American History Tellers - National Parks - Calling In The Cavalry | 2

Episode Date: August 22, 2018

Yellowstone was our nation’s first national park. Its strange, wondrous landscapes were perfect for exploration - and exploitation. Upon Yellowstone’s discovery by white Americans, two races began: one to build a railroad to the park to capture its commercial potential, another to protect the land from desecration. One will fail, bringing down with it the nation’s economy. The other will require the US Army to succeed, but leave thousands of animals slaughtered and Native American tribes displaced.Support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Imagine it's September, 1870. You've been stuck in a tree for half a day as the mountain lion that chased you up it paced below. You were lucky you had a sharp walking stick. If you hadn't, you'd probably be the beast's latest meal. Now, several hours later, you think he's gone and step down into the cold snow. You were freezing.

You've been freezing for days. You've attempted every idea you can think of to start a small fire, but you have no matches. Rubbing sticks together did nothing. How did this happen? This was supposed to be fun, an adventure. You weren't even that concerned when you spent that first night alone. You were certain your expedition party would find you within the next day or two. But then your horse ran off with your food, gun, canteen, and camping gear. You are a 54-year-old retiree, hopelessly stranded over 150 miles from civilization with nothing but the clothes on your back and a pair of opera glasses in your pocket. But wait, opera glasses? You immediately begin gathering dry leaves. You

dig out the glasses and hold them over the pile, squinting up at the sun. This could work, you tell yourself, but you know it's more of a prayer. You were hungry. You were both frostbitten from the terrible cold and burned on one side, having fallen into a hot spring. Maybe this is how your story ends. Starving. Burnt. Frozen. But then you notice the faint smell. The smell of something burning. The leaves have started to smoke without you even realizing it.

The opera glasses are working. You blow gently and a tiny flame appears. You can do this. Your fire is small, but you can build it. A few more minutes and you might just have your first warm night in days. Tomorrow you will grab your opera glasses, force yourself forward, and find your way back to your home in Montana. This is a wild and untamed land, but you are stronger than you think.

You will not surrender to the elements. You will not perish in this wilderness. to the best idea yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Kill List is a true story of how I ended up in a race against time to warn those who lives were in danger. Follow Kill List wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Kill List and more Exhibit C true crime shows like Morbid early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American History Tellers. Our history, your story. That man stranded in the woods was Truman C. Everts. Everts had been a member of the Washburn-Langford expedition to Yellowstone in 1870 before he got lost. The goal of the expedition was to explore the unknown areas of Yellowstone and help generate publicity for the new transcontinental railroad being built in the area. The men responsible for the expedition were Jay Cook and Nathaniel Langford, two businessmen

who understood the untapped economic potential for this land. Roaring rivers, geysers, bison, the beauty of Yellowstone wasn't lost on Cook and Langford. They understood the only way to exploit this natural wonder to its fullest potential would be to protect it. But rushing the creation and preservation of Yellowstone National Park would lead to the butchering of countless animals and the merciless displacement of Native Americans. This is Episode 2 of our six-part series on America's national parks, Calling in the Cavalry. While the Washburn-Langford expedition would prove to be one of the most important explorations of Yellowstone, it was far from the first. In 1804, two men headed west to explore the unknown parts

of the United States, Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark. Lewis and Clark would come within 50 miles of Yellowstone, but they did not go inside it. That would fall to a young private from Kentucky traveling with their party. John Coulter was an excellent hunter, but he was barely literate and given to drinking and violence. Lewis and Clark lost patience with him. So in August of 1806, Coulter left the expedition to join trappers heading up the Missouri River. That journey would take him through the Yellowstone Territory, making him the first white man to see its splendor. Little is known about what exactly Coulter saw on his journey,

but he returned with fantastic stories of one region, an inferno of hot springs and boiling geysers that would earn the name Coulter's Hell. The journey was apparently a transformative one. By the winter of just the following year, Coulter's reputation had transformed. He wasn't an illiterate drunkard, but was now viewed as another Daniel Boone, hardened by nature to survive in the most difficult circumstances. In the decades after Coulter first journeyed into Yellowstone, trappers and a variety of tribes would venture in and out of the area. White men searching for gold or traveling to the Pacific would wander through.

