It's c-c-c-cold in them thar hills
(Pam & Jim's Excellent Heritage Outbound Adventure)
Heritage Outbound was advertised as "a taste of the Lewis and Clark Expedition's winter at Fort Mandan nearly 200 years ago." It involved an overnight stay at the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site north of Stanton, North Dakota where the Corps of Discovery camped during the winter of 1804-05.
Sixteen of us, plus staff from the North Dakota Historical Society, left the Heritage Center in Bismarck early Saturday morning. Tents and sleeping bags were provided so we only needed to bring clothes--lots of them.
We took three vans up Highway 1804, past Double Ditch, to Washburn, then headed west to Stanton. The Indian Village is just north of town. A small, modern museum welcomes visitors, though there are precious few this time of year. Next to the museum is an earth lodge replicating those used by the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes over the years.
Amy Mossett, Tourism Director for the Three Affiliated Tribes, has portrayed Sakakawea (or Sacajawea) many times. She gave us a quick overview of life among the Three Affiliated Tribes over the many centuries they lived on the plains. Behind her in the photo, journalist Jodi Raves Lee records Amy's presentation. Jodi works for the Journal Star in Lincoln, Nebraska. You can read Jodi's article about the weekend online by clicking here.
Noted Thomas Jefferson scholar, Clay Jenkinson, outlined the activities of the Corps of Discovery during their stay in North Dakota. The expedition members planned to finish their voyage of discovery sooner, but were unable to move west when the Missouri River froze over, he told us. Jenkinson and Mossett spoke to us inside the earth lodge where the fire kept us reasonably warm (you could still see your breath). Unfortunately, it was a breezy outside and the smoke was unable to escape through the roof portal. We stunk.
Clay Jenkinson shows where five of the Indian villages were located on the banks of the Knife and Missouri Rivers.
One of the other participants, Julie Fanselow, dutifully takes notes during the presentations. Julie is the author of "Traveling the Lewis & Clark Trail," a guide for modern tourists who want to get a sense of the expedition. "My husband and daughter are sleeping in a warm motel bed tonight and I'm going to be outside," she lamented, tongue in cheek. Actually, the Twin Falls, Idaho resident, like the rest of us, knew we would be "camping out" when we enlisted for the weekend.
Terry O' Halloran is Chief of Interpretation at the Historic Site. He gave us a tour of the grounds where only indentations in the soil tell where the dozens of earth lodges once stood. Terry told us we were the first people to camp on the Site as it is not open to the public for that activity. Behind him, you can see buffalo berries still clinging to their branches. Terry and the other staff at the Site were cordial, knowledgeable hosts.