P a g e 2 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r spot for ranchers and other folks from a wide expanse of territory. Often this land was called “Miles City’s south side,” as it was south of the Yellowstone and east of the Northern Cheyenne and Crow territory. A two-block-long Main Street encompasses, amongst other businesses, a couple of cafes, saloons, motels and the 6,000-square-foot Carter County Museum, which houses dinosaur bones. It’s definitely worth a visit. The prairie stretching from Ekalaka in all directions is some of the most beautiful mixture of landscapes in Montana east of the mountains. Most prominent are several sections of the far-flung Custer National Forest: the Long Pines, Ekalaka Hills, Chalk Buttes and Medicine Rocks State Park. While these places may not be mountains to folks in western Montana, they’re tall landmarks out here. The high points in most of them reach upwards nearly 700 feet above the surrounding topography. The Chalk Buttes, just southeast of Ekalaka, are a collection of buttes and hills, with a high point of 4,140 feet. They’re forested up to the rims of their flat tops – an oasis on the almost treeless plains stretching out for as far as the eye can see. Like other vantage points out here, Native Americans used them for religious purposes and vision quests. Many legends have been recorded about the area, including the story of Starvation Butte. It is said that an Indian woman climbed it, and as she reached the top, her footing crumbled beneath her. Unable to return, she died of starvation. Fighting Butte was the site of a skirmish in which Sioux chased a hunting party of Crows to the top. Backed to the steep edge of the table of rocks, the Crows were forced to leap to their deaths when the enemy set the top ablaze. On the southern edge of town, the Ekalaka Hills are another rise of limestone. A road climbs through them to the edge of their precipitous south side, where far-reaching views into Wyoming and South Dakota can be enjoyed. Their highest point is 4,111 feet. The Long Pines, a partially timbered island uplift in far southeast Montana, begin about 15 miles southeast of Ekalaka. Several unimproved roads lead in to the area. There are campsites in the Pines but very little water. The same situation existing in the Chalk Buttes and Ekalaka Hills. Very soft limestone surface rock soaks up any liquid. Capitol Rock, so called because it resembles the nation’s capitol, stands out on the far eastern edge of these hills. It’s a massive deposit of light-colored volcanic ash. The routes leading to it require a four-wheel
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