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diff --git a/old/64137-0.txt b/old/64137-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7a53140..0000000 --- a/old/64137-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6571 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of History of Early Steamboat Navigation on the -Missouri River, Volume II (of 2), by Hiram Martin Chittenden - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: History of Early Steamboat Navigation on the Missouri River, - Volume II (of 2) - Life and Adventures of Joseph La Barge - -Author: Hiram Martin Chittenden - -Release Date: December 28, 2020 [eBook #64137] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Charlie Howard and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team - at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF EARLY STEAMBOAT -NAVIGATION ON THE MISSOURI RIVER, VOLUME II (OF 2) *** - - - - - IV - - AMERICAN EXPLORERS SERIES - - =Early Steamboating on Missouri River= - - _VOL. II._ - - -[Illustration: KENNETT MCKENZIE] - - - - - HISTORY OF EARLY - STEAMBOAT NAVIGATION - ON THE - MISSOURI RIVER - - - LIFE AND ADVENTURES - OF - JOSEPH LA BARGE - - PIONEER NAVIGATOR AND INDIAN TRADER - - FOR FIFTY YEARS IDENTIFIED WITH THE COMMERCE OF THE - MISSOURI VALLEY - - BY - HIRAM MARTIN CHITTENDEN - - _Captain Corps of Engineers, U. S. A._ - - AUTHOR OF “AMERICAN FUR TRADE OF THE FAR WEST,” “HISTORY - OF THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK,” ETC. - - _WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS_ - - IN TWO VOLUMES - VOL. II. - - NEW YORK - FRANCIS P. HARPER - 1903 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1903, - BY - FRANCIS P. HARPER. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - CHAPTER XXI. - - THE CIVIL WAR, 249 - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - GOLD IN MONTANA, 265 - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - INCIDENTS ON THE RIVER (1862–67), 277 - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - - LA BARGE AGAIN IN OPPOSITION, 287 - - - CHAPTER XXV. - - VOYAGE OF 1863--THE TOBACCO GARDEN MASSACRE, 298 - - - CHAPTER XXVI. - - THE BLACKFOOT ANNUITIES, 315 - - - CHAPTER XXVII. - - COLLAPSE OF THE LA BARGE-HARKNESS OPPOSITION, 324 - - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - - CAPTAIN LA BARGE IN MONTANA, 331 - - - CHAPTER XXIX. - - CAPTAIN LA BARGE IN WASHINGTON, 340 - - CHAPTER XXX. - - THE INDIAN OF THE MISSOURI VALLEY, 351 - - - CHAPTER XXXI. - - THE ARMY ON THE MISSOURI, 365 - - - CHAPTER XXXII. - - THE STEAMBOAT IN THE INDIAN WARS, 382 - - - CHAPTER XXXIII. - - THE PEACE COMMISSION OF 1856, 394 - - - CHAPTER XXXIV. - - THE MURDER OF CAPTAIN SPEAR, 408 - - - CHAPTER XXXV. - - THE BATTLE WITH THE RAILROADS, 417 - - - CHAPTER XXXVI. - - LAST VOYAGES TO BENTON, 425 - - - CHAPTER XXXVII. - - DECLINING YEARS, 438 - - - CHAPTER XXXVIII. - - DESTINY OF THE MISSOURI RIVER, 445 - - - INDEX, 449 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - -_VOL. II._ - - - KENNETH MCKENZIE, _Frontispiece_ - - _Facing page_ - LA BARGE ROCK, 299 - - A STEAMBOAT AT THE BANK, 331 - - REMOVING SNAGS FROM THE MISSOURI, 421 - - “IMPROVING” THE MISSOURI RIVER, 424 - - STEAMBOAT WRECK ON THE MISSOURI RIVER, 439 - - - - -HISTORY OF - -EARLY STEAMBOAT NAVIGATION - -ON THE MISSOURI RIVER - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE CIVIL WAR. - - -In a great many ways the War of the Rebellion affected the commerce -of the Missouri River. Missouri was a slave State, and most of her -citizens along the river were Southern sympathizers. It is stated that -all the Missouri River pilots except two were in sympathy with the -South, and that General Lyon had to go to the Illinois River for pilots -when he wanted to move his troops up the river in June, 1861. - -The steamboat business on the river felt the weight of the war almost -immediately upon its breaking out. Most of the business was with the -loyal people and was, of course, considered by the Confederates as -a legitimate subject of confiscation. Guerrilla bands infested the -country along the river, fired into the boats, and did all they could -to break up the business. They succeeded in driving most of the -traffic off the lower river; but at the same time the demands of the -war stimulated the trade higher up. There was an increased movement of -government troops and stores, and in the later years of the war many -refugees from both armies passed up the river to the mountains. The -discovery of gold in Montana added greatly to the river commerce during -these years. The injurious effects of the war, therefore, were mainly -confined to the river below Kansas City. - -[Sidenote: GUERRILLAS IN MISSOURI.] - -The peril to navigation due to the operations of the guerrillas was -a formidable one. Wherever the channel ran close to the high wooded -banks or other sheltered localities, ambush and attack could always -be expected. The danger was mainly from the south bank. It became -necessary to tie up at night away from this bank, and Captain La Barge -followed the practice of anchoring in mid-stream. The pilot-houses -were regularly equipped with shields of boiler iron, semi-cylindrical -in form, inclosing the wheel, and capable of being moved so as to be -adjusted to the changing course of the vessel. These shields were of -great service on the upper river also, for the Indians at this time -were as dangerous in that section as were the guerrillas farther down. -Occasionally, when there was much government freight aboard, troops -were sent up on the boat until Kansas City was passed. - -The passions aroused by this internecine strife deadened human -kindness, and made men as ferocious and brutal as wild beasts. This was -particularly true of the lawless bands of guerrillas whose desultory -operations have been in all wars the most cruel and most difficult to -suppress or control. Brigadier General Loan, of the Missouri State -Militia, in reporting the tragedy which we shall next relate, said: -“The guerrillas and Rebel sympathizers are waging a relentless, cruel, -and bloody war upon our unarmed and defenseless citizens, and are -determined to continue it until the last loyal citizen is murdered, or -driven from the State for fear of being murdered.” Such was the true -situation along the south bank of the Missouri River, and it was only -by the most vigilant precaution on the part of the steamboat men that -they did not suffer more than they did. We shall relate one instance in -which these precautions did not avail. - -[Sidenote: AFFAIR OF THE “SAM GATY.”] - -In the latter part of March, 1863, the steamboat _Sam Gaty_ was on her -way up the Missouri with a heavy load of freight and passengers, bound -for the far upper river. There were on board several persons of wealth -on their way to the newly discovered gold fields of Montana. There -were besides quite a number of paroled Union soldiers and some forty -contrabands, as the negroes freed by the war were called. While passing -under a high wooded bank near Sibley, Mo., the boat was attacked by a -band of guerrillas under the leadership of one Hicks, who had for some -time been the terror of the surrounding country. The boat was ordered -to come to the bank and promptly obeyed, whereupon the guerrillas -immediately boarded her. The attack was unexpected, and the passengers -were seated around the cabin engaged in games and conversation when -the appalling fact of their situation dawned upon them. A rush was -made to conceal valuable property, and the paroled soldiers made haste -to get into citizens’ clothes. The poor negroes could do nothing. The -guerrillas made quick and heartless work. They robbed the passengers of -all the valuables to be found on their persons, and one man narrowly -escaped summary death for attempting to slip his gold watch into his -boot. All the property on board that seemed to be of any use to the -government was thrown into the river. The safes were broken open and -robbed. Some of the paroled soldiers were taken off the boat and shot. -All of the contrabands were driven ashore, where they were shot down -in cold blood. Their shrieks and cries were plainly heard on the boat. -After this attack the boat was allowed to proceed. - -[Sidenote: AN ATROCIOUS CRIME.] - -Vengeance followed quickly in the wake of this atrocious crime. A -body of Kansas troops under a Major Ransom pursued and overtook the -guerrillas, attacked and destroyed their camp, took twenty-one horses, -killed seventeen men in combat and hanged two, and completely dispersed -the organization.[44] - -[Sidenote: A UNION MAN] - -Captain La Barge had his full share of troublesome experiences that -followed the outbreak of the war. As a slave-owner in a small way, -and as a man born and bred in the old ante-bellum atmosphere that -surrounded the institution of slavery, his natural sympathies were with -the South. But when it came to a decision he did not hesitate a moment. -As between union and disunion he was for union. It required a degree -of self-denial and patriotism which many Northerners have never fully -appreciated to stand by the country when one’s training and natural -sympathies would have led him to the other side. Captain La Barge -remained a Union man, took the oath of allegiance, and throughout the -war rendered constant service to the government. He soon came to see -the wisdom of his decision, and before the war was over his sympathies -had swung into full line with his action. - -[Sidenote: THE GALLOWS CHEATED.] - -In 1861 Captain La Barge was coming down the river on the _Emilie_ from -Omaha, and, as usual, stopped at St. Joseph for freight and passengers. -A good many people got on board, most of them Southern sympathizers -going south. When the boat rounded out into the stream the passengers -went up on deck and cheered for Jefferson Davis. The news of this -event was telegraphed to Colonel R. D. Anthony of Leavenworth[45]. -This distinguished agitator and ardent Union man called a meeting of -the citizens, and it was decided to hang La Barge the moment the boat -arrived. The Captain had a stanch friend in Leavenworth of the name of -Alexander Majors, of the firm of Russell, Majors & Waddell, overland -freighters. He was waiting to take passage to his home in Lexington, -Mo. When the boat approached there was a great crowd on the levee. -The instant the prow touched the bank Majors leaped on board and told -the Captain not to make fast, as the crowd proposed to hang him. The -Captain asked the clerk what business they had for Leavenworth. He -replied that there were only a few bills to collect. “Let them go for -now,” said the Captain, and tapping the bell to depart, drew back -into the stream. When the crowd saw that they were outwitted, they -swung their rope into the air and yelled that they would get him at -Wyandotte. “All right,” replied the Captain, “I expect to stop there,” -but when he reached that place he kept right on. - -[Sidenote: SERVING UNDER DURESS.] - -[Sidenote: AN UNPLEASANT DILEMMA.] - -On one of the down trips in the season of 1861 the _Emilie_ arrived at -Boonville just as the Confederates were evacuating that place upon the -approach of the Federals under General Lyon. La Barge knew nothing of -what was transpiring there, and his first intimation of any unusual -state of things was a volley of cannon shot whistling over the boat. -The Captain signaled that he would halt, and rounded to above the -town. The Confederate General Marmaduke came on board and with him -Captain Kelly and a company of troops. “I knew Marmaduke well,” said La -Barge, “and asked him as soon as he got on board what the matter was. -He replied, ‘I want you to turn around and take General Price up to -Lexington. He is sick and cannot stand the overland ride.’ I replied -that I could not think of such a thing; that I was in the service of -the government. He then took possession of the boat, placed me in -arrest, and forced me to take the boat back to Lexington. I protested -again, saying that the crew would look to me for pay for this extra -work, and the government would hold me responsible for failure to -fulfill my contract. Marmaduke replied, ‘I will pay you every cent you -have to disburse on account of this trip.’ After Price came on board -Marmaduke left, and we then steamed up to Lexington, where the boat -was turned over to me and I was told to shift for myself. I suppose -they thought I ought to consider myself fortunate to get off at all. -They never paid me anything, although they might easily have done so, -for the first thing done upon landing at Lexington, as I was told, was -to sack all the banks of that town. As to my getting away, that was far -from being a matter of much satisfaction. It was, of course, known in -the Federal lines that I had carried Price up the river. How should I -answer for myself upon my return? I went to Price, told him the dilemma -I was placed in, and asked him to help me. He gave me a very strong -letter, stating that I had acted under duress, and had been forced to -go back against my repeated protest. - -[Sidenote: GENERAL LYON.] - -[Sidenote: LA BARGE RELEASED.] - -“It was with no slight misgivings that I turned the _Emilie_ downstream -and started in the direction of Boonville. I knew that there was -trouble in store for me. When I approached the Federal lines a volley -was fired at the boat, apparently with the definite purpose of hitting -her. I promptly rounded to and the firing ceased. A young Lieutenant by -the name of White came on board with a guard of a dozen men to arrest -me. I had known White in St. Louis as a commission clerk, a young man -of no account, but who, having now some authority, felt disposed, like -all inferior men, to exercise it with a severity in inverse proportion -to his ability. He doubtless thought it a great feather in his cap to -have as prisoner a man who would scarcely have deigned to notice him -in any other situation. He was insolent and arbitrary, and lunging his -sword toward me, would order me to walk faster. I was taken to General -Lyon’s quarters, and when in that officer’s presence, he said to me: -‘You are in a very bad scrape here, sir.’ I took Price’s letter from -my pocket and handed it to him, saying, ‘General, please read that; it -may help to straighten matters out.’ He read the letter, but pretended -not to think much of it. After hemming and hawing over the matter for a -while he said: ‘Do you know anyone here who can tell me who you are?’ -He knew very well who I was, for he had been with Harney in the Sioux -War of 1854–55 and we had met then. I asked him to name the members of -his staff, and I could tell. He finally mentioned Frank Blair. I said -with some irony, ‘I know Frank Blair very well, and I think _he_ knows -me.’ We then walked up to Blair’s quarters. He shook hands cordially -and said, ‘I understand that you are in a bad fix here.’ ‘It looks like -it,’ I replied. ‘Rather be at home than here, I presume,’ he continued -jokingly. ‘Much rather,’ I replied. Lyon showed Blair Price’s letter. -They consulted together for a little while and Lyon then said to -me, ‘You can take possession of your steamboat and go home.’ I found -the boat in Lyon’s fleet where it had been taken, and all of her -provisions confiscated. I was not long in getting up steam, and left -the inhospitable region with the utmost expedition. - -“I did not like Lyon. He was a Yankee, and his disposition seemed to be -to crush everyone who did not think as he did. His language and bearing -toward me were so insolent and exasperating that they left a lasting -rancor in my mind.[46] - -“This affair cost me about five thousand dollars, although I was -partially reimbursed for the stores taken. I did not go up the river -again that season, being too much vexed and disgusted with my late -experience. I sent the boat up under charge of a man of the name of -Nick Wall, who ran her until my government contracts were completed.” - -In the year 1862 Captain La Barge was again impressed temporarily -into the service of guerrillas. On October 16 of that year a body of -Confederates was at Portland, Mo., when the steamboat _Emilie_ came -along. The _Emilie_ stopped to put two men ashore, when a gang of -Rebels concealed behind a woodpile took possession of the boat and -compelled Captain La Barge to set them across the river. He was forced -to unload his deck freight and take on 175 horses and as many men. -Scarcely had they started across when a force of Union cavalry of the -Missouri State Militia arrived, but not in time to arrest the operation. - -These were the only occasions on which Captain La Barge had trouble on -the river on account of the War. Like all other boatmen, he welcomed -the close of this conflict and the tranquillity which it brought to the -river business. - -[Sidenote: UNITED STATES VOLUNTEERS.] - -[Sidenote: A NOTABLE CHARACTER.] - -There was an organization in the military establishment of the United -States, growing out of the progress of the war, of which very little -is known. It was called the United States Volunteers, and consisted -of six regiments and one independent company. It was composed chiefly -of deserters from the Confederate army and prisoners of war who had -taken the oath of allegiance to the United States. These troops served -continuously on the Western plains and in the Northwest, except the -1st and 4th regiments, which served mainly at Norfolk, Va. On the -Missouri River, and perhaps elsewhere, they were commonly spoken of as -“Galvanized Yankees.” In 1864, when Fort Rice was established near the -mouth of the Cannon Ball River, it was garrisoned by the 1st Regiment -of U. S. Volunteers under Colonel Charles A. R. Dimon. This officer was -one of the remarkable characters of Missouri River history, and made a -great impression along the valley, considering his brief service there. -He was the particular bugbear of the traders, and the character which -they have given him can be best expressed by spelling his name with an -“e” in the first syllable. It was said that he ordered his men shot -down on the least provocation, and that many of the regiment were slain -in this way. Numbers of his men are said to have deserted through fear -of his tyrannical and ungovernable temper. One of the traders has left -a record of his own special grievance. - -[Sidenote: DRASTIC MEASURES.] - -In the winter of 1864–65, as already stated, the American Fur Company -sold out to the Northwestern Fur Company, more commonly known as the -firm of Hawley & Hubbell. In the following spring these two gentlemen -went up the river with Mr. C. P. Chouteau on the American Fur Company -boat, the _Yellowstone_, to make the transfer of the posts and -property. There were many passengers of different political creeds on -board, including a number of ex-Confederates. At a point about one -hundred miles above Fort Sully news of Lincoln’s assassination was -received, and the passengers of all shades of opinion expressed their -horror of the event. When the boat arrived at Fort Rice, Colonel Dimon, -according to this authority, came down to the boat with a large guard -of soldiers and placed the whole party under arrest on the charge of -jubilating over the assassination of the President. The traders thought -the whole proceeding was a scheme of Colonel Dimon to advertise his -intense loyalty. He told Chouteau, whose Southern proclivities were -well understood along the river, that he would take him out on the -bank and shoot him like a dog. Chouteau was thoroughly frightened and -trembled like a leaf, for there was no knowing what the impetuous -officer might take a notion to do. - -Hubbell and Hawley determined to go down to Sioux City and report to -General Sully the detention of their boat and the conduct of Colonel -Dimon toward themselves and others. Chouteau gave them a yawl and -wrote a letter to the General. Dimon ordered them not to go without -first reporting to him. Although his authority to give such an order -is doubtful, the men did not dare to disobey for fear of being shot. -When they appeared they were required to submit all their letters to -his inspection. The particular letter he was after was one he believed -Chouteau had written, but Hubbell and Hawley had slipped it into the -breech of a Henry rifle and left it in the boat. Finally they were -permitted to go. They made a rapid trip, partly by river and partly -by land, and immediately reported their grievances to General Sully. -The General promptly gave them a written order to Colonel Dimon to -release their boat. Armed with this they returned to Fort Rice by the -steamer _G. W. Graham_, and in an incredibly short time, considering -the distance and mode of travel, appeared before Colonel Dimon. General -Sully’s order eased matters up somewhat, but still the traders had a -good deal of trouble with the irate post commander. - -[Sidenote: FACT AND FICTION.] - -How much there was in the stories about Colonel Dimon is doubtful, but -probably about an equal mixture of fact and fiction. Certainly the -view of the traders concerning him was not shared by General Sully, if -we judge from the following extracts from his own correspondence with -General Pope. Writing from Sioux City under date of June 10, 1865, he -says: - -[Sidenote: GENERAL SULLY’S VIEWS.] - -“I admire his energy and pluck, the determination with which he -carries out orders; but he is too young--too rash--for his position, -and it would be well if he could be removed. He is making a good -deal of trouble for me, and eventually for you, in his over-zealous -desire to do his duty.... His regiment was raised and organized by -Ben. Butler, and he is too much like him in his actions for an Indian -country, but he is just the sort of a man I would like to have under -me in the field.” Upon his arrival at Fort Rice a month later he thus -commented upon Colonel Dimon: - -“I am much pleased with the appearance of this post and the way -military duty is performed. Colonel Dimon is certainly an excellent -officer. A few more years of experience to curb his impetuosity would -make him one of the best officers in our volunteer service.” - -Pope in the meanwhile authorized Sully to take such action in regard -to Colonel Dimon as he saw fit. A board of officers was convened to -investigate complaints against him, and on the strength of their report -he was relieved July 21, 1865. He resumed command of the post, however, -October 10, 1865, but was mustered out of the service on the 27th of -the following month. He was subsequently brevetted Brigadier General of -Volunteers for gallant and meritorious service during the war. - -[Sidenote: A FAIR PROBABILITY.] - -Colonel Dimon probably showed an excess of severity toward the traders -where the average officer showed far too little. That explains their -chief ground of dislike of him. Add to this the “impetuosity” of -temperament referred to by General Sully, and we have a pretty close -analysis of a situation which caused a great flurry on the Missouri -River in its day. As a matter of fact a great many of the men in -the 1st Volunteers died at Fort Rice, but from disease, and not -by execution under Dimon’s order. A number of men did desert, and -seventeen of them walked all the way to Fort Union. One of these men -made a pen drawing of that post which is probably the most accurate now -in existence. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -GOLD IN MONTANA. - - -[Sidenote: FIRST GOLD IN MONTANA.] - -If the Civil War operated to drive commerce from the lower Missouri -River, other forces were at work at the head waters of that stream -to multiply it many fold. At the time when the attention of the -nation and of the world was centered on the tempest that had burst -over the eastern portion of the Republic, a few hardy miners were -prospecting the country around the upper tributaries of the Missouri -in their ever-restless search for gold. It is a singular fact that -the gold-bearing regions of western Montana, the very first in the -mountain country to be extensively frequented by white men, should -have been the last to give up the secret of their hidden wealth. For -nearly twenty years emigration had been pouring into the West. The -Mormons had settled a few hundred miles to the south. Settlement had -gained a permanent foothold on the Pacific Coast from Mexico to the -British line. The Pike’s Peak gold discoveries were rapidly filling -up Colorado. The reflex wave of emigration was rolling back from the -Pacific Coast across the Sierras and the Cascades into Nevada, eastern -Oregon, and Idaho. But as yet there were no settlers to speak of in the -mountains of Montana, and that country was still practically unknown to -the general public. It is a remarkable fact that a section of country -in that neighborhood, which is now considered the most wonderful in the -world, was the very last of all the national domain to be discovered -and explored. - -[Sidenote: FIRST SALE OF GOLD DUST.] - -The wave of gold discovery in the Northwest moved from the west toward -the east. In 1860–61 it made known the rich deposits in Idaho on the -Salmon and Clearwater rivers. Next came the findings just west of the -Continental Divide, and then the rich discoveries on the head waters of -the Missouri. The existence of placer deposits within the limits of the -present State of Montana had been asserted as early as 1852. A Canadian -half-breed of the name of Beneetse is said to have found pay dirt in -that year on a small tributary of Deer Lodge River, one of the sources -of the Columbia. The stream has since been known as Gold Creek, and the -place of discovery is about fifty miles northwest of the modern city of -Butte. Four years later, 1856, the discovery was confirmed by a party -who were traveling from Great Salt Lake to the Bitter Root Valley. In -the same year a man turned up at Fort Benton with what he asserted -was golddust. He came from the mountains in the Southwest, most likely -from the Deer Lodge Valley. None of the people at the post were gold -experts, and they hesitated about receiving the dust; but Culbertson -finally took it on his own responsibility, giving for it a thousand -dollars’ worth of merchandise. Next year he sent it down the river, and -it was found to be pure gold, worth fifteen hundred dollars. This was -the first exchange of golddust in Montana. - -The next step in the progress of discovery must be credited to James -and Granville Stuart, two of Montana’s most distinguished pioneers. -They had been spending the winter of 1857–58, with a number of other -people, in the valley of the Bighole River, a tributary of the -Missouri, and in the spring of 1858 went over to the Deer Lodge Valley -to investigate the reported findings on Gold Creek. They remained there -for a time and found paying prospects, but were so harassed by the -Blackfeet Indians that they were compelled to leave. They moved to a -safer locality, but here James Stuart met with an accident which came -near proving fatal, and the two brothers left the country and went to -Fort Bridger. Although they had made no great discovery, their report -was considered as confirming those already made of the existence of -gold in the Deer Lodge Valley. - -Before these prospects were any further developed attention was wholly -diverted to the important discoveries in Idaho already referred to. A -great stampede to the Salmon and Clearwater rivers began. Emigrants -poured in both by way of Salt Lake and the Missouri River, and an even -larger inflow came from the Pacific Coast. But before the rush from the -East had gathered full force discoveries in Montana arrested its course -and held it permanently in a new and greater Eldorado. - -[Sidenote: BEGINNING OF MINING IN MONTANA.] - -In the winter of 1861–62 a considerable floating population, among them -the Stuart brothers, remained in the Deer Lodge Valley. The Stuarts -commenced sluicing in a systematic way on Gold Creek, and their work -was the beginning of the gold-mining industry in Montana. Although -nothing particularly remarkable was found, it was enough to attract -attention, and reports soon got abroad that the findings were very -rich. The greater part of the emigration from the East in the year 1862 -was bound for the Idaho mines, but did not get beyond the Deer Lodge -Valley, or other points in western Montana. Among these parties was one -from Colorado, including J. M. Bozeman, for whom the town of Bozeman, -in the beautiful Gallatin Valley, is named. The newcomers made a rich -discovery on a branch of Gold Creek, which was named, from the place -whence the party came, Pike’s Peak Gulch. - -[Sidenote: BANNOCK CITY.] - -Another party from Colorado, bound for the Idaho mines, were deflected -north by the difficulty of getting through the Lemhi Mountains and -by favorable reports from the Deer Lodge Valley. Two of their number -discovered gold on Grasshopper Creek, in the southwestern corner of -the present State of Montana. They carried the news to the main party, -who had gone on to the Deer Lodge, and all returned to investigate -the discovery. The report of the two men was found to be true, and -prospecting in that part of the country was carried on extensively. -This work resulted in the finding of a very rich deposit by a party -under one White, for whom the spot was named White’s Bar. Here the -town of Bannock sprang up, and before the end of the year boasted a -population of five hundred souls. Other rich discoveries were made in -that vicinity, while far to the north the deposits on the Big Prickly -Pear Creek were found. It was now apparent that the whole country on -the head waters of the Missouri abounded in gold, and the work of -prospecting assumed enormous proportions. - -[Sidenote: NORTHERN OVERLAND EXPEDITION.] - -Two other important expeditions came from the East this season, bound -for the Idaho mines, but were stopped in their course, like that -from Colorado, by the new discoveries in Montana. One of these was -the firm of La Barge, Harkness & Co. of St. Louis, and the other was -a body of emigrants who accompanied what was known in its day as -the Northern Overland Expedition from St. Paul. This expedition was -of a semi-official character, under a Federal appropriation of five -thousand dollars, and its ostensible object was to open a wagon road -from St. Paul to Fort Benton. It was under the command of Captain James -L. Fisk, who, a private soldier in the 3d Minnesota Volunteers, was -appointed Captain and Quartermaster and placed in charge. About 125 -emigrants accompanied the expedition. The journey was made in safety, -and was full of interesting happenings. It contributed one of the most -important additions ever made to population of the rising State.[47] - -The spring of 1863 was marked by one of the most noted gold discoveries -ever made. During the previous winter a considerable party, under the -leadership of James Stuart, was organized at Bannock City, to explore -and prospect the country on the sources of the Yellowstone. A portion -of this party, including William Fairweather and Henry Edgar, went by -the way of Deer Lodge Valley to secure horses, having fixed on the -mouth of the Beaverhead River as the place of joining the main party. -Through some unavoidable delay the smaller party did not arrive on -time and Stuart went on without them. The Fairweather party discovered -Stuart’s trail and made forced marches to overtake him. The route -lay up the Gallatin Valley and across the divide to the Yellowstone, -and thence down the valley of that stream. Soon after reaching the -Yellowstone the smaller party were plundered by a band of Crows of -everything except their guns and mining tools. The Indians had the -generosity to give them in exchange for their mounts old broken-down -horses of their own. - -[Sidenote: ALDER GULCH.] - -The party gave up their pursuit of Stuart and started back for Bannock -City. On the 26th of May they stopped for noon on Alder Creek, a -little branch of one of the main tributaries of Jefferson Fork of the -Missouri. Here, as a result of a chance examination of a bar by two -men, Fairweather and Edgar, the famous Alder Gulch discovery was made, -and the richest placer deposit in the history of gold mining came to -the knowledge of the world. The news of this wonderful discovery drew -to the spot a large part of the population of the Territory, and the -town of Virginia City sprang up as if in a night. For several years it -was the principal town in the Territory and became its first capital. -In less than two years it had grown to a city of ten thousand souls. - -[Sidenote: LAST CHANCE GULCH.] - -The next important discovery was made in the fall of 1864, in what -was named at the time Last Chance Gulch. The deposits were very rich, -and the history of Alder Gulch was re-enacted here. The town which -arose on the spot was named Helena, and soon outgrew its sister to the -south. It became, and for many years remained, the principal town of -the Territory. In 1874 it was made the Territorial capital, and after -Montana was admitted to the Union, it was made the permanent capital of -the State. - -Other discoveries followed those here mentioned, many of them rich and -of permanent value, but none equaling those of Alder and Last Chance -gulches. The Territory at once took rank with California and Colorado -as a gold-producing territory, and has held its high place ever since. - -The mighty metamorphosis which, in the space of five years, came over -the country at the headwaters of the Missouri, produced an equally -marvelous change in the commercial business of that stream. The river -gave a sure highway for travel to within one hundred to two hundred -miles of the mines. There was no other route that could compete with -it, for this could carry freight from St. Louis to Fort Benton, in -cargoes of one to five hundred tons, without breaking bulk. The -emigrants themselves went in large numbers by overland routes, but a -great number also by the boats; while nearly all merchandise, including -every necessary of life, and all mining machinery and heavy freight, -came by the river. - -[Sidenote: HIGH WATER MARK.] - -[Sidenote: AN EXTRAORDINARY SCENE.] - -The steamboat trade jumped suddenly to enormous proportions. Prior -to 1864 there had been only six steamboat arrivals at the levee of -Fort Benton. In 1866 and 1867 there were seventy arrivals. The trade -touched high-water mark in 1867, and at this time presented one of -the most extraordinary developments known to the history of commerce. -There were times when thirty or forty steamboats were on the river -between Fort Benton and the mouth of the Yellowstone,[48] where all -the way the river flowed amid scenes of wildness that were in the -strictest sense primeval. To one who could have been set down in the -unbroken wilderness along the banks of the river, where nothing dwelt -except wild animals and wilder men, where the fierce Indian made life -a constant peril, where no civilized habitation greeted the eye, it -would have seemed marvelous and wholly inexplicable to find this river -filled with noble craft, as beautiful as any that ever rode the ocean, -stored with all the necessaries of civilization, and crowded with -passengers as cultured, refined, and well dressed as the cabin list of -an ocean steamer. What could it all mean? Whence came this handful of -civilization and what brought it here? Certainly a most extraordinary -scene, flashed for a moment before the world and then withdrawn forever. - -[Sidenote: PERILOUS VOYAGE.] - -It was not the steamboat alone, however, that made up the romantic -history of Missouri navigation in these exciting times. There were -every year many men from the mines who wanted to return to the States -because they were weary of the country or wished to carry down the -crude wealth which they had secured. The steamboats came up only in the -spring, and if passengers were not ready to go down it was necessary -to seek other conveyance. The usual resource in such cases was the -mackinaw boat. It was a perfectly comfortable and very cheap mode of -traveling, with only one drawback--danger from the Indians, who, at -this time, were intensely hostile all along the river. It was regarded -as a sort of forlorn hope to go down in an open boat, and yet many -tried it every year. Generally they got through all right, with their -precious freight, but there were some terrible tragedies as the penalty -of such reckless daring. - -Some statistics have survived showing the magnitude of the steamboat -business on the Missouri River during these years. In the year 1865, -1000 passengers, 6000 tons of merchandise, and 20 quartz mills went to -Fort Benton. In the year 1867 forty steamboats had passed Sioux City -before June 1 on their way up the river. They carried over 12,000 tons -of freight, most of it for Fort Benton. There was not much downstream -traffic, although all the boats carried golddust. In 1866 one boat, -the _Luella_, had on board $1,250,000 worth of dust. - -[Sidenote: FABULOUS PROFITS.] - -The profits of a successful voyage were enormous. The reported profits -for some of the trips of 1866 were as follows: The _St. John_, $17,000; -the _Tacony_, $16,000; the _W. J. Lewis_, $40,000; the _Peter Balen_, -$65,000. In 1867 Captain La Barge cleared over $40,000 on the trip of -the _Octavia_. - -Freight rates from St. Louis to Fort Benton in 1866 were 12 cents per -pound. Insurance rates were 6 1-2 per cent. in the case of sidewheel -boats and 8 per cent with sternwheel boats. The fare for cabin -passengers was $300. It was not everyone, however, who had a share -in the high prices of those times. The master of the boat received -$200 per month; the clerk $150; the mate and engineer each $125. The -pilot was the only member of the crew who could command what salary he -pleased. So indispensable were his services that as high as $1200 per -month was paid for the best talent. