December 2013 Vo l u m e I I I s s u e X I I
THE
The History of Ledger Art & the Contemporary Art of John Pepion
Vol ume I I Is sue XI I
The Ledger Art of John Pepion To the right John Pepion’s Medicine Lodges (White Buffalo) Ink and color pencil on 1912 antique ledger paper.
John Pepion is a member of the Blackfeet Nation in northern Montana. He is fast becoming well known for his contemporary ledger art work done on antique ledger paper with ink and colored pencils. Read about his life and art in his own words. 4
Front Cover art work by John Pepion “Afternoon Buffalo Hunt” Ink and oil based color pencil on antique ledger paper
Howling Wolf This Native American man survived the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 at the age of 15. Later incarcerated in prison in Florida he began drawings of the scenes from the battle on old pieces of ledger paper. 9
The West Old & New Published by Susan Faye Roberts P.O. Box 10 Hot Springs, Montana 59845 (406) 741-5210
Email thewestoldandnew@gmail.com
The West Old & New online magazine Find it now on Issuu.com & Joomag.com
The West Old & New Page 3
The New West
Wolves of Montana 10 The grey wolf was reintroduced to areas of Montana in the 1990s. But was it the original grey wolf or another species, one that was larger and more aggressive?
Grey vs Mackenzie Valley 13 What is the difference between the grey wolf and the actual wolf that was introduced into the state of Montana?
Book Review Bear Attacks - Their Causes and Avoidance by Stephen Herrero 17
The Old West The Sand Creek Massacre 7 The Sand Creek Massacre was an atrocity in the Indian Wars that occurred on November 29, 1864.
Red River Ox Carts - The Trails of the MĂŠtis 20 The Red River Trails were a network of ox carts routes which the MĂŠtis began using in the 1820s.
MADE IN MONTANA PRODUCTS 22
John Isaiah Pepion Contemporary Native American Ledger Artist This man’s pictures are worth a thousand words...
John Isaiah Pepion tells the story of his journey into art best in his own words. He is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation, locate along the edge of the Rocky Mountain Front in northern Montana. John began producing pencil drawings of mountains and tipis as a child. He was mentored by his grandfather Daniel "Webb" Pepion, Sr. Recognition for his talent began while he was in 7th grade at Browning Middle School in Browning, Montana. He was chosen to work with highly regarded Blackfeet artist Ernie Pepion, who became a major influence throughout his life. During this time, John learned to incorporate humor in his art work with acrylic paint. John was later selected to work with nationally recognized Blackfeet artist Terrance Guardipee. During this time he learned to mix acrylic paint, stretch his own canvas, and increase his commitment to art. As the public's interest in John's art grew, so did his interest in following his family's footsteps. His uncle Daniel Pepion, Jr., two aunts, and several other family members, had attended the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. While a freshman at Two Eagle River High School in Pablo, Montana, he was a member of a small group of talented students that were selected to visit the IAIA. That same year the Oscar Howe Art Institute, Brookings, South Dakota, offered to enroll him in their program. John's education path initially took a different turn, in 2002 he earned his GED from the Kicking Horse Job Corps in Ronan, Montana. Thereafter, he attended United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he received his Associate of Arts degree in Art Marketing in 2004. John started painting with watercolors in the Plains Indian ledger style in 2005. John went on to graduate from the IAIA with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Museum Studies. The following year, he acquired 1800's ledger paper and began applying the ledger style he developed with ink and color pencils. Today John is an up and coming contemporary ledger artist. He begins each piece by illustrating ideas stemming from his personal life and cultural history. He also likes to incorporate the colorful designs of the Blackfeet. John is pursuing his artistic dream of becoming a professional artist. The West Old & New Page 4
“I chose to characterize a Northern Plains family in the contemporary ledger style. The family is held together by each other’s hands. Holding hands makes the family unified and strong with their culture. With the new addition of a baby boy they are a happy also thriving family. Today numerous Indian families are torn apart and no longer have any knowledge of their culture. This original ledger is dedicated to all the Indian Families.” John Pepion To the left is “Wolf Trail Does the Sneak Up” Ink and color pencil on 1889 antique ledger paper by John Pepion
Visit John Pepion’s website at : http://www.pepionledgerart.com/
To the left is a photograph of the artist at work in his studio.
