Carbon County news., 1937-12-03
.BEARTOOTH AREA PUBuC|ZED
BY FOREST SERVICE SURVEY

1
possible. The graves point to the
east and west, with the heads tt
the east to face the morning. sun
Rocks are piled so as to fit the
body, and the graves are placed or
high promontories so that the
spirit may have easy access to the
hunting ground below.
Among the earliest white mer
to settle in the country adjacent tc
the Beartooth mountains, Chris.
well said his Investigations show,
ed, were Tom Shane and Tom
Kent. Shane settled on the Still.
water several miles above Colum.
bus and Kent located a few miles
west. Both men came to the reg.
ion in the early '80s.
A. A. Ellis, whose ranch is on
East Red Lodge creek, came to
the country from California in
1882, at about the time that coal
was discovered at Red Lodge. 9th.
er early settlers in or near Red
Lodge included Pat McGillen, Tom
Early, Alandro Edick, John S. Don
ovan and Jack Webber. The latter
was cowpuncher from Wyoming
who helped drive cattle from that
state into the Rosebud and Still
water country in about 1882. He
took up a ranch in 1887 a short
distance above Red Lodge.
How Saltwater Was Named
Chriswell concludes his summary
of the early history of the region
by pointing out that "the Still
water river got it's name from the
quiet water which will be noticed
above the town of Nye. In the ear
ly days the Indians would meet
here to trade. Also this locality
was one of the best hunting
grounds of the region.
"It will no doubt be of interest
to visitors to the Saltwater area to
know that in the early days a mail
route followed up the main canyon
to Cooke City. The mail was taken
by stage as far as the upper Still
water basin and from there by
horseback the rest of the distance.
The old road still can be seen above
the Beartooth ranch"
! Discussing the area from a ge-
illogical standpoint, he points out
that, geologically speaking, the
Beartooths probably are tn e
youngest" mountains in the world.
"Before the mountains existed,
the entire area was covered with
water as was the adjoining plains
country. Various formations hav-
ing different characteristics were
deposited in layers by sedimenta-
tion.
"This action as with all geologi-
cal happenings was extremely slow
and occurred over inconcievably
long periods of time. During these
prehistoric cons there were times
when portions of the earth's sur
face were covered with ice. Geo.
logists have found evidence of five
such glacial ages on the North
American continent. During glacial
ages all manner of life was snuff
fed out.
Plateaus Are Formed
"Then came a time when distur-
Dances below the earth's surface
caused a great granite mass to be
thrust upward. This action was no
doubt very gradual with a move
ment of perhaps an inch in several
years. Finally, in this way the
plateaus of the Beartooth range
were formed, their highest points
mile and half above the sur
rounding plains,
"It is only natural that such a
gigantic movement of rock should
leave evidence Of the change in the
earth's surface at the place where
plains and mountains meet.
'SWe find this evidence in num-
ber of places. A good illustration
may be seen to the north of the
Point of Rocks three miles from
Red Lodge on the road to Cooke
City. Large slabs of rock will be
noticed which appear to be stand
ing on edge and actually fitting
away from the mountains. This is
called fault These rocks were
left in this way when the granite
mass was thrust through the much
older formation.
''There are indications of vol
canic action in the Beartooth range.
Lava beds are to be found on the
plateaus.
''Only one great glacier is known
to have covered the Beartooth
mountains since they came into
existence. It was over half a mile
thick. This glacier was here 25,-
600 years ago. Geological experts
estimate that it took about 5000
years to melt. The action of the
water and ice while the glacier was
melting resulted in the deep can
yons which are found in the reg
ion. The scenic beauty of these can
yons is impressive enough to draw
increasing numbers Of visitors ev-
cry year."
Six Main Canyons
There are six main CANYONS in |