the
field was invaluable to the Survey of which Hayden was chief, and his
extraordinary influence with Congressmen was a vital element in its
early growth. His part in the Yellowstone Explorations of 1871 and
1872 is second to none in importance. It will not be forgotten that he
was the first to build and launch a boat upon the Yellowstone Lake,
nor that he, and Mr. Langford who was with him, were the first white
men to reach the summit of the Grand Teton.

_Storm Peak_ (9,500)--E: 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Survey Peak_ (9,200)--T: 4--1885--U. S. G. S. This mountain was a
prominent signaling point for the Indians. It was first named Monument
Peak by Richard Leigh who built a stone mound on its summit.

_Table Mountain_ (10,800)--O: 14--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Terrace Mountain_ (8,100)--C: 6--1878--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Teton, Grand_ (13,691)--Not on Map.--This mountain has borne its
present name for upward of four score years. Through more than half a
century it was a cynosure to the wandering trapper, miner and
explorer. The name has passed into all the literature of that period,
which will ever remain one of the most fascinating in our western
history. Indeed, it has become the classic designation of the most
interesting historic summit of the Rocky Mountains. That it should
always retain this designation in memory of the nameless pioneers who
have been guided by it across the wilderness, and thousands of whom
have perished beneath its shadow, would seem to be a self-evident
proposition. Individual merit, no matter how great, can never justify
the usurpation of its place by any personal name whatever. An attempt
to do this was made in 1872 by the United States Geological Survey who
rechristened it Mt. Hayden. The new name has never gained any local
standing, and although it has crept into many maps its continued use
ought to be discouraged. It is greatly to the credit of Dr. Hayden
that he personally disapproved the change, so far at least, as very
rarely, if ever, to refer to the mountain by its new name.

_Three Rivers Peak_ (9,900)--E: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--Branches of the
Madison, Gallatin and Gardiner Rivers take their rise from its slopes.

_Thunderer, The_ (10,400)--D: 14--1885--U. S. G. S.--Seemingly a great
focus for thunder storms.

_Top Notch Peak_ (10,000)--L: 13--1895--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Trident, The_ (10,000)--Q-R: 14--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Trilobite Point_ (9,900)--F: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Turret Mountain_ (10,400)--P: 14--1878--Characteristic.--Called by
Captain Jones "Round-head or Watch Tower."

_Twin Buttes_ (8,400)--K: 14--1870--Washburn Party.--Characteristic.

_Washburn, Mt._ (10,000)--F: 9--1870--Washburn Party.--For General
Henry Dana Washburn, chief of the Yellowstone Expedition of 1870.

General Washburn was born in Windsor, Vt., March 28, 1832. His parents
moved to Ohio during his infancy. He received a common school
education and at fourteen began teaching school. He entered Oberlin
College, but did not complete his course. At eighteen he went to
Indiana where he resumed school-teaching. At twenty-one he entered the
New York State and National Law School, from which he graduated. At
twenty-three he was elected auditor of Vermilion county, Indiana.

His war record was a highly honorable one. He entered the army as
private in 1861 and left it as brevet brigadier-general in 1865. His
service was mainly identified with the Eighteenth Indiana, of which he
became colonel. He was in several of the western campaigns, notably in
that of Vicksburg, in which he bore a prominent part. In the last year
of the war he was with Sherman's army, and for a short time after its
close was in command of a military district in southern Georgia. In
1864, he was elected to Congress over the Hon. Daniel W. Voorhees, and
again, in 1866, over the Hon. Solomon W. Claypool. At the expiration
of his second term he was appointed by President Grant,
surveyor-general of Montana, which office he held until his death.

[Illustration: GEN. HENRY DANA WASHBURN.]

It was during his residence in Montana that the famous Yellowstone
Expedition of 1870 took place. His part in that important work is
perhaps the most notable feature of his career. As leader of the
expedition he won the admiration and affection of its members. He was
the first to send to Washington specimens from the geyser formations.
He ardently espoused the project of setting apart this region as a
public park and was on his way to Washington in its interest when his
career was cut short by death. The hardship and exposure of the
expedition had precipitated the catastrophe to which he had long been
tending. He left Helena in November, 1870, and died of consumption at
his home in Clinton, Indiana, January 26, 1871.

General Washburn's name was given to this mountain by a unanimous vote
of the party on the evening of August 28, 1870, as a result of the
following incident related by Mr. Langford:

"Our first Sunday in camp was at Tower Creek. The forest around us was
very dense, and we were somewhat at a loss in deciding what course we
needed to follow in order to reach Yellowstone Lake. We had that day
crossed a _fresh_ Indian trail, a circumstance which admonished us of
the necessity of watchfulness so as to avoid disaster. While we were
resting in camp, General Washburn, without our knowledge, and
unattended, made his way to the mountain, from the summit of which,
overlooking the dense forest which environed us, he saw Yellowstone
Lake, our objective point, and carefully noted its direction from our
camp. This intelligence was most joyfully received by us, for it
relieved our minds of all anxiety concerning our course of travel, and
dispelled the fears of some of our party lest we should become
inextricably involved in that wooded labyrinth."

_White Peaks_ (9,800)--F : 4--1895--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Wild Cat Peak_ (9,800)--T : 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Yount Peak_ (Hayden, 11,700; Hague, 12,250)--Not on map.--1878--U. S.
G. S.--Source of the Yellowstone.--Named for an old trapper and guide
of that region.


APPENDIX A.

III.

STREAMS.

     [Map locations refer only to outlets, or to points where streams
     pass off the limits of the map. Altitudes refer to the same points,
     but are given only in the most important cases.]

_Agate Creek_--E : 10--1878--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Alum Creek_--H : 9--Name known prior to 1870--Characteristic.

_Amethyst Greek_--E : 12--1878--U. S. G. S.--Flows from Amethyst
Mountain.

_Amphitheater Creek_--D : 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--From form of valley
near its mouth.

_Antelope Creek_--E : 10--1870--Washburn Party--Characteristic.--This
name is often applied locally to a tributary of the Yellowstone just
above Trout Creek.

_Arnica Creek_--L : 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Aster Creek_--P : 7--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Astrigent Creek_--J : 12--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Atlantic Creek_--S : 13--1873--Jones--Flows from Two-Ocean-Pass down
the Atlantic slope.

_Badger Creek_--P : 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Basin Creek_--Q : 9--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Bear Creek_--B : 7--1863--Party of prospectors under one Austin. On
the way they found fair prospects in a creek on the east side of the
Yellowstone, and finding also a hairless cub, called the gulch
"Bear."--Topping.

_Bear Creek_--K : 11--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Beaver Creek_--O : 9--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Beaver Dam Creek_--O : 12--1871--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Bechler River_--R : 1--1872--U. S. G. S.--For Gustavus R. Bechler,
topographer on the Snake River Division of the Hayden Expedition of
1872.

_Berry Creek_--U : 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Black-tail Deer Creek_--B : 8--Named prior to 1870--Characteristic.

_Bluff Creek_--H : 10--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Bog Creek_--H : 10--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Boone Creek_--T : 1--Named prior to 1870--For Robert Withrow, an
eccentric pioneer of Irish descent, who used to call himself "Daniel
Boone the Second."

_Bridge Creek_--K : 9--1871--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

"At one point, soon after leaving camp, we found a most singular
natural bridge of the trachyte, which gives passage to a small stream,
which we called Bridge Creek."--Hayden.

"Natural Bridge" is really over a branch of Bridge Creek.

_Broad Creek_--F : 10--1871--Barlow--Characteristic.

_Buffalo Creek_--D : 11--Prior to 1870--Naming party
unknown--Characteristic.

_Burnt Creek_--E : 10--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Cache Creek_--F : 13--1863--Prospecting party under one Austin were
in camp on this stream when they were surprised by Indians, and all
their stock stolen except one or two mules. Being unable to carry all
their baggage from this point, they _cached_ what they could not place
on the mules, or could not themselves carry. From this circumstance
arose the name.

_Calfee Creek_--F : 13--1880--Norris--For H. B. Calfee, a photographer
of note.

"Some seven miles above Cache Creek we passed the mouth of another
stream in a deep, narrow, timbered valley, which we named Calfee
Creek, after the famous photographer of the Park. Five miles further
on, we reached the creek which Miller recognized as the one he
descended in retreating from the Indians in 1870, and which, on this
account, we called Miller's Creek."--Norris.[CK]

[CK] Page 7, Annual Report Superintendent of the Park for 1880.

_Cañon Creek_--1 : 5--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Carnelian Creek_--E : 9--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Cascade Creek_--G : 8--1870--Washburn Party--Characteristic.

_Chalcedony Creek_--E : 12--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Chipmunk Creek_--O : 11--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Clear Creek_--L : 11--1878--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Cliff Creek_--Q : 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Clover Creek_--G : 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Cold Creek_--H : 14--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Columbine Creek_--M : 11--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Conant Creek_--T : 1--Prior to 1870--By Richard Leigh for one All
Conant, who went to the mountains in 1865, and who came near losing
his life on this stream.

_Cotton Grass Creek_--H : 9--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Cougar Creek_--G : 2--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Coulter Creek_--R : 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--For John M. Coulter,
botanist in the Hayden Expedition of 1872.

_Crawfish Creek_--R : 6--1885--U. S. G. S--Characteristic.

_Crevice Creek_--C : 7--1867--Prospecting party under one Lou
Anderson.

"They found gold in a crevice at the mouth of the first Stream above
Bear, and named it, in consequence, Crevice Gulch. Hubbel went ahead
the next day for a hunt, and upon his return he was asked what kind of
a stream the next creek was. "It's a hell roarer," was his reply, and
Hell Roaring is its name to this day. The second day after this, he
was again ahead, and, the same question being asked him, he said:
"'Twas but a slough." When the party came to it, they found a rushing
torrent, and, in crossing, a pack horse and his load were swept away,
but the name of Slough Creek remains."--Topping.

_Crooked Creek_--R : 10--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Crow Creek_--K : 15--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Crystal Creek_--D : 11--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Cub Creek_--L : 11--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Deep Creek_--E : 10--1873--Jones--Characteristic.

_De Lacy Creek_--M : 6--1880--Norris--For Walter W. De Lacy, first
white man known to have passed along the valley. (See "Shoshone
Lake.") First named Madison Creek by the Hayden party in 1871.

_Duck Creek_--G : 3--1895--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Elk Creek_--D : 9--Named prior to 1870--Characteristic.

_Elk Tongue Creek_--C : 12--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Escarpment Creek_--Q : 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Fairy Creek_--J : 4--1871--Barlow--From "Fairy Falls," which see.

_Falcon Creek_--R : 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Falls River_--S : 1--1872--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Fan Creek_--C : 2--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Fawn Creek_--C : 5--1878--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Firehole River_--I : 4--This name and "Burnt Hole" have been used to
designate the geyser basins and the stream flowing through them since
at least as far back as 1830. Captain Bonneville says it was well
known to his men. The term "Hole" is a relic of the early days when
the open valleys or parks among the mountains were called "holes." The
descriptive "fire, naturally arose from the peculiar character of
that region."

_Firehole, Little_--L : 4--1878--U. S. G. S.--From main stream.

_Flint Creek_--F : 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Forest Creek_--Q : 7--1885--U. S. G. S--Characteristic.

_Fox Creek_--R : 11--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Gallatin River_--A : 1--1805--Lewis and Clark--For Albert Gallatin,
Secretary of War under President Jefferson.

_Gardiner River_ (5360)--B : 6--This name, which, after "Yellowstone,"
is the most familiar and important name in the Park, is the most
difficult to account for. The first authentic use of the name occurs
in 1870, in the writings of the Washburn party. In Mr. Langford's
journal, kept during the expedition, is the following entry for August
25, 1870: "At nineteen miles from our morning camp we came to Gardiner
River, at the mouth of which we camped." As the party did not
originate the name, and as they make no special reference to it in any
of their writings, it seems clear that it must already have been known
to them at the time of their arrival at the stream. None of the
surviving members has the least recollection concerning it. The stream
had been known to prospectors during the preceding few years as Warm
Spring Creek, and the many "old timers" consulted on the subject
erroneously think that the present name was given by the Washburn
Party or by the Hayden Party of 1871. What is its real origin is
therefore a good deal of a mystery.

The only clue, and that not a satisfactory one, which has come under
our observation, is to be found in the book "River of the West,"
already quoted. Reference is there made to a trapper by the name of
Gardiner, who lived in the Upper Yellowstone country as far back as
1830, and was at one time a companion of Joseph Meek, the hero of the
book. In another place it is stated that in 1838, Meek started alone
from Missouri Lake (probably Red Rock Lake) "for the Gallatin Fork of
the Missouri, trapping in a mountain basin called Gardiner's Hole....
On his return, in another basin called Burnt Hole, he found a buffalo
skull, etc." As is well known, the sources of the Gallatin and
Gardiner are interlaced with each other, and this reference strongly
points to the present Gardiner Valley as "Gardiner's Hole." The route
across the Gallatin Range to Mammoth Hot Springs, and thence back by
way of the Firehole Basin, was doubtless a natural one then as it is
now. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that this name came from an
old hunter in the early years of the century, and that the Washburn
Party received it from some surviving descendant of those times.

_Geode Creek_--C : 8--1878--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Geyser Creek_--H : 6--1878--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Gibbon River_--I : 4--1872--U. S. G. S.--For Gen. John Gibbon, U. S.
A., who first explored it.

"We have named this stream in honor of Gen. John Gibbon, United States
Army, who has been in military command of Montana for some years, and
has, on many occasions, rendered the survey most important
services."--Hayden.[CL]

[CL] Page 55, Sixth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.

_Glade Creek_--S : 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Glen Creek_--C : 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Gneiss Creek_--G : 1--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Gravel Creek_--U : 10--1895--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Grayling Creek_--F : 1--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Grouse Creek_--O : 10--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Harebell Creek_--R : 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Hart River_--Q : 9--1872--U. S. G. S.--From Hart Lake, of which it is
the outlet. (See "Hart Lake.")

_Hell Roaring Creek_--C : 9--1867--"See Crevice Creek."

_Indian Creek_--E : 6--1878--U. S. G. S.--See "Bannock Peak."

_Iron Creek_--L : 4--1871--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Jasper Creek_--D : 11--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Jay Creek_--S : 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Jones Creek_--K : 15--1880--Norris--For Captain (now
Lieutenant-Colonel) W. A. Jones, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., who
first explored it. Captain Jones was leader of an important expedition
through the Park in 1873, and has since been largely identified with
the development of the Park road system.

_Jumper Creek_--J : 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Lamar River_ (5,970)--D : 10--1885--U. S. G. S.--For the Hon. L. Q.
C. Lamar, Secretary of the Interior during the first administration of
President Cleveland. The stream is locally known only by its original
designation, the "East Fork of the Yellowstone."

_Lava Creek_--D : 7--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Lewis River_--R : 7--1872--U. S. G. S.--From "Lewis Lake," which see.

_Lizard Creek_--U : 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Lost Creek_--D : 9--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Lupine Creek_--D : 7--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Lynx Creek_--Q : 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Madison River_--G : 1--1805--Lewis and Clark--For James Madison,
Secretary of State to Thomas Jefferson.

_Magpie Creek_--J : 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Maple Creek_--G : 2--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Mason Creek_--L : 16--1881--Norris--For Major Julius W. Mason, U. S.
A., commander of escort to Gov. Hoyt, of Wyoming, on the latter's
reconnaissance for a wagon road to the Park in 1881.

_Meadow Creek_--M : 11--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Middle Creek_--L : 15--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Miller Creek_--G : 13--1880--Norris--For a mountaineer named Miller.
See "Calfee Creek."

_Mink Creek_--T : 11--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Mist Creek_--I : 14--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Moose Creek_--N : 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Moss Creek_--G : 10--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Mountain Creek_--P : 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Mountain Ash Creek_--R : 3--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Nez Percé Creek_ (7,237)--J : 4--1878--U. S. G. S.--The Nez Percé
Indians passed up this stream on their raid through the Park in 1877.
It had previously been called "East Fork of the Firehole." Prof.
Bradley, of the U. S. Geological Survey, christened it Hayden's Fork
in 1872. (See Chapter XIII, Part I.)

_Obsidian Creek_--E : 6--1879--Norris--Characteristic.

_Opal Creek_--E : 12--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Otter Creek_--H : 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Outlet Creek_--P : 9--1895--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Owl Creek_--T : 5--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Pacific Creek_--W : 11--1873--Jones--Flows from Two-Ocean Pass down
the Pacific slope.

_Panther Creek_--D : 5--1878--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Pebble Creek_--D : 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Pelican Creek_--K : 10--Probably named by the Washburn Party in 1870.
Hayden and Barlow, in 1871, use the name as though it were already a
fixture. Mr. Hedges says of this stream:

"About the mouth of the little stream that we had just crossed were
numerous shallows and bars, which were covered by the acre with ducks,
geese, huge white-breasted cranes, and long-beaked pelicans, while the
solitary albatross, or sea-gull, circled above our heads with a saucy
look that drew many a random shot, and cost one, at least, its life."

_Phlox Creek_--Q : 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Plateau Creek_--C : 12--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Polecat Creek_--S : 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Quartz Creek_--E : 10--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Rabbit Creek_--K : 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Raven Creek_--J: 12--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Red Creek_--Q: 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Rescue Creek_--C: 7--1878--U. S. G. S.--Where Everts was not found.
(See "Mt. Everts.")

_Rocky Creek_--O: 12--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Rose Creek_--D: 12--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Sedge Creek_--K: 11--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Senecio Creek_--S: 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Sentinel Creek_--J: 4--1872--U. S. G. S.--"The two central ones
[geyser mounds] are the highest, and appear so much as if they were
guarding the Upper Valley, that this stream was called Sentinel
Branch." Bradley.

_Shallow Creek_--F: 11--1895--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Sickle Creek_--Q: 10--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Slough Creek_--D: 10--1867--See "Crevice Creek."

_Snake River_ (6,808)--W: 8--1805--Lewis and Clark--From the Snake or
Shoshone Indians, who dwelt in its valley.

_Soda Butte Creek_--E: 12--Probably named by miners prior to 1870.
From an extinct geyser or hot spring cone near the mouth of the
stream.

_Solfatara Creek_--G: 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Solution Creek_--M: 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--The outlet of Riddle Lake.

_Sour Creek_--H: 9--1871--Barlow--Characteristic.

_Spirea Creek_--R: 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Spring Creek_--M: 5--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Spruce Creek_--J: 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Squirrel Creek_--N: 5--1878--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Stellaria Creek_--C: 3--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Stinkingwater River_--L: 16--1807--John Colter--From an offensive hot
spring near the junction of the principal forks of the stream. A most
interesting fact, to which attention was first publicly called by
Prof. Arnold Hague, is the occurrence on the map, which Lewis and
Clark sent to President Jefferson in the spring of 1805, of the name
"Stinking Cabin Creek," very nearly in the locality of the river
Stinkingwater. Prof. Hague, who published an interesting paper
concerning this map in _Science_ for November 4, 1877, thinks that
possibly some trapper had penetrated this region even before 1804. But
with Lewis and Clark's repeated statements that no white man had
reached the Yellowstone prior to 1805, it seems more likely that the
name was derived from the Indians.

_Straight Creek_--E: 5--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Sulphur Creek_--G: 9--1878--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.--Locally
this name is applied to a stream which flows from the hot springs at
the base of Sulphur Mountain.

_Surface Creek_--G: 9--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Surprise Creek_--P: 9--1885--U. S. G. S.--Its course, as made known
by recent explorations, was surprisingly different from that which
earlier explorations had indicated.

_Tangled Creek_--J: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.--A hot water
stream which flows in numberless interlaced channels.

_Thistle Creek_--J: 10--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Thoroughfare Creek_--R: 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Its valley forms part
of a very practicable route across the Yellowstone Range.

_Timothy Creek_--G: 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Tower Creek_--D: 10--1870--Washburn Party--From "Tower Falls," which
see.