But Yellowstone largely remained a mystery until the close of the Civil War. On July 2, 1864, Congress and President Abraham Lincoln signed a charter granting the Northern Pacific Railroad permission to begin work on the second transcontinental railroad. Five years later, nothing had moved forward. Having mishandled their finances, the company needed cash fast so they could simply break ground. If this didn't happen by the end of 1870, the railroad approval would expire. Jay Cook was a wealthy financier, made substantially wealthier from his recent funding of the Union Army during the Civil War. Hearing of the railroad company's desperation, he came to the rescue. After arguing for control,

Jay Cook agreed to advance the ailing company $5 million in exchange for a controlling interest. With the funding in place, construction for the railroad began in February of 1870. It was so cold when workers began that bonfires were required to thaw the ground enough to lay down track. By the end of 1870, the Northern Pacific Railroad was planning to expand west from the Dakota Territory through the Montana Territory. Cook was contemplating rumors he had heard of a strange wonderland called Yellowstone. He understood that there was a larger game to play than just a railroad. If this place was really as amazing as he had heard, an entirely new tourist industry could be built out of it, and Cook could be the man to monetize it to its fullest potential. But he would need some help. Imagine it's June 1870 in Philadelphia. You've been summoned to the home of Mr. J. Cook, a wealthy businessman who says he has a proposition

for you. As you sit in his study, he hands you a glass of whiskey. You're an important man in Montana, Mr. Langford. I heard you were integral to the exploration and economic growth of Montana during the gold rush. I need a man like that. You both know Mr. Cook is flattering you. The last decade has been a string of professional failures. You moved to Montana to find gold, but that didn't work out. Then you hoped politics would be the answer. You managed to get yourself appointed tax collector, then governor of the Montana Territory. But you eventually lost those positions, just in time to see your business ventures fail. Now you're unemployed.

Taking this meeting was an easy decision. You see, Mr. Langford, to drum up sales for the Northern Pacific Railroad bonds, I need something that will shine. What have you heard about Yellowstone? About Coulter's Hell? Oh, just rumors. Bubbling mud pots, steam baths. Supposedly, you can catch a fish on a reel in one stream, then swing it around into a hot pool and cook it in a few seconds. Do you know anyone who's actually been there? No. It's likely just a tall tale.

Cook looks out his window and takes a sip of his drink. Do you know anyone who's actually been there? No. It's likely just a tall tale. Cook looks out his window and takes a sip of his drink. I think it's out there, and I want you to find it for me. You can hardly believe your ears. I know it sounds mad, but you've heard of the kind of money being made in the tourist trade in Niagara Falls and Yosemite. If this is really as unique as they say, there is a fortune to be had. Hotels, tours, hunting trips. This is bigger than a single railroad.

You're skeptical. Why would you need me? I need a man with credibility who can spread the word, give lectures to the public. But if Yellowstone ends up being what you believe, every huckster in the country is going to rush in to build a hotel. Oh yes, there could be a rush. But you know what they did with Yosemite. Of course you do.

