Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1874-05-15
LEGEND or TIE PIINIED
From the YanktOn Herald. I

t. situated Oh the Missouri river. abe
IL twenty miles below the ruins Of {
Of Fort Clark. The country in the vic
IS ity OF the woods is grand, gloomy al
l. picturesque. 10 the west and sou
f. the great domes Of the Square Butt
&c loom silently and alone, far abo,e d
G. broken prairie around them; to Il
)f northwest the graceful beauty of Il
4, Antelope Hills meet the eye, while
It the east, the majestic hills of the Yam
v toney frown down on the sOmbre L
8 cesses, and completes picture Of vii
e and rugged scenery. At the mort
It corner OF the woods, hidden anon
:. the dense forests Of lofty cottonwood
e Is the Painted Woods Lake-the par;
3 disc Of the hunter and trapper. Hel
r among the tlickets of underbrush, til
e elk and the deer are to be seen in thei
3 wild and graceful beauty; here elon
the shores Of the lake, the industriou
} beaver builds his house in fancied SC
curity, disturbed occasionally, how
ever, by the rowing trapper, with whom
ne often tarries i'll points of sagacity
Here- TOO, the bear luxuriates anon.
!. the berries and plum branches, as in
dependently as railroad king
Tle buffalOes also occasionally stra,
around the shores Of the lake, as loati
to leave its cooling waters and ricl
herbage to follow their kind across tht
arid plains westward.
In the remembrance of the oldest
trapper and trader Of the Upper Conn
try the Painted Woods has been know,
as TIE forbidden OR neutral ground be.
tween the Sioux and their hereditary
enemies-the Three Nations. When
they meet it is always for war, and the
pitched battles between the tribes
around the woods is almost innumer-
able.
The last encounter was in May. 1869.
Although the writer was not a witness
Of the affair, yet it fell to his lot to
assist at the buria! Of one Of the slain.
Hi.e particulars were as follows: A
rowing party Of Mandans ro, sud4lealy
beset by war party Of Sioux. After
few interchanges Of shots, one Of the
and 81 sst stegnad e"s,d;1oan out t, in front
% ni;eI nu xot!n an slnMRler M:erfea#t fea#tata
Ward, and in twinkling shot dow.
his antagonist. AS he was drawing
his knife and reaching for the scalp
lock, the dying Sioux drew his bow
and sent its fatal shaft through tlp
heart Of the Mandan. The surviving
combatants scattered in all directions,
and 20 ended the last SkirmiSh among
the Painted Trees.
Onc beautiful autumn day in 1872,
after a weary days tramp around the
trap-line, lay down upon a grassy
knoll near tho lake shore, watching
the myraiLs OF wild fowl skimn1ins
lightly over the lake, seemingly fear
less alike Of the hunter or the hawk,
when I was startled by the hum of
many voices, who on approaching ap-
peared to l'e a hunting party Of Man
dams. After the usual ka}utations,
they dismOunted and circled around
tAe Medicine Pipe. The leader Of the
party proved to be the son of Red
Cow, head chief of the Mandans. This
young warrior always cultivated sin
cere friendship for the whites, aad |
had myself, on more than one coca
sion, relied On his good will to keep
his meddlesome companions from
"plucking my plumber" Oh these lone-
" excursions. After all were seated,
and the pipe passed the usual rounds,
I asked my young Mandan friend II he
could tell me why the Red Men called
this the Painted Woodss eyes, Trap
per- said he, "and if you listen will
tell" "My ears are Open," replied;
and he then continued: Mary years
years ago, when the Mandan villages
were large and numerous, they Occu-
pied and were masters Of this section
of country. The Sioux lived hundreds
Of miles to the eastward, but then as
now, came here to fight and kill our
people and drive off our herds. We
were strong then, AID often brought
the horrors of war to their own lodges.
Once, when all hearts grew heavy with
war, the nations assembled in grand
council at this lake, then the home Of
our fathers. From the north came the
AssinabOins, with their train Of dogs;
from the west came the Crows and
Gros ventres, plulned and painted, and
from the south and east came the Sis
setons and Yanktoneys, with their
train of stolen horses. Our fathers
received them we'll, and as buffaloes
were plenty, and the harvest of corn
bountiful, the Grand Council OF Ma
tions was a succession of feaStS and
love making.
Sometime during the feasting the
Jealous eyes of some Of the young Man.
dan warriors detected the asSldious
attentions Of a young Yanktoney to
the daughter of Mandan chief. She
was young and beautiful, the belle Of
all the villages, and many a young
warrior had offered her his heart and
hand only to be refused. Now that
she seemed to encourage the lank-
toney-a stranger and an enemy, one
who had perhaps imbued his hands in
the blood of her people-troub!ed them
sorely. They demonstrated, plead, but
in vain. The girl quietly prepared to
quit the lodge of her father and peo-
pie, and to follow the fortunes OF the
stranger she loved. When al other
devices failed to seperate the lovers,
| the soldiers of the Mandan Medicine