The movement for the extension of the Northern Pacific Railroad from Cinnabar to Cooke City, Montana, was not so easily arrested. From the first discovery of gold on Clarks Fork, in 1870, there had been a campaign for a railroad, as the early prospects were promising. However, little progress was made, and when the railroad bill of 1894 was defeated certain mining interests in Montana became alarmingly hostile. Frustrated in the extension of a line through the only accessible route, because of National Park sentiment, these interests came out for segregation. On March 1, 1894, the _Helena Independent_ declared:
Congress should make the Yellowstone River [Lamar] and Soda Butte Creek the northern boundary of the Park and charter a railroad to Cooke City on the north of these Streams....[324]
The _Livingston Post_ struck a more ominous note in its issue of November 30 of the same year:
Everybody concedes that the destruction of the Park by fire would be a public, a national calamity, and about the only way to avert such an impending danger is for Congress to grant the reasonable request of the people of the West by passing the segregation bill.[325]
In his report of 1895 Captain George S. Anderson, Acting Superintendent, quietly exulted, "It is a pleasure to note that the various bills for the segregation of the Park were killed in the last Congress."[326] This official was anything but popular in Montana at that time. Thus, it would appear that Yellowstone, like nearly every national institution, has been at the crossroads of conflicting interests, and its present status has not been achieved without vigilance.
Throughout the years the reports of the army superintendents conformed to a regular pattern about travel, roads, concessions, wild animals, fish, protection of natural phenomena, accommodations, fires, sanitation, violations, and recommendations. Whether captains, majors, colonels, or generals, these army men performed commendable service. Still, it was an army regime dealing with a civilian situation. Hence, there were some incongruities and many deficiencies.
What were the facts relative to the army administration in Yellowstone? Did conditions warrant a change? The circumstances responsible for the assignment in 1884 have been given. Two troops of cavalry comprised the normal complement. A main base, called Camp Sheridan, was established in Mammoth, and a series of stations were located at the principal points of interest. At these posts detachments of soldiers acted as guardians of their respective domains. From each station daily mounted patrols started toward other posts on either flank until they met.[327] In that manner, two hundred miles of forest road were observed between each dawn and dusk as the soldiers made their tours from "Slough Creek to Bison Peak, Grizzly Lake to Hellroaring Creek, and Canyon to Wedded Trees" ... almost ad infinitum.