They made it a state park. It's protected land. I have friends in Washington. I'm going to make Yellowstone a national park. A national park? Yes. Federally protected land that tourists will visit from around the country. And no one will build there

but the Northern Pacific Railroad. The man talking with Cook was Nathaniel Langford, a businessman and former politician, and it was those political skills Cook wanted. Cook had seen how the creation of Yosemite had enriched the Central American Steamship Company and the Union Pacific Railroad. He hoped Yellowstone could do the same thing for the Northern Pacific. Cook intended to have Yellowstone turned into a national preserve so that he and the Northern Pacific Railroad could monopolize tourism to the region. If his plan worked, when word got out of Northern Pacific Railroad's access to Yellowstone, sales of their railroad bonds would explode. Cook put Langford on the company payroll, who immediately returned to Montana with the intention of putting together an expedition party to explore the uncharted

Yellowstone area. By August 1, 1870, Langford had enrolled 20 men to join his party. Unfortunately, rumors of raids by members of the Crow Nation scared most members of the party into backing out. Suddenly seeing a need for military leadership, Langford secured former Indiana Representative and retired Union General Henry D. Washburn to lead what would be called the Washburn Expedition. General Washburn had the reputation as a trusted leader who could be counted on to face the unforeseen dangers ahead. And with a military escort, Langford found it easier to collect the type of high-profile men he was looking for to help bolster the visibility of the expedition.

Party members now included a judge, a lawyer, a writer, the president of one of Montana's first banks, and the son of a U.S. senator. Also among these men was Truman C. Everts, a retired assessor for Montana's Internal Revenue Department, who brought along his opera glasses. Their military escort in place and the men assembled, the Washburn-Langford expedition was ready to go. After several false starts due to weather, the expedition left Helena, Montana on August 17, 1870. Over the next month, the group marveled at Yellowstone's wonders. The region was unlike anything they had ever seen. One of the expedition's members, Lieutenant Gustavus Chaney

Doan, would later write in his report of the trip. Everything beneath has a weird and deceptive appearance. The water does not look like water, but like oil. In the clefts of the rocks, hundreds of feet down, bald eagles have their areas, from which we can see them swooping still further into the depths to rod the ospreys of their hard-earned trout. It is grand, gloomy, and terrible, a solitude peopled with fantastic ideas,

an empire of shadows and of turmoil. Together, the expedition discovered and named sites such as Tower Fall, a 132-foot plunging waterfall, and the Yellowstone Lake. They explored canyons and thermal features for days. At one point, Langford climbed a steep peak, dummy at Mount Langford. Two days later, camped near Snake River and sitting about the fire after a full day of exploration, the group realized Everts was missing. He had wandered off in the morning and hadn't been seen since. Initially, they weren't worried. People had gotten lost before, and they had always found them.

But over the next several days, desperation began to grow among the men as they searched for their compatriot. A storm was approaching, and with it fears of getting trapped in the snow. They had no choice but to leave without Everts. On their solemn trip home, the remaining party members came upon a geyser unlike anything they had ever seen. They were so taken aback by the explosion of power

that they scattered, spent time trying to decide an appropriate name for it. Discovering the regularity of the eruptions, Washburn would dub the geyser Old Faithful. But food rations were running low and temperatures plummeting. The group turned their horses towards Helena, leaving their friend to fend for himself in the wilderness. Back in civilization, the expedition members offered a $600 reward for Everett's safe return. Two men, George Pritchard and John Baronet, set out to find him and collect the reward. On October 16, a full 37 days after Everett's disappeared into the wilderness, they found him, emaciated, burned, and frostbitten, crawling along a hillside near Warm Spring Creek.

When he was brought in, it was said he weighed only 50 pounds. Upon regaining his strength to speak, Everett's told of how his horse startled and ran off with his gun and camping supplies, leaving him with nothing but a pair of opera glasses. His diet over the dramatic journey consisted of thistle roots, two minnows he was able to pull from a stream, and a small snowbird he somehow smashed between two rocks. At one point, he managed to set a small fire before going to sleep, only to awake to find the forest in flames. He lost most of his hair in the blaze, as well as his makeshift knife and fishhook, leaving him more wretched than before. Scribner's Monthly would later publish a widely read account of his ordeal called 37 Days of Peril. The harrowing tale and its descriptions of this fierce, unknown land would help grow interest in Yellowstone.