The West Old & New Page 5
“Calling The Buffalo” Ink and oil based color pencil on antique ledger paper by John Pepion
The West Old & New Page 6
The Sand Creek Massacre Also known as the Chivington Massacre, the Battle of Sand Creek or the Massacre of Cheyenne Indians “Damn any man who sympathizes with Indians! ... I have come to kill Indians, and believe it is right and honorable to use any means under God's heaven to kill Indians. ... Kill and scalp all, big and little; nits make lice.” Col. John Milton Chivington The Sand Creek Massacre was an atrocity in the Indian Wars that occurred on November 29, 1864, when a 700-man force of Colorado Territory militia attacked and destroyed a peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho encamped in southeastern Colorado Territory, killing and mutilating an estimated 70–163 Indians, about two-thirds of whom were women and children. The location has been designated the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site and is administered by the National Park Service. By the terms of the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie between the United States and seven Indian nations, including the Cheyenne and Arapaho, the United States recognized that the Cheyenne and Arapaho held a vast territory encompassing the lands between the North Platte River and Arkansas River and eastward from the Rocky Mountains to western Kansas. This area included presentday southeastern Wyoming, southwestern Nebraska, and most of eastern Colorado, and the westernmost portions of Kansas. In November 1858, the discovery of gold in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, then part of the Kansas Territory, brought on the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. There was a flood of migrants across Cheyenne and Arapaho lands. They competed for resources and some settlers tried to stay. Colorado territorial officials pressured federal authorities to redefine the extent of Indian lands in the territory, and in the fall of 1860, A.B. Greenwood, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, arrived at Bent’s New Fort along the Arkansas River to negotiate a new treaty. On February 18, 1861, six chiefs of the Southern Cheyenne and four of the Arapaho signed the Treaty of Fort Wise with the United States, in which they ceded most of the lands designated to them by the Fort Laramie treaty. The Cheyenne chiefs included Black Kettle, White Antelope (Vó'kaa'e Ohvó'komaestse), Lean Bear, Little Wolf, and Tall Bear; the Arapaho chiefs included Little Raven, Storm, Shave-Head, Big Mouth, and Niwot, or Left Hand. The new reserve, less than one-thirteenth the size of the 1851 reserve, was located in eastern Colorado between the Arkansas River and Sand Creek. Some bands of Cheyenne, including the Dog Soldiers, a militaristic band of Cheyenne and Lakota that had evolved beginning in the 1830s, were angry at the chiefs who had signed the treaty. They disavowed the treaty and refused to abide by its constraints. They continued to live and hunt in the lands of eastern Colorado and western Kansas, becoming increasingly belligerent over the tide of white migration across their lands. Tensions were high particularly in the Smoky Hill River country of Kansas, along which whites had opened a new trail to the gold fields. Cheyenne who opposed the treaty said that it had been signed by a small minority of the chiefs without the consent or approval of the rest of the tribe; that the signatories had not understood what they signed; and that they had been bribed to sign by a large distribution of gifts. The whites, however, claimed that the treaty was a "solemn obligation". Officials took the position that Indians who refused to abide by it were hostile and planning a war. The beginning of the American Civil War in 1861 led to the organization of military forces in Colorado Territory. In March 1862, the Coloradans defeated the Texas Confederate Army in the Battle of Glorieta Pass in New Mexico. Following the battle, the First Regiment of Colorado Volunteers returned to Colorado Territory and were mounted as a home guard under the command of Colonel John Chivington. Chivington and Colorado territorial governor John Evans adopted a hard line against Indians, whom white settlers accused of stealing livestock. Without any declaration of war, in April 1864 soldiers started attacking and destroying a number of Cheyenne camps, the largest of which included about 70 lodges, about 10% of the housing capacity of the entire Cheyenne nation. On May 16, 1864, a force under Lieutenant George S. Eayre crossed into Kansas and encountered Cheyenne in their summer buffalo-hunting camp at Big Bushes near the Smoky Hill River. Cheyenne chiefs Lean Bear and Star approached the soldiers to signal their peaceful intent, but were shot down by Eayre's troops. This incident touched off a war of retaliation by the Cheyenne in Kansas. Black Kettle, a chief of a group of around 800 mostly Northern Cheyenne, reported to Fort Lyon in an effort to establish peace. After having done so, he and his band, along with some Arapaho under Chief Niwot, camped out at nearby Sand Creek, less than 40 miles north. The Dog Soldiers, who had been responsible for many of the raids on whites, were not part of this encampment. Assured by the U.S. Government's promises of peace, most of the warriors were off hunting buffalo, leaving only around 60 men, and women and children in the village. Most of the men were too old or too young to hunt. Black Kettle flew an American flag over his lodge, since previously the officers had said this would show he was friendly and prevent attack by U.S. soldiers. Setting out from Fort Lyon, Chivington and his 700 troops of the 1st Colorado Cavalry, 3rd Colorado Cavalry and a company of the 1st Regiment New Mexico Volunteer Cavalry marched to Black Kettle's campsite. James Beckwourth, noted frontiersman, acted as a guide for Chivington. On the night of November 28, soldiers and militia drank heavily and celebrated their anticipated victory. On the morning of November 29, 1864, Chivington ordered his troops to attack. Two officers, Captain Silas Soule and Lieutenant Joseph Cramer, commanding the First Colorado Cavalry companies D and K, respectively, refused to follow ChivingThe West Old & New Page 7 ton's order and told their men to hold fire.
Other soldiers in Chivington's force, however, immediately attacked the village. Disregarding the American flag, and a white flag that was run up shortly after the soldiers commenced firing, Chivington's soldiers massacred many of its inhabitants.
I saw the bodies of those lying there cut all to pieces, worse mutilated than any I ever saw before; the women cut all to pieces ... With knives; scalped; their brains knocked out; children two or three months old; all ages lying there, from sucking infants up to warriors ... By whom were they mutilated? By the United States troops ... John S. Smith, Congressional Testimony of Mr. John S. Smith, 1865 Some of the Indians cut horses from the camp's herd and fled up Sand Creek or to a nearby Cheyenne camp on the headwaters of the Smokey Hill River. Others, including trader George Bent, fled upstream and dug holes in the sand beneath the banks of the stream. They were pursued by the troops and fired on, but many survived. Cheyenne warrior Morning Star said that most of the Indian dead were killed by cannon fire, especially those firing from the south bank of the river at the people retreating up the creek. In testimony before a Congressional committee investigating the massacre, Chivington claimed that as many as 500–600 Indian warriors were killed. Historian Alan Brinkley wrote that 133 Indians were killed, 105 of whom were women and children. White eye-witness John S. Smith reported that 70–80 Indians were killed, including 20–30 warriors, which agrees with Brinkley's figure as to the number of men killed. George Bent, the son of the American William Bent and a Cheyenne mother, who was in the village when the attack came and was wounded by the soldiers, gave two different accounts of the Indian loss. On March 15, 1889, he wrote to Samuel F. Tappan that 137 people were killed: 28 men and 109 women and children. However, on April 30, 1913, when he was very old, he wrote that "about 53 men" and "110 women and children" were killed and many people wounded. Bent's first figures are in close accord with those of Brinkley and agree with Smith as to the number of men who were killed. Although initial reports indicated 10 soldiers killed and 38 wounded, the final tally was 4 killed and 21 wounded in the 1st Colorado Cavalry and 20 killed or mortally wounded and 31 other wounded in the 3rd Colorado Cavalry; adding up to 24 killed and 52 wounded. Dee Brown wrote that some of Chivington's men were drunk and that many of the soldiers' casualties were due to friendly fire but neither of these claims is supported by Gregory F. Michno or Stan Hoig in their books devoted to the massacre. Before Chivington and his men left the area, they plundered the tipis and took the horses. After the smoke cleared, Chivington's men came back and killed many of the wounded. They also scalped many of the dead, regardless of whether they were women, children or infants. Chivington and his men dressed their weapons, hats and gear with scalps and other body parts, including human fetuses and male and female genitalia. They also publicly displayed these battle trophies in Denver's Apollo Theater and area saloons. Three Indians who remained in the village are known to have survived the massacre: George Bent's brother Charlie Bent, and two Cheyenne women who were later turned over to William Bent. The Sand Creek Massacre resulted in a heavy loss of life, mostly among Cheyenne and Arapaho women and children. Hardest hit by the massacre were the Wutapai, Black Kettle's band. Perhaps half of the Hevhaitaniu were lost, including the chiefs Yellow Wolf and Big Man. The Oivimana, led by War Bonnet, lost about half their number. There were heavy losses to the Hisiometanio (Ridge Men) under White Antelope. Chief One Eye was also killed, along with many of his band. The Suhtai clan and the Heviqxnipahis clan under chief Sand Hill experienced relatively few losses. The Dog Soldiers and the Masikota, who by that time had allied, were not present at Sand Creek. Of about ten lodges of Arapaho under Chief Left Hand, representing about fifty or sixty people, only a handful escaped with their lives.
