When Sioux patrols are forced to kill trespassing miners (usually when the miner draws a gun) they turn the body over to the miner's compatriots. If no one claims the body, they lash it to a pole along the road leading to Deadwood. There, these unfortunates serve as a warning to other miners who might get out of line.

The miners say that on rainy nights, the water loosens the grisly grey flesh of the dead men strung on the poles, granting them unholy life. As a lone victim passes underneath, their dead eyes open, their legs elongate to reach the ground, and their rubbery arms shake loose their bonds. If the Pole Men catch you, the miners say, they'll erect a new pole, hang you until you're dead, and a new Pole Man is born.