THE HICKEY BROTHERS SITE (39LM4), BIG 

 BEND RESERVOIR, LYMAN COUNTY, SOUTH 

 DAKOTA ' 



By Warren W. Caldavell, Lee G. Madisoist, and Bernard Golden 



INTRODUCTION 



The Hickey Brothers site (39LM4) was excavated durmg the 

 summer of 1958 as part of the investigations of the Missouri Basin 

 Project, Smitlisonian Institution, within the projected Big Bend 

 Reservoir of central South Dakota. The site was approached with 

 every expectation of adding materially to the corpus of data bearing 

 upon the "middle period" of village occupation along the Missouri 

 main stem. The Hickey Brothers site appeared to be particularly 

 important because it was fortified in a distinctive manner and the 

 fortification system was so well preserved. Unfortunately, the site 

 remains an enigma. The results of the intensive excavations of 1958 

 were disappointing, even shocking. An insignificant number of arti- 

 facts was found, and beyond a detailed coverage of bastion con- 

 struction, there was little evidence of architectural features. 



Since problems had been created rather than solved by the 1958 

 season, a brief period was devoted to further work at the site in 1959. 

 Feature 10, a putative house depression tested the previous sum- 

 mer, was reexcavated and a portion of the original trench widened 

 and extended. A corner of a poorly preserved rectangular struc- 

 ture was uncovered, but because of time limitations the work could 

 be carried no further. Beyond a few very small potsherds, there 

 was no addition to the artifact inventory. 



The excavations of the 1958 season and the initial analysis of site 

 features and artifacts were carried out by Bernard Golden, then 

 attached temporarily to the staff of the Missouri Basin Project. The 

 brief investigations of 1959 were under the direction of Warren 

 W. Caldwell, archeologist, Missouri Basin Project. The final state- 

 ment presented here is the joint effort of Lee G. Madison, museum 

 aide, Missouri Basin Project, and Warren W. Caldwell. Madison is 

 responsible for the description and analysis of artifacts and site 

 features, while Caldwell functioned largely in an editorial capacity. 



a Submitted December 1959. 



271 



