Prehistoric to Open Range
By Sarah Juster
Edits by Max Milton and Wendy Beye
Prehistoric
The earliest accepted evidence of human existence in Montana comes from about 13,000 BC, near Wilsall in the southwest area of Montana. This is the Anzick site, where human skeletal remains, and stone artifacts such as tools for mammoth killing and processing were found. They were determined to be used by Paleo-Indians 11,000-12,000 years ago. These people, originating from those humans who crossed the Bering Strait, lived on the fringes of a retreating ice sheet. The Missouri river marked the southern edge of this great ice sheet. The tools found were prehistoric to the bow and arrow. Fifteen foot tall mammoths were killed at close range with stone-tipped lances and spears (Eastern Montana). See recent news on the Anzick site
By 4,000 BC, the cool and wet environment of the end of the Ice Age gave way to dry conditions. Ice Age mammoths disappeared, and humans had to adjust to agriculture and gathering. There is evidence that this adjustment was accompanied by a drop in human population numbers. The only areas in the plains that could support farming were those with higher rainfall and rivers and streams (History of American Indians). Around this time, bison populations began to grow, reaching numbers to provide a reliable food supply.
Plains Indians
In 1300 AD Indian cultures from other areas on the continent began moving into the Great Plains, seeking new sources of food, more space, and better climate. Movement was also a result of increasing Northeast and Southeast settlement in North America. Tribes from the Pacific Northwest including the Shoshonis, Bannocks, and Flatheads moved into the plains east of the Rockies seasonally to hunt Buffalo, though did not settle permanently (Manning).
By the 1800s there was constant transition and turmoil in the plains due to Indian tribes from outside the Montana area being pushed into the territory, seeking more land and game and leaving areas with heavier white settlement. The Piegans, one of three Blackfeet tribes, moved into Eastern Montana, driving the Shoshones and Bannocks south of their traditional hunting grounds. The Mountain and River Crows came from Canada by 1600 and tried to hold onto land south of the Yellowstone. Other groups of Indians moving to the Plains were the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine from the north, the Sioux coming east from the Great Lakes, and the Cheyenne and Arapahoe travelling from the south seasonally. (Life on the Musselshell)
The main source of sustenance for Plains Indians was the buffalo. Before the acquisition of horses, buffalo hunting was extremely dangerous. Whole villages would use fire or a corral to draw herds to the edge of a cliff, called a buffalo jump. All transportation was by foot, though dog Travois were used to carry buffalo carcasses. Weapons included bows, arrows, and spears. After killing a buffalo, women put every part of the buffalo to use, tanning hides into teepees, blankets and clothing. Hair was used in weaving and horns and bones were carved into utensils. Dry manure was used for fuel and any remaining meat used in pemmican with berries (History of American Indians). Once tribes gained use of the horse from Spanish settlers in the Southwest in the early 1800s, they became more nomadic as they were able to follow herds. This gave them considerable advantage in hunting (Manning).
Buffalo herds at this time were in the thousands. Lewis and Clark recall seeing “vast herds” of buffalo on the Montana plains, which likely was the spring migration of the herds north to Montana. Herds travelled south again to Wyoming for winter. Joseph Kinsey Howard writes that the continuous movement of the herd over land had an important affect on the grassland: the buffalo did not eat the same grass twice. Buffalo hooves also trampled the Blue-bunch wheatgrass, knocking down and planting its seeds. As Howard writes, “The Montana prairie was covered in foot tall short grasses: blue grama, bluestem “wheatgrass,” and buffalo grass. Two-foot high sagebrush was found in foothills covering plots of grass. It was healthy grass, even in dry conditions, there was good soil and roots.” [HWH]
The population of the buffalo may have been temporarily exaggerated. Human population was decreasing from warfare over hunting grounds and European diseases so hunting pressure was down. Even so, the Plains Tribes likely would not have been able to sustain this buffalo-centered economy as the plains became grazed by horses, who have an eighty percent overlap in diet with buffalo, and Plains Indians began selling buffalo robes into the European economy (Manning). Regardless of the long term sustainability of Plains Indians, their demise in Eastern Montana was largely brought about due to the increase in white settlement and exploitation of beaver, buffalo, and land.
Musselshell Valley
Indian activity:
The Musselshell Valley was Blackfeet country, and claimed as hunting grounds by the Piegans. The Blackfeet and their allies, the Gros Ventre were enemies of the Crow. The tribes raided back and forth between the Yellowstone and Musselshell rivers for war horses. It was considered a “no-mans land.” Hunting grounds near the Blackfeet were usually less populated due to their aggression. “It is not surprising that the Musselshell valley remained relatively isolated and unknown for so long.” (The Way it Was).
