SECONDARY VISITATIONS BEFORE 1869
Parties in Search of Fur
The streams of the Rocky Mountains were thoroughly exploited by the
trappers in the twenties and thirties. Notwithstanding the paucity of
evidence concerning Yellowstone visitations, it is unreasonable to
believe her great rivers were neglected. These phantomlike trapper men
went everywhere, saw everything, tarried only long enough to strip furry
coverings from the beaver, and vanished. On rare occasion a bit of
artifact shows up: an initialed rock or tree, a broken trap or
flintlock, a group of steel-cleaved trees, a trapper cabin, a rifle pit
or cache.[98] These evidences bear mute testimony that hunters passed
through Yellowstone. In 1880, Colonel P. W. Norris discovered an
initialed tree one half mile above the Upper Falls. The significant
legend, _J.O.R. August 19, 1819_, had every indication of authenticity.
In 1822, trappers engaged by Andrew Henry and General William H. Ashley
entered the Rocky Mountains. Within that decade some of the men had
unquestionably visited the Park area. Evidence of one such visit exists
in a letter published in the _Philadelphia Gazette_, September 27, 1827,
and reprinted in the _Niles Weekly Register_ (Baltimore) the following
week, October 6, 1827. Daniel T. Potts wrote this particular letter at
Sweet Lake in the Rocky Mountains on July 8, 1827, and sent it to his
brother Robert T. Potts of Philadelphia. This letter, which constitutes
the first printed account of Yellowstone phenomena, is now on file in
the Yellowstone Park Library at Mammoth. The section of the letter
definitely descriptive of the Park area follows:
... the Yellow-stone has a large fresh water lake near its head on the
verry [sic] top of the Mountain which is about one hundrid [sic] by
fourty [sic] in diameter and as clear as crystal on the south borders
of this lake is a number of hot and boiling springs some water and
others of most beautiful fine clay and resembles that of a mush pot
and throws its particles to the immense height of from twenty to
thirty feet in height. The clay is white and pink and water appear
fathomless as it appears to be entirely hollow underneath. There is
also a number of places where the pure sulphor [sic] is sent forth in
abundance one of our men visited one of these whilst taking his
recreation at an instan [sic] the earth began a tremendious [sic]
trembling and he with dificulty [sic] made his escape when an
explosion took place resembling that of thunder. During our stay in
that quarter I heard it every day....[99]
Again, it is a matter of written record that Jedediah Smith and his
associates "worked the country lying between the sources of the Missouri
and Yellowstone rivers, finally going into winter quarters on the Wind
River" in 1829. He was probably the man to whom Superintendent Norris
referred:
I have always given much credence to a well-endorsed campfire legend
of a mountaineer named Smith, having, prior to the days of Bonneville,
written a narrative of his explorations of the Firehole regions, and
being killed before its publication.[100]
It was in 1829 when Joseph Meek became separated from his associates of
the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and wandered for five days in a southerly
direction in the area that divides the drainage between the Madison and
Gallatin rivers. The factors of time and place are entirely consistent
with the report he gave:
Being desirous to learn something about 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 gases issuing from small craters, each of which was
emitting a sharp whistling sound.[101]
Meek thought himself reminded of the city of Pittsburgh as he had once
seen it on a winter morning. Meek also said that blue flames and molten
brimstone issued from certain craters. Of course the brimstone was a
slight exaggeration, but he undoubtedly believed it to be true.
There are still other references strongly indicative of the movements of
those silent sons of the wilderness in Yellowstone. However, the journal
of Warren A. Ferris, an employee of the American Fur Company, positively
proves that he observed some of its mysteries. He first heard stories of
astonishing marvels from a party of trappers at the rendezvous in 1833.
These trappers confirmed other reports that were current, affirming that
geysers really were as extensive and remarkable as generally
represented. Backed by the united testimony of more than twenty men on
the subject, Ferris decided to go there himself for the specific purpose
of enjoying such an experience as would be afforded by water volcanoes.
In company with two Pend d'Oreille Indians he journeyed from Camas Creek
through the "piny woods" to the Madison River, which he followed to the
Upper Geyser Basin, where he camped. During the night of May 19, the
thud and resounding of violent thermal action assailed him. Allow him to
relate the story:
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, projected 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 calcarious [sic], and probably extends some distance from
them beneath the soil. The largest of these wonderful 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 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 water of its basin, but withdrew it instantly, for the heat of the
water in this immense cauldron was altogether too great for 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 on 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 water of the largest jet principally falls, and from the centre 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 upwards 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
centre of a small valley, surrounded by pine covered hills, through
which a small fork of the Madison flows. Highly gratified with my
visit to these formidable and magnificent fountains, jets, or springs,
whichever the reader may please to call them, I set out after dinner
to rejoin my companions. Again we crossed the Piny Woods and encamped
on the plains of Henry's Fork.[102]
Ferris not only wrote the foregoing account in his journal, but his
sense of its importance impelled him to expand it for publication. He
submitted his "Life in the Rocky Mountains" to several papers.
