In poor health, young Culbertson died in late August 1850, soon after his return to Chambersburg.[31]
In 1853 two geologists, Dr. F.V. Hayden and F.B. Meek, visited the Badlands region. Both were to receive national recognition later as distinguished scientists. They spent several days at Sage Creek, noted by travellers for the purgative qualities of its water. Both men and their horses experienced a weakening effect after drinking from the stream.[32]
Brevet Brigadier-General William S. Harney’s expedition, in its punitive campaign against the Brule Sioux in 1855, crossed overland through a portion of the Badlands en route from Fort Laramie (old Ft. William) to Fort Pierre (old Fort Tecumseh) on the Missouri. Accompanying the expedition were Lt. G.K. Warren, U.S. topographical engineer, and Dr. Hayden who had visited the Badlands region two years earlier.[33]
Figure 4 REMAINS OF THE FORT LARAMIE-FORT PIERRE TRAIL
Here, just outside the most northern boundary of the present national monument, it is believed E. de Girardin made his poetic observations of the Badlands on the horizon, as recorded on [page 14]. Wagon-wheel ruts along the old trail—in the foreground—can still be traced for miles in unplowed terrain.
Warren was authorized to map the trail over which the expedition passed. This route, which crosses the western edge of Badlands National Monument, had been used since at least the early 1830’s primarily by trappers and traders to transport furs and supplies between the two forts. Fort Pierre was abandoned as a military post in early 1857 soon after the route was mapped, and the trail fell into disuse as a major overland thoroughfare.[34] Remains of this historic route can still be seen.
Dr. Hayden and his party camped on Bear Creek, west of the present national monument, where Alexander Culbertson, Dr. Evans, and others had obtained their valuable collections in the 1840’s. Dr. Hayden wrote, “We spent five days at this locality, and with the mammalian remains already collected in other places, our carts were loaded to their utmost.”[35] Unlike his predecessors who had visited the region, Hayden was favorably impressed by the White River region. “Contrasted with most of the country on the upper Missouri, The White river valley is a paradise, and the Indians consider it one of the choice spots of earth.”[36]
Hayden revisited the White River Badlands in 1857 and in the 1860’s. His records may be found in government reports and in several scientific publications.[37]
Captain John B.S. Todd, a cousin of the wife of Abraham Lincoln and later governor of Dakota Territory, also accompanied the Harney Expedition of 1855 and was impressed by the scenic grandeur of the Badlands.[38] On October 12, the day the expedition broke camp at Ash Grove Spring (now known as Harney Spring) southeast of Sheep Mountain Table, he recorded in his journal: