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[Illustration: Greetings from Wonderland Park Naturalist Merrill D.
Beal]
THE STORY
of
MAN IN YELLOWSTONE
REVISED EDITION
THE YELLOWSTONE LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
ASSOCIATION
Yellowstone Park, Wyoming
[Illustration: A Yellowstone geyser in action]
The Story
of
Man In Yellowstone
_By_
MERRILL D. BEAL
_Seasonal Park Naturalist,
Yellowstone National Park;
Professor of History,
Idaho State College_
Approved by the National Park Service
Yellowstone Interpretive Series
Number 7
Revised Edition
_Illustrated_
1960
[Illustration: YELLOWSTONE LIBRARY AND MUSEUM ASSOC.]
_Published By_
The Yellowstone Library and Museum Association
Yellowstone Park, Wyoming
Copyright, 1949
By The Caxton Printers, Ltd.
Caldwell, Idaho
Copyright, 1956
By The Yellowstone Library and
Museum Association
Yellowstone Park, Wyoming
Copyright, 1960
By The Yellowstone Library and
Museum Association
Printed and bound in the United States of America
by the WHEELWRIGHT LITHOGRAPHING COMPANY,
Salt Lake City, Utah
To
The men in the National Park Service Uniform, protectors and
interpreters of Yellowstone. Indeed, to all National Park Service
personnel and others who subscribe to the purposes for which the area
was reserved.
This book is published by the Yellowstone Library and Museum
Association, a non-profit organization whose purpose is the stimulation
of interest in and the furtherance of the educational and inspirational
aspects of Yellowstone's history and natural history. The Association
cooperates with and is recognized by the National Park Service of the
United States Department of the Interior, as an essential operating
organization. It is primarily sponsored and operated by the Naturalist
Division in Yellowstone National Park.
As one means of accomplishing its aims the Association has published a
series of reasonably priced books and booklets which are available for
purchase by mail throughout the year or at the museum information desks
in the park during the summer.
YELLOWSTONE INTERPRETIVE SERIES
_Number_ _Title and Author_
1. _Wild Animals of Yellowstone National Park_ by Harold J.
Brodrick
2. _Birds of Yellowstone National Park_ by Harold J. Brodrick
3. _Yellowstone Fishes_ by James R. Simon
4. _The Story of Old Faithful Geyser_ by George D. Marler
5. _Reptiles and Amphibians of Yellowstone National Park_ by
Frederick B. Turner
6. _Yellowstone's Bannock Indian Trails_ by Wayne F. Replogle
7. _The Story of Man in Yellowstone_ by Dr. M. D. Beal
8. _The Plants of Yellowstone_ by W. B. McDougall and Herma
A. Baggley
Orders or letters of inquiry concerning publications should be addressed
to the Yellowstone Library and Museum Association, Yellowstone Park,
Wyoming.
PREFACE
Yellowstone National Park lives as a cherished memory in the minds of
millions of people. Greater still is the number who anticipate a visit
to this Wonderland. To nearly all, the Park stands as a symbol of the
enrichment of the American way of life. And well it might, because it is
a geological paradise, a pristine botanical garden, and an Elysium for
wild game. But most important of all, it is a place of recreation for
countless thousands who come to find a temporary escape from the
pressure of a highly artificial life. Thoughtful people assent to the
opinion of Wordsworth:
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. --Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
After many years of indifference to the claims of nature, the American
people are coming into accord with the wise teachings advanced by John
Muir more than fifty years ago. Today, legions of tired, nerve-shaken,
over-civilized people realize that going to the mountains is like going
home. They have found a brief sojourn in the wilderness a necessity of
life. There is a balm in the sun, wind, and storm of mountain heights.
There is healing in willow parks and gentian meadows. Cobweb cares of
the world's spinning give way before the vibrant touch of Mother Earth
when her children venture boldly into unbeaten paths. There they may
attune their ears to strange sounds; their lungs respond to pine sap
air. Jumping from rock to log, tracing rivers to their sources, brings
men up from panting puffs to deep-drawn breath in whole-souled exercise
unto a newness of life.
