The Legend of Devils Tower: A Story of Courage and Faith

The legend of Devils Tower in Wyoming is a story of courage and faith. It is a tale of the Arapaho people, who believed that a young woman transformed into a bear and injured her sister while chasing her brothers. When her sister didn't recover, “Bear-Girl” climbed to the top of Devils Tower, abandoning her family to keep them safe. Frightened by the bear, the men prayed to the Great Spirit for help.

In answer to their prayers, the rock began to grow out of the ground, and when it stopped, it was very high. The bear jumped towards the men, and in the fourth jump, its claws were on top. The Great Spirit had helped the men and now they had a lot of courage and they shot the bear and killed it. When the bear fell backwards and pushed the big rock, the big rock tilted. The Great Spirit then came to rescue seven maidens who were being chased by bears.

He placed them on top of Mateo Tepe, the rock formation of the Devil's Tower. However, the bears continued to hunt them up the cliffs. The vertical grooves found today in the Tower were the result of the marks of the bear's claws, which tore off the rock as it climbed. When the bears locked themselves in their prey, the Great Spirit placed them safely in the sky in the Pleiades star cluster, where the bears could never reach them. The stories differ in detail, but they all share a common theme: one or more indigenous people flee from a bear and are saved on a rock.

They ask for help from the Great Spirit who makes it grow taller. In its attempt to catch its prey, the bear leaves claw marks on the rock, but it does not reach people. The tower has a flat top that covers 1.5 acres (0.6 hectares) and fluted sides. It measures 264 meters (867 feet) in height measured from its base and 386 meters (1,267 feet) measured from the river valley; its summit has an elevation of 5112 feet (1558 meters) above sea level. The tower probably formed when molten rock, pushing upwards, found a hard rock layer and was forced to spread out in a flat shape.

Its color is mainly light gray and beige. Lichens cover parts of the tower, and sage, moss and grass grow on top of it. Squirrels and birds live at the top, and a pine forest covers part of the surrounding country; there is also a sizeable prairie dog village near the base of the tower. O'Harra (from South Dakota School of Mines) theorized that Devils Tower should be an eroded remnant of a laccolito. Collins' painting of giant Mato, from Cheyenne tradition, depicts him making his way to reach a man, his wife and their husbands - six brothers who protect them at the top of Devil's Tower. The Devil's Tower was also used as a landing site for aliens who took a group of human volunteers into space. Looking down on Devil's Tower from Pleiades, seven Indian girls see a carpet of scrambled rocks, native grasses, cacti and mugwort - home to squirrels, mice and burden rats whose happy “life on top” is interrupted by daring climbers - as well as occasional snake looking for food. All Native American myths about Devil's Tower relate to bears and Great Spirit who help their warriors not to be hunted.

Collins painted Cheyenne version in which man and his wife defended themselves against giant bear that tried to reach them - beast scratching rock with its claws. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE George Hopkins parachuted to top of Devils Tower in 1941 and was stranded there for six days in cold rain and 50 mph winds before being rescued. Some wooden stakes are still intact today - visible when walking 1.3 mile (2.1 km) Tower Trail at Devils Tower National Monument. Devils Tower was first national monument in United States established on September 24th 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. Children have sisters take bear to Devils Tower and trick him into thinking they have climbed rock. More than 20 Indian tribes consider Devils Tower sacred site where every June tribes come to celebrate their heritage by camping there to pray fast dance as well as perform rituals funerals Sweat Lodge Vision Quest. Creation scientists believe biblical timelines make Earth only thousands years old not billion as advocated by evolutionary scientists saying Devil's Tower result flood Noah mentioned Genesis with upper earth other debris washing away ever since leaving exposed lava stopper. Scott Momaday (kiowa) was given name Tsoai-talee (rock tree boy) by Pohd-lohk elderly Kiowa linking boy myth Devil's Tower bear. Others say Devil's Tower volcanic plug neck extinct volcano with lava ash it would have produced eroded over time.

Roxanne Cotner
Roxanne Cotner

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