USA > Wyoming > The history of Wyoming from the earliest known discoveries > Part 26
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The Mexicans made every preparation to attack Fre- mont in his stronghold, but the reputation of his unerring riflemen kept them at a distance. At this time Fremont
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had sixty men under him, a force sufficient, considering their character and their fortifications, to defy any number of Mexicans. Finding that the Mexicans would not make an attack, the American commander moved his force down into the San Joaquin Valley and through northern Califor- nia toward Oregon.
The attitude of Fremont in California caused much ex- citement when the news reached the states. There was a conservative class of people who were disposed to criticise this conduct of an American officer on foreign soil, but Sen- ator Benton, when the subject came up in the United States Senate, made an eloquent speech explaining Fremont's po- sition and giving fully the details which led to the event on Hawk's Peak. In closing his speech, he said: "Such was the reason for raising the flag. It was raised at the approach of danger; it was taken down when danger dis- appeared. It was well and nobly done, and worthy of our admiration. Sixty of our countrymen, three thousand miles from home, in sight of the Pacific Ocean, appealing to the flag of their country, unfurling it on the mountain top and determined to die under it before they would submit to un- just aggression."
Fremont had with him on this occasion some of the best fighters the world ever saw. There was Kit Carson, Max- well, Godey, Owens, Stepp, and a dozen more of the same stamp, all men who could be depended upon to uphold the flag of their country. Proceeding up into Oregon, he was met by a special messenger from James Buchanan, then Secretary of State, and instructed to watch events in Cali- fornia in the interest of the United States. This caused him to face about and go back into northern California, but before leaving his camp he was attacked by Tlamath Indi- ans in the night and five of his men were killed. He pushed on to California and found the whole country in a state of great alarm. American residents flocked to him for pro- tection. To make matters worse, the Indians in the country commenced hostilities. Fremont acted promptly, marching against the Indians and defeating them in several engage-
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ments. He next organized a movement having for its ob- ject a free and independent government for California. Commodore Sloat of the American navy being on that coast and hearing of Fremont's movements, and supposing him to be acting under orders, took possession of Monterey, after which Fremont raised the American flag over Sutter's Fort. This was July 11, 1846. The prompt action of Fremont re- sulted in bringing California into the Union. Previous to this he had been promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in the reg- ular army. Upon the organization of a state government for California, when it was admitted into the Union, September 9, 1850, Colonel J. C. Fremont was elected one of the United States Senators. But before these events took place, he had returned home and organized another exploring expe- dition. This fourth journey to the wilderness was com- menced October 19, 1848. The guide on this occasion was Bill Williams, a noted mountaineer. The party left Pueblo on the 25th of November and attempted to pass directly west over the mountains. Deep snows were encountered and the weather proved unusually severe. He lost eleven of his men by starvation and cold, but he pushed his way on by the southern route to California. In 1856 Colonel Fre- mont was nominated for President by the Republican party, then in its infancy, he being the first candidate of that party. He was defeated, of course, and James Buchanan elected. On the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion he ten- dered his services to the national government and was ap- pointed a Major-General and at once took the field. In 1878 he was appointed Governor of the Territory of Arizona, which position he filled for four years. He died in the City of New York, July 13, 1890. For some years previous to his death he was in extreme poverty, though once a millionaire. His fortune was spent in behalf of the west and the country at large.
It may not be out of place for me to say here that I met Fremont during the summer of 1856, and from that time until his death enjoyed his personal friendship. To me he appeared the ideal explorer who would brave every danger,
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the patriot who watched over the welfare of his country, the soldier who would dare to do and die, the gallant com- mander who would never ask men to go where he would not lead, the scientific scholar who commanded the respect of every learned man of the country, and withal a man inspired with virtues beyond most of his fellows.
General John C. Fremont did more for the west than any other explorer, statesman or patriot. His worthy deeds and brilliant achievements will make him remembered by all coming generations. He it was who pointed out the great value of the west and the importance of constructing a railroad across the mountains, and he proved by his sur. veys that such railroad construction was easy of accom- plishment. He laid the foundation for a group of western commonwealths and fixed therein a standard of excellence of manhood; declaring that he who does the greatest ser- vice for the state is the most exalted citizen. Political dem- agogues have tried to dim the lustre of his achievements, but their puny efforts have been drowned by the whistle of the locomotive of the ever advancing train of civilization which followed his lead, the hum of human industries which cluster on the mountain side, results of his creation, and the acclamations of the millions who have made happy homes in the Rockies and on the Pacific slope, and whose hero ever will be the Pathfinder.
