GOVERNMENT AND ARTIFICIAL IMPROVEMENTS. The park is under the sole jurisdiction of the Federal Government, and is administered by the Secretary of the interior. It is directly in charge of a superintendent, who is an army officer, and who is aided by a detachment of Federal troops in enforcing the regulations. flouting, trapping, or killing any animal except to prevent it from doing serious injury is prohibited, but fishing for pleasure or food is permitted. All private com mercial enterprises are excluded 'except that small plots of land may be leased to private parties for hotel purposes, and all hotels are thus privately conducted, but under Government in spection. Licenses are also issued to private parties to provide traveling facilities within the park. Good carriage roads now give access to all the principal objects of interest, and a small steamboat plies on the Yellowstone Lake. The park is as yet accessible for ordinary visitors at only two places, through the valley of the Yel lowstone River on the north, where a branch of the Northern Pacific Railroad has a terminus just outside the entrance, and through the Madi son Valley on the west. Several trails and less
used roads, however, lead through the mountain passes on the cast and south.
The Yellowstone region was originally occu pied by peaceful Sheepeater Indians. There are evidences that white had entered the region as early as ISOS, but the rumors of its wonders, which from time to time reached the civilized world were given little credence until General Washburne, Surveyor-General of Mon tana, published the first real account of it in 1870. In IS71 the region was explored and mapped by the 'United States Geological Survey of the Territories, and in 1872 Congress made it a Federal reservation. The Forest Reserve was added by Presidential proclamation in 1891.
Consult: United States Geological surrey (Washington, ISSO et seq.) ; and Chittenden, TellowRtone N'a imtal Park, with bibliography (Cincinnati, 1895).