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| Plant fossils can be found within
some of the sandstone blocks and shale formed at this
time. This is a wonderful record of the types
of plants that grew here before the ice
age. The layers of coal that lay beneath the
hill also give us a picture of an older type of
vegetation that lived here. The visitor may
have seen the black soil on the hill side nearby, upon
closer examination you will see this is a poor grade of
lignite coal. Deeper into the hill there may
be a better grade of coal which was mined here up until
the arrival of the railway. The upper plateaus
elevation is approximately 2950 ft or 950m while the
village of St. Victor is at 2450 ft or
800m. Because of the abrupt rise in land it
provides the visitor with a wondrous view of the
area. Many more mysteries lay before the
visitor as they scan the horizon during the day and at
night as the stars sparkle across the heavens creating a
panoramic view of some 20 to 50 miles
away. The main mystery that the visitor asks
about as they stand here is who were these people who
lived here and when were the Petroglyphs carved and
why? This is an almost impossible question to
answer for no one today knows who exactly carved them or
when. There is some speculation to some
connection to the people of the upper Missouri Tribes, or
the tribes of the plains. Wildlife abounds in the coulees where there is plenty of water and shelter. There is also an abundance of birds nesting here, with the occasional sighting of Golden Eagles, Turkey Vultures, and the occasional Bald Eagle. The numbers of White Tailed Deer, Mule Deer, Antelope, some Elk, and the occasional Moose. Lynx and Cougar pass through the area but are seldom seen. There is the occasional sighting of Gray Wolves or Timber Wolves in the Big Muddy area and once and a while in this area. There is the Mystery of the two sites located nearby where you can find a shallow pit is lined with stones. These sites are located on the top of hills over looking the valley below and have a clear view of the Petroglyph site. Some call them Vision pits, others claim that they were eagle catching pits. These sites were placed to view the cardinal directions. #1 site point North / South, #2 site points East/ West. If you are privileged to visit these sites, we request you treat them with respect as they are very sacred sites. |
