From the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, Yol. XVIII, 
Dee. 16, 1876, pp. 209—212. 
Ancient Hearths and Modern Indian Remains in the 
Missouri Valuey. J. Hoffman, M. D. 
ANCIENT HEARTHS, 
The Military Station at Grand River, D. T., is situated upon the 
western bank of the Missouri River about midway between Fort 
Sully and Fort Rice: approximate location, long. 100° 12' W., 
lat. 45° 31' N. About three hundred yards from the river the 
bottom-land is walled in by a range of bluffs, about one hundred 
and twenty feet in height, the upper surface of which corresponds to 
the level of the surrounding prairie. Three quarters of a mile below 
the station, Oak Creek empties into the Missouri River, thus forming 
a low head-land or spur, the ridge of which still bears evidence of 
aboriginal occupancy. Grand River empties into the Missouri from 
the west also, three miles below the station, where the Mound Build- 
ers once threw up earthworks, traces of which are still visible. 
During the spring flood of 1873 about twelve feet of the embank- 
ment at the station was washed away, exposing to view two distinct 
riverbeds. The height of the embankment is twenty-two feet. The 
upper stratum, which was composed chiefly of sand and gravel, was 
ten feet thick, resting upon the fine sand of the upper surface of the 
second stratum. Throughout the bottom of the upper stratum was 
deposited an indiscriminate mixture of branches, trunks and stumps 
of trees, consisting chiefly of cottonwood, oak and cedar. The second 
stratum was six feet thick, also consisting of coarse sand and gravel, 
PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H. — VOL. XVIII. 14 FEBRUARY, 1876. Hoffman.] 
210 
[December 15, 
terminating upon the upper surface of a third layer of sand, upon 
which rested a thin layer of fine charcoal, and larger fragments of 
charred wood. The sand upon which the fire had been built was red- 
dened by the heat to the depth of an inch and a quarter ; the overlying 
layer retaining the natural tint, appearing as if the fire had been sud- 
denly extinguished. The extent of the layer of ashes (or fine char- 
coal) was about five feet in diameter, around which, at irregular 
intervals, lay a number of dark blue silicious stones, also reddened 
by oxidation on those sides facing the fire. Quite a number of frag- 
ments of chipped quartzite lay scattered above and below this hearth, 
in the same seam. About eighty yards up the river, another seam of 
charred wood and ashes was exposed, also showing the red and burnt 
condition of the gravel underlying it. It is a difficult matter to 
advance any theory as to the age of these hearths. When the station 
was established seven or eight years ago, the whole valley was cov- 
ered with heavy timber. Stumps of cottonwood, sycamore and oak, 
found standing nearly over the hearths, measured over four feet in 
diameter, and trees of equal size are still flourishing both above and 
below the station. 
The bluffs, which belong to the cretaceous formation, are filled with 
fossil bivalves, and in several localities we find beds of dark blue 
plastic clay, containing fossils, prominent amongst which are the Nau- 
tilus Dekayi and Ammonites Placenta, which are found mixed with the 
drift detritus from the plains ; these are found in the upper stratum 
only, as the second stratum, at the bottom of which the hearths lay, 
was probably deposited when the river’s course lay near the opposite 
banks, where the cretaceous rocks do not protrude; it is well known 
that rivers continually tend to shift their courses. For a distance of 
five miles on either side of the station the valley is comparatively 
straight, but within it the river winds considerably. Lyell1 says of 
the Somme, when, in one of its curves, the current crosses “ its gen- 
eral line of descent, it eats out a curve on the opposite bank, or in the 
side of the hills bounding the valley, from which curve it is turned 
back again at an equal angle, so that it recrosses the line of descent, 
and gradually hollows out another curve lower down in the opposite 
bank,” till the whole sides of the valley “ present a succession of 
salient and retiring angles.” 
The river is also working a deeper bed which is apparent; but 
what length of time was consumed in depositing these strata of sand 
1 Lyell’s rriucij.les, p. 206. 211 
1875.] 
