The Bozeman courier., 1927-04-08

not far from the mouth of the Missouri. |
This, the Thomas Jefferson. was the first |
Missouri river steamboat wreck.
The George Washington
There were a Few other wrecks in the |
period which intervened between that early |
date and the beginning of steamboat navi |
cation by the American Fur company in |
1881. One of these disasters resulted i'm
the loss of the George Washington" which
hit snag at point below Council Bluffs,
Iowa.
The American Fur company lost a num-
ber of boats and cargOes. Among these
was the "ASsinnabOine," which grounded
in 1885 near the site of the present city of
Bismarck, n. D., at the head of Sibley
Island. The "AssinnabOine'' was a single
engine side wheeler Side wheelerS were
the favOrites then, and remained such
throughout navigation on the Missouri, as
| they were more easily handled in a swift,
crooked channel among SnagS. These early
day boats were a heavy clumsy craft con-
structed of very strong timbers. They
were usually from 100 to 130 feet in length,
| twenty to thirty feet in beam and six to
seven feet in hold. They carried a single
engine with one or two boilers, using wood
for fuel. When the 'AssinnabOine" went
down she carried 1,1S5 packs of furs and
robes. After the boat became stranded.
a fire which broke out completely destroyed
the craft. Three live buffalo which were
IL
river and they escaped.
The Pontiac"
In 1852, the Pontiac" bound for the
Upper Missouri went down at Dauphin's
Bend, below st. Joseph She carried with
her to her watery grave, 500 barrels Of
whiskey,- 500 casks Of wine and 500 casks
! of brandy. None of this cargo was sal
vaged. (Such news in these pOst-prOhibi-
tiOn days might cause a young stampede
to the vicinity Of DauDhin's Bend.)
The Louisville
The louisville" carrying a cargo Of
! quicksilver, liquor and general stores con-
, signed to dealers at Virginia City, NJ. T.,
, sank at what is known now as Louisville
Bend, about 40 miles below Sioux City. At
this same point eight other steamers lie
buried. Since the early sixties when this
wreck took place the channel of the river
shifted, cutting off the bend entirely, so
that these wrecks now are buried beneath
a great depth of silt about four miles from
the rivers channel.
The "Kate Swinney"
What was considered one of the most
costly wrecks of the earlier days was when
the American Fur cOmpanys boat, the
kate Swinney," was sunk some fifty miles
above Sioux City. This boat was down
ward bound and was loaded with an enOr-
mOusly rich cargo of fine furs-the trade
of two winters. The value of this cargo
was estimated at several hundred thousand
dollars. In this case too, today, the chan
mel Of the river has at this point shifted
leaving the hulk of the ill-fated steam bOat
buried some distance from the rivers pres
ent course. And it is said that now the
ground that marks the Kate Swinneys'
grave is covered with a grove of trees which
measure from six to twenty inches il
diameter.
The chippewa"
Another great loss suffered by the Ameri
can Fur company resulted from the blow
ing up Of the chippewa" at Disaster Bend
June %, 1861. The Chippewa" as alread!
pointed out in previous articles was tn
first. steamboat to pass the mouth of tn
Marlas river TO Fort Brule, and was one 0
the nrst to dock at Fort Benton. Thi
boat was a side-wheeler of 160 by 30 feet
and she was burned and blown up at
point about fifteen miles below the mOut
OF the Poplar river in what is now ROOse
velt county, Montana. The boat was fire
by one of the rOustabOuts in the emplO
OF the transportation company The ma
nad gone down into the hold to stea
liquor. While he was drawing the whiske
trO mthe cask, some of it spilled onto hi
{clOthing, which became ignited from a car
- ole ne was carrying. The man was badl
burned and the boat set on fire. Immed
ately the boat was beached and all pas
sengers put ashore. The fact that Il
cargo included % cases of gunpOwder mac
i'll II lIIlp96sslpie 20 savage any of the ship
the merchandise she carried were lat
found a mile or so from the scene of Il
disaster. The liquor she carried was beiI
Ismuggle0 TO Fort Union for trade purpose
The RED Cloud"
A point on the Missouri about eig
miles above old Fort Peck, marks the gTa
OF tne Red Cloud" which sank in 1Se
Inc hea CIeud' was later day boat 81
was built after the river traffic had TAX
upon itself more assuming proposition
She was 225 feet long with a 3O-fOOt bea
anG carried a valuable 6OO-tOn cargo, co
sisting in part Of -four.
The Red Cloud" was typical O4 [
Palmy days of steamboat traffic or {
Upper Missouri. The fully equipped steal
er In the heyday Of steambOating on [
MISSOURI river was a magnificent speclm
OF marine architecture. She was genera
about 25O feet long, 40 feet beam, and n
fuH-length cabin, capable of accomn
occupied solely by the officers, was on
hurricane roof. In addition to her passe
ger accommodation, she had a freight
pac1ty Of from 500 to 200 tons. She v
Weu prOpOrtiOned, symmetrical, trim, -
and sat on the water like q thing OF II
Her two tall smOke-stacks, with Ornamen
tops between which was usually suspel
ed some gilt letter or device, added mt
to her beauty. The pilot-hOuse on top
the texas, was highly Ornamented "
ing Of scrOllwOrk surrounded the guards
the boiler deck and texas. The EN-
boat, except the smOke-stacks, was pam
a dazzling white.
The cabin Of the boat a long, nari
saloon, was q marvel Of beauty IN
snOw-white spendOr The floors OF
cabin were covered with the sOftest 81
sells carpets, and the staterOOms were 6
piled with every convenience. Indeed,
bridal chambers were perfect gems OF
gance and luxury. The table was eleeai
furnished, and the menu unsurpassed
that of any hrst-class hotel. ERcn I
had, in the ladies' cabin, q piano, and
orally q brass band, and always sJl
band was carried. After the table
cleared away at night dance was a."