Billings Tour

After leaving Yellowstone we drove towards Billings.  We were to see my Uncle Jim there.  It is nice to have family around the country that you can visit and stay with when making a trip.  When planning out our trip itinerary I also realized that this would make a short day for us--leaving time to explore the rest of Yellowstone in the morning and get into Billings before it was too late.

One highlight of the trip was that we'd get the opportunity to see my grandma.  She was in her apartment at my Uncle Jim's house at the time.  We'd gone down to Tennessee to see her a couple months before when she'd been staying with my folks, but it was nice to see her again.  I remember frequently traveling to Tucson as a kid to see her and my granddad.  Since she left Arizona and I left California I haven't had the chance to see her as often.  Also, she is the only grandmother that I've ever known as my dad's mom died before I was born.
My mom's maiden name is Yeley, so she can say she went from one frequently mispronounced name (Yaley, Yelley, etc... to another (Grubner, Grabner, etc...)

They have a beautiful back yard.

After dinner we went on a drive around Billings.  We stopped by my cousin's house to see he and his then pregnant wife (since then their son was born).
The first place we stopped was the old Boot Hill Cemetery that served the town of Coulson, a settlement on the river that was later absorbed by the fast-growing railroad town of Billings.  I read somewhere that people aren't entirely sure who is buried where, but the crosses look nice.

The Place Where the White Horse Went Down

In 1837-38 a smallpox epidemic spread from the American Fur Trading Company steamboat St. Peter which had docked at Fort Union.  The terrible disease for which the Indians had no immunity eventually affected all Montana tribes.  A story is told among the Crow of two young warriors returning from a war expedition who found their village stricken.  One discovered his sweetheart among the dying, and both warriors, grieving over loss of friends and family, were despondent and frustrated because nothing could alter the course of events.  The young warriors dressed in their finest clothing and mounted a snow-white horse.  Riding double and singing their death songs, they drove the blindfolded horse over a cliff and landed at what is now the eastern end of the Yellowstone County Exhibition grounds.  Six teenage boys and six teenage girls who were not afflicted with the disease witnessed the drama: they buried the dead warriors and left the camp.  Great loss of life among the tribe followed in the wake of the epidemic.  Although time has reduced the height of the cliff, the location is remembered even today as The Place Where the White Horse Went Down. 

--from cemetery sign

The cemetery is located on top of a small hill and completely surrounded by the city.

Historical Significance

Fact, fiction, or legend?  Coulson Hill Cemetery, as it was originally called served the residents of the free-wheeling river town of Coulson in the late 1880s and is now the only visible reminder of the once thriving burg.  Gunfighters, Indian tribesmen, soldiers, railroad workers, lawmen, women and children were all put to rest in shallow graves here, although the number of people buried is uncertain.  The deaths were caused by disease, accidents, suicides, and murders aplenty.  A typical burial would consist of the corpse being thrown over a horse and hauled out to the cemetery where it was laid to rest.  After a brief moment of silence, the mourners got back on their horses and raced back to the aloon.  most of the time the mourners left the boots on the dead bodies, giving the cemetery the nickname "Boothill."  The name was widely disputed until Luther S. "Yellowstone" Kelly, a well-known scout in the area requested being buried in Boothill.  After his request the cemetery's identity was solidified as Boothill Cemetery and it has maintained its unique flavor that keeps the Old West alive today. 

--from cemetery sign by the City of Billings

This memorial is quite prominent on a corner of the hill.

There were several flowers to enjoy on top of the hill.

After leaving the cemetery we headed up on top of the "Rims" or the Rimrock.  These are a series of cliffs that separate the lower from the upper city.  There are only a few ways up on top even today--though in years past some of the paths were cattle paths.  The airport is located on top of the cliffs.  We also stopped by a place for ice cream (that was quite delicious) somewhere in the evening (I don't remember the exact order of events).

I took these pictures the next morning since I wasn't in a position to take pictures the night before.  Here you can see the cliffs.

This is the road up the top that used to be used driving cattle.

The top is quite flat.

You can get a great view of the city from this elevation.

After leaving Billings we headed towards South Dakota and Mount Rushmore, but with a couple stops along the way that I'll talk about next time.

~Matt