The US state of Montana is located in the northwestern United States on the northern border with Canada, it is bordered with the US states of Idaho, Wyoming as well as North and South Dakota. The state has a population of just over a million making it the 8th least populous state in the US and the least populous state we have done so far. The state is also sparsely populated, being 3rd on the list of least densely-populated states.
The state is known for its beautiful landscape and scenery that includes mountains which are primarily located in the west of the state and much of which is part of the Rocky Mountains. Prairie and badlands are primarily located in the states east along with island ranges that interrupt this terrain. About 25% of the state is made up of forests. Glacier National Park and parts of the well-known Yellowstone National Park among other outdoors and nature attractions such as rivers and lakes and the Big Sky Resort are some of the reasons why the state’s fastest-growing sector is tourism. The rest of the state’s economy is mostly derived from agriculture, such as ranching and cereal grain farming.
Montana only has one city with a population of more than 100,000, called Billings and only two cities with a population of more than 50,000 which are Great Falls and Missoula. The states capital city, Helena, isn’t very populated, only having just under 30,000 people as of the last census, making it one of the (5th) least populated state capitals in the US. The state capital was one of the US’s most wealthy cities back during the Gold Rush and is the main reason why the city came to be in the first place.
And so, with introductions in order, let’s move on to the more paranormal and unexplained side of this large natural-beauty of a state. First up as always will be the cryptids and Montana has a couple of interesting ones.
One widespread and not so localized cryptid or legend is that of the Thunderbirds, enormously sized birds, sometimes depicted with epic powers if based on the Native American legends. These giant birds have said to have been sighted in the state of Montana in a number of occasions and with the state being sparsely populated and big, it would not be perhaps too much of a surprise if a few giant birds were hiding out there, yet undiscovered, although it would seem unlikely.
Sightings were reported by the Blackfoot, otherwise also called Blackfeet Indians in the state. One such sighting was in 1879 by the daughter of Red Paint (of which I assume was a tribal chief), called Mary Jane and her husband who claimed to sight four giant birds over Chief Mountain in the Glacier National Park. A later sighting in 1897 was made by Big Crow and his wife who saw a large bird with a feathered ruff and bald head in the southern section of the Blackfoot Reservation in Montana.
But let’s move on to some other cryptids more localized to the state.
One such is the Shunka Warakin, which is some kind of Hyena-Wolf looking cryptid, due to its back that is described as sloping down similar to a Hyena. It was also described as having high-shoulders, walked on all fours and was coloured almost black. The Native Americans appeared to know the animal well and the cryptids name was given to it by these tribes in the area, which roughly translated to “carries off dogs” as it was claimed these creatures would sneak into the camps of these tribes and steal their dogs.
There have been sightings of these unknown cryptids or at least cryptids similar to it across the US in different wilderness areas. But the first reported sightings came from Montana and even more significant, someone who claimed to have killed one… including a taxidermy mount, as proof shown at the time in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle which reported it was 48 inches long, excluding the tail, and 28 inches tall up to its high-shoulders.
The man was a rancher called Israel Ammon Hutchins and the incident took place in 1886. It was recounted by his grandson in a book called Trails to Nature’s Mysteries: The Life of a Working Naturalist. The first encounter by Israel it was described as a “wolf-like beast of dark colour” and that it was chasing the livestock, Israel would shoot at it with a rifle but miss.
During this time many other white settlers in the area of Madison Valley claimed to see this creature and to also having had livestock harassed by it and keeping them up at night, scared and afraid.
On another morning Israel would hear his dogs making a commotion and of which was at the unknown beast that had returned again and this time Israel was able to nail it with his rifle and kill the unknown creature. After this the creature’s body would be sold to a local taxidermist and then displayed in a small museum. After this the taxidermy went missing and Jack Kirby, one of Hutchin’s grandsons eventually tracked it down in 2007 at the Idaho Museum of Natural History, who agreed to send it to the Madison Valley History Museum. So far, the mount of the creature has not been DNA tested, despite efforts in pursuing it – but it is speculated by some that the museum that now has it is more interested in keeping it more mysterious as a way to keep the exhibit a popular attraction.
Some believe it could have been a creature people thought were extinct but that managed to live to that present time, such as a borophagus for example, a group of canids once endemic to North America. Could it have possibly been one of the last of its kind? Or was it something else? Some believe it could simply be a hoax – although to what end, who knows – but the reluctance on having a DNA test of the mount has been viewed with suspicion by skeptics.
Sightings of this creature and others similar to it are thought to be misidentification of creatures such as coyotes, black bears or even foxes, specially foxes, wolves or black bears that are infected with mange could be mistaken for a different creature, as in advanced cases the skin-disease can make the unfortunate animal look quite different due to loss of fur and intense itching and biting of the skin by the animal, causing cuts, scratches and scarring.