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -INCIDENTS ON THE RIVER (1862–67). - - -In the summer of 1863 a party of twenty-one men and three women went -down the Missouri in a mackinaw boat from Fort Benton. They reached the -vicinity of the mouth of Apple Creek, near where Bismarck, N. D., now -stands, just as the Sioux Indians, whom General Sibley was driving out -of Minnesota and across the country to the Missouri, arrived on the -banks of that stream. They had just been defeated in three engagements -with General Sibley and were in a very angry temper. They attacked the -boat and fought the little party an entire day, and finally killed -them all and sunk the boat. It was reported that the whites killed -ninety-one Indians in the fight, and that the captain of the boat, -whose name is supposed to have been Baker, “made such a brave defense -that the Indians were struck with admiration for him and wanted to save -him.” The boat had a large amount of golddust on board, and some of -it was recovered by the Mandan and Aricara Indians. An air of mystery -has always hung over this affair, and the details will probably never -be known. For some unexplained reason, certain individuals who were -believed to have had some knowledge of it refused to disclose anything. - -[Sidenote: THE STOLEN MACKINAW.] - -In 1864, while Captain La Barge was at Fort Benton, a number of miners -applied to him to purchase a mackinaw boat. He refused to sell because -he felt sure that it meant death to them to try to run the gantlet -of the Indians in that way. They replied that they were afraid to go -overland on account of road agents. The Captain told them they had less -to fear from road agents than from Indians. The road agents might take -their gold, but the Indians would spare neither treasure nor life. -They were unconvinced, however, and as the Captain would not sell the -boat, they stole it and set out. While passing a high cut bank, about -thirty miles below Fort Berthold, where the channel ran close to the -shore, they were attacked by a war party of Sioux and all killed. -Pierre Garreau, the well-known interpreter, went down from Berthold and -recovered a part of the golddust. La Barge saw some of it among the -Indians the following year. - -In 1865 the steamer _St. Johns_, on her way down the river, was -attacked by the Indians and the mate instantly killed. The boat was -under full headway and out of reach before it was possible to return -fire. - -[Sidenote: SOWING THE WIND.] - -In the same year the _General Grant_ lost three men. They had been sent -ashore at a wooding place to make fast a line, when they were pounced -upon by the Indians and killed. - -On April 23, 1865, a band of Blood Indians near Fort Benton stole -about forty horses belonging to a party of beaver-trappers, of whom -Charley Carson, a nephew of “Kit” Carson, was one. On the night of May -22 these men, having gotten on a drunken spree, attacked a small party -of Blood Indians who happened to be near Fort Benton, but were not -known to be the thieves, killed three, and threw their bodies into the -Missouri. The survivors fled toward the south and met a large band of -warriors near Sun River, on their way north. Exasperated at the outrage -upon their brethren, they were ready for any measure of revenge, and -accident soon threw the desired opportunity in their way. - -[Sidenote: REAPING THE WHIRLWIND.] - -At the mouth of the Marias River lay the steamboat _Cutter_. A town -site had been laid off at this point and named Ophir, and some timber -had been cut in the valley of the Marias for use in the erection of -buildings. The principal proprietor of the nascent village was a -passenger on the _Cutter_, and the business of that boat seems to have -been connected with the building of the town. On the afternoon of May -25, about half-past two o’clock, eight men left the boat with a wagon -and three yoke of oxen to bring down some of the timber, and an hour -later two men went on horseback to join them, for it was felt that -there might be trouble from the Indians, and that the party should be -as strong as possible. These men were all well armed. Their route lay -up the valley of the Marias along its right bank, which they ascended -about three miles. At this point the valley, which was quite broad -below, narrowed to a width of four hundred yards. There was a growth -of timber quite dense close to the river, but open farther back. Just -above this point the bluffs crowded close upon the river, seamed with -ravines and gullies, like all the river bluffs along the Missouri. The -roadway at the foot of these bluffs was very narrow. - -Beyond this defile the valley opened out again, and there was another -belt of timber. In the upper opening the Indians seem to have been -in camp and to have been discovered by the wood-choppers just as the -latter were passing the defile. It was probably the same band which we -have noted as being near Sun River two days before. The wagons were -instantly turned about, although in a most disadvantageous situation. -The Indians saw the whites at about the same time. They were lying in -wait for another party with a mule train, and were intending, after -attacking it, to try to take the steamboat. As soon as they saw the -wood-choppers they at once attacked them and killed every man and -captured all the property. The bodies of the slain were found scattered -along the river, fifty to one hundred yards apart, except one, that of -N. W. Burroughs, which was found half a mile further downstream, where -he was overtaken on his flight to the boat. Of the Indians the head -chief and one other were killed and a third dangerously wounded. The -Indians, to the number of about two hundred, immediately moved toward -the British line. - -[Sidenote: ENTIRE PARTY SLAIN.] - -The attack occurred about four o’clock and the firing was distinctly -heard on the boat. A party prepared to go out and investigate when a -hunter came riding in from the bluffs, saying that the whites were -being assailed by a large party of Indians. Three scouts set out -immediately, and after proceeding about two miles and a half found the -body of Mr. Burroughs. It being certain that all the rest had been -killed, and not knowing where the Indians were, it was not thought best -to go farther at the time. Next morning a party went out with wagons -and brought in the bodies, all of which were found. They were buried -in one grave, side by side, with a head board giving the names and -date.[49] - -[Sidenote: YANKEE JACK AGAIN.] - -Captain La Barge arrived at the mouth of the Marias on the _Effie -Deans_ soon after this affair and saw the fresh graves. He remembered -the circumstance particularly, because, among the guard, which had been -stationed there after the massacre, was the identical “Yankee Jack” who -had whipped the two Irishmen on the _Robert Campbell_ in 1863. - -About September, 1865, eight men left Fort Benton in a skiff for the -States. They were attacked by some forty Indians near the mouth of Milk -River and five of their number were killed. The fight lasted over five -hours. One of the men who was killed, T. A. Kent by name, is said to -have actually killed thirteen Indians before he himself fell. - -In the year 1866 there were several noted open-boat voyages down the -river. One of these was made by a party of ten miners, who purchased -a mackinaw at Fort Benton in which to transport themselves and their -golddust. When in camp on an island about sixty miles above Fort -Randall, one of the men, of the name of Thompson, got up in the night, -took an ax, killed one companion and wounded another. He was apparently -bent on the destruction of the entire party. The rest of the men, -suddenly awakened by the cries of their comrades, and believing that -they were attacked by Indians, rushed to the boat with the wounded man -and made off, leaving the murderer and his victim alone on the island. -Whether robbery was the motive of the deed, or whether it was caused by -insanity, was never known. - -More fortunate was another mackinaw party that went down the same -season. It consisted of seventeen men, and made the trip from Fort -Benton to Sioux City in twenty-two days. They brought down over two -hundred thousand dollars in golddust. - -The third party of this season consisted of one man in a yawl and about -twenty others in a mackinaw. They made the entire trip without loss, -although they were attacked, some 225 miles below Benton, by about five -hundred Blackfeet. The river was in flood stage, and thanks to its -great width and swift current the boats were able to keep out of range -of the Indians and to pass quickly beyond their reach. - -[Sidenote: HUBBELL’S MACKINAW.] - -The most important mackinaw trip ever made down the river was in 1866 -under the leadership of J. B. Hubbell of the firm of Hawley & Hubbell. -Hubbell had advertised that his steamboat would leave Fort Benton on -her second trip about September 15, promising, if she did not get to -Fort Benton, to take the passengers down in a mackinaw until they met -her. As late as October 20 she had not appeared, and accordingly about -thirty passengers started down in a mackinaw. The boat was a very -elaborate one, built for this particular trip. It was eighty feet long, -twelve feet beam, housed in on both sides by bulletproof walls for a -distance of fifty feet, with sleeping bunks along the sides, and open -spaces at bow and stern for managing the boat. Two masts rigged with -square sails were provided. - -[Sidenote: A SUCCESSFUL VOYAGE.] - -The boat was run until after dark every night and was started before -daylight in the morning. Wherever possible she was tied to a snag out -in the stream for the night so as to make it impossible for the Indians -to attack by surprise. When the party arrived at Fort Union they -learned that the steamer had been up, but had gone back. After some -deliberation it was decided to undertake the rest of the journey and -trust to luck not to be caught by the ice. Everyone took a hand at the -oars and rapid progress was made. Game was plentiful and the boat was -full of golddust, and in spite of the fear of ice and Indians the party -were in the best of spirits. They arrived at Sioux City November 22, -with the river running full of ice. Two days later and they would have -been frozen in. Mr. Hubbell received $175 per passenger.[50] - -[Sidenote: THE LOST NEGRO BOYS.] - -[Sidenote: INCREDIBLE ENDURANCE.] - -A singular incident happened in the summer of 1867, growing out of -the wreck of one of the river boats. In July of that year the steamer -_Trover_ was wrecked at a point 240 miles below Fort Benton. The -_Ida Stockdale_ happened along about the time, took her freight and -passengers to Benton, and on the way back took off her machinery -and carried it to St. Louis. When she left the wreck there were two -colored boys asleep in the hold, and the boat went off without knowing -they were there. On waking up and finding themselves alone, without a -thing to eat or any means of defense, and surrounded by a wilderness -wholly unknown to them, they were completely paralyzed with fright; -but recovering their presence of mind they saw that they must find -some relief immediately or they would die of starvation. They left the -wreck and started down the river. In crossing a small tributary of -the Missouri one of the boys was drowned. The other kept on night and -day, most of the time back from the river, to avoid the bends and the -swamps and underbrush. He had nothing to eat except a little bark and -some flower blossoms and did not stop a moment for sleep. His keeping -back from the river caused him to miss the boats and trading posts. -Finally, almost famished and exhausted, he beat his way through a -dense willow growth to the bank of the river in the hope that some boat -would come along before he should die. Shortly afterward a steamer hove -in sight--the _Sunset_--on her way up the river. She was a veritable -sun_rise_ to the poor boy, who began waving an old white hat, almost -the only article of clothing he had left. The people on the boat saw -the signal and sent the yawl out and brought the boy in. His face -was almost raw from mosquito bites, and he was so weak that he could -scarcely stand. He was found at a point twenty-five miles below Fort -Rice, or 642 miles, by river channel, below where the _Trover_ was -wrecked. He traveled this distance in nine days. With all the cut-offs -duly allowed for, he must have averaged seventy miles a day during -this time, and all the while without food. Were it not that the facts -seem well established, such an example of physical endurance would be -incredible.[51] The name of this little hero was Frederick Good and his -home was in St. Louis. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -LA BARGE AGAIN IN OPPOSITION. - - -With a view to entering, upon a large scale, into the newly developing -business at the head waters of the Missouri, the firm of La Barge, -Harkness & Co. was formed in St. Louis in the winter of 1861–62. The -members were Joseph La Barge, Eugene Jaccard, James Harkness, John -B. La Barge, and Charles E. Galpin. Each partner put in ten thousand -dollars. Two steamboats were purchased--Captain La Barge’s boat, the -_Emilie_, and a light-draft boat, the _Shreveport_. In the division of -duties and responsibilities among the partners Jaccard was to attend to -the affairs of the firm in St. Louis, the La Barges were to manage the -steamboat business, Galpin was to look after the trade along the river, -and Harkness was to go to the mines with an outfit of merchandise, and -was to remain there and develop a business with those rapidly growing -communities. - -[Sidenote: VOYAGE OF 1862.] - -When it was known that Captain La Barge was to make a spring trip to -Benton, he was overwhelmed with applications, not merely from those who -wanted to go to the mines, but from business men and capitalists who -wished to join the enterprise. He could easily have organized a capital -of a million dollars, but he adhered to his first plan and pushed his -preparations with vigor. The _Shreveport_ was first gotten ready to -sail and left port April 30, 1862. Captain John La Barge was master. -The _Emilie_ followed on the 14th of May. - -As a performance in steamboating the voyage of the _Emilie_ was a great -success. She was loaded to the guards with some 350 tons of freight and -160 passengers. Captain La Barge himself had never been more than a -hundred miles above Fort Union; yet he made the whole trip, 2300 miles, -in a little less than thirty-two days, and would have finished it -sooner but for the fact that he had to help the _Shreveport_ the last -hundred miles of the distance. The boats arrived at Fort Benton at noon -June 17, and at 6 A. M., June 19, the _Emilie_ started down the river, -reaching St. Louis on the 3d of July. Her speed up averaged 71 miles -per day; down, 152 miles. - -[Sidenote: A DESPERATE GAME.] - -An exciting incident of the trip was the passing of the American Fur -Company’s boat, the _Spread Eagle_. The new opposition of La Barge, -Harkness & Co. was a formidable one, and the Company bestirred itself -with unusual vigor to be first on the ground with its annual outfit. -The _Spread Eagle_ left St. Louis with three days the start, but was -overtaken by the _Emilie_ near Fort Berthold. For the next two days -the boats were near each other most of the time. The day after leaving -Berthold the _Emilie_ passed her rival for good. When the officers of -the _Spread Eagle_ saw that they were beaten they played a desperate -game, which showed to what lengths the Company’s servants would go when -it was a matter of rivalry in trade. - -[Sidenote: THE “SPREAD EAGLE” RACE.] - -At the point where the race took place there was a towhead (a newly -formed island) which at the stage of the river then prevailing was -covered with water. The main channel, and at ordinary stages the only -channel, passed on the right-hand side going up, and this channel the -_Spread Eagle_ took. But the water was now high enough to give a good -channel on the other side of the towhead. As the distance by this -channel was somewhat shorter, and as the _Emilie_ was the faster boat -anyway, it was a good chance to get well ahead and out of the way. La -Barge promptly seized the opportunity. The pilot of the _Spread Eagle_ -with quick eye realized that he had been out-maneuvered, and seeing no -other way to prevent the _Emilie’s_ passage, determined upon wrecking -her. He accordingly left the main channel and made for the chute that -the _Emilie_ was entering. He steamed alongside of her for a moment, -but found that he was losing ground.[52] The boats were scarcely fifty -feet apart, when the pilot of the _Spread Eagle_, seeing that he could -not make it, deliberately put his rudder to port, and plunged the bow -of the boat into the _Emilie_ immediately opposite her boilers. Several -of the guards were broken and the danger of wreck was imminent. La -Barge was in the pilot-house at the time and was not looking for such a -move, for he did not believe that even the American Fur Company would -play so desperate a game when human life was at stake. He instantly -called out to Bailey, the pilot of the _Spread Eagle_, to stop his -engines and drop his boat back or he would put a bullet through him. -The passengers likewise became thoroughly aroused, and some of them got -their arms and threatened to use them if the _Spread Eagle_ did not -withdraw. These threats were effective; the _Spread Eagle_ fell to the -rear and was seen no more on the voyage. She was four days behind at -Benton, and a week on the whole trip. She lost four men on one of the -rapids by the grossest carelessness. A crew had gone to the head of the -rapids to plant a deadman,[53] and having finished this work dropped -down to the boat in their yawl. Instead of passing alongside of the -steamer they made directly for the bow, and on reaching the boat the -swift current instantly rolled the yawl under and the crew were drowned. - -[Sidenote: LA BARGE’S GENEROSITY.] - -When the _Spread Eagle_ returned to St. Louis charges were preferred -against Bailey for having attempted to wreck the _Emilie_. He was -brought to trial before the steamboat inspector and his license was -canceled. It was a hard blow to him, for steamboating was his trade, -and he had a large family to support. About a month afterward he went -to La Barge saying that he had been trying to get the inspector to -reinstate him, but that he would not do it except upon La Barge’s -recommendation. Bailey admitted his guilt, but said that he had acted -at the instigation of the Company’s agents, and he begged La Barge to -reinstate him for the sake of his wife and children. The Captain was -never good at resisting appeals of this sort, and he accordingly went -to the inspector and got Bailey reinstated. - -[Sidenote: CHOUTEAU IN DOUBT.] - -When the _Emilie_ was reported as back from her trip, the old gentleman -Chouteau sent his carriage to bring La Barge to the office. - -“At what point did you turn back?” he asked when La Barge arrived, for -the phenomenally quick trip indicated that the _Emilie_ did not reach -Fort Benton. - -“Fort Benton, sir,” replied La Barge. - -“Tut, tut! I know you could not have done that. Tell me candidly where -you left your trip.” - -“Fort Benton, sir.” - -“We’ll see about it. I don’t believe it, don’t believe it.” - -“Sorry you doubt my word, but it is nevertheless true.” - -“Where did you leave the _Spread Eagle_?” - -“’Way below Benton; found her cordelling.” - -“Well, if you got to Fort Benton you made a good trip; but I don’t -believe it.” - -As soon as Captain La Barge reached St. Louis he loaded his boat with -merchandise for the new posts along the river, intending to go back -until he should meet the _Shreveport_, a much lighter-draft vessel, and -transfer the cargo to her for the rest of the trip. The _Shreveport_ -left Fort Benton July 6, and met the _Emilie_ at Sioux City. The -transfer of cargo and passengers was made, and the _Emilie_ returned to -St. Louis. The _Shreveport_ went as high as the mouth of Milk River, -the farthest of the new posts except that near Fort Benton. After the -_Emilie’s_ return from her second voyage she went to work for the -government, carrying stores from St. Louis to Memphis, and remained in -this service all winter. - -The river portion of the season’s operations of the new firm had been a -complete success. Three large cargoes had been sent up the river, two -to Fort Benton and one to the lower posts. Of these posts there were -four--La Framboise, near old Fort Pierre; another near Fort Berthold; -Fort Stuart, near the mouth of Poplar River, and Fort Galpin, near the -mouth of Milk River. It remains to notice what was done at Fort Benton -and in the projected expedition to the mines. - -[Sidenote: FORT LA BARGE.] - -The operations at Fort Benton and beyond were placed in the hands of -Mr. Harkness. The first step was to build a post at Fort Benton, where -it was intended to locate the principal establishment of the firm. The -site chosen was near the spot where the Grand Union Hotel later stood. -The work was begun June 28, Mrs. La Barge driving the first stake. The -inclosure was made three hundred feet long by two hundred feet wide, -and the post was named Fort La Barge. - -[Sidenote: HARKNESS VISITS THE MINES.] - -Before the _Shreveport_ set out to return to St. Louis, a considerable -party made an excursion to the Great Falls of the Missouri. Among them -were Father De Smet, Eugene Jaccard, member of the firm; Giles Filley -of St. Louis, and his son, Frank; Mrs. John La Barge, Miss Harkness, -W. G. Harkness, Tom La Barge, and Mrs. Culbertson, the Indian wife of -the noted trader. Mrs. La Barge and Miss Harkness are supposed to be -the first white women to have seen the Great Falls of the Missouri. -Four days after their return the _Shreveport_ left for St. Louis, -taking with them all who had come up only for the trip. - -[Sidenote: LA BARGE CITY.] - -The _Shreveport_ having gone, and affairs at Fort La Barge being -well under way, Harkness set out July 9 with an ox train laden with -assorted merchandise for the mines in the Deer Lodge Valley. When the -boat left St. Louis it was expected to go to the Salmon River mines, -but the recent discoveries in Montana gave a better prospect nearer -home. In fact the demand for goods, even at Fort Benton, was brisk, -and the firm had carried on a thriving trade ever since the arrival of -the boats. Harkness followed the usual trail up the Missouri River and -Little Prickly Pear Creek, through the broad valley on the border of -which the city of Helena now stands, and thence to the valley of the -Deer Lodge. Nothing of unusual note transpired on the trip. Harkness -did not like the experience, except the trout fishing. His journal is -full of complaints at the hardship he was compelled to undergo, and -he plaintively asks if he “will ever live to reap the benefit.” He -generally “nooned at 11 A. M.” in order to “catch trout for dinner.” -He reached the Deer Lodge Valley July 23, near the point where the -town of that name now stands.[54] Here he found a fellow passenger on -the _Emilie_, Nicholas Wall of St. Louis, who had reached the mines -some days before, and who was destined to figure prominently in the -future affairs of La Barge, Harkness & Co. - -After remaining in this section and prospecting around for eleven days, -Harkness grew disgusted at the prospect, placed such of his goods as -he did not sell in the hands of Nick Wall to be sold on commission, -and set out for the Missouri “glad to be on the road home.” On the -Sun River he met the Northern Overland Expedition from St. Paul. He -visited the Great Falls on his way down, and arrived at Fort La Barge -August 18. Harkness was now “tired and out of spirits,” and “adjusted -his expense accounts and turned over everything to the store.” He had -evidently had enough of this kind of life, and forthwith ordered “a -boat built to go down the river.” The boat was launched August 26 and -was christened the _Maggie_. Harkness lost no time in getting away, -and left Fort La Barge at 4 A. M. on the 28th. No incidents occurred -on this trip which are of much interest. The party reached Omaha -September 30, where Harkness “sold the _Maggie_ for five dollars,” and -took passage on the _Robert Campbell_ to St. Joseph. From that point he -went by rail and the Mississippi River to St. Louis, where he arrived -October 6. - -[Sidenote: INCOMPETENT HANDS.] - -The foregoing details, taken entirely from the diary of Harkness, show -in what unfit hands the important business of the company in the upper -country had been intrusted. From his arrival at Fort Benton until his -departure was only two months and a half, including a trip of several -hundred miles to the Montana mining regions. Only eleven days did he -spend in establishing his trade in that section, the most important -point of all, and then practically gave his goods away to Nick Wall, -for the company never received a cent for anything left with that -gentleman. Yet Harkness was the partner who was to remain in the upper -country two years. “He was back in St. Louis almost as soon as I was,” -said La Barge, with just indignation, in commenting on the affair. - -[Sidenote: FIRST SEASON’S OPERATIONS.] - -Such were the first season’s operations of the firm of La Barge, -Harkness & Co. In most respects the firm had made a brilliant -beginning. The prospects in the river portion of the business were all -that could be asked. Only Harkness’ weak management of his part of the -enterprise can be criticised. He was not the man for the place, and -lacked the courage and hardihood for that kind of work, and he threw -away an opportunity from which a more enterprising man would have made -a fortune. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -VOYAGE OF 1863--THE TOBACCO GARDEN MASSACRE. - - -[Sidenote: DISASTROUS DELAY.] - -Deferring for the present our narrative of the fortunes of La Barge, -Harkness & Co., we shall recount one of those mournful tragedies and -one of those instances of official corruption which marked the later -history of the Indian tribes along the Missouri River. When Captain -La Barge, in the spring of 1863, undertook to leave the government -service on the Mississippi, to get ready for his trip to Fort Benton, -he was told by the Quartermaster in St. Louis that he could not have -the boat, for the government had further use for it. Not having time to -go to Washington to see about it, he sold the boat for twenty thousand -dollars to the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, and left to that -company the task of securing its release. He then chartered the _Robert -Campbell_, and, with the _Shreveport_, prepared for a voyage to Fort -Benton. It proved to be a notable trip. The cargo and passenger lists -of the _Shreveport_ were made up almost exclusively for the mines and -for the posts of La Barge, Harkness & Co. The _Campbell_ was loaded -with annuities for the Sioux, Crows, Blackfeet, and Assiniboines, -together with some other freight, making a cargo of nearly five hundred -tons. The _Shreveport_ got away from port in the latter part of April, -but the _Campbell_ was subjected to annoying and even disastrous delay -by the failure of the annuities to arrive on time. Captain La Barge, -who had the contract to transport the annuities, had been ordered to -have his boat in readiness on the 1st of April. The goods did not -arrive, and he was held in St. Louis for forty-two days before he could -start on the long journey. It was considered of the highest importance -to start as soon as the ice disappeared in order that the trip, both -coming and going, could be made during high water. As the year 1863 -happened to be a low-water year, the delay which Captain La Barge -suffered made it impossible to complete the voyage. Even on the 12th of -May, the day of starting, only a portion of the goods had arrived, and -the rest were taken on at St. Joseph, whither they were sent by rail. - -[Illustration: LA BARGE ROCK] - -The boat proceeded on her way, determined to accomplish the trip if it -were possible to do so. The water was unusually low for that time of -year, and it took nearly a month to get to Sioux City, which ought to -have been reached easily in a third of the time. Owing to the great -danger from guerrillas below Kansas City, a force of thirty soldiers -accompanied the boat as far as St. Joseph, Mo. This precaution was -very timely. Every boat that was met in the lower river reported -attacks with occasional loss of life. Owing to the presence of soldiers -on the _Robert Campbell_, and Captain La Barge’s precaution to anchor -midstream at night instead of lying at the bank, he got through all -right. At Miami and at Cogswell’s Landing parties tried to board the -boat, but without success. - -[Sidenote: INDIANS HOSTILE.] - -Among the passengers on the _Campbell_ were two Indian agents, Henry -W. Reed and Samuel M. Latta, the former for the Blackfeet tribes and -the latter for the Sioux, Crows, Mandans, and other tribes in that -region. Henry A. Boller, whose work, “Among the Indians,” achieved some -notoriety in its time, was likewise on board, as were also Alexander -Culbertson and his Blackfoot wife. In all there were some thirty -passengers, and this number was considerably increased at the various -landings as far up as Sioux City. The value of the annuity goods on -board was upwards of seventy thousand dollars. - -[Sidenote: CHEATING THE INDIANS.] - -The Indians all along the Missouri above the Niobrara were at this time -intensely hostile, but knowing that their annuity goods were about -to arrive, they held aloof from any desperate measures until these -were received. It would have been a wise thing to have sent a company -of troops all the way on this important trip, but not a soldier was -to be had. The boat reached Fort Pierre June 20, and here several of -the Sioux bands were assembled to receive their annuities. It appears -that the Two Kettles band were in a great state of exasperation over -the recent killing of eight of their number by the soldiers near Fort -Randall. After a considerable amount of parleying the distribution -of the annuities commenced, but for some reason, which Captain La -Barge never heard explained, only a portion (about two-thirds, as he -estimated it) of the goods to which the Indians were entitled were put -off. The Indians could not be deceived in the matter and were very -angry. They went to the Captain and appealed to him to see justice -done them. They had the fullest confidence in him, for they had known -him for years, and he had always treated them honestly. He was now -helpless, however, and could only tell them that he was under the -orders of the agent and had no control whatever over the goods. They -then assured him that they should follow the boat and cause it all the -trouble they could, but they would not harm him if they could avoid it. - -[Sidenote: REVENGEFUL SPIRIT OF THE INDIANS.] - -They were as good as their word. All the way from Pierre to Union, six -hundred miles, these Indians followed the boat. It is a remarkable -fact, when we stop to think of it--this pursuit of a steamboat on -its laborious voyage through the Western prairies, seeking at every -turn to destroy it and kill its passengers and crew. There was some -deep and far-reaching cause that could create and support so bitter -and vindictive a spirit as this. The warning of the Indians to Captain -La Barge was taken by him at its full value. The boat was thoroughly -barricaded with the cargo by piling it so as to protect the vulnerable -points, and all the firearms on board were made ready for use. These -precautions proved to be of the highest importance. At every woodpile -Indians appeared and attacked the crew. At every favorable point shots -were fired into the boat. On one occasion a bullet passed through the -pilot-house, barely missing the pilot, Atkins, who was at the wheel. We -shall relate some incidents that occurred on the way to Union, one more -comical than serious, but one tragic and deplorable as any in frontier -history. - -[Sidenote: THE UPRIGHT HAT.] - -The _Shreveport_ had gone up the river in advance of the _Robert -Campbell_, but being unable, on account of low water, to get beyond -Snake Point, or Cow Island, 130 miles below Fort Benton, had discharged -her cargo on the bank and had returned down the river. She met the -_Robert Campbell_ at Apple Creek, thirteen miles below Bismarck, and -was there stopped by Captain La Barge. A part of the cargo of the -larger boat was transferred to the _Shreveport_, and the two then -proceeded up the river, the _Shreveport_ being sometimes ahead and -sometimes in rear. The hunter on the _Shreveport_ was Louis Dauphin, -already referred to as one of the bravest men and most noted characters -of the upper country. He now acted as hunter for both boats. It was -his custom to go along ahead of the boat, beating up the country and -securing whatever game was worth stopping the boat for. Whatever he -killed, as an elk or deer, he would hang on a pole or tree near the -bank where it could be seen from the boat, and would then continue his -hunt. One day about noon Captain La Barge’s eye, which was constantly -studying the river ahead, fell upon a curious object floating -downstream. It looked like a hat, but, strange to say, was standing -upright on the water, with no tendency to sink at all. It caused the -Captain no little perplexity. In the windy country of the Missouri it -was no uncommon thing for hats to be blown into the river, but he had -never before seen one ride like that. He followed it with his glass -until it was near the boat, when up it rose, securely perched on the -head of a swimmer who proved to be no other than the hunter Dauphin. -“I had to take to the water this time,” he said as he climbed on -board. “They were too many for me. You are going to have trouble at -the Tobacco Garden. The Indians are gathered there to the number of -at least fifteen hundred and intend to capture the boat.” The general -amusement which Dauphin’s subaqueous adventure had caused on the boat -was quickly dispelled by the sad fulfillment of the predictions which -he brought back. - -[Sidenote: A DISASTROUS SURPRISE.] - -Just above the mouth of Rising Water Creek the boats stopped to wood, -and were hailed by some Grosventres (of the Missouri, Minnetarees) -who offered some meat if a boat were sent out for it. These Indians, -a friendly tribe, had been out hunting for two weeks and were just -returning well laden with meat. The women had made some bullboats and -were about to ferry it over the river. The men had meanwhile turned -most of their horses out to graze, keeping only one each fastened by -lariats. Some meat was exchanged for coffee and other articles and the -_Robert Campbell_ resumed her voyage. Just as she was starting one of -the squaws uttered a piercing scream, and the people on the boat saw a -Sioux Indian riding at full speed for the Grosventre herd, brandishing -a red cloth, and followed by a large body of his tribe. The Grosventre -squaws took to their boats and the men to the tied horses. The -_Campbell_ drew in to the bank and took men and horses on board and set -them across the river. The poor Grosventres lost nearly their entire -herd and all the fruits of their hunt. - -[Sidenote: THE TOBACCO GARDEN.] - -The name “Tobacco Garden” on the Missouri River designated the bottoms -at the outlet of Tobacco Creek, on the left or north bank of the river, -eighty-eight miles below the mouth of the Yellowstone. The origin of -the name is uncertain, but the place has long been well known to river -men. Near this point, but on the opposite shore, was a bottom, covered -with large trees, but open and free of underbrush. The south bank of -the river was a “caving bank,” or one that was being undermined by the -river. At this time there was a very narrow beach at the water’s edge, -above which the bank rose perpendicularly to a height of six or eight -feet. The channel was close to the shore and a boat in passing had to -come within thirty or forty yards of the bank. Even if anchored to the -sandbar immediately opposite, it could not get more than sixty yards -away. It was an ideal place to “hold up” a boat, and the Indians were -shrewd enough to understand this perfectly. - -[Sidenote: LATTA NOT AFRAID.] - -It was toward noon of the 7th of July that the two boats hove in sight -of the Tobacco Garden, and there, true to Dauphin’s prediction, they -beheld on the south shore a large body of Indians assembled with the -evident purpose of stopping them. There was no use in trying to run a -gantlet like that, and accordingly the boats made fast to the opposite -sandbar, the _Shreveport_ about one hundred yards below the _Robert -Campbell_. A parley ensued with the Indians, who were so near that -it was perfectly practicable to talk back and forth. La Barge asked -them what they wanted. They said they wanted the balance of their -annuities; they wanted no trouble, but simply their just dues. The -agent refused them the goods, but “requested the Captain to send his -yawl and bring aboard some of the chiefs and head men that we could -have a talk and ... make them a present of sugar, coffee, tobacco, -etc., and by this means quiet them.” The Indians likewise wanted the -yawl to be sent out, but wanted the agent to go with it. They would -then send their principal chiefs back with him to the boat, where -everything could be talked over. They were very shrewd, and the agent -almost fell into the trap.