378 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1951 



may well have been due to the results of fire as some of the structures 

 unquestionably had burned. Fort Lookout was established at the 

 same place in November of 1825, although the new post was erected 

 several hundred feet northeast from the remains of Fort Kiowa, and 

 was occupied until 1834, when it was abandoned. It was reoccupied 

 6 years later and again abandoned in 1843. Whether it was built at 

 the same time as the new fort or somewhat later is not now known, but 

 the trading post was placed over the ruins of a portion of Fort Kiowa. 

 The post was discontinued when the fort was abandoned, but the 

 American Fur Co. revived it in 1846 and continued to operate it until 

 1851. Digging at the site showed that the location also had been fav- 

 ored by the Indians. At some time previous to the historic occupation 

 a group having affiliations with the Upper Kepublican culture lived 

 there, and considerably before their tenancy other Indians with a vari- 

 ant form of Woodland culture had chosen the spot for one of their vil- 

 lages. Objects recovered during the digging include specimens of the 

 handiwork of both whites and Indians and the results of their analysis 

 will give an interesting story of changing cultural materials over a 

 relatively long period of time. 



About 8 miles farther downstream is the location of Lower Fort 

 Brule. The latter was occupied 1870 to 1884. The remains of a 2-unit 

 structure connected by a breezeway were uncovered there, and an 18- 

 by 12-foot cellar was cleaned of its accumulated debris. From the 

 latter a large earthenware crock and specimens of metal were recov- 

 ered. In addition, an abandoned well was excavated, and the refuse 

 from it was found to contain some 30 "snow snakes." Some of the 

 latter had realistic designs scratched into their surfaces, while on 

 others the decoration was geometric in form. "Snow snakes" usually 

 were made from the rib bones of bison and were used by the Indians 

 in playing a rather simple game. The players would slide the objects 

 along the frozen crust or in a rut in the snow. The main purpose was 

 to see which of the "snakes" would come nearest to a line marked 

 across the course or which would attain the greatest distance. Numer- 

 ous objects attributable to the white occupation of the site were also 

 found there. 



Farther north along the Missouri Kiver at the Garrison Reservoir 

 in North Dakota digging was done at the site of Fort Stevenson. The 

 latter was a typical Missouri River frontier post and was built both to 

 keep the Missouri River open for navigation and to protect the Fort 

 Berthold Indians from the Sioux. In addition, the post served as 

 one of the main points on the overland mail route which ran from St. 

 Paul to Montana. Although the fort was started in 1867 and was 

 completed late in 1868 and there are considerable documentary data 

 about it, useful new information pertinent to the actual character of 



