The E.C. Waters, Wreck of the Yellowstone

July 15, 2007 7:06 PM

Wrecked remains are all that's left of the biggest steamship ever to venture onto Lake Yellowstone - a vivid monument to one of Yellowstone Park's most insufferable businessmen. (Park Service Submerged Resources Center Project; Sonar Image.)
posted by The Deej (6 comments total)

In October of that year, Waters was told to leave, "having rendered himself obnoxious," the superintendent said.

That was 1907. Today this is known as being banhammered.
posted by found missing at 7:16 PM on July 15, 2007

The lone and level, uh, water, stretches far away.
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:44 PM on July 15, 2007

"He began by attempting to get me to go in with him in a scheme of mining coal in the park limits."

Funny how some ideas keep coming back!
posted by The Deej at 7:57 PM on July 15, 2007 [1 favorite]

Well, he probably shouldn't have started by naming the boat after himself. We mock, quite rightly and necessarily, modern marketing but seriously somebody might have said: "Chief, we can't name it the "E.C. Waters", that makes it "about you", ya gotta tell people what's in it for them, name it after some natural feature in the park or something outdoorsy or like "The Spirit of Yellowstone", something. Of course he might also have started by not looking to exploit Yellowstone Park too...
posted by scheptech at 9:01 PM on July 15, 2007

fascinating, thanks!
posted by vaportrail at 3:42 PM on July 16, 2007

Great post, I will think of this on the next visit to Yellowstone.
posted by LarryC at 6:25 PM on July 16, 2007