[55] The Captain told him that he could not -possibly think of ordering the yawl out, considering the disposition -of the Indians and their evident purpose of mischief. Latta replied: -“Why, I’ll go; I’m not afraid.” “All right,” answered the Captain, “if -you can get volunteers; I will not order a crew out.” They then went -to the mate, Miller by name, and a crew was made up to take Latta to -the shore. When the yawl was ready the Captain sent word to the agent, -who had disappeared upstairs. The latter sent back a reply that he was -suddenly taken ill and could not possibly go, but to send the men and -bring the chiefs on board.[56] - -[Sidenote: A BRAVE CREW.] - -The crew of the _Robert Campbell_ were not lacking in physical courage, -and the necessary force to man the yawl was easily made up. It was a -little after noon when the yawl left the boat. There is no truth in the -statements of Boller and Larpenteur that the men were forced to go and -clung to the side of the steamer until the mate threatened to cut off -their fingers if they did not let go. It was easy enough for them to -get out of going if they chose to. The crew of the yawl consisted of -seven men. The steersman, a gallant fellow of the name of Andy Stinger, -sat in the stern. Two men of the names of O’Mally and Chris Sharky -sat in the bow. There were four oarsmen, one of them a young man of -the name of Martin, and the other, one of the Irishmen who had been -whipped by “Yankee Jack,” as related elsewhere. The yawl put off, and -as the distance was very short, it quickly reached the opposite shore. -It struck the beach head on and then swung around under the force of -the current, so that it lay alongside of the bank.[57] - -[Sidenote: ANDY STINGER’S PRESENCE OF MIND.] - -A chief and three Indians were under the cut bank on the beach when the -yawl arrived. One of the Indians stood exactly opposite Stinger, with a -gun in his hand covered with a leather case. The other two Indians were -armed with spears. The chief was a fierce-looking man, and it seemed -as if his eye would pierce one through and through. Stinger motioned -him to get into the yawl. The men meanwhile were sitting quietly with -their oars across their laps. The chief gave some quick directions and -in an instant the two Indians with spears jumped into the boat and the -one with the gun stripped the leather case off. Stinger knew what this -meant, and with great presence of mind instantly threw himself into the -water on the river side of the boat, where it was fortunately four or -five feet deep. Slipping up along the boat he seized it by the gunwale -amidships and dragged it from the bank. The movement, however, quick as -it was, was not quick enough. The two young bucks who had leaped into -the boat thrust their spears into the bodies of two of the oarsmen, -killing them instantly. A third was killed by the Indian with the gun, -who had missed his chance at Stinger, and a fourth was severely wounded -by an arrow from the bank. The two men in the bow instantly threw -themselves into the bottom of the yawl. - -[Sidenote: BOATS RETURN FIRE.] - -The Indians had no time to carry the attack further. The crews of both -the steamboats were watching with breathless anxiety the progress -of events. When they saw Stinger jump into the water they thought -him killed. Someone exclaimed, “There goes Andy,” and instantly -both boats responded with their entire armament. This included two -howitzers on the hurricane deck of the _Robert Campbell_ and one on the -_Shreveport_, together with weapons of various sorts belonging to the -passengers and crew. One rattle-brained Irishman was so upset that he -brandished his revolver in the air, firing off into space without the -slightest regard as to the whereabouts of the enemy. The fire, on the -whole, was very effective. Numbers of the Indians were seen to fall, -and Captain La Barge afterward learned through Pierre Garreau, the -interpreter at Fort Berthold, that there were eighteen men and twenty -horses killed and many wounded. The Indians soon withdrew, and in about -an hour some were seen trying to get water for their wounded near a -pile of driftwood half a mile below. It was an intensely sultry day. -The howitzers were turned on them and they disappeared. - -[Sidenote: ANDY ANGRY.] - -Returning to the yawl, we find that Andy Stinger, protected behind the -gunwale, was steadily pulling the boat into the stream and swimming -toward the sandbar as the current drifted him down. When about halfway -across he called to the men to get up, while he himself climbed into -the yawl, which was then rowed to the bank. The people on the two -boats were so absorbed with the battle that no one thought of going to -the assistance of the yawl crew. The wounded man and the two who were -unharmed got out and walked up the beach. Stinger was thus left alone -to drag the yawl and its mournful cargo up alongside the boat. This -apparent neglect fired him to a desperate pitch, and he let go some -powerful language to the mate and others of the crew. Captain La Barge -presently came aft and looked into the yawl. He said not a word, but -turned away shaking his head in a manner that showed plainly enough -what was passing in his mind. - -[Sidenote: HERO OF THE TOBACCO GARDEN.] - -Such was the celebrated “affair at the Tobacco Garden.” After the -return to St. Louis Captain La Barge was talking to a friend about -it when Andy Stinger happened to pass by. He said, loud enough for -Andy to hear: “There goes the hero of the Tobacco Garden.” The brave -steersman treasured up these words as his proudest title during the -rest of his life. Long years passed away before Captain La Barge heard -from him again. He did not even know whether his old boatman was still -alive when, in the fall of 1896, thirty-three years after the massacre, -he received a most cordial and affectionate letter from him,[58] and -two years later had the pleasure of meeting him again. - -[Sidenote: LA BARGE’S CRITICISM.] - -Commenting upon the affair at the Tobacco Garden, Captain La Barge said: - -“This event was one which could not have happened under ordinary -circumstances. Master of both boat and cargo, I should never have -permitted the yawl to go ashore. I was under orders of the agent in -everything except the mere handling of the boat, and was bound to give -him such opportunities to meet the Indians as he desired. I had gone to -the extreme of my freedom of action when I refused to order a crew to -go ashore for him, but could not well decline to let men volunteer. It -was a lamentable affair, and one of the many crimes which must ever lie -at the door of the Department of Indian Affairs in Washington. Here was -an agent who gave every evidence of being corrupt and in collusion with -the Fur Company, for he retained about a third of the annuities due the -Indians and stored them in the Company’s warehouse, from which they -never reached the Indians except in exchange for robes, as in the case -of private merchandise. Moreover, the agent was utterly ignorant of -Indian character, full of the self-assurance which goes with ignorance, -and not knowing himself what to do became the passive tool of the -crafty and trained agents of the company.”[59] - -[Sidenote: CHARLES LARPENTEUR.] - -About 3 P. M. the boats resumed their voyage, as the Indians had -entirely disappeared. On the following morning the burial of the -victims took place at a point about forty-seven miles above the Tobacco -Garden. They were buried on an eminence on the south side of the river -nearly opposite the mouth of Little Muddy Creek, and a cedar cross was -planted at the head of their grave. The boat then pursued her way up -the river and arrived at the mouth of the Yellowstone on the 8th of -July. Here the Indians were seen again, and a few shots were fired by -them at the boats, but no injury was done. - -[Sidenote: HEAVY RESPONSIBILITY.] - -The herculean labors of Captain La Barge on this memorable voyage won -the plaudits of all who observed them. He seemed to be everywhere -present, and the only man on whom reliance could be placed. “We got -to the mouth of the Yellowstone,” says agent Reed, “after the most -untiring efforts, especially on the part of Captain La Barge, who -seemed to know the only channel to be found in the Missouri.” The -Captain was constantly exposed to danger, and personally conducted all -soundings of the river, going far from the boat with a few men in the -yawl. The responsibility resting upon him was very great. The lives -of the passengers, the safety of his valuable cargo, the danger from -the Indians if their expected goods should be lost, and his own large -pecuniary stake in the voyage, all rested upon his own shoulders. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -THE BLACKFOOT ANNUITIES. - - -[Sidenote: A BAD PREDICAMENT.] - -[Sidenote: OFFICIAL REPORTS.] - -At the mouth of the Yellowstone the voyage of the _Robert Campbell_ -came abruptly to an end. There was only a depth of two feet over the -Yellowstone bar, and it was a physical impossibility to proceed. The -annuities had now been delivered to the lower tribes so far as Captain -La Barge was concerned, but there still remained undelivered those -going to the Crows, Assiniboines, and Blackfeet. The annuities for -the first of these tribes were to be delivered wherever these Indians -could be found, but those of the Blackfeet were to be delivered at Fort -Benton. Fortunately, the Assiniboines came in while the boats were at -the Yellowstone, and their annuities were delivered. Dr. Reed, the -agent for the Blackfeet, then advised La Barge to abandon the idea of -going further, and to store the goods at Fort Union until the following -spring. This the Captain was very loath to do. He knew only too well -the complications that might arise, particularly as such a course -compelled him to place himself in any degree within the power of the -American Fur Company. It seemed, however, the only thing to do. The -_Robert Campbell_ simply could not get any further. The _Shreveport_ -had not been able to get above Snake Point, and since that time the -water had fallen materially. It was now the 8th of July, and no further -rise could be expected; in fact no boats reached Benton that year. The -only alternative to storing the goods was to haul them by wagon to -their destination, and for this purpose the transportation could not -be had. The Captain very reluctantly concluded to follow the agent’s -advice, particularly as the bulk of annuities were for the Indians -belonging to his own agency. An arrangement was made with William -Hodgkiss,[60] agent of the American Fur Company, and five days were -consumed in transferring the cargo to the warehouse. Full receipts -were given by Agent Hodgkiss, and these were witnessed by Captain W. -B. Greer, U. S. Army. In addition to the receipts the Captain secured -from Agent Reed a written statement of the circumstances in order that -his action might have the fullest explanation possible. In those days, -when the government felt that it was being robbed right and left by -dishonest contractors, and every claim was looked upon with suspicion, -the adjustment of any matter of that sort was extremely difficult, and -the innocent were made to suffer with the guilty.[61] - -[Sidenote: THE “SHREVEPORT” IMPRESSED.] - -[Sidenote: AT WORK FOR THE GOVERNMENT.] - -As soon as the business at Fort Union was cleared up the two boats -turned their prows down the river and made the best of their way -toward the lower country. When they arrived at Crow Creek, eighty-two -miles below Pierre, they met General Sully, who was engaged in his -expedition against the hostile Sioux. The General invited La Barge -to his tent and told him he should have to impress one of the boats -into his service for a time. As the _Shreveport_ was much the lighter -boat it was considered best to take her. Captain La Barge’s brother, -however, absolutely refused to remain, and accordingly Captain La Barge -had to. It was also necessary to use military authority to secure a -crew. The _Robert Campbell_ then went on her way to St. Louis, and -Captain La Barge commenced hauling supplies for General Sully. He went -up as far as the mouth of the Little Cheyenne, and there awaited the -result of General Sully’s expedition, which was a victorious battle -with the Indians. He then dropped down below old Fort Pierre, when -he was ordered to proceed to Fort Leavenworth and report to General -Easton. By that officer he was directed to take a cargo to Sioux City. -Though late in the season, the trip was successfully accomplished. -Captain La Barge then returned to St. Louis, where he arrived late in -November, and reported to the commanding officer at that point. He had -now been continuously at work for over six months, during one of the -most trying seasons ever experienced upon the river. His nightly sleep -scarcely averaged five hours, and he was constantly under the weight of -a terrible responsibility. Nothing but an iron constitution could have -withstood the incessant strain. - -As soon as Captain La Barge could straighten matters up at home he set -out for Washington to see the Indian Commissioner in regard to his past -season’s contract. He received full payment for everything delivered, -but nothing for the annuities still undelivered and nothing for his -great loss caused by the delay of the Indian Department in delivering -the goods to him on time. He was, however, given a new contract to -transport the goods to their destination the following year. - -In order to pursue this particular subject to its final outcome we -shall step ahead of our narrative to the year 1864. Captain La Barge -went up the river that year with the steamer _Effie Deans_, leaving -space on the boat for the undelivered annuities. Arrived at Fort Union -he first fell in with Captain Greer, who had witnessed the receipt of -Agent Hodgkiss for the goods the previous summer. Captain La Barge -told him that he had come to take the annuities to their destination. -“I don’t believe that you will find much,” said Captain Greer. “The -Company has traded it nearly all for robes.” - -[Sidenote: MANIFEST FRAUD.] - -[Sidenote: THE GOODS UNDELIVERED.] - -Agent Hodgkiss had died during the winter, and Captain La Barge -presented the receipts to the new agent, Rolette. The latter refused -to deliver the goods except upon payment of the extortionate storage -charge of two thousand dollars. He expected that this charge would -cause Captain La Barge to refuse to take the goods. The sum, however, -was tendered, whereupon the agent refused to deliver them except upon -the prior surrender of Agent Hodgkiss’ receipts. Suspecting that -a large part of the goods were missing, the Captain declined this -condition, but offered to give a receipt for all goods he should take -from the warehouse. Driven from every position, the agent openly -avowed that he could not deliver all the goods, for he did not have -them all. He stated that, under instructions from Commissioner Dole, -transmitted through the Company, he had delivered a large portion of -the goods to the Grosventres and many packages to other Indians. The -delivery of the balance could, therefore, not be made except upon -surrender of the receipts of the previous year. Captain La Barge -asked to see the receipts of the Indians to whom the goods had been -delivered. The agent had none, although it was an invariable rule to -secure such receipts for all annuities delivered. The alleged order -from Commissioner Dole was then called for, but that could not be -produced, the agent stating that it came by messenger, who delivered it -verbally. - -“You acknowledge, then, that a large portion of these goods you have -not got,” asked Captain La Barge. - -“Yes,” replied the agent; “they have been delivered during the winter -and have reached their proper destination.” - -[Sidenote: GOODS TRADED WITH THE INDIANS.] - -All these proceedings were witnessed by the officer, Captain Greer, -whom Captain La Barge had taken the precaution to have present. From -what Captain Greer had told him, and from the trader’s inability to -account satisfactorily for the disposition of the goods, Captain La -Barge became thoroughly convinced that they had been used in trade, -and he very wisely declined to surrender his receipts. As the trader -would not give up the rest of the goods except upon a surrender of the -receipts for all, the Captain went on his way without them. - -[Sidenote: UNPAID DEBT.] - -In the meanwhile Dr. Reed, who had been relieved as Agent of -the Blackfoot tribes, went up on the American Fur Company boat -_Yellowstone_ to turn over his charge to the new agent, Mr. Gad E. -Upson. Mr. Chouteau had received the contract for taking up the -annuities for the year 1864. He took them only to Cow Island, where, -for some reason, possibly low water, they were put on the shore and -the boat turned back. Mr. Upson, who had gone down from Benton to -Union early in the spring, went back on the _Yellowstone_ with Mr. -Reed. The boat, after unloading, turned back, and a day later met the -_Effie Deans_. La Barge reported to Dr. Reed the facts as to the goods -at Fort Union. Mr. Chouteau, who was on the _Yellowstone_, was called -in and professed to disapprove of Rolette’s course, but did nothing -to rectify it. So far as Captain La Barge knew at the time or ever -learned afterward, this large quantity of Indian goods was traded out -to the Indians by the so-called American Fur Company and constituted an -unqualified theft from the government. The final outcome of the affair, -so far as Captain La Barge was concerned, was a loss of nearly twenty -thousand dollars.[62] He died a poor man, with the government in his -debt by a sum that would have given ample comfort to his declining -years. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -COLLAPSE OF THE LA BARGE-HARKNESS OPPOSITION. - - -The steamboat _Shreveport_, with the annual outfit of the new firm -for the year 1863, did not get above Cow Island on account of the -extremely low stage of the river. No other boat went as far as that -within two hundred miles. Harkness and John La Barge put the cargo -out upon the bank and hastened back to the assistance of the _Robert -Campbell_. This event further illustrated the incapacity of Harkness. -No arrangement was made for the transportation of the goods to Benton, -although he knew that a considerable portion of the freight belonged to -outside parties, and that the firm had contracted to take it through -to that post. This precipitate action was due in part to danger from -the Indians. In the year 1863 the tribes along the river were all in -a state of unrest, and some of them actually on the warpath against -the whites. Fort Union was practically in a state of siege all summer, -and the danger to steamboats was a very formidable one. It was held -by some parties that the sudden termination of the voyage was due to -news received of the famous discovery of the Alder Gulch placers and -the desire to go back and notify the firm; but of this there is not the -slightest probability. Whatever the explanation, the act itself was -disastrous upon the fortunes of the firm. - -[Sidenote: NICHOLAS WALL.] - -Among the number of outside parties who had freight on the _Shreveport_ -was the firm of John J. Roe and Nicholas Wall, both of St. Louis. -Wall represented the firm in Montana and Roe remained in St. Louis. -Some little account of Wall’s career and his previous relations with -Captain La Barge will be of interest, to show how far a man may forfeit -the sentiment of gratitude when his business interests are in any -way involved. La Barge had previously been connected with Wall in a -business way. In 1861 Wall joined the Confederate sympathizers, in St. -Louis, and was captured by General Lyon in the affair of Camp Jackson, -St. Louis, May 10, 1861. The prisoners taken there were all paroled, -but were confined to the limits of the city. At Wall’s urgent appeal La -Barge became bondsman for his good conduct and secured his freedom of -action. He worked for La Barge during the rest of the season of 1861. - -In the winter of 1862 Wall asked La Barge to assist him in getting to -Montana. La Barge gave free transportation on the _Emilie_ to Fort -Benton for himself and his goods, and advanced him seven hundred -dollars to get to the mines. Wall did a successful business in the -Deer Lodge Valley in 1862, and in the fall of that year returned to -St. Louis, where he entered into a partnership with John J. Roe. The -outfit which this firm were to send to the mines was taken up on the -_Shreveport_. It was through La Barge’s patronage that Nick Wall was -extricated from a perilous situation and placed in a position to do a -good business. His method of repaying his benefactor will presently -appear. - -[Sidenote: LA BARGE, HARKNESS & CO. SUED.] - -When Wall heard that the _Shreveport_ could not reach Benton and -had discharged her cargo on the bank at Cow Island, he organized a -wagon train and went down after his own freight and that of several -others. In the spring of 1864 he returned to St. Louis, where he and -Roe presented a claim to La Barge, Harkness & Co. for forty thousand -dollars’ damages, on goods that were not worth at the outside ten -thousand dollars in St. Louis. Captain La Barge agreed to pay the full -price of the goods and charge no freight, but his offer was refused. -He then told Roe and Wall that they could bring suit at once. Roe -replied that he was too sharp to think of bringing suit in St. Louis; -he would bring it in Montana, where he knew that the chances were much -more in his favor. Robert Campbell and John S. McCune, two of St. -Louis’ leading citizens, protested against this proceeding, and agreed -to give bonds for the full payment of all damages. Roe refused all -compromise and Wall returned to Montana and brought suit. - -[Sidenote: COLLAPSE OF AFFAIRS AT FORT LA BARGE.] - -In the meanwhile, affairs at Fort La Barge were showing the effect -of absence from that post of any responsible member of the firm. -Joseph Picotte, brother of Honoré Picotte, a distinguished trader of -the American Fur Company, had been left in charge in 1862; but word -having been received that he was not properly attending to his work, -he was relieved by Robert H. Lemon, who had been highly recommended by -Robert Campbell. Lemon proved to be of less account even than Picotte, -and actually took the wholly unauthorized step of turning the firm’s -property over for safe-keeping to the American Fur Company. The receipt -for this transfer, signed by Andrew Dawson, agent American Fur Company, -is still among the La Barge papers. The transaction took place August -31, 1863, and included not only the storage of all the firm’s property -at Fort La Barge, but the payment of their employees’ wages, and the -removal of the _Shreveport_ freight from Cow Island to Fort Benton. -The sum of one thousand dollars was to be paid for storage, and the -goods were to be held as security for the payment of this sum and all -other liabilities of the firm on account of wages, transportation, or -other cause. Thus the entire business of the firm at Fort Benton was -practically surrendered to their great rival, and the new “opposition” -was crushed almost at its beginning. - -[Sidenote: OUTCOME OF THE SUIT.] - -As soon as Wall began legal proceedings the goods were seized and -held, pending the outcome of the trial. This did not come off until -1865, when a verdict was rendered against La Barge, Harkness & Co. -of twenty-four thousand dollars, which was paid in due course. All -the firm’s property in Montana was absolutely lost, including a large -quantity of furs ruined by the long detention. The total loss amounted -to fully one hundred thousand dollars. - -The lawsuit itself was an important one at the time. It involved the -rights and obligations of carriers on the Missouri River. It was the -first important legal case in the history of the Territory. It brought -into distinguished notice one of the picturesque and leading characters -in the pioneer history of Montana, Colonel Wilbur F. Sanders, who -became one of Montana’s first representatives in the Senate of the -United States. On the part of the defense the case was badly managed. -None of the principals was present at the trial, which was held at a -point nearly three thousand miles from their home. With a skillful -defense it would probably not have resulted so disastrously as it did. - -[Sidenote: CAUSES OF FAILURE.] - -The immediate result of the trial was the dissolution of the firm of -La Barge, Harkness & Co. It went out of business upon an honorable -footing. Every liability was paid in full, but so much of it fell upon -Captain La Barge that it seriously impaired his fortune. He cherished, -not without reason, a very bitter feeling toward some of the parties -who were instrumental in the downfall of his business, and particularly -toward the American Fur Company. There is no doubt that that concern -furthered the result in every possible way. It was a principle of -their business to crush all opposition, and they made no exception in -this case. But it is evident that the real cause lay in the reckless -management of affairs at Fort Benton and at the mines, and for this -Harkness was alone responsible. - -[Sidenote: THE DIAMOND R COMPANY.] - -The collapse of the La Barge, Harkness & Co. business marked the -inception of a system of land transportation in Montana which grew -to enormous proportions. It was known as the Diamond R <R> Company. -Among the ill-gotten gains of John J. Roe, in his successful effort to -break up a rival company, were a large number of oxen which La Barge, -Harkness & Co. had brought up the river to transport freight between -Fort Benton and the mines. Roe organized a transportation company, -using these oxen as a nucleus for commencing the business. By various -changes of ownership it passed into the hands of Montana men. It soon -became a great company, with a complete organization of agents, issuing -its bills of lading to all points, both in and out of the Territory. At -one time it employed no less than twelve hundred oxen and four hundred -mules, besides a large number of horses, and the sustenance of these -animals was a source of no slight income to the small farmers of that -section. It went out of business in 1883. - -[Illustration: A STEAMBOAT AT THE BANK] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -CAPTAIN LA BARGE IN MONTANA. - - -Captain La Barge sold the _Emilie_ late in the winter of 1862–63. In -the following winter he made an unexpected sale of the _Shreveport_. -Henry Ames & Co., pork packers, sent their clerk one day to see if the -Captain would sell the boat. He replied that he did not care to, but -would if the price were satisfactory. Being invited to come to the -office of the firm, he was told that the boat suited them and was asked -to name a price. - -“Twenty-five thousand dollars,” he said. - -“Give the Captain a check for twenty-five thousand dollars,” said Ames, -turning to his clerk. - -“Don’t you want a bill of sale and the customary evidence that she is -clear of debt?” asked the Captain, in some surprise. - -“No,” was the reply; “you say she is so, and I will take your word.” - -La Barge went down to the levee, transferred the boat, and then went to -the bank and cashed the check. He recalled this last circumstance by -the fact that the teller handed him the amount in twenty-five notes, -each of one thousand dollars. - -[Sidenote: PURCHASE OF THE “EFFIE DEANS.”] - -This sale took place in the winter, and it behooved the Captain to -cast about at once for a boat for the next annual voyage. A new boat -was being built on the Ohio River by the Keokuk Packet Company, John -S. McCune, President. Not proving satisfactory for their purposes, -she was brought to St. Louis and offered for sale. La Barge found her -well fitted for his work, and negotiated a purchase at forty thousand -dollars. McCune retained a one-fourth interest. She was called the -_Effie Deans_. - -The boat was loaded with the usual assortment of freight, and left -St. Louis March 22, 1864, with forty-nine passengers and a cargo of -160 tons. She succeeded in getting only to the Marias River, where -the cargo was discharged. The boat was sent back in charge of John La -Barge, and the Captain himself remained in the upper country. He hired -wagons and took his property up the river, selling part of it in Benton -and the rest in Virginia City. He remained in the mining regions upward -of two months, although he finished his business in much less time. On -account of the danger from outlaws, or road agents, it was necessary to -await an exceptionally good opportunity for getting away. The Captain -had decided to return _via_ Salt Lake City, because to go by way of -the Missouri in an open boat would have meant little less than suicide. -The feeling of the Indians was so bitter at this time that no one could -pass their country in safety unless well protected. - -The Captain had almost a hundred thousand dollars in golddust to take -with him, and he knew that this was not a secret with himself. He -caused it to be given out that he expected to depart on a certain day, -but actually stole away several days before, and was safely in Salt -Lake City before the announced date of his departure. The coach he was -to have taken was held up by the road agents and a passenger of the -name of Hughes was killed. - -[Sidenote: COSTLY TRANSPORTATION.] - -In Salt Lake City Captain La Barge remained for some time arranging -for the rest of his journey home. He could not hire a coach from Ben -Holiday, proprietor of the overland line, for less than eighteen -hundred dollars. The Wells-Fargo Express Company wanted twenty-five -hundred dollars to send the dust by way of San Francisco, and would -assume no responsibility. These conditions were not satisfactory, and -the Captain purchased a team and wagon, with which he and three or four -others undertook the journey alone. Their golddust was carried in bags -of thick buckskin. - -[Sidenote: TEMPTING INDUCEMENTS.] - -While in Salt Lake City the Captain renewed his acquaintance with -Brigham Young and other Mormons whom he had known on the Missouri. An -old friend of his of the name of Hooper, who had turned Mormon, and -later became a delegate from the Territory to Congress, called as soon -as he heard that La Barge was in town. He also found there another -friend, Hopkins by name, whom he had known from boyhood. Hopkins tried -his best to induce La Barge to join the Mormons. He assured the Captain -that if he would sell out in St. Louis and come to Utah it would be -his fortune. As proof of this, he referred to himself and others, who, -he said, had gone into Mormonism, not for any love of the doctrine, -but as a simple business proposition. Hooper and Hopkins had both been -unsuccessful in St. Louis. La Barge had taken them up on his boat to -Fort Kearney, about 1852, and had always esteemed them good men. He -asked the wife of one of them one day why her husband had never married -again, since the doctrine of the Church and the sentiment of the -community sanctioned it. “He doesn’t dare to; he knows _I_ would leave -him if he did,” she replied. - -[Sidenote: DIGNITARIES OF THE MORMON CHURCH.] - -The Captain called on Young several times. That dignitary received -him very hospitably, took him to the Tabernacle and other places of -interest, and presented him to several of his families. They went to -the theater together, where they sat in a box with Young’s favorite -wife, the other wives being ranged in seats below. Young never said -anything intended to convert La Barge to his religion. Other members -of the Church did, and particularly Orson Hyde, who was a man of -education and a very persuasive talker. La Barge heard a sermon by -Heber Kimball--a rough old fellow who took off his coat, rolled up his -sleeves, and waded in. His language was coarse and vulgar, and would -not bear repetition in refined ears. - -The route of the Captain’s party, on leaving Salt Lake City, was -through Weber Cañon to Fort Bridger. They stopped there a short time -with Captain Carter, who, for many years, did business at that frontier -post. From there they made their way east, and left the mountain -country _via_ the valley of the Cache à la Poudre River. In the valley -of the South Platte they met an old man of the name of Geary, who told -them that a band of hostile Indians was scouring the country between -them and Denver, and that they had better conceal themselves for a few -days on an island in the Platte River. They acted upon this advice, -and when they judged the danger to be past they resumed their journey. -They had gone but a little way when they came to a spot where a party -of emigrants had been massacred only a day or two before. Their timely -measure of precaution was therefore well taken. - -[Sidenote: A LONG VOYAGE.] - -The rest of the journey was made without noteworthy incident. The -party reached the Missouri at Nebraska City just in time to catch the -last boat to St. Louis. They arrived home about December 1. Captain -La Barge found that the _Effie Deans_ had returned and had been -chartered by McCune’s company to go to Montgomery, Ala. She made this -trip in safety, returning to St. Louis before ice closed in. Probably -no other boat ever made so long a trip on inland waters in a single -season, including also a sea voyage, as did the _Effie Deans_ in 1864. -The distance on the Missouri up and back was 4570 miles; that on the -Mississippi to the Gulf and back was 2522 miles; that from Mobile to -Montgomery and back was 676 miles; and that across the Gulf from the -mouth of the Mississippi to Mobile and back not less than 600 miles. -The whole distance traveled was about 8400 miles. - -[Sidenote: ANOTHER DILEMMA.] - -In April, 1865, Captain La Barge started up the river again on the -_Effie Deans_. At Nebraska City came the news of Lee’s surrender, -and at Decatur that of the assassination of Lincoln. There was great -commotion among the passengers at the news of this terrible deed. -There were many ex-Confederates on board, some of whom expressed their -satisfaction at the event, and there might very easily have been -trouble between them and the Union passengers; but Captain La Barge -skillfully avoided all difficulty. - -The voyage, though a tedious one, was completed without serious delay -or accident. Captain La Barge sent the boat back in charge of the -pilot, Captain Ray, and himself started with another outfit of goods -for the mines. This time he went to Helena, which had sprung into -existence since his last trip to Montana. He bought a small house in -which to store his goods and he and his son acted as salesmen. - -[Sidenote: A TIMELY RESCUE.] - -In the meanwhile Captain La Barge’s brother had again involved St. -Louis parties in serious difficulty on account of the non-delivery of -freight. John S. McCune had shipped to Fort Benton a fine cargo of -goods on the _Kate Kearney_, Captain John La Barge, master. The very -hostile attitude of the Indians caused the Captain to abandon the trip -a little above Fort Union. When the news reached the mines suits were -brought against McCune aggregating some three hundred thousand dollars. -As soon as word reached St. Louis, McCune saw the gravity of the -situation, and instantly dispatched a message to La Barge in Montana -_via_ the overland route. It fortunately reached the Captain before he -had finished his business in Helena, and he set out forthwith for Fort -Benton, leaving his son in charge of the store. He felt certain that -Captain Ray, the pilot of the _Effie Deans_, would not abandon the -cargo, and he was not mistaken. When Ray met the _Kate Kearney_, on his -return trip, he transferred the cargo to the _Effie Deans_, and brought -it back to Fort Galpin, a little above the mouth of Milk River, but -could get no further on account of low water. He then sent an express -to Fort Benton for teams. Captain La Barge was there at the time, and -at once procured thirty ox teams of five yoke each, with the necessary -wagons, and started for Fort Galpin. There he took all the freight and -delivered it safely at its destination. It was a prodigious task, but -its timely completion saved McCune from a disastrous loss. The suits -were all withdrawn, and the cost of transportation by wagon was the sum -of the extra expense. - -La Barge left the Territory late in the season with fifty thousand -dollars in golddust. He went by way of Salt Lake City, where he and -two others chartered a coach to take them through to Nebraska City. -When within about fifty miles of Denver the stage driver refused to go -farther on account of the Indians, and the party were compelled to hire -a wagon and go the rest of the way alone. At Nebraska City they found -the steamboat _Denver_, on which they went to St. Joseph, and thence by -the railroad to St. Louis. - -[Sidenote: AN UNEXPECTED DELIVERANCE.] - -Captain La Barge had not been heard from in two months. He at once went -to McCune’s office to relieve the fears under which that gentleman had -so long been laboring. McCune came up to him, looked the travel-worn -Captain in the face, and said: “I don’t dare to ask you any questions. -I am afraid to know the worst.” - -“Don’t be alarmed,” said La Barge; “I think I have straightened -everything out all right.” - -“Are there no suits pending?” asked McCune. - -“No; they are all settled, and here are the receipts.” - -“How much has the misadventure cost me?” - -“Not to exceed ten thousand dollars all told.” - -McCune was overjoyed at the news, for he feared that he was ruined. As -it was, in spite of the extra expense, he would reap a handsome profit. -He threw his arms around La Barge and embraced him for joy at the -unexpected deliverance, and could never thereafter do enough for him. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -CAPTAIN LA BARGE IN WASHINGTON. - - -In connection with his work for the government it became necessary for -Captain La Barge to make several visits to Washington. Considering the -interesting period through which the national Capital was then passing, -it was to be expected that these visits should present some features of -note. The Captain went to Washington in all three times, once in each -of the winters of 1862–65. - -[Sidenote: INTERVIEW WITH LINCOLN.] - -On the occasion of his first visit he was a member of a party who -called upon the President to present him with a fine robe of fur. Three -years before this Captain La Barge had promised Lincoln to procure for -him a good buffalo robe; but the rapid march of events and the great -matters that weighed upon the public mind had so far kept him from -fulfilling his promise. On the present occasion it was proposed to give -the President an elegant robe composed of ten beaver skins, the whole -richly lined and embroidered. - -The members of the party were Dr. Walter A. Burleigh of Yankton, -Dak.; Captain La Barge, Charles E. Galpin,[63] and several others. Dr. -Burleigh acted as spokesman. The delegation were shown to a room apart -from the general reception room, and Lincoln, after a little while, -came in, saying that he had sent them in there so that he might have -some uninterrupted talk with them about the West. He remembered at once -the old steamboat Captain with whom he had ridden on the Missouri, -and he greeted La Barge with great cordiality. After some general -conversation Dr. Burleigh arose, took the robe, asked the President -to stand up, and then threw it over his shoulders. Lincoln folded it -around him like a blanket and danced about for an instant in Indian -fashion. He seemed greatly delighted with the gift. He then asked the -party many questions about the West, for the Indian troubles were at -that time causing the administration a great deal of annoyance. - -[Sidenote: LINCOLN AND THE INDIAN.] - -In the winter of 1863–64 La Barge saw the President again. The only -subject of importance which was touched upon on that occasion was the -Indian, in whose welfare he always displayed the deepest interest. As -it was a subject which had often aroused the Captain’s indignation and -pity, he made the most of his opportunity to acquaint the President -with the facts. He told him of the gross frauds practiced on the -Indians, and how their annuities, under present conditions, had to -pass through the hands of some of the worst rascals on the face of the -earth, who deliberately cheated the Indians right and left. Lincoln -replied that he knew it; that, under the stress of war, he was not -able to send just the men he would like to into that country as Indian -agents, and that too many of them were importunate place-seekers of -worthless character whom members of Congress were anxious to get rid -of somewhere. “But wait,” said he, “until I get this Rebellion off my -hands, and I will take up this question and see that justice is done -the Indian.” - -The Captain made his third visit to Washington in the winter of -1864–65. His particular business was to secure payment on his -government contracts, which had been approved by the Department of -War and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but disallowed by the Treasury. -He went to Secretary Chase, but was told by that gentleman that all -Missourians were _prima facie_ Rebels, and that that was why his -account was being held up. La Barge did not relish this very much, as -he had been doing business for the government all through the war, and -had even gone so far as to take the oath of allegiance. He went to -Lincoln and laid the matter before him. The President smiled at Chase’s -remark, gave La Barge a card with his autograph on it to hand to Chase, -and said he presumed that would fix matters all right. La Barge went -back, and the account was paid without further delay. La Barge, with -his usual distrust of the American Fur Company, suspected that some of -its members had been giving him a bad character in Washington in order -further to cripple his opposition. - -[Sidenote: THE BLACKFOOT’S ANNUITIES.] - -[Sidenote: FINAL EVIDENCE.] - -On the occasion of his interview with the President he brought up the -matter of the Blackfoot annuities, explicitly charging that these -goods had been wrongfully disposed of and had not reached their -proper destination. Lincoln sent for the proper officer of the Indian -Department to hear La Barge’s accusation. This officer stated that he -had receipts signed by the Indian chiefs saying that they had received -their annuities. The signatures of the Indians were witnessed by agents -of the American Fur Company. La Barge declared that the receipts were -false; that he had himself carried these goods and knew that the -Indians had not received them, but that they had been appropriated by -the American Fur Company and sold. “Well,” said the official, “there -are the receipts; we cannot go back of them; they have been considered -final evidence in such cases since the foundation of the government.” -And there the matter rested. - -While in Washington on this visit La Barge was summoned before the -Senate Committee on Pacific railroads and questioned by B. Gratz Brown -upon his knowledge of the Western country and his opinion upon the -availability of certain routes for a transcontinental line. - -[Sidenote: LOOK AT YOUR MAP.] - -Before he left Washington the Captain was the central figure in an -amusing little incident that occurred at Ford’s Theater. _Harper’s -Weekly_ had published a story of La Barge’s steamboating experiences -which ran something like this: On one of his trips up the river in the -earlier part of his career there were several Englishmen aboard. They -had a map and applied themselves industriously for the first day or -two in trying to identify the various places upon it with those along -their route. They were in the pilot-house a good deal, and one of them -questioned La Barge rather officiously about the geography of the -country. - -“What place is this that we are approaching, Mr. Pilot?” he asked. - -“St. Charles, sir,” La Barge replied. - -“You are mistaken, sir; according to the map it is ----” - -La Barge made no reply. He stopped as usual at St. Charles and then -went on his way. Presently they came to another village. - -“What place, Captain?” inquired the Englishman. - -“Washington, Mo., sir.” - -“Wrong again. The map gives this place as ----.” - -This experience was gone through several times, the Captain’s temper -becoming more ruffled with each repetition, though no one would -have suspected it from his unruffled exterior. Presently a flock -of wild geese passed over the river and drew the attention of the -passengers and crew. The Englishmen were standing on the hurricane roof -immediately in front of the pilot-house. - -“What kind of birds are those, Captain?” asked one of them in eager -haste. - -The Captain, whose language still smacked somewhat of the French idiom, -replied: - -“Look at your map; he tell you.” - -The printed programme of the evening at the theater happened to have -this story under the heading of “Old Joe La Barge.” The Captain and -some friends occupied a box, and as there were several persons in the -audience who knew him, the fact that the hero of the story was in the -box soon spread itself about. At one of the pauses in the performance -someone called out for La Barge to stand up, and cries of “La Barge” -soon came from all parts of the house. The modest steamboat pilot was -panic-stricken at the occurrence and clung desperately to his seat, -whereupon the audience called for him the more; but nothing would -induce him to stir. - -[Sidenote: AN EXTENSIVE ACQUAINTANCE.] - -We may here properly refer to Captain La Barge’s extensive acquaintance -with public men of the West. His prominence in the carrying trade of -Western rivers, when travel was largely done by boat, brought him into -contact with distinguished characters from all parts of the country. -There were few public men in the West whom he did not know, and his -personal estimate of their character as they appeared to him is not -without interest and value. We have already noted his acquaintance with -Audubon, General Warren, Dr. Hayden, Brigham Young, and others. - -The Captain knew General Lee when the latter was stationed in St. Louis -as an officer of engineers in charge of river and harbor works on the -Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. - -He knew both of the Johnstons,--Albert Sidney and Joseph E.,--and -at the time of the Mormon War transported much of the supplies and -munitions of war used by Albert Sidney Johnston on his arduous and -perilous campaign. - -[Sidenote: GENERAL GRANT.] - -He saw Grant for the first time during the Mexican War, and frequently -in later years when he lived near St. Louis. In Grant’s visits to town -La Barge became well acquainted with him. He saw him in the early part -of the war, while Fremont was in command at St. Louis. He was trying to -get an interview with the General, but that officer was harder to reach -than a king or the Pope. He would keep people waiting for hours, and -then as like as not refuse them an audience. In the winter of 1864–65 -La Barge saw Grant in Washington. The head of the armies of the Union -spoke to the steamboat pilot in as equal and friendly a way as when -he was unloading wood in St. Louis. He asked the Captain if there was -anything that he could do for him, and expressed his desire to serve -him if he could. - -[Sidenote: GENERAL FREMONT.] - -La Barge saw a great deal at one time and another of General Fremont. -He first met him when he went up the river as the assistant to the -distinguished geographer and scientist, Jean I. Nicollet. Nicollet’s -party traveled on the boat which La Barge was piloting. At Leavenworth -there was an extremely rapid current, and La Barge expressed a -curiosity to know what its velocity was. Nicollet at once sent Fremont -to measure it. It was found to be eleven miles per hour in the swiftest -place. La Barge’s opinion of Fremont was that which seems to have -universally prevailed in St. Louis--that he was a greatly overrated -man, and that his success was due more to his fortunate marriage than -to his own merit. We must dissent, in a measure, from this view. In his -proper niche, Fremont was a great man. He found that niche in the work -of exploring the unknown West. In the faculty of making the unknown -known, of doing work in such a way as to make its results popular with -the public, in spreading a knowledge of the Great West throughout his -country and throughout the world, he stood without a peer among the -explorers of that region. In the broader field of national politics or -great military responsibility, he was wading beyond his depth. - -[Sidenote: THOMAS H. BENTON.] - -Thomas H. Benton, Fremont’s father-in-law, and Missouri’s greatest -statesman, was an intimate acquaintance of Captain La Barge, the -two men having known each other from La Barge’s childhood until -Benton’s death. Captain La Barge had a great admiration for the bluff -old Senator, although he did not like the way in which he used his -powerful influence in shielding the American Fur Company on so many -occasions from the just consequences of their illegal acts. Benton -was a frequent passenger on the Missouri River boats, and La Barge saw -a great deal of him there. He recalled particularly a trip which the -Senator made as far up as Kansas City, where he went to meet Fremont, -who was returning from the West. It was a very interesting voyage. -The people all along the river wanted to see him, and calls for “Old -Bullion” compelled him to appear at every landing place. He made -numerous addresses, and the boat was frequently delayed to permit this -interchange of greetings between the people and their distinguished -servant. Benton was in the pilot-house a great deal,--as every traveler -in those days liked to be,--and La Barge never forgot his expression -of deep faith in the future of the West, so unlike that of most of -his Congressional associates from east of the Mississippi. He said -once to Captain La Barge: “You will live to see railroads across to -the Pacific, and up the Missouri beyond the Great Falls.” La Barge, -a much younger man, replied that he scarcely expected to see that -in his lifetime. “But I have,” said the Captain, in telling of this -conversation, “and I have seen far more than even Senator Benton dared -to hope for.” In the same line of thought the Senator once said, as he -pointed to the west, which was overspread with the marvelous glow of -evening: “That is the East”--for he felt that we should yet go in that -direction to reach the treasures of the Orient. - -[Sidenote: NOTED MEN OF THE WEST.] - -The interesting notes of Captain La Barge’s observations of public -men with whom he was thrown in contact would fill a volume. His -acquaintance with the army was very extensive, owing to the Indian wars -along the Missouri, and he personally knew nearly all the principal -officers from General Sherman down. The same was true of the Indian -agents, Territorial officers, and leading business men of the West. -In a time when so much public travel went by steamboat he enjoyed -exceptional opportunities of seeing and knowing the men who made the -history of the Western country. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -THE INDIANS OF THE MISSOURI VALLEY. - - -The course of this narrative has shown that a large portion of the -business of the Missouri River steamboats pertained to the Indians who -dwelt on the banks of that stream. The great valley had been their home -for unknown generations. The tribes were distributed along its course -or those of its tributaries, from its mouth to their sources. First -came the Missouris, whose name the river still bears--a tribe long -since extinct as a separate organization. The Osages and the Kansas -likewise bequeathed their names to the rivers in whose valleys they -dwelt. The Omahas have lived, since the white man knew them, a short -distance above the city which perpetuates their name, while a hundred -miles to the westward in the valley of the Loup Fork of the Platte -dwelt the four tribes of the Pawnees. From the point where Sioux City -now stands, northward nearly to the British line, the great nation of -the Sioux held a wide tract of country on both sides of the river. -Within their territory dwelt the treacherous Aricaras, near the mouth -of the Grand River, and the stalwart Cheyennes at the eastern base of -the Black Hills. The unhappy tribe of the Mandans lived near the river -some distance north of the modern town of Bismarck, and near them were -the Minnetarees, or Grosventres of the Missouri. Along the northern -shore of the river from the Mandans to Milk River, and northward far -into British territory, roamed the numerous bands of the Assiniboines, -one of the most populous of the plains tribes. From Milk River to the -sources of the Missouri was the land of the hostile Blackfeet, where -dwelt the Piegan, Blood, and Blackfoot bands and the Grosventres of -the Prairies. Finally, in the valley of the Yellowstone and its great -tributary the Bighorn, was Absaroka, the home of the proud tribe of the -Crows. - -[Sidenote: GRAVITATE TOWARD THE RIVER.] - -All of these tribes gravitated toward the great watercourses, as man, -in every stage of his history has done. It was not in this case the -use of the stream as a transportation route that made it attractive. -The Missouri Valley tribes, unlike those of the Great Lakes, or the -Coast, or the northern rivers, were not good navigators. The stream -was a treacherous one, and its shores did not yield a timber suitable -to the crude workmanship of the Indian. Skin boats were used to a -limited extent, but as a rule the horse and not the boat was the means -of travel and transportation. The great importance of the river -arose from other considerations. In a region where streams are scarce -and where most of them dry up in the summer, this river furnished a -never-failing supply of as healthy a drinking water as flows on the -surface of the globe. Then its valley was the only timbered region of -consequence for hundreds of miles on either side. Groves of cottonwood, -walnut, cedar, and willow lined its banks, and the Indian here found -all the wood that his simple order of life required. The abundant -groves along the bottoms gave splendid shelter from the heat of summer -and the cold of winter. - -[Sidenote: STRANGE VISITORS.] - -The entire watershed of the river was thus originally occupied by -Indians. Considering its extensive area, their numbers were very -few--scarcely one to ten square miles. But as they mostly dwelt near -the rivers, the country seemed to the early navigators more densely -populated than it really was. Into this primeval domain there came, -more than two centuries ago, strange visitors who never went away. They -were welcomed at first; but every foot of ground they gained was held, -farther and farther up the river to its source among the mountains, -thence to the River of the West, and down its rugged valleys to the -western sea. It was a sad day to the tribes of the Missouri Valley, as -to every other, when the white man came, but a far sadder day when -the emigrant and settler came. Between these two epochs there was -a long interval in which the paleface and his red brother lived in -comparative harmony together. It was the era of the trader. Under the -fur-trade régime the Indian might have continued his native mode of -life indefinitely. The trader never sought to change it. He introduced -but few innovations; had no desire to introduce any; and looked with as -jealous an eye as the Indian himself upon the approach of civilization. -This relation of the two races was ideal, and during its continuance -the Indian is seen at his best. - -[Sidenote: THE COMING OF THE EMIGRANT.] - -All this was changed when the emigrant came. The traders were few in -number and made no permanent settlements. The emigrants came by the -thousand and spread themselves all over the country. They made roads, -discovered rich mines, laid out cities, and declared their purpose -to send the “fire-horse” across the plains, as they had sent the -“fire canoe” up the great river. Before this ever-increasing host the -game wasted away. It was estimated that in the single year 1853 four -hundred thousand buffalo were slain. As the buffalo was the very life -of the plains tribes, its extermination meant inevitable starvation or -hopeless dependence upon the government. - -[Sidenote: AN UNSOLVABLE PROBLEM.] - -All this the Indian foresaw with unerring vision, and it affected -him just as it would any other independent people. A state of unrest -ensued. Depredations and outrages occurred--for the Indian understood -no other way of expressing his displeasure,--and the government was -forced to interfere. The era of the fur trade came to an end, and that -of the treaty, the agent, and the annuity, began--an era whose history -will bring the blush of shame to its readers to the latest generations. -And yet it would be wholly unjust to charge the flagrant wrongs which -followed to this or that particular cause. History will exonerate -the government from any but the purest motives in its dealings with -the Indians. It may have been unwise in some of its measures; it was -certainly weak in carrying its purposes into effect; but it always -sought, with the light it possessed, the highest good of the Indian. -The problem, unfortunately, was beyond human wisdom to solve. The -ablest minds of this country and century have grappled with it in -vain. It was the problem of how to commit a great wrong without doing -any wrong--how to deprive the Indian of his birthright in such a way -that he should feel that no injustice had been done him. It was the -decree of destiny that the European should displace the native American -upon his own soil. No earthly power could prevent it. _This_ was the -wrong; all else was purely incidental; and whatever consideration or -generosity might attend the details of the change, nothing could alter -the stern and fundamental fact.[64] - -[Sidenote: THE TREATY SYSTEM.] - -[Sidenote: POLICY OF INSINCERITY.] - -With this impossible problem our law-givers wrestled for a century -in vain. They sought to deal with the Indian on a basis of political -equality, where such equality did not and could not exist. The treaty -system was the outgrowth of this attempt. Perhaps it was impossible to -deal with the Indians except by treaty, but it is difficult at this day -to see the wisdom of that method. It only deferred the inevitable. It -made promises which, in the nature of things, could not be kept.[65] -Made to be broken, they served no other purpose than to lull the -natives into temporary quiet while the paleface was fastening his -grip ever more tightly upon their country. It was throughout a policy -of insincerity; the fostering of a spirit of independent sovereignty -when in fact the tribes were only vassals. Like all insincerity, it -bred endless wrong. The loss of his lands would not have been so bad to -him if he had understood it from the start; but as it was, he had not -only to bear this loss, but the ever-increasing evidence of the white -man’s bad faith; and he thus came to hate the whites and distrust their -government.[66] - -This, if we were to venture a criticism, has been the government’s -one great mistake in dealing with the Indians. A firm attitude of -authority toward the tribes, with an unqualified claim to sovereignty -of the soil, and an assertion of the right to reduce it and them to a -condition of ultimate civilization, would have eliminated the element -of bad faith which has always characterized the treaty system. But -instead of this the government continued to foster to the last the -notion of tribal sovereignty over the lands of the West. Under the -farce of obtaining these lands by treaty it saved itself from the -charge of wresting them by force from the Indian. It was a distinction -without a difference, and in its effort to save its honor in one -direction, it hopelessly sacrificed it in another. - -[Sidenote: TREATY OF FORT LARAMIE.] - -[Sidenote: A SUCCESSFUL COUNCIL.] - -The first general treaty with the tribes of the upper Missouri was -held at Fort Laramie in September, 1851. It included nearly every -tribe in the valley from the Omahas up, except the Blackfeet. The -Indians came from far and near and pitched their separate camps on -the council ground. Tribes that had never met before here made each -other’s acquaintance. Others, who had met only on the battlefield, -encamped side by side in peace. The government was represented by -men of experience and dignity. In particular, Superintendent D. D. -Mitchell and Father P. J. De Smet were men in whom the Indians felt -the most implicit trust. The council was convened for the purpose of -coming to some understanding among the tribes themselves and between -them and the whites as to their immediate future relations. It was -hoped to put an end to inter-tribal wars and to outrages upon the -emigrants, and to secure the right of way for roads and railroads -across the Indian lands. The several tribes showed the greatest -interest in the work of the council. The deliberations were conducted -with solemnity and evident sincerity on both sides. The presents from -the government were munificent and well chosen, and were received with -deep satisfaction. When the work of the council was completed, the -tribes bade each other farewell, and departed for their several homes -with every appearance of mutual trust and friendship. To all outward -appearances the council had been a complete success. Treaties were -made with all the tribes present. The gifts received were to be in -full compensation for all previous losses caused by the white man, and -the Indians were to receive goods annually to the aggregate amount of -fifty thousand dollars. The treaties, as amended in Washington, were to -remain in force for fifteen years. Four years later a similar treaty -was made near Fort Benton with the several bands of the Blackfeet by a -commission consisting of Governor I. I. Stevens and Alfred Cummings, -Superintendent of Indian Affairs. - -[Sidenote: A MIXING OF GOODS.] - -It was thus that the annuity system came into extensive vogue among the -tribes of the upper Missouri. It probably gave rise to more abuses than -any other one thing in the conduct of Indian affairs. The temptations -for fraud were as great as the opportunities for its commission were -numerous and excellent, and it required more than average public -virtue to resist them. The Indian could not go to the market and -help select his goods; he had no hand in awarding the contracts for -their transportation to his country; nor any means of seeing that he -received what he was entitled to. His only function was to accept -what the agent saw fit to give him. During the Civil War, when the -currency depreciated to such an enormous extent, the annuities shrank -in quantity as prices went up, and the Indian was a heavy loser from -causes that he could not comprehend. The annuities were always sent -up the river in the boats of the traders, generally in those of the -American Fur Company. The agents were given no escort and no separate -residence or warehouse, and were compelled to throw themselves upon -the hospitality of the traders. In this way the annuity goods became -mixed with those of the traders, and the Indian paid in furs for what -he was entitled to as a free gift. This abuse was a grave one and very -difficult to correct, for all that the Department required in evidence -of the delivery was the signature of the chiefs, witnessed in the usual -manner. It is easy to see how wide open the door was in this business -for the commission of almost unlimited fraud.[67] - -[Sidenote: ANNUITY SYSTEM.] - -It is doubtful if, during the period from 1850 to 1870, the Indian -tribes along the Missouri River received more than half the bounty -which was promised them by the government. - -[Sidenote: A CORRUPT ATMOSPHERE.] - -In the early days of the Republic the conduct of Indian affairs was in -the hands of the military authorities, and it has always been a mooted -question whether it ought not to have remained there. The verdict of -history will undoubtedly be that it should. The spoils system came -into absolute control of the agencies, and fitness and experience -received scant consideration. There was more or less friction between -the agents and the military, for the latter always had to be called -in when the former could no longer control their flocks. But the -greatest defect of the system was the total absence of anything like -a fixed and recognized procedure. The annual reports of the agents -show how utterly lacking in all the elements of practical business was -their haphazard management. Every new agent felt called upon, as a -necessary preliminary to his own work, to criticise the conduct of his -predecessor. He put forth new schemes and tried new experiments, until -finally he himself made way for a successor who in turn deplored the -failures of those who had gone before him. - -Probably the majority of the agents were men of average integrity, but -there were many who sought the business solely for “what there was in -it.” The whole atmosphere of the Indian trade was so against an honest -conduct of the business that an agent who should undertake to enforce -strict integrity in his official work was regarded as a fit subject -for an asylum of the feeble-minded. At one time the experiment was -tried of appointing only clergymen to the agencies. But the scheme was -a visionary one. What these agents made up in honesty they lacked in -experience, and were pliant tools in the hands of the shrewd trader. -Their saintly character, moreover, was not always a sure panoply -against the attacks of worldly temptation. To more than one of them, -in the words of Captain La Barge, “a dollar looked bigger than a -cart wheel,” and they, like the rest, learned how to connive at the -crookedness of the traders. But whatever their virtues or intentions, -they were powerless to accomplish any good work. The fault was in -the system, which was inherently vicious, and mere honesty in the -individual could not eliminate its defects. - -[Sidenote: THE SYSTEM AT FAULT.] - -The actual results of the treaty-annuity-agency system in the conduct -of Indian affairs are now matters of history. No treaty that it -was possible to devise could stand. The encroachment of settlement -continually increased. It led to resistance on the part of the -Indians, and resistance to chastisement and to new treaties, and these -invariably to loss of territory and abridgment of rights. At last it -led to war, and the final transition of nearly all the tribes to their -present situation was accompanied by scenes of blood. - -It is not possible to follow here the intricate pathway of the treaty -system through the quarter century after 1850, for it is a long story. -There were treaty after treaty, commission after commission, and a -constant exercise of its best offices on the part of the government -to reach some satisfactory result; but in vain. The life of a people, -like that of an individual, cannot be extinguished without a struggle. -Whether in this case the inevitable struggle was intensified by the -procrastinating policy of the government may be an open question. -It probably was, for it was preceded by years of bad faith, broken -pledges, and cruel wrongs, until the hearts of this unhappy people were -embittered, and they drew the sword in a spirit of hatred and revenge. - -[Sidenote: THE INDIAN AND THE STEAMBOAT.] - -Throughout the painful annals of the river tribes during the past -century there was no more attractive feature of their relations with -the whites than the means of transportation by which the paleface came -to their country. The keelboat and the steamboat are a part of their -life history. The steamboat in particular came to be what the buffalo -had been--their principal resource for the necessities of life. It was -a difficult rôle that it had to fill. To the Indian it was friend and -foe, truth and falsehood, honor and shame, alike. It brought the early -traders with their welcome merchandise, and alas! with their liquor and -the smallpox. It brought the Commissioners to make treaties, and the -annuities which those treaties guaranteed. It brought the Indian agent -and the evils that followed in his train, and finally it brought the -sword. When the Indian at last gave up the fight he and the steamboat -abandoned the river together, and both are now strangers where once -they made the entire valley teem with life. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - -THE ARMY ON THE MISSOURI. - - -The rôle which the army was called upon to fill in the history of our -Indian affairs was a most unpleasant one. It began while the proud -spirit of the tribes was as yet unbroken, but had been aroused by -ever-increasing aggression to the point of active resistance. It then -became necessary to subdue them by force to absolute subordination to -the government, and to remove them from their larger hunting grounds -to small reservations. This thankless task devolved upon the army. It -was not merely a thankless task, but a most arduous and formidable one. -Compared with service in the Indian campaigns, that in the South during -the Civil War was a holiday pastime. What tragedy in all our national -wars can compare with the battle of the Little Big Horn? What record -of retreat and pursuit is there like that of the Nez Percé campaign of -1877? Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow had no terrors for the individual -soldier like those of the winter campaign of Crook in the Powder River -country in March, 1876, when it was so cold that the men were not -permitted to go to sleep at night for fear they would never wake up. - -[Sidenote: THE WEIGHT OF A DREAD POWER.] - -In the course of twenty years after 1855 military posts sprang up -all over the West. There was scarcely an Indian trail in that entire -region that did not witness the passage of government troops. From one -haunt to another his relentless pursuers tracked the desperate Indian. -Ambushes and massacres were met with crushing defeats in battle, but -the general drift of the conflict was uniformly one way. The Indian was -learning the weight of that dread power which had so far tolerated his -independence, but was now to extinguish it forever. The struggle lasted -in its main features about sixteen years, or from 1862 to 1877; but its -extreme limits were the Grattan Massacre of August 19, 1854, and the -battle of Wounded Knee, December 29, 1890. - -For some years the Indians who were parties to the treaty of Laramie -observed its conditions fairly well; but in 1854 an unfortunate affair -occurred which temporarily interrupted the general peace. Some fifteen -hundred Indians of three different Sioux bands were encamped in the -Platte Valley, about six miles below Fort Laramie, in August of that -year. One of the Indians drove off and killed a stray cow belonging to -an emigrant train. The owner complained of the theft to the officer in -command at Laramie, and Lieutenant Grattan, with about twenty men, was -sent to bring in the thief. He probably did not show very much tact -in performing his delicate task, and made the mistake of attempting -to take the culprit by force in the presence of nearly ten times his -number of Indians. The result was the massacre of his entire party. The -Indians then went to the American Fur Company warehouse, where their -annuity goods were in waiting, broke open the building, and carried off -the annuities. - -[Sidenote: BATTLE OF ASH HOLLOW.] - -Thereupon the government ordered General Harney to take the field with -a military force, establish convenient bases of supplies, protect the -frontier and the emigrant routes, and to deal a heavy blow upon the -offending Indians. On September 3, 1855, General Harney attacked a -large force of Indians who had taken part in the Grattan massacre, -completely routed them, killed and captured upward of two hundred, and -destroyed nearly all their property. This affair took place across the -Platte River from Ash Hollow, a noted situation on the emigrant trail, -from which the battle has taken its name. - -General Harney next moved his force to the Missouri River, where -the old trading post of Fort Pierre had been lately acquired by the -government, and there held councils with various tribes, which again -resulted in general pacification. In the following year the important -military post of Fort Randall was built, and Fort Pierre was abandoned -because of its undesirable situation. General Harney discharged his -task in a manner highly creditable to himself and satisfactory both to -the Indians and the government; and seven years were to elapse before -any further difficulty of a serious character should occur. - -[Sidenote: SITUATION GROWING WORSE.] - -[Sidenote: INTRIGUES OF THE HALF-BREEDS.] - -But while the severe lesson of Ash Hollow, the frank counsel of General -Harney, and the presence of a military force at Fort Randall, kept -the tribes in comparative peace, the wrongs from which they suffered -continually increased, and their temper grew constantly worse. The -discovery of gold in Montana brought a multitude of emigrants to and -through this country, with the consequent destruction of game and -threats of roads and railroads and loss of lands. Events were fast -developing into a crisis, when the outbreak of the Civil War in the -United States gave the tribes their desired opportunity. The frontier -garrisons were depleted in order that the regular troops might be sent -south. New levies made up of the able-bodied citizens went away to -the war. The Indian was quick to see how this movement weakened the -frontier settlements. He was made to believe, by gross exaggeration, -that the situation of the Great Father in Washington was a desperate -one, that his capital was about to be taken and his power destroyed. -It has been asserted that the Confederates had emissaries among -the Indians, but there is no proof of any direct intrigue of this -character. Indirectly, however, they exercised a powerful influence -upon them. The people of the British possessions, like those of -the mother country, sympathized ardently with the South, and this -sympathy found effective expression in the intercourse of the British -half-breeds north of the boundary with the Indians south. These -half-breeds knew the border tribes perfectly, and had greater influence -with them than the whites, who were strangers to their customs and -the authors of their many wrongs. Selfish motives of trade combined -with national prejudice to stir up strife against the Americans and -to provide means for making that strife effective. The half-breeds -circulated freely south of the border, and the tracks of their carts -could be seen everywhere from the Red River of the North to the -Missouri River. They brought powder and balls, guns, rum, and regular -merchandise of trade, and their influence at this particular time -was decisive. Their territory, moreover, offered a sure asylum from -punishment for any outrages which the Indians might commit.