To the left is a page of Howling Wolf’s ledger art depicting the battle at Sand Creek in 1864 when he was 15 years of age. He did this later in life. It must have left a strong impression on him.
The West Old & New Page 8
Howling Wolf Surviving the Sand Creek Massacre at the age of 15 he was later incarcerated. He began using old sheets of ledger paper to do drawings of the event. Howling Wolf (Cheyenne: Ho-na-nist-to, 1849–July 5, 1927) was a Southern Cheyenne warrior who was a member of Black Kettle's band and was present at the Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado. After being imprisoned in the Fort Marion in Saint Augustine, Florida in 1875, Howling Wolf became a proficient artist in a style known as Ledger art for the accounting ledger books in which the drawings were done. Howling Wolf, along with his father Eagle Head (Minimic), were in the Southern Cheyenne camp on Sand Creek in Colorado Territory on the morning of November 29, 1864 when they were attacked by Colonel John Chivington and the First Regiment of Colorado Volunteers. The camp was caught off guard as Black Kettle was instructed to camp there by the U.S. Army and most of the braves were out on a hunt. Howling Wolf, who was only 15 at the time, and Eagle Head, were among the few warriors to defend against the unprovoked attack. The approximate number of deaths amongst the Southern Cheyenne and allied Arapaho some of which were in Black Kettle's camp is 137, most were women and children. The Americans committed numerous atrocities at what is known to history as the Sand Creek Massacre, including mutilating the corpses of the dead, such as cutting out the genitalia of a murdered Cheyenne woman and stretching it over the front of a hat. In addition to becoming an artist, Howling wolf was made a sergeant in charge of the Indian guard at the fort a unit made up of the Native American prisoners. While he was at Fort Marion he along with other captives under the tutelage and supervision of Captain Richard Henry Pratt received traditional American schooling in diverse subjects such as reading and writing English. Howling Wolf would spend three full years in captivity before he was released in 1878 and returned to Oklahoma to live upon the Cheyenne reservation. He originally intended to stay in the East to continue his education however his failing eyesight, (treatment for which he sailed to Boston for an operation) prompted his return to the reservation. In 1881, Howling Wolf became disillusioned with the habits and customs he had adapted of the white European Americans. He returned to wearing native Cheyenne dress and along with other Cheyenne such as Roman Nose became involved in the Native American Church. Howling Wolf died in 1927 in a car accident while on his way home to Oklahoma after performing in a Wild West show in Houston, Texas. (From Wikipedia)
Howling Wolf and the History of Ledger Art. Szabo, Joyce M. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1994. Hardcover: ISBN: 0826314678 Out of Print. $65.00 https://plainsledgerart.org/products/view/371 The West Old & New Page 9
WOLVES OF MONTANA Grey wolf packs were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and Idaho starting in 1995. It is a common misconception that it was the Grey wolf that was reintroduced; however, upon more research you will find that it was actually a nonindigenous breed, the Canadian Timber wolf, that was introduced. These wolves were considered as “experimental, non-essential� populations per article 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Such classification gave government officials greater leeway in managing wolves to protect livestock, which was considered one of a series of compromises wolf reintroduction proponents made with concerned local ranchers. Indeed, local industry and environmental groups battled for decades over the Yellowstone and Idaho wolf reintroduction effort. The idea of wolf reintroduction was first brought to Congress in 1966 by biologists who were concerned with the critically high elk populations in Yellowstone and the ecological damages to the land from excessively large herds. Officially, 1926 was the year that the last wolves were killed within Yellowstone’s boundaries. When the wolves were eradicated and hunting eliminated, the elk population boomed. Over the succeeding decades, elk populations grew so large that they unbalanced the local ecosystem. The number of elk and other large prey animals increased to the point that they gathered in large herds along valley bottoms and meadows overgrazing new-growth vegetation. Because of overgrazing, deciduous woody plant species such as upland aspen and riparian cottonwood became seriously diminished. So, because the keystone predators, the wolves, had been removed from the Yellowstone-Idaho ecosystem, the ecosystem changed. This change affected other species as well. Coyotes filled in the niche left by wolves, but couldn't control the large ungulate populations. Booming coyote numbers, furthermore, also had a negative effect on other species, particularly the red fox, pronghorn, and domestic sheep. Ranchers, though, remained steadfastly opposed to reintroducing a species of animal that they considered to be analogous to a plague, citing the hardships that would ensue with the potential loss of stock caused by wolves. The government, which was charged with creating, implementing, and enforcing a compromise, struggled for over two decades to find middle ground. A wolf recovery team was appointed in 1974, and the first official recovery plan was released for public comment in 1982. General public apprehension regarding wolf recovery forced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to revise their plan to implement more control for local and state governments, so a second recovery plan was released for public comment in 1985. That same year, a poll conducted at Yellowstone National Park showed that 74% of visitors thought wolves would improve the park, while 60% favored reintroducing them. The preparation of an The West Old & New Page 10
