The Project Gutenberg EBook of Your National Parks, by Enos A. Mills and Laurence F. Schmeckebier This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Your National Parks With Detailed Information for Tourists Author: Enos A. Mills Laurence F. Schmeckebier Release Date: March 3, 2013 [EBook #42248] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YOUR NATIONAL PARKS *** Produced by Greg Bergquist and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) By Enos A. Mills By Enos A. Mills YOUR NATIONAL PARKS. Illustrated. THE STORY OF SCOTCH. Illustrated. THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN WONDERLAND. Illustrated. THE STORY OF A THOUSAND-YEAR PINE. Illustrated. IN BEAVER WORLD. Illustrated. THE SPELL OF THE ROCKIES. Illustrated. WILD LIFE ON THE ROCKIES. Illustrated. HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY Boston and New York YOUR NATIONAL PARKS JOHN COLTER, THE DISCOVERER OF YELLOWSTONE PARK A Guide to the National Parks A Guide to the National Parks YOUR [iii] NATIONAL PARKS BY ENOS A. MILLS WITH DETAILED INFORMATION FOR TOURISTS BY LAURENCE F. SCHMECKEBIER And with Illustrations and Maps BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY The Riverside Press Cambridge 1917 COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY ENOS A. MILLS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published June 1917 TO GEORGE W. PERKINS AND WILLIAM A. WELCH WHOSE STATESMANSHIP, ENERGY, IDEALS, AND COURAGE ARE MAKING THE PALISADES INTER-STATE PARK "THE GREATEST PARK IN THE WORLD" PREFACE [iv] [v] [vi] [vii] St. Louis had a memorable "flag day" a little more than a century ago. Within twenty-four hours the yellow and red flag of Spain was run down and the tricolor run up; this hauled down and the Stars and Stripes run up. The Louisiana Territory thus became a part of the United States. In a flash, the western boundary of this country was changed from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. Scarcely were the Stars and Stripes flying, before Lewis and Clark were on their way to explore the vast and mysterious Louisiana Territory—the West. Theirs was one of the most comprehensive and successful exploring expeditions on record—one of the greatest of outdoor expeditions. There were adventures and hardships, but after two years the party returned to civilization with the loss of only one man. The resources of the great West were definitely placed before the world. This expedition revealed the extraordinary resourcefulness of Lewis and Clark and brought out also two other characters who are worthy of a place in American literature and whose achievements might well be a source of inspiration in American life. These are John Colter, who afterwards discovered the Yellowstone, and Sacagawea, the "bird woman." Sacagawea was the one woman of the Lewis and Clark expedition. She rendered remarkable service, and her name will be forever associated with exploration, with woodcraft, and with the National-Park wildernesses. Just before the returning Lewis and Clark expedition reached St. Louis, it met trappers starting up the river—going into the great West. This was the real beginning of the trapping industry, which for nearly two generations was the dominating influence of the West. The West was thoroughly explored by the trappers. In a number of States they formed the first permanent settlement. The trappers harvested the furs of lakes and streams throughout the mountains and built up the "Commerce of the Prairies." We are indebted to them for the Oregon and Santa Fé trails. All history shows no more picturesque or resourceful character than the trapper. Among them were such great men as John Colter, James Bridger, and Kit Carson. The trapper was followed by the prospector. The trapper did not search for gold. The prospector did not look for furs or fertile lands. In a different way the prospector exploited the same territory as the trapper and thus placed the resources and the romance of the West before the public. Closely following the trapper and prospector was that rugged and aggressive character, the cowboy. He had a definite part in the forward movement of the frontier. The cowboy cared nothing for furs, or gold, or fertile lands. He was interested in the rich grasses for his cattle. He, too, had his short day. These characters—the cowboy, the prospector, and the trapper—tarried for a brief moment on the frontier when the farmer, the first lasting settler, arrived. All these armed and vigorous people, the wearers of buckskin, were people of individuality and power. They made great changes throughout the West, and hastened its final development. Pioneer men and women are among the great and influential figures in history. They were human, they were honorable, and we do honor them. They did not want or need sympathy. They were getting much, perhaps the most, from life; they were happy. We think of theirs as being a life of sacrifice, but it really was a life of selection. They were away from the crowd—from the enemies of sincerity and individuality. Of all people they were most nearly free. But the pioneers are gone. The frontier no longer exists, and the days of the wilderness are gone forever. Yet, in our magnificent National Parks we still have a bit of the primeval world and the spirit of the vigorous frontier. In these wild parks we may rebuild the past, and in them the trapper, the prospector, the cowboy, and the pioneer may act once more their part in the scenes that knew them. These wilderness empires of our National Parks have been snatched from leveling forces of development. They are likely to prove the richest, noblest heritage of the nation. Here the world is at play, here are scenes ever new and that will greatly help to keep the nation young. In the words of John Dickinson Sherman: "It is as if Nature in these places had in self-defense devoted all her energies to scenery, proclaiming to the nation, 'Here I will make playgrounds for the people. Here is nothing for commerce or industry. Here is natural beauty at its wildest and best. Elsewhere man must live by the sweat of his brow. Here let him rest and