A congenial personnel was sifted out, consisting of Hon. Nathaniel P. Langford, Hon. Cornelius Hedges, Hon. Truman C. Everts, Hon. Samuel T. Hauser, Walter Trumbull, Benjamin Stickney, Jr., Warren C. Gillette, and Jacob Smith. James Stuart was selected as leader, but he was deprived of that privilege by jury service. Thereupon, Surveyor General Henry D. Washburn was given the honor of taking command. He was a worthy leader, having achieved the rank of Major General in the Civil War. He had also served two terms in Congress. Altogether it was a hand-picked company. The men were uniformly young and energetic, with the exception of Everts who was fifty-four. Several of them had served as Vigilantes. Indeed, they were men of intelligence, action, and high integrity. With one exception the men were serious-minded and mature. They early sensed the hazards of the endeavor and struggled manfully to reduce them to a minimum. Elaborate preparations were made in point of equipment and provisions. Two packers, Reynolds and Bean, and two colored cooks were employed, and the whole enterprise, although private, took on a semiscientific, quasi-military character from the start. Washburn possessed a copy of the Folsom-Cook diary and a map made by Walter W. DeLacy.[123] In addition, he had numerous conversations with these men, and he was, therefore, the beneficiary of their experience. They left Helena on August 17, 1870. Four days later they were at Fort Ellis. Here they listened to the post order detailing Lieutenant Gustavus C. Doane, one sergeant, and four privates “to escort the Surveyor-General of Montana to the falls and lakes of the Yellowstone and return....” The soldiers in the party were Sergeant William Baker and Privates John Williamson, George W. McConnell, William Leipler, and Charles Moore. There was no allusion to thermal phenomena or any exotic features whatsoever. Judge Hedges subsequently characterized the general temper of the explorers in respect to those particulars: 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.[124] The complete expedition now comprehended nineteen men, thirty-five horses and mules, and adequate supplies for a month’s journey. Leaving Fort Ellis, they ascended the Yellowstone River to its junction with the Gardner. This brought them within five miles of the Mammoth Hot Springs, but ignorance of the fact precluded their visitation. Instead, they crossed over the plateau and reached Tower Creek where they camped on August 27. All members were delighted with the hot springs and fumaroles in that area.