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CHAPTER XXII.
DISCOVERIES IN YELLOWSTONE PARK.
JOSEPH MEEK STRAYS INTO THE PARK IN 1829, AND TELLS WHAT HE SAW-AN UNKNOWN EXPLORER IN 1833 WRITES THE FIRST DESCRIP- TION OF THE GEYSERS-JIM BRIDGER IN 1850 TAKES HIS FRIENDS TO SEE THE CURIOSITIES AT THE HEAD OF THE YELLOWSTONE, WHICH HE HAD BEEN TELLING ABOUT FOR TWENTY-FIVE YEARS-REY- NOLDS EXPEDITION OF 1860 IS PREVENTED BY DEEP SNOW FROM EN- TERING THE GEYSER COUNTRY-NUMEROUS PROSPECTORS SEE THE THERMAL SPRINGS AND GEYSERS-THE FOLSOM EXPEDITION OF 1869 -ORGANIZATION OF THE WASHBURN EXPEDITION IN 1870.
I have already mentioned the first discovery of the Yel- lowstone National Park by John Colter in the year 1807. I also refer in another part of this work to the visit of Jim Bridger and Robert Meldrum to that locality in 1824, and now in regular order comes the important explorations of Joseph Meek in the year 1829. He was one of Captain William Sublette's men and was in company with other trappers. They were leaving the Snake River country, pass- ing over into Montana, and were attacked by Blackfeet Indi- ans. By some means Meek was cut off from the main body, and on foot and alone he wandered for several days, and by chance his route lay through the most interesting portion of the park. His adventures are thus described in "The River of the West," a book written in 1869 but not published until 1871. I will make but a single quotation from this work, simply to show that the curiosities in the park were noted by that wandering class, the trappers. Meek's biographer thus describes what this man, who was lost, saw while try- ing to work his way out of the desolate country. He had traveled five days without food or shelter, his course had been in a southerly direction, and consequently he had reached Wyoming.
"Being desirous to learn something of the progress he had made, he ascended a low mountain in the neighborhood
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of his camp, and behold! the whole country beyond was smoking with vapor from boiling springs, and burning with gases issuing from small craters, each of which was emit- ting a sharp whistling sound. When the first surprise of this astonishing scene had passed, Joe began to admire its effect from an artistic point of view. The morning being clear, with a sharp frost, he thought himself reminded of the City of Pittsburg as he had beheld it on a winter morn- ing a couple of years before. This, however, related only to the rising smoke and vapor; for the extent of the volcanic region was immense, reaching far out of sight. The general face of the country was smooth and rolling, being a level plain, dotted with cone-shaped mounds. On the summit of these mounds were small craters from four to eight feet in diameter. Interspersed among these on the level plain were larger craters, some of them from four to six feet across. Out of these craters issued blue flames and molten brimstone."
This man Meek was three years later with Captain Bon- neville and remained with him for three years, and was well known among trappers in Wyoming.
The above account by Meek may be considered reliable as far as it goes, but he only got a glimpse of a small portion of the park. By many persons this trapper is considered an exaggerator, but in this instance he could hardly be accused of this to any great extent.
Hon. N. P. Langford has kindly contributed for this work a clipping from "The Wasp," a Mormon paper pub- lished at Nauvoo, Illinois. The article is taken from the issue of August 13, 1842, but the incident referred to took place nine years earlier. This is the first written description of the park by a man who was on the ground. All that has come before are stories told by trappers around the camp fire. The name of the writer is unknown and at one time Mr. Langford was of the opinion that Captain Bonneville was the author, but a letter from him in 1875 to the Mon- tana Historical Society proves that he did not write it. Mr. Langford has furnished me with a copy of the Bonneville letter, which reads as follows:
"You ask me if I knew of the thermal springs and gey- sers. Not personally; but my men knew about them and
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called their location the Fire Hole. I recollect the name of Alvarez as a trader. I think he came to the mountains as I was leaving them. * * * Half a century is a long time to look back, and I do so doubting myself."