play. Here I will rule supreme for all time.'" There are seventeen National Parks. New ones will early be made and there are at least twenty other scenic regions which should at once be added. No nation has ever fallen for having too much scenery. Scenery is, indeed, one of our most valuable resources, and these Parks will enable us to build up a scenic industry of magnitude. Already they are being developed with roads and trails, and before long there will be in all of them hotels and camps for visitors of every taste, together with special camps and provision for school-children. I have tried to describe a few of the wonders of the Parks and to suggest the larger, fuller use of them. Through most of the Parks described I have had happy excursions afoot, alone and unarmed. Not only do the Parks contain some of the world's sublimest and most beautiful scenes, but each Park is a wild-life reservation, a place where guns are forbidden. Thus protected, these wildernesses will remain forever wild, forever mysterious and primeval, holding for the visitor the spell of the outdoors, exciting the spirit of exploration. Within them will survive that poetic million-year-old highway, the trail. Among their pathless scenes wild life will be perpetuated. Chains of mountain-peaks will ever stand —"the silent caravan that never passes by, the caravan whose camel backs are laden with the sky"—with purple forests, mountain-high waterfalls, vast and broken cañons, wind-swept plateaus, splendid lakes, and peaks and glaciers often touched with cloud and sunshine. Our National Parks will continue for generations to come to be the No Man's Land, the Undiscovered Country, the [viii] [ix] [x] [xi] [xii] [xiii] Mysterious Old West, the Land of Romance and Adventure. My great hope and belief is that they will become a marked factor in public education. Surely, these wonderlands mean much for the general welfare, and will help to develop greater men and women—to arouse enthusiasm for our native land, and for nature everywhere. E. A. M. CONTENTS I. THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 3 1. A Camp-Fire that made History 3 2. The Discovery of the Yellowstone 10 3. The Geysers, Lakes, and Streams 28 4. Ages of Fire and Ice 38 5. The Petrified Forests 45 6. Area; Trees, Flowers, and Animals 51 7. Entrances 53 8. Administrative History 54 9. Lost in the Wilderness 58 II. THE YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK 65 1. Ice-King Topography 70 2. Trees and Forests 76 3. Plant Life 79 4. The Realm of Falling Water 83 5. Seeing Yosemite 88 6. History of Yosemite 93 III. THE SEQUOIA AND THE GENERAL GRANT NATIONAL PARKS 99 The Big Trees 104 IV. MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK 116 1. The Splendid Wild-Flower Garden 122 2. Glaciers of Mount Rainier 130 V. CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK 137 VI. GLACIER NATIONAL PARK 148 History of Glacier National Park 157 VII. MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 161 VIII. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK 175 IX. THE GRAND CAÑON 190 X. LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK 211 XI. HAWAII NATIONAL PARK 221 XII. THREE NATIONAL MONUMENTS 1. The Olympic National Monuments 230 2. The Natural Bridges and Rainbow Bridge National Monuments 236 3. Mukuntuweap National Monument 239 XIII. OTHER NATIONAL PARKS 242 1. Wind Cave National Park 242 2. Sully's Hill Park 244 3. Casa Grande Ruin Reservation 245 [xiv] [xv] [xvi] 4. Hot Springs Reservation 246 5. Platt National Park 248 6. Mount McKinley National Park 248 XIV. CANADIAN NATIONAL PARKS 251 1. Jasper Park 252 2. Rocky Mountains Park 254 3. Yoho Park 256 4. Waterton Lakes Park 258 5. Revelstoke Park 260 6. The Animal Parks 260 7. St. Lawrence Islands Park 261 8. Fort Howe Park 262 XV. PARK-DEVELOPMENT AND NEW PARKS 264 XVI. THE SPIRIT OF THE FOREST 282 XVII. WILD LIFE IN NATIONAL PARKS 296 XVIII. IN ALL WEATHERS 317 XIX. THE SCENERY IN THE SKY 340 1. Timber-Line 340 2. Above the Timber-Line 345 3. The Work of the Ice King 351 4. High Peaks 356 XX. JOHN MUIR 360 XXI. NATIONAL PARKS THE SCHOOL OF NATURE 366 XXII. WHY WE NEED NATIONAL PARKS 378 XXIII. THE TRAIL 388 APPENDIX A. Act of Dedication of the Yellowstone National Park 397 B. The National Parks at a Glance 400 C. Proposed National Parks 403 D. National Monuments 405 E. Dominion National Parks of Canada 412 BIBLIOGRAPHY 415 GUIDE TO THE NATIONAL PARKS Introduction 425 Yellowstone National Park 433 Yosemite National Park 444 Sequoia National Park 455 General Grant National Park 459 Mount Rainier National Park 460 Crater Lake National Park 470 Glacier National Park 475 Mesa Verde National Park 488 Rocky Mountain National Park 491 The Grand Cañon 495 Lassen Volcanic National Park 500 [xvii] [xviii] Hawaii National Park 502 Mount McKinley National Park 505 Hot Springs of Arkansas 506 Minor National Parks Casa Grande Ruin 508 Wind Cave National Park 508 Platt National Park 509 Sully's Hill Park 509 National Monuments 510 Canadian Parks Rocky Mountains Park 515 Yoho Park 516 Glacier Park 517 Jasper Park 518 Revelstoke Park 518 Waterton Lakes Park 519 Buffalo Park 519 Elk Island Park 520 St. Lawrence Islands Park 520 Fort Howe Park 520 INDEX 521 ILLUSTRATIONS John Colter, the Discoverer of Yellowstone Park Frontispiece From a drawing by E. S. Paxson Map showing Location of the National Parks and National Monuments 1 Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park 30 From a photograph by George R. King Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park 34 From a photograph by Haynes, St. Paul, Minn. Grand Cañon from Artist Point, Yellowstone National Park 42 From a copyright photograph by Haynes, St. Paul Petrified Forests in Amethyst Mountain, Yellowstone National Park 46 Adapted from an illustration of the United States Geological Survey Bird's-Eye View of Yosemite Valley 66 Half Dome, Yosemite 70 From a photograph by George R. King Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls 84 From a photograph by the Pillsbury Picture Company Lake Tenaya, Yosemite National Park 88 From a photograph by the Desmond Company The Four