Mormons
And, of course, another group that homesteaded in the Jackson Hole area were the Mormons who lived on what would later be known as Mormon Row. The Moulton family built a barns that are the objects of thousands of pictures.
They dug irrigation ditches some of which are still visible today. They mostly raised hay and cattle along with produce, eggs and milk. Many of their homes, barns and out buildings remain on their homesteads as historic sites. Here’s my favorite quote: from Ida Chambers, a Mormon mother of 7 children:
‘The last time I ever wash a diaper, I’m going to raise it on a flagpole and let it fly until it turns to shreds.’
We went to the Moulton farm to see the barn. I wanted to add my picture to those thousands who have already been taken. As we approached the barn, we noticed a herd of bison off in the distance.
And, plodding over to join the rest of the herd was one lone bison crossing the road
lost in the grasses around the homestead.
Dudes
Farming and ranching in this area were rough, the soil was poor, the water was scarce, the summer was way too short and the winter was way too long and cold. Some ranchers began to take in paying borders, you know, dudes, to help with the ranch, to give them a taste of western life. Soon they realized that wrangling dudes paid lots more than wrangling cows and dude ranching became a way of life. Easterners wanted to come out west not only to experience western life but to see the incredible scenery and the amazing wildlife. They were willing to pay, pay good money, to come out here and soon the dude ranchers became the most vocal voices in keeping the land the way it was. They wanted to keep it from rampant development and the dudes themselves wanted others to see and experience what they had.
Scalawags
Or course, not everyone was on the up and up. There was ‘Teton’ Jackson who stole horses in Idaho, drove them through Jackson Hole and sold them in Central Wyoming. Then he stole horses from Central Wyoming, drove them through Jackson Hole and sold them in Idaho. He lived in Jackson Hole, was a family man and never stole from the locals.
Then there was Ed Trafton who never saw something that he didn’t want to steal: horses, wagons, his father’s life insurance money from his mother. You name it, he wanted his hands on it. He once robber 16 tourists wagons at Yellowstone NP in one day. Busy boy.
Here’s a picture of one of those tourist wagons that was used in Yellowstone National Park in 1916. Later, two dude ranches in the Tetons purchased this wagon to use on their ranches to transport their guests.
This was tough territory. Here’s the first car coming over the pass in the spring. The pass had to be hand-dug each spring unless the spring melt came early.
Tetons NP
If the Tetons had been more hospitable, it the land had been more fertile and the water more plentiful, the area would have filled in and it would be developed today. However, its very remoteness and its in hospitality saved it until a new national interest in conservation rose in the early 1900’s. American already had several national parks and people saw an opportunity to create more land to be set aside for everyone to enjoy in its natural state.
As far back as 1923 several Jackson citizens met in Maud Noble’s cabin to plan how they could save the land from development and commercialization. One of the people at the meeting was Horace Albright, the Superintendent of Yellowstone NP, who worked with these citizens and introduced John D. Rockefeller Jr. to the Tetons. Rockefeller, who described the Tetons as
‘quite the grandest and most spectacular mountains I have ever seen, a picture of ever changing beauty which is to me beyond compare’
He organized and funded a land company which began to buy up land in the area eventually amassing 32,000 acres.
Meanwhile Congress created the Grand Tetons NP in 1929 and President Roosevelt issued a proclamation creating the Jackson Hole NM. Ansel Adam’s photographs also helped people see the tremendous natural beauty of this area that should be preserved for all.
In 1949, Congress created the National Park which included the original 1929 park, the NM and Rockefeller’s land.
But, in the end, it was not the soil that was the areas main cash crop, it was the sheer beauty of the area. It drew dude ranchers in the early 1900’s and it draws people still today. To hike in its canyons, to float down the Snake River, to fish in its waters, to boat in its lakes, to see its wildlife, to drive along its roads and to gaze up at the sheer beauty of its craggy mountains outlined against the blue skies. It is a park for everyone and we thank these people from the past who had the foresight to set it aside for us.
But it is time to head back to the RV. Along the way we saw what looked like a jam. Sure enough, a bear jam. That’s not just a big brown rock on the hillside, it is a grizzly bear. Note the the cute little rounded ears, the hump on the shoulders and the caved in face. All indications that this is a grizzly, a small grizzly but a grizzly none the less. Usually, in jams, people are getting out of their cars to get better closer shots. Not here. Everyone stayed in their car. Of course we got the usual butt shot.
No comments:
Post a Comment