Ghosts of Montana Territory
Thirsty, rowdy patrons; trappers, traders, prospectors, buffalo hunters, hustlers and other random cut-throats, came across the plains and out of the foothills to boisterously raise their glasses at Pine Top's Oasis, beneath the great bull-elk head mounted on the wall, above the piano. And the piano played on.
Drunkards rallied around the piano, calling the elk head Piney Mite -- a melding of two names; Pine Top, the owner/proprietor with his explosive personality, came to be, known as brown man Dynamite. And the giant, 12 point elk's head gracing the wall; Piney-Mite.
In reverence to Pine Top", who was a giant man of legend -- a run-away slave who escaped capture, wild animals and Indian attacks, didn't stop running until he got here, which was nowhere, about 170 years ago. One night, a great fire destroyed any and all remnants of Pine Top's Oasis a good decade before the lands were claimed by a young United States as Montana Territory.
Here, Pine Top established himself as a free man. And today, nothing but freedom is to be found there. After the blaze nothing but ashes and nails could be seen. Ana a century of brutal weather since has taken care of the rest.
But to this day, if you venture out there--in the middle of nowhere, on a full-moon night -- you might hear a piano playing before you meet two very agitated, and territorial-spirits who don't care much for visitors.
The locals warn; don’t dare try to play that piano.
Spirits of Montana Territory; Original oil painting 2023. Stretched canvas,,18X24.
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Nicholas Petti Arts Confluence
