GEN. HENRY DANA WASHBURN.
It was during his residence in Montana that the famous Yellowstone Expedition of 1870 took place. His part in that important work is perhaps the most notable feature of his career. As leader of the expedition he won the admiration and affection of its members. He was the first to send to Washington specimens from the geyser formations. He ardently espoused the project of setting apart this region as a public park and was on his way to Washington in its interest when his career was cut short by death. The hardship and exposure of the expedition had precipitated the catastrophe to which he had long been tending. He left Helena in November, 1870, and died of consumption at his home in Clinton, Indiana, January 26, 1871.
General Washburn’s name was given to this mountain by a unanimous vote of the party on the evening of August 28, 1870, as a result of the following incident related by Mr. Langford:
“Our first Sunday in camp was at Tower Creek. The forest around us was very dense, and we were somewhat at a loss in deciding what course we needed to follow in order to reach Yellowstone Lake. We had that day crossed a fresh Indian trail, a circumstance which admonished us of the necessity of watchfulness so as to avoid disaster. While we were resting in camp, General Washburn, without our knowledge, and unattended, made his way to the mountain, from the summit of which, overlooking the dense forest which environed us, he saw Yellowstone Lake, our objective point, and carefully noted its direction from our camp. This intelligence was most joyfully received by us, for it relieved our minds of all anxiety concerning our course of travel, and dispelled the fears of some of our party lest we should become inextricably involved in that wooded labyrinth.”
White Peaks (9,800)—F : 4—1895—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Wild Cat Peak (9,800)—T : 8—1885—U. S. G. S.—Characteristic.
Yount Peak (Hayden, 11,700; Hague, 12,250)—Not on map.—1878—U. S. G. S.—Source of the Yellowstone.—Named for an old trapper and guide of that region.