Chapter II

JOHN COLTER'S DISCOVERY OF YELLOWSTONE

It is a fairly well-attested fact that America was first discovered by Leif Ericsson about 1000 A.D.[15] However, as Mark Twain put it, "America did not stay discovered," and therefore Columbus is not to be denied. So it was with Yellowstone. The most significant feature of its early history lies in the inconclusive nature of the early reports concerning its position and character.

Yellowstone's isolation was not effectively invaded and broken until the decade of 1860. This narrative will explain how early, trapper observations drifted into oblivion, and later, miner excursions faded into indifference. Hence, the first conclusive visitations were those made by the Folsom-Cook party in 1869 and the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition of 1870. Why did Wonderland remain unknown to the world so long? Surely the answer is found in its relative inaccessibility. Yellowstone is a sequestered region, mountain-locked by the Absaroka, Teton, Gallatin, Beartooth, and Snowy ranges. Here, then, is a plateau a mile and a half above sea level, encircled by a still loftier quadrangle of rocky barriers. Some of these culminate in peaks and ridges that rise 4,000 feet above the level of the enclosed table land.

Of course there were a few yawning, ever-difficult canyon approaches, cut by foaming mountain torrents and several high, snow-choked passes suitable for late summer use. However, they were far removed from the principal arteries of pioneer travel, and they still remain apart from the main avenues of trade. Even now, these same bulwarks of nature, and their concomitants of snow and wind, exclude traffic from the region for half the year. Consider, then, the situation when all travel was on foot or horseback, and bases of supply were far away from all approaches to this mountain crown. Adequate mountain exploration necessitated large parties and elaborate outfits in the middle nineteenth century.

From these circumstances it is easy to understand why Lewis and Clark missed Yellowstone. They adhered quite closely to the Missouri River thoroughfare. However, as an incident of an extensive side trip on their return, Clark and a detail of ten took an alternate route that eventually brought them upon the Yellowstone River near the present site of Livingston, Montana.[16] Previously, while at Fort Mandan, they had learned that the Minnetaree Indian name for the river was "Mitsiadazi," which means Rock Yellow River. The French equivalent, Roche Juane, was also in common use among the Indians and trappers, although when or by whom the name was given is unknown. American trappers called the river "Yallerstone!" A segment of the stream was trapped in 1805 by Antoine Larocque's party of North West Company trappers. They struck the river at a point twenty trapping days above its mouth, which was reached on September 30.[17]

The fact of the name's currency is further attested by Patrick Gass' significant journal entry on July 1, 1806: "Perhaps Capt. Clarke [sic] who goes up the river here, may also take a party and go down the Riviere Juane, or Yellowstone River."[18] Beyond the Indian stream names, little information concerning the area was ascertained by Lewis and Clark at that time.

While Lewis and Clark did not add any knowledge of Yellowstone Park to their epic-making report, still it was a member of the party who first viewed its exotic beauty. However, before delineating Colter's discovery, the picture of the Park's isolation should be explored further.

The first thrust toward the Yellowstone country was made by the French explorer de Verendrye, who came near the northeastern border in 1743 when he crossed the lower Yellowstone River, leaving Wonderland still undiscovered.[19]

By 1810, the Missouri Fur Company established posts on the mouths of the Bighorn and at Three Forks of the Missouri. Notwithstanding these locations, there was little penetration of the "top of the world," as the Crow Indians called the Yellowstone country. Blackfoot Indian hostility forced the abandonment of the post at Three Forks and in the fall of 1810, Major Andrew Henry, one of the partners, led a small party into the Pacific Ocean drainage. They went up the Madison River, thereby skirting the Gallatin Range which bounds the Park on the west. They crossed a low pass and came upon a beautiful lake. Henry's name was given the lake (Henrys Lake) and also to its outlet (Henrys Fork of the Snake River), which they followed about forty miles below its debouchment into Snake River Valley. In a pleasant spot some four miles below the present St. Anthony Falls they erected Fort Henry, but they did not prosper there and, feeling discouraged and insecure, abandoned that post. In 1811, Henry released his trappers, and while they returned to the east by various routes all of them missed the Yellowstone region.[20]

