Narrator: THESE ARE OUR SUMMER VACATION TOURIST COUNTERPARTS OF NEARLY A CENTURY AGO.

WE CAN NOW RELIVE THEIR SUMMER TRIPS THROUGH DIGITALLY RESTORED HOME MOVIES AND PHOTOS.

IT ALL TAKES PLACE IN THAT SAME BREATHTAKING SCENERY OF GLACIER NATIONAL PARK THAT ATTRACTS MILLIONS TODAY.

EXCEPT BACK THEN, IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE WHAT WAS MORE MEMORABLE, THE SCENERY... OR THE ADVENTURE ITSELF.

NOW, CONGRESS MIGHT HAVE OFFICIALLY CREATED GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, AND IT BARELY GOT THROUGH CONGRESS AT THAT, BUT IT WAS THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY THAT REALLY CREATED IT AS FAR AS MOST EASTERNERS WERE CONCERNED.

THE RAILROAD NEEDED A REASON TO GET PEOPLE TO TRAVEL WEST, AND THERE WAS NO BETTER WEST THAN THIS.

THE RAILROAD PUBLISHED PAMPHLET AFTER PAMPHLET GEARED TO EASTERN ADVENTURE CLUBS, ESPECIALLY TO THE WEALTHY.

THEY MADE SURE NEW YORKERS UNDERSTOOD THESE MOUNTAINS WERE 14 TIMES TALLER THAN THE WOOLWORTH BUILDING.

THEY PUBLISHED MANUALS ON HOW PROPER WOMEN COULD STAY PROPER ON THESE HIGH MOUNTAIN TRAILS IN MODEST CLOTHING.

AND THEY RECOMMENDED THOSE WOMEN BRING 2 CHANGES OF WOOL UNDERWEAR FOR THE 2-WEEK ADVENTURES.

AFTER ALL, YOU COULD DO YOUR LAUNDRY OUTDOORS WHERE THE FISH LIVE.

IT WAS LIKE NO OTHER PLACE, WITH NO BIGGER FISH AND NO BIGGER MOUNTAINS AND WHERE YOU COULD EAT GLACIER ICE RIGHT OUT OF THE LAKE!

NOW, THAT WAS AN AMAZING PLACE.

LONGTIME RANGER BILL SCHUSTROM HAS SPENT YEARS IN THESE SAME MOUNTAINS THAT WERE DESCRIBED IN THOSE OLD GREAT NORTHERN PAMPHLETS OF WESTERN FOLKLORE.

AND HE HAS WALKED THOSE SAME TRAILS DESCRIBED OVER DINNER IN SWANK EASTERN ADVENTURE CLUBS ENFUELED BY WRITERS HIRED BY THE GREAT NORTHERN.

Schustrom: MARY ROBERTS RINEHART--I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE EVER HEARD OF HER-- BUT THEY ACTUALLY CONTRACTED-- THE RAILROAD BROUGHT HER IN TO WRITE STORIES OF HER MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES AND RIDING THE HORSES THROUGH THE PARK TO ATTRACT THESE WEALTHY AMERICANS.

YEP.

Narrator: SHE WROTE ABOUT "THE CALL OF THE MOUNTAINS."

IT WAS ALMOST RELIGIOUS.

"THE CALL OF THE MOUNTAINS.

"IF YOU'RE WILLING TO LEARN HOW LITTLE YOU COUNT IN THE ETERNAL SCHEME OF THINGS, DO RIDE IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS AND SAVE YOUR SOUL."

SHE POSED WITH COWBOYS ON A GLACIER.

EASTERNERS WERE MESMERIZED BY THE WILD TALES OF MOUNTAINS AND LAKES IN NORTHWESTERN MONTANA.

"ALMOST EVERY MAN WHO HAS HAD A BAREFOOT PERIOD IN HIS BOYHOOD, "HAS GOT LOCKED UP IN HIS BOSOM A PASSIONATE LONGING "TO TREAD THE GRAVELLY BOTTOMS OF ROLLICKING STREAMS, "WITH A ROD IN HI HAND AND THE LUST FOR BATTLE WITH THE FINNY TRIBE, WHO LURK DEEP IN THE SHADOWS OF HIS HEART."

[MOVIE THEME MUSIC PLAYING] THE TIMING OF THIS PR BLITZ FOR THE NEW PARK COULDN'T HAVE BEEN BETTER.

[UPBEAT MOVIE MUSIC PLAYING] THE INVENTION OF FILM ALLOWED THE GREAT NORTHERN TO ALMOST BRING GLACIER TO THE AWESTRUCK CITY DWELLERS IN THE EAST.

THE GREAT NORTHERN EVEN ADOPTED A MOUNTAIN GOAT AS ITS CORPORATE SEAL.

THERE WAS NO DOUBT THIS WAS THE GLACIER LINE.

THE RAILROAD TOLD THE WORLD TO "SEE AMERICA FIRST."

Schustrom: GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY-- SEE AMERICA FIRST.

SO YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO GO TO THE SWISS ALPS.

YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO GO TO THE GERMAN ALPS.

WE GOT IT RIGHT HERE IN NORTHWEST MONTANA.

AND I LOVE THE PICTURES, BECAUSE THOSE PEOPLE ARE ALL DRESSED UP IN NECKTIES AND RIDING BREECHES.

AND EVERY DAY, THEY JUST TOOK CARE OF THESE PEOPLE.

IT WAS QUITE AN EXPERIENCE FOR THEM.

Narrator: THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY BUILT HOTELS DESIGNED TO BE STRAIGHT OUT OF THE ALPS.

THEY WERE LUXURIOUS LODGES THAT HELPED SMOOTH OUT ANY BUMPS ON THE TRAIL.

THEY WERE NOT CHEAP.

AT $3.00 A DAY, THE 300 GUESTS HAD A GOOD HOME BASE AT THE GLACIER PARK HOTEL COUPLED WITH CHALETS IN THE BACK COUNTRY.

GREAT NORTHERN MANAGEMENT, UNDER JAMES HILL AND HIS SON LOUIS HILL, WANTED THE VERY BEST.

Schustro THEY WERE ALL DRESSED UP, AND OFF THEY WOULD GO, EVERY ONE OF THE CHALETS BEING ABOUT A DAY'S RIDE APART.

EVERY SINGLE NEED OF THOSE PEOPLE WAS TAKEN CARE OF BY THE HOTEL COMPANY.

GIRLS IN THEIR SWISS DRESSES AND BOYS IN THEIR LEDERHOS WOULD COME DOWN.

AND I'M SURE WHEN THEY CAME IN ON THE TRAIN, EVERY ONE OF THEIR NEEDS WHEN THEY WENT INTO THE HOTEL-- PROBABLY EVEN A WARMING PAD IN THEIR BED, SO THAT THEIR BED WAS PERFECT FOR THEM AT NIGHT.

BUT THOSE WERE THE EARLY VISITORS TO THE PARK, AND PROBABLY 10,000 OF THOSE PEOPLE A YEAR CAME IN BY TRAIN.

Narrator: THE SIGHT OF WEALTHY EASTERNERS IN THE WEST WAS ALMOST REVOLUTIONARY IN THE TOURIST INDUSTRY.

FOR UP TO NOW, THE VERY WEALTHY DID NOT TAKE A TRAIN WEST BUT A STEAMER TO EUROPE.

YES, "SEE AMERICA FIRST."

GLACIER WAS THE NEW EUROPE.

Man: I'VE SEEN ESTIMATES THAT IT WAS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WERE LOST TO AMERICA BY THE WEALTHIER AMERICANS GOING TO EUROPE AND GOING TO VACATION OUTSIDE THE U.S.

SO, HERE WAS THE GREAT NORTHERN PATRIOTICALLY SAYING "SEE AMERICA FIRST."

Narrator: AFTER MARY ROBERTS RINEHART'S ESSAYS TO "SEE AMERICA FIRST" IN GLACIER, THE RAILROAD MADE SURE MEN WERE HEARD FROM.

THEY SELECTED A LETTER FROM TWO UPSCALE HARVARD AND YALE STUDENTS FOR WHAT THEY CALLED A MASCULINE EXPERIENCE.

"IN ANSWER TO THE CALL OF "SEE AMERICA FIRST," "BILL AND I, IN JUNE, TOOK THE FIRST TRAIN WEST "FROM OUR RESPECTIVE COLLEGIATE ENVIRONS, NEW HAVEN AND CAMBRIDGE, TO GET OFF AT GLACIER PARK AND TAKE A TRAMP THROUGH THE SCENERY."