Next up is a water cryptid said to reside in Flathead Lake. The Lake is found in the northwest of Montana and is a large and deep freshwater lake, deeper even than the average depths of the Yellow Sea and Persian Gulf. The lake is located in a scenic area of Montana and flanked by two highways that provide excellent views of the area, making it a common tourist sightseeing area and is just 30 miles southwest of Glacier National Park. The lake has mountains surrounding it and also orchards of cherries, apples, plums and pears as well as a vineyard for wine production on the western shore and areas of agriculture. The large lake also has several small islands within it – it really is an alluring natural area.
But to add to the attraction is the mystery or legend of a water monster in the lake. The monster is most often described as looking like some kind of eel-shaped serpent seen undulating through the water, having a round and wavy body, spanning anywhere from 20-40 feet long, with brownish or dark blue skin and dark grayish-black eyes. The creature is said to also have a number of humps which may often be sighted sticking up out the water, making it in this instance similar to the Loch Ness Monster.
Sightings of the creature have said to have been happening for well over 100-years with the first recorded sighting occurring in 1889. On this occasion, the sighting was made by James C. Kerr, who captained the U.S. Grant, which was a steamboat that traversed the lake, carrying passengers and cargo between the south and north shores of the lake. On the particular trip, Kerr and many of his over 100 passengers and crew saw at what they first assumed was simply a floating log that was moving towards the steamboat. But upon getting closer it appeared to be some kind of large whale-like creature, possibly as large as 20-feet in length. During the sighting it is even said that one of the passengers were so scared at the sight, that he pulled out a rifle and shot at the creature, which missed but made the creature submerge under the water and disappear from sight – always that one buzzkill.
Another interesting incident also happened in relation to the monster when a 3-year-old boy fell into the lake but managed to return out fine, despite not knowing how to swim and the 3-year-old claimed that the Flathead Lake Monster had pushed him up out of the water and the child also said that the unknown creature had a baby. The incident was reported in the National Examiner newspaper in 1996, a number of years after it had happened.
It is usual to have years where no sightings happen and others where as many as 1-2 sightings are reported, although one year that was an exception was 1993 when as many as 13-sightings were reported on this particularly active year. Many other sightings likely go unreported and many of course are always afraid of being labeled a nut or weirdo for coming out about strange and unusual encounters, which is an unfortunate thing.
The sightings of this creature have been attributed to things such as large fish, such as possibly some kind of sturgeon, or a fish that has grown bigger than usual or even some kind of eel that grew really big. Others say it could simply have been mirages created during certain conditions that created illusions that tricked people. Others claim it could be some kind of prehistoric animal that managed to survive to the present day, such as a plesiosaur – which is a common one touted for a number of lake monsters around the world. Perhaps it is also some kind of residual phenomena of a creature from the long gone past. We’ll probably never know.
Finally, we shall move on to a haunting in the state, perhaps one of the most famous haunted areas of Montana known to paranormal enthusiasts. That is the site of the Little Bighorn battle. The Battle of the Little Bighorn or Custer’s Last Stand and known to the Natives who fought against the US force as Battle of the Greasy Grass, was a significant battle that took place from June 25th-26th 1876 along the Little Bighorn River in the Crow Indian Reservation in the southeast of what was Montana Territory and was a part of the Great Sioux War of 1876.
The combined forces of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes which had anywhere from 1,500 to 2,500 warriors fought the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army that had only 700 cavalrymen and scouts that was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (who had formally fought in the American Civil War). The battle ended in a major defeat of the US force and the death of Custer and the destruction of five of the twelve companies of the 7th Regiment.
Anywhere from 31-135 Native American warriors were killed including 10 further Natives who were non-combatants and a further 160 wounded warriors and 268 cavalrymen/scouts of the 7th Regiment were killed including 55 wounded of which 6 further would later succumb to their injuries. The area of the battle now has a national monument on it and a national cemetery that honors those who fought on both sides.
It isn’t much of a surprise why it is regarded as haunted, with Natives even having performed rituals in the area to help the spirits pass on. A lodge was built in 1894 where a Superintendent would stay to manage and keep watch on the cemetery, one of the earliest government workers at the house reported a paranormal encounter, happening in the middle of the night upon waking and saying that he felt someone sit on the edge of the bed and could see a shadowy figure – being terrified the man reached for his weapon. The man reported that the apparition was just the torso of a solider, without any head or legs and of which suddenly moved at speed across the room and into the other room where it disappeared.
Much other strange phenomena have been reported in the Superintendent House including lights turning on and off, disembodied voices and the manipulation of electrical equipment as well as more creepily, ghostly figures peeping out of the windows of the house.
Of course, the house isn’t the only seemingly haunted part, the entire battlefield is thought to be haunted with phenomena such as hearing battle cries yelled out from nowhere, residual rifle shots, hearing the blowing of a bugle and seeing apparitions of soldiers and warriors on horseback in the fields. If you are looking for some possible paranormal encounters and are in Montana, this is certainly one of the places to check out – not only to potentially encounter the paranormal – but to also learn some history and pay respects to those who lost their lives on both sides in a terrible battle.
Next up we will be heading to Wyoming to check out the paranormal stuff that is to be offered there.
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