Had you been standing where you are now before or shortly after the turn of the 20th Century, you might very well be casting your gaze on a steamboat meandering by on the Yellowstone River before you. You see, steamboats were a common sight on the Yellowstone during that time, and passed by present day Glendive long before any settlers had arrived. Travel throughout the Montana territory was limited to stagecoach or boat, until the Railroad arrived in 1883. The legendary riverboat captain known by many historians as possibly the greatest steamboat master and pilot on both the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers was Grant Prince Marsh.

In the 1860’s and 70’s, the Yellowstone River, a tributary of the Missouri, penetrated deeply into an area dominated by the Sioux, Cheyanne, and Crow Tribes. From 1873 to 1879 Marsh piloted shallow draft paddlewheel riverboats making pioneer voyages up the Yellowstone River here in Montana, in support of several military expeditions into Indian country. In 1875, he made his highest upriver ascent of the Yellowstone on the Josephine, arriving just above present day Billings Montana, all while contending with migrating buffalo herds, hostile Indians, violent windstorms, and underwater hazards from rapids, snags, and sandbars.

Grant Marsh is most often referenced by historians for his exploits in 1876, as a pilot of the Far West, a shallow draft steamboat operating on the Yellowstone and its tributaries. He was accompanying a U.S. Army column that included George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry. Marsh brought the first news of the Custer Massacre which was disseminated via telegraph from Bismarck. Be sure to check out the Frontier Gateway Museum where the Talking Trial continues, and check out a model of the Far West Steamboat on display.