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Show TheSalt Lake Tribune TRAVELSunday, September 7. 1997 Conflict, Exploitation and Hope in Big Sky Country BYMICHAEL MERSCHEL DALLAS MORN s BILLINGS, Mont. — Montana is the perfect antidote for summer. Who could resist trading wilting heat and ozonealerts for a cascading trout-filled stream and a breath of cool mountain air? Given the ever-increasing numberofvisitors to the Big Sky country, not many. But while millions of people. drawn to the likes of Yellowstone and Glacier national parks, can attest to the state’s scenic won- ders, Montanaalsois a wonderful place for a history buff to roam. From Lewis and Clark to Sitting Bull, this is a land of legends. A handful of stops across the R SNOW With fall approaching, car snow befar behind? Keep that in mind while trying to namethe locale depicted in the photo, above. Stili searching? Well, look for a partial clue in the map, below. While youareatit, name the state. (See answers on Page H-5.) 1997, The 7 Calton {Meroe PENG southerntier of the state, in fact, offered me a capsule history of the West, spanning centuries of exploration, conflict, exploitation and hope. Going chronologically, the first stop on this tour would be Pompeys Pillar, a huge sandstone rock on the banks of the Yellowstone River, 28 miles east of Billings. More than just another piece of scenery, this is a touchstone of Forum Omagal history. Literally The rock has been a stopping point for centuries of travelers and many have left their mark Faint red traces of CrowIndian McCarthey: Live TV at 30,000 feet @ Continued from H-1 cause you are jetting around at 30,000 feet. It seems that two companies have joined forces to provide broadcast television to airline passengers. mid-19th century,it is estimated that 80,000 to 1000,000 Africans fromthis area wereeither killed or sold into slavery each year by Swahili-Arabs. Dr. David Livingstone, explor- er and Scottish missionary, was one of the first Europeans to ings about the horrors of slave Around the elegant autograph Britain he spokeat several meet- trading Missionary zeal caused more Europeansto follow Livingstone into Africa Like mostof the continent, Malawi came under European colo- TV aboard narrow-body comme:- Engiand in 1964. cial aircraft at each seat Thesystem,called LiveTV. will consist of B/E’s individual-seat video distribution systems while Harris Corp. will provide the spe- cialized aircraft antenna and receiver system. The joint venture expects to announce its launch airline customer later this year Oo MALAWI TRAVEL GUIDE Did youknowthat Lake Malawi has more fish species than any other inland bodyof water in the world? With a total of more than 500, this lake in the southern Af- dia gol its independence from Highligils of the three, aceord- ing {o Lunely Planet, include taking a canoesafari on the Zambezi River. strolling along Mozambique’s beaches, and riding a lake steamer The bookin on sale now G RO CRUISESINC. Royal Olympic Cruises’ general sales agent in North America has changedits nameto RO Cruises lnc-Theline was formerly known as Sun Line Cruises, Inc Royal Olympic Cruises, Ltd headquartered in Greece, is one rican country of Malawi is brim- of the largest European cruise op- demic and newspecies are Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Caribbean and South America, its fleet of seven Greekflagged ships consist of the Stella Solaris, Stella Oceanis, Stella Maris, Odysseus, Triton, Orpheus ming with fish. Over 350 are en continually being discovered Thatis just oneof theinteresting tidbits found in Malawi, Mo: zambique & Zambia, the newest travel guide from those purveyors of exotic destinations — Lone- ly Planet The guidebook has detailed maps, cultural and historical in formation, places to stay and practical details for an expedition throughthese threelesser-known African countries. A the height of slaving in the Clark carved his name on July 25, 1806. He namedthe rock for the son of Sacajawea, the party's female Shoshone Indian inter- reach the area. On his return to Corp. plan to market the equipment, services and broadcast me- diato allowairline passengers to receive in-flight, live broadcast rock its name and fame: William Clark preter, and the signature is the onlysurviving on-site physical ev- nialism. It became independentof Great Britain in 1964. Mozambique proclaimed its independence from Portual in 1975. Zam- B/E Aerospace Inc. and Harris petroglyphs adern the sandstone right next to the glassed-in signature of the person who gave the erators. Sailing in the Aegean, and Olympic idenceof their expedition are the markingsof trappers, cav- alry men and railroad workers. It’s a stone textbook of Western history. And anyone who has ever complained about noncaring government workers should meet the people who work there. When my wife and I showed up during a rainstorm topay our$3 admission fee. our money was politely de clined on accountof the weather. Wethen received a personal tour anyway from a guide who cheerfully pointed out every namehe could find — including onevisible only because the rock was soaked — asthe water poured off his ranger hat. I've rarely felt better about seeing mytax dollars at work. After Lewis and Clark, Montana remained mostly the domain of the tribes and trappers — until gold was discovered near Helena in 1864. That brought imix grants, tensionand, finally, trage dy. The two Indian battle sites I visited, Little Bighorn and Big Hole, are separated by several RESERVE UP TO 6 MOS. IN ADVANCE TRANSPORTATION-CLUB & SHOWRENTALS. At bothsites, you'll hear about native people who wantedto co tinue a lifestyle they'd alwa: known in land they loved. And you'll hear about immigrants gold fever and the government's broken promises. At Little Bighorn Battlefield. 