But the majority of promotion would come from Cook and Langford. The expedition completed, financier Cook set Langford to his next task, promoting the wonders of Yellowstone and its need for protection. Langford hit the lecture circuit, describing Yellowstone as the new supreme vacation destination, surpassing even Yosemite with its geological wonders. Yellowstone demanded government intervention to keep it from being ruined, Langford declared, as had happened with that national embarrassment, Niagara Falls. And it must be through the creation of the country's first national park.

He concluded each lecture, what then is the one thing needed to render this remarkable region of natural wonders accessible? And the answer was, of course, the Northern Pacific Railroad. In January of 1871, the head of the U.S. Geological Survey, Dr. Ferdinand V. Hayden, attended one of Langford's lectures. Intrigued by what he heard, he convinced Congress to fund another expedition to the Yellowstone region, an officially sanctioned, government-run exploration of the land. This was the first necessary step towards making Yellowstone a national park. Cook suggested the expedition bring along the artist Thomas Moran. He even offered to pay for part of the trip if he could use the paintings Moran made. Hayden agreed.

The PR move worked. Once he returned, Moran produced the famous painting, The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Cook eventually put it on display in Washington, D.C., and published images of it and many others in newspapers nationwide, captivating the American public. Momentum built. Preserving Yellowstone became a national concern. Looking to the old Yosemite Bill from 1864, Congress drafted a new law. On December 18, 1871, a bill to create Yellowstone National Park was

introduced in both the Senate and House of Representatives. It passed with astounding speed. A mere 10 weeks later, Yellowstone National Park had become a reality, and Nathaniel Langford was named the park's first superintendent. But with much of the country in economic shambles after the Civil War, the federal government allotted no money, zero, for the protection and preservation of its newest tourist attraction. It wasn't just the government in dire straits, though. By mid-1873, Cook's Northern Pacific Railroad had made remarkable strides. The rails reached the Missouri River on June 4th, headed for Tacoma, Washington. It was just a matter of time before they built the first rail route to Yellowstone. But Cook did not have time.

His finance company had been pouring money into the railroad, but finding little success selling northern Pacific bonds. Cash was tight. He had underestimated the formidable cost of building a railroad and overestimated his ability to manage it all. Cook was losing hope of succeeding in his scheme to corner the market on America's most astonishing natural wonders. On September 18, 1873, Jay Cook and company went bankrupt, setting off the panic of 1873. In the wake of that failure and the collapse of the nation's financial markets, all progress on the northern Pacific ground to a halt. Jay Cooke died in 1905. Passenger trains wouldn't reach Yellowstone

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If Paul asked you to do something, it wasn't a request. It was an order. I'm your host, Brandon James Jenkins. Follow Criminal Attorney on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Criminal Attorney early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. By the summer of 1877, the Nez Perce tribe was in crisis. White settlers had been encroaching on their lands for years. A series of treaties with the U.S. government had shrunk the Nez Perce territory in present-day Idaho,

Washington, and Oregon. Most of the tribe had already been forced onto a reservation in Idaho. But a small band of Nez Perce in Oregon, led by Chief Joseph, was resisting. Finally, the Bureau of Indian Affairs demanded that they go too. The U.S. Army gave the Nez Perce 30 days to evacuate their lands, at the height of summer, when the rivers would be high and most difficult to cross. Chief Joseph reluctantly agreed. That summer, about 800 men, women, and children set out for Idaho. But along the way, some young Nez Perce warriors broke off from the main group and attacked a group of white settlers, killing four men. They saw the raid as revenge for some of their relatives, who had been murdered by whites. Those deaths changed everything.

