The Gordon Stockade is a reconstruction of a log fortress built on the banks of French Creek in the Black Hills during the winter of 1874-1875. It was illegally built in violation of the Fort Laramie of 1868 guaranteeing the Black Hills to the Lakota. It was built by the Gordon party who believed that gold could be found in the area after the reports of gold found by the Custer expedition of 1874. They, in fact, did find a tiny amount of gold, but only lasted five month before being removed by the US calvary. The damage had been done. Within two years over 10,000 people had flooded the area and the cavalry abandoned their task of protecting the land. They just could not keep the people out.
The stockade served as a military fort for a short time, but then fell into disuse. It was rebuilt in in 1925, again in 1941, and then again in the early 2000’s. Its historical significance as the place that launched the gold fever of the Black Hills meant that succeeding groups of people chose to preserve it for history. The plan of the buildings is based on engineering drawings from the original stockade and on the account of one the building of the structure by one of the members. (Incidentally, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s uncle, Thomas Quiner, was part of the Gordon party who built the stockade).
Last week, we stopped and took a short tour. The buildings were interesting, the creek beautiful, but the roofs were a revelation. All of us took notice of the amazing ingenuity.
The roofing was made by splitting a log about a foot in diameter and hollowing each of these halves out like a trough. A course of these were laid out over the roof, with the hollow side up. Then another course was reversed, covering the jointings. Grass and mud were used to stop up all cracks
David Aken, Pioneers of the Black Hills or Gordon’s Stockade Party of 1874
I have seen cedar shake shingle roofs and sod roofs in lots of reconstructions of the prairie (and I have seen lots of reconstructions-I’m just that kind of history buff), but I’ve never seen this techique. It’s dependent on long straight logs that can be hollowed out and the pine trees in the area are perfect for this application. I wondered how effectively it kept the water out of the cabins.
We have discovered and designed lot s strategies for keeping things out. We have developed physical barriers and employed human guards on lots of occasions, but no boundary is 100% effective. That is why when we come to our own lives, our own souls, we so often employ similar methodologies. We develop laws (external guardrails) and rally people’s energies (human guards) to try to accomplish the moral purity we yearn for. The failure, however, of these methods is evident throughout history.
The only reliable method is the one God teaches, “write it on your hearts” (Jer 31:33, Her 8:10). That will be to you better than any physical barrier or rule and better to you than any watcher you could deploy. That will give you to power to resist evil and live.