October 6, 2026- At the midpoint of her ninth month, Hana walked with me, around the first floor, three times. She had very little need for napping today, taking a 30-minute rest, this morning, and wanting to stay on the move, the rest of the day. She expressed a momentary interest in trying to go upstairs. I vetoed that one. It will, at minimum, require her ability to walk around the house unassisted, over at least a two-week period. Her parents, of course, also need to be on board with it.
My granddaughter also mimicked someone-not sure who, that she thinks yaks too much. I don’t say all that much, so I will leave that one to the Universe to decipher. She loves my prayers, and comes over to put her hand on the prayer book, while I am reciting. In the middle of the devotional, this morning, she called out “Baha’u’llah!” I have used His name in her presence, maybe twice. Something is at work in her little mind.
HANA’S NOTE- I don’t want to be held anymore, when I am drinking from a bottle. I drink it better when I am standing up.
EXPANDING CIRCLES: Montana- I have been in Big Sky Country three times: 1972, between Babb and Monida, by way of Great Falls and Butte; 1982, from Monida to Cut Bank and then on up through the Blackfeet Reservation to Cardston and Stand Off, Alberta and over to Bozeman, on the return trip; 1987, crossing the state by bus, from St. Regis to Wibaux. It is one of two states that I have not re-visited since 1987 (the other being North Dakota). I would love to come up with a reason to fix that, in the next several years.
The turf- Western Montana is covered by the Rocky Mountains. The central and the eastern areas are riparian and high plains. It is the latter region that gives Montana its moniker: Big Sky Country. The state is drained by the Kootenai, Flathead, Bitterroot, Marias, Missouri, Blackfoot, Beaverhead, Musselshell, Yellowstone, and Milk Rivers, along with their tributaries.
First Nations- Montana is the ancestral home of the Assiniboine, Blackfeet (Piegan)., Little Shell Chippewa, Cree, Crow, Gros Ventre, Kootenai, Northern Cheyenne, Pend d’Oreille (Kalispel), Salish and Sioux.
Seven battles between First Nations and the U. S. Army figure strongly in Montana history. The most famous is 1. the Battle of Little Big Horn, June 25-6, 1876, between the U.S. Army 7th Cavalry and forces of the Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho Nations. The First Nations won this battle, which was sparked by a Cavalry raid on a Lakota and Cheyenne village. This is the battle which resulted in the deaths of 268 U.S. soldiers. including General George A. Custer. 2.Baker’s Massacre (1870) was intended to “teach good manners” to the Blackfeet (Piegan), as Gen. Baker’s mission was to punish a chief who was thought to be harbouring the killers of a prominent rancher. Baker attacked the wrong village, resulting in the deaths of 90 women, 50 children and 37 men. 3. Battle of the Rosebud, occurring the week before Little Big Horn. The forces of General George Crook fought to a draw with the Cheyenne and Sioux.4. Two Medicine fight(1806) Piegan warriors fought with a unit of the Corps of Discovery, led by Meriwether Lewis. Two Piegan were killed. This resulted in the Piegan closing their territory to fur traders. 5. The Hayfield Fight(1867) was one of the last skirmishes of Red Cloud’s War. Chief Red Cloud won commitments from the U.S. Government that the Powder River area would be “unceded Indian territory”. Of course, that “commitment” was soon forgotten. 6. Battle of Bearpaw (1877) was the last battle of the Nez Perce War (October 5). It was upon this defeat that Chief Joseph delivered his surrender speech: “From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.” 7. Battle of Big Hole (1877)- This battle, in July, deepened the distrust which the Nez Perce had towards the U.S. military. General John Gibbon’s forces killed between 70-90 Nez Perce, mostly women and children. 29 soldiers were killed.
Where I feel most at home: Babb (I was welcomed by a Piegan family, upon crossing the Canadian border, in 1872), Bozeman, Choteau, Butte.
Where I feel most at peace- Babb, Flathead Lake
Future Five: Glacier National Park, Bob Marshall Wilderness, Little Big Horn National Historical Site, West Yellowstone, Missouri Breaks.
NEXT: We go to the Great Plains, and North Dakota.
