1877 



I spent part of the summer of 1877 journeying 

 along the Missouri River from a point opposite 

 Helena to Fort Benton. Apart from my hunting 

 experiences, the most interesting thing I saw was 

 the Great Falls of the Missouri, about thirty miles 

 above Fort Benton. 



There are a succession of falls, extending seven 

 or eight miles up the river. The lower falls form 

 a cascade of eighty feet fall for half the width of 

 the stream, the other half having a slope of about 

 45 degrees. At high water, these falls in volume 

 and in evidence of power are second only to 

 Niagara in this country. 



The Great Falls of the Yellowstone are more 

 beautiful, but lack the grandeur and mass of the 

 two just named. Of the Great Falls of the Mis- 

 souri, perhaps the most interesting is one about 

 three miles above the main fall, with a cascade of 

 about forty feet fall for the full width of the river. 



I had come so far north as this, expecting that a 

 friend from Fort Benton would accompany me 



46 