Subsequently the narrative appeared in the _Literary Messenger_ of
Buffalo, New York, in issues running during the early forties. The
scholarly observations of Mr. Ferris were reprinted in _The Wasp_, a
Mormon organ of Nauvoo, Illinois, on August 13, 1842. It was the best
article prepared before 1870. Henceforth, the lack of knowledge about
Yellowstone must be charged to common indifference and skepticism. The
facts had all been well attested but slenderly disseminated.
Foremost among all trapper visitations in point of extent and accuracy
were those of Osborne Russell. Between 1835 and 1839 he accompanied
three specific Yellowstone expeditions. The first party, which numbered
twenty-four, was organized at Fort Hall in June, 1835. Instructions
directed them to proceed to Yellowstone Lake and return, hunting and
trapping the intervening territory. Their route of travel was northeast
to Jackson Hole, thence into the Absarokas. No one in the group had ever
entered Yellowstone until July 28, when they descended the mountains
into what they called "Secluded Valley."
The point of ingress was probably the upper Lamar drainage. There they
encountered a small band of friendly Snake Indians, rich in pelts which
they sold for a "song." Mr. Russell revealed an unerring instinct of
appreciation for the area in his first and subsequent visits. Said he:
We stopped at this place and for my own part I almost wished I could
spend the remainder of my days in a place like this, where happiness
and contentment seemed to reign in wild, romantic splendor, surrounded
by majestic battlements which seemed to support the heavens and shut
out all hostile intruders.[103]
[Illustration: W. S. Chapman
Trapper observing Riverside Geyser.]
While his impression of security was to prove incorrect the reaction to
grandeur was wholly sustained.
One trapper was lost, and after a futile search they reluctantly crossed
the Yellowstone River. Their next camp was in Gardner Hole, named for
trapper Johnson Gardner, formerly an Ashley employee, who had worked the
area several years before. Russell's party then crossed the Gallatins
and joined Jim Bridger's company in making a stand against the marauding
Blackfeet.
The next season found Russell attached to Bridger's party and again on
his way to Wonderland. They entered from the southeast along Yellowstone
River. By mid-August they reached the lake. Two weeks were spent in
trapping the lake and Gardner Hole streams. Russell again expressed his
unqualified partiality for this region.
Mr. Russell's final and most significant visit occurred during July and
August of 1839. Upon this occasion there were only four in the party.
They entered the Park by way of Snake River, passed the lakes now called
Lewis and Shoshone, and visited the geyser basins. The white formations
reminded the trappers of some ancient cities' ruins. Mr. Russell's
description of Grand Prismatic Spring is satisfactory as of today. From
the Firehole Basin they circled the Park clockwise and came to rest on
Pelican Creek, near Yellowstone Lake's outlet. The date was August 28,
1839; the time of day, 4:00 P.M. Russell had taken a swim in the lake;
White was sleeping; the Canadian and Elbridge were hunting elk. In these
circumstances a large band of Blackfeet made a surprise attack. Russell
and White were both wounded but managed to escape. The next day they
were joined by the Canadian. Together, and on foot, the three trappers
wound a tortuous course to the Thumb of Lake, and thence south to
Jackson Lake. After many harrowing experiences and much discomfort they
reached Fort Hall on September 6. A week later Elbridge also reached the
fort, and in a short time they were all ready for new adventure.
Another party of forty men went through almost the identical experience
in 1839. They entered the area via the Snake River, crossed the Divide,
and trapped the upper Yellowstone to the lake. Near its outlet they
fought Piegan Indians and lost five men, with the same number
wounded.[104] Yellowstone was not a choice trapping ground and the risks
involved by reason of remoteness and Indian menace offset the margin of
profit.
Upon interrogation relative to Yellowstone, Captain Bonneville said,
"You ask me if I know of the thermal springs and geysers. Not
personally, but my men knew about them, and called their location the
'Fire Hole.'"
From these sources it is apparent that many trappers traversed the
"crest of the world," and its secrets were common knowledge among the
whole fraternity. The evaluation placed upon these singular experiences
would naturally depend upon the judgment of the several hunters. Father
DeSmet took the liberty of placing their reactions upon a superstitious
basis. He said the region was considered an abode of evil spirits. The
eruptions were supposed to result from combat between infernal spirits.
