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Evelyn Bell enjoyed taking care of the horses and treating them to some extra pellets. Two of her favorites, Fox (left) and Snoop (right) could count on her for special care.

Reflections of Thorofare: Providing for Hungry Men and Horses

Evelyn Bell Interview—Recorded by Tim Fagan

In the spring of 1955, Evelyn Bell's assistance had been requested by the Wyoming Game & Fish Department for her help on a monumental summer project. Evelyn's career choice was that of a schoolteacher, and she would spend nine months each year instructing the elementary school children at Eastside School in Cody, Wyoming . Her husband, Ronald, was the Game & Fish Supervisor in Cody, and during the winter of 1955, he had been planning the construction of a backcountry patrol cabin on Thorofare Creek. With school recessing for the summer, Evelyn was asked to trade her ruler for an apron and become a camp cook for the horse packers and cabin builders Ronald had assembled for the cabin project. Be it her adventurous spirit or devotion to her husband, Evelyn accepted the job of camp cook for these hardy workers.

Evelyn's tour as a backcountry cook spanned the summers of 1955 and 1956. These summer months found her enveloped in contentment as she went about the task of preparing meals for the hungry crews. Her daily routine also included sneaking handfuls of pellets out to her favorite horses, especially her saddle horse Snoop. Such activities took on a special meaning, considering her work was centered in the remote Thorofare region of the Teton Forest.

The following are some memories she shared with Lin Bashford and me when we visited her in February 2005.

Traveling to the Construction Site

In late June 1955, Evelyn began her journey to the Thorofare cabin construction site from Cody , Wyoming . Her travel arrangements were quite unique, requiring coordination of three modes of transportation. First, Evelyn would travel eighty miles by vehicle, then twenty miles by boat and finally eighteen miles on a saddle horse in order to reach the cabin site.

After filling her duffel bag with the clothes she would need for the summer, Evelyn left her home in Cody, driving eighty miles to the boat dock near Lake Hotel in Yellowstone National Park . Here she met Cody Game Warden Earl Thomas, who would take her by boat on the second leg of her journey. Leaving the dock, they navigated the twenty miles across Yellowstone Lake to a base camp on Trail Creek. This trip took about three hours, and as they pulled into Trail Creek, her husband Ronald, as well as Alta and Sonny Reesy, were there to greet them and help unload supplies.

Trail Creek was a temporary layover for Evelyn. The summer would find boats unloading and stockpiling cabin supplies here, and pack crews would load and trans-port the same supplies on pack horses for the final trip to the cabin construction site. Evelyn spent several days cooking here, but when the pack crew arrived, she found herself mounted on a horse and traveling the eighteen miles to the cabin construction site. Once at the site, she spent the rest of the summer preparing meals for the cabin builders and horse packers. Evelyn quickly developed a reputation for being an accomplished cook, and the workers were always easy to locate at mealtime.

Random Recollections

Evelyn presented a kaleidoscope of memories of the two summers she spent as camp cook in Thorofare. Some memories were quite vivid; others somewhat foggy. All were incredibly interesting. The following are short memory-bites of her experiences in Thorofare during the summers of 1955 and 1956.

I will always remember…

. . . my horse named Snoop. He was the best old horse. I took good care of him, and he took good care of me.

. . . how I carried horse pellets in my pockets. Snoop would always come right up to me and search my pockets for a treat.

. . . the time Snoop thought my thumb was a pellet. He chomped down on it, and it swelled up like a plum! It was black and blue and so sore.

. . . leading the picket horses out to graze. Ronald and the packers would go to Trail Creek to pick up supplies. They would be gone for two days. It fell on me to take care of the picket horses.

. . . Earl Thomas bringing me across Yellowstone Lake . The waves came across the front of the boat and over my head. I was soaked when I arrived at Trail Creek.

. . . the black bear that would come into our camp at Trail Creek. He would come around the tents. We would shoo him out, but he didn't shoo worth a darn!

. . . cooking meals for the crew on a Sims stove.

. . . running out of meat to feed the men. Ronald would go down to the river and catch some fish for supper. They were beautiful, big fish.

. . . Ronald getting so damn mad when the lumber yard would send him cull lumber for the cabin.

. . . Ronald's horse Scotty. He was a nasty bucker and threw Ronald off a time or two.

And I will never forget…

. . . poor Myra Muchmore (wife of Powell Game Warden Pete Muchmore). She did not ride a horse but walked from Trail Creek to the cabin (eighteen miles). She was wet from crossing the creeks and was nearly frozen when she reached the cabin. She huddled around the Sims stove and was shaking so bad Ronald wrapped his sleeping bag around her to get her warm.

. . . the awful scare I had when the horses were tied to the hitching rail. One of them pulled back, taking the hitching rack and all the other horses tied to it with him. They were so scared and didn't know what to do. When they quieted down, I walked out and untied as many of the halter ropes as I could.

. . . helping Axel and Slim (the cabin builders) adjust the height of the cabin windows. I thought you should be able to see out of the cabin while seated. I would sit in a chair and have them raise and lower the windows until they were the proper level.

. . . picking wild strawberries and making strawberry shortcake for the workers.

. . . how I nearly froze to death riding from the cabin to Trail Creek. I was leaving in August to go back to school. It was warm when we left the cabin that morning, so Ronald packed my coat on the pack horses. As we neared Yellowstone Lake , the wind came up, and it became so cold.

. . . the last thing I helped Ronald pack on a horse were the two doors for the cabin. I can't believe they made it. The top half of each door was glass!

And, as I look back…

. . . I did not return to the cabin after it was built. I would have loved to go back and see it.

. . . I wish the Game & Fish had named it the Bell Cabin. Ronald worked so hard on building it.

. . . those were such great days. I wish I could go up and do it again!

A Lady's Touch

We will always be grateful for Evelyn's efforts in making this wilderness outpost a reality. In an environment that was often harsh, and for a project that required both fortitude and muscle, Evelyn's contribution was far more than just good meals and hot coffee. Although renowned for her cooking, Evelyn will be remembered for the gentleness she extended to the workers and horses around her, as well as her devotion to the cabin project. Her influence became woven into the very fabric and character of the cabin, an influence rivaling the sturdy logs that formed the cabin walls.

Now, fifty years later, when you visit the cabin, take time to reflect on her contribution. Feel her influence. It is still there!

Tim Fagan
Cody Damage Warden 1977–1993
South Cody Game Warden 1993–present