_Trail Creek_--O: 12--1873--Jones--From an elk trail along it.

_Trappers' Creek_--P: 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--A great beaver resort.

_Trout Greek_--I: 9--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Violet Creek_--I: 8--1872--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.--"We named
the small stream Violet Creek, from the profusion of violets growing
upon its banks." Peale.

_Weasel Creek_--K: 9--1895--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Willow Creek_--H: 14--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Winter Creek_--E: 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Witch Creek_--O: 8--1878--U. S. G. S.--Probably from the prevalence
of hot springs phenomena along its entire course.

_Wolverine Creek_--R: 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Yellowstone River_ (8,100 and 5,360)--U: 16 (enters map); A: 5
(leaves map).--See Part I, Chapter I.


APPENDIX A.

IV.

WATER-FALLS.

     [Figures in parentheses indicate approximate heights of falls in
     feet. These in most cases are not to be relied upon as strictly
     accurate, there having been no published record of actual
     measurements, except in the case of the Yellowstone Falls.]

_Collonade Falls_--F: 3--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Crystal Falls_ (129)--G: 8--1870--Washburn
Party.--Characteristic.--The total fall includes three cascades.

_Fairy Fall_ (250)--K: 4--1871--Barlow.--Characteristic.

_Firehole Falls_ (60)--I: 4--Takes name from river.

_Gibbon Falls_ (80)--I: 5--Takes name from river.

_Iris Falls_--P: 3--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Kepler Cascade_ (80)--L: 5--1881--Norris.--For the son of Hon. John
W. Hoyt, Ex-Governor of Wyoming, who accompanied his father on a
reconnaissance for a wagon road to the Park in 1881. Norris speaks of
him as "an intrepid twelve-year old" boy who "unflinchingly shared in
all the hardships, privations, and dangers of the explorations of his
father," which included many hundred miles of travel on horseback
through that difficult country; and in admiration for the lad's pluck,
he named this cascade in his honor.

_Lewis Falls, Upper_ (80)--P: 7--Takes name from river.

_Lewis Falls, Lower_ (50)--Q: 7--Takes name from river.

_Moose Falls_--R: 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Mystic Falls_--L: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Osprey Falls_ (150)--D: 6--1885--U. S. G. S.

_Ouzel Falls_--P: 3--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Rainbow Falls_ (140)--R: 4--1885--U. S. G.
S.--Characteristic.--Height includes total of three falls.

_Rustic Falls_ (70)--D: 6--1878--Norris--Characteristic.

_Silver Cord Cascade_--G: 9--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Terraced Falls_--R: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Tower Falls_ (132)--D: 10--1870--Washburn Party--Characteristic.

"By a vote of a majority of the party this fall was called Tower
Fall."--Washburn.

"At the crest of the fall the stream has cut its way through
amygdaloid masses, leaving tall spires of rock from 50 to 100 feet in
height, and worn in every conceivable shape.... Several of them stand
like sentinels on the very brink of the fall."--Doane.

_Undine Falls_ (60)--D: 7--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Union Falls_--Q: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Virginia Cascade_ (60)--H: 7--1886--By E. Lamartine, at that time
foreman in charge of government work in Park.--For the wife of the
Hon. Chas. Gibson, President of the Yellowstone Park Association.

_Wraith Falls_ (100)--D: 7--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Yellowstone Falls_ (Upper 112; Lower 310)--H: 9--From the river which
flows over them.[CM]

[CM] Record of the various measurements of the Upper and Lower Falls
of the Yellowstone River.

Folsom (1869) Upper Fall, 115 feet. Method not stated. Lower Fall, 350
feet. Method not stated.

Doane (1870) Upper Fall, 115 feet. Line.

Langford (1870) Lower Fall, 350 feet. Line stretched on an incline.

Moore's Sketch (1870) Lower Fall, 365 feet. Method not stated.

Hayden (1871) Upper Fall, 140 feet. Method not stated. Lower Fall, 350
feet. Method not stated.

Gannett (1872) Upper Fall, 140 feet. Barometer. Lower Fall, 395 feet.
Comparison of angles subtended by Falls and by a tree of known height.

Jones (1873) Upper Fall, 150 feet. Barometer. Lower Fall, 329 feet.
Barometer.

Ludlow (1875) Upper Fall, 110 feet. Line. Lower Fall, 310 feet. Line.

Gannett (1878) Upper Fall, 112 feet. Line. Lower Fall, 297 feet. Line
stretched on an incline.

U. S. G. S. (Recent) Upper Fall, 109 feet. Method not stated. Lower
Fall, 308 feet. Method not stated.

Chittenden (1892) Upper Fall, 112 feet between point of first descent
and level of pool below. Measured by means of a transit instrument.
Width of gorge at brink of fall, and a few feet above water surface,
48 feet.


APPENDIX A.

V.

LAKES.

     [Figures in parentheses denote elevations.]

_Beach Lake_ (8,150)--K: 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Beaver Lake_ (7,415)--F: 6--1879--Norris--Characteristic.

_Beula Lake_ (7,530)--R: 5--1872--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

[Illustration: JAMES BRIDGER.]

_Bridger Lake_ (7,900)--R: 13--Name a fixture prior to 1870.--For
James Bridger, the Daniel Boone of the Rockies, and one of the most
remarkable products of the trapping and gold-seeking eras.

He was born in Richmond, Va., in March, 1804, and died in Washington,
Jackson Co., Mo., July 17, 1881. He must have gone west at a very
early age for he is known to have been in the mountains in 1820.
_Niles Register_ for 1822 speaks of him as associated with Fitzpatrick
in the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. Another record of this period
reveals him as leader of a band of whites sent to retake stolen horses
from the hostile Bannocks. In 1832, he had become a resident partner
in the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. That he was a recognized leader
among the early mountaineers while yet in his minority seems beyond
question. He became "The Old Man of the Mountains" before he was
thirty years of age.

Among the more prominent achievements of Bridger's life may be noted
the following: He was long a leading spirit in the great Rocky
Mountain Fur Company. He discovered Great Salt Lake and the noted Pass
that bears his name. He built Fort Bridger in the lovely valley of
Black Fork of Green River, where transpired many thrilling events
connected with the history of the Mormons and "Forty-niners." He had
explored, and could accurately describe, the wonders of the
Yellowstone fully a quarter of a century before their final discovery.

In person he was tall and spare, straight and agile, eyes gray, hair
brown and long, and abundant even in old age; expression mild, and
manners agreeable. He was hospitable and generous, and was always
trusted and respected. He possessed to a high degree the confidence of
the Indians, one of whom, a Shoshone woman, he made his wife.

Unquestionably Bridger's chief claim to remembrance by posterity rests
upon the extraordinary part he bore in the exploration of the West.
The common verdict of his many employers, from Robert Campbell down to
Captain Raynolds, is that as a guide he was without an equal. He was
a born topographer. The whole West was mapped out in his mind as in an
exhaustive atlas. Such was his instinctive sense of locality and
direction that it used to be said that he could "smell his way" where
he could not see it. He was not only a good topographer in the field,
but he could reproduce his impressions in sketches. "With a buffalo
skin and a piece of charcoal," says Captain Gunnison, "he will map out
any portion of this immense region, and delineate mountains, streams,
and the circular valleys, called 'holes,' with wonderful accuracy."
His ability in this line caused him always to be in demand as guide to
exploring parties, and his name is connected with scores of prominent
government and private expeditions.

His lifetime measures that period of our history during which the West
was changed from a trackless wilderness to a settled and civilized
country. He was among the first who went to the mountains, and he
lived to see all that had made a life like his possible swept away
forever. His name survives in many a feature of our western geography,
but in none with greater honor than in this little lake among the
mountains that he knew so well; and near the source of that majestic
stream with which so much of his eventful life was identified.

_Delusion Lake_ (7,850)--M: 9--1878--U. S. G. S.--This lake was long
supposed to be an arm of the Yellowstone Lake, and, in the fanciful
comparison of the main lake to the form of the human hand, occupied
the position of the index finger. The delusion consisted in this
mistaken notion of a permanent connection between the two lakes.

_Dryad Lake_ (8,250)--K: 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Duck Lake_ (7,850)--M: 7--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Fern Lake_ (8,150)--H: 11--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Frost Lake_--(7,350)--I: 14--Unknown-Characteristic.

_Gallatin Lake_ (9,000)--E: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--Source of the
Gallatin River.

_Goose Lake_ (7,100)--K: 4--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Grassy Lake_ (7,150)--R: 5--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Grebe Lake_ (7,950)--G: 8--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Grizzly Lake_ (7,490)--F: 5--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Hart Lake_ (7,469)--P: 9--According to Hayden, "long known to the
hunters of the region as Heart Lake." Named prior to 1870 for an old
hunter by the name of Hart Hunney who in early times plied his trade
in this vicinity. He was possibly one of Bonneville's men, for he
seems to have known the General well and to have been familiar with
his operations. He was killed by a war party of Crows in 1852.

The spelling, _Heart_, dates from the expeditions of 1871. The notion
that the name arose from the shape of the lake seems to have
originated with Captain Barlow. It has generally been accepted
although there is really no similarity between the form of the lake
and that of a heart. Lewis Lake is the only heart-shaped lake in that
locality.

Everts named Hart Lake, Bessie Lake, after his daughter.

_Henry Lake_ (6,443)--A noted lake outside the limits of the Park
passed by tourists entering the park from the west. It is named for a
celebrated fur trader, Andrew Henry, who built a trading post in that
vicinity in 1809.

_Hering Lake_ (7,530)--R: 5--1878--U. S. G. S.--For Rudolph Hering,
Topographer on the Snake River Division of the Hayden Survey for 1872.

_Indian Pond_--J: 11--1880--Norris.--An ancient, much-used
camping-ground of Indians. "My favorite camp on the Yellowstone Lake
(and it evidently has been a favorite one for the Indian) has ever
been upon the grove-dotted bluff, elevated thirty or forty feet above
the lake, directly fronting Indian Pond."--Norris.

_Isa Lake_ (8,250)--L: 6--1893--N. P. R. R.--For Miss Isabel Jelke, of
Cincinnati.

_Jackson Lake_ (6,000)--U-W: 6--Date unknown.--For David Jackson, a
noted mountaineer and fur trader, and one of the first three partners
of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. This lake was discovered by John
Colter and was named by Clark _Lake Biddle_, in honor of Nicholas
Biddle, who first gave to the world an authentic edition of the
journal of the celebrated Lewis and Clark Expedition.

_Jenny Lake_--South of Leigh Lake and off the map.--1872--U. S. G.
S.--For the wife of Richard Leigh. She was a Shoshone Indian.

_Leigh Lake_--W: 5--1872--U. S. G. S.--For Richard Leigh ("Beaver
Dick"), a noted hunter, trapper, and guide in the country around the
Teton Mountains. The nickname "Beaver Dick" arose, not from the fact
that Leigh was an expert beaver trapper, but on account of the
striking resemblance of two abnormally large front teeth in his upper
jaw to the teeth of a beaver. The Indians called him "The Beaver."

_Lewis Lake_ (7,720)--O: 7--1872--U. S. G. S.--For Captain Lewis of
"Lewis and Clark" fame.

"As it had no name, so far as we could ascertain, we decided to call
it Lewis Lake, in memory of that gallant explorer Captain Meriwether
Lewis. The south fork of the Columbia, which was to have perpetuated
his name, has reverted to its Indian title Shoshone, and is commonly
known by that name, or its translation, Snake River. As this lake lies
near the head of one of the principal forks of that stream, it may not
be inappropriately called Lewis Lake."--Bradley.[CN]

[CN] Page 249, Sixth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.

_Loon Lake_ (6,400)--R: 3--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Lost Lake_ (8,500)--M: 7--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.--This is
probably Norris' Two-Ocean-Pond, and is doubtless also the lake
referred to by Hayden in the following paragraph from his report for
1871:

"We camped at night on the shore of a lake which seemed to have no
outlet. It is simply a depression which receives the drainage of the
surrounding hills. It is marshy around the shores, and the surface is
covered thickly with the leaves and flowers of a large yellow
lily."--Hayden.

_Madison Lake_ (8,250)--N: 4--1872--U. S. G. S.--Head of the Madison
River.

"A small lake, covering perhaps sixty acres, occupies the southern end
of the [Firehole] valley, where it bends to the eastward; and as the
ultimate lake source of the Madison River, is the only proper
possessor of the name 'Madison Lake.'"--Bradley.[CO]

[CO] Page 243, Sixth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.

_Mallard Lake_ (8,000)--L: 5--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Mary Lake_ (8,100)--J: 7--1873--Tourist Party.--Circumstance recorded
by Rev. E. J. Stanley, one of the party, and author of the book
"Rambles in Wonderland," describing the tour. The following extract is
from his book:

"We passed along the bank of a lovely little lakelet, sleeping in
seclusion in the shade of towering evergreens, by which it is
sheltered from the roaring tempests. It is near the divide, and on its
pebbly shore some members of our party unfurled the Stars and Stripes,
and christened it Mary's Lake, in honor of Miss Clark, a young lady
belonging to our party."

This lake appears on Jones' map for the same year as Summit Lake.
Everts is said to have passed it in his wanderings, but there is no
reliable evidence to that effect.

_Mirror Lake_ (8,700)--G: 12--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Obsidian Lake_ (7,650)--E: 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Riddle Lake_ (7,950)--N: 8--1872--U. S. G. S.--

"'Lake Riddle' is a fugitive name, which has been located at several
places, but nowhere permanently. It is supposed to have been used
originally to designate the mythical lake, among the mountains,
whence, according to the hunters, water flowed to both oceans. I have
agreed to Mr. Hering's proposal to attach the name to this lake, which
is directly upon the divide at a point where the waters of the two
oceans start so nearly together, and thus to solve the unsolved
'riddle' of the 'two-ocean-water.'"--Bradley.[CP] This was a year
before Captain Jones verified the existence of Two-Ocean-Pass.

[CP] Page 250, Sixth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.

_Shoshone Lake_ (7,740)--M-N: 5-6--1872--U. S. G. S.--From Shoshone,
or Snake River, which here finds its source. This lake was first named
De Lacy Lake, after its discoverer. The Washburn Party (1870) appear
to have named it after their leader. In 1871, Doctor Hayden, failing
to identify its location, and believing it to be tributary to the
Madison River, renamed it Madison Lake. It is this name which appears
on the first map of the Park and in the Act of Dedication, where the
west boundary of the Park is described as being "fifteen miles west of
the most western point of Madison Lake." In 1872, when the correct
drainage of the lake was discovered, the name "Madison Lake" was
transferred to its present location (See "Madison Lake"), and its
place supplied by "Shoshone Lake." The Act of Dedication is therefore
misleading, and it is necessary to know that "Madison Lake" of the
Act, is "Shoshone Lake" now, in order to understand the true location
of the west boundary of the Park.

In changing the name from "De Lacy" to "Shoshone," Prof. F. H.
Bradley, of the United States Geological Survey, took occasion to
reflect severely and unjustifiably upon De Lacy's work in mapping the
country.[CQ]

[CQ] Page 24, Sixth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden.

De Lacy felt deeply wronged by this action, and Dr. Hayden promised
him that he would set the matter right; but nothing was done. At a
later day, Colonel Norris endeavored to do De Lacy tardy justice by
placing his name on the stream which enters the lake from the north
and drains the beautiful valley now crossed by the tourist route. This
name remained for several year's, when it also was removed by the
United States Geological Survey, and its place filled by "Heron
Creek." During the past year, however, the name "De Lacy Creek" has
been restored.

_Summit Lake_ (8,450)--M: 3--1885--U. S. G. S.--Near Continental
Divide.

_Swan Lake_ (7,200)--D: 6--1879--Norris--Characteristic.

_Sylvan Lake_ (8,300)--L: 13--1878--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Tern Lake_ (8,150)--I: 11--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Trout Lake_ (6,850)--D: 13--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Turbid Lake_ (7,800)--K: 11--1878--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Twin Lakes_ (7,450)--G: 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Wapiti Lake_ (8,500)--H: 11--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_White Lake_ (8,150)--I: 11--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Woods, Lake of the_ (7,550)--F: 6--1885--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Yellowstone Lake_ (7,741)--K--0: 8--12--From the river which flows
through it. This lake was named, on the map showing "Colter's Route in
1807," Lake Eustis, in honor of William Eustis, Secretary of War to
President Madison, 1809 to 1812.

Later it appears as Sublette Lake, in honor of the noted fur trader,
William Sublette. It is even said at one time to have borne the
"fugitive name," Riddle Lake. But it early became known by its present
name.

       *       *       *       *       *

The islands of this lake are seven in number. They seem to have all
been named by the United States Geological Survey largely for the
employes of the survey. They are:

_Carrington Island._ For Campbell Carrington, zoologist.

_Dot Island._ A mere dot on the map.

_Frank Island._ For the brother of Henry W. Elliott, a member of the
Hayden Expedition of 1871. This Island was renamed Belknap Island in
1875 by the members of Secretary Belknap's party, who passed through
the Park in that year. The name, however, never came into use.

_Molly Island._--For the wife of Mr. Henry Gannett.

_Peale Island._--For Dr. A. C. Peale, author of the elaborate report
on thermal springs which appears in Hayden's report for 1878.

_Pelican Roost._--Characteristic.

_Stevenson Island._--For James Stevenson. See "Mt. Stevenson."

       *       *       *       *       *

The bays are also seven in number, of which only the following merit
notice:

_Mary Bay._--Named by Henry W. Elliott for Miss Mary Force.

_Thumb._--From the old fancy that the form of the lake resembled that
of the human hand.

_Bridge Bay._--From Bridge Creek. See "Bridge Creek."

The capes are thirteen in number. We need notice only Signal Point,
which was much used in signaling by the early explorers; Steamboat
Point, named from the Steamboat Springs near by; and Storm Point, so
named because it receives the full force of the prevailing south-west
winds from across the lake.

"_The Annie._"--The first boat on the Yellowstone Lake was a small
canvass craft 12 feet long by 3-1/2 feet wide. Dr. Hayden records
that, it was, christened _The Annie_, "by Mr. Stevenson, in compliment
to Miss Anna L. Dawes, the amiable daughter of Hon. H. L. Dawes."

[Illustration: "The Annie."]

The boat was extemporized by Mr. James Stevenson from such materials
as could be picked up. In the classic picture of this historic craft,
the persons in the boat are James Stevenson and Henry W. Elliott. An
original photograph of the boat now adorns the cabin of the _Zillah_,
the small steamboat which conveys tourists about the Lake.


APPENDIX A.

VI.

MISCELLANEOUS FEATURES.

     [Numbers in parentheses indicate altitudes.]

_Craig Pass_ (8,300)--L: 6--1891--From the maiden name of Mrs. Ida
Craig Wilcox, the first tourist to cross the pass.

[Illustration: FERDINAND VANDIVEER HAYDEN]

_Hayden Valley_ (7,800)--H-J: 8-10-1878--U.S.G.S. For the eminent
American geologist, Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden, M.D., LL. D., whose
important part in the history of the Yellowstone National Park has
been fully set forth in previous pages. The following condensed sketch
of his life is from the pen of Dr. A. C. Peale:[CR]

[CR] Bulletin Philosophical Society of Washington, Vol. VI, pp.
476-478.

... "He was born at Westfield, Mass., September 7, 1829.... His father
died when he was about ten years of age, and about two years later he
went to live with an uncle at Rochester, in Lorain County, Ohio, where
he remained for six years. He taught in the country district schools
of the neighborhood during his sixteenth and seventeenth years, and
at the age of eighteen went to Oberlin College, where he was graduated
in 1850....