THEY CONTINUED.

"WE HAD THE SCENERY OF THE WORLD, "THE CHALETS OF SWITZERLAND, "THE COMFORTS OF HOME, "AND THE DELIGHTS OF TRAVELERS WHO ARE CONSTANTLY SEEING NEW THINGS.

INDEED, SEE AMERICA FIRST."

ALTHOUGH THE HILLS DIDN'T MIND IF FOLKS WENT UP TO CANADA AND THEIR HOTEL JUST NORTH OF GLACIER.

Man: FUNNY THING HERE THAT, YOU KNOW, JIM HILL BUILT THAT FABULOUS HOTEL AT WATERTON, THE PRINCE OF WALES.

YOU'VE SEEN IT.

IT'S MAGNIFICENT.

AND I UNDERSTAND THERE WAS A REASON FOR THAT.

CANADA HAD DONE AWAY WITH PROHIBITION.

SO THEY COULD TAKE GUESTS FROM MANY GLACIER OR PEOPLE COULD EVEN-- THEY MIGHT RIDE OVER 100 MILES CLEAR FROM THE LAKE McDONALD COUNTRY AND WIND UP AT WATERTON LAKE AND HAVE A LEGAL SIPPY-POO.

HA HA HA!

Narrator: THERE WAS NOTHING SUBTLE ABOUT THE WAY THE HILLS AND THE GREAT NORTHERN DID THINGS.

[MOVIE THEME MUSIC PLAYING] THAT'S BECAUSE JAMES J. HILL WAS NOT SHY ABOUT HIS VISION OF THE FUTURE, NOR WAS HIS COMPANY MARKETING DEPARTMENT SHY ABOUT HIM, EVEN 50 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH.

IT MIGHT ALL EXPLAIN THE AMAZING AND NEVER AGAIN DUPLICATED UNABASHED CORPORATE PROMOTION OF A BIT OF AMERICA CALLED GLACIER, FOR VISION AND JAMES J. HILL WERE ONE AND THE SAME.

Movie narrator: FOR THE BACKBONE OF THIS EMPIRE IS STEEL-- STEEL RAILS THAT PULLED EVER FARTHER WESTWARD AND NORTHWARD THROUGH NEW FRONTIERS.

AND AROUND THIS SPINE OF STEEL WAS LAID THE FLESH OF LIFE.

AND FARTHER WEST, THE VAULTING MOUNTAIN RANGES, WHOSE ETERNAL SNOWS FED COUNTLESS STREAMS WHICH ENDLESSLY POURED THEIR SUBSTANCE INTO SWIFT RUNNING RIVERS.

THIS WAS THE GREAT NORTHWEST A CENTURY AGO, AWAITING ONLY THE GENIUS OF MAN TO GIVE IMPULSE AND MEANING TO ITS GENEROUS ENERGIES.

AND IT CALLED ALOUD IN BURNING ACCENTS, "BRING ME MEN TO MATCH MY MOUNTAINS."

A YOUNG GENIUS HEARD THAT CALL.

A NEW ERA INSPIRED JIM HILL'S BRAIN.

SO HE SET ABOUT WITH INCREDIBLE ENERGY TO BUILD A RAILROAD ALL THE WAY FROM THE RIVER SETTLEMENT OF ST.

PAUL TO THE PACIFIC COAST.

HE WORKED WITH THOSE LEGENDARY JOHN HENRYS EVER WESTWARD.

THROUGH COUNTRY THAT SEEMED IMPASSIBLE, HE BUILT HIS LINE.

Narrator: AND THE GREAT NORTHERN SORT OF BUILT WHAT IT WANTED WHERE IT WANTED.

LOUIS HILL ESPECIALLY LOVED BUILDING HERE AND THERE.

HISTORIAN GEORGE OSTROM SAYS HILL WASN'T EXACTLY SUPERVISED IN ENTHUSIASTICALLY CARRYING OUT HIS PLANS TO ENTERTAIN VISITORS.

Ostrom: LOUIS HILL DID IT, AND HE ALMOST KIND OF IGNORED HIS RAILROAD.

HE WAS TOO INTERESTED IN BUILDING THAT PARK.

AND HE SPENT--AND OF COURSE, OBVIOUSLY HE WAS ABLE TO PULL A LOT OF STRINGS.

HE WENT INTO THE BACK COUNTRY AND DID THINGS.

WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH RANGERS TO GO AND SUPERVISE HIM.

AND IF THEY HAD ENOUGH RANGERS, THEY WOULDN'T BE TRAINED OR ANYTHING.

SO HE JUST USED GOOD SENSE, AND HE DID A WONDERFUL JOB.

Narrator: THE "EMPIRE BUILDER" TRAIN WAS PROPERLY NAMED FOR JAMES J. HILL AND HIS RAILROAD, LATER RUN BY LOUIS HILL.

LOUIS HILL WAS ALSO A DEVELOPER AND A PROMOTER.

IN THIS COUNTRY, THE GREAT NORTHERN SAW A CHANCE FOR A PROMOTIONAL DRAW THAT ONE COULDN'T FIND IN THE ALPS AND SURELY A DRAW THAT WOULD BE OF GREAT INTEREST IN THE EAST.

THAT DRAW WAS THE NEARBY BLACKFOOT INDIAN TRIBE.

NATIVE AMERICANS WERE HIRED TO PROMOTE THE TRAINS, GREET THE VISITORS AS THEY ARRIVED AT THE PLATFORM, GREET THE VISITORS AT THE HOTELS, POSE FOR PICTURES, AND SET UP THEIR LODGES, WHICH GENERICALLY BECAME KNOWN BY THE LAKOTA INDIAN WORD "TIPI."

THE GREAT NORTHERN PROMOTIONAL LITERATURE INCLUDED PICTURE AFTER PICTURE OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE IN THE PARK, AND THE FILMS FEATURED THE NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE NEW ROLE OF ACTORS.

[MOVIE THEME MUSIC PLAYING] GREAT NORTHERN CEO LOUIS HILL HIMSELF POSED WITH NATIVE AMERICANS IN PUBLICITY PHOTOS.

IN THIS ONE, THE DESCRIPTION READ THAT HE WAS BRUSHING UP ON SIGN LANGUAGE AND RENEWING FRIENDSHIPS WITH NATIVE AMERICANS.

THE GREAT NORTHERN DELIGHTED TO HELP VISITORS SEND POST CARDS BACK TO THE EAST SHOWING GLACIER NATIONAL PARK AND WHAT YOU WOULD NEVER SEE IN NEW YORK CITY.

THEY HIRED NATIVE AMERICANS TO POSE AND SHOW THE WORLD A CULTURE SELDOM SEEN OUTSIDE OF THE NORTHWEST, EVEN IN STEREOVISION.

THE IRONY IS, WHILE GLACIER WAS SACRED AND A SOURCE OF FOOD TO THE NATIVE PEOPLE, IT WAS NOT GENERALLY THEIR HOME AND CERTAINLY NOT A HOME NEXT TO A PARKING LOT.

IT WAS NOW, AS FAR AS THE VISITORS WERE CONCERNED.

BLACKFOOT TRIBAL MEMBER DARRELL NORMAN HAS MIXED EMOTIONS ABOUT THE PROMOTIONAL USE.

HE OBJECTED TO THEM BEING WHAT HE CALLS "CURIOS."

HOWEVER, HE APPRECIATED THEIR CHANCE FOR EMPLOYMENT DURING A DIFFICULT PERIOD, AND HE KNEW THE GENEROUS BLACKFOOT NATIVE AMERICANS ENJOYED MEETING FOLKS AND WERE ANXIOUS TO BE PART OF THE GROUP WORKING AT GLACIER.

Norman: THAT'S RIGHT, AND THEY WERE HIRED BY THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILROAD TO DO THAT.

PEOPLE DIDN'T REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT THESE PEOPLE WERE WHO WERE UP HERE DOING THESE THINGS FOR THEM, BUT THE PEOPLE ENJOYED IT.

THEY LIKED GOING UP AND CAMPING THERE IN THE SUMMERTIME, MINGLING WITH THE PEOPLE.

I MEAN, OUR PEOPLE ARE A VERY FRIENDLY PEOPLE.

AND THEY LIKE MEETING ALL THESE DIFFERENT PEOPLE.

