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Winnebago Bend

Natural bend in the Missouri River, sixty miles downriver from Vermillion, Dakota Territory[1] in 1877.[1]

A narrow sand bar existed in the middle of Winnebago Bend, a quarter of a mile from either the Nebraska or Iowa banks of the Missouri River.[1]

In April of 1877,[2] Dandy Jim Buckley was put off the Far West on the sand bar for cheating at poker[3] by Captain Grant Marsh.[2] Later that night, Bret Maverick was thrown overboard from the Dakota Queen by Battling Kreuger. Bret swam to the sand bar to find Buckley marooned there. Since Buckley could not swim, Bret had to swim them both[3] to the Iowa bank.[3]

A great flooding of the river in April of 1881 changed the course of the river. Today, when the water is high, it flows through a side channel, creating a large island.[1]

See: Stampede