As Henry's men circled eastward a much larger expedition was threading its course between the Wind River Mountains and the Tetons. In 1811, Wilson Price Hunt led the "Overland Astorians," a band of sixty trappers, toward the Pacific. They reached Henry's deserted post early in August. It is probable that a member of this party inscribed a rock "calling card" that reads: "Fort Henry 1811 by Capt. Hunt." This marker is now included in the historical collections of the Yellowstone Park museums. It was found at the fort site in 1933 and donated to the museum by Seasonal Park Ranger-Naturalist Merrill D. Beal.[21] Hunt's party unfortunately decided to switch from horses to hurriedly-made canoes, which were launched upon Snake River near the fort. The hardship, privation, and recurring peril experienced by this band are among the most severe ever encountered by civilized men. Although they were obliged to separate into three groups in order to subsist each part finally reached the mouth of the Columbia. In 1812, a smaller party called the "Returning Astorians," under Robert Stuart, probably discovered South Pass.[22]

Notwithstanding the extensive peregrinations of these splendid wayfarers, Lewis and Clark, Andrew Henry, and Wilson Price Hunt, Wonderland, large though it is, remained a place apart. Only one white man had been sufficiently venturesome to gain entrance into the enchanted land.

John Colter was the son of Joseph and Ellen Shields Colter. He was born in or near Staunton, Virginia, probably in 1775.[23] Little is known of Colter's youth except that the family moved from Virginia to the vicinity of Mayville, Kentucky, when he was about five years old. As John grew to manhood it is evident that he possessed a restless urge to be in the wilderness. An unparalleled opportunity to satisfy this desire came upon the arrival of Captain Meriwether Lewis on his voyage down the Ohio River. From this contact Colter joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition at Louisville, Kentucky, on October 15, 1803.[24] The following spring they were on their way up the Missouri. Doubtless he was already experienced in woodcraft and the use of firearms. Strong, active, and intelligent, he soon won the rank and privileges of a hunter.

Colter's fitness for the business of exploration was early recognized and universally accepted.[25] For two years he shared the expedition's many trials and triumphs, but they had obviously failed to satisfy his desire for adventure. Before the explorers returned, intrepid fur traders were moving westward along the great Missouri artery as was their custom. Two Illinoisans, John Dickson and Forest Hancock, were encountered west of the Mandan Indian Villages in what is now the state of North Dakota. They had high expectations of fortunes in fur, and from them Colter caught the trapping fever. This was early in August of 1806. They evidently recognized John Colter as a man after their own hearts and offered to furnish him an equal share of their supplies. Then, and there, they became boon companions, and Colter requested an honorable discharge from government service. This wish was granted with the understanding that no one else would request such consideration.[26]

The government party gave their comrade powder, lead, and other articles that would be useful to him. Is this not evidence that he was in the best possible standing with the company? Indeed, he was an admirable embodiment of the American scout. He was a person of sturdy, athletic frame, above the average height. He was physically quick, alert, enduring, a fine shot, the ideal frontiersman. His greatest asset was an extraordinary coordination of thought and action. This balance, combined with an abundance of energy, made Colter particularly dynamic. Patient and loyal, he performed his duties faithfully. In tribute to him a creek tributary to the Clearwater River, near Lapwai, had already been named Colter Creek. In numerous references to him his associates did not once hint of any mean or selfish act. He was constantly possessed by good temper, and he was of the open-countenanced Daniel Boone type cast.[27] Surely Colter was fully qualified for high adventure because he was, indeed, a two-fisted man with the sinews of a bear and the surefootedness of a cougar. He was wholly unafraid of wild animals, savages, or elements.