THEY MADE A LOT OF FRIENDS WITH PEOPLE.

THEY WERE ABLE TO GET PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT OUR CULTURE.

THEY WERE IN A VERY TRANSITIONAL PERIOD OF TIME.

THEY WERE NOT LIVING IN TEEPEES BY THAT TIME ANYMORE, NOR HUNTING BUFFALO.

AND UNDERGOING SOME VERY HEAVY SOCIAL CHANGES TO COME INTO THE MODERN WORLD, YOU MIGHT SAY.

Narrator: IT WAS A MEETING OF 2 PEOPLES OVER ONE LAND-- ONE RELATIVELY WEALTHY AND ONE ECONOMICALLY DEPRESSED.

Norman: THAT WAS PART OF OUR ORIGINAL TERRITORY UNTIL WE SIGNED THE AGREEMENT OF 1895.

WHEN WE SOLD WHAT IS NOW GLACIER NATIONAL PARK FOR $1.00 AN ACRE AT THAT TIME IN ORDER THAT OUR PEOPLE WOULD SURVIVE, BECAUSE THE END OF THE BUFFALO HUNTING DAYS WERE GONE.

NO MORE BUFFALO, NO MORE ECONOMY, AND WE NEEDED MONEY.

Narrator: BUT NORMAN SAYS THE GREAT NORTHERN ALSO ENDED UP DOING A GREAT SERVICE TO THE BLACKFOOT NATION.

IT PRESERVED THE CULTURE BY RECORDING IT AND OFFERED AT LEAST A GLIMPSE OF IMPORTANT RITUALS SUCH AS DANCING AND IN RECORDING THE GREAT LEADERS OF A BYGONE PERIOD.

AND PERHAPS OF MOST IMPORTANCE, FOR YEARS THE GREAT NORTHERN COMMISSIONED ARTIST WINOLD REISS TO PAINT PORTRAITS OF THE GREATEST OF THE BLACKFOOT.

THE CALENDARS AND THE ART WERE DESIGNED TO MAKE PEOPLE THINK OF GLACIER.

THEY REMAIN TO THIS DAY SOME OF THE MOST ACCURATE RECORDS AND TREASURED GLIMPSES OF THOSE AMONG THE GREATEST FIRST PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY.

Robison: THE WAY HE PAINTED THE FACES WERE AS GOOD AS IF THEY'D HAD THEIR PORTRAITS TAKEN.

AND THE COLOR AND COSTUMING, WHICH WERE AUTHENTIC BLACKFEET, WERE CAPTURED FOR POSTERITY.

Narrator: THIS WAS THE ART ON THE GREAT NORTHERN CALENDARS EVERY MONTH FOR THE NEXT 40 YEARS.

Norman: IN FACT, WE WERE THE FIRST TOURISM OPERATORS IN THE STATE OF MONTANA.

I THINK WINOLD REISS WAS A WONDERFUL ARTIST, AND HE HELPED PRESERVE PART OF OUR HISTORY AND THE IMAGES OF OUR OLD PEOPLE, WHO WERE-- SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE, WHO WERE LIKE WHITE CALF, WHO WERE GREETING THE TRAINS AND MEETING THE TOURISTS UP HERE IN GLACIER PARK.

AND HE DID THESE INCREDIBLE OILS AND PASTELS OF THE OLD MEN AND THE OLD WOMEN AND THE CHILDREN.

AND HE REALLY CAPTURED THE SPIRIT OF THESE PEOPLE.

YOU COULD FEEL THE CONNECTION.

IT GAVE A REAL CONNECTEDNESS WITH THE INDIVIDUALS THAT HE PAINTED.

Robison: IT SHOWS, I THINK, HOW POWERFUL, THEY BELIEVE, THE BLACKFEET CONNECTION WAS, AND GOOD FOR THEM IN FEATURING THE AMERICAN INDIAN ON ADVERTISEMENTS IN THE YEARS WHEN MOST OF THE INDIAN TRIBES OR NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES WERE BEING SORT OF SHUTTLED OFF TO RESERVATIONS AND THE LESS SAID THE BETTER.

Narrator: THERE IS NO DOUBT, THE GREAT NORTHERN DID MUCH TO TEACH AMERICA ABOUT THE WEST THROUGH GLACIER NATIONAL PARK AND TO GET AMERICA TO VISIT THE WEST THROUGH GLACIER.

AS WE HAVE SEEN, THEY PROMOTED THROUGH FILM, THROUGH THEIR POST CARDS, THROUGH PAMPHLETS, THROUGH CALENDARS, AND THE CORPORATE SYMBOL ON EVERY TRAIN.

AND IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH, THEY PERSONALLY OFFERED TO HELP A PERSON PLAN A TRIP TO GLACIER NATIONAL PARK.

IN ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING PIECES OF TRAVEL MARKETING EVER, THEY ASKED "IF YOU'RE GOING TO LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO, OR HAWAII, "IF SO, YOU CAN VERY EASILY ARRANGE YOUR TRIP TO STOP OFF AT GLACIER NATIONAL PARK."

AND WE ARE SURE THAT THOUSANDS DID.

THERE WAS ONE PERSON WHO WORKED FOR BOTH JAMES AND LATER LOUIS HILL DURING THOSE DAYS WHO REMEMBERED THE GLACIER-BOUND CROWDS.

AT AGE 113, WALTER BREUNING REMINISCED ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHERN AND HOW IT WAS BACK IN 1914.

GREAT NORTHERN PROSPERED BECAUSE THERE WAS HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE ALL SUMMER LONG COME BY TRAIN AND PULLMANS, AND THAT'S HOW THEY GOT TO GLACIER PARK.

[TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS] Narrator: GLACIER WAS SO POPULAR THAT THE GREAT NORTHERN ADDED A SECOND TRAIN ON THE ROUTE-- THE ORIENTAL LIMITED.

AND LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE ON THE GN LINE, ITS ARRIVAL WAS NOT SUBTLE.

IT NO DOUBT EXPLAINS AN ASIAN LOOK IN THE GREAT NORTHERN HOTELS IN THE MIDDLE OF GLACIER IN MONTANA... ALL TO PACK THE TRAINS.

AND THAT'S THE REASON JIM HILL BUILT THE RAILROAD WAS TO HAUL PEOPLE.

Narrator: OF COURSE, THE TRAIN COULD ONLY TAKE A PERSON SO FAR, AND LUXURY ENDED AT THE DOOR OF THE GREAT NORTHERN-OWNED HOTELS AND TRULY ADVENTURE BEGAN.

EVEN FOR THOSE IN THEIR PROPER ATTIRE, OF 2 SUITS OF WOOL UNDERWEAR COVERED BY 1 SUIT OF OLD CLOTHES, 1 SWEATER, 3 PAIR OF SOCKS, 1 PAIR OF SHOES, 1 PAIR OF CANVAS LEGGINGS, 2 PAIR OF GLOVES, 1 FELT HAT, AND OF COURSE A SADDLE SLICKER AND SHORT, DIVIDED RIDING SKIRTS FOR WOMEN.

THAT'S BECAUSE A HORSE WAS THE MAIN FORM OF TRANSPORTATION ACROSS THE PARK.

OUTFITTERS COULD COOK FOR YOU, PUT UP A TENT, AND PROVIDE A HORSE, ALL FOR $19.50 A DAY.

THERE WAS NO QUESTION THIS WAS LUXURY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOUNTAINS.

THE MAGAZINES MADE THE TRIPS GLAMOROUS AND RIGHT OUT OF THE OLD WEST.

HOWEVER, THEY FAILED TO MENTION WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE ON A HORSE FOR HOURS IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN ON A HORSE BEFORE.

Schustrom: NOW, WERE THEY HORSEBACK RIDERS?

2 DAYS, 24 MILES ON A HORSE-- I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT WOULD BE GOOD ON YOUR BOTTOM.

SO IT HAD TO BE QUITE AN EXPERIENCE FOR THEM.

Narrator: AT ONE TIME, THERE WERE 2,000 HORSES IN THE PARK.

THE BAR X6, KNOWN AS THE PARK SADDLE HORSE COMPANY, CLAIMED IT WAS THE LARGEST SADDLE HORSE COMPANY IN THE WORLD.

IT WAS ALL UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE TOP COWBOY GEORGE W. NOFFSINGER.

THE WELL-DRESSED HORSEMAN LOOKED HIS PART.

