Rivers and Trails

Rivers and Trails. . One of the oldest American Indians trails in central South Dakota was in use long before white settlement. It ran from Fort Pierre up the Bad River by Midland and Philip and then through Grindstone to the Black Hills. Different bands of people used this trail for centuries. , Another important trail ran between Fort Pierre Chouteau and Fort Laramie on the North Platte River in Wyoming, connecting the important fur trade outposts. This trail was used heavily from 1837-1849, as it was the shortest route between Fort Laramie and the steamboats plying the Missouri River. However, use of the route predated the fur trade. Kiowa and Kiowa-Apache along this rout to the Arikara villages along the Missouri in the old days before the westward expansion of the Lakota disrupted this trade. , In later years, cowboys used parts of these trails, as did homesteaders. , [Photo Caption] , Tin Cup's Camp on the Bad River, Courtesy: Flora Ziemann