Brothers, Sequoia National Park 104 [xix] From a photograph by Lindley Eddy, Ranger, Cal. Stage Road, Mount Rainier National Park 118 From a photograph by Curtis & Miller, Seattle, Wash. Mount Rainier from Paradise Valley 124 From a photograph by Curtis & Miller Crater Lake and Wizard Island 138 From a photograph by the Kiser Studio Phantom Ship, Crater Lake 144 By permission of the National Park Service McDermott Falls and Grinnell Mountain, Glacier National Park 150 From a photograph by Haynes, St. Paul Spruce Tree House, Mesa Verde National Park 166 From a photograph by Arthur Chapman Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park 176 From a photograph by Enos A. Mills. Loch Vale, Rocky Mountain National Park 180 From a photograph by W. T. Parke, Estes Park, Colo. Fern Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park 188 From a photograph by H. T. Cowling Looking West from North Side of Grand Cañon, showing Point Sublime and Isis Temple 192 By permission of the Department of the Interior Lassen Peak in Eruption 214 From a copyright photograph by B. F. Loomis Mount St. Helens from the Timber-Line Trail on Mount Rainier 234 From a photograph by A. H. Barnes Rainbow Natural Bridge, Rainbow National Monument 238 From a photograph by the Geological Survey Illecillewaet Valley, with Mount Sir Donald in the Distance, Glacier Park, Canada 252 From a photograph taken for the Commissioner of Dominion Parks Teton Mountain Region: Proposed Addition to Yellowstone Park 266 From a photograph by J. E. Stimson Mount Baker from the West 270 From a copyright photograph by W. H. Wilcox, Port Townsend, Wash. Mount St. Elias from East Side of Agassiz Glacier, Alaska 274 From a photograph by J. C. Russell On the Road to Sherman Tree, Giant Forest, Sequoia National Park 282 From a photograph by George F. Belden Elk in Jackson Hole 296 From a photograph by S. N. Leek Black Bear Cubs, Sequoia National Park 304 From a photograph by Lindley Eddy [xx] [xxi] Long's Peak, from Chasm Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park 320 From a photograph by Enos A. Mills Above the Timber-Line in the Rocky Mountain National Park, showing Long's Peak 346 From a photograph by H. T. Cowling John Muir in Muir Woods 360 From a photograph by Herbert W. Gleason Trail near Timber-Line, Indian Henry's Park, Mount Rainier 388 From a photograph by Curtis & Miller Map of Yellowstone National Park 436 Map of Yosemite National Park 446 Map of Glacier National Park 476 Map of Rocky Mountain National Park 492 The maps and bird's-eye view are used by permission of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Click on the map to enlarge it By permission of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior MAP SHOWING LOCATION OF NATIONAL PARKS AND NATIONAL MONUMENTS, 1917 YOUR NATIONAL PARKS YOUR NATIONAL PARKS I THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 1. A CAMP-FIRE THAT MADE HISTORY On September 19, 1870, a number of men were chatting around a camp-fire in the wilds of northwestern Wyoming. They had been exploring the Yellowstone wonderland. They had seen the geysers,—little hot-water volcanoes,—the pools of boiling colored mud, the great petrified forest, and the golden cañon of the Yellowstone, into whose colored depths the snowy river leaps. The exploration was over, and the men were about to start for their homes. A group were discussing how they might secure the ownership of this scenic empire. A monopoly of this wonderland would mean a fortune. The discussion was interrupted. Cornelius Hedges arose before the camp-fire. He said that private ownership ought never to be considered. This region, he thought, should be set aside by the Government and forever held for the unrestricted use of the people. The magnificent National-Park idea was thus born by a camp-fire in the wilds. The views of this statesman prevailed, and it was agreed that the park project be launched at once and vigorously pushed. And this was done. A few enterprising, aggressive men championed the measure so earnestly that the Park became a reality in less than two years after the idea originated. This celebrated camp was near the junction of the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers, at the foot of what now is National [xxii] [xxiii] [Pg 1] [Pg 2] [Pg 3] [Pg 4] Park Mountain. In 1891 I made a reverent pilgrimage to this historic spot. I am grateful to every one who helped establish the Yellowstone Park. I am glad that the idea of a National Park was a camp-fire thought. The Helena (Montana) "Herald" of November 9, 1870, had an article by Cornelius Hedges, containing what is probably the first published reference to the park project. Honor must be given to David E. Folsom and a number of other individuals for publicly suggesting, independently, a similar idea. These suggestions, however, were barren of results. In the course of that autumn a bold park campaign was begun by Nathaniel P. Langford, Cornelius Hedges, and William H. Claggett, who had just been elected Delegate to Congress from Montana. Langford lectured in behalf of the project before interested audiences in Minneapolis, Washington, New York, and elsewhere; and he and Walter Trumbull published magazine articles on the subject. Copies of Langford's article in "Scribner's Magazine" were placed in the hands of every Member of Congress. Dr. Ferdinand V. Hayden, of the United States Geological Survey of the Territories, became interested in the cause, and rendered invaluable service. During the summer of 1871 he explored the Yellowstone region and took scores of photographs. In coöperation with others, he drew the bill for Congressional enactment, and marked the boundary lines of the Park. This bill was introduced in the House by William H. Claggett, December 18, 1871. Senator Pomeroy, of Kansas, immediately introduced the identical measure in the Senate. Claggett, Hayden, Langford, and others made a thorough canvass. Each Member of Congress was personally interviewed. The enthusiasm, intelligence, and sincerity of these advocates produced winning results. The question came to a successful vote in the Senate, January 