14. Dickens made numerous comments about the hazards of steamboats
Aboard the boat which carried him to Cincinnati Dickens was relieved to find he had been assigned a private cabin, with two berths, situated in the stern of the vessel. He was further relieved because he had been informed that when boats blew up (usually from boiler explosions) they “generally blew up forward”. Dickens was not the first to observe that the upper works of the steamboats were constructed of wood, based above machinery under which fire burned visibly and fiercely, an especially sobering sight when passing one at night. Dickens also noted the relative inexperience of the crews which operated the machinery.
“The wonder is, not that there should be so many fatal accidents, but that any journey should be safely made”, was a terse observation he recorded, though his journey was obviously a safe one. Boiler explosions and fires on the riverboats were fairly common, but the majority of journeys were made safely. Until the railroads made their way to the west, the rivers were the highways to the emerging cities, and commerce between Pittsburgh and New Orleans, including the cities and towns along the way, was brisk and profitable. The trip between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati in 1842 was accomplished in three days.