Glacier County chief., 1940-08-16
Mon Who First Photographed
Yellowstone, 81, Still Working
By WALTER E. TAYLOR

On April Z, tIe view 1ofh LINES
carried long article in honor of the
birthday of William H. Jackson, the
first man to photograph Yellowstone
park and other western wonders. Jack
son knew Bozeman and other Mon
tana settlements when they were
young in the seventies, and his pic
lures grace many Montana homes.
Many will be surprised to learn that
this pioneer western photographer is
still alive: and he is not only still alive,
but he is still at work. The New York
Times article concentrated his 9th
birthday. When the Times reporter
called for an interview, Jackson was
at work in his little New York studio.
Meeting him is like meeting history
ITSELF wrote the interviewer.
Jackson went west for the first time
70 years ago this spring, following the
building of the transcontinental rail-
road across Wyoming. He was photo
graphing the railroad work, Indians,
frontiersmen and other scenes that
caught his eye when he met F. v.
Hadyn, leader of the famous survey
of the western territories. Hadyn sug-
gested that the young photographer
official cameraman. During his 10
years with the United States geological
survey he assembled a vast collection
of pictures of TIE mountain west in
the days when the trails of the trap
pers were still fresh. Many geograp hic
points in the west, including the Jack
son Hole country in wyoming, were
named in his honor.
Takes Pictures of Geysers
Yellowstone park had not yet been
set aside as a national park when
Jackson first traverSed that region.
In fact, it was his photographs of the
geySerS and other wonders that were
important factors in inducing govern
ment officials to set the region aside
for future generations.
Telling of the Yellowstone eXpedi
ton, Jackson said, There were IS Of
us in our party in 1871 when We went
into the Yellowstone. Among them was
young painter, Thomas Moran.
You've heard of him. He was a guest,
and We became close friends. The party
gathered at Ogden, Utah, and went
from there to Fort Ellis, Mont. on
horseback and with army wagons. 1t
took four weeks to make the trip Of
500 miles.
AT Fort Ellis we transferred our
baggage and supplies to pack mules
and went into the Yellowstone district.
We were all excited about it: we'd
in general what to expect. But none
of the explorers before us had ever
found the Mammoth Hot Springs.
That was a real thrill. l set up my
dark box and went to work For the
first time in my life I could wash my
plates in natural warm water.
Moran found it a grand place to
work, too. The springs and the geysers
and the terraces were just as they'd
been for thousands of years, without
a footprint or fingerprint in sight.
In my pictures and in Moran's paint
ings you can see the lovely traceries
and lacy patterns on the terraces
where the water had left its deposits.
They've been gone for years, tramped
away by thousands of visitors feet.
Speed Congress Action
I'VE were up with the sun every
morning. Everyone was discovering
some new and wonderful viewpoint. 1t
was most enhancing thought thai
we were in the presence of one of the
grandest views in the world and one
that had never been photographed.
When the debate as to whether the
Yellowstone area should be set aside
came up in congress in the winter of
1911, Jacksons photographs were
shown the houses of congress to prove