Colter’s return route from Hayden Valley supplies the final link in the figure eight. To reach the Yep-pe Indian camp he might have veered to the northeast, crossed Yellowstone River at a ford below Dragon’s Mouth, and ascended Pelican Creek or one of the tributaries of the Lamar River. After crossing the Absarokas, he evidently descended one of the creeks that empty into Clarks Fork. No one on earth can be certain about this part of his journey. There is no reference anywhere, and the Map of 1814 gives no clue. Still, he did reach a tributary of Clarks Fork, which he followed to its junction with Dead Indian Creek, thence to the Yep-pe band. As stated above, Colter left the Yep-pe village in returning to Fort Manuel by a different route than the one that brought him there. This fact, together with his return to the Yep-pe Indian camp, is of the first importance in assessing the validity of Colter’s Yellowstone discovery. While Colter’s journey in Yellowstone proper was not comprehensive, still he was definitely oriented and reasonably precise. Truly, Colter crossed the eastern and central parts of Yellowstone’s Wonderland, and he observed its features closely. Companions were duly apprised of these marvels. Members of the Lisa party thereafter referred to the region as “Colter’s Hell.” In May, 1810, when he reached St. Louis, William Clark was officially informed. It was then that Clark believed in Colter’s story and passed it on to Nicholas Biddle and Samuel Lewis who were in Philadelphia. Notwithstanding considerable misapprehension as to facts, Colter’s journey was nevertheless depicted after a fashion on the remarkable Map of 1814. Upon this evidence alone, John Colter became accredited as the first white man to enter the Yellowstone Park country, hence its first discoverer. Here, indeed, was a man worthy of making a great discovery. He was a dreadnaught, if there ever was one; completely self-reliant; unafraid of forests, deserts, rivers, or mountains, including all of their denizens; yet withal, a serious-minded person of integrity. He is entitled to everlasting credit in the field of western geographical exploration. Eventually, Colter found himself back in Lisa’s Fort. He had discovered the interesting Two Ocean Pass across the Rocky Mountains into the Snake River drainage. He was the first white man to touch upon the northeastern perimeter of majestic Jackson Hole country. Then, as the climax of all, he was the first to climb still higher and gaze upon the marvels of a never-to-be-forgotten land. Has it ever been the fortune of any other man to explore such a vast domain of virgin territory? It is a strange paradox that, accustomed as mountain men were to impressive manifestations of nature, Colter’s relation of Yellowstone’s wonders only won him the distinction of a confirmed prevaricator.[49]