All photos except painting by G. Catlin by "Molly" Marston
G. Catlin painting photo from Park Website
We crossed the Missouri for the umpteenth time. (We would eventually cross it thirteen times).
From Bismarck to Mandan, ND where the Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is located. One can see the Missouri River with its twists and turns from inside the park. The cost for car and passengers was $14.00. Steve announced that he was a volunteer at a State Park. The attendant asked, "Which one?" His answer, of course, is "Dudley Farm!" Of course, the lady never heard of it. It did not ring a bell with her. He finally had to fess up that it was in Florida. "Sorry! That doesn't help here!" So, we paid the fee and spent several hours in the Park, which is divided into several sections, including a campground. It also had been a CCC camp in the 1930's I will, however, focus on three of the areas: the Mandan Indian Village, the Infantry Fort, and Libby and George (the cavalry fort).
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The Museum Building
We were walking toward the Museum and Interpretive Center when we walked into a group with a guide. Now Steve is not all that fond of going on guided tours, but we fell in anyway. We would have missed a lot if we did not follow him, as the lodges were locked/ The original inhabitants would not have needed them. But, alas, our world is not the same.
The oldest woman in the family owned the lodge. They were made with an inner circle of cottonwood trees, interwoven with branches and twigs and covered with grass/ The women did the building as well as the planting...several varieties of corn, squash, and beans (called the three sisters) were among the staples of their agriculture. Their primary source of protein was the buffalo. Every single inch of the bison was used for something...meat, clothing, tools, toys. Even its tail was put to the same use as it was used by the bison...swishing flies and other bugs away.
The Mandans were less nomadic than many other tribes. Permanent villages were built with large round earth lodges. They tended to remain stationary. The Park has recreated a miniature On-A-Slant Indian Village. These are reconstructed earthlodges and depict the lifestyle of the Mandan Indians, who occupied this site from about 1575-1781. Many died from white man's diseases such as small pox of which there had been several bouts. Also, warring enemy tribes (Arikara, Assiniboine, Lakota) helped to decimate their numbers. Today there are probably no full blooded Mandans. Due to their large decrease in population, they merged with other tribes (one of which was their former enemy the Arikara) and became The Three Affiliated Tribes. In 1804 Lewis and Clark met them and were treated well by them. There had originally been nine villages, but by the time the Corps of Discovery arrived, there were only two. The expedition stopped there for the winter, naming it Fort Mandan. Lewis and Clark met Sacagawea, a Shoeshone woman who had been captured in her youth. She (the only woman in the expedition) and her husband and baby trekked across the country with the Corps, assisting the expedition with information and translating skills. There are several variations of the spelling and pronunciation of her name. Many of the locals in North Dakota and Montana spell it Sakakawea, pronounced Sa cock a we a. 4480 Ft. Lincoln Road Mandan, ND 58554 Phone: 701.667.6340 E-mail: falsp@nd.gov The painting was done by George Catlin in 1833 of the Mandan Village.
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| Inside the Lodge |
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| Scaffolds were used to dry vegetables |
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| Bison bones used as a tool |
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| Along the wide Missouri |
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| Tools, toys, ceremonial implements and our guide's foot |
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| Reproduction lodges built on original living site |
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| Another drying scaffold |
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| Reproduction ceremonial lodge |
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| Venting roof hole |
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