During the nineteenth century, more than three hundred boats met their end in the Steamboat graveyard that was the Lower Missouri River, from Omaha to its mouth.
But.
Their light superstructure and long, wide, flat hulls powered by high-pressure engines drew so little water that they could cruise on "a heavy dew" even when fully loaded.
Although derided as little more than an "orderly pile of kindling," steamboats were, in fact, technological marvels superbly adapted to the river\'s conditions.
During the nineteenth century, more than three hundred boats met their end in the Steamboat graveyard that was the Lower Missouri River, from Omaha to its mouth