TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATIONS--NEW BUSINESSES
The narration of trapper and miner visits and the account of final
discovery have already described the difficulties of early travel in
Yellowstone. Little segments of animal and Indian trails were all that
broke the untraveled wilderness. Since no funds were available for any
purpose before 1877, the trail building progress made before that date
was negligible.[219] Until that time all visitors came on horseback, but
while they generally went to the same places their approaches were
different. Each outfit carried axes, and at least a modicum of effort
had to be expended along the way. Such had been the way of mountain men.
They did not expect someone else to build their roads; neither did they
expect anyone to tell them where to go or camp. Therefore, it was every
outfit to itself; still, companionship claimed its due, and groups
sometimes fell into line and traveled together.
A perusal of old journals shows that packsaddle trips were always
thrilling. It was by pack horse that the presidential party of August,
1883 visited the Park. It traveled three hundred and fifty miles, making
nineteen camps during its sojourn. The personnel included the following:
President Chester A. Arthur, Secretary of War Robert T. Lincoln, Senator
George Graham Vest, General Phil H. Sheridan, General Anson Stager,
Colonel Michael V. Sheridan, Colonel J. F. Gregory, Captain Philo Clark,
Governor Schuyler Crosby (Montana), Judge Rawlins, and Official
Photographer Frank Jay Haynes.[220] They had a grand time, and
thereafter Yellowstone never lacked friends in high places.
One account tells of traveling three hundred and fifty miles in
twenty-four days. Fish were caught in handfuls, horses caved in geyser
formations, and Indians were seen. All of these activities were duly
reported to a keenly interested American public. Indeed, a general
concern for the President's security was aroused. This natural anxiety
gave occasion for a rumor that the President's safety was in jeopardy,
not from accident, wild animals, or Indians, but rather from a gang of
desperadoes. A dispatch bearing the postmark of Hailey, Idaho, stated
that a large band of Texas criminals had been observed in a mysterious
ceremonial at Willow Park in Yellowstone. According to the report, each
man swore by his dagger to do his duty, which was no less than the
capture of the President of the United States and his entire party. The
captives would then be held in a wilderness cavern until a ransom of one
million dollars had been paid!
[Illustration: W. S. Chapman
Stagecoach.]
The alarming report that "They are after Arthur!" was followed by the
reassuring word that Sheriff Farcy and a company of United States troops
were investigating the reported conspiracy. Certainly the presidential
expedition was enveloped in an atmosphere of high romance![221]
It is said that camping trips have always been ideal testers of
friendship. Camp life is an excellent form of association because it is
bound to disclose every character trait. Each virtue is surely tried,
and every vice is certain to show itself. Wit, cheerfulness, patience,
and industry were in demand, and their opposites greatly discounted.
Some knowledge of cooking, washing, caring for animals, and tying the
diamond hitch was essential. Good hunters and fishermen were popular in
these camps. Skill in constructing fir-bough lean-tos against storms and
couches for sleeping came in handy. Last of all, the gift of
storytelling and song made its possessor the head of the nightly
campfire circle. Were these the people the poet envisioned?
Keep not standing fix't and rooted,
Briskly venture, briskly roam;
Head and hand, where'er thou foot it,
And stout heart are still at home.
In each land the sun does visit
We are gay, whate'er betide:
To give room for wandering is it
That the world was made so wide.[222]
Pack outfit owners were a lusty sort. Some of them divided their time
between acting as guides and slaughtering game for both meat and hides.
A few were wholly unscrupulous, both in their exploitation of the
tourists and the Park.[223] Still others were high-type frontiersmen. A
description has been left of one Texas Jack, named John Omohondro,
originally from Virginia:
He is tall, powerfully built, and as he rode carelessly along, with
his long rifle crossed in front of him, he was a picture. He was
dressed in a complete suit of buckskin, and wore a flaming red
neckerchief, a broad sombrero fastened up on one side with a large
eagle feather, and a pair of beautifully beaded moccasins. The costume
of the man, his self-confident pose, and the quick, penetrating glance
of his keen black eye, would give the impression that he was no
ordinary mountaineer.[224]
Still, Texas Jack was quite typical of most mountain scouts, being a man
of life and blood and fire, blazing with suppressed excitement in a land
of high adventure.
Although the stagecoach took over most of the tourist business after
1880 a few reliable pack masters remained in business. Among these was
the firm of Grant, Brogan and Lycan of Bozeman, which conducted a
seven-day tour for thirty dollars per person. Jordan and Howell of Cody
had a fourteen-day schedule, while Howard Eaton, in his day, personally
guided more than a hundred parties around the Park on a twenty-day
tour.[225] In 1923 the trail he used was improved, named, and dedicated
to his memory. The Howard Eaton Trail parallels the Grand Loop highway.
