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MONTANA
"The Big Sky Country" mounts an exhibit full of the fire and spirit of the western frontier. At the heart of the exhibit are seven railroad show cars, parked on a rail siding and painted on the outside with 16-foot murals of Western scenes by Montana artist Lyman A. Rice. Three of the cars house a museum, another displays a collection of cattle brands, and the remainder contain shops. Also on the grounds are two corrals, two log forts and some Indians.
* Admission: $1.00 to the museum railroad cars; other cars and areas free.
- MUSEUM ON WHEELS. Mounted examples of Montana fish and wildlife are on display, along with paintings and sculpture by two leading Western painters, Charles M. Russell and Frederic Remington, among others. There are exhibits from Montana's state and national parks, and a million dollars in gold nuggets and dust is piled up casually, making a heap only a cubic foot in size. Also on view are 14 cases from the Don Foote collection of mementos of Western personalities: guns, saddles, bridles once used by Wild Bill Hickok, General George Armstrong Custer and Buffalo Bill Cody.
- THE CORRALS. One of the two corrals contains a stuffed pinto horse in a bucking position - which people may mount to have their pictures taken - and a mechanical buffalo that can be driven about. The other displays various breeds of livestock that are raised in Montana.
- DANCING AND MUSIC. The Indians encamped at the exhibit give several shows daily of tribal dancing. In the arcade at the second of the forts are nickelodeons and other antique music-making machines, all in working condition and ready for playing.
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- MONTANA
Seven gaily painted railroad cars contain a Western museum, a store and other exhibits from the Big Sky country.
Blockhouses, cabins, tepees, corrals and a jack-fence surround the area. An arcade of antique nickelodeons and pianolas gives an atmosphere of frontier days. A barbecue restaurant serves buffalo steaks.
MUSEUM ON WHEELS. On view are J. K. Ralston's painting, After the Battle, depicting the last great Indian conflict, relics of Custer's Last Stand, and memorabilia of Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody and Calamity Jane. In another car one million dollars in raw gold nuggets and dust is piled casually into a heap only one cubic foot in size. There is also a collection of Charles Russell's vivid paintings, bronzes and drawings of the Old West.
THE CORRALS. Live horses and cattle from Montana are on view.
INDIAN DANCES. Ceremonials are performed by Sioux and Cheyenne tribesmen, and other Western entertainment is presented from time to time. A stuffed buffalo is available for visitors who want to be photographed beside the monarch of the plains.
- ¶ Admission: to museum carts, 50 cents; other cars and areas, free.
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