The U.S. Army set off after the Nez Perce to punish them for the attack. What started out as a peaceful journey became a series of military standoffs as the Nez Perce fled towards safety in Canada. Eventually, they reached Montana, and the Nez Perce met up with some allies. They thought at least for the moment they were safe, but the tribe did not know that the U.S. Army stationed in Montana also had orders to pursue them. On August 9th, Colonel John Gibson and his forces attacked a Nez Perce village at Big Hole, slaughtering women, children, and elders. Over the two-day battle, the Nez Perce managed to fight back, but they suffered devastating losses,

and the army was still in pursuit. Following the Battle of Big Hole, a small group of surviving Nez Perce broke off from the rest of the tribe and fled. Two weeks later, they would arrive in Yellowstone, seeking refuge. But the vast wilderness was no longer a haven. It had become a tourist attraction. Imagine it's August 24, 1877. You've been camping for several days in Yellowstone with your two sisters and brother-in-law. Initially, you had some reservations about coming after you heard about some problems the army was having with the Nez Perce tribe. But then an army officer near Fort Custer assured you that Yellowstone was perfectly safe. Indians never come into the park, he said.

And so far, so good. You've all been enjoying yourself. You chose this spot at the basin of some geysers because your 13-year-old sister, Ida, liked the sound of the bubbles. Every now and then, a loud burst gives you all a fun scare. Even your brother-in-law, George, is finally getting into the spirit of the trip. You weren't thrilled when your sister, Emma, married him. But now, stretched out near the wagon,

he looks over at you, finally appearing relaxed for the first time since you arrived. Coming here was the best idea you ever had, Frank. I told you, it's like being in Wonderland. Suddenly, the geyser goes off and all of you yelp with laughter. But when you look up, you see three men on horseback moving towards you. They're Indians.

You're startled, but not alarmed. They look tired and ragged. You approach a man out front who seems to be the leader. Afternoon. Can I help you, friend? Do you know of any soldiers in this area? Not since we passed Fort Custer. Why do you ask the men are carrying guns. You begin to feel uneasy. The man continues,

We need food. Do you have any to spare? You're about to offer some, but before you can respond, George jumps in. I'm afraid not. What's your name? Yellow Wolf. I am kin to Chief Joseph. That's when you notice another Indian come in at the head of the basin. He's limping. Are you sure you have no food? You have supplies. It's been many days since we've eaten.

I suppose we can spare a bag of flour. But again, George cuts you off. We don't have anything to share. Yellow Wolf frowns. That's when you notice one of the Indians' arms is wrapped up in gauze. Looks like a bullet wound. Now that you look more closely, they're all carrying guns. Ida grips your hand from behind. You know, maybe it's time we leave, Ida. Why don't you get in the wagon? Emma, let's pack up. You and Emma start gathering bedrolls as George squares off warily with the Indians. Finally, you're done. George, time to go.

Your brother-in-law turns carefully as he joins you in the wagon. You ride off as Yellow Wolf and his men watch your backs. But it won't be your last encounter with Inez Purse. The man in that story was Frank Carpenter, a tourist in Yellowstone National Park. He and his siblings famously encountered a band of Nez Perce led by Yellow Wolf as they entered the park to flee the U.S. Army. Carpenter's brother-in-law, George Cowan, angered the Native Americans by refusing them food. According to the Carpenters, they tried to avoid confrontation by riding away, but they were intercepted further down the trail by another group of Native Americans on horseback.

The Nez Perce feared the Carpenters would alert the army to their presence, so they took the Carpenters captive and led them back to the larger tribe attempting to cross Montana for escape into Canada. The Nez Perce treated the Carpenters well. The tribe released the family two days later, with two horses, matches, bedding, bread, and supplies for a safe trip home. A chief named Poker Joe gave 13-year-old Ida Carpenter a thick jacket to protect her from the elements. Poker Joe warned the family to avoid the main trail as they traveled and to beware a group of young warriors, troublemakers, among the Nez Perce. After struggling to travel through the dense brush,

