CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Photos from top: This carving depicting what is thought to be a bighorn is one of the many early Native American petroglphys dotting Medicine Rocks, which was a sacred place to native peoples. The surreal forms of the Medicine Rocks come in whimsical shapes and all sizes. Many early settlers and travellers left their names and dates of their visit on Medicine Rocks. However, it is against the law for modern visi- tors to inscribe the rocks, in order to preserve their unique history. I nsider Thursday, June 26, 2014 • Page 9 Glendive Ranger-Review It rises abruptly just north of the sleepy town of Ekalaka, floating up out of the prairie like a Salvador Dali painting brought to life or a bizarre flotilla of derelict ships afloat a verdant sea. This is Medicine Rocks State Park, a tiny parcel of public land in the middle of nowhere set aside to preserve the eponymous sandstone forma- tions: a place where geology, history and art collide. “It offers a lot of geologic history, it offers a lot of pa- leontological history and it offers a lot of Native American history,” said park manager Nathan Powell. “It has a whole lot to offer.” Geologically, the rocks are the hardened sand deposits of an ancient river estuary laid down over 60 million years ago, a time when the climate of North America was radi- cally different and what would become Eastern Montana was oceanfront property. Historically, the Medicine Rocks have long held sacred and spiritual meaning to native peoples and importance to them as a communal meeting place and hunting ground. The site was of particular importance to three tribes — the Crow, Sioux and Northern Cheyenne. Look closely, and you can find traces of the time they spent here. Atop the flat ridge at the center of the park, archaeo- logical researchers have identified some half dozen tipi rings where native peoples once camped. The rings are not readily visible amongst the brushy scrub covering the ground, but they are there. I found one of them easily enough. It’s not much to look at or photograph, but there was no mistaking the incomplete but nonetheless concentric circle of small, flat stones spaced out at rather regular intervals. Standing there, it was easy to imagine the people who had camped here so long ago sitting around their fire regaling each other with tales of the day’s hunt or sharing their creation stories about this sacred place. Even long before the his- torical Native American tribes came here, early native peoples discovered Medicine Rocks centuries before the first Europeans arrived in the New World. They too left their mark, in the form of now only faintly visible carvings in the rock. “We have all the carvings there that give us the history,” Powell said. “We have some carvings up to 1,000 years old.” These ancient petroglyphs are scattered here and there amongst the sandstone mono- liths. Dozens have been record- ed, doubtless many more have been lost over the centuries to erosion or vandalism. On one rock face — if you can find it, and I’m not going to spoil it for you — are three of these petroglyhps in a row. Going from left to right, the first depicts what researchers believe is — and what certainly appears to be when you see it in person — a bighorn. The second is clearly vis- ible as a human figure with v-shaped shoulders and arms outstretched to the heavens. The third is only faintly vis- ible, but it’s there. It’s a carv- ing of an elongated four-legged creature, possibly meant to represent a pronghorn. Native Americans weren’t the only ones to leave their marks on these rocks, however. When the first American ex- plorers and settlers happened upon Medicine Rocks, they felt compelled to use them as a tablet to commemorate their passage. Names and dates from the late 19th and early 20th century abound in some places amongst the rocks. Teddy Roosevelt is said to have carved his name here, though it’s never been found and is believed to have eroded away. But some folks wanted to leave more than a name and a date. The most prominent example is the intricate artwork left behind by an Irish immigrant sheepherder named Herbert Dalton. The story goes that when Dalton came west in the first decade of the 20th century to work on a local ranch, his girl refused to come with him. While Dalton was encamped at Medicine Rocks tending sheep, he carved a portrait of his lost love into the rock, dating its completion on May 6, 1904. He later added a carving of a bird offering his lady a flower, leaving behind a magnificent example of pioneer artwork. Like so many other historic carvings, however, Dalton’s sculpture has suffered both from the elements and thought- less vandals. Weathering is unavoid- able. Eventually the wind and driving rain will erase every single marking from these rocks, from the ancient to the modern. But they can last for much longer if only people will leave them alone. Dalton’s carvings show evidence of the most hei- nous vandalism. His lady’s face has been lost, the tell-tale evi- dence of bullet pocking from some inconsiderate cretins at least partly to blame. Any carving over 50 years old is protected by law, but legally, no one is supposed to carve on this sacred site any- more. Even those whose marks are now past the 50-year mark are forbidden from retracing their original carving. As for anybody going out there today, your testimonial to your paramour does not enhance the place, it only diminishes it. It’s a message Powell wants everyone who visits Medicine Rocks to take with them before they go. “We want to preserve that history as long as we can,” he said. “We want people to come to Medicine Rocks to be able to view all that history, and carv- ing in the walls destroys that history and takes away from people’s experience viewing that history in the future.” Reach Jason Stuart at rrre- [email protected]. Day trip to Medicine Rocks State Park Story and photos by Jason Stuart Above: The Medicine Rocks jut up unexpectedly out of the Eastern Montana prairie just north of Ekalaka. Below: The sculptures of Irish immigrant shepherd Herbert Dalton as they appear today. Dalton’s art has been ravaged by weather and vandals.
