Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition

The year 1870 remains a pivotal juncture in the history of the American West, marking the transition from speculative mythology to empirical geographic inquiry. Central to this transformation was the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition, a venture that sought to penetrate the formidable volcanic plateau of the Upper Yellowstone. While earlier trappers and explorers, most notably John Colter and Jim Bridger, had returned with accounts of boiling mud pots and towering columns of water, their narratives were frequently dismissed as "mountain man yarns." The 1870 expedition, however, brought the weight of civil authority, military discipline, and professional observation to the region, effectively dismantling the veil of mystery while simultaneously birthing new legends that would shape American conservation policy for a century.

Historical Context and Political Impetus

The impetus for the expedition was rooted in the burgeoning civic identity of Helena, Montana. By 1870, Montana was a territory in flux, seeking to establish its economic and political permanence. Henry D. Washburn, the Surveyor General of Montana, and Nathaniel P. Langford, a man of significant political ambition and a former tax collector, recognized that the rumors of the Yellowstone region held more than mere curiosity—they held the potential for regional prestige and railroad development.

The expedition was not a sanctioned federal mission but rather a semi-private endeavor. Despite its lack of formal government sponsorship, the organizers secured a military escort led by Lieutenant Gustavus C. Doane of the Second U.S. Cavalry. This partnership between the civilian "Helena group" and the military provided the expedition with the logistical rigor necessary to navigate the rugged Montana and Wyoming wilderness. The group departed from Fort Ellis, near present-day Bozeman, on August 17, 1870, entering a landscape that remained, in the eyes of white settlers, one of the last great "voids" on the map of the United States.

The Empirical Validation of "Colter’s Hell"

As the party moved southward into the Yellowstone Basin, the skepticism that had characterized previous decades was rapidly replaced by scientific awe. On August 26, the expedition reached the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Lieutenant Doane’s subsequent reports provided some of the first detailed descriptions of the canyon’s unique rhyolite walls and the immense scale of the Lower Falls. Unlike the embellished tales of the fur traders, Doane’s observations were framed in the language of a topographer, noting elevations, thermal temperatures, and geological strata.

The expedition’s discovery of the Upper Geyser Basin on September 18, 1870, remains one of the most documented moments in Western exploration. It was here that the group witnessed the eruption of a geyser they famously named "Old Faithful." The naming convention itself reflected the expedition's intent: they sought to domesticate the "wild" phenomena of the region through nomenclature that emphasized reliability and scientific predictability. Nathaniel Langford’s journals from this period reflect a shift from mere travelogue to a manifesto for preservation. He noted that the geysers were not merely curiosities but were "the most remarkable features of the continent."

The Ordeal and Mystery of Truman Everts

While much of the expedition was characterized by disciplined observation, the disappearance of Truman C. Everts introduced an element of profound human drama and enduring mystery. On September 9, 1870, Everts, a former U.S. Assessor for Montana Territory, became separated from the main party in the dense timber south of Yellowstone Lake. His subsequent thirty-seven-day struggle for survival remains one of the most extraordinary episodes in the annals of Western exploration.

Everts lost his horse, which carried his supplies and firearms, leaving him with only the clothes on his back and a small lens. He survived by eating the roots of the thistle (later named "Everts’ Thistle" in his honor) and utilizing his lens to start fires during the freezing Montana nights. The "mystery" of Everts’ survival lies in the psychological and physical resilience he exhibited; when he was finally discovered by a rescue party near the Blacktail Deer Plateau, he weighed approximately fifty pounds and was in a state of semi-consciousness. His account, "Thirty-seven Days of Peril," published in 1871, became a national sensation and served as a powerful tool for publicizing the Yellowstone region to an Eastern audience.

The Campfire Myth and the Birth of the National Park Idea

The most significant historical debate surrounding the 1870 expedition involves the "Madison Junction Campfire." According to Nathaniel Langford’s later accounts, the members of the party gathered around a campfire on September 19, 1870, at the confluence of the Firehole and Gibbon Rivers. Langford claimed that the group discussed the commercial potential of the region, but ultimately decided that the land should be set aside as a public park for all citizens rather than being divided for private gain.