The "Wasp" letter I regard as a valuable contribution to the History of Wyoming, and it is with satisfaction that I give it a place in these pages. In speaking of the author of this letter, Mr. Langford says:
"The writer's graphic descriptions stamp him as a man of culture and ability, and it would be interesting to know who he is and what fortune or enterprise brought him into that region at that early day. As the narrative was pub- lished in a Mormon paper, it is not impossible that the writer was spying out the country in the interest of the Lat- ter Day Saints."
The communication to "The Wasp" reads as follows:
"I had heard in the summer of 1833, while at rendez- vous, that remarkable boiling springs had been discovered on the sources of the Madison, by a party of trappers, in their spring hunt; of which the accounts they gave were so very astonishing that I determined to examine them myself before recording their description, though I had the united testimony of more than twenty men on the subject, who all declared they saw them, and that they really were as exten- sive and remarkable as they had been described. Having now an opportunity of paying them a visit, and as another or a better might not soon occur, I parted with the company after supper, and taking with me two Pen d'Oreilles (who were induced to make the excursion with me by the promise of an extra present), set out at a round pace, the night being clear and comfortable. We proceeded over the plain about twenty miles, and halted until daylight on a fine spring flowing into Kamas Creek. Refreshed by a few hours' sleep, we started again after a hasty breakfast and entered into a very extensive forest known as the Pine Woods (a continued succession of low mountains or hills entirely cov- ered by a dense growth of this species of timber), which we passed through, and reached the vicinity of the springs about dark, having seen several small lakes or ponds on the sources of the Madison, and rode about forty miles-which was a hard day's ride, taking into consideration the rough irregularity of the country through which we had traveled.
"We regaled ourselves with a cup of coffee, the ma-
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terials for making which we had brought with us, and imme- diately after supper lay down to rest, sleepy and much fa- tigued. The continual roaring of the springs, however, (which was distinctly heard), for some time prevented my going to sleep, and excited an impatient curiosity to exam- ine them, which I was obliged to defer the gratification of until morning, and filled my slumbers with visions of water- spouts, cataracts, fountains, jets d'eau of immense dimen- sions, etc., etc.
"When I arose in the morning clouds of vapor seemed like a dense fog to overhang the springs, from which fre- quent reports or explosions of different loudness constantly assailed our ears. I immediately proceeded to inspect them, and might have exclaimed with the Queen of Sheba, when their full reality of dimensions and novelty burst upon my view, 'the half was not told me.'
"From the surface of a rocky plain or table burst forth columns of water of various dimensions, projected high in the air, accompanied by loud explosions and sulphurous vapors which were highly disagreeable to the smell. The rock from which these springs burst forth was calcareous, and probably extends some distance from them, beneath the soil. The largest of these wonderful fountains projects a column of boiling water several feet in diameter to the height of more than one hundred and fifty feet, in my opin- ion; but the party of Alvarez, who discovered it, persist in declaring that it could not be less than four times that dis- tance in height-accompanied with a tremendous noise. These explosions and discharges occur at intervals of about two hours. After having witnessed three of them, I ven- tured near enough to put my hand into the water of its ba- sin, but withdrew it instantly, for the heat of the water in this immense cauldron was altogether too great for my comfort; and the agitation of the water, the disagreeable effluvium constantly exuding, and the hollow, unearthly rumbling under the rock on which I stood, so ill accorded with my notions of personal safety that I retreated back precipitately to a respectful distance. The Indians who were with me were quite appalled and could not by any means be induced to approach them. They seemed aston- ished at my presumption in advancing up to the large one, and when I safely returned, congratulated me on my 'nar- row escape.' They believed them to be supernatural, and supposed them to be the production of the Evil Spirit. One of them remarked that hell, of which he had heard from the
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whites, must be in that vicinity. The diameter of the basin into which the waters of the largest jet principally fall, and from the center of which, through a hole in the rock of about nine or ten feet in diameter, the water spouts up as above related, may be about thirty feet. There are many other smaller fountains that did not throw their waters up so high, but occurred at shorter intervals. In some in- stances, the volumes were projected obliquely upwards, and fell into the neighboring fountains, or on the rock or prairie. But their ascent was generally perpendicular, falling in or about their own basins or apertures. These wonderful pro- ductions of nature are situated near the center of a small valley, surrounded by pine-crowned hills, through which a small fork of the Madison flows.
