Right on this road is ST. MICHAEL, =2 m.= (1,470 alt., 180 pop.), at the foot of Mission Hill, which affords a good view of the surrounding country. Here is ST. MICHAEL'S MISSION, established in 1874 by the Grey Nuns order of the Roman Catholic Church, through the efforts of Maj. William H. Forbes, first Indian agent on the reservation. At the mission lived and worked Father Jerome Hunt (_see above_). The old mission church is still standing. Left from the St. Michael junction to ND 57 at =22.5 m.=; R. here to Devils Lake, =33 m.= [Illustration: RABBIT'S EARS NEAR AMIDON _Photo by Russell Reid_] [Illustration: GRAND CANYON OF THE LITTLE MISSOURI _Photo by Hugh W. Hempel_] SIDE TOUR 6B Junction US 2--Buford--Fort Buford State Park. Junction with US 2 to Fort Buford State Park, 9.5 m. Unmarked graveled road 8.5 m., unimproved road 1 m. No accommodations. The remains of Fort Buford, at the end of this route, evoke memories of the once feared Indian chieftains Sitting Bull, Gall, and Joseph, and of the notable military leaders Gen. Hugh E. Scott and Gen. William H. Hazen. The route, an unmarked gravel road, branches S. from US 2 (_see Tour 6_) 17 m. W. of Williston. At =8 m.= is BUFORD (1,950 alt., 52 pop.), a little village named for the old fort. At =8.5 m.= is the junction with an unimproved road; L. here. On the SITE OF FORT BUFORD, =9 m.=, a stone powder house and the regimental headquarters buildings still stand; the military cemetery is to the S. In 1828 John Jacob Astor's American Fur Co. built its principal post on the upper Missouri, Fort Union, 3 m. up the Missouri from the mouth of the Yellowstone, a few hundred yards E. of the present Montana Line. For almost 40 years Fort Union was the most important trading post in the Dakotas. Unfortunately, the traders at the post were more interested in getting furs cheaply than in preserving the morale of the Indians of the region. Whiskey, although prohibited, flowed freely. Quarrels between the Indians and the white men were frequent. Conditions were so bad in 1864 when Gen. Alfred Sully made a visit to the post following his campaign against the Sioux (_see Tour 8 and Side Tour 8D_), that he recommended Government control of the trading posts if peace were ever to be made with the Indians. Upon his recommendation, therefore, Fort Buford was established in June 1866 opposite the mouth of the Yellowstone. Fort Union was dismantled and its materials were brought here for use in building the new post.