environmental impact statement, the last critical step before reintroduction could be green-lighted, was halted when Congress insisted that further research be done before an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was to be funded. In 1987, in an effort to shift the burden of financial responsibility from ranchers to the proponents of wolf reintroduction, Defenders of Wildlife set up a “wolf compensation fund” that would use donations to pay ranchers market value for any stock that was lost to wolf depredation. That same year, a final recovery plan was released. Following a long period of research, public education, and public commenting, a draft EIS was released for public review in 1993 and it received over 150,000 comments from interested parties. It was finalized in May 1994, and included a clause that specified that all wolves reintroduced to the recovery zones would be classified under the “experimental, non-essential” provision of the ESA. Though the original plan called for three recovery zones – one in Idaho, another in Montana, and a final one in the Greater Yellowstone Area – the Montana recovery zone was eliminated from the final EIS after it had been proven that a small, but breeding population had already established itself in the northwestern part of the state. The plan stipulated that each of the three recovery areas must have ten breeding pairs of wolves successfully rearing two or more pups for three consecutive years before the minimum recovery goals would be reached. A pair of lawsuits filed in late 1994 put the whole recovery plan in jeopardy. Interestingly, while one of the lawsuits was filed by the Wyoming Farm Bureau, the other was filed by a coalition of concerned environmental groups including the Idaho Conservation League and Audubon Society. The latter group pointed to unofficial wolf sightings as proof that wolves had already migrated down to Yellowstone from the north, which, they argued, made the plan to reintroduce an experimental population in the same area unlawful. According to their argument, if wolves were already present in Yellowstone, they should rightfully be afforded full protection under the ESA, which, they reasoned, was preferable to the limited “experimental” classification that would be given to any reintroduced wolves. Nevertheless, both cases were thrown out on January 3, 1995. Adolescent members from packs of Mackenzie Valley wolves in Alberta, Canada were tranquilized and carted down to the recovery zones later that week, but a last minute court order delayed the planned releases. The stay came from an appellate court in Denver and was instigated by the Wyoming Farm Bureau. After spending an additional 36 hours in transport cages in Idaho and in their holding pens in Yellowstone, the wolves were finally released following official judicial sanction. Yellowstone’s wolves stayed in acclimation pens for two more months before being released into the wild. Idaho’s wolves, conversely, were given a hard (or immediate) release. A total of 66 wolves were released to the two areas in this manner in January 1995 and January 1996. 2005 estimates of wolf populations in the two recovery zones reflect the success the species has had in both areas: Greater Yellowstone Area: 325 Central Idaho: 565 These numbers, added with the estimated number of wolves in northwestern Montana (130), puts the total number of wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains recovery area at over 1000 individuals. This includes approximately 134 packs (two or more wolves traveling together) and 71 breeding pairs (male and female that successfully rear a litter of at least two until Dec. 31). The recovery goal for the area was revised to 30 breeding pairs total, and this number has been surpassed for some time. Over the decades since wolves have been present in the region, there have been hundreds of confirmed incidents of livestock depredation, though such predation represents a minute proportion of a wolf’s diet on a per wolf basis. While the majority of wolves ignore livestock entirely, a few wolves or wolf packs will become chronic livestock hunters, and most of these have been killed to protect livestock. Since the year Defenders of Wildlife implemented their compensation fund, they have allocated over $1,400,000 to private owners for proven and probable livestock depredation by wolves. Opponents argue that the Yellowstone reintroductions were unnecessary, as American wolves were never in danger of biological extinction since wolves still persisted in Canada. Opponents have also stated that wolves are of little commercial benefit, as cost estimates on wolf recovery are from $200,000 to $1 million per wolf. But the Lamar Valley is one of the best places in the world to observe wolves, and tourism based on wolves is booming. The growing wolf-viewing outfitting trend contrasts with declines for big game hunters. National Park Service Biologist Wayne Brewster informed guides and outfitters living north of Yellowstone National Park, to expect a fifty percent (50%) drop in harvestable game when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. This was confirmed when in 2006, the Yellowstone elk herd had in fact shrunk to 50% since the mid 1990s though researchers documented that most of the elk that fell prey to wolves were very old, diseased, or very young. Two thirty day periods of tracking radio collared wolves showed that 77–97% of prey species documented by wolves in the park were elk. Outside the park, numerous hunting outfitters have closed due to the concomitant 90% reduction in elk permits. Defenders of Wildlife transitioned from paying compensation to helping ranchers utilize nonlethal methods to better protect livestock from wolf predation. These methods include carcass removal to reduce attractants to scavengers, increased human presence near livestock, lighting, herd management, livestock guard dogs. The reintroduction of wolves has reportedly increased biodiversity within Yellowstone National Park. Along with an increase in new-growth vegetation, such as aspen and willow trees, which has resulted from the reduction in elk numbers but perhaps more importantly, their dispersal from valley bottoms and open meadows where they grazed collectively and avoided predation from mountain lions and bears prior to the return of wolves. The aspen and willow were able to recover, in part, because not only was the elk population reduced because of predation due to the wolves, but they quit venturing as deep into thickets due to the fear of being attacked by wolves in an area of very low visibility. This process of top predators regulating the lower sections of the trophic pyramid was dubbed, "the ecology of fear" by William J. Ripple and Robert L. Bestcha. In addition to the restoration of vegetation several important species such as the beaver (which had also become extinct from the park) and red fox have also recovered, probably due to the wolves keeping coyote populations under control. The Idaho state government opposed the reintroduction of wolves into the state and many ranchers The West Old & New Page 11
