The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1901-08-28
game withoutsa warrant and SO notl-
fed the ministers and laypen.
ON THE MISSOURI RIVER.
;teamboat Captain Deplores the Present
Condition on The Big Muddy.

C0nQ1uOu Oh SlNE Blk uuuuy ~
10 THE EDITOR have just re-
turned from the very modest steam
boat landing at this place and was
interested IN the arrivals to-day
From Bismarck Is miles by river,
came a small stern wheel steamer,
eight men, bringing lum-.
4 Der for the erection of an elevator
and from Fort Benton two men il q
fiat bottomed boat, FIVE feet wide.
and eighteen feet long. The two
set out ii the middle Of j une5 and
have drifted with the current by
day and tisd up or camped on the
river bank at night. The distance
by river is about one thousand
miles. They are bronzed and ruddy
looking and say they have had a
good time.
I found the captain Of the steamer
taking nap on the upper deck
minus hat, coat, vest and shoes.
When he was fully awakened, in
answer to inquiries about the.
river and the number of boats now
running, he gave me a general his.
tory Of the old days and a most.
pathetic comparison with the pres
sent. He said that In the balmy days
boats Of from 800 to 800 tons made
seventy to so round trips during.
thess season between st. Louis and
Fort Benton, the head of navigation,
and that the fare for the round trip
was Sl50 Many of the boats were
side Wheelers and fitted up with
the show and lpretension Of a Mis-
sissippi steamer Of the sixties.
According to Capt. BeIk these. are
hard times compared with the old
days and the story of the passing
| Missouri can almost be written.
His tone and manner were most
pathetic as he related the coming
down from a grand and most pictur-
esque trip, as a pilotat 300 a mouth,
with the elite,of the land as passen-
gers and carrying valuable cargo,
to his present position as captain and
pilot Of a small tramp steamer.
He said there. was then more
money, more business and more
good feeling in a day. than in a week
in these degenerate times. {. could
| believe his story of finding so large
a herd Of bufalos in the river as to
make it necessary to stop the boat,
as Capt. Lewis. in his narrative Of
/ the Lewis and Clark expedition
says they saw more than 10, 600 in a
single herd. For some time after the
discovery Of gold in Montana the
IonlY means of trans portatlon, ex-
5ceptsox teams. between the mountain
4 I ( =
/ regions and the outside world was
! by boat from ST. Louis and Fort
i Benton, and the traffic became very
! heavy in a short time. Later, Oh
! the completion of the Union Pacific
road west of Omaha a part Of the
4 trade was diverted and finally the
\ building Of the Northern Pacific
stopped the river trade altogether.
There are now on the upper q 200
miles of the Missouri only three
small steamers running with head
quarters at Bismarck. The runs
1 are south sixty miles and north one
hundred and twenty miles to Elbow
woods reservation, where there are
at present bout / 300 Of the Nation s
wards, mostly Mandans and Gros
1 Ventres.
Speaking of the Lewis and CLARK
Iexpedition reminds me that Fort
] Mandan, now Fort Clark where The
company passed the first winter, is
only fifteen miles above this place il
this county The party comprising
forty -five persons, embarke ed IN five
boats, the largest Of which was 81
feet long and carried one large
square sail and had 20 oar locks
The expedition left the mouth 81
the Missouri May 18th, 1904, and
after many difficulties went into
| winter quarters at Mandan on the
10th Of ovember. There appear te
have been two motives for the ex
pedition the first Of which was tina,
The act for establishing trading
houses among the Indians being
about to expire, Ne Jefferson, il
j January, 1903, recommended to con