The Portland daily press., 1894-12-29
YELLOWSTONE PARK IN WINTER.
Few MortaIs Have Ever Beheld Its
Frosty Glories.

WiIds-Ski Runners the Only Men Who
Can Cope with the Snow-Notes OF q
Most Interesting Expedition.
| Tie Yello wstone National PARK is today
| an unknown country. There are portions
| of 1t where the foot of white man never
| trod. Even the conscientious enthusiastic
| visitor who goes through by pack train IN
stead of by the regular route car gather
| only general idea of that tremendous re-
| gion. No one ma Il knows the park. 1t has
| been written to death, but no pen yet de-
| scribed it or ever will writes the Chicago
| Tribune.
| : Thousands of persons have seen, OF at
| least have gone through portion of tie
| park in comfort and convenience in the
summer time, but only three different part
| les have ever seen it in winter. The Old
| time SCOUTS and trappers never did, for they
| always winter ed in milder climate. The
| Indians never did for the Western Indian
has never been known to use the snowshoe,
| and moreover the Indians never went near
| this supposed Internal country, holding 1t
in the greatest dread as the worst kind of
bad medicine. The scientific parties never
| did, for they could never have taken
| through the necessary supplies. In the
winter the park is another and different
land. No longer merely beautiful. it is fac
mating, thrilling, yet at the same time ire
mendous, forbidding, terrible. Here nature
is at home in the very hidden penetIalia Of
her favorite house, and about her are the
most august warnings to mankind to stay
a far and spy not on her doings. Chary OF
these wonders, even for the brief season
of the ''softe sonne,'' for more than half
the year her guardian mountains, gowned
in snow and ice. and cowled in herCest
storms that fall anywhere upon this coun-
try, frown an imperious "Thou shalt not!'
to any who would seek to enter. You can
count upon your fingers all the men who
ever dared to violate that Injunction. Yet
to override even such objections of nature.
to see it at its elemental sport, to behold
the handicraft OF the snow nrifts. to look
upon the ma estio panorama of the inner
Rocky range in winter no one of the few
who have won that privilege could ever
deny hat it was worth twice the labor and
peril that it cost. Certainly, having seen
the glorious spectacle, he could thereafter
think only of the spectacle and not sof the
accom- lishment. He could vaunt of the
wonders he had seen, but could not vhunt
himself.
The first attempt to explore the Yellow
stone Park in winter was made about ten
yeats ago by Liuet. Frederick Schwatka,
the Arctic explorer, who was deputed by
New York daily to make the trip and write
a story of it. Schwatka had complete
Arctic outfit, including dogs and sledges
ard his men were equipped with Arctic fur
clothing, sleeping bags, etc He was ready
for winter campaign of the most serious
sort. Yet admirably prepared as he was,
Schwatka got just twenty niles into the
mark and no farther, and his expedition was
an elaborate fasco. Much of this failure
was due to Schwatka's personal infirmity,
tut part of it to his utter misconception of
the work in hand. He Lad never done any
such travelling as this. The use OF sedges
was absolutely impossible, for the SHOWS of
that region are SO frequent that the crust
does not often bear up a man, but remains
too soft and fluffy for even a dog to walk
uLon. A man without snow shoes would
only founder in it, and a sledge such as
Scbwatka had would be buried. No one could
be carried or drawn in in such country.
even had the tremendous grades of the
mountains permit ed il. Each man had to
carry himself not only part of the way, but
every inch of the way. The webbed snow
shoes were found not desirable for that re-
gion, and if one used the long Norwegian
skis (which are almost universally employed
in the Rockies) he could not drag tobog-
gan behind him. 1t became question of
each man carrying 30-pound pack on his
back and Oh making that 80 pounds include
every article needful for camping out in a
region whele the soft snow was to II feet
deep upon the level and where an Arctic
snow hut could not be built, yet where ths
thel mometer has often been known to go
down to As degrees below Zero. Schwatka
either could not or would not face this and
his EXPEDITION fell to piecies. Two or three
of his best men and the photographer. +.
Jay Haynes, did, however, face 1t. ard
went on through he park. Their adven-
lures included getting caught in storm
on Mount Washburn, where they We're lost
for three days and nearly starved to death
one of their party being for time insane
from hunger and exposure. During the last
winter Mr.. Haynes again went into The
park, this time more successfully.
In February of 1890. Elwood Hofer better
known as BILLY Hofer, mountain guide
who lived at Gardiner, on the north edge of
the park, took one private soldier and made
the circuit as far as the Hayden Valley and
the geyseI basin. This WAS the first at
tempt worthy to be called successful one.
Hofer WAS commissioned by the Smit hson-
ian Institution of Washington to capture
young wild animals for the National zoolo-
gical gardens, in which work he had been
very successful. He made his trip through
the park ostensibly to locate and count the
big game of the park, but really perhaps
more for the love of adventure. Two years
later he did the same thing, .again with safe
ty and success, confirming record which
even at that date was net equaled. Hofer
made some mo st interesting photographs of
large game, bu ffalo. elk. etc. a series abso-
lulely unique. These pictures having
e1tain scientific value, Hofer was sagain
commissioned by the Smithsonian Institu-
tion to go through the park during the win
Ter of 1993-'94. On this trip the writer &C
companied him, having met and liked him
for his unassuming ways at the Worlds
Fair, where Billy employed by the
Boone and Crockett club as the keeper of
the Hunters Cabin no the Wooded island.
The LIST of March, 94. Billy and were at
the Mammoth Hot Springs, on the north