It happened on the Tongue River

by Elizabeth

In 1969, Gram went to work at the Bank of Commerce in Sheridan. She was the first teller in the line, probably because she could chat and count money at the same time. Next to her in the teller line was Mary Zingg. Her husband, Herb, was the local brand inspector and he traveled all over the county to the local ranches. They lived north of town on the Tongue River.

One day Herb came in the bank and told my Mom he had gotten her a gift and had put it in her car in the parking lot. He never mentioned what the prize was. At the end of the day mother went out to the station wagon and found a large river turtle in the back of the car. My mom drove it to the ranch that afternoon and showed it to Granddad. He promptly stuck the turtle in the horse tank out by the front gate probably thinking the turtle needed a drink after being in the car for a long period. He also put a board in the water for the turtle to sit on when the sun came out. The old turtle lived there for years. He never bothered the horses. He would sit quietly on his board until the mares and colts showed up to drink and then he would slowly slide off into the depths of the cool water. He survived through the winters and would show up again in the spring.

At some point, the horse tank overflowed from being over filled and the old turtle made his get-away. He headed down to tiny Squirrel Creek which flowed through the ranch. From there he could have easily made his way home to the Tongue River. I can imagine the tale of adventure he had to tell the other river turtles. Considering the age of turtles, he may still be telling this story.