By Richard G Earl
With grateful thanks & acknowledgment to the State of Montana, the Cities of Great Falls & Billings, the National Park Service US, Department of the Interior, Ranger Steve Adilo & Notable Book of the Year Author James Donovan.
Montana presents a kaleidoscope of ever changing Weather! As was so on the round trip between Great Falls & Billings.
The state of Montana is located in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other island ranges are found in the central third of the state, a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name, derived from the Spanish word montaña (mountain).
Montana has several nicknames, none official, including: "The Treasure State" and "Big Sky Country," and slogans that include "Land of the Shining Mountains," and more recently, "The Last Best Place." The state ranks fourth in area, but 44th in population, and therefore has the third lowest population density in the United States. The economy is primarily based on ranching, wheat farming, oil and coal in the east; lumber, tourism, and hard rock mining in the west. Millions of tourists annually visit Glacier National Park, the Battle of Little Bighorn site, and three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park. Montana is bordered by the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan on the north, Idaho on the west, Wyoming on the south and North Dakota and South Dakota on the east.
The journey to Billings was non eventful during a period of glorious weather, which enabled superb views of the changing landscapes & rugged scenery, before arriving at Billings.
Billings is a vibrant community known for its quiet neighborhoods and bustling business districts. With many community groups, recreational and cultural activities, which offers something for the individual of all ages or the entire family.
Billings, provides many experiences & services that enhance the community's quality of life. Why not visit & see for yourself!
From Billings a highway winds out toward the Wyoming border & the Little Big Horn Battlefield area, which memorializes the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry and the Sioux and Cheyenne in one of the Indians last armed efforts to preserve their way of life. Here on June 25, 1876, 263 soldiers and attached personnel of the U.S. Army, including Lt. Col. George A. Custer, died fighting many thousands of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors. Losses on the Indian side were light with only some 40 killed!
The Battle of the Little Bighorn
In 1875 the United States ordered all nomadic Lakota and Cheyenne to return to the Great Sioux Reservation, established by the Treaty of 1868, or be considered hostile. Thus confined they would not be a hindrance or threat to immigration into the region. A lesser portion of the tribes determined they would continue to be independent of U.S. government authority and maintain their nomadic way of life, roaming freely throughout the Powder and Yellowstone River drainages.
The immediate issues leading to the conflict which became known as the Great Sioux War were the Black Hills Expedition of 1874 and the invasion of the Black Hills by gold miners. The U.S. attempted to acquire the Black Hills by purchase but had been re-buffed by the Lakota. The Grant administration then unilaterally declared the Black Hills outside of the control of the Great Sioux Reservation. Further, all Lakota’s and Cheyenne’s dwelling away from the Great Sioux Reservation must return and live within the confines of the established boundary of the reservation, or be considered hostile. General Philip Sheridan the overall commander devised a strategy that committed several thousand troops to find and engage the now declared hostile tribes. Gen. Sheridan decided to order three Army expeditionary forces to converge on the Indian’s locations.
The resisting and freely roaming bands were scattered through out the area of Southeastern Montana. Gen. Alfred Terry commanded the Eastern or Dakota column. Col. John Gibbon commanded the Western or Montana column. Marching from the South with the largest command was Gen. George Crook. LTC George A. Custer and the 7th Cavalry he commanded were part of Gen. Terry's force. The Dakota and the Montana columns would join on the Yellowstone River in early June of 1876. Gen. Terry would assume command of the combined force and on June 21st 1876 he would order LTC Custer and the 7th Cavalry to march up Rosebud Creek to locate the combining Lakota and Cheyenne bands. The orders that LTC Custer received from Gen. Terry indicate that the 7th Cavalry will be a maneuvering strike force while Gen. Terry with Col. Gibbon's Montana column would ascend the Yellowstone and Big Horn Rivers and act as a blocking force to the North in support of LTC Custer's maneuvers. Gen. Terry's orders Allowed LTC Custer to engage the Indians his command was in pursuit of, if it seemed necessary. In the early morning hours of June 25th, 1876, the large village of Lakota’s and Cheyenne’s was observed from a high promontory in the Wolf Mountains. The village was 14 miles distant, to the West, in the valley of the Little Bighorn. From all indications the village was de-camping and scattering. Fearful that the village would disperse and escape, LTC Custer ordered his command to advance. In the rush to engage the Indians he divided the 7th Cavalry into four units in order to cover possible contingencies. The regiment went into battle piece meal. It became apparent that the assumptions of the early morning observations; that of a village escaping, were incorrect.