15 miles southeast of Hardin, the combatants and the outcomeare well-known. The climax of the story of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and George Armstrong Custeris spelled outalongtheside of Last Stand Hill. Viewed fromthevisitor center. the long sloperises like a wave with white stones dotting its side and gathering in a cluster at the top. The white stones are grave markers, showing where Custer and the bodies of some of the 260 or so men with him were found after their battle June 25, 1876. A white cross at the top honors them. I could easily imagine the scene as described by a Sioux woman who watched the battle: “The smoke and the shooting and the dust of the horses shut out the hill, and the soldiers fired many shots, but the Sioux shot straight and the soldiers fell dead. The biood of the people was hot and they took noprisoners that ay the wooden sidewalk and were shipped to Kansas and Oklahoma. tion of coin-operated pipe organs and nickelodeons. You won't find a better way to spend your pocket change. Be- lieve me, once you hear “Yes, We Have No Bananas” played onthe “Famous and obnoxious horn ma- northwest of West Yellowstone, chine from the Bale of Hay Sa sprang up in 1863 after the discovery of gold nearby. It served as state capital until 1875 and once was headquarters for the 30,000 people in the area who hoped to Butte, about 75 miles away. loon,” you'll neverlistento it the same wayagain. A radically different kind of mining experienceis displayed in Butte started out as a prospect. ing camp but became the homeof “The Richest Hill on Earth.” Beginning in earnest in the 1880s, strikeit rich. Youcan still see the huge piles of rock tailings they left behind as you approachtown. The minersare long gone, but a cluster of historic buildings remains, such as the print shop of miners eventually dug hundreds of miles of passageways under and around the town and pulled the first newspaper published in Montana. You'll also find an amazing cluster of candy stores, cafes and even a cappuccino shop. One building has been converted into out about 20 billion pounds of copper, much of which wassentto the massive smelter in nearby An- Ihad a great milkshakethere but not much of an Old West experi- second largest. Manyof the buildings haveseen better days, but the opulent Copper King Mansion, completed in 1888 and now a bedand-breakfast, remains glorious aconda. The city’s National Historic LandmarkDistrict is the nation’s an idealized 1950s soda fountain. ence. That came just up the road, in neighboring Nevada City. Though manystructures were transplanted from other parts of the state, inside. Filled with ornate wood and stained-glass windows, it offers a glimpse of theroyallife of a wealthy 19th-century capitalist. the result is wonderful. On onesideof the highwaysits thereisstill in the works. a collection of old train cars, picture-perfect along the quietrails that have weeds shooting up between theties. The aftermath of Little Bighorn was all-out war by the United wooden buildings, somesetoff in West, andpartofthat storyis told which boasts an amazing collec- haunting place. Thebattlefields are a harsh reality of Western history. A more romantic era is marked in the old mining towns of Virginia City and NevadaCity. Virginia City, about 90 miles A memorial to the estimated 100 Sioux and Cheyenne who died States against tribes across the drawn into the Music Hall — where hundreds died of malaria and heartbreak, makes this a But the mining industry’s big- gest legacyis the onerightat the heartof town. The BerkeleyPitis a 7,000-foot-long, mile-wide, Onthe other side are the faded 1,600-foot-deep scar that coughed up 1 billion tons of rock between 1955 and 1982. an open-air museum. Westrolled at Big Hole, about 10 miles west of Wisdom The battlefield is part of the Nez Perce National Historic ‘frail, which marks the 1,300-mile flight of 800 men, women and children from their homeland Or- egon in 1877. Unwilling to be forced onto a reservation, the band soughtrefuge in Canada At Big Hole on Aug. 9, 1877 US. soldiers surprised them in a dawn attack. About 30 warriors and 30 to 60 women, children and old people were killed, but Nez Percesnipers bought time for the groupto escape. Twenty-nine sol- At $28 A Night, Our Rooms Are diers also died TheNezPerceflight continued until Oct. 5, when they surren- deredjust 40 miles south of Cana- da. “From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more for ever.” were Nez Perce Chief Jo- Going Fast! seph’s famous words His description of the pain his people endured echoed in my head as ! gazed through clouds of mosquitoesat the battlesite Our Deluxe Tower Rooms are goingfast for only I love Montana for the moun- * a night, Sunday - Thursday. And, you can tain beauty typified in the Big include up to 4 adults per room at no extra cost. Includes one 2 for 1 dinnerin the Captain's Buffet Hole region, and I imagine the Nez Perce must have loved their homeland even more, Knowing WEEKEND SPECIAL the survivors of their flight were Pee eee ac eeeVea ere Hyde’s Encore Tours & Travel 800-826-2800 966-4242 or 1-800-748-4242 © 2122 W. 5400 S. 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