There is evidence of Indian settlement in the direct surroundings of the Milton Ranch. For instance, the 100 foot tall cliff called Big Wall is said to have been a buffalo jump used by the Blackfeet. Marty Griffith, who spent time around Big Wall during his childhood, remembers that buffalo bones could be found in the banks of Willow Creek, which runs underneath the wall, whenever the river washed out. Hundreds of arrowheads which likely belonged to Plains Indian tribes have been found by locals. Tipi rings and pictographs on rocks have been found southeast of the ranch, by the Musselshell River.
Big Wall on Milton Ranch, photo by Wendy Beye
The earliest accepted evidence of human existence in Montana comes from about 13,000 BC, near Wilsall in the southwest area of Montana. This is the Anzick site, where human skeletal remains, and stone artifacts such as tools for mammoth killing and processing were found. They were determined to be used by Paleo-Indians 11,000-12,000 years ago. These people, originating from those humans who crossed the Bering Strait, lived on the fringes of a retreating ice sheet. The Missouri river marked the southern edge of this great ice sheet. The tools found were prehistoric to the bow and arrow. Fifteen foot tall mammoths were killed at close range with stone-tipped lances and spears (Eastern Montana). See recent news on the Anzick site
By 4,000 BC, the cool and wet environment of the end of the Ice Age gave way to dry conditions. Ice Age mammoths disappeared, and humans had to adjust to agriculture and gathering. There is evidence that this adjustment was accompanied by a drop in human population numbers. The only areas in the plains that could support farming were those with higher rainfall and rivers and streams (History of American Indians). Around this time, bison populations began to grow, reaching numbers to provide a reliable food supply.
Plains Indians
In 1300 AD Indian cultures from other areas on the continent began moving into the Great Plains, seeking new sources of food, more space, and better climate. Movement was also a result of increasing Northeast and Southeast settlement in North America. Tribes from the Pacific Northwest including the Shoshonis, Bannocks, and Flatheads moved into the plains east of the Rockies seasonally to hunt Buffalo, though did not settle permanently (Manning).
By the 1800s there was constant transition and turmoil in the plains due to Indian tribes from outside the Montana area being pushed into the territory, seeking more land and game and leaving areas with heavier white settlement. The Piegans, one of three Blackfeet tribes, moved into Eastern Montana, driving the Shoshones and Bannocks south of their traditional hunting grounds. The Mountain and River Crows came from Canada by 1600 and tried to hold onto land south of the Yellowstone. Other groups of Indians moving to the Plains were the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine from the north, the Sioux coming east from the Great Lakes, and the Cheyenne and Arapahoe travelling from the south seasonally. (Life on the Musselshell)
The main source of sustenance for Plains Indians was the buffalo. Before the acquisition of horses, buffalo hunting was extremely dangerous. Whole villages would use fire or a corral to draw herds to the edge of a cliff, called a buffalo jump. All transportation was by foot, though dog Travois were used to carry buffalo carcasses. Weapons included bows, arrows, and spears. After killing a buffalo, women put every part of the buffalo to use, tanning hides into teepees, blankets and clothing. Hair was used in weaving and horns and bones were carved into utensils. Dry manure was used for fuel and any remaining meat used in pemmican with berries (History of American Indians). Once tribes gained use of the horse from Spanish settlers in the Southwest in the early 1800s, they became more nomadic as they were able to follow herds. This gave them considerable advantage in hunting (Manning).
Buffalo herds at this time were in the thousands. Lewis and Clark recall seeing “vast herds” of buffalo on the Montana plains, which likely was the spring migration of the herds north to Montana. Herds travelled south again to Wyoming for winter. Joseph Kinsey Howard writes that the continuous movement of the herd over land had an important affect on the grassland: the buffalo did not eat the same grass twice. Buffalo hooves also trampled the Blue-bunch wheatgrass, knocking down and planting its seeds. As Howard writes, “The Montana prairie was covered in foot tall short grasses: blue grama, bluestem “wheatgrass,” and buffalo grass. Two-foot high sagebrush was found in foothills covering plots of grass. It was healthy grass, even in dry conditions, there was good soil and roots.” [HWH]
The population of the buffalo may have been temporarily exaggerated. Human population was decreasing from warfare over hunting grounds and European diseases so hunting pressure was down. Even so, the Plains Tribes likely would not have been able to sustain this buffalo-centered economy as the plains became grazed by horses, who have an eighty percent overlap in diet with buffalo, and Plains Indians began selling buffalo robes into the European economy (Manning). Regardless of the long term sustainability of Plains Indians, their demise in Eastern Montana was largely brought about due to the increase in white settlement and exploitation of beaver, buffalo, and land.
