Creede of Old Montana
Square Butte scene excerpt from western romance novel Creede of Old Montana by author Stephen Bly:
They made it to Square Butte at sunset and filled the canteen at the springs. But they didn’t camp until they reached the eastern tip of the Highwood Mountains. Rocky, treeless hills blended with buckskin brown prairie. Supper consisted of leftover stale bread and fresh jerky of unknown origin.
With Rinkman chained to the wagon wheel, and Ace snoring near the campfire dying embers, Avery drug his bedroll next to the staked horses. He plopped on top the canvas, rolled up his coat for a pillow, and concentrated on the stars.
Lord, I’m tryin’ to make plans for my life, but it’s just one crisis after another. I talk to Carla as if I can break the cycle and do anything I want. But it doesn’t happen that way. Before I make her promises, I got to know You’ll let me keep them.
I’m not sure she can keep her promises either. I know she wants to. We’re a lot alike in that way. Both of us seem controlled by circumstances more than personal choices. She was born into that kind of life. Never known anything else. Never had any say in the matter.
And I reckon I was born into mine.
It’s funny that way. Ever’ once in a while our two worlds overlap. I don’t know if that’s enough. But oh, my, what a beautiful dream. A big, wonderful dream.
A soft crunch stirred him. A whinny jerked his hand to his holster. He opened one eye. A shadowy figure hovered near.
A carbine pointed at his chest.
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Creede of Old Montana by Stephen Bly available in hardback and eBook digital readers.** Click here: BUY NOW
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Stephen Bly
Quotes about writing by western author Stephen Bly*:
“At some point in every novel I write, the characters take over the story and all I do is listen to them talk and write it down. I feel at times like I’m just the scribe. It’s like reading a book for the first time. I never know what will happen to them next.” Stephen Bly
“The goal is to get my characters to stumble along from one crisis and tough situation to another. Sometimes that’s the way my life feels too. Never boring. Not for them. Not for me.” Stephen Bly
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Which is the ‘real’ Square Butte?
Square Butte near the town of Geraldine, MT
Locals tell me this is the wrong one!
Chouteau County, Montana
Avery John Creede and his nephew, Ace, stopped at the springs by Square Butte in the scene above from Creede of Old Montana. Located in the southern tip of Chouteau County, it’s a landmark visible in central Montana and north to the Missouri River for a radius of 75 miles.
Square Butte (left) covers 650 acres on its flat top. But locals say there are at least two Square Buttes. You determine which is the one Avery and Ace stopped by.
There’s a town of sorts next to the base of the Square Butte big springs. Its population peaked around 100 during WWI. But the blacksmith’s shop closed in 1918. Trixie’s Girlie House burned down in 1922. Never recovered after that.
Painter Charles Russell frequently used Square Butte as a background for his pictures. Check out Russell’s “Indian Buffalo Hunt” to the right.
You’ll see the flat mountain in the background, but locals claim that’s the wrong butte. What do you say?
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About the Book & Author
** Creede of Old Montana tells the story of an ex-cavalry soldier who tramps along the upper Missouri River in search of four Army pals who don’t show for a scheduled reunion. Meanwhile, two women threaten to break his heart. One wants his ring. The other wants him dead.
- Stephen Bly (1944-2011) authored over 100 books and won the prestigious Christy Award for Westerns.
You seem to have made a mistake that many have and it is kind of aggravating to those of us that grew up around “the real Square Butte”. The photo used on your web page about characters stopping by the town of Square Butte was the wrong Square Butte photo. That formation is west of Great Falls. The formation of the same name in Chouteau County is East of Great Falls, about 20 mile north of Stanford and very close to Geraldine. It looks quite a bit different than the one pictured. It also has a shape that is different from each angle. I grew up east of Arrow Creek breaks on the Everson Benchnorth of Denton, so we were used to seeing that view. It was so different when we would travel to Stanford and see a very different view of our favorite landmark, which I call “the Queen of the prairie”. When traveling from Fort Benton to Geraldine, there is yet another unusual view.
Once we even climbed to the top of Square Butte, which is much more difficult than climbing the “other” one of the same name (which we refer to as “Charlie Russell Square Butte” since it appears in his paintings more often and is closer to Great Falls, where his studio was).
Just wanted you to know that there is a distinct difference in the two landmarks and the locals get aggravated when “ours” is not given the proper depiction.
I’d post a photo of the real Square Butte, but I don”t have one on my ipad.
The town by the same name as the landmark is by the one near Geraldine.
Kristi: Sorry for the delay in response. Have been hard at work on a new book. Thanks so much for mentioning this. I will try to correct this as soon as I find the right photo. Appreciate your commentary! Always want to get things as right as I can. Blessings, Janet