FOREWORD

This paper, the History of Glacier National Park, was prepared to meet the needs of contemplated museum developments at Glacier National Park. It makes no pretense of adequately covering the entire field of history in the region of the Park and it lays particular stress on certain aspects and slights or omits others which might justly be considered of equal importance.

The dominating need which governed the preparation of the paper was the requirement of a succinct account of the activities of the northern fur trade and those phases of Canadian history which touched upon this area. No general summary of any major portion of this story was available as is the case with the developments further south. Prepared with this need in view and with a distinct time limitation, the study is necessarily uneven in its treatment of different portions of the historical background of the park.

In the main it is believed the principal objectives have been accomplished satisfactorily and that the paper provides a brief introduction to the history of the park, summarizing the available printed literature with a proper evaluation of sources, and presents a reasonably comprehensive bibliography. It is in response to numerous requests for additional copies and with the hope of extending the usefulness of the paper beyond its original purpose that it is here presented in this mimeographed form.

The preparation of the paper was carried out under the CWA program of 1933-34. The mimeographing of the paper was made possible by workers supplied by the State Emergency Relief Administration of California.

Last Modified: Sat, Feb 9 2002 10:00:00 am PDT berkeley/beals2/beals2a.htm