Dusting Off the Old Ones (29)

We are indebted to Ham Gordon, genial Secretary of the Miles City Chamber of Commerce for this story. Ham's first employment in Montana was with the Crow Rock Company, which operated the Crow Rock ranch, about 50 miles north of Miles City on the Crow Rock Creek, near the Crow Rock post office. And "Crow Rock" has quite a legend wound around it.

Crow Rock is a sandstone formation 40 feet in height, surrounded at its summit by a caprock which forms a breastwork 5 feet high. The interior of this cap is large enough to accommodate 100 men, who might take refuge behind the breastworks.

Such a situation, in fact, was enacted, according to the Indian legend, when a band of Crow Indians crossed the Yellowstone and advanced into Sioux hunting ground. Believing that they had caught the Sioux napping, figuratively, if not literally, the Crow warriors not only encroached upon the other tribe's hunting grounds' but added further insult to injury by stealing a number of ponies from the Sioux. Once they became aware of the situation, it did not take the Sioux long to act. They pursued the Crows who, in time, sought shelter behind the breastworks on the top of "Crow Rock." In doing so, the Crows sealed their own fate, for the Sioux retired a short distance and camped on the creek, taking a few pot shots at the Crows whenever one ventured out for food or water, and eventually starved them into submission. Human bones and arrowheads found on the rock told the outcome of the siege. As it ended, the Sioux not only recovered their horses' but also the ponies belonging to the Crows. Thus the legend. Mons Ringreide, that nice little gentleman who (operates the picture framing business at 8 South 5th Street, was postmaster and operated the store at Crow Rock for many years.