After many years Bridger retired to a farm near Kansas City, Missouri. In 1884 the uncrowned king of Rocky Mountain scouts passed beyond, and thereby an epoch was ended.
In respect to his Yellowstone explorations, it is worthy of note that long before his death Bridger succeeded in kindling a lively interest among others. In fact, partly due to his efforts a consuming curiosity was preying upon the minds of several leading Montana residents. These citizens proved competent to find and interpret the great features of natural history.
Chapter VIII
FINAL DISCOVERY IN 1869 AND 1870
During the year 1867 several garbled accounts of monstrous wonders were reported to the Montana Post at Virginia City by returning prospectors. On July 29 the Post stated that an expedition to the Yellowstone country was being organized to explore the region as far as Yellowstone Lake. The project evidently fell through, but the notice accurately gauged the sentiment of Montana people.
By 1867 a dozen ranking citizens, later to be known as the Washburn-Langford-Doane party, held one common opinion concerning the Yellowstone rumors; namely, that it was high time some reputable authority should ascertain the facts. These men made tentative plans for an exploration that year and also in 1868, but the urge was not strong enough to impel definite preparations until 1869.
The Folsom-Cook-Peterson Exploration
Even this effort proved abortive, due to Indian unrest and the failure of the military at Fort Ellis to furnish an escort. However, there were several men living at Diamond City on the Missouri River, forty miles below Helena, who were enrolled and waiting to join the Helena party. When word arrived of the postponement they decided to set out by themselves. This little expedition consisted of Hon. David E. Folsom, C. W. Cook, and William Peterson. Folsom and Cook were unusually intelligent men, with large experience in ranching and mining affairs. They were capable of executing a purposeful exploration of this character. Mr. Peterson’s precise status is not so well known. He was born in Denmark, served many years as a sailor, came to Montana as a miner, and later made a modest fortune as a stockman in Idaho. He was no doubt a resourceful member of the party, but his educational deficiency prevented him from making any contribution to the literary side of the enterprise.[120]
They left Diamond City on September 6, after making arrangements to be away for six weeks. Their provisions and armaments were adequate for any emergency which three men might be expected to meet and survive. They had three riding horses and two for the packs. Among the usual camping equipment were listed a field glass, a pocket compass, and a thermometer.
Bozeman was their last station of supply. From there they ascended a tributary of the East Gallatin River, and crossed the divide onto the headwaters of Trail Creek, which lies on the Yellowstone drainage. By September 14 they were at the junction of the Yellowstone, near Tower Falls. They followed the East Fork of Yellowstone River (now Lamar) for a day and then doubled back to Tower Creek. The scenery at this point intrigued them:
... Yesterday we caught glimpses of scenery surpassing in grandeur anything we have before seen so we concluded to lay over one day and give it a more thorough examination....[121]