While we were exploring the Big Horn Mountains, which is blanketed in colorful wildflowers of purple, yellow and white, several people we spoke with recommended we visit “Crazy Woman Canyon.” We learned there are two different stories – as to why the woman was crazy. I will try my best to tell the stories accurately.
1.) A Native American village was attacked and wiped out. One woman survived the horrible experience. She never left the area and she went crazy because of the killing. She lived in the canyon for the rest of her life.
2.) A family of settlers – husband, wife, and two children were attacked by the Sioux. The husband and kids were scalped. In a fit of rage, the woman picked up a tomahawk and killed four of the Sioux braves. After the killings, she refused to leave the area. Later a trapper found her. He buried the bodies and tried to convince her to leave the area, she refused. So, he built her a cabin, decapitated the four dead Sioux and placed their heads on poles in the four major directions around the cabin. No one bothered her because of the heads on the poles. She remained in the cabin for the rest of her life.
This cold, crisp mountain stream is in Crazy Woman Canyon. A family was camping next to the stream when we visited. The woman told us the fishing was good in the stream. Her children had caught some fish. Tiny was there sweet and friendly dog.
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