"He studied medicine with Dr. J. S. Newberry, at Cleveland, and at
Albany was graduated Doctor of Medicine in the early part of 1853.
After his graduation, he was sent by Prof. James Hall, of New York, to
the Bad Lands of White River, in Dakota. The years 1854 and 1855 he
spent exploring and collecting fossils in the Upper Missouri country,
mainly at his own expense. From 1856 until 1859, he was connected as
geologist with the expeditious of Lieutenant Warren, engaged in
explorations in Nebraska and Dakota. From 1859 until 1862, he was
surgeon, naturalist, and geologist with Captain W. F. Raynolds, in the
exploration of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. In October, 1862,
he was appointed acting assistant surgeon and assistant medical
inspector until June, 1865, when he resigned, and was brevetted
lieutenant-colonel for meritorious services during the war. He then
resumed his scientific work, and in 1866 made another trip to the Bad
Lands of Dakota, this time in the interest of the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia. In 1865, he was elected professor of
mineralogy and geology in the University of Pennsylvania, which
position he resigned in 1872. From 1867 to 1879, his history is that
of the organization of which he had charge, which began as a
geological survey of Nebraska, and became finally the Geological
Survey of the Territories.... From 1879 until December, 1886, he was
connected with the United States Geological Survey as geologist. His
health began to fail soon after his connection with this organization,
and gradually became worse, and he lived only a year after his
resignation.

"In 1876, the degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by the University
of Rochester, and in June, 1886, he received the same degree from the
University of Pennsylvania. He was a member of seventeen scientific
societies in the United States, among them the National Academy of
Sciences, and was honorary and corresponding member of some seventy
foreign societies. A bibliography of his writings includes 158 titles.

"... The gentleness and diffidence, approaching even timidity, which
impressed his fellow-students at Oberlin, characterized Dr. Hayden
throughout his life, and rendered it somewhat difficult for those who
did not know him intimately to understand the reasons for his success,
which was undoubtedly due to his energy and perseverance, qualities
which were equally characteristic of him as a boy and student and in
later life. His desire to forward the cause of science was sincere and
enthusiastic, and he was always ready to modify his views upon the
presentation of evidence. He was intensely nervous, frequently
impulsive, but ever generous, and his honesty and integrity undoubted.
The greater part of his work for the government and for science was a
labor of love."

_Jones Pass_ (9,450)--K: 12--1880--Norris--For its discoverer, Captain
W. A. Jones, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., who passed through it in
1873.

_Kingman Pass_ (7,230)--D: 6--1883--U. S. G. S.--The pass of which
Golden Gate is the northern entrance. For Lieutenant D. C. Kingman,
Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., who built the road through the pass.

_Norris Geyser Basin_ (7,527)--G-H: 6--For P. W. Norris, who first
explored and described it, and opened it up to tourists. It was,
however, discovered in 1872 by E. S. Topping and Dwight Woodruff, who
were led in that direction by noticing from the summit of Bunsen Peak
a vast column of steam ascending to the southward. The day after this
discovery, a tourist party, including a Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Stone, of
Bozeman, Montana, visited it from Mammoth Hot Springs, and then
continued their course, by way of the general line of the present
route, to the Firehole Geyser Basin. Mrs. Stone was the first white
woman to visit the Park.

_Norris Pass_ (8,260)--M : 6--1879--Norris--For its discoverer.

_Raynolds Pass_ (6,911)--Not on map.--Crosses the Continental Divide
to the northward of Henry Lake, and connects the valley of Henry Fork
with that of the Madison. Named for Captain W. F. Raynolds, who led
his expedition through it in 1860.

_Sylvan Pass_ (8,650)--L : 13--1895--U. S. G. S.--Characteristic.

_Targhee Pass_ (7,063)--Not on map.--Crosses the Continental Divide to
the eastward of Henry Lake, and leads from the valley of Henry Fork to
that of the Madison. The origin and orthography of this name are
uncertain. In Hayden's Report for 1872, occur three spellings,
Targhee, Tyghee, and Tahgee. The weight of evidence is in favor of the
form here adopted. There was an impression among the Hayden Survey
people, in 1872, that the name was given in honor of some
distinguished Indian Chief; but that there was no definite information
on the point is evident from the following statements, taken from
Hayden's Report for 1872. On page 56, it is stated that _Tahgee_ Pass
"was named years ago for the head chief of the Bannocks." On page 227,
it is said that _Tyghee_ Pass "was named for an old Shoshone chief who
was wont to use it." The real origin is thus left somewhat obscure,
but it is probable that the notion that the pass was named for an
Indian chief may have some foundation in fact. There was living among
the Bannocks within the present memory of white men a chief whose name
was pronounced _Ti-gee_.


APPENDIX A.

VII.

LIST OF THE PROMINENT GEYSERS.

The numbers in the third column are the highest recorded eruptions.
The numbers in the fourth and fifth columns are not to be taken as
indicating the correct duration or periodicity of eruptions. The
prevalent notion that geysers exhibit uniform periodicity of action,
is erroneous. There is only one geyser of importance in the Park that
can be depended on, and that is Old Faithful. The figures for the
other geysers are merely rough averages, true, perhaps, as the mean of
a year's observations, but not at all to be relied upon in predicting
particular eruptions.

     The following abbreviations are used: "M. H. S.," for Mammoth Hot
     Springs; "N. G. B.," "L. G. B.," "M. G. B.," "U. G. B.," "S. G.
     B.," and "H. G. B.," for the Norris, Lower, Middle, Upper,
     Shoshone, and Hart Lake, Geyser Basins respectively; "E. S. Y." and
     "W. S. Y." for the East and West Shores respectively of the
     Yellowstone Lake; "s." for second; "m." for minute; "h." for hour;
     and "d." for day.

  -------------+-----------+---------------------------+-----------------
               |           |         Eruptions.        |
     Name.     | Location. +---------+--------+--------+   Authors of
               |           | Height. | Dura-  | Inter- |      Names.
               |           |         | tion.  |  val.  |     Remarks.
  -------------+-----------+---------+--------+--------+-----------------
               |           |         |        |        |
  Arsenic      | N. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Artemesia    | U. G. B.  | 150 ft. |  10 m. |   2 d. | U. S. G. S.
  Atomizer     | U. G. B.  |  20 ft. |  10 m. |  --    | Unknown.
  Bead         | L. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | Has a
               |           |         |        |        |  "beautifully
               |           |         |        |        |   beaded tube."
               |           |         |        |        |   --Comstock.
  Bee Hive     | U. G. B.  | 220 ft. |   8 m. |  20 h. | Washburn Party.
  Bijou        | U. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Bulger       | U. G. B.  |   5 ft. |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Castle       | U. G. B.  | 100 ft. |  25 m. |  24 h. | Washburn Party.
               |           |         |        |        |  "From a
               |           |         |        |        |  distance it
               |           |         |        |        |  strongly
               |           |         |        |        |  resembles an
               |           |         |        |        |  old feudal
               |           |         |        |        |  castle partially
               |           |         |        |        |  in ruins."
               |           |         |        |        |  --Doane.
  Catfish      | L. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Chinaman     | U. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S. Really
               |           |         |        |        |  a quiescent
               |           |         |        |        |  spring. Sometimes
               |           |         |        |        |  called a geyser
               |           |         |        |        |  from the
               |           |         |        |        |  circumstance
               |           |         |        |        |  that a Chinaman
               |           |         |        |        |  who had used it
               |           |         |        |        |  for a wash-tub
               |           |         |        |        |  caused an
               |           |         |        |        |  eruption by the
               |           |         |        |        |  soap put in the
               |           |         |        |        |  spring, thus
               |           |         |        |        |  initiating the
               |           |         |        |        |  practice of
               |           |         |        |        |  "soaping
               |           |         |        |        |  geysers."
  Clepsydra    | L. G. B.  |  50 ft. |  10 s. |   3 m. | "Like the ancient
               |           |         |        |        |  water-clock of
               |           |         |        |        |  that name, it
               |           |         |        |        |  marks the passage
               |           |         |        |        |  of time by the
               |           |         |        |        |  discharge of
               |           |         |        |        |  water."--Comstock
               |           |         |        |        |  (1873).
  Comet        | U. G. B.  |  60 ft. |   1 m. |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Congress     | N. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | Came into
               |           |         |        |        |  existence in the
               |           |         |        |        |  winter of 1893.
               |           |         |        |        |  Like the
               |           |         |        |        |  memorable 53d
               |           |         |        |        |  Congress, for
               |           |         |        |        |  which it is
               |           |         |        |        |  named, its
               |           |         |        |        |  performance
               |           |         |        |        |  is sadly
               |           |         |        |        |  incommensurate
               |           |         |        |        |  with its
               |           |         |        |        |  promises.
  Constant     | N. G. B.  |  40 ft. |  10 s. |   1 m. | Norris.
  Cubs         | U. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | See "Lion."
  Deluge       | H. G. B.  |  15 ft. |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Echinus      | N. G. B.  |  20 ft. |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Economic     | U. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | No water lost in
               |           |         |        |        |  eruption; all
               |           |         |        |        |  falls back into
               |           |         |        |        |  crater.
  Excelsior    | M. G. B.  | 300 ft. |  --    | 1 to 4 | "A geyser so
               |           |         |        |   h.   |  immeasurably
               |           |         |        |        |  excelling any
               |           |         |        |        |  other ancient or
               |           |         |        |        |  modern known
               |           |         |        |        |  to history
               |           |         |        |        |  that I find but
               |           |         |        |        |  one name fitting,
               |           |         |        |        |  and herein
               |           |         |        |        |  christen it the
               |           |         |        |        |  Excelsior."
               |           |         |        |        |  --Norris. The
               |           |         |        |        |  Sheridan parties
               |           |         |        |        |  in 1881 and 1882
               |           |         |        |        |  called it the
               |           |         |        |        |  Sheridan Geyser.
  Fan          | U. G. B.  |  60 ft. |  10 m. |   8 h. | Washburn Party.
  Fearless     | N. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | Norris.
  Fissure      | N. G. B.  | 100 ft. |  20 m. |   2 h. | U. S. G. S.
  Fitful       | L. G. B.  |   3 ft. |  --    |  --    | Comstock.
  Fountain     | L. G. B.  |  60 ft. |  15 m. |   4 h. | U. S. G. S.
  Giant        | U. G. B.  | 200 ft. |  90 m. |   6 d. | Washburn Party.
  Giantess     | U. G. B.  | 250 ft. |  12 h. |  14 d. | Washburn Party.
  Grand        | U. G. B.  | 200 ft. |  20 m. |  20 h. | U. S. G. S.
  Gray Bulger  | L. G. B.  |   1 ft. |  30 s. |   1 m. | U. S. G. S.
  Great        | L. G. B.  | 100 ft. |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
    Fountain   |           |         |        |        |  --Called
               |           |         |        |        |  Architectural
               |           |         |        |        |  Fountain in
               |           |         |        |        |  1871.
  Grotto       | U. G. B.  |  40 ft. |  30 m. |   4 h. | Washburn Party.
  Jet          | L. G. B.  |  15 ft. |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Jewell       | U. G. B.  |  50 ft. |   1 m. |  50 m. | U. S. G. S.
  Lion         | U. G. B.  |  60 ft. |   8 m. |  24 h. | With Lioness and
               |           |         |        |        |  Cubs, called
               |           |         |        |        |  "The Chimneys"
               |           |         |        |        |  by Barlow in
               |           |         |        |        |  1871; renamed
               |           |         |        |        |  "Trinity"
               |           |         |        |        |  Geysers by
               |           |         |        |        |  Comstock
               |           |         |        |        |  in 1873; most
               |           |         |        |        |  isolated cone
               |           |         |        |        |  called "Niobe" by
               |           |         |        |        |  U. S. G. S. in
               |           |         |        |        |  1878; present
               |           |         |        |        |  name given by
               |           |         |        |        |  Norris in 1881.
  Lioness      | U. G. B.  |  80 ft. |  10 m. |  24 h. | See "Lion."
  Lone Star    |  M : 5.   |  60 ft. |  10 m. |  40 m. | Unknown. First
               |           |         |        |        |  called "The
               |           |         |        |        |  Solitary" by the
               |           |         |        |        |  U. S. G. S. in
               |           |         |        |        |  1872.
  Minute       | N. G. B.  |  40 ft. |  20 s. |  90 s. | Norris.
  Model        | U. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | Geyser on a small
               |           |         |        |        |  scale.
  Monarch      | N. G. B.  | 125 ft. |  20 m. |  12 h. | Norris.
  Mortar       | N. G. B.  |  60 ft. |   6 m. |   8 h. | "Resembles in its
               |           |         |        |        |  eruption the
               |           |         |        |        |  particular piece
               |           |         |        |        |  of ordnance from
               |           |         |        |        |  which it derives
               |           |         |        |        |  its name." Haynes
               |           |         |        |        |  Guide Book.
  Mud Geyser   | N. G. B.  |  10 ft. |   5 m. |  20 m. | Norris.
  Mud Geyser   |  I : 9    |  30 ft. |  20 m. |   3 h. | Washburn Party.
  Oblong       | U. G. B.  |  40 ft. |   4 m. |   8 h. | U. S. G. S.
  Old Faithful | U. G. B.  | 150 ft. |4-1/2 m.|  65 m. | Washburn Party.
  Pearl        | N. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Pebble       | N. G. B.  |  50 ft. |  --    |  75 m. | U. S. G. S.
  Pink Cone    | L. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Restless     | U. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Riverside    | U. G. B.  |  80 ft. |  15 m. |   8 h. | U. S. G. S.
  Rosette      | L. G. B.  |  30 ft. |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Rustic       | H. G. B.  |  47 ft. |   4 m. |  15 m. | U. S. G. S.
  Sawmill      | U. G. B.  |  35 ft. |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Sentinel     | U. G. B.  |  20 ft. |  --    |  --    | Barlow.
  Shield       | S. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Spasmodic    | U. G. B.  |   5 ft. |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Spike        | H. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Splendid     | U. G. B.  | 200 ft. |  10 m. |   3 h. | Norris.
  Sponge       | U. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | From appearance of
               |           |         |        |        |  its crater.
  Steady       | L. G. B.  |  30 ft. |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Surprise     | U. G. B.  | 100 ft. |   2 m. |  --    |
  Turban       | U. G. B.  |  20 ft. |  25 m. |  --    | U. S. G. S. "From
               |           |         |        |        |  the fancied
               |           |         |        |        |  appearance of
               |           |         |        |        |  some of the large
               |           |         |        |        |  globular masses
               |           |         |        |        |  in its basin to
               |           |         |        |        |  a Turkish
               |           |         |        |        |  head-dress."
               |           |         |        |        |  --Peale.
  Union (1)    | S. G. B.  | 114 ft. |  60 m. |   5 h. | U. S. G. S. in
        (2)    |    --     |  66 ft  |  --    |  --    |  1872.
        (3)    |    --     |   3 ft. |  --    |  --    |  So named "because
               |           |         |        |        |  of its
               |           |         |        |        |  combination
               |           |         |        |        |  of the various
               |           |         |        |        |  forms of geyseric
               |           |         |        |        |  action."--Peale.
               |           |         |        |        |  No. 1 is North
               |           |         |        |        |  Cone; No. 2
               |           |         |        |        |  Middle Cone;
               |           |         |        |        |  and No. 3 South
               |           |         |        |        |  Cone.
  Vixen        | N. G. B.  |  --     |  --    |  --    | Norris.
  White Dome   | L. G. B.  |  12 ft. |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
  Young        | U. G. B.  |  20 ft. |  --    |  --    | Earl of Dunraven.
    Faithful   |           |         |        |        |
  Young        | L. G. B.  |  20 ft. |  --    |  --    | U. S. G. S.
    Hopeful    |           |         |        |        |



APPENDIX B.

LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS NOW IN FORCE AFFECTING THE YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL PARK.


THE ACT OF DEDICATION.

     An Act to set apart a certain tract of land lying near the
     headwaters of the Yellowstone River as a public park.

_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled_, That the tract of
land in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming lying near the
headwaters of the Yellowstone River, and described as follows, to wit:
commencing at the junction of Gardiner's River with the Yellowstone
River and running east of the meridian, passing ten miles to the
eastward of the most eastern point of Yellowstone Lake; thence south
along the said meridian to the parallel of latitude, passing ten miles
south of the most southern point of Yellowstone Lake; thence west
along said parallel to the meridian, passing fifteen miles west of the
most western point of Madison Lake; thence north along said meridian
to the latitude of the junction of the Yellowstone and Gardiner's
Rivers; thence east to the place of beginning, is hereby reserved and
withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the
United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or
pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people; and all
persons who shall locate, or settle upon, or occupy the same or any
part thereof, except as hereinafter provided, shall be considered
trespassers and removed therefrom.

Sec. 2. That said public park shall be under the exclusive control of
the Secretary of the Interior, whose duty it shall be as soon as
practicable, to make and publish such rules and regulations as he may
deem necessary or proper for the care and management of the same. Such
regulations shall provide for the preservation from injury or
spoliation of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or
wonders within said park, and their retention in their natural
condition.

The Secretary may, in his discretion, grant leases for building
purposes, for terms not exceeding ten years, of small parcels of
ground, at such places in said park as shall require the erection of
buildings for the accommodation of visitors; all of the proceeds of
said leases, and all other revenues that may be derived from any
source connected with said park, to be expended under his direction in
the management of the same and the construction of roads and
bridle-paths therein. He shall provide against the wanton destruction
of the fish and game found within said park and against their capture
or destruction for the purposes of merchandise or profit. He shall
also cause all persons trespassing upon the same after the passage of
this act to be removed therefrom, and generally shall be authorized to
take all such measures as shall be necessary or proper to fully carry
out the objects and purposes of this act.

    _Approved March 1, 1872._

Signed by:

James G. Blaine, Speaker of the House.

Schuyler Colfax, Vice-President of the United States and President of
the Senate.

Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States.


MILITARY ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED FOR PROTECTING THE PARK

SUNDRY CIVIL BILL FOR 1883.

... The Secretary of War, upon the request of the Secretary of the
Interior, is hereby authorized and directed to make the necessary
details of troops to prevent trespassers or intruders from entering
the park for the purpose of destroying the game or objects of
curiosity therein, or for any other purpose prohibited by law, and to
remove such persons from the park if found therein....

    _Approved, March 3, 1883._

       *       *       *       *       *

ADMISSION OF THE STATE OF WYOMING.

Sec. 2. ... _Provided_, That nothing in this act contained shall
repeal or affect any act of Congress relating to the Yellowstone
National Park, or the reservation of the park as now defined, or as
may be hereafter defined or extended, or the power of the United
States over it; and nothing contained in this act shall interfere with
the right and ownership of the United States in said park and
reservation as it now is or may hereafter be defined or extended by
law: but exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, shall be
exercised by the United States, which shall have exclusive control and
jurisdiction over the same; but nothing in this proviso contained
shall be construed to prevent the service within said park of civil
and criminal process lawfully issued by the authority of said state;
and the said state shall not be entitled to select indemnity school
lands for the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections that may be in said
park reservation, as the same is now defined or may be hereafter
defined....

    _Approved, July 10, 1890._

THE NATIONAL PARK PROTECTIVE ACT.

     An Act to protect the birds and animals in Yellowstone National
     Park, and to punish crimes in said park, and for other purposes.

_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled_, That the Yellowstone
National Park, as its boundaries now are defined, or as they may be
hereafter defined or extended, shall be under the sole and exclusive
jurisdiction of the United States; and that all the laws applicable to
places under the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of the United States
shall have force and effect in said park; provided, however, that
nothing in this Act shall be construed to forbid the service in the
park of any civil or criminal process of any court having jurisdiction
in the States of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. All fugitives from
justice taking refuge in said park shall be subject to the same laws
as refugees from justice found in the State of Wyoming.

Sec. 2. That said park, for all the purposes of this Act, shall
constitute a part of the United States judicial district of Wyoming
and the District and Circuit Courts of the United States in and for
said district shall have jurisdiction of all offenses committed within
said park.

Sec. 3. That if any offense shall be committed in said Yellowstone
National Park, which offense is not prohibited or the punishment is
not specially provided for by any law of the United States or by any
regulation of the Secretary of the Interior, the offender shall be
subject to the same punishment as the laws of the State of Wyoming in
force at the time of the commission of the offense may provide for a
like offense in the said State; and no subsequent repeal of any such
law of the State of Wyoming shall affect any prosecution for said
offense committed within said park.