From August until the spring of 1807, this trio of Dickson, Hancock, and Colter trapped and traded along the upper Missouri. Then Colter gathered his pelts and started for St. Louis in a canoe. At the mouth of the Platte River, toward the end of June, he met Manuel Lisa.[28] They also struck up a friendship and bargain. Colter was still set for adventure and his new friend had such an assignment. In this meeting the strongest and boldest of the early American trappers of the West met the greatest Missourian trader. Upon hearing Manuel Lisa's plans, the travel and weatherworn Colter turned westward for the second time, as a member of the Lisa party.

Manuel Lisa proposed the establishment of posts on both sides of the Continental Divide. His plan was to send men along the course of every stream and out among the wandering tribes of Indians, until the commerce of the entire country was in the control of the Missouri Company. He had with him some of the most intrepid Kentucky and Tennessee hunters, rawboned backwoodsmen with their long-barrelled flintlocks, which they usually carried across their knees while on the boat. It was a larger undertaking than any before, and he needed fighters who were experienced and daring from the start.

As they neared the mud-hutted village of the Arickaras the warriors swarmed forth but soon backed up before the leveled muskets of Lisa's hunters. The traders went ashore and smoked the pipe of peace with the chiefs. This heretofore warlike tribe thereupon became temporarily pacified and sought presents and traffic in scarlet cloth and trinkets. The trappers purchased ponies from these Indians and struck westward toward the Yellowstone Valley. In amazement they viewed the bad lands on the north of the Bighorn. The party arrived at the mouth of the Bighorn River on November 21 and began the building of Fort Raymond, usually called "Manuel's Fort," which was their first trading post.[29] They feared the Blackfeet Indians and considered it expedient to abide temporarily in the land of the friendly Crows.

According to the authoritative report of Henry M. Brackenridge, Colter was appointed to carry the news of this undertaking to all the Indian tribes in the south.[30] Since this is an original reference to Colter's assignment it should be quoted:

He [Lisa] shortly after despatched Coulter [sic], the hunter ... to bring some Indian nations to trade. This man, with a pack of thirty pounds weight, his gun and some ammunition, went upwards of five hundred miles to the Crow nation; gave them information, and proceeded from thence to several other tribes....[31]

Thus, this rugged and dynamic man, now in his early thirties, entered the wilderness on foot and alone, into an area unknown to his race. The journey was a simple business enterprise. As he journeyed southward, he contacted the many Crow clans.

Although practically everyone assumes that John Colter discovered Yellowstone National Park in the early winter of 1807-08,[32] few realize that there is no conclusive evidence to support the claim. Therefore, a review of the proof is essential. The record is brief: Colter did leave Fort Manuel (Raymond) in the fall of 1807.[33] Yet the direction he took is not definitely mentioned, and no incident was specifically recorded of any unique visitation. Still, soon after this journey, Colter related strange tales of weird, natural phenomena.[34] Few of the stories he told were chronicled in detail. However, it is a matter of record that he claimed to have seen a large petrified fish nearly fifty feet long,[35] numerous hot springs and geysers,[36] and a great lake.

Evidence that Colter saw a geyser basin is flimsy indeed. Notwithstanding the uncertainty of Colter's large travel experience, it is obvious that somewhere, sometime, he saw something that impressed him mightily. He must have waxed enthusiastic, because his recital evoked so much ridicule from the trapper fraternity. For a half a century, everywhere in the West, the mountain men argued and joked pro and con about the mythical marvels of "Colter's Hell." By 1837, the story had become common knowledge by reason of the following reference in Washington Irving's first edition of _The Adventures of Captain Bonneville_:

A volcanic tract ... is found on ... one of the tributaries of the Bighorn.... This ... place was first discovered by Colter, a hunter belonging to Lewis and Clarke's [sic] exploring party, who came upon it in the course of his lonely wanderings, and gave such an account of its gloomy terrors, its hidden fires, smoking pits, noxious streams, and the all-pervading "smell of brimstone," that it received, and has ever since retained among trappers the name of "Colter's Hell."[37]

Irving's description is significant because it is evidence of the "Colter's Hell" tradition current at that time. However, the location assigned is incorrect. No gloomy terrors or hidden fires exist on Stinking Water (now Shoshone River). As in other explorations of the Colter case, Irving made guesses and assumptions.

