Omaha daily bee., 1903-06-14

AANA- AlhN the bNeameI Naomi was MTtGkeQ
at that precise spot hfty-slx years before.
IN those days the missionaries always LETT
Bibles on board the various boats, attached
the cabin and lettered with the names
OF the boats to which they belonged.
Beauties of the River.
Captain Chittenden devotes some atten-
ton to the efforts of the government to
restrain the propensity Of the river for
wandering, saying: I'm recent years the
government has seriously undertaken to set
metes and bounds to the migratory habits
Of the stream, but It has found a most re-
f~rsctory subject to deal with. Even with
the expenditure OF vast sums OF money In
the construction Of the most powerful
dikes and improved bank protection known
to engineering, 1t can never feel certain
that its prisoner will not break its bonds
at any moment and escape" A further
tribute to the river, and one which would
suggest itself to the casual observer, Is
thus set forth:
From an esthetic point OF view, the Mis-
souri, river has an unenviable reputation.
People who never see Il except in crossing
railroad bridges, from which they look
down into a mass of muddy, eddying
water. are liable to compare 1t unfavorably
with other important streams. But to him
who Is fortunate enough to travel upon 1t
and study It in all its phases, It is not only
an attractive stream, but one Of great
scenic beauty. AS seen in its more placid
periods, near morning or evening, when
the slanting rays of the sun show the
water mainly by reflection, robbihg II of
its muddy tinge and replacing II by a
crimson hue or silver glimmer that
stretches away toward the horizon, cut Off
again and again by the bends of the river,
but ever and anon reappearing, until lost
In the distance, there are few scenes in ma
ture that appeal more strongly to the eye
Again, in it's less peaceful moods. when
the persistent prairie winds blow day after
day with ceasing, there Is a peculiar at
Effectiveness about the weird scene. In
all directions, as far as the eye can reach,
the air Is filled with clouds of sand, drift
ing along the naked bars and changing
their forms almost as rapidly as does the
water those In the bed of the river. The
willows and cottonwoods bend complain
ingly before the blast. The river is dashed
into foam, and often becomes so tempestu-
Gus that rowboats cannot live in II, while
larger craft, making a virtue of necessity,
lie moored to the shore until the vino has
abated its fury.
Perhaps the most frightful scenes on the
river are the violent summer storms OF
istic ornado tendencies so common in the
central ~prairies. When these black storms
gather, and the incessant lightning seems
to bend the clouds to the earth and the
rolling and agttated vapors disclose the
terrible play of the winds, the river man
disCreetly makes for shore and loses no
time in gaining the shelter of some friendly
bank. The fury of these storms, as they
break into the valley. pouring down wind
and rain. with terrific violence, Until the
river yields up clouds of spray, like the
vortex Of Niagara, forms one of the widest
and most sublime manifestations of the
forces of nature. 1t cannot be truly en-
joyed by an eye witness, because of the
element of danger which IS present, but the
impression produced upon one who is fortu-
nate enough to pass safely through re-
mains ineffaceable in the memory.
Steamboat VS.. Railroad.
Commerce made the Missouri river a
great artery, and brought it into promi-
hence before the world, and then commerce
abandoned the river and allowed it to
lapse into all but forgotten disuse. Dealing
with this phase of the matter. Captain
Chittenden writes:
The great enemy of the Missouri river
was the railroad. The impress
sion now exists that the river has ceased
TO be a naVigable stream. 1t has ceased to
be a nevigated stream, but 1t is as navi-
gable as 1t ever was. Let it be known that
all railroads in it's valley will cease run
will be 1000 boats on the river in less than
six months. 1t is not a change in the
stream, but In methods of transportation
that has ruined the m of the river:
The struggle between the steamboat and
the railroad lasted Just about twenty, eighst
st. Joseph reached st. Joseph, NO., to
1887, when the Great Northern reached
roads had been felt to some extent before
this on the lower river. The Missouri Pa
cine railToad, y, which psr eitH v she on slUeI
to Jefferson City March Is, 1856, but did
not reach Kansas City until ten years
on the steamboat business Of the river.
Most of the boats ran far beyond The
points reached by the roads; and would
roads were there or not. Being there, they
secured a large part of the freight, even
along the line of the railroad.
When the Hannibal & st. Joseph railroad
| reached the Missouri river at st. Joseph,
in 1859. that point became an importan!
terminus\ for river connected
with the railroad. A i1e of packets, in
Guiding three boats; ran south to Kansas
ccasionai trip to Fort Randau. The first
service OF Captain LaBarge's boat, Emile,
was in this trade, in which he remained foT
The next point on the river reached by
the railroads was at Council BUTTS and
Omaha: Pr the 18th of March March, 1851; the thd
the former place and on March 10, 1877,
the Union Pacific bridge was opened across
Joseph In the upper river trade, and still
further restricted the business from st
The Sioux City & Pacific railroad entered
Sioux city in 1868 from Missouri Valley
thus connecting with Omaha and Chicago
same place directly across the state, Sioux
city became and for a long time remained
a more important river. port than either
OF the Indian wars in the decade from
1870 to 1880, IL was a great shipping point
for the army in all its work on the upper
river. Even the trade to Fort Benton WAS
in great part transferred to this point. ano
the st. Louis trade with that port sunere1
another severe falling or.
Passing of the Rivers Glory.
And now it's bold antagonist attacked the
steamboat business on every side. The
Union Pacific railroad was opened to Og
den ia 1869, and a freight line was at once
established through to Helena, thus divert
ing south a large part of the business
which had before gone to the river. II
| 1872 the Northern Pacific reached Bismarch
| and cut of nearly all the upper river tra1s
\ from Sioux City. In 1880 the Utah North
| ern entered Montana from Ogden and cap
tured a large share of the trade from
that territory. In 1888 the Northern Pa
| cihc reached the valley OF the upper Mis-
souri,, and virtually controlled all the bust
| river, except the small proportion which
| originated at Fort Benton and below &C
Bismarck. The final blow was delivered
10 the river trade in 1881, when the Great
Northern reached Helena.
This was practically the end of Tho
steamboat business on the missouri river
and the doom OF the old Fort Benton. A
new town arose at Great Falls, under th'
fostering care of the railroads, absorbed
most of the former trade Of Fort Benton
and grew into one OF the largest towns
OF the state. Fort Benton dropped rapid!
into a condition of d~ecadence from which
II has never recovered. In the meantime
drew from the river except the BentoI
Transportation company, which has maiU!
tanned TO the present day a very small
fleet OF boats at Bismarck, N. D.. II wal