“Smoke, after everything you’ve been through, they could be serving bugs and I don’t think it would bother you.”
“Depends on the bug,” Smoke said. “Grub worms can be quite tasty.”
Professor Armbruster laughed. “I figured you would say something like that. When we left off, I believe you said that John was considering a trip to St. Louis to sell his furs. Did he go to St. Louis?”
“Yes,” Smoke said. “And it proved to be quite profitable for him.”
[After the Civil War, steamboat traffic on the Missouri River became a common sight. The boats were considerably different in design from the Mississippi River boats, with few of the fancy fittings. The most important feature of a Missouri River boat was that it be of light weight. From 140 to 170 feet long and 30 feet wide they had a shallow hull, and spoonbill-shaped bow. With this design they could carry two hundred tons of cargo through waist-deep water, safely navigating over anything from sandbars to whitewater rapids. In addition, this type of vessel was less expensive to fuel and much easier to steer.
Steamboat captains in the late 1870s could charge as much as $1,200 every month for their services, an enormous sum, compared to the average income of $40 per month for the rest of America. They had to be extremely skilled captains and a good hand at striking a deal with merchants. The payoff was huge, however, since a steamboat could carry cargo worth a profit of up to $40,000.
A few words about the history of the city of St. Louis might enlighten the reader, and thus help in understanding the significant role the city played in the lives of not only the mountaineers and the fur trappers, but all of the western frontier.
The first steamboat arrived in St. Louis on July 27, 1817, which proved to be only the beginning of St. Louis as an important river city. By 1859, river traffic had increased to such an extent that St. Louis took its position as the second-largest port in the country, with only New York exceeding St. Louis in total commercial tonnage moved. Often as many as 170 steamboats could be counted on the levee.
Because of the junction of the Missouri River, St. Louis was uniquely positioned to truly become the gateway city to the West. It was fed by boats from the east, traversing the Ohio River, then entering the Mississippi River at Cairo, Illinois, to beat their way upstream to St. Louis. There was also a very busy schedule of boats that plied the Mississippi between St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg, and the seaport at New Orleans.
By the time the construction of the railroads began in the early 1850s, St. Louis had a population of almost eighty thousand people. The first westbound train left St. Louis in 1855. It was the railroads that eventually led to the diminution of the importance of the riverboats in the city’s economy.—ED.]
Upper Missouri—1872
John built a raft, onto which he loaded his winter catch of furs, then he, Claire, and their son, Kirby, rafted downriver to Yankton. There, they boarded a Missouri riverboat, the Nellie Peck, for passage to St. Louis.
When John purchased the tickets, he was given a sheet of paper with the title, “Helpful Hints for Steamboat Passengers.”
Welcome Aboard the Missouri River Steamboat, NELLIE PECK.
This guide is published as a service for the traveling public. Careful attention to its information and suggestions will insure the riverboat patron a memorable journey. This guide describes the many accommodations found on the boat, and gives warnings about possible unpleasant situations.
Departure Time
The NELLIE PECK will leave terminal ports on scheduled times. The arrival and departure times change at ports along the river. Your steamboat captain, Captain Milton Saddler, prefers early morning departures. This will provide the NELLIE PECK with as many daylight hours as possible. It is not feasible to operate at night unless the moon is very bright. There is too much danger in navigating in the dark, especially in low water.
Cabin Passengers
Enjoy the best of steamboat travel. Staterooms for the NELLIE PECK are on the cabin deck. They are ten feet square with doors at each end, one to the interior passage and the other to the deck. The NELLIE PECK also provides clean mattresses and sheets on the berths. Curtains at cabin windows provide privacy to the passenger while dressing.
Toilet
Toilet facilities are vastly improved on the NELLIE PECK with a washstand and basin in each of the staterooms. For the deck passengers there are two washrooms, one each for ladies and gentlemen, located near the wheelhouse. Each deck washroom is equipped with a washbasin, one hair brush, a comb, a community toothbrush, and a roller-type towel. The crew keeps the pitchers filled with river water. The toilets are like the outdoor variety and placed next to the wheel.
Warning
Thieves, con agents, and gamblers ride the steamboats. Many of these undesirable citizens hang around levees, wharves, hotels, and taverns in the river towns. Travelers are advised to buy bank drafts. Some prefer letters of credit from their own bank. If you need to carry a large sum of money, wear a money belt. Avoid games of chance on the riverboats.
Wooding
A passenger can reduce his fare by wooding on a trip. However, the job of cutting and carrying wood is a hard one, and should only be attempted by those used to hard work.
St. Louis
The Nellie Peck approached the riverbank, then just before it got there, reversed the paddle, causing the water to froth at the stern. The boat glided in, until the bow bumped against the cobblestone levee. A crewman on the front of the boat tossed out a thick hawser, and someone on the bank made the boat fast.
The riverfront was alive with activity, not only the scores of other boats that were tied up, but the amount of traffic ashore: carriages, buggies, surreys, buckboards, coaches, and wagons of all sizes. There was noise from the steam relief valves of the boats, some of the venting sounding almost like cannon fire. Men were shouting back and forth to each other, and the air was rent with the clops of steel-shoed horses and mules on the paved streets.
Claire had never seen anything like this in her life, and she stood at the railing of the boat with her hand to her chest.
“Are you all right?” John asked.
“I . . . I have never seen so many people,” Claire said.
“I should think not. If you put every person you had ever seen in your whole life, together, they wouldn’t make but a fraction of what you are seeing right here, right now, just on the riverfront.”
“How can so many people live so close together? Don’t they step on each other’s feet?”
John laughed. “I imagine they do,” he said.
Claire reached out to grab John’s arm. “John, do not leave the baby and me alone here. I am frightened by so many.”
“Don’t worry, Claire. I have no intention of leaving you alone.”
“Mr. Jackson,” the boat’s purser said, approaching them then. “I have secured a wagon for your cargo.”
“Thank you, Mr. Adams,” John said.
John and Claire stood by, watching as bale after bale of beaver and marten pelts were loaded onto the wagon. Then, leaving the boat, John secured a cab, and they followed the wagonload of furs as it made its way through the city to the St. Louis Fur Exchange, on Lafayette Street.