Sec. 4. That all hunting, or the killing, wounding, or capturing at
any time of any bird or wild animal, except dangerous animals, when it
is necessary to prevent them from destroying human life or inflicting
an injury, is prohibited within the limits of said park; nor shall any
fish be taken out of the waters of the park by means of seines, nets,
traps, or by the use of drugs or any explosive substances or
compounds, or in any other way than by hook and line, and then only at
such seasons and in such times and manner as may be directed by the
Secretary of the Interior. That the Secretary of the Interior shall
make and publish such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary
and proper for the management and care of the park and for the
protection of the property therein, especially for the preservation
from injury or spoliation of all timber, mineral deposits, natural
curiosities, or wonderful objects within said park; and for the
protection of the animals and birds in the park, from capture or
destruction, or to prevent their being frightened or driven from the
park; and he shall make rules and regulations governing the taking of
fish from the streams or lakes in the park. Possession within the said
park of the dead bodies, or any part thereof, of any wild bird or
animal shall be _prima facie_ evidence that the person or persons
having the same are guilty of violating this Act. Any person or
persons, or stage or express company or railway company, receiving for
transportation any of the said animals, birds or fish so killed, taken
or caught, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be fined
for every such offense, not exceeding three hundred dollars. Any
person found guilty of violating any of the provisions of this Act or
any rule or regulation that may be promulgated by the Secretary of the
Interior with reference to the management and care of the park, or for
the protection of the property therein, for the preservation from
injury or spoliation of timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities
or wonderful objects within said park, or for the protection of the
animals, birds and fish in the said park, shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor, and shall be subjected to a fine of not more than one
thousand dollars or imprisonment not exceeding two years, or both, and
be adjudged to pay all costs of the proceedings.

That all guns, traps, teams, horses, or means of transportation of
every nature or description used by any person or persons within said
park limits when engaged in killing, trapping, ensnaring, or capturing
such wild beasts, birds, or wild animals shall be forfeited to the
United States, and may be seized by the officers in said park and held
pending the prosecution of any person or persons arrested under charge
of violating the provisions of this Act, and upon conviction under
this Act of such person or persons using said guns, traps, teams,
horses, or other means of transportation, such forfeiture shall be
adjudicated as a penalty in addition to the other punishment provided
in this Act. Such forfeited property shall be disposed and accounted
for by and under the authority of the Secretary of the Interior.

Sec. 5. That the United States Circuit Court in said district shall
appoint a commissioner, who shall reside in the park, who shall have
jurisdiction to hear and act upon all complaints made, of any and all
violations of the law, or of the rules and regulations made by the
Secretary of the Interior for the government of the park, and for the
protection of the animals, birds, and fish and objects of interest
therein, and for other purposes authorized by this Act. Such
commissioner shall have power, upon sworn information, to issue
process in the name of the United States for the arrest of any person
charged with the commission of any misdemeanor, or charged with the
violation of the rules and regulations, or with the violation of any
provision of this Act prescribed for the government of said park, and
for the protection of the animals, birds, and fish in the said park,
and to try the person so charged, and, if found guilty, to impose the
punishment and adjudge the forfeiture prescribed. In all cases of
conviction, an appeal shall lie from the judgment of said commissioner
to the United States District Court for the district of Wyoming, said
appeal to be governed by the laws of the State of Wyoming providing
for appeals in cases of misdemeanor from justices of the peace to the
District Court of said State; but the United States Circuit Court in
said district may prescribe rules of procedure and practice for said
commissioner in the trial of cases, and for appeal to said United
States District Court. Said commissioner shall also have power to
issue process as hereinbefore provided for the arrest of any person
charged with the commission of any felony within the park, and to
summarily hear the evidence introduced, and, if he shall determine
that probable cause is shown for holding the person so charged for
trial, shall cause such person to be safely conveyed to a secure place
for confinement, within the jurisdiction of the United States District
Court in said State of Wyoming, and shall certify a transcript of the
record of his proceedings and the testimony in the case to the said
court, which court shall have jurisdiction of the case; provided, that
the said commissioner shall grant bail in all cases bailable under the
laws of the United States or of said State. All process issued by the
commissioner shall be directed to the marshal of the United States for
the district of Wyoming; but nothing herein contained shall be
construed as preventing the arrest by any officer of the government or
employe of the United States in the park, without process, of any
person taken in the act of violating the law or any regulation of the
Secretary of the Interior; provided, that the said commissioner shall
only exercise such authority and powers as are conferred by this Act.

Sec. 6. That the marshal of the United States for the district of
Wyoming may appoint one or more deputy marshals for said park, who
shall reside in said park, and the said United States District and
Circuit Courts shall hold one session of said courts annually at the
town of Sheridan, in the State of Wyoming, and may also hold other
sessions at any other place in said State of Wyoming, or in said
National Park, at such dates as the said courts may order.

Sec. 7. That the commissioner provided for in this Act shall, in
addition to the fees allowed by law to commissioners of the Circuit
Courts of the United States, be paid an annual salary of one thousand
dollars, payable quarterly, and the marshal of the United States, and
his deputies, and the attorney of the United States and his assistants
in said district, shall be paid the same compensation and fees as are
now provided by law for like services in said district.

Sec. 8. That all costs and expenses arising in cases under this Act,
and properly chargeable to the United States, shall be certified,
approved, and paid as like costs and expenses in the courts of the
United States are certified, approved, and paid under the laws of the
United States.

Sec. 9. That the Secretary of the Interior shall cause to be erected
in the park a suitable building to be used as a jail, and also having
in said building an office for the use of the commissioner, the cost
of such building not to exceed five thousand dollars, to be paid out
of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, upon the
certificate of the Secretary as a voucher therefor.

Sec. 10. That this act shall not be construed to repeal existing laws
conferring upon the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of War
certain powers with reference to the protection, improvement, and
control of the said Yellowstone National Park.

    _Approved, May 7, 1894._


LEASES IN THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.

     An act concerning leases in the Yellowstone National Park.

_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled_, That the Secretary
of the Interior is hereby authorized and empowered to lease to any
person, corporation, or company, for a period not exceeding ten years,
at such annual rental as the Secretary of the Interior may determine,
parcels of land in the Yellowstone National Park, of not more than ten
acres in extent for each tract, and not in excess of twenty acres in
all to any one person, corporation, or company, on which maybe erected
hotels and necessary out-buildings; provided, that such lease or
leases shall not include any of the geysers or other objects of
curiosity or interest in said park, or exclude the public from free
and convenient approach thereto, or include any ground within
one-eighth of a mile of any of the geysers or the Yellowstone Falls,
the Grand Cañon, or the Yellowstone River, Mammoth Hot Springs, or any
object of curiosity in the park; and provided, further, that such
leases shall not convey, either expressly or by implication, any
exclusive privilege within the park except upon the premises held
thereunder and for the time therein granted. Every lease hereafter
made for any property in said park shall require the lessee to observe
and obey each and every provision in any Act of Congress, and every
rule, order, or regulation made, or which may hereafter be made and
published by the Secretary of the Interior concerning the use, care,
management, or government of the park, or any object or property
therein, under penalty of forfeiture of such lease, and every such
lease shall be subject to the right of revocation and forfeiture,
which shall therein be reserved by the Secretary of the Interior; and
provided, further, that persons or corporations now holding leases of
ground in the park may, upon the surrender thereof, be granted new
leases hereunder, and upon the terms and stipulations contained in
their present leases, with such modifications, restrictions, and
reservations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe.

This Act, however, is not to be construed as mandatory upon the
Secretary of the Interior, but the authority herein given is to be
exercised in his sound discretion.

That so much of that portion of the Act of March third, eighteen
hundred and eighty-three, relating to the Yellowstone Park, as
conflicts with this Act, be, and the same is hereby, repealed.

    _Approved, August 3, 1894._


RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL
PARK.

1895.

[Promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior.]

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.

1. It is forbidden to remove or injure the sediments or incrustations
around the geysers, hot springs, or steam vents; or to deface the same
by written inscription or otherwise; or to throw any substance into
the springs or geyser vents; or to injure or disturb, in any manner,
or to carry off any of the mineral deposits, specimens, natural
curiosities, or wonders within the park.

2. It is forbidden to ride or drive upon any of the geyser or hot
spring formations, or to turn loose stock to graze in their vicinity.

3. It is forbidden to cut or injure any growing timber. Camping
parties will be allowed to use dead or fallen timber for fuel.

4. Fires shall be lighted only when necessary, and completely
extinguished when not longer required. The utmost care should be
exercised at all times to avoid setting fire to the timber and grass,
and any one failing to comply therewith shall be peremptorily removed
from the park.

5. Hunting or killing, wounding, or capturing of any bird or wild
animal, except dangerous animals, when necessary to prevent them from
destroying life or inflicting an injury, is prohibited. The outfits,
including guns, traps, teams, horses, or means of transportation used
by persons engaged in hunting, killing, trapping, ensnaring, or
capturing such birds or wild animals, or in possession of game killed
in the park under other circumstances than prescribed above, will be
forfeited to the United States, except in cases where it is shown by
satisfactory evidence that the outfit is not the property of the
person or persons violating this regulation, and the actual owner
thereof was not a party to such violation. Firearms will only be
permitted in the park on the written permission of the Superintendent
thereof. On arrival at the first station of the park guard, parties
having firearms will turn them over to the sergeant in charge of the
station, taking his receipt for them. They will be returned to the
owners on leaving the park.

6. Fishing with nets, seines, traps, or by use of drugs or explosives,
or in any other way than with hook and line, is prohibited. Fishing
for purposes of merchandise or profit is forbidden by law. Fishing may
be prohibited by order of the Superintendent of the park in any of the
waters of the park, or limited therein to any specified season of the
year, until otherwise ordered by the Secretary of the Interior.

7. No person will be permitted to reside permanently or to engage in
any business in the park without permission, in writing, from the
Department of the Interior. The Superintendent may grant authority to
competent persons to act as guides, and revoke the same in his
discretion, and no pack trains shall be allowed in the park unless in
charge of a duly registered guide.

8. The herding or grazing of loose stock or cattle of any kind within
the park, as well as the driving of such stock or cattle over the
roads of the park, is strictly forbidden, except in such cases where
authority therefor is granted by the Secretary of the Interior.

9. No drinking saloon or bar-room will be permitted within the limits
of the park.

10. Private notices or advertisements shall not be posted or displayed
within the park, except such as may be necessary for the convenience
and guidance of the public, upon buildings on leased ground.

11. Persons who render themselves obnoxious by disorderly conduct or
bad behavior, or who violate any of the foregoing rules, will be
summarily removed from the park, and will not be allowed to return
without permission in writing from the Secretary of the Interior or
the Superintendent of the Park.

Any person who violates any of the foregoing regulations will be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and be subjected to a fine, as
provided by the Act of Congress, approved May 7, 1894, "to protect the
birds and animals in Yellowstone National Park, and to punish crimes
in said park, and for other purposes," of not more than one thousand
dollars or imprisonment not exceeding two years, or both, and be
adjudged to pay all costs of the proceedings.

  Hoke Smith,
    _Secretary of the Interior_.




APPENDIX C.

APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.


  Act   June 20, 1878. To protect, preserve, and improve
                         the Park                         $10,000 00

   "    Mar. 3, 1879.  To protect, preserve, and improve
                         the Park                          10,000 00

   "    June 16, 1880. To protect, preserve, and improve
                         the Park                          15,000 00

   "    Mar. 3, 1881.  To protect, preserve, and improve
                         the Park                          15,000 00

   "    Mar. 3, 1881.  Deficiency for 1880                     89 76

   "    Aug. 5, 1882.       "      "  1881                    155 00

   "    Aug. 7, 1882.  For protection and improvement
                         of Park                           15,000 00

   "    Aug. 7, 1882.  To reimburse P. W. Norris for
                         salary and expenses, April 18,
                         1877, to June 30, 1878             3,180 41

   "    Mar. 3, 1883.  For protection and improvement
                         of Park                           40,000 00

   "    July 7, 1884.  For protection and improvement
                         of Park                           40,000 00

   "    Mar. 3, 1885.  For protection and improvement
                         of Park                           40,000 00

  Joint Resolution of
    July 1 and July
    15, 1886           Compensation of Superintendent
                         and employes for month of
                         July, 1886                           934 25

  Act   Aug. 4, 1886.  For construction of roads and
                         bridges                           20,000 00

   "    Mar. 3, 1887.  For construction of roads and
                         bridges                           20,000 00

  Act  Oct. 2, 1888.   For construction of roads and
                         bridges                           25,000 00

   "   Mar. 2, 1889.   For construction of roads and
                         bridges                           50,000 00

   "   Aug. 30, 1890.  For construction of roads and
                         bridges                           75,000 00

   "   Sept. 30, 1890. Reimbursement of Superintendent
                         Conger                               169 37

   "   Mar. 3, 1891.   For construction of roads and
                         bridges                           75,000 00

   "   Aug. 5, 1892.   For construction of roads and
                         bridges                           45,000 00

   "   Mar. 3, 1893.   For construction of roads and
                         bridges                           30,000 00

   "   May 4, 1894.    For erection of court-house and
                         jail                               5,000 00

   "   Aug. 18, 1894.  For construction of roads and
                         bridges                           30,000 00

   "   Aug. 18, 1894.  For salary of Commissioner
                         provided by Act of May 4, 1894     1,000 00

   "   Mar. 2, 1895.   For construction of roads and
                         bridges                           30,000 00

   "   Mar. 2, 1895.   For salary of Commissioner           1,000 00

   "   Mar. 2, 1895.   For reimbursement of John W.
                         Meldrum                              385 75
                                                         -----------
         Total                                           $596,914 54

  Receipts from leases                     $8,358 94

  Expenditures from same                    4,053 45

        Balance                                             4,305 49
                                                         -----------
  Outlay for 23 years                                    $592,609 05

  Average annual outlay less than                          25,000 00




APPENDIX D.

LIST OF SUPERINTENDENTS OF THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.


     _Name._                _Length of Service._       _Compensation._

  Nathaniel P. Langford     Appointed May 10,
                              1872; removed April
                              18, 1877                 No compensation.

  Philetus W. Norris        Appointed April 18,
                              1877                           Do.
                            Commissioned July 5,
                              1878; removed
                              February 2, 1882         $1,500 per annum.

  Patrick H. Conger         Commissioned February
                              2, 1882; resigned
                              July 28, 1884            $2,000 per annum.

  Robert E. Carpenter       Commissioned August
                              4, 1884; removed May
                              29, 1885                       Do.

  David W. Wear             Commissioned May 29,
                              1885. Congress failed
                              to appropriate for
                              office from August 1,
                              1886                           Do.

  Capt. Moses Harris        Acting Superintendent
                              of Park. August 10,
                              1886, detailed by
                              Secretary of War, in
                              pursuance of Act March
                              3, 1883 (22 Statutes,
                              627). Relieved from
                              duty June 1, 1889        No compensation
                                                         other than army
                                                         pay.

  Capt. F. A. Boutelle    Acting Superintendent
                            of Park; assigned
                            June 1, 1889, relieving
                            Capt. Moses Harris       No compensation
                                                      other than army
                                                      pay.

  Capt. Geo. S. Anderson. Acting Superintendent
                            of Park; assigned
                            January 21, 1891,
                            relieving Capt. F. A.
                            Boutelle                 Do.




APPENDIX E.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LITERATURE OF THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.


The following bibliography is intended to contain the names of such
books and magazine articles in the English language as treat in whole
or in part of the Yellowstone National Park. It does not include
references in encyclopedias or school textbooks, nor, with few
exceptions, articles from the daily or weekly journals. Those who
desire to consult the more general literature relating to the geysers
and hot springs of the world are referred to the excellent work of Dr.
A. C. Peale, published in 1883, in the Twelfth Annual Report of Dr.
Hayden, pp. 427-449.

The present list is carefully indexed under the more prominent words
of the titles and under the names of the authors; but the full title
of each work is given only once. To pass from any other reference to
the corresponding full title, note the number following the reference
and look for the title which is preceded by the same number. The
abbreviation "Y. N. P." is for "Yellowstone National Park."


1. Action of Geysers. _Westminster Review_, vol. lxvii, p. 207.

Allen, C. J., 6.

2. American Big Game Hunting. The Book of the Boone and Crockett Club,
vol. i. Editors, Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell. New
York. Forest and Stream Publishing Company. 1893. Contains numerous
references to the Y. N. P. and an article entitled "The Yellowstone
Park as a Game Preserve," by Arnold Hague.

3. Among the Geysers of the Yellowstone. E. Roberts. In his
_Shoshone_. New York. Harper Brothers. 1888. pp. 202-245.

4. Analyses of some Geyser Deposits. By Henry Leffmann. _Chemical
News._ London, vol. xliii, p. 124.

5. Analyses of the Waters of the Y. N. P. By Frank A. Gooch and James
E. Whitfield, Bulletin No. 47, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington:
Government Printing Office. 1888.

Anderson, G. S., 8, 24, 61.

6. Annual Reports of Officers of the Corps of Engineers in charge of
the Construction of Roads and Bridges. Including, to the present time,
reports by Lieutenant (now Captain) D. C. Kingman, Captain (now Major)
C. B. Sears, Major Charles J. Allen, Lieutenant W. E. Craighill, Major
(now Lieutenant-Colonel) W. A. Jones, and Lieutenant (now Captain) H.
M. Chittenden. Washington: Government Printing Office.

7. Annual Reports of Secretaries of the Interior, from 1871 to the
present time. Washington: Government Printing Office.

8. Annual Reports of Superintendents of the Park. Including, to the
present time, reports by N. P. Langford, P. W. Norris, P. H. Conger,
D. W. Wear, Captain (now Major, retired) Moses Harris, Captain F. A.
Boutelle, and Captain George S. Anderson. Washington: Government
Printing Office.

9. Annual Report (Fifth: 1871) of the U. S. Geological Survey of the
Territories. By Dr. F. V. Hayden, with sub-reports by A. C. Peale,
Joseph Leidy and T. C. Porter, Washington: Government Printing Office.
1872.

10. Annual Report (Sixth: 1872) of the U. S. Geological Survey of the
Territories. By Dr. F. V. Hayden, with sub-reports by Dr. A. C. Peale,
F. H. Bradley, C. H. Merriam, Henry Gannett, J. M. Coulter and N. P.
Langford. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1873.

11. Annual Report (Twelfth: 1878) of the U. S. Geological and
Geographical Survey of the Territories. By Dr. F. V. Hayden, with
sub-reports by W. H. Holmes, Dr. A. C. Peale and Henry Gannett.
Washington: Government Printing Office. 1883. This report contains Dr.
Peale's exhaustive treatise upon the thermal phenomena of the park;
his general treatise on the hot springs and geysers of the world, and
his elaborate bibliography pertaining to these subjects.

12. Annual Reports of the United States Geological Survey. The serial
numbers of these reports begin with June 30, 1880, the first report
being for the year ending at that time. Nearly all these reports
contain valuable references to the Park, most of them being from the
pen of Prof. Arnold Hague. One article of great importance, by Walter
Harvey Weed (Ninth Annual Report, 1888, pp. 613-676), on the formation
of hot springs deposits through the agency of vegetable growth,
deserves particular notice. Washington: Government Printing Office.

13. Aquatic Invertebrate Fauna of the Y. N. P., Preliminary Report
upon. S. A. Forbes. Bulletin United States Fish Commission for 1891,
p. 215. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1893.

Arthur, Chester A., 66.

14. Ascent of Mt. Hayden. N. P. Langford. _Scribner's_ (Old)
_Monthly_, vol. vi, p. 129.

15. Astoria.--Washington Irving.--Chapter xv contains a reference to
John Colter.

Attractions of the Y. N. P., 96.

