The River's Course

    The Missouri River, or the Big Muddy, as it was also called, changed course during the years.  This was because steamboats needed wood to power them, and the lumber that was plentiful along the river’s edge was an excellent source.  So, people would go to the shore of the river and cut down trees.  Then they would take the wood back to the steamboat and use it to power the steamboat.  The tree roots had kept the river from eroding before.  With so many trees gone, dirt would fall into the Big Muddy and take the remaining trees and stumps with it.  These were called snags.  Soon, because of the eroding riverbank, there was a new bank.  That was how the Missouri River changed its course and buried the steamboat Arabia.  This was good, in a way, because the mud that got into everything was like packing material, and helped prevent many items from breaking or spoiling.  The river changing prevented anyone from finding it before we had the technology we have today.