[Hoffman. 
and gravel, and the changing of its course from the western to the 
eastern side of the valley is difficult of determination. During the 
season of floods, ice gorg'es have been formed in the main channel, 
which caused the water to take a new course, which in a short period 
became the navigable current, thus leaving an island as it were, be- 
tween the old and new courses, as appears to have been the case 
at Grand River. Mounds and other primitive earthworks occur from 
Bonhomme Island to the mouth of the Yellowstone, and up that river 
for a distance of over three hundred miles. There are no mounds or 
ancient earthworks in the immediate vicinity of the settlement, 
except the one at Grand River, which has been described by Mr. A. 
Barrandt, in the Smithsonian Report for 1870, p. 406. 
MODERN REMAINS. 
Modern remains exist showing that the bluffs and prairie were 
once the home of a powerful tribe. Many of the Sioux are still liv- 
ing, who, with their tribe, in moving up the Missouri River reached 
that point where the military station is now located, and found a 
tribe with whom they engaged in battle. After an engagement lasting 
four days, the Sioux were victorious and drove*the conquered people 
up the river as far as the present sites of Forts Berthold and Ste- 
venson. This occurred in the year 1818. 
All that remains of the Ree villages,— for this was the tribe,— are 
immense numbers of low mounds, scattered, or in groups, and extend- 
ing along the bluffs over an area of several miles either way. The 
most southern point occupied, was the spur formed by the union of 
Oak Creek and the Missouri River. This group covers an area of 
nearly an acre, and is surrounded by a ditch, which was originally six 
feet wide, and two or three feet deep. Portions of the ditch have 
become indistinct by filling up with the drift material from the sur- 
rounding prairie. The mounds are usually from three to six feet 
in diameter, and sometimes reach from twelve to fifteen feet in height, 
although the majority of them are nearly leveled and would be over- 
looked by a casual observer. 
They are composed of hard mud — no doubt at one time adobe, 
sand, fragments of quartzite, jasper, agate and chalcedony, pieces of 
broken pottery, but more especially of bones, amongst which 1 found 
those of the buffalo in excess; also elk, antelope, bear, and smaller 
bones, especially those of the Rodents and aquatic birds, with scales of 212 
Burbank.] 
the sturgeon. After digging down to the depth of about two feet, 
the splinters of bone were more numerous than on the surface, and 
in not a single instance have I found any bones that had been sub- 
jected to the effects of fire, but the marrow had been removed by 
splitting the bones with a stone or maul, as no indentations, such as 
would be caused by an edged tool, were visible. 
None of the fragments of pottery indicated that any large vessels 
had been used, but some of the designs corresponded precisely with 
specimens obtained near the l.io Verde, Arizona. The latter are 
usually glazed, an art which seems to have been unknown to the Rees 
at that- time. The texture of these specimens is rather fine, and 
the color usually dark; the-indentations have been made with a 
small piece of wood, although in some of the ornamentation the fin- 
gers were employed, as the five impressions show. The pottery does 
not seem to have been baked, but sun-dried; this, however, is merely a 
matter of conjecture, as the condition of the specimens after long 
exposure has become considerably changed. Arrow-heads and 
kindred flints were abundant. The smallest arrow points measured 
but .4 of an inch in length, the typical form being triangular. The 
finest point was one made of black silicious rock, three inches long, 
and three quarters of an inch wide. It was knife-shape, i.e., rounded 
at the one end like the blade of a common table knife, and elegantly 
notched at the base. 
Bone implements were not rare; the finest piece of workmanship 
being a fish-hook only an inch in length, and finely notched for 
attachment to the line. These specimens were no doubt preserved 
from decomposition by the dryness of the sandy soil covering many 
of these refuse heaps, and the dry atmosphere common over the 
country between the Missouri Iliver and the Rocky Mountains. 
[December 15,