Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-04-30

six hundred thousand square miles of
western and southwestern territory
from Mexico; established itself along
a thousand miles of the Pacific coast
and Overran the whole region between
the Mississippi and the Pacific in an
unparalleled series of overland mi
grations.
The result of the occupation of the
west had a mighty influence On the
political and economic history Of the
world. Through the discovery of gold
in the western mountain range an
enormous addition to the nations
wealth resulted. The fur trade before
that helped to make the United States
a new Importance of the Pacific ocean
and the countries bordering on it in
world affairs.
Handsome River Steamers
The rise and decline of s~teamboating
on the upper Missouri formed a strange
and unusual spectacle which was
flashed for a space before the world
and then withdrawn forever. Boats
forced their way from st. Louis up
the three thousand miles of current,
carrying vast stores of merchandise
for the gold camps and trading posts.
Handsome river steamers piled back
and forth through this unbroken will
derness, inhabited only by wild ami
mails and wilder men. Most of the
traffic for years was between st. Louis
and Fort Benton, the river affording
fortune hunters a highway to a point
comparatively close to the Montana
gold fields, discovered between 1862
and 1866. AS cargoes of five hundred
tons could be carried without breaking
bulk. no other freight route could be
devised to compete with it. The aver
age upstream journey took six weeks.
The Missouri saw it's busiest days
between 1864 and 1869. Prior to 1864
only half a dozen steamboats, had made
their way to the American Fur COM
pany's trading post at Fort Benton.
In 1866 and 1867 seventy steamers
locked there. The profits of a sue
cessful voyage were large. In 1867
Captain La Barge cleared $4,000 on
one trip with the Octavia. Freight
rates from st. Louis to Fort Benton
a cabin passenger was $500. Gold dust
in quantities was shipped down the
river. One boat, the Luella. in 1866
carrid S1,250.000 in gold dust from the
Montana mines.
The difficulties and dangers incident
to a passage up or down the river
were many. Often boats were held up
for days by enormous herds Of buffalo
crossing the river in their migrations
north or south. In the earlier days,
before the slaughter of the buffalo
had reached proportions that doomed
the species to determination, these
tacks were frequent, and many passen-
lief unless they were seen. Indian at
tacks were freuent, and many passen-
gers and steamer hands wre killed
from ambush when the current carried
boats close to shore.
Many Early Day Craft Buried
Navigation on the Missouri was. in
fact, more difficult than on the Mis-
the Ohio or any other stream
used by steam craft. Besides being
filled with sndgs and %sandbars, and ex-
tremely %tortuous in its w%indings, the
big river of the west was most cratic
in it's course and the bed of the stream
was constantly shifting along the $500
with which %navigators were re-
to be familiar. Sometimes boats
dangerous w%hirlpools. in
some Of which the center of the eddy
would be IL feet below the vortex.
Several boats were wrecked in these
$40 ~ |