Remembering that Samuel Lewis was employed to reproduce a map conforming to data and specifications furnished by Clark, what more could he do to manifest his skepticism, if not displeasure, over the incorporation of fictitious geography upon this super-important map of the West? Remember, Lewis was a professional cartographer; he had seen, and had already drawn, Colter’s sheet of real country. On the original draft the southwest Arm and Thumb of Lake Yellowstone undoubtedly appeared. Now he was asked to redraw it into counterfeit geography. Disturbed by the substitution of Clark’s sheet of “Gulliver’s geography” for Colter’s journey, he disguised a lake in a mountain range, drew a gargoylian lake (Eustis), and raised the enigma of Biddle-Riddle.[363] After all, cartography is simply a scientific refinement of pictography, or storytelling. The message of Samuel Lewis, as revealed in the Yellowstone segment of the Map of 1814, might reasonably be: “This portion of the map is bogus. I do not know what the true conditions are. Colter’s data appears all right; Clark’s later information says it isn’t. It’s all a Riddle; I leave a clue.” Against this background, with the fiction cut away, it may now be possible to explore the problem of Colter’s route through the Yellowstone country.
Did Colter make a western loop trip beyond the Yep-pe Indian camp? Of that there can be no doubt. Clark’s representation does not impugn Colter’s word in respect to the reality of the journey itself but only as to where he went and what he saw. If an approximation of his route can be reproduced, the question of what he saw will automatically fall into place like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The problem, then, is to correctly reconstruct the west loop of the figure eight. This procedure has become possible by reason of the proposition that has been established in this discussion, particularly when it is remembered that Colter knew his way around and could be relied upon to make a proper orientation to the total environment. Now his course can be followed by segregating another feature from what has been referred to as “Lewis’ Concealed Colter Map.”
J. N. Barry
A section of fictitious geography.
A larger section of the Map of 1814 showing Samuel Lewis’ ingenious combination of Colter’s data, Clark’s guesses and the Cartographer’s own obvious design to pose a gumption test for students of Western geographic exploration.
West of longitude 110° it will be noted that two features stand out in bold relief, namely, a mitten-shaped mountain labeled FOSSIL (probably the Trident) and the crude outline of South Arm and Thumb of Yellowstone Lake. These two landmarks may be used as guide posts in following Colter’s reconstructed loop through Yellowstone. Colter’s authentic east loop journey, already described, brought him approximately to the 110° meridian. Colter’s mitten-shaped landmark lies about seventy-five miles due west of the border on his second map sheet, but Clark’s dotted line depicts Colter’s route fifty miles south of the mountain shaped like a mitten and marked FOSSIL. It is valid to inquire how Colter could discern its shape or know of its fossils from that distance. His Indian friends knew nothing about fossils. The dotted line does not cross or even skirt this mountain. To reach the “Fossil Mountain” from Salt Fork, Colter could ascend by Elk-Wapiti or Fishhawk creeks. Each meets the requirements of direction and distance, and there is a good chance that somewhere along one of these routes a large petrified fish, or something like a fish, was seen then and may be eventually found. Such a discovery would remove all doubt about the direction in which he traveled.[364]
Western section of Coulter’s route.
Logic and a reasonable sense of procedure would support this route as the trail of Coulter’s Yellowstone discovery. Conclusive proof is lacking.
From the “Fossil Mountain” Colter probably descended Pass Creek to Thorofare Creek, which he followed to the Upper Yellowstone River. Then he might have ascended either Falcon, Lynx, or Atlantic creeks, preferably the latter, to Two Ocean Pass. Crossing the Continental Divide, he would then descend Pacific Creek, skirting Big Game Ridge, and cross the South Fork of Snake River, within the present confines of the Park. Thence he could go along Chicken Ridge, from where he would frequently view South Arm, headed toward Flat Mountain Arm. After crossing Solution Creek he would strike West Thumb.[365] The validity of this itinerary is wholly sustained by the genuine features of this area as they appear upon the Map of 1814. Indeed, the route seems obvious and indisputable in view of the actual conditions existing. On a crude map, where there are numerous, similar streams, various combinations are, of course, possible.