Page 95 - Cornelius Hedges Story

For This And Succeeding Generations Gardiner 82

Chapter 5
The National Park Idea

The purpose in this chapter is not to discuss in detail the
entire Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition to the Yellowstone
country in 1870. That has been written several times.295 This
Chapter is concerned with a solitary idea the National Park idea
and its relationship to the total character of Cornelius Hedges.

The background of this idea began when several prominent
citizens of Helena heard the reports of the Folsom-Cook Expedition
into the upper Yellowstone in 1869. An expedition was planned for
1870 into that area, and after several alterations of their plans, the
expedition left Helena on August 17, 1870.296 The party reached
what is now the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park on
August 25, via Bozeman, Trail Creek, and the Yellowstone Valley.297
From that point, they visited and explored the Tower Falls area, the
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the eastern and southern shores
of Yellowstone Lake, the Firehole basin, and were camped at the
headwaters of the Madison River on the evening of September 19.298

During the trip, Cornelius was extremely impressed with the
magnificent mountain scenery, and the unique features of the area
such as the hot springs and geysers served further to implant the
natural grandeur of the area in his mind. On August 28, as he sat
viewing the portion of the canyon of the Yellowstone near Tower
Falls, he described his view and expressed these thoughts:

“As there was no prospect of moving camp I returned on
our trail to Prospect Point, about one thousand feet above
the river where is altogether the finest view I ever had. Here
I sit on the brink writing these lines. The mouth of the Falls
Creek is directly in front, from the base of this rock bounded
by creek on right and river on left is a sunken tract hundreds
of feet below me, filled with coarse fragments of a crumbled
mountain, tall river rise precipitous bluffs almost at my level
and running nearly horizontal as far as I can see through the
gorge. About two-thirds down the bank is another similar but
more irregular layer, out from which near its upper part and
opposite beautiful rapids in the river a singular rock has slid
out from this layer and looks like the grim, shaggy head of a