Nothing has ever been found that states precisely when or where Colter saw the wonders of Yellowstone. Yet, the fact persisted that sometime between 1806 and 1810, somewhere between the Jefferson and Shoshone rivers he saw them! And strange enough, in the fullness of time, his spacious claims were wholly vindicated. This strange circumstance, therefore, presents the student of early Western exploration with one of the most difficult problems in regional history. Does the full discovery of Yellowstone Park in 1870, _ipso facto_, prove the tradition of John Colter's earlier visitation?[38]

In the Colter case there are only two elements of primary evidence. First, it is a matter of record that he made a journey from Fort Manuel in the fall of 1807 and subsequently returned with an astonishing story of natural wonders. Secondly, a famous map was published in 1814, based upon the compilations of Lewis and Clark. Upon this Map of 1814 appears a dotted line marked "Colter's Route in 1807."[39] It is generally assumed that the dotted line actually marks the route of Colter's journey from Fort Manuel. Although the route charted cannot be accepted literally, it is an important documentary link, worthy of the utmost study. There is little upon the map that would confirm the existence of Yellowstone's marvels beyond the phrases "Boiling Spring," and "Hot Spring Brimstone," but every trapper encountered boiling springs and waters impregnated with bubbling gases having sulphurous odors. These were not unusual. Hence, there is nothing indicated along that dotted line that would guarantee anything extraordinary.[40]

Still, the known facts of Colter's journey toward the headwaters of the Bighorn in the fall of 1807 and the representation of his extensive exploration to the west, a part of which is now Yellowstone National Park, upon the Map of 1814 is highly significant. For one thing, it proves that William Clark, who supplied the map sheets to Samuel Lewis,[41] the Philadelphia cartographer, was particularly impressed by Colter's journey, otherwise it would not have been incorporated upon this very important document.

According to this map, John Colter traveled in a southwesterly direction from the mouth of the Bighorn River.[42] He must have mapped the area because his route cast of the Absaroka Range (Yellowstone's eastern boundary) conforms so accurately with existing geographic conditions that his journey to the Park's border may be followed like tracks in the snow. From Fort Manuel he ascended Pryors Fork some fifty miles to Pryors Gap.[43] Passing through this opening, he crossed westward to Clarks Fork, which he ascended to Dead Indian Creek. From there he evidently quartered a divide to the south, which brought him upon a river called Mick-ka-appa, where he first smelled sulphur. So he renamed the stream Stinking Water River. It is known today as the North Fork of Shoshone River. In ascending this stream, Colter quickly gained elevation, and in a hanging valley about midway up the range he found a clan of Indians for whom he was obviously searching. On the Map of 1814 they are identified as "Yep-pe, Band of Snake Indians, 1000 Souls."

From these denizens of both prairie and mountain, Colter undoubtedly first learned of the Yellowstone marvels. The acquisition of this interesting information at a point in relatively close proximity to the features, together with other favorable conditions, impelled him to project an exploration of the "enchanted land." After listening to eloquent descriptions of the natural phenomena nothing could be more natural than for such an adventurous explorer to experience an intense desire to visit the country. Remember, his mission of informing the clans concerning the establishment of Fort Manuel at the mouth of the Bighorn River had been performed. Now he was on his own with leisure time on his hands. Although the season was advanced, late November often finds the Park open for travel. Tribal accounts describing a vast wilderness of multiform grandeur made the restless trapper burn with curiosity. One can easily envision him weighing the factors of distance, time, and the known hazards, until he struck a favorable balance. His sign talk in council with the chiefs could probably be sifted out and summarized in these terms: "Less than two hundred miles ... the trails are known by your scouts, and they are still open.... A matter of five or six suns ... your horses are fat and strong ... game is plentiful.... Well, what are we waiting for?"

