SPIRIT MOUND A NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE Vermillion, South Dakota
Posted by: 
RB2
N 42° 52.160 W 096° 57.438
14T E 666852 N 4748328
On August 25, 1804, Lewis and Clark walked to this conical hill which the Indians believed to be the residence of "little people or Spirits."
Waymark Code: WM1QW5
Location: South Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 06/26/2007
Views: 77
Long before white men came to what is now South Dakota, the little hill known by the Sioux as Paha Wakan was held in awe by tribes for miles around. The Omaha, Sioux, and the Otoes believed that the mound was occupied by spirits that killed any human who came near.
On August 25, 1804, a hot, humid Saturday, Captains Lewis and Clark took 9 men and Lewis' dog Seaman; crossed the Missouri from their camp and walked nine miles to the Mound. It was a hard trip and Seaman, suffering from heat, had to be sent back to the Vermillion River. The men climbed to the summit, which they determined to be about 70 feet above the surrounding plain and to be of natural origin. They also noted the abundance of insects near the top, which attracted great flocks of swallows, and the Captains speculated that it was the birds that gave the mound its air of mystery.
August 25, 1804
"one evidence which the Inds give for believing this place to be the residence of Some unusisal Sperits is that they frequently discover a large assemblage of Birds about this Mound is in my opinion a Sufficent proof to produce in the Indian mind a confident belief of all the properties which they ascribe it." Captain Clark
"Must Sees"at this location":
Climb the mound for the view..the surrounding prairie is often in bloom.
Date Waymark Created: 06/26/2007
Do they allow dogs at this location?: Yes, but must be on a leash.
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