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                             COLTER’S HELL
                                  AND
                             JACKSON’S HOLE


                          By Merrill J. Mattes


                              Published by
               YELLOWSTONE LIBRARY AND MUSEUM ASSOCIATION
                                and the
                GRAND TETON NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION
                          in cooperation with
                         NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Illustration: Yellowstone Library and Museum Association; National Park
                                Service]

           © 1962 Yellowstone Library and Museum Association
                              Reprint 1970


The Yellowstone Library and Museum Association and the Grand Teton
Natural History Association are non-profit distributing organizations
whose purpose is the stimulation of interest in the educational and
inspirational aspects of Yellowstone and Grand Teton history and natural
history. The Associations cooperate with and are recognized by the
United States Department of the Interior and its Bureau, the National
Park Service, as essential operating organizations.

As one means of accomplishing their aims the Associations publish
reasonably priced booklets which are available for purchase by mail
throughout the year or at the museum information desks in the parks
during the summer.

Photographs used were provided through the courtesy of the National Park
Service, except where otherwise credited.




                   COLTER’S HELL AND JACKSON’S HOLE:
 The Fur Trappers’ Exploration of the Yellowstone and Grand Teton Park
                                 Region


                                   By
                           Merrill J. Mattes




                           TABLE OF CONTENTS


                                                                     Page
       I. Strange Land of “Volcanoes” and “Shining Mountains”           1
      II. The Mystery of “La Roche Jaune” or Yellow Rock River          9
     III. John Colter, The Phantom Explorer—1807-1808                  13
      IV. “Colter’s Hell”: A Case of Mistaken Identity                 19
       V. “Les Trois Tetons”: The Golden Age of Discovery, 1810-1824   25
      VI. “Jackson’s Hole”: Era of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company,
                               1825-1832                               35
     VII. “The Fire Hole”: Era of the American Fur Company, 1833-1840  53
    VIII. Epilogue: 1841-1870                                          77
          Selected Bibliography                                        86
          Vicinity Map at rear

                      [Illustration: BEAVER TRAP]




         I. Strange Land of “Volcanoes” and “Shining Mountains”


The Yellowstone-Grand Teton region was not officially discovered and its
scenic marvels were not publicly proclaimed until the 1870’s, beginning
with the Washburn