Billings in Yellowstone County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Who was Luther Sage "Yellowstone" Kelly?

By Barry Swackhamer, September 16, 2020

1. Who was Luther Sage "Yellowstone" Kelly? Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Born on July 27, 1late 1860s and 1870s. Kelly, a native of Geneva, New York, is best known as an army scout during the Army's closing campaign against the nomadic Indian tribes of the Northern Plains.
Always a restless spirit, Luther S. Kelly would later accompany military and scientific expeditions to Alaska, serve as a Captain during the Philippine-American Insurrection, and work as U.S. Indian Agent for the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona. A friend of Teddy Roosevelt, Kelly was counted among Roosevelt's "Tennis Cabinet." the president's informal sportsmen group.
Yellowstone Kelly and May, his wife, retired to California to operate a fruit ranch. In failing health, he asked to be buried in Montana, the site of his greatest adventures. Yellowstone Kelly died on December 17, 1928 and was buried here six months later with full military honors.

The Grave of Luther Sage "Yellowstone" Kelly

"All was silent as the grave, save the wind sighing through the cedars."
Yellowstone Kelly describing the final resting place of a fellow soldier.

You are entering the burial

By Barry Swackhamer, September 16, 2020

2. Who was Luther Sage "Yellowstone" Kelly? Marker

Marker on the left

ground of the warrior, veteran, and scout, Luther S. "Yellowstone" Kelly. The east end of Swords Rimrock Park was the burial place of many historic peoples and is considered hallowed ground by native tribes. Scaffold tree burials of the Apsáalooke (Crow), the ancestral people who still live in Montana today, were located nearby. Also in the vicinity, the people of Coulson, a short-lived frontier settlement (1877-1882), established there graveyard at what is now known as Boothill Cemetery.

Please tread repectully

Erected by Yellowstone Kelly Interpretive Si.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Wars, US Indian.

Location. 45° 47.887′ N, 108° 29.354′ W. Marker is in Billings, Montana, in Yellowstone County. Marker can be reached from Chief Black Otter Trail near East Airpot Road, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Billings MT 59101, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Yellowstone Kelly's Grave (within shouting distance of this marker); Surely this spot was meant for Yellowstone Kelley (within shouting distance of this marker); Luther Sage "Yellowstone" Kelly (within shouting distance of this marker); The Nomadic Experience

Yellowstone Kelly's Grave image. Click for full size.

By Barry Swackhamer, September 16, 2020

3. Yellowstone Kelly's Grave

(within shouting distance of this marker); Boothill Cemetery (approx. half a mile away); The Place Where the White Horse Went Down (approx. half a mile away); Lewis and Clark Yellowstone River Journey (approx. 0.6 miles away); The Purity Bread Company (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Billings.

By Barry Swackhamer, September 16, 2020

4. Yellowstone Kelly's Grave

"I liked to travel amid ever changing scenes"

Luther Sage "Yellowstone" Kelly
July 27, 1849 - December 17, 1928

"Keep not standing fixed and rooted,,
Briskley (sic) venture, briskly roam."

Luther Sage "Yellowstone" Kelly image. Click for full size.

By Billings Gazette

5. Luther Sage "Yellowstone" Kelly

Credits. This page was last revised on February 14, 2021. It was originally submitted on February 14, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 47 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on February 14, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.