Yellowstone and the Great West: Journals, Letters, and Images from the 1871 Hayden Expedition

by Marlene Deahl Merrill

Overview

Here, for the first time, is a fascinating daily record of Ferdinand Hayden's historic 1871 scientific expedition through Utah, Idaho, and Montana Territories to the Yellowstone Basin. The expedition's findings quickly led Congress to establish Yellowstone as the world's first national park. In addition to its scientific discoveries, the expedition is famous for producing the earliest on-site images of Yellowstone, by its photographer, William Henry Jackson, and its guest artist, Thomas Moran.

Historian Marlene D. Merrill has woven together a compelling daily narrative from the field writings of three expedition members: unpublished journals kept by mineralogist Albert Peale and geologist George Allen, periodic reports by Peale to his hometown newspaper, and letters from Hayden to his friend and mentor at the Smithsonian Institution, Spencer Baird. Their voices provide new and important insights into the expedition's scientific and artistic achievements as well as personal reactions to a rapidly developing American West and the "wonderland" that would soon become Yellowstone National Park. Enriching this narrative are Jackson's photographs of camp scenes and landscapes; rare panoramic drawings by the party's topographical artist, Henry Elliott; maps; an introduction; and extensive annotations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803282896
Publisher:	UNP - Nebraska Paperback
Publication date:	06/28/2003
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	348
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.78(d)

About the Author

Marlene Deahl Merrill is a documentary editor, historian, and affiliate scholar at Oberlin College. She is the coeditor of Growing up in Boston’s Gilded Age: The Journal of Alice Stone Blackwell, 1872–1874.

Editorial Reviews

After the Lewis and Clark expedition, several scientific junkets searched the West, noting mineral deposits, mapping rivers, identifying agricultural lands, and surveying possible railroad routes. Geologist Ferdinand V. Hayden led several expeditions, including one in 1871 to survey the Yellowstone Basin that included photographer William Henry Jackson and artist Thomas Moran. In this volume, historian Merrill (Growing Up in Boston's Gilded Age: The Journal of Alice Stone Blackwell, 1872-1874) weaves together field writings of lesser-known expedition members Albert Peale and George Allen, who recorded day-to-day activities, failures as well as successes, and personal reactions not found in Hayden's official reports. Excellent editing and extensive notes make this an important contribution to our knowledge of life in the 19th-century Rocky Mountain West. Recommended for most libraries, especially those with Western American collections.--Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley Coll., Mt. Carmel, IL Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

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