Bad River Encounter Site

Bad River Encounter Site
LC Features
South Dakota

Information

24 hours day/night
605.223.7690
Charge for camping is $15 per night
lat: 44.2894659 long: -100.5169946

A major encounter which affected the destiny of all inhabitants of the region occurred in Fort Pierre on September 24-28, 1804. At the mouth of the Bad River, in present-day Fischers Lilly Park members of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery met for the first time with the Lakota people, known to them as the Teton Sioux. Differences in trade objectives, diplomacy, and the lack of an interpreter lead to an armed confrontation, the closest Lewis and Clark came to a premature end to their expedition. Today the park is certified as a National Park Service Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail site.

Monday, September 24, 1804

In the morning Lewis and Clark moved upriver, picking up Private John Colter from Farm Island where he had camped the night before and killed four elk. They arrived at the mouth of a river their maps called the Little Missouri. The captains renamed it the Teton in honor of the Teton Lakota who camped nearby. The Lakota called it the Bad, and that is the name which has survived. At what is today Fischers Lilly Park in Fort Pierre, Captain William Clark met and smoked a pipe with Chief Buffalo Medicine.

Tuesday, September 25, 1804

Black Buffalo and the other chiefs were invited to tour the keelboat, where they were presented gifts. Captain Clark conducted them back to Fischers Lilly Park in the pirogue. He wrote, “As soon as I landed the pirogue, three of their young men seized the cable. Chief Black Buffalo then took hold of the rope and ordered the young warriors away.” Clark was not permitted to leave the shore; the pirogue soon returned with twelve armed men. The boat guns, and the soldiers’ muzzle-loading guns, were pointed directly at the Lakota, whose numbers had now grown to about 100. (The expedition numbered forty-four.) Both sides stood down.

Nearby Attractions

Distance Unit:

La Verendrye Site National Register of Historic Places Designation
La Verendrye Site National Register of Historic Places Designation

Verendrye Monument, Verendrye Drive, Fort Pierre, SD, USA
Distance: 8.21 Away

Other

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Casey Tibbs SD Rodeo Center Museum
Casey Tibbs SD Rodeo Center Museum

Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center Museum, Verendrye Drive, Fort Pierre, SD, USA
Distance: 8.34 Away

Museums and Interpretive Centers

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Fort Pierre Trader Days
Fort Pierre Trader Days

Fort Pierre, SD, USA
Distance: 8.35 Away

Festivals and Events Food and Drinks

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Fort Pierre, South Dakota
Fort Pierre, South Dakota

Fort Pierre, SD, USA
Distance: 8.35 Away

Cultural Districts

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Fort Pierre Depot Museum
Fort Pierre Depot Museum

Fort Pierre Depot Museum, Fort Pierre, SD, USA
Distance: 8.44 Away

Museums and Interpretive Centers

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Verendrye Museum
Verendrye Museum

Verendrye Museum, Deadwood Street, Fort Pierre, SD, USA
Distance: 8.49 Away

Museums and Interpretive Centers

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Bad Humored Island
Bad Humored Island

102 4th Ave, Fort Pierre, SD 57532, USA
Distance: 8.72 Away

LC Features

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Chicago and North Western Railroad Bridge
Chicago and North Western Railroad Bridge

Missouri River Bridge, South Dakota 34, Fort Pierre, SD, USA
Distance: 9.21 Away

General History

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Fort Pierre Chouteau Site National Register of Historic Places
Fort Pierre Chouteau Site National Register of Historic Places

Fort Pierre Chouteau, Fort Chouteau Road, Fort Pierre, SD, USA
Distance: 9.48 Away

Forts

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South Dakota Discovery Center
South Dakota Discovery Center

South Dakota Discovery Center, West Sioux Avenue, Pierre, SD, USA
Distance: 9.48 Away

Museums and Interpretive Centers

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Black Buffalo’s Camp Site
Black Buffalo’s Camp Site

222 E Dakota Ave, Pierre, SD, USA
Distance: 9.64 Away

Outdoor Experiences LC Features Tribal Experiences

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Pierre, SD
Pierre, SD

Pierre, SD, USA
Distance: 9.68 Away

Outdoor Experiences

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