Such an appraisal of the situation is in complete accord with the known realities. Colter was an experienced explorer; he knew how to conduct an expedition. This procedure eliminates the element of foolhardiness so conspicuous in the usual picture visualized of a solitary trapper on snowshoes, wending an uncertain course among river labyrinths running in various directions, mountain ranges of interminable lengths, and gargoylian lakes. Instead, the enterprise now conforms to a standard characteristic of Colter's levelheaded courage and judgment. Of course he may have gone alone and on foot, but if so why, after leaving the Yellowstone country, did he depart from the straight-of-way down Clarks Fork toward Fort Manuel and head back to the Yep-pe village as the map so clearly shows? Logic insists that Indian scouts were with him, or at least that he had borrowed a horse from them, which he was obliged to return. Thus, Colter's famous journey into the land of scenic mystery was efficiently accomplished late in November. With the aid of Yep-pe Indian leaders, if not under their guidance, he had gone where no white man had ever been before, and he still reached Manuel's Fort in good season, or else the Map of 1814 would not have been inscribed "Colter's Route in 1807."

But, where precisely in Yellowstone Park did Colter travel? This question poses an extremely difficult problem in research. (The serious student will find the many ramifications involved in the problem explored more fully in the Appendix.) Unfortunately the dotted line appearing on the Map of 1814, marked "Colter's Route in 1807," is of no help whatever in answering the question. In fact, the map complicates the problem because the geography depicted on the western loop, or so-called Yellowstone Park section of the map, is wholly fictitious. Unlike the valid section east of the Absarokas, the western section bears no similarity to anything in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, America, the world, or the moon! It is, in fact, a plat of bogus geography comparable only to the kind found in Jonathan Swift's _Gulliver's Travels_. In short, it is obvious that "Colter's Route in 1807," beyond the Yep-pe village, was not properly described because it depicts him as visiting the drainage of all the river systems within a radius of five hundred miles of that Indian encampment. The most obvious errors in that part of the map which impinges upon the western section of this so-called "Colter's Route" are:

(1) Three Forks are shown to the northeast instead of northwest.

(2) Lake Biddle, usually identified as Jackson Lake, could only be Brooks Lake and be on the Bighorn drainage. Jackson Lake lies due south about fifty miles, on the other side of the Continental Divide.

(3) The Rio Del Norte (Green River of the Colorado) is far and away to the south. It is grotesquely misplaced.

(4) The South Fork of Snake River is not depicted, neither is the Jackson Lake area.

(5) Upper Yellowstone River is not shown, and Lake Eustis (presumed to be Lake Yellowstone) is fantastic in all respects.

In view of these egregious errors it is a monumental mistake to insist, as so many authors in effect have done, that Colter was a human helicopter who hopped all over the Rocky Mountains in connection with his Yellowstone exploration. Actual geography and common sense prove that he could not possibly have made such an extensive journey, particularly so late in the season. Just as certainly, geography and common sense attest that in traveling a normal western loop essential to yield conformity with the map's figure eight[44] Colter would have seen precisely the type of country the Map of 1814 does not depict, but which, nevertheless, is actually there! A normal half circle would have brought him upon the Upper Yellowstone River, South Fork of Snake River, Yellowstone Lake, and the thermal areas at Thumb of Lake and Hayden Valley. These paint pots, hot springs, and geysers, particularly Dragon's Mouth and Mud Volcano, satisfy the descriptions he made and easily meet the requirement of the terms on the map, "Boiling Spring," "Hot Springs Brimstone," and also Washington Irving's reference "... of gloomy terrors, hidden fires, smoking pits, noxious streams...." In effect, these areas alone would qualify as "Colter's Hell."

