The Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition

In 1863, engineer Walter De Lacy created a map of Yellowstone using journal notes from the previous expedition, and one year later a second expedition of nine men left to verify the information of the first expedition--apparently such great beauty was still believed too good to be true, but this is America, where great natural beauty is found in abundance.  

Henry D. Washburn, a surveyor from Montana, was made the captain of the expedition into Yellowstone. Photo in public domain.

One year after the last expedition nine men decided to defy the warnings of their families and friend--and the Crow, who believed the land was haunted by angry spirits--and set out to prove the existence of these magical geysers; pools of boiling color; and mountains that appeared to be made of glass. 

The men were shockingly unprepared for such an expedition--middle-aged businessmen including merchants; a bank president; and a lawyer; a county assessor--but they had determination on their side. They decided Henry D. Washburn, a surveyor from Montana, would be their captain, and the expedition began. 

An IRS collector, Nathaniel P. Langford, was the first to begin the adventure, riding ahead to request protection from Lt. Gustavus C. Doane of the United States Cavalry. 

Lt. Gustavus C. Doane. Photo in public domain.

Doane later wrote an account of the expedition in his diary and descriptions of what the men found. A post from 1870 reads, "fairy-like, yet solid mound of rock growing up amid clouds of steam and showers of boiling water...the period of this geyser is fifty minutes. First an increased rush of steam comes forth followed instantly by a rising jet of water which attains...the height of one hundred and twenty-five feet." 

Ferdinand V. Hayden, 1870. Photo in public domain.

The men succeeded and the detailed journal accounts of their expedition inspired the United States Congress to fund the next expedition, a more "official" expedition led by Dr. Ferdinand V. Hayden.