The Mystery of Soaring Hawk

By Shane Dunning

http://www.redshalereflections.com

Deep into a dry creek valley in southern Rosebud County is a structure whose origins are mysterious. A small hill on the south side of the valley commands a broad view of the surrounding country. The top of the hill is flat, covering about 9,000 square feet. The dry creek runs into the Tongue River, and the entire structure is located on private land.

The summit of this hill contains three man-sized rings constructed of stacked rock. One is on the northeast corner of the hill, with an excellent view of the valley below. A second ring is located on the butte's southern point, where the slope is most gradual. The third ring occupies a central position between the other two, on the highest elevation point. In addition to the three dominant rings, at least four additional rock structures, irregular in shape, also exist along the outside rim of the crest.

The structure has been known since at least the 1930s. My great Uncle John Moreland worked that valley in his youth and had a homestead in the 40s near this location. His daughter Sharon grew up with my father (Forest Dunning) and, during a recent visit, told us of these formations. Phil Wood also knew the structure's location and obtained the land owner's permission to travel up the dry creek valley to what we were initially calling "robber's roost". The trip took place last year in the early fall.

The robber's roost moniker originated from the only story we heard regarding the origin of this place. According to this story, a group of outlaws fought off a posse from the top of the hill. To be clear, the existence of this structure was unknown to almost everyone, including the area's local history oracles. This outlaw story, such as it was, was not communicated with much confidence in its veracity.

We took the most direct and practical hike to the summit, up the west slope from the two-track road that eventually wound its way to our destination.

This rock-strewn slope was very steep at 70 degrees and continued for a good two hundred yards of climbing. Once there, I took several pictures. The structures resembled breastworks created as a defensive position, but not obviously so.

As I mentioned before, the existence of this structure was unknown to almost everyone. After a few months of being unable to obtain any information, I queried the fine folks at the Montana State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) in Helena. After showing them a few pictures, they told me they were familiar with similar structures and offered two other possibilities. One was hunting blinds along animal trails; the other was fasting beds for Native American vision quests. The fasting bed explanation was one I previously considered since I had seen pictures of these structures, which looked very similar to the formation on the top of this hill.

The SPHO looked up the location in their database and found that the site had been previously recorded. In 1979, a BLM archeologist named Tom Schley visited the site as part of a larger area archeological survey to obtain information on cultural resources potentially impacted by mining. His one-page report identified the site as "Soaring Hawk" without explanation. Perhaps the archeologist saw a hawk in the sky and named the location on the spot. According to the Preservation Office:

The form shows 10 rock features positioned at the edges of the hill. The recorder believes that this could either be a defensive formation or potentially fasting location. However, they were leaning towards defensive based on the fact that the features are located at the edge of the butte facing multiple directions. Typically fasting beds all face one location, usually the rising sun.

I sent the office a few more pictures to attach to their files (they didn't have any). I could not find the slightest evidence to corroborate the outlaw story. These structures were built deliberately, taking quite a bit of planning, energy, and time. It is inconceivable that this site was thrown together on the fly by a group of outlaws upon the arrival of a posse. It is possible that an outlaw gang made their home below the hill and constructed the breastworks in anticipation of a fight, but that explanation is still unsatisfying. Outlaws would have preferred escape to a last, desperate stand, and the natural cover surrounding the hill would have given them plenty of it.

My father, a retired Army Lt. ­Colonel of Artillery, is convinced the site shows clear indications of United States military doctrine.

There are at least nine rock structures which appear to be fighting positions on the top of the hill. Eight of the positions are on the extreme military crest of the hill with a ninth large position backed up to the topographical crest in the center of the other positions. The center position appears to be a command post. The bulk of the structures are oriented to the north and east. The top of the hill is not amenable to digging because it is nearly all fractured rock

With the preponderance of the evidence that Soaring Hawk is a defensive position, the next question becomes one of its historical origins. While it is possible Native Americans built the site, the condition of the structures and the dry climate would seem to age the pits to the late 1800s to early 1900s, a period of active military maneuvering for US forces in the area.

