In the spring of 1879, Flora Gardner traveled from Kansas to Bozeman with her family, via steamboat and wagon. Once settled in her new home, Flora sent a letter to friends in Kansas describing the trip’s adventures. This is the first of a four-part article sharing Flora’s story.

Flora McCreary was born in 1839 in New Castle, Pennsylvania, but spent most of her early life in Nodaway County, Missouri. Flora married John Baker on the eve of the Civil War, and the couple had three children— Florence (born in 1858), Charles (“Charley,” born in 1859), and Joseph (“Joe,” born in 1866). After John’s death in 1867, Flora married Edward M. Gardner and the family moved to Kansas. Flora and Ed welcomed three more children—Archie (born in 1871), Mary (born in 1872), and Mattie (born in 1875). A daughter Carrie arrived in 1881, after the family relocated to Bozeman.

On April 2, 1879, Flora and Edward Gardner and their six children boarded the steamboat “Red Cloud,” bound for Fort Benton, Montana. Also joining the Gardner group was Flora’s mother Rachel Irwin McCreary, and a cousin named Findley. Over a month later, the steamboat chugged into Ft. Benton and within a couple days the party began the overland trek to Bozeman. No doubt the forty-day steamboat journey was eventful, but in a letter written to friends in Kansas after their arrival in Bozeman, Flora chronicled the family’s two-week-long wagon adventure. An edited and annotated version of Flora’s letter follows.

Bozeman, Montana, June 11, 1879
 
Dear Mack & Mary,

For fear you will think we have found the jumping off place and gone over, I will write to you. In place of getting out of the world, we have just gotten into it. We are surely in the land of promise, where water and milk flows abundantly; I have seen no honey as yet.

I will go back to Benton and try and give you a faint but true description of our trip. “We sailed into port” Sunday evening May 11th so we were just forty days from White Cloud [likely the community of White Cloud in northeastern Kansas] to Ft. Benton.


It was a lovely evening, everyone was out or up on deck eagerly gazing at the Fort, and everybody’s uncle was trying to get a first look at us, as that was the first boat of the season from St. Louis. As soon as the plank was shoved out, there was a great rush both ways. Several ladies met their husbands whom they had not seen for three or four years. I had nothing to do but stand back and take notes, as no one was looking for me; they only took a side glance and passed on.

In 1879, the six-year-old steamboat “Red Cloud” was already an experienced Missouri River transport vessel and had earned a reputation as one of the more comfortable steamboats. A report published in the Benton Weekly Record mentioned the Gardner’s voyage. On April 25, 1879, the “elegant” Red Cloud had reached South Dakota with 270 tons of freight and over 100 passengers, with more people and freight scheduled to be loaded. According to the book, Packets to Paradise, before the Red Cloud sank near Fort Peck, Montana in 1882, the steamboat had made nineteen trips up and down the Missouri.

Fort Benton is built on a level plain, most of the houses are log, though there are a few new brick buildings. I call it a dry, desolate looking place. The people that live there are only living to make money and not to make things look pleasant and comfortable. There were but very few trees or anything green in the town. It is quite a business place, for there are hundreds of freight wagons coming and going all the time.

Monday morning we all were up bright and early, anxious to get our freight, and ready to start for the west, but bless you the deck hands all struck and it was afternoon before anything was unloaded. Ed and the boys went to work, and helped carry out the wagons and set them up which you know was quite a task, as they never had been put together before. I forget how many times Charley said he trotted to the blacksmith shop that day. We were partly loaded that evening. The boys loaded up their revolvers and stayed with the wagons to guard them; the rest of us stayed on the boat.

Tuesday morning we all went to work packing everything into the wagons that we could; once as I was going out the Captain asked me where I was going in the hot sun; I told him I was going to speak for a reserved seat. I was rather late speaking, for the wagons were not only full but crammed and only one seat left and that was marked Mrs. R. R. McCreary [Flora’s mother]. The next best thing was to procure a walking ticket. I felt a little grunty but soon made up my mind that this was a new country and I would have to learn new ways.

After leaving Fort Benton, it is possible the Gardner party traveled the first leg of their journey on what was called the Mullan Road, a westward leading trail that passed near Helena before heading into Idaho and ultimately ending in Walla Walla, Washington. The Gardners traveled west and then south out of Fort Benton in the direction of the Sun River and Fort Shaw, west of present-day Great Falls.

The water between Benton and Sun River has alkali in it, so that it is not fit to drink. Ed bought two water bags and filled them from the river, put one in each wagon. Promptly at two o’clock the boys called out “all aboard.” Mother climbed in and took her seat; the rest of us piled in about three deep. We laughed some and groaned a great deal. It depended some on who was on the bottom and how tight we were squeezed; Archie and Mary generally made music when they got into a tight place. I forgot to say that it was the hottest day, or rather the hottest place, crammed under that wagon cover that I ever felt, but then everything was bright and new, our teams were just as fat and slick as they could be.

About one mile from Benton we came to the first hill and no small one either. We all piled out, except mother, to take our first walk. They had put both teams on one wagon to pull up. After we got to the top of this hill it was a vast grass plain for miles and miles...Of course we walked up with the first wagon and I tell you the scenery was grand; the snow-covered mountains towering up all around us and the river winding along at the foot of the hills. You can’t imagine how far one can see in this country. I thought we were but a few miles from the mountains, but I found that it took us days to get there. When the last wagon was up Charley reported his water keg upset, cork gone and water with it. I don’t think the sun ever shone any warmer and I know I never wanted a drink as badly. The children would not be put off so Ed had to draw some water from the last keg and it only contained three gallons and there were ten of us—a bright prospect for two days travel…We met several freight trains; each one would hail us and say “Just from the States? Where did you come from?” At first the boys told the truth but before long they got tired of the old story and said whatever suited them.

We are now at what is called the eight-mile springs; plenty of pure looking water boiling up out of the ground and plenty of alkali in it too, as we all found out to our sorrow before many days. It made me think of the forbidden fruit, it looked good, tasted good so why not drink it. The boys said the farewell to it was not pleasant, I told them to drink and keep their mouths closed and they would not taste anything.

Ed and Joe put up the tent; Charley and Fin cared for the teams; Ed and Florence cooked supper while I arranged the beds; Mother and the little girls walked around hunting gold. We all bragged on the supper; we were all extra hungry and you know that helps the taste wonderfully. We washed up the dishes and were soon ready for bed. The boys made some bright speeches; one after another would make a remark, until I thought we would not go to sleep that night…After a while Ed and all the boys were snoring and dear me such sounds, they all had different tunes but I guess they were trying to sing the same song…Morning came for there are only six hours night in this country. We cooked breakfast, packed up and started. The face of the country looked so much alike I would not have known which end of the road to take if we had not left the wagons faced in the direction we wanted to go the night before.

To be continued…