It is now possible to accurately sketch both parts of Colter's famous journey. Firstly, from Fort Manuel he reached the Yep-pe Indian camp and returned to the mouth of the Bighorn River where Fort Manuel was built, exactly as the map depicts. It is because of the accuracy of this section of the Map of 1814 that Colter's Yellowstone course may be now traced like tracks in the snow. Secondly, from the Yep-pe Indian camp, Colter ascended "Elk-Wapiti Creek" to its source; then crossing a range he came upon a mitten-shaped mountain, which he labeled "fossil."[45] From this landmark he probably descended Pass Creek to Thorofare Creek, which he followed to the Upper Yellowstone River. Then he ascended Atlantic Creek and crossed the Continental Divide at Two Ocean Pass. From here he descended Pacific Creek, skirted Big Game Ridge, and crossed the South Fork of Snake River, within the present confines of the Park. Thence, along Chicken Ridge, from whence he could frequently view South Arm, he headed toward Flat Mountain Arm, crossed Solution Creek, and struck West Thumb.[46] 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. There are alternative routes within certain limitations. On a crude map where there are numerous similar streams various combinations are possible.[47]

Leaving West Thumb, Colter circled the Lake to its outlet and followed it to the Hayden Valley thermal area. Dragon's Mouth and the Mud Volcano were undoubtedly features contributing to the impression he carried away and transmitted to others. Even the "Hot Springs Brimstone" characterization on the Map of 1814 mildly suggests violent thermal activity. The phrase also suggests that Colter mapped a geyser basin.[48]

Colter's return route from Hayden Valley supplies the final link in the figure eight. To reach the Yep-pe Indian camp he might have veered to the northeast, crossed Yellowstone River at a ford below Dragon's Mouth, and ascended Pelican Creek or one of the tributaries of the Lamar River. After crossing the Absarokas, he evidently descended one of the creeks that empty into Clarks Fork. No one on earth can be certain about this part of his journey. There is no reference anywhere, and the Map of 1814 gives no clue. Still, he did reach a tributary of Clarks Fork, which he followed to its junction with Dead Indian Creek, thence to the Yep-pe band. As stated above, Colter left the Yep-pe village in returning to Fort Manuel by a different route than the one that brought him there. This fact, together with his return to the Yep-pe Indian camp, is of the first importance in assessing the validity of Colter's Yellowstone discovery.

While Colter's journey in Yellowstone proper was not comprehensive, still he was definitely oriented and reasonably precise. Truly, Colter crossed the eastern and central parts of Yellowstone's Wonderland, and he observed its features closely. Companions were duly apprised of these marvels. Members of the Lisa party thereafter referred to the region as "Colter's Hell." In May, 1810, when he reached St. Louis, William Clark was officially informed. It was then that Clark believed in Colter's story and passed it on to Nicholas Biddle and Samuel Lewis who were in Philadelphia. Notwithstanding considerable misapprehension as to facts, Colter's journey was nevertheless depicted after a fashion on the remarkable Map of 1814. Upon this evidence alone, John Colter became accredited as the first white man to enter the Yellowstone Park country, hence its first discoverer. Here, indeed, was a man worthy of making a great discovery. He was a dreadnaught, if there ever was one; completely self-reliant; unafraid of forests, deserts, rivers, or mountains, including all of their denizens; yet withal, a serious-minded person of integrity. He is entitled to everlasting credit in the field of western geographical exploration.

Eventually, Colter found himself back in Lisa's Fort. He had discovered the interesting Two Ocean Pass across the Rocky Mountains into the Snake River drainage. He was the first white man to touch upon the northeastern perimeter of majestic Jackson Hole country. Then, as the climax of all, he was the first to climb still higher and gaze upon the marvels of a never-to-be-forgotten land. Has it ever been the fortune of any other man to explore such a vast domain of virgin territory? It is a strange paradox that, accustomed as mountain men were to impressive manifestations of nature, Colter's relation of Yellowstone's wonders only won him the distinction of a confirmed prevaricator.[49]