HE SAT HIGH IN HIS MONOGRAMMED SADDLE, AND HE MADE SURE ALL KNEW THIS WAS THE REAL WEST-- EVEN HAD COWBOY ARTIST CHARLIE RUSSELL DESIGN HIS RANCH LETTERHEAD.

I'VE HAD HER SINCE SHE WAS A COLT.

SHE WAS ACTUALLY BORN HERE.

HIS GREAT-GRANDSON IS JIM NOFFSINGER.

HE STILL RIDES IN THE PARK, AND A COUPLE OF THESE HORSES ARE DESCENDANTS OF THE GREAT GLACIER HERDS.

HE SAYS THEY WERE ALL GOOD HORSES, GOOD WRANGLERS, AND TOGETHER THEY HAD TO PUT ON A GOOD SHOW.

Noffsinger: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY DID THAT MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER REALLY STRESSED UPON-- AND YOU'LL SEE IT IN A LOT OF THE OLD PHOTOS-- WAS HE WOULD BUY THEM ALL REALLY FANCY HATS AND REAL BRIGHT SCARVES AND SHIRTS AND DRESS THEM UP JUST TO THE "T"s SO THAT THEY REALLY LOOKED GOOD FOR ALL OF THE GUESTS.

Narrator: AFTER ALL, THE EASTERNER WAS PROMISED ADVENTURE, AND HE OR SHE SURE GOT IT.

HE OR SHE GOT A STAGE HOLD-UP BY A REAL COWBOY STAGE ROBBER AT PRECISELY 2:00, AND REAL COWGIRLS FINISHED UP THE EVENTS IN TIME FOR THE BAND TO COME IN.

"LET 'ER BUCK", AND THEY DID.

IT IS PROBABLY FITTING THE CHAMPION COWBOY COMPANY IN THE PARK THEN POSED TO SALUTE THE STATUE OF JOHN T. STEVENS.

HE WAS THE ENGINEER WHO DISCOVERED THE PASS IN THE MOUNTAINS THAT BROUGHT EVERYONE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

GLACIER PARK WAS ALL FOR THE VISITOR.

THE CAMPS WERE TO BE FULL OF GOOD TIMES, GOOD FOOD, AND NO DRINKING AMONG THE WRANGLERS AND GUIDES.

THE SADDLE-SORE VISITORS WERE TO BE CATERED TO IN EVERY WAY.

Noffsinger: WHAT THEY WOULD DO A LOT OF THE TIMES WAS THEY WOULD GO INTO DIFFERENT CAMP LOCATIONS AND THEN THERE WOULD BE SOMEBODY ALREADY AT THAT CAMP, A CAMP TENDER.

AND ONE OF MY GREAT AUNTS RAN THE CAMP AT GOAT HAUNT, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE MOST REMOTE AND FARTHEST TRAIL RIDES TO GO ON.

AND SHE JUST LOVED IT, 'CAUSE SHE'D BE IN THERE BY HERSELF, AND THEY'D BRING IN THIS BIG STRING OF PEOPLE AND ALL THE ENTHUSIASM, EXCITEMENT.

AND SHE'D TAKE CARE OF EVERYBODY AND FEED EVERYBODY, AND THEN THEY'D GET TO SEE EVERYTHING AND FISH AND SIGHTSEE.

AND THEN WHEN THEY'D LEAVE, THEN SHE'D HAVE TO GO BACK TO HER CHORES AND GET EVERYTHING READY FOR THE NEXT GROUP OF PEOPLE, AND SHE JUST ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT THAT WAY.

Narrator: DESPITE THE ROUGH TERRAIN AND THE GREENHORN RIDERS, IT ACTUALLY WAS A PRETTY SAFE WAY TO GO AROUND GLACIER NATIONAL PARK.

Noffsinger: I EXPLAIN IT TO A LOT OF PEOPLE, 'CAUSE WE STILL TAKE A LOT OF PEOPLE HORSE RIDING.

AND PEOPLE THAT DON'T KNOW HOW TO RIDE-- THE BEST WAY I CAN EXPLAIN IT TO 'EM THAT A HORSE HAS 4 FEET, AND THE LAST THING HE WANTS TO DO IS FALL OFF THE TRAIL.

Narrator: OF COURSE, IF YOU DID GET HURT, THE PARK HAD NURSES WHO WOULD STAY WITH YOU FOR $7.00 A DAY.

AS WE HAVE EMPHASIZED, THESE WERE NOT CHEAP FAMILY OUTINGS TO GLACIER.

INTO THE 1940s, VISITORS WERE SPENDING BETWEEN $5.00 AND $30 A DAY FOR LODGING, FOOD, MAYBE A TENT, A HORSE, AND A TRIP TO THE RESIDENT CHARACTER AND ARTIST JOHN CLARKE TO PURCHASE ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR SOUVENIRS, A CARVING--ALL PART OF A TRIP TO GLACIER.

AND LIKE ALMOST EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE PARK, HE IS A STORY OF THE HILLS AND THE GREAT NORTHERN.

Robison: JAMES J. HILL ON A VISIT THERE IN THE SUMMER OF 1911 HAD JOHN L. CLARKE AS HIS GUIDE.

AND HE HAD SUCH A GOOD TIME WITH HIM AND RECOGNIZED HERE WAS SOME BUDDING ART TALENT AND HE PROMISED CLARKE TO SEND ART SUPPLIES TO HIM.

AND WHEN HILL GOT BACK TO MINNEAPOLIS, HE DID JUST THAT.

HE SENT OILS AND CANVASES AND SO ON.

AND YOUNG JOHN CLARKE PAINTED HIS FIRST OIL OF A LANDSCAPE SCENE OF GLACIER PARK AND SENT IT TO JAMES J. HILL AS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT IN THE WINTER OF 1911.

AFTER THAT, OF COURSE, JOHN CLARKE GOT ESTABLISHED IN WHAT BECAME EAST GLACIER.

IN A STUDIO PRIMARILY DOING WOOD CARVINGS.

HE DID A FEW OILS.

HE DID QUITE A NUMBER OF WATERCOLORS, AND HE BECAME POPULAR WITH THE TOURISTS.

Narrator: IT IS PROBABLY A STRETCH TO SAY THERE MAY BE MORE OF HIS CARVED GOATS OUT THERE IN THE WORLD THAN LIVE ONES IN THE PARK, BUT IT ISN'T A STRETCH TO SAY HE CARVED A LOT OF THEM.

ALL THE EASTERNERS SEEMED TO WANT TO TAKE HOME AN ANIMAL FROM GLACIER PARK.

PROBABLY BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T SEE THEM ANY OTHER PLACE EXCEPT FOR A ZOO, PROBABLY, AND THEY RAN WILD IN GLACIER.

Narrator: JOHN CLARKE WAS A BLACKFOOT INDIAN WITH THE NAME CUTAPIUS, WHICH MEANS "THE MAN WHO TALKS NOT," BECAUSE JOHN CLARKE COULD NOT HEAR OR TALK.

IT WAS ALL IN HIS HANDS THAT HE PRODUCED ANIMAL AFTER ANIMAL.

Norman: THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT TIME WHEN OUR PEOPLE WERE MAKING THAT TRANSITION FROM DOING THE OLD TRADITIONAL FORMS OF ARTS LIKE DRUMS AND RATTLES, SHIELDS, PAINTING THE BUFFALO HIDES, DOING THE PORCUPINE QUILL WORK AND THE BEAD WORK AND ALL OF THE BEAUTIFUL CLOTHING AND ITEMS THAT YOU SEE.

AND HIS TRANSITION WAS HE WAS A CONTEMPORARY ARTIST.

WE DIDN'T CARVE THINGS LIKE THAT.

OUR PEOPLE DID SCULPT THINGS, BUT NOT IN THE MORE DETAILED FASHION.

Narrator: FROM THE EARLY DAYS, HE BECAME A FIXTURE IN THE PARK AND HIS ART A FIXTURE IN THE HOMES OF THOSE REMEMBERING GLACIER.

OF COURSE, LOUIS HILL HAD A COLLECTION OF JOHN CLARKE SCULPTURES, AS DID JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER.

AND HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF THE EASTERNERS WHO CAME TO THE PARK ALL HAD JOHN CLARKE SCULPTURES.

IT COULD EASILY BE SAID THE FIRST VISITORS TO GLACIER CAME FOR THE ADVENTURE OF THE MOUNTAINS AND LEFT WITH A FASCINATION FOR GOATS.

