SECTION 3 - New Times Media Corporation

Section 3
All Wyoming Area Codes are 307
corral. In the early 1900’s area residents
brought survivors of the fight, both Indian and
white, to the area in hopes of pinpointing the
exact location of the corral. Unfortunately, the
survivors were not at the site at the same
time and did not agree on the location. One
site chosen is the location laid out near where
you are standing. The other location is a brass
marker several hundred yards to the southeast.
There has been much study in an
attempt to resolve this debate, including correspondence
with early residents, aerial photography,
and archaeological surverys. The
strongest evidence come from archaeology
done over several years, which indicates that
the laid out corral may be close to correct.
But if the actual participants could not agree
on a location, then the best and most accurate
description of the location of the corral is
to say that it was placed somewhere atop the
plateau, between Big and Little Piney Creeks.
As to the other controversies, Indian casualties
can probably be estimated at between six and
sixty and the time of the fight from 8:00 A.M.
to 1:00 P.M. As with all historical events
research will continue and new facts will
come to the surface.
F Kimmeri’s Restaurant
6 N Piney Rd in Story. 683-3332
8 Food, Lodging
T DeSmet Lake
At I-90 Exit 51
The lake was named for Father Pierre DeSmet, a
Jesuit missionary back in the early 1800s. It is
now known for its terrific fishing opportunities,
boating and skiing, and swimming. There are
many facilities at the lake including ramps, docks,
campgrounds and picnic shelters. You might even
see the legendary “Smetty”, the lake monster.
T DeSmet Lake Monster
Lake Desmet not only attracts fishermen looking
to catch the great rainbow trout or crappies it
provides, but “Smetty” is another great attraction.
Smetty is the legendary creature believed to
inhabit Lake Desmet.
The lake is named for a Jesuit missionary
priest to the Indians, Father Pierre DeSmet,
back in the early 1800’s. Rumor has it that the
Indians were so frightened by this body of
water, they refused to camp along the red shale
shores. Some say that the Sioux Indians
believed the waters had healing powers and the
ability to prompt visions. The tribe legend was
that a young brave turned against the love of
his life because he was overpowered by the
charms of a water maiden rising from its
depths. His intended wife-to-be was so distraught
by his rejection she subsequently
drowned herself. Her father, the tribal chief
seeking revenge, swiftly administered justice to
the unfaithful young man. In the darkness of
windy Wyoming nights, his spirit supposedly
wanders around the shore bemoaning the loss
of his Indian maiden.
Local ranchers often told stories about seeing
a 30 to 40 foot long looking like a “long
telephone pole with a lard bucket attached.”
Other recorded physical characteristics include
a “bony ridge along the back, with a resemblance
to a horse’s head coming out of the
water in a swimming motion.”
There have been tales about the lake’s dark
side that range from a monster resembling an
160
alligator rising from the waters to a Loch Nesstype
creature that seized an Indian papoose and
disappeared into the murky depths.
When imagination runs high, “Smetty” is
said to dwell in the so-called bottomless lake’s
subterranean caverns sometimes speculated to
be a faraway outlet from the Pacific Ocean.
Edward Gillette, author of “Locating the Iron
Trail” wrote a book in 1925 chronicling the tales
and observations surrounding “Smetty.” Visit
Lake Desmet and judge for yourself, but don’t
forget to take your fishing pole and bait so you
don’t miss out on some great fishing!
9 Food, Lodging
Buffalo
Pop. 3,900, Elev. 4,645
Founded in 1879 by homesteaders, cattle
ranchers, and miners, Buffalo was not named
for the animal, but for Buffalo, New York,
hometown of one early settler, Alvin J. McCray.
By 1883, there were a dozen saloons in town,
but no churches. While an old buffalo trail did
once run down Main Street, Buffalo’s streets are
most famous for being the only place in the US
where you can make a legal U-turn on a highway
bridge, right in the middle of town. As the
Johnson County Seat, Buffalo also claims the
distinction of having hosted the oldest county
fair in the state in 1887.
