The University of Montana Sawtooth Mountain on the Rocky Mountain Front Issue 2 - December 2012 Morton J. Elrod: Glacier Park Naturalist Morton Elrod Photographing Chaney Glacier, Glacier National Park, 1911, Photographer Unknown, Archives & Special Collections, Mansfield Library, The University of Montana—Missoula. Dispatches is a publication of The University of Montana’s Crown of the Continent Initiative and is an adjunct to the University of Montana’s Crown of the Continent E Magazine. It is issued periodically throughout the calendar year. For information contact [email protected] Morton J. Elrod: THE Naturalist Editor’s note: This excerpt comes from a major piece on which “are but remnants of the larger ice masses Morton J. Elrod that George Dennison1 is writing on one which in former ages extended far into or over of Montana’s most eminent naturalist-educators. the valley on the east and down the stream and river valleys on the western slopes.” 6 ears before he accepted the offer of a summer position in Glacier Na- e constructed a set of notes con- tional Park, Morton J. Elrod had long cerning the “First Map of Glacier since succumbed to the allure of this National Park,” identifying the 2 Y“Priceless Pleasure Ground For All.” “For him various places with and those who seeks rest,” he rhapsodized, “for him who Hwithout names. The map either did not name or loves nature, for him who is weary of urban life identify the vast majority of places—as examples and its monotony, for him who can read sermons of unnamed places, Pumpelly Glacier, Lake El- in stones, Glacier Park speaks God’s own mes- len Wilson, Oberlin Mountain, Crosby Lake and sage.” Even earlier, prior to the enactment of Ridge, Lincoln Mountain, Mount Henkel, Mount the statute creating the Park, he made scientific Altyn, Josephine Lake, Ptarmigan Lake, Helm excursions into the area in 1906, 1909, and 1910, Lake, Elizabeth Lake, Kipp Mountain, Swift arguing for designation as a national park as Current Mountain, Sue Lake, Washboard Falls, 3 the only way to preserve it. Some handwritten and Snyder’s instead of Lewis’ (subsequently but undated notes mentioned his excursions in Lake McDonald Lodge); of unidentified places, 1906, 1909, 1910, 1911, and 1914, the first without trail from Red Eagle Pass to Nyack Creek, trail to a guide but the remainder with the same guide Iceberg Lake, trail to Ptarmigan Lake, and trails 4 who knew the Park well. In 1919, he wrote the over Piegan and Gunsight Passes—bespeaking piece on the Park that appeared in the Encyclope- his concern for detail.7 In another early frag- dia Americana, with a focus on Triple Divide Peak ment, he discussed place names and modes of that sends the waters in three directions – Norris travel in the new Park, predicting many years Creek to St. Mary Lake to Hudson Bay to the Arc- for people to learn of its special places because tic Ocean; Cut Bank Creek to the Missouri River of the difficulty of getting from place to place.8 to the Gulf of Mexico; and Nyack Creek to the “Pack trains have little attraction for the aver- Flathead River to the Clark Fork to the Columbia age traveler, are too slow and laborious, and do 5 River to the Pacific Ocean. The Park contained not give sufficient comfort to those who know 250 lakes—50 quite large—and dozens of glaciers nothing of such mode of travel.” For the Park to 2 NaturalistBy George M. Dennison Morton J. Elrod, 1904, Photographer Unknown, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, The University of Montana—Missoula 3 develop and serve its public purpose, it had to have an atmosphere of vulgarity, and destroy[s] the “Roads and hotels,” but within strict limits to pre- enjoyment of nature.”13 serve its “natural beauty and interest.”9 He thought “physical exertion instead of gasoline explosion will o attract and educate visitors, [appropriately] play the prominent part” for years, however, he proposed to stock holding off “dusty roads or thousands of tooting the streams and lakes with fish, horns.”10 Over the years, he chronicled the gradual to smooth the limited number of Tnecessary trails into roads, and to affix ap- development of roads and other modes of transport. Several pieces in the Missoulian reported on “Gla- propriate names to the special places for the cier Park’s Transmountain Road . a Marvel.” 