Musselshell Valley
Indian activity:
The Musselshell Valley was Blackfeet country, and claimed as hunting grounds by the Piegans. The Blackfeet and their allies, the Gros Ventre were enemies of the Crow. The tribes raided back and forth between the Yellowstone and Musselshell rivers for war horses. It was considered a “no-mans land.” Hunting grounds near the Blackfeet were usually less populated due to their aggression. “It is not surprising that the Musselshell valley remained relatively isolated and unknown for so long.” (The Way it Was).
There is evidence of Indian settlement in the direct surroundings of the Milton Ranch. For instance, the 100 foot tall cliff called Big Wall is said to have been a buffalo jump used by the Blackfeet. Marty Griffith, who spent time around Big Wall during his childhood, remembers that buffalo bones could be found in the banks of Willow Creek, which runs underneath the wall, whenever the river washed out. Hundreds of arrowheads which likely belonged to Plains Indian tribes have been found by locals. Tipi rings and pictographs on rocks have been found southeast of the ranch, by the Musselshell River.
Big Wall on Milton Ranch, photo by Wendy Beye
White Settlement
The original public domain in the first years of the United States was the area between Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. Seven states had been granted title to the land from England. These lands were eventually ceded to the Central Government. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson acquired from France all of the land drained by the Mississippi Rivers western tributaries through the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the public domain. This land included most of Montana, east of the continental divide. Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to travel across the new territory in 1804, and the majority of their trek was in the future state of Montana. It was Lewis and Clark who gave name to the Musselshell (“Muscle-shell”) river due to the large number of mussels they observed.
The success of the Lewis and Clark journey encouraged the first white settlers, traders and trappers into the Montana territory. Near the Musselshell, the first white trappers stayed mostly south of the Yellowstone for fear of the aggressive Blackfeet, though a few brave trappers visited the Musselshell between 1807 and1835. The Musselshell River was an abundant source of beavers (the Way it Was).
The American Fur Company, established by Jacob Astor, constructed Fort Union as a trading post in 1828 at the juncture of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. In 1832, a steamboat reached Fort Union. Along the Missouri, little towns and trading posts popped up. Albert Culbertson ventured into Blackfeet territory to form Fort MacKenzie at the mouth of the Marias. He developed ties with the Blackfeet people and married a Blackfeet woman. Culbertson tried to warn the Blackfeet to stay away from steamboats, but was unsuccessful (1837). The traders and trappers at forts and on steamships brought with them small-pox and alcohol which each had devastating affects on Plains tribes. In 1837, six thousand Blackfeet were killed by smallpox. Again in 1852 and at the time of the Marias River Massacre there were major smallpox epidemics.
As the beaver population thinned out, buffalo became more and more desirable. At the time, the hides were mainly used for robes in Europe. Indians had been trading buffalo for guns, knives, beads, whiskey for some time, but the decreased beaver population meant that buffalo became even more valuable. A heavy toll on the buffalo population meant Plains Tribes lost their primary sustenance (Life on Musselshell). By 1841, the Blackfeet were trading 20,000 robes per year at Fort Mackenzie. By trading buffalo, the tribes began to eradicate their own subsistence. The Little Ice Age was over and the Indians were lured into trade by the availability of pots, pans, beads, and whiskey. As disease undercut the Blackfeet, they allowed for the construction of Fort Benton in 1846. It was discovered that poisoned bison carcasses could kill 30-60 wolves and coyotes which made the big beasts valuable to wolfers (Life on the Musselshell).
First Settlements at Musselshell
The military post established in Central Montana was Camp Cooke in 1866 at the mouth of the Judith River. It was relocated in 1869 to the Sun River. Gold was discovered at Alder Gulch in Western Montana and a number of towns were formed in the western part of the territory such as Helena, Diamond City, Bannack, and Copperopolis. Miners and settlers travelled on trails across Montana, such as the Bozeman and Oregon trails. The pressure of this new settlement on Plains tribes was often responded to with Indian resistance. The federal government was pressured to provide protection for settlers.
