Storage

     All the cargo was on the bottom floor.  The cabins were on the upper floors. When the group found the boat they only found the bottom floor.  The rest was torn off the bottom and brought down the river.  So they did not find the cabins.   Some of the stuff that was in the cabins is still a mystery.  The pilothouse where the captain drove the boat was at the top of the boat and was lost along with the rest of the top floors. 

Lots of the 200 tons of cargo on the Arabia was new merchandise to sell in Nebraska.  The Arabia was being counted on to get those things to Nebraska.  So lots of stores lost lots of money when The Arabia sank.  Steamboats were very good to use because they would bring new supplies to people upriver and the owners would make more money.  It was also good to own a steamboat like the Arabia.    

            When they stopped the boat at towns, they unloaded some cargo.  Then the crew had to move around the cargo, so it was level.  If the boat was not level it would tilt to one side, making it heavier on one side than the other.  If it tilted to one side it would probably sink.