C. W. Guthrie

"The first of them, the ones that made good, were rugged and honorable men, and they had the best of life’s game. They had some power, some pay, and some glory. There were no volumes of written rules on how to do the job that choked out their own worthy thoughts or muddled their judgment. They were good men, deciding how a good job should be done as they went about it. They were the law, the trailblazer, the fireman. “ p 15

Frank Liebig and Fred Herrig both arrived in the US from Europe (Germany and Prussia) at the end of the 19th century. They both headed west, attracted by the spectacular scenery, the wide open views and the opportunities for young men like themselves.

Fred had met Teddy Roosevelt while Fred was working at an area ranch owned by the Marquis de Mores. The two became lifelong friends.

So in 1900 when President Teddy Roosevelt created the first forest preserves in the Glacier Area, Fred became the first ranger in the area now known as just west of Glacier Park. Frank became the first ranger in what is Glacier Park proper today.

Basically they were told ‘Go to it and Good Luck!” p 43. These accounts are taken from their journals and include stories of wrangling Cree Indians and recovering the body of a woman who fell into a glacier crevasse – part way through the recovery however, the body being dragged upside down by ropes regained consciousness. She recovered without further fanfare.

They fought forest fires, including the devastating Great Fire of 1910. Also In 1910, the area was established as Glacier National Park.

They saw civilization – often in the form of wives and children - creep into the area.

Frank became an accomplished biologist – describing plants, and animals and with an impressive collection of taxidermized birds native to the area.

This is well illustrated with many photographs of the times, the place and the people as well as drawings.
If you enjoy Glacier Park or stories of wilderness ‘back in the day’ when it was truly wilderness, I’d recommend this book to you.… (plus d'informations)