The Musselshell river during this time still only had a few whites, mainly wood-choppers cutting cottonwood and pine on river banks, wolfers, trappers, and traders. They were alone or in small groups for most of the year, but in the spring they gathered at trading posts to await steamboats. The Mouth of the Musselshell was the heart of this activity in 1869. There were two trading establishments: the Montana Hide and Fur Company, which failed soon after due to Sioux hostility, and Cornelius Lee’s gunshop. There were saloons, and log cabins. There were some troops from Camp Cooke below the town at a stockade. The trade was mainly with the River Crows and upper Grow Ventre. Peter Koch remembers the River Crows had a great love of whiskey, and the Gros Ventre population was stricken by smallpox, annihilating two thirds of them. The Blackfeet did not bother the post, but the Sioux often attacked. “In 1869-1870 Muscleshell was in the heart of Buffalo country and there seemed no end to either buffalo or wolves.”
In the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty, the Musselshell region was recognized as Crow, Blackfeet, Gros Ventre and Assiniboine land. Four years later, a treaty with the Blackfeet (Lame Bull’s treaty of 1855) identified this area as a common hunting ground and left it up to tribes to who would use it the most. (Life on the Musselshell). After this treaty there were four amendments made by acts of Congress or executive orders. By 1874, the Southern boundary of Blackfeet land was moved north to the Marias River.
After the Sioux Wars of 1875-1877 the federal government rapidly tried to force the assimilation and restriction of American Indians. The Sioux and Assiniboine were grouped on the Fort Peck Reservation. Gros Ventre and some Assiniboine were located at Fort Belknap. The River and Mountain Crow were restricted south of the Yellowstone. There was prohibition of religious and cultural activities and forced assimilation in boarding schools. Indian lands became smaller and smaller.
The government encouraged buffalo hunting as a means of controlling Indians, who still outnumbered white settlers in central and east Montana. The production of cheaper Winchester guns and the market for buffalo hides for leather strips under rail cars were also impetus. In stark contrast to Indian use of buffalo, white hunters left meat to spoil. They took the hide, tongue, some steaks from the fattest animals and horns. Bleached bones were shipped east for sale as fertilizer. With guns, it took only from 1870 to1883 for the millions of buffalo on the plains to be annihilated, hides sold for three or four dollars (HWH). Even the Indians were tempted by the easy money, and joined in the rifle hunts of bison. In 1881, the Northern Pacific alone transported 50,000 hides and robes to market. By 1884, there was just one carload shipped.
Without the buffalo, Indians were left to starvation and dependence on selling land to the government. The winter of 1883-1884 was known as the “starvation winter.” The last of the buffalo were gone and there were fewer than 2,000 Blackfeet left in Montana (Ewing).
This chapter is intended to set up a brief background for white settlement, agriculture, and livestock in Central and Eastern Montana, where the Milton Ranch is located. The area had been uninhabitable for permanent human or animal settlement until the end of the last ice age. Bison migrated and people did too. The first permanent settlers, the Blackfeet, Crow, and other Plains Indian groups who moved in between 1500-1800 only did so in response to European pressures on their homelands. Eastern Montana was also one of the last places settled by white settlers. They could not pursue settled agriculture. They travelled to the Pacific coast but did not attempt permanent settlement in the plains of Montana until they saw an opening for exploitation of minerals, beavers, buffalo, and eventually, land.
The original public domain in the first years of the United States was the area between Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. Seven states had been granted title to the land from England. These lands were eventually ceded to the Central Government. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson acquired from France all of the land drained by the Mississippi Rivers western tributaries through the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the public domain. This land included most of Montana, east of the continental divide. Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to travel across the new territory in 1804, and the majority of their trek was in the future state of Montana. It was Lewis and Clark who gave name to the Musselshell (“Muscle-shell”) river due to the large number of mussels they observed.
The success of the Lewis and Clark journey encouraged the first white settlers, traders and trappers into the Montana territory. Near the Musselshell, the first white trappers stayed mostly south of the Yellowstone for fear of the aggressive Blackfeet, though a few brave trappers visited the Musselshell between 1807 and1835. The Musselshell River was an abundant source of beavers (the Way it Was).
The American Fur Company, established by Jacob Astor, constructed Fort Union as a trading post in 1828 at the juncture of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. In 1832, a steamboat reached Fort Union. Along the Missouri, little towns and trading posts popped up. Albert Culbertson ventured into Blackfeet territory to form Fort MacKenzie at the mouth of the Marias. He developed ties with the Blackfeet people and married a Blackfeet woman. Culbertson tried to warn the Blackfeet to stay away from steamboats, but was unsuccessful (1837). The traders and trappers at forts and on steamships brought with them small-pox and alcohol which each had devastating affects on Plains tribes. In 1837, six thousand Blackfeet were killed by smallpox. Again in 1852 and at the time of the Marias River Massacre there were major smallpox epidemics.