[68] - -[Sidenote: THE MINNESOTA MASSACRE.] - -Trouble first broke out in 1862 among the Minnesota Indians, where the -evil conditions from which the tribes had been suffering had reached an -acute stage. Under the leadership of a noted Sioux chief, Little Crow, -the Indians in the valley of the Minnesota River above Mankato attacked -the settlement of New Ulm and others in that vicinity, on the 18th -of August, murdering and taking captive the inhabitants, destroying -property, and spreading consternation in every direction. In the course -of three days nearly a thousand persons were killed and two million -dollars’ worth of property destroyed. - -The State and national governments sent instant relief; the outrages -were checked; the Indians were driven up the Minnesota Valley and -beaten in several battles; the captive whites were mostly released, -and a large number of hostiles engaged in the massacre were taken -prisoners. This work was done under the immediate leadership of General -H. H. Sibley, first Governor of Minnesota. The captured Indians were -tried by court martial, and a great number were condemned to death, but -this penalty was commuted by President Lincoln except in the cases of -thirty-eight, who were hanged at Mankato, December 26, 1862. - -[Sidenote: AN INDIAN WAR.] - -In the meanwhile the Indians under Little Crow, though checked and -driven back, were not conquered or discouraged. Their emissaries were -active among the tribes of the Missouri, who were aroused almost to -the point of war. The execution of the Indians at Mankato exasperated -Little Crow to a desperate pitch, and he vowed extermination of the -whites. It was clear that an Indian war was at hand, and the government -at once prepared for it. Its conduct was placed in the hands of General -John Pope, who had been relieved from his command of the Army of the -Potomac after the second Bull Run, and was now in command of the -Department of the Northwest, with headquarters at Milwaukee. General -Pope organized two expeditions, one under General Sibley, to move west -from Mankato against the Indians and drive them toward the Missouri, -and the other under General Sully, to move from Sioux City up the -Missouri and cut off their retreat. The plan was well conceived, but -the extreme low water in the Missouri in 1863 prevented General Sully -from receiving his supplies in time to carry out his part of the -programme. - -[Sidenote: EXPEDITION OF GENERAL SIBLEY.] - -Sibley’s expedition left Camp Pope in the Minnesota Valley June 16, -1863, and two days later that of General Sully left Sioux City. -Sibley’s route lay up the Minnesota to its source, thence by way of -Lake Traverse to the Cheyenne River of North Dakota, and up that stream -toward Devil’s Lake, where the Indians were supposed to be. Learning -that they had left that region and had gone toward the Missouri, -General Sibley changed his march to the southwest, and pursued the -retreating enemy with great vigor. He came upon them and fought three -battles within a week--Big Mound, July 24; Dead Buffalo Lake, July 26; -and Stony Lake, July 28. The Indians were defeated in all three fights, -and then crossed the Missouri River just below where Bismarck, N. D., -now stands. General Sibley reached that stream on July 29, and here his -expedition ended. Two days later his command set out on its homeward -march.[69] - -At this time General Sully was at Fort Pierre. The transportation of -his supplies had delayed him, and it was not until the 14th of August -that he started from that point on his march north. He went up the -east bank of the Missouri, with a great deal of vexatious delay, and -finally reached the scene of Sibley’s third fight just a month after it -had taken place. The Indians, meanwhile, far from being conquered or -dispirited, had recrossed the river and were on their way back to the -grazing grounds on the Coteau of the Missouri. Some of them harassed -the homeward-bound column of General Sibley. Sully pursued them to the -northeast and overtook and fought them at Whitestone Hill, some thirty -miles south and slightly west of Jamestown, N. D. The Indians were -badly defeated, many of them were killed, and a large amount of their -property was destroyed. Sully then returned to the Missouri and built a -new post, Fort Sully, on the left bank of the river, opposite the head -of Farm Island, midway between Fort Pierre and Fort George. With this -work the campaign of 1863 came to an end. - -[Sidenote: CAMPAIGN INDECISIVE.] - -The movements of troops in this campaign and the force of Indians -engaged were the largest yet known in the history of the United -States. The number of warriors was estimated at over six thousand, -while the troops under Sibley and Sully numbered about four thousand. -The campaign, however, was not conclusive. Although the Indians had -been defeated with severe loss in every engagement, they were still -unsubdued, and retained their defiant attitude during the following -winter. Accordingly another campaign was planned for the summer of -1864. General Sully was placed in charge with a cavalry force of about -2500 men. - -[Sidenote: SULLY’S CAMPAIGN OF 1864.] - -General Sully’s first move was to build a post near the mouth of -the Cannon Ball River--Fort Rice, forty miles below where Bismarck -now stands, and on the other side of the river. The Indians being -reported as near the source of Heart River, General Sully concluded -to continue his march in search of them, whether found or not, until -he should reach the Yellowstone River. He took with him only the -necessary rations for the march and sent his steamboats with supplies -and materials for a new post around to meet him at the Brasseau Houses -on the Yellowstone, fifty miles above the mouth of that stream. -Accompanying Sully’s march to the Yellowstone was an emigrant train of -about 125 people bound for the mines of Montana. - -Sully’s route lay up the Cannon Ball River nearly to its source, and -thence across to the head waters of Heart River. Here the General -packed his train and left it with the emigrants under a strong guard, -and himself and command, in light marching order, struck out for Knife -River, where the Indians were reported encamped. He found them as -expected. They were defiant and eager for battle, and an engagement -immediately followed. The Indians were badly defeated, a large number -being killed, and all of their property destroyed. This was the battle -of Tahkahokuty, or Killdeer Mountain, and was fought July 28, 1864. - -[Sidenote: THE ARMY REACHES THE YELLOWSTONE.] - -Sully then returned to his camp on Heart River, and, under the guidance -of a single Indian, who, of all those with him, professed to know a -passable route, started on the perilous undertaking of carrying a wagon -train through the Bad Lands to the Yellowstone River. The route was -west to the Little Missouri, where it turned sharply to the northwest -and struck the Yellowstone about fifteen miles below the Brasseau -Houses. This point was reached on the 12th of August, and fortunately -the supply steamers were close at hand to relieve the necessities of -the troops. This was the first expedition across the Bad Lands of North -Dakota, and was accomplished at the cost of great labor and suffering. - -The command crossed the Yellowstone and then marched to the Missouri -River opposite Fort Union. This stream was forded with much peril, and -the troops then returned to Fort Rice along the north shore. Garrisons -were left at Forts Union and Berthold, but the contemplated post on the -Yellowstone could not be built, owing to the wrecking of one of the -steamers with most of the material on board. - -Thus the military forces of the United States were advanced in -permanent occupation to the mouth of the Yellowstone River. Only twice -before had the uniform of the American soldier been so far up the -Missouri--in 1805–06, when the Lewis and Clark expedition passed this -point, and in 1825, when General Atkinson took his command to a point -about a hundred miles farther up. Neither of these earlier visits -contemplated permanent occupation. - -[Sidenote: SIGNS OF WEAKENING.] - -By this time the Indians began to realize the magnitude of the power -they were contending with, and to show signs of weakening. No extensive -campaign was found necessary along the river for a number of years, -although many of the Indians continued hostile and committed numerous -depredations. The termination of the Civil War, with complete victory -for the government, and the release of so many soldiers from Southern -fields who could now be sent to the frontier, all tended to make the -Indians proceed in their schemes of war with greater caution and -hesitation. Could the evils of our Indian system have been corrected -the tribes might readily have been brought to terms of “lasting peace,” -which was so confidently predicted at the time by Indian agents and -even by some military officers. - -In this matter of the military conquest of the Missouri Valley, as in -that treated in the last chapter, it is not possible, with our present -space, to follow in detail the course of events during the next twelve -years. The army made some new advances every year, not only in the -Missouri Valley, but throughout the entire West. Campaigns, battles, -and some appalling massacres occurred, and the soldiers became as -familiar with the country and as expert in savage methods of warfare as -the Indian himself. Finally, in 1875–77, came the last act in the great -tragedy, by which the power of the Sioux nation was broken and their -career as an independent people brought to an end. - -[Sidenote: NON-TREATY SIOUX.] - -Great efforts had been made for several years to reduce the Sioux -tribes, by peaceable methods, to life on the reservations. Several -government commissions were sent to them, and one in particular, of -which General Sherman was a member, went into the whole matter with -the greatest possible care. Most of the Sioux were finally located on -the reservations and appeared to be peaceably disposed. But there were -some exceptions, estimated to number not more than six or eight hundred -warriors, who had persistently refused from the first to recognize in -any way the treaties or other arrangements with the government. The -agents had failed to get them to quiet down on the reservations, and -they continued to roam over the country as of old, subsisting upon the -fruits of the chase. They were uncompromisingly hostile to the whites -and their Indian allies, and committed outrages without number upon -both. Finally the Indian Department served notice upon them that unless -they settled down on the reservations before January 31, 1876, they -would be turned over to the military authorities and be dealt with by -force. The Indians paid no attention to this ultimatum, and their case -was accordingly placed in the hands of the army. - -[Sidenote: CAMPAIGN OF 1876.] - -An effort was made to reach these Indians by a winter campaign, but -after one attempt, which ended in a battle of no decisive results, the -scheme was abandoned, because the excessive cold made it impossible -to conduct operations in that shelterless country. General Sheridan, -who was charged with the conduct of this important business, thereupon -planned a campaign which was to be carried out as soon as the season -would permit. He determined upon a concentric movement by which bodies -of troops from widely separated localities should move upon a given -section where it was believed that the hostile band would be found. -General Crook was to start from Fort Fetterman, on the Platte, and -move north; General Terry from Fort Abraham Lincoln, on the Missouri, -and move west; and General Gibbon from Fort Ellis, in western Montana, -and move east. The point of rendezvous was to be in the Yellowstone -Valley near the mouth of the Powder River, or wherever in that vicinity -further development might indicate. General Crook left Fort Fetterman -May 29 with about 1000 men; General Terry left Fort Lincoln May 17 with -about 1000 men, sending his supplies around into the Yellowstone by -steamboat. General Gibbon, with 450 men, left Fort Ellis on the 1st of -April, crossed over to the Yellowstone, and marched down the left bank -of that stream. - -[Sidenote: ERRONEOUS ESTIMATES.] - -Up to this time all obtainable evidence indicated that the hostile -Indians did not number more than 800 warriors. As a matter of fact, -discontented Indians from nearly all the surrounding Sioux and Cheyenne -agencies had for some time past been leaving the reservations and going -to the hostiles, until the latter had gathered a force of not less than -2500 men. It was against this force, more than three times as large as -was supposed, that the joint movement of Generals Terry, Crook, and -Gibbon was directed. - -General Crook was the first to encounter the Indians. He met and fought -them on the head of the Rosebud River June 17, and although the Indians -withdrew, the battle was indecisive, and the great number of the -Indians, as disclosed by the fight, induced General Crook not to take -the risk of going further. He withdrew to the valley of Goose Creek and -sent for re-enforcements. - -Generals Terry and Gibbon met about fifteen miles below the mouth of -the Tongue River on the 9th of June, and their combined forces formed -a junction at the mouth of the Rosebud on the 21st of that month. Here -the plan of operations against the Indians was agreed upon. Nothing -was known of Crook’s whereabouts, nor of his recent fight, but it was -pretty well established, from various scouting parties, that the Indian -village was in the valley of the Little Big Horn, from seventy-five to -ninety miles distant. It was decided that General Custer, with the 7th -Cavalry, should proceed up the Rosebud until he should strike a large -Indian trail which had been discovered a few days before, and should -then follow it to the Little Big Horn, feeling well to the south to -prevent the escape of the Indians. General Gibbon, whose column General -Terry accompanied, was to ascend the Yellowstone to the mouth of the -Big Horn, and that stream to the mouth of the Little Big Horn, where -it was expected to arrive not later than the 26th, and where it should -come into touch with Custer. - -[Sidenote: THE CUSTER MASSACRE.] - -In carrying out his part of the programme, General Custer moved more -rapidly than his instructions contemplated, so rapidly, in fact, that -he would have arrived at the appointed rendezvous, had his march not -been interrupted, an entire day in advance of that fixed for the -arrival of General Gibbon. The result was that his command came upon -the Indian village on the morning of the 25th while advancing in -three separate columns not within supporting distance of each other. -Custer’s column was surrounded and annihilated to a man. The other two -detachments, under Major Reno and Captain Benteen, effected a junction -and intrenched themselves on the river bluff of the Little Big Horn, -where they withstood for nearly thirty hours the terrific siege by the -Indians, who were confident and exultant from their late victory over -Custer. The total loss to Custer’s command was about 270 men. General -Gibbon’s column reached the scene of the battle on the 27th, the -Indians withdrawing upon their approach. - -[Sidenote: MILITARY PROBLEM SOLVED.] - -This was the crowning tragedy of the long Sioux wars, which had been -waged at intervals for upward of twenty years. Although a great -disaster to the whites, it marked the downfall of the Indian power. -The various bands into which the hostile force scattered after the -Custer massacre were relentlessly pursued until all were driven into -the reservations or beyond the British line. Once on the reservations -they were disarmed and dismounted, so as to cripple them from further -resistance. Another year was consumed in this work, and the military -posts were further extended into the Indian country; but by the end of -1877 the military problem in our Indian affairs was practically solved. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - -THE STEAMBOAT IN THE INDIAN WARS. - - -[Sidenote: MILITARY USE OF KEELBOATS.] - -Throughout the Indian wars of the Missouri Valley the steamboat played -a part of the very highest importance. It was almost the exclusive -means of transporting men and supplies along the river, except when in -active campaign work in the interior. Its use in the military service -dates from the very beginning of steamboat navigation on the river, as -well as from the first important step toward the military occupation -of the valley. When the first steamboat entered the Missouri, in 1819, -arrangements were being perfected to transport by steam to the mouth -of the Yellowstone a large body of troops designed to establish a post -there. Five boats were brought into requisition for this purpose, and a -sixth, the _Western Engineer_, was built by the government to transport -a party of scientists who were to accompany the expedition. Owing -to the entire absence of experience in navigating the Missouri with -steamboats, this attempt proved a failure. None of the boats except -the _Western Engineer_ got as far as to the old Council Bluffs, and -the troops, after marching a part of the distance, went into winter -quarters at that point. - -Four years later the first Indian campaign west of the Mississippi -River took place, when Colonel Leavenworth, with a considerable body -of troops, went up the river from Fort Atkinson (old Council Bluffs) -to chastise the Aricaras, who had attacked a fur-trading party under -General Ashley and killed a number of men. Keelboats were used on this -expedition. - -Two years later, 1825, General Atkinson took a large body of troops -from Fort Atkinson to a point about one hundred miles above the mouth -of the Yellowstone and return. His purpose was to make treaties with -the Indian tribes along the valley and acquaint them with the power -of the United States. Keelboats were used, and a novel feature was -introduced in propelling them--a wheel, or wheels, which were operated -by hand power, the soldiers being used for this purpose. - -No further use of steamboats in the military service except at Forts -Leavenworth, Kearney, and Croghan, and in connection with the Mexican -War, occurred until Harney’s campaign of 1855. All the troops that went -up the river at that time were transported in steamboats. The transfer -of ownership of Fort Pierre from the American Fur Company to the army, -and the movement of material connected therewith, were also done by -steam. The establishment of Fort Randall and the subsequent maintenance -of that post were mainly accomplished by the aid of the steamboat. - -[Sidenote: A LONG WAY AROUND.] - -The outbreak of the Sioux War in 1863 and the campaigns of 1863–64 -called the steamboat again into extensive use. A remarkable instance -of this use was the transportation of the Winnebago Indians from their -home near Mankato, Minn., to their new home on the Missouri River. The -feeling against the Indians after the Minnesota massacre was so bitter -that it was taken advantage of to move them all from the State. It -does not appear that the Winnebagos were active participants in the -outbreak, but the hand of vengeance fell upon them as upon the others. -They were moved westward several hundred miles, and in exchange for the -fertile lands of the Minnesota Valley were given a home on the sterile -wastes of the Missouri. In making this transfer the Indians were not -taken directly across the country, which was perfectly practicable for -wagons all the way, but were transported by _steamboat_. They were put -on board the _Favorite_ and other boats at Mankato on the Minnesota -River, taken down that stream to the Mississippi at Fort Snelling, down -the Mississippi to the Missouri, and up the Missouri to the mouth of -Crow Creek, twenty miles above the present site of Chamberlain, S. D. -The distance around was 1900 miles, against about 300 miles across. -The Indians arrived at Crow Creek on May 30, 1863. A reservation was -laid off, the necessary agency buildings were erected in a stockaded -inclosure, and the place was named Fort Thompson, in honor of Clark -W. Thompson, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Northern -Superintendency. Mr. Thompson personally supervised the work of -locating the Indians on this new reservation. - -[Sidenote: STEAMBOATS IN SULLY’S CAMPAIGNS.] - -In the campaign of General Sully in 1863 he relied entirely upon -steamboats for transporting his supplies from Sioux City to the field -of operations, and one boat accompanied him from Fort Pierre well on -his way to the scene of actual hostilities. It was on this campaign -that General Sully impressed Captain La Barge’s boat, the _Shreveport_, -into his service for a time. - -The campaign of 1864 from Fort Rice to the Yellowstone River was -conducted in connection with steamboats. Three boats were sent around -into the Yellowstone to meet the troops at the Brasseau Houses. They -were loaded with rations, forage, and material for a new post which -it was proposed to build on the Yellowstone River near the mouth of -Powder River. These boats were the _Chippewa Falls_, the _Alone_, and -the _Island City_. The last-mentioned boat had all the forage for the -animals on board and was unfortunately wrecked just below the mouth of -the Yellowstone River. This occurrence caused General Sully to abandon -for the time his contemplated establishment on the Yellowstone. - -During the next twelve years steamboats were constantly in the service -of the government in transporting troops and supplies along the river. -It is impossible to estimate the great value in the military operations -of the valley of this important line of communication. Forts and -cantonments were strung all along the river from Fort Randall to Fort -Benton, and all of them, as well as the troops in the field, depended -for their support upon the river boats. The conquest of the Missouri -Valley would have been a very different matter had the government been -deprived of this important aid in its operations. - -[Sidenote: STEAMBOATS IN CAMPAIGN OF 1876.] - -In the Sioux campaign of 1876 steamboats bore a prominent part, one -of the very highest importance, and one which had its full share -of the thrilling incidents of that tragic conflict. A considerable -fleet of boats was sent up the river from Fort Abraham Lincoln to -co-operate with the troops under Terry, who marched across the country -to the Yellowstone. They not only carried supplies, but assisted in -patrolling the river to prevent the Indians from crossing, and moved -the troops from point to point as their services were needed. One boat -in particular, the _Far West_, Captain Grant Marsh, master, performed -a service which will go down in the history of the campaign as one of -its most thrilling episodes. - -[Sidenote: THE “FAR WEST.”] - -The _Far West_ was for a few days used by General Terry as his -headquarters boat while his command was moving up the Yellowstone to -the mouth of the Big Horn. The boat, after ferrying General Gibbon’s -command to the north bank of the Yellowstone, was directed to proceed -up the Big Horn, and, if possible, to reach the mouth of the Little Big -Horn. General Gibbon, being ill at the time, remained on the boat with -a company of infantry a part of the way, when he joined Terry’s column -and resumed command of his own troops. The _Far West_ ascended the Big -Horn fifteen miles above the mouth of the Little Big Horn and then -dropped down to that tributary. It remained there until the 30th, by -which time all the wounded from Reno’s fight had been placed on board, -and it then moved down to the Yellowstone, where it arrived on the -same day. Three days later it started down the river for Fort Abraham -Lincoln with all the wounded, and a volume of dispatches, official and -private, relating to the terrible tragedy of which the world had but -just been informed. The very nature of its mission made the voyage of -the _Far West_ one of romantic interest. Its cargo of wounded men, its -greater burden of news to anxious friends and an impatient public, all -mark it as one of the historic incidents of our Indian wars. The _Far -West_ arrived at Fort Lincoln July 5, about midnight.[70] - -[Sidenote: AN HISTORIC VOYAGE.] - -The _Far West_ returned from Fort Abraham Lincoln immediately after -she had discharged her cargo, and remained with other boats on the -Yellowstone until the subsiding waters made it impossible to navigate -that stream. Among these boats was another, well known to the army for -many years, and the only one of the old fleet that still survives. -This was the _Josephine_, which is now in the service of the government -as a snagboat in the work of keeping the upper river free from -obstructions. - -[Sidenote: A STRANGE LAND; AN UNKNOWN RIVER.] - -[Sidenote: DOWN THE SWIFT YELLOWSTONE.] - -[Sidenote: LA BARGE IN CUSTER CAMPAIGN.] - -Captain La Barge also saw service in the Custer campaign. The need -of a light-draft boat for use in the latter part of the season led -the authorities to engage his boat, the _John M. Chambers_, to carry -supplies to Fort Buford. The boat left St. Louis August 5 and reached -Buford September 11. The commissary stores were at once unloaded, with -the assistance of soldiers detailed for the purpose. General Terry and -staff, with a company of troops and a piece of artillery, were then -taken on board, and the boat started for Wolf Point in the hope of -heading off the Indians, who were reported to be in that vicinity. The -boat started early on the morning of the 12th. She proceeded about -thirty miles that day, having made a stop at Fort Union to put off -General Hazen and take on a supply of meat for the troops. Owing to the -low water she made only about twenty miles on the 13th. On the 14th the -party stopped to examine a broken-down ambulance on the shore. It was -found to have belonged to Reno’s troops, who were in pursuit of the -Indians. A little farther they came upon a party of seven men on their -way down the river from Montana, and through them news of Reno and the -Indians was received. These men had been terribly frightened the night -before. The boat had laid up near their camp and had thrown a shell -into a grove of cottonwoods to search for Indians. It struck near their -bivouac and almost paralyzed them with fright. They came on board next -day and went down by the boat on its return home. - -On the 15th the boat reached Reno’s camp. The Indians had already -crossed, and Captain La Barge immediately commenced ferrying Reno’s -command over. This work was accomplished before night, and the boat -left for Buford the following morning, with General Terry and staff and -270 men. Buford was reached on the 17th, and the boat was discharged. -She at once started on her return to St. Louis, where she arrived -October 8. - -[Sidenote: THE NEZ PERCÉ CAMPAIGN.] - -Strange as it may seem, considering the nature of a campaign like that -of 1877 against the Nez Percé Indians, the Missouri River steamboat -played an important, and perhaps a decisive, part in its operations. -Chief Joseph, in his long march from Idaho, had crossed the Yellowstone -National Park, and finding himself pursued and harried in every -direction, struck north for the British line. The pursuing troops, whom -he had so far eluded, he felt confident would not overtake him; but he -did not count on a danger which arose in a quite unexpected quarter. -General Miles, with about 350 men, was encamped on the Yellowstone at -the mouth of the Tongue River, where the news reached him that Indians -had crossed the Yellowstone farther up and were making for the British -line. He at once put his command in motion to intercept them. His first -objective was the Missouri River at the mouth of the Musselshell. As -soon as he came in sight of the river, scouts were sent on ahead to -stop any steamer that might happen along. By the greatest good fortune -the scouts reached the bank just as the last boat of the season was -passing down. Fifteen minutes later and she would have been gone. - -[Sidenote: TIMELY AID.] - -The troops were brought down to the river and ten days’ rations were -put on the boat and taken to the mouth of the Musselshell. The -officers of the boat stated that the Indians had not yet crossed the -Missouri, and General Miles accordingly decided to march up the valley -of the Musselshell to intercept them. The boat was discharged and -dropped downstream, stopping about a mile below to take on some wood. -While there, two men came down the river in a mackinaw and reported -that the Indians _had_ crossed the river, some eighty miles above, -and were making for the British line. General Miles instantly ordered -some cannon shots fired in the direction of the steamboat. A Captain -Baldwin, who had been sent down on account of sickness, was on board. -He at once understood that the boat was wanted, and caused her to -be brought back. The command was ferried over, and on the following -morning, September 27, set out to the northwest after the Indians. -They were overtaken on Snake Creek, where Chief Joseph was defeated -in battle, and the greater part of his people captured. This point -was within fifty miles of the boundary, and about one hundred of the -Indians actually got across the line. But for the timely aid of the -steamboat it is probable that the whole band would have escaped. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII. - -THE PEACE COMMISSION OF 1866. - - -[Sidenote: LOSS OF THE “EFFIE DEANS.”] - -We left Captain La Barge in 1865 just as he had returned from Montana -on his second journey by way of Great Salt Lake. His boat, the _Effie -Deans_, had reached St. Louis some time before he did. The boat was -still owned in partnership with John S. McCune and Eugene Jaccard. La -Barge tried to get full possession of her, offering, however, either -to buy or sell. Not being able to negotiate a purchase, he demanded a -dissolution of the partnership, and bought the boat in. He then put six -thousand dollars’ worth of repairs on her, and in the spring advertised -for a trip to Benton. He secured a full cargo, and had every prospect -of a profitable trip, when one of those sudden accidents overtook him -which were so common in the hazardous business he was carrying on. He -had hesitated a good deal about insuring the boat, and finally, upon -McCune’s advice, concluded not to do so. He felt safe if he could get -out of port, the greatest danger being from fire there. The insurance -rates were so high that it was a great object to avoid them, if -possible. It was on Friday that he had his talk with McCune and decided -not to insure. He was to start next morning. He mentioned to his wife -what he had done, and she, with a woman’s intuition, remonstrated -strongly, saying she knew he would repent it. About one o’clock next -morning the doorbell rang. La Barge raised the window and asked who -it was. “Watchman of the _Effie Deans_,” was the reply. “What is the -matter?” asked the Captain. “The _Effie Deans_ is burned up.” - -“The loss to me,” said Captain La Barge, “was difficult to reconcile, -from the fact of my having rejected insurance the day before, as well -as an offer of forty thousand dollars for the boat the same day. The -fire had been communicated to the boat from one of the neighboring -vessels, the _Nevada_, and was in no sense the fault of my crew. Next -morning Robert Campbell came down to the levee and said he understood -I had no insurance on the boat. I replied that such was the case. He -said that he had always put me down as a prudent man, but that such a -course showed great recklessness. I replied that I thought not; that -the loss was the fault of my neighbors, and not my own. ‘Well, if that -is any consolation, I have nothing more to say,’ he replied, and walked -away. His apparent indifference surprised me. I had done business with -him for many years, and had paid him as high as sixty thousand dollars -commissions. Now, in my misfortune, he did not as much as offer the -least assistance. - -[Sidenote: BUILDING OF THE “OCTAVIA.”] - -“Very different was the conduct of John S. McCune. He also came down -soon after Campbell left. He looked at the wreck, said it was most -unfortunate, talked very little, but told me to be early at his office -Monday morning. I called according to appointment. McCune said, ‘You -have got to have a new boat. Let us go down to the Marine Railway -Ways in Carondelet and see what we can do.’ We went down, saw the -superintendent, told him what we wanted, and asked him if he could -undertake the construction of a boat. He replied that he could, and -McCune told him to go ahead on my plans, and he would back me with -his credit. I drew the entire plans and specifications for the boat, -machinery and all, and she was built that summer accordingly. Before -I got back in the fall McCune had named her for me, but I renamed -her _Octavia_, for my second daughter. She cost fifty-seven thousand -dollars, and was a splendid boat. I paid for her partly in cash and -gave my notes for the balance.” - -[Sidenote: NORTHWESTERN TREATY COMMISSION.] - -In the meantime a commission had been appointed to go up the river and -make treaties with certain tribes of Indians in regard to the right of -way for railroads across their lands. It was officially known as the -Northwestern Treaty Commission, but was popularly referred to as the -Peace Commission of 1866. It was composed of Newton Edmunds, Governor -of Dakota Territory; General S. R. Curtis, a well-known officer of -the Iowa Volunteers; Orrin Guernsey, and the Rev. Henry W. Reed, who -so long figured as an Indian agent on the upper river. The Commission -were well provided with presents and proposed to travel in becoming -state. Captain La Barge had secured for the summer, while the _Octavia_ -was building, another boat, a fine new one, the _Ben Johnson_. The -Commission contracted with the Captain to carry them up the river and -back at three hundred dollars per day. One of the Commissioners wanted -the Captain to hire his son as clerk, or in some other capacity, at -five dollars per day. The Captain had made up his crew and did not care -to go to this extra and unnecessary expense. But as the Commissioner -rather insisted, the charter price was raised to $305 per day, and the -young man enjoyed a fat sinecure during the trip--an instance of the -kind of corruption which was almost universal in the period following -the war. - -[Sidenote: PEACE COMMISSION A FAILURE.] - -To Captain La Barge the voyage seemed more like a pleasure excursion -than a business enterprise. The boat moved by very leisurely stages, -always tying up early in the evening and starting late in the morning. -Whist and other games were the order of the day. Long stops were -made at all interesting points, and the party enjoyed exceptional -opportunities of seeing Indian life in all its wildness. As a means -of accomplishing any good, the Commission was looked upon from the -first by the people of the Missouri Valley as little more than a -farce. No end of ridicule was poured upon it, and it was held up -to the general contempt by those who had any definite acquaintance -with the situation. The Indians were generally loath to negotiate, -fearing that the Commission “would want them to sign some paper that -would take from them their lands and houses and oblige them to seek -new ones farther west.” It cannot be said that any good came from -this Commission--certainly nothing to justify its great expense. -It did without doubt create new complications, lead to increased -dissatisfaction on the part of the Indians, and, on the whole, -aggravate an already serious situation.