Riv. Bas. Sur. 
Pap. No. 26] SMALL SITES ABOUT FORT BERTHOLD—METCALF ao 
to indicate that such a practice may well not be the explanation for all 
such features in the area. Kehoe, although apparently committed to 
the hypothesis of their use in anchoring the tipi, describes another 
feature, the Medicine Wheel, which, in its simplest form, it would be 
hard to avoid placing in the tipi rmg category (Kehoe, 1954). As 
has been noted earlier in the discussion of eagle traps, Hoffman reports 
those features from Montana where they are sometimes surrounded 
by a ring of stones (Hoffman, 1953), and Howard presents evidence 
that some groups of the Dakota surrounded the sites of trapping pits 
in which the remains of eagles were buried with similar boulder out- 
lines (Howard, 1954, p. 73). 
In the Garrison Reservoir area tipi ring sites were most commonly 
found on the uplands and often far from streams. Occasionally 
they were present on what appeared to be the remnant of a very high 
terrace between the upland and Terrace 1, which overlooks the flood 
plain, while a few were on slopes and hillsides. None was noted 
on Terrace 1, although I have seen them on that terrace along the 
Cheyenne River in southwestern South Dakota. The diameter of 
the circles varies greatly but commonly falls between 15 and 25 feet. 
Tests by the survey parties disclosed evidence of fireplaces in the 
center of some rings, but in others no trace of such a feature was 
present. In a few instances the stones forming the rings were deeply 
sunken in the sod, suggesting a moderate age. Most sites are well 
above and away from the full-pool level, although a few, such as 32 
DUS, may be affected by slumping of the valley walls. 
32DU8 (map 1).—This site consists of eight stone circles (pl. 5, a) 
strung out for 500 yards along the east spur of the upland. The site 
is on the right side of the Missouri River in SEYNW1, sec. 20, T. 
150 N., R.93 W. The spur on which the rings occur forms the divide 
between the valleys of Bear Den Creek to the west and Boggy Creek 
to the east. 
All the rings appear to be of about the same size, and two measured 
respectively 17 and 18 feet in diameter. Tests were made in the 
center of these two circles, with negative results, but a few flint chips 
were found on the surface near them. 
32DU10 (map 1).—This site, like the first, is on a long spur of the 
upland formed by two deep and narrow coulees which run back from 
the river for miles. The site is some 2 miles from the Missouri River 
on its right (south) side in the SEY sec. 4, T. 149 N., R. 93 W. 
Brush-choked ravine heads bound the site on the east and west. The 
three circles of small boulders present measure 15 to 18 feet in diam- 
eter. A test in the center of one uncovered a red-burned area 2 
feet in diameter at 6 inches below the surface. There was no evidence 
of a prepared pit; on the contrary, the fire appeared to have been 
kindled on the surface. The earth beneath it was reddened by heat to 