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CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
Photos from top: This carving depicting what is thought to be a bighorn is one of the many early Native American petroglphys dotting Medicine Rocks, which was a sacred place to native peoples.The surreal forms of the Medicine Rocks come in whimsical shapes and all sizes.Many early settlers and travellers left their names and dates of their visit on Medicine Rocks. However, it is against the law for modern visi-tors to inscribe the rocks, in order to preserve their unique history.
I nsiderThursday, June 26, 2014 • Page 9Glendive Ranger-Review
It rises abruptly just north of the sleepy town of Ekalaka, floating up out of the prairie like a Salvador Dali painting brought to life or a bizarre flotilla of derelict ships afloat a verdant sea.
This is Medicine Rocks State Park, a tiny parcel of public land in the middle of nowhere set aside to preserve the eponymous sandstone forma-tions: a place where geology, history and art collide.
“It offers a lot of geologic history, it offers a lot of pa-leontological history and it offers a lot of Native American history,” said park manager Nathan Powell. “It has a whole lot to offer.”
Geologically, the rocks are the hardened sand deposits of an ancient river estuary laid down over 60 million years ago, a time when the climate of North America was radi-cally different and what would become Eastern Montana was oceanfront property.
Historically, the Medicine Rocks have long held sacred and spiritual meaning to native peoples and importance to them as a communal meeting place and hunting ground.
The site was of particular importance to three tribes — the Crow, Sioux and Northern Cheyenne. Look closely, and you can find traces of the time they spent here.
Atop the flat ridge at the center of the park, archaeo-logical researchers have identified some half dozen tipi rings where native peoples once camped. The rings are not readily visible amongst the brushy scrub covering the ground, but they are there.
I found one of them easily enough. It’s not much to look at or photograph, but there was no mistaking the incomplete but nonetheless concentric circle of small, flat stones spaced out at rather regular intervals.
Standing there, it was easy to imagine the people who had
camped here so long ago sitting around their fire regaling each other with tales of the day’s hunt or sharing their creation stories about this sacred place.
Even long before the his-torical Native American tribes came here, early native peoples discovered Medicine Rocks centuries before the first Europeans arrived in the New World.
They too left their mark, in the form of now only faintly visible carvings in the rock.
“We have all the carvings there that give us the history,” Powell said. “We have some carvings up to 1,000 years old.”
These ancient petroglyphs are scattered here and there amongst the sandstone mono-liths. Dozens have been record-ed, doubtless many more have been lost over the centuries to erosion or vandalism.
On one rock face — if you can find it, and I’m not going to spoil it for you — are three of these petroglyhps in a row.
Going from left to right, the first depicts what researchers believe is — and what certainly appears to be when you see it
in person — a bighorn. The second is clearly vis-
ible as a human figure with v-shaped shoulders and arms outstretched to the heavens.
The third is only faintly vis-ible, but it’s there. It’s a carv-ing of an elongated four-legged creature, possibly meant to represent a pronghorn.
Native Americans weren’t the only ones to leave their marks on these rocks, however. When the first American ex-plorers and settlers happened upon Medicine Rocks, they felt compelled to use them as a tablet to commemorate their passage.
Names and dates from the late 19th and early 20th century abound in some places amongst the rocks. Teddy Roosevelt is said to have carved his name here, though it’s never been found and is believed to have eroded away. But some folks wanted to leave more than a name and a date.
The most prominent example is the intricate artwork left behind by an Irish immigrant sheepherder named Herbert Dalton.
The story goes that when Dalton came west in the first decade of the 20th century to work on a local ranch, his girl refused to come with him. While Dalton was encamped at Medicine Rocks tending sheep, he carved a portrait of his lost love into the rock, dating its completion on May 6, 1904.
He later added a carving of a bird offering his lady a flower, leaving behind a magnificent example of pioneer artwork.
Like so many other historic carvings, however, Dalton’s sculpture has suffered both from the elements and thought-less vandals.
Weathering is unavoid-able. Eventually the wind and driving rain will erase every single marking from these rocks, from the ancient to the modern.
But they can last for much longer if only people will leave them alone. Dalton’s carvings show evidence of the most hei-nous vandalism. His lady’s face has been lost, the tell-tale evi-dence of bullet pocking from some inconsiderate cretins at least partly to blame.
Any carving over 50 years old is protected by law, but legally, no one is supposed to carve on this sacred site any-more. Even those whose marks are now past the 50-year mark are forbidden from retracing their original carving.
As for anybody going out there today, your testimonial to your paramour does not enhance the place, it only diminishes it. It’s a message Powell wants everyone who visits Medicine Rocks to take with them before they go.
“We want to preserve that history as long as we can,” he said. “We want people to come to Medicine Rocks to be able to view all that history, and carv-ing in the walls destroys that history and takes away from people’s experience viewing that history in the future.”
Reach Jason Stuart at [email protected].
Day trip to Medicine Rocks State ParkStory and photosby Jason Stuart
Above: The Medicine Rocks jut up unexpectedly out of the Eastern Montana prairie just north of Ekalaka.Below: The sculptures of Irish immigrant shepherd Herbert Dalton as they appear today. Dalton’s art has been ravaged by weather and vandals.
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