16. Attractions of the Y. N. P. _Kansas City Review._ April 1880, p.
743.

17. Autumn in the Yellowstone Park. L. Rutgers. In his _On and off
the Saddle_. New York: Putnam, 1894, pp. 1-19.

Barlow, Captain J. W., 94.

18. Battle of the Big Hole. G. O. Shields. Chicago and New York: Rand,
McNally & Company. 1889. Contains an account of the Nez Percé
Campaign.

Beam, Wm., 21.

19. Bicycle Tour of the Y. N. P. First. W. O. Owen. _Outing_, vol.
xviii p. 191.

20. Black Hills, The, and American Wonderland. H. N. Maguire. _The
Lakeside Library_, vol. iv, p. 298.

21. Bonneville, Captain, The Adventures of. Washington Irving. Chapter
xxiii contains a reference to John Colter, the Stinkingwater River,
and to "Colter's Hell."

22. Botanical Observations in Western Wyoming. C. C. Parry. _American
Naturalist_, vol. viii, pp. 9, 102, 175, 211.

Boutelle, Capt. F. A., 8.

Brackett, W. S., 63.

Bradbury, J., 115.

Bradley, F. H., 10.

Brockett, G. P., 152

Brown, R., 125.

Bunce, O. B., 83.

Butler, J. D., 65.

23. Calumet of the Coteau. P. W. Norris. Philadelphia: J. B.
Lippincott & Co., 1883.

24. Camping in the Y. N. P. Captain Geo. S. Anderson. _Youth's
Companion_, October 17, 1895, p. 488. Gives exhaustive directions for
those desiring to camp through the Park.

Catlin, George, 62.

Chittenden, H. M., 6, 98.

25. Chronicles of the Yellowstone. E. S. Topping. St. Paul: Pioneer
Press Company. 1883.

Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, Report of, 91.

Comstock, T. B., 45, 90, 118, 141.

Conger, P. H., 8.

26. Congressional Reports (only the more important):

     To accompany House Bill 764 (Act of Dedication), 42d Cong., 2d
     Session.

     Report of a Special Committee of the House of Representatives
     appointed by the Speaker on the 4th day of March, 1885, to
     investigate, among other things, the Y. N. P. House Report No.
     1,076, 49th Cong., 1st Sess., pp. 245-270.

     Report of the Committee on Public Lands on the administration of
     the Y. N. P. in compliance with House resolution of April 8, 1892.
     House Report No. 1,956, 52d Cong., 1st Sess., pp. 295.

     Adverse Report on the admission of steam railways within the Park.
     House Report No. 1,386, 53d Cong., 2d Sess.

     Adverse Report on the admission of electric railways within the
     Park. House Report No. 1,387, 53d Cong., 2d Sess.

     Adverse Report on Segregation project and change of boundaries.
     House Report No. 1,763, 53d Cong., 3d Sess.

27. Contributions to the Geological Chemistry of the Y. N. P. Henry
Leffmann and Wm. Beam. _American Journal of Science._ 3d series, vol.
xxv, p. 104.

28. Cooke City _versus_ the National Park. New York: _Forest and
Stream_, December 8, 1892, p. 16.

Cope, E. D., 145.

Corps of Engineers, Officers of, Annual Reports of, 6.

Coues, Elliott, 57.

Coulter, J. M., 10.

Craighill, W. E., 6.

Dana, E. S., 89.

De Lacy, W., 72, 114.

De Vallibus, 132.

Donne, G. C., 136.

Donaldson, T., 87.

Driscoll, C. F., 142.

Dudley, W. H., 159.

Dunraven, Earl of, 53.

29. Earth, The, and its Inhabitants. Élisée Reclus. Vol. iii. New
York: D. Appleton & Co. 1893. Contains numerous references to the Y.
N. P.

Eccles, James, 70, 99.

Eldridge, G. H., 44.

30. Elk Hunt, An, at Two-Ocean Pass. Theodore Roosevelt. _The
Century_, vol. xliv, p. 713.

Ellsworth, Spencer, 86.

31. Enchanted Land, The, or an October Ramble among the Geysers, etc.,
of the Y. N. P. Illustrated. 8vo. pp. 48. Paper. R. E. Strahorn.
Omaha. 1881.

Evermann, B. W., 91.

Everts, T. C., 110.

32. Expedition through the Big Horn Mountains, Y. N. P., etc., in
1881. Report by Lieutenant-General P. H. Sheridan, with sub-reports by
Lieutenant-Colonel J. F. Gregory, A. D. C., Surgeon W. H. Forwood, U.
S. A., and Captain S. C. Kellogg, U. S. A. Washington: Government
Printing Office. 1882.

33. Expedition to the Yellowstone. _Analectic Magazine_, vol. xv, pp.
293, 347.

34. Exploration of Parts of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, in 1882.
Report by Lieutenant-General P. H. Sheridan, with sub-reports by
Lieutenant-Colonel J. F. Gregory, A. D. C., and Surgeon W. H. Forwood,
U. S. A. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1882.

35. Exploration of the Yellowstone and the Country drained by that
River. W. F. Raynolds, Brevet Brigadier-General U. S. A. Sen. Ex. Doc.
No. 77, 40th Cong., 1st Sess. On page 10 is a reference to the geyser
regions.

36. Falls of the Yellowstone. Howard O'Neil. _Southern Magazine_, vol.
ix., p. 219.

37. Falls of the Yellowstone. Moses Thatcher. _The Contributor._ Salt
Lake City. Vol. v, p. 140.

Ferris, G. T., 84.

38. Fifth Avenue to Alaska. Edward Pierrepont. New York: G. P. Putnam
Sons, 1884, p. 237. Printed for private circulation only.

Folsom, D. E., 119.

Forbes, S. A., 13.

Forest Reservation, The Y. N. P. as a, 157.

Forwood, W. H., 32, 34.

39. Fossil Forests of the Volcanic Tertiary Formations of the Y. N. P.
W. H. Holmes. Bulletin United States Geological Survey, vol. v, p.
125. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1879.

40. Fossil Forests of the Yellowstone. Walter Harvey Weed. _School of
Mines Quarterly_, vol. xiii, no. 3.

41. Fossil Forests of the Yellowstone. Prof. Samuel E. Tillman. United
States Military Academy. _Popular Science Monthly_, vol. xliii, p.
301, July, 1893.

42. Fossil Forests of the Yellowstone. Prof. Frank H. Knowlton, P. H.
D. _The Epoch_, vol. i, no. 1, p. 18. April, 1895.

Francis, E., 49.

Frankland, E., 143.

Game Exploration, Y. N. P., 158.

Game Preserve, The Y. N. P. as a, 2.

Gannett, H., 10, 11, 153.

Geike, A., 48.

Geological Chemistry of the Y. N. P. Contributions to the, 27.

43. Geological History of the Y. N. P. Arnold Hague. _Transactions
American Institute of Mining Engineers_, vol. xvi, 1888. Also in
Smithsonian Report for 1892, p. 133.

44. Geological Reconnaissance in North-western Wyoming. George Homans
Eldridge. Bulletin 119, United States Geological Survey. Washington:
Government Printing Office. 1894.

45. Geology of Western Wyoming. Theo. B. Comstock. _American Journal
of Science._ 3d series, vol. vi, p. 426.

Geyser Deposits, Analyses of, 4.

Geyserland, Pilgrimage to, 86.

Geysers, Action of, 1.

46. Geysers and how they are explained. Joseph Le Conte. _Popular
Science Monthly_, vol. xii, p. 407.

47. Geysers, Comparisons of. A. C. Peale. _Science_, vol. ii, p. 101.

48. Geysers of the Yellowstone. Archibald Geike. _Macmillan_, vol.
xliv, p. 421. Same article, _Appleton's Journal_, vol. xxvi, p. 538;
and _Eclectic Magazine_, vol. xcviii, p. 124.

49. Geysers of the Yellowstone. E. Francis. _Nineteenth Century_, vol.
xi, p. 369. Same article in Living Age, vol. cliii, p. 31, and
_Eclectic Magazine_, vol. xcviii, p. 598.

Geysers of the Yellowstone, Among the, 3.

Geyser Regions, The World's, 134.

Geysers, Soaping, 102, 103, 104.

50. Gigantic "Pleasuring Ground," A. _Nature_, vol. vi, pp. 397, 437.

51. Glacial Phenomena in the Y. N. P. W. H. Holmes. _American
Naturalist_, vol. xv, p. 203.

52. Gold Hunt on the Yellowstone, A. Edward B. Nealley.
_Lippincott's_, vol. ix, p. 204.

Gooch, F. A., 5.

53. Great Divide, The. Earl of Dunraven. London: Chatto and Windus.
1876.

54. Great West, The. A Journal of Rambles over Mountain and Plain. P.
W. Norris. A long series of articles under the above title appeared in
the _Norris Suburban_ in 1876, '7, '8. They deal largely with the Y.
N. P., and contain much of historic value. Norris subsequently
rearranged and extended these articles with a view to publication in
book form; but death interrupted his purpose. The manuscript is now in
the possession of William Hallett Phillips, of Washington, D. C.

Gregory, J. F., 32, 34, 66.

Grinnell, G. B., 2, 61, 89.

55. Grotto Geyser, The. F. V. Hayden. Washington: Government Printing
Office. 1876.

56. Guide Books of the Y. N. P. The guide books of the Park are
numerous; but as they are all similar in character, and generally
supplanted by the latest issue, it seems unnecessary to give a full
list of them. Among those who have prepared guides or manuals of the
Park, of practical value to the tourist, may be mentioned H. J.
Norton, P. W. Norris, Henry J. Winser, G. L. Henderson, W. W. & S. K.
Wiley, W. C. Riley, F. J. Haynes, A. B. Guptill, and the Northern
Pacific and Union Pacific Railway Companies. The leading authorities
at the present time are Haynes' (St. Paul) Guide Book and O. D.
Wheeler's (N. P. R. R.) "Wonderland" Series. See "Wonderland Series."

Gunnison, J. W., 77.

Guptill, A. B., 56, 148.

Hague, Arnold, 2, 12, 43, 67, 102, 154, 156, 157.

Harris, Moses, 8.

Harrison, Carter, 107.

Hayden, F. V., 9, 10, 11, 55, 59, 60, 117, 127, 128, 140, 160.

Hayden, Mt., Ascent of, 14.

Haynes, F. J., 56, 66, 162.

Heap, D. P., 94.

Hedges, C., 137.

Henderson, G. L., 56, 161.

Heizman, C. L., 90, 108.

57. History of the Expeditions under the Command of Lewis and Clark,
to the Sources of the Missouri River, thence across the Rocky
Mountains and down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. Performed
during the Years 1804-5-6, by Order of the Government of the United
States. Elliott Coues. 4 vols. New York: Francis P. Harper. 1893.
Pages 283, 1153, 1154, 1181, and 1182 contain references to the Y. N.
P.

Holmes, W. H., 11, 39, 51, 82.

58. Horseback Rides through the Y. N. P. H. J. Norton. Virginia City,
Mont. 1874. The first real guide book of the Park.

59. Hot Springs and Geysers of the Yellowstone and Firehole Rivers. F.
V. Hayden. _American Journal of Science_, vol. ciii, pp. 105, 161.

60. Hot Springs of the Y. N. P. F. V. Hayden. In _The Great West_,
Philadelphia: Franklin Publishing Co. 1880.

Hough, E., 158.

Howard, O. O., 79, 81.

Hoyt, J. W., 93.

61. Hunting in Many Lands. Book of the Boone and Crockett Club. Vol.
ii. Editors, Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell. New York:
Forest and Stream Publishing Company. 1895. Contains an article by
Captain G. S. Anderson, 6th U. S. Cavalry, on "Protection in the Y. N.
P.", and one by the Editors on "The Yellowstone Park Protective Act."

Iddings, J. P., 156.

62. Illustrations of the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North
American Indians. George Catlin. 2 vols. London: Henry G. Bohn. 1857.
Pages 261-2 contain reference to Catlin's Park project. Published also
in New York. 1841.

63. Indian Remains on the Upper Yellowstone. William S. Brackett.
Smithsonian Institute Report for 1892, p. 577.

64. Inspection Made in the Summer of 1877 by Generals P. H. Sheridan
and W. T. Sherman. Contains letters from General Sherman to the
Secretary of War, and reports by General Sheridan, Colonel O. M. Poe,
and other officers. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1878.

Irving, Washington, 15, 21.

65. John Colter. Professor J. D. Butler. _Magazine American History_,
vol. xii, no. 1, p. 83.

Jones, W. A., 6, 90.

Jones, W. P., 153.

Jordan, D. S., 92, 150.

Joseph, Nez Percé, 81.

66. Journey through the Yellowstone National Park and North-western
Wyoming. 1883. Photographs of Party and Scenery along the Route
Traveled, and Copies of the Associated Press Dispatches sent whilst En
Route. Washington: Government Printing Office.

This book, of which only twelve copies were ever made, is the record
of the journey of President Arthur through the Park as the guest of
Lieutenant-General Sheridan in 1883. The dispatches were mostly
written by Lieutenant-Colonel M. V. Sheridan, Military Secretary, and
by Lieutenant-Colonel James F. Gregory, Aide-de-Camp; but at least one
dispatch was written by each of the other members of the party, except
the President. All the dispatches were read to and approved by the
President before being sent. No newspaper correspondent accompanied
the expedition. The photographs, which form an important feature of
the book, were taken by F. J. Haynes, who accompanied the party.

Kellogg, S. C., 32.

Kingman, D. C., 6.

Knowlton, F. H., 42.

Koch, Peter, 144.

Langford, N. P., 8, 10, 14, 119, 120, 129, 137.

Le Conte, Joseph, 46.

Leffmann, Henry, 4, 27.

Leidy, Joseph, 9.

Lewis and Clark, 57.

Liederkranz Expedition to the Y. N. P., 159.

Linton, Edwin, 85.

Ludlow, William, 89.

Maguire, H. N., 20.

67. Map of the North-west, An Early. Arnold Hague. _Science_, vol. x,
p. 217.

68. Map of the Y. N. P. _Science_, vol. xi, p. 255.

69. Marvels of the Yellowstone. _Leisure Hour_, vol. xxi, p. 134.

Merriam, C. H., 10.

70. Microscopical Character of Vitreous Rocks of Montana. Frank Rutley
and James Eccles. _Quarterly Journal Geological Society_, London, vol.
xxxvii, p. 391.

71. Military Road from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Benton, Report on
Construction of. Captain John Mullan, U. S. A. Washington: Government
Printing Office. 1863. Pages 19 and 53 refer to geysers and hot
springs near the Upper Yellowstone.

72. Mineral Resources of the States and Territories. Rossiter W.
Raymond. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1869. Page 142 quotes
W. W. De Lacy in regard to hot springs on the Firehole and Snake
Rivers.

73. Mineral Springs of the United States. A. C. Peale. Bulletin No.
32, United States Geological Survey. Washington: Government Printing
Office.

74. Mineral Springs of the United States. A. C. Peale. _Popular
Science Monthly_, vol. xxx, p. 711.

75. Mineral Springs of the United States and Canada. G. E. Walton.
_Popular Science Monthly_, vol. iii, p. 515.

76. Mineral Waters of the Y. N. P. A. C. Peale. _Science_, vol. xvii,
p. 36.

Mitchell, S. W., 112.

Montana Historical Society, Transactions of, 114.

77. Mormons or Latter Day Saints, A History of. Captain J. W.
Gunnison, U. S. A. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co. 1852. Also
Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1856. Page 151 contains a
reference to Bridger's knowledge of the geyser regions.

Mullan, John, 71.

National Park, Our Great, 83.

Nealley, E. B., 52.

78. New North-west, The. _The Century_, vol. xxiv, p. 504.

79. Nez Percé Campaign, The, Reports of General Howard and other
officers upon. Vol. i, Reports of Secretary of War for 1877.
Washington: Government Printing Office. 1877.

Nez Percé Campaign, The, 18, 79, 80, 81.

80. Nez Percé Indians, Report of Civil and Military Commission to
inquire into Grievances of. Vol. i, Report of Secretary of the
Interior for 1877, p. 607. Nez Percé War described on pp. 405-409,
same volume. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1877.

81. Nez Percé Joseph. History of the Nez Percé Campaign of 1877.
General O. O. Howard. Boston. Lee and Shepard. 1881.

Norris, P. W., 8, 23, 54, 56.

Northern Pacific Railway Co., 56, 126.

Norton, H. J., 56, 58.

82. Notes on an Extensive Deposit of Obsidian in the Y. N. P. W. H.
Holmes. _American Naturalist_, vol. xiii, p. 247.

Obsidian in the Y. N. P., 82.

O'Neil, H., 36.

83. Our Great National Park. O. B. Bunce. In _Picturesque America; or,
the Land we Live in_, vol. i, p. 292. New York: D. Appleton & Co.
1872.

84. Our Native Land, or Glances at American Scenery and Places.
George T. Ferris. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1886, pp. 148-178.

Overhead Sounds in the Vicinity of the Yellowstone Lake. S. A. Forbes.
Page 215, _Preliminary Report on Aquatic Invertebrate Fauna, in the Y.
N. P._, 13.

85. Overhead Sounds in the Vicinity of the Yellowstone Lake. Edwin
Linton. _Science_, vol. xxii, No. 561, p. 244.

Owen, W. O., 19.

Parry, C. C., 22, 90.

Peale, A. C., 9, 10, 11, 47, 73, 74, 76, 109, 134.

Peck, J. K., 155.

Pierrepont, Edward, 38.

86. Pilgrimage to Geyserland. Spencer Ellsworth. Lacon, Ill. 1883.

Poe, O. M., 64.

Porter, R. P., 153.

Porter, T. C., 9.

Protection in the Y. N. P., 61.

Protective Act, Y. N. P., 61.

87. Public Domain, The. Its History with Statistics. Thomas Donaldson.
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1884, p. 1294.

88. Rambles in Wonderland. Edwin J. Stanley. New York: D. Appleton &
Co. 1873.

Raymond, R. W., 72, 104, 105, 106, 130.

Raynolds, W. F., 35.

Reclus, Élisée, 29.

89. Reconnaissance from Carroll, Montana, to the Y. N. P. Captain (now
Lieutenant-Colonel) Wm. Ludlow, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., with
sub-reports by George Bird Grinnell and Edward S. Dana. Appendix N N,
Chief of Engineers' Report for 1876. Washington: Government Printing
Office. 1876. Also published separately in quarto, 155 pages. 1876.

90. Reconnaissance of North-western Wyoming, including the Y. N. P.,
made in the summer of 1873. Captain W. A. Jones, of the Corps of
Engineers, with sub-reports by Prof. Theo. B. Comstock, Dr. C. L.
Heizman, U. S. A., and Dr. C. C. Parry. Washington: Government
Printing Office. 1875.

91. Reconnaissance of the Streams and Lakes of Western Montana and
North-western Wyoming. Barton W. Evermann. In Report of the United
States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. Washington: Government
Printing Office. 1892, pp. 1-58.

92. Reconnaissance of the Streams and Lakes of the Yellowstone
National Park, Wyoming, in the interests of the United States Fish
Commission. David Starr Jordan. Bulletin United States Fish
Commission, vol. ix, pp. 41-63. Washington: Government Printing
Office. 1890.

93. Reconnaissance for a Wagon Road to the National Park. Gov. John W.
Hoyt, of Wyoming. In Annual Report of Secretary of the Interior, 1881.
Vol. ii, p. 1074. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1881.

94. Reconnaissance of the Yellowstone River in 1871. Captains Barlow
and Heap, of the United States Corps of Engineers. Sen. Ex. Doc. No.
66, 42d Cong., 2d Sess.

95. Report upon United States Geographical Surveys West of the One
Hundredth Meridian. Captain George M. Wheeler, Corps of Engineers, U.
S. A. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1889. Vol. i contains a
memoir upon the Voyages, Explorations, and Surveys pertaining to that
portion of the United States west of the Mississippi River from the
year 1500 to 1880, including an epitome of a Memoir by Lieutenant G.
K. Warren, covering the period from 1800 to 1857.

