The Hawleys
David Hawley got the idea to excavate the Steamboat Arabia during a house call to fix a customer’s air-conditioning system. The man who owned the air-conditioning system was a mystery fanatic, hanging photos of aliens, UFOs, and even Bigfoot on his walls. However, the photographs of steamboats caught his eye the most of all. He asked his customer where he received these photographs, telling him that he, also, was dreaming of excavating steamboats. The man said he did not want to excavate steamboats, but that he just enjoyed mysterious stories. Steamboats that crashed in the Missouri River (worded by the man as the muddy, murky Missouri River) were only some of the many things that he researched for a living as a ‘fanatic’ of mysteries. When David heard this, he was incredibly shocked, and asked for a list of steamboats that crashed in the Missouri River. The man said he would give it to David when, and if, he finished his job assignment flawlessly. David Hawley finished that job very quickly to get that list. When the job was completed, David looked at the list of steamboats that were wrecked in the Missouri River. Much to his surprise, when he unfolded the list, it unfolded to the floor with the names of over 300 steamboats that crashed in the Missouri River. David Hawley picked six different steamboats that sounded most interesting to him. That list made him think, “Gee, I think I’ll try something different and dig up a boat.” From that day forth, David Hawley vowed to himself that he and his family would attempt to excavate each and every one of them. Unfortunately, he failed to excavate the boats; all except two. The Steamboat Bertrand was also excavated by the Hawleys. It had nothing of great value, and not much of that. Then he struck gold. He dug up the Great White Arabia from its watery grave as treasure in a cornfield.