The story of Yellowstone has been told many times, but seldom does one
catch that elusive something that so mightily impresses the sensitive
visitor. The theme is at once so inspiring and grand, the details so
varied and minute, as to challenge one's finest discrimination to seize
upon the major features and bring them into relief. There is still much
that is primitive in Wonderland, and in this setting it is appropriate
to envision the salient traits of the Old West. Hereabouts was once
enacted a colorful panorama of frontier life. There were Indians,
trappers, miners, cowboys, rustlers, poachers, soldiers, and settlers. A
description of these picturesque people and their ways might bring
enjoyment to many. Perhaps the spirit of appreciation that characterizes
this history is its chief claim upon the attention of Yellowstone
visitors.
This monograph was written for them, and it represents a synthesis of
many lectures that evolved in their presence, in the afterglow of
Yellowstone campfire programs. Visitors whose enjoyment of life seems
particularly enhanced by a visit to the Park may find the reason
therefore in those lines:
One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.
--WORDSWORTH
In the interest of economy of time in reading this history, it is
suggested that chapters three, four, and ten might be skimmed. However,
a knowledge of the Indians and trappers whose haunts and activities
impinged upon the Park area is essential to a full appreciation of
Yellowstone National Park in its western setting.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Former Superintendent Edmund B. Rogers and Park Naturalist David de L.
Condon gave me access to the records of the Park. Their interest in
advancing the knowledge of Yellowstone has been keen and constant.
My Yellowstone Park ranger-colleagues also served as sources of
information and occasional critics. It is probable that each of them
will be able to identify an element of his own thought or expression in
the narrative. As my campfire lectures evolved into a unified monograph,
guidance was received from professional historians. They have been more
critical than the rangers but not less kind.
At the State College of Washington, Dr. Herman J. Deutsch and Dr.
Claudius O. Johnson made the college's Northwest Collection available.
They also joined their colleagues, Dr. W. B. Thorson and Dr. C. M.
Brewster, in making many fine and comprehensive criticisms, which
combined to strengthen the narrative. Several of my colleagues at Idaho
State College gave direction and increased purpose to the discussion of
conservation and wild life principles. They are Dr. Ray J. Davis, Albert
V. S. Pulling, and DuWayne Goodwin. Dr. Carl W. McIntosh, president of
the college, has extended many courtesies. Professor Wallace E. Garets
edited the manuscript.
Former Yellowstone National Park Naturalist, Dr. C. Max Bauer, gave
encouragement from the inception of the study and reviewed the final
draft. Other National Park officials from whom wise council and valuable
suggestions were received include Dr. Carl P. Russell, former National
Park Supervisor of Interpretation, and Dr. Alvin P. Stauffer, Chief of
Research and Survey. The collaboration of J. Neilson Barry was
invaluable in the exposition of the discovery phase in the chapter on
John Colter. J. Fred Smith, Delbert G. Taylor, and Mr. and Mrs. George
Marler have also given material support to this effort.
The illustrations are principally the work of William S. Chapman, North
District Ranger.
The support of Yellowstone Park Superintendent Lemuel A. Garrison and
Chief Park Naturalist Robert N. McIntyre in bringing forth this Third
Edition under the auspices of The Yellowstone Library and Museum
Association is indeed appreciated.
Lastly, gratitude is due my wife, Bessy N. Beal, and our son, David, and
his wife, Jean, for the typing of the manuscript and for the rendering
of much additional service to this enterprise.
MERRILL D. BEAL
IDAHO STATE COLLEGE
POCATELLO, IDAHO
June 10, 1960
INTRODUCTION
It is interesting and significant that this book, telling the story of
man in the area of our oldest National Park, should be available soon
after a season of record-breaking public use of the area. During the
travel year 1948, one million thirty-one thousand five hundred and
thirty-one people visited Yellowstone National Park.
