By 1856 Arabia had been in service for three years. During the summer she had been up and down the Missouri River multiple times, once as far as Pierre, now in South Dakota. Not able to escape the violent reaction to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, one trip had her carrying rifles and another abolitionists headed for Kansas, neither successfully. In March, rifles shipped to Kansas abolitionists were confiscated at Lexington, Missouri. On a June run, a group of twenty-five abolitionists attempted to get to Leavenworth. Upon arrival they were robbed and sent back down the river (Gilbert).
The Arabia's final run started in St. Louis on September 30, headed for Kansas, Weston, St. Joseph, Council Bluffs as advertised in this poster:
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| 1856.com |
Stopping along the way across Missouri, the steamer reached Westport Landing, which is now the Kansas City River Market, leaving for points north September 5, with 130 passengers, 200 tons of freight and one mule. Some of the cargo belonged to the passengers, the rest was headed for sixteen towns or settlements upriver (1856.com).
Near Parkville, MO, not far north of Kansas City, the boat was snagged by a huge walnut tree trunk. The impact must have been fierce, as there was a ten foot penetration of the hull, deep into the cargo hold. Water immediately gushed in with the boat sinking to the upper deck in a matter of minutes. All of the passengers were evacuated, along with much of their luggage. Tragedy was averted and the passengers were able to get to a Parkville hotel. The account of the wreck does not comment on deck passengers, if any, and does not say that all of the passengers ended up in Parkville. Speculation is that the event was similar to a cancelled flight, where each passenger is well-served to make their own arrangements. By morning, the steamboat was covered in mud and water, any luggage that had been left on the bank had been ransacked, and the mule had become a causality. The Arabia was not to been seen again for more than a hundred years (G. Hawley 33-38).
In the intervening years, in times before dams and flood controls, the river changed its course, leaving the Arabia buried in a Wyandotte County, Kansas cornfield. The water table between the river bluffs was close enough to the surface to remarkably preserve the contents of the Arabia. Basically they were packed in mud which fortunately kept the air out, even in the dry years (G. Hawley 39-41).
Discovery
The legend of a buried 400 barrels of whiskey triggered several attempts to salvage the ship, none successful, until a team of treasure hunters located and excavated the Arabia in the late 1980's. To the partnership, which consisted of the three Hawleys, dad Bob, sons Dave and Greg Hawley, and their friend Jerry Mackey, the venture was to be money-making. They had been searching for river boats for years, with no intention of becoming archeologists, historians or preservationists, much less building a museum (G. Hawley 39-44).
Beginning excavation late in 1987, they had to be finished by planting time in the spring. The saga of controlling the water as they dug is a complete other story, as is the preservation of the artifacts and the establishment of the Arabia Steamboat Museum.
Almost one hundred and fifty years later many of the artifacts are on display at the museum, telling the story of mid-1800s life. Just a few examples are South American coffee beans, English Wedgewood china, French perfume, and Italian trade beads. From the Artifact Inventory we see there were a million nails, 700 glass window panes, two prefabricated houses, almost 35,000 buttons, 77 bottles of cognac, five million beads, and five thousand boots, just to name some (G. Hawley Appendix).
The Treasure
The bounty excavated from the Arabia is a source for material culture studies, real life examples of the supplies shipped to the overland trailheads and certainly counters the myth of an austere life on the American frontier.
Annalies Corbin undertook a study of the artifacts retrieved from two steamboat wrecks, one of which was the Arabia. In The Material Culture of Steamboat Passengers she deduces the story of a single male carpenter heading west with his tools and a keepsake Frozen Charlotte doll. Based on a 1833 folk ballad about the New Year's Eve death of a young woman who froze on her way to a dance, the dolls were made in Germany from 1850 to 1914. Why did this carpenter have a Frozen Charlotte doll wrapped in a wool sock in his carpenter's box? Did it belong to his child, his sister? Was he taking it to someone? Or was it a keepsake? (Corbin 89-99).
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| Photo by Greg Hawley |
The Hawleys researched some of the artifacts that seemed destined for the overland trail heads. Like items were packed together in boxes with destination labels on them, much like a present day delivery truck. Boxes of dishes were unearthed. The quantity and variety of goods shipped are illustrated in this photo:
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| Author's Photo |
Amidst the boxes of dishes was a special jug that the Hawleys were able to research. There are palm trees and beaches on this ivory porcelain pitcher. Made in England, the design seemed to based on the 1788 French novel Paul et Virginie (Paul and Virginia) by Jacques-Henri Bernadin de Saint-Pierre. The story is of the tragic fate of two lovers, she dies on a stormy beach and he dies of a broken heart (G. Hawley 106).
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| Photo by Greg Hawley |
Both Corbin and Hawley credit catalogs as the means merchants used for their orders. This picture shows the variety of items found in one barrel. Among the items are several bells, spoons, knives, fireplace tools, a mallet, drill bits and a protractor.
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| Photo by Greg Hawley |
The acidity of the river water disintegrated vegetable fibers, such as cotton and linen, while animal products, fur, wool and silk, were preserved (Corbin 24). Leather hats, boots and shoes survived along with woolen shirts and pants. The cotton thread, however, disintegrated and the hand sewing to preserve them continues, estimated to take twenty five years (G. Hawley 98). Although the cotton fibers did not make it, buttons did along with the dye. The button patterns are amazingly varied and the dyes indicate the clothes of the time were bright and colorful, not drab and monotone (G. Hawley 108-111).
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| Author's photo at Steamboat Arabia Museum |
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| Author's photo at Steamboat Arabia Museum |
Trading posts were also stocking up on goods for trade with Native Americans, including kettles, guns, blankets and beads (Nash IV: 157). An estimated five million beads were found. Coming from the glass factories of Venice and Bohemia, the beads had crossed the Atlantic Ocean, eastern United States and were now headed for western trading posts (Corbin 25, G. Hawley 120).
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| Author Photo at Steamboat Arabia Museum |
Summary
According to Bob Keckeisen, past director of the Kansas State Historical Society, the artifacts showed life on the frontier just two years after Kansas became a territory. The middle-classness of the items counters the myth that the settlers were down and out, that they had few other choices. Some of them, at least, could afford the nicer things (Bordewich). Also, the variety of goods, many imported, demonstrates the sophisticated commerce of the time. Commerce made possible and facilitated by the vast river system.
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| Author Photo at Steamboat Arabia Museum |