the carpenters ignored this advice and returned to the main road. There, they met the group of warriors Poker Joe had warned them about. When George Cowan tried to escape into the underbrush, the Nez Perce feared he would alert the army to their presence, so they shot him in the head and left him to die. Cowan did ultimately survive, along with the rest of the carpenters. The remainder of the Nez Perce managed to get within 40 miles of the Canadian border before Colonel Nelson Miles and his regiment overtook them. About 250 women and children managed to escape across the border and connect with Sitting Bull in Canada. But with the rest of the tribe

pinned down for five days, Chief Joseph finally gave word to his people to surrender. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more, forever. When the Nez Perce entered Yellowstone, they were using a web of intricate trails that native peoples had forged in the park over generations. The tribe was hoping to flee over a route they had previously used to cross the Rocky Mountains into the northern Great Plains for buffalo hunting. These trails weren't only made by the Nez Perce. Tribes like the Shoshone, Crow, and Bannock had used Yellowstone for everything from hunting to burial ceremonies. They mined obsidian, a glass-like stone created

by volcanic action, for use in making arrowheads and other tools. They used fire to clear underbrush and drive out insects from camping areas. They hunted big game. The Native Americans' footprint on Yellowstone was literally everywhere. But when Yellowstone became a national park, many of its backers insisted the area was a pristine, empty wilderness, untouched by humans. They would describe Indians as roaming, rootless creatures with no connection to the land. The impact of Native Americans on Yellowstone would be erased. Hunting became one of the biggest sources of tension with Native Americans. Tribes had been hunting on these lands for generations, but now the Yellowstone authorities were suddenly scrutinizing their every move.

The Bannock tribe especially came under fire. Yellowstone's second superintendent, Felidus Norris, accused members of hunting more than they needed. George Grinnell, the editor of Forest and Stream magazine, wrote that the Bannock were slaughtering in such quantities as to have tons of meat hanging from scaffolding. He criticized so-called bands of roaming savages who would waste and destroy the park. Teddy Roosevelt was a U.S. Civil Service commissioner at the time.

He argued, The destruction of forests and of game caused by these Indian hunting parties is a serious evil. Grinnell and Roosevelt were both gentleman hunters who shot animals for sport. They believed in the principles of fair chase. To them, Native American hunting parties, where tribes corralled and killed animals for food, seemed unsportsmanlike, even illegal. Together, they would fight to keep Native Americans out of Yellowstone. But Native American hunting wasn't the only concern. White poachers were roaming freely through the park, collecting animal trophies. Superintendent

Norris reported that between 1875 and 1877, at least 7,000 elk had been slaughtered. General William E. Strong, a friend of George Grinnell and another ardent conservationist, reported that just in the winter of 1875, over 4,000 elk were killed by professional hunters in the Mammoth Spring Basin alone. Their carcasses and branching antlers can be seen on every hillside and on every valley. For Grinnell, these atrocities committed by whites were even worse than hunting by Native American tribes. Whites, he felt, should know better. He wrote about it in his magazine. It is popular to make a great fuss

about the harm done by whites who, by virtue of the color of their skins, are supposed to have the right to burn and destroy at will. Yet, it is a matter of common knowledge that white kill game out of season and for hides and are seldom or never punished for it. General Strong believed the park administration was to blame. How is it that the commissioner of the park allows this unlawful killing, he would ask. There was a simple reason. The first two park superintendents were almost never there. Impressed by Nathaniel Langford's expertise and love for Yellowstone, the federal government had offered him a position as the head of the park in 1872.

But the job offer didn't come with a salary, so Langford kept his full-time position as a bank examiner. Often, he wasn't able to visit the park for years at a time. With no oversight, rock formations were defaced, poachers ran amok, and Native Americans continued to hunt. Lankford would repeatedly petition Congress for funds, but he was ignored. Eventually, Congress blamed him for Yellowstone's deteriorating condition. He was fired after five years on the job in 1877.

