Lewis & Clark Trip Day 18: South Dakota to North Dakota (5/25/2021)

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Sakagawea Monument in Mobridge, SD
was created with funds raised by
school children in the 1920s (KSS)

A relief on the monument (KSS)

Sitting Bull Monument (1953, by
Korczak Ziółkowski)

The Monument stands at what is believed
to be Sitting Bull's place of burial

The bust of Sitting Bull appears to face east
and overlooks the Missouri River

Tamiko huddles in 35-40 mph winds
with gusts of 50 mph (KSS)

Wind turbines are in the right place if it is always this windy!

*On 10/13/1804, Lewis & Clark noted two stones that resembled human figures, and a third like a dog. William Clark recounted an Arikara legend, of a boy in love and a girl whose parents would not let them marry. A dog joined them in sorrow and they all turned to stone. These stones were idolized by the Arikara.* 

We may have found the Stone Idols south of Pollock, SD,
but they were on private property with 'No Trespassing'
signs, thus this is the best photo we could get

The dirt road to the Stone Idols looks like
it goes right into the Missouri River

~On 5/25/1999, Ada & Bert S visited the State Capitol of North Dakota in Bismarck, and saw the bronze statue of Sacajawea.~

We also have been to Bismarck, ND, in 2010, and saw the Sacajawea statue!

Statue (1910, by Leonard Crunelle) of
Sakagawea, the Shoshone young woman
who we have seen memorialized; however,
she has not yet joined our expedition!

And she hasn't yet had the baby, Jean Baptiste!

1999: Sacajawea statue from behind

North Dakota State Capitol (1932-1934, by
Joseph Bell DeRemer in Art Deco style) 

1999: Bert at the North Dakota State Capitol

*On 10/20/1804, the Corps of Discovery found a deserted Indian village at the confluence of the Heart and Missouri Rivers, and camped nearby.*

*On 8/14/1806, on the return trip, the Corps of Discovery camped at the confluence of the Heart and Missouri Rivers.*

~On 5/25/1999, Ada & Bert S visited Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park and saw the On-A-Slant Indian Village.~

Three Meleagris gallopavo/Wild Turkeys cross the road
at the entrance to Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park;
we paid admission of $7 per our one car

CCC The Worker commemorates the
contributions of the Civilian Conservation Corps;
they built the visitor center/museum here
at the Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park

Boundary marker of the former
Fort Abraham Lincoln (1872, as
Fort McKeen, to protect construction
of the Northern Pacific Railroad)

The fort was built on the site of an abandoned Mandan Nation village that was inhabited until 1781 when small pox decimated the population.

Display of items Lewis & Clark collected on the Corps of
Discovery expedition and sent back to Washington, DC

Taxidea taxus/American Badger was "discovered"
by Lewis & Clark, and is an animal we are unlikely to see
(sorry, it is only the skin!)

Diorama (by Mark J Kenneweg) of the
Mandan village called On-A-Slant

Buckskin Ball with a familiar stitch pattern

A Mandan buckskin shirt (KSS)

The Mandan were known for painted
buffalo/bison hides, often depicting heroic
deeds of a tribe or individual

Some gardening tools of the Mandan (KSS)

Reconstructed section of the Mandan village, On-A-Slant,
that Lewis & Clark had found abandoned

1999: Replica Mandan village, On-A-Slant

The ceremonial earth lodge of the village
could be 90 feet in diameter, while the family lodges
were generally 30-40 feet in diameter and 10-12 feet high

Kent inside the ceremonial earth lodge

The women built and owned the earth lodges

Through a millennium of experience, the
First Peoples developed the Three Sisters
method of planting crops, where corn,
squash and beans planted together is
mutually beneficial and they flourish

Read Braiding Sweetgrass (2013) by Robin Wall Kemmerer, for the science behind the Three Sisters technique.

Beneath the earth lodge is a cache, shown here
as a cross section, of food stored for the winter

Fish traps (KSS)

Higher on a bluff are three replica blockhouses to denote
the original Fort McKeen, renamed Fort Abraham Lincoln

It was windy!

View from the blockhouse of the Missouri River

View from a blockhouse to another

The infantry fort on top of the hill was unsuitable for a cavalry unit, so the fort was expanded in 1873.

The buildings on Cavalry Square were reconstructed
by the CCC in 1934, including Custer's House

The home of George A Custer and his wife, Libbie; Custer
was post commander from 1873 until his death in 1876

Across the vast parade ground are the barracks and stables

1999: A tour begins at Cavalry Square

Next: Lewis & Clark Trip Day 19.