Omaha daily bee., 1899-09-10
MERRY TINES ON MISSOURI
"reminiscences of Navigating the Big Muddy
in the Early Days.
STORIES OF A ST, LOUIS CAPTAIN
Some Novel Experiences nnd Adven-
tures-A bunch of Weddings
Poisoned wolycs-A Buff
faIo Stampede.

days was n succession of adventures and
stirring experiences. 1t is a phase OF pio-
neer life that the passing years have In
vested with a distinctive charm. Pioneers
recall that era with the zest Of participation,
mingled with regret that 1t has ceased to
be. To the younger generation along the
Big Muddy stories of steamboating on the
river provoke smiles of doubt and interroga-
tions, unable for the moment to compre-
bend the mighty changes wrought In a
generation.
Captain William r. Massie of st. Louis
| contributes, in the st. Louis Globe-Demo-
Graf. several interesting experiences of early
steamboating on the river. He was one Of
the pioneer boatmen of the upper Missouri,
where the Incidents he relates occurred.
81 made a remarkable trip on the Mis-
souri, once he said. at was on the
steamer Twilight, in 1865. The boat was
owned by Captain Joseph Kinney, John
Keiser and Henry Mcpherson. We had on
board sixteen young women, who were on
the way to Montana to meet and marry
their lovers. who had engaged in business
at the trading posts along the upper Mis-
souri,. Some of the men had been there
for years. Some were the sons of rich men
In st. Louis, who had been set up in bust
ness there. When we got above the mouth
Of the Yellowstone the men met us, having
come down the river on q iatboat, accom-
panied by a number Of men who had families
on the boat, and many Of whom had not
seen their wives and children for years.
The scene that ensued when they got aboard
the boat was absolutely indescribable. Illus
bands, wives and sweethearts met. Such a
sight l never witnessed before or since. That
evening we had sixteen weddings aboard
that boat Thayy hol n ,,tptatar With thnp,
and the ceremony, which was a very brief
one, was performed for each couple In sue
cession. No legal documents were neces-
sary, but many of the couples we're married
over again when they reached their homes.
to be sure that they were properly married.
Sorrow Follows JOY.
'"The trip had been an eventful one all
the way from st. Louis and many sad
features were connected with It. We had
all kinds Of sickness on the boat, and
several deaths. The first person we buried
was a Miss Baker, and the grave was
marked, that the remains might be removed
afterward II the family desired to do so.
1.-THE trip" continued Captain Massie,
was remarkable in many respects. 1t
was slow, as we had an immense load and
could run only in daylight. l refused to
take a full supply Of meat along from st.
Louis, but took a live beef, which we killed
as soon as the supply was used UP, and this
lasted until we got into the game country.
When we got to the upper river the women
took to fishing in the evenings. They
would get out every night and they made
some fine catches, getting fish enough to
supply the boat, but we could shoot a deer
almost whenever we wanted one.
THE trip ended at Fort Benton. When
we reached the mouth Of the Marias river,
below Fort Benton, we caught up with the
steamers Kate Kearney, Sam Gaty, Fannie
Ogden, Efie Deans, Lille Martin and one
or two others. They would not go further
up on account Of the low water and the off,
GERS wanted mo to take their freight, but I
couldn't do 1t. I took most of their pas
sengers, but when We reached the shoals
they had to land and walk some distance
around the shoals. We finally reached
Fort Benton, but the other boats did not
get through. After waiting as long as they
could and yet have time to get back to st.
Louis before winter, they put their freight
out on the bank and started back. 1t was
the intention to leave 1t there during the
winter and to take It on to Fort Benton the
following year. The freight, however, was
destroyed by the Indians, and perhaps some
Of 1t by white people, during the winter. 1t
was insured and John ]. Roe had to pay
$50, 900 for It after standing a lawsuit.
w made our trip without the loss Of a
pound and made good money on 1t. I. G..
Baker reached st. Louis Christmas day,
coming by way Of the Pacific coast and
Panama, to make a settlement for the trip.
MRS. George Baker went TO the noun
tains on my boat. She lived there ten
years and was called the Mother OF Mon
tana.' She was one OF the most exemplary
women I ever knew. She was religious and
was a power for good Ia that country"
Poisoned Wolves.
"I had a startling experience while steam
boating on the upper Missouri river in 1856"
continued Captain Massie. IT left the boat
with a companion to go across the bottom to
kill a deer. We could kill a buffalo when
ever we wanted one, but we got tired OF
buffalo meat and bear meat. It's too coarse.
81 we wanted to kill a deer. The bottom was
overgrown with bushes and We had not gone
far until we ran across about a dozen car
casses of dead wolves. They were lying In
nearly the same position, with their claws
up in the air. their mouths open and their
teeth protruding. The sight OF them was
horrifying and my companion wanted to go
back to the boat. I told him not to mind
that and we went on In search OF a deer.
Neither he nor I could tell how they came
to be there. We first thought that some
ravenous animal must have killed them, but
we could not find a mark on them anywhere,
nor was there a drop of blood on the grass
about them.
"Well, when we went back to the boat we
told several Of the pioneers of what We saw,
but none of them could offer an explanation.
The matter remained a mystery until We
made another trip to st. Louis and back.
We were on the way down the river when
my old friend jeff Smith Che was from st.
Louis) came aboard the boat. I said TO him:
Jeff, I have a puzzle. I asked lots of people
about 1t, but they can't give a solution OF
it. I then told him of the dead wolves we
found and he said: We'll, I can tell you all
about that. I have the hides Of all OF them
in my dry house. We poison the wolves.
It's the easiest way TO get them. We kill a
buffalo and put strychnine on the carcass.
The wolves eat 1t and in a day or two we
can go around and skin the dead wolves
That was the way they got rid of the
wolves in that country" continued Captain
Massie. '"They never would have got rid Of
them except by poisoning them. There were
myrlads OF them there then. II a herd OF
buffalo was stampeded you would think
that every blade OF grass had turned into
a wolf and was following them. But they