the Fort is now part of Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park --
One of the big attractions at the Park is a partially reconstructed Mandan Indian village called by the whites Slant Indian Village due to its placement on the slope of a hill. (The other attraction is the home of the Fort Commander General and Mrs. George Custer. I'll show some pictures of that tomorrow.)
Using aerial surveys, historians have determined there were most likely 86-87 rounded earthlodges in this village with close to 1500 people before it was abandoned around 1750, decimated by small pox and attacks by other Indian tribes. There are a few reconstructed lodges on the original site.
Basically an agricultural people, the tribe grew corn, beans and squash along the rich riverbottoms and hunted the buffalo. Drying racks for their produce provided dried foods for winter eating.
The four large cottonwood posts supporting the structure were placed by the men of the tribe, but the rest of the construction was strictly done by the women. The smaller beams were put in place, then overlaid with layers of mats of willow branches.
The floors were plastered with clay from the river banks with a fire pit in the center. The willow mats were eventually covered with sod mats with the grass side facing in (so that the clay soil on the roots would help seal the top).
Sleeping areas were placed around the outsides of the lodge elevated off of the cold floors and covered with buffalo and other hides.
This arrow quiver was made from the entire hide of a coyote (can you see its face?)
We had a bonus find at the State Park. We spotted a Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker on the grass. I had seen the Red Shafted variety at Sister Sherry's farm in Touchet, but had never seen the yellow one. I got a good picture of the distinctive red crescent at the nape of the neck as well as the yellow feathers along the wings.
According to my bird book, this big tan woodpecker often feeds on the ground, seeking ants --
After visiting General Custer's residence, we drove back to Bismarck for a very nice dinner at Jack's Steakhouse and Saloon
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