It is maintained by the government and is one of the most scenic bridle
paths in America. It was hoped that many people would take advantage of
this facility, but its public use is meager.
Travel by stage in Yellowstone was started in 1878 and concluded in
1917. Since a generation of Americans saw the Park in that manner, a
description of the procedure would be appropriate. The stagecoach itself
was a remarkable vehicle. It was substantially built, quite commodious,
and reasonably comfortable. Concord coaches were used; they varied in
capacity from seven to as many as thirty-three seats and were drawn by
four or six horses, according to size. Great leather springs, called
thorough braces, produced a swaying motion which absorbed all but the
most violent shocks. The driver's seat was perched above the body of the
coach and underneath was a compartment for mail sacks and express
packages. There was a strong platform in the rear of the coach upon
which trunks and suitcases were loaded. Harness and other gear were
always of the best grade and condition.
Several hundred thousand passengers were taken through Yellowstone by
stagecoaches during the thirty-eight years of their operation. The
drivers, therefore, were necessarily men of experience and
resourcefulness. Indeed, they were a sovereign group and the cynosure of
eyes as they cracked their whips and moved three span of horses away at
a half-gallop, half-trot, trained, showy style. They were held in high
esteem, as well they might be, for each held a position requiring
judgment and skill. Several expert drivers who "tooled" Yellowstone
coaches were William Woolsey, Hub Counter, and Oscar Scoda. They were
firm in resolution, yet polite in manner, and obliging toward
passengers. Generally:
... they were good entertainers, capable of making what would
otherwise be a long, tedious night ride seem entirely too short to the
passenger, who was fortunate enough to have a seat on the box beside
him, and hear him relate his experiences with Indian and stage
robber.[226]
The driver's sole duty consisted of handling the stage while on the
line; others attended to the feeding and harnessing of the horses, but
the teams knew their drivers and responded amazingly to their wills. A
driver could flick a fly off the back of his team leaders and bring back
his lash without tangling it in the harness or wagon wheels. Day and
night these "kings of the whip" flung and pulled the "silk" to those
fleet creatures of nature, and over their strength and fears they were
ever masters. "Clear the road! Get out of the way thar with your draft
teams!" was their good-natured salutation as they swung into view, only
to disappear at high speed around a curve or through the lodgepole-lined
road. Unrelaxed, they were ever watchful for gullies, boulders, and road
agents. As they approached a station they forced their horses into full
gallop and brought their coaches up with a grand flourish before the
ever-expectant crowd on hand, waiting for friends or the mail. One
driver boasted that he could drive his outfit down Beehive Geyser and
come out of Old Faithful without losing a hair!
The advantages of travel by stage included interesting acquaintances and
fresh views into human nature. Close quarters in the wilderness have
always been a touchstone, even thus lightly approached. The regular trip
lasted five days and always seemed too short. One tourist regretfully
observed, "Nothing can be done well at a speed of forty miles a
day."[227] As the stage prepared to pull out some would climb up the
sides of the coaches and squeeze into the open seats on the roof. There,
each obtained an unobstructed view of the landscape and a good sunburn.
Others, less agile or venturesome, would remain in the interior,
satisfied with less elevation, wind, and sun, and nearly as much
advantage in sight-seeing.
There they sat, side by side, hour after hour, old and young, full of
hope and fun and care. Some watched the scenery; others, the horses. All
asked questions--some of them intelligent and well-conceived, some
naïve, and still others ludicrous. They were usually addressed to the
driver, as though skill in handling horses and familiarity with the area
gave authority. Unfortunately, few drivers understood what they daily
saw; still, as a defense against frustration, many acquired a knowing
air. Great guesses were made, and occasionally the tourists were
deliberately misled. Generally the driver's observations were offered in
a spirit of fun to keep the folks from drooping. A few examples have
been recorded. Driving among the Hot Springs on the Mammoth Terraces,
one guide shouted, "Them as likes their bath hot goes in on the left,
and them as likes it cold goes in on the right, and them as likes it
middlin' goes in the middle."[228]
At Norris Geyser Basin the following conversation was heard: One tourist
speaking to another, "If we're too late to see the Monarch Geyser erupt
tonight, we'll go over and see him before breakfast." To which the
driver replied, "No you can't, the Monarch Geyser is a monarch up here
in the Park. You can't go see him when you get ready; you've got to go
when he's ready."[229]
One Münchausen-minded guide informed his passengers that any geyser
water, when bottled, retained a strange sympathy with its water nymph,
so that when the geyser erupted the water became violently agitated; in
one instance a bottle was shattered incident to a particularly powerful
eruption! Many such stories were told by "Buckskin Charley," "Yankee
Jim," "Billy" Hofer, and their compatriots. Rudyard Kipling left this
description of Yankee Jim:
Yankee Jim was a picturesque old man with a talent for yarns that
Ananias might have envied.... Yankee Jim saw every one of my tales and
went fifty better on the spot. He dealt in bears and Indians--never
less than twenty each.[230]
[Illustration: Courtesy Northern Pacific Ry.