and hunters there feel as if the wolves were forced onto the state by the federal government. The state's wolf management plan is prefaced by the legislature's memorial declaring that the official position of the state is the removal of all wolves by any means necessary. Because of the state of Idaho's refusal to participate in wolf restoration, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nez Perce tribe initially managed the wolf population there since the reintroduction. During that time, the Idaho wolf population had made the most remarkable comeback in the region with its abundant federal lands and wilderness areas peaking at nearly 900 wolves (almost half of the regional wolf population) in 2009. However, the wolves have increasingly blamed for livestock and hunting opportunity losses. The US Fish and Wildlife Service attempted twice to delist wolves from federal protection and turn them over to state management but both of those attempts were found unlawful by the federal court in Missoula, Montana. In order to quell the political battle between the ranchers, hunters and conservationists, members of Congress removed Endangered Species Act protection from wolves in 2011 and gave wolf management to the states of Idaho and Montana under state wolf management plans. Since that time, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has also delisted wolves from federal protection in Wyoming and the state now has authority over wolf management there as well. This decision is also being challenged as unlawful in court in 2013. Current wolf population statistics can be found at http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/
Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology To the left Little Red Riding Hood (1883), Gustave Doré
In Norse and Japanese mythology, wolves were portrayed as near deities: in Japan, grain farmers worshiped wolves at shrines and left food offerings near their dens, beseeching them to protect their crops from wild boars and deer, while the wolf Fenrir of Norse mythology was depicted as the son of Loki. Other cultures portrayed wolves as part of their foundation myths: in Irish mythology, Cormac mac Airt is raised by wolves, while in Roman mythology, the Capitoline Wolf nurses Romulus and Remus, the future founders of Rome. In the mythology of the Turks, Mongols and Ainu, wolves were believed to be the ancestors of their people, while the Dena’ina believed wolves were once men, and viewed them as brothers. Wolves were linked to the sun in some Eurasian cultures: the Ancient Greeks and Romans associated wolves with the sun god Apollo, while the wolf Sköll in Norse mythology was depicted pursuing the setting sun. According to the Pawnee creation myth, the wolf was the first animal to experience death. Wolves were sometimes associated with witchcraft in both northern European and some Native American cultures: in Norse folkore, the völva (witch) Hyndla and the giantess Hyrrokin are both portrayed as using wolves as mounts, while in Navajo culture, wolves were feared as witches in wolf's clothing. Similarly, the Tsilhqot'in believed that contact with wolves could cause mental illness and death. In the Babylonian epic Gilgamesh, one of the oldest texts in the world, the titular character rejects the sexual advances of the goddess Ishtar, reminding her that she had transformed a previous lover, a shepherd, into a wolf, thus turning him into the very animal that his flocks must be protected against. Aesop featured wolves in several of his fables, playing on the concerns of Ancient Greece's settled, sheep-herding world. His most famous is the fable of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, which is directed at those who knowingly raise false alarms, and from which the idiomatic phrase "to cry wolf" is derived. Some of his other fables concentrate on maintaining the trust between shepherds and guard dogs in their vigilance against wolves, as well as anxieties over the close relationship between wolves and dogs. Although Aesop used wolves to warn, criticize and moralize about human behaviour, his portrayals added to the wolf's image as a deceitful and dangerous animal. The tale of Little Red Riding Hood, first written in 1697 by Charles Perrault, is largely considered to have had more influence than any other source of literature in forging the wolf's negative reputation in the western world. The wolf in this story is portrayed as a potential rapist, capable of imitating human speech. The hunting of wolves, and their attacks on humans and livestock feature prominently in Russian literature, and are included in the works of Tolstoy, Chekhov, Nekrasov, Bunin, Sabaneyev, and others. Farley Mowat's 1963 memoir Never Cry Wolf was the first positive portrayal of wolves in popular literature, and is largely considered to be the most popular book on wolves, having been adapted into a Hollywood film and taught in several schools decades after its publication. Although credited with having changed popular perceptions on wolves by portraying them as loving, cooperative and noble, it has been criticized for its idealization of wolves and its factual inaccuracies. Jean Craighead George's 1972 novel Julie of the Wolves, the first part in a trilogy, focuses on the relationship between a girl and a wolf pack. The last entry of the series is written from the wolves' point of view and, although anthropomorphized, the animals are crafted from a close reading of wolf biology and ethology. Several writers of modern children's literature have refashioned the image of wolves in classical fairy tales in order to portray them in a more positive light. Examples of this include Ecowolf and the Three Little Pigs and The Wolf who cried Boy. (From Wikipedia) The West Old & New Page 12
The Differences in Wolves
The Mackenzie Valley Wolf The Mackenzie Valley wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis) also known as the Canadian timber wolf is perhaps the largest subspecies of gray wolf in North America. Its range includes parts of the western United States, much of western Canada, and Alaska, including Unimak Island in the Aleutians, and was introduced into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho. The subspecies has since spread into Washington, Oregon, Utah, and possibly other states. Mackenzie Valley wolves typically stand about 32–34 inches (80–85 cm) at the shoulder and males weigh between 100 and 170 pounds (45–70 kg). The record is held by a wild wolf caught in Alaska in 1939 which weighed 175 pounds. The Mackenzie Valley wolf's thick, long limbs are proportionally built for traversing through rough terrain such as deep snow or the cliffy edges of the Rocky Mountains. Its deep chest hosts large lungs, letting the wolf breathe more efficiently at higher altitudes, and allowing it to exert huge amounts of stamina traveling up to 115 km (~70 miles) in one day. Its powerful neck is a very important adaptation; it has to be strong to support the wolf's large head and is crucial for bringing down prey. The Mackenzie Valley wolf maximizes heat retention through such methods as using its bushy tail to cover its exposed nose during the winter. It sheds its undercoat during the summer months due to the hotter conditions. The skull is 31 cm (12 inches) long and is armed with an impressive array of large canines and carnassial teeth which, when coupled with huge jaw muscles that are evident from the large sagittal crest and wide zygomatic arches, give it an incredible bite force that is strong enough to break the bones of prey and even crack the femur of moose.
