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Description

One of the Great Maps in the Record of Western Cartography  --  Signed on verso by a Montana Pioneer -- Henry Dixon Hauser

Nice example of the 1872 edition of the W.W. De Lacy map of Montana, referred to by Carl Wheat as "one of the great maps in the record of Western Cartography."

The present example is the third state of the map issued by G.W & C.B. Colton in New York.  The Colton-De Lacy is the third printed map of Montana, preceded only by De Lacy's 1865 map and a map by Owen in 1866.  

De Lacy, a civil engineer and West Point graduate, had been commissioned by the Montana Territorial Legislature to produce a map of the Territory at its first meeting in the summer of 1864, following the formation of the Territory on May 16, 1864.  De Lacy first issued this monumental map of Montana Territory and parts of Wyoming in 1865. The first edition of the map is known in 3 states, as noted by Saunders ( Imago Mundi, Vol 54, pp 129-134).

As noted by Saunders, two copies of De Lacy's original manuscript map were created by De Lacy, one of which "shipped east for printing." Within the first year after its creation, printed editions of the map were published by Julius Hutawa in St. Louis and by Rae Smith of New York. The Smith edition includes an inset "Map showing the Routes from the Missouri River to Fort Laramie." Saunders notes two states of the Smith edition, one with no copyright and one with a copyright by Samuel Thomas Hauser. For many years, it was believed that the Smith map was the first printed edition of the map and was thereafter copied by Hutawa, but Saunders argues persuasively that the Hutawa is in fact the original source, which was copied by Smith (Saunders notes that Hutawa uses the earliest name for Helena, Prickly Pear City, whereas Smith uses a later name, Montana City. Hutawa also correctly spells Sublette's Road, whereas Smith erroneously includes Sablette's Road).  

An example of the first edition can be seen here:  https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4251h.ct001859/

In 1870, GW & CB Colton issued a much enlarged and updated version of the map, which includes an inset map of the Northwest. The 1870 edition includes a list of sources for the De Lacy map, including

  • Stevens Surveys for the Northern Pacific RR (1853-55)
  • Mullans Surveys (1859-62)
  • Raynolds Surveys on the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers
  • US Public Land Surveys
  • Personal surveys of 1859-1869
  • Clift Surveys of the route to Mussellshell (1869)
  • Cooke & Folsom's explorations to Yellowstone Lake (1869)
  • Reliable information derived from Miners, Surveyors and Explorers.

De Lacy's Lake (now Shoshone Lake) appears, along with De Lacy's route of exploration in 1863 through the Grand Canyon of the Snake River, Jackson Hole, and across a divide to the South Fork of Firehole River, toward Bozeman via the West Gallatin River. 

Early Mapping of Yellowstone

De Lacy's depiction of the Cooke & Folsom explorations makes this one of the most important early Yellowstone maps, tracing the route from Bozeman to Yellowstone, below its 1st Canyon, through the 2nd Canyon and around the east edge of the 3rd Canyon, past Burning Springs, Sulpher Sprints and Hot Sulpher Springs to the Upper and Lower Falls. This makes De Lacy's map the first to report on both the falls and the varied thermal phenomena in the area of Yellowstone Lake.  

Early Montana Details

Wheat notes that while De Lacy's map is important for the information in Yellowstone, within the boundaries of Montana it is equally impressive. The map depicts detail of the towns and mining camps of the Territory, early counties and Indian Reservations, military posts and Indian Agencies. It highlights the routes of Captain Clifton from Fort Howie to Musselshell City in 1869 and Fort Hawley. A Road to Minnesota is the Fiske Road from Fort Benton via the Milk to the Missouri River.

Glass Bluffs is named, a reference to Hugh Glass, killed on the Yellowstone River in 1833 by Arikaras Indians). The Bridger and Bozeman Trails are shown, with several abandoned forts noted along the way. The Colton edition of the map extends further west and therefore includes information not on the 1865 map and only available in De Lacy's 1866 manuscript map, including his treatment of the road system in Idaho and Eastern Washington.

The Editions of De Lacy's Map

The first edition of Colton's map was issued in 1870. Later editions of the map appeared in 1871, 1872, 1874, 1875,1878 and 1879.

One of the first changes which appear in the map in the second edition of the map is the correction of the Idaho boundary. In the 1870 edition, the borders is shown at 117 degrees west, whereas in all subsequent editions, the boundary is moved 40 minutes to the west.

Revisions to 1872 edition

The 1872 edition, the mountains and rivers in Northwest Montana are completely revised, in Choteau and Lodge County.  The Proposed Route of the Northern Pacific Rail Road also appears for the first time.   In Gallatin County, the earliest General Land Office Survey results are shown, along with improved topography in the far eastern part of the county.   

The 1872 edition is updated to show details significant updates in Idaho, most notably the Nez Perce Reservation and details in the south on either side of the Salmon River.  With many roads added and completely new hydrography.   The boundary between Idaho and Montana is also revised.  

The Route of Cook & Folsom in 1869 is shown for the first time, with a number of new roads shown in the area of Virginia City and GLO surveys in Madison County.  

The border for Lewis & Clark County are revised, with GLO survey work shown. 

In Beaverhead County, the course of Rattlesnake Creek east of Bannack ahs been revised, and there are now GLO Survey details.  An early owner appears to also shown a route in pencil between Fort Limhi and Horse Plains Creek to the south of the printed road. 

Provenance:  Henry Dixon Hauser

The map is signed on the verso, "H D Hauser, Fort Ellis, M.T.  Henry Dixon Hauser was an early Montana pioneer and brother of Montana governor Samuel Thomas Hauser.  Hauser was born in 1838 in Falmouth, Pendleton County, Kentucky, moving to Montana in 1865. He worked at the Internal Revenue Department in Virginia City, Montana from 1865 until 1868, before relocating to Helena, Montana, where he speculated in mining interests.

In about 1871, Hauser moved to Cedar Creek and began trading in gold dust for a year, before he went to Oregon, where he purchased 3,000 sheep, and drove them back to Montana.  In August 1873, The Helena Weekly Herald reported that Hauser was buying sheep in Walla Walla, W.T., along with Judge Dance and Edward Stone.   Hauser remained in the sheep business until 1881.

In 1878 Hauser moved to Butte, where he took control of a bank owned by S.T. Hauser & Company. This bank was a private bank that had converted to a national bank, formally known as the First National Bank of Helena. he first national bank in Helena  In 1882 Hauser was elected to the Butte City Council. 

Interestingly, as noted above, Samuel Thomas Hauser held the copyright to one of the early pre-Colton editions of the De Lacy map.

Rarity

All editions of the map are very rare on the market.

Reference
Wheat, C.I. (TM) 1211; Streeter (Sale) 2236.