Before Yellowstone could become accessible as a national playground a certain evolution of security had to take place. Indian tribes and buffalo herds were hindrances to both colonization and travel. A double-action roundup was needed to clear the way for an ephemeral phase, known as cattle days on the open range, and ultimate colonization within the approaches of the Park. The early clash of white trappers and Indians has been reviewed. Passing of time worked no respite. Indeed, occasional friction swelled into almost constant strife. As settlers multiplied, the accumulation of past mutual grievances and suspicions rolled in from other scenes of combat like a moving tide and then broke into smaller waves, backwashing among the Rockies.[157] What was regarded as the natives’ overbearing superiority was well matched by similar attitudes among the whites, but more important was the latter’s greater strength. Racial antagonisms and cultural conflicts swept every tribe into the whirlpool. Each in turn wrecked itself against the might of federal power. Finally, a crimson trail was stretched toward Yellowstone when Nez Percé Joseph chose to make it a part of his escape route.[158] The Park area and its environs was by way of becoming the Indians’ last refuge. Therefore, the destiny of Yellowstone itself was contingent upon a solution of the Indian problem. Few people have the hardihood to seek pleasure at their peril, and that was precisely the condition until 1880. Only through complete Indian submission was the security issue brought to rest. How the events unfolded in this conflict between the settlers and the natives is a tale worth telling. Perhaps a brief exploration of the mutual opinions of disrespect will help give one a more balanced judgment of the factors that marshaled the two races into almost perpetual strife. It is an appropriate setting for the wind-up Indian scene, as narrated in the chapter on Chief Joseph’s flight and surrender. In the outset, English colonial charters granted belts of land to companies, or proprietors, without reference to Indian occupation. Still, a native people was found almost everywhere, but these savages were generally interested only in what might be had for the taking, whether from nature’s bounty or an enemy tribe. Here was a land with resources for the sustenance of a thousand times their number. White men were given a generous reception at first. Indians generally displayed an Arabian type of hospitality and enjoyed showing homage to important visitors.