NO. 2 SALVAGE PROGRAM, I95O-I95I — COOPER I5 



Missouri River proper will have slack water for a distance of 6 miles, 

 while another arm will extend up the North Fork of the Little 

 Missouri to a point about 5 miles above the dam site. Both the Little 

 Missouri River and the North Fork flow here through broad, alluvial 

 valleys, but recent stream cutting is indicated by deeply incised stream 

 beds. The region is relatively dry, and the vegetation on the shale- 

 derived soils is sparse. 



The reconnaissance of about i^ weeks in August 195 1 covered the 

 entire reservoir area and resulted in the location of 12 archeological 

 sites, 9 or possibly 10 of which will be destroyed by the reservoir. 

 Most of the sites appear to be relatively unpromising, but three of 

 those which will be flooded yield rather abundant cultural materials 

 in deposits of some depth and warrant more intensive investigation. 

 At two of these sites (48CK229 and 231) numerous hearths were 

 observed, while at the third (48CK227), a deep camp site, materials 

 were found which suggest several occupations over a considerable 

 period of time. Among the artifacts collected from this last site is 

 the base of a point of Angostura type, found elsewhere in contexts 

 known to have an age of several millennia. It was with stemmed and 

 notched points characteristic of much more recent complexes. An- 

 other site (48CK221), so situated that it may not be destroyed, 

 yielded sherds of a pottery vessel, simple-stamped and with a thick- 

 ened rim decorated with diagonal cord impressions, which appears 

 to be related to wares found on the Missouri River to the east. 



The results of the survey indicate that three of the sites to be lost 

 in the Alzada Reservoir can be expected to yield significant data for 

 filling in the cultural picture of this little-known area. 



Apex Reservoir site. — The proposed dam site is on Birch Creek, 

 a tributary of the Big Hole River, in Beaverhead County, Mont. The 

 i-day survey in July 1950 revealed no archeological sites in the 

 narrow valley, almost 6,000 feet above sea level, which will be occu- 

 pied by the small reservoir. The presence of heavy silt deposits on 

 the floor of the valley, reportedly the result primarily of flooding in 

 the last decade of the nineteenth century, suggests the possibility 

 that construction activities will uncover remains of archeological 

 significance. 



Badwater Reservoir site. — The Badwater Dam is proposed for 

 construction on Snyder Draw, an intermittent stream in Fremont 

 County, Wyo. The reservoir site lies in an arid badland region with 

 scanty vegetation at the southern edge of the Bighorn Mountains. 

 The immediate area is unknown archeologically, and the survey ac- 

 complished little to alleviate this situation, for no concentrations of 