_"Yankee Jim"--James George_]
James George, better known as "Yankee Jim," was a pioneer hunter and
trapper who staked his claim in Yankee Jim Canyon of Yellowstone River,
north of Cinnabar and Gardiner. He shrewdly built twenty-seven miles of
toll road through the only available pass. Yankee Jim delighted in
joshing the lady members of early parties concerning the prospects of
bestowing a bit of affection upon him in lieu of the tolls. Little is
known concerning his success in that direction, but he dealt effectively
with the Northern Pacific Railroad in the matter of a right of way
through his canyon.
As time passed, many people who were beyond the "gape-and-run" variety
complained about the lack of a dependable source of information. The
quips of guides who did not know a marmot from a cony actually
displeased them. However, there were occasions when even these talkative
fellows had the good taste to be silent.
They will talk of the Canyon at the hotel and on the drive, but once
there they simply lead you to the points of lookout and leave you with
your own thoughts, or answer your questions in monosyllables.[231]
After a long trip on a warm day, through clouds of Yellowstone dust, the
passengers presented an amusing spectacle. Men in yellow dusters, women
in gray ones, topped off by Shaker bonnets. Hungry, weary, and dejected,
they would alight on limbs half-paralyzed from inactivity. It was then
that a person needed a friend, and that detail was not overlooked by the
hotel management.
Perhaps Larry Matthews was more unique than typical, but a description
of him will convey the idea of nineteenth-century Park hospitality. For
several seasons Larry was chargé d'affaires at the Norris lunch station.
Later he was advanced to the management of an inn at Old Faithful. When
coaches pulled up to Larry's he would address each passenger in his
genial Irish brogue. Every man received a title of dignity, while he
referred to himself as the "Mad Irishman" or "Larry Geeser." Here is a
picture of Larry in action:
Step right up, Judge, eat all you can, break the company, it's all
right with me. Fine spring lamb (spring of '72). Eggs, fresh eggs!
Just laid this morning (on the table).
Thus he kept up a constant rattle that was very funny. As the coaches
rolled away one could hear the tourists remark, "The jolliest man I ever
saw ... such hypnotic ways, such spontaneous wit; surely no such mortal
ever lived before."[232]
This growing business of transportation and accommodations was
characterized by vigorous competition. Probably the first conveyance to
enter the Park was a stagecoach owned by J. W. Marshall and his partner,
named Goff. It left Virginia City, Montana, on October 1, 1880. Sixteen
hours were required in traversing the ninety-five miles to Marshall's
National Park House, a two-story, log-hewed structure located in the
Lower Geyser Basin, near the junction of Firehole and Nez Percé Creek.
These men also built mail stations at Riverside, four miles east of the
West Entrance, and at Norris Geyser Basin.
Frank Jay Haynes, a youthful photographer from St. Paul, started a stage
and photo business in 1881. His efforts have produced eminent success,
and the end is not yet. The photography side of the business descended
from father, Frank Jay, to son, Jack Ellis. The Haynes Studio still
enjoys a flourishing trade, and its beautiful products are known all
over the world.
The Northern Pacific Railroad extended its terminal to Cinnabar in 1883,
where it remained until 1902, when Gardiner was reached. The next year
an impressive ceremony was held at the North Gate when the Triumphal
Arch was dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt.
In 1883 the Yellowstone Park Improvement Company organized regular
tourist travel. The usual routine consisted of alternating sojourns,
whether in Concord stagecoaches, surreys, formation or spring wagons,
and canvas "hotels." A trip around the Park cost twenty-five dollars, or
a saddle horse could be secured for two-fifty per day. The following
year (1884) George W. Wakefield put a line of coaches into operation
from Cinnabar through the Park. W. Hoffman was also engaged in the stage
business. These firms were rivals among themselves, and with other less
formidable competitors, for the Northern Pacific's business. However, in
1886, the railroad effected a gentlemen's agreement with the new and
energetic Yellowstone Park Association. Unless the purchaser of a
railroad ticket objected he found a coupon attached to his ticket that
delivered him into the care of the Yellowstone Park Stage Line and its
associated hotels. Coupon holders paid nine dollars a day while in the
Park. Five dollars were assigned to staging and four dollars to hotel
and meals. Upon alighting from the train, each person was accosted from
several quarters, much as by hackmen in cities, "Are you a coupon, sir?"
