62 BULLETIN 183, UNITED STATES NATIONAL IVIUSEUM 



THE STEED-KISKER SITE 



Village Remains 



Quite diflferent in character from the remains discussed in the pre- 

 ceding pages were others unearthed at a village and burial site on 

 the lower Platte River, about 2 miles above its junction with the 

 Missouri (see fig. 1). As has been noted elsewhere, the Platte follows 

 a devious course through a well-developed flood plain about a mile 

 wide, bordered by irregular bluffs. As its valley approaches the larger 

 trench of the Missouri, the rolling uplands between the two form a 

 steadily narrowing wedge. The tip of this wedge is a prominent 

 south-pointing ridge of hills rising nearly 200 feet above the con- 

 vergent flood plains and forms a conspicuous landmark to the traveler 

 up the valley. At the base of the hills, just within the Platte Valley, 

 lies the little town of Farley. Three or four miles to the southwest, 

 almost directly across the Missouri, were found the bones of the 

 "Lansing Man" in 1902. Lansing itself is 4 miles distant, while 5 

 miles to the northwest is the city of Leavenworth. 



Unlike the steep bluffs lining the Missouri River bottoms, those 

 along the Platte have a ragged and uneven front and usually lack the 

 abruptness of the former. Salient hills alternate at frequent intervals 

 with protected reentrant alcoves and short embayments, often with 

 fine terraces. The site under consideration occupies the first of this 

 series of terraces, going upstream, on the west (right) bank of the 

 Platte, immediately northeast, and within a half mile, of Farley. 

 Elevation of the flood plains is generally between 760 and 780 feet 

 above sea level; the village terrace lies entirely above the 785-foot 

 contour. 



The terrace begins about 150 yards from the town limits, whence 

 its front runs irregularly east by slightly north to the bank of the 

 river about 600 yards distant. Its surface slopes upward to the north 

 and northwest to a series of rounded hills and ridges. The habitable 

 width of the terrace nowhere much exceeds 200 yards, and the area 

 available for human occupancy is still further reduced by several ra- 

 vines draining the higher hillsides. Two of these cut through the 

 western portion, and a third is near the northeast corner. All are dry 

 except in time of rain, and their present depth is probably due in 

 part to modern agricultural activities and removal of the original sod 

 and forest cover. To a considerable degree, however, they evidently 

 follow former natural drainage lines which would have been ill adapted 

 to habitation. The hills north and west of the terrace protect it some- 

 what against the cold winter winds. Extensive arable bottoms lie to 

 the south, and the river skirts its eastern margin for some 200 yards. 

 Normally the water surface of the stream is 35 feet or more below the 

 terrace. None of the ravines contained springs, and local residents 