96. Resources of Montana Territory and Attractions of the Y. N. P. R.
E. Strahorn. Helena, Montana: Montana Legislative Assembly. 1879.

Richardson, James, 131.

Riley, W. C., 56.

97. River of the West, The. Frances Fuller Victor. Hartford, Conn.:
Columbian Book Company. 1871. Pages 75 and 76 contain a description of
some of the hot springs districts of the Park as seen in 1829.

98. Roads in the Y. N. P. Lieutenant H. M. Chittenden, U. S. A. _Good
Roads_, vol. v, no. 1, p. 1.

Roberts, E., 3, 146.

99. Rocky Mountain Region of Wyoming and Idaho. James Eccles. _Alpine
Journal_, London. Vol. ix, p. 241.

Rollins, A. W., 111.

Roosevelt, Theodore, 2, 30, 61.

Rutgers, L., 17.

Rutley, F., 70.

Saltus, J. S., 123.

Sanitarium, A Winter, 124.

Sargent, C. S., 149.

100. Scorodite from the Y. N. P. J. Edward Whitfield. Bulletin U. S.
G. S., No. 55. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1889.

Sears, C. B., 6.

Secretaries of the Interior, Annual Reports of, 7, 80, 93.

Sessions, F. C., 147.

Sheridan, M. V., 66.

Sheridan, P. H., 32, 34, 64, 66.

Sherman, W. T., 64.

Shields, G. O., 18.

101. Siliceous Pebbles from the Geyser of the Yellowstone Cañon. A. P.
Townsend. _American Chemist_, vol. iii, p. 288.

Siliceous Sinter, Formation of, 12.

102. Soaping Geysers. Arnold Hague. _Science_, vol. xiii, p. 382. Also
in Smithsonian Report for 1892, p. 153.

103. Soaping Geysers. _Popular Science Monthly_, vol. xxxvii, p. 139.

104. Soaping Geysers. R. W. Raymond. Transactions of the American
Institute of Mining Engineers, Buffalo Meeting, October, 1888.

Stanley, E. J., 88.

105. Statistics of Mines and Mining. Rossiter W. Raymond. Washington:
Government Printing Office. 1870. Page 312 contains references to the
geysers of the Yellowstone.

106. Statistics of Mines and Mining. Rossiter W. Raymond. Washington:
Government Printing Office. 1872. Pages 213-216 contain a reference to
the geysers from the pen of General Washburn.

Strahorn, R. E., 31, 96.

Strong, W. E., 116.

107. Summer's Outing, A, or, The Old Man's Story. Carter Harrison.
Chicago: Dibble Publishing Company. 1891.

Superintendents of the Y. N. P., Annual Reports of, 8.

Tetons, The Three, 111.

Thatcher, M., 37.

108. Therapeutical Value of the Springs in the Y. N. P. Dr. C. L.
Heizmann, U. S. A. Philadelphia. _Medical Times_, vol. vi, p. 409.

109. Thermal Springs of the Y. N. P., Report on. A. C. Peale. _Popular
Science Monthly_, vol. xxiii, p. 515.

110. Thirty-seven Days of Peril. Truman C. Everts. _Scribner's
Monthly_, vol. iii, p. 1.

111. Three Tetons, The. Alice Wellington Rollins. _Harper's_, vol.
lxxiv, p. 869.

112. Through the Yellowstone Park to Fort Custer. Dr. S. Weir
Mitchell. _Lippincott's_, vol. xxvi, p. 29.

113. Through the Yellowstone Park on Horseback. G. W. Wingate. New
York: Orange Judd. Co. 1886.

Tillman, S. E., 41.

Topping, E. S., 25.

Townsend, A. P., 101.

114. Transactions Montana Historical Society, vol. i. Helena, Montana:
Rocky Mountain Publishing Company. 1876. Contains numerous references
to the Upper Yellowstone, the most important of which is an article
entitled "Trip up the South Snake River," by Walter W. De Lacy.

115. Travels in the Interior of America in the years 1808-10-11. John
Bradbury. Liverpool: 1817.

Travertine, Formation of, 12.

Trip up the South Snake River in 1863. Walter W. De Lacy, 114.

116. Trip to the Y. N. P., in July, August and September, 1875. Gen.
W. E. Strong. Washington. 1876.

Trumbull, Walter, 121, 137.

117. Two-Ocean Pass, The So-called. Dr. F. V. Hayden. Vol. v,
Bulletins United States Geological Survey of the Territories, p. 223.

Two-Ocean Pass, 30, 91, 117.

118. Unexplained Phenomena of the Geyser Basins of the Y. N. P.
Theodore B. Comstock. _Popular Science Monthly_, vol. xii, p. 372.

Union Pacific Railroad Company, 56.

United States Geological Survey, Annual Reports of, 9 to 12.

119. Valley of the Upper Yellowstone. David E. Folsom. _Western
Monthly_, vol. iv, p. 60, July, 1870. Reprinted by Mr. N. P. Langford,
with an interesting preface by himself. St. Paul, Minn. 1894.

Vegetation of Hot Waters, 12.

Victor, F. F., 97.

120. Vigilante Days and Ways. N. P. Langford. St. Paul: D. D. Merrill
& Co. 1893. Contains numerous references to the Park.

Walton, G. E., 75.

Warren, G. K., 95.

Washburn, H. D., 106, 137.

121. Washburn Yellowstone Expedition, The. Walter Trumbull. _Overland
Monthly_, vol. vi, pp. 431, 489.

122. _Wasp, The._ Vol. i, No. 17, August 13, 1842. Contains the
article quoted on pp. 44-49, stated to have been an extract from an
unpublished work entitled "Life in the Rocky Mountains." Author
unknown. _The Wasp_ was a Mormon paper, published at Nauvoo, Ill.

Wear, D. W., 8.

Weed, W. H., 12, 40, 156.

123. Week in the Yellowstone, A. J. Sanford Saltus. New York:
Knickerbocker Press. 1895. Printed for private circulation.

Wheeler, G. M., 95.

Wheeler, O. D., 56, 126.

Whitfield, J. E., 5, 100.

Wiley, W. W. and S. K., 56.

Wilson, S. A., 135.

Wingate, G. W., 113.

Winser, H. J., 56.

124. Winter Sanitarium for the American Continent. _Popular Science
Monthly_, vol. xxvii, p. 290.

125. Wonderland of America. Robert Brown. In the _Countries of the
World_, vol. iv. London, Paris, and New York.

Wonderland, American, The Black Hills and, 20.

Wonderland, Rambles in, 88.

126. Wonderland Series. O. D. Wheeler. Annual Publication of Northern
Pacific Railroad Company, describing the country along the line of
that railroad. These books all contain valuable articles on the Park.
They include "6,000 Miles through Wonderland," 1893, "Indianland and
Wonderland," 1894, and "Sketches of Wonderland," 1895.

127. Wonders of the Rocky Mountains. The Y. N. P. How to reach it. F.
V. Hayden. In _Williams' Illustrated Guide to the Pacific Railroad,
California_, etc. New York. 1876.

128. Wonders of the West. More about the Yellowstone. F. V. Hayden.
_Scribner's Monthly_, vol. iii, No. 4, p. 388.

129. Wonders of the Yellowstone, The. N. P. Langford. _Scribner's
Monthly_, vol. ii, pp. 1, 113.

130. Wonders of the Yellowstone, The. Rossiter W. Raymond. In his
_Camp and Cabin_. New York: Fords, Howard & Hulburt. 1880.

131. Wonders of the Yellowstone, The. James Richardson. New York:
Scribner, Armstrong & Co. 1872.

132. Wonders of the Yellowstone, The. De Vallibus. _Contributor_, Salt
Lake City, vol. v, pp. 5, 47, 86.

133. Wonders of the Yellowstone Region. _Chambers' Journal_, vol. li,
p. 315.

134. World's Geyser Regions, The. A. C. Peale. _Popular Science
Monthly_, vol. xxvii, p. 494.

Wright, G. M., 156.

Yellowstone, Chronicles of the, 25.

Yellowstone Expedition, 121.

135. Yellowstone Expedition of 1863. S. A. Wilson. _Magazine Western
History_, vol. xiii, pp. 448, 668.

136. Yellowstone Expedition of 1870, Report upon. Lieutenant Gustavus
C. Doane. Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 51, 41st Cong., 3d Sess.

137. Yellowstone Expedition of 1870. A Series of Articles in Montana
Papers, describing the Expedition. These consisted of articles by Mr.
Langford in the _Helena Herald_; "Notes" by General Washburn in the
same paper; a series of articles, including "Sulphur Mountain and Mud
Volcano," "Hell-broth Springs," "Yellowstone Lake," "Mt. Everts," and
others, by Mr. Hedges, published in the _Herald_; and a similar series
in the _Helena Gazette_ by Walter Trumbull. These articles appeared
between September 26, 1870, immediately after the return of the
Expedition, and November 12th, the date of the banquet given to Mr.
Everts after his miraculous escape from his terrible adventure.

Yellowstone, Expedition to the, 33.

Yellowstone, Exploration of the, 35.

Yellowstone, Falls of the, 36, 37.

Yellowstone, Fossil Forests of the, 39, 40, 41, 42.

Yellowstone, Geysers and Hot Springs of the, 3, 31, 48, 49, 59, 60.

Yellowstone, Gold Hunt on the, 52.

Yellowstone, Indian Remains on the, 63.

Yellowstone Lake, Overhead Sounds in the Vicinity of, 13, 85.

Yellowstone, Marvels of the, 69.

138. Yellowstone National Park. _Scribner's Monthly_, vol. iv, p. 120.

139. Yellowstone National Park. _Manhattan Illustrated Monthly_, vol.
iv, No. 2, p. 129, August, 1884.

140. Yellowstone National Park. F. V. Hayden. _American Journal of
Science_, vol. ciii, p. 294.

141. Yellowstone National Park. Theo. B. Comstock. _American
Naturalist_, vol. viii, pp. 65, 155.

142. Yellowstone National Park. Charles F. Driscoll. _American
Architect_, vol. xiii, p. 130.

143. Yellowstone National Park. E. Frankland. _Popular Science
Monthly_, vol. xxvii, p. 289.

144. Yellowstone National Park. Peter Koch. _Magazine American
History_, vol. xi, p. 497.

145. Yellowstone National Park. E. D. Cope. _American Naturalist_,
vol. xix, p. 1017.

146. Yellowstone National Park. E. Roberts. _Art Journal_, vol. xl,
pp. 193, 325.

147. Yellowstone National Park. F. C. Sessions. _Magazine Western
History_, vol. vi, p. 433.

148. Yellowstone National Park. A. B. Guptill. _Outing_, vol. xvi, p.
256.

149. Yellowstone National Park. C. G. Sargent. _Garden and Forest_,
vol. vii, p. 131.

150. Yellowstone National Park. D. S. Jordan. _Around the World_, vol.
i, p. 148.

151. Yellowstone National Park. (Anon.) _Nature_, vol. v, p. 403; vi,
pp. 397, 437.

152. Yellowstone National Park. G. P. Brockett. In _Our Western
Empire_, chap. xxii. Philadelphia, 1881.

153. Yellowstone National Park. Robert P. Porter, Henry Gannett, and
W. P. Jones. In _The West from the Census of 1880_. Chicago: Rand,
McNally & Co. 1882.

154. Yellowstone National Park. Arnold Hague. Extract from the
proceedings of the Fifth Session of the International Congress of
Geologists. Washington, 1891.

155. Yellowstone National Park. J. K. Peck. In his _Seven Wonders of
the World_. New York: Hunt and Eaton, p. 71.

Yellowstone National Park, Analyses of Waters of, 5.

Yellowstone National Park, Aquatic Invertebrate Fauna of, 13.

Yellowstone National Park, Attractions of, 16, 96.

Yellowstone National Park, Autumn in, 17.

Yellowstone National Park, Camping in, 24.

Yellowstone National Park, Cooke City _versus_, 28.

Yellowstone National Park, Expeditions to or through, 32, 34.

Yellowstone National Park, First Bicycle Tour of, 19.

156. Yellowstone National Park Folio. (In preparation.) A publication
by the United States Geological Survey, consisting of four geological
and four topographical maps; a descriptive text by Prof. Arnold Hague,
of the United States Geological Survey; and a geological text by Prof.
Hague as Geologist in Charge, assisted by Messrs. J. P. Iddings, W. H.
Weed, and G. M. Wright. It is understood that this Folio is presently
to be followed by an exhaustive Monograph upon the Park.

157. Yellowstone National Park as a Forest Reservation. Arnold Hague.
_Nation_, vol. xlvi, p. 9.

158. Yellowstone National Park Game Exploration. E. Hough. Under the
above title a series of thirteen articles appeared in _Forest and
Stream_ in the summer of 1894, the first article appearing in the
issue of May 5, and the last in that of August 25 of that year. These
articles are of great interest and value as forming probably the most
complete discussion of the game question in the Park that has yet
appeared. Their descriptions of snow-shoe traveling and of the winter
scenery of that region are well worthy of perusal. The graphic
narrative of the arrest of the poacher, Howell, is an important
feature.

Yellowstone National Park as a Game Preserve, 2.

Yellowstone National Park, Geological Chemistry of, 27.

Yellowstone National Park, Geological History of, 43.

Yellowstone National Park, Glacial Phenomena in, 51.

Yellowstone National Park, Guide Books of, 56.

Yellowstone National Park, Horseback Rides through, 58.

Yellowstone National Park, Hot Springs and Geysers of, 3, 31, 48, 49,
59, 60.

Yellowstone National Park. How to reach it, 127.

159. Yellowstone National Park from the Hurricane Deck of a Cayuse;
or, The Liederkranz Expedition to Geyserland. W. H. Dudley. Butte
City, Montana. 1886.

Yellowstone National Park, Journey through, 66.

Yellowstone National Park, Map of, 68.

Yellowstone National Park, Mineral Waters of, 76.

160. Yellowstone National Park and the Mountain Regions of Portions of
Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, and Utah. F. V. Hayden. Boston. 1876. Large
folio.

Yellowstone National Park, Obsidian in, 82.

161. Yellowstone National Park, Past, Present, and Future. Facts for
the Consideration of the Committee on Territories for 1891, and Future
Committees. G. L. Henderson. Washington: Gibson Brothers. 1891.

162. Yellowstone National Park in Photogravure. F. J. Haynes. Fargo,
North Dakota. 1887.

Yellowstone National Park, Protection in, 61.

Yellowstone National Park, Protective Act, 61.

Yellowstone National Park, Reconnaissance to, 89, 90.

Yellowstone National Park, Reconnaissance of Streams and Lakes of, 91,
92.

Yellowstone National Park, Reconnaissance for a Wagon Road to, 93.

Yellowstone National Park, Roads in, 98.

Yellowstone National Park, Scorodite in, 100.

Yellowstone National Park, Therapeutical Value of Springs of, 108.

Yellowstone National Park, Thermal Springs of, 109.

Yellowstone National Park, Through the, to Fort Custer, 112.

Yellowstone National Park, Through the, on Horseback, 113.

Yellowstone National Park, A Trip to, 116.

Yellowstone National Park, Unexplained Phenomena of, 118.

Yellowstone River, Reconnaissance of, 94.

Yellowstone, Valley of the Upper, 119.

Yellowstone, A Week in the, 123.

Yellowstone, Wonders of the, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133.


INDEX.


     [Appendices A and E being carefully arranged alphabetically, names
     found in them are not included in this index unless they also occur
     in the main body of the work. The few abbreviations used are
     self-explanatory.]


    Absaroka, Indian name for Crow Tribe, 8.
    Absaroka Range, name considered, 289.
      described, 152, 240.
      first ascent of, 80, 295.
      first crossed, 104.
      profile of human face in, 243.
    Act of Dedication becomes a law, 95.
      comments upon, 96, 97.
      history of, 92-5.
      provisions of, 127.
      text of, 345.
      vote on, 95.
    Act of 1883, Military Assistance in protecting Park, 134, 347.
    Act of 1890, admitting Wyoming, 347.
    Act of 1894, National Park Protective Act, 141, 145, 348.
    Act of 1894, regulating leases, 141, 352.
    Adirondacks, proposal for reservation in, 97.
    Administration of the Park, 206-8.
    Administrative History of the Y. N. P., 127-141.
    Adverse reports on railroad projects, etc., 141.
    Africa, preserve for big game in, 97.
      thermal springs of, 161.
    Alder Gulch, discovery of gold in, 66.
    Algonquian family of Indians, 8.
      territory, 37.
    Altitudes in the Y. N. P., 154.
    Alvarez, Spanish trader, 46, 49.
    American Fur Company, historical sketch of, 34-5, 38.
    American Fur Company, territory of, 35, 37.
    Amethyst Mountain, 263.
    Anderson, Captain G. S., eighth superintendent Y. N. P., 139.
      plans capture of Howell, 143.
      quoted, 273, 276.
    Andesitic lava flows in Y. N. P., 157.
    "Annie," first boat on Y. Lake, 336.
    Antelope, habitat of, in Y. N. P., 216.
    Apollinaris Spring, 217.
    Appropriations for the Y. N. P., 357.
    Area of the Y. N. P., 148.
    Arnold, A. J., member of Helena tourist party, 112, 120.
    Arsenic Geyser, 220.
    Artemesia Geyser, 228.
    Arthur, Chester A., visits Y. N. P., 107, 371.
    Assistant Superintendents, Y. N. P., 135.
    Astor, John Jacob, and the American fur trade, 34.
    Astorians, The, 21, 23.
      departure of, for Pacific coast, 31
      surrender to N. W. Fur Co., 33.
    Astringent Creek, 143.
    Atlantic Creek, 246.
    Atmosphere of the Y. N. P., 199, 210.
    Australia, thermal springs of, 161.
    Autumn foliage in the Y. N. P., 192.


    Baird, S. F., presents Lieutenant Doane's report to Phil. Soc. of
      Washington, 83.
    Bannock Indians, 8, 10.
      incursion of, into Y. N. P., 126, 215.
      territory of, 10.
    Bannock Peak, 217.
    Bannock Trail, 17, 24, 43.
    Baring-Gould's theory of geyser action, 166.
    Barlow, Captain J. W., expedition of, 85-6, 291.
      quoted, 6, 231, 344.
      report of, 86.
    Baronett, C. J., biographical sketch, 292.
    Baronett's Bridge burned, 124.
      history of, 261.
    Basaltic lava flows in Y. N. P., 157.
    Bath Lake, 214.
    Battle of trappers and Indians near Y. Lake, 49.
    Battle of the Big Hole, 116.
    Bays of the Y. Lake, 335.
    Bears and tourists, 184.
    Bear Creek, 70.
    Beaver Lake, 219.
    Bechler River, 151.
    Bee Hive Geyser, 234.
    Belknap, W. W., visits Y. N. P., 105.
    Beryl Spring, 221.
    Bibliography of the Y. N. P., 361.
    Biddle Lake, first name for Jackson Lake, 331.
    Big Game Ridge, 153.
    Big Hole, Battle of the, 116.
    Bighorn River, Lisa's fort on, 29, 31.
      source of, 188.
    Big Thunder, Nez Percé chief, 113.
    Birds in the Y. N. P., 185.
    Biscuit Basin, 228.
    Blackfeet Indians, 8, 9.
      territory of, 8, 9, 18.
      treaties with, 18, 19.
    Black Growler, 175, 220.
    Black Sand Basin, 230.
    Blaine, J. G., introduces Langford at Washington lecture, 84.
      signs Act of Dedication, 346.
    Block house, ancient, in Y. N. P., 41.
    Boat, first on Y. Lake, 337.
    Boat ride on Y. Lake, 243.
    Boiling River, 212.
    Boiling Springs in Y. N. P., 174.
    Bonneville, Captain, 37.
      refers to Firehole River, 49, 316.
    Bottler's Ranch, 120.
    Boundaries of the Y. N. P., 148, 278-280, 333.
    Boutelle, Captain F. A., Seventh Superintendent of the Park, 139.
    Bradbury, John, 3, 21.
    Bradbury, John, interviews Colter, 28.
    Bradley, F. H., quoted, 321, 331, 332, 333.
    Bridge, Baronett. See _Baronett's Bridge_.
    Bridge Creek, 244.
    Bridge, Natural, 244.
    Bridge over the Y. River, 203.
    Bridger, James, ability of as guide, 328.
      biographical sketch, 327.
      acquaintance of with Park country, 51, 52, 61.
      disbelieved by the public, 53, 57.
      guide to Captain Raynolds, 59.
      his stories, 54-56.
      partner in Rocky Mountain Fur Company, 36.
      and Two-Ocean Pass, 61, 245.
    British Fur Companies, strife between, 34.
    British Fur Traders excluded from U. S. Territory, 34.
    Bronze Geyser, 240.
    Buffalo of Y. N. P., 143, 184.
    Buildings at Mammoth Hot Springs, 209, 216.
    Buildings in Y. N. P. in 1880, 132.
    Bunsen Peak, 215.
    Bunsen's theory of geyser action, 163-5.
    Burgess, Felix, government scout, 110.
      arrests Howell, 143, 144.
    "Burning Mountains," 13, 16.


