Fort Randall Reservoir Archeology, Geology, History

One of the earliest and best historical records of the Missouri River is to be found in the official journal and diaries of the Lewis and Clark exploring expedition. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, joint captains of the expedition, were keen observers and, of even greater importance, they were aware of the significance and "newness" of the things that they were recording. The diary of Sgt. Patrick Gass is curt and to the point, but his observations are no less useful, recording not only the day-by-day happenings but also pertinent remarks about the countryside and wildlife.

The exploring party had been traveling up the Missouri since the 14th of May, 1804. In early September, now entering the middle reaches of the river, they were already experiencing the first tentative buffets of approaching winter. The men were often cold and wet and were seldom able to escape the ravages of the constant winds. On Friday, September 7, 1804, the party had reached a point a few miles below the later Fort Randall Dam. They camped on the left or northeast bank of the Missouri, just opposite The Tower — a high, upthrusting dome that was to become one of the outstanding landmarks of the river. Clark describes his visit to The Tower in a cursory manner:

"Cap Lewis & Myself walked up to the top which forms a Cone and is about 70 feet higher than the high lands around it and the base is about 300 foot."

Near this historic spot the party first encountered a village of "barking squirrels", the Prairie dogs that were so intriguing to the early travelers of the plains. The "dog town" was found on the prairie some distance from the camp. The first attempts to secure a specimen failed completely but the second effort was more successful. Sgt. Gass describes the adventure:

"Having understood that the village of those small dogs was at a short distance from our camp, captain Lewis and captain Clark, with all the party except the guard went to it and took with them all the kettles and other vessels for holding water; in order to drive the animals out of the holes by pouring water in; but though they worked at the business till night, they caught only one of them."

Saturday, September 8, brought a temporary respite from the rain and the wind. The exploring party moved upstream, propelled by a gentle breeze. In the course of the morning, they passed Ponca House, built by Jean-Baptiste Truteau in 1794 as a winter refuge on his long passage to the Arikara villages upriver. A short distance beyond, they sailed past the site of the future Fort Randall and on into the Reservoir area, coming to camp on Big Cedar Island, some 17 miles upstream from The Tower.

The following day, September 9, was uneventful but the travelers expressed their amazement at the quantities of game abounding on the prairie and bottom lands along their route. With a stage of only 14-1/2 miles behind them, but expending much of their day in hunting, the party came to a late camp at the mouth of Whetstone Creek.

The weather was threatening and disagreeable on September 10, but the expedition covered ten miles by noon, stopping to climb the riverbank to examine the fossil remains of a great "lizard", a plesiosaur eroding from a Cretaceous formation. A vertebra was secured that eventually found its way to the collections of the Smithsonian Institution.

John Colter, absent since August 28, returned to the party on this day. On August 26, Pvt. George Shannon, only 17 years old and the youngest member of the expedition, had become lost while searching for the two horses that had been brought along for the use of the hunters. Colter had been sent in pursuit but the search had been fruitless. Colter was certain, however, that Shannon was now well ahead of the main party.

With the roster again complete, except for Shannon, the party moved upstream, covering ten more miles before making camp on the lower end of Hot Spring Island.

The morning of Tuesday, September 11, continued cloudy and uncomfortable. The party was compelled to feel its way through a maze of sandbars and shoals in the face of a biting rain. Shortly after the noon stop, a wet and bedraggled Pvt. Shannon rode into camp. He had found the horses near the mouth of the Vermillion River more than two weeks before and, confident that the main part of the expedition had moved on ahead, had proceeded to work his way up the river. Only after he had traveled to a point almost opposite the mouth of the White River did he realize that he was ahead of, rather than behind, the boats. He had already shot away his meager supply of bullets and was forced to subsist on grapes. Later, a single rabbit, shot with a whittled wooden plug in place of a lead bullet, was added to his larder. Eventually he turned downstream and, quite by chance, stumbled upon the flotilla of explorers.

Now complete, the party moved several miles upstream to camp for the night on the west shore.

