History of Early Steamboat Navigation on the Missouri River, Volume 2 (of 2) Life and Adventures of Joseph La Barge — Reading Notes

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Authors: Chittenden, Hiram Martin, 1858-1917 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2020 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: La Barge, Joseph, 1815-1899; Steam-navigation -- Missouri River; Missouri River -- History Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 54,008

Reading time 235 min

Text sections 24

For History of Early Steamboat Navigation on the Missouri River, Volume 2 (of 2) Life and Adventures of Joseph La Barge — Reading Notes, the stored edition analysis reports 54,008 words, 3 hr 55 min estimated reading time, and 24 detected text sections.

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Source: Project Gutenberg record #64137

This volume traces Joseph La Barge's later career amid Civil War disruptions, Montana gold rushes, and military campaigns on the Missouri. Chittenden structures the narrative around alternating river voyages and inland expeditions, using recurring images of snags, wrecks, and the river's physical transformation to frame the steamboat era's decline.

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INCIDENTS ON THE RIVER (1862–67), 277

LA BARGE AGAIN IN OPPOSITION, 287

VOYAGE OF 1863--THE TOBACCO GARDEN MASSACRE, 298

THE BLACKFOOT ANNUITIES, 315

COLLAPSE OF THE LA BARGE-HARKNESS OPPOSITION, 324

CAPTAIN LA BARGE IN MONTANA, 331

CAPTAIN LA BARGE IN WASHINGTON, 340

THE INDIAN OF THE MISSOURI VALLEY, 351

THE ARMY ON THE MISSOURI, 365

THE STEAMBOAT IN THE INDIAN WARS, 382

THE PEACE COMMISSION OF 1856, 394

THE MURDER OF CAPTAIN SPEAR, 408

THE BATTLE WITH THE RAILROADS, 417

LAST VOYAGES TO BENTON, 425

DESTINY OF THE MISSOURI RIVER, 445

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

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

EARLY STEAMBOAT NAVIGATION

ON THE MISSOURI RIVER

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.”]

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Chittenden opens this volume in medias res, with the Civil War disrupting Missouri River navigation. The narrative structure alternates between La Barge's personal voyages and broader military campaigns, creating a dual focus on individual enterprise and national expansion. Recurring images of snags, wrecks, and the river's changing course underscore the precariousness of steamboat travel. The author's attention to logistical details—rations, fort construction, steamer schedules—grounds the account in the material realities of frontier commerce.

Campaigns and River Crossings

The military chapters (XXI, XXXI–XXXII) reveal a pattern: army columns march overland while steamboats carry supplies to rendezvous points. In Sully's 1864 campaign, the general sends his steamers around to meet him at the Brasseau Houses on the Yellowstone, while he leads a wagon train through the Bad Lands. Chittenden notes the peril of fording the Missouri and the wreck of a steamer carrying materials for a new post. This juxtaposition of land and water routes becomes a structural motif, highlighting the steamboat's role as a mobile supply depot.

The River as Obstacle and Highway

Chittenden repeatedly emphasizes the Missouri's physical challenges. The text describes snag removal operations and the river's tendency to shift course, illustrated by the frontispiece map and plates showing steamboats at bank and wrecked vessels. In the account of the 1864 campaign, the Yellowstone is forded "with much peril," and the Bad Lands crossing is called "perilous." These details reinforce the river as both a vital artery and a constant threat, a duality that shapes the narrative's tension.

La Barge's Later Voyages

Chapters XXIV–XXIX follow La Barge's opposition ventures and his travels to Montana and Washington. The structure shifts between river journeys and political lobbying, suggesting the captain's dual role as navigator and advocate. Chittenden includes specific incidents—the Tobacco Garden Massacre (Chapter XXV) and the Blackfoot Annuities affair (Chapter XXVI)—that illustrate the intersection of commerce, Indian policy, and military force. These episodes are presented as case studies in the challenges of frontier enterprise.

The Steamboat's Military Role

Chapter XXXII, "The Steamboat in the Indian Wars," explicitly analyzes the vessel's tactical functions. Chittenden describes how steamers transported troops, supplies, and materials for new posts, and how their loss could derail campaigns. The wreck of a steamer with most of its material prevents construction of a Yellowstone post. This chapter, along with the earlier campaign narratives, positions the steamboat as a critical but vulnerable component of military logistics, subject to the same hazards as the soldiers it supported.

Readers will find that Chittenden's method—alternating between La Barge's personal story and broader historical currents—requires attention to the interplay of scales. The index, covering both volumes, helps track recurring figures and places. Pay particular attention to the illustrations: the map, steamboat views, and wreck images are not decorative but integral to understanding the river's physical demands.

Reading of La Barge watching the river's snags and wrecks pile up, I felt that quiet ache of watching something beloved change. It reminded me of another kind of institutional memory, the careful preserving of early scientific hopes in The Royal Institution: Its Founder and First Professors — Reading Notes. Both are records of beginnings, haunted by what time does to them.