Far West, Missouri

“ Above the embouchure of the Missouri, fifteen hundred miles from the Mexican gulf, it is broader than at New-Orleans, with scarce one tenth of its waters; and at the foot of St. Anthony's Falls its breadth is but one third less. This forms a striking characteristic of the Western rivers, and owes, perhaps, its origin partially to the turbid character of their waters: as they approach their outlet they augment in volume, and depth, and impetuosity of current, but contract their expanse. ”

“ I have drunk of both, distant only about fifty yards from each other; for the same field of snow supplies both the Atlantic 87 and Pacific oceans. After the junction of the forks, the Missouri for a considerable distance, becomes an impetuous and foaming torrent. Below this, its bed is more spacious, and its course more tranquil. Steep rocks of a black hue jut and rise above its current to a height of nearly a thousand feet. The mountains, along whose base it runs, are shaded by pines, cedars, fir and turpentine trees. ”

“ To the right extends the Missouri Bottom, studded with farms of the French villagers, and the river-bank margined with trees which conceal the stream from the eye. Its course is delineated, however, by the blue line of bluffs upon the opposite side, gracefully curving towards the distant Mississippi until the trace fades away at the confluence. In front is spread out the lovely Mamelle Prairie, with its waving ocean of rich flowers of every form, and scent, and hue, while green groves are beheld swelling out into its bosom, and hundreds of cattle are cropping the [Pg 275] herbage. ”

“ The country lying west of Missouri, which includes the sources of the Neosho, the Verdigris, the Marais-des-Cygnes and other branches of the Osage, and the lower sections of the Kansas river, vies with any portion of the Far West in the amenity of its upland prairies—in the richness of its alluvial bottoms—in the beauty and freshness of its purling rills and rivulets—and in the salubrity of its atmosphere. ”

“ The volume of the Missouri at the confluence far exceeds that of its rival; the length of its course and the number and magnitude of its tributaries are also greater, and it imparts a character to the united streams. On the other hand, the Mississippi, geographically and geologically considered, is the grand Central River of the continent, maintaining an undeviating course from north to south; the valley which it drains is far more extensive and fertile [Pg 268] than that of the Missouri ”

“ The Black Hills and the table lands called Prairie hills, which separate the sources of the upper Missouri from those of the Mississippi, the Ozark and the Masserne ridges may all be considered as so many collateral chains of the Rocky Mountains. ”

“ The history of the Mormon difficulties in Missouri, is of too recent an origin not to be well known to the governor. A few years since, when they had settled in the Far West, and had gathered around them the comforts and conveniences of life, and were beginning to reap the just reward of their industry and enterprise, a mob attempted to drive them from their homes; as peaceable citizens, enjoying all the rights guaranteed to them by a republican Constitution, they had a right, and did call on the governor of Missouri for protection. ”

“ Louis and the adjacent country with lumber. I shall say nothing of the many other less remarkable tributaries of the Missouri, such as the Blue Water, the Mine, the Bonne Femme, the Manitoo, the Muddy, the Loutre, the Cedar, the Buffalo, the St. Johns, the Wood river, the Charette, Bonhomme, Femme Osage, &c. [183] The length of the Missouri, from its sources to the Yellow Stone, is 880 miles, from the Yellow Stone to its junction with the Mississippi, is about 2200. I subjoin a list of the Forks of its great tributaries which I have seen and crossed. ”

“ Missouri was thrust out beyond the Mississippi into the vast plains-country of the Far West, and except on the river-front was completely isolated, being flanked on every side by great stretches of level wilderness, inhabited by roaming tribes of warlike Indians. ”

“ If greater notoriety could have been achieved or greater admiration for his prowess secured by the murder of these men at Far West, he would not have stayed his hand. It was an opportunity of a lifetime for a militia leader to cover himself with the dishonors of war. Less than a quarter of a century from that time, the state of Missouri and all its citizens had ample occasion to deal with real enemies and to view in every city and village, and every field and every forest, and in every home the misery of fratricidal strife. ”

“ In the center of the town a large square was left as a site for a temple which it was their design to erect. The square was approached by four main streets, each a hundred feet wide. * * * As its population increased, additions to the town were laid out. At the time of the "Mormon" war the population of Far West was about two thousand five hundred, and it was the largest town in the State north of the Missouri.
"Mormon" War.—The "Mormons" as a people were honest, sober and industrious, but the object of the leaders was to make money and obtain power. ”

“ In answer to the inquiry of the citizens of Far West as to who the mob forces were and what their intentions, the reply was, "We want three persons out of the city before we massacre the rest." [A] Hostilities, however, were postponed until the next day, and the mob began the work of encampment along the borders of a small stream called Goose Creek. During the night, the people in Far West constructed, as best they could, some rude fortifications south of the city, and were reinforced in the night by Lyman Wight and a small body of men from Diahman. ”

“ Every member who could contribute to the commissary department by his labor was expected to do so. The settlers in the territory seem to have been in need of such assistance, and were very glad to pay for it in grain, hay, or provisions. A letter from one of the emigrants to a friend in England* said that, in every settlement they passed through, they found plenty of work, digging wells and cellars, splitting rails, threshing, ploughing, and clearing land. Some of the men in the spring were sent south into Missouri, not more than forty miles from Far West, in search of employment. ”

“ It has furnished more information, historical, statistical and commercial in regard to Western Missouri, the great western plains and the mountains, their trade, resources and capabilities, than any other paper in the Mississippi Valley, and when the history of the New West comes to be written, it is to its columns that the historian will turn for its earliest facts and figures. ”

