256 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Boll. 176 



tions, depressions, and other surface features. The majority of the 

 disturbed earth in the plow zone was then removed by hand and 

 with the use of a bulldozer. After this, the area within the palisade 

 was excavated to sterile soil. The pits and other features were then 

 mapped, and a plane table map of the site was prepared (fig. 22). 

 Photographs of individual features were taken before and after 

 excavation, and several general views were secured after the site 

 was completely excavated (pis. 55, 56, 57). 



Previous workers suggested the possibility of earth-lodge depres- 

 sions adjacent to the post, and some time was devoted to stripping 

 and testing the areas where these depressions were reported. No 

 evidence of any structures was found in the depressions investigated, 

 nor were structures of any form evident outside the palisade trench. 



ARCHEOLOGY OF THE SITE 



STRUCTURES 

 THE STOCKADE TRENCH 



The stockade or palisade trench that formed the quadrilateral en- 

 closure of the post averaged 96 feet on a side, and was oriented ap- 

 proximately with respect to magnetic north. A rectangular bastion 

 projected about 5 feet beyond the northeastern corner of the enclo- 

 sure ; within this feature was a large irregular pit (Feature 12) . The 

 southwestern corner of the post revealed no similar defensive struc- 

 ture, but fired-clay chinking was found vertically between the post 

 butts for a distance of 8 feet along the western trench and for 18 feet 

 along the southern trench from this corner. This may represent a 

 shed inside the stockade or another defensive feature. This area is 

 designated by the letters "a" and "b" on the plan of the site (fig. 22). 



The stockade trench had an overall length, including the bastion, 

 of 395 feet. It contained the remains of approximately 673 cotton- 

 wood posts. The majority of these posts were indicated by soft earth, 

 wood ash, and bark, as the wood had usually decayed except on the 

 western portion of the enclosure where some posts were preserved as 

 charred butts by burning (pi. 57, c). 



Most post butts were bady rotted, but enough of them remained 

 so that an accurate estimate of the number in the stockade wall could 

 be made. Each discernible post was plotted on the site map. In 

 most instances the posts had been placed close together in the stock- 

 ade trench. In a few cases, slender or crooked posts probably had 

 others placed behind them on the inner side of the trench. It is also 

 possible that posts occasionally rotted out in the stockade line and 

 that the double rows of post butts resulted from replacements, though 



