Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1915-03-17

I Oh his voyage OIL d tNOuednu niles
down the Big Horn, the Yellowstone
and Missouri rivers, with this hospital
boat loaded with wounded soldiers.
has been condensed and rewritten by
me from the old files of the st. Paul
Pioneer Press which had a regular
correspondent at Bismarck, and who
sent full accounts of the trip as soon
as the boat reached that place, which
then was the Western terminus of the
Northern Pacific railroad, and the
most western frontier town on the
Northern plains.
Or. Porter Detailed.
The steamer Far West" was moor
ed at the mouth of the Little Big Horn
She was the supply boat Of the expedi-
ton and had made her way up the Big
Horn farther than any other boat. She
had performed n exploit unprece-
denied in western river navigation in
reaching the mouth of the Little Big
Horn, and was ready to perform anoth-
er unequalled in steamboating in the
west. The wounded were carried on
board the steamer, and DR.. Porter was
detailedto go down with them. Ter.
RVS AdiutaEt General, Col. Edwin
Smith, wac sent along with the off,
cial dispatches and a hundred other
messages. He had a travelling bag full
of kilograms for the Bismarck Office.
Captain Grant Marsh, of Yankton, was
in command Of the Far West He
put everything in the completest order
and took on q large amount of fuel.
He received orders to reach Bismarck
as soon as possible. He understood
his instructions literally, and never
did a river man obey them more con-
scientiously. On the, evening Of the
Bird of July the steamer weighed an.
Choir. In a few minutes. the Far
West" so Ett.ingly named was under
full head of steam. 1t was; aSstrange
land, and an unknown rivers What a
cargo on that steamer! What news of
the country! What a story to, carry
to the government to Fort Lincoln to
the Widows. q
It was rushing from a field of havoc
to a nation OF mourners, The steamer
Far Vest never received the credit
due her. Neither has the gallant
Marsh, nor the pilots-David Camp
bell and John Johnson. Marsh, too,
acted as polot. It required all their
endurance and skill. They proved the
men for the emergency. The engineer
whose name is not known to me, did
his duty. Everyone Of the crew is en-
titled to the same acknowledgement.
They felt no sacrifice was too great
upon that journey, and in behalf of
the wounded heroes. A very. moder-
ate Imagination can picture the scene
upon that.
Floating Hospital.
There we've wounds of every, char.
acter, and more dead than alive. Tho
suffering was not terminated with the
removal from the field to the boiler
deck. 1t continued and ended in death
more than once before Fort Lincoln
was hailed. Porter watched for fifty.
four hours. He stood the test. The
Big Horn river is full of islands and a
successful passage even on the bosom
of a "June rise" is not an easy feat
The Ear West" would take a short
,un on this or that side Of an island as
the quick Judgment Of the pilot would
dictate. It is not a river in the east.
ern sense Of that word, it is only a
"A steamboat moving as fast
as a railway train in a narrow, wind.
ing stream is not a pleasure. 1t was
pleasant sensation to be dashing
straight at a headland, and the pilot
the only power to save. Occasionally
the bank would be touched and the
men would topple over like tenpins.
It was a reminder of what the result
would be if a snag was struck. Down
the Big Horn the steamer went, miss
ing islands, snags and shore. 1t was
! thrilling voyage. The rate of speed
%unrivalled in the annals Of boat
ing. Into the Yellowstone the staunch
craft shot, and down that sealed river,
10 pilots, she made over 20 miles an
1our. The bold captain was. taking
chances, but he scarcely thought Of
hem. He was under flying orders,
ives were at stake. His engineer was
to keep UP steam at the
highest pitch. Once the gauge mark
I'd a pressure that turned his cool
,ead and made every nerve in his pow.
,rful frame CULVER. The crisis passed
md the ear West escaped a fate
more terrible than Clusters. Once a
stop was made and a shallow grave
explained the reason. He still rests in
hat lone spot. Down the swift Vel
owstnne frequently shooting rapids,
,very mile a repetition of the former!
from the Yellowstone into the broad
Missouri, and then there waI clear
There was y deeper md wild
channel and more confidelca. A
minutes were lost at .Buford.
Everybody at the fort was beside him
elf. The boat was crowded with in