This was probably the view of some, but all hunters were not such tyros
in natural science. Indeed, it is quite reasonable to suppose that at
least a few were first-rate naturalists. However, some of them were
killed in the wilderness; others withdrew to other fields of interest;
and none of them envisioned any lively public concern over scenery. A
few had gone to the trouble of recording and relating their experiences
only to be laughed to scorn or made the butt of jokesters. Why should
honest men like Colter, Meek, and Ferris go out of their way simply to
be dubbed outlandish prevaricators? Of course, the answer is found in
the fact that as a class they deliberately brought such a reputation
upon themselves. Take the case of Joe Meek. Upon one occasion his party
was floundering about in the Gallatin Valley. Meek suggested that their
bewilderment might be lessened by climbing a high peak and getting their
bearings. No one would accompany him so he went alone. When he returned
there was considerable interest in his experience. Naturally his ego
expanded; he took on a knowing air. He erroneously contended that he
could see the Yellowstone, Missouri, and Snake rivers from the lofty
height. Later, the brigade leader sent Moses "Black" Harris to another
high point to reconnoiter. When he returned the men pressed him for
information, and, not to be outdone, he declared that he saw "the city
of St. Louis, and one fellow drinking a beer."[105]
Therefore, two conditions combined to withhold the knowledge of
Yellowstone wonders from the world. The men who knew of her marvels were
seldom equipped to describe or interpret them, and the public was in no
better state to accept them. Hence, this trapper lore was barren of
result, locked up as it was in the minds of generally illiterate men. It
all but perished with them and had no definite bearing upon the final
and conclusive discovery. For more than a generation the tales of
trappers were bandied around on the lips of indifferent mountaineers. In
this rough dress the wonders of Yellowstone were either received with
uncivil incredulity or as a joke to be indulgently humored.
Conclusive evidence of the trappers' discovery and exploration of
Yellowstone has been adduced. The fur traders were well acquainted with
every portion of it, but their knowledge passed with them. Only a
tradition persisted. In 1860 the elements of this tradition came within
a rifle shot of conversion to truth. During the latter fifties the
United States government had a corps of Topographical Engineers in the
upper Missouri country. Only a double assignment to Captain W. F.
Raynolds saved the Park from official discovery in June, 1860. He was
directed to explore the country from which the headwaters of the
Yellowstone, Gallatin, and Madison rivers originated. He was also told
to be on hand north of the Canadian border on July 18 to observe the
eclipse of the sun.
The expedition traversed the Wind River Valley, crossed Union Pass, and
turned north. From a position nearly opposite Two Ocean Pass the party
attempted to knife its way through the Absaroka Mountains, but it was
June, and the defiles were choked with snow. Guide Jim Bridger pleaded
with them to swing south and enter the plateau from Snake River. He told
them they couldn't get through, that even a "bird wouldn't fly over
there without takin' a supply of grub along." But the time was short,
and Captain Raynolds reluctantly turned away from the prospect of
verifying "marvelous tales of burning plains, immense lakes and boiling
springs," to witness the certain obliteration of Old Sol. It was a lucky
choice for the future of Yellowstone because discovery in 1860 could
hardly have been so propitious as it was a decade later.
Parties in Search of Gold
Another series of partial exploration was inaugurated in the early
sixties by the Argonauts. Nature's distribution of precious metals is
rather far-flung in western America. Therefore, miners were not inclined
toward geographic discrimination. Spirit brothers to the trappers, they
searched the Rockies with wonderful energy and daring. Deep snow, arctic
cold, yawning precipices, and fierce Indians were all defied in their
eager quest for a new Eldorado. It would have been strange indeed if
they had missed the Yellowstone country.
Gold seekers were hardy, optimistic, and foot-loose. Ever impatient of
restraint, they responded like mercury to the fever of a "gold
excitement." To them every range, mountain, and gulch offered a
challenge that required acceptance. Actuated by a single thought, these
colorful adventurers literally swarmed to the Pacific coast in '49.
Subsequently, a backwash rolled over into Nevada and Idaho. In the
sixties Montana received a portion of the overflow. The Bitter Root
Range was prospected with a "fine tooth comb." In feverish haste these
prospectors encompassed the whole of Yellowstone. However, this vast
volcanic plateau provided little inducement to tarry, while other
regions in close proximity yielded one of the greatest treasure troves
on earth. In the decade of 1860, Alder Gulch, Bannock, Virginia,
Leesburg, Butte, Helena, and Anaconda were magic names. What chance for
attention had Yellowstone's mountain-locked mysteries in such a
maelstrom of lusty life and immediate material reward?
The DeLacy party represents the most notable gold-inspired visitation.
