Steamboat Arabia

I had the wonderful privilege today to go to a museum for the very first time in my life! The museum is called "The Steamboat Arabia Museum" and, as you can guess by the title, it is indeed about a steamboat. I found it to be very interesting. I enjoyed taking pictures -its amazing to me just how well all of this cargo was preserved!


Too thick to drink, too thin to plow, were the words best used to describe the Missouri River. Yet the muddy, swirling waters of the river served as an expressway to the West.

In spite of the fascination associated with the trade, navigating the Missouri was a difficult and dangerous business. A variety of perils awaited the steamboat pilot as he carefully guided his craft along the river's uncertain course.

The steamboat Arabia was a sidewheel steamer built in Brownsville, PA in 1853. She measured 171 feet long and was capable of carying 222 tons. Against the Missouri's swift current, the twin 28-feet tall paddlewheels could push the steamboat upstream at a speed of over 5 miles an hour. The Arabia was considered a dependable vessel and soon gained a reputation for speed, safety and comfort.


Lying silently at or just below the water's surface was the "snag", a thick trunk of a huge, fallen walnut tree. With its roots deeply embedded in the soft mud, the timber lay directly in the path of the approaching steamboat.

Eventually, as with the Arabia itself, all evidence of the early salvage attmepts were erased from view. Seasonal flooding often covered the site, depositing layer upon layer of rich, black topsoil. And for 132 years the boat lay quietly hidden from the outside world.

The first task was to determine the boat's exact position. A series of test drillings located the hull. Then its perimeter was marked with chalk, thus revealing where Arabia lay underground. The summer and fall had been spent assembling equipment for moving earth and waste. Bulldozers, backhoes, wells and well-drilling equipment and a 100-ton crane were brought to the site by road and by the river.

A visit to the museum is a glimpse into the past. The Arabia's collection reveals details of frontier life seen nowhere else. A museum tour is partially guided, introducing visitors to the Arabia's history and sinking with a short video presentation of the remarkable excavation.


Lawrence
An interesting discovery they made was finding the bones of a mule. The mule was tied to a piece of sawmill equipment. When the excavators first found the mule, they thought it was a horse. They later found an article printed in a newspaper saying that the owner of the mule tried to save the mule, but the mule was too stubborn. They found out this story was not true, because the mule was tied to the sawmill equipment. When the Arabia sank, the mule had not panicked until the water level was up to his nose. Then it began thrashing wildly; by then it was too late. They named the mule Lawrence after a movie they heard about. The movie was named “Lawrence of Arabia”. His bones are currently at the museum. -The funny part about this is that one of the guys who helped uncover The Arabia tried really hard to get the Mule out of the museum. He didn't think it was very proper to show of this poor dead animal. He also informed us that many of the students who come by find that their favorite part of the exhibit is actually the mule. Personally, I'm glad they left it in. As sad as it is, I enjoyed hearing the story. (-if you click on the image you can definetely see it better. Just so you know.)


Charlotte
The story about Frozen Charlotte was told in a poem or song. A frozen Charlotte doll was found in one of the carpenter’s toolboxes, wrapped in a woolen sock. The doll had no clothes on, except for a bonnet and mittens, because the children would make the clothes for the doll. This is the story of Frozen Charlotte:

It was New Years Eve and it was very cold outside. Charlotte was waiting in her new dress for her boyfriend, Charles, to take her to the village inn for a New Year’s Eve party. Finally, Charles’ sleigh came. Her mother asked her to put a blanket around her so she wouldn’t be too cold. But Charlotte did not want to crinkle her dress, so she did not take the blanket. The village inn was 15 miles away. They had gone five miles when Charlotte said she was cold. Charles made the horses run faster. Five more miles they rode when Charlotte said she was getting warmer. Finally, the village inn was in sight. Charles jumped out and called her many times. Charlotte did not move or say a word because she was frozen. Then he came over to her and felt her hands. They were very cold. He now knew that Charlotte had frozen to death. He rode Charlotte back to her cottage. Her parents were very sad. Charles was very upset, too. He died of a broken heart.

First Artifact
During the excavation, the excavators found thousands of shoes and boots, so it is not surprising that the first artifact they found was a shoe. The shoe was discovered next to the timbers of the huge wheel.

Practical Joke
A funny thing they found, before the shoe, was a golf ball. They soon found out that Jerry's two sons, Greg and Ron, hid that ball a day earlier as a joke.

Tasty Finds
On January 4, 1989, they found bottles of bright green pickles. Jerry actually tried some. He really liked them, and said that they tasted like regular pickles. Some of the other excavators wanted to try some, but wanted to see if Jerry survived.

Perfect Cents
The last object found from the site was an 1856 one-cent liberty coin. It was in mint condition. Earlier on they found, in a box, I think it was, a small pouch with twenty-five cents in it. We were informed that on the entire boat there was found only a total of twenty-six cents! But, the very last thing that came out of that excavation site was the stern of the Arabia herself. They hauled it out on February 9, 1989, when the excavation ended.

This is the very first museum that I have ever been too! Isn't that cool! I think, or rather, I know that being here with my cousins has given me a better chance to do the things that I have always wanted. I saw a high school play here for the first time, I experienced the wonderful food of the Chinese folk. I have learned a lot about independence. Holy Cow I didn't realize just how independent one must be in order to survive in this world! I'm glad I learned early, I would have been in quite a pickle had I not. I have learned a lot more about who Julia Willis really is. (And she's quite a handful, let me tell you! It's like she won't leave me alone, for goodness sake!) I have had TONS of fun experiences here, I think the term is "Having a Blast." I have discovered that there is, indeed, life beyond what my simple mind has beheld. (I am told, quite frequently, that I am very, whats that word again: naive.) And I have gained two of the greatest friends while here ;) and they are so good to me!

Isn't life good? Don't you just love it!