Park ranger-naturalist and tourist group 271 Madison Junction Historical Museum 275 Park Ranger 278 _APPENDICES_ Young men camping in Yellowstone facing 282 Figure I. Yellowstone section of Colter’s route 287 Figure II. Western section of Colter’s route 289 Figure III. “Double-Entry” map of Yellowstone 293 Figure IV. A section of fictitious geography 295 Figure V. Western section of Colter’s route 297 THE STORY of MAN IN YELLOWSTONE Chapter I YELLOWSTONE—THE GEM OF THE MOUNTAINS Yellowstone National Park was one of the last regions in the United States to come into the scope of man’s knowledge. This fact is partly responsible for its development as a wild animal retreat. Grizzlies and people do not go well together under natural conditions. Yet nature has bequeathed a rare portion of her treasure upon this enchanting land that forms the crown of the Rockies. Within the confines of what the world calls Yellowstone the visitor may find great and wondrous manifestations of natural handiwork. Indeed, nature seems to have indulged in several grand orgies of creation. Here are lofty mountain majesties and shining rivers of silver and green wind athwart the heights and plateaus like living, breathing things. Everywhere the air is pierced by lodgepole pines. Erect they stand, bristling with fierce determination, while prone beneath their feet lie their uprooted brethren in tangled disorder and various degrees of decay.[1] The whole plateau is dotted by myriad alpine lakes of surpassing beauty. Surely it is comparable to a vast sponge which receives a five-foot mantle of snow annually. From this precipitation sufficient water is derived to feed a legion of springs and streams. “The altitude renders it certain that winter comes early and tarries late; in fact, it is almost always in sight and liable to drop in any day.”[2] Deep and delicately etched canyons involuntarily shock the visitor as he views their kaleidoscopic grandeur. Massive mountains display their mighty ramparts in a silhouette that is unmistakable and unforgettable. Indeed, some of these serrated spires once served as pilots to the wayfarer; and Indians named them “Pee-ah,” meaning large and permanent.[3] So are they still, mute testaments of the ages.