Vol 3, # 76

   Wednesday, September 1, 1999

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ROAD REPORT
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BILLINGS, Mont. (YNET) -- William E. Bratton was born July 27, 1778. He was one of the "nine young men from Kentucky" that went to the Pacific Ocean with John Colter on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. John Colter's enlistment began October 15, 1803 and William Bratton's began five days later on October 20, 1803. Bratton was reported six feet tall with a sturdy frame and pleasant disposition.

Colter and Bratton shared some of the same experiences. They both were selected to go to "SPIRIT MOUND" to see the little people that lived on the top, according to Indian legends. Spirit Mound is near Vermillion, South Dakota. They found no visible signs of little people, but the experience was recorded in the Journals August 25, 1804. Colter and Bratton were both curious and went to see the ocean view November 7th 1805, while some disinterested men remained in camp.

Both Colter and Bratton were selected for jury duty. Bratton participated in the court for the trial of John Newman who was found guilty and sent back to St. Louis from the winter camp, Fort Mandan.

Bratton and Colter both worked at the "Salt Works" near Seaside, Oregon. They both voted "up" to move to a better location along the Columbia river.

John Shields, the blacksmith, had William Bratton as his number one apprentice. When Shields was assembling the iron boat July 1, 1805, Captain Lewis and William Bratton were mixing tar to seal the skin covering for the boat.

Unlike John Colter who was never mentioned being sick, William Bratton was reported being "unwell" more than any other person in the Journals of the Corps of Discovery. July 11, 1805, he had a sore finger and couldn't perform his regular duties. While at the Salt-Works he became ill and was returned to Fort Clatsop about February 10th 1806. He had a cough, fever and complained of a sore back. Both Captain Lewis and William Clark treated him with barks and pills, but he continued to become weaker. By March 7th, he became so weak that he was unable to sit up. All the men lacked a proper diet, but the men that were sick had a long and difficult recovery because of the lack of food and the cold, wet climate. On March 21st, 1806, Lewis wrote in the Journals that he was worried about Bratton's recovery.

John Shields built a sweat house to treat Bratton's painful back. This seemed to relieve the back pain, but he was still too weak to walk and unwell on May 24th, 1806, but was able to walk with ease by June 30th, 1806.

William E. Bratton was discharged in St. Louis, October 10th 1806. He lived in New Madrid until the earthquake in 1811.

Like Colter, he served in the War of 1812. It was reported that he saw the body of Tecumseh after he was killed near Canada.

At the age of forty-one, Bratton married Mary H. Maxwell November 25, 1819 and lived in Greenville, Ohio. By 1822, he was living in Waynetown, Indiana and became the father of eight sons and two daughters.

William E. Bratton died November 11, 1841 at age sixty-three years and is buried in Waynetown Pioneer Cemetery. His monument records "Went with Lewis and Clark in 1804 to the Rocky Mountains."

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS

Ralph Maughan
Kim Steinbacher
Kevin Sanders
Steve Brashear
Clint Wilkes
Tim Gourley
Hon. Bob Gammage
Ruth Colter-Frick
Lee Whittlesey
Tom Mazzarisi
Russ Finley
David Monteith
Denise Elmer
Dr. Robert Bara

BELGRADE, Mont. (YNET) -- This weeks P&P is from our forum, Matthew, the FunkyGeyser Man wrote this and I asked him if it was OK to share it with everyone in our Newspaper...he said "sure" so I hope you enjoy.

Hello everyone!! Someone asked me for help planning a five day trip in Yellowstone so I started to work something out based on my knowledge of the park. I realized that what I was writing might interest others, so I decided to post it here for everyone to use. I hope it helps!

Yellowstone in five days!!! (Part II) Click here for Part I

Northwest sector -- In this area expect lots of elk and the occasional bear. The roads here are awful!!

Geyser Basins and Thermal Areas*

Norris - Very different from other basins because the water here is acidic. A nice little hike through both areas (Porcelain and Back Basins). Features of interest are: Steamboat Geyser (Which had its last eruption before I started high school, but when it does go, it is the largest geyser in the world at nearly 400 feet!), Echinus Geyser (usually a faithful performer, it has been a dud this year), all of the porcelain basin (you never know which hole might suddenly go!), and all the hot springs because of there acidically induced appearance. This place is also one of my favorites!

Mammoth Hot Springs -- Lots of nice looking spring formations and a great deal of history. Be sure to take the Upper Terrace Loop road and stop in at the Mammoth Museum.

Roaring Mountain -- a mountainside taken over by fumaroles partway between Norris and Mammoth. Very creepy!

Waterfalls

Wraith Falls -- Between Mammoth and Roosevelt. The short hike is worth it!

Gibbon Falls -- Right next to the road in the canyon between Madison and Norris

Northeast sector

Thermal Features -- None, really.  There is Soda Butte, a long extinct spring cone between Roosevelt and the NE entrance. That is about is for easily accessible thermal stuff.

Animals -- This is the best area in the park to see animals. The Lamar Valley (between Roosevelt and NE entrance) is a great place to stop and look for animals. There are also frequent bear sightings near Mt. Washburn.

Waterfalls

Tower Falls - Just SE of Roosevelt, the best if viewed from the bottom.

Canyon - Upper and Lower Falls, very nice.   Frequently photographed and almost as famous as Old Faithful.

Hikes -- The trails around Canyon and the hike to the top of Mt. Washburn. You should see bighorn sheep if you hike Mt. Washburn.

Next week:  Part III in Matthew's recommended five day tour of Yellowstone.

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The world's fastest bird today became the first bird to fully graduate off the endangered species list in America. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt announced plans in Boise today for removing the peregrine falcon from the list, marking what could be one of the most dramatic comebacks in wildlife history.

Click here for the full story from Environmental News Network.

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Yellowstone Net has added a companion feature to its popular Discussion Forum:  an online public calendar which all Yellowstone Net users can access and post to.

The online calendar can be found by going to the Discussion Forum. Users can easily view calendared events, and can quickly add other notable events, activities or happenings.  The calendar is for Yellowstone-related material only.

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