30, 1872. Senator Cole, of California, opposed. In the House, the Committee on Public Lands reported the bill favorably. Henry L. Dawes, of Massachusetts, championed the measure. It reached a vote, February 27, 1872, with the following result: yeas, 115; nays, 65; not voting, 60. The bill was signed by President Grant, March 1, 1872. It is a remarkable fact that Congress should have thus created the Yellowstone National Park. Through the ages the privileged classes have had almost exclusive enjoyment of scenic empires. The campaign which brought about the creation of this Park was brief, intense, and unique. It was a genuine and epoch-marking achievement. The National-Park idea has gone round the world. All leading nations now have national parks and are planning more. Time is likely to stamp our original legislation as one of the important acts of statesmanship. A few public-spirited men of vision began a revolution and triumphed. The anniversary of this event may some day be observed with world- wide celebration. People progress in the improvement of their playgrounds no less than in the ordering of their workshops. Concerning this National-Park legislation, General Hiram M. Chittenden, author of "The Yellowstone National Park," makes the following comment:— Perhaps no act of our National Congress has received such general approbation at home or such profuse commendation from foreigners as that creating the Yellowstone National Park. The lapse of time only serves to confirm and extend its importance, and to give additional force to the sentiment so well expressed by the Earl of Dunraven when he visited the Park in 1874: "All honor then to the United States for having bequeathed as a free gift to man the beauties and curiosities of 'Wonderland.' It was an act worthy of a great nation, and she will have her reward in the praise of the present army of tourists, no less than in the thanks of the generations of them yet to come." It was a notable act, not only on account of the transcendent importance of the territory it was designed to protect, but because it was a marked innovation in the traditional policy of government. From time immemorial privileged classes have been protected by law in the withdrawal, for the exclusive enjoyment, of immense tracts for forests, parks, and game preserves. But never before was a region of such vast extent as the Yellowstone Park set apart for the use of all the people without distinction of rank or wealth. It has been well said that "history is geography set in motion." And "Geography," says Kant, "lies at the basis of history." The peculiar geographic environment of the Yellowstone tract had a definite and striking influence on the early history of the region. It attracted few visitors and no settlers. To the pioneer and the Indian it offered few necessities, and these were almost inaccessible owing to climatic discomforts and difficulties of communication. Even to-day, for commercial use, the Yellowstone country would support only a sparse population. But what formerly repelled now attracts. Time has brought changes. Congested population, the necessity for outdoor life, the destruction of most of the wild outing-places—these conditions have given to this and to other scenic mountain places a high economic value; likewise what may be called a nobler or higher value. Reserved and used as a recreation park by the public, it has become an economic asset of enormous importance. And through park use it conveys benefits to thousands. Yesterday the Yellowstone environing factor arrested, deflected, and retarded the movement and the development of society. To-day it attracts, arouses, energizes, and ennobles a multitude. 2. THE DISCOVERY OF THE YELLOWSTONE In the Yellowstone National Park—the first national park in the world—are so many natural wonders, of such unusual character, that not until the tract was discovered the sixth time were the American people convinced of its existence. Sixty-three years elapsed from the time of its first discovery to that of its recognition as an actuality. The first two discoveries—they were made by trappers a generation apart—were laughed at and soon forgotten. The third, by prospectors, led to a successful private exploring expedition from Montana. This was followed by a larger [Pg 5] [Pg 6] [Pg 7] [Pg 8] [Pg 9] [Pg 10] [Pg 11] and semi-official expedition, which also achieved its object. The sixth and last was an official discovery by the United States Government. The Indians of the Yellowstone region knew of the present Park tract. They had a north-and-south trail across it, also one from east to west. To them it was the "Top of the World," the "Land of Burning Mountains," and the "Yellow Rock." But its wonders appear to have produced little or no impression on the Indians; there is an absolute dearth of myths, legends, and even of superstitions concerning it. To me this is remarkable. From every point of view the natives regarded the Yellowstone with indifference. Lewis and Clark daily questioned Indians concerning the character of the country, but the explorers heard nothing of the Yellowstone wonderland, although they passed and repassed within a few miles of it. The Indians made scant use of this territory. In an average year the passes into it are blocked with snow for nine months of the twelve. Besides, it is mostly covered with a tangle of forests. In earlier days, living in it or traveling through it was difficult. Though filled with big game during the summer, at no time of year was it equal to the surrounding country as a hunting-ground. John Colter, who first discovered the Yellowstone region in 1807, was a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition. He was a hunter and trapper, a master of woodcraft, and an outdoor man of the first class; at the time of the discovery he was thirty-five years of age, nearly six feet tall, and an athlete who could hold his own in the games of the trappers' rendezvous. His endurance, courage, and resourcefulness were marvelous. Neither wilderness nor hostile Indian had terrors for him. The five years that he spent in the Yellowstone