Historical Reprints. Upham Letters from the Upper Missouri, 1865. Sources of Northwest History No. 19

Upham, Hiram D.; Phillips, Paul. C (Editor and General Editor)

Published by State University of Montana, Missoula, MT

About this Item

Original publisher's beige paper wrappers with staple binding. Black lettering printed on front cover. No date, circa 1933. 6 1/2" x 9 1/2." Nine pages, complete. Pages and covers are very clean and intact except for light age toning throughout, slightly bumped corners, and one tiny closed tear each on spine and fore-edge of front cover. A Very Good copy. "Sources of Northwest History No. 19." "Reprinted from the Historical Section of The Frontier, a magazine of the Northwest, published at the State University of Montana, Missoula. Vol. XIII, No. 4, May, 1933." This issue contains two reprinted letters written in 1865 by Hiram D. Upham (1839-?), an American trader and clerk and agent who worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Please note that derogatory terms and sentiments are expressed toward Indigenous Peoples in these letters. During his time at BIA, Upham worked in different places in the United States but of particular note is the period when he worked at Fort Benton which had been built for the American Fur Company. Fort Benton was the headquarters of BIA's agency for the Blackfoot tribe. At Fort Benton, Upham first worked as a clerk for BIA agent Gad E. Upson. In 1865, Upham helped Upson negotiate an unratified treaty with the Blackfeet that ceded all of their lands south of the Missouri River. Upham acted as interim agent for the Blackfeet upon Upson's passing in 1866 until George B. Wright arrived and took over one year later. In that brief span of time, wars resumed between the Blackfeet, Blood, and Piegan tribes despite the treaty which Upham wrote about in a report (not included in this pamphlet). In these two letters contained herein, Upham writes to his friends, Abner Wood and Eugenia "Jennie" Coe who later married. These reprints were transcribed from the original manuscripts which were kept by Abner and Eugenia's daughter, Virginia Coe Wood, and then in the private collection of Mr. W. R. Coe. In these letters, Upham writes of many subjects that relate to Fort Benton and his voyage there. Among the subjects he writes about are his voyage up the Missouri River from St. Louis to Fort Benton on the steamers Twilight and Cora. The Twilight sunk when it hit a "snag" which Upham describes as a tree that has fallen from the river's soft banks. These snags were apparently a frequent hazard. The Cora was a companion ship to the Twilight (should the latter sink), so Upham and the rest of the passengers simply resumed their voyage on the Cora after the Twilight capsized. He describes the local scenery and inhabitants he saw while aboard the Cora such as the plentiful bison, some of which struck the steamer's wheels during river crossings. Upham describes the journey northward as painfully slow as technical delicacy and prowess were needed to prevent the steamer from catching on snags or becoming stuck on steep sandbars or embankments. The Cora later sank on that same journey so Upham boarded a third steamer, the Lillie Martin, to reach Fort Benton. Upham also describes the hostile relations between Indigenous tribes and white settlers. He retells stories in which warriors from Indigenous tribes, such as the Sioux and Blackfeet, attacked forts, passengers on steamers, and pioneers traveling west on foot. However, Upham also describes "friendly" Indigenous people and the time he witnessed a warrior initiation ceremony. Upham expresses general tension and unease during his time at Fort Benton due to frequent attacks between settlers and Indigenous people near the fort. Upham also writes of personal matters and refers to his current love as "Side." He writes about Side's recent decision to join a Catholic convent and the concerns she had about whether or not her friends would accept her decision. Upham concludes with asking Eugenia to have her, Abner, and Side write back to him and sending well wishes to them and Eugenia's parents.

Seller Inventory # 025576

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Historical Reprints. Upham Letters from the Upper Missouri, 1865. Sources of Northwest History No. 19
• Publisher: State University of Montana, Missoula, MT
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Collectible-Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • U.S. History
  • Western Americana
  • Travels and Voyages