The discoverer of The Yellowstone Country early in the nineteenth
century, and re-discoverers through the years prior to 1872, as well as
all visitors to the Park before the advent of modern highways and
automobiles probably gave no thought to the reality and problems of a
million visitors a year.
Dr. Beal's well documented and carefully prepared book brings us through
the history of man in a wilderness, through that period of history
before annual visitation of a million visitors in that wilderness.
Readers will find the story of the before-one-million-visitors-years
most interesting. It is a period, especially since the establishment of
the National Park in 1872, in which we as a nation were experimenting
for the most part in wilderness preservation and, at the same time,
encouraging its use. Dr. Beal's book covers a period in U.S. history
when shameful exploitation of natural resources was common practice. The
preservation of The Yellowstone Country as a National Park is an action
during the period of exploitation, an action of which we can all be
proud. The story of man in Yellowstone is a fascinating one. It can also
be a challenge to everyone to assume responsibility in continued
preservation of Yellowstone National Park so that future generations may
benefit from all of the things that unimpaired natural areas can offer
by way of recreation, education, and inspiration.
JOHN E. DOERR
_Former Chief Naturalist, National Park Service_
OUTDOORS
O, give me a bit of the great outdoors
Is all that I ask of you,
Where I may do whatever I like
And like whatever I do.
Where the sky is the boundary up above
And the earth is the measure below,
And the trail starts on where the sun comes up
And ends where the sun sinks low.
Where the wind blows sweet as a baby's breath,
And the sun shines bright as its eyes,
And the showers come and the showers go
As the tears when the little one cries.
And the brook runs merrily through the glade,
Singing its gladdening song,
And the pine trees murmur their soothing sighs,
Still bearing that song along.
Yes, carry me back to the lake's white shores
With its deer and its lily pad.
Where the loon calls out into the moonbeams bright
Through the mist on the waters sad.
Let me hear the elk's far cry
As it sweeps through the forest deep,
Where the silence hangs as over the dead
At rest in eternal sleep.
I'll pitch my tent by some lonesome pine,
By the rippling water's edge,
With the great outdoors as my garden,
And the willows round as my hedge.
And surrounded by pretty flowers,
That perfume the gentle breeze,
I'll idle away the whole long day,
In the shade of my old pine trees.
And I'll watch on yonder mountain
The colors change with the day,
And I'll follow each shadow creeping
So silently on its way.
And then I'll give thanks to God above
And in gratitude I'll pause,
And I'll love, not hate, each care that comes
In that great big home--Outdoors.
--FRANK L. OASTLER
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface 7
Acknowledgments 11
Introduction 13
Poem "OUTDOORS" 15
Chapter I YELLOWSTONE--GEM OF THE MOUNTAINS 23
Chapter II JOHN COLTER'S FIRST DISCOVERY OF YELLOWSTONE 30
Chapter III INDIANS IN AND AROUND YELLOWSTONE 59
Chapter IV PORTRAIT OF A TRAPPER BRIGADE 71
Chapter V WERE INDIANS AFRAID OF YELLOWSTONE? 84
Chapter VI SECONDARY VISITATIONS BEFORE 1869 92
Chapter VII JIM BRIDGER: MAN AND LEGEND 106
Chapter VIII FINAL DISCOVERY IN 1869 AND 1870 116
Chapter IX CREATION OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 136
Chapter X THE LAST ROUNDUP 147
Chapter XI CHIEF JOSEPH'S TRAIL OF BLOOD 165
Chapter XII TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATIONS--NEW BUSINESSES 192
Chapter XIII "THE YELLOWSTONE IDEA" 219
Chapter XIV GENERAL ADMINISTRATION 238
Chapter XV THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 265
Appendix I. YOUNG MEN CAMPING IN YELLOWSTONE 281
Appendix II. PROBLEM OF COLTER'S ROUTE IN 1807 285
