Archives West Finding Aid

The Pope diaries consist of three small memoranda books that record his daily activities in considerable detail. The first volume displays entries from July 10, 1896 to September 16, 1896, when Pope was assigned to Fort Hamilton, New York. Pope's daily routine of office work, family activities, social life, and continuing political observations, form most of the material in this volume. His duties took him to Washington, D. C. in the course of this volume, and Pope describes many politicians and top Army officers he dealt with during this visit. Pope also traveled to Bismarck, South Dakota, where he had been assigned to locate a new military post and inspect the prison at that location. The second diary contains entries written from August 23, 1897 to February 18, 1898, when Pope was assigned to Yellowstone National Park. In addition to describing his routine duties of supervising the payment of contractors and workers on buildings constructed at Fort Yellowstone, Pope's entries describe trips all around the Park for both business and pleasure. Observations of wildlife, natural features, and visiting tourists are recorded in considerable detail. Among the people mentioned are Frank Grouard, "Uncle John" John F. Yancey, and Colonel Samuel Baldwin Marks Young. Among the more dramatic incidents described is the August 14, 1897 stagecoach robbery on the Canyon-Norris road and the subsequent trial of the robbers. The last volume contains entries dated from October 15, 1899 to March 17, 1900. Pope begins the entries on his arrival at San Francisco from his Philippine service and continues with his residence in Washington, D. C. where he again worked at the War Department. These entries are primarily a record of Pope's social life, without as much political commentary as was the case in his first diary. Daily routine and periodical travel to inspect various posts on the east coast provides most of the descriptions.