Breuning: EVERY NIGHT ABOUT 6:00, THEY'D BRING ALL THE GOATS-- COME DOWN FROM THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN.

YOU COULD SEE 'EM COMING.

AND PEOPLE--EVERY YEAR WE WAS THERE, PEOPLE JUST FLOCKED TO SEE IT-- TO SEE THE LITTLE GOATS AND THE NANNY GOATS AND ALL OF THEM.

Narrator: OF COURSE, BEING SURROUNDED BY GOATS ON THE GREAT NORTHERN MAY HAVE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT.

EVERY SUMMER, IT WAS BECOMING A STAMPEDE TO GLACIER.

BY 1930, 73,776 PEOPLE CAME TO THE PARK.

ONLY 22,449 HAD REGISTERED AT THE PARK TENT IN 1920.

LOCAL MONTANA BOYS WATCHED THE TOURISTS COME AND GO.

Ostrom: THEY LIVED PRETTY HIGH ON THE HOG.

THEY WERE TREATED ROYALLY.

THEY HAD A LITTLE WINE, AND THEY COULD GET WHATEVER THEY WANTED PRETTY MUCH, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS PROHIBITION.

WHAT DID THEY BUILD?

THEY BUILT 8 OR 9 CHALETS, PLUS THEY HAD PERMANENT CAMPS WITH TENTS AND DINING HALLS AND EVERYTHING IN THE WILD.

14 OF THEM.

SO THEY LIVED A PRETTY GOOD LIFE, OTHER THAN GETTING A LITTLE SADDLE SORE I SUSPECT.

Narrator: NOW, WE HAVE MENTIONED IT COULD ADD UP TO BE A $30-A-DAY VACATION.

BUT NOT EVERYONE HAD TO BE A 1,000-AIRE TO ENJOY GLACIER BACK THEN.

OF COURSE, IT WAS A BIT MORE REASONABLE TO DO THE HIKING ON YOUR OWN FEET, RATHER THAN WITH A TRUSTY HORSE.

THIS IS REALLY WHERE EAST MET WEST.

FEW HAD EVER SEEN SCENERY LIKE THIS... AT THIS ALTITUDE AND ON TRAILS SUCH AS THESE.

INDEED, THIS WAS OF COURSE THE MOST INEXPENSIVE WAY TO SEE THE PARK, BUT THE FORMAL EASTERNERS STILL HAD THE GREAT NORTHERN TAKING CARE OF THEM.

OF COURSE, THE REAL THRILL WAS TO ACTUALLY WALK ON A REAL GLACIER.

YES, THIS IS WHY YOU CAME HERE, TO SEE THE GLACIERS.

THIS RARE FILM SHOWS US THE GLACIERS WHEN THEY WERE FAR MORE OF AN ADVENTURE THAN THEY ARE NOW, AS THE GLACIERS HAVE BEEN SHRINKING IN THE LAST DECADE.

THE BROCHURES WERE RIGHT.

RANGERS IN HATS, SAID TO BE SHAPED LIKE MOUNTAINS, WERE THERE TO LEAD VISITORS AROUND TREES, LAKES, OVER BRIDGES, AND AWAY FROM BEARS.

LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE THE EARLY VISITOR SAW, THESE RANGERS WERE LARGER THAN LIFE.

Schustrom: WILLIAM LOGAN WAS THE SUPERINTENDENT AT THAT TIME.

HE BROUGHT IN A SERIES OF RANGERS.

I LOVE THEIR NAMES-- "DEATH ON THE TRAIL" REYNOLDS, FRANK LIEBIG, JOE COSLEY, WHO SOME PEOPLE FEEL WAS MORE OF A POACHER THAN ANYTHING ELSE.

BUT THEY WERE THE ONES WHO HAD TO PATROL, AND THEY WERE THE ONES WHO WERE FIRST COMMISSIONED WITH TAKING CARE OF THE PARK.

AND OFTEN TIMES, LIKE FRANK LIEBIG--MY GOSH, HE HAD THE WHOLE WEST SIDE OF THE PARK TO TAKE CARE OF.

AND "DEATH ON THE TRAIL" REYNOLDS, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS AN OLD MAN, THEY SAID HE COULD OUTHIKE ANYBODY.

Narrator: IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE HOW THEY MADE THESE TRAILS, HOW THE TRAILBLAZERS KNEW WHERE THEY WERE GOING, MUCH LESS HOW TO GET THERE A PICKAX SWING AT A TIME.

Ostrom: I WATCHED SOME OLD-TIMERS.

DURING WORLD WAR II, A LOT OF US KIDS AROUND HERE LIED ABOUT OUR AGES AND WENT TO WORK FOR THE PARK SERVICE AND THE FOREST SERVICE.

AND THEY STILL HAD FELLAS WHO HAD COMPASSES.

AND THEY HAD AN INSTRUMENT-- I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER THE NAME OF IT NOW THAT KEPT TRACK OF THE GRADE.

AND THEY JUST KIND OF EYEBALLED THEM IN.

AND YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY BUILT THOSE TRAILS IN THE PARK, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHAT THEY WERE DOING.

THEY WERE EYEBALLING.

AND THEY HAD TO GO OUT AHEAD AND CHECK ON IT.

Narrator: IT WAS ALL AN ADVENTURE, AND IT KEPT GETTING BIGGER.

THERE WERE THE TRAINS, HOTELS, CAMPS, HORSES, TRAILS.

AND WHAT ABOUT THE 763 LAKES IN THE PARK?

FROM 1925 ON, THERE WERE BOATS TO TAKE PEOPLE FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER OF THE MAJOR LAKES AND ALSO FROM HOTELS TO HORSES AND TRAILS AS WELL AS GIVING A PRETTY GOOD CHANCE TO SEE THOSE MOUNTAINS THAT WALLED UP THE SHORELINE.

IT IT INTERESTING TO SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE TOOK MOVIES OF THE BOATS AND HOW MANY OF THE PROMOTIONAL VIDEOS INCLUDED THEM, SHOWING THE VISITORS DRESSED IN THEIR SUNDAY FINEST.

MAYBE THIS WAS LIKE THAT CRUISE IN EUROPE THAT THEY WERE ACCUSTOMED TO TAKING.

IT CERTAINLY IS A GLIMPSE INTO ANOTHER ERA OF TRAVELING.

THE PARK WAS OPENING UP.

WE HAVEN'T MENTIONED MUCH ABOUT CARS AND ROADS.

THAT'S BECAUSE WHEN IT CAME TO ROADS, THERE WASN'T MUCH TO MENTION IN THOSE FIRST DAYS OF THE PARK.

OH, SURE, THEY SAID IN 1914 THAT THERE WAS A GOOD WAGON ROAD FROM KALISPELL 30 MILES AWAY, BUT WHAT DID A PERSON IN A CAR DO WHEN THEY CAME TO THE END OF THOSE 30 MILES?

FORTUNATELY, WE HAVE A WONDERFUL RECORD OF A CAR TRIP TO GLACIER IN 1914.

AGAIN, BECAUSE GLACIER WAS A PLACE FOR THE MORE WEALTHY AMONG US, THEY HAD A CAMERA OR MAYBE EVEN HIRED A PHOTOGRAPHER, AND WE HAVE PHOTOS OF THE WHOLE TRIP.

THE FAMILIES ARE THE FORDS, WHO HAD THE GREAT FALLS NATIONAL BANK IN GREAT FALLS, AND THE COUCH FAMILY.

THEY WERE RANCHERS.

THE LITTLE GIRL ASLEEP ON THE RUNNING BOARD IS RACHEL SUE FORD, LATER TO BE RACHEL SUE BOWLBY, THE PERSON WHO HELPED PRESERVE VIRGINIA CITY.

IT IS A TRIP THAT STARTED IN GREAT FALLS.

NOW, WE'RE NOT QUITE SURE OF THE ORDER IN WHICH ALL THIS TOOK PLACE, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT ONE COULDN'T PACK LIGHT FOR SUCH AN ADVENTURE.

SPARE TIRES WERE A MUST.

THE ROADS WERE HORRIBLE, BUT STOPPING MADE IT GOOD FOR TAKING PICTURES... AND MORE PICTURES... AND MORE PICTURES.

AND AFTER A GOOD DAY'S DRIVE AND A NUMBER OF FAMILY PORTRAITS, THEY MADE IT TO CHOTEAU, 56 MILES AWAY.

