Wyoming, Montana exude legacy of Scotland

Like many tiny blood vessels feeding a large muscle, Scottish immigrants and their descendants have nurtured the history of Wyoming, Montana and the American West.

"One of the best known is Alexander McKenzie, who was the first one to cross the continent," said Jeremy Johnston, a curator at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody.

From 1792 to 1793, McKenzie trekked across Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific, predating American explorers Lewis and Clark by 10 years.

McKenzie is one of the 14 Scots featured in a current display at the museum titled "Scots in the American West." The show will travel to New York City at the end of March to take part in the 13th annual Tartan Day celebration on Ellis Island.

By BRETT FRENCH The Billings Gazette

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