While Colter's experience after 1807 has little bearing upon the history of Yellowstone, it is a part of the heritage of the Old West and therefore essential for the unity of the narrative.[50] In the autumn of 1808, Colter and a companion named Potts invaded the hunting grounds of the Blackfeet Indians in the vicinity of Three Forks forming the Missouri. Early one morning they were setting a line of traps along either the Jefferson, Madison, or Gallatin rivers, about a day's travel from their point of junction.[51] As they were silently paddling the canoe, they heard a resounding noise that resembled the muffled pounding of feet. Colter was apprehensive about Indians, and since perpendicular banks obstructed their view he advised hiding. However, his impulsive companion accused him of cowardice; why run from buffalo? Almost within the moment a band of "Black Devils" burst through the thicket into full view. Colter kept cool and rowed for the bank. As they drew closer to the enemy, Potts dropped his paddle and picked up his rifle. This gesture was interpreted as an act of defiance by the Blackfeet braves. A stalwart savage leaped into the water and snatched Potts' rifle out of his hands. Whereupon, with an air of mastery that Indians respect, Colter stepped to the bank, wrested the weapon from the warrior's grasp, and returned it to Potts.

The Blackfeet were now swarming through the brush, but Colter, calm and poised, raised his hand palm forward in the peace signal. Potts, now convinced that flight was the only hope, nosed the canoe toward mid-stream. Suddenly a bowstring twanged, and Potts cried out, "Colter, I'm wounded." Colter urged him to come ashore, but instead he leveled his rifle at an Indian and fired. Instantly a score of arrows entered his body or, in Colter's language, "he was made a riddle of," and he slumped lifeless in the canoe.[52] Calm and flintlike Colter stood his ground. As the chief sized up the situation, a dozen warriors identified the survivor as the white man who raised havoc among them in a battle with a band of Crow Indians.[53] This knowledge caused the braves to clamor for setting him up as a mark to shoot at, but their chief interfered. He stood in great dignity and said, "This is a brave warrior. We will see how bravely he can die."[54] Then, seizing the victim by the shoulders, he asked him if he could run fast. To this query Colter replied with a chop-fallen air that he was slow. Actually, he was an excellent sprinter. Several hundred Indians swarmed about, working up their emotions toward the victim. First they denuded him, then motioned him to move forward perhaps a hundred yards, from whence he was signalled to run toward a "v" shaped open prairie of some six miles expanse. Colter had drawn a chance to save himself if he could! He accepted the challenge and resolved to make the most of it. As the war whoops sounded, Colter was away with the dash of an antelope. He bounded and ran until his lungs burned within him, and he ruptured a blood vessel in his nose. On he sped, mile after mile, until the chorus of Indian yells grew fainter and fainter. All of Colter's muscles cried out for a moment's respite. He looked around and beheld a spear-armed warrior some twenty yards behind him, coming fast to split him in two. Upon impulse, Colter whirled in his tracks, and running obliquely, gave the signal for mercy. The reply was a thrust spear, but the brave made a false step, stumbled, and fell. He was obviously astonished at Colter's gory appearance. The badly launched spear struck in the ground and was broken off. In a surge of hope and strength, the powerful Colter lunged like a stag at bay, and overpowering the Indian, he seized the barbed half and impaled his fallen foe to the earth!

If the Blackfeet had possessed a spirit of chivalry they would have called quits to this ordeal by running and combat. Here was a man who had outrun the cream of the redskin sprinters and, unarmed, had slain an armed warrior. Surely such a performance should have won the captive's freedom. But the Blackfoot code made no allowance for heroic behavior in the enemy.

On came the braves, more ruddy than usual by reason of their exertions and more fleet than normal because of the caliber of the quarry. Colter needed no spear now; he fairly vaulted until he gained the river bank, and diving into the stream he concealed himself under a jam of driftwood or beaver dam that impinged upon an island. Here he secreted himself while they howled and thrashed about for hours, yelling, as Colter said, "like a legion of devils." When darkness came, like an angel of mercy, he dragged his aching body from its watery prison, silently swam across the river, and started the second excruciating lap in his race for life.[55] Manuel Lisa's Fort was two hundred miles away.

