Down by the River

A picture of me using an American scythe.

Hi everyone, my name is Cameron and I am a WMU student working at the Fort St. Joseph    Archaeological Project. I am majoring in anthropology, and this is my senior year at WMU. I am excited to begin working at the Fort St. Joseph site, learning to work in the field, and about the history of the fur trade in southwestern Michigan. I have been living in Michigan my entire life, so I am enthusiastic to learn about my state’s history. This past Thursday was my first time seeing the site, where I would be learning to excavate. I was ecstatic, because the site is located right along the river. However, in order for the excavating to commence the tall buffalo grass had to be cut, and the site’s ground water needed to be lowered.

The site before we cleared it of the tall grass. 

 Over half of the students cleared a section of the grass using grass whips and a weed cutter, but there was still a lot of work left before we could even consider digging. Fortunately, there are two volunteers, Neil and Lynne, who actively assist in making the Fort St. Joseph Site possible to excavate. I had the opportunity to work with them all day on Saturday, and it not only gave me a chance to meet two interesting people, but also a chance for Neil to teach me about the dewatering system.

Our theme for the project this year is Technology Then and Now. Everything we accomplished last weekend could not have been possible without the use of technology. From the dewatering system’s pumps and pipes, to the weed cutter, scythes, weed whips, rakes, even the waders. I started my work that morning by learning how to use a scythe. Lynne was an expert on using a scythe, and he brought two different types, an American and a European scythe. The American scythe is the heavier of the two, while the European is on the lighter side. Lynne taught me that the key to using a scythe was to keep the blades low and parallel with the ground, and to swing the scythe in a 180 degree arch using the tool’s weight. This may sound simple enough, but my technique still needs refining. Lynne on the other hand was an expert! He also demonstrated how to sharpen the scythe using a wet stone. The two scythes cut the rest of the grass at the site within a short two to three hours. On Thursday I used a weed cutter and a weed whip, which were both efficient for cutting grass, but I think the scythe was the superior tool. For me it outcompeted the weed whip and the weed cutter as far as being more efficient, and its simplistic design makes it low maintenance in comparison with the mechanical nature of the weed cutter. The scythe also does not require fuel, but rather a little bit of strength and energy for the work needed to be accomplished.

The site after a long day of cutting grass and setting up the dewatering system. 

Our next step was to lower the sites ground water level, using water pumps and PVC pipes to pull the water from the ground. Neil is the expert on the dewatering system, he came up with the concept, and we wouldn’t be able to dig without his contributions. The system he developed draws water from the ground by using vacuum pressure from two water pumps that connect to a long pipe extending below the ground. This pipe pulls the water out using the suction from the pumps, which pull the water through a connected pipe network and into a long fire house that dumps the water into the sewer. The water is pumped from the ground at a rate of 120 gallons per minute. Afterwards, we worked together to install another pump that draws water from the river for our screening hose, which allows us to wash off the artifacts. I put on some waders and pulled the connecting pipes about fifty feet from the river bank. Between cutting the grass and installing the pumps, it took us a full eight hours. But, after a full day of work I learned some new skills, and I got to know two great people who are actively involved with the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project.

Here I am wading through the river

 After working with Neil and Lynne I realized how much Fort St. Joseph means to the community, and I am thankful to be a part of its research. I look forward to excavating at the site, and to meeting new community members and volunteers. I am realizing that the research we are doing is not just teaching the community about their city’s history, but we are also learning from the community through their contributions and knowledge. I am thankful to be a part of this research here in Niles, Michigan, and I hope to learn more from the community.

Lynne holding an American scythe, while I hold the weed cutter.