"No." "Would you like my team then?"[233] Thus, each would press the
bewildered tourist for his business. In 1892 the Huntley, Child, and
Bach interests organized the Yellowstone Park Transportation Company.
They soon dominated the North Entrance business, and other operators
were bought out in 1903. Four years later this firm was prepared to
receive one hundred and fifty passengers daily at the North Gate. An
inventory of its rolling stock included four six-horse Concord coaches,
of thirty-three seats capacity; ninety four-horse Concords, of eleven
and seven seats; and one hundred two Glens Falls two-horse surreys, of
five and three seat models. It was undoubtedly one of the best-equipped
organizations of the kind in history.[234]
Passengers entering the Park by way of the West Entrance came north from
Ogden, Utah, on the Utah Northern (later the Union Pacific) to Spencer,
Idaho, or Monida on the Montana-Idaho border. There they were met by F.
J. Haynes' Monida and Yellowstone Stage Line or the Bassett Brothers
Company. During the season of 1915 the Haynes firm transported 20,151
tourists through the Park.
In 1903, when the East Gate road was opened, the Holm Transportation
Company secured a permit to operate a stage line. The arrival of the
Burlington Route to Cody, Wyoming, in 1912, gave great impetus to that
business. The West Entrance had benefited by a railroad to its gate
since 1907, when the Union Pacific extended the line to West
Yellowstone. A branch line was also built to Victor, Idaho, which made
Jackson Hole and the South Entrance much more accessible. A table of
operators and charges, as of 1914, would represent the stage business in
the heyday of its power.[235]
The evolution of permanent camps and hotels was complementary to the
development of travel. The first permanent house built was in Clematis
Gulch, on the north side of Mammoth Terraces. It was erected in 1871 by
James C. McCartney. This "hotel" and C. J. Baronett's bridge and cabin
at the forks of the Yellowstone River were the only improvements made
before the Dedicatory Act was passed. These gentlemen managed to collect
the sum of $9000 for their foresight and property, although they had to
wait until March 1, 1899 to get it.
P. W. Norris' _Annual Report_ of 1880 lists the following facilities
then in operation: Mammoth, McCartney's house and Matthew McGuirck's
baths; Norris, a rude cabin and barn; Riverside, a cabin and barn;
Firehole River, near the forks, "a fine shingle roofed mail station and
hotel." The latter three stations were built by Marshall and Goff. In
the Upper Geyser Basin a small cabin was built by Superintendent Norris
in 1879; at the Lake a cabin and boat were operated by Captain E. S.
Topping.
[Illustration: Ernest Thompson Seton
"Uncle" John F. Yancey.]
Two years later John Yancey secured a mail contract and established a
station in Pleasant Valley at the base of Crescent Hill. Here he was
familiarly known as "Uncle John." He was an old Kentucky frontiersman
stranded in the Park by the flood tide of civilization. He chafed
constantly at the uneventful days of the eighties and told his guests
thrilling tales of the forties. A pen portrait has been preserved of
him:
Yancey is an odd character, whose looks encourage a belief in
reincarnation, so forcibly does he remind us of the prehistoric. His
hotel, too, belongs to the primeval; its walls are of logs; its
partitions and ceilings of cheese cloth.... Uncle John's housekeeper,
who performs the duties of cook and chambermaid, confidentially
informed one of our party that it was hard to find time to wash so
many bedclothes every day.[236]
The meals were most generous, which was a custom closely observed in
those days. This type of accommodation was very repulsive to some
people. Judge Lambert Tree, an ex-United States Minister to Belgium,
characterized the management in general as outrageous. A report was
current that three married couples and two young women were thrust into
a small room to pass the night. The next camp was twenty miles away, and
the only transportation belonged to the company. In addition, this same
party was advised to walk up Mary Mountain because it was such a hard
pull for the horses. Someone was evidently justified in making the
statement, "As it is today [1884.], I do not think it too strong to say
that at certain points on the route travellers are treated more like
cattle than civilized people."[237]
These reports reached the Secretary of the Interior, and a number of new
leases were promptly granted for the erection of hotels and the
necessary outbuildings.[238] About this time Superintendent Wear was
accused of persuading Graham and Klamer, owners of the Firehole Hotel,
to sell out. In any case, a new hotel was built in the Lower Geyser
Basin in 1884 by C. T. Hobart. He and Robert E. Carpenter also erected a
frame building the next year on the present site of Old Faithful Inn. At
the same time the Cottage Hotel was erected in Mammoth by Walter L.
