Pioneer Pieces: Main the LifeBoats (there are Lifeboats?!)

Travel by steamboat was hardly the luxury that we know.  They were crowded, noisy and anything but rated "G".  Staterooms were reserved for women while men slept on tables, and they were notorious for bad food and bad manners.  More importantly than the un-family like atmosphere - they were right down dangerous!

In the first 40 years of steamboats, 600 vessels were lost to fire, explosions or running into an obstruction (like trees) in the river. Navigating a steamboat had it own set of problems.  Many collisions happened when there was narrow passage in the river that was nearly impassable. Experienced captains were said to be able to tell a tree trunk in the river simply by the ripples in the water!

Fire was a constant threat - it was virtually impossible to extinguish.  The ships were made of wood, usually dry timber at that, which made them highly combustible.  Decks of ships were often charred from past fires.

Boiler room explosions were another danger when combustible fuel was too close to the boiler, including passager's cargo.  The steam pressure would simply rip the side out of a boat. 

One famous steamer that burner down to the waterline because of such problems was the Robert E Lee in Louisiana.  The greatest number of inland steamers were destroyed during the steamboat peak years because of fire and boiler explosions.

Next Time - High River Stakes