Diary of T.B. Moffat on a Trip to the Yellowstone

Diary of T.B. Moffat on a Trip to the Yellowstone, 1894

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Moffat, T. B.
Title: Diary of T.B. Moffat on a Trip to the Yellowstone
Dates: 1894 (inclusive)
18941894
Quantity: 1 item
Collection Number: Collection 0093, MtBC, us (collection)
Summary: The Diary of T.B. Moffat Trip to the Yellowstone provides an account of a trip to Yellowstone National Park in 1894. Also included is a typed script with thumbnail sketches for a lantern show which features Salt Lake City and natural attractions in Oregon, California, Utah and Colorado.
Repository: Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
Access Restrictions: This collection is open for research.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

T.B. Moffat traveled through Yellowstone National Park on a bicycle tour from September 11-16, 1894. Information on where his trip originated or his occupation is unknown. The location of the original diary is unknown and his "Trip through the West" is not dated.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

T.B. Moffat arrived in Livingston, Montana on September 11, 1894 and began his trip through Yellowstone on September 12. Throughout the diary, his accounts of the natural features, wildlife and weather conditions as they existed in 1894 are vivid and detailed. He starts his narrative describing his stage ride to Cinnabar, then proceeds to Mammoth Hot Springs on his bicycle. On September 13 he continued on to the Norris Geyser Basin. He stayed the night at Norris and continued the next day to the Grand Canyon. He explored the Canyon sights and then started back, arriving at Cinnabar after lunch on September 16 where he took the train back to Livingston.

The script for the slide show includes thumbnail sketches for 23 slides which included Oregon's Multnomah Falls and Columbia River; Yosemite Falls and El Capitan in California; sites in Salt Lake City (this includes editorial comments about Mormon lifestyles, Brigham Young and the Ute Indians), the Great Salt Lake and surrounding mountains of Utah. It finishes in Colorado featuring the Union Pacific's Alpine Pass, Royal Gorge, Pike's Peak and the Mount of the Holy Cross.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

A typed transcription of a diary by T. B. Moffat about a trip to Yellowstone National Park in 1894 and a typed script entitled "A Trip Through the West" for use with a lantern slide show which features Salt Lake City and natural attractions in Oregon, California, Utah and Colorado were donated to Special Collections by Lesley Heathcote in 1962. T. B. Moffat was Miss Heathcote's brother-in-law.

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