Montana Off the Beaten Path® by Ednor Therriault

Author:Ednor Therriault
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781493017591
Publisher: Globe Pequot Press

The headwaters, where three major rivers flow together to form the Missouri, was long known by American Indians as one of the most game-abundant areas in the region. During the 18th century the Blackfeet, Gros Ventre, Shoshone, and Flathead tribes shared the area, but by early in the 19th century, the powerful and aggressive Blackfeet dominated. Lewis and Clark came through in 1805, naming the “three noble streams” the Madison, Gallatin, and Jefferson, after the US secretary of state, secretary of the treasury, and president (“the author of our enterprize”). Not long after, trappers and traders in search of beaver pelts filtered in.

Two of the earliest into the beaver country were John Potts and the now-legendary mountain man John Colter, both formerly of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Together they were dispatched in 1808 from Manuel Lisa’s trading post at the confluence of the Big Horn and Yellowstone Rivers, armed with the mission of persuading the Indians to trade at Lisa’s Fort Remon. But by this time the Blackfeet, who were hostile toward incoming settlement, controlled the scene, and the duo unfortunately encountered a party of several hundred Piegan warriors. Legend has it that Potts was killed immediately, but Colter was given a chance for survival: After convincing the Piegan chief that he was a clumsy runner (although known among his fellow explorers as a very good one), Colter was stripped, given a head start, and permitted to run for his life, barefoot and bare naked.

The warriors chased Colter over a rough, rocky, and cactus-covered terrain, but he finally ditched them by hiding in brush along the Madison. He regained Fort Remon after an 11-day odyssey, tattered, footsore, and hungry. The epic adventure enhanced Colter’s reputation as one of the smartest and toughest of all the wild and wily mountain men.

At the corner of Main and Cedar in Three Forks, visit the Headwaters Heritage Museum, one of Montana’s best small-town shrines to the past. Among the ground-floor displays is a collection of pictures taken by local photographer Niels Olson, documenting Three Forks’s history during the first half of the 20th century. Another features several hundred hand-carved miniatures created in his spare time by a local railroad engineer, many of them microscopically inscribed with his name.

John Colter Run

The 7-mile John Colter Run, an annual institution for more than 35 years, is hosted in early September by Bozeman’s Big Sky Wind Drinkers running club. The race celebrates John Colter’s epic trek. The first year I showed up for the race, in 1993, I admit that I was relieved to find that, unlike in Colter’s situation, today’s contestants are permitted (in fact, required) to retain their shorts and shoes. The early autumn morning was cool, but not cold—perfect for running. After the starting gun sounded, we were off, roughly 200 strong, trotting up the paved road leading from Missouri Headwaters State Park toward the railroad siding known as Trident. Soon, though, after about a mile of level pavement, we were directed across the railroad tracks and into the hills .

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.