NO. 2 SALVAGE PROGRAM, I95O-I95I — COOPER 75 



representatives of all the known complexes. Some of the sites were 

 investigated in only one of the years, but four received some atten- 

 tion each summer. Work continued at site 25HN37, the White Cat 

 Village, in 1950 and 195 1 to expand the information obtained by the 

 excavations of 1948 and 1949. At this Dismal River village, for 

 which a dendrochronological date of 1723 has been given, the main 

 excavations in 1951 were confined to a productive midden deposit 

 lying along Prairie Dog Creek below the occupied terrace. In 1950, 

 however, a 300-foot trench was carried across the eastern end of the 

 village proper to determine its lateral extent, and two houses inter- 

 sected by this trench were excavated. This brings the number of 

 dwelling structures uncovered in the site to eight. As previously 

 described (Champe, 1949), these structures are characterized by a 

 central fireplace, around which is a series of five or six posts pre- 

 sumably serving as central roof supports. Other evidences of posts 

 are lacking except that there is sometimes a pair of smaller molds out- 

 side the ring which may be associated with an entrance. Thus the 

 work at White Cat Village during the two years in question had 

 resulted mainly in confirming the results of past study and in expand- 

 ing the artifact collection. 



Several sites attributable to the Upper Republican aspect were in- 

 vestigated on a more or less intensive scale. At 25HN11, partially 

 excavated in 1949, two earth lodges, one overlapping the other, were 

 opened. A few other earth lodges are probably present in this small 

 site, which lies on the first terrace on the left side of Prairie Dog 

 Creek. An excellent collection of artifacts includes abundant pottery 

 which is reported to resemble closely that described from Lost Creek 

 by Strong (1935, pp. 82-85). Approximately 30 test pits were dug 

 in 1950 at site 25HN34, where a collection of artifacts was recov- 

 ered but no evidences of structures were observed. The site was re- 

 examined briefly in 195 1. A road crew, borrowing earth for repair 

 work, was found in 1950 to be destroying site 25HN36 and an emer- 

 gency investigation was initiated there. The profile in the road cut 

 was exposed and photographed and minor testing was accomplished at 

 once, and in 195 1 a new profile was cut. The site was threatened both 

 by construction work and by the activities of individuals attracted by 

 the unusually accessible and rather abundant artifacts. At 25HN44, 

 on the first terrace north of the Republican River, 70 test pits in 1950 

 revealed a buried occupational horizon containing cultural detritus 

 and two lodge floors, one of which was partially exposed. In 1952 

 both of these structures were completely uncovered. One of them 

 was unusual in being oblong — the length was 10 feet greater than the 



