how long, how much -- no to muscatine, 1852

Thom,

definitely there had been more than one boat at that time from New Orleans to St. Louis, which would have been the first part of the journey. I have a picture here from the St. Louis riverfront from 1848, and there are at least 30 boats there. In the big fire in 1848, 26 steamers burnt (if I recollect that number correctly) - supposedly there had been even more boats around on that day.

From New Orleans to St. Louis, I'd guess it took between 9 and 12 days.

Then from St. Louis to Muscatine, I'm not sure about the travel time and the number of boats doing that service, but I suppose there had been at least one boat per week going there, maybe more. Just a guess.

I have no idea what the costs had been, of course also depending on whether it was deck passage or with a stateroom. The latter being of course the more expensive but also definitely more comfortable option, especially with a child.

thanks, franz...

I have read that it took Twain 36 hours to get from St. Louis to Muscatine, so you answered the first missing part of my question.

Regarding cost, wouldn't any newspaper of that time have that, or a book?

Out in Seattle here we don't have access to those newspapers but I'm going to the library today so maybe it's in a book.

thanks again,

In all the newspaper ads I have researched, I have very seldom found published rates for either freight or passage. Rates seem to have been variable and negotiable depending on the traffic, the season, the stage of the river, whether passage was up or down bound, the boat and how the Clerk felt that day. Louis Hunter's "Steamboats on the Western Rivers" has a discussion of rates and some generalizations that might be helpful.

found a ton of info in a book by Louis Hunter,

Deck passengers could pay as low as $5 in 1852 to go from New Orleans to the vicinity of Muscatine

from Steamboats on the Western Rivers, an economic and technological history,

it was recommended to me by a friend at Stanford

does this jive with what you know?

fuel consumption of coal and wood from Louis Hunter

anyone understand what Hunter mean when he provides a table with these headings:

"Average Consumption of Coal and Wood on Western River Steamboats Per Enrolled Admeasurement Ton, 1880"

upper mississippi... coal 6.29 tons.....wood 1.11 cords

Does this mean that you multiply the tonnage of the boat by, say, 1.11 cords?

Yes to both. That is indeed the same book I recommended.