The Little Missouri Badlands have always been ideal habitat for wildlife. American Indians hunted these lands for centuries. The first known white explorers, the La Verendrye brothers, ventured into the badlands in 1742.Trapper Jean Baptiste La Page descended the Little Missouri River in late 1804 and joined Lewis and Clark in winter camp on the Missouri. Their expedition ushered in the Upper Missouri fur trade, which flourished in the second half of the 19th century.The Little Missouri drainage was hunted for buffalo, bear, elk, deer, antelope, wolves, cougars, beaver and many other species. The badlands became a haven for adventurous sportsmen, such as John Palliser of Britain, who hunted the area in 1848, and Irish nobleman Sir St. George Gore, who led a large hunting party through in 1856.Construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1880 provided easy access to this hunter's paradise. Among the many who came to hunt was young Theodore Roosevelt in 1883. Roosevelt adopted the badlands as a second home and helped popularize the area through his prolific writing.This area continues to be a popular destination for hunters, including those who prefer to hunt with a camera or a sketchbook. (Marker Number 9.)
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