[Free Trapper]

I agree on boat people.Those guys were at home with their boats. Just because todays average boater only goes out for pleasure,people seem to believe fancy equipment and nice weather are the only way to get on the water.

[TexanToTheCore]

It may be that the ballast stone was removed from the larger ship that arrived from Greenland and the original quarry or rocky beach is located there or in Europe.
By the way, a ship can be sailed up river, it was frequently done with British and French warships and is an old, old technique. Additionally, they were able to sail the ship sideways upriver ( as was done by the French at Yorktown) and it was a common skill that apparently was not considered to be too difficult
They could have used oars or pulling horses up the Red River, as has been done for thousands of years. If the area was marsh and flooded, the river would have a much slower current than it does today.