University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1980 Montana A guide to the museums and national historic sites with French interpretation Mary Elizabeth Maclay The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Maclay, Mary Elizabeth, "Montana A guide to the museums and national historic sites with French interpretation" (1980). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5078. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5078 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1976 Th is is an unpublished manuscript in which copyright sub ­ s is t s . Any further r e p r in tin g of its contents must be approved BY THE AUTHOR. Man sfield Library U n iv e r s it y of Montana Da t e : 1 9 8 0 MONTANA, A GUIDE TO THE MUSEUMS AND NATIONAL HISTORIC SITES, WITH FRENCH INTERPRETATION by Mary Elizabeth Blair Maclay B.A., Montana State University, 1951 Presented in partial fu lfillm e n t of the requirements for the degree of Master of Interdisciplinary Studies UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1980 Approved by: Chairman, Boardof Examiners Deem, Graduate Sctoo I 7 r t f * UMI Number: EP40542 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT Dissertation UMI EP40542 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest ^ ... ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Maclay, Mary B., M.I.S., June 8, 1980 Anthropology, History, French Montana, a Guide to the Museums and National Historic Sites, with French Interpretation (426 pp.) Director: Frank Bessac Current information was needed to interpret Montana, its museums and National Historic Sites for French- speaking people. Communication was established with information sources in Montana's fifty-six counties, and disciplines in the Arts and Sciences were used to interpret the regions of Montana through the mediums of the museums and National Historic Sites. Bibliography was developed. Summaries were written in French and, with citations, in English. During the study i t became apparent that many geo­ logical and archaeological specimens had been removed permanently from Montana. There are many private collections within the state. A suitable museum could preserve some of the specimens for study at the Univer­ sity of Montana in Missoula. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT . i i PREFACE . IV PHOTOGRAPHS . VI ERTS S atellite Map - Montana Livingston Museum, Livingston, MT. Chapter I. SPACE Location in Northern Rockies and Great Plains The Rocky Mountains Water Climate, Soils and Vegetation II. TIME AND CULTURE 12 Time, the Last 80 M illion Years Culture Prehistoric Hi storic I I I . MUSEUMS AND NATIONAL HISTORIC SITES .... 44 APPENDICES A. Suggested Paleobotany Bibliography, Courtesy of C. N. M iller, Ph.D. B. Suggested Paleontology Bibliography C. David A. Walter's Bibliography on Montana History D. Geologic Map Indicating Fort Union Formation, with Geologic Column E. (1) Some Glacial Lakes in Montana (2) Extent of Glacier Peak and Mt. Mazama Ash (Fryxell) F. Montana Highway Department Mini-Tours G. Map - Montana National Historic Sites and Museums H. Alphabetical Cross Reference to Map of Montana Counties, with Page numbers in Text PREFACE The physical world has influenced the development of Montana history, with the inhabitants molding themselves to f i t their surroundings. The product is a unique group of people whose history and culture are echoed in the National Historic Sites and museums of the state. French trappers, traders and priests made part of the history, but l i t t l e was written about Montana in French in this century, as my husband and I discovered in 1954 from our neighbors, the Brandels, in Paris. Canada, directly north of us, provides bilingual cultural materials for its French-speaking citizens. Now, with the present work, the French- speaking world w ill be able to l i f t a corner of the page and perhaps hear the sound of the wind blowing in eastern Montana, comprehend the influences of the Laramide Orogeny and ongoing tectonic factors, the Fort Union Formation, and Montana's Glacial Lakes upon the geography, culture and lif e of Montana today. A comprehensive view of the developing museums and sites w ill always be incomplete. A quote from the 1899 University of Montana Thesis of Earl Douglass, The Neocene Lake Beds of Western Montana, is appropriate, and it mirrors my thoughts: "It has been my e ffo rt to make as few mistakes as possible, yet . i t is impossible that no mistakes should be made." Acknowledgement is due to many people for th e ir gracious help, including my Committee Chairman, Frank Bessac, who allowed me to do the work, showed me the possibilities and advised me consistently along the way; 0. W. Rolfe, who believed in my a b ility to expand my French; K. Ross Toole, for his example of in fin ite patience, c la rity of thought and intellectual honesty; and David M. Emmons, for reading the project to allow its fru itio n . i v Others I wish to thank are Joann Mussulman, who provided the in itia l lis t of museums; Kay Turman, who reviewed my lis t of art centers and museums; William Melton, for information on various workers in Montana paleontology; C. N. M iller, who provided the Paleobotany bibliography; the many professors under whom I studied, with special thanks to the Geology Department; the helpful librarians at the Mike and Maureen Mansfield Library; the many Montanans who shared information with me; and fin a lly , Marie-No£lle Bonnifassy, who read my French, and Elaine and Raymond Murray, for their encouragement. My work is dedicated to my husband, H. Bruce Mac!ay, and our children, Sarah E., Thomas B. and William H. Maclay, and to the inspiration they have given me. May only good come of this. v ERTS SATELLITE MAP - MONTANA FARK COUNTY MUSEUM, LIVINGSTON, MT. SPACE, TIME AND CULTURE Through the context of horizontal and vertical space, anc* of time, geological, archaeological and historical, we begin to know about Montana cultures and past and present life . CHAPTER I SPACE Location: The Northern Rockies and Great Plains Montana is located in the Northern Rockies and Great Plains areas between 45 and 49 degrees north latitude and 104 to 116 degrees west longitude and is in the wheat belt of the American West. The location gives rise to a highly seasonal climate with long summer days and long winter nights. Its high vertical re­ lie f causes chinook winds on the east slopes and a wide variety of microclimates and vegetation. A resilient plant cover is the net result. The fourth largest state, it has 147,138 square miles, including 1,600 miles of surface water. From east to west along the Canadian border i t is 550 miles. On the west i t is 325 miles from north to south, and 280 miles in the east. Granite Peak is the highest point, at 12,799 feet, on the Beartooth Plateau. Troy is the lowest, at 1,800 feet, on the Kootenai River (Taylor 1974: 2-4). Although i t is the fourth largest in size, Montana had only 785,000 inhabitants in 1978 (Bur. Bus. & Econ. Res. UM 1979). 1 Le temps, V espace et la culture Dans le contexte de 1'espace horizontal et vertical, et du temps, geologique, archeologique ou historique nous commenqons a connaitre les cultures passees et presentes du Montana. I Le lieu: Les Rocheuses du Nord et les Grandes Plaines: Le Montana se trouve dans les Rocheuses du Nord et les Grandes Plaines a une latitude nord de ^5 a- ^9 degres et a une longitude de 10^ a 116 degres. L'etat se trouve dans la Bande de Ble de l'ouest Americain, ou l'on produit beaucoup du ble. Le climat est tres saisonnier avec des journees d'ete et des soirees d'hiver tres longues. Le tres haut-relief vertical cause des vents du type chinook aux versants de l'est des montagnes aussi bien que toutes sortes de microclimats et de vegetations. Get etat, le quatrieme en grandeur aux USA, a une superficie de V+7,13^ milles carres comprenant 1600 milles de plan d'eau. De l'est a l'ouest le long de la frontiere Canadienne il y a 55^ milles. A l'ouest il y a 325 milles du nord au sud et 280 milles a l'est. Le pic Granite, le point le plus haut, fait 12,799 pieds sur le plateau Beartooth. La ville de Troy, sur la riviere Kootenai, est le point le plus basi 1800 pieds. Bien que le Montana soit l'etat 2 3 References Cited and Recommended Reading Taylor, Robert L ., Milton J. Edie and Charles F.