Henderson.[239] The Yellowstone Park Association also built hotels in
Mammoth and Norris in 1885, Lake in 1887, Canyon in 1890, and the
following year they completed the peerless Fountain Hotel. It was
located on a hill in a strategic position in the Lower Geyser Basin.
From its lofty veranda the Fountain Geyser could be observed playing.
The Fountain House was an imposing structure. It was modern in every
way, having electricity and steam heat. Two hundred guests could be
entertained, and when they went to dinner a head waiter in evening dress
greeted them. In 1887 the Norris Hotel burned down, and in 1894 the one
at Old Faithful did likewise.[240]
During the season of 1894 the pressure of criticism was brought to bear
upon the entire Yellowstone transportation and accommodation setup. The
country was in the throes of a depression, and the rates seemed
exorbitant. It appears that the Yellowstone Park Transportation Company
had been very reluctant in allowing stopover privileges. It collected
just as much by holding strictly to schedule; whereas, the hotels made
more on holdovers. This diversity of interest suggested the idea that it
might be expedient to have the management of both industries in the same
hands.
It was William W. Wylie, of Bozeman, who conceived a plan which met the
demand. Since 1883 he had operated a ten-day tour, using portable tents.
He would organize a stage line and cater to the masses by establishing a
string of permanent camps, with eating halls and sleeping quarters. By
using canvas, his investment would be small, and he could cut the cost
of a trip through the Park in half. Therefore, in 1896, he secured a
franchise, and the "Wylie Way" went into operation.
Of course, the more conservative competitors resented this invasion from
"the other side of the tracks." Captain George S. Anderson was also
opposed to a string of "shanty towns." The matter was given a public
hearing by _Forest and Stream_ in its issue of February 5, 1898,
entitled "Nuisances in Yellowstone Park." Mr. Wylie, known in
Yellowstone as "the Professor," wrote a vigorous rebuttal for the
following issue. Other publications entered into the controversy, as did
many of Wylie's most satisfied customers. The question involved was
whether the American people, in the enjoyment of their own pleasure
ground, should be limited to one set of accommodations, which only the
wealthy could afford.[241] The verdict of the public, from which there
is no appeal, was definitely with "the Professor." The business
flourished and won an acceptable position in the more complete system
that evolved.
In the meantime an actual nuisance was committed by several hotel
operators. They attempted to assemble and maintain wild life menageries.
The government necessarily allowed stables and pastures for horses and
cows, but that was all. Nevertheless, several managers also tried to
raise pigs, although extreme precautions were essential to save them
from bears. Colonel E. C. Waters had a "veritable stockade-pen of heavy
logs bolted all around."[242] Perhaps the most flagrant offender in this
respect was the Yellowstone Boat Company. As an inducement to take a
boat ride, this firm confined buffalo, elk, and bighorn in corrals on
Dot Island. This untoward act, together with the prices charged for boat
rides, brought many complaints, and upon official request the animals
were promptly released.[243]
Mosquitoes were an ever-present nuisance, sometimes assuming the
proportion of a plague. Accustomed to the pursuit of fleet four-footed
prey, they assailed slow-moving _Homo sapiens_ with particular gusto.
Gleeful appreciation seemed discernible in their song. By day and night,
unless the wind was blowing, the tourists were kept busy swatting those
vexatious, glory-minded, musical-winged, bold denizens of the forest.
Perhaps the most persistent annoyance, next to mosquitoes, was the
prevalence of dust. One traveler laconically observed that he rode "from
geyser to canyon, to waterfall, in a chaos of dust, until he returned on
the fifth day a wiser and dustier man."[244] But an elderly man,
probably afflicted with asthma, entered the Fountain Hotel, singled out
the manager, and shaking his finger in his face, dramatically shouted,
"A man who would permit women and children to enter the Park, with the
roads in their present condition, is an old scoundrel!"[245] How did
cyclists ever manage to get around? Incredible though it appears they
went through right along after 1882. To be sure, their voices were added
to the chorus calling for better roads. These protests resulted in the
adoption of a sprinkling system that will be described subsequently.
The most revolutionary proposal for a change in travel facilities,
coming in 1894, was a demand for railroads. There were propositions
wholly independent of the Montana segregation case. Many people
sincerely favored the entrance of trains on their own merits. The issue
was discussed in the House of Representatives on December 17, by the
Hon. Henry H. Coffeen of Wyoming. Speaking of the operators, he said:
... they are holding on to a theory of sacred maintenance of the stage
coach and broncho riding method of reaching this great Wonderland at a
time when the superior advantages of railroad travel ought to be
granted to the people.... These journeys going round the Park, so to
say, and coming in at the back door by tedious night and day stage
rides are so expensive, the time and inconveniences so great and the
season so short (three months) that the great bulk of our population
must forever stay out and remain in ignorance of the scenes of the
Park. Not one hundredth part of one per cent of our people per year
could possibly visit the Park by these methods.[246]
While this argument did not produce a change of policy it did give an
impetus to road building. A brief review of that important development
would be appropriate.
