Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-03-05
Billings Indian Cave Home Semi Civilized Tribe 1000 Years Ago


south Of Billings points to an
active, semi-civilixed exiStencs
on COburn hill perhaps 500 "a
1000 years ago. None Of the Indians Of
the present day native 10 the west,
neither Crow nor Sioux, Blackfeet nor
Cheyenne, can lay any claim TO Its
origin.
On the walls of the cave, nearly COW
cred by debris, protected from the
ravages of wind and rain, are paintings,
easily decipherable but not so easily
interpreted, done in black and red pig
ment. There is q row Of guns IN red
and, below this, row Of many red
stripes, indicating probably q combat
between armed white men and a much
larger force of unarmed Indians Close
to this drawing are crude figures OF
men and women, unquestionably
mourning, for large tears are dropping
from their eyes. Beside the mourners
stands the figure Of man, Sketched
in charcoal, with black stripes across
his throat, indicative Of death. This
picture, with its guns, is, Of course,
quite recent, not more than 100 years
old. 1t may have been intended as a
warning to other tribes to beware of
the cruel whites, who carried long
sticks that spit fire. Or 1t may have
been in response to the human hearts
instructive urge to seek expression for
the emotion Of grief, either by pictures,
poems or song. This group includes the
painting Of a figure within a figure
IMPLYING a dual personality, death
less soul within the body OF the man.
Even in their sorrow these SaVageS /
found comfort in recording their beliet
in immortality, their conviction that
only the body, but never the soul, could
be destroyed by white mans fire
sticks.
Walls Covered With Paintings
On the walls of the cave are many
other groups painted by fumbling, pre- I
historic artists dating back into the /
tiHne-clouded centuries. One is hunt /
ING scene There is bison with an
arrow in its shoulder, and wolf gnaw-
ing at its throat. Near it stands the
figure of q man with the black stripes
of death across his throat. All about
him are bear tracks, and, gathered
close, are mourners, big tear drops roll
ing down from their eyes, Here is an
other obscure tragedy and another sug-
gested drama Of aching hearts. In still
another group the men and women are
painted with two sets Of feet, the
whole group surrounded by circle OF
red bars. Here again, as syInbolized by
the two sets of feet, we have recorded
the conviction OF the cropping savage
heart that there is a dual personality,
a part of the human which cannot die.
Even in their semi-civilized state these
early plainsmen had arrived at a phil
oSophy of life and death satisfactory
to themselves. The circle of red bars
may suggest suns rays, for many an
Gent tribes worShipped the sun, g1ver
of light, warmth and life. In all the
groups are numerous sketches of turtles
and snakes, sacred symbols to many
tribes. All these paintings
have stood out, bright and clear, on
the walls of the Indian Cave, longer
than the memory of any white man or
even Of any present-day Indian tribe.
Busy men today are digging down
into rock below the present floor level
Of the cave and are finding evidences
that point to tribal life, active and
emi-civiized, centuries before the
white man conquered the Montana
plains. Eight feet below the debris Of I
Vind-and- Water-eroded boulderS they :
have uncovered a stratum which must !
once have been the floor Of the cave.
On that floor, as they dig and examine 5
and sift, they find tndisputable eyi- {
of the life of cave jewellers who !
we're hunters, and perhaps agricultur-
SITS. There is a layer Of matted grasses, Z
carried in from outside, used as peoS. +
Scattered among the grasses are spots :
Of charcoal, where once Indians built .
fires, both to cook their food and for +
warmth. Every day additional indian s
tools and weapons are being 4
discovered
The excavators have found an arrow =
hiatt with sinew thongs and feathers. :
medicine stock still showing bits OF Z
lair clinging to it. Rubbing stones for 2
polishing; scraping stones for curing .
hides. Most of these stones are believed I
% be foreign to the region Of the cave, 7
renee probably brought in from the :
Yellowstone valley, or, In some in =
tanceS, as far as from the Pacific y
,oast. Both stone percussion and pres 2
ure weapons are being discovered In
his long covered stratum Of limestone,
which was once the floor Of the dwell
ng place of a people struggling slowly Z
oWard civilization But that their o
rogreSs was tardy, dating back TO I
annibalisnl, is eYinced by the discovery u
4 human bones, rib bones and skull, q
II crushed by q heavy weapon, the K
human rib bones bearing marks OF d
human teeth. Those first folks of Mon d
ana plains, seeking refuge from wind Il