Bibliographical Note 299
Bibliography 301
Subject Index 310
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
A Yellowstone geyser in action _frontispiece_
Sacajawea with Lewis and Clark 33
Manuel Lisa's fort built in 1807 39
Eastern section of Colter's route 46
Map of 1814 depicting Lewis and Clark route 48-49
Colter and Potts under attack 53
Mountain Indian clan 62
Family of Sheepeater Indians facing 66
Beaver at work 72
Part of a trapper brigade 75
Gun and powder horn 79
Remnants of Sheepeaters' wickiup facing 86
Horse and travois transportation 89
Trapper observing Riverside Geyser 97
Jim Bridger 109
Rare species of aquatic life 119
Bighorn resentful toward invaders 125
Part of Washburn-Langford-Doane party in camp 133
Dr. Ferdinand V. Hayden facing 136
The Hayden expedition in camp facing 138
President Ulysses S. Grant signing the Yellowstone National Park
Bill 143
The iron horse in buffalo country--an early Wyoming scene facing 154
Strong medicine against the Indians facing 158
Chief Joseph, war chief of the Nez Percé 167
A general map of Chief Joseph's flight 171
George F. Cowan stands up to Nez Percé warriors 173
Radersburg tourist party marker facing 174
Detail map showing Nez Percé movements in Yellowstone Park 179
Indian war club and peace pipe 191
Stagecoach 193
"Yankee Jim"--James George facing 198
"Uncle" John Yancey 203
Golden Gate drive 209
"Beaver Dick"--Richard Leigh--and family, 1871 facing 238
Superintendent Philetus W. Norris facing 240
Old Fort Yellowstone 243
Poacher caught in the act 249
Wild and dangerous despite appearances 255
Grizzly, king of the Rockies 257
Cavalry troops in Park patrol 263
Park ranger-naturalist and tourist group 271
Madison Junction Historical Museum 275
Park Ranger 278
_APPENDICES_
Young men camping in Yellowstone facing 282
Figure I. Yellowstone section of Colter's route 287
Figure II. Western section of Colter's route 289
Figure III. "Double-Entry" map of Yellowstone 293
Figure IV. A section of fictitious geography 295
Figure V. Western section of Colter's route 297
THE STORY
of
MAN IN YELLOWSTONE
Chapter I
YELLOWSTONE--THE GEM OF THE MOUNTAINS
Yellowstone National Park was one of the last regions in the United
States to come into the scope of man's knowledge. This fact is partly
responsible for its development as a wild animal retreat. Grizzlies and
people do not go well together under natural conditions. Yet nature has
bequeathed a rare portion of her treasure upon this enchanting land that
forms the crown of the Rockies. Within the confines of what the world
calls Yellowstone the visitor may find great and wondrous manifestations
of natural handiwork. Indeed, nature seems to have indulged in several
grand orgies of creation. Here are lofty mountain majesties and shining
rivers of silver and green wind athwart the heights and plateaus like
living, breathing things. Everywhere the air is pierced by lodgepole
pines. Erect they stand, bristling with fierce determination, while
prone beneath their feet lie their uprooted brethren in tangled disorder
and various degrees of decay.[1]
The whole plateau is dotted by myriad alpine lakes of surpassing beauty.
Surely it is comparable to a vast sponge which receives a five-foot
mantle of snow annually. From this precipitation sufficient water is
derived to feed a legion of springs and streams. "The altitude renders
it certain that winter comes early and tarries late; in fact, it is
almost always in sight and liable to drop in any day."[2]
Deep and delicately etched canyons involuntarily shock the visitor as he
views their kaleidoscopic grandeur. Massive mountains display their
mighty ramparts in a silhouette that is unmistakable and unforgettable.
Indeed, some of these serrated spires once served as pilots to the
wayfarer; and Indians named them "Pee-ah," meaning large and
permanent.[3] So are they still, mute testaments of the ages.