11 In edification of the public. In that regard, he an undated piece, probably written in 1931-1932, prepared an article on several special places, he mused about the various ways he had traveled subsequently accepted for publication by to the Park—from horseback and afoot in 1906 to the Park Service, and proposed names for the first flight over the Park of Lt. Nick Mamer’s some of them—Dixon Mountain, Dixon Gla- airplane, the “West Wind,” in the 1930s.12 Stated cier, Dixon Lake, Peary Lake, Nansen Lake, bluntly as usual, parks “should be kept wholly free Haunted Lake, and Lake Louise, among oth- 14 from extraneous amusement, particularly of the so- ers. Chief Clerk Reeker, Department of called ‘jazz’ type, which distracts their users from Interior, deleted the names Elrod proposed, an appreciation of nature’s wonders, introduce[s] substituting topographical features to iden- Tourists on Horseback, Red Eagle Lake, Glacier National Park, Undated, Photograph by Tomber J. Hileman, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, the University of Montana- Missoula. 4 tify the referenced places. As he explained, the plains, camped at St Mary Lake, and returned the “Board on Geographical Names does not over Red Eagle Pass and down Nyack Creek. Elrod name any geographic features after living also traced Raphael W. Pumpelly’s trail through the persons,” and, more importantly, had never Park in the 1880s by reference to sites known in the approved any of the names Elrod included. If, 1920s, and corrected Pumpelly’s scientific explana- however, the Board approved them prior to tion of glacial formation. 18 Pumpelly had reported publication, he planned to re-insert the names. seeing the glaciers but did not climb to inspect Elrod protested the removal of the names and them. Based on Pumpelly’s recorded observations, demanded their re-insertion; he had used the Elrod concluded “that the maximum of the park names “because I wanted to do it,” and, as the glaciers must have been somewhere around 1860 to author, saw no need to request permission.15 1875, and that since they have been decreasing in Local people had long since accepted most size, and are decreasing at present writing.” From of them, and he had included a few others to Duncan McDonald, son of a Scottish trader for the honor some deserving people, especially Sena- Hudson Bay Company and his Iroquois wife, Elrod tor Joseph M. Dixon (Montana). Moreover, he learned of the naming of Lake McDonald—formerly knew of several Park features named for living Blaine Lake, subsequently if futilely named Terry people. “I do not ask nor want the Board of Lake briefly by the Great Northern Company – for Geographic Names to do the naming. I have McDonald who had carved his name on a tree at my name on the paper and assume all respon- the foot of the Lake in 1879.19 McDonald also vis- sibility . [and] do not think the names should ited Waterton Lake, Chief Mountain, and Kootenai be arbitrarily eliminated.” In any event, the Lake, climbed Mt. Campbell, and later traversed Board had never followed its own policies, and Marias Pass on a prospecting trip. As an agent for he preferred to leave names to the public, since the Great Northern, Lyman B. Sperry from Oberlin usage always prevailed. Finally, he observed, College went through the Park in 1895, visited the “It does seem too bad to have to kill a man or Glacier bearing his name; actually created the trail wait until he dies before he can be honored.” from “Snyder’s place, now Lewis Glacier Hotel,” As it turned out, he prevailed on some of the to various glaciers; and made other excursions into names, e.g., Dixon Glacier, but not all. Howev- “Lake McDonald country.”20 In several fragments er, he continued to advocate for historical and and a major talk he prepared, Elrod also discussed popular names.16 George Bird Grinnell’s extensive travels through the Park beginning in 1884—“the starvation period for o explain the exploration and devel- the Indians,” with buffalo bones strewn everywhere opment of the Park, and probably from the slaughter that had occurred and no game as research for a history of the Park, left for the Indians.21 Finally, he included Walter Elrod familiarized himself with the McClintock who lived for years with the Blackfeet Tearly visitors and their recollections and also and produced a “fairly complete material medica” solicited information from several old timers describing the Tribe’s use of plants.22 he knew personally. William T. Hamilton, a government scout in the Indian wars in Wash- efore the completion of the Great North- ington Territory, came to Idaho Territory—in- ern Railroad in 1894, according to Elrod, cluding what became Montana Territory—for travel “through the mountains of north- three months in 1858 to assess “the attitude western Montana was infrequent and of the Tribes.”17 He passed through Hellgate Bover few and very poor trails.”23 Except for emer- Canyon, followed the Blackfoot River, then gencies, only the Indians crossed the Continental Di- crossed Cadotte Pass to the Piegan Agency on vide for “hunting,” “warring,” or spirit quests, and 5 they usually used Cut Bank, Dawson, or Two Medi- Prospecting for mineral continued for ten cine Passes following the Nyack Creek to the Flat- years.