Description: In 1859, the American Fur Company set out on what would then be the longest steamboat trip in North American history--a headline-making, 6,200-mile trek along the Missouri River from St. Louis to Fort Benton in present-day Montana, and back again. Steamboats West is an adventure story that navigates the rocky rapids of the upper Missouri to offer a fascinating account of travel to the raw frontier past the pale of settlement. It was a venture that extended trade deep into the Northwest and made an enormous stride in transportation.
Brief description:
Lawrence H. Larsen, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, is author of fifteen books, including A History of Missouri: Volume VI, 1953 to 2003; Federal Justice in Western Missouri; and The Urban West at the End of the Frontier.