Back in the days when the Crow were still packing dogs, around 1730 or 1740, a young man named Bishéesh fasted in the mountains above present day Jackson Hole seeking spirit helpers. He had a vision of a land way to the south where men with ‘metal clothing’ had horses like those he had seen on the Upper Missouri. With his young friend, Carries the Marrow Bone, Bishéesh started out with a war party to go and find horses for his people. After seven years, they returned with a large herd. Their return route took them through the valley below what today are called the Grand Tetons. In honor of Bishéesh’s vision the Crow name for the Tetons is “Bishéesh’s Father”. Coming back through what is now Yellowstone National Park, Bishéesh reunited with the Crow in Yellowstone’s Paradise Valley.
In later tellings of this story Grant translates his companion’s name as ‘Carries the Marrow Bone In His Mouth’. Both he and Bishish were historical figures.
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