ON THE TRAIL OF THE EARLY PIONEERS CROSSING SOUTH DAKOTA TO NEBRASKA AND SOUTHEAST WYOMING 

August 26-28, 2015

After leaving the Black Hills in South Dakato,  Wounded Knee Massacre Historical Site was our next destination stop ahead before heading into Nebraska. It became a rather long boring drive across miles of prairie land to reach the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where the site is located. We had no specific GPS address for the historical site other than a AAA map point indicating its location. the massacre site of Big Foot’s  Sioux Indian tribe of 300 by the 9^th U.S. Calvary on December 29, 1890 was supposed to be outside the reservation town of

Wounded Knee seven miles southeast near Batesland, SD. We missed the mark lost, passed through more and more miles of prairie land, never turned back, and rerouted south through Nebraska to another landmark. Having seen the historic exhibit about the winter massacre of Big Foot’s people while visiting Wall, SD on our way to the Dakota Badlands previously it wasn’t like that piece of South Dakota Wounded Knee history had been overlooked.

Big Foot was ill and came to sign a peace treaty. After General Custer and his regiment had been killed
U.S. troops  feared Indian retaliation and at Wounded Knee sadly the massacre of women and children
left to die rested in the snow for days

Wounded Knee Massacre Burial Site is sacred ground on the PineRidge Indian Reservation today. Some say the cries of Ghost Dancers can still be heard.

Chimney Rock

By 5:00 p.m, as tired road warriors that gray skied hazy day, we pulled our rig into Pioneer Crossing Campground at Bayard, Nebraska. The view of Chimney Rock just out the front window a mile away made the day’s prairie crossing a milestone. Much like the early wagon trains between 1812-1866 along the California and Oregon Trails heading west the landmark of Chimney Rock was a welcoming site for the night. In the 1800s a covered wagon considered it lucky to cover seven to ten miles per day. Our triple tow modern day wagon crossed 325 miles of prairie grassland in a day.
Bet those emigrant pioneers of long ago would have pined for a cold beer and soda with  homemade tacos like our supper as their wagon trains circled up for the evening.

                                                Along the 1849 Oregon Trail on a Wagon Train 
                                                                          OR 
                            Perhaps even consider the Buckingham 2015 Triple Tow Wagon Train

Chimney Rock is impressive in its own right...stretching up for about 250 feet on top of a hill. I was a bit mesmerized by this geological wonder even though it was at a much smaller scale than previously envisioned. Camped nearby I went outside in the darkness before twilight with my camera to catch a photo at sunrise, and was amazed to find that Chimney Rock was also lit by floodlights at night. What a sight! 

The Visitors Center nearby that following morning really helped to flesh out the story, telling us how early settlers saw this as a landmark on their journeys. We read the rock was actually taller than what we currently see, that erosion has eroded it down over 150 years to what it is today. 

I was impressed by the warning signs all around the building that read "Caution: This is rattlesnake country. Stay off the grass". The pioneers dealt with many hardships...how soft we are nowadays !

Chimney Rock's landmark was a sign that those partaking on the Oregon Trail had come 1/3 of the way, but that they still had the mountains and 2/3 more of their journey. Ironically today marks 1/3 of the way on our 2015's three month trip, and we still have the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and 2/3 more of the way to go on a different trail.

Crossing half of South Dakota and Nebraska in a day wasn’t too bad,  but in contrast to our modern highway travel the pace was painfully slow, hot, dusty and dangerous  for tens of thousands of emigrant wagons  coming west in America. However, that’s a story for another time.

Seventy-three miles west later in the afternoon our modern day wagon train arrived to Fort Laramie, Wyoming. Fort Laramie was a major trading post for early trappers and traders from 1825-1841. The demise of the buffalo trade ended stop on the way west for tens of thousands of settlers as a trading post and later became a military outpost. The problem is that it has a perception issue because it does not look nor did it ever look like the Hollywood version of a western fort with high walls and a large gate with cavalry troops riding out of the gates to fight the Indians. Settlers heading west used the fort as a place to rest and refit. The fort was a strong point to handle Indian problems when necessary. However, more people died of cholera disease at the fort than died in battle. The Lakota, Cheyene, and Arapahoe tribes in the region through the 1820'3 and 40's were peaceful traders so travelers were relatively safe from attack.  

Captain's Quarters for company-grade officers

Not exactly roughing it in the fort Captain's Quarters

Time for resupplies at Fort Laramie before moving along the North Platte River 

Fort Laramie became a military post by the 1850's when emigrant traffic on the overland trails mushroomed and tensions
began to escalated. This building at the fort adding housing during the Indian Wars
for the Calvary in 1874

Many of the buildings at the fort are original or are well restored. We saw numerous buildings of varied material from wood, stone, and adobe surrounding a large grassy parade ground area.
 

Surgeon's Quarters

When you consider that Fort Laramie was one of the major stops for settlers heading west in 1841, it is definitely a place worth visiting even though it is different from what you expect of a western fort.