[The Montana Professor 15.2, Spring 2005 <http://mtprof.msun.edu>]
Paul Schullery and Lee H. Whittlesey
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003
160 pp., $22.00 hc
Bill Borrie
Society and Conservation
UM-Missoula
The Yellowstone story certainly has all the elements of a great myth: intrepid explorers sitting around the campfire, discussing noble thoughts, and all agreeing to vigorously pursue the public preservation of nature's treasures. In the new Montana territory, full of bounty and promise, such bold and high-minded notions seem entirely possible and few were surprised that it was here that the idea of a National Park would be born.
But, as with any origin myth, can or should the details of what really happened be discovered ? What happens when the historical record fails to support the almost sacred myth? And, why are myths still so reasonant, faithfully told and retold, in today's society?
These are the concerns of Myth and History in the Creation of Yellowstone National Park, which considers the unraveling of the Yellowstone campfire myth and the undoing of the historians who questioned its veracity. They lay bare not only the story of one of the nation's first parks, but also the motivations and machinations of early Montana politicians. Parks can be seen as crucial to our region's identity and enterprise: the Yellowstone campfire myth both reflects and reinforces the purposes of public land throughout the Rocky Mountain West.
Park historians Paul Schullery and Lee Whittlesey, in a short, crisp account examine the different versions of Yellowstone's creation myth. With a comprehensiveness few others have achieved, Schullery and Whittlesey consider the power of the campfire story and the motivations of those who celebrate and perpetuate the myth. The work and legacy of park historian Aubrey Haines is given priority (Yellowstone Story History, 1977). Haines's questioning in the early 1960s of the campfire myth has been perceived as an attack on the meaning and symbolic worth of parks. Powerful and dedicated National Park advocates struck back, leading to delays in the publication of his work and a short-circuiting of his career. In a footnote, Schullery and Whittlesey suggest that this was initiated at high levels of the administration and that Horace Albright, former Yellowstone Superintendent and National Park Service Director, was "a primary, if not the single most important, force in the attack on Haines" (120). In attempting to revise our understanding of Yellowstone's history, Schullery and Whittlesey demonstrate the tensions between tradition and treasured folklore on the one hand, and historical accuracy on the other. That the meaning and influence of history is taken seriously at high levels of political activity not only speaks to history's power, but also to the importance of Yellowstone to Montana's identity.
Much of the controversy over the campfire story centers on the actions and writings of Nathanial P. Langford, the first Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park (1872-1877), a man with clear political aspirations (as revenue collector for Montana Territory and widely tipped to become Governor). Langford's account of the 1870 campfire conversation (Diary of the Washburn Expedition, 1905) must be questioned. Schullery and Whittlesey describe the contradictions and contrived nature of Langford's account and call it "an intentional, premeditated falsehood intended to enhance his image" (24). As it turns out, Langford was the only one of those gathered around the campfire to then put significant time and effort into the creation of Yellowstone National Park.
If the campfire and the conversations around it were as significant as its defenders suggest, then they should be mentioned more in the expeditiously published diaries of Henry Washburn and Gustavus Doane, after whom the expedition is named. Schullery and Whittlesey wonder whether these "founders" of the National Park idea were as unselfishly and altruistically motivated as often thought. Langford, in particular, was known as a Montana booster. Yellowstone National Park would clearly be a traffic generator for the Northern Pacific Railroad (one of Langford's sponsors, and for whom he would later be employed to lecture about and popularize the region). Indeed as Park Superintendent, Langford sought to "keep the park free from unwanted commercial development until the railroad could get its tracks into the area and develop its own business there" (33). While the railroad's role in the establishment of Yellowstone National Park is well known, the economic and political aspirations of the main actors in the story is disturbing to many park lovers who rely on the campfire myth for inspiration.
By making the story more complex, more uncertain, and more finely nuanced, Schullery and Whittlesey seek to make the tale "more human--and therefore believable" (34). They seek not to break down the power of the myth through their careful inquiry, but rather to demonstrate its significance. Myths and their attendant meanings cannot and should not be ignored. As Richard Hughes suggests, "a myth is not a story that is patently untrue. Rather, a myth is a story that speaks of meaning and purpose, and for that reason it speaks truth to those who take it seriously" (Myths America Lives By, 2003) Schullery and Whittlesey conclude that "the Madison campfire story is without question lousy history, but it is not without greater meaning, even yet. What people may have loved most about it all these years is its sense of foresight and of the heroism to act on that foresight" (91).
Myth and History in the Creation of Yellowstone National Park illustrates why the National Park creation myth resonates with the public and why National Parks provoke and express deeply held convictions. National Parks, and the story of their establishment, speak not only to our natural and cultural heritage, but also our current identities. Yellowstone National Park embodies and communicates a part of what it means to live in this place, this Montana.
[The Montana Professor 15.2, Spring 2005 <http://mtprof.msun.edu>]