"From several trappers who had recently returned from the Yellowstone, I received an account of boiling springs that differ from those seen at Salt River only in magnitude, being on a vastly larger scale; some of their cones are from twenty to thirty feet high, and forty to fifty paces in cir- cumference. Those which have ceased to emit boiling vapor, etc., of which there were several, are full of shelving cavi- ties, even some fathoms in extent, which give them, inside, an appearance of a honey-comb. The ground for several acres in extent in the vicinity of the springs is evidently hollow and constantly exhales a hot steam or vapor of dis- agreeable odor, and a character entirely to prevent vegeta- tion. They are situated in the valley at the head of that river, near the lake which constitutes its source.
"A short distance from these springs, near the margin of the lake, there is one quite different from any yet de- scribed. It is of a circular form, several feet in diameter, clear, cold and pure; the bottom appears visible to the eye, and seems seven or eight feet below the surface of the earth or water, yet it has been sounded with a lodge pole fifteen feet in length without meeting any resistance. What is most singular with respect to this fountain is the fact that at regular intervals of about two minutes, a body or column of water bursts up to the height of eight feet, with an explo- sion as loud as the report of a musket, and then falls back into it; for a few seconds the water is roiled, but it speedily settles, and becomes transparent as before the efluxion. This spring was believed to be connected with the lake by some subterranean passage, but the cause of its periodical eruptions or discharges is entirely unknown. I have never before heard of a cold spring whose waters exhibit the phe-
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nomena of periodical explosive propulsion in the form of a jet. The geysers of Iceland, and the various other European springs, the waters of which are projected upwards with violence and uniformity, as well as those seen on the head- waters of the Madison, are invariably hot."
In commenting on this explorer's account of the won- ders of the Yellowstone Park, Mr. Langford says:
"The writer of 'The Wasp' letter speaks of one curious thing: that of an eruption of a cold spring. I think that I can explain what seemed to him such a strange phenomenon. He says, 'this spring was believed to be connected with the lake by some subterranean passage.' I have no doubt that the pipe of some deep geyser opened into the bottom of this pond, or spring, as it was termed, and when an eruption of the geyser took place the cold surface water was forced into the air to a considerable height. After the eruption, when the geyser water had receded to the depth of forty or fifty feet from the surface, and the pipe had become filled with the cold water from the pond or lake, there would be nothing to indicate to the eye that it was anything else than a spouting cold spring. In support of this belief, I will mention that in 1870 I found several small geysers in the bed of the Fire Hole River which spouted their waters through the cold running water of that stream.
" 'The Wasp' writer also speaks of the deposits around the springs as 'rocks.' Bridger fell into the same error. General Reynolds in his report (Ex. Doc. No. 77, Fortieth Congress, page 77) says that Bridger told him of a stream of cold water that flowed over a smooth surface of rock so rapidly that it became hot at the bottom. Bridger told me the same story, which I regard as a figment of his imagina- tion; but in 1870, while fording, bare-footed, the Fire Hole River, I found that what first appeared to be a smooth rock in the bed of the stream, was a silicious incrustation, deposi- ted by a hot spring underneath; and the heat was so great that I could not stand still on the incrustation more than fifteen seconds. Without doubt a similar spring caused the heat which Bridger attributed to friction produced by the rapid flow of water down a smooth, steep declivity.
"Captain John Mullan, in his report published by the War Department in February, 1863 (Ex. Doc. No. 43) says that as early as 1853 his attention was called to the wild open region lying between Deer Lodge Valley and Fort Lar- amie, and that he learned of the existence of an infinite
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number of hot springs at the headwaters of the Yellow- stone, Missouri and Columbia Rivers; and on page 20 of that report he again speaks of the mild climate of that region as follows:
" 'This is as true as it is strange, and shows unerringly that there exists in this zone an atmospheric river of heat, flowing through this region, varying in width from one to one hundred miles, according to the physical face of the country.'
