Steamboats on the Missouri

Steamboats on the Missouri. . Steamboats were once a common sight on the Missouri River and carried furs, cargo, mail, mining supplies, and people from the mid-to-late 1800s. Because the "Mighty Missouri" is narrow, shallow, and full of snags and sandbars, a special kind of steamboat called a mountain boat was designed specifically for it. Hulls were built of oak to better withstand obstacles while the decks and cabins were constructed of lightweight pine. Boats were created to be as sturdy and light as possible to face the navigation challenges of the Missouri., The Missouri River was infamously difficult to navigate. River pilots used to "separate the men from the boys at the mouth of the Missouri. The boys went up the Mississippi and the men up the Big Muddy." , The Missouri's current was swift, full of sandbars and snags, and it required great skill to pilot a steamboat. , The Yellow Stone was the first steamboat to make it to the upper reaches of the Missouri River in 1831., Steamboating on the Missouri River began to decline in the late 19th century. This was largely due to the arrival of the railroads, which could operate year round, move freight more quickly, and offer lower transportation rates. The steamboats could not compete and slowly fell out of use., Steamboat passengers typically included a crew of thirty to forty men, American Indians, hunters, trappers, soldiers, and families., Steamboat travel was not for the faint of heart. A woman with her four children headed down the Missouri River to Pierre to join her husband. The weather turned nasty – cold and snowy. It took six long days to transfer cargo on board from another steamboat that had sunk. The boat hit a rock, putting a 20-foot hole through the kitchen. Eventually, the father became worried about the family and sent a carriage to retrieve them from the "pleasures" of river travel. Their belongings landed at Pierre six weeks later.