In the 1860s, the Missouri River was a heavily traveled but dangerous route between St. Louis and the town of Kansas, with fast, shifting currents and hazards that caused many disasters even as as many as 60 riverboats regularly made the trip. During the height of riverboat travel, an estimated 400 boats sank in the Missouri, falling victim to fires, high winds, ice jams, and especially to sunken tree trunks called snags, which could pierce a hull and sink a ship in minutes; at least 300 riverboats were lost to snags. Among the most famous was the Steamboat Arabia, a 171-foot side-wheeler built in 1853 that traveled the river's swift currents at 6 to 7 miles an hour. In 1856, while heading west loaded with cargo and passengers, the Arabia struck a snag; all of its passengers were saved, but 222 tons of cargo were swallowed by the river. Over time, changing currents turned the site into fertile farmland, and only 131 years later were the remains of the Arabia found 45 feet beneath a cornfield. After a year and a half of planning and excavation, the wreck emerged again, preserving objects from dinner dishes and intact jars of pickles to a working paddle wheel and the lone casualty, a mule tethered to the stern.
