Riv. Bas, Sur. fake 
Pap. No. 27] STAR VILLAGE—METCALF 69 
to it from the Arikara village (Will, 1924, p. 326). The Night- 
walkers Butte in the Bull Pasture site (32ML39) is across the river 
and approximately 11 miles upstream, to the northwest (map 2). 
The village remains cover an area measuring about 1,050 feet in 
length northwest-southeast, with a width of about 625 feet northeast— 
southwest (map 3). The village area is somewhat oval in outline and 
surrounded by a ditch, the area enclosed being estimated at about 10 
acres. It covers the north side of a level to gently sloping terrace 
which stands some 60 feet above the river level and 30 feet above the 
flood plain. East of the site this terrace has been removed by stream 
action in the past, leaving a wide embayment of flood plain which is 
bounded on the south by a high bluff. To the west a coulee divides 
the terrace from another of the same height. The terrace extends 
for some miles west of this coulee, divided at irregular intervals by 
other drainage ways. The north, west, and east sides of the village 
terrace pitch sharply downward, those on the north and east meeting 
the flood plain which slopes gently to the Missouri River 600 yards to 
the north. A county road runs east-west across the terrace, crowding 
close to the fortification ditch on the south side of the village site, and 
beyond it the terrace continues southward for 300 yards to the foot of 
the hills forming the south side of the valley. 
A small stream, known locally as Lousy Creek, meanders along the 
bottom of the coulee which bounds the site on the west. Local tradi- 
tion ascribes the origin of the name to an incident which is said to 
have occurred while the Arikara were building their village there. A 
small war party attempting to raid the village horse herds was am- 
bushed in the coulee and the following morning the enemy dead were 
found to be covered with lice. The name may be of very recent origin. 
As late as 1908 the stream was referred to as Dancing Bear Creek 
(Stout, 1908), a name under which it is also shown on the Warren map 
of 1867. What appears to be the same stream is shown under that 
name on both the Missouri River Commission and Missouri River 
Survey maps of 1892-1895 and 1891, respectively. 
The terrace formed an ideal location for an earthlodge village. It 
was smooth and well drained, with open, rolling hills and wide, level 
terraces to south and west which provided abundant pasture for the 
tribal horse herds, while an unfailing supply of running water was 
close at hand. The low bottomland to the north, northwest, and east, 
supported a heavy growth of cottonwood, willow, ash, and elm, furn- 
ishing house and palisade posts as well as firewood. Wild fruit is 
locally present in great quantities today, and there is no reason to sup- 
pose that it was less abundant in 1862. The soil of the flood plain, a 
sandy, alluvial loam, rich and friable, is ideal for hoe cultivation after 
the brush cover is removed, and some hundreds of acres were immedi- 