The following year, Congress began appropriating funds for the park's management. Philetus Norris, the second superintendent, did better, but he too only visited Yellowstone briefly during the summers and early autumn. While more present in the park than Langford, Norris would also be ousted after five years. Once it became clear that the park's overseers lacked any real enforcement ability, violations skyrocketed. Even if there had been someone around to enforce the laws, the punishment for lawbreakers was minimal.

They deterred almost no one. Something needed to be done. Things were reaching a breaking point. Without intervention, Yellowstone would be destroyed. Its priceless natural splendor squandered for future generations. The park needed structure, discipline, and enforcement. It needed U.S. military. For years, American Scandal has taken you deep inside the biggest controversies and

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that takes you along the twists and turns of the godfather of modern mental manipulation, Richard Bandler, whose methods inspired some of the most toxic and criminal self-help movements of the last two decades. Follow Scamfluencers on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Scamfluencers and more Exhibit C true crime shows like Morbid and Kill List early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. Check out Exhibit C in the Wondery app for all your true crime listening. Imagine it's a late October morning in 1886. You're sitting in the shade under a pine tree in Yellowstone Park, and you look to your partner. Warmer than I expected it to be here this time of year.

I'll take the heat of Yellowstone over the morning drills of Custer any day. He's right. It's definitely nicer here than at Fort Custer. You came to Yellowstone back in mid-August with Captain Moses Harris and 50 other cavalrymen to bring some order to the park. What, you think he's still out there? Oh, he's out there. When you started, you were catching poachers and loggers every other day, but now they're getting smarter. They're still hunting, but the poachers have started tracking the patrols and waiting for the soldiers to leave an area before they start back up again. But we looked around already. We didn't see anything. That doesn't mean they aren't here. You heard what Lieutenant Goggins said. They've been building hidden cabins in the ground and rock formations. Two days ago, you stopped searching, but you know they're still here.

You found a blood trail, probably an elf, and know the poacher is just waiting for you to leave. They test if you're still here by firing their guns into the air and checking to see if anyone comes running. They fired twice yesterday. They must have seen you because they never came out of their hiding spot. Now it's your turn to hide. That's when you hear... Stay down! in the brush! From the bushes, you peer at the rock formations in the distance.

Your partner calls out from behind a dead tree stump. You find something? Nothing yet. Suddenly, a glint of sun. You've got him. Wait, I've spotted him! He's camped out between some rocks, and he's peering out with binoculars over the trees. He's still looking, so he probably

didn't see us. I say we wait until dark. We know where he is now, so let's get him when he isn't expecting it. Why? Why? Yeah, why? What are we going to do with him? We can't arrest him, can't charge him with a crime, so we take his gun. So what? You know it ain't his only one. The very best we can do is banish him from the park, but he'll just sneak in back tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. There had been rumblings as early as 1875 that the only way to prevent Native Americans, poachers, and criminals from entering Yellowstone would be to place the park under the control of the Army. While the measure may seem drastic,

it was fairly popular at the time. It wasn't that unusual to have areas of the country under martial law following the Civil War. The Army was already stationed in parts of the West and Reconstruction era South. Martial law seemed like a sensible solution to Yellowstone's problems. But nothing happened until the Department of Interior budget was tightened in 1885.

Congress realized there was little choice but to put the park under military control. Everyone agreed that this was only going to be a temporary measure till a better solution could be found. And so, on August 17, 1886, Captain Moses Harris took 50 of his best cavalrymen and marched from Fort Custer, Montana into Yellowstone National Park. The Army would remain there for the next 32 years. Many people were pleased with the military presence.

A writer for Harper's Magazine celebrated, Since the park has passed under military control, fires are infrequent, poaching is suppressed, and the formations are no longer defaced. Roads are improved, and the region is saved with its natural beauty for the enjoyment of all people. John Muir, by now a famed conservationist, was pleased with the cavalry's efficiency in managing and guarding the park. Uncle Sam's soldiers are the most effective forest police, he declared. One of the Army's key decisions was to create an official entrance to Yellowstone. The hope was to better monitor those who entered and exited the park.

