74 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1951 



highly satisfactory, and the artifacts should give a well-rounded pic- 

 ture of the material culture of the former occupants of the village, 

 as well as indicating their relationship to other peoples in that portion 

 of the Plains. 



Early in July a party led by Thomas R. Garth started investigating 

 historic sites in the area to be affected by the Fort Randall Reservoir 

 in South Dakota. They spent a short time examining the site of old 

 Fort Randall, across the river from Pickstown, but devoted most of 

 the field season to work in the vicinity of Chamberlain. Extensive 

 but unsuccessful efforts were made to locate the site of Fort Recovery, 

 an early fur-trading post. The remains of other trading posts and 

 military establishments were found, however, and partially investi- 

 gated. Included in that group are Fort Hale, Fort Brule, Fort Look- 

 out trading post, Fort Lookout military post, and the Whetstone 

 Agency. At Fort Hale there was evidence of a large building that 

 probably had been a trading post, two smaller buildings, and indica- 

 tions of a stockade. There was also evidence that there had been an 

 earlier Indian occupancy of the site. At Fort Lower Brule the re- 

 mains of a cabin 45 feet long were uncovered, and an 18-by-12- 

 foot cellar was excavated. An abandoned well was also investigated, 

 and about 30 "snow snakes," some of which were decorated with 

 geometric and some with realistic designs, were recovered. "Snow 

 snakes" were frequently made from bison ribs and in some cases were 

 equipped with feathers stuck to two wooden pegs inserted in one end 

 of the bone. Objects of this type were generally used in playing a 

 rather simple game, which consisted of sliding them along the frozen 

 crust or in a rut in the snow. The players chose sides, and when a 

 "snake" outdistanced all on the other side it counted as a point. The 

 remains of the fur-trading post, presumably adjacent to the militaiy 

 post, were found, and an Indian earth lodge was located while the 

 area was being tested for the historic remains. The Garth party 

 also located 29 new Indian sites in the Chamberlain area. 



Further work was started in the Fort Randall Reservoir area on 

 June 3 when a party under the supervision of Robert B. Gumming, 

 Jr., began excavations at Indian sites near the mouth of Platte Creek. 

 Work was started at the Oldham site, an earth-lodge village, and at 

 the close of the fiscal year the remains of one house had been un- 

 covered and a sexiond was in the process of excavation. Efforts to 

 trace the fortification ditch that had surrounded the village had not 

 been wholly successful because surface indications of a large part of 

 that feature had been completely obliterated by cultivation. How- 

 ever, it was hoped that subsequent digging would make it possible to 

 follow its entire course. 



At the beginning of the year a party under the direction of G. 

 Ellis Burcaw was excavating at the Rock Village located in the Gar- 



