Lee H. Whittlesey - Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park, 2nd Edition

Death in Yellowstone

Death in Yellowstone

Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park

Second Edition

Lee H. Whittlesey

A ROBERTS RINEHART BOOK

Lanham Boulder New York Toronto Plymouth, UK

Published by Roberts Rinehart Publishers

An imprint of Rowman & Littlefield

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Copyright 2014 by Roberts Rinehart Publishers

All rights reserved . No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Whittlesey, Lee H., 1950

Death in Yellowstone : accidents and foolhardiness in the first national park / Lee H. Whittlesey. Second edition.

pages cm

Summary: Covering the sometimes gruesome but always tragic ways people have died in Yellowstone National Park, this updated edition of a classic includes calamities in Yellowstone from the past sixteen years Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-57098-450-1 (pbk.) ISBN 978-1-57098-451-8 (electronic) 1. Violent deathsYellowstone National ParkAnecdotes. 2. AccidentsYellowstone National ParkAnecdotes. 3. Yellowstone National ParkHistoryAnecdotes. 4. Accidents Yellowstone National ParkPrevention. I. Title.

F722.W588 2014

978.7'52dc23

2013030035

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

To Tamela Whittlesey, a remarkable partner in a wonderful journey with our daughter Tess.

To Julie Gayde Benden, who suggested the whole project.

[In the wilderness] Youre never very far away from the edge, and if you take it for granted, it will come up and bite you!

Elliot Brown, 1993 rescued cross-country ski party, Aspen, Colorado

What fools these mortals be!

Shakespeare, A Midsummer Nights Dream

Contents

Acknowledgments

A book like this is difficult to write, not only because of the emotional impacts on author and interviewees and the delicacy of subject matter, but also because in researching and publishing it, I risk reopening old wounds or renewing grieving processes. Certainly it has not been my intention to do either of these things. But as an historian, I am keenly aware that pieces of history can become lost when people do not want to talk about something. And for talking, writing, and helping me find obscure materials, I have numerous folks to thank.

All Yellowstone historians owe debts to Aubrey L. Haines for so skillfully showing us the way during his forty-plus years of researching the history of this region. I will always think of myself as his student and of him as the great master. One of his remarks to us is a classic for pointing out the ephemeral nature of people and events: History is something we have agreed to believe in.

A number of Yellowstone Nation residents provided me with information for the original manuscript based on their personal experiences. Former and present Yellowstone rangers Gerry Mernin, Bonnie Gafney, Andrew Mitchell, Jeff Henry, Mike Pflaum, Bruce Blair, John Lounsbury, Stephen Dobert, Jerry Ryder, Paul Miller, Mike Robinson, Melanie Weeks, Kerry Murphy, Bob Carnes, Bobbie Seaquist, Mark Marschall, Rick Fey, Brian ODea, and Dan Reinhart all advised me on their roles in various incidents. Former and present T. W. Services (later Amfac Parks and Resorts and, still later, Xanterra) personnel have been equally important: Andrea Paul, Leon Brunton, Leslie Quinn, Ruth Lira Quinn, Paul Shea, John Richardson, Steve Blakeley, Diane Ihle Renkin, George Bornemann, Jill Fitterer, Chris Marshall, Tom Woods, Mike Keller, Liz Kearney, Diane Papineau, Tim Baymiller, and Sue Plummer. My fellow employees in the parks Division of Interpretation were kind enough to read and comment upon the original manuscript: Greg Kroll, Steve Eide, Tom Tankersley, Linda Tankersley, and Sandy Snell-Dobert. Members of the park research staff have also been gracious: John Varley, Don Despain, Bob Crabtree, and Rick Hutchinson. Park chief ranger Dan Sholly was kind enough to read and comment upon the original manuscript. Other park employees who were helpful were Jennifer Whipple Hutchinson, Curtis Whittlesey, and Paul Rubinstein, whose photo graced the cover of the first edition of this book. Dr. Mary Meagher of the National Park Service read the original manuscript and offered me the benefit of her many years of wisdom, and I regret omitting her name in oversight from acknowledgments in the first edition.

Descendants such as Dale Dose, Davenport, Iowa; John Fogerty, Lake City, California; Isabel Squire, Seattle, Washington; and Bruce Graham, Livingston, Montana, provided family information.

As usual, library personnel were indispensable: Barb Zafft and Bev Whitman at Yellowstone, Nathan Bender at Montana State University, David Walters at the Montana Historical Society, Tamsen Emerson Hert at the University of Wyoming, and Bonnie Travis, Eleanor Schweigert, and June Phillips at Livingston Public Library.

Walt Stebbins of Gardiner, Montana; Doris Whithorn of Livingston, Montana; Beth Bittner of Sun Valley, Idaho; Joni and Don Hofmann of Gardiner, Montana; John Tyers, Bozeman, Montana; Todd Wilkinson, Livingston, Montana; Gerard Pesman, Bozeman, Montana; Florence Crossen, Gardiner, Montana; Warren Hutchings, Livingston, Montana; Lee Silliman, Deer Lodge, Montana; Bob Murphy, Livingston, Montana; and M. A. Bellingham, Billings, Montana, provided details that only they could know. Dr. Susan Neel of Montana State University and Rocco Paperiello of Billings, Montana, both provided important perspective.

For this second edition, Lyn Stallings, director at the Park County (Wyoming) Archives, helped me, as did Jessica Gerdes and Jackie Jerla at the Yellowstone Research Library. Archivists and museum staff at Yellowstone have been very efficient, too: Colleen Curry, Anne Foster, Bridgette Guild, Shawn Bawden, Lee Steiner, Mariah Robertson, John Wachstetter, Charissa Reid, and Jared Infanger. Marsha Karle and Jon Dahlheim in Yellowstones Public Affairs Office were always kind and helpful, as were their descendants who helped me years later: Al Nash and Amy Bartlett. My history interns and VIPs (volunteers in parks) have been good at turning up obscure items that I filed away for later: M. A. Bellingham, Theresa and Steve Fisher, Michael Fox, Rachelle Schrader, Brad Snow, Julie Robinson, and Alyssa Krekemeier.

Special Yellowstone experts must be acknowledged. My friend Paul Schullery of Bozeman, Montana, read the original manuscript and as usual offered invaluable comments and suggestions. He and my longtime lawyer-and-historian friend, Steve Mishkin of Olympia, Washington, both read this new edition, and their careful examinations improved the manuscript. Historian Jeremy Johnston from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming; Xanterra interpretive specialist Leslie Quinn of Gardiner, Montana; Kerry Gunther, Yellowstone bear biologist; and thirty-year Yellowstone veteran Randy Ingersoll also read parts of the manuscript. Thanks to all of them.