FOKEWORD 



In the present volume of River Basin Surveys papers there are 

 six reports pertaining to a phase of the Inter- Agency Archeological 

 Salvage Program which thus far has not been given as much publicity 

 as some of the other activities. The articles deal with a series of 

 historic sites investigations which were carried on in the Fort Randall 

 and Garrison Reservoir areas and in the spillway area below the Oahe 

 Dam. The field investigations were based on extensive documentary 

 studies which were made by Merrill J. Mattes and Ray H. Mattison, 

 historians on the staff of the Region Two office of the National Park 

 Service at Omaha, Nebr. Mr. Mattes prepared a detailed report con- 

 cerning the historic sites located in the Fort Randall Reservoir area 

 while Mr. Mattison compiled the necessary data for the Oahe and 

 Garrison Reservoirs. In each case extensive studies were made on 

 the gi'ound for the purpose of locating and identifying as far as 

 possible the various forts and trading posts mentioned in the journals 

 of the early explorers and the records of the various fur-trading com- 

 panies which operated along that portion of the Missouri River. 

 From the evidence thus obtained Mr. Mattes was able to recommend 

 specific sites for excavation. In some cases there was no question 

 about the identity of the site involved, but in others excavations were 

 required to determine whether or not a correct identification had been 

 made or if perchance the location was that of some other post. 



The general background for the historic sites studies and the salvage 

 operations required is discussed by Mr. Mattes in his paper, "Historic 

 Sites Archeology on the Upper Missouri." He provides considerable 

 information which is not given in the various detailed site reports 

 that constitute the following papers. Since Mr. Mattes wrote the 

 article, the Fort Randall, Oahe, and Garrison Dams have been closed. 

 The Fort Randall closure was in the summer of 1953 and that of the 

 Garrison in the summer of 1954. Virtually all the sites mentioned 

 in those two areas have long since gone imder water. The Oahe Dam 

 was closed in the summer of 1958 and, although a number of important 

 sites near the lower end of the reservoir were inundated during the 

 fall and winter months of 1958-59, it will still be possible to investi- 

 gate others farther upstream as late as the summer of 1961. Also, 

 since Mr. Mattes' paper was written the Big Bend Reservoir, which will 

 lie between the upper reaches of the Fort Randall Reservoir and the 

 Oahe Dam, has been activated and a series of new problems compar- 