[71] - -Some of the incidents on this trip had a flavor of danger about them, -and we shall narrate one as given us by Captain La Barge. It related -to an interview of the Commissioners with the Yanktonais, who were well -known as the most relentlessly hostile of any of the Sioux tribes. - -“Some twenty miles below the mouth of White Earth River,” said Captain -La Barge, “I saw two Indian hunters on the hills. I hailed them, -landed the steamer, asked them on board, and after feasting them -(an indispensable preliminary to the transaction of any business), -inquired if they were Yanktonais, and if so where were the rest of the -tribe. They replied in the affirmative, and said that their camp was -about ten miles off, on the White Earth River. The Chairman of the -Commission asked them to go to camp and tell the chiefs to move their -whole village down to the mouth of the White Earth and there await the -arrival of the boat for the purpose of holding a council. He inquired -the size of the village, and found it to be six hundred tepees, which -meant about three thousand Indians. - -[Sidenote: A VIGOROUS REMONSTRANCE.] - -“I remonstrated at this proposition, strongly urging that only the -chiefs be invited. Should so powerful a band of these hostile Indians -get any advantage of us they would certainly use it. We had no power of -resisting them, having only thirty people in all, and they were poorly -armed. The Indians would, I feared, make a rush and attempt to capture -the steamer as soon as we landed. Our interpreter, Zephyr Rencontre, -seconded me in this opinion. I had been in the power of these Indians -once before, and, thanks to Rencontre, I was wearing my hair on this -occasion. - -[Sidenote: AFRAID OF INDIANS.] - -“The Chairman of the Commission said he perceived that I was afraid of -the Indians, but not to be alarmed; he would answer for all harm. The -Indians would never dare molest a government officer. To me, who had -spent all my life among the Indians, this gratuitous insinuation from -a mere novice in Indian experience cut me to the quick, and I replied: -‘Very well, I will land as you say, but before we get through we shall -see who is afraid of Indians.’ - -“This was another instance of the mistakes made by our government in -the selection, to treat with the Indians, of men without knowledge of -the native character. It was a universal rule that such men would treat -with contempt the cautious bearing of those who knew the Indians; and -this ignorant bravado has many times led to disastrous consequences. -It is very unpleasant to act with such men, who ridicule one’s honest -knowledge of peril, and are powerless to help when they get you into -danger. It was also a common observation with me that the volunteer -officers of the war were always more haughty and overbearing than those -bred to the profession. They loved to assume, assert, and display -authority, where the trained soldier would see no occasion to do so. - -“I said to Curtis on this occasion, ‘This course is contrary to -my judgment, General; and in order not to be responsible for the -consequences I desire a positive order from you before I adopt it.’ He -gave me the order. The Indians arrived just as we were tying up the -boat. The women immediately commenced setting up the lodges and the men -began to rush on board. They were all armed. Curtis had said, when I -foretold this: ‘We will keep them off, only letting on those we want.’ -I replied, ‘You will see, General. It will be impossible to keep them -off.’ - -[Sidenote: MATTERS BECOME SERIOUS.] - -“As already stated, the Indians at once rushed on board, and -unfortunately did not congregate in one place, but scattered themselves -in every direction. Matters at once became serious. I was thoroughly -alarmed for the safety of the boat and her passengers, but remained -perfectly cool and indifferent in outward appearance, and did not -permit myself to resent the actions of the Indians. An act of that sort -might have precipitated difficulty. We were over a powder mine, and a -spark was liable to fall at any moment. The Indians became insolent, -would elbow us around, sneer at us, display their muscular arms, and -try in every way to provoke us to action. One Indian, an ugly fellow -and noted villain, Crazy Wolf, followed me everywhere I went, armed -with gun, pistol, and bow and arrows. He tried in every way to get me -to notice him. At this time I consulted with Zephyr on the situation, -saying that I feared trouble was brewing. He replied that he thought -so too, and that I had better prepare for prompt measures. I had steam -kept up. Pilot and engineer remained at their posts, and the mate was -kept forward. He had been instructed to cut the line whenever he should -hear a single tap of the bell. - -[Sidenote: FUTILE ATTEMPT AT NEGOTIATIONS.] - -“Meanwhile the Commissioners had been attempting negotiations, but to -little purpose. In front, on the boiler deck, there were a table and -seats for the principal Indians. Curtis tried to call them to order, -but without success. He then summoned Rencontre and tried to talk to -them. He told them he was about to roll some bales of goods on shore -and requested that they would withdraw and distribute them. They -answered to roll them on shore; the women would take care of them; for -their part they would remain on the boat. - -“Nothing whatever could be done. Matters became dubious. One by one the -Commissioners slipped away and locked themselves in their staterooms. -General Curtis was finally left alone, and after a while he also -withdrew, and told me to get out of the scrape as best I could. He -fully realized the gravity of the blunder he had made, and his own -inability to cope with the situation. - -[Sidenote: A SUDDEN PANIC.] - -[Sidenote: ENOUGH OF A GOOD THING.] - -“The Indians as yet had made no attempt on the staterooms, but they -were incensed at the withdrawal of the Commissioners and might do so -at any moment. Rencontre said to me, ‘The Indians don’t like this, -and will give us trouble. We had better do something right away.’ ‘Is -it time to cut loose?’ I asked. ‘I think so,’ he replied. I gave the -signal, the line was cut, the wheels began to turn backward and the -boat slid quickly from the bank. The sudden move astounded the Indians. -Those on shore seized the line and began pulling before they discovered -that it was cut. I knew they would not dare to fire, for fear of -shooting their own people. Those on the boat were panic-stricken and -began to leap overboard. I caused the nose of the boat to be held close -to shore so that they could get to land without drowning, and in a few -minutes the boat was clear of them. Then, reversing the engines, we -steered for the opposite shore and made the boat fast. The danger being -over, I went to Curtis’ room and told him it was safe for him to come -out. When he appeared I said: ‘Who is afraid of Indians now, General -Curtis?’ His only reply was: ‘Who would have thought that the rascals -would dare molest a government officer?’ They cared a good deal about a -government officer, indeed, and the remark showed how little he knew of -the Indian character. I asked the General if he wanted to make another -trial, but he replied that he had had enough. - -“No further attempt was made to treat with these Indians, and we went -on up the river. As on a previous occasion, the Indians followed us. -Durfee & Peck at this time had a post on the site where Fort Buford -later stood. The Indians made a signal from the opposite side of the -river that they had robes to sell, and the agent at the post wanted to -borrow our yawl to go across and get them. I consented, but advised -against it. They crossed and actually bought several hundred robes, but -just as the boat was about to put back, the Indians jumped upon the -crew, killed one, severely wounded another, and would have killed all, -had I not promptly crossed over with the steamboat to their assistance. -Mr. Durfee afterward thanked me very heartily for this action.” - -The Commissioners then went on to old Fort Union, where they remained -for a time treating with the Assiniboines, Crows, and Grosventres. -The Crows and the Grosventres came down by the steamboat _Miner_, -under promise that they should be taken back to their camp on the -Musselshell by boat. The river being too low to take so large a boat as -the _Ben Johnson_ farther up in safety, the Commission impressed into -their service, for the purpose of taking these Indians back, a small -boat, the _Amanda_, which was in the employ of the War Department. -She was then on her way up the river to meet Colonel Reeve, who was -expected back from the Judith, where he had just established a post. -The Crows and Grosventres, with their presents and with copies of the -new treaties, got on board and started up the river. The agent for -the Blackfeet, George B. Wright, was also on board on his way to Fort -Benton. - -[Sidenote: CROWS HAVE TO WALK.] - -At the mouth of the Milk River the _Amanda_ met Colonel Reeve, who -promptly took the boat into his own charge, put the Indians ashore -with their presents and other property, and left them to walk home. -The anger of the Crows was fired to a desperate pitch by this action. -They refused to take the presents, tore up some of the treaties, and -sent others back to the Commissioners, and declared that they would -henceforth fire upon every boat going up the river. Agent Wright -thought the situation too critical for him to attempt to go on overland -to Benton, so he returned with the boat and went to his station by way -of Omaha, Salt Lake, and Helena. The Commissioners criticised him -severely for this action, and he, on the other hand, charged them with -positive misrepresentation in regard to their work. They had already -prepared a report setting forth in glowing terms their success in -treating with the various tribes. Agent Wright had likewise written a -report of his experiences at the mouth of Milk River and the action of -the Crows in repudiating the treaties. As the two reports conflicted in -important matters the Commission requested, and finally prevailed upon, -Agent Wright to modify his report, so as to be in harmony with their -own. - -[Sidenote: MERCENARY PATRIOTISM.] - -After the business was completed at Fort Union the _Ben Johnson_ -turned her prow downstream and proceeded homeward by leisurely stages, -stopping at the various camps, agencies, and military posts. The -property remaining on the boat was put off partly at Yankton, partly -at Sioux City, and partly at Omaha. At Sioux City it was put off at -night. Captain La Barge knew nothing of it. Hearing the noise of -unloading he arose and went to see what was going on, and found the -crew unloading freight. He asked by whose orders they were doing this, -and they replied, those of the Commission. He said no more. It was -clearly the intention to conceal this move from him, and again he saw -how mercenary was the patriotism of many of our government officials. -The boat pursued her way safely to St. Louis, where she arrived late in -August. - -[Sidenote: THE “OCTAVIA” FINISHED.] - -Captain La Barge turned over the steamer to her owners and took -possession of his new boat, the _Octavia_, brought her to the wharf, -finished her construction, and left on her first trip October 1. He ran -in the lower river the rest of the season, and then on the Mississippi -until ice closed in. He laid up the boat for the winter at Kimmswick, -twenty miles below St. Louis. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV. - -THE MURDER OF CAPTAIN SPEAR. - - -The voyage of the _Octavia_ in the summer of 1867 was one of the most -successful and important in all Captain La Barge’s career on the river. -It was unhappily marred by a most revolting crime, committed on board, -but in other respects passed off without any untoward incident. Its -narrative will be presented in the Captain’s own words. - -“Early in the spring of 1867 I started in the Weston and St. Joseph -trade, and about April 1 advertised for a trip to Benton. Business on -the river seemed rather dull at this time, and people ridiculed me -for attempting a trip. But within two weeks my boat was filled; in -fact it was the largest trip I ever had up the river. I remember that -one morning, about two days prior to our departure. Captain Walker S. -Carter, a merchant of St. Louis, who was on the levee, said to me, -‘Have you got a trip?’ I replied, ‘More than I can carry.’ ‘It is -astonishing,’ said he. ‘Anybody else than you could not have got half -a trip.’ ‘That shows the value of a reputation,’ I replied. - -“This trip of the _Octavia_ was a very profitable one. The cargo was -composed entirely of private freight, Mr. W. M. McPherson having been -the successful bidder for government contracts. I had freight for -nearly every firm in Helena, besides a good list of passengers, among -whom was Green Clay Smith, newly appointed Governor of Montana, and -also the Surveyor General for the same Territory, Thomas E. Tutt, now -of the Third National of St. Louis, and Robert Donnell, now a New York -banker. - -[Sidenote: GENERAL SHERMAN.] - -[Sidenote: THE MCPHERSON CONTRACT.] - -[Sidenote: THE SHERMAN CONTRACT.] - -“An interesting incident took place just before the departure of the -boat in which no less a personage than General Sherman was concerned. -Colonel Thomas, Sherman’s Quartermaster, had contracted with W. M. -McPherson, as I have said, for all the season’s business up the -Missouri River. The _Octavia_ was to leave port on Tuesday, and on the -Saturday previous General Smith came on board and said to me, ‘Did I -not understand you to say that you had no government freight or troops -to transport this year?’ I answered in the affirmative--that McPherson -had the contract, and I would not carry for him. ‘Well,’ returned -General Smith, ‘I am just from General Sherman, where I went to apply -for an escort. I was told by the General that I would not need one, -for he was going to send a hundred men by the _Octavia_ to Camp Cook, -near the mouth of the Judith River, under Lieutenant Horrigan.’ To -confirm his statement he showed me a dispatch that he had just sent to -Omaha to have the men all ready, so as not to detain the boat beyond -a few minutes. This was a good deal of a surprise to me, as I had had -no intimation of such action, and had my boat about full. I told Smith -I would go and see Sherman about it, and did so at once. I found the -General in his office, and before I could tell him my business he said, -‘I know what you want,’ and he took down his dispatch book to show me -that he had taken all precautions not to cause me any delay. ‘But that -is not the question, General,’ I said; ‘I cannot take the troops.’ -‘Ah! that alters the case. Haven’t you room?’ I replied that I could -probably make room, but understood that this shipment was under the -McPherson contract. The General said it was. ‘Well then,’ I said, ‘I -will not carry them, for I will not work for McPherson.’ The General -asked my reasons. ‘Because McPherson will not pay enough for the -work,’ I said. ‘He gets a good price from the government, but the poor -steamboat man who does the work gets nothing for it. For example, he -gets fifty dollars per man to haul the troops to Camp Cook. He will pay -me fifteen and pocket thirty-five, and do no work nor take any risk. -I will not work for him on such terms.’ ‘I think you are perfectly -right,’ said the General. ‘In your place I would do the same thing. -But you will carry the troops up for General Sherman?’ I replied that -I would if he would contract with me individually and directly and -pay me the McPherson rates. ‘That’s fair,’ said he, and he called in -Thomas and told him to draw up a contract. ‘Well,’ said Thomas, ‘this -work is for McPherson to do under our contract with him. If you pay La -Barge you will also have to pay McPherson.’ Thomas wanted to argue the -matter, but Sherman shut him off by saying, ‘It’s no use, Thomas; you -just draw up that contract as I tell you to.’ And he did. - -[Sidenote: CAPTAIN SPEAR SHOT.] - -“The _Octavia_ left St. Louis Tuesday, May 7, 1867, on the most -important trip I ever made up the river. There were no incidents of -note until the boat reached Omaha, where the troops were taken on -board. We also received at this point a passenger in the person of -a Captain W. D. Spear, 79th Royal Rifles, an officer of the British -Army, on furlough from India. He was on his way to Salt Lake _via_ -the Missouri River, and was going thence to California. He seemed to -be a man of means. This embarkation of the troops and of this officer -was the prelude to one of the most distressing tragedies that ever -occurred on the Missouri River. The troops were mostly Irish Fenians, -and the Lieutenant in charge was an Irishman, all intensely hostile -to the English. This fact may in part explain what subsequently -transpired. Spear himself felt doubts for his safety, and one day -remarked to me that he would be lucky if he got out of this scrape -without accident. I did not know what he meant, for he was a very -fearless man, going on shore frequently in spite of danger from the -Indians. Just after midnight of the 7th of June, or more precisely -about 12.30 A. M. June 8, as Captain Spear and Joseph C. La Barge, -my son, were going up the steps to the hurricane deck, Captain Spear -being a little ahead, a sentinel, William Barry, stationed near -there, fired at Captain Spear, the bullet passing through his head at -the base of the brain and killing him instantly. The following day -an inquest was held by a committee of the passengers consisting of -Thomas E. Tutt, Green Clay Smith, Sam McLean, Richard Leach, T. H. -Eastman, Geo. W. McLean, and W. J. McCormick, Secretary. Several of the -passengers and crew were sworn and their testimony taken. No motive -could be discovered for the deed. The sentinel’s orders required him -to challenge only parties approaching the boat from the shore, and it -was expressly agreed with me, by Lieutenant Horrigan, as a condition -of permitting sentinels to be posted on the hurricane deck, that they -should not interfere in any way with the passengers. The finding of -the committee was that “the shooting was not in accordance with any -instructions given to said sentinel, and that he deserves the most -rigid punishment known to the law.” There was indeed a strong sentiment -among the passengers in favor of lynching him, but the military could -easily have prevented it, and everyone believed that he would meet with -due punishment in regular order. The sentinel was of course at once -relieved from duty and placed under arrest. - -[Sidenote: NEW METHOD OF EMBALMING.] - -“Our trip up the river was a dangerous one, owing to the intense -hostility of the Indians, but by taking great precautions no accidents -happened. I put off the remains of Captain Spear at Fort Buford to -await my return. I asked the commanding officer if he could suggest any -way of embalming the body. He advised the construction of a large box -and the filling of it with green cottonwood sawdust. The experiment -seemed to work well, although I had never heard of such a thing before. -The post commander refused to receive the prisoner, who was taken on -to Camp Cook. The commanding officer there refused to try him on the -ground that the crime had been committed in Dakota. He held him for us -to take back to Yankton. - -“The troops were left at Camp Cook and the boat went on to Benton. -I found many passengers for the down trip and great quantities of -golddust. I filled the office safe and every other available receptacle -with it. There were no incidents of especial importance on the return -trip. The soldier, Barry, was taken down to Yankton and there turned -over to the United States marshal, who held him until orders came from -Washington for his release, when he was sent back to his company. - -[Sidenote: TRIAL OF SPEARS MURDERER.] - -“I took Captain Spear’s remains back to St. Louis, where I found -telegrams directing the shipment of them to Europe. A Lieutenant Terry -of Spear’s company came to St. Louis to get full particulars of the -affair. I was then living with my family on the _Octavia_, and invited -him to stay there with me. He did so, and I gave him as full an account -as possible of Captain Spear’s death. When the news reached England -that the assassin had been released without trial, the government -promptly took up the matter and I understood that a demand was made -upon our government through Minister Thornton for a civil trial of the -soldier. This demand was complied with, and the man was tried before -Judge Kidder at Vermillion, Dak. Myself and several others went up -as witnesses. The evidence seemed to me overwhelmingly against the -accused, there being nothing in his favor except his own statement -that he acted in the line of his duty. The jury returned a verdict of -not guilty, upon instructions from the judge that the man had simply -obeyed his orders. They were given a verdict to sign written out by the -judge, and thus the culprit escaped. - -[Sidenote: TRAVESTY UPON JUSTICE.] - -“To us who knew the facts, this travesty upon justice seemed the -crowning outrage of the whole deplorable affair. Here was as -deliberate, cold-blooded, and unprovoked a murder as the annals of -crime afford, actuated unquestionably by the national hate of the -murderer for the country of the victim. The crime was considered by the -passengers as meriting the severest penalty of the law. The pretense -that the sentinel acted under orders had not the remotest foundation, -or if it had, it only made the officer _particeps criminis_. The final -outcome was the grossest miscarriage of justice which even frontier -annals afford, and it was unquestionably a justifiable ground for -reprisal on the part of the British government. Let those who lament -British obduracy in the case of Mrs. Maybrick ponder upon this far more -lamentable case of the unavenged death of Captain Spear. - -[Sidenote: PHENOMENAL SUCCESS.] - -“Upon my return to St. Louis I called upon McCune, who advised me to -attend promptly to my obligations for the construction of the boat, -which had now about matured. He offered to help me get them renewed. -I told him it was unnecessary, as I should take them all up and clear -the debt off. He was greatly surprised and delighted at the success -of my trip, which was indeed almost phenomenal. I made a clear profit -of forty-five thousand dollars between May 7, the date of leaving -St. Louis, and the date of my return. Yet it was a hard trip. The -responsibility was very great. I was heavily in debt for my boat. I -had on board three hundred passengers and three hundred tons of cargo. -The difficulties of Missouri River navigation, the dangers from the -Indians, and the many other contingencies of such a trip made it -wearing in the extreme. Many boats that had set out weeks before us -were passed on the way.[72] On the trip I was awake the greater part -of the time night and day. I kept up all right and stood the strain so -long as the excitement was on, but the moment we landed at Benton and I -knew the danger was over, I went to sleep and instructed my wife not to -awaken me even for meals. I slept almost continuously for twenty-four -hours.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV. - -THE BATTLE WITH THE RAILROADS. - - -The great enemy of the Missouri River steamboat was the railroad. The -impression now exists that the river has ceased to be a navigable -stream. It has ceased to be a navigated stream, but it is as navigable -as it ever was. Let it be known that all railroads in its valley will -cease running for a period of five years and there will be a thousand -boats on the river in less than six months. It is not a change in the -stream, but in methods of transportation, that has ruined the commerce -of the river. - -[Sidenote: ADVANCE OF THE RAILROADS.] - -The struggle between the steamboat and the railroad lasted just about -twenty-eight years, or from 1859--when the Hannibal and St. Joseph -railroad reached St. Joseph, Mo.--to 1887, when the Great Northern -reached Helena, Mont. The influence of the railroads had been felt -to some extent before this on the lower river. The Missouri Pacific -railroad, which parallels the river from St. Louis to Kansas City, was -opened to Jefferson City, March 13, 1856, but did not reach Kansas City -until ten years later. This road did not have much effect upon the -steamboat business of the river. Most of the boats ran far beyond the -points reached by the road, and would have kept on the river whether -the railroad were there or not. Being there, they secured a large part -of the freight, even along the line of the railroad. - -When the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad reached the Missouri River at -St. Joseph in 1859, that town became an important terminus for river -commerce connected with the railroad. A line of packets including -three boats ran south to Kansas City and north to Sioux City, with -an occasional trip to Fort Randall. The first service of Captain La -Barge’s boat, the _Emilie_, was in this trade, in which he remained for -two years. - -The next point on the river reached by the railroads was at Council -Bluffs and Omaha. On the 15th of March, 1867, the Chicago and -Northwestern railroad reached the former place and on March 15, 1872, -the Union Pacific bridge was opened across the river. Omaha largely -supplanted St. Joseph in the upper river trade, and still further -restricted the business from St. Louis. - -The Sioux City and Pacific railroad entered Sioux City in 1868 from -Missouri Valley, thus connecting with Omaha and Chicago. In 1870 the -Illinois Central reached the same place directly across the State. -Sioux City became, and for a long time remained, a more important -river port than either St. Joseph or Omaha. All during the period of -the Indian wars, in the decade from 1870 to 1880 it was the 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, -and the St. Louis trade with that port suffered another severe falling -off. - -[Sidenote: FINISHING BLOWS.] - -And now its bold antagonist attacked the steamboat business on every -side. The Union Pacific railroad was opened to Ogden in 1869, and a -freight line was at once established through to Helena, thus diverting -south a large part of the business which had before gone to the river. -In 1872 the Northern Pacific reached Bismarck, and cut off nearly -all the upper river trade from Sioux City. In 1880 the Utah Northern -entered Montana from Ogden and captured a large share of the trade of -that Territory. In 1883 the Northern Pacific reached the valley of the -Upper Missouri, and virtually controlled all the business that had -hitherto gone to the Missouri River except the small proportion which -originated at Fort Benton and below to Bismarck. The final blow was -delivered to the river trade in 1887, when the Great Northern reached -Helena. - -[Sidenote: DOOM OF OLD FORT BENTON.] - -This was practically the end of the steamboat business on the Missouri -River, and the doom of old Fort Benton. A new town arose at the -Great Falls, under the fostering care of the railroad, absorbed most -of the former trade of Fort Benton, and grew into one of the largest -towns of the State. Fort Benton dropped rapidly into a condition of -decadence from which it has never recovered. In the meanwhile all the -regular steamboat owners withdrew from the river except the Benton -Transportation Company, which has maintained to the present day a very -small fleet of boats at Bismarck, N. D. It was a sad day for the marine -insurance companies when the fate of the river commerce was settled by -the railroads. Accidents occurred with astonishing certainty whenever -it was found that boats were no longer needed; and it was left to the -underwriters to close up the final account of this record of disaster. - -[Illustration: REMOVING SNAGS FROM THE MISSOURI] - -The last commercial boat that ever arrived at Fort Benton left that -port in 1890. The victory of the railroads was complete, and every year -since they have extended their lines still further into the valley -and along the shores of the river, gradually cutting off the small -local trade to points not yet reached by rail. The boat was never able -to compete with the locomotive. The river did not run in the right -direction. Mile for mile the transportation of freight upon it cost -more than by rail. As to passenger traffic--what could forty miles a -day do against four hundred! Nothing but the absolute exclusion of -railroads could save the steamboat, and the development of the country -made this as undesirable as it was impossible. - -[Sidenote: IMPROVEMENT OF THE MISSOURI RIVER.] - -In this long and hopeless struggle the steamboats found a strenuous -ally in the government of the United States, which cheerfully undertook -to alter the course of events and maintain a freight traffic along the -river. The history of government improvement work upon the Missouri -River is an instructive one. For many years it consisted solely in the -removal of snags and obstructions, and to this extent was a great and -unquestionable benefit. Of the hundreds of steamboats lost on the river -about seventy per cent. were lost from striking snags, and the removal -of these obstructions was therefore an obvious step of good policy. -Appropriations began to be made for the Missouri River jointly with -the Mississippi and the Ohio as early as 1832, but the first actual -work seems to have been done in 1838. In that year two snagboats, the -_Heliopolis_ and the _Archimedes_, ran up the river 325 miles and 385 -miles respectively, removing altogether 2245 snags and cutting 1710 -overhanging trees from the banks, at a total cost of twenty thousand -dollars. In this same year the river was examined as far up as Westport -(Kansas City), with a view of taking up the question of its general -improvement. The officer of Engineers who made this examination was -Captain Robert E. Lee. - -From this time on to 1879 appropriations continued to be made -jointly for the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Arkansas rivers, -with occasional lapses of one or more years. The work done under -these appropriations was exclusively the removal of snags, and was -undoubtedly of great value. It was done when the traffic on the river -was at its height, and it was therefore applied when and where needed. -There can be little doubt that the property saved by this work many -times repaid its cost. - -[Sidenote: A DOUBTFUL POLICY.] - -[Sidenote: DEAD BEYOND HOPE.] - -In 1879 the government began a general improvement of the river by -contracting its channel, so as to produce a greater depth at low water -and make navigation possible at all stages. It was a doubtful policy at -best, in view of the rapid and inevitable decline of traffic, but this -consideration seems only to have increased the determination to keep -boats on the river whether the interests of the public required them -there or not. The policy was kept up in ever-increasing measure, and in -1884 Congress created a Commission of five members to take the matter -in charge and conduct the work in a systematic way. A more fatuitous -course has rarely been adopted by any government than this attempt to -reverse the decrees of destiny and accomplish the impossible. Even at -that time the fate of Missouri River navigation was to most men as -clear as the flash of light in the night. It was dead beyond the hope -of resurrection, at least within another century. The desultory traffic -which existed here and there would not amount, in the total value of -the freight carried, to the appropriations made for facilitating its -transportation. - -Nevertheless, in face of this inevitable march of events, the problem -was taken up in earnest. Millions of dollars were appropriated, a -vast accumulation of plant was made, and an astonishing amount of -actual work accomplished. The result? So far as its influence upon the -commerce of the valley is concerned the same as if this money had been -used to build a railroad in Greenland. Not a boat more has followed -the river than if the work had not been done. From that point of -view it has all been wasted effort. From another viewpoint, however, -it has been of great benefit. It has protected many miles of river -front, saved from destruction thousands of acres of valuable bottom -lands, and millions of property on city fronts and along the lines of -railroads. It has developed some of the most effective methods known to -engineering for the control of alluvial rivers, and has made a solid -contribution to the advancement of science. From a purely engineering -point of view and its great value in the protection of property, the -work may be considered a success; from its influence upon the commerce -of the country, something very different. - -[Sidenote: MISSOURI RIVER COMMISSION.] - -For seventeen years the Missouri River Commission dragged out an -unnecessary existence, and was finally abolished by Act of Congress, -June 13, 1902. But the lesson, if a costly one, has been well learned. -So far as government work on the Missouri River is concerned, it will, -in the near future at least, be confined to two purposes. On the lower -stretches of the river it will be devoted to the protection of property -along the banks; in the upper course to the building of reservoirs and -canals, for the utilization of its waters in irrigation.[73] - -Thus the battle between the railroads on the one hand and the -steamboats, with their government ally, on the other, has resulted -in overwhelming victory for the former. It is a victory not to be -regretted. It is in line with progress. The country has passed beyond -any use that can come from transportation methods like those of the -Missouri River steamboat. It served its purpose and served it well. It -filled a great place in the early development of the Western country. -But its day has passed, and henceforth it will be of interest only to -lovers of history. - -[Illustration: “IMPROVING” THE MISSOURI RIVER] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI. - -LAST VOYAGES TO BENTON. - - -As soon as the ice broke up in the spring of 1868 Captain La Barge -commenced work on the river, and after two trips to St. Joseph -advertised for a trip to Benton. He received a good cargo and had -a fairly profitable voyage, but in no sense so satisfactory as the -year before. After his return in the fall to St. Louis he received -a proposition for the charter of the boat in the government river -work. Terms were arranged with General McComb of Cincinnati, through -Captain Charles R. Suter, who was later for many years in charge of the -government work on the Missouri River. Captain La Barge remained on the -boat, working for the government, during the rest of the season, when -he sold the boat to the Engineer Department for $40,000. - -[Sidenote: THE MISSOURI HIS HOME.] - -“And here,” said the Captain, “I have to record another of the great -mistakes of my life. I was now well ‘fixed,’ as the world goes. I had -the $40,000 which I had received for my boat. I had about $50,000 in -the bank. My home, forty acres in Cabanné place, was easily worth -$40,000 even at that time; and I was entirely out of debt. I had -thought much of retiring from the river and ought to have done so. It -was only too evident that the steamboat business on the Missouri had -seen its day. It had passed its meridian in the middle of the sixties, -and henceforth it was sure to decline. The reluctance of an active -man, still in the prime of life (I was fifty-three), to lay aside the -pursuits of a thrifty career, may have blinded my eyes to the certain -and early fate of the business I had been engaged in, and have led me -to hope that it would continue to be what it had been in the past. I -had no desire to go on any other river. The Missouri was my home. I had -grown up on it from childhood. I liked it, and knew I could not feel at -home on any other. - -“And so I unwisely concluded to continue at my old business, and went -into it on a larger scale than ever before. I built the _Emilie La -Barge_, a larger and finer boat even than the _Octavia_, costing me -$60,000. The hull was built on the Ohio and brought to St. Louis for -completion. This was in the winter of 1868–69.” - -Government business up the river was still very good, but competition -for it was getting closer, as other lines of steamboat trade declined, -and Captain La Barge failed to secure a contract. He went to work, -however, for the successful bidder and did a paying business during -the summer. He returned to St. Louis in September and made two trips -to New Orleans, when the boat was laid up until the spring of 1870. He -then entered into a contract with the government to transport Colonel -Gilbert and 480 men with over 400 tons of freight to Fort Buford. It -was a low-water season and the trip was slow and tedious; but the boat -got through all right. After his return Captain La Barge ran in the -lower river the balance of the season. But the profits were small, for -the railroads had thoroughly gotten the upper hand. There was no longer -any money in the lower river trade. - -[Sidenote: AN OPEN BAR.] - -“I recall a little incident that amused me somewhat while on this -summer’s trip,” said the Captain. “Colonel Gilbert was a strict -disciplinarian, yet withal much liked by his men. When he came on board -he told me that I need not close the bar on the boat unless I chose -to do so. If any of his men wanted a drink and had money to pay for -it, let them have it. ‘That’s something very unusual,’ said I, for -generally when troops were in transport I had to close the bar. ‘All -right, I’ll take my chances,’ he replied. ‘If any of them get drunk, -they will not get drunk again.’ I noted throughout the trip that there -was not a single drunken soldier, although the bar was open all the -time. - -[Sidenote: COLONEL AND LIEUTENANT.] - -“It was customary whenever we stopped to have a guard posted near the -gangway, and this was done on our arrival at Fort Randall. A guard -from the post was also ordered down, presumably to prevent the post -soldiers from getting on the boat. The young lieutenant in charge made -his way on board past Colonel Gilbert’s guard, on telling who he was. -He inquired of me for Colonel Gilbert, and I took him up and introduced -him. After a few minutes’ conversation he noticed the open bar on the -boat and some soldiers there, drinking. He said to Colonel Gilbert that -he would like to have the bar closed, as such were his orders. ‘Why -don’t you have it closed, then?’ said Colonel Gilbert bluntly. ‘Well, -I don’t like to order it when you are aboard with troops.’ ‘It suits -me to have it open,’ returned the Colonel. The lieutenant explained -that they were afraid that some of the post soldiers would get aboard -and get drunk. ‘You have a guard out there, haven’t you?’ asked the -Colonel. ‘Yes, sir.’ ‘Well, if they get past your guard they won’t -mine,’ and he turned and walked off, leaving the lieutenant quite -crestfallen at the encounter. - -“It was while we were here at Randall that I was subpœnaed by a United -States marshal to appear at the trial of the murderer of Captain Spear. -I had the greatest difficulty in getting permission to continue my -trip, although the trial was not to come off for several months. I had -to give $20,000 bonds for my appearance. - -[Sidenote: DISASTROUS CONTRACT.] - -“After my return to St. Louis that fall I made several Mississippi -River trips and laid the boat up late in the season. In the summer of -1871 I ran in what is called the Omaha line all the season. In the fall -I sold the boat for $30,000. She had paid me just about what she cost. -I remained at home all the winter of 1871–72, when I again got tired -of doing nothing; and being bred to the steamboat business, and not -daring to turn my hand to anything else, commenced building another -boat. She was completed by the middle of the summer, and named _De -Smet_, in honor of the distinguished Jesuit missionary. I at once took -a contract to transport freight from St. Louis to Shreveport, La., for -the construction of the Southern Pacific railroad. This enterprise -was disastrous in the extreme. I found the Red River without water -enough at the mouth for me to enter, all of it going down the Bayou -Atchafalaya. I did not get away from there until January, having had to -import one hundred mules at my own expense to get the freight through. -The enterprise was so disastrous that I was released from the contract. -I secured fifteen hundred bales of cotton for my return trip to St. -Louis, but the winter was severe and I was stopped by ice at Helena, -Ark., and had to send the freight on by rail. Take it all in all, the -season’s venture was a most ruinous one.” - -[Sidenote: AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE.] - -While engaged in this work Captain La Barge found it necessary to run -down to New Orleans with his boat. He went to transact some business -with Jesse K. Bell, a man closely connected with Mississippi River -business and a capitalist well known throughout the valley. While in -his office someone came in and asked to see Dave McCann. “What McCann -is that?” asked La Barge. “Dave McCann.” “Dave McCann?” “Yes. Do you -know him?” “I used to know a Dave McCann over forty years ago.” “Well, -I guess it’s the same man. Let’s see if he knows you,” and Bell sent -his servant to call McCann in. When La Barge was on the _Warrior_ -during the Blackhawk war in 1832 McCann was second engineer on the -boat. The two young men became intimately acquainted and very fond of -each other. They were together for a time during the cholera scourge -and promised to take care of each other if either were taken sick. -Finally their ways parted and neither had seen or heard of the other -since. McCann quickly appeared in Mr. Bell’s office and glanced at -where La Barge was sitting. “Well, if here isn’t Joe La Barge!” he -exclaimed, grasping his old associate by the hand. “And if this isn’t -Dave McCann!” was the Captain’s warm rejoinder. McCann was at the time -president of the Cotton Compress Company and of the New Orleans Foundry -Company. - -Captain La Barge did not reach St. Louis until February, 1873. He -remained there for a while and made a second, and this time profitable, -trip to Shreveport. He then advertised for Benton, secured a good -cargo, and made a successful trip. - -[Sidenote: INCIDENT AT FORT RICE.] - -[Sidenote: CUSTER AND STANLEY.] - -“An incident occurred on this voyage at Fort Rice,” said the Captain, -“which illustrates some traits of General Custer’s military character. -Custer was daily expected to arrive opposite Fort Rice, and General -Stanley, who was commanding there, wanted me to delay a day or two -and ferry him over. I made an arrangement with him to do this, and -when Custer arrived I crossed the river with an order from Stanley -to bring him over. I cleared the deck of the _De Smet_ entirely, and -rigged stages so that the horses and wagons could be driven directly on -board. As the command approached, I saw an officer come riding down, -clad in buckskin trousers from the seams of which a large fringe was -fluttering, red-topped boots, broad sombrero, large gauntlets, flowing -hair, and mounted on a spirited animal. I had never seen Custer, but -of course had heard a great deal of him, and there was no mistaking -this picture. I went out on the bank to meet him. He stopped his horse, -but did not get off. I said, ‘General Custer, I suppose?’ He nodded -assent. I showed him my order for the transportation of the command and -told him that if he would have the wagons brought down I would see to -their proper disposition on the boat. ‘Stand aside, sir,’ he replied; -‘my wagon-master will take charge of the boat and see to ferrying the -command over.’ ‘Not if I know myself,’ I replied, and started for the -boat. Custer sent for a guard to arrest me, but I took time by the -forelock, drew in the stage, and steamed across the river and reported -to General Stanley. Stanley immediately sent me back with an officer -and guard, who arrested Custer and brought him to his headquarters. - -“Custer seemed to me to be generally unpopular, that is, I rarely heard -him well spoken of. Stanley, on the other hand, always appeared to be a -gentleman of rare qualities, one who never forgot to treat a civilian -as a man--something that many officers were little disposed to do.” - -[Sidenote: LA BARGE IN ARREST.] - -While at Benton awaiting passengers for a return trip Captain La Barge -had some new experiences of the character of men who were delegated -by the government to do its business with the Indians. He was one day -arrested by Mr. C. D. Hard, deputy U. S. marshal, sub-Indian agent, -and special Indian detective at this point, on charge of selling -and trading whisky on Indian reservations. The second day afterward -Captain La Barge was brought up for examination, but not being allowed -to introduce any evidence in his own behalf, made no effort to clear -himself. The agent then seized his boat in the following words: “I -seize the boat as sub-Indian agent, and turn her over to myself as -deputy marshal for safe keeping.” Being requested to produce papers -for such a proceeding, he replied that verbal seizure was sufficient -for him, and others would have to accommodate themselves accordingly. -He immediately placed a fellow criminal over the boat and applied -to Captain Kirtland, the military officer in charge, for a squad of -soldiers to aid him in his rascality. This request was peremptorily -refused. Hard became very insolent and abusive after the seizure, and -it was soon evident that the object of himself and his confederates was -to levy blackmail upon the Captain. Being determined to defeat this -outrageous scheme, he left for Helena to consult legal authorities. - -When Captain La Barge reached Helena he had no difficulty in securing -a telegraphic order from Chief Justice Wade, of the Territory, -directing the release of the boat, and he returned to Benton and -resumed possession of her, much to the chagrin of the authors of this -high-handed proceeding. This virtuous public officer had endeavored to -work a similar game on another boat the same season, but was defeated -by some of the passengers. - -The boat had been detained by this incident upward of two weeks, and -it was not until the middle of July that she set out on her return -trip. Among the passengers was the family of Colonel Wilbur F. Sanders, -already known in these pages as counsel for the plaintiffs in the case -against La Barge, Harkness & Co. The Captain and he were always on good -terms, however, and their former relations had nothing to do with their -subsequent friendship. - -[Sidenote: A SERVICE REWARDED.] - -On the way up the river this season two Catholic Sisters came on -board on a begging visit in the interest of the Chicopee Mission in -Minnesota. The Captain gave them passage to Benton and back. They -visited Helena and Virginia City, and were very successful. They came -back from Helena with the Sanders family and returned to Sioux City. -About a month later Captain La Barge received by express a beautiful -specimen of needlework handsomely framed, representing St. Joseph. It -is still in the possession of the La Barge family. - -[Sidenote: LA BARGE SELLS HIS BOAT.] - -After Captain La Barge’s return to St. Louis he entered the Alton -trade, and made daily trips in opposition to the Eagle Packet Company. -He entered the same trade again in 1874 under an arrangement with John -S. McCune, who had long controlled the trade on this part of the river. -But in March of this year, while Mr. McCune was in Jefferson City to -settle some details in regard to the sale of lands constituting the -present Forest Park of the City of St. Louis, he was taken sick with -pneumonia and died one day after his return to St. Louis. This broke up -all the Captain’s plans, and as he was not able, unaided, to compete -with the Eagle Packet Company, he sold his boat to them. - -Captain La Barge spent the remainder of the season in St. Louis, and in -the fall commenced building a new boat, which he christened the _John -M. Chambers_, in honor of the infant son of B. M. Chambers, President -of the Butchers’ and Drovers’ Bank. The boat was ready for use in the -spring of 1877. Captain La Barge made a trip as far as to Fort Rice, -loaded mainly with quartermaster stores. He then entered the Yankton -trade, that being at the time an important terminus for the declining -river business. Certain defects in the boat’s machinery, which could -not be remedied at Yankton, compelled an early return to St. Louis -and the loss of some important work. Captain La Barge remained in St. -Louis until the following spring. He then returned to Yankton under -a government contract to transport goods from that point. He finished -this work early, but had scarcely returned to St. Louis when he was -called upon to go up the river again, as we have elsewhere related, for -service in the Custer campaign. - -[Sidenote: LAST COMMERCIAL VOYAGE.] - -In 1877 La Barge took the _Chambers_ as far up the Missouri as to the -mouth of the Yellowstone, and up the latter stream to the mouth of -Tongue River. In the following year he made a trip to Benton, arriving -there on the 4th day of June. This is believed to have been the last -commercial trip from St. Louis to Fort Benton. Upon his return to St. -Louis he sold his boat and retired permanently from the business of -boat owner and builder. He served as pilot on the lower river during -the summer of 1879, and then finally withdrew from connection with -commercial boating on the Missouri. - -[Sidenote: LA BARGE RETIRES FROM THE RIVER.] - -From 1880 to 1885 Captain La Barge was in the service of the government -as pilot of the steamer _Missouri_, which was then engaged in making -a survey of the river valley. This duty was little enough like the -active business of his better days. It was filled with reminiscences of -his past career which could not but bring regretful reflections. His -intimate knowledge of the river was of great help in recovering the -proper geographical nomenclature of the valley, and might have been -of far greater value had the surveyor under whose charge he worked -possessed an ordinary appreciation of the mine of knowledge which lay -at his disposal. In 1885 the boat was taken from St. Louis to Fort -Benton, this being the very last through trip ever made. The year 1885 -closed Captain La Barge’s career on the Missouri River, and he took his -hand from the wheel after a record of service unequaled by any other -pilot in its history. Three years more than half a century had elapsed -since he made his first voyage up the river. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII. - -DECLINING YEARS. - - -It is a sad reflection that, after a life of hard and useful work and -the prominent part he took in up-building the great West, Captain La -Barge should have closed his career in comparative want. But such were -the vicissitudes of the business to which his life had been devoted. -That business had passed away, and like a sinking ship it dragged down -all who clung to it. Captain La Barge struggled bravely against these -adverse conditions, but it was impossible to withstand the downward -tendency. - -[Illustration: STEAMBOAT WRECK ON THE MISSOURI RIVER] - -From 1890 to 1894 Captain La Barge held a position under the city -government of St. Louis. His very last remunerative work of any kind -was for the United States Government, under the direction of the author -of this work, whom he helped compile a list of the steamboat wrecks -which have occurred on the Missouri River. This work was done in the -year 1897, and was published as a part of the report of the Missouri -River Commission for that year. Although the number of these wrecks -lacks but five of three hundred, the Captain’s memory embraced them -nearly all, and most of them with great accuracy of detail. - -[Sidenote: GREATEST WRECK OF ALL.] - -Truly a mournful task was this to the veteran pilot. What reminiscences -of a strange and wonderful past did it bring to mind! He lived over -again his river life of fifty years, saw the old keelboat, the -mackinaw, and the canoe, dodged again the bullets of the treacherous -savages, killed the wild buffalo, sparred his boat over sandbars or -warped it up the rapids, beheld again the wild rush to the gold fields, -heard the tramp of the army going to battle on the plains, and mused -upon a thousand other features of a life that existed no more. And as -he recalled one by one these wrecks of a once flourishing business, -he could not but reflect that the greatest wreck of all was the -business itself. It was gone--buried so deep in the sands of commercial -competition that not even the pennant staff or smokestack caused a -ripple on the surface--passengers, cargo, and all that clung to her a -total loss. - -Captain La Barge survived most of his associates in the river business, -and in his later years was frequently consulted by those who had -occasion to recover facts concerning the early history of the river. -He lived only about two years after the completion of his work for the -government. He had grown visibly feebler during this time, and it was -apparent to those who knew him that the end of his life was near. It -came at last, however, quite unexpectedly. He was taken suddenly ill on -the 2d of April, 1899, and at 3 P. M. of the following day breathed his -last. - -[Sidenote: JESUITS HONOR LA BARGE.] - -The funeral of Captain La Barge was from the St. Xavier Cathedral in -St. Louis, and was largely attended. The Jesuits were under a deep debt -of gratitude to the Captain, who, throughout his career, had extended -to their missionaries the freedom of his boats. Through mistaken -information they had often credited this generosity to the American Fur -Company, for which Captain La Barge worked so much. Upon discovering -their error they made due acknowledgment of it, and upon this occasion -made a particular point to correct it and to acknowledge their lasting -debt to the great pilot. It was probably in line with this purpose that -the Church paid to the deceased its very highest honors. On Thursday -morning, April 6, solemn high mass was celebrated at the Cathedral for -the repose of the soul. Archbishop Kain, assisted by eight priests, -officiated at the mass. Six grandsons of the deceased acted as pall -bearers. Father Walter H. Hill, a lifelong friend of Captain La Barge, -preached the funeral sermon. In the course of his remarks he said: -“Captain La Barge led an honorable life. In the eyes of the Church to -which he belonged he led a good life. There was no stigma upon his -name. No vice marred his character to bring the blush of shame to his -children. His life was an example of which they might well be proud.” - -[Sidenote: A WONDERFUL METAMORPHOSIS.] - -The speaker drew an interesting picture of the changes that had taken -place in the city of St. Louis and in the great West within the span -of this man’s life. In his infancy he had actually been in peril from -the Indians in what are now the outskirts of the city. Then luxury and -plenty, as we now know them, had no existence. The mother cared for -her children and did the work of the house. The candle and not the -incandescent furnished light at night. Water was pumped from the well -and people did not ride to and from their business in swift electric -cars. In the words of a local paper, commenting upon the Captain’s -career, “He passed through all the gradations and progressive steps -of the century until in its very last year the sun of his life set -forever, and his expiring gaze beheld a little village grown to a great -metropolis, enmeshed in a perfect tangle of railways, factories, and -furnaces, teeming with busy activity, converting the crude material -into every possible contrivance imaginable for the use of man; palatial -mansions where, in his youth, was a wilderness; in short, every -improvement that the brain of man had wrought.” - -Father Hill illustrated this marvelous growth by a reference to the -growth of his own Church in St. Louis: “As I stand here to-day,” he -said, “to pay the last sad tribute of respect to the memory of the -friend of my early youth, I cannot help thinking of the marvelous -changes that have been wrought in the last eighty-four years. On the -evening of October 22, 1815, a mother entered a little frame church -on the banks of the Mississippi, bearing an infant in her arms. The -parent had come to have the child baptized. Tallow candles lighted her -way through the aisle to the rude altar where the ceremony was to be -performed. To-day the remains of that babe, grown to manhood’s estate -and full of years, lie before me. The spirit now dwells in his Father’s -house. At the christening were only the most primitive conveniences; -at the burial services his remains rest in a magnificent granite -structure; hundreds of electric lights glare upon the dead; hundreds of -heads are bowed in silent prayer. Which of us can ponder for an instant -upon the span of this life and not be bewildered at the contemplation?” - -[Sidenote: A FIT RESTING PLACE.] - -Captain La Barge was buried in the beautiful Calvary Cemetery, which -lies adjacent to the even more beautiful Bellefontaine Cemetery in -the northern part of the City of St. Louis. His grave is within a -short distance of where he spent his earliest infancy, and is in all -respects a peculiarly appropriate resting place after a life like -his. To the eastward, in full view where not cut off by the foliage, -flows the mighty Mississippi. To the northward the impetuous Missouri -brings down its flood from the dim and shadowy distance. How often had -this individual guided his intrepid bark up the channels of these two -streams, headed for remote and almost unknown ports, and anon, gliding -swiftly on his homeward journey, sped eastward into the Mississippi and -south to the port to which he always returned. Standing by his grave -and overlooking the valleys of these streams, their history through the -past two centuries thrills the mind like a romance of the past. - -[Sidenote: PERSONAL APPEARANCE.] - -In personal appearance Captain La Barge was one of the most -distinguished-looking men of the West in his time. He stood five feet -ten, was well proportioned, weighed about 180 pounds, was erect, -muscular, and alert, with a sharp, quick eye and a quiet energy in -all his movements. He always wore a beard after reaching manhood’s -estate, and in later years bore a striking resemblance to General -Grant. Colonel Thomas of the army, long stationed in St. Louis, always -addressed him by the name, Grant; and only a few years before his death -a gentleman met him on the street and said, “Well, if I did not know -Grant is dead, I should say there he comes.” - -[Sidenote: SUNSHINE AND TEMPEST.] - -Captain La Barge’s manner in social intercourse was mild and agreeable, -and his accent pleasant to a degree. It was a satisfaction to hear him -talk. Although almost invariably soft and unobtrusive, his voice would -occasionally swell, under the influence of emotion, until it possessed -all the power of command. It is said that this characteristic marked -his entire career. His men were not deceived by it. They never dared to -take undue advantage of the sunshine of his manner, lest they call down -upon them the thunder of the tempest. - -Captain La Barge was a lifelong, consistent Catholic in religion, and -in politics a lifelong, consistent Democrat. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII. - -DESTINY OF THE MISSOURI RIVER. - - -What of the future? Is the useful purpose of the Missouri River in -the up-building of the West already fulfilled? Is its great history a -closed book? Such, it must be admitted, is the general view. In popular -estimation that river to-day is little more than a vast sewer, whose -seething, eddying waters bear down the sands and clay and débris from -the far upper country, scattering them along its course, swelling -the floods of the Mississippi, and pushing ever seaward the delta of -that mighty stream. To the railroads it is a million-dollar obstacle -wherever they want to cross it. As a competitive route of commerce it -has sunk beneath their notice. To the husbandman along its borders it -is a perpetual nightmare, for he knows not what morning he may awake -to find his worldly possessions ruthlessly swept away. From all points -of view it now seems like one of those things in the economy of nature -which could be dispensed with and the world be none the worse for its -absence. - -[Sidenote: PAST AND PRESENT.] - -Nevertheless the river is still there--a fact, a thing to be reckoned -with in some way or other. It will not let its presence be forgotten. -In its old-time fashion it carves up the lands, but with vastly greater -destructiveness now that they have become so valuable. Its terrible -ice gorges pile up as of yore, but are now more dreaded than they used -to be on account of the property along the banks. In other respects as -well it is the same peculiar stream that it has ever been. The weird -sandstorms drive over its illimitable bars, the willows bend to the -blast, and the swift-rolling waters are lashed into foam by the prairie -gale. In periods of calm its silvery sheen stretches away under the -morning and evening sun as when the pilot followed its interminable -windings through the prairies; and its resistless tide rushes on, as in -the blithe steamboat days, when it carried upon its bosom the commerce -of the valley. - -But here the likeness between the past and present ends. No aboriginal -savage now roams upon its borders. The buffalo does not come to its -shore to quench his thirst, or to swim its current, or to cross upon -its ice. The lonely dwellers of the valley have long since ceased -to watch the eastern horizon where the river runs into the sky, for -the curling smoke no longer tells them of the approach of those -white-winged messengers of civilization, the Missouri River steamboats. -They are gone, its greatness and glory, never, in their ancient form, -to return. - -[Sidenote: THE GERM OF EMPIRE.] - -But the river itself is still there, and those who dwell on its shores -refuse to believe that its power for good has passed away. For years -they have wistfully looked upon its waters, flowing by in absolute -waste, and then upon the rich lands on either side, parching in a -rainless climate. A vague hope of what the river _may_ be already -possesses their minds. Does it not hold the secret germ of a mighty -future empire? Twenty-five millions of people these wasted waters could -sustain, if only they could be scattered upon the neighboring lands. -With great canals to divert them from the river, with great reservoirs -to keep them from going to waste, there would follow the necessary -millions of money and men to turn them to proper account. - -This is the dream. Can it be realized, or must it always remain nothing -more than a dream? It is an engineering problem purely. The grand -desideratum would be that everywhere, whether upon the main stream or -its tributaries, the water could be saved and used in irrigation. But -the obstacles in the way of so complete a result seem at present almost -insurmountable. The higher tributaries can doubtless all be utilized, -but the main streams, in their lower courses, have so little fall that -it will be very difficult to build canals of sufficient length to get -the water upon the higher ground. Whether the water will ever have a -value that will justify pumping it to the necessary elevation it would -be unwise at present to hazard a conjecture. But even if not more than -half can be utilized, it will still be enough to maintain a population -equal to that at present existing in the entire arid region of the West. - -[Sidenote: A MIGHTY FUTURE.] - -Here, then, is the answer to our question--What of the future? Turn -this river out upon the lands. Unlock its imprisoned power. Where the -rains do not fall let it supply the need. Then the new and greater -history of the Missouri River will begin. Utility will take the place -of romance. The buffalo, the Indian, the steamboat, the gold-seeker, -the soldier, will be seen in its valley no more, but in their stead -the culture and comfort, and the thousand blessings that come with -civilization. Such, let us hope, in drawing the curtain over a mighty -past, will be the consummation of a still more mighty future.[74] - - - - -FOOTNOTES - - -[44] The fact of this attack on the _Sam Gaty_ has been questioned by -some; but there would seem to be no doubt of its truth in all essential -details. - -[45] Brother of Susan B. Anthony, and at the present date editor of the -Leavenworth _Times_. - -[46] This was the opinion naturally held by Southern sympathizers in -Missouri. The unbending will of this stern and ardent patriot would -overbear and crush without compunction anyone who had even a taint of -disloyalty about him. Though La Barge had taken a stand which was quite -as honorable, and more self-sacrificing than that of Lyon, still the -latter could not forget that the Captain’s environment and training had -made him more sympathetic with the Southern cause than a Northerner -could possibly be. Lyon’s temperament, moreover, aggravated the -severity of his patriotism. He was not popular with his associates in -the old army on account of his overbearing disposition. - -[47] Fisk repeated the expedition several times. It virtually amounted -to emigration at government expense. The military authorities did not -think much of either Fisk or his scheme, and officially denounced -both. Thus General Sully, September 9, 1864: “Why will the government -continue to act so foolishly, sending out emigrant trains at great -expense? Do they know that most of the men that go are persons running -away from the draft?” - -[48] In 1866 the _Deer Lodge_, which left Benton about May 20, met the -following boats on her way down: _St. John_ and _Cora_ at Fort Benton; -_Waverly_ at Eagle Creek; _Mollie Dozier_ and _W. J. Lewis_ at Fort -Galpin; _Marcella_ at Fort Charles; _Big Horn_, above Big Muddy; _Only -Chance_ 30 miles below Union; _Favorite_ and _Ontario_ 70 miles below; -_Tacony_ and _Iron City_ 130 miles below; _Amelia Poe_ and _Walter -B. Dance_ near White Earth River; _Jennie Brown_, _Peter Balen_, and -_Gold Finch_ in Big Bend; _Miner_ below Fort Clark; _Luella_ above -Fort Rice; _Helena_ at Fort Rice; _Tom Stevens_ 40 miles below Fort -Rice; _Huntsville_ at Grand River; _Lillie Martin_ at Island below -Grand River; _Sunset_ 20 miles below Swan Lake Bend; _Agnes_ at Devil’s -Island; _Ned Tracy_ and _Mary McDonald_ above Big Cheyenne; _Marion_ 30 -miles above Fort Sully; _Jennie Lewis_ above Pierre; _Gallatin_ below -Fort Sully; _Rubicon_ at Cadet Island; _Lexington_ above Great Bend; -_Montana_ below Crow Creek; and _Ben Johnson_ at Bon Homme Island. - -[49] The names were N. W. Burroughs, George Friend, Franklin Friend, -Abraham Low, James H. Lyons, Harry Martin, Frank Angevine, George -Allen, James Andrews, and James Perie (colored). - -[50] This account is taken from the published narrative of Mr. Hubbell -in the St. Paul _Pioneer Press_ of December 11, 1898. Mr. Hubbell has -published several most interesting and valuable accounts in the St. -Paul papers of his early experiences as a Missouri River trader. - -[51] “The _Ida Stockdale_ reached Fort Benton June 29, 1867. She could -not have returned to Trover Point before the 1st or 2d of July. The -_Sunset_ picked up the boy July 11. The time that he was alleged -to have been lost could therefore not have been far wrong, and the -distance he traveled is known with accuracy.” - -[52] “The _Spread Eagle_ is just along side of us and we are having -a race, probably the first ever run on the upper Missouri. She -passed us and then we passed her, when she ran into us, breaking our -guard and doing some other damage. There was a good deal of angry -talk.”--_Harkness’ Journal_. (This journal of the voyage of 1862 and of -Harkness’ trip to the mines and his return to St. Louis is published in -the Proceedings of the Montana Historical Society, vol. ii.) - -[53] See page 122. - -[54] What is now the town of Deer Lodge, Mont., was first named La -Barge City, and was so known for about two years. The name was given -by two friends of Captain La Barge, John S. Pemberton of St. Louis and -Leon Quesnelle, a descendant of the Quesnelle who seems to have been -the first permanent settler at Bellevue, Neb. Quesnelle had been in the -Deer Lodge Valley for some time, and had a ranch near where the town -was afterward built. Two years later the town site was organized by -James Stuart and others, surveyed and laid out by W. W. De Lacy, and -rechristened Deer Lodge. The original town site plot of La Barge City -is in possession of the Montana Historical Society. - -[55] Letter from S. N. Latta, agent, to W. P. Dole, Commissioner Indian -Affairs, dated Yankton, Dak., August 27, 1863. See report Com. Ind. -Affs., 1863, p. 170. - -[56] The two Indian agents profess in their reports not to have -anticipated any trouble. Latta would hardly have ordered the yawl out -if he had suspected what actually occurred. Reed, the Blackfoot agent, -says that they “continued to hollow to us for some time, and showed -great signs of friendship, and wanted us to come ashore.” The sum of -it all is that the two men who were officially in charge of the trip -entirely failed to understand the gravity of the situation, which was -thoroughly appreciated by those, like Culbertson and La Barge, who had -had long experience with the Indians. The sending of the yawl and the -consequences which followed must ever remain charged to the account of -Samuel N. Latta, Indian Agent. - -[57] The account of what happened from the time the yawl left the -_Robert Campbell_ until it returned was given to the author in an -interview with Andy Stinger, the steersman and rescuer of the party. - -[58] - - “KNOB VIEW, CRAWFORD, CO., MO. - Sept. 2, 1896. - - “MY DEAR OLD CAPTAIN - “JOSEPH LA BARGE, - -“_My Dear Friend_: I should like to hear from you whether you are still -in the land of the living. Thank God for his mercies. Dear Captain I -should be happy to be with you a few hours and have a good talk over -the hardships of our past life steamboating, especially on the _Robert -Campbell_ in 1863 going to the mountains. It would give me great -pleasure to see you and all your family once more. It is a great many -years since I have heard anything from you. Please let me hear from you -soon. My love and friendship to you and all your family. I remain your -true friend untill death. From the Hero of the Tobacco Garden on _Bob -Campbell_ in 1863. - - “WM. ANDY STINGER. - - “P. S. Address - “Wm. A. Stinger, - “Knob View, Crawford Co. Mo. - -“Farewell Dear Captain. May God bless you all with health and strength.” - -[59] There are numerous authorities upon the affair of the Tobacco -Garden. The reports of both the agents Latta and Reed describe it. -Henry A. Boller, in his “Among the Indians,” describes it at length, -as does Larpenteur in his “Forty Years a Fur Trader.” The testimony of -Captain La Barge and Andy Stinger, who in each other’s presence related -the matter to the author, is here produced for the first time. - -In his edition of “Larpenteur’s Journal,” referred to above, p. 352, -Dr. Elliott Coues makes the following statement: “I have offered in -writing to Captain Joseph La Barge to print in this connection any -statement concerning the affair that he might wish to make and would be -willing to sign; but up to date of going to press have not heard from -him.” - -The inference from this is that Captain La Barge could not controvert -Larpenteur’s statements, or he would have done so when the opportunity -was given. This offer was sent to Captain La Barge through the author -of the present work. The old gentleman retained in his old age the same -spirit of haughty disdain for willful attempts to injure the reputation -of others that characterized his whole life, and he indignantly refused -to notice the matter. “Time will set this right,” he said. The truth is -that Charles Larpenteur, although very long in the Indian country, was -never a man of high standing there, and proved a failure in whatever he -undertook. Like all such men, he nursed the delusion that the world was -in league against him, and he took advantage of the opportunity offered -by the preparation of his memoirs to even matters up. Nearly everyone -with whom he deals comes in for a round measure of abuse, until one -is led to believe that Larpenteur was a saint, solitary and forlorn, -wandering disconsolate among the children of Beelzebub. Larpenteur -was probably an honest man in his business relations, but never an -able man, and his attempts to account for the consequences of his own -deficiencies by attributing them to the rascality of others, does not -add to the value of his memoirs as historical material. Bad as the -early population of that country was, it was not entirely composed of -scoundrels. - -[60] This was the same man who served as clerk to Captain Bonneville in -the latter’s celebrated expeditions. He died March 15, 1864. - -[61] Following are the official reports of Agents Latta and Reed upon -this event: - -Report of Judge Latta, p. 164, Report Com. Ind. Aff., 1863. “The Crow -goods, as I have informed you [Commissioner Dole], were stored at Fort -Union by the steamer _Shreveport_. When the _Robert Campbell_ reached -the mouth of the Yellowstone, she could get no further, there being -only two feet of water in the channel above, it requiring five trips -of the steamer _Shreveport_ to convey the _Campbell’s_ freight to Fort -Union some six miles above. We found it utterly impossible to proceed -any further. The _Shreveport_, though a light-draught boat, could not -have passed up empty.” - -Report of Dr. Reed, p. 172, Report Com. Ind. Aff., 1863. “We got to -the mouth of the Yellowstone River after the most untiring efforts, -especially on the part of Captain La Barge, who seemed to know the only -channel in the Missouri, about the 7th of July. After passing the mouth -of the Yellowstone, it was found that the Missouri River was extremely -low; indeed lower than ever known at this season of the year. It was -found that even the _Shreveport_, a light-draught and small boat, could -scarcely get up to Fort Union with any load at all, and as the river -has been constantly falling, it was ascertained that there was no hope -at all of getting to Milk River, the next fort above. Chouteau, with -a light-draught boat and not a large load, had just left his goods on -the bank, not being able to get up to Milk River fort. Under these -circumstances, especially as there were no teams at Fort Union and -the Indians (Sioux) were all through the country, so that no company -could go either with a mackinaw boat or by land, with any safety, -except under escort, it was thought not only advisable but the only -course, to stow away the goods, and leave them until next spring at -Fort Union. The man in charge of the fort said there was an abundance -of room, and there would be no danger unless the Indians should attack -the fort; then the goods would have to share the lot of all the other -goods and the people of the fort. The goods are all safely stored and -every prospect of everything being right. Of course Captain La Barge is -responsible, as the Blackfeet goods are not to their destination nor -the bills of lading receipted; though I must say I never saw men more -anxious to get up, nor do more night and day, to get along; and could -the goods have been at St. Louis by the 10th or 12th of April, they no -doubt would have all been distributed by this time.” - -[62] - - Blackfoot annuities, 142,862 lbs., freight St. Louis - to Fort Benton, at 11 cents per pound, $15,714.82 - Crow annuities, 12,572 lbs., freight St. Louis to - the mouth of Milk River, at 8 cents, 1,005.76 - Demurrage, 33 days at $300 per day, 9,900.00 - ---------- - $26,620.58 - Only payment ever received on this claim, 7,206.55 - ---------- - Balance unpaid, $19,414.03 - -[63] Galpin’s mission to Washington was to secure reimbursement of a -ransom which he had paid for the liberation of a white female prisoner, -who had been captured the year before at the time of the Minnesota -massacres. Galpin had been sent by La Barge from Fort La Framboise to -rescue the prisoner, and had been compelled to pay fifteen hundred -dollars. Captain La Barge took her down in his boat to Sioux City, -whence she was sent home. He had Galpin go with him to Washington to -assist in presenting the matter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The -ransom money was reimbursed in full. - -[64] “What consideration will induce you to give up war and remain -at peace?” is the hypothetical question of a certain Indian agent -to a tribe of the Sioux in 1867. And the hypothetical answer, based -upon his many talks with them, was this: “Stop the white man from -traveling across our lands; give us the country which is ours by right -of conquest and inheritance, to live in and enjoy unmolested by his -encroachments, and we will be at peace with all the world.” - -[65] Gruff old General Harney had his own views upon this treaty -business. When Commissioner Cummings came down the river from the -council with the Blackfeet, and, having lost his mules at Fort Pierre, -besought the General to give him some others to complete his journey -with, the General replied: “Yes, Colonel, I have plenty of mules, but -you can’t have one; and I only regret that when the Indians got your -mules they didn’t get your scalp also. Here all summer I and my men -have suffered and boiled to chastise these wretches, while you have -been patching up another of your sham treaties to be broken to-morrow -and give us more work.” - -“It is beyond question that such a system of treaty-making is, of all -others, the most unpolitic, whether negotiated with savage or civilized -peoples, and ... aside from its effect in encouraging and stimulating -breaches of treaties of peace, is always attended with fraud upon the -government and upon the Indian.”