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.~...., :: l~. .... Q ",,::';' -:.. . 2 . has documented the occurrence of Clovis, Hellgap, and Allen paleo- Indian projectile points in Rocky Mountain National Park, Benedict (1974f has also reported Paleo-Indian artifacts at high altitudes in Northern Colorado, Although evidences of the Early Middle Prehistoric (McKean-Duncan- Hanna) Period, which spans the period of about 4,500 to 2,000 years ago, have not yet been discovered in the immediate Encampment Basin area, Mummy Cave in Wyoming has produced large quantities of McKean material (Wedel, et al. 1968), Late Middle Prehistoric Period use of the Encampment Basin is also expected but not yet documented, The Big Horn Mountain of Wyoming, however, have yielded such evidences (Frison and Wilson 1975) , The archaeological evidence attributable to Late prehistoric Period (post A,D, 500) use of the Routt National Forest area is amply discussed by Ward-Williams (1976) and in other Routt survey reports, During the Proto-historic and Early Historic Periods the Encamp- ment Basin was within the territory of either the White River Ute or the Eastern (Wyoming) Shoshone (Stewart 1958, 1966; Smith 1974; Mulloy 1958; Trenholm and Carley 1964), Of course, after the arrival of the horse Indian societies became highly mobile and territorial boundaries constantly shifted, In fact, "The Routt country was a meeting grounds for the mountain tribes such as the Arapahoes and Gros Ventres, and the sioux and Cheyenne Indians of the Great Plains, and the Utes of the Colorado and Great Basins'~(Routt National Forest 1965:1) : The prehistoric archaeological resources of Routt National Forest are characteristically located on stream terraces near mountain passes, in saddles between drainages, and along aboriginal trails (Ward- Williams 1976:83-85). Seasonal hunting was probably the focus of occupation in the Encampment River Basin, ArChaeological sites, re- flecting the seasonal hunting focus, are typically sparse scatters of the waste material generated during stone-tool manufacture, Few indications of habitation will reflect any permanency, The archaeolo- gical value of the Encampment River Basin will probably stem not from anyone site, but from studies of the distribution of sites (settle- ment pattern) and aboriginal utilization of high-altitude resources, History Just as the game resources of the Routt country had attracted the Native Americans to the area each summer and fall, the white trappers were drawn to the area from 1825 through 1845. "The main rendezvous of the fur traders was in the Green River country in Wyoming". (Routt National Forest 1965:10), and one of the few nearby trading'posts was in Brown's Hole (Park), The Encampment Basin undoubtedly was exploited by these fur trappers, \