CROSSING RIVERS ALONG THE WAY, THAT WAS EASY IN SOME PLACES AND NOT SO EASY IN OTHERS AND PRETTY MUCH IMPOSSIBLE ELSEWHERE.

SOMEHOW, THEY DID MAKE IT TO EAST GLACIER PARK.

LIKE TRAIN PASSENGERS, THEY WERE GREETED BY NATIVE AMERICANS AND POSED FOR MORE PICTURES AND ASKED THE BLACKFOOT MAN TO POSE INSIDE THE CAR.

AT THAT POINT, THEY PUT THEIR CARS ON THE GREAT NORTHERN TO CROSS THE PARK.

IT WAS A PROCESS THAT WOULD BE REVERSED AT WEST GLACIER.

JUDGING FROM WHAT THEY CARTED AROUND, THEY MAY HAVE ALSO DISCOVERED WHY THE GREAT NORTHERN SUGGESTED ONLY 2 CHANGES OF UNDERWEAR.

BUT IT APPEARS TO HAVE ALL BEEN WORTH IT.

LOTS OF GOOD FISHING, GOOD BOATING, CABINS WITH WARM BEDS, AND LOTS OF WILDLIFE.

PEOPLE MAY HAVE COME FOR THE MOUNTAINS, BUT THE ANIMALS ALWAYS CAPTURED THEIR FASCINATION.

THEY SHOW UP IN PICTURE AFTER PICTURE.

FINALLY, THEY WERE ON THEIR WAY HOME AND A CHANCE TO POSE FOR MORE PICTURES OF THE ADVENTURE.

IT WAS ONE MORE GRAND VIEW AND A SUCCESSFUL ADVENTURE.

THERE IS NO DOUBT THE TRAIN WAS THE MORE COMFORTABLE WAY TO GO TO GLACIER IN THOSE EARLY DAYS.

AND THERE WAS NO DOUBT THAT JIM AND LOUIS HILL'S CREATION WAS ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANT RECREATIONAL VENTURES OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE CENTURY.

IT WAS BRILLIANT BOTH FOR MARKETING AND FOR THE ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION.

INDEED, IT ALL RIVALED TIME-HONORED STRUCTURES IN THE ALPS OF EUROPE.

RAIL TRESTLES IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE WERE STATE-OF-THE-ART.

AND JUST TO RUN A RAILWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS ALL TOOK HUNDREDS OF WORKERS-- SO MANY, LOUIS HILL BUILT ONE GRAND HOTEL JUST FOR THE WORKERS.

IT WAS THE IZAAK WALTON.

IT WAS A PLACE ENGINEERS COULD BE ON STANDBY TO HELP THE TRAINS UP THE STEEP HILL.

Breuning: WHEN THAT WAS BUILT, IT WAS BUILT FOR RAILROAD EMPLOYEES, ENGINEERS AND THE FIREMEN.

SEE, WHEN THE BIG TRAIN COME THROUGH THERE, HAD TO HAVE A HELPER.

AND THEY WOULD HELP FROM ESSEX UP TO THE TOP OF THE HILL SUMMIT.

Narrator: AND THE GREAT NORTHERN STATIONS REMAINED BUSY AND THE RAILROAD HOTEL AT ESSEX WAS PACKED.

WITH BOTH CREWS AND THE LUCKY EMPLOYEES ABLE TO USE THEIR TRAIN PASS AND THEIR DISCOUNT TO STAY AT THE IZAAK WALTON INN.

LOUIS HILL KNEW HOW NOT ONLY TO KEEP TOURISTS HAPPY, HE KEPT HIS RAIL CREWS HAPPY IN THOSE EARLY ADVENTURES.

WALTER BREUNING JOINED TOURISTS AND THE GREAT NORTHERN EMPLOYEES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RIVER JUST DOWN THE ROAD FROM THE IZAAK WALTON INN.

Breuning: THAT'S THE BEST FISHING PLACE YOU EVER SAW IN YOUR LIFE.

ALL THE SMALL STREAMS.

MIDDLE FORK IN THE FLATHEAD RUN RIGHT THROUGH THERE.

PEOPLE WERE GOING DOWN, FLOATING DOWN... THE RIVER.

Narrator: AND NOT ONLY GOOD FISHING, A GOOD NIGHT'S REST IN A RAILROAD EMPLOYEE HOTEL.

YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WE HAD TO PAY TO STAY THERE?

$2.50.

Narrator: HOWEVER, THE GREAT NORTHERN MONOPOLY OF GETTING TO GLACIER BY RAIL WAS BEING DERAILED A BIT, AS GLACIER WASN'T JUST FOR THE RICH FROM THE EAST ANYMORE.

NOW, THERE WASN'T EXACTLY A TRAFFIC JAM ON THE FEW ROADS LEADING TO THE PARK.

HOWEVER, THE AUTOMOBILE CROWD WOULD GEAR UP AS THEIR DAY WAS COMING.

MODERN CARS SUCH AS THE ALMOST-RELIABLE MODEL T MEANT THE NEED FOR BETTER ROADS.

AND THE BEST WOULD BE A ROAD THAT WOULD CONNECT EAST GLACIER WITH BELTON ON THE WEST.

THE STATE WAS ALREADY BACKING GOOD ROADS IN GLACIER.

ALL THAT WAS LEFT WAS BUILDING THEM THROUGH SOLID GRANITE AND OVER CLIFFS.

NEWSPAPERS CARRIED STORIES OF THE CLIFFHANGING CREWS, OF THE ENGINEERING MARVEL THAT WOULD BE CALLED THE GOING-TO-THE-SUN ROAD.

Schustrom: THERE ACTUALLY WERE 300 MEN THAT WORKED ON THAT ROAD EVERY YEAR FROM 1925 TO 1932.

IF YOU EVER GET A CHANCE TO LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE PICTURES OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THAT, THEY WERE 2,000, 3,000 FEET ABOVE THE VALLEY FLOOR.

AND THEY WOULD COME IN, AND THEY WOULD JUST CHIP OUT A LITTLE BENCH ALONG THE SIDE OF THOSE CLIFFS.

AND EVENTUALLY, THEY'D BRING IN SULLIVAN AIR COMPRESSORS SO THAT THEY COULD DRILL THOSE DYNAMITE HOLES, AND THEN, OF COURSE, IT WAS A MATTER OF BLASTING.

AND THEN PICK-AND-SHOVEL WORK.

PROBABLY THAT FIRST YEAR, 1925, THEY DID A LOT OF BLASTING, AND IT WAS JUST PICK-AND-SHOVEL WORK TO EVENTUALLY CLEAR THAT OUT.

PRETTY AMAZING.

PRETTY AMAZING PROCESS.

Narrator: AND WITH GREAT FANFARE, IT WOULD BE READY FOR THE NEW SEASON OF 1933, AFTER CREWS CLEARED THE 80 FEET OF SNOW THAT FALLS ON IT EVERY WINTER.

THE NEWSPAPERS WERE EXCITED.

THE MOST AMAZING ENGINEERING FEATURE OF THE PARK OPENED UP ON JULY 15, 1933.

IT WAS A SCENIC AND SOMETIMES HAIR-RAISING ALTERNATIVE TO HAVING TO TAKE THE TRAIN OR BYPASS THE PARK BY ROADS TO THE SOUTH.

OH, BUT IT DID ADD TO THE ADVENTURE IN THOSE OLD CARS WITHOUT TODAY'S GOOD BRAKES AND POWER STEERING.

WALTER BREUNING REMEMBERED THE TRIPS IN THE OLD JALOPIES.

IT USED TO SCARE PEOPLE TO DEATH, YOU KNOW.

COMING UP, YOU COME FROM BELTON UP TO THE TOP OF THE HILL.

AND I'LL TELL YOU, YOU'RE LOOKING RIGHT DOWN 1,000 FEET ON THE MOUNTAINSIDE.

Narrator: IT GAVE ALL-ACCESS TO LOGAN PASS AND ALL KINDS OF NEW PLACES TO CAMP, HIKE, AND PLACES TO SIMPLY PAUSE IN AWE.

AND PEOPLE COULD TOUR BY LIMOS AND JAMMERS, LARGE CARS THAT ROARED THROUGH THE PARK.

NOW THE COMMON PERSON COULD BE CHAUFFERED AS IF HE OR SHE WAS A ROCKEFELLER.

THE JAMMERS CLUNG TO THE SWITCHBACK CURVES LIKE MOUNTAIN GOATS AND TOOK DOZENS HOTEL TO HOTEL IN COMFORT.

