I'm compassionate when it comes to kids. Helping them is what I was born to do. When I'm not helping them, I just love to have fun and ride my bike. I can get angry too, but I try not to sweat the small stuff. When I love, I love with my entire heart and soul. If you're lucky enough to be considered a true friend of mine, then I consider you family and my loyalty will not waver. However, once you break my trust, it's extremely hard for me to forget, even if I eventually forgive.

The Shoshone can be divided into three different groups: the Northern Shoshone, who were largely concentrated in Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming; the Western Shoshone, who lived primarily in Oregon and Idaho; and the Eastern Shoshone, mainly found in Wyoming, Colorado, and Montana. Each group ranged quite a bit from where they lived, and members of each group passed through Montana in its early history.

The Western and Eastern Shoshone adopted horses early, and utilized them to their fullest. They moved out of the mountains and onto the plains, and adopted many of the traits associated with the Plains Indians, such as hunting buffalo, using tipis, and raiding other tribes for horses. The Northern Shoshone preferred to only use the horse as a draft animal, and they didn’t become fully mounted until the mid-19th century.

Still, the Shoshone’s push east onto the plains didn’t last long, for by 1750 the Blackfeet had arrived, pushed west by the Europeans, and they drove the Shoshone back. The Shoshone were no match for the Blackfeet, for they had no guns to match those the Blackfeet had gotten from the Europeans.

To add insult to injury, a smallpox epidemic struck in both 1781 and 1800. These double intrusions, of Blackfeet and smallpox, reduced the Shoshone numbers so much that by the time Lewis and Clark came through the state, they had no permanent presence, and did little more than scout in single-person or small groups.

The Shoshone, a nomadic people, traveled annually between the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana and the Unita Mountains of northern Utah along the western slopes of the Wind River Range in Wyoming. It is believed that the Shoshone in this area acquired horses in the early 1700’s from their relatives the Comanche giving them somewhat equal footing with their mortal enemies, the Blackfeet. Due to the isolation of their territory, the tribe was spared any contact with the whites until they met Lewis & Clark in 1803. Before the white men reached their homeland in the beautiful Rocky Mountain valleys, the Shoshone people lived for nearly 100 years in a life improved by the horse.

In June of 1868, the government called the Bannock and Shoshone to Fort Bridger to propose a new treaty which would keep both tribes away from the Union Pacific railroad and the Oregon Trail. As the treaty talks continued, Washakie hoped for the land south of Fort Bridger. This area still had game on it and was close to Fort Bridger where Washakie felt secure. He soon realized the land the government had in mind was the Wind River Valley. The Bannock, however, insisted on being given a reservation of their own.

On July 3, 1868 the Wind River Reservation was established, and on July 30, 1869, the Bannock were given their own reservation at Fort Hall. The Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868 turned out to be the last treaty in which the Indians took an active part.

The Big Sky band of Shoshone though did not attend that gathering, and never went to the reservation. They were a small village where their descendants still live in Big Sky River today. They made friends with the White People that came in to settle the land. With the chief's daughter Morning Star joining the first white settler of Big Sky in marriage. That was Clovis Deveraux who adopted a lot of the Shoshone ways, and lived the white man's way building his ranch into the dynasty it is today with his descendants.

Three of the founding families of Big Sky were of Shoshone heritage. The Falcons, Moretti’s, and Thomas’s. Fierce Heart and Morning Dove were a young Shoshone couple that were one of the families. They took on the surname of Thomas. They had twelve children, some of whom moved away, and some who stayed in Big Sky. Fierce Heart and Morning Dove were my great grandparents. Their eldest son was my grandfather.

At one time the Thomas’s owned a lot of acres right outside of Big Sky, but it’s dwindled down over the years as generation after generation moves away. Not ranching as they did all those years ago or farming the land. Our land borders the Deveraux’s which is three times as big as ours. My grandfather made a deal with the Deveraux’s. Their herds were combined, and the agreement is still today. So even though we have cattle they are in with the Deveraux’s cattle. My brother is no rancher. He leaves that to the Deveraux’s. They used some of our land to run the cattle or horses.

I was born on an unusally hot early June day in Big Sky Montana. I am the youngest of five kids. My brother Thorn is the oldest followed by my sisters Candy, Kayla, and Laura. I am only the second child to my mother, however. My eldest three siblings have a different mother. My name is Abigail Marie Thomas, but no one, and I mean absolutely no one, calls me Abigail. Everyone calls me Abby and sometimes I get called Abs, but that's more rare than anything. I don't even consider it a nickname.