region were so crowded with wilderness adventure that his name is immortal in the history of the American frontier. He obtained his release from the Lewis and Clark exploring party at a point on the Missouri River, some distance below the mouth of the Yellowstone, in August, 1806. He had served with the expedition more than two years. With two trappers, Colter that year proceeded up the Missouri and spent the winter somewhere on its headwaters. The following spring he left his companions and started for St. Louis. After a solitary journey of about two thousand miles, he met Manuel Lisa, the celebrated trapper and trader, who, with a large party, was on his way to found a trading-post somewhere on the headwaters of the Missouri. Lisa persuaded Colter to turn back with him. Strong is the lure of the wilderness. Although Colter had been away from civilization three years, and a triumphant welcome awaited his return, he again postponed the enjoyment of all that old friends and city attractions could offer, to resume the adventurous experiences of a trapper's life among hostile Indians in the wilds. Lisa built a trading-post, Fort Manuel, at the junction of the Big Horn and Yellowstone Rivers, about two hundred miles southeast of the Yellowstone Park. From here, with a thirty-pound pack and rifle, Colter set off alone on a thousand-mile journey into the wilderness to tell the surrounding Indian tribes of this new trading-post. He traveled a few hundred miles to the southwest without notable adventure. We now marvel at the results of this journey, for its discoveries put Colter in the front rank of geographical explorers on the American continent. He discovered the Wind River Range, Union Pass, Jackson Hole, Teton Pass, Pierre's Hole, and the Grand Teton. He was the first to see the headwaters of those two great rivers the Green Fork of the Colorado and the Snake Fork of the Columbia. These discoveries might well have been enough for any one man, but his greatest discovery was still before him. Colter was with a band of Crows near Pierre's Hole when it was attacked by marauding Blackfeet. Of necessity Colter fought with the Crows, who were victorious. The Blackfeet blamed Colter for their defeat, and from this incident may have arisen the long-continued hostility of the Blackfeet tribes against the whites. Again alone, Colter set forth from Pierre's Hole, St. Anthony, Idaho, and traveled straight across the mountains to Fort Manuel. A wound in the leg, which he had received in the fight with the Blackfeet, was not yet healed. The direct route that he took for his return may have been chosen as the shortest, but most probably was selected in order to avoid the Blackfeet. The crowning achievement of this remarkable journey was the discovery and traversing of the Yellowstone wonderland. His course took Colter diagonally, from southwest to northeast, across what now is the Yellowstone National Park. He probably passed along the west shore of Yellowstone Lake, and may have followed the Yellowstone River from the lake to the falls. He saw numerous geysers, hot springs, paint-pots, and possibly Sulphur Mountain. He noted that numerous rivers had their sources in the Park and flowed from it in all directions, thus justifying the Indian name for the region, "Top of the World." After crossing Mount Washburn he probably forded the river near Tower Falls and then followed the east fork of the Yellowstone. Colter arrived safely at Fort Manuel after a journey of about three hundred miles from Pierre's Hole and a round trip of about eight hundred miles. Aside from its geographical value, this was a remarkable wilderness achievement. A little later came the most extraordinary chapter of Colter's adventurous life. In 1809, with a companion named John Potts, he was trapping beavers near the Three Forks of the Missouri. They were rowing up a small stream that flowed into the Jefferson River, the most western of the forks. At a point on this stream about five miles from the Jefferson, they heard a great trampling. High banks and brushwood shut off their view. Presently about five hundred Blackfeet appeared on the banks and ordered them to come ashore. Escape was impossible. The two men had the hardihood to throw the beaver-traps overboard, hoping to recover them later. As the canoe touched the shore, an Indian snatched Potts's rifle from him. Thereupon Colter sprang ashore, wrested the rifle from the Indian, and handed it to Potts who immediately pushed off into the stream. Colter told him to come back and not to try to escape. An arrow whizzed by Colter, and Potts fell back in the canoe, crying out, "I'm done for!" as he [Pg 12] [Pg 13] [Pg 14] [Pg 15] [Pg 16] [Pg 17] [Pg 18] shot an Indian dead. In an instant his body was filled with arrows. The Blackfeet seized Colter and stripped him naked, then discussed methods of torturing him to death. They decided to set him up for a target, but the chief interfered—that was not exciting enough for him. Seizing Colter by the shoulder, he asked him if he could run fast. The question was greeted with howls of delight by the Blackfeet. The chief led Colter out on the prairie about three hundred yards from the band, pointed in the direction of the Jefferson River, told him to save himself if he could, and cast him loose. Colter ran, the Blackfeet whooped and pursued, and the race for life was on. The ground was thick with prickly pears that pierced Colter's bare feet. Nevertheless, he kept ahead of his pursuers. When about half the five miles to the Jefferson had been covered, he ventured to look back. The Indians were much scattered, and he had gained on the main body; but one Indian, carrying a spear, was close upon him. Colter exerted himself to the utmost, and by the time he came within a mile of the Jefferson he was exhausted and blood from his nostrils had covered the front of his body. He stopped suddenly, turned, and spread out his arms. The Blackfoot, almost upon him, but also exhausted, attempted to stop and throw his spear, but he fell and the spear broke. Colter sprang upon him, seized the spear-head, pinned him to the ground, and ran on. The