This party, consisting of twenty-seven men, left Virginia City on August
3, 1863. They crossed southeastern Idaho, thence to Jackson Hole. They
followed the Snake River into the Park and discovered the fact that
Lewis and Shoshone lakes were a branch of the Snake River drainage. In
fact, the larger lake was named DeLacy, but unfortunately it was later
renamed Shoshone by the Hayden Survey. DeLacy's party crossed the
Divide, and on September 9 they entered the Firehole Basin where they
"nooned." They were actually in the midst of the Lower Geyser Basin,
picking their way cautiously because "the ground sounded hollow beneath
our feet." Allow Mr. DeLacy to describe their reactions:
The water of these springs was intensely hot, of a beautiful
ultramarine blue, some boiling up in the middle, and many of them of
very large size, being at least twenty feet in diameter and as deep.
There were hundreds of these springs, and in the distance we could see
and hear others, which would eject a column of steam and with a loud
noise. These were probably geysers, and the boys called them
"steamboat springs." No one in the company had ever seen or heard of
anything like this region, and we were all delighted with what we
saw.[106]
Had Walter W. DeLacy been more of a naturalist and less the prospector
he might have achieved the distinction of being the real and effective
discoverer of Yellowstone. However, he and his associates were looking
for gold, and while they saw many wondrous things they failed to
appreciate them. They were in a hurry. Even so, the time was not ripe
for any special interest in Wonderland. Montana was only a name
signifying rowdy mining camps. There were no newspapers to herald the
discovery, no telegraph to transmit the news. Indeed, general attention
was focused upon the Civil War.
However, DeLacy drew a more accurate map of the area than had been
drafted before. Actually, he alone correctly represented the drainage of
the Shoshone basin as tributary to the Snake River, a point which even
later explorers such as Folsom, Washburn, and Hayden failed to observe.
He also kept a daily journal, but it was not published until 1876.
Walter W. DeLacy was, therefore, just another explorer who failed to
take "time by the forelock" and, hence, lost an opportunity to win
considerable fame.
While the DeLacy party prospected the southwestern section of the Park,
a similar group, led by a man named Austin, explored the eastern
periphery for the same purpose and with better success.
James Stuart might logically have been Yellowstone's honor man, but the
breaks were against him. He and his brother Granville were outstanding
leaders in Montana's pioneering. In the spring of 1863 James Stuart led
an exploratory party into the lower Yellowstone. They were searching for
gold, but fate so arranged that six miners who intended to join them
(the Fairweather party) had the great good fortune of finding the famous
Alder Gulch, whereas the main expedition under Stuart experienced a
serious battle with the Crows, in which two men were killed and three
wounded.[107] After their unpleasant encounter this party encircled the
entire "crest of the world," traveling sixteen hundred miles.
James Stuart was a natural leader of men and a superb Indian fighter. In
1864 he organized and directed a frontier militia to punish Indians for
the outrages before mentioned and others perpetrated in the vicinity of
Deer Lodge. This party crossed the lower Yellowstone River, skirted the
Absarokas to Shoshone River, thence proceeded westward. At least a part
of the expedition returned by way of Yellowstone Lake and Canyon, but
Stuart was not in that particular division. Because of his sterling
worth and vast experience he was the unanimous choice for leader in the
final discovery effort of 1870, but misfortune dogged him to the last.
He was summoned for jury service, and the court refused to excuse him
for a pleasure trip!
In 1864 H. W. Wayant and William Hamilton led a party of approximately
forty miners, with horses and pack train, into the Lamar Valley. Their
horses were stolen by Indians near Soda Butte, but the mules would not
stampede. Wayant, Harrison, and ten others with their mules ascended
Cache Creek to Index Peak. Later they circled back by way of Amethyst
Mountain to Tower Falls.
Later in the same year, 1864, a small company of miners, including
George Huston, Rube Libby, George Hubbard, Soos, Lewis, and a Mexican,
made a cursory trip in the Park area. They entered the region from the
west and ascended the main Firehole River. They were startled by the
eruption of the Giantess and other geysers, but they passed by with a
glance and dismissed them as of slight importance.[108] An account of
this journey was discussed with L. M. Freeman, a newspaper reporter, at
Emigrant Gulch. He arranged to have it published in the _Omaha
Herald_.[109] Other prominent miners whose explorations in Yellowstone
are well known were C. J. Baronett, Bart Henderson, H. Sprague,
Frederick Bottler, Adam Miller, and Adams and Crandall. The latter two
were killed by Indians in the Hoodoo region in 1870, while Adam Miller
and two companions narrowly escaped.[110] It would appear that probably
a dozen nondescript mining groups had some contact with the region
during the sixties. Yet these miner meanderings did not definitely
confirm the actual existence of Wonderland, even though they added
another chapter to an increasingly impressive legend. However, the
persistence of this marvelous legend between 1820 and 1870 was largely
due to the influence of Jim Bridger.