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Once again the trikers find themselves following an historic road, the Yellowhead travel corridor. Originally, it was the secret trail to the fur cache of its namesake, the golden locked, Iroquois Métis guide known as “Tête Jaune.” Tête Jaune, (literally translated as “Yellow Head”) guided for both of Canada's greatest business rivals, the Hudson Bay Company and North West Company, the foremost fur traders of the world. In 1825, Tête Jaune led the Hudson Bay Company's chief trader, James McMillan, through the pass that still bears his nickname—Yellowhead.
It is my understanding that Dee and Cal will leave the Yellowhead Highway before it reaches the Yellowhead Pass, but it appears that they may come back through it on the return leg.
Wascana is an anglicization of the Cree word for "pile of bones." Wascana is also the name of small spring run-off creek in south central Saskatchewan, so named for the large piles of bison bones in the area. "Pile-of-Bones" was the first name for a small site along the Wascana Creek adjacent to the future route of the Canadian-Pacific Railway, and the hamlet that resulted. The choice of this site for the headquarters of the Northwest Territories was a national scandal at the time, but the choice stuck anyway. The town was renamed Regina in 1882 after Queen Victoria, i.e. Victoria Regina (regina is Latin for "queen"), by her daughter Princess Louise, wife of the then-Governor General the Marquess of Lorne. Wascana Creek was dammed to create Wascana Lake, around which Wascana Centre was built.
Crazy Horse was still a teen (then called by his childhood name, Curly) when the Great Council of Teton Lakotas (Souix) took place at Bear Butte in the summer of 1857. It was here that he began to see the Lakotas as the same proud people as in the old days and to feel the power of their unity (Sandoz, pp 98-100). And it was here that Curly underwent an Inipi, or a purification ceremony, and had a great vision on the inclines of Bear Butte, which his father interpreted as meaning that Crazy Horse would one day be a great warrior (see Pluralism Project link below).
Violating a treaty of 1868, George Custer led an expedition to the Black Hills region in 1874, and according to custom he camped near Bear Butte. Custer verified the rumors of gold in the Black Hills, and Bear Butte then served as an easily identifiable landmark for the rush of invading prospectors and settlers into the region. Indian reaction to the illegal movements of whites into the area was intense and hostile. Ultimately the government reneged on its treaty obligations regarding the Black Hills and instead embarked on a pogrom to confine all northern Plains tribes to reservations. Incidentally, by taking Highway 79 to Rapid City, Dee and Cal avoided the Black Hills towns of Lead, Central City, Pluma, and Deadwood on US 85/385 that were the focus of the gold rush.
"The sacredness of Bear Butte as a religious site for the Lakota and a myriad of other native groups cannot be disputed. Legend and history, as well as the determination of the Lakota to defend Bear Butte today demonstrate the importance of mountain. The battle to protect Bear Butte is shaping up to be a battle between religious rights and property rights, coupled with the perceived need for economic development in South Dakota. Unfortunately, controversies involving the infringement of the religious rights of the Lakota have caused clashes between natives and those who do not see Bear Butte in the way of the Lakota and other Native Tribes." (The Pluralism Project)
I love reading Sandoz while Dee and Cal are traveling through this region.
One of the things now on my list of things to research is the French fur trade in the High Plains during the 19th century. This first came up in my reading about Fort Kearney. Then today I started reading Crazy Horse (which I will write about later), and a prominent character in the second chapter is a fur trader by the name of Jim Bordeaux. And now Dee and Cal have stopped in Chadron, named after the manager of the fur trading post in that area, a Frenchman by the name of Louis B. Chartran.
The ride from Alliance to Chadron must have been miserably cold and wet, but it would seem that the last 14 miles so so might have been "all down hill," as they say. Here is the elevation map from MapMyRide.
With 27 thousand inhabitants, Kearney ("car-knee") is the largest city Dee and Cal have encountered since leaving Hutchinson (40k), and probably the largest they will now see until well into Canada. The city is named for the nearby Fort Kearney on the Oregon Trail. The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument over I-80 that Dee and Cal wrote about (picture) is half way between Boston and San Francisco. Also of interest is that the name Kearney did not always have the first "e", but due to persistent misspellings, the current spelling stuck. Any guesses as to the population of Hazard? (The sign says 66.) Obviously friendly folks.
Once again the trikers find themselves following an historic road, the Yellowhead travel corridor. Originally, it was the secret trail to the fur cache of its namesake, the golden locked, Iroquois Métis guide known as “Tête Jaune.” Tête Jaune, (literally translated as “Yellow Head”) guided for both of Canada's greatest business rivals, the Hudson Bay Company and North West Company, the foremost fur traders of the world. In 1825, Tête Jaune led the Hudson Bay Company's chief trader, James McMillan, through the pass that still bears his nickname—Yellowhead.