The site would not have been an effective defensive position for more than twenty people. The dry creek valley could have been a good Indian trail for traveling between the Rosebud Creek and Tongue River drainages. There were four distinct military campaigns in the area that I consider possible origins for this structure, with one being the clear favorite.

The Battle of Wolf Mountain (also known as Battle of the Butte) took place less than ten miles from this site on January 8, 1877. This was an engagement between Colonel Nelson Miles, Crazy Horse's Lakota, and Two Moons' Northern Cheyenne. The battle took place north of the Soaring Hawk site, with Miles' troops originating from Ft. Keogh. Their maneuvers or reconnaissance would not have come this far south with a known hostile force directly in front of them. Also arguing against Soaring Hawk being associated with this engagement is the time of year, namely the harsh Montana winter. It is inconceivable that the hundreds of flat rocks used at Soaring Hawk could be pulled from the frozen, possibly snow-covered ground and placed with such precision.

Another possibility is the site was constructed as a defensive position during the outbreak of the White River Utes in 1906, which I discussed in a previous article. The White River Utes had peacefully marched through the general area in their odyssey to the Black Hills but scared many white settlers along the way. There were concerns the Utes would attempt to join the Northern Cheyenne at their reservation. To prevent this, troops were dispatched from Ft. Keogh, Ft. Robinson, and Ft. Mackenzie. While there is evidence that some of these troops had traveled through the area, there is no record of them ever being under such a threat that would cause them to build the structures like those atop Soaring Hawk.

The Battle of the Rosebud took place June 17, 1876, approximately thirty miles to the west of the site in question. In this encounter, a large group of Lakota and Northern Cheyenne under Crazy Horse engaged General George Crook. This battle involved significant levels of soldiers and would have employed scouting parties. Occurring a few weeks before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, General Crook was, at the time, trying to locate a rumored sizeable Indian village. Troop movements for this engagement originated on Goose Creek near present-day Sheridan, Wyoming, and would have approached the subsequent battle from the Southwest. Thirty miles further east, the Soaring Hawk site would have been on the extreme practical limits for scouting parties, especially considering that after the Battle, General Crook turned around and returned to the shadow of the Bighorn Mountains.

However, after the Custer's disastrous defeat on the Little Bighorn, General Crook was ordered to track down the victorious Indian force. To this end, in late July of 1876, George Crook broke camp on Goose Creek and again entered present-day Montana. It is this effort, I believe, that provides the best explanation for the structures on Soaring Hawk.

Crook's army followed Goose Creek to the Tongue River. His army had several scouts, including Frank Grouard and William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill). According to several accounts, Grouard believed Crazy Horse's band was again on the Rosebud. At a point north of the (present-day) Montana border, Crook's main body moved west from the Tongue River to Rosebud Creek. Given that the area was extremely hilly and rocky, Grouard would have scouted multiple Indian trails to travel between the two drainages. While it is not clear where Crook's main army turned west, I believe the scouting parties may very well have come as far north as the dry creek overlooked by Soaring Hawk.

Contrary to the Army movements in the Ute breakout described above, Crook's troops were under considerable threat during these movements. Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull had separated, and the Indians knew Crook's movements. The Native Americans set several grass fires and harassed Crook's pickets to slow them. The Diary of Private William W. Jordan states

July 30: Moved camp one mile down creek. Indians set fire to the prairie. Entire command out fighting fire until dark.

August 3: Marched all day through smoke of prairie fires. Weather hot. Command suffered for water. Arrived in camp about sundown. Made eighteen miles...The whole country is one sheet of flames, from the valley to the mountan tops. At 8 o'clock p.m. a terrific rainstorm set in. All the tents blown down. I was on picket duty. Indians fire on pickets. Pickets return fire. One Indian killed.

Such was the environment when Grouard had his scouts deployed looking for an Indian trail to get to the Rosebud from Tongue River. The dry creek of Soaring Hawk was just such a trail, and a scouting party may very well have needed a defensive position with a commanding view of the surrounding country. While there is no direct evidence that this is the origin of Soaring Hawk, it is, in my opinion, the most likely.