CRAZY HORSE & MT RUSHMORE – monuments galore
Monday – Kylie & Tyler have to take the car down for a check on the headlights. They are both up early and then we head for breakfast. Of course the Dining Room is full of Fakers – they must have caught us during the night.
Breakfast is orange juice and Vegemite toast – not much as we are more worried about the car than filling our tummies. I go back to the room and K&T head off.
They have taken it to a mechanic who advises that they need to take it to the local Pontiac dealer (it being a Pontiac car). This dealer tells Kylie that they need to run some tests but it sounds like the computer needs replacing. They both wait in the service area for what is an age and then they tell her that she can get a hire car for the day and they will call when they know something definite. Great customer service.
Their people organize a car for us and it is not long after that they arrive back at the hotel. At least we can go and do some things today instead of just waiting around. Unfortunately this means that we will not be able to visit Wounded Knee which we were all so looking forward. Instead the plan is Crazy Horse Memorial and Mt Rushmore – so that is good.
We set off a little later than we anticipated but at least we are on the way. The day is fine so far – the sky is blue – but it is cold and there is a strong breeze.
HISTORY LESSON:
The Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountain monument complex that is under construction on privately held land in the Black Hills South Dakota. It depicts Crazy Horse, an Oglala Lakota warrior, riding a horse and pointing into the distance. The memorial was commissioned by Henry Standing Bear, a Lakota elder, to be sculpted by Korczak Ziolkowski. It is operated by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, a private non-profit organization.
The memorial consists of the mountain carving (monument), the Indian Museum of North America, and the Native American Cultural Center. The monument is being carved out of Thunderhead Mountain on land considered sacred by some Oglala Lakota. The sculpture’s final dimensions are planned to be 641 feet (195 m) wide and 563 feet (172 m) high.
The head of Crazy Horse will be 87 feet (27 m) high; by comparison, the heads of the four U.S. Presidents at Mount Rushmore are each 60 feet (18 m) high. The monument has been in progress since 1948 and is far from completion. Completion is expected in 2420.
Well, after reading that I am glad I took so many pictures of how the statue will look when it is finished. The entire Memorial is privately funded – by tourists and donations. There is no government funding on this project. There will be cultural centres to promote the Native American Tribes way of life and to give their young an understanding of their heritage.
When we enter the museum we are given the opportunity to watch a film about the carving of the mountain. Sure was a monumental task in those early days when Korczak first started.
There is the Indian Museum of North America situated in a large building that overlooks the mountain. In this museum is the scaled model used when this undertaking was only in the planning stages. Made of bronze it shows how the Memorial will look when it is finished. Incredible to think of how much carving there still has to be done.
There are many controversies between the carvers and some Native Americans about the statue being carved in the sacred Black Hills – let’s hope it settles and we can admire and respect Crazy Horse for what he was – an intensely proud Lakota Sioux who once said after being asked by a white man ‘Where are your lands now?’ Crazy Horse replied ‘My lands are where my dead lay buried.’
It has lots of very interesting items including a statue of a woman – Black Buffalo Woman. This statue has the title of ‘Always in his Heart’. Black Buffalo Woman was Crazy Horse’s love interest and they had known each other since childhood.
HISTORY LESSON: She was the daughter of Red Cloud’s brother, and was the first cousin of He Dog and Red Heart Bull.
Though she was married to a man named No Water, she married Crazy Horse in 1870 anyway as Lakota were allowed to divorce their husbands at any time for any reason. Despite this, No Water was enraged by his wife’s elopement. She and Crazy Horse had gone on a buffalo hunt in the Slim Buttes area of what is today Northwestern South Dakota.
When No Water arrived he looked for Crazy Horse’s tent. When he found it he called out to Crazy Horse AND When Crazy Horse answered he pointed a pistol at his heart. Crazy Horse’s cousin Touch The Clouds was sitting by the door and deflected the gun so it missed Crazy Horse’s heart and hit him in the upper jaw instead. He took off and rode his horse to death as Crazy Horse’s relatives pursued. However he made it back to his own camp and safety.
The elders intervened in the feud and convinced Crazy Horse and No Water to stop, and ordered No Water to give Crazy Horse three horses as compensation for his wound. Black Buffalo Woman eventually returned to No Water, likely in order to avoid further conflict. She and No Water are known to have had three children together. As a result of this incident, Crazy Horse lost his title of Shirt Wearer (leader) among the Lakota but his shirt was never worn again.