    Cache Creek, name of, 70.
    Calcareous Springs in the Y. N. P., 173.
    California, discovery of gold in, 39, 100.
    Camas Creek, Battle of, 116.
    Camping in the Y. N. P., 205.
    Canadian National Park, 97.
    Canadian Niagara Park, 97.
    Cañon Hotel, 253.
    Capes of the Y. Lake, 336.
    Carpenter, Frank and Ida, members of Radersburg tourist party, 112.
      experiences of, with Nez Percés, 117-19.
    Carpenter, R. E., Fourth Superintendent Y. N. P., 136.
      removed from office, 136.
    Cascade Creek, 180, 253.
    Castle Geyser, 167, 230.
    Cathedral Rock, 215.
    Catlin, George, biographical sketch of, 87-8.
      Indian Gallery of, 88.
      originates Park idea, 89.
      quoted, 88-9.
    Chittenden, Lieutenant, H. M., measures height of Upper Fall, 326.
    Chouteau, Valle & Co. buy out Astor, 35.
    Clagett W. H., his work for Park bill, 92, 94.
    Claimants for credit of originating Park idea, 90.
    Clark's Fork Mining District, 264.
    Clark, Wm., gives names to Y. Lake and Jackson Lake, 24.
      mentioned, 5, 21, 22.
      receives information from Colter, 27, 31.
    Cleopatra Spring, 214.
    Climate of the Y. N. P., 189, 198.
    Coast and Geodetic Survey, monument of, near Y. Lake, 248.
    Cold-water geyser, 48.
    Cole, Senator, remarks of, on Park bill, 94.
    Colfax, Schuyler, signs Act of Dedication, 346.
    Color of rock in Grand Cañon, 253.
      water in Hot Springs, 172, 213.
    Colter, John, adventure of, with the Blackfeet, 28-31.
      character of, 21.
      declines to join the Astorians, 31.
      discovers Grand Cañon of the Y., 27.
      discovers Jackson Lake, 24.
      discovers Mammoth Hot Springs, 26.
      discovers Tar Spring on the Stinkingwater, 23.
      discovers Y. Lake, 24, 27.
      gives Clark information, 31.
      marries, 31.
      receives discharge from Lewis and Clark, 20.
      returns to St. Louis, 31.
      whereabouts of, in winter of 1806-7, 22.
    "Colter's Hell," 28, 31.
    "Colter's River," 26.
    "Colter's Route in 1807," 25-7.
    Comet Geyser, 230.
    Commission to examine into grievances of Nez Percé Indians, 114, 115.
    Comstock, T. B., member of Captain Jones' party in 1873, 105.
    Comstock, T. B., his theory of geyser action, 166.
      quoted 342, 343, 344.
    Conant Creek, trail along, 12, 24.
    Cone Geysers, 167.
    Conger, P. H., Third Superintendent of Y. N. P., 131.
      resigns, 136.
    Congress abolishes civilian police force in Park, 137.
    Congress Geyser, 220.
    Congressional Reports on Y. N. P., 141.
    Constant Geyser, 220.
    Continental Divide, 151, 238.
    Cook, C. W., Member of Folsom Party in 1869, 73.
    Cooke City, 264.
    "Corduroying" on snow-shoes, 195.
    Cost of visiting Y. N. P., 274.
    Cowan, Mr. and Mrs. George F., members Radersburg tourist party, 112.
      experiences of, with Nez Percés, 118-120.
      re-visit Park, 120.
    Craig Pass, 238, 338.
    Cretaceous Period in Y. N. P., 156.
    Crevice Creek, 71.
    Crook, General George, visits Park, 106.
    Crosby, Schuyler, appeals to Congress for protection to Y. N. P., 133.
      member of presidential party, 1883, 107.
    Crow Indians, territory of, 8, 18.
      treaties with, 18, 19.
      tribal characteristics, 8.
    Crystal Falls, 80, 253.
    Cubs, The, 232.
    Cupid's Cave, 214.


    Danger to future existence of Y. N. P., 281.
    Dawes, Hon. H. L., 94, 336.
    Dawes, Miss Anna L., 336.
    Death Gulch, 264.
    De Lacy Creek, 239.
    De Lacy, W. W., discovers Lower Geyser Basin, 68.
      discovers Shoshone Lake, 68.
      history of his expedition, 67-69.
    Deluge Geyser, 243.
    Denudation and erosion, work of, in Y. N. P., 158.
    "Devil," frequency of name in Y. N. P., 287, 388.
    Devil's Kitchen, 214.
    Diamond, The, Bridger's story of, 35.
    Dietrich, Richard, member of Helena tourist party, 111.
      killed by Nez Percés, 122.
    Dingee, William, member of Helena tourist party, 112.
    Discovery of gold, 65, 66.
    Discovery of the Y., 72.
      long delay in, 101.
    Doane, Lieutenant G. C., ascends Absaroka Range, 80, 295.
      biographical sketch, 294.
      commands escort to Washburn Expedition, 14, 76.
      descends Grand Cañon, 80.
      guide to General Belknap,  105.
      measures height of Upper Falls, 325.
      quoted, 6, 14, 78, 175, 235, 237, 254, 261, 297, 325, 343.
      report of, upon Washburn Expedition, 83.
    Dome, The, 217.
    Drainage areas of Y. N. P., 149.
    "Dreamers" among the Nez Percés, 114.
    Du Charne, Baptiste, upon the Upper Y. in 1824, 41.
    Duncan, L., member of Helena tourist party, 1877, 111.
    Dunnell, M. H., and Park bill, 93.
    Dunraven, Earl of, 9.
      publishes "Great Divide," 295.
      quoted, 96.
      visits Y. N. P., 295.


    Early knowledge of the Y., 50, 60.
    East Gardiner Cañon and Falls, 215.
    Echinus Geyser, 220.
    Elephant Back, original name for Washburn Range, 152, 296.
    Electric Peak, 152, 215.
    Electric railways in Y. N. P., 204, 276, 277, 280, 365.
    Elk in Y. N. P., 184, 280.
    Elliott, H. W., 336, 337.
    Emerald Pool (Norris Geyser Basin), 220.
      (Upper Geyser Basin), 230.
    Equipment for snow-shoe traveling, 195.
    Erosion, work of, in Y. N. P., 158.
    Eustis Lake, first name for Y. Lake, 335.
    Eustis, William, 334.
    Evermann, B. W., describes Two-Ocean Pass, 245.
    Everts, Mt., 153, 215, 216.
    Everts, T. C., experience of, in 1870, 81, 297.
      member of Washburn Party, 76.
    Excelsior Geyser, 226.
    Expedition of 1869. See _Folsom Expedition_.
      of 1870. See _Washburn Expedition_.
    Explorations by U. S. Government, relation of to Y. N. P., 100.
    Explorers, rush of, to Y. N. P., 103.


    Face, profile of in Absaroka Range, 293.
    Fairy Fall, 226.
    Falls River, 151.
      Basin, 154.
    Falls of the Yellowstone described, 251, 254.
      measurement of, 80, 105, 325-6.
      not on Colter's map, 27.
    Fan Geyser, 229.
    Fauna of the Y. N. P., 181.
    Fearless Geyser, 220.
    Firehole Cascade, 222.
      Spring, 225.
      River, 43, 150.
    Fish Commission U. S., work of, in Y. N. P., 186.
    Fishes of the Y. N. P., 185, 186.
    Fishing Cone, story of, 56.
    Fishing Cone, west shore Y. Lake, 242.
    Fishless streams of the Y. N. P., 186.
    Flora of the Y. N. P., 187.
    Flow of water from Y. N. P., 190.
    Flowers of the Y. N. P., 190.
    Foller, August, member of Helena tourist party, 112.
    Folsom, D. E., 73.
      article by, in _Western Monthly_, 74.
      measures Falls of the Y., 325.
      quoted, 160, 241, 256.
      suggests Park idea, 91.
    Folsom Expedition, 72-4.
    Forbes, S. A., quoted, 246.
    Ford of the Y. River at Mud Geyser, 26, 249.
      at Tower Creek, 261.
    _Forest and Stream_, 145, 281, 383.
    Forest Reserve, 148.
    Forests of the Y. N. P., economic value of, 188.
      effect of railroads upon, 272.
      extent of, 187.
      preservation of, 207.
    Formations about geysers, 169.
    Fort Yellowstone, 208, 216.
    Fossil Forests of the Y., 177-180, 263.
    Fountain Geyser, 167, 223.
    Fountain geysers, 167.
    Fountain Hotel, 223.
    "Free trappers," 37.
    French name for Y. River, 2, 7.
    French and Indian War, 4.
    Friends of the Y. N. P., 281.
    Frying Pan, 219.
    Funds for the Y. N. P.; lack of, 128.
    Fur companies, growth and history, 32-36.
      territory controlled by, 37.
    Fur trade, climax in, 32, 39.
      competition in, 38.
      decline of, 39, 100.
      in its relation to western exploration, 32, 99, 100.


    Gallatin Range, 152.
    Gallatin River, 26, 150.
    Game preserve, the Y. N. P. as a, 181.
    Game in the Y. N. P., destruction of, 183.
      killing of, prohibited, 134.
      present condition of, 184, 383.
      protection of, 181, 207.
      tourists and, 184.
    Gandy, Captain C. M., photographic work of, in Y. N. P., vii.
    Gannett, Henry, measures heights of Falls, 326.
      quoted, 293, 295, 296.
    Gardiner's Hole, 317.
    Gardiner River, 150, 212.
      early known to trappers, 43, 318.
    Geographical names, importance of, 285.
      policy of the U. S. G. S. in regard to, 286.
      in the Y. N. P., 108, 285-6.
    Geologic activity diminishing, 159.
    Geology of the Y. N. P., 156-161.
    Geyser action, theories concerning, 163-6.
    "Geyser," etymology of, 162.
    Geyser regions of the world, 160-161.
    Geysers, description of, 162.
      formations about, 169.
      Soaping, 165.
      underground connection, 169.
      water supply for, 169.
    Giant Geyser, 167, 230.
    Giantess Geyser, 167, 232.
    "Giant's Face," 244.
    Gibbon Cañon, 221.
    Gibbon Falls, 222.
    Gibbon, John, 104.
      battle of, with Nez Percés, 116.
    Gibbon Meadows, 221.
    Gibbon Paintpots, 221.
    Gibbon River, 104, 150, 221.
    Gillette, W. C., member of Washburn Party, 76.
    Glacial Epoch in Y. N. P., 158.
    Glaciers, channels of, 158.
    Glass Mountain, Bridger's story, 54.
    Gold, discovery of, 65.
      in California, 39, 100.
      in Idaho, 65.
      in Montana, 65, 66.
      in the Nez Percé Reservation, 113.
    Golden Gate, 215.
    Gold-seekers on the Yellowstone, 101.
    Government officials and protection of Y. N. P., 282.
    Grand Cañon of the Y., colors in, 6, 254.
      Colter discovers the, 27.
      description of, 253-8.
      in winter, 257.
    Grand Geyser, 167, 231.
    Grand Teton, 153.
      ascent of, 222, 309.
      granite blocks near summit, 12, 222, 223.
      name considered, 323.
    Granite Block near Grand Cañon, 258.
    Granite Blocks near summit of Grand Teton, 12, 222, 223.
    Grant, U. S., signs Act of Dedication, 346.
    Gray Peak, 217.
    Great Bend of the Y., 6, 43.
    Great Fountain Geyser, 167, 224.
    Green River, 188.
    Grinnell, G. B., 105.
    Grotto Geyser, 229.
    Grotto Spring, 249.
    Gunnison, Captain J. W., and James Bridger, 52.
      quoted, 52, 329.


    Hague, Arnold, quoted, 160, 182, 286, 290, 306, 321.
      referred to, 245, 322.
    Hancock, Gen. W. S., 76, 300.
    Harris, Captain Moses, quoted, 284.
      Sixth Superintendent Y. N. P., 138.
    Hart Lake, 151, 242
      Geyser Basin, 243.
    Hauser, S. T., descends Grand Cañon, 80.
      member of Washburn Party, 76.
    Hayden and Barlow discover Mammoth Hot Springs, 85.
      route of, 85, 86.
    Hayden Expedition of 1871, 85, 86.
      results, 86.
    Hayden Expeditions of 1872 and 1878, 103.
    Hayden, F. V., biographical sketch, 338-340.
      connection of, with Park bill, 86, 92, 93, 95.
      explorations of, in Y. N. P., 85, 103.
      geologist to Captain Raynolds, 59.
      quoted, 6, 95, 213, 286, 293, 294, 296, 301, 307, 314, 317, 330,
        332, 341.
      referred to, 245.
    Hayden Valley, 154, 250.
    Haynes, F. J., accompanies Presidential party, 107, 371.
      winter tours of Y. N. P., 109.
      work of, in Y. N. P., vii.
    Health resort, Y. N. P. as a, 199.
    Heap, Captain D. P., with Captain Barlow, 1871, 85.
    Hedges, Cornelius, member of Washburn Party, 76, 83.
      quoted, 32, 76, 249, 320.
      originates National Park project, 91.
    _Helena Herald_, and Washburn Expedition, 83.
    Helena tourists, 1877, 111.
      experiences of, with Nez Percés, 121, 122.
    Hell Roaring Creek, 71, 287.
    Henry, Andrew, fur trader, 330.
    Henry, Joseph, quoted, 89.
    Henry Lake, 330.
      Howard's command at, 116.
    Highland Plateau, 153.
    Holmes, Mount, 217.
    Holmes, Wm. H., quoted, 306.
    Hoodoo Region, 265.
    Hostility to the Y. N. P., vi., 267-9.
    Hotel system of Y. N. P., 204.
    Hot Spring, color of water in, 172, 213.
    Hot Springs of the Y. N. P., 162, 172-5.
    Hot Springs and Geysers, water supply for, 169.
    Hot Springs in Grand Cañon, 254.
    Hough, E., connection of, with the Howell episode, 145, 383.
      quoted, 258.
      winter tour of, through Y. N. P., 110, 145.
    Howard, General O. O., and Nez Percé campaign, 106, 115, 116, 123.
    "Howard's Trail," 126.
    Howell the Poacher, capture and conviction of, 144-6.
    Hoyt, J. W., expedition of, 15, 106.
    Hudson's Bay Fur Company, historical sketch 33-5.
      territory of, 34, 37.
    Hurricane, The, 220.
    Huston, George, crosses Park country, 71.


    Iceland, thermal springs of, 161.
    Idaho, admission of, to Union, 282.
    Indians and name Yellowstone, 3, 7, 16.
      implements of, in Y. N. P., 12.
      knowledge of, concerning the geyser regions, 8, 13-17, 98.
      title of, to Y. N. P., 19.
      traditions of, concerning Y. N. P., 16.
      trails of, in Y. N. P., 11, 12, 13.
      treaties with, 18, 19.
      tribes of, near Y. N. P., 8.
      visits of, to Park country, 17.
    Inscription on pine tree near Grand Cañon, 40, 251.
    Inspiration Point, 254.
    Invalids at Mammoth Hot Springs in 1871, 200, 212.
    Irving, Washington, quotes Bradbury, 28.
    Isa Lake, 238.
    Islands of Y. Lake, 335.
    Itasca State Park, 97.


    Jackson, David, fur trader, 36.
    Jackson Lake, first named by Wm. Clark, 24, 331.
      discovered, 24.
      mentioned, 152, 222.
    Jackson, W. H., photographer in Y. N. P., vii.
    Jefferson Fork, scene of Colter's adventure, 29.
    Jefferson, Thomas, 1.
    Jewel Geyser, 228.
    Jones Creek, 104.
    Jones, Captain W. A., discovers and names Two-Gwo-Tee Pass, 105.
      discovers Two-Ocean Pass, 104, 245.
      expedition of, 15, 104.
      first to cross Absaroka Range, 104.
      measures Y. Falls, 326.
      names mountains east of Park, 289.
      quoted, 6.
    Joseph, Non-treaty Nez Percé chief, 113, 126.
      estimate of his character, 301.
    Joseph Peak, 217.
    Junction Butte, 261.
    Junction Valley, 154, 263.
    Jupiter Terrace, 214.


    _Kansas City Journal_, editor of, rejects Bridger's statements, 53.
    Kenck, Charles, member Helena Tourist Party, 112.
      killed by Nez Percés, 122.
    Kepler Cascade, 237.
    Killing of game in Y. N. P. prohibited, 134.
    Kingman, Lieutenant D. C., prepares project for Park road system, 140.
      quoted, 271.
      reports of, 140.
    Kingman Pass, 215.


    Lake Shore Geyser, 242.
    Lake View, 240.
    Lakes of the Y. N. P., 151.
    Lamar River, 150.
      Cañon of, 263.
    Langford, N. P., 27, 55.
      advocates Park project, 92.
      ascends Absaroka Range, 80, 295.
      ascends Grand Teton, 222, 309.
      biographical sketch of, 302.
      first Superintendent Y. N. P., 129.
      lectures on the Washburn Expedition, 84.
      measures height of Lower Fall, 325.
      member of the Washburn Expedition, 75.
      publishes articles on Washburn Expedition, 84.
      quoted, 92, 232, 305, 312, 317.
      reprints Folsom's article, 74.
      work of, for Park Bill, 92-3.
    Laws for Y. N. P., lack of, 127.
    Leases, Act of 1894 regulating, 141, 352.
      of land to Y. N. P. Improvement Co., 132.
      and privileges in Y. N. P., 132, 207.
      revenue from, 128.
    Lewis and Clark among the Mandans, 1.
      expedition of, 101.
      give Colter his discharge, 20.
      and North-west Fur Co., traders, 33.
      use name "Yellow Stone," 1, 2.
      quoted, 20.
      return journey of, 20.
      send report to President Jefferson, 1.
    Lewis Lake, 151.
    Lewis, Meriwether, kills a Blackfoot Indian, 9.
    Lewis River, 151.
    Liberty Cap, 214.
    "Life in the Rocky Mountains," referred to, 44.
      quoted from, 44, 48.
    Lincoln Pass, 23.
    Linton, Edwin, quoted, 247.
    Lion Geyser, 232.
    Lioness Geyser, 232.
    Lisa, Manuel, at mouth of Bighorn River, 29.
    Locomotive Spring, 220.
    Lone Star Geyser, 167, 237.
    "Lone Traders," 37.
    Looking Glass, Nez Percé chief, 113.
    Lookout Hill, 214.
    Lookout Point, 254.
    Louisiana, cession of to U. S., 3.
    Lower Fall of the Y., described, 254.
      recorded measurements of, 325-6
    Lower Geyser Basin, 223.
    Ludlow, Captain William, explorations of, 105.
      measures Falls of Y., 105, 326.
      quoted, 209, 253, 297.
      report of, 105.


