old digger
Gold Member
I just wanted to share this information that I found that an early settler to Montana had written down.
The river that we call the Yellowstone river is not the stream which the Indians called by that name. Their name for the Yellowstone was ''Ettschumin''. It is derived from a peculiar sort of edged tool which the Indians used to separate the shreds of flesh from the inside of the skin which they were preparing for tanning. We nowadays call it a flesher or scraper.
There is a prominent bluff along the Yellowstone river which is corrugated on it's rim like the edge of this tool and the Indians, noting the resemblance, gave the name of the tool to the river.
Here is a photo I took of this escarpment. You can see the corrugated rim and the top (You cannot see) is flat.
But the Indians did have a river that they called Yellowstone. It was what the present-day map (Of Montana) shows as Wolf Creek which flows into the Judith River. I was so called from the fact that near it's head there were large caves in which were great deposits of chrome-yellow clay. These clays were used in yellow paint. There is much history retold that all tribes, east and west were constantly battling for the right to get this desirable coloring material.
I thought you might like a little insight on this. More to come if you wish.
The river that we call the Yellowstone river is not the stream which the Indians called by that name. Their name for the Yellowstone was ''Ettschumin''. It is derived from a peculiar sort of edged tool which the Indians used to separate the shreds of flesh from the inside of the skin which they were preparing for tanning. We nowadays call it a flesher or scraper.
There is a prominent bluff along the Yellowstone river which is corrugated on it's rim like the edge of this tool and the Indians, noting the resemblance, gave the name of the tool to the river.
Here is a photo I took of this escarpment. You can see the corrugated rim and the top (You cannot see) is flat.
But the Indians did have a river that they called Yellowstone. It was what the present-day map (Of Montana) shows as Wolf Creek which flows into the Judith River. I was so called from the fact that near it's head there were large caves in which were great deposits of chrome-yellow clay. These clays were used in yellow paint. There is much history retold that all tribes, east and west were constantly battling for the right to get this desirable coloring material.
I thought you might like a little insight on this. More to come if you wish.
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Kind of reminds me of our "Mesa's" out west.
