Musselshell City

The Futile and Tragic Attempts of Traders, Freights and Woodhawks to Establish a City at the Mouth of the Musselshell River; Death Stalked Daily at the Elbow of Both White Man and Red at This Ill-Fated Spot Fifty Years Ago

(By Dan R. Conway)

Originally published in the Hysham Echo May 19, 1927)

On the right bank of the Missouri river, on a point formed by the confluence with that stream of the Musselshell river, there are a few acres of land that are replete with tragic history. These few acres constitute the site of the long-since forgotten Kerchival City, built by the Rocky Mountain Wagon Road company in 1866, an organization that had been perfected with a view to establishing a new route of travel for the gold seekers to and from the gold camps of western Montana. From this small area of land time has effaced all marks which would designate the site of Musselshell City, built in 1868, with a definite plan to supplant Fort Benton as the head of navigation on the Missouri. Here also, once stood old Fort Sheridan continued as a trading post by Colonel George Clendennin after Musselshell City had passed into history until 1874.

Ghosts of a Forgotten Past

Time and the encroaching waters of the Missouri have obliterated all signs of the buildings and other marks left by the enthusiasts who in the late sixties had hoped to develop Montana’s great metropolis at this point. Yet, there are few spots in Montana which are surrounded with so sinister an atmosphere of by-gone tragedy; of bloody acts of vengeance by both the redman and white. If in spirit life, the dead ever revisit the scenes of their ending on this earth, the mouth of the Musselshell must often be haunted by the spectral forms of white men whose life blood flowed as a sacrifice to the hatred of the hostile Sioux; and by the scores of Indians whose lives were cut short by fast-traveling bullets from Henry rifles in the hands of white adventurers who sought to gain a foothold in the domain of the native.

Today the men who played a part in the tragic drama of the late sixties and the early seventies at the mouth of the Musselshell have passed on. But their story has been preserved in the reminiscences of Colonel George Clendennin, a well known fur trader who was a witness to most of the events, and fortunately these reminiscences from a part of the journals of Lieutenant James H. Bradley, a contribution to the Montana Historical library.

Advantageous Location

The advantages presented by the mouth of the Musselshell for the location of a town attracted attention almost as early in the history of Montana as the discovery of gold, which attracted the vast hordes of argonauts in the early sixties. Since 1846, Fort Benton, above the mouth of the Marias had been the head of navigation on the Missouri river. However, the Missouri above the mouth of the Musselshell presented difficulties which made navigation for that portion of the journey an arduous and dangerous undertaking for even the most experienced pilots. The current was swift; there were numerous rapids; and, owing to the fact that late in July and August the flow became too shallow to admit of navigation, the season was short for the heavier boats of deeper draught. On the other hand, at and below the mouth of the Musselshell, until late in October, conditions were always favorable for river traffic. The broad and beautiful valley created by the receding bluffs at that point, together with the abundant timber in the vicinity, were additional arguments in favor of the selection of this spot.

At the mouth of the Musselshell the Missouri describes a wide circle to the northwest, while a practical land route existed by a short are drawn to the gold camps of Alder and Last Chance gulches and the other settlements to the southwest. Regular freight service to and from these gold camps and the mouth of the Musselshell was conducted for some time. In 1863, shortly after he arrived in Montana territory, the first employment the notorious Captain J. A. Slade accepted in his new location was wagon master for a large freighting outfit operating between Virginia City and the mouth of the Musselshell.

Would Rival Fort Benton

From the first, promoters of the project felt confident that a successful rival to Fort Benton might be established at the mouth of the Musselshell. The natural advantages influenced a number of men who organized the Rocky Mountain Wagon Road company and in 1866 opened up a regular route from western Montana over the mountains to the mouth of the Musselshell, where a townsite was surveyed. An old steamboat captain whose name was Kerchival had been among the first to advocate the new route. He was a partner in the company and the town, in his honor, was named Kerchival City. The company erected a trading post and proceeded with plans for the building of the city; but for two years the town did not grow; the freighting business failed to develop because of the keen competition offered by the older established Fort Benton. The plan was abandoned.

In 1868, the attempt was renewed by the Montana Hide and Fur company which was organized by Helena business men. This firm sent out a party of nine men under James Brewer with instructions to build a trading post at the mouth of the Musselshell. The party arrived at their destination in March, 1868. They laid out a town and called it Musselshell. A short time later they were joined by Colonel George Clendennin, his brother, Richard, and James McGinnis. These three built a trading post.

Camp Reeve

During the summer months many people from down river points and from the mountain settlements flocked to the new town; and, before winter set in, eight buildings were ranged in line fronting the river bank. The town then had a population of fifty people, while there were usually many transient trappers, woodhawks and river men. About this time, a company of troops under Captain Nugent of the Thirteenth Infantry arrived at Musselshell from Fort Cooke. They built a stockade with bastions at a location just a short distance below the town. They pitched their tents inside the small fort and called the place Camp Reeve. Trade with the friendly tribes of Gros Ventres and Crows increased and in the summer of 1868 the little town of Musselshell was a bustling little center.

The Sioux

However, prosperity was destined to be short-lived for these enthusiasts. As is common knowledge, the Sioux in those days had laid claim to all the lands east of the Little Rockies and south of the Missouri. This they held as their hunting and trapping grounds. They watched with jealous eye the encroachments made by the whites and at every opportunity they struck at these camps and they struck to kill.

Occasionally the friendly Crows visited the Musselshell City post to trade, but their visits were not frequent because of the ever-present Sioux marauders. The location was ideal for a trading establishment as far as natural conditions were concerned.


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