    Mackenzie, theory of geyser action, 166.
    Madison Lake, 237, 333.
    Madison Plateau, 153.
    Madison River, 150.
    Madison Valley, 154.
    Mammoth Hot Springs, buildings at, 209, 216.
      described, 173, 212.
      discovery of, 26, 85.
    Mandan Indians, 1, 2, 4.
    Mann, Charles, member of Radersburg Tourist party, 112.
    Map of Y. N. P., vii.
    Map, Raynolds', 63.
    Marten traps, discovery of cache of, 41.
    Mason, Major J. W., commands escort to Governor Hoyt, 106.
    Maynadier, Lieutenant, commands detachment of Raynolds Party, 59, 60.
      quoted, 62.
    McCartney, C. J., attacked by Nez Percés, 123.
    McCartney Cave, 214.
    Meek, Joseph, adventures of, 42.
    Members of Congress from States near Park, 282-3.
    Mexico, war with, 39, 100.
    Middle Gardiner Falls and Cañon, 215.
    Midway Geyser Basin, 226.
    Mileage of Park Road System, 202.
    Miles, General N. A., intercepts and captures Nez Percés, 124.
    Mineral Springs of the Y. N. P., therapeutic value of, 199
    Minerva Terrace, 214.
    Minnetaree, Indian dialect, 7.
    Minute Man, 220.
    Mirror Plateau, 153.
    Missouri Fur Co., 29, 35.
    _Missouri Gazette_, extract from, 21, 23.
    Missouri River, 1, 4, 150, 188.
    Missouri River, fur trade along, 35.
    _Mi tsi a-da-zi_, Indian name for Yellowstone, 7.
    Monarch Geyser, 220.
    Montana Territory, becomes a state, 288.
      early explorations in, 3.
      emigration to, 66.
      population of, in 1862, 66.
    Monument Geyser Basin, 221.
    Monument, survey, 248.
    Moore, Charles, sketches by, 168.
      records height of Falls, 326.
    Moran, Thomas, painting by, 256.
      quoted, 256.
    Mormon emigration, 39, 100.
    Morning Glory, 229.
    Mound, artificial in Y. N. P., 12.
    Mountain sheep of Y. N. P., 216.
    Mountain stream of hot water, Bridger's story, 55.
    Mountain Systems of the West, formation of, 156.
      of the Y. N. P., 151, 152.
    Mud Geyser, Norris Geyser Basin, 220.
      Y. River, 249,
    Mud Volcano, 248.
    Mystic Fall, 228.


    Names of Hot Springs and Geysers, 287.
    Narrow Gauge Terrace, 214.
    National Park project, origin of, 87-92.
    National Park Protective Act, 110, 141-5, 348.
    National Parks on sites of battle-fields, 97.
    Natural Bridge, 244.
    Navigation of Y. Lake and River, 203.
    New Crater Geyser, 220.
    _New York Tribune_ quotes Langford on Park project, 92.
    New Zealand, thermal springs of, 97, 161.
    Nez Percé Creek, 126, 150, 223.
    Nez Percé Indians attack Y. N. P. tourists, 118, 121.
      cede territory to U. S., 113.
      characteristics of, 114.
      fate of, 126.
      impress white man as guide, 14.
      incursion of, into Y. N. P., 117-123, 215.
      surrender to Miles, 124.
      territory of, 112.
      treaties with, 113.
    Nez Percé War, beginning of, 115.
      causes of, 112, 115.
      criticism upon, 125.
      statistics of, 125.
    Niagara Falls compared with the Falls of the Y., 251, 254.
      original sketch of, 168.
    Niagara Park, Canadian, 97.
      New York State, 97.
    Non-treaty Nez Percés, 113.
    Norris, P. W., biographical sketch of, 303.
      builds road of volcanic glass, 218.
      criticism of his work, 131.
      discoveries of, 40, 41, 108, 130.
      names Dunraven Peak after himself, 295.
      quoted, 15, 218, 265, 307, 314, 324, 331, 343.
      road work of, 130.
      second Superintendent Y. N. P., 14, 129, 130.
      writings of, 131.
    Norris Geyser Basin, 220, 340.
      discovery of, 340.
    North-west Fur Company and name "Yellowstone," 4.
      sketch of, 33.


    Oblong Geyser, 230.
    Obsidian Cliff, 217.
      first road past, 218.
      Indian quarry at, 12, 217.
    Old Faithful, 167, 234-6.
      discovery of, 82.
    Oldham, Albert, member Radersburg tourist party, 112.
    "Old Man of the Mountains," 244.
    Orange Geyser, 214.
    Original sketches of Park scenery, 168, 169.
    Orographic agencies, work of, in Park, 157.
    Overhead sounds near Y. Lake, 246.


    Pacific Creek, 246.
    Pacific Fur Co., 34.
    Paintpots described, 174.
      on west shore Y. Lake, 242.
    Peale, A. C., quoted, 13, 323, 344.
      work of, in Y. N. P., 361, 363.
    Pearl Geyser, 220.
    Pend d'Oreilles Indians in geyser basins, 14, 45.
    Peterson, W., member of Folsom party, 73.
    Petrifactions in Y. N. P., Bridger's story, 56.
      perfection of, 179.
    Pfister, Frederick, member of Helena tourist party, 112.
    Phillips, W. H., connection of, with Y. N. P., 281.
    Photography of Grand Cañon, 256.
    _Pierre Janne._ See _Roche Janne_.
    Pierre's Hole, 24.
    Pike, Z. M., gives Spanish translation of _Pierre Janne_, 5.
    Pine, prevalence of, in Y. N. P., 188.
    Pine tree inscribed with date 1819, 40, 251.
    Pitchstone Plateau, 153.
    Plateaus of the Y. N. P., 153.
    Platte River, 188.
    Poe, General O. M., 105.
      quoted, 287.
    Pompey's Pillar, 5.
    Potts, companion of Colter, 29.
    Precedent, effect of, upon future of Y. N. P, 284.
    Presidential Party of 1883, 107, 371.
    Prismatic Lake, 227.
    Private interests and Y. N. P., 280.
    Prospecting expeditions in the Upper Y., 7, 66-71.
    Prospectors, unknown, slain by Nez Percés, 121.
    Protection of game, 181, 207.
    Protective Act, Y. N. P., 110, 141.
    Public business in Y. N. P., 139.
    Pulpit Terrace, 214.
    Punch bowl, 230.
    Pryor's Fork, 22.
    Pryor's Gap, 23, 24.


    Quadrant Mountain, 217.
    Quiescent Springs, 172-3.


    Radersburg tourist party, 1877, 112.
      experiences of, with Nez Percés, 117-120.
    Railroads and the Y. N. P., 133, 270-6, 280, 365.
    Rapids of the Y. River, 251.
    Raymond, R. W., quoted, 6.
    Raynolds, Captain W. F., expedition of, 58, 59, 101.
      map of, 62.
      quoted, 60, 61, 62.
      report of, 63.
    Red Mountain Range, 152.
    Rendezvous in the fur trade, 36.
    Reservoir, Y. Lake as a, 190.
    Rhyolitic rocks in Y. N. P., 157.
    "River of the West," 42.
      quoted from, 42, 317.
    River sources in and near Y. N. P., 188.
    Riverside Geyser, 229.
    Road system of the Y. N. P., 140, 201-7.
    Roberts, Joseph, member of Helena tourist party, 112.
    _Roche Janne_, French name for Y. River, 2, 3, 7.
    Rocky Mountains ascended by De La Verendrye, 4.
    Rocky Mountain Fur Company sketch, of, 36, 38.
      territory of, 36, 37.
    Routes from the east to the Pacific Coast, 100.
    Rules and Regulations for the Y. N. P., 354.
    Rustic Falls, 215.
    Rustic Geyser, old logs around, 13, 243.


    Sapphire Pool, 228.
      Scenery of the Y. N, P., 155, 209.
      in winter, 197.
    Scenic portion of tourist route, 260.
    Schemes to destroy the Y. N. P., 268.
    Schofield, Lieutenant, meets Radersburg tourists, 120.
    Schurz, Carl, visits Park, 106.
    Schwatka, Frederick, attempts winter journey through Y. N. P., 108.
    Seasons in the Y. N. P., 193, 199
    Secretary of the Interior applies for military aid, 137.
      instruction of, to first superintendent, 270.
    Segregation projects, 133, 278, 280, 365.
    Sepulcher Mountain, 215.
    Sequoia National Park, 97.
    Sheepeater Indians, 8, 18, 306.
      characteristics of, 10, 11.
      ignorant of geyser regions, 15.
      number of, 17.
      original occupants of park country, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17.
      relics of, 13.
    Sheridan Mt., 15, 152, 242.
      an extinct volcano, 156.
    Sheridan, General P. H., aids exploration and discovery, 75.
      gives public warning of dangers to Park, 106, 133.
      quoted, 15.
      visits Park, 106, 107.
    Sherman, General W. T., quoted, 111, 256.
      visits Park, 105.
    Shively, Nez Percé guide, 123.
    Shoshonean family of Indians, 8.
      territory, 37.
    Shoshone Indians, 8, 18.
      characteristics of, 9, 10.
      Spanish articles among, 5.
      treaty with, 18.
    Shoshone Geyser Basin, 239.
    Shoshone Lake, 151, 239, 333.
    Shoshone Point, 239.
    Sierra Shoshone Range, 152.
    Silica, its function in geyser formation, 170.
    Siouan family of Indians, 8.
      territory, 37.
    _Ski_, Norwegian snow-shoe, 194.
    Slough Creek, 71.
    Smith, Jacob, member of Washburn Party, 76.
    Smith, Jedediah, fur trader, 36.
    Snake Creek, battle of, 124.
    Snake River, 26, 150.
    Snowfall in Y. N. P., 193.
    Snow-shoe traveling in Y. N. P., 194, 195, 196.
    Snowy Range, 152.
    Soaping Geysers, 165, 343.
    Soda Butte, 264.
      Cañon, 264.
      Creek, 150.
    Soda Spring, 221.
    Solar eclipse of 1860, 59.
    South-west Fur Co., 35.
    Spanish traders and name "Yellowstone," 5.
    Specimen Ridge, 179, 180, 263.
    Spike Geyser, 243.
    Splendid Geyser, 230.
    Sponge, The, 232.
    Spring Creek Cañon, 238.
    Spurgin, Captain W. F., builds road for Howard across
      Y. N. P., 124, 126.
    Stage rides in Y. N. P., 277.
    Stanley, E. J., quoted, 322.
    Stanton, Captain W. S., makes reconnaissance through Y. N. P., 106.
    Steady Geyser, 225.
    Steamboat, first to reach mouth of Y. River, 87.
    Steamboat Spring, 175, 244.
    Steam vents, 175.
    Stevenson, James, ascends Grand Teton, 222, 309.
      biographical sketch, 307-308.
      builds first boat on Y. Lake, 337.
    Stewart, J., member of Helena party of tourists, 112.
    Stickney, Benj., member of Washburn party, 76.
      descends to bottom of Grand Cañon, 80.
    Stinking Cabin Creek, 322.
    Stone, Benj., experience of with Nez Percés, 123.
      member Helena party of tourists, 112.
    Stone, Mrs. H. H., first white woman to visit Park, 340.
    Streams of Y. N. P., fish in, 186.
    Strong, Gen. W. E., accompanies Secretary Belknap to Y. N. P., 105.
    Stuart, James, 65, 70.
    Sturgis, General S. D., attacks Nez Percés, 124.
      fails to intercept Nez Percés, 124.
    Sublette Lake, early name for Y. Lake, 335.
    Sublette, William, fur trader, 36.
    Subterranean heat, origin of, 158.
    Sulphur Mountain, 249.
      Spring, 250.
    Superintendents of the Park, duties of, 206, 207.
      list of, 359.
    Swan Lake, 217.
      Flats, 154.


    Talmage, T. DeWitt, quoted, 253, 257.
    Temperatures in Y. N. P., 198.
    Terraces, formation of, 173, 212.
    Terrace Mountain, 215.
    Tertiary Period in Y. N. P., 156.
    Teton, Grand. See _Grand Teton_.
    Teton Pass, 24.
    Teton Range, 152, 222, 243.
    Therapeutic value of springs in Y. N. P., 199.
    Thermal activity in Y. N. P. not diminishing, 160.
    Thermal springs, geographical distribution of, 160.
    Third Cañon of the Y., 266.
    Thompson, David, and name "Yellowstone," 1, 2.
      and source of Y. River, 2.
    Thumb of Y. Lake, 241, 335.
    Topping, E. S., quoted, 313, 315.
    Tour of the Y. N. P., best season for, 210.
    Tourists and wild animals in Y. N. P., 184.
    Tourists' season in Y. N. P., 193.
    Tower Falls, 261.
      discovered, 78.
    Transportation in the Y. N. P., 204.
    Trappers ignorant of geyser regions, 99.
    Treaties with Indians, 18, 19.
    Tree inscribed with date 1819, 40, 251.
    Trees of Y. N. P., 187.
    Trout Creek, serpentine course of, 249.
    Trout in Y. Lake, 186.
    Trumbull, Walter, member Washburn Party, 76.
      publications by, 83, 84.
      sketches by, 169.
    _Tukuarika_, native name for Sheepeater Indians, 8, 10.
    Turban Geyser, 230.
    Turquoise Spring, 227.
    Twin Buttes, 225.
    Twin Lakes, 219.
    Two-Gwo-Tee Pass, 105.
    Two-Ocean Pass, 59, 105, 245, 333.
      crossed by fish, 186.
      discovered, 104, 245.
    Tyndall, John, quoted, 174.


    Union Geyser, 167, 239.
      Pass, 23, 59.
    U. S. Geological Survey, explorations under, 103.
      measurements by, of height of Falls, 326.
      names by, in Y. N. P., 286.
    Unknown visitor to geyser basins in 1833, 14, 44.
    Upper Fall of the Y., 251.
    Upper Geyser Basin, 228.
      discovery of, 82.
      visited in 1833, 44.


    Valleys of the Y. N. P., 153.
    Vandalism in the Y. N. P., 207.
    Verendrye, Chevalier de la, explorations of, 4.
    Vest, Senator G. C., connection of with Y. N. P., 281.
      member Presidential party, 1883, 107.
      quoted, 282.
    Virginia Cascade, 220.
    Visitors to Y. N. P. in 1883, 107.
    Vixen Geyser, 220.
    Volcanic rocks in Y. N. P., 157.


    War of Rebellion, 63.
    War with Mexico, 100.
    Washburn Expedition of 1870, history of, 75-84.
      organization of, 75-7.
      results of, 84.
      revives Park idea, 90.
    Washburn, General H. D., biographical sketch, 311.
      chief of Washburn Expedition, 75.
      "notes" of, upon Washburn Expedition, 83.
      quoted, 325.
    Washburn, Mt., 152, 260.
      an extinct volcano, 156.
    Washburn Range, 17,152.
      original name of, 152.
      on Colter's map, 26.
    _Wasp_, The, 48.
    Watchmen at Park hotels in winter, 194.
    Water-falls of Y. N. P., 151, 324.
    Wear, D. W., Fifth Superintendent Y. N. P., 137.
    Weed, W. H., quoted, 264.
    Weikert, A. J., member of Helena tourist party, 111.
      experience of, with Nez Percés, 123-6.
    We-Saw, Shoshone Indian, 15.
    West Shore geyser basin, 242.
    White Bird, Nez Percé chief, 113.
    White Elephant, 214.
    Wilkie, Leslie, member Helena tourist party, 112.
    Willow Park, 154, 217.
    Wingate, G. W., quoted, 190.
    Winter journeys through the Y. N. P., 108.
    Winter in the Y. N. P., 197, 198.
    Witch Creek, 243.
    Wyeth, Nathaniel J., 37.
    Wyoming, admission of, to Union, 282,347.
    Wyoming Territory attempts to protect Park, 134, 135.


    "Yancey's," 263.
    "Yellowstone," origin of name, 1-7.
      Spanish translation of, 5, note.
    _Yellowstone_, first steamboat at mouth of Y. River, 87.
    Yellowstone, discovery of the, 72.
      early knowledge of the, 40, 50, 60.
      fossil forests of the, 177-180, 263.
      gold-seekers on the, 101.
      Grand Cañon of, colors in, 6, 254.
      Third Cañon of the, 266.
      Upper, prospecting expeditions on the, 66-71.
      Upper, why so long unknown, 99, 101.
    Yellowstone Falls, compared with Niagara, 251, 254.
      Lower, 251, 254.
      measurement of heights, 80, 325-6.
      Upper, 261.
    Yellowstone Lake, 151, 240, 241.
      bays of, 333.
      boat ride on, 243.
      capes of, 336.
      compared with other lakes, 241.
      discovered, 24, 27, 80.
      first boat on, 337.
      form of, 240.
      islands of, 335.
      monument on shore of, 248.
      names of, 334.
      navigation of, 203.
      overhead sounds near, 246.
      reservoir possibilities of, 190.
      thumb, of, 241.
      trout of, 186.
    Yellowstone National Park, administration of, 206.
      administrative history of, 127-148.
      altitudes in, 154.
      area of, 148.
      Assistant Superintendents of, 135.
      atmosphere of, 210.
      autumn foliage of, 192.
      basaltic lava flows in, 157.
      birds, 185.
      boundaries of, 148, 278-280.
      buffalo of, 143, 184.
      buildings of, in 1880, 132.
      calcareous springs of, 173.
      camping in, 205.
      climate of, 189, 198.
      Congressional Reports on, 141.
      cost of visiting, 274.
      Cretaceous Period in, 156.
      danger to future existence of, 281.
      drainage areas of, 149.
      economic importance of, 190.
      electric railways in, 204, 276-280.
      elk in, 280.
      exploration of, 103, 108.
      fauna of, 181.
      fishes of, 185-6.
      flora of, 187.
      flow of water from, 190.
      flowers of, 190.
      forests of, 187, 188.
      fossil forests of, 177-180, 263.
      friends of, 281.
      funds for, 128.
      game in, 134, 181-4, 207.
      geographical names in, 108, 285-6.
      geology of, 156.
      Glacial Epoch in, 158.
      healthfulness of, 199.
      hostility to, vi, 267, 269.
      hotel system of, 204.
      hot springs of, 172-5.
      Indian knowledge of. See "_Indian_."
      lakes of the, 151.
      laws for, 127.
      leases in, 141, 207.
      mineral springs of, 199.
      mountain systems of, 151-2.
      nature of country in, 16, 17.
      Nez Percé incursion into, 117, 123, 215.
      petrifactions in, 56, 179.
      plateaus of, 153.
      private interests and, 280.
      Protective Act, 110, 141.
      public business in, 139.
      railroads and. See _Railroads_.
      rhyolitic rocks in, 157.
      road system of, 201.
      rules and regulations for, 354.
      scenery of, 155, 197, 209, 260.
      schemes to destroy, 268.
      season for tour of, 210.
      seasons of, 199.
      snow in, 193.
      snow-shoe traveling in, 194-6.
      source of great rivers near, 188.
      stage rides through the, 277.
      Superintendents of, 206-7, 359.
      Tertiary Period in, 156.
      thermal springs of, 161.
      tour of, 210, _et seq._
      tourist transportation in, 204.
      trees of, 187.
      valleys of, 153.
      vandalism in, 207.
      visitors to, in 1883, 107.
      volcanic rocks in, 157.
      water falls of, 324.
      winter in, 193, 197, 198.
      winter journeys through, 108.
    Yellowstone Park Association, 140.
    Yellowstone Park Improvement Company, 132, 139, 140.
    Yellowstone River, 149, 250, 256.
      bridge over, 203.
      color of banks, 5, 6.
      flow of, 150.
      fords, 26, 249, 261.
      Great Bend of, 6, 43.
      junction of, with Gardiner, 211.
      navigation of, 203.
      source of, 2, 188.
    Yosemite Wonderland, 90, 94, 97, 253.
    Young Hopeful, 225.
    Yount Peak, source of the Y. River, 2, 149.


    _Zillah, The_, tourist boat on Y. Lake, 336.




       *       *       *       *       *



Transcriber's Notes


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