Ekalaka

Some people claim an old buffalo hunter figured that starting a thirst emporium for parched cowpunchers on this end of the range would furnish him a more lucrative and interesting vocation than downing buffalo. He picked a location and was hauling a load of logs to erect this proposed edifice for the eradication of ennui when he bogged down in a snowdrift. “Hell,” he exclaimed, “Any place in Montana is a good place for a saloon,” so he unloaded and built her right there. That was the traditional start of Ekalaka in the 1860s and the old undaunted pioneer spirit of the West still lingers here. When it became a town it was named after an Indian girl, born on the Powder River, who was the daughter of Eagle Man, an Oglala Sioux. She was a niece of the War Chief, Red Cloud, and was also related to Sitting Bull. She became the wife of David H. Russell, the first white man to settle permanently in this locality.