"Captain Mullan believed that this aerial river of heat had its origin in these hot springs."
To resume the explorations of the northwest portion of Wyoming, I will quote from Gunnison's History of the Mormons, where is found a graphic description of the won- ders of this part of our state. This author, in speaking of Jim Bridger's account of the country, says, under date of 1850, that "Bridger gives a picture most romantic and en- ticing of the headwaters of the Yellowstone. A lake sixty miles long, cold and pellucid, lies embosomed among high precipitous mountains. On the west side is a sloping plain, several miles wide, with clumps of trees and groves of pines. The ground resounds with the tread of horses. Gey- sers spout up seventy feet high, with a terrific hissing noise, at regular intervals. Waterfalls are sparkling, leaping and thundering down the precipices, and collect in the pool be- low. The river issues from this lake, and for fifteen miles roars through the perpendicular canon at the outlet. In this section are the Great Springs, so hot that meat is rapid- ly cooked in them, and as they descend on the successive terraces, afford at length delighful baths. On the other side is an acid spring, which gushes out in a river torrent, and below is a cave which supplies vermilion for the savages in abundance."
In confirmation of the above, I will state that Topping gives an account of a prospecting trip into that country in the spring of 1850. The party was composed of Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Wiggins, Krusse, Anderson and about twenty others. Late in the fall of 1849 they arrived at the camp of the Bannocks on Green River, where they fixed up winter
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quarters and remained with the Indians till spring. As soon as the snow would permit, they went up Green River to its headwaters, crossed the mountains to the Yellow- stone and down it to the lake and falls; then they crossed the divide and thus reached Madison River. They saw the geysers of the lower river and named the stream that drains them "The Fire Hole River." Vague reports of this wonder- ful country had been heard before. They had not been cred- ited, but had been considered as trappers' tales-more im- agination than fact. The report of this party made quite a stir in St. Louis and a company was organized there the next winter to explore this country, but from some un- known cause did not start, and not until 1863 were the gey- sers again visited. This time a party went down on the Madison until out of the mountains and then across the country to the Yellowstone, and they lay in camp on Shields River for two months. They were not troubled by Indians until the last of November, when a band of Blackfeet tried to run off their horses. These Indians succeeded in captur- ing eight head, but two of their warriors were killed. Not wishing to be cleaned out entirely, the party packed up and went to the Platte via Wind River. At this point they dis- banded.
It is not a little surprising that our government was so slow in sending an expedition into this wonderland, the existence of which had become well known to the people of the whole country. Stories told by Colter, Bridger, Mel- drum, Meek, Carson, Wiggins, Krusse and Anderson had after a time become household tales throughout the land and yet the official heads of the great Republic refused to see the importance of making explorations, but finally in 1859, fifty-two years after John Colter had explored the sources of the Yellowstone, the government fitted out an expedition, in charge of Captain W. F. Reynolds, of the Corps of Topographical Engineers. Captain Reynolds was ordered to explore "the region of country through which flows the principal tributaries of the Yellowstone River, and the mountains in which they, and the Gallatin and Mad-
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ison Forks of the Missouri, have their source." The expe- dition was overloaded with instructions and had entirely too much work assigned it to accomplish the important end in view, namely, to explore the sources of the Yellowstone. Captain Reynolds made a winter camp on Deer Creek, in Wyoming, the fall of 1859, and in May, 1860, started for the Wind River Valley with Jim Bridger as guide. It should be here remarked that Dr. F. V. Hayden accompanied the expedition as geologist. At the mouth of the Popo Agie River the party was divided. Reynolds with one division went up the Wind River. The other division under Lieuten- ant Maynardier went north with the understanding that the two parties should meet at the Three Forks of the Mis- souri. The division under Reynolds followed up the Big Wind River to its source, and there discovering a low pass, entered it and crossed over to the west side of the moun- tains. Reynolds' party was not the first by any means to discover this low pass. Hunt and Bonneville were before him, but to him belongs the honor of naming it Union Pass for the reason that it united two great valleys.
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