REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 69 



Wesley L. Bliss was appointed to the Missouri Basin staff as an 

 archeologist on July 17, 1946. From July 17 to August 4 he was 

 occupied in making preparations for field reconnaissance in Wyoming 

 and Montana. He left Lincoln on August 4 and returned on Septem- 

 ber 22. In this period his party made preliminary surveys in six 

 reservoir areas in Wyoming, one which lies both in Wyoming and 

 Montana, and three in Montana. A total of 74 archeological and pale- 

 ontological sites were found and recorded, and surface collections were 

 made from each. The fall and winter months, September 22, 1946, 

 until xVpril 24, 1947, were spent at the Lincoln headquarters doing lab- 

 oratory and library research and in writing preliminary reports. 

 Reports were prepared for the Boysen, Tiber, and ISIedicine Lake Res- 

 ervoirs. In addition, Mr. Bliss prepared a draft of a paper entitled 

 "A Preliminary Appraisal of the Historic and Prehistoric Occupa- 

 tion of the Western Plains." Some revision and the checking of some 

 material were needed to complete the paper. In the early spring of 

 1947 Bliss made several unofficial week-end visits with other members 

 of the staff to archeological sites along the Missouri, north of Kansas 

 City, and on the Big Blue River in Nebraska. These were for the 

 purpose of obtaining a wider knowledge of archeological manifesta- 

 tions in the area. In one case the trip was instrumental in stopping 

 the destruction of a group of mounds in the path of a real-estate sub- 

 division. From April 24 to May 7, 1947, Mr. Bliss, in association with 

 J. Joseph Bauxar, as previously noted, made a reconnaissance of nine 

 proposed reservoirs in Kansas, Colorado, and Montana. He assisted 

 in the preparation of the report on the Smokey Hill Sub-basin. On 

 June 10 Mr. Bliss left Lincoln in charge of a field party and proceeded 

 to the Glendo Reservoir in Wyoming where the remainder of the 

 month was devoted to an intensive survey. At the end of the fiscal 

 year, 30 sites had been located in addition to tlie ones noted during 

 the preliminary reconnaissance in the summer of 1946. 



Paul L. Cooper, archeologist, became a member of the Missouri 

 Basin staff on July 15, 1946. Between that time and August 3 he as- 

 sisted in the preparations for work in the field and made two trips to 

 Omaha with Dr. Wedei for the purpose of consultation with members 

 of the National Park Service and the Corps of Engineers. On August 

 3 he left Lincoln with J. Joseph Bauxar to make preliminary surveys 

 at reservoir sites in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Mon- 

 tana. As previously noted, 68 archeological and paleontological sites 

 were located during the course of this survey. Mr. Cooper returned 

 to the Lincoln headquarters on September 22, and from October 7, 

 1946, to May 21, 1947, was in charge of the operation of the office and 

 laboratory. During this period he planned and supei'vised the work 

 of the jDroject personnel, compiled monthly progress reports for the 