For decades, this "campfire myth" was celebrated as the foundational moment of the National Park Service. However, modern historians have questioned the veracity of this narrative. Contemporary journals from other expedition members, such as Samuel Hauser or Lieutenant Doane, make no mention of such a conversation. Analysis of Langford’s journals suggests that he may have retroactively inserted this altruistic epiphany to bolster his political standing and the legitimacy of the Yellowstone National Park Act of 1872. The mystery of whether the National Park idea was a collective grassroots epiphany or a calculated political fabrication remains a central theme in Montana’s historiography.

Socio-Political Impact and Indigenous Erasure

A critical assessment of the 1870 expedition must also acknowledge the broader implications for the Indigenous populations of Montana and Wyoming. The expedition members frequently characterized the Yellowstone region as a "pristine wilderness" untouched by human hands. This narrative was factually incorrect and served as a mechanism for erasure. The Tukudeka (Sheep Eaters), Crow, and Shoshone peoples had utilized the Yellowstone Plateau for centuries for hunting, gathering, and spiritual practices.

The expedition’s reports prioritized the region’s potential for tourism and scientific study over the existing land rights of these tribes. By framing the area as a "wonderland" that required federal protection, the Washburn party inadvertently provided the legal and cultural framework for the subsequent removal of Native Americans from the park’s boundaries. This transition from Indigenous homeland to a federally managed "public" space is one of the most consequential, albeit often overlooked, legacies of the 1870 journey.

Scientific and Cartographic Contributions

From a technical perspective, the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition was a resounding success. Lieutenant Doane’s report was the first official document to provide an accurate description of the region’s thermal features and topography. This report reached the Smithsonian Institution and the War Department, providing the empirical foundation upon which the 1871 Ferdinand V. Hayden survey would build.

The expedition also contributed significantly to the botanical and geological knowledge of Montana. They documented various species of flora and provided early theories on the volcanic nature of the Yellowstone Plateau. Their descriptions of the "mud volcanoes" and the sulfuric pools near the Yellowstone River offered nineteenth-century scientists a glimpse into the geothermal mechanics of the Earth, which were poorly understood at the time.

The Enduring Legacy of the 1870 Expedition

The Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition did not just "find" Yellowstone; it constructed a specific vision of Yellowstone that persists to this day. It transformed the region from a site of localized myth into a national icon of American identity. The expedition’s influence can be traced directly to the signing of the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872.

Furthermore, the expedition solidified Montana’s role as the gateway to the American wilderness. The accounts published in The Helena Herald and Scribner’s Monthly catalyzed a wave of interest that brought scientists, tourists, and capital to the territory. The figure of Nathaniel Langford, who became the park’s first (albeit unpaid) superintendent, illustrates the intersection of Montana’s regional development and the burgeoning national conservation movement.

The "mystery" of the 1870 expedition is not just found in the survival of Truman Everts or the disputed campfire at Madison Junction. It is found in the complex interplay between exploration and exploitation, and between the desire to preserve nature and the impulse to manage it. As a foundational event in Montana history, the expedition remains a testament to the power of observation and the enduring human fascination with the sublime.

Works Cited

Doane, Gustavus C. The Report of Lieutenant Gustavus C. Doane upon the So-called Yellowstone Expedition of 1870 to the Secretary of War. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1871. https://archive.org/details/reportoflieutena00doan/page/n1/mode/2up Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.

Everts, Truman C. "Thirty-seven Days of Peril." Scribner’s Monthly, vol. 3, no. 1, Nov. 1871, pp. 1-17. https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/titles/00010065.html Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.

Haines, Aubrey L. The Yellowstone Story: A History of Our First National Park. Revised Edition, University Press of Colorado, 1996. https://npshistory.com/publications/yell/haines/vol1/index.htm Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.

The Helena Herald. "The Yellowstone Expedition: Arrival of the Party and Details of the Trip." 21 Sept. 1870, p. 1. Montana Historical Society Archives. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85053046/1870-09-21/ed-1/seq-1/ Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.

Langford, Nathaniel Pitt. The Discovery of Yellowstone Park: Journal of the Upper Yellowstone Expedition of 1870. J.E. Haynes, 1905. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54365/54365-h/54365-h.htm Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.

Schullery, Paul, and Lee Whittlesey. "Myth and History in the Creation of Yellowstone National Park." The George Wright Forum, vol. 10, no. 3, 1993, pp. 10-24. http://www.georgewright.org/103schullery.pdf Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.