A Missouri River Odyssey – 1939 Fort Benton to New Orleans

Description

By Bob and Louise Lynd
Edited by
Henry L. Armstrong
Soft Cover $21.95
(Includes Photo Supplement to Bob and Louise Lynd’s Story)

Two great rivers…1939…a 3,500 mile trek…

This is a unique story of a young couple who welcomed the challenge to traverse the treacherous but romantic Missouri River, the longest on the continent, from near the source until its water mingled with the Mississippi, then on to the sea.

This book tells of the fantastic six month adventure of Bob & Louise Lynd, who made the trip in a 17 foot canoe, with little or no knowledge of canoeing, reporting to the Tacoma Times newspaper whenever a post office could be accessed near the river. The 110 reports sent were sometimes humorous or historic with perhaps some politic mixed in, but always with great enthusiasm and few doubts about finishing what they had started. The good natured gibs of man and wife lighten the trip for Bob and Louise and also for the reader.

They were much interested in native culture, archaeology, the river people and the history of the area they passed through. Their first purpose, however, was to advertise and invite people on their river route, to Washington State’s Golden Jubilee to be celebrated July 21-23, 1939, and further to travel through three other states, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

The book is 320 pages, which includes 110 reports written by Bob and Louise, It is an easy rocking chair history lesson in a time period set in the waning days of the Great Depression.