page_title: Yellowstone River
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Yellowstone River / History
context_page_description: The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 692 miles long, in the western United States. Considered the principal tributary of the upper Missouri, this river, via its tributaries, drains a wide area, stretching from the Rocky Mountains in the vicinity of Yellowstone National Park, across the mountains and high plains of southern Montana and northern Wyoming.
context_section_description: The name is widely believed to have been derived from the Minnetaree Indian name Mi tse a-da-zi (Yellow Rock River) (Hidatsa: miʔciiʔriaashiish').  Common lore states that the name came from the yellow-colored rocks along the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, but the Minnetaree never lived along the upper stretches of the Yellowstone.  Some scholars think that the river was named after yellow-colored sandstone bluffs on the lower Yellowstone, instead.  The Cheyenne, who lived along the present day location of Billings and Yellowstone County called it Mo'éheo'hé'e.Crow Indians, who lived along the upper Yellowstone in Southern Montana, called it E-chee-dick-karsh-ah-shay (Elk River).  Translating the Minnetaree name, French trappers called the river Roche Jaune (Yellow Rock), a name used by mountain men until the mid-19th century.  Independently, Lewis and Clark recorded the English translation of Yellow Stone for the river, after encountering the Minnetaree in 1805.  With expanding settlement by people from the United States, the English name eventually became the most widely used. The river was explored in 1806 by William Clark during the return voyage of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  Clark's Fork of the river was named for him.
    
  Most of the natural features of the Yellowstone Valley that were not named by Lewis and Clark were named by pioneer steamboat captain Grant Marsh.  Marsh was selected by the Army for an exploratory expedition in 1873 on his boat the Key West.  Marsh kept a detailed log, and the names he bestowed were recorded by a representative of the War Department and applied on official maps.  These include:
   Forsyth Butte, named in honor of Brevet Brig. Gen. George Alexander Forsyth, commander of the expedition.
   Cut Nose Butte, Chimney Rock and Diamond Island, for their resemblance to these objects.
   Seven Sisters Islands, in remembrance of Captain Marsh's seven sisters.
   Crittenden Island, for General T. L. Crittenden, who commanded the 17th Infantry, which was garrisoned at posts along the Missouri River.
   Mary Island, for the chambermaid on the Key West, wife of the steward, "Dutch Jake."
   Reno Island, for Major Marcus A. Reno, of the 7th Cavalry.
   Schindel Island, for Major M. Bryant, commanding the escort for the Key West.
   Edgerly Island, for Lieutenant W. S. Edgerly of the 7th Cavalry.
   Monroe Island, for Captain Marsh's brother, Monroe Marsh.
   DeRussy Rapids, for Isaac D. DeRussy, later lieutenant-colonel of the 14th Infantry.
   McCune Rapids (later misspelled "McKeon" on maps), for one of Marsh's old friends in St. Louis.
   Barr's Bluff, for another old friend.
   Stanley's Point, for the colonel of the 22nd Infantry.
   Sheridan's Buttes, for Lt. Gen. Philip Sheridan.
  The Yellowstone River had long been an important artery of transportation for Native Americans.  In the 19th century, European-American settlers depended on it as well, entering the region by riverboat.  The region around the Big Horn, Powder and Tongue rivers is the traditional summer hunting grounds for numerous Native American tribes: Lakota Sioux, Crow, Cheyenne and Cree.  Gold was discovered near Virginia City, Montana in the 1860s, and two of the primary routes for accessing the gold fields were the Bozeman Trail and the Bridger Trail both of which followed the Yellowstone for a short length.
  Native American anger at settler intrusion into the hunting grounds led to Red Cloud's War.  The conflict was settled with the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868, by which the US granted the territory of the Black Hills and the Powder River Country to the Lakota people.  This region included the drainages of the Big Horn, Powder and Tongue rivers.  The discovery of gold in 1874 in the Black Hills, however, attracted thousands of miners who invaded the sacred grounds, and conflicts broke out with the Sioux.
  The new competition and violence led to the Great Sioux War of 1876-77.  The US sent in troops to protect the miners, although they had violated the treaty, and to defeat the Sioux.  In 1876, Colonel John Gibbon led a column of men from Fort
caption: The steamer Expansion on the Yellowstone River in Montana, 1907
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