foremost of the remaining Indians stopped by the fallen runner. When others came, they all set up a whoop and resumed the chase. Colter gained the river-bank in advance of all his pursuers, just where there happened to be a large beaver house, standing partly against the bank and partly in the water. Knowing that the entrance to the house was at the bottom, under the water, he dived and succeeded in forcing his way to the floor just above the water-level. Man fleeing from man has hidden in strange places, but it may be doubted whether one ever before sought safety in a beaver house of brush and mud! Soon the Blackfeet were searching all over the place, "screeching like so many devils." They made search for the naked white man all the rest of the day. Apparently even their savage cunning never suspected the beaver house. Although they frequently clambered over it, they did not disturb it. When night came and Colter could no longer hear the Indians, he swam downstream, gained the prairie, and headed for Fort Manuel, some two hundred miles away. Naked, with bleeding feet, he walked over prickly pears on the prairie and through snow in the mountains, which he crossed above the timber-line. The sun blistered him. Part of the time, he traveled by night and lay hid by day. He appears to have lived chiefly on the Indian-turnip (Psoralea esculenta). Colter arrived at Fort Manuel in terrible shape. At first the men did not recognize him. He had been eleven days in making the distance between Three Forks and the fort. That winter Colter had the courage to go back alone to the scene of his capture to recover his beaver-traps. Before he reached them he was ambushed by Blackfeet, but escaped. He returned to the fort, and the following spring he was with Pierre Menard at Three Forks when the place was successfully attacked by Blackfeet. Colter was among the few who escaped. Pierre Menard wrote a four-page letter to his brother-in-law, Pierre Chouteau, and Colter started with it for St. Louis. With a companion, "Mr. William Bryant," he made the three-thousand-mile journey by canoe in thirty days. Upon his arrival at St. Louis, he reported to his old commander, William Clark; told him the story of his journeys, discoveries, and adventures, and gave him much material for his forthcoming map of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Clark traced on the map the route of Colter's Yellowstone Park journey and gave it the legend "Colter's Route of 1807." There is nothing incredible about any of Colter's stories. His accounts of the Yellowstone region appear to have been remarkably true to fact. His escape from the Indians, and his various journeys, are experiences within the range of human achievement. His hiding in a beaver house is easily possible. His race and his naked journey across the mountains show the courage and hardihood of the frontiersman of the day. I have been over the place where he ran for his life from the Blackfeet and have followed his trail across the mountains. Henry M. Brackenridge, the author of "Views of Louisiana, together with Journal," secured Colter's story at first hand, and he does it justice. John Bradbury, author of "Travels into the Interior of North America," did much important work in the Mississippi and Missouri Valleys in the years 1809-11. He also got Colter's story from Colter himself, and gives a careful account of the race for life with the Blackfeet. The account given by General Thomas James, in "Three Years among the Indians and Mexicans," is a third first-hand story of Colter's activities. Washington Irving was too good a literary craftsman to overlook Colter's story. In "Astoria" he retells the escape from the Blackfeet. General Hiram M. Chittenden gives full appreciation to Colter in his "History of the Early Western Fur Trade" and "The Yellowstone National Park," both standard works. Nevertheless, St. Louis did not believe Colter. He told his travels, discoveries, and adventures, and the people laughed in derision. For two generations St. Louis mockingly referred to the Yellowstone wonderland as "Colter's Hell." Colter married and went to live near Daniel Boone at La Charette. He declined to join the Astoria expedition, and this is the last heard of him. He may have died shortly afterwards; or it is possible that, because of unjust public opinion, he may have moved into seclusion. At any rate, the later years and the burial-place of the first discoverer of the Yellowstone National Park are unknown. Colter's story is a wilderness story of supreme character. It is full of the vigor and independence of outdoors. Colter is an heroic and picturesque figure in national history. I wish every boy and girl in the land could read his adventures. [Pg 19] [Pg 20] [Pg 21] [Pg 22] [Pg 23] [Pg 24] The second discovery of the Yellowstone site was also made by a trapper. James Bridger, of Fort Bridger fame, was there in 1830, but his description of its wonders was laughed at as "just another of old Jim Bridger's good yarns." Between 1830 and 1843 the region was visited by many trappers and traders, and its wonders were common knowledge to the plainsmen of the Missouri Valley. Some accounts got into print. Nevertheless, the Yellowstone was no more real to the American of that generation than was "Colter's Hell" to the generation before. Trapping began to fall off. The Mexican War and the California gold excitement led public attention away from the Yellowstone country, and by the beginning of the Civil War it was as completely forgotten as if it had never been known. It was the prospector who gave the Yellowstone tract to the world for the third time. By 1865, reports of its wonders had been spread far and wide by prospectors attracted to the region by the Montana gold excitement. At last Montana became mildly curious over these reports. In 1869, David E. Folsom, C. W. Cook, and William Peterson visited the region. They told enough to bring about the organization of a large semi-official expedition. This Yellowstone expedition (1870) is known as the "Washburn-Doane Expedition," and from it dates the latter-day history of the Park. Lieutenant