Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 1 42 PRYOR Sykes, a known recluse who emphat- ically insisted on keeping the public away during hide tanning day (later dis- covered because he tanned hides in the nude), has more stories surrounding his escapades than many others. The tallest tale is the legend of Sykes's treasure. It's said that the townspeople didn't like the man. Fed up with him, they con- jured up a story about how he assaulted the daughter of a prominent town official. A mob chased him back into the moun- tains, and decided to do away with the man once and for all. A brief shootout ensued, and Sykes retreated to his cabin. When he didn't come out, the mob investigated, only to discover the cabin had a secret back door that led into one of the many caverns that honeycomb the rocks below. Never to be seen again, it's said that Sykes had amassed a treasure that he hid beneath a rock shaped like Idaho located somewhere on the mountain. Truth or legend? After more than 100 years it hasn't been found. WHERE THE WILD HORSES ROAM Today, many people will rumble their way up one of the many dirt roads that crisscross the mountains on a quest to see some of the wild horses that call the area home. This small herd, num- bering around 180 including the fifteen foals this year, is closely monitored by the BLM, and they have called the area home for many hundreds of years. Around the time when cross-Atlantic travel was beginning, conquistadors came to take over the lands and steal gold and other natural resources. They brought with them Spanish horses, a beast that Cortez credits to his success in dominating the natives. Some of these horses were sold, others escaped, and eventually they managed to find their way throughout North America. When a handful of them made their way into the Pryor Mountains, they discovered they could live peacefully and without threat of humans. For the last few centuries, the popula- tion has waxed and waned. In 1968, the Secretary of Interior Stewart Udall estab- lished laws protecting the wild mustangs in order to help them thrive and live without the worry of being hunted or slaughtered. Today, the BLM manages this herd. When the numbers begin to rise, threatening disease and collapse, they are rounded up and auctioned to those who will provide them with loving homes. DISCOVER THE MYSTERIES OF THE PRYORS An unimposing mountain range on the tail end of the Beartooths doesn't look like much if you happen to drive by. There are no rocky spires, no peaks towering over the tree line, and no vast lakes teeming with fish. You could easily drive by imagining that you have seen it all from the road. A quick trip off the paved road proves otherwise. Vast caverns provide innumerable miles of underground passag- es through the limestone bedrock. Artifacts and evidence of people dating back for thousands of years grace the surfaces. Legends of hidden treasure, mysterious human-like creatures, and strange noises in the night that nobody can explain are not uncommon. The mystique goes on and on, with few answers discovered. Instead, the more time you spend here, the more questions arise as to exactly who lived here, how was that cavern formed, and what are the Shoot the Rock Mountains all about? The mystique goes on and on, WITH FEW ANSWERS DISCOVERED Road to the Pryors Pen's Cabin

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