July 5 Day 35 Williston, North Dakota 55 miles

Our flattest day so far.

Until now, the crops have been wheat, alfalfa, hay, or just rangeland for grazing. Today we saw our first corn and our first sugar beets.

We crossed the Missouri again. Central Time Zone.

The reconstructed Fort Union trading post of the Astor fur trading empire was nearby. The guide gave a very interesting description of how the trading process worked. Trade goods came up the Missouri by steamboat. Indians brought in beaver pelts and buffalo skins. The chiefs would meet with the traders in what we would call today a conference room and work out the approximate terms of trade. Once the chiefs reported to the rank and file Indians what they could expect in value from the traders for a skin, the lesser Indians would make their trades through a window. There were some arrangements for keeping feuding groups apart if they arrived at the same time.