As the beaver population thinned out, buffalo became more and more desirable. At the time, the hides were mainly used for robes in Europe. Indians had been trading buffalo for guns, knives, beads, whiskey for some time, but the decreased beaver population meant that buffalo became even more valuable. A heavy toll on the buffalo population meant Plains Tribes lost their primary sustenance (Life on Musselshell). By 1841, the Blackfeet were trading 20,000 robes per year at Fort Mackenzie. By trading buffalo, the tribes began to eradicate their own subsistence. The Little Ice Age was over and the Indians were lured into trade by the availability of pots, pans, beads, and whiskey. As disease undercut the Blackfeet, they allowed for the construction of Fort Benton in 1846. It was discovered that poisoned bison carcasses could kill 30-60 wolves and coyotes which made the big beasts valuable to wolfers (Life on the Musselshell).
First Settlements at Musselshell
The military post established in Central Montana was Camp Cooke in 1866 at the mouth of the Judith River. It was relocated in 1869 to the Sun River. Gold was discovered at Alder Gulch in Western Montana and a number of towns were formed in the western part of the territory such as Helena, Diamond City, Bannack, and Copperopolis. Miners and settlers travelled on trails across Montana, such as the Bozeman and Oregon trails. The pressure of this new settlement on Plains tribes was often responded to with Indian resistance. The federal government was pressured to provide protection for settlers.
The Musselshell river during this time still only had a few whites, mainly wood-choppers cutting cottonwood and pine on river banks, wolfers, trappers, and traders. They were alone or in small groups for most of the year, but in the spring they gathered at trading posts to await steamboats. The Mouth of the Musselshell was the heart of this activity in 1869. There were two trading establishments: the Montana Hide and Fur Company, which failed soon after due to Sioux hostility, and Cornelius Lee’s gunshop. There were saloons, and log cabins. There were some troops from Camp Cooke below the town at a stockade. The trade was mainly with the River Crows and upper Grow Ventre. Peter Koch remembers the River Crows had a great love of whiskey, and the Gros Ventre population was stricken by smallpox, annihilating two thirds of them. The Blackfeet did not bother the post, but the Sioux often attacked. “In 1869-1870 Muscleshell was in the heart of Buffalo country and there seemed no end to either buffalo or wolves.”
In the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty, the Musselshell region was recognized as Crow, Blackfeet, Gros Ventre and Assiniboine land. Four years later, a treaty with the Blackfeet (Lame Bull’s treaty of 1855) identified this area as a common hunting ground and left it up to tribes to who would use it the most. (Life on the Musselshell). After this treaty there were four amendments made by acts of Congress or executive orders. By 1874, the Southern boundary of Blackfeet land was moved north to the Marias River.
After the Sioux Wars of 1875-1877 the federal government rapidly tried to force the assimilation and restriction of American Indians. The Sioux and Assiniboine were grouped on the Fort Peck Reservation. Gros Ventre and some Assiniboine were located at Fort Belknap. The River and Mountain Crow were restricted south of the Yellowstone. There was prohibition of religious and cultural activities and forced assimilation in boarding schools. Indian lands became smaller and smaller.
The government encouraged buffalo hunting as a means of controlling Indians, who still outnumbered white settlers in central and east Montana. The production of cheaper Winchester guns and the market for buffalo hides for leather strips under rail cars were also impetus. In stark contrast to Indian use of buffalo, white hunters left meat to spoil. They took the hide, tongue, some steaks from the fattest animals and horns. Bleached bones were shipped east for sale as fertilizer. With guns, it took only from 1870 to1883 for the millions of buffalo on the plains to be annihilated, hides sold for three or four dollars (HWH). Even the Indians were tempted by the easy money, and joined in the rifle hunts of bison. In 1881, the Northern Pacific alone transported 50,000 hides and robes to market. By 1884, there was just one carload shipped.
Without the buffalo, Indians were left to starvation and dependence on selling land to the government. The winter of 1883-1884 was known as the “starvation winter.” The last of the buffalo were gone and there were fewer than 2,000 Blackfeet left in Montana (Ewing).
This chapter is intended to set up a brief background for white settlement, agriculture, and livestock in Central and Eastern Montana, where the Milton Ranch is located. The area had been uninhabitable for permanent human or animal settlement until the end of the last ice age. Bison migrated and people did too. The first permanent settlers, the Blackfeet, Crow, and other Plains Indian groups who moved in between 1500-1800 only did so in response to European pressures on their homelands. Eastern Montana was also one of the last places settled by white settlers. They could not pursue settled agriculture. They travelled to the Pacific coast but did not attempt permanent settlement in the plains of Montana until they saw an opening for exploitation of minerals, beavers, buffalo, and eventually, land.