I had a happy childhood. My sister Laura is only two years older than me, so I always followed her around, but I remember my other two sisters, Candy and Kayla, were always excited to spend time with us, loving having baby sisters. My brother Thorn was married himself and having babies by the time I was a year old though. Growing up with my oldest nephew Zack a year apart from each other, made it where we were extremely close. When my second nephew Teddy came along a year later, it was as if I was just gaining more siblings.

I was always a nurturing soul though. I think I took after my mom in that sense, however my sister Kayla is a doctor, so maybe it's something in my dad's genes? Who knows? I love kids and as a kid, I was always wanting to make friends with just about everyone I could. So, needless to say, I really never lacked in the friend department.

When I was four, I got a mini bike, same as my siblings before me. I was mad when Laura got hers, but I was still too young. I didn't like being left out of that at all, but I got extra rides on my dad's bike too. I was Hell on wheels when I did get my own minibike though. I absolutely loved riding and when Laura started Motocross, well, let's just say, I threw a fit when I wasn't able to. This time though, I didn't hold back and just tried to ride a bigger bike myself to prove that I was old enough.

I loved Motocross! It was definitely something that I would constantly be doing if I wasn't at school. However, when I was 11, my world came crashing down when my parents were killed in a freak accident. Not only that, but my older three siblings' mother was also killed along with her girlfriend. A semi truck ended up running a red light, trying to beat it, and lost control. The crash was horrific and it took out a lot of people that day, but my parents who were at one side of the intersection and the mother to my oldest three siblings was at the other side of the intersection with her girlfriend. There was an explosion and it was just an all out really bad day.

I was crushed learning my parents weren't coming home again. I was lucky to have my friends there for me, especially Blaine Whitney. I just didn't want to do anything anymore for awhile, but Blaine was there for me through it all. My brother Thorn took Laura and me in, even though he had just lost his own wife, my sister-in-law Nicole, a few months before that.

Junior high was a new experience for me though. I was starting to participate in things again, but I didn't go back to Motocross. I tried out for track and ended up using that as an outlet. I kept my eyes looking forward, trying to make sure I did the best I could. I continued track into high school, but before that I started dating Blaine. He asked me out in 7th grade where the only two things I focused on were him and track for the most part. I honestly think after my parents were killed, none of us Thomases were the same in some way or another.

High school, though, that's when I realized that I wanted to work with kids one day. I stuck with track through high school as well, and Blaine and I were happy together. I'm sure everyone knew that we would stay together through anything and everything. I was there for him to cheer him on during his games and he would be there to cheer me on when he could during my track meets. We had our first kiss together and we went to all the dances and events as a couple.

Senior year was a memorable one for all the good reasons, at least. Blaine and I were definitely the "it" couple, even taking home Prom King and Queen and voted Cutest Couple for the Superlatives in the yearbook. I even won third in the district for track as well! I honestly was grateful that things were seeming to be better finally after my parents died.

After graduation I went to college to become a social worker. I narrowed down how I wanted to work with kids and thought that would be the best place to put myself in order to make sure they were taken care of in the best way for them. But of course, when things start going so well, something has to tear at least someone I love down. Blaine's grandfather died in a motorcycle accident. He hit a patch of black ice and went down. Blaine took it hard and his mother took it even harder, but I completely understood. Just as Blaine was there for me when I lost my parents, I wasn't going to leave him alone at his time of need. I loved him and I wanted to make sure he was alright and knew that I loved him as I helped him through his grief.

Things fell back into a routine again. I graduated college and found a job fairly easily as a social worker. I was able to stay in Big Sky as well, so it was even better since I didn't want to leave. Everyone I knew was here, especially my family and Blaine. It was New Year's Eve when things started to fall even more into place. That's when Blaine asked me to marry him. Of course, I said yes, and I haven't stopped grinning since then. We decided to not rush a wedding, so I have taken my time planning it. I've even asked his mom to help in a lot of it, knowing that she'd enjoy that.

And, as usual, something else had to come and try to knock everything good back down. Blaine's uncle was killed serving in the military. His mother took it hard again, but I was there to help Blaine again. I did everything I could to help get things back on track, but never once stopped their mourning. I knew how important it was to remember lost loved ones. Blaine's aunt Emily came back to stay in Big Sky. I helped Blaine to get things caught up in his mom's store again. His mom never went back though. Instead another hit happened.

Emily took Blaine's mother to my older sister Kayla who diagnosed her with stage four brain cancer. I know Blaine's upset and rightfully so, but I'm also taking it fairly hard as well. This woman was going to be my mother-in-law and she was an amazing human being who didn't deserve such a hard hand in life. No one truly did, but especially not Olivia. I'm going to talk to Blaine to see what he thinks about moving the wedding up so she could at least be here for that. I just hope she still has time to see Blaine become a happily married man.