Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1949)

291 Second largest of our National Parks, Montana's great preserve is a gem of wild life, Blackfeet Indians and the Ice Age BEARS AND BILLY GOATS Nearly everyone gets good bear pictures too, for several varieties are plentiful in Glacier. As in all national park areas, tourists are warned not to get playful with the bears. They are harmless if you keep your distance. But they should not be teased or fed, because they will come closer for more food and perhaps get your finger in the process. It is easy to grab many good shots from the motor coaches as the bears amble across the highway; but don't try for closeups except with your telephoto lens. The long focus equipment also comes in handy for shots of Glacier's most distinctive animal, the mountain goat, practically unknown in any other national park. Their long beards and quizzical expressions, coupled with an amazing agility on cliffs and crags, make for many amusing pictures. Several years ago salt blocks were placed at points near Sperry Chalet to lure the goats down to easy visibility. Soon many of them came at night right up to the chalet windows to lick salt off the sills, only to frighten the wits out of nervous ladies who mistook the billy goats for leering old men peeking into their rooms. Thus, the practice has now been discontinued, and the cameraman must go to a little more trouble to get a mountain goat shot. But it can be done. With a telephoto lens you can often catch a solemn old billy goat following the trail of his nanny (it's the females who take the lead in the mountain goat family) for one of the most entertaining pictures you'll ever get. It will be wise, however, to check with the park rangers. For they can tell more surely whether you are indeed stalking a goat — or a snow patch! Logan Pass, Iceberg Lake, Sexton Glacier and Goathaunt Mountain are all good hunting grounds. If you take time you can film many more animals and birds than those mentioned above. Badger, moose, bighorn sheep, the bleating rock rabbit or cony are only a few of the animals which can be easily hunted with the camera. About 200 varieties of birds, ranging from the tiny pipit to our national emblem, the American bald eagle, flash across your lens in this, one of the greatest, natural zoos in the world. THE BLACKFEET INDIANS Another unusual sequence can be devoted to the Blackfeet Indians, perhaps the most picturesque of all our Indian tribes. Their brilliant feather headdresses and exquisitely beaded costumes make wonderful color pictures against the deep background of Glacier's peaks and forests. Their summer encampment in Glacier is about the only place where you can record the traditional tepees and costumes, the tribal ceremonies and crafts which the Indian Service keeps alive as part of our western heritage. On their year round reservation, these Indians live in modern houses and dress like other American farmers and workmen. So that the summer views you get in Glacier are a rare flashback into history, authentic and beautiful. The Blackfeet in Glacier have for many years been subjects for the famous portraits by Winold Reiss and other artists. Thus, they are not so hostile to picture makers as are some tribes in other [Continued on page 312] Photographs courtesy Great Northern Railway EASILY RISING TRAILS and the absence of poisonous weeds or snakes make Glacier Park tempting to the tenderfoot. Flowers are bear grass. THE BLACKFEET INDIANS, encamped for the summer in all their tribal splendor, highlight the human interest sequences abounding at Glacier. EVER-PRESENT MOUNTAINS are the backdrop for boating on Lake McDonald, just as they are throughout all of Montana's unspoiled preserve.