Up the Winds and Over the Tetons

In 1860, Capt. William F. Raynolds, along with Jim Bridger and Dr. F.V. Hayden, explored the headwaters of the Yellowstone and Snake Rivers. This military expedition was the first comprehensive reconnaissance of Jackson’s Hole and today’s Grand Teton National Park.

Unfortunately the Civil War caused Congress to delay publishing Raynolds’s report until 1868 in a heavily-edited version that substantially differs from his journal. In Up the Winds and Over the Tetons, experienced Yellowstone historians Marlene and Daniel Merrill have returned to the captain’s field notes to present his story in a carefully-reconstructed account of hardship and courage. Illustrated by photographs and prints produced by the expedition’s artists, this handsome volume is a great read for anyone interested in the U.S. Army’s role as explorers and topographers.

—Kim Allen Scott, author of Yellowstone Denied: The Life of Gustavus Cheyney Doane