Crazy Mountains
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 45° 44.155 W 109° 45.417
12T E 596708 N 5065457
Historical marker commemorating the Crazy Mountains and their role though history.
Waymark Code: WM23DA
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 08/28/2007
Views: 53
The Crazy Mountains
Called Awaxaawippiia by the Apsaalooka (Crow) Indians, the Crazy
Mountains, which you can see to the northwest, are an igneous formation about 50
million years ago. For the Apsaalooka, they are the most sacred and
revered mountains on the northern Great Plains. Awaxaawippiia was a place
of refuge and protection. The Apsaalooka's enemies would not follow them
into the mountains. Because of their great spiritual power, Awaxaawippiia
continues to be an important vision quest site for the tribe. Faed Chief
Plenty Coups had a vision there in 1857 in which, he said, the end of the plains
Indian way-of-life was shown to him.
There are several stories about how the mountains got their current name.
the most popular story goes that a woman traveling across the plains with a
wagon train went insane. so they were called the crazy Woman Mountains, a
name which was eventually shortened. Perhaps the mountains were named, as
others have claimed, because of their crazy appearance. The Crazy
Mountains were an important landmark for Bozeman Trail emigrants in the
Yellowstone Valley. This district was great cow and sheep country in the
days of the open range, and there are still a number of large ranches in this
vicinity, though now under fence. ~ text of marker