Gray - Grey Wolf The gray wolf or grey wolf (Canis lupus) is a canid native to the wilderness and remote areas of North America, Eurasia, and North Africa. It is the largest member of its family, with males averaging 43–45 kg (95–99 lb), and females 36–38.5 kg (79–84.9 lb). It is similar in general appearance and proportions to a German shepherd, or sled dog, but has a larger head, narrower chest, longer legs, straighter tail and bigger paws. Its winter fur is long and bushy, and predominantly a mottled gray in colour, although nearly pure white, red, or brown to black also occur. Within the genus Canis, the gray wolf represents a more specialised and progressive form than its smaller cousins (the coyote and golden jackal), as demonstrated by its morphological adaptations to hunting large prey, its more gregarious nature and its highly advanced expressive behavior. It is a social animal, traveling in nuclear families consisting of a mated pair, accompanied by the pair's adult offspring. The gray wolf is typically an apex predator throughout its range, with only humans and tigers posing a serious threat to it. It feeds primarily on large ungulates, though it also eats smaller animals, livestock, carrion, and garbage. The gray wolf is one of the world's most well researched animals, with probably more books written about it than any other wildlife species. It has a long history of association with humans, having been despised and hunted in most agricultural communities due to its attacks on livestock, while conversely being respected by some Native American tribes. It is the sole ancestor of the dog. Although the fear of wolves is prevalent in many human societies, the majority of recorded attacks on people have been attributed to animals suffering from rabies. Non-rabid wolves have attacked and killed people, mainly children, but this is unusual, as wolves are relatively few, live away from people, and have been taught to fear humans by hunters and shepherds. Hunting and trapping has reduced the species' range to about one third of its original range, though its still relatively widespread range and stable population means that the species is not threatened at a global level, and is therefore classified by the IUCN as Least Concern. The gray wolf's decline in the prairies began with the extermination of the American bison and other ungulates in the 1860s– 70s. From 1900–1930, the gray wolf was virtually eliminated from the western USA and adjoining parts of Canada, due to intensive predator control programs aimed at eradicating the species. The gray wolf was exterminated by federal and state governments from all of the USA by 1960, except in Alaska and northern Minnesota. The decline in North American wolf populations was reversed from the 1930s to the early 1950s, particularly in southwestern Canada, due to expanding ungulate populations resulting from improved regulation of big game hunting. This increase triggered a resumption of wolf control in western and northern Canada. Thousands of wolves were killed from the early 1950s to the early 1960s, mostly due to poisoning. This campaign was halted and wolf populations increased again by the mid-1970s. The West Old & New Page 13
Feathers - Canvas - Stones Canvas Prints - Oils - Acrylic Award winning artist Marla Brown-Robbins has captured the western essence in oil and canvas for more than 30 years. Marla “Ma Brown” Robbins has always lived in the northwest, working on her art career since the 80’s. Her work includes wildlife, animal portrait, western, landscape and children in oil, acrylic, and pastel. Ma Brown’s has been in several one-person exhibitions and has had work published in several magazines. She was awarded acceptance in the 108th showing of the CLWAC in New York, NY at the National Arts Club. Her work has received many awards such as Grand Champion, People’s Choice, Artist’s Choice and Best in Show! She strives to grow as a teacher and artist.
(406)-741– 2059 www.western-art.com The West Old & New Page 14
Fire Cat paint on rock by “Ma” Marla Brown
Multimedia Artist
LoriAnne Hancock Leather - Clay -Fabric - Paint
Custom order a one of a kind crafted leather handbag (406) 741– 5177
To the left detail leather work on red shoulder purse.
Below small handcrafted pouches.
To the right is a custom made leather purse with long straps.
Book Review For anyone planning a journey in bear country, this book should be required reading. Rocky Mountain News
Bear Attacks Their Causes and Avoidance by Stephen Herrero I grew up in Montana and for that reason I read “Bear Attacks - Their Causes and Avoidance,” by Stephen Herrero. Herrero is a professor of Environmental Science and Biology at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He is recognized throughout the world as a leading authority on bear ecology, behavior and attacks. After spending three hours on Chapter 2 - Sudden Encounters with Grizzlies, Chapter 3 - Provoked Attacks, Chapter 4 The Dangers of Garbage and Habituation. A little into Chapter 5 Herrero states, “ The preceding four chapters summarize the most important of my generalizations. But I can’t reduce the circumstances of injurious encounters to a simple formula. I just try to tip the odds in your favor.” Chapter 5 is about other attacks, one’s that seemingly have no relation to the above generalizations. Bears will be bears. Remembering you are in their territory is a good start. Taking a nice hike in nature in a mountain wilderness can seem idyllic, until you come across a bear. And after reading Herrero’s book you never know what kind of day that bear is having. In the long run several things I learned as a child held true. Playing dead is an all time do. Even if you get mauled a little the bear will “generally” leave you be if it thinks you are “dead.” Count yourself really lucky at that point if it throws a few leaves and dirt over you so you will ripen up for later. In this case scenario continue to play dead until it leaves and then run like hell. If it is a mama bear with some little ones, well you better find a tree you can climb. Good luck on that one if you are in a subalpine environment where all the trees are stubs. A cliff might be a good drop off point and you can hope for some nasty bumps and bruises but could live to see tomorrow. Hiking a wild trail, be prepared to hang your food and keep your camp clean. This means you don’t wear the same clothes you cooked in to bed. Of course there are no guarantees, one woman’s camp was clean as a whistle and she was pulled out of her tent by her neck and was the bears dinner. Bears were highly respected by the Native Americans who lived with them. Rarely were they killed, and only if it was a hunting party. This is an interesting point Herrero makes, hike and camp in groups of five or more. Bears don‘t like numbers. However that also did not save some of the campers in the Night of the Grizzly in Glacier Park. If a bear bothers you get the hell out of Dodge and don’t go back, period. Taking bears seriously is important. This summer driving down the street in Hot Springs, Montana I saw a bear ambling along and I followed it. I drove past the two year old and it turned around and gave me a dirty look, it wasn’t happy that I was paying attention to it. The home it was casing had garbage piled up along the side of the house. I happened to see the person who lived there later in the day and mentioned the bear. Their attitude was, “Yeah, it‘s been hanging around for days, no big deal. Likes the apples in the back yard.” Bears are a problem when they become habituated to garbage