10 b Joseph Kenney and Thomas Rhoten's Yellowstone River Trip
by Fleet of Mackinaw Boats Advertisements
In 1867, Joseph Kenney and Thomas Rhoten ran ads in the Montana Post in June, July, August and September for a trip they would be taking on the Yellowstone River from Montana to the "states." [Note: Montana was not a state at the time. It did not become a state until 1889. The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River that flows northwest, as is shown on this map.]
Two of the Kenney and Rhoten ads (July 22 and September 21) and copies of the newspaper papers on which they were printed are below.
The trip actually took place in 1868. Joseph, Thomas, and their 3 passengers made it to about 60 miles from the mouth of the Missouri near present day Savage, MT. [Note: The red star on the map marks the location of Savage MT.] Not knowing they had encroached onto Sioux land as granted by the Treaty of 1868, they all were captured, killed and burned at the stake. This was reported to the Montana Democrat reporter by a Crow Indian in the Spring of 1869. (Source of green information: Matt Kenney, Great Great Grandson of Joseph).
1) July 22, 1867: The price for passage is $25 per person, and the proposed date for leaving is September 15th. The price included an allowance of 100 pounds of luggage free. There was to be a fleet of 30 first class covered Mackinaw Boats. The ad is highlighted in yellow on the full page of the paper that follows this enlargement of the ad.
2) September 21, 1867: In this ad, the fare price has been reduced to $20 from Virginia City and $15 from Yellowstone.[Note: See the map above for the location of these places. "V" stands for Virginia City and "Y" stands for Yellowstone.]The departure date has been changed to the 25th of September. The ad is highlighted in yellow on the full page of the paper that follows this enlargement of the ad.
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