dave macD

dave macD

Hike to Massacre Natural Bridge

07/11/22

It was not on my list of places to see, yet locals asked if I had been to "The Bridge" constantly during my 1st year as a newbie. After a year I became a local and it was insult to not visit the bridge but I was not interested. I've seen many sights during my 7 years in missoula and a 70 foot bridge ain't that big or grand. But then a new girl moved to town who was way too good for me but her pickins was real slim up there and she chose me even though I was an oddball local, half Japanese, all swarthy and unkept, living my mountain lifestyle unemployed. We had only been together a couple months when she told me that she wanted to see "The Bridge" since before she moved to Wildwood. That she wanted me to take her to it. I thought to myself, "what a waste of time" but said Yea, Let's go! because every time I saw her raw natural beauty a kindness rose in me. About ten day later we snuck away at dawn just the two of us. I picked her up and during the slow drive thru 25 mph roads she talked about her past and family. At some point she joked about how much I like her "big knockers" and blonde hair. I blushed and said, "No, I like your skinny butt and blue eyes". After the pause she started talking about mom and told me her mom is half O'Sage indian and that her uncle is the current chief of the tribe. That her uncle is gay and childless, that her mother had no sons and that her 1st born son will become chief of the O'sage. That it's her duty to visit sacred sites,.... then she laughed about how I thought she was a white girl. We had been under the bridge, in the creek and given up trying to find hidden caves when we walked up the hill to the top of the bridge and crept out to the most dangerous cliffs when she began to speak. She told me of Fremont and his men, that in their vengeance drove an entire village to this point where we now stand. That one by one they chose to jump rather than surrender or fight. We stood there for a long time. looking,.. pondering, wondering if we held the same courage. As I look back on my life, that day was one of the most heart wrenching and moving days of my past.

5.0