--_General John Pope, Report of August -3, 1864._ - -[66] “Send me one man who will tell the truth and I will talk with -him,” was the laconic reply of a celebrated chief who had been asked to -meet a government commission in council. - -[67] “Traders in former years have run the only boats to that region, -and had connected with their stores the only safe places for deposit; -hence a convenient mixture of government and traders’ goods has so -amalgamated matters as to have converted government annuities into -mercantile supplies. - -“Our further progress up to the more remote tribes has disclosed to -us more mortifying evidence of negligence by former agents, and most -probably stupendous frauds and outrages.... Immediate arrangements -should be made to place the present agents independent of traders and -also to enable them to build safe storehouses, where the goods can be -properly protected and preserved.... - -“Deliveries of goods should be witnessed by some Federal officer -who should certify _that he saw the delivery_.”--_Report of the -Northwestern Treaty Commission to the Sioux of the Upper Missouri, -1866._ - -“The government appropriations are supposed to be liberal; but it so -happens that by the time they reach their destination, they have, and -not mysteriously either, dwindled down into a paltry present.”--_Henry -A. Boller, in “Among the Indians.”_ - -“This system of issuing annuity goods is one grand humbug.”--_Report of -Gen. Alfred Sully, August 18, 1864._ - -Evidence like the foregoing could be presented by the volume. - -[68] “I saw, while at Sioux City, Captain La Barge, who had just -returned with his boat from the upper Missouri. Captain La Barge -has been in the American Fur Company employment for twenty-five -years, and says that never before this trip have the Indians been -unusually hostile. He says that now the whole Sioux nation is bound -for a war of extermination against the frontier, ... and that the -British government, through the Hudson Bay Company, are in his opinion -instigating all the Indians to attack the whites. He says British rum -from Red River comes over to the Missouri, and British traders are -among them [the Indians] continually. I have great confidence in his -judgment and opinion.”--_H. C. Nutt, Lieutenant Colonel Iowa State -Militia, to Hon. S. J. Kirkwood, Iowa City, dated Council Bluffs, -September 15, 1862._ - -[69] See page 277 for an account of the massacre of a party of miners -from Montana by these Indians. - -[70] It has been asserted that the _Far West_ bore the first news of -the Custer massacre to the world; but this is not so. General Terry’s -dispatch to General Sheridan, written in camp on the Little Big Horn -June 27, was sent by courier to Fort Ellis, 240 miles distant, and -there put on the wire. - -The following graphic account of the voyage of the _Far West_ is -well worth preserving in spite of its many errors of fact. As a word -picture of what was really a notable performance, it is a fine example -of journalistic writing. It is from the pen of M. E. Terry, and was -published in the _Pioneer Press_ of St. Paul in May, 1878: - -“The steamer _Far West_ was moored at the mouth of the Little Big -Horn. The wounded were carried on board the steamer and Dr. Porter -was detailed to go down with them. Terry’s adjutant general, Colonel -Ed Smith, was sent along with the official dispatches and a hundred -other messages. He had a traveling-bag full of telegrams 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 -a 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 conscientiously. On the evening of the 3d of -July the steamer weighed anchor. In a few minutes the _Far West_, so -fittingly named, was under full head of steam. It was a strange land -and an unknown river. What a cargo on that steamer! What a story to -carry to the government, to Fort Lincoln, to the widows! - -“It was running from a field of havoc to a station of mourners. The -steamer _Far West_ never received the credit due her. Neither has the -gallant Marsh; nor the pilots, David Campbell and John Johnson. Marsh, -too, acted as pilot. 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. Every one of the crew is entitled to the same -acknowledgment. They felt no sacrifice was too great upon that journey, -and in behalf of the wounded heroes. The Big Horn is full of islands, -and a successful passage, even on the bosom of a ‘June rise,’ is not -an easy feat. The _Far West_ would take a shoot on this or that side -of an island, as the quick judgment of the pilot would dictate. It is -no river, in the Eastern sense of that word. It is only a creek. A -steamboat moving as fast as a railway train in a narrow, winding stream -is not a pleasure. It was no 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 ten-pins. It -was a reminder of what the result would be if a snag was struck. Down -the Big Horn the heroine went, missing islands, snags, and shore. It -was a thrilling voyage. The rate of speed was unrivaled in the annals -of boating. Into the Yellowstone the stanch craft shot, and down that -sealed river to pilots she made over twenty miles an hour. The bold -Captain was taking chances, but he scarcely thought of them. He was -under flying orders. Lives were at stake. His engineer was instructed -to keep up steam at the highest pitch. Once the gauge marked a pressure -that turned his cool head and made every nerve in his powerful frame -quiver. The crisis passed and the _Far West_ escaped a fate more -terrible than Custer’s. Once a stop was made, and a shallow grave -explained the reason. He still rests in that lone spot. Down the swift -Yellowstone, like shooting the Lachine Rapids, every mile a repetition -of the former. From the Yellowstone she sped into the broad Missouri, -and then there was clear sailing. There was a deeper channel and more -confidence. A few minutes were lost at Buford. Everybody at the fort -was beside himself. The boat was crowded with inquirers, and their -inquiries were not half answered when the steamer was away. At Berthold -a wounded scout was put off, and at Fort Stevenson a brief stop to tell -in a word what had happened. There was no difference in the speed from -Stevenson to Bismarck. The same desperate rate was kept up to the end. -They were approaching home with something of that feeling which always -moves the human heart. At eleven o’clock on the night of the 5th of -July they reached Bismarck and Fort A. Lincoln. One thousand miles in -fifty-four hours was the proud record.” - -[71] Charles Larpenteur, who was interpreter for the Commission in -their negotiations with the Assiniboines at Fort Union, says in his -journal, “The great Peace Commission was a complete failure.” Such was -the general sentiment along the valley. - -[72] The _Montana Post_ is authority for the statement that this voyage -of the _Octavia_ was the quickest ever made from St. Louis to Fort -Benton. - -[73] See footnote at end of chapter xxxviii. - -[74] On the 13th of June, 1902, Congress passed an Act abolishing the -Missouri River Commission, and virtually abandoning the river as a -commercial highway. - -On the 17th of the same month it passed an act inaugurating a -government policy of reclamation of the arid lands. This policy will -eventually result in an extensive use of the waters of the Missouri in -irrigation. - - - - -INDEX. - - - A - - Abraham Lincoln, Fort, 386, 387 - - Arrival of _Far West_ at, 390 - - Agency system, 362 - - Agents, Indian, situation of, 360 - - Alder Gulch, discovery of, 271 - - _Amanda_, the, impressed by Peace Com. of 1866, 405 - - American Fur Company, questionable methods of, 25, 43, 59, 64, 135, - 159, 183, 215, 290, 320, 329, 343, 344, 360 - sells its business on the river, 239, 260 - sends steamboat to Fort Benton, 218 - - Annuities, delivery of, in 1863, 301 - - Annuity system, abuses of, 177, 359, 360 - - Anthony, Col. R. D., 254 - - Appropriations for improving the Mo. r., 421–3 - - Aricara Indians, Ashley’s fight with, 5 - - Army, the, in Indian affairs, 365 et seq. - - Arrival of steamboat at trading post, 132 - - Ash Hollow, battle of, 367 - - Ashley, Gen. W. H., 5, 8 - transports furs by bullboat, 101 - - _Assiniboine_, the, ascends Mo. r. to Poplar r., 139, 218 - - Assiniboine Indians, 352 - break peace with Blackfeet, 228 - - Astor, John Jacob, 134, 138 - - Astorian expedition, 107 - - Atkinson, Gen. Henry, takes expedition to Yellowstone in 1825, 376, 383 - - Aubrey, Felix X., ride of, 114 - - Audubon the naturalist and the black squirrel, 150 - on board the _Omega_, 141 et seq. - unpopularity of, 150 - - - B - - Bad Axe, battle of, 24 - - Bad lands, first military expedition through, 375 - - Bailey, pilot of the _Spread Eagle_, 1863, 290, 291 - - Bannock City, 269 - - Barry, William, kills Captain Spear, 412 - released from arrest, 414 - tried and acquitted, 415 - - Bell of the _Saluda_, 125 - - Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, 442 - - Beneetse, discoverer of gold in Montana, 266 - - _Ben Johnson_, the, transports Peace Com. of 1863, 397 - - Benteen, Captain, in Custer campaign, 381 - - Benton, Fort, christening of, 235 - growth of, 237 - head of navigation, 220, 222 - historical sketch of, 222 et seq. - ruined by the railroads, 419 - - Benton, Thos. H., bequeaths name to Fort Benton, 235 - defends Am. F. Co., 27, 159, 235, 348 - faith of, in the West, 348 - - Benton Transportation Company, 420 - - Bercier accompanies La Barge on war party, 46 - death of, 46 - - Berger, Jacob, attacks Malcolm Clark, 232 - goes on mission to the Blackfeet, 223 - - Bible lost on the _Naomi_, 79 - - Big Mound, battle of, 372 - - _Bishop_, the, lost in whirlpool, 122 - - Bismarck, first railroad at, 419 - - Black Dave, adventure of, 149 - - Blackfeet Indians, annuities for, 315 et seq. - enemies of Crows, 223, 228 - sketch of, 226, 352 - trade relations with, 223 - treaty with Assiniboines, 225 - treaty with whites, 237, 359 - - Black Squirrel, Audubon and the, 150 - - Blair, Frank, and La Barge, 257 - - Bloody Island, 185 - - Boats, kinds of, on the Mo. r., 91 et seq. - - Boller, Henry A., cited, 300, 307, 313, 361 - - Bonneville, Captain, ships furs by bullboat, 101 - - Boone, Daniel, burial of, 57 - - Boonville, battle of, 255 - - Bozeman, J. M., 268 - - Bradley, James H., historical researches of, 238 - - Brasseaux Houses, 374, 375, 385 - - Bridger, Fort, La Barge at, 335 - - Brulé, Fort, origin of name, 232 - - Bruyère tries to break up La Barge’s expedition, 61 - - Buffalo, adventure with, 163 - - Bullboat, description of, 96 - Indian type of, 101 - noted voyages of, 100 - - Burgwin, Captain, inspects the _Omega_, 144 - - Burials along the Missouri r., 36 - - Burleigh, Dr. W. A., 341 - - - C - - Cabanné, John P., affair of, with Leclerc, 24–7 - - California, conquest of, 172 - discovery of gold in, 173 - - Calvary cemetery, St. Louis, 442 - - Campbell, Robert, criticises La Barge, 395 - - Canoe, description of, 91 - - Cargo of steamboats, 126 - - Cass, Fort, 228 - - Catholic sisters on La Barge’s boat, 434 - - Catlin, George, on board the _Yellowstone_, 137 - - Championship among steamboat employees, 128 - - Channel of the Missouri, changes in, 76 - - Chantier, description of, 96 - - Chappelle, Phil. A., assistance acknowledged, vi - - Chardon, F. A., and Blackfoot massacre, 231 - relieves Alexander Culbertson, 231 - - Chardon, Fort, 232, 237 - - Chase, Salmon P., La Barge’s experience with, 343 - - Chatillon, Henry, hunter for steamboats, 126 - - Cheyenne Indians, 352 - - Chicago and N. W. R. R. reaches Council Bluffs, 418 - - _Chippewa_, the, reaches head of navigation, 218, 219 - - Cholera on the _St. Ange_, 189 - on the _Yellowstone_, 31 - - Chouteau Bluffs, origin of name, 137 - - Chouteau, C. P., 201, 219 - encounter with Col. Dimon, 261 - - Chouteau, Edward Liguest, La Barge’s companion, 19, 345 - - Chouteau, Pierre, Jr., colloquy with La Barge, 292 - offers stand of colors to La Barge, 240 - quoted, 35, 134 - - Civil War, the, effect of, on Indians, 368 - relation of, to Mo. r. commerce, 249 et seq. - termination of, 368 - - Clark, Fort, 139 - - Clark, Malcolm, attacks Alexander Harvey, 233 - kills Owen McKenzie, 233 - - Clergymen as Indian agents, 143, 362 - - Cook, Camp, 410, 413 - - Cordelle, the, description of, 103 - - Cottonwood bark as forage, 49 - - Coues, Dr. Elliott, quoted, 313 - - Council Bluffs, first railroad at, 418 - - Crazy Wolf, Yanktonais Indian, 402 - - Crook, General, in campaign of 1876, 378, 379 - - Crooks, Ramsay, quoted, 138 - - Crow Indians, 352 - enemies of Blackfeet, 223, 228 - experience with Peace Com. of 1866, 404 - - Crow Indian prisoner killed by Pawnee, 31 - - Culbertson, Alexander, career at Fort Benton, 227 et seq. - - Cummings, Alfred, makes treaty with Blackfeet, 236, 359 - - Curtis, General, mem. Peace Com. 1866, 397 et seq. - - Custer, General, campaign of 1876, 380 - command of, annihilated, 380 - tries to arrest La Barge, 431 - - Custer massacre, first news of, 388 - - - D - - Dauphin, Louis, hunter for steamboats, 126 - subaqueous adventure of, 303 - - Dawson, Andrew, receives property of La Barge, Harkness & Co., 327 - - Dead Buffalo Lake, battle of, 372 - - Deadman, meaning of term in steamboating, 122 - - _Deer Lodge_, the, boats met by, in 1866, 273 - - Deer Lodge Valley, discovery of gold in, 266, 267 - - De Lacey, W. W., 237, 295 - - Departure from port, 127 - - De Smet, Father P. J., at Fort Laramie, arrived in 1851, 358 - goes from Fort Union to Fort Laramie, 193 - on the _St. Ange_ in 1851, 189 - stories of, 194 - - Diamond R Company, 329 - - Dimon, Col. Charles A. R., 260 et seq. - - Dodge, Grenville M., assistance acknowledged, vi - relations with Lincoln, 243, 244 - - Dog, a, causes steamboat wreck, 116 - chloroformed by Gen. Harney, 202 - - Durack, John, lassoes a buffalo, 163 - - - E - - Edgar, Henry, discoverer of Alder Gulch, 271 - - Edmunds, Newton, mem. Peace Com. of 1866, 397 - - _Edna_, the, explosion of, 124 - - _Effie Deans_, the, burned, 394 - length of voyage in one season, 336 - purchase of, 332 - voyage of, in 1864, 319 - - _El Paso_, the, reaches Milk r., 218 - - Embalming, new method, 413 - - _Emilie_, the, 240, 241 - voyage of, in 1862, 288 - - Evans, Dr., on the _St. Ange_ in 1851, 190 - - Exploration of the West, 174 - - Express, the, description of, 41 - - - F - - Fairweather, William, discoverer of Alder Gulch, 271 - - _Far West_, the, part played by, in campaign of 1876, 387, 388 - - Fire canoe of the Indians, 111 - - Fisk James L., leader of Northern Overland Expedition, 270 - - Flood of 1844, 154 - - Floods of Missouri and Mississippi, 83, 155 - - Fremont, General John, as an explorer, 348 - inaccessibility of, 347 - La Barge’s acquaintance with, 347 - - Freight rates on the Missouri, 276 - - Fuel for steamboats, 117 - - Fur trade, relation of, to the Indians, 353 - use of steamboats in, 3 - - - G - - Galpin, Charles E., 341 - - Galpin, Fort, 293 - - Galvanized Yankees, 260 - - Gardner, Johnson, transports furs by bullboat, 101 - - Garreau, Pierre, 197 - - Gibbon, General, in Custer campaign, 378 - - Gilbert, Colonel, incident concerning, 427 - - Gold, discovery of, in California, 173 - discovery of, in Montana, 237, 265 et seq., 368 - - Gold dust, first sale of, in Montana, 267 - great quantity shipped by the _Octavia_, 413 - transportation of, 275, 333 - - Good, Frederick, lost from the _Trover_, 286 - - Government work on the Missouri r., 421 et seq. - - Grant, General, La Barge’s acquaintance with, 347 - La Barge’s resemblance to, 443 - - Grattan massacre, 366, 367 - - Great Falls of the Missouri, 75 - first white woman to see, 294 - - Great Falls City, Mont., 420 - - Great fire of St. Louis, 185 - - Great Northern R. R. reaches Helena, 417, 418 - - Greer, Capt. W. B., witnesses transactions at Fort Union, 316, 320, 321 - - Grismore, Nathan, La Barge’s mate, 181 - - Guerette, Louis, killed on the _Saluda_, 24, 124 - - Guerette, Pelagie wife of Capt. La Barge, 71 - - Guerrillas in Missouri, 250 - - - H - - Half breeds, British, among the Indians, 369 - - Hannibal and St. Joseph R. R. reaches the Mo. r., 241, 417, 418 - - Hard, C. D., arrests La Barge, 432 - - Harkness, James, connection of, with firm of La Barge, Harkness & Co., - 286, 293, 324, 329 - journal of, 290 - - Harney, General, campaign of 1855, 367, 383 - chloroforms a dog, 202 - experience with Captain La Barge’s father, 6 - friend of the Indians, 201 - quoted, 356 - - Harvey, Alexander, attacked by Malcolm Clark, 234 - desperate character of, 229 et seq. - - Harvey, Primeau & Co., 234 - - Hat, Louis Dauphin’s, 303 - - Hawley, Hubbell & Co., buy out Am. F. Co., 239, 260 - - Hayden, Dr. F. N., on La Barge’s boat, 209 - - Helena, Mont., rise of, 272 - - Hill, Father W. H., preaches La Barge’s funeral sermon, 440 - - Hodgkiss, Wm., agent at Fort Union, 316, 320 - - Hoecken, Father, death of, 191 - - Hooper, Mormon acquaintance of La Barge’s, 334 - - Hopkins, Mormon acquaintance of La Barge’s, 334 - - Horrigan, Lieutenant, with troops on _Octavia_, 410 - - Hortiz, Eulalie, mother of Capt. La Barge, 11 - - Hortiz, Joseph Alvarez, 11 - - Hubbell, J. B. assistance acknowledged, vi - cited, 284 - mackinaw voyage of, in 1866, 283 - - Hunters for steamboats, 125 - - Hyde, Orson, Mormon preacher, 375 - - - I - - Ice break up of 1856, 204 - - Ice gorges, 81 - - Illinois Central R. R. reaches Sioux City, 418 - - Improvement work on the Mo. r., 241 et seq. - - _Independence_, the, first steamboat on the Missouri, 90, 219 - - Indian, the, and the fur trade, 353 - and the steamboat, 364 - - Indian agents, character of, 362 - - Indian question, 355 - - Indians attack the _Martha_, 179 - attack the _Omega_, 148 - danger to boats from, 123 - - Indians of the Missouri Valley, 351 - - Insurance rates, 276 - - Irrigation, Congressional Act of, 448 - relation of, to Mo. r., 447 - - Irving, Washington, quoted, 109 - - _Island City_, the, wreck of, 385 - - - J - - Jesuits honor La Barge’s memory, 440 - - Johnston, General A. S., 346 - - Joseph, Nez Percé chief, 392 - captured, 393 - - - K - - Kansas City, first railroad at 417 - - Kansas Indians, 351 - - Keelboat, advent of, on the Missouri, 90 - description of, 102 - - Kernel of corn, the, 152 - - Kidder, Judge, tries murderer of Capt. Spear, 414 - - Killdeer Mountain, battle of, 374 - - Kimball, Heber, Mormon preacher, 335 - - Kipp, James, accompanies La Barge, 70 - builds Fort Piegan, 225 - - - L - - La Barge, A. G., assistance acknowledged, vi - - La Barge Avenue, St. Louis, 198 - - La Barge, Charles S., killed in steamboat explosion, 13, 124 - - La Barge city, 295 - - La Barge, Fort, established, 293 - turned over to Am. F. Co., 327 - - La Barge, Harkness & Co., 270, 287 - collapse of firm, 329 - operations of, in 1862, 293 - sued, 326 - - La Barge, John B., brother of Capt. La Barge, 13 - member of firm L. H. & Co., 287 - takes first steamboat to head of navigation, 219 - - LA BARGE, JOSEPH, Mo. r. pilot accompanies Pawnee war party, 45 - acquaintance with the Mormons, 56 - acquaintance with prominent men, 346, 350 - adventure with Sioux war party, 38 - among the Pawnees, 27 et seq. - ancestry of, 2 et seq. - an authority on Mo. r. history, 439 - as an expert witness, 165 - at Ford’s theater, 344 - before Senate Committee, 344 - birth of, 12, 13 - captured by Pawnees, 160 - carries express to Pierre, 44 - changes during his lifetime, 441 - childhood of, 13 - claim against government, 323 - contemplates retirement, 198, 426 - death of, iv, 440 - dictates memoirs, iii - education of, 17 - enters service Am. F. Co., 23, 56, 67, 200 - enters service H. & St. Joe R. R., 241, 418 - experience with Englishmen, 344 - experience with rattlesnakes, 46 - falls into an air hole, 50 - funeral of, 440 - grave of, 442 - helps prepare list of steamboat wrecks, 438 - in Cabanné-Leclerc affair, 24 et seq. - in Custer campaign, 389 - in meteoric shower, 40 - in Montana, 331 et seq. - in “opposition,” 59 et seq., 287 - in Salt Lake City, 333 - in Washington, 340 et seq. - intimate knowledge of the river, 116 - leaves service Am. F. Co., 56, 184, 199, 210, 214, 215 - marriage of, 71 - meets Dave McCann, 430 - on the _Yellowstone_ in cholera scourge, 32 - opposes Am. F. Co., 59, et seq., 287 - personal characteristics, 443 - politics of, 444 - purchases the _Sonora_, 190 - religion of, 444 - remains with the Union, 253 - rescues boat from ice gorge, 207 - retires from the river, 447 - serves apprenticeship in steamboating, 55 - serves as interpreter, 22 - skill as a swimmer, 53 - works for city of St. Louis, 438 - - La Barge, Joseph Marie, at Council Bluffs, 42 - sketch of, 3 - stories concerning, 6 et seq. - - Laberge, Dr. Philemon, 12 - - La Fayette, visits of, to St. Louis, 15 - - La Framboise, Fort, 293 - - Langford, N. P., assistance acknowledged, vi - - Laramie Fort, treaty of, 358 - - Larpenteur, Charles, cited, 307 - estimate of, 313 - quoted, 398 - - Last Chance Gulch, 272 - - Latta, S. M., Indian agent, 300 - at the Tobacco Garden, 306 - cited, 207 - quoted, 317 - - Leavenworth, Colonel, in Aricara campaign, 383 - - Leclerc, Narcisse, affair of, with Cabanné, 24 et seq. - disloyal to La Barge, 60, 65 - - Lee, General R. E., acquaintance of La Barge with, 346 - examines Mo. r., 422 - surrender of, 336 - - Lemon, R. H., transfers Fort La Barge, 327 - - Lewis and Clark, expedition of, 375 - - Lewis, Fort, 233 et seq. - - Lincoln, Abraham, assistance of, 261, 336 - at Council Bluffs, 241 - commutes sentence of Indians, 371 - election of, 247 - interest in Indian question, 342 - on La Barge’s boat, 246 - on Missouri r., 241 et seq. - presented with fur robe, 340 - - Little Crow, Sioux Chief, incites massacre, 370 - - Liquor, importation of, prohibited, 25, 141 - - Lisa, Manuel, voyage of, in 1811, 106, 107 - - Loan, Brig. Gen., quoted, 251 - - Log book kept by Captain Sire, 139 - quoted, 146, 159 - - Lyon, General, goes to Illinois r. for pilots, 249 - La Barge’s experience with, 257, 258 - - - M - - Mackinaw boat, description of, 94 et seq. - party are massacred, 277, 278 - voyages of, 275, 284 - - Majors, Alexander, saves La Barge, 254 - - Mandan Indians, 252 - - Marine Insurance Companies, frauds upon, 420 - - Marmaduke, General, impresses the _Emilie_, 255 - - Marquette and Joliet discover Mo. r., 87 - - Marsh, Captain Grant, important services of, 387 - master of the _Far West_, 388 - - Massacre, Custer, 380 - - Massacre on the Marias r., 279 - - Matlock, Indian Agent, 178 - - Maximilian, Prince of Wied, at Fort McKenzie, 228 - voyage of, in 1833, 139 - - Maybrick, Mrs., case of, compared with that of Capt. Spear, 415 - - Meteoric shower, 40 - - Mexico, war with, 171 - - Miles, General, in Nez Percé campaign, 392 - - Miller, mate on the _Robert Campbell_, 396 - - Miller, Dr. Geo. L., quoted, 203 - - Miller, Joseph, Indian agent at Bellevue, 156 - - _Miner_, the, caught in a whirlpool, 122 - - Minnesota massacre, 370 - - Minnetarees, or Gros ventres of the Missouri, 352 - - Missouri Indians, 351 - - Missouri Pacific R. R. reaches Kansas City, 416 - - MISSOURI RIVER, THE - burials along shore, 36 - commercial importance of, iv, 73 - destiny of, 445 - discovery of, 87 - early exploration of, 89 - first navigation of, 87 - first steamboat to enter, 90 - head of navigation on, 220 - highest point reached by steam, 220 - improvement of, by the government, 422 et seq. - Indian tribes along, 351 - kinds of boats used on, 91 et seq. - modern view concerning, 445 - navigation of, 115 - origin of name, 88 - physical characteristics of, 74 et seq. - relation of, to gold regions of Montana, 273 - scenery of, 83 - sediment carried, 78 - source of, 74 - - Missouri River Commission, abolition of, 424, 448 - creation of, 422 - - Mitchell, D. D., attends Council at Fort Laramie, 358 - builds Fort McKenzie, 226 - - Montana, first railroads in, 419 - gold fields of, 265 - - Montana Historical Society, 239 - - Mormons, the, in Missouri, 65 - La Barge’s acquaintance with, 175, 333 - migration of, to Great Salt Lake, 171 - relation of, to commerce of Mo. r., 171 - sketch of, 167 - - McCann, Dave, meets La Barge, 430 - - McCune, John S., relations with La Barge, 337, 396, 435 - - McKenzie, Fort, 137 - burned, 232 - founding of, 227 - sketch of, 228 - - McKenzie, Kenneth, 134 - opens trade with the Blackfeet, 223 - - McKenzie, Owen, killed by Malcolm Clark, 233 - - McPherson, W. W., government contractor, 409 - - - N - - _Naomi_, the, discovery of a Bible belonging to, 79 - - Negro boys lost, 285 - - New Mexico, conquest of, 172 - - Nez Percé campaign, steamboat in, 392 - - Nicollet, J. J., 347 - - _Nimrod_, the, injured by hailstorm, 164 - inspection of, at Bellevue, 156 - voyage of, in 1844, 154 - - Northern Overland Expedition, 270 - - Northern Pacific R. R. reaches Bismarck, 419 - reaches Montana, 419 - - Northwestern Fur Company, 239, 260 - - Northwestern Treaty Commission--See “Peace Commission of 1866” - - Nutt, H. C., quoted, 369 - - - O - - _Octavia_, the, built, 396 - great profit on voyage of, 416 - voyage of, 1867, 408 - - Omaha, first railroad at, 418 - - Omaha Indians, 351 - - _Omega_, the, voyage of 1843, 141 et seq. - - Ophir City, 279 - - “Opposition,” meaning of term, 59 - - Orleans, Fort, 88 - - Osage Indians, 351 - - Otrante, Comte de, 155 - - - P - - Passenger fares on Mo. r., 276 - lists on Mo. r. steamboats, 120 - - Pawnee Indians, 27, 351 - capture La Barge, 160 - La Barge’s residence among, 27 - Peace Commission of 1866, 396 et seq. - quoted, 360 - - Peindry, Comte de, 155 - - Piegan, Fort, founding of, 225 - - Pierre, Fort, 137 - transfer of, to United States, 201, 367, 383 - - Pike’s Peak Gulch, 269 - - Pilcher, Joshua, in charge of Cabanné’s post, 37 - interest in young La Barge, 39, 44, 48 - - Pilot, Missouri r., experiences of, 131 - important duty of, 115 - wages of, 276 - - Pilot shields, 250 - - Poles, use of, on keelboats, 104 - - Pope, General, plans Indian campaign, 371 - quoted, 357 - - Price, General Sterling, 255 - - Profits in steamboat business, 276 - - Prou, Mr., botanist to Audubon, 152 - - Provost, Etienne, praises La Barge, 39 - outwits a botanist, 152 - settles championship, 128 - wooding the Martha, 179 - - - R - - Racing steamboats on the Mo. r., 123 - - Railroads, the enemy of the steamboat, 417 - relation of, to Mo. r., 445 - - Randall, Fort, 367, 383 - - Rattlesnakes, 46 - - Ray, Captain, faithful conduct of, 337 - - Reed, H. W., Indian Agent, 300 - advises La Barge to store annuities, 316 - cited, 207 - mem. Peace Com. 1866, 397 - quoted, 314 - - Reeve, Colonel, makes Crows walk, 405 - - Rencontre, Zephyr, aids La Barge, 67 - interprets for Peace Com. of 1866, 400, 402 - - Reno, Major, in Custer campaign, 381, 391 - - Rice, Fort, 260, 374 - - _Robert Campbell_, the, voyage of, in 1863, 298 et seq. - - Roe, John J., organizes Diamond R. Co., 328 - relations with La Barge, 325 - - Rolette, agt. Am. F. Co. at Fort Union, 320 - - - S - - Sail, use of, on keelboats, 106 - - Sailors, lost from the _Nimrod_, 160 - - _Saint Ange_, launching of, 184 - voyage of, in 1851, 189 - - Saint Joseph, first railroad at, 417 - - Saint Louis, great fire of, 185 - - Salaries on steamboats, 271 - - _Saluda_, the, explosion of, 124 - - _Sam Gaty_, the, attack on, 251 - - Sanders, W. F., assistance acknowledged, vi - counsel against La Barge, Harkness & Co., 328 - - Sarpy, Peter A., arrests Leclerc, 26 - in charge of Cabanné’s post, 49 - - Scenery of the Missouri r., 83 - - Sediment carried by the Mo. r., 78 - - Sheridan, General, plans campaign of 1876, 378 - - Sherman, General, Commissioner to treat with Indians, 377 - gives La Barge a contract, 410 - - _Shreveport_, the, impressed by General Sully, 385 - voyage of, in 1863, 302 - - Sibley, General, in charge of operations against Sioux Indians - in 1863, 370 - - Sioux City, first railroad at, 418 - important river port, 419 - - Sioux City and Pacific R. R. reaches Sioux City, 418 - - Sioux Indians, 351 - capture Grosventre herd, 304 - non-treaty, 377 - power of, broken, 377 - - Sire, Joseph A., 140 - master of the _Omega_, 141 - master of the _Nimrod_, 154 - outwits inspectors, 144, 157 - - Sire log book, the, 139 - - Slope of Missouri river, 83 - - Smallpox among the Blackfeet, 229 - - Smith, Green Clay, Governor of Montana Territory, 409 - - Smith, Joseph, death of, 57, 169 - - Snags in Missouri river, 80, 119, 421 - - Snagboats, early, 422 - - Sounding the channel, 120 - - Sparring over sand bars, 121 - - Spear, Capt. W. D., killed by a sentinel, 412 - takes passage on the _Octavia_, 411 - - _Spread Eagle_, the, rams the _Emilie_, 289 - - Stanley, General, arrests Custer, 431 - - Statistics of steamboat traffic, 217, 275 - - Steamboat, the, and the Indians, 364 - architectural beauty of, 111 - description of, 109 et seq. - in the Indian wars, 382 - in the Nez Percé campaign, 392 - last at Fort Benton, 420 - navigation of the Mo. r., importance of, iv - trade on Mo. r., rapid growth of, 174, 216, 274 - wrecks, causes of, 421 - voyages up the Mo. r., 127 - - Stevens, I. I., makes treaty with Blackfeet, 236, 359 - - Stinger, Andy, hero of the Tobacco Garden, 307, 311 - - Stony Lake, battle of, 372 - - Storm injures the _Nimrod_, 164 - - Storms on the Missouri, 84 - - Stuart, Fort, 293 - - Stuart, James, English traveler, 4 - - Stuart, James, Montana pioneer, 267, 268, 271 - - Sublette & Campbell, 36 - - Suit against La Barge, Harkness & Co., 328 - - Sully, Fort, 373 - - Sully, General, campaign of 1863, 371, 372 - campaign of 1864, 374 - impresses the _Shreveport_, 318 - opinion of Col. Dimon, 262 - quoted, 270, 361 - uses steamboats in his campaigns, 385 - - Survey of the Missouri r., 436 - - Suter, Capt, C. R., purchases the _Octavia_, 425 - - - T - - Tecumseh, Fort, 137 - - Terry, General Alfred, in campaign of 1876, 378 - on La Barge’s boat, 390 - - Terry, Lieutenant, English officer, investigates death of Capt. - Spear, 414 - - Terry, M. M., writes account of voyage of _Far West_, 388 - - Thomas, Col., Quartermaster in St. Louis, 410 - - Thompson, C. W., Indian agent, 385 - - Thompson, Fort, 385 - - Tobacco Garden, affair at, 305 et seq. - - Transportation by water and rail, 420 - - Treaty of Fort Laramie, 358, 366 - with Blackfeet, 237, 259 - - Treaty system, abuses of, 356 - - _Trover_, the, wreck of, 285 - - - U - - Union, Fort, 139 - - Union Pacific Bridge at Omaha opened, 418 - - Union Pacific R. R., Lincoln’s interest in, 244 - reaches Ogden, 419 - - Upson, Gad E., Indian agent, 322 - - Utah Northern R. R. enters Montana, 419 - - - V - - Vallandingham, C. L., 244 - - Virginia City, Mont., 272 - - Volunteers, U. S., 259 - - Voyage, last, to Fort Benton, 436, 437 - - Voyageurs, 108 - - - W - - Wall, Nicholas, relations with Capt. La Barge, 258, 295, 325, 326 - - War with Mexico, 171 - - Warping over rapids, 121 - - Warren, General, on the upper Missouri, 208 - - Weather, influence of, on navigation of the river, 86 - - _Western Engineer_, the, 91, 382 - - Whirlpools on the Missouri, 122 - - Whitestone Hill, battle of, 373 - - Winnebago Indians, transported by steamboat, 384 - - Wooding steamboat, 118 - - Wooding at Crow creek in 1847, 179 - - Wounded Knee, battle of, 366 - - Wrecks of steamboats on Mo. r., causes of, 421 - list of, 438 - - Wright, Geo. B., agent for the Blackfeet, 405 - - Wyeth, Nathaniel J., transports furs by bullboat, 101 - - - Y - - Yankee Jack, adventure of, 129 - mentioned, 282 - - Yanktonais, the, experience of, with Peace Com. of 1866, 399 - - Yawl, importance of, to steamboat, 54, 91 - - _Yellowstone_, the, first steamboat on the upper river, 22, 136 - cholera on, 32 - description of, 112 - public interested in voyage of, 138 - - Yellowstone expedition of 1819, 382 - - Yellowstone National Park, 75, 266 - - Yellowstone river, 75 - falls of, 75 - La Barge ascends, 436 - - Young, Brigham, 169, 175 - entertains La Barge, 334 - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - - -Old English lettering on the pages preceding the Table of Contents is -represented here within =equals signs=. - -Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a -predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they -were not changed. - -Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation -marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left -unbalanced. - -Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs -and outside quotations. In versions of this eBook that support -hyperlinks, the page references in the List of Illustrations lead to -the corresponding illustrations. - -Running page headers are shown here as Sidenotes, usually positioned -just above the paragraph they summarize. When such Sidenotes summarize -footnotes, they are positioned above the paragraphs that referenced -those footnotes. - -This is Volume II of a two-volume set. The Index covers both -Volumes. Volume I, which also is available at no cost at Project -Gutenberg, ends on page 248 and this volume begins on page 249. -The index was not checked for proper alphabetization or -correct page references. - -Footnotes have been renumbered to continue the sequence begun in Volume I. - -Page 254: Missing footnote anchor added by Transcriber. Based on the -context of the text, this likely is in the right place. - -Page 276: “6 1-2” was printed that way. - -Page 306: Missing footnote anchor added by Transcriber. This may not be -in the right place. 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