Report of the Yellowstone River, by Bvt. Brig. Gen. W.F. Raynolds. Communicated by The Secretary of War, in compliance with a resolution of Senate, February 13, 1866

First edition of Raynolds' full-scale report on an early exploration of "the region of [the] country through which flow the principal tributaries of the Yellowstone river, and of the mountains in which they, and the Gallatin and Madison forks of the Missouri, have their source." Raynolds's object was "to ascertain, as far as practicable, everything relating to the numbers, habits and disposition of the Indians inhabiting the country, its agricultural and mineralogical resources, its climate and the influences that govern it, the navigability of its streams, its topographical features, and the facilities or obstacles which the latter present to the construction of rail or common roads, either to meet the wants of military operations or those of emigration through, or settlement in, the country." Among those who accompanied Raynolds was Ferdinand Hayden who later gained fame for his 1871 exploration of the region corresponding to present day Yellowstone National Park. Prior to this report, "a four-page preliminary report" of the Raynolds expedition "was issued in Senate Executive Document 1, 1860; the Civil War prevented earlier publication in this completed form." REFERENCES: Howes R88.