After seven days of hiding and nights of painful travel and exposure he found his way through Bozeman Pass and eventually reached the fort at the mouth of the Bighorn. During this "ordeal by travel" he had no sustenance other than roots known as _psoralea esculenta_, or sheep sorrel.[56] Again there was momentary disposition among the trappers to question Colter's veracity, but the evidence was unimpeachable, and it was written plainly where all might see. He seemed only a shadow of his former self.

According to James, even this terrible experience did not daunt the lion-hearted trapper, "Dangers seemed to have for him a kind of fascination."[57] Colter could not reconcile himself to the loss of the traps he had dropped in the river during the attack. Soon after his recovery, he ventured again into the forbidden Three Forks region. At his first night's camp he was attacked, but he contrived to escape. Whereupon, he vowed to his maker that he would never return.[58]

Acting upon this resolution Colter started his third voyage down the Missouri. While he was resting in one of the upper Minnetarre villages, probably in September of 1809, Manuel Lisa arrived. The Three Forks country was his destination and Colter must show him the way.

By midwinter a strong detachment was on its way, headed by Pierre Menard as bourgeois commander, Andrew Henry as field captain, and John Colter as guide. The party arrived at Three Forks on April 3, 1810 and built a post. Within a fortnight the Blackfeet attacked. Five trappers were killed, and most of the horses and equipment disappeared. It was a crushing blow to the enterprise, and for Colter, the final straw. James states that Colter came into the fort, spoke of his promise to God, repented of his foolhardy return, and said, "If God will only forgive me this time and let me off I will leave the country day after tomorrow and be d----d if I ever come into it again."[59] Several days later he and a companion slipped through the Indian lines and in due time reached Fort Manuel. From there the two men departed for St. Louis in a dugout and reached that frontier capital on the last day of May. They had negotiated the distance of 2,500 water miles in the incredible time of thirty days.[60] Is it any wonder that other trappers referred to "Colter's large experience"?

For over five years he had been among barbarian people, and of certain torments he had more than enough. His life had been one of hard toil and high adventure; now he would seek peace and quiet.

Captain Meriwether Lewis had passed away, but William Clark was a person of authority. He was Brigadier General of Militia and Superintendent of Indian Affairs. To Clark, Colter gave geographical data, a part of which appeared on the map published in 1814 in the Biddle-Allen edition of the journals. Colter was unable to collect the wages due him as a member of the famous expedition so he brought suit against the Lewis estate and secured partial compensation. His trapping claims for services to Thomas James were unavailing as the latter could not collect from the fur company. While in St. Louis attending to this vexatious business he undoubtedly related his experiences to General William Clark. The latter, in turn, passed the story along to John Bradbury, the English scientist, and James M. Brackenridge, an American author. Such men accepted his report at face value. Concerning him, James wrote, "His veracity was never questioned among us."[61] Lesser people were more incredulous, and Colter's reputation suffered accordingly.

Colter took up a tract of bounty land on the south bank of the Missouri in the vicinity of Dundee village, Franklin county. There the great wanderer, with his bride Sally, turned to the prosaic routine of farming. Wilson Price Hunt's expedition found him there and offered him a position as guide. Bradbury said he accompanied them for several miles, balancing in his mind the charms of his bride against those of the Rocky Mountains. However, the life of steady habits won, but not for long, as he died of jaundice in 1813.

During the subsequent half century Colter's reputation evolved by degrees through the following stages: bare-faced prevaricator, devil-take-care mountain roamer, accidental discoverer of Yellowstone National Park. From the present perspective he appears much more than a scout and explorer. He was something of an economist and prophet, because he is said to have told Henry M. Brackenridge that where he had been, "a loaded wagon would find no obstruction in passing over the Rocky Mountains."[62]

On Yellowstone maps a single conspicuous feature commemorates Colter's work. It is Colter's Peak near the southeastern point of Yellowstone Lake. May it ever stand aloof, towering and quite inaccessible; a fitting monument to a gallant scout. Such a man should never be forgotten because he was master of the untamed West.