T Dry Creek Petrified Tree Forest
I-90 E from Buffalo to the Red Hills exit,
drive N off exit for 7 mi to the Petrified Tree
Area access road
The Dry Creek Petrified Tree Environmental
Education Area (EEA), set aside as such in 1978,
is located about 9 miles east of Buffalo,
Wyoming. A parking area, picnic table, and
interpretive facilities can be found here.
As you travel around a loop nature trail
about 0.8 mile long, you will go back 60 million
years to the geologic era of the Early Eocene
when this area was shaded woodlands and
mossy glades. You will learn how the uplifting of
the Big Horn Mountains helped to create the
prairie ecosystem we see today. And you will
also learn about early vegetation and the formation
of coal, scoria, petrified trees and other
indicators of the past.
This area was very different from what can
be seen today. Giant trees grew in a jungle-like
area somewhat like the Okefenokee Swamp in
southern Georgia. A large system of rivers
flowed north to a distant ocean. Huge swamps
filled the wide, flat plain between the Big Horn
Mountains and the Black Hills. There may have
been turtles, crocodile-like creatures, large
fished similar to modern gars, and primitive
mammals and birds.
Scoria is a sort of natural brick formed from
shale or sandstone that has been “fired” when
coal seams caught fire and burned back into the
ground. Scoria can be crushed and used as a
rock aggregate for road pavement, hence some
of the red color roads in the area, and as a road
base for unimproved roads. The red color is
produced by iron oxides in the rock. Scoria can
be crushed and used as a rock aggregate for
road pavement; hence, some of the red-colored
roads in the area, and as a road base for unimproved
roads.
Coal forms slowly over great periods of time.
The coal beds in the area originally accumulated
as peat deposits that formed from the leaves,
branches, stems, and roots of trees and other
plants that grew in the swamps. The peat beds
probably were buried when a nearby river flooded,
covering the area with sand and mud. After
millions of years under thousands of feet of sediment,
the peat gradually changed to coal. (One
coal seam near Buffalo, the Healey, is about 200
feet thick in places.)
As erosion and uplifting began to change the
earth’s surface, many coal seams were exposed to
air and caught fire. As the coal seams burned
back into the hillsides, the intense heat changes
the normally soft brown and gray rocks to a
hard red material—scoria. At station 2 you will
learn about plants that helped to form the coal.
The ecosystem of the swampy plain played a
significant part in the development of coal, an
important energy resource today.
Article courtesy of Bureau of Land Management.
WHAT MAKES
THE BIG HORNS
SO SPECIAL?
No region in Wyoming is provided with a
more diverse landscape; from lush grasslands
to alpine meadows, and rugged
mountain tops to canyonlands and desert.
Gorgeous canyon country is a hallmark
of the forest. Shell, Tensleep and Crazy
Woman Canyons are among those that can
be enjoyed from your car window. Others,
like Tongue and Devil’s Canyon are better
viewed on foot.
Geology is noteworthy in the Big Horns.
Watch for highway signs that trace the geologic
history of this regin as you travel the
major highways.
One of our many treasures is an abundance
of large mountain meadows. These
natural openings, caused by soil type and
moisture levels, favor grasses and wildflowers
rather than trees. Wildflowers are truly
extraordinary in the Big Horns during June
and July.
Interspersed with mountain meadows
are large patches of cool evergren forest
extending from just above the foothills to
timber line. Ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir
populate the lower slopes with lodgepole
pine, subalpine fir and Englemann spruce at
the higher elevations.
Open landscapes make for great
wildlife viewing as well. Watch for moose
munching on a tasty bite of willow streamside
or a family of mule deer bounding
away, then stopping to look back with large
ears raised and listening.
History buffs come to this region to
explore the land that once felt the footsteps
of legendary giants like Jim Bridger, Lewis
and Clark, Red Cloud, Plenty coups and
Buffalo Bill. Big Horn country was highly valued
by tribes like the Crow, Sioux, Northern
Cheyenne, Eastern Shoshone, and
Arapahoe. Some of the most famous battles
between American Indians and the U.S. military
were waged at the foot of the Big Horn
Mountains or in close proximity.
Source: U.S. Forest Service
Ultimate Wyoming Atlas and Travel Encyclopedia