Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1940-01-06

WA1S - &AAE 6ASHEA W gkAE ulFS-
terry of the sO-calIed Indian
wheel" of the Big Horn mountains?
Thus far anthropOI0gists and anti
quarians have been unable to put
forth satisfactory answer to one
Of the most fascinating riddles i'm
MOntana's Indian lore.
I. B. Shields of Billings has devoted
considerable time to investigation of
the strange man-made formation, and
here is his description of it.
OF the many tourists who travel over
the Big Horn mountains of Wyoming,
it IS safe to say that few visit or even
think how close they are to one Of the
unexplained mysteries of the Medicine
Wheel which lies on top of Medicine
mountain at an elevation of 1856 feet
sign on the highway points the
way. You can drive q car three miles
on what one may term the saddle
There is plenty of room to park your
car and then walk a little less than
half mile.
Fence Surrounds 1t
You come to a stone wall or fence
that encloSeS the mystery. You should
also note a sign that informs you
not to disturb anything The wall was
built to protect the wheel The wheel
lies on the eastern edge of a plateau.
To the north it drops abruptly to the
valley below which is covered with
pines Among these pines flows Porcu-
pine creek, which flows northwest
into the Big Horn river. To the south
east is the saddle or ridge which you
drove up. A few feet from the wheel
to the south, there are walls Of rocks
many feet high. You get wonderful
view OF the valley many miles away.
To the west is a plateau that is almost
level and one can see many miles
away. No trees are close in any direc-
ton. BunchgraSs, cactus and numer-
GUS flowers are all around.
After making five trips from Billings
to this mystery have drawn a ola
gram of it and until disputed claim
l am the only person that has meas
ured this wheel and counted the rocks
where possible. In over 30 years in this
vicinity, I am unable to get a date
that the white man first viewed this
mystery.
The measurements were made from
north to south as / had no compass
on this trip. The wheel is 20 feet In
diameter 1t contains % spokes and 6
cairns around or near the rim, also
the center, which will call the hub,
which is Is feet IN diameter and con-
tains about $50 rocks and Is feet
high. This hub Is not exactly in the
center as 1t is 20 feet from the north
rim to the edge of the hub and Is feet
across and % feet to the south rim
of the wheel.
Was II Calendar"
There Is an Indian legend which
implies that there were % workmen
employed in its construction and one
of them died before it was completed
and that one spoke was left unfinished
This was not noticeable, however. Also,
some claim 1t might have been a cal
endar. IS months Of % days each.
There undoubtedly was no tool Of
iron used in its construction. Cairn
No. / opens to the north and is / foot
high, feet wide and contains 10 rocks.
Spoke NO. ! touches cairn No. /. The
next six SpokeS only touch the rim,
but cairn No. 2, which is about six
inches from the rim, spoke No Is
even with the center of the cairn.
Cairn No. is % feet high and 2 feet
8 inches wide and contains $50 rocks
Spoke No. Is due east and touches
cairn NO. 3 which is 2 feet high and
2 feet 8 inches wide and contains ITO
touch the rim, while the next spoke
No. Is. extends beyond the rim six
feet and Is connected to cairn No. A.
which Is foot high and 3 feet wide
and contains rs rocks. The next 10
spOkes touch the rim. Spoke No. is
inside of the wheel and Is of horse
shoe formation and is ! foot high and
4 feet wide and contains rs rocks. The
outer edge Of this cairn touches the
inside Of the rim and spokes 10 and
10 form its sides. Spoke No. 20 is due
west. Spoke No. "a touches cairn No.
6. which Is foot inches high and
feet wide and contains $50 rocks.
The next four spokes touch the rim
only. Cairns No. ] and 2 and and
and the hub or center cairn contain
pieces of wood.
While the ground around here seems
almost barren, cairn No. 5 contains
bushes which are green In summer.
The appearance of pieces of wood In
50 many Of the cairns and also pieces
Of charcoal In the southwest outside
Of the wheel, it may be construed to
have been a signal station.
Also wonderful unobstructed view
Is had from almost any angle from
or near this wheel.