Distinctly Montana Magazine

66 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • FA L L 2 0 2 3 Helena Farmers Market is the longest Running and BEST market in the state. Saturdays on Fuller Avenue Downtown Helena 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. From the end of April - end of October See you at the Market!! www.helenafarmersmarket.com BEST FARMERS MARKET In MONTANA! crust of the earth gave way under them, and they and their po- nies went down out of sight, and up came a powerful lot of flame and smoke. I bet Hell was not very far from that place." One day, Bridger said he discovered an ice-cold spring near the summit of a lofty mountain. He would describe how its wa- ters flowed down over a long, smooth slope, where it gained such velocity that it was boiling hot by the time it reached the bottom. Bridger explained this was due to friction, just as rubbing two sticks together produce heat. Author and former captain Eugene Ware met Jim Bridger in the 1860s and gives the following account: "Major Bridger... told stories in such a solemn and firm, convincing manner that a person would be likely to believe him…. He wasn't the egotis- tical liar that we so often find. He never in my presence vaunted himself about his own personal actions. He never told about how brave he was, or how many Indians he had killed. His stories al- ways had reference to some outdoor matter or circumstances... He told each story so often that he had got it into language form, and told it literally alike. He had probably told them so often that he got to believing them himself." Stories of Yellowstone grew and grew over the course of the mid-nineteenth century until the government sanctioned ex- peditions to explore and map the area and finally set the record straight about what was actually there. The most notable of these were the Washburn Expedition of 1870 and the Hayden Expe- dition of 1871. As a result of the information brought back by these expeditions, Congress set aside the Yellowstone area as the world's first national park. Yellowstone now sees 3-4 million visitors per year from all parts of the world and all walks of life. For many of these peo- ple, the wonders of the park's unique features and its utter "oth- erworldliness" must leave them in awe, much as it did to these early trappers. One has to wonder when these visitors get back home and begin describing what they witnessed to their friends, whether it be on a living room couch or around a kitchen table, if they are not, in their own way, channeling that same spirit of those campfire trappers' tales of old. "BRIDGER TOLD EACH STORY SO OFTEN THAT HE HAD GOT IT INTO LANGUAGE FORM, AND TOLD IT LITERALLY ALIKE. HE HAD PROBABLY TOLD THEM SO OFTEN THAT HE GOT TO BELIEVING THEM HIMSELF." Captain Eugene Ware BEST CATERING SERVICE PARADISE VALLEY SMOKE SHACK 4 Overlook Road Emigrant, MT (406) 224-2847 GARDINER SMOKE WAGON 375 US 89 South Gardiner, MT (406) 599-7302 www.Followyernosebbq.com @followyernosebbq catering@followyernosebbq.com

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