Surely such an impressive alternation of rivers, forests, lakes,
canyons, and mountains is in itself complete. Someone has said,
"Yellowstone has everything except a cave and a glacier." Actually,
there are caves and glaciers in the Park's environs, but the most unique
feature of all this Wonderland is its thermal activity. Thousands of hot
springs and hundreds of geysers reveal strange secrets of the inner
earth. Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces represents the actual process of a
mountain turning inside out.
Yellowstone Park is roughly located between longitude 110° W. and 111°
W. and latitude 44° N. and 45° N. In respect to Wyoming, the Park is
located in the northwestern corner, encroaching slightly upon Montana
and Idaho. The area comprehends three thousand, four hundred and
seventy-two square miles, and the average elevation is eight thousand
feet above sea level. Occupying a central portion of the Rockies'
greatest girth, the Park's scenic position is most strategic. From the
top of Mt. Washburn a majestic rock-ribbed panorama is disclosed. It is
indeed a vast area, surrounded by lofty mountain ranges, some of whose
towering peaks are reflected in Lake Yellowstone. This comprehensive
view reminds one of a gigantic amphitheatre or, from another angle, a
colossal orange juicer with the Yellowstone River as its spigot. At the
river's outlet from the Park at North Gate the elevation is five
thousand, three hundred and fourteen feet above sea level, whereas the
maximum height of eleven thousand, three hundred and sixty feet is
achieved on the summit of Eagle Peak on the southeastern boundary.[4]
Cartographers have segregated the most conspicuous elevations into seven
plateaus, three ranges, four ridges, and several minor units of
mountains and hills.[5] Thirty-two mountain peaks loom above the
ten-thousand-foot level, and another six exceed the eleven-thousand-foot
scale.[6]
The Continental Divide winds among the Park's southern plateaus in the
manner of a serpent. From these circumstances, Yellowstone Park has
become truly the wondrous land of water and the source of that
life-giving liquid to lands hundreds of miles away in all directions.
Nowhere else does water so well display its varied charms. From the
Divide's snowy, timber-rimmed pockets, icy rivulets flow into sylvan
pools, thence to rushing rivers with thundering waterfalls. Other water
issues from steaming vents and towering geysers connected with the
earth's internal heat and weaves vaporous trails into streams called
warm or fire rivers.[7]
Great rivers have their origins in its alpine parks, from whence they
follow their devious courses to the several seas. Oh, the rivers of
Wonderland, what strength and beauty they possess! There is the
Yellowstone itself, arising upon Yount's Peak and its vicinity among the
high Absarokas. It rolls northward through that vast lake of limpid blue
referred to by the natives as "the smile of the Great Spirit." From the
famous Fishing Bridge outlet it flows tranquilly again beyond Hayden
Valley, but soon it flashes into milk-white cascades, a transitional
phase of noisy preparation for its two great falls. These awe-inspiring
plunges are one hundred and nine and a sheer three hundred and eight
feet, for the Upper and Lower Falls respectively. At each point the
river's mighty volume sets up an awful tumult of sound, earth tremor,
and spray in the immediate environs. The river's pulsating reverberation
seems to follow its imprisoned rush along a tortuous path for many miles
toward the Missouri.
Another stream arises in the southeast corner of the Park that possesses
equal might and great utility. By the natives it was known as "Pohogwa,"
or river of the sagebrush plains. The French called it La Maudite
Riviere Enragee, meaning accursed, mad river, but American frontiersmen
renamed it the Snake.[8] The latter name lacks something of the romance
in the others but aptly describes this stream which everywhere exhibits
some characteristic of reptilian behavior.
Two other interesting rivers arise in the Park and join a third a
hundred miles beyond the northwest boundary of Yellowstone. The
Madison's tributaries derive from meadowlands beyond Upper Geyser and
Norris Geyser basins.[9] The Madison is a moss-bottomed stream with
lusty aquatic life. The Gallatin, which heads in the range of the same
name, has a dashing manner. It has carved its way among forests both
living and petrified. Each river follows a parallel course until they
merge with the Jefferson at Three Forks. As the triumvirate roll away
together, one remembers the unity and friendship that characterized the
three men for whom they were named.
