The two Bijou Hills adjacent to the Missouri River in south-central South Dakota were prominent landmarks for all voyagers who traveled up the river by boat or on land.  The outcrops on both hills were clearly visible from the river and surrounding territory.  They are part of a series of bold, irregular bluffs, much more elevated than any surrounding ones, extending for nearly thirty miles.

In a grass-covered country, such outcrops attracted the attention of everyone, especially those early explorers as they traveled up the river from St. Louis.  Those interested in the geology and paleontology of the area realized the importance and significance of these hills.

They were visited on August 25, 1801, by Perrin du Lac.  He had planted at the peak of these hills a cedar post which was twenty inches square upon which he had engraved his name, the date, and the words, “Sitis Cognoscendi” and “Deo Naturea.”

The hills were named for Louis Bissonet, of St. Louis (nicknamed “Mr. Bijou”) who in 1812 built a trading post on the Missouri River at the foot of these hills and was the first to settle them.  While living at the American Fur Trading Company post on the east side of the river at the foot of the hills, he had serious troubles with the Sioux Indians.  His post was the first establishment in Brule County.

It was on September 11, 1804, that George Shannon had rejoined the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery below Bijou Hills in what would later become the northern part of Charles Mix County.  He had left of Corp near the Vermillion River to hunt for lost horses on the South side of the Missouri.  As he searched for the horses, he continued to move up the river to keep in close contact with his party of explorers who were on the other side of the river.  He was eighteen at the time and he had the rank of private.

Having just entered South Dakota, the Corps of Discovery became increasingly concerned about Shannon.  He was the youngest member of the corps and had been missing for several days.  Believing that the boats and corps were ahead of him, he hurried on trying to catch them, when in fact the party was behind him.

It is interesting that between August 26 and September 11 of 1804 (eighteen days), someone from the group on the east side of the river would cross to the west side and search for Shannon.  They never located him; however, they saw ample evidence that he was ahead of them.

Believing that the boats and corps were ahead of him, Shannon hurried on trying to locate the corps.  When he arrived at the mouth of Bull Creek, he waited for them to come up the river and meet him.  When they did not, Shannon decided that they had already passed where he was presently located.

Assuming that they were far ahead, he decided to head back down the river and hopefully make contact with others going up stream.  Shannon rejoined the Corp on September 11 in northern Gregory County and continued traveling with them up the river.  They slept that evening just above the mouth of landing creek in Gregory County.

Shannon was Protestant-Irish, a good singer, hunter and horseman.  During the trip to the Pacific and back, he frequently got lost, but always managed to get back to the main party.  When returning to St. Louis, he was shot in the leg by the Arikara.  The leg had to be amputated at St. Charles, Missouri.

Shannon later studied law at Transylvania University of Kentucky and by 1818 he was practicing law in Lexington.  He was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1820 and 1822.  He later practiced law in Missouri where he served as a senator.

He died suddenly while arguing a case in the courtroom at Palmyra, Missouri, in 1836.  He was forty-nine.

By 1879, a stage route had been established between Bijou Hills and the Red Cloud Agency at Pine Ridge.  This was an important route which connected with the coaches of the Wyoming Stage Company, running northward from Yankton.   Tri-weekly coaches carried the mail and passengers on this important route.

A road, beginning at Sioux City extended all the way to above Fort Pierre on the east side of the river.  This was an important route for mail and passengers and Bijou Hills was one of the main stops on the route.  During the late 1870s, there was substantial travel on the route.  While on the way down to Yankton, one driver counted ninety-six teams between Bijou Hills and White Swan, a distance of fifty miles.  The road was very bad and muddy because of unusual rains

Early in 1915, the project of extending the line of the Milwaukee Railroad from Platte to Chamberlain, a distance for forty miles, was duly considered by the authorities.  For several years the Charles Mix County line of that road had its terminus at Platte.  Meetings with the farmers were held in order to secure the right of way.

It was planned that the line should pass through Bijou Hills, which since pioneer days had been an inland town of the Missouri Valley.  Farmers in the area were enthusiastic in their support of the project.

However, it never happened!

 

 

Author Author Clarence Shoemaker, originally published in the Gregory Times-Advocate on April 23, 2025