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

by Hiram Martin Chittenden

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.