Image Credits
Steamboats in American life
Once the mighty river arteries became safe
for travel steamboats began to serve as a significant and exciting
form of reliable transportation. Designers made the boats wide
with shallow drafts so they could operate in a variety of conditions.
The most luxurious were floating hotels providing their passengers
with the best of everything. Most carried both passengers and
cargo, increasing the volume of trade throughout the United States.
On board later paddlewheelers travelers could
find fine dining, gambling, and a variety of entertainments. By
the middle of the nineteenth century the grand ballrooms and casinos
of riverboats became settings that American writers used to depict
adventure stories of daring gamblers and hard-luck heroes. Here
are two covers from dime store novels featuring riverboat themes.