The First Known Man in Yellowstone

The Rocky Mountains were first explored by trappers who mostly couldn’t read or write. However, one mysterious trapper did write. In fact, he was the earliest eyewitness reporter of remarkable Rocky Mountain curiosities. He unraveled the mystery of western river courses and first reported the world’s largest hot spring and an amazing free-flowing oil spring. He was with the party that discovered the astonishing Great Salt Lake and wrote its earliest eyewitness description.

But most remarkably, he reported the earliest undisputed visit to Yellowstone Park, with its spectacular lake, astonishing hot pools, and bubbling, spouting mud pots and geysers.

For more than 100 years this man’s writings were known but his name wasn’t. The only clue was the initials: D. T. P. But now historians have figured it out. He was Daniel Trotter Potts, one of the few men with writing skills going to the mountains with remarkable explores- Jedediah Smith and Jim Bridger.

Jerry Bagley received his Masters Degree in Western American history from Brigham Young University. Thirty-five years later, after a successful business career in the Jackson Hole area, he decided to update, revise, and publish his original Masters Thesis. This work is now the book, The First Known Man in Yellowstone.

Jerry now resides in Rigby Idaho and is the father of seven children and seventeen grandchildren. His other hobbies includes restoring vintage tractors.