In 1897, the Army began requiring visitors to surrender their firearms upon entry. They would seal the guns with tape and wax and check to make sure the seals were still intact when the person left. The Army's control over the national parks was so popular and deemed so effective that in 1890, the Department of the Interior decided to send troops to Yosemite and Sequoia as well. But even with all the new patrols and precautions, the poachers kept coming. With the laws lacking any kind of serious punishment, people continued to break them. This all changed on March 13, 1894, when a party of ski cavalry, accompanied by a reporter and photographer from Field and Streams, discovered a poacher named Egner Howell skinning a freshly killed bison. After arresting him, they uncovered another five dead bison being prepared for sale

to a wealthy buyer. Howell just laughed. The worst they could do to him, he gloated, was kick him out of the park. This arrest would be a turning point for the conservation movement. Not only was Howell caught in the act, a reporter and photographer were present to document his actions. The Field and Stream duo immediately reported back to their employer, George Grinnell, who filled the pages of his well-read magazine with every grisly detail of the case. Knowing that Congress was skeptical of forcing legislation to protect game animals, Grinnell began printing editorials, demanding politicians take action.

He even called upon his readers to write the representatives. With the help of some influential friends, the story seeped into the national press. Congress suddenly became inundated by petitions and letters from an outraged public. One of them was Teddy Roosevelt, still a U.S. Civil Service commissioner in Washington. He reached out to every congressman he knew to join the chorus calling for better federal oversight, saying Howell should have been sent to prison for half a dozen years. A friend of Roosevelt summarized his feelings about the poacher to the Yellowstone superintendent. Roosevelt says you made the greatest mistake of your life in not accidentally having that

scoundrel killed, and he speaks as if he would have shot him on the spot. On May 7, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed the Lacey Act. The landmark bill banned the killing, wounding, or capturing of wild animals within Yellowstone. Anyone found guilty would have to pay a $1,000 fine due jail time or both. For the first time, there were penalties attached to hunting or poaching in the park. The bill even created a new salaried position to make sure these protections were enforced. A month after the law passed, John A. Meldrum was named the first Yellowstone commissioner. Before, park superintendents had to deal with

wildlife violations on top of their other administrative duties. The commissioner's job would be to look out for Yellowstone's flora and fauna full-time. Meldrum would live in the park, monitor complaints, and punish anyone caught violating the law. These provisions would later be extended to all national parks. The bill was hailed as a success by nearly everyone, except Roosevelt, who said the law was by no means as good as he would have liked. But he did admit it was a good deal better than the present systems, and at least gives us the groundwork on which to go.

As the 19th century came to a close, proper oversight and stricter protection laws helped turn Yellowstone around. Rock formations were no longer defaced, and poachers were finally banished. But what was true for poachers was also true for the Native Americans. They would never again find peace in Yellowstone. When the idea of making Yellowstone into a national park was first set into motion, no one could have imagined the larger effects it would have on America's love for nature. Before the decade was over, three more national parks would be established with federal protections. Sequoia, Mount Rainier, and even Yosemite, the California state park that had inspired Yellowstone's creation. But just as with Yellowstone, the creation of these parks would come at a price.

With each new park would come more violent displacement for Native Americans. Lands that tribes had enjoyed for generations were stripped away in the name of conservation, in service of a movement that would find its most ardent champion thrust into the highest seat of power by an assassin's bullet. On the next episode of American History Tellers, with Teddy Roosevelt taking the reins, a new progressive era sweeps the nation,

and environmental conservation becomes more than a trend. Elsewhere, Roosevelt's attempts to help ranchers in the West will have disastrous consequences for the environment. members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. Additional production assistance by Derek Behrens. This episode is written by Jarrett Palmer, edited and produced by Jenny Lauer, produced by George Lavender. Our executive producer is Marshall Louis, created by Hernán López for Wondery.

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