[239]A corrupt and incompetent concern called The Improvement Company started a hotel in Mammoth. In 1884 this firm attempted to secure private ownership of land in important localities through Congressional action. When the move failed the firm went under. Its interests were bought by the Yellowstone Park Association which was financed by the Northern Pacific Railway.
[240]The Norris Hotel was replaced by a camp hotel and eating house, which served until 1900, when a new one was completed. The hotel at Old Faithful had not been profitable and was not replaced until 1903, when Old Faithful Inn was built.
[241]J. E. Rickards, ex-Governor of Montana, to the editor of The Salt Lake Tribune, July 17, 1897.
[242]Scrap Book, II, 56.
[243]Report of the Department of the Interior 1907, p. 533. The Boat Company charged three dollars for a ride from Thumb to Lake Fishing Bridge.
[244]Henry D. Sedgwick, op. cit., p. 3572.
[245]Scrap Book, I, 61.
[246]Ibid., Captain George S. Anderson earnestly prophesied that there would not be a square mile of forest left standing in six months if railroads were permitted to enter.
[247]Charles D. Warner, “Yellowstone National Park,” Harper’s, XCIV (January, 1897), 323.
[248]Annual Report 1907. Several wells had to be dug between Norris and Canyon.