ONE OF THE EARLIEST TRAVELERS ON THE GOING-TO-THE-SUN ROAD WAS THE ONLY PRESIDENT IN OFFICE TO VISIT GLACIER PARK: FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT.

IT IS AN ENGINEERING FEAT THAT GOT A LOT OF USE, BUT MAYBE NOT THE RESPECT IT DESERVED FOR THOSE WHO ENVISIONED THE HIGHWAY.

Ostrom: THERE'S AN IRONY THERE.

THE MAN WHO--HE WANTED TO BUILD A HIGHWAY TO THE SKY.

HE WAS THE HEAD OF THE PARK SERVICE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO COMMEMORATE HIM.

WE'VE GOT MOUNTAINS NAMED FOR GUYS WHO CAME UP THERE ONE TIME AND GOT DRUNK AND EVERYTHING ELSE.

THE ONLY THING TO COMMEMORATE THAT MAN'S NAME-- HE WAS THE DREAMER.

AND HE WAS THE ONE THAT CHOSE THE ROUTE.

THERE'S A LITTLE STREET IN THE HEADQUARTERS, GOES DOWN THROUGH THE JACK PINES THERE.

IT'S NAMED FOR HIM.

Narrator: IT OPENED UP THE NORTH SIDE OF THE PARK, AND IT GAVE BEARS A NEW MILLION-DOLLAR PATH TO GO EAST AND WEST, AND IT OPENED UP NEW COMMERCE.

BUSINESSES IN THE STATE OF MONTANA URGED PEOPLE TO TAKE THEIR CARS ON A BEE LINE FROM YELLOWSTONE TO GLACIER.

OF THE 300 TO 94 MILES BETWEEN THE PARKS, THE BEE LINE ORGANIZATION CLAIMED A BIG PERCENTAGE OF THE MILES WERE GRAVELED.

"300 MILES OF GOVERNMENT CONSTRUCTION AND 94 MILES OF GOOD DIRT."

THE CARS DID NOT DRIVE THE TRAIN OUT OF THE GLACIER BUSINESS.

OH, NO.

WELL INTO THE 1950s AND EVEN THE 1960s, THE GREAT NORTHERN "EMPIRE BUILDER" AND OTHER GN TRAINS BROUGHT FOLKS IN AND OUT TWICE A DAY IN LUXURY.

Film announcer: WHAT BOY HAS HEARD THAT SIREN SONG AND NOT BEEN MOVED BY ITS MELODY?

AND NOT ONLY LITTLE-- AS A MAN IS MANY-SIGHTED, SO, TOO, A RAILROAD IS MANY THINGS.

IT CAN BE A HOTEL, FOR EXAMPLE, A LUXURY HOTEL ON WHEELS CALLED THE "EMPIRE BUILDER."

BUT LET'S MOVE OUT AHEAD OF 401 AND FOLLOW THE "EMPIRE BUILDER," ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREAT PASSENGER TRAINS AS IT WINDS ALONG THE SOUTHERN BOUNDARY OF GLACIER NATIONAL PARK IN THE MONTANA ROCKIES.

[TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS] [WHEELS CLACKING] MONTANA, MEANING "MOUNTAINS" IN SPANISH.

RUGGED, SPECTACULAR GLACIER PARK.

Narrator: AND TO ITS LAST DAY, THE GREAT NORTHERN NEVER FORGOT ITS HERITAGE OF THE PARK.

Film announcer: ROCKY, GREAT NORTHERN'S RENOWNED TRADEMARK GOAT, PROUD AND SURE-FOOTED, HE CLIMBS WHERE NO OTHER ANIMAL DARES VENTURE.

FROM HERE, ROCKY CAN LOOK DOWN UPON THE "EMPIRE BUILDER" AS IT CLIMBS WESTWARD TO THE SUMMIT.

UP AND UP--A MILE HIGH ON THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE, HIGHEST POINT ON GREAT NORTHERN'S MAIN LINE BUT THE LOWEST RAIL CROSSING OF THE ROCKIES IN NORTHERN UNITED STATES.

Narrator: THE GREAT NORTHERN AND ROCKY THE GOAT MERGED AND MERGED AGAIN.

THE COMBINED BNSF STILL TAKES THE SAME ROUTE, BUT IT IS WITH FREIGHT.

IT STILL TAKES THE HIGHEST POINT ON THE NORTHERN LINE.

AND THAT SAME STATUE OF JOHN T. STEVENS, WHO PLOTTED THIS ROUTE IS STILL THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOREST-- THAT STATUE THAT WAS ONCE THE PLACE WHERE THE WINNING COWBOY SALUTED MANY YEARS AGO.

FOR HAD THIS NOT BEEN A GOOD PLACE TO RUN TRACK, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE EVER HAPPENED.

AND NOW TODAY, DECADES LATER, HIKERS WILL OFTEN COME ACROSS A MOUNTAIN GOAT, BUT IT DOES HAVE A DIFFERENT MEANING TO THOSE WHO ONCE RODE THE "EMPIRE BUILDER" OR WORKED ON THE GREAT NORTHERN.

FOR IF IT IS A KID OR A MOMMY OR A DADDY, IT WILL ALWAYS BE ROCKY THE GOAT, THE SYMBOL OF THE GREAT NORTHERN.

OR IT WILL REMIND THOSE WHO MAY BE IN THEIR 60s OR 70s OF ONE OF JOHN CLARKE'S MANY CARVINGS.

AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE OTHER PARTS OF THE GREAT NORTHERN EMPIRE?

THE FABLED LODGES, NOW WITH INTERNET, WILL ALWAYS REMIND US OF THE VISITORS OF A CENTURY AGO.

THE OLD RAILROAD HOTEL, THE IZAAK WALTON, IS STUFFED FULL OF PICTURES AND ARTIFACTS OF A TIME GONE BY, BUT A TIME THAT YOU CAN'T HELP WONDER WHAT IT WAS LIKE.

NOW IN HIS 90s, PAST PROPRIETOR SID GOODRICH STILL REFLECTS ABOUT THOSE PAST SATURDAY NIGHTS WHEN TOURISTS AND TRAINMEN CAME TOGETHER.

Goodrich: WE ACCOMMODATED THEM IN A BAR IN THE BASEMENT.

BUT A PRETTY SHORT SHIFT.

DURING THE WEEK, I WAS WORKING PRETTY LONG HOURS, OF COURSE, TAKING CARE OF THE HOTEL.

SO I TOLD THE GUYS WHEN WE STARTED IN THAT... "11:00, I'M TURNING THE KEY, FELLAS.

"IF YOU WANT TO PARTY, YOU GOTTA GO DOWN THE ROAD FURTHER.

"BUT YOU GOTTA WORK TOMORROW AND SO DO I, SO WE'RE SHUTTING DOWN AT 11:00."

DURING THE WEEKENDS, I WOULD STAY OPEN A LITTLE LATER TO ACCOMMODATE HOTEL GUESTS, BUT... IT WAS A PRETTY DOWN-TO-EARTH WORK OPERATION.

Narrator: TODAY, THE IZAAK WALTON IS NO LONGER A RAIL HOTEL AT ALL, BUT A FAMILY PLACE, ALTHOUGH AGAIN, YOU CAN'T STOP BUT THINK ABOUT THE DAYS THAT JIM AND LOUIS HILL RAN THE RAILROAD.

Goodrich: WELL, IT WAS PRETTY AUSTERE.

ALL THE ROOMS HAD ONLY SINGLE BEDS IN THEM.

SO, MILLIE AND I HAD TO START BUYING DOUBLE BEDS AND OUTFIT A ROOM WITH A DOUBLE AND A SINGLE, REPLACED THOSE SINGLE BEDS THAT THE RAILROAD WORKERS HAD USED.

THERE WASN'T TOO MANY FEMALES STOPPING BY.

Narrator: THE RAIL YARD AT THE IZAAK WALTON IS STILL USED FOR BNSF FREIGHT TRAINS, BUT THE LUGGAGE CARTS ARE NOW USED FOR FLOWERS.

THE RAIL STATIONS, BOTH AT EAST GLACIER AND AT BELTON, ARE STILL STANDING AND VERY MUCH USED BY PASSENGERS, ALTHOUGH FREIGHT IS NOW WHAT CARRIES THE COMPANY OVER JIM HILL'S HISTORIC TRACK.

