Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A s FA L L 2 0 1 5 42 42 Like many other cultures, the Chippewa- Cree have a legend associated with the great floods of the world. To survive the flood waters the god fled to the Sweetgrass Hills, and to a specific location within the hills. Inside a warm cave the god waited out the rising waters, and from there he reformed and restructured the flooded world. at place exists to this day. e Devil's Chimney is a small cave that just might be the greatest, unknown religious site in Montana. After a strenuous hike, one must be willing to get down and dirty to enter the chamber. e main entrance to the cave is the wide chimney atop the rocky chamber, but only the nesting hawks use that entrance. To enter one must crawl like a badger through a portal into the cave. Flashlights are unneeded, as the misty, green inte- rior is highlighted by the overhead entrances. A mysterious, forbidding shelter, a place where we can imagine a camping pits once existing, bellow- ing smoke from the chimney. Not a bad spot to wait out a flood, and after squirming out through the portal, one almost feels reborn, with one's first sight being Montana's Sweetgrass Hills. Each of the buttes overlook giant treeless plains, checkered with croplands. e East Butte hills, whether rocky or grassy, gain trees at a certain elevation, but not on the sunny south faces. Rocky outcroppings arise from most of the hills, but especially West Butte. Gravel roads run around these mountains, but direct access is not easy. Furthermore, during this exploration every attempt was made to be respectful to the area. Not only because of the religious nature of the site, but also in regard to private property rights surrounding these hills, and the delicate nature of caves in gen- eral. Other caves exist within the Sweetgrass Hills, and like many caves in Montana, they lay undiscovered. Please be mindful when visiting any caves. For more information on caving in Montana please visit nrmg.org. Lewis and Clark called them the Broken Mountains, the French trappers dubbed them "Les Trois Buttes." Sunburst, Montana, is named for the morning's first rays of light cresting above the Sweetgrass Hills. It's easy to see why Napi choose the Sweetgrass Hills for a sanctuary. e geology and spirituality of the Sweetgrass Hills make them unique in Montana history. e gods created them, so perhaps one day you should visit them. e�gods created e Sweetgrass Hi s, so�perhaps one�day you should visit em. First view of the Bear Cave Devil's Chimney

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