Part 10 (1/2)
Was.h.i.+ngton Irving, in his charming history, ”Bonneville's Adventures,”
thus describes the efforts of General Bonneville and one of his comrades to reach the summit of this range:
”After much toil he reached the summit of a lofty cliff, but it was only to behold gigantic peaks rising all around, and towering far into the snowy regions of the atmosphere. He soon found that he had undertaken a tremendous task; but the pride of man is never more obstinate than when climbing mountains. The ascent was so steep and rugged that he and his companion were frequently obliged to clamber on hands and knees, with their guns slung upon their backs. Frequently, exhausted with fatigue and dripping with perspiration, they threw themselves upon the snow, and took handfuls of it to allay their parching thirst. At one place they even stripped off their coats and hung them upon the bushes, and thus lightly clad proceeded to scramble over these eternal snows. As they ascended still higher there were cool breezes that refreshed and braced them, and, springing with new ardor to their task, they at length attained the summit.”]
[Footnote P: Soon after the return of our party to Helena, General Washburn, then surveyor-general of Montana, made in his office for the Interior Department at Was.h.i.+ngton, a map of the Yellowstone region, a copy of which he gave to me. He told me that in recognition of the a.s.sistance I had rendered him in making a fair outline of Yellowstone lake, with its indented sh.o.r.e and promontories, he had named for me the mountain on the top of which I stood when I made the sketch of the south sh.o.r.e of the lake. I called his attention to the fact that Lieutenant Doane had been my comrade in making the ascent, and suggested that Doane's name be given to the adjoining peak on the north. He approved of this suggestion, and the map, with these mountains so named, was transmitted to the Interior Department.
Dr. Hayden, the geologist in charge of the United States geological survey, made his first visit to this region the following year (1871), and on the map which he issued in connection with his 1871 report, the name ”Mount Langford” was given to another mountain far to the northeast. Since that time my name has again been transferred to a mountain on the southeast. I think that Dr. Hayden must have been aware at that time that this mountain bore my name; for he had read the account of the Washburn exploration, which was published in Scribner's Magazine for May, 1871, accompanied by a copy of the map made by General Washburn.
The significance of connecting my name with this mountain is centered in the circ.u.mstance that it was intended to mark or commemorate an important event--that of giving to the public a very correct outline map of Yellowstone lake. In confirmation of the fact that the first outline of the lake approximating any degree of accuracy was made from the mountain-top, I here quote from page 21 of Lieutenant Doane's report to the War Department.
”The view from this peak commanded completely the lake, enabling us to sketch a map of its inlets and bearings with considerable accuracy.”
On page 23 of this report Lieutenant Doane speaks of this mountain as ”Mount Langford.” The map last published previous to that made by General Washburn was that of Captain Raynolds, of which I here present a copy, as well as a copy of the map made by me.]
[Footnote Q: On our return to Helena, Walter Trumbull published, in the Helena Gazette, some incidents of our trip, and from his narrative I copy the following account of our hunt for the grizzly:
”Some of the party who had gone a short distance ahead to find out the best course to take the next day, soon returned and reported a grizzly and her two cubs about a quarter of a mile from camp. Six of the party decorated themselves as walking armories, and at once started in pursuit. Each individual was sandwiched between two revolvers and a knife, was supported around the middle by a belt of cartridges, and carried in his hand a needle carbine. Each one was particularly anxious to be the first to catch the bear, and an exciting foot-race ensued until the party got within 300 yards of the place where the bear was supposed to be concealed. The foremost man then suddenly got out of breath, and, in fact, they all got out of breath. It was an epidemic. A halt was made, and the brute loudly dared to come out and show itself, while a spirited discussion took place as to what was best to do with the cubs. The location was a mountain side, thickly timbered with tall straight pines having no limbs within thirty feet of the ground. It was decided to advance more cautiously to avoid frightening the animal, and every tree which there was any chance of climbing was watched with religious care, in order to intercept her should she attempt to take refuge in its branches. An hour was pa.s.sed in vain search for the sneaking beast, which had evidently taken to flight. Then this formidable war party returned to camp, having a big disgust at the cowardly conduct of the bear, but, as the darkie said, 'not having it bad.' Just before getting in sight of camp, the six invincibles discharged their firearms simultaneously, in order to show those remaining behind just how they would have slaughtered the bear, but more particularly just how they did not. This was called the 'Bear Camp.'”
Mr. Trumbull was one of the party of hunters whose efforts to capture the bear he so well describes.]
[Footnote R: Our subsequent journeying showed that Lieutenant Doane was right in his conjecture.]
[Footnote S: The Honorable Granville Stuart, of Montana, in his book ”Montana as It Is,” published in 1865, says that there is another root found in portions of Montana which I have never seen. Mr. Stuart says:
”Thistle-root is the root of the common thistle, which is very abundant in the bottoms along nearly all the streams in the mountain. They grow to about the size of a large radish, and taste very much like turnips, and are good either raw or cooked with meat.”
Captain William Clark, of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition, dropped the final _e_ from the word cowse, spelling it c-o-w-s. Unless this error is noticed by the reader, he will not understand what Captain Clark meant when he said that members of his party were searching for the _cows_.]
[Footnote T: Lieutenant Doane, in his official report to the War Department, says, concerning this episode:
”Washburn and Langford * * * became entangled in an immense swampy brimstone basin, abounding in sulphur springs. * * * Mr. Langford's horse broke through several times, coming back plastered with the white substance and badly scalded.”]
[Footnote U: The location of this camp is what is now called the ”Thumb”
station on the stage route.]
[Footnote V: a.n.a.lyses of the various specimens of mud taken from the springs in this locality, made on our return to Helena, gave the following results:
White Sediment. Lavender Sediment. Pink Sediment.
Silica......... 42.2 Silica ........ 28.2Silica ........ 32.6
Magnesia....... 33.4 Alumina........ 58.6 Alumina........ 52.4
Lime........... 17.8 Boracic acid.... 3.2 Oxide of calcium 8.3
Alkalis......... 6.6 Oxide of iron... 0.6 Soda and pota.s.sa 4.2