Gustavus C. Doane, Second Cavalry, U.S.A., with a sergeant and four privates was detailed from Fort Ellis to escort the expedition. Among its nine civilians were General Henry D. Washburn, Surveyor- General of Montana; Nathaniel P. Langford, author of "Vigilante Days and Ways" and first superintendent of the Park; Cornelius Hedges, who first proposed setting apart the region as a National Park; and Samuel T. Hauser, president of the First National Bank of Helena, and later Governor of Montana. So skeptical was this party that when the steam of Old Faithful was first seen through the woods it was believed to be a forest fire. Mr. Hedges subsequently said, "I think a more confirmed set of skeptics never went out into the wilderness than those who composed our party, and never was a party more completely surprised and captivated with the wonders of nature." Through the press and lecture-platform, the Washburn-Doane expedition spread the knowledge of its discoveries broadcast over the country. The direct result of its work was that the United States Government sent an official expedition to the Park the next year. This was a joint expedition made up from the Engineering Corps of the Army and from the United States Geological Survey of the Territories. The official United States Government expedition of 1871 officially put it on the map, with official scientific notes and photographs. Thus the sixth discovery of this wondrous region, after two generations of unbelief, convinced the people that it existed! During these two generations the unexplored wilderness of the Louisiana Purchase had been formed into seven new States of the Union, containing more than five million people. And "Colter's Hell," when its existence had been finally and officially established, was within two hundred and fifty miles of a transcontinental railroad. 3. THE GEYSERS, LAKES, AND STREAMS Water in numberless pleasing forms is one of the attractive features of the Yellowstone Park. There are snowy waterfalls that leap in glory. There are geysers—transient, towering, fluted—with white columns draped with steam. Both the geysers and the waterfalls bring the rainbow to them; or, the prismatic springs go to the rainbow for their colors. The cascades have all the excitement of ocean breakers. The lakes mirror the clouds, and their placid bosoms reflect the stars that are "in the quiet skies." There are streams that wind and linger, and brooks that go on forever. There are hot springs and cold, large springs and small, each with its own attractive setting. Many burst through the roofs of caves; others gush from grottoes; still others pour forth from mounds and columns. The quiescent springs and prismatic pools have a delicate, exquisite, gemlike beauty unlike anything else in the world of nature or of art. The waters are soft blue. Changing lights tinge the water with iridescence; touch its surface with soft luminosity; give to moulded and sculptured basins a refinement of coloring that transcends belief. Dr. Ferdinand V. Hayden gives this glowing description:— The wonderful transparency of the water surpasses anything of the kind I have ever seen in any other portion of the world. The sky, with the smallest cloud that flits across it, is reflected in its clear depths, and the ultramarine colors, more vivid than the sea, are greatly heightened by constant, gentle vibrations. One can look down into the clear depths and see with perfect distinctness the minutest ornament on the inner sides of the basin; and the exquisite beauty of the coloring and the variety of forms baffle any attempt to portray them either with pen or pencil. These waters repose in basins that have in miniature all the beauty of the Mammoth Cave. The basins and their rims are formed of minerals—mostly of silica—deposited by the water. The rims are fittingly beautiful; the lines of internal construction are harmonious. Many springs have built up their basins with precipitated minerals until they rest on mounds. All these are picturesque, and some are beautiful. MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK Morning-Glory Spring is like a gigantic morning-glory set in the earth. The Firehole, with a black fissured bottom, has at times flamelike colors which create such an illusion that the fiery interior of the earth appears to be on exhibition. Prismatic Lake, a spring large enough to be called at least a lakelet or pond, is a combination of the artistic and the [Pg 25] [Pg 26] [Pg 27] [Pg 28] [Pg 29] [Pg 30] spectacular. It has built up for itself a rounded mound, and down the gently curving slopes flow its waters in thousands of interlacing rivulets. Over the pool hangs a cloud of steam, often tinted red by reflection from the waters below. At Mammoth Hot Springs, close to Fort Yellowstone, the water bursts from the mountain-side with an enormous mineralized flow. Here lime in solution is quickly precipitated, forming basins and terraces and slopes of exquisite design, the whole adorned with intricate and fantastic fretwork of pink, brown, yellow, and white. While the deposits here are chiefly lime or travertine, those of the geysers and of the other hot springs are silica. The two kinds of deposits differ greatly. The Mammoth Hot Springs' deposits are soft and frequently change their form. The silica deposits of the geysers are hard as flint. Without this hardness, the geyser action would be impossible, as the lime and travertine formations would not withstand the explosive violence. A curious fact in this connection is that the color in and around the geysers and hot springs is in part due to the presence of algæ, a minute vegetable growth. The geyser is one of Nature's strangest freaks. These in the Yellowstone Park are the largest, most spectacular, and most artistic in the world. The geyser may be described either as a large intermittent hot-water fountain or as a small water-and-steam volcano. There are scores of these eruptive springs in the Yellowstone, and their irregularities form part of their fascination. The place and method of applying the heat, the diameter and shape of the tube, and the point of inflow and