578 



INDIAN REMAINS ON THE UPPEE YELLOWSTONE. 



These forts are semicircular in form, and are built of selected square 

 stcmes, piled up in a j)arapet or breastwork about four feet in height. 

 They are open on the inner side of the plateau, and have space for two 

 or three men to lie concealed and protected within. The forts must 

 have been built many years ago because the stones are now pretty well 

 covered with moss and lichens, and these do not grow as rapidly in 

 this diy climate as in the Eastern States, No one is permitted to dis- 

 turb these monuments of a race now almost de})arted, and I hope that 

 some careful student of American archicology may hereafter explore 

 this region and explain the ancient use of these so-called "Indian 

 Forts." 



fhikkMiki^ii^: S0MM 



Fig. 1 The Intlian forts, Park Coimty, Montana. 



Just below ojieof the forts and at the bottom of the cliff I found, last 

 summer, a buffalo skull and horns, over-grown and almost concealed by 

 a wild rosebush. Perhaps the buffalo was shot by an Indian lying in 

 the fort above. This made me think the forts might have been used 

 for watching large game. But when you are up on the mesa you can 

 easily see how well adapted the phice is to prevent surprise and for 

 nnlitary defense. The sides are peri>endicular i^reci pices of volcanic 

 rock. At only one ])lace can you go up on horseback; there are only 

 two or three places where you can climb up on foot. On the level top 

 a thousand men could be placed in camp. The forts may have been 

 used, like Vt^atcditowers on the corners of a feudal castle, by the wild 

 chivalry once inhabiting these m(nintains. 



About half a mile from this mesa is a little sheltered valley, back in 

 tlie foothills, where the Indians used to pass the winter one of the 

 l)ioneers of this region tells me. The place is sheltered from the winds 

 and the snow seldom drifts there. In a level spot in this valley are 

 three circles of smooth liat stones laid on the ground, each circle being- 

 about 15 feet in diameter. Washed by the rains of many seasons, 

 these stones are now partly imbedded in the ground. We do not know 

 exactly the purpose of these water- worn rocks laid so regularly in cir- 

 cles, but one of our neighbors, an "old timer" in Montana, tells us the 