Reference has already been made to the rude trails hacked out by
government expeditions and early tourists and also to the trace
improvised by C. J. Baronett and his associates, which led from Mammoth
to his bridge at the forks of the Yellowstone and along the east branch
to the mines at Cooke, Montana. In 1877 General Howard's captain, W. F.
Spurgin, made a faint apology for a road in bringing his wagons from
Mary Mountain to Tower Falls. It was the next year when the first wagons
managed a round trip from Mammoth, and also the West Entrance, to the
Upper Geyser Basin. In building a road across the base of Obsidian
Cliff, Colonel Norris employed a unique tactic in road making. Great
bonfires were burned over the black glass, which made it expand; then
cold water was dashed upon it, shattering the material so that it could
be chopped out.
[Illustration: Golden Gate drive]
In the early eighties the matter of road making was taken over by the
army engineers. Until 1895 actual control was in the hands of
non-resident officers, which proved unsatisfactory. After that the
Acting Superintendent exercised supervision. Captain Anderson had a
soldier's and a surveyor's eye for feasible routes. He favored the
construction of twenty miles of good dirt road with fair grades to one
mile of macadam and the resulting delay in opening the Park to the
public.[247] The principal supervisors were Captain D. C. Kingman and
Major Hiram M. Chittenden. Through their combined efforts the Grand Loop
was planned and patiently constructed. In 1892 the road from Old
Faithful to West Thumb was started. It took five years to get through to
Jackson Lake. At the same time work progressed on the long section from
Thumb to Fishing Bridge and thence to the East Entrance. That project
was finished and accessible from Cody in 1903. Two years later the
difficult Dunraven Pass and the scenic Chittenden Road to the summit of
Mt. Washburn were ready. These were the last links in the Grand Loop. Of
course, there have been continuous changes and refinements. In general
the trend has been away from the plateaus to the more scenic river
routes. Stretches through the Golden Gate, under Overhanging Cliff, and
through the Gibbon and Firehole canyons are both interesting and costly.
In 1902 an experiment was made with the view of solving the dusty road
problem. Several wide-tired sprinklers were tried out. The following
year the number was increased, and more than thirty filling tanks were
installed along the way. Most of them were filled by gravity and rams.
In this way over a hundred miles of highway was moistened daily. Still,
there were times when the dust was too thick for any effective treatment
that man could devise.[248] Of course, nature had an adequate remedy,
which it occasionally employed. Superintendent Albright related an
instance:
Once I had a large congressional party in Yellowstone. It was in
charge of the late James W. Good. Yellowstone's roads were terribly
dusty and the water sprinkling was of little value. We wanted Congress
to adopt an oiling program but every night while the Committee was in
the Park it rained and the roads were perfect. Nevertheless every day
I told of the dust menace and urged the improvement, but the
congressmen only laughed and some member would say "Albright's going
to tell his old dusty road story again."[249]
Continuing the narrative, Superintendent Albright told this story:
"Another year, I met a sub-committee of the House Appropriations
Committee at the Grand Canyon National Park. Congressman, now United
States Senator, Carl Hayden, was with the party when they reached the
park. Here again we had a problem of terrible roads. The committee had
not had much sleep the night before arrival due to changing trains,
and when I took them over the worst road in the park they went to
sleep on me. I bounced them into every rut and hole I could find, but
even then I had to shake them to wake them up. For a long time they
contended that the road was a boulevard, but finally authorized the
improvement desired. On the same trip, Congressman Cramton of
Michigan, for years the stalwart champion of national parks, saw a
camper stop his car near the Grand Canyon Park office. He went over to
him seeking information about the conduct of the park. The tourist
gave him a vigorous denunciation of the roads in the park, and Mr.
Cramton always claimed that I planted the camper there to trap him."
The suggestion frequently came to the Superintendent that he should
sprinkle the roads with water from Alum Creek. That would shorten the
distance and simplify the task!
In 1917 the National Park Service assumed control over all road
construction and maintenance. Since then a comprehensive policy of
scientific road making has been followed; grades have been modified,
while at the same time great cuts and fills have been avoided so far as
possible; turns have been eased and widened; and in recent years all the
roads have been paved with oil mix. An appropriation of $3,369,450 in
1933, under the National Recovery Act, became the basis of the marvelous
improvements made in recent years. In 1937 a remarkably scenic highway
was completed from Red Lodge, Montana, to the Northeast Gate. After
1928, Cecil A. Lord directed the engineering activities of the Park
until his death in 1943, whereupon Park Engineer Philip H. Wohlbrandt
assumed that important responsibility.
