*I had extra time today, so I went full Monty with writing this one, I hope you enjoy it 🙂
I pull out onto US Route 2 and try see the road through the Jackson Pollok of bug guts that is Rosie’s windshield. Mostly brown and black with splashes of yellow, green, purple and red…it is a murderous masterpiece. I’m not sure how I feel about spending all my time with a mass murderer, but I love my girl Rosie and I forgive her penchant for insect massacre.
Google leads me to a non-descript small-town big-mall and I navigate the potholes in the parking lot as I head for the mysterious underworld of mall parking. I’m looking for the behind-the-building no man’s land of dumpsters and empty boxes. My guidebook told me the Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump was located here, of all places, and it is one of the only buffalo jumps with a full archaeological dig on display.
I find the tan trailer on the edge of a cliff behind the mall surrounded by fencing. When I walk in, there’s a young woman there to greet me and she is also my tour guide. We walk down a pathway as she begins to tell me about the area. She told me how one man with a passion for history found a buffalo skull at the base of the hill and turned it into the historical landmark that it is today. The tour was absolutely fascinating and exceeded my expectations. I learned that this particular spot has been used to hunt buffalo for 2000 years and was used and abandoned by different groups in that time. We went down and surveyed the dig, where layers of buffalo bones and blood stained earth tell the story of the people who once lived here.
My guide’s name was ChiRaine Windy Boy. She identifies herself as Assiniboine and told me she grew up on the Fort Peck Reservation. Since I was the only person on the tour, we both got to talk for real and share personal stories, goals, and dreams. She is currently getting her Master’s Degree in Social Work and wants to help people find hope in a world where hope is hard to find for many. Meeting her was the true highlight of this tour.
After that, the second best part was practicing throwing a spear with an Atlatl at a mock buffalo. On my third try, I hit the sweet spot! I could hardly believe it. I could have stayed there all day spear-throwing but I had a 1:00 appointment with the Havre underworld.
I had a quick lunch between tours, then headed to Havre Beneath the Streets. There’s an entire town beneath the town, and they offer tours! Evidently, back in in the 1800’s, beneath the burgeoning town, an illicit underworld thrived. In 1904, when a disgruntled bar patron set one of the 36 saloons on fire, the entire town burned to the ground. It took two years to rebuild the town, this time from bricks made at the nearby Fort Assiniboine. During those two years, all the legit businesses from above ground joined the subterranean world, and the tunnel system below the streets thrived.
One room was particularly interesting/disturbing. It first served as the only safe place for Chinese railway workers to sleep safely between shifts. It later became a brothel where over 20 women slept in numbered beds with curtains between. Men would place their orders and pay at the hotel above ground, then follow the tunnels to find their number. These women were know by their numbers, not their names, and the only source of “sanitation” available was a chamber pot at the end of each bed. What an awful life. But, after the fire, the tunnels housed a law office, bakery, meat/sausage vendor, pharmacy, laundry, and even a restaurant called Tamale Joes.
Once I was done Havre’in fun in Havre, I hit the road for the 3 hour drive to Wolf Point on the Fort Peck Reservation. This year is the 100th anniversary of the yearly BIG summer event in this tiny town…the Wolf Point Stampede. I was going to experience my first real PRO Rodeo in a small Montana town!
Hello Karen! Thank you! I enjoyed the read and spending time with you. By the way, my friend, my name is ChiRaine Windy Boy and I still have the note with your contact information.
John Brumley was the man who found bone, arrowheads, and knives in that area that is now known as the Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump. Without him and all who contribute to the archeology site, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet y’all people with just as much heart this Summer of 2023.
It’s so nice to hear from you! Meeting you was the highlight of my day 🙂 I searched the van for an hour looking for that post-it, but I think the wind got it 😕 Thanks for your post.
I hope you are doing well!