BUT YOU DON'T SEEM TO THINK OF TODAY'S TRAINS AS YOU STARE AT THEIR WAITING ROOMS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE CALENDAR SAYS IT'S 1932 AND THE PROMOTIONAL PHOTOS ON THE WALL SHOW THAT A STEAMER COULD BE THE NEXT TRAIN DOWN THE TRACK.

YOU DON'T SEE MODERN LIFE OUT THERE WHEN YOU LOOK THROUGH THOSE STATION WINDOWS OR YOU WATCH THE TOURISTS STANDING THERE IN THEIR OUTDOOR BATIK SHIRTS AND SHORTS.

THE OLDER OF US MAY REMEMBER NATIVE AMERICANS DANCING AS EACH TRAIN PULLED IN.

OR AT LEAST A DIFFERENT-LOOKING "EMPIRE BUILDER" TRAIN, NOT ONE THAT'S SLEEK STEEL AND RED, WHITE, AND BLUE.

PERHAPS IT IS ONE OF THE MOST REFLECTIVE WAYS TO WONDER WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE THOSE DECADES AGO, BECAUSE A RAIL TRIP GIVES A PASSENGER ENOUGH TIME FOR A MIND TO WANDER, TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THAT 75-YEAR-OLD BROCHURE SAID: THIS IS "WHERE THE FIGHTING TROUT LEAP HIGH."

TO PLACE YOURSELF IN THE RAIL COACHES OF JIM HILL'S RAILROAD AND LOOK AT THE SAME SCENERY THAT THE PASSENGERS SAW BACK THEN.

AS YOU TAKE THAT CORNER, YOU IMAGINE JUST FOR A MINUTE WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR THAT TRAVELER FROM THE EAST SEEING A MOUNTAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME.

THE WEST TO EAST "EMPIRE BUILDER" RUNS IN THE MORNING AND ONLY TAKES ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF NOW TO GO FROM WEST GLACIER TO EAST GLACIER.

THE EAST TO WEST "EMPIRE BUILDER" IS IN THE EVENING, AS THE SUMMER SUN IS GOING DOWN.

THE TRAIN IS NO DOUBT FAR MORE QUIET THAN HOW IT WAS FOR THOSE EASTERNERS AS THEY ARRIVED AND SAW WHAT THE GREAT NORTHERN SUBSTITUTED FOR THE EUROPEAN ALPS, STARTING IN 1910 WHEN THIS WILDERNESS BECAME GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, WHEN JIM HILL FILLED RAIL CARS AND DREAMS OF SUMMER VACATIONS.

AND WHAT ABOUT JAMES J. HILL, THE MAN WITH THE VISION, ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPERS AND PROMOTERS OF ALL TIME-- A MAN WHO STARTED A RAILROAD IN LIFE AND THE ONLY PERSON WHO COULD HAVE IT STOPPED IN DEATH?

WALTER BREUNING NEVER FORGOT THE DAY THE BOSS DIED AND WAS BURIED.

Breuning: WHEN HE DIED, THEY PUT OUT AN ORDER.

WE ALL GOT A LETTER.

JULY 31, 1915, HE WAS BURIED.

AND EVERY TRAIN--FREIGHT TRAIN, PASSENGER TRAIN-- EVERY EMPLOYEE CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP FOR 5 MINUTES WHILE HE WAS BEING BURIED.

WE ALL GOT A LETTER FOR THAT FACT AT THAT TIME.

Narrator: AND WHAT ABOUT THE HORSES THAT WE SAW, WITH THEIR FANCY WRANGLERS AND GUIDES?

WELL, WHILE THERE ARE STILL A FEW NOBLE STEEDS, THE GREAT HERDS WERE VICTIMS OF THE WAR YEARS.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED WAS, I BELIEVE IT WAS 1942 OR '43 WHEN THE WAR STARTED, THE PARK WAS SHUT DOWN.

AND SO THEY HAD THE PARK SHUT DOWN FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, BUT THE PARK WANTED MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER TO STILL PAY HIS CONCESSIONAIRE FEES, AND IT WASN'T WORTH IT FOR HIM.

ECONOMICALLY, THEY COULDN'T DO IT.

Narrator: AND THOSE GREAT JAMMERS THAT WERE THE ROYALTY OF THE ROADS THAT OPENED THE PARK TO THE MASSES?

THEY HAVE NOW BEEN CONVERTED TO FUEL-EFFICIENT MODERN MACHINES WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART ENGINES.

BUT WHEN A VISITOR STEPS INTO THEM, CAN HE OR SHE HELP BUT THINK THAT THIS IS REALLY A TIME MACHINE AND IT IS REALLY THE 1930s?

OF COURSE, ANY TRIP THROUGH THE MAGNIFICENCE OF GOING-TO-THE-SUN ROAD CANNOT BE TAKEN WITHOUT WONDERMENT AND AMAZEMENT OF HOW THIS WAS EVER MADE.

NO, IT'S CLOSE TO IMPOSSIBLE TO TAKE A MODERN VACATION TO GLACIER AND NOT THINK ABOUT HISTORY AND TOURISTS THAT WE NEVER MET.

FOR RANGER BILL SCHUSTROM, THE MOMENT TO REFLECT COMES AS HE BEGINS A HIKE.

Schustrom: WHEN YOU'RE HIKING THE TRAILS OF THE PARK-- I ALWAYS HIKE WITH A GROUP OF PEOPLE.

AND THEY'LL ALWAYS SAY-- I'LL BE REAL QUIET FOR A WHILE.

AND THEY'LL SAY, "ARE YOU OK?"

AND IT'S BECAUSE MY MIND GOES BACK, WAY BACK, TO THE TIMES WHEN I WONDER WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR THOSE EARLIEST VISITORS THAT CAME INTO GLACIER NATIONAL PARK OR WHAT EVENTUALLY BECAME GLACIER NATIONAL PARK.

AND SO, YEAH, THAT'S A THING THAT I THINK ALL OF US THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND HERE FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME AND HAVE HAD ANY CHANCE TO KIND OF BE UP ON THE HISTORY OF THE PARK, I THINK WE THINK ABOUT THAT A LOT, YES.

Narrator: AND EVEN IF IT IS YOUR FIRST HIKE IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, YOU LOOK AROUND AND SEE WHAT WAS PRESERVED, WHAT WAS BUILT, AND WHAT WERE THE THOUGHTS THAT MILLIONS OF OTHERS HAVE HAD AS THEY LOOKED AT THIS SAME SCENERY.

Schustrom: IT IS A PARK OF ACHIEVEMENT.

IT'S A TRIBUTE TO THE HUMAN SPIRIT.

Narrator: FINALLY, IN THE MIDST OF ALL THIS SPLENDOR, DARRELL NORMAN HOPES THE TOURIST WILL REMEMBER HOW IT ALL GOT HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE AND THOSE WHO WERE HERE LONG BEFORE YOU.

HE CANNOT LOOK AT A MOUNTAIN WITHOUT THINKING.

Norman: EVERYBODY THAT COMES HERE, FIRST THING THEY COMMENT ON IS WHAT A BEAUTIFUL VIEW OF THE MOUNTAINS.

IN OUR LANGUAGE, WE CALL THEM "MIISTAKIS."

AND THEY USED SIGN LANGUAGE WHEN THEY WOULD TALK ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS.

AND THEY SAID "MIISTAKIS".

AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS SOMETHING PUSHING UP FROM THE EARTH, VERY ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE THAT CAN BE COMPARED WITH TODAY'S SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE OF HOW MOUNTAINS WERE FORMED BY MOVEMENTS OF THE EARTH.

Narrator: AND THUS, OUR VACATION MEMORIES ARE NOT ONLY OF THE SCENERY.

THEY, TOO, ARE OF THE ADVENTURES-- OURS, AND OF THOSE WHO WERE OUR SUMMER VACATION COUNTERPARTS OF UP TO A CENTURY AGO.

AND EVEN THOSE WHO INHABITED THIS SPECIAL LAND FOR CENTURIES BEFORE THAT.

I'M CRAIG WIRTH.

CAPTIONED BY THE NATIONAL CAPTIONING INSTITUTE --www.ncicap.org-- Wirth: YOU CAN PURCHASE A FULL-LENGTH KEEPSAKE COPY OF THIS FILM BY CONTACTING THE HISTORY MUSEUM AT 406-452-3462 OR BY VISITING THE WEBSITE THEHISTORYMUSEUM.ORG