Empire of Shadows, History of Yellowstone
May 26, 2020 18:24:51 GMT -8
rangewalker and thetroutwhisperer like this
Post by Travis on May 26, 2020 18:24:51 GMT -8
Empire of Shadows, History of Yellowstone
Why would a backpacker enjoy history? Many of us can remember an early backpacking venture that became a trip from hell. Everything went wrong. In an historical setting describing early efforts to explore Yellowstone, this book has a few examples.
The book is:
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Truman Everts was the first tax assessor for Montana Territory and hence a member of one of the earliest groups to explore Yellowstone. Around 1870, he got separated from his group rounding the southern portions of Yellowstone Lake. He neglected to tie up his horse, lost it entirely, and spent over a month lost in wonderland.
All his gear he lost. He got scalded in hot springs, burnt in a campfire, caught in a forest fire, survived on thistle roots, and wandered for weeks delirious from starvation and solitude. Yet he lived to tell the story, that is, to the extent his mind could recall it.
Captain Gustavus C. Doane, was ambitious to gain renown as the inventor of Wonderland. And he was forever jealous of those whose political connections repeatedly eclipsed his desire for fame. So he set out to map the Snake River from its upper reaches around Heart Lake in Yellowstone. His group did not leave Yellowstone Lake till late November 1876. Far more experienced and better equipped than Truman Everts above, Doane spent the early harsh winter of 1877 making some of the most foolhardy errors one can imagine on icy lakes and frozen rivers and in blinding snowstorms.
He too lost his expensive gear and his pack animals. And he too lived to tell the story, to his great embarrassment.
This book is largely history of the Rockies and Great Plains centered upon Yellowstone. Here are the wars and horrendous policies against bison and Native Americans, the lynchings of small Western towns, the politics of gold and railroads, and the biographical secrets of generals and presidents who left their names scattered over Western maps.
And for those of us who recall that backpacking trip from hell, there is the occasional treat that leaves us shaking our heads in disbelief at the foibles of famous names.
Why would a backpacker enjoy history? Many of us can remember an early backpacking venture that became a trip from hell. Everything went wrong. In an historical setting describing early efforts to explore Yellowstone, this book has a few examples.
The book is:
[/ul]
Truman Everts was the first tax assessor for Montana Territory and hence a member of one of the earliest groups to explore Yellowstone. Around 1870, he got separated from his group rounding the southern portions of Yellowstone Lake. He neglected to tie up his horse, lost it entirely, and spent over a month lost in wonderland.
All his gear he lost. He got scalded in hot springs, burnt in a campfire, caught in a forest fire, survived on thistle roots, and wandered for weeks delirious from starvation and solitude. Yet he lived to tell the story, that is, to the extent his mind could recall it.
Captain Gustavus C. Doane, was ambitious to gain renown as the inventor of Wonderland. And he was forever jealous of those whose political connections repeatedly eclipsed his desire for fame. So he set out to map the Snake River from its upper reaches around Heart Lake in Yellowstone. His group did not leave Yellowstone Lake till late November 1876. Far more experienced and better equipped than Truman Everts above, Doane spent the early harsh winter of 1877 making some of the most foolhardy errors one can imagine on icy lakes and frozen rivers and in blinding snowstorms.
He too lost his expensive gear and his pack animals. And he too lived to tell the story, to his great embarrassment.
This book is largely history of the Rockies and Great Plains centered upon Yellowstone. Here are the wars and horrendous policies against bison and Native Americans, the lynchings of small Western towns, the politics of gold and railroads, and the biographical secrets of generals and presidents who left their names scattered over Western maps.
And for those of us who recall that backpacking trip from hell, there is the occasional treat that leaves us shaking our heads in disbelief at the foibles of famous names.