The morning of Wednesday, September 12, brought a severe northwest wind, accompanied by a constant drizzle. Travel was both difficult and uncomfortable. The heavy current, backed by the high winds, broached the frail boats, and threatened to swamp them. With such strenuous efforts required to stay afloat, it is not surprising that the party traveled but four miles this day.

The following day, Thursday, September 13, was equally cold and wet but better time was made, covering 12 miles before establishing camp in the lee of a high bluff on the "stobbard" or east side of the river.

The discouraging weather had not abated on the following day, Friday, September 14. The river was shoaling, so "we had to waid & hall the barge over the bars". While searching for a reputed volcano, actually a smoking outcrop of shale caused by the spontaneous combustion of lignite and vegetable substances, Captain Clark shot an antelope, the first to be examined by the party. Clark considered it to be a goat, a remarkably astute observation in view of later zoological classification.

After covering but nine miles, they camped for the night at the mouth of Bull Creek, near the site of what was to become the "first" Brule Indian Agency.

The next day, Saturday, September 15, the expedition passed the mouth of the White River, and, leaving a small party to explore its lower reaches, moved upstream to camp for the night on the eastern shore of the Missouri, opposite the mouth of American Crow Creek, a short distance below modern Chamberlain.

The heavy going of the past few days had convinced the captains that it was impractical to reduce their forces and to return a portion of the party to St. Louis, as had been planned. The men who were to retire downriver were prevailed upon instead to winter with the party, delaying their return until the spring of 1805. With this crucial matter settled, on the morning of September 16 the expedition crossed the Missouri to a more suitable location for "drying out" and recouping of drained energies. Camp was made "1-1/4 miles above the mouth of a small creek which we named Corvus, in consequence of having killed a beautiful bird of that genus near it." Clearing weather, bringing a rise in spirits, made the camp a happy one. The site was called "Plomb" camp because of the wild fruit that abounded here. Lewis' comments are worth noting at length:

"Monday, September 17. Having for many days past confined myself to the boat, I determined to devote this day to amuse myself on shore with my gun and view the interior of the country lying between the river and Corvus creek, accordingly, before sunrise I set out with six of my best hunters, two of whom I dispatched to the lower side of Corvus creek, two with orders to hunt the bottoms and woodland on the river, while I retained two others to accompany me in the intermediate country. one quarter of a mile in rear of our camp which was situated in a fine open grove of cotton wood passed a grove of plumb trees loaded with fruit and now ripe, observed but little difference between this fruit and that of a similar kind common to the Atlantic States. the trees are smaller and more thickly set this forrest of plumb trees garnish a plain 20 feet more elevated than that on which we were encamped; this plain extends back about a mile to the foot of the hills..., and it is intirely occupied by the burrows of the barking squirril heretofore described; this animal appears here in infinite numbers and the shortness and virdu(r)e of grass gave the plain the appearance throughout it's whole extent of beautiful bowling green in fine order."

The next day, September 18, now dry and rested, the expedition pushed upriver against strong headwinds. The journey was a short one, covering only seven miles before making an early camp in order to prepare the meat from the days hunting. The camping place for the night was on the west side of the Missouri, at the first bend above modern Chamberlain.

The next morning, September 19, the expedition made rapid progress, passing out of the Fort Randall Reservoir and into the Big Bend country before nightfall. From here, the travelers continued toward the north, wintering in the Mandan villages of central North Dakota, and proceeding westward to the Pacific the next spring.

On the return trip, the expedition came into the Fort Randall area on Thursday, August 28, 1806. The downriver passage, in contrast with the trials of the upstream trip, was relatively easy and largely uneventful. Food, however, was a problem. After more than two years on river and trail, their supplies of flour, ship's biscuit, sugar, coffee, and other "civilized" edibles were long gone. Now, except for corn picked up at the Arikara villages, they were entirely dependent on wild game. Hunting industriously as they traveled, they sped through the Fort Randall country and into the lower Missouri, arriving in St. Louis without notable incidence on September 23, 1806, thus completing one of the epic journeys of the west.