HORN

The Life and Times of a Pioneer Prospector

At the beginning of the twentieth century, just outside the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park, a rough and tumble pioneer regaled local children with stories of his many adventures. The old-timer was known to be a dangerously tough and stubborn prospector, but to the children he was a beloved grandfather.

Miller was much like the other 300,000 or so pioneers who searched the west for silver and gold in the nineteenth century. And yet his story is as unique as the land he explored for over fifty years – in and around what became Yellowstone National Park. He participated in several Yellowstone River prospecting expeditions and helped blaze the wagon road toward the north entrance of the National Park. A mountain, a valley, two creeks, and a road all now bear his name. He was a guide for two of the first National Park superintendents and was sought out by Presidents Chester Arthur and Theodore Roosevelt when each visited Yellowstone Country.

This is the story of Adam “Horn” Miller and the times in which he lived (1837-1917). It is the story of a tough Montana pioneer whose giant calloused hands made toys for a little boy and sewed clothes for a young girl’s favorite store-bought doll.