Yellowstone Jack

Jack Baronett (1829–1906) was an important figure in the history of Yellowstone National Park. In his early life he traveled the world, prospecting and mining in Australia, Africa, China, and Alaska. He traveled to the Yellowstone region in 1864—eight years before the Park was established—to join other early prospectors searching for gold and exploring the geyer basins. His first claim to fame came in 1869 when he and a partner rescued Truman Everts, a lost, near-death member of the Washburn Yellowstone expedition.  After 1872 he served as early assistant superintendent in Yellowstone, a scout for the US Army, and one of the founders of Cooke City, MT. As a notable guide in the park, his patrons included Generals Sherman, Sheridan and Strong, President Chester Arthur, George Bird Grinnell, and Wiliam Henry Jackson.  They all used Baronett’s Bridge, the first bridge built over the Yellowstone River in 1871.  In 1875 Baronett was deputized as a US Marshall, making him the first federal law enforcement officer in the park. He chased horse thieves and protected the area from poachers and outlaws. Historians have dubbed Baronett prospector miner, explorer, adventurer, soldier of fortune, scout, hunter, guide, and Indian fighter—all monikers befitting his adventurous wanderlust life. Despite all these wanderings, he eventually discovered what would be his true home—southwest Montana and Yellowstone National Park.  

Robert Goss dedicated over thirty-five years working in and around Yellowstone National Park while living in Gardiner, Montana. He was employed by the Yellowstone Park Co. and its successors for thirty years before retiring from Xanterra Parks & Resorts in 2010. Additionally, he served as purchase agent for an underground gold mine at Jardine, Montana, formerly known as Bear Gulch. With this experience, he became familiar with the local mining history, as well as the early chronicles of the Cooke City environs.   As an avid historian, he has studied and researched Yellowstone history extensively. Mr. Goss has self-published seven books that primarily focus on the early concessioners and pioneers. He also authored or co-authored twenty-three articles featured in Yellowstone History Journal, Yellowstone Science, Annals of Wyoming, Motor Coach Age,Points West, Montana Pioneer, and other publications. He also co-authored Arcadia Publishing: Images of America - Livingston Montana.   Now residing in Southwest, Utah, he continues his Yellowstone research while maintaining the Geyser Bob website of Yellowstone history www.geyserbob.com