The village was largely intact and from accounts had been surprised by the approaching cavalry contingents. Fortunately the warrior fighting force was able to concentrate overwhelming numbers against a now divided Regiment and defeat it in detail. Approximately 380 members of the 7th Cavalry survived the battle after Major Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen reunited and developed a strong defensive position on high ground. LTC Custer and the 209 men in his immediate command were killed to a person because they had advanced to a position beyond the ability of the surviving parts of the Regiment to support them.
At the Visitor Centre & Bookstore Ranger Interpreter Steve Adilo gave a clear & unbiased overview of the battle. The 2 features that could not be ignored were that Custer was totally unaware of the size of the force he was going up against, some 10 - 15,000 Indians, with a force of only 209! He was also unaware that they would stand & fight, as Custer's & others previous encounters had led to the Indians fleeing in disarray!
For all those interested in further easy reading there is a book called "A Terrible Glory" by James Donovan, a renowned & well respected author, named as the Best Western Nonfiction writer of 2009!
James presents all the facts leading up to & subsequent to the battle, in a vivid & comprehensively told way, which is probably as close to the truth as will ever be got!
Definitely one for the bookshelf, you might even be able to get it autographed by Ranger Steve!
Overnight there raged several severe thunderstorms, in complete contrast to the day before. It was both cold & wet, but not possible to leave this area without a visit to the Boothill Cemetery of Billings!
Coulson, Montana existed as a town on the shore of the Yellowstone River from 1877 to 1885 and the town cemetery was atop a small hill at the base of the the sandstone cliffs called "The Rims" a short distance to the northeast from the Coulson town. The first grave in the cemetery was dug and filled in 1877 although the occupant is unknown. There is an old photograph from 1899 that shows 52 graves in the cemetery. The headstones disappeared over the years but the graves were remarked with crosses by the Boy Scouts of America sometime in the 1980s.
Many of the poor souls that rest in the Boothill Cemetery met violent ends and "died with their boots on." Two men killed by Nez Perces in 1877 are buried there. One story claims that there are 13 soldiers killed by Sioux buried there. The most famous resident of Boothill Cemetery is H. M. "Muggins" Taylor. Taylor was working as a Scout for the U.S. Army in June of 1876 and he was the person who brought news by horseback of the "Custer Massacre" or the Battle of the Little Bighorn from the battlefield to Bozeman, Montana Territory. Taylor was later killed in the line of duty in 1882 while he was serving as a Custer County Deputy Sheriff in the town of Coulson, Montana. The last burial in Boothill Cemetery was in 1887.
Boothill Cemetery is not on the top of "The Rims" but is actually on a smaller hill near the base of the rims. Yellowstone Kelly, another famous U.S. Army Scout, has the singular honor of being buried at the top of the cliffs.
By now the weather had turned somewhat inclement & very cold. Snow was in the offing and with some distance to travel back to Great Falls, the return trip was reluctantly begun.
On the way back it rained heavily, hailed hard enough to stop driving, snowed, blew a blizzard followed by a white-out. If that wasn't enough the cloud level came down at times to only a few feet off the ground. Very interesting at times especially as pedestrians legs appeared to be unaccompanied by bodies, cars had no structures above the doors! Whilst traversing the Judith Gap Wind Farm, a series of concrete & steel columns disappeared into the clouds! Every so often part of 1 of 3 blades would appear out of the clouds, move in a circular motion from right to left, then disappear again, very uncanny!
The last part of the journey was through 8 inch deep snow, but for all that, the experiences over those last 2 days, were ones never to have been missed!
Richard G Earl
July 14, 2010 | Posted by Marilyn Anderson 
Categories: Marilyn Anderson, Uncategorized | 
Tags: Canary Derby, Canary Foundation, cancer research, Cybele Negris, Vancouver | 
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