272 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 189 



THE HICKEY BROTHERS SITE (39LM4) 



The Hickey Brothers site is a large village area enclosed by an 

 elaborate fortification ditch. The site is situated in Lyman County, 

 S. Dak., on the right or west bank of the Missouri River, approxi- 

 mately 7 miles north of the modern reservation town of Lower 

 Brule and 35 road miles northwest of Chamberlain. This is one of 

 a large group of important sites concentrated in the constricted neck 

 of the great loop that forms the downstream margin of the Big 

 Bend of the Missouri. 



This site lies on the eastern or riverward edge of MT-1 (Coogan 

 and Irving, 1959), the second terrace above the river. MT-0, the 

 current flood plain, is poorly developed here. It forms a narrow 

 bench just below the site, widening to the south but pinching out 

 abruptly a short distance upstream from the village. Fresh-water 

 springs emerge from the face of MT-1 in the immediate vicinity of 

 the site. Although the springs are scarcely usable today, there is 

 evidence that they have produced a much larger flow in the past. 



To the west of the site, MT-1 rises gently toward an irregular rem- 

 nant of MT-2, the highest terrace, which forms a jagged backbone 

 within the loop of the bend. Immediately to the north is a deep 

 ravine system, and to the south the village is bounded by site 

 39LM215, a late village occupation probably related to the Fort 

 Thompson Focus. 



In the immediate vicinity of the village, the terrace surface is level 

 and sparsely grassed (pi. 39, a). Tree cover is restricted to MT-0. 

 Such surface irregularities as are evident consist of archeological fea- 

 tures or result from recent ranch activities. The Hickey Ranch build- 

 ings formerly stood on the site, and much of the area within the village 

 was used for stock pens and corrals. The foundations of the ranch- 

 house are still visible near the east-central border of the village. 



The principal feature of the site is a fortification system consisting 

 of a well-conceived and carefully executed ditch or moat with seven 

 projecting bastions (fig. 53). The fortified perimeter is about 2,000 

 feet in total length, enclosing an area of slightly less than 2 acres. The 

 ditch is present only on three sides of the village. The eastern 

 boundary, fronting on the river, is formed by the terrace edge. Since 

 it is quite steep, the scarp itself would have served as an excellent de- 

 fense, particularly if it were backed by a palisade or curtain wall. 



The area enclosed by the ditch is best described as "coffin-shaped." 

 It measures 1,150 feet along the north-south axis and 700 feet in an 

 east-west direction. The long axis is oriented toward magnetic north. 

 The southern arm of the ditch forms a straight line on azimuth 90° 

 to 270°. At its western end, it angles abruptly north, expanding in 

 a gentle arc to the widest point of the village enclosure (about % of 



