In 1859, the American Fur Company set out on what would then be the longest steamboat trip in North American history--a headline-making, 6,200-mile trek along the Missouri River from St. Louis to Fort Benton in present-day Montana, and back again. Steamboats West is an adventure story that navigates the rocky rapids of the upper Missouri to offer a fascinating account of travel to the raw frontier past the pale of settlement. It was a venture that extended trade deep into the Northwest and made an enormous stride in transportation.