Fort McKenzie at the Mouth of the Marias River

Description

Erected in 1832 above the mouth of the Marias to replace another post built by James Kipp farther downstream, Fort McKenzie was the westernmost outpost of the American Fur Company on the Missouri River at the time of Maximilian's visit. The voyage upriver from Fort Union, covering a distance of approximately 650 river miles, had taken thirty-four days according to Maximilian's reckoning. The return downriver was accomplished in less than half that time. Bodmer's watercolor view of Fort McKenzie furnished a setting for the scene reproduced in Tableau 42 in the later atlas of aquatints issued in Europe. The published version describes a dramatic incident involving conflict between the rival Blackfeet and Assiniboins that occurred at Fort McKenzie on August 28.