The year 1915 was indeed a banner one in Yellowstone transportation
history. It was the first year automobiles were admitted, and
consequently heralded the end of the stagecoach. Actually, staging
lingered through another season, but the race was over as the poet said:
Here's to you, old stage driver,
We'll hear your shout no more,
Your stage with rust is eaten,
Beside the old Inn's door;
The auto-bus and steam car
Have cut your time in two;
Throw up your hands, old "stage hoss,"
They've got the drop on you![250]
Few people expressed any regret, because of the hardships incident to
travel by stagecoach. Still, it is the opinion of many that advantages
exceeded inconvenience. The West, as now seen from the window of a train
or motor car, is not the country introduced by stagecoach. With all the
additional comfort, there is a loss of an indefinable something, subtle,
yet well understood by those who have driven at a six-mile-an-hour pace
through the almost unbroken solitude of another era. In contrast,
regularly scheduled airplane flights over the Park have been available
from time to time since 1937. There are no airports in the Park, but
they are to be found nearby at West Yellowstone and Gardiner, Montana.
It should also be remembered that during the previous forty years
innumerable private parties made leisurely visits and camped where they
pleased. The Park must have been an idyllic place in those "horse and
buggy" days, a hunting and fishing Elysium, especially until 1894. Since
then fishermen may take a generous catch of trout without any license
except a bona fide presence in the Park.
Although admitted under the most onerous terms the automobile
revolutionized the travel there as elsewhere. Always well-filled with
regulations, official bulletins now fairly bristled with instructions to
motorists. Fees were $7.50 for a single trip or $10.00 for the season;
all cars were required to enter the gates between 6:45 and 7:15 A.M. A
printed schedule specified the time of arrival at, and departure from,
the control stations.[251] Fines were imposed for arrival at any point
before the approved lapse of time at the rate of $0.50 per minute for
each of the first five minutes, $1.00 per minute for each of the next
twenty minutes, $25.00 fine or ejection from the Park, or both, at the
discretion of the Acting Superintendent, for being more than twenty-five
minutes early. The following regulations and restrictions were strictly
enforced: Speed, twelve miles per hour ascending steep grades; ten miles
per hour descending steep grades; eight miles per hour approaching sharp
curves and passing other vehicles. The maximum speed limit in 1922 was
twenty-five miles per hour. Teams had the right of way and also the
inside of the roadway in passing. Motorists were required to sound horns
at all curves where the road was not in view at least two hundred yards
ahead. Surely the motorists were in a defensive position, but they came
anyway. A total of 3,513 auto passengers toured the Park in the
abbreviated season after August 1, 1915. The grand total for the year
was 51,895 in all conveyances.
The advent of motor vehicles speeded up every phase of Park
administration. However, World War I provided a respite for making
adjustments. In fact, a thorough reorganization of the entire concession
system was effected in 1917. The main feature involved was the
consolidation of transportation under the management of the Yellowstone
Park Transportation Company. The purpose of this franchise was to
eliminate the pressure of rivals upon the passengers, facilitate
supervision, and promote economy.[252] The Yellowstone Park Company
proceeded to make a large capital investment by motorizing all
transportation. Thereupon, the familiar yellow bus superseded the
ancient stagecoach. It is an interesting thing to observe a caravan of
twenty buses winding its way along a river drive or parked before a
museum while a ranger-naturalist gives the passengers a quick
orientation in the area.
It would be fair to inquire if the bus driver (gear jammer) showed any
improvement over the stagecoach driver in the matter of instructing the
public. Not if the 1921 edition of _Truthful Lies_ correctly represents
the situation, because that little booklet was a congeries of
unadulterated nonsense reduced to a system.[253] However, a gradual
improvement has been made, and in recent years all of the new drivers
have gone around the "Loop" with a naturalist. From him they received
helpful suggestions relative to natural interpretation. A few days after
one of these induction tours the following conversation was reported to
have taken place when passing a beaver dam: "Now, there is a beaver dam,
but where are the dam beavers?" The driver straightened up and replied,
"I'll be damned if I know."
At this point it should be remembered that, although the great concourse
visit Yellowstone in cars, many tourists come in buses, motorcycles, and
bicycles. It should also be noted that travel by horseback has always
persisted. Until the advent of the automobile this method was in general
use. Indeed, firms were organized to provide grand tours of several
weeks' duration. The Howard Eaton Trail and various adjuncts are still
used by horseback parties each summer. In fact, several trail-riding
associations sponsor these trips under competent leadership. In this
manner an excellent Park tradition is being sustained for the benefit
and enjoyment of a chosen few possessed of the necessary time and
hardihood.