the quantity of the water are all matters affecting their activities. Apparently they, as well as the springs in general, have no underground interconnection, since the play of one geyser has no effect upon others close by. The eruptions are irregular as to intervals. Black Warrior and Hurricane do a continuous performance. Constant pauses from twenty to fifty-five seconds between gushes. Grand is active at intervals of from one to four days, and Turban plays intermittently for twenty-four hours following Grand. Giantess rests from five to forty days at a time. Lioness played once in each of the years 1910, 1912, and 1914. Splendid, which formerly threw a ten-minute gush to a height of two hundred feet, has not played since 1892. There is equal variation in the duration of the gush. The Minute Man's activity lasts but from fifteen to thirty seconds. Giant stops work promptly at the end of an hour. Giantess, after her long rest, plays from twelve to thirty-six hours. The quantity of water erupted varies from a few gallons in the small geysers to thousands of barrels in the large ones. The water is generally thrown vertically, though some of the tubes lie at an angle. The Fan, as its name suggests, throws its water in a fan-like shape. Geysers vary in the height of their gush as in everything else, and the gush of each is seldom twice the same. Jewel varies from five feet to twenty, and Great Fountain from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty feet. The highest stream is thrown by Giant, which has a minimum of two hundred and a maximum of two hundred and fifty feet. Excelsior, which sometimes threw its water three hundred feet into the air, has not played since 1888. OLD FAITHFUL GEYSER OLD FAITHFUL GEYSER YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK This geyser action is novel, picturesque, and weird. It appeals to the imagination. It goes on day and night, summer and winter, throughout the years. While many of the geysers are comparatively new, others are centuries old. Some may have been playing since prehistoric times. Old Faithful, in the Upper Geyser Basin, is in most respects the most wonderful geyser in the Park. Its action is almost uniform; its usual interval is seventy minutes. It plays for four minutes and sends its water up from sixty to one hundred and twenty feet. It gives ample warning before each play and gets into action by sending its water higher and higher with graceful ease. But in some particulars Great Fountain, in the Lower Geyser Basin, may be put at the head of the geyser list. Its waters issue from a vast low mound, and the basin has attractive ornamentation. It spouts an enormous volume of water, sometimes to a height of one hundred and fifty feet, and plays from forty-five to sixty minutes, at intervals of eight to eleven hours. Castle Geyser, in the Upper Geyser Basin, throws only a moderate gush about seventy-five feet in height, but it has built up a most imposing crater. It is quiet for from four to seven days; it then plays three or four times at half-hour intervals. Other geysers that the visitor may well see are Grand and Beehive, both in the Upper Geyser Basin. Grand plays for about an hour at intervals of from one to four days and throws a column of steaming water smoothly to a height of two hundred feet. Of all the geysers, Beehive perhaps approaches nearest to artistic perfection. From a small, beehive-like mount it sends up a slender column of water vertically and symmetrically two hundred feet. Yellowstone Lake lies at an altitude of 7741 feet above sea-level. Its area is about one hundred and thirty-nine square miles, and its irregular shore-line has a length of one hundred miles. In places the lake is three hundred feet deep. There are thirty-six other lakes, of which Shoshone, Heart, and Lewis are the largest. Each has its own peculiar and delightful wilderness boundary and beauty. There is a close network of streams, of which one hundred and sixty-five have names. Among the more important are Yellowstone, Lamar, Snake, Gardiner, and Firehole Rivers. There are numerous waterfalls and cascades. The extensive water-flow abundantly supplies the headwaters of the Missouri, Yellowstone, and Snake Rivers. In Two Ocean Pass, among other places, is a lakelet upon the very summit of the Continental Divide whose waters flow to both the Atlantic and the Pacific. The altitude here is 8150 feet, and the lakelet completes a continuous waterway of nearly six thousand miles from coast to coast. [Pg 31] [Pg 32] [Pg 33] [Pg 34] [Pg 35] [Pg 36] [Pg 37] A map that I carried showed Two Ocean Pond on the Continental Divide to the west of the Thumb. There is a Two Ocean Pond on the Divide at that place as well as one to the south of the lake. But my map did not show that the Divide was horseshoe-shaped, and it located the pond on the wrong arm of this horseshoe. Consequently I had a long search before I found the pond, and much confusion with the topography and watersheds after I had discovered it. One day in 1891 I had the good fortune to come upon General Hiram M. Chittenden. He was directing the cutting of trees at a place that has since become famous as Lake View, from which, perhaps, the best view of Yellowstone Lake is to be had. General Chittenden spent many years in the Park and developed its existing scenic road system. He was the first to propose that the excess of elk and other game in this and other parks be distributed over the country at cost. What is the greatest feature in this wonderland whose history began at a camp-fire? The Lower Falls thrilled me more than any other waterfall I ever have seen. The Yellowstone Cañon may be called the greatest attraction in this Park. But to me the supreme attraction is the petrified forests. 4. AGES OF FIRE AND ICE The Yellowstone plateau is a vast lava-deposit. Its material is mostly volcanic, but its landscape—its architecture—is largely glacial. In ages remote, this realm became the scene of volcanic activity. Intermittent outpourings went on through long periods of time. Volcanoes in and near the Park threw forth quantities of ashes, lava, and cinders, which...