Also among the treasures is a photograph taken in 1948. This photo shows survivors from the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Left to right – Little Warrior; Pemmican; Little Soldier; Dewy Beard; John Sitting Bull; High Eagle; Iron Hawk and Comes Again. To see these people so proud in the native dress is very moving. To think how their nations fell makes me feel a sense of loss.
Going outside we get to see another statue of the carving – this time on a larger scale. It shows much more detail than the smaller bronze statue and we can compare it to what is happening on the mountain.
Unfortunately we are about 2km from the mountain and cannot travel closer – although they do conduct walking tours on certain days throughout the year.
Unlucky for us that today is not one of them.
Back inside the museum and we discover that we can take a part of the mountain that has been blasted away – for a small donation of course and all donations go toward the project. I feel a little guilty taking a part of such sacred land – but I tell myself that the end result will be for the betterment of the Native Americans – all of them.
Our next stop for the day is Mt Rushmore. Famous as a memorial to four American Presidents – Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt it has also gained fame as one of the major scenes out of Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, but more about that later.
On the way Kylie calls the car doctor to see how our friend is doing. It is not doing too good. The mechanic says it needs a new computer. He can fix it in a couple of hours but the cost is around $600. Kylie is gasping for air but you gotta do what you gotta do and it looks like we have no choice.
During this conversation and following all the signs we seem to miss the entrance due to nervous tension and road works – so a quick zip around and we drive through displaying our National Park Pass. There is already a lot of people here but we find a parking spot and head toward the faces.
To get to the best viewing spots you have to walk through the Avenue of Flags. This consists of the flag of every State – the whole 50 and the date when they were admitted to the Union. Of course K&T head off to find Oregon while I amble about. Even though it is fine and the sun shines every now and again – the breeze is cold and getting colder by the minute. Our plan was to stay into the night and watch the laser light show – we decide to give it a miss. We have had enough of numb noses and blue fingers for this trip.
We walk to the viewing area and I must admit it is a great achievement and I really did not know what to expect – but I am not that overly amazed. I think it must be a Hitchcock thing. North by Northwest starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint was a great movie made in 1959 with the climax of suspense being Cary and Eva scrambling over the heads of the Presidents – but no matter how much I look for them it is not happening so I just look and ponder how this thing was carved.
Heading back into the main building – mainly to thaw out – there is a display of the days of carving the mountain and what tools and explosives were used.
We are also delighted to discover that there is man who was part of this project sitting at a desk signing copies of his book – Mount Rushmore Q&A. The gentleman’s name is Don ‘Nick’ Clifford and he worked on the mountain during 1938-39-40. If you click here you will be able to discover for yourself what a wonderful and humble man this is.
Of course we buy a copy of his book for him to sign and spend some time talking to him. He is an incredible man and told us stories of what it was like to be here and also of the baseball teams that were formed to keep up the mens spirits. Ever courteous, we ask if we can talk his photo and he requests that we do not use flash as it plays havoc with his eyes. That is no problem – we are pleased to oblige. I now have a better understanding for his Monument and the lives of the men who made it.
After chatting with Nick it is time to suss out the souvenir part of the building. Acquiring the usual bits and pieces it is time to head back to Rapid City to get our car. We collect the car – return the rental and head back to the hotel – but something is wrong with the lights – only one is working – great. It is now too late to call and we have to leave early tomorrow morning so we cut our losses – I am sure Kylie will be ringing them somewhere along the line – and we head out for dinner which is within walking distance – just across the parking area.
We order dinner and I order a glass of wine. My bones are cold – my head is hurting and I want alcohol and I want it now! The lovely waitress must have expertly assessed the situation and I do not get the usual wine glass – I get a soft drink tumbler full of wine. Bless her heart. Tyler takes a photo but I will not put it here – I look like something that has seen better days – well I have really.
Planning our day tomorrow the itinerary includes Custer State Park and Fort Laramie. We decide to make a return visit to Deadwood as our 30 minutes of racing around a cemetery was definitely not enough time. We will do Deadwood in the morning and Fort Laramie in the afternoon and give Custer a miss. Sounds OK to me. We have a wonderful dinner – I have another tumbler or two of wine and we head back to shower and sleep. I will certainly not need any encouragement to get me to sleep that’s for sure. I am feeling no pain.
Highlight of the day – too hard for one – Crazy Horse and talking with Nick Clifford