American acquisition of Louisiana from France grew out of several considerations. The frontiersmen of the Ohio Valley were chafing under foreign commercial restrictions at New Orleans. The officials of the government were distressed at the prospect of having the strong-willed Napoleon as a neighbor. President Jefferson cogently expressed the general concern by saying, “... from this moment we must marry the British fleet and nation.”[12] However, the alarm was soon dispersed by an eminently successful negotiation. Jefferson had instructed Robert Livingston, the American Minister to Paris, to buy New Orleans and West Florida. The early part of the spring of 1803 found Napoleon hard pressed for money and disgusted with native resistance against his government in Haiti, led by the remarkable Negro, Toussaint L’Ouverture, whom Bonaparte called the “gilded African.” By March, Napoleon realized that the Peace of Amiens was about to be ruptured and war with England resumed. In these circumstances he decided to dispose of his American holdings. This notable decision was effected while His Imperial Majesty was taking a bath. Consequently it was one of the cleanest decisions that he ever made! It was then that the “Little Corporal” directed J. M. Talleyrand to say, “What would you give for the whole of Louisiana?”[13] Livingston, who was a trifle deaf anyway, could hardly believe what he heard. After some parleying the deal was closed by Livingston and Monroe for $15,000,000; of this amount $3,750,000 was diverted to American citizens to meet private claims against the French government. Livingston showed prophetic insight when he said to Monroe, “We have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our whole lives....”[14] More than a dozen states have been carved out of the 827,987 square miles. It is probable that Old Faithful Geyser alone is worth far more than the original purchase price, should good taste allow an assignment of monetary value to such a natural wonder. Notwithstanding the marvels of this alluring land, Yellowstone lay dormant, forbidding and inhospitable, until the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Why was its call to conquest so long unheeded? Seldom has an area so long ignored made such a phenomenal rise to fame. The answer to this question is fully explored in this narrative. Chapter II JOHN COLTER’S DISCOVERY OF YELLOWSTONE It is a fairly well-attested fact that America was first discovered by Leif Ericsson about 1000 A.D.[15] However, as Mark Twain put it, “America did not stay discovered,” and therefore Columbus is not to be denied. So it was with Yellowstone. The most significant feature of its early history lies in the inconclusive nature of the early reports concerning its position and character.