and humans. It is a big deal! After reading about the little girl taken off her back porch by a black bear while having a tea party, trust me, if a bear is not afraid of you, you should definitely be afraid of the bear. Herrero’s book could give some great tips to anyone planning that long back packing trip into the wild blue yonder of the west, but using common sense plays a big part of being in the wild. It includes being able to deal with all sorts of things that can happen such as: sudden storms (yes, snow in July), lions, other campers, and of course dealing with one of the greatest predators of all, the grizzly bear. I’m not a hiker or camper, but after reading the first few chapters the book had me locking my door when I went to bed. If you’re planning a camping trip, or a day hike, a fishing trip or a picnic in the woods, it might be a book that could save your life. In June 1967, Herrero had finished his Ph.D at the University of California, Berkely. He had loaded up his family in a Volkswagon bus and started traveling to a number of national parks. They visited Yosemite, Mount Rainier, Jasper, and Banff. Their last stop was to be Glacier National Park. “There is no way we ar going to Glacier Park,” my wife stated firmly. She had a good reason: On August 13, 1967, two young women had been killed by different grizzly bears in separate parts of Glacier. The family canceled their plans. Soon after the Herrero family settled in a rural development outside of Banff National Park. http://www.amazon.com/Bear-Attacks-Causes-Avoidance-revised/dp/158574557X The West Old & New Page 14
Junk Yard Car photograph by S.F. Roberts
Western Gal Speak Weekly essays on Contemporary & Historic Montana
http://thewestoldandnew.wordpress.com The West Old & New Page 18
Red River Ox Carts The Trails of the Métis The Red River Trails were a network of ox carts routes connecting the Red River Colony (the "Selkirk Settlement") and Fort Garry in British North America with the head of navigation on the Mississippi River in the United States. These trade routes ran from Winnipeg in the Canadian province of Manitoba across the international border and by a variety of routes across what is now the eastern part of North Dakota and western and central Minnesota to Mendota and Saint Paul on the Mississippi. Travelers began to use the trails by the 1820s, with the heaviest use from the 1840s to the early 1870s, when they were superseded by railways. Until then, these cart ways provided the most efficient means of transportation between the isolated Red River Colony and the outside world, they gave the Selkirk colonists and their neighbors, the Métis people, an outlet for their furs and a source of supplies other than the Hudson’s Bay Company, which was unable to enforce its monopoly in the face of the competition that used the trails. Free traders, independent of the Hudson's Bay Company and outside its jurisdiction, developed extensive commerce with the United States, making Saint Paul the principal and link to the outside world for the Selkirk Settlement. The trade developed by and along the trails connecting Fort Garry with Saint Paul, Minnesota stimulated commerce and contributed to the settlement of Minnesota and North Dakota and Canada to the west. To understand the Indians of Montana who are unaffiliated with any established reservations, it is necessary to go back to early French Colonization of North America. For it is from these early explorers that one finds the progenitors of the Landless Indians. Even the surnames are the same, since the French encouraged their men to marry Indian women. These mixed blood descendents, at first concentrated along the Great Lakes, scattered throughout the North Eastern states and Canada, but maintained their greatest number along the Red River of the North, which had its source in North Dakota and Minnesota, but which flows north into Lake Winnipeg and ultimately Hudson Bay. And so it is that these people living in Montana today, whose ancestry was predominately a non-native, are called displaced. These people, now known generally as "The Landless Indians", have had various names; half-breeds, bois-brule, and Métis. The early French referred to them as the Métis, a French adjective meaning cross-breed. Perhaps the word Métis is the best for them, for their degree of Indian blood was seldom fixed at exactly one-half. The child of an Indian mother and French father would be half-blood, but when the offspring reached maturity he might marry either a fullblood Indian or a full-blood Caucasian. Thus as years went by, and intermarrying continued, the individuals could possibly become almost pure Indian or pure white. So too the blood became mixed between Indians of various tribes. For while in Canada it was the Cree with whom the French usually married, in the United States it was the Chippewa. Thus there emerged, along the Red River, particularly, a group of people who were neither Indian nor white; neither Cree nor Chippewa nor French, but a mixture of all these. They represented the emergence of a new race indigenous to the continent. The new people adapted traits from their French fathers and Indian mothers. For their livelihood they depended primarily upon the buffalo as did their Indian forebears. But unlike their Indian grandparents, the hunt stemmed from Red River settlements, where they each fall returned with pemmican (for which they became famous) to be sold or traded to the Hudson Bay Company for winter food items. Their transportation was not confined to horse alone, as was the Indians', for their distinguishing characteristic was the Half-Breed Cart, a unique invention of their own, made entirely of wood. Its wheels, sometimes six feet in diameter, had very broad tires, while a small body rested upon the axle and shafts. Each cart was drawn by a single pony, and could carry from 600 to 800 pounds. Since no grease was used on the axle, the noise made by these carts was almost insufferable. Nearly every Northern Plains writer has attempted to describe the horrible screeching that a train of such carts made; but probably none has been presented more graphically than did Joseph Kinsey Howard when he said "it was as if a thousand fingernails were drawn across a thousand panes of glass". Later, when metal was used in their construction and the wheels could be greased, the Metis generally called their vehicles Red River Carts. While the geographical heart of the new race seems to have been along the Red River near present day The West Old & New Page 19 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and Pembina, North Dakota, not all of them lived in Canada. True, the
majority of the French-Cree descendents lived there. On the American side of the line a goodly number also lived-- those who were closer related to the Chippewa. Their center was Pembina, established as a trading center in 1870, a factor which gives it the distinction of being the oldest settlement in the northwest. These Indians moved constantly westward in their pursuit of the buffalo-- along the Missouri River and its tributaries, but often west and south again to the valleys of the rivers there. Individual members penetrated the now Montana region, too, often serving as guides for the fur traders. As the years passed, many carts filled with Red River hunters and trappers came into Montana Territory, and settled in regions where buffalo were plentiful. In making this move, the Métis followed somewhat the pattern of their Indian heritage, a nomadic tendency to follow their food. Unlike the Indians, they built cabins, and stayed sometimes several years. Then, group by group, they returned to relatives and friends in the Pembina region, where after a succession of years of residence, they moved again to Montana. Thus it was that during the decades of the 1850's, 1860's and 1870's, the creaking carts groaned their way back and forth between the little settlement at Pembina and the unspoiled valleys of Montana. Perhaps one of the best known settlements (for it became more permanent than did the others who so frequently left their cabins and returned to the Red river) is the one at the present Lewistown in central Montana. A group of Métis left the Pembina district in 1870 and headed Westward with no particular destination in mind save that of trailing the buffalo. One of the members described facets of that expedition well when she wrote, shortly before her death in Lewistown in 1943, the following account:
"While we roamed the prairies of the western Dakotas, we were always in the company of people of part Indian blood, and traveled in many groups. We left Dakota in 1870 shortly after we were married, and set out traveling all over the plains, just camping here and there without a thought of settling permanently in any place just following the buffalo trails. you might think we lived the life of real Indians, but one thing we had always with us which they did not-- religion. Every night we had prayer meetings, and just before a buffalo hunt we see our men on bended knees in prayer. Our men did all the hunting, and we women did all the tanning of buffalo hides, jerky meat making, pemmican and moccasin making. For other supplies, we generally had some trader with us, like Francis Janeaux, who always had a supply of tea, sugar, tobacco, and so on". After having camped along the Milk River for several years, where game was becoming increasingly scarce, Pierre Berger, leader of the group, called the members around him to discuss the situation. He recalled that previously a Cree Indian had told him of a spot across the Missouri River where small game and birds were abundant and where grass grew high. The land sounded promising, so in May 1879, twenty-five families left the familiar Milk river area in their squeaking carts and started for this new region. As it was necessary for them to go by way of Fort Benton and then eastward until they came to the Judith Mountains, it took most of the summer for the group to make the journey. Here at their destination, the Judith Basin looked fertile and inviting. Berger decided that this area would provide an excellent home site. Twenty-five families built cabins and hurriedly made preparations for the approaching winter. True to the description given by the Cree, game was plentiful. During the decade of the 1880's the Spring Creek colony flourished. Soon Janeaux established a trading post for them; in time other establishments sprang up, and a colorful Montana frontier village, destined later to become Lewistown, was born. Early Métis occupancy is reflected in the names of two Lewistown streets, Morasse and Oullette. In 1869, while Montana Territory was being colonized by Red River hunters-- at least on a temporary basis-- an historical incident occurred that left its mark upon the landless Indians of Montana. It has been the prime cause of confusion about them ever since. When the Hudson Bay Company relinquished its charter to Rupert's land and the Dominion of Canada was formed, the Métis in the Red River settlements became dissatisfied. Finally, in 1869, they established a provisional government, a land they called Assiniboia, now Manitoba. Louis Riel was their leader. When the British successfully overcame the Métis government, Riel and many of his followers went to Montana Territory. A few years later, he was called upon to return to Canada to lead his people in their fight over a land policy, and revolted against the government. Their military leader Gabriel Dumont went to Riel and convinced him that he should return to Canada to head the revolt. When the British army crushed this second rebellion, more Métis than ever came to the United States, particularly to Montana Territory. Riel, however, was captured tried for treason, and subsequently hanged in Ragina. Gabriel Dumont lived for many years in the Lewistown area, particularly near Grass Range where he brought several boys orphaned by the Rebellion to his childless home, but he later returned to Canada, where he died. The largest and by far the best Métis Community was that on Spring Creek in Judith Basin. The hunters who founded it had chosen one of Montana's most beautiful locations, midway in the green well-watered Judith Basin. Twenty-five families came in Red River carts in 1879, and thereafter the colony grew steadily; before any appreciable white migration occurred, it had 150 families. This account is taken from the following sources: Tragic Story of the dispossessed Metis of Montana , Montana Magazine of History Spring- 1953, Lewistown Democrat News December 31, 1943, "Strange Empire" Joseph Kinsey Howard 1952 The West Old & New Page 20
SHOP MONTANA Made - in - Montana A program for artisans and crafters in the State of Montana The Made-in-Montana Marketplace is a wholesale trade show produced by the City of Great Falls and is a premier marketplace for Montana buyers and sellers to meet. The Made in Montana program provides sponsorship in terms of consultation on financing. The show is normally held in the early spring. For more information go to Made in Montana Marketplace. Use the comprehensive Products Directory to find authentic Montana goods.
If you haven’t read the blog, here is your chance to read some of the stories of life in contemporary Montana published this year. S.F. Roberts has written essays about wakes, happy hour, animals, bull riders, life in general and the people of a small town on a western Indian reservation.
A lot of entertainment for $4.99.
Download it today! https://www.smashwords.com/ books/view/362785 The West Old & New Page 22
Ida Hawkins, P.I. EIGHT DAYS by S.F. Roberts A brilliant job of bringing our Native American characters to life. Masterfully done...when Montana and New York meet. A story you can’t put down. Diane Griffith
Ida Hawkins has a great life as a private investigator in New York City. On a Monday in May everything is suddenly changed by circumstances and events. A few days later Ida finds herself on the way to Montana and ultimately to the discovery of a secret that changes her life forever. The consummate detective she finds herself knee deep in one mystery after another and all of it around a handsome Tribal cop and a father she has never met. Buy a copy for $4.99 on Smashwords.com Also available on Amazon and Kindle
Other Ebooks by S.F. Roberts available on Smashwords.com, Amazon and Kindle
Anthology of short stories written around the Montana landscape. $4.99
In 1910 the Flathead Indian Reservation was opened to homesteaders. Read real stories about life on the high mountain prairie. $1.99
An eclectic collection of short stories written over the period of twenty years. $4.99
The best of The West Old & New. Stories from the first year of publication of the magazine. $1.99
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/westerngalspeak The West Old & New Page 23
Visit the Western Gal Speak blog on contemporary and historic life in Montana http://thewestoldandnew.wordpress.com The West Old & New online magazine at Issuu.com or Joomag.com Follow publisher Susan F. Roberts on Twitter Visit The West Old & New on FB
November Rainbow Photographe d by Linda Emory