In 1936 the long-expected union of transportation and accommodations
took place. The Yellowstone Park Transportation Company acquired all of
the housing facilities and deleted the word Transportation from its
title.[254] In analyzing the business of previous years, President
William M. Nichols and his associates noticed a definite trend away from
commercial transportation and first class American plan hotel
accommodations. Therefore, they rapidly expanded the lower-priced
cabins, together with cafeterias and coffee shops. They are now pursuing
a carefully worked out program of improvement. Practical pre-fabricated
cabins are to be established in well-arranged units in every
station.[255] In 1956 the company had available some 3,150 rooms or
units of lodging, with an aggregate capacity for housing 8,500 people.
These accommodations consist of hotels, lodges, and housekeeping cabins.
The services of twenty-seven hundred employees were required to operate
these facilities. The annual Park population census taken on August 9,
12, and 14, 1955, disclosed an average population of 14,912 for the
three days. Of this number 11,183 were visitors while 3,729 were
employees. The grand total for the 1955 season was 1,368,515 visitors.
Tourists require many things besides food and shelter. Yellowstone's
policy has favored making these wants attainable. In this field
regulations have also modified certain practices common to general
business conditions. Franchises have been kept at a minimum, and
competition does not exist within a particular camp. However, Park
merchants are required to keep their prices in line with the index of
the market area.
Motion pictures and other forms of indoor recreation are conspicuously
absent, although the lodges sponsor two hours of entertainment and
dancing for their guests and the public at large. These also function to
keep the employees contented.
A general statement having been made, a brief sketch of Yellowstone's
business enterprises would be in order. Frank Jay Haynes, the pioneer
photographer, built his first picture shop at Mammoth in 1884. Since
that time a Haynes Studio has been a familiar institution in Yellowstone
camps. Another Mammoth Hot Springs store was opened in 1889 by Ole
Anderson. For a time he was allowed to sell bottles of highly colored
Park sand and also specimens coated with calcium carbonate. This store
was purchased by Anna K. Pryor and Elizabeth Trischman in 1908. They
soon reorganized it into the Park Curio and Coffee Shop. Later they
acquired the Mammoth general store and a grocery store near Canyon
Junction. The latter had been established by a released Park soldier,
George Whittaker.
The first store in the Upper Geyser Basin was built by Henry E. Klamer
in 1897. A ten-year franchise for a geyser water swimming pool was
granted Henry J. Brothers in 1914. The following year Charles A.
Hamilton acquired control of these interests and laid the foundation for
a thriving business there. Hamilton also has general stores at Thumb,
Lake, and Fishing Bridge, and in 1953 acquired the Pryor interests in
the Park.
The Yellowstone Park Service Stations are owned jointly by Hamilton
Stores, Inc. and the Yellowstone Park Company. Gasoline, oil, and
supplies are available at the lone multi-pump service station assigned
to each camp.[256] The public garage business is in the hands of the
Yellowstone Park Company. Thus, it is obvious that all of the Park's
mercantile business is the concern of three operators, Haynes, Hamilton,
and the Yellowstone Park Company. Each operates under the terms of a
government franchise and is subject to National Park Service regulation
and supervision at all times.
The essential public utilities are provided by the National Park
Service. They consist of public camp grounds with cement cooking units,
toilet facilities, telephones, water, lights, and sewage disposal. These
substantial projects have been developed through the years with a
capital expenditure that runs in excess of a million dollars.[257]
In 1912 a general hospital was built in Mammoth. It is closely
affiliated with a similar institution in Livingston, Montana. Medical
doctors and trained nurses are on duty at the principal stations
throughout the Park. This arrangement assures the public of medical
attention in case of accidents or illness.
In 1913 the government built a Community Chapel at Mammoth. During the
summer months services are usually conducted there and at the lodges or
amphitheaters by the Catholic, Protestant, and Latter-day Saint (Mormon)
faiths.
The postal service in Yellowstone has had a colorful evolution. The mail
has always come through, either by scout, stage driver, bus, or "star
route" mail car. In 1937 a fine post office was erected in Mammoth. It
does business there the year around; while postal stations at Old
Faithful, West Thumb, Lake, Fishing Bridge, Canyon, and Tower Falls are
open only during the summer season.
Thus does a cross-section of America meet by canyon, geyser, lake, and
waterfall. They also foregather around counters, tables, lobbies, and
evening camp fires. It would be difficult to find a more representative
assembly of American society. Many people consider this interesting
human equation one of the most enjoyable experiences in the Park.