A TURBULENT UPRIVER FLOW: STEAMBOAT NARRATIVES OF NATURE, TECHNOLOGY, AND HUMANS IN MONTANA TERRITORY by Evan Graham Kelly A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY Bozeman, Montana November 2019 ©COPYRIGHT by Evan Graham Kelly 2019 All Rights Reserved ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work of this master’s thesis would not have been possible without the assistance and mentorship of the faculty in Montana State University’s Department of History and Philosophy. I am extremely grateful for the indispensable advice, comments, and motivation provided by my committee chair, Dr. Mark Fiege. This project has grown and thrived with his insightful and thoughtful critiques. I am also deeply indebted to my committee members Dr. Brett Walker and Dr. Michael Reidy, both of whom have been incredibly supportive and encouraging of this research project since its inception. Beyond my committee, the advice and knowledge offered by the faculty of MSU’s History and Philosophy Department has been overwhelming and I would like to specifically thank the professors I have worked with during my graduate studies, including: Dr. Billy Smith, Dr. Timothy LeCain, Dr. James Meyer and Dr. Susan Cohen. I would also like to offer my gratitude to other members of the MSU faculty with whom I have interacted and learned from, specifically Dr. Mary Murphy, Dr. Janet Ore, Dr. Maggie Greene, Dr. Amanda Hendrix-Komoto, Dr. Mathew Herman, Dr. Catherine Dunlop, Dr. Robert Rydell, and Professor Dale Martin. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1 1859 Steamboat Chippewa at Fort Brulé .........................................................................1 Boats and Water Travel ...................................................................................................3 Purpose ............................................................................................................................5 Historical Methodology ...................................................................................................7 Social History...........................................................................................................7 Materials Level: Nature and Technology ..............................................................13 Transportation Technology ....................................................................................19 Time and Space ......................................................................................................21 Power of Human Vision.........................................................................................22 Historiography of Steamboats and American Rivers ....................................................24 Notes on Sources ...........................................................................................................31 Layout of Chapters .........................................................................................................35 2. NATURAL AND HUMAN GEOGRAPHIES ..............................................................38 Natural Geography .........................................................................................................39 Lakes, Mountains, and Rivers ................................................................................39 Missouri River: Rocky and Sandy .........................................................................41 Badlands and Missouri Breaks...............................................................................42 Climate and Weather..............................................................................................43 Flora and Fauna......................................................................................................44 Human Geography ..........................................................................................................46 First Migrants .........................................................................................................47 Early Humans in Montana .....................................................................................49 Buffalo Hunters and Farmers .................................................................................50 Horses, Guns, and Disease .....................................................................................52 Salish, Pend d’Orielle, and Kootenai .....................................................................54 Blackfeet ................................................................................................................55 Crow .......................................................................................................................58 Lakota, Nakota, Dakota, and Assiniboine .............................................................59 Gros Ventre, Cheyenne, and Arapaho ...................................................................61 Euro-American Arrivals.........................................................................................61 Early Influence of Steamboats in Montana ............................................................63 US Government Policies .......................................................................................65 Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 ..................................................................................66 3. STEAMBOAT CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION ..............................................69 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTINUED Headwaters of the Ohio River .......................................................................................71 Hull Materials and Design .............................................................................................72 Engines, Boilers, and Industrialized Pittsburg ..............................................................76 Paddlewheels .................................................................................................................79 Operation .......................................................................................................................81 American Fur Company and the 1859 Missouri River Expedition ...................81 Officers and Cabin Crew ...................................................................................82 Passengers .........................................................................................................83 Deck Crew .........................................................................................................84 Fueling the Chippewa ........................................................................................86 Food and Booze .................................................................................................88 Firewood ............................................................................................................89 Mountain Steamboat Techniques ......................................................................91 4. 1859 STEAMBOAT CHIPPEWA’S JOURNEY INTO MONTANA...........................97 Upper Missouri River ....................................................................................................99 Far Upper Missouri River ............................................................................................103 Old Fort Mackenzie and Fort Benton ..........................................................................112 Lame Bull Treaty of 1855 ............................................................................................113 Back Downstream .......................................................................................................120 5. 1862 JAMES HARKNESS AND THE STEAMBOAT EMILIE ................................127 Emigration to the Gold Fields of Idaho and Montana .................................................130 Gold in Them Hills ......................................................................................................133 Wood on the Plains ......................................................................................................134 Game: Elk, Antelope, Buffalo .....................................................................................138 Far Upper Missouri River ............................................................................................141 Fort Benton ..................................................................................................................144 Gold from the Diggings ...............................................................................................150 Fort LaBarge and Back to the USA .............................................................................152 6. 1869 SERENA WASHBURN AND FAMILY ...........................................................161 Through the Great Plains .............................................................................................166 Violence on the Northern Plains ..................................................................................171 Wood and Native American Woodhawks ....................................................................173 Dynamics of the Northern Plains .................................................................................175 v TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTINUED Far Upper Missouri River ............................................................................................178 Stopped by Low-Water