Evening star., 1936-08-09
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
Staff Correspondent OF The Star.


- Of hundreds of square miles
of towering mountains and
- irrigated lowlands here in
Southwestern Montana a man is
building a new empire.
Americas latest empire builder is
Robert Yellowtail-Crow Indian, law
yer, cattleman, arbiter of the deStinieS
of nearly 5000 of about the most
energetic and picturesque red men left
in North America. With an Unborn
comprehension of the psychology OF
his people, tireless energy, imagination
and thorough training in business
methods, he is engaged in restoring
the nation of the Crows as it fiourished
in the days of the bison-but adapted
to the days of gasoline.
This new empire within the bounds
of the United States is almost as
large as the State Of Massachusetts.
It abounds in untapped natural
wealth 1t is the home of proud.
racially pure, but hitherto ill-adapted
people There is symbolic significance
in the fact that the main artery OF
the empire-as YelloWtail always re-
fers to its the Little Big Horn River:
on which, nearly go years ago, the
white conquerors received their most
memorable defeat at the hands of
the red men. The fact that at the
time of the battle of the Little Big
Horn the Crows were neutralS rather
sympathetic toward the whites robs
the symbolism of little of its force
for they instead of the Vctors occupy
the land.
OF Titanic Proportions.
Mr.. Yelllowtails experiment in en-
pire building is of titanic proportions.
Its success, one cannot help but feel,
depends essentially on the man him.
self-and one of the best indications
that it will succeed is the enthusias-
tic admiration for him expressed by
his white neighborS. Sometimes he
has had to step on their toes rather
hard to carry through his plans. but
throughout the countryside he is
known affectionately as Bobby" and
is a most welcome guest at the camp
fires of the sheep ranchers and cat
tlemen who hold grazing leases on
parts of his domain.
Two things Bobby Yellowtail-48
years old and self-educated-has in
common with the other empire build
ers of the day. The first is an al
most mystical faith in territorial self
suficiency and cultural preservation.
The second is an unbelievably tireless
energy. The man literally works 20
hours a day and he has an appetite
for details which is astounding.
He is the superintendent of the O.
500, 0,000-acre Crow Reservation-100
miles long and 63 miles wide. 1t in
cludes both the fertile valley of the
Little Big Horn and a large area of
the Big Horn Mountains. almost ad-
joining Yellowstone National Park.
Once the Crow Territory was nearly
four times as big, but it has been re-
duced to its present size by land trea-
ties, the validity Of which Is not gen.
orally accepted by the Indians. Yel-
lowtail is making the best of what he
has, and it is sufficient for all pres
ent purposes.
Restoration of Bison.
The foundation of his enterprise Is
the restoration of the bison. HiStori-
cally the Crows were a on-hunting
people. They were one of the war
like Great Plains tribes which OBJ
tanned almost its entire subsistence
from the enormous herds of these an
imals which blackened the prairies
and mountain sides as far as eye could
see They were almost entirely meat
eaters. Through most of the year they
lived on their stores of dried bison
meat. They made their tents of bison
skins, their clothes of bison hair. their
thread of bison sinews, their drink of
bison soup. They recognized their
debt to the bison and practiced prim-
tive sort of conservation. The war
riors killed only as many of the ami
mails as they needed. 1t is doubtful
If the numbers of the bison herds ever
were actually diminished by the Crow
hunting.
Then came the white hunters and
slaughtered the animals by the mil
lions. Everything was wasted but the
hides, which became such a glut on
the market that at one time the price
sank as low as $500. 1t was a poor
farmer who couldn't afford a bison
buggy robe This soon resulted in al
most the complete determination of
the ANIMALS. Their grazing lands were
turned over to sheep and cattle. The
Indians were placed on reservations
and a supposedly benevolent govern
ment tried to make farmers and cat
n