Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-01-11

lians, the military posts established
n that region received their supplies
md kept up their communication
With the eastern states by means of
,oats. Had the latter not been avail
lble for such purposes, the troops
could scarcely have maintained them
selves at all, and at best their task
would have been so much harder that
The conquest and settlement of the
country would have been deferred
many years. Their faithful ally the
made possible for the
United States regulars the success
of many hard campaign, which with
out it would have failed. This was
true of the campaigns of Gen. Sully
in 1864, of Gen. Stanley in 1873 and
of the Little Big Horn campaign of
1875, in which Gen. Custer lost his
life.
The dangers and difficulties Incl
dental to navigation of the upper Mis-
souri, in those early years were mon
umental compared to those which
would be encountered today. The
whole country was an uninhabited
wilderness, over which roved power
full bands of Indians, who sought
every available opportunity for at
lacking the steamers. No ports Of
entry existed above Yankton, Oak,
save half dozen army posts, separat-
ed by intervals of hundreds of miles.
The boats did not use coal for fuel,
but wood, which had to be procured
along the way, either by cutting down
standing timber or by gathering
driftWood lodged against the banks.
The possibility of river improvement
was unthought of, and the thousands
Of snags which have always consti-
tuted the Missouri's most formidable
menace to navigation were left undis-
turbed year after year. Yet river
commerce flourished, and the idea did
not occur to any one that the Mis-
souri, was unnavigable. Such captains
and pilots as Grant Marsh, w. II.
Gould, Mart Coulson and Joe La
Barge never found it so any more
than their sturdy predecessors on the
lower river had found it so at still
earlier day; men like F. B. Kerchevai,
Joe Manson, Tom Briefly and John j.
Roe.
The lower river steamers of ante
bellum days were as graceful, luxur-
ious and speedy specimens of marine
architecture as could be found in the
world at that time. Communication
between st. Louis and st. Joseph was
quick and easy for that period, for
packets were running constantly
some lines maintaining daily boat
each way, running ON schedule of
six days going up and between two
and three days coming hack, while
much better time than this was fire.
quently made. The James H. Lucas
Capt. Andy Wdneland, mastery made
the record run in 1856, coming into
st. Joseph sixty hours and fifty.
seven minutes out from st. Louis.
If such commerce could be main.
tanned and such records established
| fifty years ago when the development
of marine architecture was so imper.
feet as compared with that of today
and when the Missouri channel had
not been disarmed of one of its wea
pons against navigation, it seems rea
sonable to suppose that a successful
and profitable trade could be estab
lished and kept up now, at least fol
the transportation of freight, provid
ing the effort were made on correct
ideas. Only one line of boats is nov
operating on the Missouri engaged
in business in region SO far from st
Louis that, seemingly that city ha.
never heard of 1T. The line referred
to is the Benton Packet company
which keeps half dozen steamer,
busiIy engaged during the open sea
son in carrying freight and grain ov
er route 230 miles long, between
Williston and Washburn, N. D. TIL,
latter point is 1900 miles above ST
Louis. So cuccessful has the line bee,
that it's fleet has been increased from
two steamers and two barges in 1870
to seven steamers and five barge
at the present time. The steamer
are small light draught craft, perfect
ly adapted to the shallow waters an,
narrow channels in which they nayi
gate, and the line has every prospec
of continued prosperity. If method
as sane and businesslike were adapte
on the lower river, there seems litt!
doubt that the present siIence and Iis
solution of the great natural highwa;
of the northwest could be broken an
some of the life and activity b
. brought back which belonged to it i
the days of its most useful and pi,
| turesque epoch, half century ago.