Within a century, people and wildlife along the route of Lewis and Clark

had drastically changed

Book describes the route of Lewis and Clark a century later

A new book provides a fascinating first-hand account of events and changes that took place along the route of Lewis and Clark a century after the expedition.

“Floating on the Missouri” describes a 1901 trip on the Missouri River by noted western writer James Willard Schultz and his Blackfeet wife Natahki (Fine Shield Woman). In a small boat, the couple floated from Montana’s Fort Benton to the Milk River, a distance of more than 300 miles. They traveled the same route pioneered by Lewis and Clark, passing through what is now the Upper Missouri National Wild and Scenic River, the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument, and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge.

“On one level, this book is an entertaining travelogue about drifting day after day through wild country,” said Montana history writer Lee Silliman, who wrote a new introduction to the book. “On another level it is a valuable collection of stories, memories, and Indian legends that Schultz and his Blackfeet wife shared in their years together on the Northern Plains.

over

“Each tributary, island, rapid, and geological formation was the scene of some notable event to Indians or white men, and Schultz relates those events with verve and dialog as if they happened yesterday.”

Modern readers, especially those with an interest in the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the Upper Missouri Wild and Scenic River, will enjoy Schultz’s descriptions of the river’s scenery and wildlife.

“It’s an interesting comparison midway between the opening of the West and today, in terms of both people and wildlife,” Riverbend publisher Chris Cauble said. “The fur-trappers and bison were already gone, replaced by miners and ranchers. The Indians were mostly restricted to reservations. Deer were still plentiful but elk and bighorn sheep were scarce. The scenery, though, was the same as it was for Lewis and Clark.”

Schultz wrote dozens of books about Indians and the American West, including the acclaimed “Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park.” “Floating on the Missouri” is $14.95 and available at bookstores or by calling Riverbend toll-free at 1-866-787-2363.

Floating on the Missouri

100 Years after Lewis & Clark

By James Willard Schultz

New introduction by Eugene Lee Silliman

Cover painting by Karl Bodmer

ISBN 1-931832-15-3

5 1/2 x 8 1/2, paperback, 152 pages