Other sinuous streams are the tuneful Bechler, laughing Lamar, and
sculpturing Shoshone. These streams possess attractions that appeal to
fishermen, hikers, photographers, and artists. In Yellowstone, the
two-ocean-drainage courses are almost as intricate and snug as a child's
hands folded in prayer. At either Isa Lake, or Two Ocean Pass, a pebble
tossed in one stream would start vibrations upon the "water-nerve
endings" of Atlantic and Pacific river systems. In fact, the Yellowstone
country is the apex of North America; it is essentially the Great
Divide.
Yellowstone's summer climate is invigorating and delightful. Frequent,
but fleeting, rainstorms tend to modify the prevailing atmospheric
aridity. Evenings and nights are invariably cool. The highest
temperature ever recorded at Mammoth was 92.4°, while the lowest on
record was 66° below zero. This record low was taken at Riverside
Station near West Gate on February 9, 1933.[10]
Such is the physical setting of this mountainous country. Its western
slope was called the land of "Ee-dah-how." This was a Shoshone
exclamation that means "Behold! the sun is streaming down from the
mountain tops; it is sunup, time to get up!"[11]
It is expedient that a brief review of early American history should be
given as a setting for the major interests in the drama of Yellowstone.
The history of Wonderland falls logically into three periods:
Archaeological characteristics and association; Modern discovery and
exploration; Development as a pleasuring ground by the United States
Government.
The greater part of the Yellowstone area was a part of the Louisiana
Purchase, whereas that portion under the Snake River drainage
appertained to the great Pacific Northwest. All of the territory
involved once belonged to Spain. However, the Spanish claim was
relinquished in a series of treaties beginning with San Ildefonso in
1800, wherein the province of Louisiana was retroceded to France under
the dictation of Napoleon Bonaparte. The balance of Spanish interests
above the forty-second parallel was extinguished in favor of the United
States in 1819.
American acquisition of Louisiana from France grew out of several
considerations. The frontiersmen of the Ohio Valley were chafing under
foreign commercial restrictions at New Orleans. The officials of the
government were distressed at the prospect of having the strong-willed
Napoleon as a neighbor. President Jefferson cogently expressed the
general concern by saying, "... from this moment we must marry the
British fleet and nation."[12] However, the alarm was soon dispersed by
an eminently successful negotiation. Jefferson had instructed Robert
Livingston, the American Minister to Paris, to buy New Orleans and West
Florida. The early part of the spring of 1803 found Napoleon hard
pressed for money and disgusted with native resistance against his
government in Haiti, led by the remarkable Negro, Toussaint L'Ouverture,
whom Bonaparte called the "gilded African." By March, Napoleon realized
that the Peace of Amiens was about to be ruptured and war with England
resumed. In these circumstances he decided to dispose of his American
holdings. This notable decision was effected while His Imperial Majesty
was taking a bath. Consequently it was one of the cleanest decisions
that he ever made! It was then that the "Little Corporal" directed J. M.
Talleyrand to say, "What would you give for the whole of Louisiana?"[13]
Livingston, who was a trifle deaf anyway, could hardly believe what he
heard. After some parleying the deal was closed by Livingston and Monroe
for $15,000,000; of this amount $3,750,000 was diverted to American
citizens to meet private claims against the French government.
Livingston showed prophetic insight when he said to Monroe, "We have
lived long, but this is the noblest work of our whole lives...."[14]
More than a dozen states have been carved out of the 827,987 square
miles. It is probable that Old Faithful Geyser alone is worth far more
than the original purchase price, should good taste allow an assignment
of monetary value to such a natural wonder.
Notwithstanding the marvels of this alluring land, Yellowstone lay
dormant, forbidding and inhospitable, until the last quarter of the
nineteenth century. Why was its call to conquest so long unheeded?
Seldom has an area so long ignored made such a phenomenal rise to fame.
The answer to this question is fully explored in this narrative.