132 ***** "Oh, Ranger!" 



partitions. These little discomforts, for the most part, were taken good- 

 naturedly by the guests and laughed off as the shortcomings of a host 

 who recited poetry as he served breakfast in the morning. 



A part of the old Hutchings' House still stands, near the Sentinel 

 Hotel, known today as Cedar Cottage. Another old inn, popular in its 

 day, was Leidig's Hotel at the foot of Sentinel Rock. The old Stone- 

 man House was built by the state of California to attract visitors to the 

 leading wonder of the Golden State. It was destroyed by fire. Another 

 picturesque inn was Snow's House at the foot of Nevada Falls, crude 

 in its accommodations but warm in its hospitality. Another show place 

 was John Smith's Cosmopolitan House, a place of simple exterior, but 

 equipped with a barber shop, a pool hall, a writing-room, and wonder 

 of wonders bathtubs with hot and cold water. Smith packed in on 

 horseback the furnishings for his hotel, including bathtubs, full-length 

 mirrors, elaborate glass goblets, and an amazing array of luxurious 

 equipment. 



The originator of the permanent camp idea in the national parks and 

 probably in the United States as well was W. W. Wylie, who in the 

 early 'nineties began taking parties through Yellowstone National Park 

 with covered wagons, saddle horses, and other movable equipment and 

 stock. For years he took ever increasing numbers of people through the 

 Yellowstone, making camp each night, putting up cook tent, sleeping 

 tents, canvas shelters for horses and wagons. The melodian furnished 

 music for community singing around campfires in the evening, and 

 Professor Wylie lectured for a while each evening on the features of 

 the park. After a while his parties grew so large that he had to have 

 several outfits. He purchased comfortable stages for his guests. Soon 

 he found that he could not keep on moving these big parties with equip 

 ment that had to be taken down each morning and set up each night. 

 He arranged finally to leave his camps standing at several points in the 

 park. His application was resisted by the railroad owning the big hotels, 

 which were not paying interest on their cost, and with which the camps 

 were competing. Mr. Wylie won his case, however, on the ground that 

 there was a demand for cheaper service than the hotels furnished. 

 Meanwhile, the railroad established a policy of rate-making which pro 

 vided that reduced summer excursion fares should apply only to the 

 park hotels and should be sold only in connection with hotel tickets. 

 This came near ruining the camp business, but Mr. Wylie fought the 

 company before the Interstate Commerce Commission and won the 

 right to have all excursion tickets read either via the hotels or camps. 

 Afterward the railroad sold the hotels and so did Mr. Wylie sell the 

 camps, which are now known as the lodges of Yellowstone. 



One summer in the 'nineties, Mr. and Mrs. David A. Curry, at that 