“ Those who made the trip across the plains usually began the long journey at Independence or Westport, Missouri, for at that time the Missouri River was considered the western boundary of all civilization, and as these gold-hunters launched out on the almost trackless prairies that lay west of that mighty stream, many considered themselves as entering a country of peculiar freedom, and it was often said that “law and morality never crossed the Missouri River.” ”

“ By the beginning of the last century the Americans had overcome the natural obstacles in their westward progress, and their settlements reached as far into the wilderness as the Mississippi River. Hunters and traders were soon pushing far beyond, spreading over the Great Plains and up to the very base of the Rocky, or Stony Mountains, as they were then called. The Missouri River became the great highway into the Northwest, for the adventurers took advantage of the streams wherever possible. ”

“ Next to maintaining our finances and the public credit, followed by decisive victories in the field, the speedy success of emancipation in Missouri is most important. Missouri is larger by more than 6,000 square miles than any State east of the Mississippi, and occupies a central position between the North and the South, the East and the West. ”

“ In nothing except the freighting of bulky and imperishable products, like cotton, coal and cereals, was the river ever able to contest the monopoly of the railways. The mileage of these within the state rose from 3960 in 1880 to 6142 in 1890, and to 8023·94 in 1908; the Missouri Pacific being far the greatest system of the state. St Louis, Kansas City and St Joseph are ports of entry for foreign commerce.
Population.—The total population of Missouri in 1900 was 3,106,665 and in 1910, 3,293,335. The population in 1810 was 20,845 ”

“ They sat down, here on the bank of the great river, on the edge of the great modern town, in sight of many smelter smokes, and bent over the old maps that William Clark had made with such marvelous exactness more than a hundred years ago.
“She seems to go in long sweeps, the old Missouri,” said John, pointing with his finger.
[Pg 198]
“First we went almost west, to Kansas City, Missouri. Then almost north, to Sioux City, Iowa. Then northwest to Pierre, South Dakota, and then north to Bismarck, North Dakota. Then she runs strong northwest to the Yellowstone, and then straight west to here. ”

“ Passing trains whistled loudly and frequently. The shores became more populated.
“Two miles more and we’ll round to full view of Kansas City, young men,” said he. “We’ve crossed the whole and entire state of Missouri, three hundred and ninety miles—from one great city to another great one.
“St. Louis—Kansas City! Each in her day has been the Gate to the West. In 1847, Independence, over to the left, was going back, and even the new boat landing of Westport was within the year to be called Kansas City. ”

“ The State of Missouri seems to be not only one of the largest States of the Union, but one of the richest also, as regards natural beauty and natural resources. They speak of its northern portion as of the natural garden of the West; it possesses westward, lofty mountains, rich in metals, interspersed with immense prairies and forest; southward, towards Arkansas, it becomes boggy, and abounds in morasses. To the west of the State lies the Indian Territory, the people of which have embraced Christianity and civilisation. ”

“ Saint Louis was an early centre of German immigration, and the Germans still constitute over one-half of the total foreign born. In 1900 there was an average of 45.2 people to the square mile—a greater density than is shown in any other State west of the Mississippi. Missouri contains the largest centre of population located on the Mississippi River, and the percentage of urban population is therefore high. In 1900 the 35 places having more than 4000 inhabitants each contained collectively 34.9 per cent. of the total population. ”

“ But much of the soil of this country is excellent, and its productions are similar to those of the state of New York. The North-West territory has not yet been much explored. That portion of it situated between the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, and the western shore of Lake Michigan, has a rich, black, alluvial soil, and is well watered. The face of the country is unbroken by hills of any magnitude.
The most striking feature of the vast Missouri territory is its ocean of prairies. A belt of partially wooded country extends from two to four hundred miles west of the Mississippi and its waters. ”

“ There was already a line of small towns along the west bank of the Missouri, which were the starting points for transcontinental traffic, where freight was transferred from river steamers to wagons. Beyond the Missouri and a narrow strip of arable land along its western shore, lay the vast territory believed to be fit only for savages, wild beasts, and fur traders, a wide, inhospitable waste, which men were compelled to cross who would reach the Eldorado on the Pacific, or the mines in the mountains. ”

“ The country south-west of the Missouri, between the Konzas and the Platte, is drained principally by Wolf river and the Great Nemahaw. These rivers, like the Nodowa and Nishnebottona, which enter the Missouri nearly opposite them from the north-east, rise in the prairies at an elevation probably of forty or fifty feet above the level of the Missouri. ”

“ After making ample deductions for inferior soil, ranges of barren hills, and large tracts of swamp, as in the south, the State of Missouri contains a vast proportion of excellent farming land. The people generally are enterprising, hardy and industrious, and most of those who hold slaves, perform labor with them. Emigrants from every State and several countries of Europe, are found here, but the basis of the population is from Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. ”

“ In 1858 the author sold out on the North Fork of White river and moved into Howell county and located 11 miles southwest of West Plains upon sections 2 and 11, range 9, was appointed constable of Benton township and in the year 1860 was elected constable of Benton township, commenced reading law in the year 1858. In the year 1860 West Plains was said to be the best, neatest, prettiest town in South Missouri and contained about 200 inhabitants ”

“ This is the largest town in North Missouri. It is located on the east bank of the Missouri river; has quite a city appearance; the streets are paved, and the business houses are chiefly brick, and of a substantial character. This, and three other towns within seventy-five miles, are striving for the mastery—Kansas City, Leavenworth and Lawrence. Time only will determine which will win. But there is bound to be one large commercial center somewhere in this region. ”