Note 212 — LETTER VI
Reading edition
Deer Lodge takes its name from a spring around which many white-tailed deer were wont to assemble. The mineral deposit had piled in a conical heap, forming the shape of an Indian lodge. These are now called Warm Springs, and used for medicinal purposes. The name Deer Lodge is now applied to the river and its valley, to a Montana county, and to the seat of that county. The valley is fertile. In its lower course the river called Hell Gate united with Bitterroot (or St. Mary's) at Missoula.—Ed.